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If I had not come to Mauritania, I would not have been to this place— Canary Islands, also known as “Eternal Spring”
As a backpacker (or at least someone with backpacker’s mind) who prefers to see as many different things as possible, I was not into beach and resort places. However, I actually needed to find the way out to change the air, as the expat life in Mauritania without entertainment was not easy.
Then voilà!Literally the air of the island was different (comfortable temperature without flies and sand dust). In fact, the entire environment was different from the one in Mauritania (Nouakchott) even though the distance between them is quite short (2 hours flight distance). This experience allowed us to recharge energy. I will briefly explain how it was done.
Contents
What and where are Canary Islands?
The Canary Islands (Spanish: Islas Canarias) is a Spanish archipelago (consisting of 7 islands) and the southernmost autonomous communityof Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean, located in the west of Morocco and West Sahara. Simply put, it is an archipelago where many tourists (especially from Europe) come to relax.
To name a few things I liked, there are:
- Comfortable environment: wind without flies and sand dust and good temperature
- Entertainment: parks and cultural events
- Food and drinks : a number of choices available
- Nature: mountain, beach (without dust) and forest
- People and language: people seemed to be very easy going and they speak Spanish (!)
5 points of trip preparation (some of them are applicable for another trip)
Selection of island
As I had just 5 days of vacation (including transport), our itinerary was very limited. After brainstorming, we decided to visit just one island to focus, and between Gran Canaria and Tenerife (the two most popular islands), the final decision went to Tenerife as it seemed to have more diverse things to see and do.
Selection of activities based on priority
Our priority went immediately to the Siam Park, elected as the best water park in the world. As resident of Mauritania without much entertainment, there was no better attractive title than ”the best park in the word”.
The rest of the activities was not so clear but in general all the options (e.g. mountain and beach) we picked up seemed to be beautiful, so we agreed to decide when we get there. And of course, food and drinks were our priority as well.
Reservation of flight ticket
After making sure where and what to do, we purchased flight ticket in the last minutes (1.5 days before departure). Although it was more expensive than regular price, we decided to give it a try in favor of refreshment.
Reserfvation of accommodation
Based on the places and activites we chose (and of course the price), we chose “ Guest house Casa Dona Carmela” located in the are of Santa Cruz (east part of the island). Looking back, I believe it was the right decision in terms of price, location and service. To take advantage of the fact that everyone speaks Spanish, we called hotel person to gain some information in the field before departure.
Reservation of car rental
One of the useful information we got from the hotel person was a strong need of reserving rent car beforehand as it was high season. And he was totally right about that, as there seemed to be not much availability on arrival, and if any it was much more expensive than internet.
Itinerary summary
Simply put, it was totally worth visiting. With a rent car, we could visit following places and enjoyed (par jour)
(0. Hotel location)
- Siam Park (to save some time, VIP ticket is recommended although it is costly)
- Teide (through the route of “la esperanza”), Masca, Punta de Teno, Icod de los vinos, Ortova
- Puerto de la Cruz, El Sauzal, Benijo, Playa de las Teresitas
Highlighted photos
Landscape of Teide
Icod de los vinos (parque de Drago)
Mojo sauce (salsa moja)
Wrinkled potato (Papa arrugada) 
Paella (plate espagnole)
Visting Tnerife was an example of changing the air. Unlike cellular charger which just needs electricity, rechaging the life needs certain motivation, planning and action.
The learning of this time
I learned that our energy is not eternal thing especially in the difficult environment, and the travel planning (enjoyable by itself) and experience of Tenerife — eternal spring — allowed us to recharge to keep going.
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