First of all, there was the BIGGEST of BIG news on Gran Canaria this month! Well, apart from this of course:
In the middle of June, Michael and I were beginning to worry that civil war had broken out on the island, when all we could hear were loud explosions, screaming and car horns outside. The local Las Palmas "football" team has moved into the Spanish Football League's first division (La Liga) for the first time in 13 years after winning against Zaragoza 2-0 in Gran Canaria. This is a big win for Las Palmas, who came close last year but were disqualified thanks to some overly keen pitch invaders. As the professional bandwagon jumper that I am, I will be keeping a close (ish) eye on their progress.
Check out the FEROCIOUS mascot for UD Las Palmas:
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| (HAHAHAHAHA!) |
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| Somos de Primera! |
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| The team toured the city on buses signing autographs... |
Annnnyway, enough of this chit chat about "football".
We have been busy exploring the island, all 1500 square km's of it. The weather is now a Kath - friendly 28 degrees with the perfect amount of humidity, so beach time has steadily been on the increase.
For Brad's last break we hit up the local Go Karting race track, and with an EU15 wager on the line, Michael and Brad took each other on. They were kind enough to let me join in, with my only goal to beat the lap time of the 12 year old who went before us. I failed at my objective. After a shaky start where I had a mild claustrophobic attack as I went to put my helmet on, we were off! All I saw the whole race was a blur of Michael and Brad in front and behind me and a lot of blue lights (which were constantly being waved at me to indicate that I needed to let someone overtake). Michael was victorious and Brad has since been working on his list of excuses. Some of the most convincing include: "I was hungover", "I needed to let him win so he wouldn't be too upset" and "Kath was always in my way".
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| Winner winner chicken dinner! |
We went Marlin fishing down south last week as it is coming into season now. We had booked to go a month earlier and cancelled - that same day they caught a 600 pound Blue Marlin... Just our luck! With a bunch of 7 burly blokes on board (plus Michael & Brad), I was the lone chica - ready to catch the biggest fish! Excitement in the boat grew as a French guy hooked a huge Dorada, strapped himself into the chair and hurled it in... All I could think of was that if I were to hook a 600 pound Marlin, I would be pulled over board in about 5 seconds and pulled all the way to Africa. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything and by the end of the day all three of us were asleep on the floor of the boat, rolling around the boat as it crashed into waves and trolled the ocean for fish. It was a good day for a sun bake anyway and we did see some pretty cute and playful dolphins.
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| So much anticipation! |
Our most recent adventure was a little one night hike in the north west of the island. We caught the bus to Artenara in the centre, hiked to a campsite and then hiked out the next day to Puerto de Las Nieves where we took the bus back to Las Palmas. I think the photos speak for themselves, but we had a great time & saw some amazing things. We were told off by the park ranger for setting up our tents near the edge of a 1400 m cliff where the wind was blowing a gale, but it is a lesson learnt for next time!
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| Sunset over Teide, the volcano on Tenerife Island |
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| Puerto de Las Nieves from the campsite |
This island really is so different from one end to the other. We slept in a pine forest while watching the sunset behind a volcano on another island - pretty spectacular stuff. The north west of the island really impressed me too - more of a local hang out with natural beaches, cliffs and delicious seafood!
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| Look out over Puerto de Las Nieves |
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| The hiking trail |
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| Beach at Puerto de Las Nieves - Brad scaring the locals with his translucent skin. |
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