Page 12 / Blog Gran Canaria

12/01/2018

The potato: from the Andes to Gran Canaria

The humble potato, one of the jewels of Gran Canaria’s cuisine, has a passionate tale to tell.

Let us tell you the story of an incredible journey which is not yet over. Our hero in this story is not that big, but has become world famous, has received countless awards, and has inspired poems and songs, has fed whole generations, and has become one of the greatest symbols of Gran Canaria’s gastronomy.

Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse)

29/12/2017

Maspalomas Lighthouse looks towards a bright future

El Faro de Maspalomas Lighthouse in Gran Canaria is planning to open a craft shop, museum and a tourist information point.

Maspalomas lighthouse launched its first beam into the skies one night in 1890. Over 125 years on, this emblematic display of Gran Canarian civil engineering located down at the south of the island is gearing up to beam a brand new kind of light, thanks to a project to open a craft shop and information point to the general public on site. They will also be restoring the former living quarters of the lighthouse-keeper, prior to the installation of the automatic beam mechanism, and also the rooms where the old machinery is kept, a real museum piece indeed.

22/12/2017

Amadores Beach, a daily dose of sun and relaxation

Amadores Beach, in Gran Canaria, guarantees total tranquility in a place where a stretched out towel is a conquest of the good life.

Nobody does this nowadays, but there are chronicles out there that indicate that ancient inhabitants from this area on occasions used to go up to the top of the mountain of Amadores (that appeared on some old maps at ‘Llamadores’), at the top of Lechugal Ravine, to shout out to the fishermen. Today it is still possible to cast our eyes over the gentle bobbing of fishing boats as they come in and out of the coast of Mogán, the municipality in which the velvety beach of Amadores nestles invitingly, a beach where people now only speak quietly and whisper.

13/12/2017

The first verse of the Poem of the Sea

The Poema del Mar Aquarium, the most spectacular one of its kind in Europe, opens a window to the marine universe in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The oceans are now reciting their own verses on the island. The Poema del Mar, the grand aquarium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has opened its doors to offer a window to the marine universe. Its facilities are the most spectacular in Europe and is therefore set to become one of the great attractions, not only in the city and on the island, but in the Canaries as a whole.

Detail of the Sand Nativity Scene, at Las Canteras beach

05/12/2017

Gran Canaria sets up their Nativity Scene

The Sand Nativity Scene at Las Canteras beach is the flagship of dozens of Birth Scenes spread all around Gran Canaria.

Leonardo, Benoît, Marieke, Aleksei, Enguerrand, Dan, Vadim, Alexey and Jonay come from different countries around Europe. Yet, for several weeks they speak a single language: the language of sand. They are sculptors who between them have used some 2,000 tons of arid sand from Las Canteras beach, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, to build the greatest Nativity Scene of its kind in Continental Europe. Its sheer size however is by no means its only attraction, as they have also managed to express real emotion through this temporary structure, which leaves a permanent mark in the memories of those fortunate enough to get a close up of it.

29/11/2017

Visions of Christmas in Gran Canaria

A wholly different kind of Christmas is out there to be seen, heard and savoured in Gran Canaria.

Enigmatic news has just reached us from Gran Canaria. It appears that the Christmas Spirit has been spotted on the island. Several shocked testimonies confirm this to be the case. Some witnesses claim they have seen it moving around the dunes at the south, like a warm, gentle breeze that raises the sand pyramids. The story goes that here, Christmas is a far from cold affair, and people are throwing off the warm clothing they are dependent on at higher latitudes.

21/11/2017

Saulo Sarmiento, acrobatics in Gran Canaria

Gymnast, multidisciplinary artist and acrobatic dancer Saulo Sarmiento fuses in with his home island, Gran Canaria.

Saulo Sarmiento speaks the same language as the elements. For this reason his body is able to grip onto the volcanic stone of the cliffs that hang over the ocean, or on the beds of the deep ravines of the interior, and fuse in with them all. Saulo does acrobatics, and is just like the wind on the crest of Maspalomas Dunes, or between the branches of the trees in the hillsides around Gran Canaria. Saulo sometimes looks like liquid, just like the Atlantic where he was born, into which he plunges like he did when he was a young child, way before he became a solo performer at the circus of Cirque du Soleil.

16/11/2017

Call me Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is the name given to the island, and has been for centuries now.

Call me Gran Canaria. That’s my name and the only one I answer to. That’s how I’ve been known for centuries and is the denomination which tells of my history, my essence, the people who live on me, the air that breezes past my peaks, and all the people, legends, experiences and amorous conquests and failures that have occurred, are occurring and are yet to occur along my shoreline. Call me Gran Canaria, because these two words alone are the backbone to everything I am and everything I can offer you.

08/11/2017

Gran Canaria boasts blue flag beaches

Gran Canaria has become the Canary Island to have the highest number of beaches with blue flags, with a total of 14 beaches currently holding this award.

Gran Canaria continues to wave the Blue Flag. The international jury has recognised this fact by awarding fourteen of the island’s beaches with this distinción, making it the island with the most blue flags in the archipielago. The awards are made by the European Foundation of Environmental Quality once they have analyzed a series of parametres including water quality, environmental management, security and services, and information supplied to users.

03/11/2017

Womad, the whole planet dances in Gran Canaria

The Womad Festival provides a great chance to get to know Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the island as a whole.

The whole world will be up singing and dancing between 7th and 10th November at Santa Catalina Park in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with the celebration of the Womad (World of Music, Arts & Dance) Festival, an event that will bring together dozens of artists from a wide range of places such as South Africa, Argentina, Morocco, United Kingdom, Mali, the West Indies and Israel.

26/10/2017

Gran Canaria, the island with 80,000 chestnut trees

Gran Canaria harvests chestnuts until midway through December, and visitors can savour their autumnal flavours on the way back from the beach.

They are shaped like littIe hearts. It is no surprise then that they are considered the real spirit of autumn, with a very special nuance in the case of Gran Canaria. At other latitudes, the chestnut heralds the arrival of the cold, with stories of families sat around the burning logfire while the world outside is freezing and the wolves are howling. Don’t worry, there are no wolves in Gran Canaria. Besides, right here you can savour their autumnal flavour on your way back from the beach if you come across a stall where they cleverly roast them for you on a camp stove.

20/10/2017

The time temple of Gran Canaria

The workshop of watchmaker Pedro Macías in the district of Vegueta in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria provides a gift for the senses.

As a boy there was a lovely American-made wall clock in Pedro Macías Falcón’s house. It was over a hundred years old, that’s old even for a clock. When he was on his own he would play around with it, scrutinize it and put it to his ear to hear the tick-tocking of its little metal heart. He got so caught up in the hands of the clock that Pedro ended up being a watchmaker, learning the tricks of the trade in the workshop of family relative José Henríquez. The workshop looked more like a magical kingdom of chords, anchors, rods and minute hands there in the peace and quiet of Tenoya.

Blog Oficial de Turismo de Gran Canaria