Gran Canaria Vic & Dave visit 17 to 24 April 2011

17 April Easyjet brought Vic & Dave on time to Las Palmas , Gran Canaria, to join us on Dutch Link. We were very fortunate as bad weather (high winds and flooding) in the other Canary islands had resulted in flight cancellations on 17th.

After lunch we had a stroll along the sea front of Playa de las Canteras to the north of the city

Due to the unusual southern winds, most of the Las Palmas population seemed to have flocked to the sheltered north facing beach


The dinasaur sand sculpture had been further enhanced since our lst visit.
The next day we had a walk around the old city,


and visited the Cuatro Puertos archeological site in the afternoon



and the Guayadeque Barranco
with its cave church, restaurants and dwellings
The almonds were almost ripe
Tuesday 19 April we drove into the mountainous centre of the island and hiked past the "hooded Monk" to Roque Nublo.
and had an adreneline kick scrambling around its base

Visited the cave village of Cuevas de Acusa Seca
Prickly pears with Roque Bentaiga in the distance
Passed another , more elaborate troglodite community


Some of the many banana plantation Canary style "greenhouses".
The impressive North east coastline
At daybreak on 21st April Dutch Link became a sailing boat again and we left Las Palmas heading south.
After the first hour the wind picked up to a 4 Bft from the northwest allowing us to turn off the engine and sail on a broad reach
The wind steadily strengthened peaking at 6 Bft as we entered the wind acceleration zone half way down the east coast. During the passage we were briefly entertained by a school of playful dolphins around the bow and several sightings of spoutings from a surfacing whale in the distance.
After rounding the SE tip of the island, we lost the wind and motored.

The route took us past the famous Maspalomas sand dunes

By 1700 hrs we were moored in the pretty marina of Puerto de Mogan in the south west of Gran Canaria.
Puerte de Mogan taken from the north
Had an enjoyable hike to Playa Veneguera over the hills to the west of Puerte de Mogan
Decided not to make the descent to the beach, instead enjoyed our bocadillos sitting on a wall overlooking it

Sadly, at 0800 24 April it was time to leave us and Vic and Dave were taken by car by a friend of our friendly boat neighbour, Maxime, to the airport in Las Palmas.

Gran Canaria Eleanor Visit 21 to 26 March 2011

21st March Eleanor arrived on time by Easyjet as planned - unfortunately we were a little late at the pick up as the arrival formalities went much quicker than anticipated.
Marina Las Palmas

The next day we visited the Guayadeque valley with its many caves, cave church, cave homes and cave restuarantes.
The beautiful blossom that we were treated to last time we were there had all gone and the trees were busy producing the almonds.


Stopped briefly at the School of Embroidery in Ingenio and admired their handiwork


On the way back, we explored the Quatro Puertas (4 doors) caves archeological site



However, the most spectacular caves with superb views over the countryside were the Cueva de los Pilares caves on the other side of the hill, accessed by an "interesting" scramble along the steep cliff face.



In one of the caves were geometric rock paintings similar to those at Galdar in the north east of the island



The direct road back to Las Palmas was closed for repair. In our attempts to find a quick alternative route back we were stopped by these canine guards whose job seems to be to repel all strangers from this private residential compound.
The next day saw us hot footing it to the south of Gran Canaria to find the sun, where we joined seemingly endless streams of lemminglike crowds marching determinedly along the water's edge at the side of the dunes on Playa des Ingles in Maspalomas.

Couldn't resist an icecream at a cafe with a view over the dunes.

Continued along the coast to the pretty, modern resort of Puerto de Mogan where we had lunch.

Took the mountain route back - many hairpin bends on narrow steeply winding roads.

With stunning views, including that of Roque Nublo

Stopped in Tejeda to sample the almond pastries and almond icecream
whilst admiring the views of Roque Bentayga

On past the Cruz de Tejeda
with a brief stop in Teror to admire the balconies and the church Nuestra Senora del Pino
Thursday saw us at the Jardin Botanico Canario where we admired, amongst other plants, the huge cactii




The weed filled pond was full of wildlife, including moorhens and their brood
Eleanor spotted this colourful beetle
Visited the nearby Pico de Bandama from which one has a superb view of Las Palmas as well as the Bandama caldera
The caldera gets its name from a Dutchman Daniel von Damme who grew vines inside the crater in the 16th century

Friday had a relaxing start with coffee and appelgebak on the aftdeck
Then had a walk into the old part of Las Palmas and visited the Santa Anna Cathedral and the Casa de Colon

Every time we visit the house where Christopher Colombus is supposed to have stayed there seem to be new exhibits. This time the room with maps showing his various voyages has been extended with copies of the first world charts from the 15th / 16th century - very interesting.

Had to have another icecream at the Fiordilatte icecream parlor

Then took the 17 bus to the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium

and the ladies paddled along the Playa de las Canteras
as the sun set over Galdar

admiring the sand sculptures


26th March came all too quickly and sadly Eleanor had to return to London.