Post 12

CARA QUINN
May 2, 2023
2 min read

“Desertas Grande Island” Reserve-

As we left Madeira, we sailed south passed Desertas Grande Island in search of the trade winds, which would carry us west.

The Deserta Grande Island is the main island of the Desertas Islandsarchipelago, a small chain of three islands in the Portuguese Madeira Islands Archipelago of Macaronesia.

It is a protected natural reserve located 23 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Madeira Island, off the western coast of North Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.

A day or two later, the Canary Islands were on the horizon.

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

The seven main islands are (from largest to smallest in area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It also includes a number of rocks, including Garachico and Anaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link between the four continents of Africa, North America, South America, and Europe.

In 2019, the Canary Islands had a population of 2,153,389, with a density of 287.39 inhabitants per km, making it the eighth most populous autonomous community of Spain. The population is mostly concentrated in the two capital islands: around 43% on the island of Tenerife and 40% on the island of Gran Canaria.

The Canary Islands, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, are a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year. This is due to their beaches, subtropical climate, and important natural attractions, especially Maspalomas in Gran Canaria and Mount Teide (a World Heritage Site) in Tenerife. Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain and the third tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor.

During the Age of Sail, the islands were the main stopover for Spanish galleonsduring the Spanish colonisation of the Americas, which sailed that far south in order to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds.

As we reach the Canary Islands, we briefly sail west to navigate around them and then back on a southerly heading to pick the trade winds coming off the Sahara Desert that are a few days away.