Hola! Here is our second and final blog about our Gran Canaria, trip. Learning about the land.
Day Three:
Day Three:
On Wednesday, we moved from sea to land, and explored the northern, central, and southern areas of the island. The terrain around our hotel, located in the south, is dry and arid, almost desert-like (reminding us of Casa). The north and central portions were more humid, with lush, green terrain.
As we wound our way into the mountains, the natural green vegetation increased. The roads were very windy, and our driver had to honk his horn often to warn oncoming traffic that we were taking up both lanes.
Barranco de Guayadeque was our first stop. We visited a cave house that is inhabited even today. We saw a small cave church, as well as a cave pub. There was even a cave house for sale; I wonder how much they are asking for the place.
Stop number two was an aloe vera farm. They grow a type of aloe called Barbadenis Miller, known for its medicinal properties. Gran Canaria is an ideal place to cultivate the plant, and we heard about its many uses. We also learned that green is not its true color, and any "aloe" product that color is very likely dyed and contains little or no aloe. We bought some foot cream, and a bottle of aloe back massage cream that really helps sore muscles.
We continued north and stopped in a little town called Firgas. Its charming main street is beautifully decorated with a waterfall which cascades down an alleyway. There are also 21 mosaic ceramic benches along the fountain, each representing a municipality on the island. In addition, the seven islands are shown with relief artistic sculptures. We also saw a pretty church and some typical Spanish architecture.
Our journey was now leading us into even higher altitudes. We got to see some spectacular views of high peaks and deep ravines.
We stopped at a restaurant built in the Spanish style, and ate a nice lunch while enjoying an incredible view.
The highest point of our trek was was Cruz de Tejeda, a whopping 1450 meters above sea level. We stopped at a lookout there and saw view of the beautiful town of Tejada.
At this stop, we also got to view Roque Nublo and Roque Betayga, two natural symbols of Gran Canaria.
Roque Nublo means Cloud rock, as this high rock often disappears in the mist and clouds. Standing 80 meters tall, this famous rock could clearly be seen the day we were there. It is one of the biggest free-standing rocks in the world.
Roque Betayga is another unique rock formation. It was sacred to the original inhabitants of the island, and they used to worship in the caves there.
We continued driving, eventually passing through the Valley of a Thousand Palms, and ending up at our final stop. At the little town of Fataga we saw more traditional architecture of the Canaries, and there was also time to shop. I bought a pretty necklace made of lava rock, and some gifts for friends.
Driving back toward the south and our hotel, we noticed the landscape changing from green back to brown tones. These contrasts have caused grand Canaria to be nicknamed the "Miniature Continent."
We had one more night at the hotel, and the next morning to walk down to the beach one last time. What a fantastic trip and more memories to store away.
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| Vegetation getting greener |
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| Windy roads |
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| Structures built into the mountain |
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| Looking out of the cave house |
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| Cave house dining room |
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| Cave house bedroom |
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| Cave house bedroom |
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| Entrance to the cave church |
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| Inside of the cave church |
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| What's a blog post without a Richard statue imitation? |
 Cave pub |
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| Cave dwelling for sale |
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| An aloe greenhouse |
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| She taught us all about aloe |
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| This is the real color of aloe |
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| These aloe plants are decades old, in fact they "never die"; just remove the lower branches and they live on and on |
Our journey was now leading us into even higher altitudes. We got to see some spectacular views of high peaks and deep ravines.
We stopped at a restaurant built in the Spanish style, and ate a nice lunch while enjoying an incredible view.
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| Spanish restaurant with a beautiful view! |
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| View from the restaurant |
The highest point of our trek was was Cruz de Tejeda, a whopping 1450 meters above sea level. We stopped at a lookout there and saw view of the beautiful town of Tejada.
At this stop, we also got to view Roque Nublo and Roque Betayga, two natural symbols of Gran Canaria.
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Roque Nublo |
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| Roque Betayga in the distance |
We continued driving, eventually passing through the Valley of a Thousand Palms, and ending up at our final stop. At the little town of Fataga we saw more traditional architecture of the Canaries, and there was also time to shop. I bought a pretty necklace made of lava rock, and some gifts for friends.
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| Town of Fataga |
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| Pretty church in the town |
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| I love my necklace made of silver and Canaria volcanic rock |
We had one more night at the hotel, and the next morning to walk down to the beach one last time. What a fantastic trip and more memories to store away.
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| Pulled pork at the Las Palmos Airport; not quite like NC, but close! |
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