Gran Canaria

Off the northwestern coast of Africa are Spain’s Canary Islands. From Lagos our next destination was Gran Canaria island, which is known for its black lava and white sand beaches and is the starting point for the annual ARC sailing rally that crosses the Atlantic to the Caribbean. After 4 days of sailing we arrived in the night and docked at Marina Las Palmas on the north side of the island in the capital city of Las Palmas. We planned to stay here for a week to prepare for our Atlantic crossing. The only available space in this busy marina was the Super Yacht Dock, and we were offered a little space between two large yachts.

Our boat is dwarfed by super yachts on all sides

ARC participants paint images of their yacht on the rocks along the marina

I had always wanted to visit the Canary Islands. I had visions of a chain of small islands with quaint fishing villages and an unhurried pace of life. It turned out to be anything but that! Gran Canaria, especially the city of Las Palmas is a very modern European city with a highly developed infrastructure. The network of roads in the city, is quite advanced with flyovers, many tunnels, and superbly engineered bridges. There are high-end stores, shopping malls and many cafes and restaurants that cater to the influx of cruise ships and international vacationers. The beaches can be crowded with minimally clad Europeans, hairy men parading in tiny speedos (and even thongs), a sight that can scar you forever!!

Las Canteras Beach popular among vacationers

Parking Adventure

We continue to work at our jobs while we cruise. This can be challenging, but we find ways to stay connected with our clients. For an important meeting, Swagata was able to find a co-working place, that provided her a professional office for a zoom call. The owner of the place Soppa de Azul went out of his way to accommodate the late night meeting. It turned out that he was a graduate of UC Boulder!

We parked our rental car at a nearby parking garage as on street parking was only allowed for a maximum of 3 hours. After Swagata’s meeting ended, close to midnight, we went to retrieve our car. Imagine our shock to find all entrances into the underground garage locked with access only allowed with a parking ticket. Our parking ticket was resting safely on the dash of our car two stories below ground. Not a soul could be seen around. From one dark corner a hoarse voice asked if we needed help. We walked away quickly. It seemed like our only option was to call a cab and come back the next day to pick up our rental car. As we stood around, pondering next steps, the overhead door to the garage started opening and the headlights of a car appeared. Within a fraction of a second, we were high tailing down the ramp into the garage. We scurried past the car catching a brief glimpse of the nervous occupants staring at us!

Vegueta

We spent some time in the historic city center of Vegueta, which was the original settlement on the island prior to Las Palmas. Its streets and squares contain many historic buildings. Our taxi took us to Plaza Santa Ana where there was an awards ceremony in progress for a trail running race. We lingered to watch various participants claim their prizes. You could feel the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd.

As we walked down the cobbled streets, we would come across a historic building of some import around every corner. The historic facades are well preserved.

Left: Ornate balconies and entryways were a hallmark of most buildings we saw.
Right: Ermita de San Antonio Abad where Christopher Columbus prayed during his stop at Gran Canaria

Galdar

The next day we drove along the northern coast of the island to the town of Galdar. This was the capital of one of the ancient kingdoms of the island before the Spanish conquest of Gran Canaria. Like Vegueta, it has many historic buildings. Although we enjoy admiring these buildings, we are more fascinated by the local indoor markets (mercados). Here we get a glimpse of the local produce and life as people go about doing their daily shopping. There is fresh farmed produce, fish, meats, and an intriguing array of locally made jams, sauces and pickled items.

Plaza de Santiago

Mercado in Galdar

Joining us for our Atlantic crossing is a new crew member Andy McCluskie, a Scotsman living in Ireland. Andy is a friend of a friend who sailed with me in the Pacific from Galapagos to Marquesas. Andy has sailed since he was a kid and is now trying to get the necessary certifications and documented miles to go pro.

Hiking the Caldera de Bandama

No visit to the islands is complete without experiencing its wild outdoors. The hike along the rim of the Caldera de Bandama is truly different than any other hikes we have done. The vast landscape, the striking vegetation along the trail, and the lovely fragrance of the Canary White Broom blossoms made this a very memorable hike. The Caldera is 3300 ft wide and 700 ft deep. The drop-off on each side is steep. The aloe vera bushes towered above the trail in many places. In the distance you can see the coastline and the city of Las Palmas. Deep inside the caldera are remnants of a farm with ruins of a few houses. I wonder why they abandoned their homes. Did they hear rumbling under their feet?

Our stay in Gran Canaria was short and we did not have time to visit any of the other towns or islands as we were busy preparing for our Atlantic crossing. We can safely add the Canary Islands to the long list of places that we must revisit.