24th August 2016
The sun gloriously infiltrates the outstretched palm leaves above, casting a dappled shade. Soothing splashes of water can be heard in the background, and the warm sand can be felt between your toes. There’s a book in one hand, and an ice-cold drink from the bar in the other. Sounds like the perfect break for a fortnight of relaxation after the stress of exams, right? Right. This is a blog post about my holiday to Gran Canaria!
Gran Canaria is the second-most populous of the Canary Islands, located off the North Western coast of Africa. It’s a sweet escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life back home; a place where sunshine is pretty much guaranteed. The island was the final stop-off for Christopher Columbus before he set off on his first trip to the Americas, presumably so he could top up his tan before he went. Note: This may not be factually accurate.
When peeled away from the sanctuary of our sunbeds, we spent our time playing Mini Golf (on a course with real life ACTUAL turtles), exploring the nearby sand dunes (pictured below) and, mostly, eating. It was a permanently hot week and our hotel was beautiful with an enormous swimming pool fit for the gods, so it’s safe to say we didn’t really venture out too far from our hotel. That is, with the exception of a quick excursion to fetch a tube of Pringles from the local supermarket. Home comforts, eh?
One evening, we went off on a ‘relaxing sunset boat trip’ to see, well, the sunset. Thankfully, the sun did indeed set, and our meal on board was like biting into heaven. We were aptly treated to some Canarian potatoes – which I would thoroughly recommend, fyi. A few days later, we ventured back to the Port and booked another boat trip, this time in pursuit of dolphins and whales. The latter obviously had some important prior engagement, as they failed to show up, but we did see dolphins, which was most exciting. Although I admittedly spent a vast majority of the trip throwing up from seasickness (I’m really fun to be around guys), the dolphins were incredible all the same. We found a pod of 20 or so dolphins, who performed for us and certainly played up to the cameras. Show offs.
Honestly, I don’t have much to say about Gran Canaria, beside the fact that it was a lovely holiday destination for my family since we were really just looking for a relaxing break. Culture-vultures probably wouldn’t choose this as their first choice destination, since there isn’t a massive amount going on, but I’m told it’s big on the whole ‘clubbing scene’. Personally, I’d say it was a nice escape but not somewhere I would necessarily return to. I like quaint towns and independent coffee shops and a little bit of history, but I couldn’t really find that here. Don’t get me wrong, it was a brilliant trip, but I was ready to go home.
Thanks very much for reading, don’t forget to follow me on Snapchat (jack_edwardss) for daily updates and have a nice day. Until next time, goodbye!
By Jack Edwards