Chilling out in the Canaries 11/3/2022

 Round and round the rugged rock, this blog is the story of a driving trip all round the circumference of Gran Canaria. Rather than running ragged rascals, we drove our hired Renault Clio along what at times were pretty hairy roads. The road was being improved particularly in the north west quadrant. Nearly the all the west side is less developed and much more arrid as the pictures show. I'm afraid that this is going to be more of a picture gallery than a blog. This was El Risco, our first stop where we enjoyed a coffee and almond cake. 

A glimpse of the new tunnels under construction rather disappointingly removing the views, hairpins, danger and fun all in one fell excavation. 

And now the new view inside the recently finished tunnel. 

They have left some of the old road which gives access to this really remarkable viewpoint. It is called La Balcon and I don't need to explain why. In the foreground you can see ox-eyed daisies, which seem to survive anywhere. We are on the north coast here looking east towards a distant Las Palmas. 

Here we are looking straight down about 400 metres to the shoreline. 

This is the equally impressive view to the west. 

This picture is almost surreal. Arising out of the sea cloud is the mountain of Telde, remember, that third highest volcano in the world and also Spain's highest peak. It is over 40 kilometers away on the neighbouring island of Tenerife. 

Here you can see how this precipitous viewpoint is constructed using that wondrously adaptive material, plate glass. This picture also demonstrates that phenomenon I call the "Harry Worth" affect. You have really got to be over 60 to remember him and his shop window. 

Helen demonstrating her head for heights. Although it looks to me that her eyes are shut. 

I warned you that I would tell you some more about bananas, well here we go. Firstly that vast area of white is the polytunnel netting that I referred to in the first blog. It acts both as shade from the excessive sun and protection from the winds. The variety grown here is Dwarf Cavendish which grows only about 3 metres in height. The fruits are half the size of the Caribbean or South American varieties and they do pack more flavour and sugar. if you live in England, go to ASDA who stock them and try them for yourself. Besides the bananas notice how little other vegetation there is. 

You can just see the road in this shot but you are often left wondering where on earth the road goes next. I featured this picture with climbers in mind. The cliffs ahead look to provide some excellent routes, I wonder how many have actually been climbed. 

If I knew more about the geology of volcanic regions I would be able to write reams describing the rock formations below. As I don't, I won't. 

Here is one of the classic views on the island. Start with the sky and drop down, that's Teide again, the highest peak on Tenerife. Now it's more like 50 kilometres away. Then you see the sea cloud again. To the right is the town of Artenara. This is another centre of activity with the historic peoples of the island. We then look across the Crux de Tajeda with Pueblo Tajeda just visible in the bottom centre. 

Pueblo Tajeda has been described as Spain's prettiest village. It certainly has a very impressive setting. 

Here we are in the main street where we enjoyed melty but tasty ice cream. 

The little port of Puerto de Morgan is a delightful little resort with a parade of restaurants facing a sandy beach. There's a classy marina and a beautiful old collection of houses and narrow alleyways decorated with tropical flowering plants. 

The square with restaurants surrounding the bandstand. 

Turn around 180°and you are facing the marina. We liked this place so much that we returned to spend the day there later. 

You are looking at a golf course built in the middle of a desert. I hate to think how much was invested to create this oasis.  A slice or a pull will leave you trying to play golf in a quarry. 

Our only real view of the Dunas de Maspalomas. This 1000 acre site has been a nature reserve since 1987. We found this area around Maspalomas very user unfriendly.  The main problem was just trying to get out of the car. The difficulty was parking when every conceivable space was already occupied and there was a constant cruise of cars looking for that none existent place. So the dunes may well be a great visit but you will need ask someone who managed to get their feet sandy. 

We eventually managed to park near the shopping centre. After a walk round the shops and along the promenade I took a couple of shots in the fading light. 

As ever I like to try to finish with a sunset. This resort is on the south west quadrant so the sun is going down just around the corner.