Las Isleta :
Located in the north eastern tip of the island, this western village alike, is an architectural gem. From the mirador de la Cruz, located a couple of hundreds away, you can contemplate the baie of Las Palmas, but I was even more amazed by the way this little town was built : the colored-roofed houses are symmetric and very satisfying to watch.
El Roque :
The old village of El Roque was an hazardous and blissful discovery. As we were driving along the northern coast to join the city of Agaete, we noticed this strange looking village facing the ocean and decided to have a closer look at it. The tiny village jutting 320 metres out to sea is a haven of peace, the narrow back streets lead towards the tip of the village, where a cute restaurant lies, offering a unique scenery on the Atlantic. El Roque is a feast for the senses, you can really feel the power of the ocean : listen in and observe the waves crashing onto the rocks, inhale the fresh and salty air and there you have it … inner peace.
If you’re wondering why would you build houses in such an impossible place : there was a time when every bit of land was needed to farm, thus fertile lands were prioritised to living areas.
Day 2 – Galdar :
Speaking of funny places to build houses, Galdar is one of them. We didn’t have enough time to visit this city so here’s an overview of the whole place.
Agaete & Puerto de la Nieves
Finally a “big” town worth the visit. As you may have noticed, I am not a huge fan of tourist attractions, therefore we avoided bigger cities as much as we could. Agaete has about 6000 inhabitants but feels like a small village. The old town of Agaete has a friendly and inviting atmosphere, especially around the bars and restaurants near the main church (Nuestra Señora de La Concepcion).
The Puerto de Las Nieves is the fishermen district of Agaete. The place is highlighted by cute blue and white houses, a beach, a port and just a bit further away, some Charcos (on this day the wind was way too strong to launch ourselves into the water).
Witnessing the morning light setting over Puerto de la Nieves
Villages found in the valley of Agaete
Los Azulejos :
We dedicated an afternoon to drive to Los Azulejos, a set of mountains revealed by natural colored stripes. To be completely honest, I was a slightly disappointed, the windy roads are sensational, but the reward isn’t unmissable according to the time it takes to get there. On our way back we hiked up to the Charco Azul, which was only great, the place is tourist-friendly, quite busy, the waterfall second rate.
Day 3 – Roque Nublo :
Located right in the middle of the island, Roque Nublo is an absolute giant of 80 metres height. Even though this day was kind of spoilt by the bad weather, I was in awe of the hugeness of this rock colossus. Pay attention to the people next to it to really grasp a sense of the scale.
Ventana de Nublo
To admire Roque Nublo from another point of view (hoping that the sky would clear up), we drove to Ventana de Nublo, which is pretty easy to find, and overall an amazing spot to watch the setting sun. Unfortunately, the sky was full of clouds on that night ..
Day 4 – Maspalomas :
The sand dunes and beach of Maspalomas are the biggest tourist attraction in Gran Canaria. Even though the place is now surrounded by big resorts, the Nature Reserve space is big enough to welcome everyone, you can easily find a remote spot and get lost in the emptiness.
Halfway to the next stop, I found this surprising heart-shaped island while flying above the coastline.
Puerto de Mogan :
Puerto de Mogán is a quaint fishing village and a paradise for flowers lovers. This picturesque harbor offers a rather more subtle form of tourism than most of the places of the Southern coasts. The numerous canals linking the marina to the fishing harbour have led to it being nicknamed “Little Venice”. With hindsight Puerto de Mogàn makes is quite similar to Puerto de la Nieves.
Just before setting off to Lanzarote, the last step of this trip in the Canary islands, we had an hour to kill. We looked for the salines located just about 20 kilometers South from the airport. The basins are way smaller and less impressive than the salines of Janubio on Lanzarote, even though I couldn’t help but capture a straight shot from above.
