Life’s an ocean with too much commotion

Time for our first real summer trip this year.. I needed it, had too much work and stress lately. We booked a flight with Jetair (cheap one actually) to Las Palmas, rent a car and drove to our hotel: Anfi Club Monte in Patalavaca, Gran Canaria. The advantage of the Canary Islands is that the temperature is overall constant, about 25-30 degrees, even during winter. In combination with some breezes, perfect weather to relax or explore the island.

The first day we went to Maspalomas, a beautiful scenery of sand and dunes. Of course we forgot to smear sunscreen on our back and shoulders, so we were both burned. As a result, the next days we explored the island instead of doing some sun-spotting at the pool. We drove up the mountain, looking for the lake Soria, above San Bartolome. Unfortunately, the clouds were too thick and we couldn’t see a thing once we were at the top of the mountain. The next day we went to explore some ports, one of them was Puerto de Mogan. A very cosy little place, often called little Venice. It’s beautiful to walk through the little streets decorated with flowers in all kinds of colors. A little bit further uphill was Mogan situated, but that was just a normal little town so we drove through it rather quickly. Once driving back on the mountains we arrived at a lake, actually a reservoir, and it was beautiful. I think the temperature dropped to 15 degrees or so, we saw some campers, tables where you could picnic, and lots of quietness. The next day, we decided to explore the other half of the island. We visited Anden Verde, about the most beautiful coastline you could see in Gran Canaria (in the upper west of the island). Close to that, you have Dedo de Dios, a typical rock formation that was destroyed due to a heavy storm some years ago. You could see that the city near Dedo de Dios really lived from its tourists, and is now rather drained. We also visited Cenobio de Valeron, some rock silos where ancient people store their cereals to let them preserve better. The next day, it was time for some sunbathing at the pool. I’ve played some water polo (and I won!), and – of course – we were both burned again . So the next and last day, we decided to stay on our terrace and watch the world championship.

Summarized, it’s the ideal location for a relaxing vacation. You can also do some cool hikings on the mountains, and the temperature is always great. It was worth flying over, and now I’m completely recharged and ready to dive into work again!