Playa de Las Canteras

Playa de Las Canteras

Just north of the beach, a natural reserve area starts with a completely different (volcanic?) landscape starts:

La isleta

Street art near the beach

While we had been lucky with the weather, our last day was cloudy and cooler. At least we only intended to walk around the city that day. The northern section of the city is popular for the beach while the further south the old town of Vegueta and the shopping area of Triana is also worth seeing.

We spent the afternoon walking around the these areas and while pleasant, it wouldn’t be worth a detour in my opinion.

Vegueta and Triana

Vegueta and Triana

Vegueta and Triana

Gabinete Literario in Las Palmas

After some cocktails nearby, we had dinner at 200 gramos Burgers – highly recommended and probably (sadly) one of the best meals I had during this week.

200 gramos Burger – Plaza Cairasco, nº3 (Triana)

The last day we started the day with a visit to Mercado del Puerto, sort of a Spanish version of a high-end food court. What was on offer was really tasty but it was clearly a place you’d go to at night as it wasn’t really impressive in the morning.

Mercado del Puerto

On the way to the airport we stopped at the fishermen’s village of San Cristóbal on the outskirts of the city and enjoyed a very tasty local fish stew.

San Cristóbal

Beach in San Cristóbal

From there it was just a short drive back to the airport and before we knew it, we were back on a plane towards cold and snowy northern Europe.

Good-bye Gran Canaria!

Conclusion of my “experiment”

I booked this trip primarily to see the sun again and enjoy warm temperatures. There weren’t many reasonably priced options available and Gran Canaria was relatively easily accessible. And I did see plenty of sun and was able to walk around in shorts. Goal achieved.

However I also wanted to see whether I’d like a destination that I primarily associated with mass tourism. Would I find places that are off the beaten path and still feel special? Would I like it? 

I had a great week but I don’t think I’d return. Yes, you can make an effort and find corners that are not yet conquered by mass tourism, but it is not easy. But those corners are scarce. Maybe one day I’ll check out one of the other Canary Islands but with more research done beforehand.

The super modern highway doesn’t go all the way around the island and unfortunately a stretch of the local road leading up north was closed. So we took the highway counter clockwise towards Puerto de las Nieves were we would be spending the night. The island isn’t that big and from the southwest to the northwest around the island the long way would only take us a bit over an hour.

Our first stop however was the lovely town of Agüimes about half way where we had lunch.

Agüimes

As we were there over lunch, the town was very sleepy.

Agüimes

Templo Parroquial de San Sebastian

Templo Parroquial de San Sebastian

After another 45mins or so we reached Agaete and the nearby port village, Puerto de las Nieves. The weather was gorgeous and not windy at all, a nice change after the sometimes chilly wind in the south.

Puerto de las Nieves

Puerto de las Nieves

The port is used mainly for the fast ferry service to Tenerife, which just takes over an hour. From the port you can also see El Dedo de Dios (god’s finger) – or at least what is left as a storm had blown away the top of the stone structure in November 2005.

We stayed right in the center of town at the Hotel El Cabo. Good value for money but extremely thin walls and our room was on the ground floor next to the reception and the street. 

Hotel El Cabo

There are several fish restaurants near the harbor with good views, reasonable prices and below-average-touristy menues. We enjoyed our evening there with some fresh fish.

Fred Olsen speed ferry about to leave for Tenerife

Dinner in Puerto de las Nieves

The next morning we checked out of our hotel and drove to a nearby finca where they produce wine as well as oranges (amongst other things). It caught our attention through good ol’ Tripadvisor and it was really worth the short drive from Agaete. The Bodega Finca La Laja welcomes visitors and conducts tours explaining how the microclimate in the town is favorable to growing all kinds of fruits as well as coffee! We could really feel the difference in climate, even though it was just a short distance from Agaete.

Bodega Finca La Laja

Different stages of coffee preparation at Bodega Finca La Laja

For six Euro you get a tour as well as a wine tasting along with snacks. Well worth it! 

That concluded our trip to the northern coast and we left towards the capital of Las Palmas. I really liked Agaete and Puerto de las Nieves. Much more laid back than the south and while there are tourists, it feels like as if the town had managed to preserve some of its identity. Sure, the beaches aren’t as white sandy as in the south, but the character more than makes up for it.

We first stopped at the dunes of Maspalomas. I was pleasantly surprised – right next to an overcrowded beach are these big dunes and if you crop the photo right, it really looks like you could be somewhere in a desert (unless you see the ocean in the background):

Dunes of Maspalomas

Dunes of Maspalomas

Dunes of Maspalomas

Dunes of Maspalomas

About a 20 minutes walk from the dunes, we stopped for lunch at Playa del Ingles. Wow. That was bad. Really bad. Dozens of stalls, all with identical menues, consisting of pages and pages of junk food translated in about six languages. Apparently the predominately English, German and Scandinavian guests prefer spaghetti, lasagna, fish and chips and other similar dishes over local cuisine. While the beach was decent, it really wasn’t a place where I’d want to spend much time, save for my entire vacation.

Playa del Inglés

We headed back to our rental car and started driving towards our hotel. A quick word on hotels. When I booked the trip, based on the fact that flights were cheap and school holidays were over, I guessed that high season was over and hotels should be readily available. Wrong. Everything was sold out and the few places that were still available charged outrageous amounts for what they offered. I have no issue paying a bit more for a hotel but if its a crappy hotel for a four star price, I am not down for that. The solution ended up being the Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort on points. 10’000 points got us a standard room at this very nice resort.

Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort

Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort

Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort daybeds

While it was chilly because of the strong winds, we nevertheless enjoyed an afternoon in the sun.

The next morning we continued our drive along the coast and first stopped in the town of Puerto de Mogán. While definitely very picturesque, it was at the same time also extremely touristy and more or less devoid of any local life. Nevertheless worth a small detour for the views.

Puerto de Mogán

Puerto de Mogán

We again faced the same issue of overpriced accomodation with little choice. One of the few decent options was an apartment hotel, the Cala Blanca. For some reason, they two-bedroom apartments were cheaper than their one-bedroom units and we ended up staying at large unit for less than 100 Euro per night. The hotel is located in a bay called Taurito. I have never seen anything like it. The whole bay was covered in hotels. There was no local house or anything but just the entire bay covered in hotels, most of them ugly, some abandoned. While the views were beautiful, it just felt somewhat wrong staying in a place with such a lack of character.

Our apartment in the Cala Brava hotel

This is Taurito…

…and because it is so ugly, here’s another one.

The view from our balcony.

We were glad to be moving on to the northern coast the next morning.

While the scenery in the south is stunning, it is remarkable how the coast has been sacrificed to mass tourism. I’m sure it has created a lot of jobs and is currently doing extremely well with all the uncertainty ongoing in Turkey, Tunisia and other “competitors”. But it just wasn’t my cup of tea really.

Fataga just after sunrise

One of the many alleys in Fataga

On our first day we went hiking – either we didn’t find the proper trails or the hiking is not for the beginners. The views were great but the hiking was exhausting.

Fataga from above

View towards the East

View towards the South

Back in town we had lunch and then set out in our Volkswagen Polo to explore the center of the island. The first stop was the town of San Bartolomé de Tirajana with its beautiful church.

Iglesia de San Bartolomé

San Bartolomé de Tirajana

Our journey continued towards Tejeda. On our way there, we stopped near Gran Canaria’s most famous landmark, the Roque Nublo. It is a 67m tall volcanic rock, reaching about 1800 meters above sea level.

Roque Nublo

Roque Nublo

From there it was about another half an hour to reach the town of Tejeda, probably one of our highlights of the trip. The town is very well preserved and just beautiful with its white buildings.

Tejeda

Tejeda

Tejeda

There is also an outstanding bakery on the main road, the Dulceria Nublo which shouldn’t be missed!

After walking around for a while, we started to make our way back to Fataga which took a bit over an hour. While the roads are narrow and there are a number of switchbacks, all roads in Gran Canaria are of exceptionally good quality.

While we did of course see tourists wherever we went, it was mostly individual travelers. All the three towns we visited are really charming and in their own way unique. So already on the first day, I thought it was worth coming to the island.

Just had to escape this weather

After some research, the most viable options seemed to be the Canary island of Gran Canaria – home to year round warm temperatures and plenty of sun even in January. Competition for airfare is tough and I was able to snag tickets for a total of EUR125 return – not too bad for a 4.5hrs flight. 

While I’ve never been to any of the seven Canary Islands (El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, Lanzarote, La Palma and Tenerife), I knew that most of them had succumbed to the lucrative mass tourism. While this is usually enough to deter me from going to a destination, I also knew from a prior trip to the the Balearic island of Mallorca that the hinterland of such islands can be charming and (slightly) off the tourist trail.

So I asked myself: can I travel to a mass tourism destination and yet still find places off the beaten path and travel the way I like it?

Taurito – mass tourism at its “best”

So I decided to give it a shot and hopefully find some charismatic spots in the mountains and the less touristy North.

I didn’t really prepare much for this trip. A few days before departure I booked a car for EUR104 for the six days. Once I started looking at hotel options, I was slightly surprised to discover that most options are sold out and what little was remaining, was pricey for what it was. Previously I figured that since it school holidays were over, the Christmas/New Year’s peak season was over – apparently not.

One of the countless all-you-can-eat-buffets at Playa del Inglés

In the end I ended up booking a place in a small village about an hour away from the airports. We’d stay there for two nights, giving us some time to get a feel for the island and figure out where we’d go next.

Fagata where we spent the first two nights

For this trip report I’ll first share the itinerary, followed by an installment each on the mountain villages, the Southern Coast, the Northern Coast and the capital city of Las Palmas. Stay tuned.

We did find the beautiful and charming villages!