Saturday, 28 March. GRAN CANARIA.

We had ordered a very early room service breakfast, so were up in time to watch the arrival and tie-up at Las Palmas. Our tour set out at 8, starting with a photo stop overlooking Las Palmas.

We drove to Teror, a lovely village in the mountains.

We visited the beautiful church and enjoyed the square. It was early, so the town was just coming alive. There was quite a bit of damage from a severe tropical storm last Tuesday. We were glad to have missed that. It may account for our rough tendering at Algarve.

On to Arucas, where we admired the church from the outside and strolled the main street. Another lovely town. The whole island is beautiful and it sits in a strategic position relative to trade winds and ocean currents. Christopher Columbus stayed here at the beginning of his historic voyage to the new world. It is also very fertile. They can harvest potatoes 3 times a year. Coal used to be shipped here from the UK to refuel boats heading to the Americas or the east. Rather than return empty, they were loaded with produce – potatoes, tomatoes, bananas etc. They unloaded at Canary Wharf in London. Our last stop was back in Las Palmas, at a viewpoint overlooking

 Las Canteras Beach. We were in front of a beautiful concert hall and high above the beach, so we could see its full extent. The close end had surfers doing their thing, but the far end is protected from the surf by a ring of rocks, so calmer for swimming. This was a  fascinating morning, with interesting history and beautiful sites. Back onboard, we had a light lunch followed by ice cream, then a nap. Trivia was a rather hilarious flop. For nearly every question, someone had the right answer, we debated and chose something else. Needless to say – no points. A delightful Italian dinner at Seti Mare, and another great show by the ship’s production company, featuring the MoTown sounds.

All Photos of the Day