Entre Les Murs

Canary Islands

We spent most of last week in the Canary Islands in search of good diving; but it turned out that it wasn't all that interesting underwater, and we felt like we'd seen it all after two days and four dives.  There wasn't much in the way of a coral reef; however there were some dramatic rock formations, arising from the recent volcanic origins of the islands: narrow canyons and arches you can swim through.  There were also manta and sting rays, unfortunately attracted by divers' habit of feeding them.  We got on a bit of a soapbox about that practice, since the dive shop considered their dive to feed the rays an attraction; nonetheless, we did the dive (but no feeding) and kneeled on the bottom while two-foot sting rays circled and crowded around us like puppies.


There were a couple of wrecks to see too, which attract a variety of fish to the abundance of ready hiding places, and we saw moray eels, sea snakes, flatfish, little puffer fish, and a variety of trumpet fish.

We spent a few days emulating moray eels, hardly stirring from our grotto in the hotel except to snatch a bite to eat.  I can blame some of that on a tummy bug that sapped my energy for a couple of days.  The hotel seemed to be in a between-seasons lull and felt half empty, which improved the peace poolside.


The island of Tenerife is dominated by the 3000m Mt. Tiede.  On our final full day we rented a car and drove inland and upwards.  The drive took us through a sequence of dramatic changes in the geography.  We drove from relatively barren lower slopes up through tall pine forests to twisted and dry landscapes in which the paths of lava flows were evident beneath colourful scrubby vegetation.  We took a short hike through a region of cañadas (gullies) around 2000m in the shadow of one of the lower peaks.

posted 27.6.07