Canary Island Idyll

Columbus slept here, Winston Churchill painted here, and Agatha Christie wrote here, but you don't have to be famous to fall in love with this place. This volcanic archipelago off the coast of Africa can and does charm just about everyone who visits, although it's not the same charm for all. Some ooh and ahh at the diversity and drama of the landscapes, a tapestry of smooth and rough, black and green, blue and gold. Others are wooed by quaint colonial towns built a century before Columbus sailed, their cobbled streets lined by dry-stone homes with hand-carved wooden balconies. Then there's the culture, or cultures, derived from European and African roots but infused with elements of all the Atlantic sailors who paused here for provisions. Sip a glass of sweet and citrusy poncha. Ride wicker toboggans, camels and classic cars. Breathe in air scented with orange, oleander, and eucalyptus. And gaze at stars so numerous and bright they seem to put galaxies within reach.