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.