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Gran CanariaHiking holiday, January 2005 Click on the arrows below to scroll through the slides
Maspalomas Dunes at Maspalomas Playa de Maspalomas The dunes were a complexity theorist's delight! Lawrence of Arabia, having lost his camel Not a naked German in sight Mirador above Maspalomas The roads are not for the faint-hearted! Roque Nublo Beneath Roque Nublo Mountain after mountain after mountain... Near Roque Nublo, 6000 feet altitude Caldera de Bandama Caldera de Bandama Caldera de Bandama Caldera de Bandama Caldera de Bandama The Island of Everlasting Spring More wild flora Caldera de Bandama Guanche Cemetary at Arteara Guanche Cemetary at Arteara Guanche Cemetary at Arteara Arteara - a hike from the cemetery into the hills A couple of mountain bikers Dunes at sunset Maspalomas Near Cruz de Tejada Mount Teide on Tenerife, visible from Gran Canaria The Interior A rare waterfall One of many abandoned settlements Keeping one's feet cool is vital when hiking here! A dried-up waterfall Yours truly Dr Livingstone, I presume More foot-cooling... The exploration team The waterfall shelf, above Soria A Hobbit's house, carved in a lava bubble Volcanic necks Steady now! Recently inhabited cave dwellings The view from the previous caves. It's alright I suppose. Mistress of all she surveys The vegetation is vaied - from pines to cacti, depending on altitude Abandoned cave house Oranges are not the only fruit Modern cave houses Watch where you stay Even though the resorts are pretty plebby, they're in a beautiful landscape I assumed this dune field was created from sand blown over from the nearby Sahara, but apparently it's entirely made from sea shell fragments We only went on the beach once all week! Not only was it windy but it was filled with hordes of fat naked Germans. The mountains, on the other hand, were almost completely empty of tourists. Assume every journey is 2.5 times the distance shown on the map, and can be traversed at an average of 15mph. And on no account look down! Landmark visible from almost everywhere on the island. It's a lot bigger than it looks - there are people at the base but they're less than a pixel high in this image! There's a great walk around the rim of this crater and into the interior Guanche houses in the crater rim Our intrepid explorer, moments before she plunged headlong into a volcano (mercifully sustaining no more than cuts and bruises) ...again. Crater walls The lush interior of the crater is farmed by a single occupant, who presumably doesn't get out much. Actually, it seems to be Spring, Summer and Autumn simultaneously on Gran Canaria Walking round the crater rim is a bit nerve-racking in places, as there's a 600-foot drop immediately to both sides of you. Hundreds of grave cairns in an ancient landslip - very evocative ..the only human beings we saw that day Not really a Muslim holy site - actually just a lighthouse and a bunch of hotels The island's a volcano, so the rocks are often wonderful colours ..this time 500 feet vertically above the barranco floor, in a stunning shelf made by an ancient waterfall Beware falling rocks The Guanches lived in caves, so did the Spanish settlers, and many of them still do today. The climate is very consistent - 22 degrees plus or minus a couple at sea level, descending to arouns freezing point at the highest peak. but there are a lot of them Building an extension is easy - simply carve out a new room in the hillside! Playa del Ingles is for the sun-soaking, beer-swilling brigade. Maspalomas is quieter. Puerto de Mogan looks fairly nice. But many of the western resorts are just concrete monstrosities clambering up bare rock. Heaven knows what people do when they get bored with the crowded beach.
Maspalomas Even though the resorts are pretty plebby, they're in a beautiful landscape |
Copyright © 2004 Cyberlife Research Ltd. |
