Gran Canaria!

It's that time of the year when we fly to Gran Canaria for our 3 week holiday in the sun.

As usual, our good friends Maria and Juan visited us at our hotel in Barcelona the evening before our flight.

The following day we arrived at our hotel in Puerto Rico for a relaxing break.

One of the things about the resort is the building of the new funicular due for completion next month, (March). It is due to go one floor higher and the new reception area will be at the very top. It looks good!

As usual we had a full moon during our stay but this one was very special as at 5:12 a.m. on Monday 20th we saw the lunar eclipse...

...which was the Super Blood Wolf Moon.

Margaret wanted a picture of the eclipse with part of the hotel building so here is my Photoshopped version.

The following day the biggest crane in the world, (probably), was being used to lift pieces of the new funicular... 

...from the road below into position. Amazing!

The weather was superb throughout our stay.

One of the nice things about coming to the same resort each year is you meet up with friends made in the previous years.

Because the funicular is still under construction and the hotel is built on the mountainside, the only way to the top, the restaurant and reception area, is up the steep steps. Therefore, a "taxi" service had been provided in the form of this Fiat Panda which could negotiate the very narrow "roads" with seemingly impossible curves driven by a team of 3 expert drivers. Note the "modifications" to the car around the wheel arches!

An improvement since last year is the provision of a chef who makes an omelette of your choice for breakfast each morning. This chef quickly knew me as "Señor jamón y queso" as that was my daily request.

During our stay the sea, the Atlantic Ocean, was remarkably calm.

Added to that, the sky was clear most days...

...which gave photos a great background.

We actually did very little during the 3 weeks - we visited the market in Arguineguin once...

...and our favourite garden of Montecristo on another day. The reason for this can be seen in the photo above where Margaret has a crutch and was still recovering from her foot operation which took place before Christmas.

However, she made it around Montecristo and we had a lovely excursion...

...including some good photo opportunities.

Most of the time was spent on our terrace just watching the world go by.

The photo above shows the current reception area, just inside where Margaret is standing, and the new reception area being built above. Due to the position of the sun it is a bit of a panorama stitch/Photoshop failure as it is quite obvious where the 3 original photos were stitched together. It gives the general idea though.

Finally, back to our hotel near Barcelona airport and the end of a fantastic holiday. Until next time!

Gran Canaria

We're into January and it's time for our annual trip to Puerto Rico in Gran Canaria for a spot of winter sun.

Each year we go to the same hotel, Riosol, and almost the same apartment with the same view.

The great advantage of going to the same place each year is that we have, as far as we are concerned, done everything. 

Because of this, we don't have to go exploring the island - we can have a relaxing holiday!

This year the holiday was rather like déjà vu.

There may have been different plants in flower...

...but for the most part, we had done it before...

...even down to our return visit to Cocodrilo Park to see the Fennec foxes and all their other wonderful creatures,...

...the photos of the sunrise...

...and sunset,...

...the visit to Montecristo gardens...

...to see the exotic plants and works of art...

...and the pleasant walk along the front at Puerto Rico...

...not forgetting the stop for coffee.

We also had a walk along the front of the next beach, Amadores,...

...which is very popular with sun worshippers of all ages and consequently is packed out. You don't come here to get away from it all!

One thing we did different this year was to go with a group of people from our hotel to the village of Valsequillo to their Almond Festival. The town, half way up the mountains on the east side of the island, was absolutely thronging with visitors...

...as well as displays of farm animals, artisan stalls selling produce of every description...

...and groups of musicians and dancers where you just had to join in. A great day out and another wonderful holiday!

To see the short video of my performance as a dancer, click HERE.

To see the short video of us feeding the deer at Cocodrilo Park, click HERE.

To see the short video of how to feed crocodiles at Cocodrilo Park, click HERE.

To see the short video of how to feed the tiger at Cocodrilo Park, click HERE.

Gran Canaria

Because we had a late evening flight we arrived at the hotel after the restaurant had closed so we were given a special cold dish.

The following evening the restaurant had the Canarian theme for it's dishes - wonderful!

For all of the 3 week stay every day we had blue skies with a little light cloud at times.

Morning coffee time.

The influence of the local fishing trade.

This group of 4 acrobatic dancers performed each week in the lounge in the hotel and were very good.

They had some amazing moves.

Sunrise is always quite spectacular here.

The moonrise too was exceptional.

The full moon was tremendously bright.

Despite initially saying we wanted a 3 week holiday of doing nothing we visited 'Cocodrilo Park Zoo'.

This amazing place was home to many animals brought by individuals or seized by the government.

Visitors are encouraged to have a 'hands-on' interaction with some of the animals such as these miniature foxes...

...a python called Monty...

...and a young crocodile.

The mature crocodiles were quite at home bathing in their water area where we saw them being fed although they weren't that hungry as being cold blooded creatures they were more interested in dozing at this time of year.

To see my video of the animals and plants click HERE.

Sunset is another favourite spectacle and the views here did not disappoint.

Another sunrise, below, and at the same time the moon was visible in the morning sky.

A typical lunch on our terrace.

In the centre of Puerto Rico there are some wonderful trees...

...some of which are very architectural.

Yet another day out and this time to the garden of Monte Cristo...

...which houses a vast number of interesting plants and works of art.

Around every corner is a sight of a sculpture or other interesting piece which draws you through the garden.

To see my video of the Monte Cristo garden click HERE.

Back at our hotel the same cat we saw last year when we stayed here visited for a snack.

The parasols on the beach are very colourful with the blue of the sea and the gold of the sand.

It may be January but the plants here flower throughout the year.

Finally we flew back to Barcelona and met up with our good friends Maria and Juan...

...and enjoyed a meal in the hotel restaurant before returning home the following day after a truly momentous holiday.