An Intro to the Canaries
Lots of lovely beaches on Gran Canaria
The Canaries are an archipelago of seven main islands, with Gran Canaria, where I’m currently visiting, the third largest and one of the most popular for tourists. The islands are situated about 100 kilometres West off the coast of Morocco and are reputed to have one of the best climates and the most sunshine. Gran Canaria has many attractions including long sandy beaches where you can walk for miles, Palmitos Park, water sports, sand dunes in Playa del Ingles, camel and horseback riding…and much more that I’ll describe first hand as I visit this tourist Mecca.
I started my journey to the Canaries in Ottawa with a flight to Montreal and from there had a Swiss Air flight into Zurich lasting about seven and half hours I highly recommend this airline from the point of view of service, quality of food and friendly staff. Would you believe it? They use stainless steel cutlery! My next connecting flight was from Zurich to Gran Canaria on award-winning Edelweiss Air.It’s immediately apparent why. On this fairly short flight of just over four hours, they immediately and cheerfully serve you snacks and a beverage, followed by a delicious hot lunch…and then good quality coffee or tea..at no extra charge. I was so tired from my overnight flight that I started to snooze after the serving of tea and coffee. When I awoke I discovered the stewardess had left me another sweet treat on the arm of my chair, not wanting me to miss out because I had fallen asleep.
From Las Palmas airport, I took a local bus right into Playa del Ingles for the cost of about six Euros. I was dropped off close to my hotel, Eugenia Victoria where I’m staying for a month. I chose the half-board option that includes breakfast and supper, and payed a few Euros more to have a room on the eighth floor, on a corner, so I get a nice cross breeze. At Eugenia Victoria, there’s a rooftop lounging area, several bars, both indoor and outside, a huge outdoor swimming pool and a magnificent wellness centre with various “waterfalls”, whirlpools, saunas and even a “dead sea” style salt pool. More on this to come
