Gran Canaria: An Island for Everyone
Before going to the Maspalomas region of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands , I had the idea that the island was going to be a typical tourist trap – nothing but hotels, resorts and places for people to waste their money on food, drink, and ugly souvenirs.
And in a way, I was right. All that stuff is there, but the island offers so much more, from breathtaking vistas to fascinating historical landmarks, from sun-baked beaches to jam-packed nightclubs and from family-oriented theme parks to family-friendly resorts.
All this in an island that’s 50km in diameter.
The experiences to be had on the island are so varied, and yet so close together you can do it all in a day. Here’s a typical day from my week there:
8:00am A morning swim in the hotel pool, empty of everyone and the sun just peeking over the edge of the terrace that faces out to the ocean.
8:30am Breakfast buffet catering to the tastes of the Spanish, English, German and French tourists.
9:30am A road trip in a rented car (cheap!) up into the center of the island climbing twisty mountain roads where going more than 40km/h feels too dangerous.
The vegetation varies from cacti and agave to spindly pines covering the mountain tops to oases of palm, banana and bougainvillea. The villages appear out of nowhere and some, like San Bartolomé de Tirajana have pre-Hispanic homes to visit.
1:00pm A stop in a mountain pass to stretch the legs and get accosted by people selling trinkets, tablecloths and regional food. They’re quite friendly until we insist that we’re not buying then they glare at us or even insult us before turning their smile on someone else.
2:00pm An eight-euro lunch for four of fresh bread, local cheese and cold meat from a small supermarket in a village halfway down the mountain. The taxes on the island are half of what they in mainland Spain, so the already low Spanish prices for food are even lower here (gas as well is half the price of France).
5:00pm A walk through the dunes of Maspalomas to get to the nudist section of the beach at the remotest part of the huge expanse of sand and dessert vegetation.
7:30pm Return to the hotel and lay out by the pool for an hour enjoying the last few rays of the sun.
8:30pm Back to the buffet, where I try to remember not to stuff myself to bursting. The problem is the food is just so good I can barely resist. The high quality of the food is rare in a buffet all-inclusive hotel.
9:30pm A drink on the poolside terrace watching the hotel singers do versions of popular Spanish and English songs. They too are surprisingly good for a pair of hotel entertainers. The small outdoor dancefloor in front of the stage has children and slightly tipsy holidayers copying the moves of the female vocalist.
10:30pm Up to the roofdeck with its “chill out terrace” for a wildly potent cocktail while stretched out on a Balinese Bed looking at the large candles floating in the rooftop pool.
11:30pm Drive into Playa de Ingles to the open air Yumbo Shopping Center with its surreal mix of family restaurants, souvenir shops, game arcades, and gay bars. As we tour the place, drag queens and muscle boys offer us free beer tickets to get us to choose their bars over other ones. Like the vendors at the top of the mountain, these too get huffy if you don’t immediately stop and go in.
3:30am Drive back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep before starting all over.
The hotel we stayed at, the Gloria Palace San Augustin, had on the premises the island’s largest spa so on the day before we left we treated ourselves to a full body peeling, a mineral salts Jacuzzi, a massage and two hours in the hydrocircuit (thalassotherapy).
I expected to sit back and relax while in Gran Canaria, figuring that there wouldn’t be much else to do. I’ve never been quite so happy to be wrong.
Alex Fayle, of Someday Syndrome, is a former procrastinator who uses his visionary ability to uncover hidden patterns and help people break the procrastination obstacle so they can finally find freedom and start living the life they desire, with lots of travel being part of the life he's always desired.
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