Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 86/96 - Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spain) - Not One Canary
We were disappointed today. We were in the Canary Islands and we didn't see any canaries. It was just like when we were in the Virgin Islands - not one canary either. :-)
As the story goes, the Canary Islands got their name from the Latin word "Canaria" which means "island of dogs". It was likely due to a large population of dogs or monk seals that look somewhat like dogs.
Our tour today was called Best of Grand Carnary - a bus tour that took us all around the island.
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| Walking out of the port |
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| What a difference from many of the African cities we visited - modern, clean, European |
Our first stop was the Palacio de Congresos de Canarias or Canary Islands Congress Palace - a conference center.
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| Their own little walk of fame |
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| Monument of Alfredo Kraus |
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| No idea |
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| Clueless about this one too |
From here, we got a great look at the water and the city of Las Palmas.
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| The waterfront was impressive |
We continued our drive south down the east side of the island.
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| We caught a nice rainbow when a light rain started falling to the right of the bus route |
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| We passed a huge number of wind turbines |
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| We also passed two large solar farms - with abundant sun and wind, they are trying to leverage those resources to produce renewable power |
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| We passed a lot of these candelabra cacti - a symbol of The Canary Islands |
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| Everything was quite dry |
We reached our destination, the Riu Hotel at Maspalomas at the southern end of the island.
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| This area is known for its large dunes |
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| Maspalomas Lighthouse |
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| The sand is most likely due to volcanic erosion |
We returned to the bus and started back north. This time we headed up the center of the island, away from the water.
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| So dry |
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| It wasn't very inviting |
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| We arrived at Mirador Astronómico de la Degollada de las Yeguas - an astronomical viewing spot with panoramic views |
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| A pointer to the Pole Star, some 4.2 quadrillion miles away |
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| More cacti |
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| Prickly pear cactus |
Besides going north, we were also climbing up the hills along incredibly twisty and narrow roads.
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| Still dry and volcanic |
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| A look down at the crazy roads we had been taking |
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| Not a straightaway to be found |
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| Approaching the clouds |
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| Passing through San Bartolomé de Tirajana |
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| A profile of a sleeping man with his mouth open |
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| Can you see it? |
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| Here he is again, top of the head to the right, mouth open, and you can see down to his chest |
We stopped at Mirador Degollada de Becerra - a viewpoint.
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| The right rock is called The Monk, and the left is Roque Nublo - one of the highest points on the island |
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| It was wet and cold here, dropping from 70F to 55F |
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| Arlona spotted this Steelcase truck - they are an office furniture company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan - close to where she grew up |
This side of the island was green and lush due to the significant rain that falls here yearly. It was interesting how different the island was in just a short distance.
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| Terraced farming |
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| We arrived at our lunch stop - Restaurante Balcón de Zamora |
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| Local beer - yes, please |
After lunch, we drove to a small town - Teror.
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| Basilica of Our Lady of the Pine |
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| Teror was a quaint little town |
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| The entry to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pine |
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| An interesting fountain |
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| The flag of The Canary Islands features a cute pair of puppies |
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| Another view of the back of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pine |
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| We saw several chickens roaming freely |
We got back on the bus and drove to our final stop in the city of Arucas.
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| A dragon tree - endemic to The Canary Islands |
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| The Church of San Juan Bautista or Arucas Church |
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| Another dragon tree |
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| Guillermo Sureda Painter Square, just outside the church |
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| An interesting statue outside the church |
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| We wandered a bit in Arucas |
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| Statue of poet Domingo Rivero |
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| Departing Arucas for the ride back to Las Palmas and the ship |
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| A cool wind sculpture |
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| A volcanic sculpture called The Atlantean welcomed us back to Las Palmas |
About eight hours after we departed the ship, we walked back on, completing a good tour of Grand Canary Island.
Since we ate a large, late lunch, we opted to just have a few snacks in the Observation Bar tonight and skip dinner. That gave me time to write this blog entry before we went to see Soulwaves' second show.
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| Their first show was good - this one blew the first one away |
Tonight, we're sailing 125 miles or so to reach Arricife on the island of Lanzarote - our second and final stop in The Canary Islands.
It is a shame that the African countries have such widespread poverty as they all seem to be rich in minerals and other natural resources. Evidently, the money coming into the countries never seems to get to the locals. Either that, or the money coming in is not comparable to the resources going out. It would not be the first time that the rich guys take advantage of the locals. However, as in our country, trickle down has never worked. Africa is the last frontier and should be booming.
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