It was extremely wet and windy today so an emergency blip of a fridge magnet of the Canary Islands. 
Our recent week on Lanzarote was unseasonably wet and windy on several days and the tour guide thanked us for bringing “English rain” as they receive so little each year.   We needed our rain jackets on most days but it did not deter us from enjoying our time.  We are not ones for sitting on the beach or beside the pool and saw only two people in the beautiful pool the whole time and probably about ten in the sea altogether but we did enjoy the sea on the one day when the flags were green and the pool when it was too rough in the sea.   Others said it was far too cold! 
Except for El Hierro we have visited all the Canary Islands on organised walking holidays.   Our first visit years ago was to the island of Gran Canaria and would like to return some time.  In 2010 we did a three island holiday and really enjoyed La Palma with treks among lush forests and the high mountains where the atmosphere is so clear that several international Observatories are there.  We saw the evidence of 20th century volcanic eruptions and walked along the crater of Volcan San Antonio which last erupted in 1971. The guide pointed out a new luxurious 5* hotel complex which had been built despite warnings of it being very vulnerable in the event of another volcanic eruption which is possible especially as two years ago there were several seismic activities.  It is unlikely though to cause the devastation as seen on Monday in New Zealand.   We were not really keen on La Gomera although the high mountains, cliffs, canyons and rock formations are spectacular. Away from the beaches of the south of Tenerife we have had some very good hikes among the varied scenery and mountains and have enjoyed the culture and attractive historical towns and villages and can understand why it is a popular holiday destination.  I believe there are some very good beaches on Fuerteventura but we saw only one after a trek through some gorges and hills.  Lanzarote is probably the least attractive island scenically but as a Unesco Geopark it was interesting to see why it is called “The land of fire” and the ways in which people like the artist and environmentalist Cesar Manrique have influenced the island. 
All of the islands have been greatly influenced by volcanic activity, some relatively recently but they all look very different with the lusher greener more mountainous islands to the west and the semiarid flatter islands to the east.