Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
This is the last island we will visit in the Canary Islands. We are skipping Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro.
We arrived in the early afternoon after an easy but bouncy two hour ferry trip across the Atlantic from Fuerteventura. It was an easy walk over over to our room once we got out of the ferry harbor. We are staying in the Bed and Chic, a small local hotel in an old building that has been totally refurbished inside.
We have a great room again, large, with two entire walls of windows making the room cool and light. The location by the port is good, and we are only 100 yards from the main underground bus station so it will be easy to catch the #60 direct to the airport.
We are right on a park, all trees and statues, lined by cafés. Over past the shoe-shine boy statue we picked a café for a quick snack of crispy orange duck, shrimp with mojo, water and wine. Then we set out to explore.
If you think of the city of Las Palmas as a sort of sideways V shape, we are at the point of the >
Along the lower arm is waterfront; the harbor and a beach. Along the upper arm is a long long series of beaches. The middle of the > has a main shopping street, and furthest away from us (we are at the point) is the “old city” with cathedral and pedestrian streets. It is actually pretty easy to get around if you think of it that way, so after a glance at the map we just headed out, along the lower arm.
We walked over four miles all along the paved promenade, first through a huge open paved square where they hold the Sunday Market, then along the beach Playa de Alcaravaneras.
There is a pedestrian underpass to cross the main road, and as we went under the promenade still went on in front of us for how much longer? As near as I can tell on Google Maps, it extends another seven or eight kilometers.
Well, we followed it just to the old city area. Here is the Catedral de Santa Ana, not as old as many of the cathedrals on mainland Europe, but still impressive. There are statues of dogs out in front, and a large empty square.
Inside the stained glass windows are not so impressive, nor is the interior gaudy, but what is so unique is the way the light enters through the windows, painting the walls and columns, even the air in a rainbow. I have only seen this effect once or twice before and it is delicate and beautiful.
Around the cathedral is a small section of old buildings, all different colors. With the palm trees, flowers and fountains you really get a nice, relaxed tropical - colonial vibe.
Around this area, and leading back to our hotel at the point of the > is a combination of pedestrian and business streets. The main part is called Triana, which is the pedestrian area of shops and restaurants. In this jumble of streets we found a good local bar to stop for great wine (at €2 a glass we could have stayed all afternoon), several parks including one with two copper frogs spitting across a pool at each other.
At another park there was a very cool statue, and curved slopes of tiled concrete that the local kids were sledding on using cardboard. There was another funny statue - fountain of a naked girl peeking around from behind rocks, as a naked guy fell headfirst off the top. We walked past the Cuban Embassy (?) before finding a bakery where we bought good sandwiches to enjoy with wine for dinner.
We walked over eleven miles this afternoon and evening just exploring the area.
It’s very odd here, how it is dark with no dawn right up until about 7:45 then LIGHT!
Again at sunset, no real lingering light, just DARK!
It is like Costa Rica in that way and I wonder if it has to do with being near the equator?
People on Gran Canaria are late starters. At 7:45 most bars, bakeries and cafés are still closed, but I found an “early” bakery open at 7:30 for €1 espresso.
It is a gloomy cool overcast morning, almost cold, and people walk by in light jackets.
When Gail wakes up we get breakfast at the same bakery then head up the street. Today we are going to walk the top leg of the >
This is the Paseo de Las Canteras promenade, which runs all along Las Palmas’ big beach, Playa de las Canteras.
The Paseo is lined with restaurants and a few stores, topped by hotels and condos. Though it is cloudy there are some people on the beach, others surfing or paddle boarding (its a Long Beach) and it is a colorful scene. There are palm trees and sitting areas under metal shade arbors covered with flowering vines. We pass a couple big Sand sculptures, and various statues and monuments.
At the upper end there are colorful old fishing boats on blocks, a reminder that not too long ago this was a fishing town not a tourist area.
A sign tells how Moby Dick was filmed here 1954, with Gregory Peck. The script was by Ray Bradbury of all people. “...This is the most important movie ever in the Canary Islands....”
We took a break at El Tiburon Beach Bar for drinks and fries covered with cheese, bacon, onions and green mojo. It was a bit much.
Later we got two small tapas sandwiches and the cold red summer wine.
Curios And Oddities.
The Crespo Curiosity Shop.
I don’t know why I went in, there was a wooden pirate like from a ship hanging outside, and a wooden Indian. You know, tacky stuff.
But inside it was really cool with shrunken heads and Space Aliens preserved in “Radioactive Bio Hazard” jars. There were skulls and picked ears and little skeletons and a huge stuffed lizard. The best was tucked way in the back, behind some animal skulls, a “Bad Boss” voodoo doll.
I was just laughing and taking photos and trying to calculate what I could possibly buy and take home as gifts verses what would be confiscated in security and how I would explain it all.
In the end I walked away with some photos and a good laugh or two.
In the end we walked over 19 miles these two days, just exploring the streets and shores of Las Palmas.
We had an excellent last dinner in the Canaries, at Tasca La Lonja Restaurant. Up off the beach on a side street, you know it is a good place if you arrive early (19:00) to find almost every table reserved.
Gail ordered garlic shrimp, and they were the best. We could taste the roasted garlic and smokey hot hot peppers, plus the shrimp were done to perfection.
I ordered seared tuna which was great. I just needed a little more wasabi.
My main meal was fresh local fish au gratin. I assumed fish with potatoes au gratin.
Silly me.
The fish was au gratin. Really, topped with a baked cheesy sauce that was fantastic, and the potatoes were the Canadian salted with red mojo.
Wr had a couple glasses each of the two very good local wines and lingered enough to have dessert.
It was a warm chocolate brownie with very hard, cold vanilla ice cream that didn’t melt, and espresso.
At the end they comped me a whiskey and Gail a Baileys in a glass as big as she is! She practically fell into it.
Details on flying out:
There is one flight a day direct to Ponta Delgado, Azores, on SATA airlines.
Bus number 60 takes you directly to the airport from Estación de Guaguas (bus station) at San Telmo right in the city centre of the capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The first service leaves at 6:15am. The cost is €2,95. Tickets can be purchased on the bus.
It was easy.