Ashore in Gran Canaria 3.0

It was another nice day with the usual warm weather but a number of clouds over Las Palmas.

 Mark and I drove to fill up the gas tanks and on arrival were told they could not do it as they were out of date. Odd as they were filled in the UK without issue. I was just going to have to get some camping gas cylinders instead which are in use worldwide and our stove can take that gas which is butane instead of propane. Annoying but there it is. 

We returned to the boat and decided we would drive round to Puerto Megan, a pretty harbour on the west coast about 50 miles by boat but only about 50 minutes by car taking the motorway round the Island. This would give us a chance to see a bit of the south. Mark and I had taken my last boat Luce di Mare there in September 2019 and being impressed by how attractive it was.

We set off and you pass quite a lot of urbanisations, commercial centres and shopping malls on the way to the airport which swings around the top of the Island with the sea sometimes dramatically on your left with a huge wind turbine which does not seem to be in operation. As time move on, we began to pass more rural areas and the land became more arid and dry and the sort of brown rocky surface that we had seen in Lanzarote. There were valleys of cactus and little else. This is quite a windy part of the Island and there was a large wind farm in one area with – something in the region of 30 wind turbines all turning. Not attractive but I guess it is producing useful electricity in what a particularly nice area was not. There were also fields of solar panels.

It did not take long until we were at the south of the Island where a lot of holiday makers go – lots of hotels, apartments and concrete buildings of various assortments. However, beyond this architectural assortment you could see the sand dunes of Maspalomas which are famous and of course the lovely blue sea with white horses as it is always quite windy in the south.

We moved on round to the west coast and before long the motorway end conveniently as Puerto Megan was at the end of this road but on the coast.

The port was built believe it or not between 1983-1988 by a designer called Raphael Neville who moved to Mogan in the 1960’s where no doubt he formed his vison for the port. It is described as a “Little Venice”. There are a series of small streets of 2 story houses which are painted white with blue, yellow, green and purple lines around the windows and doors. The doors and shutters are green and they all have purple and orange bougainvillea growing on the outside and on little lines. In the little streets are little shops and bars etc. The houses go right round the marina with lots of palm trees and little arched bridges trying to be a miniature Rialto The boats sit in the harbour in blue water surrounded with this most attractive little village with restaurants adjourning the front to welcome them from the cockpits and from the little houses.

To the south of this village is a bridge over a little river which flows into the sea and there is then a nice beach.  Behind the beach is a modern shopping are with some well-known brands and a lot more restaurants. The more you retreat the more rather unattractive apartments etc. This was not what was in Raphael Neville’s vision I am sure and it is sad the damage tourism can do.

We returned to the pretty port and sought a restaurant. I had seen the other side of the harbour a restaurant made no doubt from a previous fish warehouse. It looked authentic and that it should have decent fish. I was right -it was a charming fish restaurant which looked over the port and we sat outside in the shade and had a great lunch with a fantastic view. A real treat and it is meals like this that stick in your memory.

After lunch we walked around like hippo’s and enjoyed the shade of the little streets and a lot of photos were taken, especially of the flora and fauna.

We drove back and on the way we stopped at Pasito Blanco which is a purpose built marina with nice apartments around it. This is where Stormbird is being moored at the end of September 2023 and hauled out before our Atlantic crossing. We checked with the office and it was confirmed and seemed a good and safe spot.

We drove back and returned the hire car. We could not face supper so had a light snack. It had been another enjoyable day and we had seen a different part of the Island.