Mornings In: The Canary Islands

Name: Katharina Sommerkamp
Hometown: Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
Age: 31
Occupation: Project & Account manager – though currently on a mini-sabbatical!

My alarm is set for

I always leave my blinds open and wake up naturally with the sunlight some time between 7:00 and 8:00 am. If I have an early appointment, I will also set my Phillips wake up light accordingly. Waking up with light instead of an agonizing sound has literally changed my mornings!

My Canary Islands breakfast

Most mornings, I eat bread with cheese and drink one or two coffees for breakfast. Bread is an integer part of any meal in Spain, unfortunately I don’t tolerate it all too well, so we usually bake the bread ourselves using coconut and almond flour.

We bake in the evenings so that in the morning all we have to do is shove it into the oven for a couple of minutes to brown the crust. I love having my bread with cold pressed olive oil and topping it with local cheese or jamón Serrano (Spanish ham). The Canary Islands pride themselves for the quality of their cheese (specially goat cheese) – in fact, we’re known to have the highest consumption of cheese in Spain. The cured goat cheese (queso de cabra curado) is one of my absolute favorites.

Another common breakfast is gofio with milk/coffee. Gofio is a type of flour made of roasted grains – It’s very nutritious, gives you energy and keeps you fuller for longer. The flour is added to a glass of milk or coffee, thickening the liquid until it has firmness similar to porridge.

After a long night out, it is tradition to go to a café or street vendor and have churros con chocolate or coffee with your friends and have the adventures of the previous night.

My Canary Islands beauty routine

The climate in the Canary Islands is very diverse: some areas are green and humid like in the tropics, while others (sometimes only a short drive away) are hot and dry – resembling a desert.

Most of the products here in the islands are actually big, well-known brands. Local Spanish brands often don’t reach the Canary islands (the cost of sending anything is expensive for companies that don’t have a well-established network). We also have low sales tax which makes big brands more attractive than smaller ones (who would probably have to add the cost of transport to their final price).

Where I live, in the north of Tenerife, the temperatures are mild and the climate is a bit humid. It took me a long time to find the right moisturizer as, ideally, it would need to be light, absorb quickly and have a decent sun protection factor.

At the moment I’m using the Antipodes Rejoice Organic Light Facial Day Cream I bought in London, which is a natural lightweight and non-oily moisturizer that uses sustainably sourced ingredients from New Zealand.

Unfortunately, Antipodes doesn’t export to Spain, so I’m already eying Clarins HydraQuench Lotion SPF 15 to take over the job. I then usually apply Clarins Super Restorative Tinted Cream SPF20 , a concealer, and some natural blush and am ready to go!

When it comes to hydrating my skin, I love to use products containing aloe vera – which grows in tropical and subtropical climates. Because of our privileged location, we have plenty of local producers – Canarias Cosmetics probably being one of the best-known ones. Their Calmaloe gel is natural, soothing and very versatile (I’ve used it, both as an aftersun and hair treatment).

Then, I head to work by

While I’m on my mini-sabbatical, I’m making it my mission to walk almost everywhere. However, for many people in the Canary Islands, home and work aren’t in the same town, meaning they would have to either take a bus/tram or drive. Depending on the connections required, public transport can be quite unreliable, so a lot of people choose to drive instead.

Thanks so much sharing, Katharina! Any other Canarian readers out there? What’s your breakfast + beauty routine?

P.S. My 3-product makeup bag!

photo credits: wikipedia // laverata barata // smithsonian mag // wikipedia // rick ligthelm // tony hisgett