Laying Low in Las Palmas

Las Palmas

We hunkered down in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of the Canary Islands, for the winter. (That’s the city Las Palmas, not the island of La Palma that was suffering the volcanic eruption. We were safe from the volcano, 250 km away.)

Las Palmas was popular in the 50’s when tourists started escaping the dreary European winters. Now most tourists flock 60 km south to the Maspalomas area where there is a dazzling array of hotels built into the cliffs, overlooking the turquoise blue ocean and white sand beaches. Today Las Palmas is populated mainly by locals, more “mature” tourists who have been coming for decades, and young surfers who ride the mighty waves all day long.

We lucked into the ART Las Palmas Hotel, a brand-new residential hotel. We were among the first guests in the hotel. It was close to Las Canteras Beach and its 3 km promenade lined with cafes. At each end of the promenade paths extended around the bay, so we got our exercise walking or running every morning. That is until George got stopped by the police, twice, for running on the promenade. (It’s prohibited due to Covid). Our post-walk/run ritual was to enjoy café con leche and pan tumaca (toast with tomato paste) at a cafe overlooking the beach.

Our neighbourhood was away from the main tourist area. It had a laidback local vibe. We enjoyed the small restaurants, bars and cafes around the nearby plaza, frequented mainly by locals. Every evening kids played football or that great old game, now frowned on in North America, of throwing firecrackers at each other. Meanwhile their parents socialized over coffees or wine at the surrounding cafes, oblivious to the carnage going on around them. We can’t say what the nightlife was like because most entertainment was restricted due to Covid rules.

The Old Town was only a 45 min walk away. It is a great shopping and restaurant area with lots of independent stores lining the cobbled streets.

Exploring the Island

Even though the island is small, there are multiple beautiful villages dotting the landscape. Getting to them is half the adventure. Canarian engineers have worked marvels, building a spider’s web of roads criss-crossing the island, many barely clinging to the cliffsides. Even with our white-knuckle driving we were able to cover the island, from Puerto de Mogan in the south to Galdar in the north and from Telde in the east to Agaete in the west and everything in between.

Camino de Santiago de Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is only 29 km by 86 km but is a hiker’s paradise. There are lots of well-marked trails. Most hikes involve strenuous climbing due to the volcanic terrain. There are no poisonous snakes or other wild animals to worry about. You only have to make sure rain is not in the forecast in case of flash flooding. We did several hikes, including the Barranco de Guayadeque and Caldera de los Marteles. For a small island, the contrasts between the dusty, desert-like mountains of the south, and the lush, green valleys on the rainy side of the island were startling.

The highlight was our first trek. Our first week in Gran Canaria we hiked the Camino de Santiago de Gran Canaria. It extends the length of the island, 66 km from Maspalomas in the south to Galder in the north. It was 3 tough days carrying our packs. We climbed, then descended, more than 1,700 m over rocky, steep trails. At many times we looked up, or down, cliffsides, and said to each other “there can’t be a trail there”. There always was. For the most part we had the trail to ourselves. The jagged peaks and vistas to the Atlantic Ocean in every direction were stunning.

Tenerife

There are eight islands in the Canaries. We limited our inter-island travel due to Omicron and the La Palma volcano. We only visited Tenerife, the nearest island to Gran Canaria. It is a 90-minute ferry ride from Las Palmas. It attracts millions of tourists each year from all over Europe. The capital Santa Cruz has a lot of colonial architecture, a great selection of restaurants and pedestrian streets with interesting public art works on display.

El Teide volcano, the highest peak in the Canaries, dominates the island. We rented a car to tour the surrounding National Park. We wound our way along narrow goats’ trails of roads up the mountains into the park. We emerged onto miles of barren, black lava fields left behind by the last major eruption in 1909. We then snaked our way back down the opposite side of the mountains through dense fog to Santa Cruz. About 12 hours after we left, a massive snowstorm hit the mountain, closing all the roads we had been on. Timing is everything.

Canarian Food

The Canary Islands are 1,100 km from mainland Spain, but only 100 km from Africa so there are influences of both in its cuisine. The soil on Gran Canaria is ideal for growing potatoes. One of its signature dishes is papas arrugadas, boiled potatoes with spicy red or green mojo sauce. Maria was in her glory.

Local Guide Gran Canaria

If you’re thinking of going to Gran Canaria we highly recommend checking out our friends at Local Guide Gran Canaria. They are a local couple who publish guides on hiking, restaurants, sightseeing, local activities and hidden beaches. Their advice is not what you get from corporate travel guides. It’s the kind of insider advice friends would give you if you were visiting. We relied on their restaurant and sightseeing guides, watched their Youtube videos for hiking inspiration, and downloaded their GPX tracks for hiking. Really added to our stay.