Canaries, Spain & Morocco Cruise

Tangier’s strategic location has made it a highly sought-after locale since ancient times. The layout within Tangier’s Medina, like most throughout Morocco, was never planned in advance. As the need arose, a labyrinth of streets and small squares emerged that eventually became the various quarters there today.

The Grand Socco offers the most straight forward approach to the Medina, a gentle open space waiting to be value on an excursion. The arch at the northern corner of the square opens onto Rue d’Italie, which becomes Rue de la Kasbah, the northern entrance to the kasbah quarter. Through an opening on the right-hand side of the square is Rue es Siaghin, off which are most of the souks and at the end of which is the Petit Socco, the Medina’s main square.

Located on the western coast of Africa, the cosmopolitan Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city with a thriving tourism trade. Blending the modern world with the ancient, Casablanca can be accurately described as a cultural melting pot with clear African, Arabic and European influences. The city’s many parks, fountains and recognisably Art Deco flourishes are all courtesy of the French Protectorate who made the city their administrative centre in the early part of the 20th Century. Highlights include the impressive Hassan Il Mosque, the ornate Mauresque architecture and gleaming white 1930’s buildings immortalised in the classic film starring Humphrey Bogart.

With its sub-tropical climate, coastal valleys, beautiful sandy beaches and mountainous peaks, Gran Canaria is a firm favourite with visitors from all over Europe. Head to the historic centre of Vegueta, steeped in traditional architecture and historical buildings which have been standing for over 500 years.

When you’re vacationing on a cruise of the Canaries, the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, welcomes cruisers ashore on its ramblas (wide, tree-lined avenues) that lead to the central Plaza de España where the Francoist architecture finds one of its maximum national expressions.

When you’re vacationing on a cruise to the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, welcomes cruisers ashore on its ramblas (wide, tree-lined avenues) that lead to the central Plaza de España where the Francoist architecture finds one of its maximum national expressions. If instead one comes from the old part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife you come across churches built in a variety of architectural styles, from the insular baroque of the church of St. Francis, to the colonial Canary style of the church of the Concepciòn or the 18th century Iglesia del Pilar, built on an ancient hermitage.

As you set ashore from your cruise ship, you can explore the Garcìa Sanabria park with the museum of outdoor sculptures, Esculturas al Aire Libre, where a tropical nature blends with the contemporary art of Mirò, Guinovart, Domìnguez, Moore and many others. A place not to miss is the Parque Marìtimo, designed by Canarian artist-architect Cèsar Manrique, which hosts 5000 palm trees of 300 different species, three pools dug into the lava rock, a beach, bars and restaurants.

A visit to Arrecife, Lanzarote, will literally sweep you away into another world. When you step aground from your cruise you will find yourself in a lunar landscape created by the coming together of the ocean and the lava. Hard to forget. It is the volcanic nature of the Canaries that makes this a unique land.

Arrecife appears from the distance as a row of little white houses along the coast as your cruise approaches the island. Looming over the port is the Castillo de San Gabriel built in the 16th century but many times restored, which now hosts a museum like the other fort in Arrecife, the Castillo de San Jose.

The town is a quiet location where one can enjoy a pleasant stroll but if you’re looking for something more exciting you should book an excursion to the Timanfaya National Park to take a close look at the volcanic activity that has shaped the hills, canyons and the strange rocky formations that characterize the island. Here Stanley Kubrick filmed some scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Timanfaya volcano is still active.

The Rock crouches over the sea like an ancient stone beast, looking Sphinx-like to Africa. Beneath the white cliffs of this natural fortress grows a profusion of palm, pine, and cypress. No fewer than 600 varieties of flowers thrive here, some not found anywhere else on Earth. Gibraltar’s stunning setting is matched by its history – five countries have battled for 13 centuries to control the passage between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The result made for a cultural melting pot. Veiled Moroccan women in caftans and vacationing Englishmen and Spaniards stroll along the narrow, steep lanes. The locals revert to a liquid Spanish when talking among themselves. And visitors to a 15th-century cathedral pass through a blue-tiled courtyard, once part of a 13th-century mosque.

Helmeted bobbies, pillar-boxes and pubs make for a bit of Britain in the Mediterranean. Gibraltar is a fascinating place, from its caves and batteries to the Barbary apes gamboling on the slopes of the Rock.

Following your departure from the Infinity, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight home to Dublin.