Why are the Canary Islands a part of Spain?
The Canary Islands are a part of Spain largely because of a Norman explorer called Jean de Béthencourt who colonized El Hierro, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote in the early 15th century. He founded the former capital of Fuerteventura, Betancuria, and the captured Berber-descending tribes were forced to take his surname. These days, the name lives on with variants including Betancor.Although Béthencourt was recognized by locals as the King of the Canary Islands, he was in fact serving Enrique III. The Castilian crown funded his mission. Béthencourt was succeeded by his nephew, the tyrannical Maciot de Béthencourt.The other islands weren’t so easy to conquer. Indeed, when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, he stopped off to repair part of his fleet sabotaged by reluctant crew in Gran Canaria capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria which had been established a mere 14 years earlier. Visit the cobbled streets of Vegueta, which are home to the Columbus House Museum, to get a sense of what the city was like at the time.Despite an independence movement which has never recovered from the blame and shame of causing an aviation disaster in 1977, Canarians are immensely proud of their pre-Spanish history. The guanches on Tenerife are particularly mythologized. And the best and biggest fiestas on neighbouring Gran Canaria are ancient celebrations which have survived/been revived/reinterpreted as in Agaete’s La Rama, La Aldea de San Nicólas’ Fiesta del Charco, and La Atalaya’s Traída del Barro.
I'm a Spanish speaking 18-year-old traveling to the Canary Islands for the first time. What should I know about their culture/faux pas/dress, etc.?
As a touristic destination, we are very open-minded about other cultures and have no special requirements about dress code. Also we are very tolerant about faux pas (most you get would probably be an "ah, those tourists..."), and have a rich and varied gastronomy. Also you can easily find meals from lots of countries. Our spanish language have a lot of localisms ("papa" instead of "patata", "guagua" instead of autobus...), but you should have no problem with your spanish. On most places you could also use english.You don't say if your visit is as a tourist, for studies, or a longer one. If you come as a tourist, most of night clubs and hotels at dinner will ask you for proper dress (on most places, that will be just no shorts, and have your upper-body covered). We also have a slower paced life, specially on non-capital islands (Gran Canaria and Tenerife are the capital islands). Tips on restaurants are customary if you receive a good service, and are around 10% of bill.Crime rates are not specially hight, but it's recommended to take basic precautions (have an eye on your personal belongs, be careful at night...). Alcohol is very cheap and we often have a lot of drunk young tourists on the more popular touristic places. Please don't be one of them ;)In any case, is very important to bring your swimwear and sunscreen ;) Enjoy your stay!(and please forgive my english, it's specally bad on mondays)
Is it possible to survive in the Canary Islands knowing only a little Spanish?
Based on the people I have talked to, not a problem. Tourism is really important to the local economy. You can get by on a short term basis just fine. If you're going there to live, my understanding is there are a fair number of German (and other German speakers from places like Switzerland and Austria) and British expats living there. They more or less do fine, though a number of them travel back to their home countries for things like healthcare. It is just easier to do that rather than handle the local bureacracy to get a local health card. They also return home for things like shopping trips. That said, this group, like across a lot of places in Spain, tends to be a bit more isolated, hang out with their own kind, and just does not integrate well.If you're thinking about moving to las Islas Canarias, you should probably be willing to take a few additional classes and build up your fluency level. There will times when lack of language will cost you money, make it harder to network to get contacts for things you need, make it more difficult and time consuming in dealing with the government, and potentially cuts off your path to citizenship if you want Spanish citizenship. People who do best here learn the local language.
What is the best surf spot in Canary Islands?
I lived in Tenerife some winters and las americas has good spots but for sure are not the best. There you can find spanish left that is a very famous wave often a perfect break, but due to locals is almost impossible to surf it, all the spots are very crowded down there, going north west you will find less people and bigger waves in winter times. Your question is too general to be answered Canary island are 7 and all the spots needs their conditions to work. In my opinion Alcalà (Tenerife) is a nice place absolutely not for beginners. In Fuerte ventura is all very nice and powerfull but the wind is really a pain i like bubble there. Other islands i never been. Good luck if you need info contact me a know a lot about Tenerife. Me surfing El Dedo Tenerife winter 2012
Can I Bring a Carton of Cigarettes into UK in my Luggage?
Assuming you are coming from outside the European Union (I'm assuming you're American as you are asking from the US Yahoo! site), you can bring in one carton of 200. Buy it at the duty free shop at the airport, where it will be cheaper than normal. You cannot bring in any more or any other kind of tobacco in addition unless you pay customs duty on it. http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/... To pay, go through the "Goods to declare" red channel at customs after baggage reclaim at the UK airport and show them what you have. If you're below the duty-free limits, go through the "Nothing to declare" green channel. I don't know where you got the idea that the UK uses euros. You're going to have a rude shock if you've changed money into them. We use pounds and the average price of a packet of 20 in London at the moment is around £8. We may be part of the EU but we have kept out of its common currency for good reasons that are now only too apparent to Greece, and the rest of the Eurozone which is having to bail its economy out. A pint of beer in a London pub costs £3-£4. What Americans know as beer is known as lager in the UK, as we have plenty of beers of our own. The old joke is that British beer is warm and flat, while our view is that it should be still and served with the chill off. Try some - I rather like IPA (India Pale Ale), Boddington's, and Theakston's, and you will find that any pub attached to a brewery will feature what that brewery produces, naturally. A definite favourite of mine is Chiswick Bitter, which you can only get in a Fuller's pub. (Their best seller is London Pride, which I don't like at all.) And pubs, or indeed anywhere else indoors in a public building, are non-smoking by law. If you want a cigarette with your pint, take it outside. If you are over 18, you can freely buy alcohol from anywhere licensed to sell it, which includes supermarkets. Liquor stores are known as off-licences but most of us buy it along with our food shopping - the off-licence we had in my local high street closed down some time ago. I can't comment on whether its expensive as I don't know what you're used to, but it will certainly be cheaper than in a pub.
Is there still a resistance movement to get Spain to leave the Canary islands , like what caused Tenerife?
The meaning of this question seems unclear, the Azores Islands have NEVER been under direct Spanish control, except for the sixty years (1580–1640) in which Spain controlled Portugal, and indirectly, Portuguese colonies.The existence of the islands is known in Europe at least since the XIV century (they appear in the Catalan Atlas). It seems, but there is no definite proof, that Portuguese Captain Gonzalo Velho in 1427, and shortly later a Flemish Captain, landed in the islands. They informed the Portuguese Government, which in 1433 decided to begin colonisation. As far as we know, there were no aboriginal humans in Azores (and in fact, very few mammals), though recent discoveries of mounds suggest that some ancient people may occasionally have landed in the islands.As of 2018, Portugal controls the archipelagoes of Azores, Madeira and Selvagens, while Spain controls the Canary Islands, of which Tenerife is part. There is a movement for Independence from Spain in the Canaries, and another for Independence from Portugal in the Azores. Both are rather small, but they help to make people conscious of their culture and their insularity. There is no such movement in Madeira that I know of, although some individual independentist may exist. As for Selvagens, there is no permanent human habitation there, only occasional visits, mainly by ornithologists or other research scientists and filming crews (it is a rich nesting area for many species of birds).More information about Azores can be read in Wikipedia:Azores - Wikipedia