Although we arrived fairly early the day before we didnt do much, so today was really our first day there:P We started the day wonderfully with eggs and bacon and lots of other delicious treats for breakfast on the balcony:) We had a walk around the area, which took some time...the hotel has it's own shopping centre, and a little island, lots of resturants, arcade room, minigolf, tenniscourt, marina, beach, 5 different pools, bars, walkways etc...so it's pretty big! We stayed there the whole day, swimming, sunbathing and eating...and trying to learn some spanish:P

Each evening after the youngest were asleep we always sat on the balcony drinking wine and beer etc. and playing cards:) There was a stage under us so we would quite often have live music:) It was nice:D

We actually started our trip late at night the 18th of april, and we drove all night to the airport Gardermoen, Oslo. But I didnt mind, I slept soundly most of the way:P I went on this trip with my whole family, apart from one sister who stayed home milking the cows (yes, of her own free will:P)...So, our group consisted of two cars; My father, mother, little sister (9) and my little brother (18) in one car and me, my older sister (25) her boyfriend and their daugther (1 1/2) the cutest little girl<3

Our plane left at 07:10 in the morning and the trip took about 5 hours, which means we arrived in Spain around 11:00. (you smart people might have figured out that that leaves us with an hour time difference:P) A minibus from Anfi Del Mar, which was were we stayed picked us up, and the drive to the hotel took about an hour. (Anfi Del Mar is a timeshare-thing, you have to "own" apartments or know someone who does in order to live there).

After the driving aaall night, and the plane and more driving it was nice to come into a supernice hotelroom and do absolutly NOTHING^^

Lovely bungalows with private garden with your own sunbeds. Nice pools and everything is very clean. It's very quiet, compared to all the other places around. It is also very safe because it's surrounded by walls (which also make it so quiet) and a gate. It's a little walk to the beach (+/- 15 min.) but not to bad. The shops are really close. Beautifull garden, it's really a little piece of heaven!:D

In june of 2007 we went on our first trip with our newborn daughter Isa. She was half a year old and it was time to take her on her first trip. In the plane she got a bed and she slept well during a 4 hour flight. We had chosen not to go to far because she has to get used to flying and travelling. We stayed in a resort in Maspalomas. The water in the pool is to cold for her (she starts crying) so we bought an inflatable pool for her and we put it on our terras just outside the appartement. It's big fun for her she splashes around as a fish in the water and has a real good time. The heat doesn't seem to bother her at all. After a few days we rented a car and we drove up to Aguimes. We looked at the church here, with its towers and bows it looked a bit like a mosque. The town lays on an altitude of 270 metres. The people here live of agriculture and growing cactuses. After that we drove through the Barranco de Guayadeque (a valley) to the cave houses. In some of the cave houses still live people. In this valley is a lot of history to find about the old Canarios who ones lived here.

A few days later we rented a car again and drove to Puerto de Mogan. This small village is known for its market. It has a nice harbour with its colourful sailing yachts. You find here nice terasses to overlook the crowds of tourists visiting the local souvenirshops.

A few days later I rented a car by myself and started cruising the island. From Puerto de Mogan I drove up to Mogan a small village just of the coast inland. Fruittrees, palmtrees, and bamboo make the Barranco de Mogan to a real garden of Eden on Gran Canaria. Until the late 70's of the last century you could reach Mogan only by narrow paths. Because of the isolated situation of the village a lot of artists stayed and still are staying here. The sea is only 10 kilometres away. On my way up here I saw that the rocks had a beautiful yellow and green colour. At a foodstall along the road I asked what it was and the man told me that it was sulfite of the vulcano. After my stop I drove to San Nicolas. In San Nicolas I turned into a narrow street which brought me on a mountain pass to Artenera. I had a short lunch at Artenara and went on my way to Tejeda. From here I chose a road around Roque Nublo the highest point at the island. The big rock is a very touristic place on the island. After my island tour I went back to my both girls at the resort.

Me and my best friend graduated from musicschool and went to Gran Canaria to work!

We got jobs in a bar together. Most of the costumers were brittish, and ver much likeable! Every night we made like 300 euro in tipsmoney! The salary was bull though! I met a great fellow who also worked there and he got me to stick with the thought of becomming a travelagent! So I applied for the job and go it!

Six months on the island, the greatest time of my life!

Now Im heading for Cyprus and will keep a blog daily!

Just found the page and everybody is so warm and gentle! I found the perfect travellingpage!

I lived in Las Palmas for 3 years and by far this is my favourite restaurant. It is located right at the beginning of Playa de las Canteras and it has the best views. Inside it is quite noisy, so I usually get a table outside or inside next to the windows. When you reserve don´t forget to tell them about the table. Lately it is recommendable to book a table in advance, as it is always packed. I would recommend you to have for starters: papas arrugas with mojo picó, gofio escaldado, longorones (my favourite), gueldes or their special salmon salad. For main courses order "Sama a la espalda". For desserts, huevos mole or ice cream with "bienmesabe". Very friendly service and great atmosphere.

When you see its looks you would never rate it so high, but it is an excelent place. Since I discovered it, I have been going there every time I visit Maspalomas (south of the Island). The service is superb and they have typical canarian dishes, the best in the area. I always order "sama/dorada a la sal" with some nice white wine, Viña Esmeralda for example. They also have meat, but it is the best place to have fresh fish. I am attaching some recommendations: -Starters: "papas" and "queso canario" -Main: Sama a la espalda, Sama a la sal, Dorada a la espalda or Dorada a la sal. -Wine: Viña Esmeralda, Viña Sol or El Grifo (semi dulce) Once you finish lunch they invite you to shots. You must try "Ron miel" on the rocks, typical drink in the Canary Islands.

This is one of the best Italian restaurants in the Island. They have been so succesful that they have opened three restaurants so far. As I love to have nice views, I recommend you the one located in La Puntilla (Playa de las Canteras).

This is one of the best restaurants you find in Las Canteras. It is in the middle of the way between La Puntilla and Alfredo Kraus. I recommend you to order "Rissoto a la marinera", which is rice with seafood! mmmmmm... great combination. They have tables right next to the sand, although you also have an indoor restaurant. The views are excellent!

This is one of the best places in Maspalomas (south of Gran Canaria). It is a restaurant, but it is also a bar at night with tons of seats overlooking Playa de Maspalomas! They even have live bands playing, although the music is not that great! :) If you go there for a drink, order a cold sangría! There are two types of sangria, cava and red wine. Both are quite good! What I normally do is to go there to have a coffee after lunch. Although it is a nice place, I go to other restaurants in the ares which are better for lunch or dinner...

I always make my plan for my traveling at the end of each year. So I can plan my budget and also to have time to find out about my next destination. The last trip for 2006, I chose Gran Canaria or the Canary Island. There is not much information on my Lonely Planet guide book, so I thought I go there and find out myself. My main concerns are the weather because it is the end of the year and it could be cold. We don’t have four seasons in Singapore, we have tropical weather. We only have raining or warm season but my colleagues from Europe always debating of where they want to go next for their summer holiday. Gran Canaria always been mentioned.

I went to Gran Canaria from Madrid taking Iberia Airlines to Las Palmas airport. I love Iberia because they have short film on the flight, only for short journey. Most of the films are interesting and entertaining. It was my first time at the new Madrid/Iberia terminal. It took about 20mins journey by bus from the main terminal to this terminal. The terminal is huge and very nice. Since the first week in November 2006 in Europe airport, they have new rule for all liquid item for hand carried, cannot excess more then 100ml and bottle or container have to be place in transparent re-sealable plastic bag. I got stop twice because my perfume bottle is more then 100ml.

If you look at the map, this island located just beside Morocco, north-east part of Africa and surrounded by Atlantic Ocean. There is a few other islands near-by but Gran Canaria is the most commercial and most visited by the tourist. This is also the first time that I depend on my friend to show me around and tell me about this place. Normally I plan, read and all prepared but this time I just take it easy and relax. This friend of mine is from Belgium. He found a nice job in a hotel there and fall in love with the weather. His been there almost 7yrs now and loving every minute of it. He lived in the south part of the Island, area called Vecindario. It is a very nice neighborhood and there is a big shopping centre called De Atlantico. In this place I ate the best “mayonesa con ajo’’, I can just eat it with a bread and nothing else. There are a lot of nice restaurant there from a local delicacies to fast food like McDonald’s. ;-). I also found this movie called “La Passion Turca” which was banned for a long time in Turkey in the supermarket. I’ve been looking for this movie for years.

I stayed for a week in Gran Canaria, we went to many places and I got to see many things. Since he drove a car, it is easy for us to move around. We went to Puerto De Mogan or they called it “Little Venice”, it is very beautiful, there is a small harbor, many nice restaurants, the houses there surrounded by flowers, tourist shop and nice light house. It is a perfect day to have a good meal for lunch and sipping vino tinto, with a beautiful meal of filete de ternera, patatas fritas, gambas and gazpacho for starter. That is what we had in one of the cozy restaurant and to add to that, the view of the area is picturesque.

There are many beaches in south of Gran Canaria, one of the most popular are Maspalomas. It is beautiful view of a sand dune. Very unique and during summer, this place is pack and I was told that you can get tan easily here ;-).

Puerto Rico is another nice place to visit. There are so many holiday chalet and apartment around this area. Many people come here for summer holiday with their families and friends. People are really happy because they are taking break from their hard work or their life back from where there are. For nice night out, Playa del Ingles is the place. This place is full of shopping arcade, souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels, bars and not far away from the beaches. If you want something reachable, I recommended this area and from my knowledge it is way cheaper then other tourist area. In this area you can find a place called Yumbo and if you like a night of laughter and fun with drag show, here it is. For family daytime entertainment, you can try an aqua park at Maspalomas, Aqualand or the smaller one, Aqua Park at Puerto Rico.

My friend surprised me with a very different kind of place. It is called Guayadeque, “the valley of the caves”. On the way there, it looks like the area of Jurassic Park minus the dinosaur. I’ve learned that this area is the first settlement for the people of this island. Presently, there are people living in the caves. Even the local tapas bar and church are crafted into caves. There is also a small museum that they dedicated to this area and for tourist information. You have to pay a small amount to get in but they do not allow any photo taken. At the top of this hills, located a very nice restaurant called Tagoror. A very unique restaurant, because it is in the caves, the tables and chairs are made of stone. This place is really very special and I also recommend for everyone to go. The services are great and the food is fantastic. I really enjoyed my moment there. The music they played is a special kind from this area. Thank you to my friend for bringing me to Guayadeque.

A day before I leave this island, my friend brought me to Las Palmas. It is the capital city of Gran Canaria. It is located north-east of the island. It is quite a long drive from where we stay. I didn’t get the chance to see much because I fall asleep. All I remembered that we pass a very beautiful view of the sides of the island, many factory and also industrial area. Las Palmas is like any other city in mainland Spain. The Vequeta district is where you’ll find the historic quarter, monuments and museums. Adjacent is the pedestrians Triana district, another good place for shopping. It reminded me of Madrid or Barcelona. Without fail I went to El Corte Ingles, I got David Bisbal and Falete latest CD.

I had a really great time in Gran Canaria and I will keep the nice memories with me. Many people told me to go to the near-by island, perhaps I will do that in the future. Furthermore the weather is great. When I entered the plane, I remembered a good friend once said “too many places to visit, too little time”.

“I dedicated this travel blog to my friend from Gran Canaria, Senior P.”

We are just cruising from our last port Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, to Cape Verde Islands.

The past days were really exhausting, as I started to meet people around the ship and also to hang around with them half the night. As everybody of us is working we are most of the time not able to meet before 11 pm. So when we meet, we are not going to bed before 3 o’clock in the morning. A bit tiring if you have to wake up the next morning at 7, like me today. But I only worked now until 12, and I am just on my way to Deck 9, to take a sunbath. I am looking forward. Will just relax a bit and enjoy the sun. afterwards I am going back to my cabin and I will sleep until 6, before I need to be back at work at 7pm.

When we were in Funchal, I was unfortunately working, so that I only got 1 hour to see the island. In fact I wanted to post some postcards, but I am forgetting them since Lisbon. So, I need to send them from Cape Verde, otherwise it will be a bit stupid, to send a Lisbon postcard with a brasilian stamp. Let’s see. I will try my best to send them out.

Yesterday we have been in Las Palmas from 9 am until 11 pm, which was a long time. Long enough to go out in the morning for 1,5 hours and for having dinner in the city in the evening. I went out with Alex, our IT Officer and some of his friends. Really nice. I enjoyed it. The restaurant was located directly at the beach.

Work is still going on perfectly, only that I am nowadays a bit tired, but I am certain that this will go away after a good nap today. People are still friendly, no complaints. So it’s just going on perfectly.  

Tagoror restaurant at Guayadeque in Gran Canaria is a nice place to go for your meal. It is located at historical place and the unique thing about this place is that the place is in a high land and in a cave. You will be sitted on a stone chair and the tables are stone too. Perhaps you can check with the local travel agent or tourist information of how to get there. The foods are good and the environment is brilliant. They play a very nice soothing music that came from the area. The staff that working there is friendly and very helpful. I enjoyed my time here and I like to share it with all of you. There are some photos from this restaurant, which are in my journal of Gran Canaria. I vouch for the satisfaction and try it. Have a nice meal and Bon appetite.

Hey everyone! Just finished my 7 months stay as an aupair in sunny Gran Canaria, Spain. Just thought I'd share some of my info about the island with all of you. enjoy! Beaches to check out: (note: the beach wear in gran canaria is a little differet then some other countries. the women wear as little as just a thong, and the men wear speedos. feel free to wear more if you would like or less if you head to the nude beach section in playa del ingles.) *playa amadores(puerto rico): beautiful white sand, clear blue water, palm trees, many restaurants and shops along the beach. *playa del ingles(playa del ingles): Huge beach attached to the famous dunes, fronts 3 cities(playa del ingles, maspalomas, and meloneras). Good waves, great place for watersports, lots of shops and restaurants along the first part of the beach. *playa las canteras(las palmas): Great beach for scuba diving, next to a great walkway with many restaurants, beach volleball tournaments daily, musical entertainment. *playa patalavaca(arguineguin): Natural sand, nice waves, good spot for bodyboarding, mostly locals. *playa anfi(arguineguin):beautiful white sand, clear blue water, palm trees, a few good restaurants a shops, entertainment every evening, variety of watersports, beach volleyball, little island attached for walking. gets a little crowded. Activities: *Tandem skydiving: get a great view of playa del ingles/maspalomas as you fly high into the sky. Land your jump in the famous dunes of maspalomas. *sand boarding: same idea as snowboarding but in the sandy dunes of maspalomas. *seadoo: take a ride in the beautiful waters in the south of the island. *surfing: many beaches with great waves for surfing...mostly in the north of the island. *bungy jumping: jump off a bridge in galdar for only 15 euros! *camel riding: ride on the back of a camel through the dunes of maspalomas. *sunbathing: almost every beach is equipped with sunbeds and sombrillas for rent at cheap cost. its beach day all year round in sunny gran canaria! *aqualand: water park in maspalomas. lots of activities for all ages...wave pool, tanning area, swimming pool, round lagoon with mats, kids water playground, swirley slides, fast slides, race slides, mat slides, lots of concessions, lockers, tank of sealions (learn to do tricks with them and get your picture taken). Nightlife: Yumbo centre (maspalomas): europes gay capital. mostly bars with drag queens, lots of restaurants, lots of shops, fun for the whole family, just be careful which bar/shop you enter. *kazba (playa del ingles): BEST nightlife on the island. All locals and tourists from all over the island come here at night. Many restaurants, pubs, karaoke bars, and after hours clubs. it's huge! not likely to be able to check out all the nightlife in this centre in just one night. every kind of music, age group, dance, karaoke, nationaliy, drinks you can imagine. drinks can range from 1 euro for a tequila shot to 15 euros for a drink. depends which bars you go to. bars are open til 3-4 am and afterhours clubs are open til 7 am. *shopping centre (puerto rico): lots of shops and restaurants. many bars and a couple after hours clubs. lots of irish bars! youll also find karaoke and lots of dancing! many english and irish tourists here. not many locals. festivals: *carnaval: celebration of the body! the whole month of february. everycity has their own carnaval which lasts a week. throughout the week you will see drag queen elections, child queen election, old queen election, and the carnaval queen election. all of which are great shows..especially the drag queen show! the gay community of gran canaria is extremely creative! the costumes are incredible, the music is fantastic and the dance routines/acrobatics will shock you! the humour is also fantastic. There is also live music in the evenings and booths with typical canarian food. also, rides for the kids are up all week. on the weekend is the big party! huge parade..everyone dresses up in costumes, the queens are decked out in costumes made of jewelery!!!, huge trucks are set up with music and dancers in costumes, the whole crowd follows along and becomes part of the parade. at the end of the parade there's a huge party..lots of music, dancing, drinking, eating, just a big costume party!!! best parties are in las palmas and maspalomas. if you're looking for something a lil smaller and with lots of locals try arguineguin. *festival de san juan: big water festival. lots of music and typical canarian food, rides set up for the kids, everyone drinks, someppl whear costumes, a band plays through all the streets of the city, huge water fight party through the whole city ending at the beach. there are many other festivals throughout the whole year, in the summer time especially. those are just my 2 favorites! theres lots more to do wit the culture, the food, the music, more waterfights,GAY PRIDE!, gran canaria is a party island with fiestas and great nightlife all year round!!! :D The island is not very big...takes about an hour max to get from one end to the other. buses are cheap and take you all over the island..anywhere from 1-6 euros. taxis arent too bad either, especially if you're splitting between a few ppl! Okay, so theres a LOT more i could add , but this is the jist of it and Im running out of time here. send me a msg if you have any questions!