GRAN CANARIA

Back in Madrid, Semana Santa has come and gone just like that. What is there to possibly say?

Es que...words cannot describe how wonderfully INCREDIBLE Gran Canaria was. It has officially taken 1st place in the spring break rankings (which says a lot, considering I´ve been enjoying this annual vacation since I was five). And since I really don´t know where to start... I guess I´ll start at the beginning...

Back in October, at a birthday party of a friend of a friend of a friend (this might qualify for crashing), I met a group of wild Spaniards from Zaragoza and subsequently spent the rest of the night running around the city with them. We exchanged numbers and emails (Gran Via, 8 am), and have maintained contact, despite the fact that our attempts to meet up since had never been fruitful. But this must have been the reason we kept in touch--when two weeks ago my Zaragozan pal mentioned he was spending SS in Gran Canaria at a friend´s house (and would I like to come?). Funny you should ask... YES I WOULD. I called my partner in crime, the one, the only, Nicole Byrns, and for anyone who knows her, you can guess her response. "Let´s book tickets NOW".

So we arrived to Las Palmas last Tuesday, and the rest is history. Gran Canaria is amazingly diverse--we went from beaches, to sand dunes, to caves, to pine forests, to valleys, to banana plantations, to cliffs. Not to mention it´s uncanny South American feel, having strong Venezuelan roots (as well as accents..).

The group matched the island in its diversness--we were 8, Nicole and I (the "Americanitas") adding to a hodgepodge of six from Zaragoza, Madrid and Cadiz. We all thorougly enjoyed being temporary roommates in a beautiful house settled in the hills of Las Palmas capital, with incredible views of the bay.

That´s all there is to say on this subjet for now (it´s making me nostalgic). Enjoy the pictures :)

Christopher Colombus´house in Las Palmas

One of the many moments I sat on a cliff. Notice the small white patch down below--the town of Agaete, where we had lunch the day before.

Playa del Ingles--the sand dune beach.

View of Las Palmas from Pablo´s house.

There must be a God, right?

Nicole giving mass in cave church.

Map of cave restaurant (as you can imagine, it was really dark, so we ate outside).
Windy Agaete.