Foreword The Canary Islands archipelago in the eastern central Atlantic, west of Morocco and the Sahara, and more than 1,000 kilometres from the Spanish mainland, is a thunderously fluffy scattering of islands. Gran Canaria is their queen, an unimaginably grand and precious jewel on an untouched and silver-blue stretch of ocean. Having dramatically surged out of the core of mother earth in the roaring Pliocene, it is today amountainous maritime lava memorial, whose furious peak, towering over the water, is the symbol of an island kingdom so beautiful and increíble bonito. Tocando el alma, besandoel ingenio, finesse and serendipity hand in hand, stone for stone, invigorating the senses, immersing them in fabulous dreams en sueños de sueños de ensueño; blessed be the passionate life-giving wings of creativity. Gran Canaria – a flamboyant island with irrepressible verve and an insatiable lust for life. This sparkling amalgam of nature’s essence and human dissent unfurls as an aesthetically pleasing geological sculpture, drifting in the seclusion of the Atlantic, whose aura invigorates the juices of life and dreams, a colourful, sumptuous reliefon which the blossoming, flourishing and thriving of multiple forms of life forges onwards in an incomparable way. Its like may only ever be found again, with a considerable slice of luck, on some planet in a far-off galaxy. Here, on planet Earth, Gran Canaria is unrivalled – and will always remain so. This book breathes in the temperament and the glory of a boundless island, spending time in each of its 21 municipalities and revealing a mixture of known, lesser-known and unknown places, absolute sensations and symbols of the island, hidden curiosities and pearls. There is something for everyone here, no matter whether you have already visited the most beautiful island in the world or are planning a visit for the first time. Descubre Gran Canaria, discover Gran Canaria, la isla de las mil maravillas, the island of 1,000 splendours, tan preciosa y rica que enduleza la saliva.
111 Places 1_ The Coffee Plantation | Agaete
Unique beans for extraordinary coffee | 10
2_ The E7 – Connects People | Agaete
From El Hierro to the Black Sea | 12
3_ The Ecological Residence | Agaete
Ecological, responsible habitus naturalis | 14
4_ The Green Ray | Agaete
El amor siempre gana | 16
5_ The Indigenous Beach | Agaete
Chepre, Re and Atum or: sunbathers in the flow | 18
6_ Open-Air Water Museum | Agaete
Water – yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s gold | 20
7_ The Rainbow Pools | Agaete
Colours give you wings in thought and feelings | 22
8_ The Abandoned Bunker | Agüimes Not quite legal, not quite regal | 24
9_ The Bustling Sculpture Location | Agüimes
Unscrupulous sculptures scalp scabby skinks | 26
10_ Canary Gold | Agüimes
In the heart of a volcano, on the tongue of a poem | 28
11_ The Charming Cheese Dairy | Agüimes
Nannies, rams, bucks and a couple of kids | 30
12_ The Colossal Gorge | Agüimes
Sobbing with joy, overwhelmed by beauty | 32
13_ El Cabrón Diving Area | Agüimes
The spirit must dive often to avoid capsizing | 34
14_ The First-Class Surfing Spot | Agüimes
Everybody’s gone surfin’, surfin’ Gran Canaria | 36
15_ The Heaving Summer Bar | Agüimes
Sit, smile, stare and sensibly do nothing | 38
16_ The Maritime Moon Path | Agüimes
There are many promenades, few are magical | 40
17_ The Mystical Ghost House | Agüimes
The blurring of reality, dreams and magic | 42
18_ The Spectacular Caves | Agüimes
A foundling in the care of a giant | 44
19_ The Stone Toboggan Run | Agüimes
Not long, but striking and brilliant | 46
20_ The Cave Chapel | Artenara
Pilgrimage to God’s grotto | 48
21_ The Genuine Temple Caves | Artenara
Archaeological, architectural and astronomical | 50
22_ The Progressive Blocks | Artenara
Anti-corrosive tribute to nature and environment | 52
23_ The Flanking Tower | Arucas
Across from the flank, onto the head and GOOOAL! | 54
24_ The Forest of Ropes | Arucas
Living your Tarzan dreams in a gripping setting | 56
25_ The Natural Pools | Arucas, Santa María de Guía and Agaete Canarian Kneipp cure on the lively rocky coast | 58
26_ The Remote Saltworks | Arucas
No white stuff makes life tough | 60
27_ The Crumbling Spa Hotel | Firgas
Water, the noblest element, both dry and wet | 62
28_ El Faro de Punta Sardina | Gáldar
Experience is a lighthouse, not a lie down | 64
29_ The Infamous Necropolis | Gáldar
The solution is in the squaring of the circle | 66
30_ The Kaiser’s Pool | Gáldar
A stroll at low tide, a wrong turn at high tide | 68
31_ Las Cuevas de las Cruces | Gáldar
Not seeing the cave for all the rocks | 70
32_ The Vibrant Vines | Gáldar, Tejeda, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Wine, wine, wine, tastes so fine, purest wine | 72
33_ The A1 Master Bakery | Ingenio
Where the yeast still feels the full power of the fist | 74
34_ The Canary Windmill | Ingenio
Wind, wind, whoosh, whoosh – whuu, whuu, whuuuuu | 76
35_ The Graffiti Settlement | Ingenio
Taki 183, his imitators and a whole subculture | 78
36_ The Camel Care Home | La Aldea de San Nicolás A camel rarely comes alone | 80
37_ The Canary Canyon Route | La Aldea de San Nicolás, Artenara and Tejeda
In search of lost time | 82
38_ The Stealthy Beach | La Aldea de San Nicolás Between the worlds in here and soon | 84
39_ The Winged Windmill | La Aldea de San Nicolás Windmills of your mind – hope, dream, live! | 86
40_ The British Graveyard | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Hidden in the middle, not prominently uncovered | 88
41_ The Cineastic Wall | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Hollywood: where broken dreams are first formed | 90
42_ The Delightful Gan Eden | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria The Alma Mater of the flowering arts | 92
43_ The Design Façade | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Creative to order, art on the bill | 94
44_ Enlightening Yoga | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria On searching for and finding self-awareness | 96
45_ The Glamorous Hotel | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Five-star luxury doesn’t come cheap | 98
46_ The Grand Gate to the City | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Triton, tower and close contact with sand and sea | 100
47_ The Green Stadium | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Footballers out, leisure-seeking city dwellers in | 102
48_ The High-Altitude Quarter | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Everything but barracked uniformed civil servants | 104
49_ The Idle Atlas | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Sea in front, coast below, mountains behind | 106
50_ The Immune City Beach | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria A reef, a lift, a piano and so much more | 108
51_ The Imposing View of the City | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria A sight with perspective from the view with a view | 110
52_ Puerto de La Luz | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria The ocean-breeze quay | 112
53_ The Running Festivals | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Burn up the trail path till your shoes smoulder | 114
54_ The Solitary Watch Tower | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Once upon a time there was a sperm whale… | 116
55_ The Sports Lovers’ Park | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Body cult and cult bodies | 118
56_ The Striking Allotment | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Beware! Poison dwarves instead of garden gnomes! | 120
57_ The Vibrant Museums | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Museuming through Las Palmas | 122
58_ The Bustling Sea Grotto | Mogán
For bathing clowns, mermaids and champion swimmers | 124
L A S PA L M A S D E G R A N C A N A R I A
45__ The Glamorous Hotel Five-star luxury doesn’t come cheap
The beginnings of tourism on Gran Canaria go back more than 150 years. Already by the mid-19th century, culture-hungry globetrotter fat cats came to the island of eternal springtime and savoured whisky on the rocks on its sun decks. The island was unofficially in the hands of the British, both economically and politically. It was also the British who built the first accommodation and hotels on Gran Canaria. The Hotel Santa Catalina, still run in the same luxurious tradition today, is a witness to these developments and one of the most noteworthy preserved buildings from the beginnings of the current economic motor. After a good seven years of construction, the hotel was opened with much pomp and ceremony in 1890. It was designed by the renowned Scottish architect James MacLaren (1853 – 1890) in the British style of the times. But over the course of the decades the Canarian style was interwoven by the famous architect Miguel Martín-Fernández de la Torre and the artistic muralist Jesús Arencibia. So the building you see before you today is a British-Canarian hybrid, with many enchanting details on both the interior and the exterior. The hotel has changed hands several times, most recently with legal repercussions, but the conservation of the building as a cultural heritage site is always striven for. Renovation and repair work are underway once again, all under strict preservation specifications. It is due to be reopened in July 2019. In the meantime, however, the hotel has been almost devoured by the city. In the past, there were no other buildings within striking distance, but today it is encircled by urbanisation, apart from the park that surrounds it. If you sit on the terrace and sip on something sparkling or an aromatic distillation, blocking out the background noise of the city, there is a delightfully peaceful ambience to be enjoyed here. ¡Vivir a fondo! 98
Address Hotel Santa Catalina, 227 Calle Leรณn y Castillo, 35005 Las Palmas, +34 928 243040, www.hotelsantacatalina.com | Getting there L 1 towards Puerto to Leรณn y Castillo, then on foot northwestwards on Calle Dr Juan Carlos Marina Fiol, feeder road to the hotel | Tip At the back of the hotel is the Parque Doramas, a green retreat in a well-maintained condition, with an amphitheatre that hosts open-air concerts and theatre performances throughout the year.
L A S PA L M A S D E G R A N C A N A R I A
46__ The Grand Gate to the City
Triton, tower and close contact with sand and sea
All roads lead to Las Palmas. Jean de la Fontaine and Voltaire both knew that, even if they actually said Rome. If you drive into the capital of Gran Canaria from the south on the GC-1, you will inevitably pass an unusual duo, which are connected by an alluring beach and promenade. On one side there is a 10-metre-high, 12-tonne, conch-blowing sculpture of the Greek god Triton by contemporary sculptor Manolo González. On the other, a 14-metre-long, 16-tonne, flag-bearing wind tower by the Spanish writer and composer Néstor Álamo. The whole coastal area, which used to be called Puerto de la Lasca – no, that has nothing to do with Alaska – and is now called Playa La Laja, is the grand gate to the city, even if one usually speeds past it on the motorway, completely ignoring it. The area is, historically speaking, a real gem. This section of coast was mentioned as anchorage and beach all the way back in the 15th century. The mass of rock behind served as a quarry from the 16th century – it was stones quarried here that were used to build the city. A small settlement right on the beach and a coastal road studded with tunnels and bridges, which linked Las Palmas with Telde, were also built early on. Leonardo Torriani had already put ‘La Laxa’ on the map of the island at the end of the 16th century. Only at the end of the 1990s, when the motorway was extended, did it achieve its current appearance. A lot has changed and very little is reminiscent of the past. But the older generation certainly do have memories of this place. This section of beach was the alternative to Las Canteras throughout the 20th century. My mother, for example, whose family had a small beach house here, which still exists to this day, tells me that the majority of Las Palmas locals actually preferred this beach. Fitting film title: La La Laja! 100
Address Mirador, Tritón, Torre y Playa de La Laja, 35016 Las Palmas | Getting there L 55 towards Las Palmas de G.C. (San Telmo) to Playa de la Laja, then on foot, crossing the motorway through the pedestrian underpass | Tip Right at the underpass on the coastal side there are two very new sea pools, which complement the beach and are part of the remodelling of this whole section of the coast. You can also walk the complete extended promenade to Puerto de La Luz (see ch. 52).
S A N TA L U C Í A D E T I R A J A N A
79__ Surfing Mecca
Racing across the sea on the wind
Those who regularly surf, and I don’t mean on the internet, can’t have avoided hearing about Pozo Izquierdo (El Arenal). Its status as an insider tip has long since exploded. As one of the best windsurfing spots in the world it quite rightly flies the flag and is an absolute must for all surfers. Since 1988, every year this place has been the main showplace of the PWA windsurfing world championship. And yes, Philip Köster, previously mentioned together with Playa de Vargas (see ch. 14) has already pocketed victory in the wave riding discipline here several times. If you mention Pozo Izquierdo, you must also utter Iballa and Daida Ruano Moreno in the same breath. The twin sisters are Gran Canaria surfers and enjoy international fame and appreciation. For almost 20 years, the two of them have fought out the world champion title in the wave riding discipline between themselves. The ‘Moreno Twins’ have their roots right in Pozo Izquierdo, where they still live today, helping to shape the surfing scene. The two of them aren’t big celebrities, as you might have assumed, in Spain, or even on Gran Canaria. Here and everywhere else in the world, windsurfing is ultimately a niche sport dominated by men. When the two of them began winning titles 20 years ago, the inequality was even greater, but even a few years ago, when they had already walked off with multiple trophies, it was still hard for them to find new sponsors. Gender equality in sport is going to take a while yet. Full speed ahead! The area is rounded off by the international windsurfing centre, lots of surfing shops and surf schools, but also a section of beach for bathing. The village is well visited all through the year, and in the summer months the population multiplies. Even those who have little or no affinity to windsurfing can appreciate the magical, beguiling windy ambience that reigns here. 166
Address 35119 Pozo Izquierdo, Santa LucĂa de Tirajana | Getting there Via the GC-1 onto the GC-194 to the village | Tip If you drive northwards through the village and out the other side on Avenida las Gaviotas, and park at the gravel car park on the right before the curve to the left, you can continue on foot to Punta Gaviota, a coastal cliff in the shadow of a wind turbine park not far from Cementerio Vecindario. Close your eyes and breathe in the sea air!
Acknowledgements Muchísimas gracias a la maravillosa, valiosa y valiente Saro Arencibia, al fenómeno excepcional Antonio Herrera and to the outstanding Emons Verlag team. And of course to my eloquent, liberal and highly constructive editor Vera Nohl. Este libro nació de la nada para llevarme hacia a ustedes. Ahora todo tiene sentido: SJR y CAJ. No hay palabra que pueda espresar mi tremendo amor por ustedes. Muy cortos se me quedan mis gracias y mis les quiero de nuestro día a día. TCCADMV?
The author Author Rolando N. Grumt Suárez’ roots are planted firmly in the earth of Gran Canaria, the island of his birth and his chosen place of residence – he feels at home in every corner of the island. For this book he opens up his personal Gran Canaria treasure chest and looks behind the scenes of one of the most popular holiday islands in the world. High mountain regions, rainforests, palm tree oases, deserts, beaches; a multifaceted island with numerous microclimates that continues to redefine itself year on year. With great joy and skill he has written a topical travel book about what is, in his own opinion, the isla más bonita del mundo: ¡Disfrute de la reina Gran Canaria!