Celestial Canary Island Cruise - Day 6 - Gran Canaria

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Day 6 - Gran Canaria



Previous visits to Gran Canaria we have stayed on the south of island for a beach resort holiday. On this voyage we docked at Las Palmas, a busy port for cruise ships ferries and cargo vessels, there is also a beautiful marina close by.

Our complimentary tour this morning took us to the northern part of the island, such a difference to the volcanic, arid landscape of Lanzarote yesterday.



It is winter time here in Gran Canaria & they have experienced quite a lot of rain in recent weeks which added to the lush green landscape as left the port and travelled to Arucas.



The picturesque old quarter of the municipality’s capital dates back to the end of the 15th century, when the Spanish conquistadores completely destroyed the original pre-Hispanic settlement of Arehucas only to rebuild it around the chapel of San Juan. Today, the original church no longer stands but in its place rises the impressive Church of San Juan Bautista. Popularly known as the Arucas Cathedral, one of the architectural jewels of the Canary Islands.



Passing banana plantations & a few sugar plantations we reach Jardín de la Marquesa de Arucas (Duchess Garden)

A lady wearing local dress greeted us with a banana liquor, quite tasty actually.



The garden was built around 1880 when the Marquis started to collect plant species, some of them endemic and others brought from abroad. Many of these species were expressly brought from different parts of the world, and others were exchanged with aristocratic families of that time. The next generations continued this task and the garden grew.



The peacocks were undeterred by the visitors and were happy to have their photo taken.



A quick visit but still plenty to see and admire.



We then continued to the town of Teror, a pretty village with whitewashed houses and ornate balconies. The cathedral ‘Our Lady of The Pine’ is considered one of the most important churches in the Canaries after shepherds saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary nearby in one of the pine trees.



Time to sit and catch a coffee before heading back to the ship, we had a light lunch and then it was up onto the sun deck to enjoy the sunshine & enjoy the sail away party.



Tomorrow we arrive in Tenerife and will be visiting an orchid garden so looking forward to another colourful day.

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