Changing sides

Yesterday was a non-event day by the pool of another hotel which I had paid to go to.  I had skipped lunch but treated myself to a chop-suey at a Chinese resto.  But today would be a day on the move.  Firstly changing to the other side of Gran Canaria followed by going to an inland village called Aguimes.

Because of being in the west of the time zone, the sun rises quite late.  After my simple breakfast of fruit and muesli, I took the bus from near the hotel at 0930 and got off near my new place in Las Palmas.  I was there at 1030 and left my bag at reception before heading out of town to the pretty village of Aguimes.

Aguimes was reached by bus from San Telmo station which required a short bus ride to get there.  That turned a little inconvenient as I hadn’t downloaded the local maps for the area on to my phone to find the correct bus stop.

I got to Aguimes, which was slightly inland and on the hills, ready for lunch.  I tried the ropa viaje (literally old clothing) in a cafe near the town square.  It was a warm mix of chickpeas, shredded chicken and beef in a yellow marinade.  Very yummy!

Wandering around Aguimes, it was very pretty and nicely restored.  The alleyways were flanked by  homes of white, terracotta and ochre.  And the square in front of the church with the orange trees was a lovely spot to rest.

Text continues after this gallery.

I stayed just over an hour in Aguimes before heading back to Las Palmas hopping off near the Cathedral. I explored the squares around the city’s cathedral area.  For a port city, it certainly still had plenty of old beautiful squares for having a leisurely coffee.  But from the waterfront one could see lots of big ships and more oil rigs than I had ever seen before all put together.

I took another bus to Playa del Ingles to complete my exploration of the city.  It was a long good stretch of golden brown sand.  I didn’t expect topless sunbathing here right in the city (but kinda expected it on the southern beaches).  The waterfront was full of restaurants and cafes.  It seemed quite competitive and I earmarked it for dinner tomorrow.  I wasn’t hungry yet and was a bit tired to hang around till my tummy was ready.

Text continues after this gallery.

I walked back to my hotel getting there around 1700 and was very pleasantly surprised by my room at 27 Degrees.  It was a lovely simple and clean place, decorated in a DIY minimalist style.

When I eventually got hungry, I had trouble finding much around and settled for Turkish.  It was a pleasant evening on the rooftop and I caught up with a few things on the computer as it was my first day with good internet for quite a while!