The Cunning Canary

When you are enjoying Gran Canaria holidays it is nice to find great restaurants too. There are hundreds to choose from but not all of them are good! See the Restaurants Gran Canaria post for more restaurant ideas.

Restaurant Picasso is between the Lara Apartment Complex and the Europa Centre in Puerto Rico. It calls itself an Italian pizzeria but there are many different dishes on the menu, including sole, mussels and various cuts of steak.

[Read more →]

Gloria Palace is one of the best hotels in the south of Gran Canaria. Located halfway between Amadores Beach and Puerto Rico Beach, Gloria Palace Hotel has a lift which takes you straight down to the beach promenade.

Although I’ve never stayed there, I’ve seen the rooms and enjoyed their breakfast buffet several times! It’s about 5 minutes from Puerto Escala where I work and the breakfast is top notch. It is a huge buffet with everything from yogurt, cereal, toast and pastries to freshy cooked bacon, sausage, eggs and pancakes! There are different fruit juices, herbal teas and coffees and fruit smoothies. Try to get in the dining room before 9am because it gets packed!

[Read more →]

Whether you’re staying in Puerto Rico, Amadores or Playa del Inglés, it’s easy to get to Las Palmas and there is a lot to see, including museums, galleries and other attractions (oh, and lots of shops and bars!!) Many of the houses on the outskirts are painted in bright colours.

Photo By Sergio Pixel

How to Get There

[Read more →]

Holidays in Gran Canaria aren’t complete without a visit to Puerto de Mogan. Nicknamed “Little Venice” it’s full of waterways and quaint houses. If you want to visit Puerto de Mogan market, go on a Friday. You can get the hourly ferry from Arguineguin or Puerto Rico (Puerto Base or Puerto Escala harbour). If you get the ferry, you will get views of Amadores beach on the way, which is another nice place to visit. The market in Mogan is on from 9am until 2pm. You can get the bus or a taxi if you’re worried about getting seasick!

Activities 

[Read more →]

Gran Canaria has had strong links with space ever since a tracking station was constructed in 1960. This European Space Agency tracking station cemented Gran Canaria’s strong links with the United States and was used in various missions including some of the Apollo space missions.

Photo By PingNews

There are more than 20 powerful telescopes at this facility and the exceptional quality of the Canarian sky is legally protected.

There are new plans to construct a theme park in the area where the satellite is to let you experience being an astronaut for a day! Future plans for this area, near Maspalomas in the south, include space camps.

[Read more →]

Puerto Rico has been built into the mountains. There are hotels at rather strange angles (involving lots of steps and hills) and new ones are springing up all the time! Puerto Rico beach is quite small but there is plenty of space except for at the weekends when the Canarians come down from Las Palmas. If that beach is packed, a 15 minute walk along the sea wall takes you to Amadores Beach which is roomier.

Photo By Guayre

There are 2 shopping centres in Puerto Rico - the main shopping centre or “centro comercial” and the Europa Centre. Each of these has bars, restaurants and shops.

[Read more →]

Just a 15 minute walk from Puerto Escala, Amadores (which literally means “The Lovers”) is a great beach to visit. The beach itself is bigger than the one in Puerto Rico and has plenty of shops, bars and restaurants behind. You can rent sunbeds or spread your towel on the sand.

 
Photo By CGT

The sand’s actually different than the powdery Anfi sand or fine Puerto Rico sand. It’s coarser (made from crushed stone) and easier to brush off!

[Read more →]

Puerto Escala is one of the two harbours in Puerto Rico. You can find many activities there such as:

• Dolphin and Whale Trips
• Glass Bottomed Submarine Boat
• Sea Fishing (visit me on the Barakuda Dos desk!)
• Parascending
• Scuba Diving
• Speedboat trips on the Big Red (very scary!)
• Ferries to Mogán and Arguineguín
• A restaurant (nice Canarian cooking!)

Photo By Andy2Boyz

If you stand on the harbour wall at Puerto Escala, it is a great place to watch the Fiesta del Carmen sea parade or Fiesta de la Naval (Festival of the Sea). A 15 minute walk along the path takes you to Amadores Beach which is very pretty. There are also plenty of shops and restaurants there.

[Read more →]