Day 123 - 2nd Day to Tenerife, Spain

The Canaries: Islands by Another Name - For centuries, the Canary Islands-Spain's lush, volcanic archipelago off the southern coast of Morocco-have been thought of as a bridge between Europe, Africa and North America. The source of this notion is uncertain, though it may have emerged because Spanish galleons sailed south here in order to reach the New World on northeasterly trade winds. The islands, then, provided explorers a final glimpse of Europe; their serene-sounding name seemed as fitting as the birdsong that might have seen brave sailors off to an uncertain crossing. However, it turns out that the bird is named after the islands, not the other way around.
The Spanish name, Islas Canarias, comes from the Latin Canariae Insulae, meaning "Island of Dogs." It was a Mauretanian king who, according to The Natural History by Roman historian Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), coined the name Canaria for the large dogs that inhabited today's island of Gran Canaria. By some accounts, the king had actually seen monk seals, which from the Latin means "sea dog."
Still, the legend persists that the indigenous Guanches, the original inhabitants, considered dogs holy and even feared them. Ancient Greeks may have been speaking about the Guanches when they returned from far western islands talking about the "dog-headed ones" who held canines as sacred. Proof of this origin story
might lie in the Canary Islands' coat-of-arms in which two dogs flank a shield and crown. And so these "islands of dogs" may well be watched over by canine spirits after all.Read more