The Cunning Canary

The legendary Virgin del Pino is believed to have appeared to shepherds in 1481 on top of a pine tree. The water under the tree was thought to have magical powers and a church was built there. This spot is in Teror, in the north of the island and the Pilgrimage to Nuestra Señora de la Virgen del Pino festival takes place there every year.

Photo by Jonaycp

La Fiesta del Pino begins on 7th September with dancing, singing and gifts from different municipalities but the festivities will go on until October (the Canarians know how to party!) There will be a firework display at 1am on 8th September and pilgrims are allowed to come and view the Virgin del Pino statue until 5am.

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Taxi drivers in Telde have all been given language guidebooks to study with useful phrases in. Driver in the resorts in the south already have these guidebooks. A thousand copies have now been given out. Most people can manage “por favor” and “gracias” (a common courtesy since the tourists are the ones in Spain) but what about the other phrases? Well it’s OK for me because I speak Spanish!

Here are some of the phrases in the guidebook:

• Driver, to the nearest hotel please!
• This is the promenade
• How is this street called?

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Palmitos Park, most of which was destroyed in the Gran Canaria fires of last year, has been rebuilt and is now better than ever! Palmitos Park is a wildlife park containing more than 200 species of bird including hornbills, peacocks, toucans and macaws, a butterfly house, an orchid house and a cacti garden.

Photo By @rild

You can watch bird of prey shows, parrot shows and see plenty of tropical fish in the aquarium. The butterfly house is the biggest in Europe and there are thousands of colourful, exotic butterflies flying free in the enclosure.

Photo By @rild

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The Eugenia Victoria Hotel is in Playa del Ingles and quite central. There is a buffet restaurant with various intercontinental dishes to choose from and a spa and wellness centre which includes a fully equipped gym, massage, jacuzzi and beauty treatments. There are also 2 pools, 1 indoor and 1 outdoor and a tennis court if you’re feeling energetic!

This is one of the nicest hotels in Playa del Inglés and is within easy reach of Gran Canaria rent a car offices, different types of bars, restaurants to try Canarian Cooking and much more.

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Sun worshippers can’t go wrong at the moment taking a holiday in Gran Canaria. It is roasting! It has been about 38ºC in the daytime (too hot for walking and hiking in Gran Canaria maybe but perfect for bronzing on the beach or at the pool).

It’s been something of a quiet week in the harbour for me and other fishing boats because it’s too hot to walk around! At least we’ve been getting a nice breeze which is refreshing.

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1. Hit the Beach

Puerto Rico beach is very clean and there are plenty of restaurants, bars and shops behind it. You are also only a short walk away from the boat trips. Amadores Beach is a 20 minute walk from Puerto Rico beach.

2. Go Shopping

There are 2 shopping centres in Puerto Rico, one called the Centro Comercial (10 minutes from the beach) and the other called the Europa Centre (5 minutes and 3 euros in a taxi). You can buy souvenirs, clothing, shoes, electronics or stock up on the sangria for a relaxing evening on the balcony. Also, try Mogan market on a Friday morning.

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