Claudia Diemar

This book is part of the publisher series Lesereisen ("reading journeys") by the Austrian publisher Picus Verlag. The series contains many, many books on different places in the world, all of them feasible travel destinations, and each book containing essays or short reports about the place written by one contemporary author. I like this series a lot and although it is not my aim to collect all of the books, I often buy books about places I have already traveled to or plan to visit in the near future.

What I especially liked about this book on the Canary Islands was the variety of the topics. The author covers all of the main islands and depicts different aspects of them. She writes about attempting to hike El Pico del Teide, about mass tourism in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, but also about historical sites, about local celebrations (carnival and more "serious" religious processions), about the food and about experiencing nature in the more remote corners of the islands. The last chapter is devoted to the little house her family rents every year and that has become a second home for them, offering peace and relaxation. I enjoyed this more private and emotional ending.
I also gained a lot of knowledge about these islands and their history, as well as some information and inspiration for future trips.… (plus d'informations)