In lieu of castles in La Mancha or the weaving streets of Andalusia, I preferred to spend every free moment on the Canary Islands, a volcanic archipelago that's often considered to be Spain's Hawaii.

The Canary Islands archipelago is a string of seven islands, closer to Morocco than to their mother country Spain. The islands are home to more than 2 million people, and their main trade is tourism.

While you may have never heard of Spain's seven Canary Islands, if you like exploring nature reserves, lazing along the beach and taking in dramatic volcanic landscapes, this lovely cluster of ...