Tenerife

A port of call of every ship I have been on and quite rightly so.

It has everything, the sea, the sand, the sun, oh the sun, the best medicine for aching bones, for a broken heart.

There is nothing of importance on the island I have not seen, so now I walk the long walk, go inside Zara, sit in front of McDonalds enjoying the best wi-fi in town and then have the most excellent latte, the most excellent cake, the most excellent fresh orange juice, take one more to go, and take the long walk back to the ship.

The most beautiful library afloat.

Five years ago, 18 January 2019, I sailed on Cunard's Queen Victoria.

It was, in fact, a four months cruise around the world.

The Library is situated on two floors with entry from both, directly from the hub of the ship, The Lobby. My favourite seating is by the windows.

There  is simply nothing more peaceful, than watching the frolicking waves from the comfort of a chair.

Tenerife.

There is nothing of interest I have not seen on the island. It is on every cruise itinerary to Canary Islands and quite rightly so. You can walk to town. You can buy perfume or cosmetics much cheaper than anywhere in Europe and the weather is almost always sunny and warm. A perfect winter destination. Several years ago this coffee shop opened with some funfare, I happened to be there at the time, it serves excellent coffee, excellent cakes, excellent fresh orange juice.

Lanzarote

The 5 hour tour to The Fire Mountain and The  Timanfaya National Park was a joy and a nightmare.The joy was what I saw, the nightmare how I saw it.
In 1730's volcanoes in the Timanfaya area erupted for six years creating luna-like terrain from the lava flow - the caves and blowholes and lava beds.

At Islote De Hilario the immense heat still below the surface (between 400 and 600 degrees) was demonstrated,wood was ignited and steam produced just by the power of this heat.

At  Janubio there is a  salt pit crater where vegetables are grown in fields of lava pallets and grapes are cultivated in cinder pits.

At aloe vera farm at Yalza  we had  a short talk and various products could be bought in their shop.My favourite stop was at El Golfo, the lake formed in a crater, it is green and it oves its colour to a type of algae.

I have been to 89 countries, sometimes in precarious situations,  but mostly my safety was in my hands, here it was in the hands of  the bus driver. Negotiating the roads is not for the faint hearted. One mistake and the bus falls 1000 meters or more.

La Coruna.

Hercules Lighthouse on the outskirts of La Coruna was built  by the Romans and is the only lighthouse in the world still working as originally intended.

Legend has it, that the bones of the giant Gerion, killed by Hercules, are bried under the beacon,hence its name.

The statue of The Octupus is a homage to the mollusk so plentiful in the waters of Galicia and loved by the locals.

These two sights are much visited by the content creators and influencers.

Jerez

A tour to Jerez, in Andalusia,was included in the price of the cruise and I took the advantage of it.

Jerez is world-renowned for being the home of sherry.We visited the binery Fundador Bodegas, it  was founded in 1730 and consists of several vineyards, a wine making plant,ageing cellars and a bottling centre.

Many famous people  have signed the barrels.Bo Derek, the American actress, has the most beautiful handwriting. I wish I had taken a photo.

Cadiz.

I have lost  count how many times my ship has docked in this Spanish port.

This time it is on the Spirit of Adventure, a SAGA ship, sailing to Canary Islands.

I love Cadiz, even though almost every time I come it is raining.

A tour to Jerez was included in the price of the cruise and I took advantage of it.

Many famous people have visited the cellar, the oldest in Jerez, dating to 1750 or thereabouts,and have signed the barrels. Bo Derek, the American actress, has the most beautiful signature of them all,I regret I didn't take a photo of it.

The 2 hour tour was far too long, 3 hours would have done the job perfectly.

What surprised me about Jerez were the orange trees, planted all over the town and still with oranges on them. I would have loved to pick one, but could not reach any, the locals have beaten me to it.