the canary islands

Traditional food

Mojo

The cuisine of the Canary Islands combines traditional Spanish recipes with African and Latin American influences, resulting in an incedible variety of foods. A very simple and well-known recipe is Papas Arrugadas, potatoes boilt in salt-water without peeling them and served with Mojo, a hot sauce of oil, garlic, chili-peppers and paprika. Mojo is the most famous of many Canary sauces.

local info

Already Greeks and Romans reported on this archipelago of volcanic origins, and called it the Happy Islands, Garden of the Hesperides, Atlantida, ... Some historians suppose that the legendary continent Atlantis was located here. The islands' original population, called Guanches, is tall and of white skin.
In 1496 the islands became part of the Spanish kingdom, a short period of time later the ships of Christopher Columbus stopped here on their travel to discover the New World.

What to see

Teguise

Teguise, the former capital, carries the name of the last Guanche-king's daughter. It is one of the oldest settlements on the archipelago, but little is left of its original monumental abundance, as it once was destroyed by pirates.
Anyhow, Teguise conserved much of its ambience of a manorial town, with nice houses and its dominating castle, Castillo de Santa Barbara. A highly demanded souvenir are the "Timples", traditional instruments similar to guitars, which are manufactured here.