In terms of vacation, we did something totally different in spending a week on the island of Gran Canaria in Spain (located off the coast of Morocco). While I doubt I would do it again, I look back with fond memories on the week with my wife’s side of the family in a very unique place.
Reflections On A Trip To Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria has a diameter of 31 miles and a surface area of about 600 square miles. But its mountainous switchback roads on the backside one the island (reaching points of over 6,000 feet) make for difficult driving and a very different feeling than in metropolitan Las Palmas.
But the views were beautiful:
The driving was also beautiful, though very difficult….even with automatic transmission.
We stayed at an Airbnb on the El Hoyo area of the island, still technically with a Las Palmas address, but a good 45-minute drive from the airport or central Las Palmas. We chose that place (not knowing how far out it was) because it was a three-bedroom house with a swimming pool. The accommodation was nice…I’ll offer more details in a separate segment.
I hate beaches. Everyone else loves beaches. Therefore, I lost and we spent many afternoons on the beach.
Meanwhile, I just sat under an umbrella and read a book while the rest of my family frolicked about in the water.
Thankfully, there was more than just beaches. We spent one day at the aquarium.
We also just explored the island, stopping in different towns and villages for walks and time on the playground.
Most of the cooking we did ourselves, but we did go out a couple times.
The most annoying thing was the lack of wireless internet on the island. Our Airbnb had internet, but it was painfully difficult to find on the island (even Burger King did not have it) and I never really got the internet to work in the few places that had wireless networks. Furthermore, my T-Mobile coverage did not work at all, not even at EDGE speeds. Thankfully, Google let me download maps in advance or I would have been SOL.
I much prefer cities or mountains to islands like this, but I did appreciate how quiet it was. Part of it was due to the pandemic, but the island never seemed crowded. At times, we would go for miles and miles without passing another car on the road.
CONCLUSION
While I am not in any rush to get back to Las Palmas, it did provide a nice change of pace after a month in Germany. I’m not a beach or sun person, which makes the Canary Islands less attractive to me, but there is beauty here and I am glad I checked it out and most importantly, got to spend a week with my German family here.
This is part of my summer in Germany trip report.
Did you get to visit Maspalomas? The sand dunes there are incredibly beautiful. However, the area is quite unappealing with its many tourist-stay concrete buildings. The northern part of the island has much more culture than Maspalomas which is in the southern part.
Not sure what’s not to like about the place. Maybe you don’t like beaches so any beach location wouldn’t be good for you.
You never struck me as a Canaries guy.
Ahh, Matthew, if I’d known you were doing this trip last year… I hail from Gran Canaria even though I’ve lived in the UK for 10 years (and off the island for 21), would’ve loved to have given you some tips & shared local knowledge. Seems from the pictures you did great in avoiding some of the (non-pandemic) tourist traps, though, so tip of the hat to you!
You know what this world needs? Someone correct me if this already exists, but there needs to be a crowd-sourced “find-a-playground” app for traveling families who have some extra time and wiggly kids. Sure, Google maps shows playgrounds, but they’re often lumped together with parks with no explanation of how big they are or what age group they’re best for. Sometimes Google maps will claim a park has a playground when it has a single swing, which doesn’t really count (at least not if you have more than one kid). Maybe I’ll just have to make that app.
Agree. I’ve been to a ton of cities with my kids and most of the best times have been experiencing local playgrounds. Fun way to see a city.
You almost became an honorary cultural European, but you fell short by not taking a packed charter flight to stay at an all-inclusive Gran Canaria hotel without having a rental car. Maybe next time. Just kidding.
maps.me app makes maps available offline all the time so you don’t need to download on Google Maps just FYI
Nice review. Gran Canaria has been a “need to visit” list for me so this was good insight from a trusted source.
I’ve heard that the NT Wright book is a little light on the resulting punishment (hell) for sinners that don’t come to faith in Christ but otherwise is supposed to be a good book. Nice “light” beach reading 🙂
Put Tenerife on your list as well. All the Canary Islands have something different to offer as well as micro climates.
Did Tiffany scare you away from Google Fi? In the last year they’ve upped the throttle limit, added unlimited calling throughout Canada and Mexico, and lowered the price. It literally keeps getting better every day. I’ve never had issues with LTE speeds anywhere. I don’t get the argument for T-mobile. Google has never ever let me down.
Have a hard time understanding the attraction of Canary Islands when the coast of Morocco, which is largely unspoiled and culturally unique, is right next door. Dakhla is a true gem of an area as an example. Nothing like nearly 2K miles of remote coastline with a decent infrastructure to make for a perfect adventure. Glad you went, and probably better as a larger family vacation, but Canary Islands is def not on my list.
I must have missed something in Dakhla because while somewhat bustling for its remote location, I never viewed it as a replacement for the Canaries in any way. One night and done… I was happy to leave! Thought compared to Nouadhibou, I suppose it did somewhat feel like an island paradise.
You were unlucky with Wifi, I think. In Lanzarote, I cannot recall when a Wifi spot wasn’t working.
I hope you enjoyed the aquarium. I do like aquaria, but the one in LP is way below par, in my books.
Nice article, but aren’t you always on vacation? According to your posts you seem to be on year round vacation. You are fortunate.
I’m blessed.
Just another boaring travel writer then. Don’t think I need say any more. You’re all the same and miss about 90% of what different destinations offer. Airbnb and not having WIFI sums you up perfectly imo..
It’s spelled boring, dear.