This was the hardest post to start. I wanted to say, landing in Las Palmas was like reentering civilization, but having experienced an immersion throughout Western Africa and everything post of Australia, which was both beautiful and alien to a lifestyle we were familiar with, the word civilized now seems disrespectful. It made me think, what exactly does civilized mean?

I think it is more accurate to say, consistency; Landing in Las Palmas was like reestablishing consistency (i.e. infrastructure, opportunities, education, governance, healthcare, safety, etc.).

Las Palmas is a Spanish city and the Capital of Gran Canaria. One of seven islands that make up the archipelago of the Canary Islands which is located west of Southern Morocco. Looking out from our stateroom balcony, you immediately feel you have entered a European society. The architecture, the people and landscape feels so familiar.

We were headed out on a shorter excursion today: Banana Farm, Volcanic Crater and downtown Las Palmas.

How much more does a person need to know about bananas?

Living in Florida, where they grow plentifully and bananas are shared among friends, about the only other facts we knew were that they are not trees, but plants, and that it takes nine months to fruit and then the banana tree dies.

All that is accurate. This tour turned out to be as interesting as it was informative–– like my previous post on the processing of vanilla I posted about back on La Reunion.

I promise not to be as descriptive, but I want to…..

This banana plantation was as beautiful as any Chateau surrounded by vineyards, where rows upon rows of banana varietals are grown, cared for, harvested and sold.

But one of the most interesting facts I learned were the different varietals from around the world; some tasting like strawberry, apple, potage, etc. The part that “I” find most interesting is the biology of these plants–– considered more of a berry than a fruit and how it propagates without seed or pollination.

And just like a winery, we had a tasting of a white wine, liqueur, sparkling wine and a few different spreads (jams). The three different jams were all delicious and of the three drinkables, the liqueur was my favorite.

So my fellow Floridians… before you think about cultivating a banana plant, don’t settle for a Bud Light…. You have choices.

Our next stop on this excursion was to an extinct volcano, where a family lives in the caldera. The government pays them to live there, and there is a trail that takes about four hours to walk down and up. The small little village on the rim is like something out of Spain. As sweet as the woman in the picture appears, she was not very happy with me snapping a photo.

Our last stop was in the city Center–– surreal–– and felt as if this was the first stop, in the past month, without our feet on a dirt floor. It required a period of acclimation for all of us–– our mouths open and expressions of wonder as we looked around at buildings and high end shops, cafes, European squares with fountains and statues and paved streets.

For someone observing us stepping out of the bus, it must have looked comical.

Before our guide cut us loose, she walked us to where Christopher Columbus stayed during his time in Gran Canaria–– a major stop for resupplies and for fixing a rudder on his ship–– before heading off in search of a New World.

This was such a nice conclusion for me, personally; a final exam and feeling I aced it. If you ever get the chance, there is a great read called Pastwatch; The redemption of Christopher Columbus., by Orson Scott Card.

It is a historical [Science] Fiction, considered to be his greatest work, about a future society with the technology to alter certain historical events of Columbus’s voyage to the New World that led to the rise of slavery.

This fantastic read covers everything I posted on about this topic, the places I mentioned and the people involved–– even this particular location in Gran Canaria where he tried to persuade the governments to fund his expeditions.

On all these excursions, your guides will talk while you are traveling and it pays to listen to your guide. We picked up on a local coffee drink called, Barraquito white coffee with a liquor called 43. She described this drink as being special in Gran Canaria.

While we were strolling through the city we came across a square rimmed with cafes, one with inviting tables outside and asked the server leaning against the door, in poor Spanish, ¿Tienes blanco cafe con …. liquor 43?

From her reply and expression we were pleased she knew what we were talking about, so we sat down on this beautiful day, people watching and tried to lure in Clark and Nancy as they strolled by, but they were on a mission.

After our coffees we walked a bit more along the mall, reminiscent of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. It felt so good to reacquaint ourselves with consistency.

It was time to head back to the ship, shower, have a cocktail in the Cove before heading off to a wonderful dinner, then entertainment and a stop in the Saloon for an after dinner drink.

And now for the dress