Canary Islands

The Canary Islands (Spanish: Canarias), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish region and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are located 62 miles west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.15 million people and they are one of the outermost regions of the European Union.

The eight main islands are (from largest to smallest) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It also includes a number of rocks, including those of Salmor, Fasnia, Bonanza, Garachico, and Anaga.

In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain. Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link between the four continents of Africa, North America, South America, and Europe.

The name "Canary Islands" (Spanish: Las Islas Canarias) comes from the Latin "Canariae Insulae", which literally means "Dog Islands". The name "dogs", according to one version, means sea dogs (lat. canis marinus) or sea lions, which previously had large colonies on the islands.

Today, tourism is the mainstay of development in the Canary Islands. This has led to the overexploitation of the land and the destruction of the beautiful coastlines of many islands, which are now covered with ugly concrete high-rise buildings.

In addition to traditional beach and excursion tourism, the Canaries are actively developing yachting, diving, wind and kite surfing, for which there are almost ideal conditions.

The yachting industry on the Canaries is represented by yacht services (yacht marinas, small boat yards for repair and refitting of yachts) and yacht charters - renting yachts.

Hundreds of yachts gather in the Canary Islands at the end of November to join the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), a sailing rally across Atlantic Ocean.