Canary Islands

Canary Islands are situated about seven hundred miles south west of mainland Spain and less than 100 miles from the coast of Africa. The archipelago consists of seven major islands of which four belong to the province of Tenerife: La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and Tenerife itself. Fuerteventura and Lanzarote belong to Gran Canaria and form the other province of the autonomous community.

The seven islands have a combined population of little over one and a half million. The islands have an autonomous government but remain, of course, a part of Spain. The language is Spanish; the currency is the euro and the laws are the laws of Spain; apart from some regional laws unique to the islands.

Tenerife, the most magical of these 'Islands in the Sun' has a population of about 650,000 and its capital is Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is an island of micro-climates, due to the impact of Mount Teide - at about twelve thousand feet - the highest mountain in the whole of Spain.