We had originally planned on a Moroccan desert trip over Spring Break, but the timing didn't work out. We ended up trading the idea of sleeping in the sand for sleeping near the water, and flew to the Canary Islands. This turned out to be one of our best travel decisions yet!
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| How 'bout them new hats!? |
The archipelago of the Canaries make up the southernmost part of Spain. Located about 65 miles west of southern Morocco (but, much further from Casa), the islands are closer to Africa than mainland Europe. The chain is comprised of seven main islands, Tenerife, Fueteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The islands are what remain of some extinct, very large volcanos and are sometimes called "Spain's Hawaii."
The Canaries were known in ancient Rome as the Fortunate Islands. Initially inhabited by the Guanches, they were discovered for the western world during the first century BC by King Juba. The islands became a part of Spain in 1496, and Christopher Columbus spent time there, stopping to restock provisions before heading out on expeditions to the New World. Explorers and conquistadors for the next century used the Canaries as a stopover between Europe and the Americas. In addition, some historians conjecture that Atlantis, the legendary city, was located in the Canaries.
Richard and I settled on visiting the island of Gran Canaria, as it seemed to have more diversity than the others. A true tourist destination, Gran Canaria is considered to have "the best climate in the world."
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| Dogo Canario, remains an ancient symbol on the island of Grand Canaria |
I read a few different stories about how Gran Canaria was named, but they all agree it had nothing to do with the small, yellow bird. Islas Canarias, from the Latin Insula Canaria, translates into "Island of the Dogs." One account says that large dogs called Canes, aka Canary Mastiffs, lived on the islands. They were important to the customs and myths of the Guanches people. Another says the islands were actually named after a species of Monk Seals (AKA Sea Dogs). It is said they were worshiped and treated like holy animals. Monk seals are currently an endangered species and no longer live in the islands. Yet another reference states the first dogs discovered were actually small terriers or spaniels. At any rate, you get the idea of how the name was derived.
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| The dog symbol was seen at the entrance to our hotel in two large statues |
We arrived at the Las Palmos, Gran Canaria airport on Sunday evening, following a 600-mile, 4 and 1/2 hour plane ride from Casa, including a brief stop over in Tenerife. The hotel shuttle got us to the Gloria Palace Amadores Thalasso Hotel in the nearby town of Puerto Rico by 8PM.
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| Breakfast each day was excellent |
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| Balcony where we ate breakfast each morning |
Day One:
We awoke on Monday morning to a beautiful, sunny day. After eating way too much at the buffet breakfast (Richard was in heaven with the protein smorgasbord), we decided to spend our first day exploring the area around our hotel.
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| Plantings, slate and the man |
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The balconies are asymmetrically constructed
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The hotel itself is a marvel and is built into the volcanic rock hills. The four buildings or "blocks" of the resort are natural looking, made of slate and stone, and blend in with the scenery. We enjoyed swimming and sitting by one of the two infinity pools on the property.
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| Interesting view from the glass elevator, taken from the reflection on the ceiling |
There are two glass elevators to allow guests easy access to the water. The well-kept stone Paseo Martimo promenade is lined with flowers, cactus and other plantings, and goes up and down the nearby coast in both directions.
During the day we walked in both directions; southeast to the Playa Puerto Rico Beach, and northwest to the Playa Amadores Beach. Along the way, we were able to view the stunning scenery of the rocky shore with its blue-tone water, and watch the boats in the bay.
Both beach destinations are sandy, with calm turquoise-colored ocean and plenty of lounge chairs in which to sit. The volcanic rocks form a natural breakwater, making it a relaxed and safe area in which to play in the ocean.
A delicious dinner and a lovely sunset ended a very relaxing Monday.
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| Delicious dinner looking at the boats in the bay |
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| View from the hotel at the end of a perfect day |
Day Two:
Wednesday began with another pleasant ocean-view breakfast at the hotel. Then we walked to the harbor Puerto Base and boarded The Spirit of the Sea, a vessel designed for dolphin watching. We chose to take the 2-hour excursion.
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| Boats in the harbor |
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| More boats in the harbor |
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| Cool pirate ship in the harbor |
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Leaving the harbor for the open sea
Striped dolphin |
Upon boarding we cruised for about 45 minutes before the captain spotted the tell-tale signs of possible dolphins, that is, seagulls swimming in the distance. Sure enough, there they were . . . hundreds of dolphins. As we got closer, both adult and baby dolphins of all types flirted from the sea with us humans on the boat. Interestingly, 29 different species of dolphin have been seen in the Canaries, of the 79 identified around the world. This was an experience we won't soon forget.
A funny anecdote: When we were on the boat, I leaned over the bow, emulating the famous Titanic scene, for a photo. Like Rose, my arms were spread and the wind was blowing in my face. Yikes - - my new straw hat blew off, bounced off an old man with no reflexes, and finally flew into the ocean. But, all was not lost! Our vessel immediately stopped, and some boaters who had happened by, who were friends with the owners of the dolphin cruise, retrieved the hat for me. Much applause was offered by all and I was an immediate celebrity! :-)
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for lunch at Oscar's restaurant, where we discovered our waiter was from Morocco. I happened to have a Sidi ali bottle (a Moroccan brand of water) with me and he saw it on the table. He was surprised to learn we lived there, and we had a great conversation with him.
Actually, very few Moroccans visit the Canary Islands, which is weird to me considering its close proximity to northwest Africa. We met a lot of Europeans, some Scandinavians and even one American couple while we were there. However, most of the visitors are German; I read that 1/3 of Germans vacation in the Canaries.
We finished the day with an unusual dinner that was quite tasty.
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| My dinner, before . . . |
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| . . . and after. Delicious. |
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| Oh yeah, beef, shrimp and papas arrugadas (Canary Island wrinkly, "salt-kissed" potatoes) |
Day three, our land tour, coming soon. . .
