spain: canary islands: gran canaria: arucas and maspalomas and las palmas

While on my bus from Agaete to Las Palmas I realized this would be the last few days of my new years holidays. The bus didn't take long, around 40 minutes. I got off the bus before the final stop, as it went quite close to where I had booked a place to stay. This particular hostel was just a couple streets over from the place I stayed when I first arrived in Las Palmas, three weeks earlier.

I checked in and relaxed for a while, then went for a walk. By walk I mean I walked to the beach, all of a seven minute walk. 

The weather was good, it felt good to lay in the sun for a while. After a couple hours I put clothes back on over my bikini, and started walking again.

The only sight I hadn't seen during my first visit to Las Palmas was a former castle. It was over on the east side of the Las Palmas peninsula, near the marina/port. I walked by several beautiful rose bushes in the gardens in front of the castle, they smelled lovely even though the flowers looked as though they were near their end.

As I entered the castle I discovered there was an entrance fee, payable at a ticket desk in a different building. I didn't feel like paying (I have no idea why, I just didn't,) so I walked away instead. The reviews I read later made me think I hadn't really missed anything.

I stopped in a couple souvenir shops while walking back toward my hostel.

The next morning I took my time getting going, (when on holiday, I like having no responsibilities, or a hard core schedule to keep,) but eventually started walking toward a bus stop to catch a bus to my destination for the day. On the way I stopped at a cafe and had porras con chocolate for breakfast. These were even better than the churros I'd had in Puerto a few days earlier.

I got on the bus, which took me to Maspalomas, on the southern end of Gran Canaria.

Maspalomas is mostly known as a resort area, and as the bus drove through, I could see why. I saw hotel after hotel after hotel, as well as restaurants and cafes. I'm sure there are homes somewhere in the area, but I didn't see any of them.

I had briefly looked at booking accomodation in the area for a couple days, but after seeing that it was nothing but hotels and such, I was glad I hadn't done so. Especially because the prices were not cheap, and none of the reviews were outstanding.

By the time the bus came to its final stop I was rather carsick, and I was thrilled to start walking. It wasn't the fault of the driver, rather, the roads were very twisty which doesn't usually sit very well with me.

I entered the beach area near a lighthouse, turned right, and started walking. Then I realized that continuing in this direction was not going to take me to a beach, which is what I wanted. I turned around, walked past the lighthouse, and got to a beach. I found a spot and laid out my malong, then soaked up sun for a little while. It turned out to be just windy enough that I was covered in fine sand after just 30 minutes or so. Oooops.

Either way, it was worth it to be in the sun.

One of the sights of Maspalomas (other than the beach,) is a series of really big dunes. After throwing on clothes over my bikini, I started walking around the dunes. I was initially wearing jandals, which I ended up taking off rather quickly, as they made walking in sand rather difficult.

Some of the dunes are pretty big, and when I finally got to the top of a couple of them, I felt as though I had a pretty good view of the water and beach.

I got to see sunset, which was lovely. I wasn't the only one out there, but it was pretty quiet, with people just taking in the natural beauty.

After dark I walked back to the bus station, and caught the next bus back to Las Palmas. Thankfully, the way back didn't make me feel sick.

The next morning I went back to the same cafe for more porras con chocolate. I don't know how to describe it other than to say these are a bit of heaven, and its a good thing I don't have easy access to them back in Moscow.

I caught another bus, the ride to a small town called Arucas was less than an hour. I hopped off the bus in the middle of a very small town, slightly motion sick. Since none of the roads on the islands are straight, I was a little motion sick every time I rode a bus between towns.

The main sight of Arucas is a giant cathedral. I was amazed at the size of the church in relation to the size of the town itself. The carving of the exterior of the church was really intricate, I wish I'd been able to get closer, and higher up, so I could appreciate more of it. Unfortunately the church wasn't open when I arrived, but hours were listed, so I made a mental note of when to come back.

The streets of Arucas were super cute. It felt like a small town, and was relatively quiet whle I walked around. At one point while I was taking photos a guy came up to me and asked if I would be a model in a posed photo for him. He said he was working in an official capacity of the tourist office of the town. I have no idea if he was telling the truth, but the photo he wanted was of me taking a photo, with the sign of the tourist office in the background, so hey, whateva. I never did figure out where I could find the finished product of whateva he was doing.

From there I wandered into a small platz, where I sat for a while, chatting with my sister through an app. I watched people as we talked, which was nice.

One of the other sights listed online was a park. I headed in that direction, and found it easily. The park seemed rather small to me, it didn't take me long to walk through the entire thing. Maybe I missed part of it?

Across the street from the park was an interesting looking building. I used my phone to find out that it was the building of the water usage organization on the island. It wasn't open for visiting, but the front of the building was photogenic. (To me at least.)

I looked at my watch and noted that I still had a couple hours to go before the church would open again, so I walked down the street in the opposite direction from town. The street took me sloooowly down a hill, and during the walk I got some nice views of the city back up on the hill.

Eventually I turned around, and walked all the way back through town, and out the other side. The way I've written this makes it sound as if the walk was longer than it was.

I stopped when I got to a traffic circle that had a big city name sign on one side. Next to the city name was a cactus garden of sorts, which I loved. I'd learned my lesson previously, and did not make any attempts to befriend any of the cacti. ;)

When I got back to the town center, it was finally time for the church to be open. I loved the feeling when I walked in. The interior architecture drew my eyes up, and I appreciated the grand feeling of the place. Some stained glass windows all around, and a grand altar up front. I walked all the way around, taking plenty of photos, then sat for a while and thought about life.

After the church I found a random cafe nearby and ordered a sandwich. It ended up being another case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach, I couldn't finish the food. Whoops.

Eating just before the bus ride was a good thing, it helped settle my stomach a bit; I felt fine when I got back to Las Palmas. It was either that, or we were on straighter roads. Either way, I called it a day and went back to my hostel for the evening.

The next morning was my last day on the islands. I started with another breakfast of porras con chocolate, and seriously considered figuring out a way to get them in Moscow. SO GOOD. 

I packed up my bags, and checked out of the hostel, leaving my bags at the front desk.

From there I started walking. I found a playground of sorts (basically an outdoor gym for adults, kindof,) on one end of the beach, and played around myself for a few minutes. Then I realized how out of shape I am, and moved on.

I kept walking along the road, which followed the coast. I got to see the water crash against the coast over and over again. A 30 minute walk down the road I came to a statue of sorts. 

A lot of rocks were piled up, in a shape that made me think of a woman. It was as if she was looking out over the water.

After taking photos of the woman, I walked back to the beach, and laid out for a little while, taking my last chance to soak up the sun. From there I went to a souvenir store, to make sure I had enough postcards.

From there I went back to the hostel where I changed and repacked, then took the bus to the airport. I slept at the airport, though the sleep wasn't good and I'm not sure how much time I actually spent unconscious.

The departures area of the Las Palmas airport is not a place you want to have to spend a lot of time, it's not terribly comfortable.

The plane took off right around sunrise, and I was treated to a beautiful view as the plane rose through the crowds.

I would happily return to the Canary Islands sometime in the future. I only got to see two islands, so there are plenty I haven't seen. I'd like to return when it is slightly warmer, so the beaches would be more fun. I'd like to do more hikes, and see more of the national parks.  

spain: canary islands: gran canaria: puerto de las nievas and agaete

I arrived in Puerto de las Nievas on Gran Canaria after a 90 minute ferry ride from Santa Cruz, on Tenerife. The ferry ride was okay, though the weather wasn't great so I ended up slightly seasick. It didn't help that the boat arrived to rain and wind, which I hate.

Puerto de las Nievas is a tiny town on the coast, with a twin town of Agaete slightly up the hill. I'd booked a place in Agaete, so I had to make the walk in the rain. The walk was pretty, as both towns are quite cute. The buildings are mostly painted white, and there were a number of flowers blooming.

I'd booked my accomodation relatively last minute, so it was the most expensive place I stayed during my entire trip. I thought I'd booked a double room for 40 euro, but it ended up being a small flat with a kitchen, small living room, and a bedroom with bed space for 4!! If only I'd been traveling with someone.

I relaxed for a few hours, then went for a walk. The weather had cleared up, it was now mostly sunny, yahooooo!! It took me just a few minutes to walk back through the center of Agaete, to the church in the center of town.

Unfortuntaely the church wasn't open, so I was only able to see the outside. I couldn't find a sign anywhere with open hours listed, I wasn't sure if it would be open while I was there.

More walking took me back down the hill to Puerto de las Nievas. I headed to a different area from where the ferry arrived, as I'd seen a listing of natural pools. To get there I had to walk down a dirt road, which made me wonder if I was going the right way, but it worked out well, as I ended up where I wanted to be.

The pools weren't completely natural, but they weren't completely man made as well. Volcanic rock had been carved out in areas by the constant movement of water over time, creating areas for the water to fill in, like pools. Someone had put stairs into a couple of them, and I saw kids in the water even though it seemed a bit chilly to me. The rock into which the pools had been carved was volcanic, so it wasn't at all smooth, and I was glad I was wearing shoes with thicker soles, not just jandals.

I loved watching the waves crash into the area, over and over again. I could've stayed there for hours, if I'd been planning to stay in the area for more than just one night.

After a while I kept walking along the coast, heading back toward the ferry port. A boardwalk has been built, with extra rocks built up to protect the area from storms and the resulting crazy waters. I walked along the entire length of the boardwalk, then doubled back a little to get to one of the streets of Puerto de las Nievas. (I hope there is a shortened version of the town name, it's annoying to say the whole thing every time.)

The buildings facing the port are all restaurants/cafes or hotels. The next street back had a very small church, but was otherwise full of more hotels, cafes, and souvenir shops. The town is small enough that the number of buildings isn't big at all, though I wondered where everyone lives.

I walked to a tiny beach, and it was finally warm enough that I would've spent time in the sun if I'd worn a bikini during this walk. The view from the beach was gorgeous, I could see a cliff that probably had amazing hiking.

I was in the area long enough to see sunset, which was beautiful. I loved the colours of the sky as background to the beautiful landscape of cliffs and water. After the sun went down I got cold, and was more than ready to head back to my room to sleep.

Before going to sleep I used the stairs in my flat to get to the roof for a view of the town at night. Quiet, and pretty. 

The next morning was the end of my stay in Agaete. I had to walk just six minutes to get to the bus stop, which was awesome.

I would definitely come back to the town if I had time to do some hiking. It's a small area, but I bet the hiking is fantastic. And the small town aspect was quite nice. 

spain: canary islands: gran canaria: las palmas

My original plan for my New Years holidays was to go to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. As it has for the last five years, that plan fell apart. When I looked for flights, I found reasonably priced flights to the Canary Islands. They hadn't been on my radar at all, but I hadn't been there previously, so hey, why not?

The flights I booked were the cheapest option, which meant two connections, neither one of them very convenient. I left Moscow on a Thursday night and arrived at my destination Saturday morning.

I slept overnight in the airports of Bratislava and Las Palmas. I didn't need to sleep in the last airport, but my flight arrived in the night, after public transport had stopped. I didn't want to pay for a taxi that would get me to accomodation only in time to sleep half the night. Call me cheap.

Saturday morning I took a bus from the airport on Gran Canaria to Las Palmas, then walked to my hostel. I was able to check in early, after which I laid around for a bit, just because I could. I didn't have a guidebook, and I didn't have a plan for my three week holiday. Oh well.

A few hours later I walked to the beach, and found a place to lay out for a few hours. The beach was mostly black (the Canary Islands are volcanic islands, so black sand is pretty normal, if it is a sandy beach.) It was also windy, so it wasn't as relaxing as I wanted. Still, after being in Moscow, which had almost no direct sun during the month of December, any sun felt good.

After enjoying the sun, I started walking down the beach, to see how far I could go. Nearly everything along the way was a cafe or store geared toward tourists.

A bit down the way I found an exhibition of sand sculptures, which was fun to see. It was free, which surprised me.

Sunset that evening took place while I was out walking. It wasn't stunning, but seeing a sunset at all was nice. Of course I tried to take photos.

The next day I walked into the city center, to try and find a guidebook. The route shown on my phone took me along a street higher up so I could see out quite a bit. At this point, I wasn't really sold on the views of Las Palmas, and really hoped that whereva I went next would be better looking.

My walk also took me through a park with a statue of a giraffe and boy looking at the giraffe. I have no idea why it was there, but I still took the photo. The walk also took me past a fountain made by a frog spitting water.

I didn't end up finding the guidebook I wanted, much to my annoyance. I found a Spanish version of what I wanted, but not an English version. Argh. I bought ice cream to splurge, and to get over not finding the guidebook. (I can always justify ice cream, whether I should be doing so or not.)

After the shopping attempt, I found the Catedral de Santa Ana. Since the Canaries are part of Spain, of course there are a few churches to be seen. This particular church is said to be the most religious place of the Canary Islands, I suppose that is rather subjective. Wikipedia tells me the church was originally built during the 16^th century.

There was an entrance fee of 2 euro, the entrance is around the side of the church. The initial entry is actually just into a cloister area, where a museum has been set up. It was interesting to see paintings and photos of previous bishops, as the style of their vestments has changed quite a bit over the centuries.

The church itself was nothing spectacular, but not awful either. My favourite parts were the stained glass windows, which weren't very big or very intricate. I liked them because the light was streaming in and visible on the floor. Beautiful to see the light that way. Im a sucker for stained glass windows.

From there I walked back to my hostel, put on my bikini, and went back to the beach for a couple more hours of sun. This time around I found an area where it wasn't so windy.

The next morning I walked to the bus station where the airport bus had originally dropped me off. I got lucky with my timing and caught the bus I wanted just as it was leaving. Around 30 minutes later I hopped off, near a place called Caldera de Bandama.

As the entire set of Canary Islands are made up of volcanic islands, there are great opportunities for hiking. Visiting this no longer active volcano was one of those opportunities. I found a path and followed it, it took me through a residential area, to the lip of the caldera.

From there I decided to go right, and see where I could go. I didn't make it all the way around, I have no idea if that is even possible. When I got to the furthest point I chose to go, I could see a path down in the bottom of the crater, but I don't know where that particular path started.

I loved the views of the caldera as I followed along the lip, but I didn't love the scree that made up the path. It kept getting stuck in my shoes, which wasn't fun. Take 5 steps, stop and shake out the shoes, take 5 steps, stop and shake out the shoes. Rather annoying.

Eventually I headed back to the bus stop, I only had to wait about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, I got confused with the direction the bus would be going. I let a bus go by, thinking it would loop around and come back. It didn't, argh. I had to wait another hour for the next bus to come, and I spent the whole time thinking I was an idiot. Oh well.

When I got back to Las Palmas I walked along the east side of the city, more or less along the water. I saw a couple beaches of people playing volleyball, though they were mostly in the shade and wind by that point. The west side beaches have many more people in the afternoon.

I found an office for a ferry company, and bought a ticket (speaking only in Spanish, yay!!) for a ferry the next morning. Easy enough, then I walked over to the western side of town, and took in another sunset. This one was a whole lot better.

After dinner I walked back to my hostel and packed up. Since I knew I would be up early the next morning I didn't want to wake anyone else, and I wanted to sleep as long as I could. I warned my roommates that I would be up early, but would try to be as quiet as possible.

I don't think I woke anyone the next morning when I woke up and was out the door at 0600. I walked to the bus stop next to the ferry company office, then boarded their bus. 30 minutes later it departed and took everyone to the boat. Security and boarding were easy. I found a chair, then dozed a bit while the boat moved me from one island to another.

Las Palmas isn't a tourist destination. There are definitely hotels and restaurants geared toward tourists, but the beach isn't beautiful. It's the capital city of the island, and felt more like a place where people live a 'normal' life.