Flying Over The Canary Islands

I am a sucker for harsh terrain. Everything that looks forbidding, dry, tall, alien, similar to what you would expect of Mars.

So, being the most caring wife ever, @silver.art agreed to spend a week there with me. Provided there were also beaches. Well, technically, there are ;) Although, it's the volcanic origins that attracted me.

You might have heard of the Canary Islands in recent news feeds. Some wildfires just on the day after our departure caused evacuations of thousands, according to news titles. That...that happened on Gran Canaria, the central piece of land, the one that looks like one of those fancy octagonal locks from Tomb Raider but with slightly bent edges. Or a badge. Or a shield... Well, the one from the top photo. Eh, that would be a piece of it and at an awkward angle.

What can I do, with all that awesome terrain below our plane, I could not resist but try to take some aerial photos, no matter how low the chance of quality images. Moving at that speed, shooting through a not perfectly clean illuminator, double-layered and polarized...sending rainbows up my photographs...

Anyway...Down below — too epic to not try. I did not make a good job at first but still, I captured some snaps of places that were quite iconic to me. So I will continue the series with the first spot over which our second flight went. (Yes, I begin my story with my second flight. What?)

Gibraltar

Do you see that smudge in the upper right section? That's Africa! I love Africa. I've never seen Africa before. This was the first time I...you get it. I cried a bit. Gibraltar Strait is where Europe and Africa come close together - the gate where the Mediterranean Sea enters the Atlantic Ocean...Come to think of it, I haven't been to the Mediterranean or the Atlantic before, too. But. That. Was. Africa!!! Yeah, I know that if you are a Steemian you have a 50 % chance to live in South Africa, but I am one of the other 50 %.

Well, the Canary Islands should be more like Africa than Europe, right? They are at that Latitude, after all. But some cool Atlantic currents keep them kind of...not that hot...along the beach, that is. It was a lot like Spain, actually. Spanish territory, so the weather behaved accordingly.

Spanish territory also meant easy access for us since it's within our European Union. That was part of the reason we went to those islands instead of some...other...far place. This time.

Aaaand most of that second flight was much more boring than the first one. We went over Gibraltar and then...blue and empty, with little chances of precipitations. For two hours.

But then...

The first of the Canarians appeared. At an awkward angle, again ;)

Meet Sir Lanzarote, of the round...

well, sorry, nothing round about him. Except for maybe a couple of craters edges here and there. Which I could not see. I know my friend @lightcaptured has been there and found them. So, go check out his work for the round things associated with Lanzarote.

After we flew over the harbor and the airport...

I was entertained by the desertish look of the land below.

My favorite Martian city. No idea what its name is.

Did you know that Lanzarote had an amazing tail/scythe-like shape on the south end? I cannot show it to you here since I couldn't reach out and point the camera down while the plane took a turn towards...

Gran Canaria.

Of which I saw little. I hoped that I would be able to at least catch a glimpse of the Sahara-like dunes of Mas Palomas...I even dreamed of getting there for a sneak peek, but...it was not very practical. I would have lost too much time just getting there and back to our destination of choice.

Tenerife

The most diverse f them all, probably. Boasting the highest Spanish mountain with Mount Teide reaching 3, 718 m.

A place worthy of another story and such a story shall arrive. Soon.

Until then, I invite you to join me on our descent from the south. Which took place during strong winds that rocked the cabin and forced a lot of exclamations from the other passengers.

Meanwhile, I was mesmerized and I couldn't actually store my shooting equipment safely under the seat in front of me. It was stuck to the window.

A crater!

Look at that crack!

Wait...

...this can't be...

...the airport.

Ah, there it is!

Bounce-ti-ti-bounce-bounce and we're on Tenerife. See you there in my next report!

Safe travels!

Yours,

Manol