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Showing posts with label dunes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dunes. Show all posts

Thursday, March 12, 2026

Spanish words (20) with magical memory aids

 

Spanish flag

Spanish - English

agua - water

conflictos - conflicts

dinero - money (to dine you need dinero, money)

las dunas - the dunes

Espagna - Spain

especial - special (add e before the initial s in Spanish words, like the name of the country)

fuerte - strong (as in fortify or make stronger, a fort or stronghold)

golf - golf

Julio - July

lago - lake

las/los - the, plural, las is feminine plural, los is masculine plural, as in the American city Los Angeles meaning the angels, who were male messengers in Greek myths 

marzo - March

miles de - thousands of (Looks like miles of. Not millions of which is millones de, drop the i and add an e)

millones - millions

nacional - national

natural - natural

oasis - oasis

palma - palm tree, las palmas means the palms

parque - park

pico - peak

plan - plan

playa - beach - where you go to play yo-yo on yellow sand, joyfully play on the beach in the bay, on a sunny day with beach toys. Letter Y.

plaza - town square - letter z, zillions of people zooming about in a city zone with stores, place, near a city zoo. Letter Z.

quedarse - stay (when you dig a place you queue up and dig in, d in the middle and sit down, arch your back)

reserva - reserve (nature reserve)

reservar - to reserve

ventura - venture, as in adventure or go towards a venture

viajar - to voyage / to travel


Spanish Words ending in o

banco, dinero, lago, marzo, pico

Spanish Words ending in a

Espana, agua, playa, plaza, reserva, ventura

English - Spanish

park - parque

peak - pico

reserva - reserva

to reserve - reservar

Spain - Espagna


To find more easy to recognize words look in the Spanish version of Wikipedia.

Useful Websites For the Spanish Language

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Portada

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

The Canary Islands - wine and bananas on Gran Canaria (plus El Hierro)


 The Canary islands, so many of them. Seven. Nothing to do with canaries. The names is connected with dogs, canine, but never mind. Just watch out that typing canaries plural without the word islands may  bring up advertisements for buying pet birds.

The Canary Islands - Getting There And Getting Around

You can fly to one of the islands and fly or ferry to another. Only four and a half hours flight from England. P & O run cruises.

We decided that two island in one trip of maximum two weeks, our time budget, was enough. Follow up with a second trip to the other two main islands. One winter trip, one summer trip.


Why Go To The Canaries?

They speak Spanish. That's a plus point, because it is the easiest language to pick up if you are an English speaker. 

Summer sun, and winter sun. Sun all year. The ancient Greeks called the islands the blessed or fortunate islands.

The Canary Islands Alphabetically 

El-Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma, Lanzarote, Tenerife.

|The Canary Island West to East

The Canary Islands are 

El HierroLa PalmaLa GomeraTenerifeGran CanariaFuerteventuraLanzarote, and La Graciosa.

A simple summary

El-hierro, so small, a a hideaway.

El-hierro

The logical place to start, but the island which as a tourist I shall ignore, is the tiny island of El-hierro. The name is Spanish for iron. I had trouble with the spelling. Does it start he or hi. Then I thought of say hi to hierro, and don't make an error

The little island features traffic-free villages, fresh fish, sunsets and early nights, hikes and views of the sea and clean water.  Plant life rather than nightlife. 

For now, when I still have to visit the bigger islands, I'll just read about it on the internet and admire it from afar. For me, as a photographer, the most memorable landmark is a rock archway, unfortunately reached by what appears to be a scramble over the rocks. Not for me. Not now. Later.

Let's move on east. 

Here are the main tourist destinations which I am considering visiting on two trips, possibly one to escape the British winter, one in the summertime.

Gran Canaria

Capital Las Palmas, plural, is also joint capital of the group of islands. It's the most populous (populated) city. A grand place, lots of people, varied landscape and weather with dunes in the south and snow capped mountain in the middle, bananas and vines.

Arehucas Rum Distillery

Buggy tour/ Camel/ convertible car (optional open top)/Quad/Segway/Three wheeler motorbike/ 

Banana tour (Banana World, Banana Museum)

Columbus House.

Dunes (Maspalomas Dunes)

Winery


La Palma

La Palma, singular, is the island. 

Tenerife

Black volcanic cliffs and black sand beaches in the north. Two cities. 
Mount Tiede, snow-capped mountain in the middle. 
Sunny south with yellow sand beaches and tourist hotels.
Loro Parque has parrots and penguins and other animal shows.

Fuerteventura

The name means strong winds.
Attractions include 
1 Oasis park, which has numerous animals and plants.
2 Lighthouse Faro
3 Conatvs wintery tour. tasting room serves bread, olives and cheese.
The island is known for its red tomatoes.

Lanzarote

Artist Cesar built a house into the volcanic black rock with wonderful views over the sea.
A striking modern curved auditorium.



Useful Websites About The Canary Islands

Wikipedia Canary Island

Wikivoyage Spanish phrasebook


https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/overseas-destinations/article/best-canary-islands-

Tripadvisor

https://uk.hotels.com/go/spain/el-hierro

https://www.viator.com/tours/Gran-Canaria/Panoramic-Segway-Tour/d792-85318P1

Wiki in Spanish

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Portada

https://en.androidayuda.com/android/Tutorials/keyboard-with-letter-n/#google_vignette

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_Canary_Islands

https://oasiswildlifefuerteventura.com/en/

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Fuerteventura

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Manrique