Pre-tour Travels - Grand Canary, by Chris Lunsford
Trip Start
Nov 18, 2011
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Trip End
Nov 27, 2011
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Grand Canary, Canary Islands, Spain
Thursday, November 17, 2011
This morning Hal and I make our way back to the BCN airport. We have a non-stop flight to LPA on Grand Canary Island. It is about 3.5 hours from take off to touch down and we gain an hour as per the time difference. Upon arrival at the hotel we do a quick costume change (into shorts) and we are ready to explore Grand Canary Island. The Canary Islands are a Spanish autonomous community located about 60 miles off the northwest coast of mainland Africa very close to Morocco and Western Sahara. The Canaries are an outermost region of the European Union. This is a year-round destination with an eternal spring-summer climate. For our visit here it was in the low 80's with low humidity and plenty of sunshine and very sexy people.
The Canaries have been a popular gay destination for years and neither Hal nor myself have ever been here before so we decided to check it out. While walking along the promenade there was "Sand Art" on the beach that depicted what was going on with the financial crisis in Europe and it was protected 24/7 by guards.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
We have a full day here in the Canaries so we decide to do another HOP-ON/HOP-OFF bus to see all of the tourist hot spots. The weather is great so its a lot of fun just riding around on top of the bus. Here is some of what we saw: Muelle Sta. Catalina: The ferry terminal from where one can connect to Tenerife and the other islands. Museo Elder: The Elder Museum of Science and Technology is an unusual museum that makes the visitors curious by using the catch-phrase “Please, Do Touch”. 200 exhibitions out of 220 are interactive. Playa de Las Canteras: Playa de Las Canteras is a 3 km long, golden sand beach with “La Barra”, its very own natural reef. The beach is well occupied with shops, restaurants, cafes, snack bars and street entertainers. Parque Santa Catalina: Parque Santa Catalina is the very essence of Las Palma. It is more of a town square rather than a park and is always teeming with nightlife in discos, clubs and bars. Typical horse drawn cabs wait eagerly for the tourists to show them the places around. El Corte Ingles: This is a huge shopping center and they are located all over Spain. Paseo de La Cornisa: Paseo Cornisa is an avenue in the modern Escaleritas district. It affords a fine panorama of Puerta de la Luz (the port) and La Isleta, a peninsula north of the docks. Pueblo Canario: Designed by Nestor and Miguel Fernandez de la Tore in the 1930’s to exhibit traditional culture of the island, this Canary village is composed of typical island houses with turrets, gates and an atrium. A large square is located at the centre of the village lined with shops for selling the local art and craft items. Vegueta/ Catedral: Vegueta is approximately 10 kms away from Santa Catalina. It is the historical enclave of the city. The Cathedral houses architectural delight Patio de Los Naranjos (Orange Tree Courtyard) and Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro (Diocesan Museum of the Sacred Art). Teatro Perez Galdos: The Teatro Pérez Galdós is an eminent cultural institution and takes you on a history tour of a century.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
We have the entire day free to enjoy the rooftop hotel terrace complete with a pool, hot-tub, sauna, bar and more. We do a little bit of shopping. Later tonight we have the last flight out to Malaga.
