I have to admit, I was one of the many who were suckered into the idea of going to the Canary Islands by the prospect of a cheap flight and a bit of winter sun. However, as soon as I had walked out of Lanzarote airport past the endless resort shuttle buses I think the similarities ended. I spent the first few hours trying desperately to walk out of the airport's fenced off military area (why do they always make it so difficult to leave an airport on foot?!) but from then on it was fairly straightforward. I knew the islands each had their own character and feel, but was completely blown away by the diversity of landscapes I was crossing. Lanzarote's black, jagged lavafields, Fuerteventura's scorched Martian deserts, Tenerife's steaming volcanic summit, and La Gomera's mist-shrouded Laurisilva forest provided a stunning variety of walking.
