Blogs from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, Europe - page 6

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

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

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

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

So, we’ve tried it all. Given the job search a good crack and tried to imagine ourselves living and working in Gran Canaria…its just not for us, shame but at least we can tick it off the list. It just feels like England with sunshine and underpaid, sparse to come by work. Some may see that as paradise but..... After some backwards and forwards discussions we have also decided to curb our spending and forgo trips to the neighbouring islands of Fuerteventura or Lanzarote. Its time to head back to freezing lands of Ol’ Britannia. I for one am quite looking forward to the idea of replenishing my worn out clothes with stores stashed away in my families attic, rent my own place for a while and last but not least top up my miserable finances. ... read more