Blogs from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, Europe
May 23rd 2012
Late at night and ready for bed.Arrived from Fuerteventura on the Armas ferry at about 21.45 and headed for the hotel Santa Catlina. Threw my bags in the room and went out to eat. Got back at 00.30 and will head to bed as the ferry leaves for Huelva in the morning at 08.00!!... read more
Sonne tanken auf Gran Canaria
Published: February 14th 2012Europe » Spain » Canary Islands » Gran Canaria
February 14th 2012
Nach einer sehr kurzen Nacht ging es für mich gleich weiter nach Gran Canaria. Es ging zuerst mit dem Zug nach Sevilla und von dort aus nach Las Palmas wo wir auch ein Hostel gebucht hatten. Der Flug dauerte ca. 2 Stunden und war somit nur eine halbe Stunde kürzer als der von Palma de Mallorca nach Hannover. Am Freitag schauten wir uns Las Palmas an und kurbelten die spanische Wirtschaft etwas an. Samstag ging es nach Faro de Maspalomas in die Dünen. Dort war es sehr schön, aber leider ziemlich von (deutschen) Touristen überlaufen. Wir hatten von einem Kommilitonen einer Freundin erfahren, dass es sonntags immer einen Markt im Ort mit dem schönen Namen Teror gibt und so machten wir uns am Sonntag auf den Weg dorthin. Die einstündige Fahrt durch die Berge nach Teror ... read more
December 7th 2011
He kept throwing me respectful glances across table at the seaside café as we all drank cañas of beer while the pink sky a lit with the last lingering rays of the Saharan sun. White hair contrasted the tightly pulled brown skin of his defined face enhancing the devious twinkle in his level, bright blue eyes. A thick Scottish accent told stories and cracked sarcastic jokes leaving me insatiably curious about the salty sea dog who had just guided us through Atlantic sea caves not far away. Getting a full story out of him took some coaxing after his being diswayed by previous and unimportant questions and topics such as, "Did you meet anyone famous in the Hamptons?" and Paris Hilton's true purpose. I understood that we needed to play on his level in order to ... read more
February 26th 2011
Ich konnte die zwei Nächte in Santa Cruz de Tenerife bei Angel, einem super-netten Kuenstler und Lehrer verbringen. Er hatte viel interessantes ueber Kunst und ueber das Leben auf den Inseln zu erzählen. Und obwohl er viel arbeiten musste hat er noch sehr lecker gekocht und ich konnte sogar endlich mal wieder meine Kleider richtig waschen. Danach gings endlich an Bord der Bessie-Ellen, einem 36 Meter langen Zweimaster, komplett aus Holz, Jahrgang 1904. Er gehoert Nikki Alford, einer Engländerin um die 40, die damit Segelabenteuer fuer Touristen veranstaltet. Ich hab mich sowohl mit der Crew als auch mit den Gästen sehr gut verstanden und habe es sehr genossen, endlich wieder zu segeln. Es gab viel zu lernen, die Bedienung der bis zu sieben Segel ueber unzählige dicke Hanfseile war schon etwas anderes als was man sich ... read more
January 30th 2011
WOMAD - world of music and dance - is definitely one of the best things i've been to during my time on the islands! It's an annual music festival which takes place in Las Palmas of Gran Canaria. There are other WOMAD festivals all over the world, including England where it was started by Peter Gabriel, but this one has got to be up there with the best! Totally free, great location, amazing music... we even managed to find some free accommodation with Couch Surfing. The day was super-family-friendly, a lovely atmosphere with people of all ages singing and dancing together. To top it off, the boat trip to and from the island was idylic! Beautiful sunshine and a boat-top swimming pool. Another mini-adventure in the Canary Islands! ... read more
January 16th 2011
As one can imagine, Scotland was getting a little grey and cold in the winter months. So, in December we decided that our next trip had to be someplace warm. Gran Canaria, just off the coast of Morocco, was the winner with the cheapest flight. On January 10th we packed our bags and headed for Glasgow where our flight took off from. Our trip began with a problem though. Our flight was at 6am so we figured we'd stay up as late as possible, then head to the airport and sleep there until check-in. We ate dinner at the Aussie pub Walk About and then found live music at The Box just down the road (only about a half hour walk), where we chatted with some colourful uni students. Then we went to the bus station ... read more
December 28th 2010
...we're buying a vacation home here. You can visit. After our last 2 stops this city seems very cosmopolitan. And it is! You step outside the port gates and you are facing a shopping mall. And a bar. And a marina. And another bar. And fun in the sun. And the city smells like food...specifically tortilla chips. Las Palmas is a resort city with colourful houses, beautiful beaches and hotels. It's got big city feel, little city feel, old European city feel, new modern city feel and a Marks & Spencer... we're a little in love with Las Palmas. We walked to the end of the boardwalk and got on a Hop-On, Hop-Off tour. A great way to get oriented in this town. We hopped off in the old part of town to visit the square ... read more
At the start of the race...
Published: November 20th 2010Europe » Spain » Canary Islands » Gran Canaria
November 20th 2010
So we’re now readying ourselves for departure tomorrow, when we'll set sail with over 230 other boats, into the sunset for our destination of St Lucia. We’ve spent the last 2 weeks here in Gran Canaria doing last minute preparations, not quite the relaxing gearing that we thought. Our two extra crew Mark Goodhand and Mark Meadows have just arrived, and we’re about ready to go. Blogging hsn't been as easy as we'd thought - poor wifi connections can be terribly frustrating and when you can get it to work, there's a huge list of things to do and the blog falls down the list. We hope this will change in the Caribbean, but forgive us if it doesn't. We’ve had several teams come and join us since Oporto. Mark, Ellie and Thomas, Shelley and Mo ... read more
Preparations for the Atlantic crossing
Published: February 2nd 2011Europe » Spain » Canary Islands » Gran Canaria
November 18th 2010
We arrived in Las Palmas on Sunday 7th Nov with a little under two weeks before the start of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. This was a truly outstanding time in many ways, particularly the opening ceremony where every country taking part was represented by flag carriers. It was great to catch up with many of the people we had met along the way, and to meet lots more, either on our pontoon or at the various social functions. The ARC organisers had arranged social functions for most evenings, as well as a programme of lectures on everything from boat maintenance to travel tips for St Lucia. The manufacturers of our boat, Oyster were also well represented. A team of seven of them descended on the boat checking everything in sight and leaving us with a ... read more
October 18th 2010
Day 6 at sea Rest day after having 3 ports in a row, time to enjoy the ship. In the morning David Frost gave a great talk called “interviews I shall never forget”. David has interviewed the last 7 presidents of the United States and the last 7 prime ministers of the United Kingdom, plus many other interesting people, he was able to give great insights and share fascinating antidotes of some of those interviews. The rest of the day was spent either in a deck chair reading, playing trivia, and enjoying lots of delicious meals. Day 7 Gran Canaria - Las Palmas As Gran Canaria is a volcanic island with deep valleys, volcanic cones and craters we decided to take a Cunard half day tour to see as much of the island as we could. ... read more
