On a cold London morning, Geoff and I set off for our flight to the Canary Islands. The pre-Christmas rush at the airport saw us wait in lines for 2 hours and a flight delay of 1 hour, but when we touched down in Gran Canaria, the third largest of the cluster of seven islands which make up the Canary Islands, we immediately forgot about London and relished in the warmth of the sun, the 20+ degree temperatures and the endless coastline of this resort island.
Wendy and Will would be arriving later that night, so we kept ourselves busy during the day stopping off first, in the old part of the capital city, Las Palmas. There are a handful of historical sites and some notable architecture.
And a pretty little square where we enjoyed lunch.
We perused the shops before heading to the hotel to attempt a check-in under Will’s name, as Wendy and Will’s flight was also delayed by an hour and they would not be arriving till midnight. I practiced some acting skills, checking in as Will’s ‘girlfriend’ waiting for him to arrive on the island after long delays at the London airport and was handed the keys to apartment 315 at the
Blue Bay Beach Club.
The apartment was spacious and airy with a beachside feel to it. We had a wonderful sun drenched balcony too, with views over the swimming pool and Atlantic Ocean.
Geoff and I had dinner at a nearby restaurant and then enjoyed some cocktails at the hotel’s poolside bar while we waited for Wendy and Will’s arrival.
The next day, our first stop was poolside to catch some rays and soak up all the vitamin D we have been missing in the UK.
Will hired a car and in the afternoon we set out to see the rest of the island. Besides the coastline, there is not much to say about the rest of the island. The middle is quite bare and arid.
The city main city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is quiet, with a handful of restaurants, cafes and shops. There are however, huge beaches. We stopped at Playas de Las Canteras to check out the view and stroll along the boardwalk.
We stopped for tapas and coffees before dark clouds collected for a short afternoon downpour.
We did some shopping at the big shopping centre up the road and tried to find our way back to the old part of town that Geoff and I had visited the day before. After hours in the car and getting lost in and around the narrow and winding back streets of Las Palmas, we decided our best bet was to find dinner back at the hotel, but after missing that turn off, we ended up in Playa de Ingles, the town closest to our hotel.
On our way over, the planes were packed with Brits, and we wondered where they all went after disembarking from the plane, as they certainly were not to be found at our hotel which was dominated by Germans and Swedes. Playa de Ingles is where one can find many Brits as the town is full of British type pubs and bars serving only British food from imported British products. As you can imagine, we weren’t too impressed, but pressed on anyway at a pub called Cheers, seeing as it was past 11pm and most of the restaurants, including our hotel kitchen, would be closing now.
Over the course of the trip, we would find out that the rest of the island was not too dissimilar to Playa de Ingles and noted that holidays in the Canary Islands were not for cultural experiences, but for the beach and the weather the Brits miss out on at home.
On Christmas Eve, we dared not to venture out on a car trip again and spent the whole day by the pool.
The guys got into a game of darts, losing terribly to the other hotel guests, while Wendy and I treated ourselves to the massages and facials at the Day Spa.
Our Christmas Eve dinner was largely spent waiting for a table at a local tapas restaurant. In total we spent 1.5 hours waiting for a table at the cosy
Tango Tapas and Grill. The tapas were great, if not a little salty, but the desserts on the house, served at midnight to welcome in Christmas Day, made us forget all about that long wait.
We were also treated to some live entertainment
including some dancing of my own.
The owner had us write a message on the wall as he was so impressed by our patience for a table. Apparently no one has ever waited for a table at their restaurant for that long before!
To top of the late night, the guys had parked the car in a carpark and we arrived to find the boom gates down. Anything to do with this car was looking jinxed, but we made it out of there, boom gate bandit style.
Christmas was a stunner of a day.
We had breakfast on the balcony (after sleeping in past the hotel’s breakfast time) and opened Christmas presents.
Another day was spent soaking up the sun at the pool and relaxing around the apartment.
We booked a big Christmas Dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. We had a wonderful night and delicious dinner.
We were treated to live entertainment afterwards, which included some moves by Wendy this time.
And an acrobatic group call African Footprints.
Boxing Day was our final day soaking up the sun and lunching around the pool.
We left Gran Canaria that evening, grateful and satisfied to have spent a fun, warm and sunny Christmas in 2007. Hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!
