A few years ago, my wife Diane and I took a two week vacation to the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands of Spain. The islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean due west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. We stayed at the Don Gregory hotel on the San Agustin beach area. The hotel room had a nice ocean view and the food was very good. We usually purchase the breakfast / dinner meal plans and forego the three meal plan because we are usually doing some sightseeing during the middle of the day and it gives us a chance to savor the real local cuisine. The only issue at the hotel was that Europeans tend to put towels and various objects on the pool lounge chairs the night before to reserve their favorite spots. So when we came out in the morning after breakfast to sit at the pool, almost all the chaise lounges were “reserved.” It was a very irritating custom, so it was my job late at night or at dawn to hustle out to the pool and put our reserve objects on the chairs.
We scheduled the vacation in February to escape the gloomy German weather and because the Gran Canaria has an average of seven hours of sunshine, little to no rain, and temps in the low 70’s which seems much warmer out in the sunshine. There was no rain any day or night during our stay. We took our first trip on a low cost airline which didn’t leave until 1830 (6:30PM) and by the time we landed, went through customs and got the bus to our hotel, we didn’t get checked in until midnight.
The beach at San Agustin wasn’t large, but it was just right for the hotel population. We were on this vacation primarily to soak up sun and relax, and Gran Canaria didn’t disappoint. We did take advantage of the cheap local buses and visited the capital city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on the northern island tip, but my camera was left behind. The city was founded in 1478 and according to a study carried out by Thomas Whitmore, director of research on climatology at Syracuse University in the U.S., Las Palmas enjoys “the best climate in the world.”
Another day, I was more vigilant and took my camera to the picturesque village of Puerto de Mogán by local bus which was absolutely gorgeous and my favorite place on the island. It is a colorful port village where my wife was charmed by Marco, who hustled us into the Clipper Italiano Restorante. I did purchase the obligatory T-shirt which was tastefully stenciled.
The antipasto and dry Spanish red wine was a delicious lunch on the outdoor patio with a view to match, and my wife Diane testifies to the marvelous service from the handsome Marco. A short stroll on a shady path led me to what appeared to be a deserted rental blue bike waiting to be photographed.
Since we did not spend a lot of time at daily tourist attractions, we spent that time talking with locals in the nearby villages and at the hotel and getting to know a little about their lifestyle, background, world views and rich culture. A few even shared their recipe secrets and told us where to shop to get real locally made crafts and local foods.
I would tell anyone that if the winter blues have you down, catch the next flight to the Canary Islands to bring a little summer glimmer in their spirit. This is one vacation place you cannot go wrong. My only regret is missing out on the nature parks and museums, but meeting the locals and the warming sun was something more special.
