Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria

For my stay in Grand Canary I chose to stay in Playa deal Ingles, which translates to beach of the English. In a way it is a very fitting name since English was much more widely spoken than Spanish. Of course I could also have gotten by in German, Swedish, Norweigen, Danish and several other languages as well. Playa del Ingles is a bit dated, there are newer resort communities a bit farther along the coast, but they all share an abundance of sun seekers from northern climates. 

Of of the interesting things to note are the shopping centers. Here they usually contain a grocery store or two, some duty free shopping (the Canary Islands are a duty free zone), restaurants and bars. The closest center to me was the Jumbo Centrium and it lived up to its name, it was the biggest center in the area. Two shopping centers, a load of restaurants, lots of duty free shopping (Michael Kors was the big seller, though not sure if it was real or knock-off) and an abundance of bars. 

Playa has over the years gained a reputation as a gay get away spot so it was no surprise that there were more than a few gay bars at the Jumbo. As I walked about one evening I counted 30 gay bars before I stopped counting. Most were casual sit down bars, but at least 4 featured drag shows of varying qualities including one featuring a little person drag queen. There were also a handful of men only clubs with names like Tom's Cruie Bar, the Celler, Bunker and Construction. And bar life starts late, like 10, 11 or even 12.

One of the big draws is the beach which runs for several miles. It has a great quality of sand, vey fine and comfortable. Behind the beach is a large natural reserve with beautiful sand dunes. Makes you think perhaps you are in the Sahara desert, except with an ocean. Speaking of the Sahara, the Canary Islands are located off the coast of Western Sahara, a disputed territory. Unlike the Saharah which I pictured inhabited by Bedoin tribes with the men in flowing robes and the women veiled, the area of the beach farthest from the town is a Playa Natural. There I was, wandering along as I was created, when a ranger drove by with no sign that it was out of the ordinary. 

The first of my day trips was to Telde, a not so interesting city, and the on to Las Palmas, the capital city. Las Palmas was an interesting visit. There is a nice older section near the Cathedral with some good turn of the century modernist inspired architecture. The Cathedral itself was not that interesting in my opinion. On the way back it began to rain, a rarity as I was told they only get 6 days of rain per year. 

The second day trip was along the south shore. I started in Puerto de Mogan, a pretty fishing village. It's described as Gran Canaria's Venice, but two half block canals didn't make me think Venice. Even though I didn't ride the Yellow Submarine, I enjoyed Puerto de Mogan.

From there I took the local bus back along the coast. Since it is a volcani island, this stretch of the coast is mostly steep cliffs, so not a great route if you have a fear of heights. At many points where a canyon came down to the sea there was anew condo development hugging the cliffs. Some nice looking resorts in this area. 

At one point I got off the bus and strolled along a path that had been built between a new developement in one canyon, to Puerto Rico, an older village in the next canyon. It was a nice walk that must have cost a small fortune to build into the cliff. From Puerto Rico I caught the bus down to the lighthouse on the far end of the dunes. Here there was another large new developement with the largest swimming pool I have ever seen. From there I was able to walk back through the dunes to Playa del Ingles.

My final excursion was to Teror, one of the inland cities. Teror has a nice church that contains Our Lady of the Pines, the patron saint of the island. Teror is a cute little town with colonial homes whose balconies overlook the main street. According to the legend, our lady was found in a pine tree here. How the statue got there is anyone's guess.

In Teror I got to sample two Canarian dishes, chorizo from Teror, sort of a spicy paste that I didn't care for, and wrinkly potatoes with mojo, small potatoes boiled in salt water served with mojo sauce. The potatoes were good, but not something worth a detour. 

As you go around the island, much of it looks similar to the American southwest. Arid with some sagebrushy looking vegetation. Then there are massive plastic covered greenhouse structures that you can't see into to see what is growing. 

Sadly my time here was too short to see how the west was won in Sioux City, a recreation of the American western frontier. Sioux City seems out of place, but perhaps it is the Spanish version of Disney World. Likewise, I missed Hanger 37 where I could have played desert war games.  From the promo commercial playing in baggage claim, Hanger 37 seemed to be a Disney World Verizon of the war in Afganistan, a bit weird for me.