The Cunning Canary

My Grand life on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands!

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Entries from November 2007

Gay Pride

November 19th, 2007 · No Comments

Gran Canaria is the gay capital of Europe and the Yumbo Centre and gay-friendly environment attract many people over from various countries. The main parades are centered around the Yumbo area of Playa del Ingles. Gay Pride 2008 is from 5th to 11th May - a whole week of partying!

Gay Pride

You can expect to see floats and the most outrageous costumes ever. I went to the one last year and it was about 40ºC so don’t forget to take plenty of water because the crowds are huge and it can be hard to find a shady spot!

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Tags: Events

Burial of the Sardine

November 16th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) is a fascinating festival! This takes place at the beginning of March and there are processions through the streets. Some of the outfits are pretty scary. I watched it this year in Arguineguín. At the end of the procession, everyone congregates on the beach to watch the fireworks which were brilliant this year - lots of oohing and aahing from the crowd!

Sardine
Photo By Dsevilla

The main part of the festival is the burial of the sardine itself although they blew it up this year - there was a loud BOOM, then loads of bits of ashes floating through the air! Very unusual!

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Tags: Events

Amadores Beach

November 7th, 2007 · No Comments

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.

 Amadores Beach
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!

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Tags: Places

Puerto Escala

November 2nd, 2007 · No Comments

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!)

Puerto Escala 2
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.

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Tags: Places

Canarian Cooking

November 2nd, 2007 · No Comments

Many people come to Gran Canaria and spend all week in a British restaurant eating steak and chips! If this is what you like, that’s fine. I like a traditional British meal at Christmas but I also like to be adventurous. If you fancy trying some authentic Canarian dishes, read on…

Canarian Potatoes with Mojo Sauce (Papas Arrugadas)
Wherever you go, nearly every main dish comes with this (unless you request chips, a jacket potato or rice) but what exactly are Canarian Potatoes with Mojo Sauce?

Canarian Spuds
Photo By Fernando Carmona

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Tags: General