Cruise
Winter Warmth Island Style Aboard the MSC Opera
Article and photography by Lisa TE Sonne, (main photo and cabin photo, MSC Cruises)
The fascinating Canary Islands off west Africa were once major historic supply stations for the explorers, adventurers, and traders of the “Old World,” as they helped connect Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Nowadays, these compelling Spanish Isles — the so-called “Hawaii of Europe” — annually supply millions of tourists and travelers with sunshine, fun, and relaxation.
The archipelago of seven main islands and many satellite islands has year-round temperatures ranging from 60 to 80 degrees F. It boasts white and black sand beaches tucked between volcanic cliffs and green oases in deserts not far away.
Some people come, as one tour guide said, “to fly and flop” — whether on beaches, cruise decks, or massage tables. Others go for activity – from good eating and shopping (with less VAT) to hiking forests in biosphere reserves, and from exploring local cultures and museums to heading out for water sports and whale watching.
My husband and I chose the European, privately-owned cruise line MSC for a more cosmopolitan experience enroute. Passengers are diverse. Announcements are made in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
The 13-story Opera makes a continuous weekly loop among four of the captivating Canary Islands and, to the north, Funchal, the capital of the lovely Portuguese island of Madeira. Travellers can start and end their round trip at any port of call, keeping the passenger capacity of 2,600+ a dynamic mix.
Madeira
My husband and I started in Madeira, after days with lush tropical gardens, a UNESCO-designated forest of serene beauty, and salt-water lava pools to swim in. We had visited Europe’s tallest skywalk, diverse museums, and a dramatic, vista-rich tramway. My husband’s favorite was a unique tourist attraction continuing an old tradition — “tobogganing” down streets on steep hills.
Boarding and checking-in to our balcony stateroom was easy. Our hall steward made us feel very welcome, and our first evening included good dining, a circus-like theater show, and making new friends. We slept comfortably to a rocking ship plying the Atlantic.
Lanzarote
Our first port of call was Arrecife, in the south of the island of Lanzarote, only 125 kilometers from Africa. Ship excursions for the adventurous included hiking in “Martian-looking” orange desert landscapes and ebony lava tubes or a “moonscape trek” in the Timanfaya National Park. Other options included surfing lessons, fishing villages, off-road forays, and shopping. We chose to go to the North of the island, where Spanish artist Cesar Manrique combined man’s and nature’s architecture. “Mirador Del Rio” is embedded at a high point in lava peaks and is designed with panoramic views from inside and out on dramatically high platforms.
We also visited a Manrique-designed restaurant, bar, and concert hall underground — created around the natural skylights and a seawater lake that are part of the “Tunnel of Atlantis,” the world’s longest submerged lava tube. Due to super moon high tides, to reach the food setting and gardens, we needed to take off our shoes and roll up our pants to walk on a submerged path along a cave wall through the lava tube. In these Jameos del Agua caves we were also able to observe the tiny albino, sightless crabs that are endemic, and endangered.
Tenerife
We woke the next day in the port of popular Tenerife of Santa Cruz, known for its celebrities and sun, hot night life, and the third largest volcano on earth.
For a long time, though, I had wanted to visit Tenerife’s one-of-a-kind, indoor-outdoor museum about cultures, botanicals, and human migrations — the great explorer Thor Heyerdahl’s Guimar Pyramid Museum. We rented a car from a shop right on the ship’s wharf and drove about 30 minutes south to the ethnographic museum and botanical gardens built around the lava step-pyramids that inspired Heyerdahl to live on the island of Tenerife.
There are exhibits on the similarities between Egyptian and Meso-American pyramids and cultures, about Canarian life, and re-creations of the Kon Tiki and Ra, boats that Heyerdahl boldly crossed oceans in to test theories about how people and cultures migrate.
Heyerdahl’s work on Easter Island and information about Polynesian cultures make up only part of the exhibits. There’s an area on poison plants, an interactive area on the dangers of plastic in the oceans, a café, and a children’s play area. We had not planned to spend the entire day there, but the indoor-outdoor museum was that engaging.
Gran Canaria
In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, we opted for a Hop On-Hop Off bus to get us to the vegueta, or “Old Town.” We walked the winding ways and settled at a café on the palmed plaza of the Cathedral of Santa Ana that took 400 years to build. We observed local life, and watched tourists pose next to the statues of seven Canario Presa dogs, representing the seven islands. They are a distinct canine breed that evolved on the islands.
Nearby, the home where it’s believed Christopher Columbus slept on three or four of his historic journeys is now a museum about his life and voyages. The highlights included artifacts, log entries, and maps of what people toward the end of the 15th century thought the world Iooked like.
The beaches that night were buzzing, with block after block of outdoor cocktails and dining on the boardwalk, multiple sand volleyball games, and plenty of music and laughter underway. A colorful sign in many languages read, “One Beach, a Thousand Cultures.”
Fuerteventura
The next morning, the Opera was docked in Puerto Del Rosario, on the intriguing island of Fuerteventura. We jumped on a bus excursion tour to the northern fishing village and sea caves of Aju. I greatly enjoyed a dramatic walk along the black beach, past a few colorful wooden fishing boats, up a cliff, and then down into a large cave extending far back in time and size.
We also bussed up a steep windy road, past stark orange and desert landscapes, lava wall terraces, and little oases with quiet windmills, to the village of Betancuria, once the capital of the island. Now, it’s a locale for visitors to get Canarian crafts, enjoy some refreshments, or visit a new archeology museum.
Back in San Rosario, at the suggestion of a local, we enjoyed fried goat cheese and goat meat along a lovely beach with the Opera in view. Soon, I was walking into the warm waters and floating on liquid turquoise.
At Sea
The island-hopping had felt a bit like we were bees flitting from flower to flower to gather pollen. The quick immersions on each island were like enjoying Spanish tapas or Hawaiian pupus — exploratory taste bits to arouse the senses, but not sate a fuller appetite. On each island, there was always more to explore, but this travel method did provide many tempting introductions.
For me, there was an excitement at seeing these islands from a ship in the water, the way voyagers did hundreds of years ago –except we were enjoying vastly, mindbogglingly more comforts.
In-between shore times, my husband and I appreciated sitting on our balcony enjoying the wind and air — sometimes with the view of a bustling port, other times with that expansive feeling of just seeing sea and sky, and tasting the travel, massaged by the winds.
On our day at sea, heading back to Madeira, we pried ourselves from the balcony and walked the decks of the ship, hearing many languages, seeing people playing ping-pong and cards, swimming in the pools, or just “flopping” to enjoy the sunshine. Inside, people pulled handles in the casino, headed to the beautiful spa, listened to live music, read books, and clinked glasses.
Everywhere were the happy faces of people enjoying their holidays.
The Canaries were once called the “Fortunate Islands.” Indeed, we left them feeling very fortunate.
