La Canteras beach, Las Palmas

Las Palmas is two very different and separate cities. On this day trip we travelled to the area of Santa Catalina, ending our bus ride at the second terminus, which is almost 4km further north of where we last disembarked at San Telmo. The efficient Global bus system on the island has 2 similar but distinctly different main north-south routes to the capital. The ride we'd previously experienced was a long journey, stopping in many different towns along the way. Most buses to Santa Catalina are semi-direct, making just a few stops and travelling along the main highway for most of the time, without even a detour to the bus area at the airport. Upon arriving, we went up the escalator at Santa Catalina station which is just steps from Parque Santa Catalina, the heart of this district. More of a large square, the park is lined with palm trees and flowerbeds, plus there's a large number of outdoor cafés. In the evening the many restaurants, bars, nightclubs and discos are said to be the place for night-life. During the day it's also a "hang out" for elderly men, with lots of chess, card and domino games going on. The Tourist Information building is here and it's where the popular hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus starts its route. The park is reputed to be a great place at Carnival time.
In Santa Catalina there's a mix of old and new buildings and lots of big stores plus boutiques. With museums, the port and the old area of Isleta there's a lot to see in this other part of Las Palmas. A landscaped pedestrian area leads to the ferry terminal with connections to other Canarian Islands….but on this day trip to Las Palmas our focus was on their world famous beach! Playa de Las Canteras is less than a 10 minute walk from the Tourist Information office and easily accessible - most streets lead down to this stunning beach. The long strip of sand stretches for over 3km, from Alfred Kraus Auditorium at one end to La Puntilia Bay at the other, with several areas being separately named for their special features. La Cicer, which is close to the auditorium, is named as a "surfer's paradise." At the other end is "the last fishing village" (La Puntilla), while in between are 2 family orientated beaches - Playa Chica and Muro Marrero. There's also Playa Grande - as the name implies - a large and busy beach where chair-rentals are available and beach volleyball courts are numerous. Two other parts complete this long stretch of beach - both are rocky. Peña La Vieja is teeming with marine life - as is "La Barra," a large strip of volcanic rock which forms a reef running parallel for over 50% of the beach. This natural barrier provides protection from the tides, thus turning this bay into one of the best beaches on this side of the world….it's a place to relax, swim or actually "walk on water" at low the tide. We were here for the beach - and so, we walked it all - both ways! We enjoyed seeing all the different beaches as we strolled the promenade, passing cafés, ice-cream parlours and restaurants….many with tables overlooking the water. Along the way we only saw 2 "name-brand" fast-food locations - a nice surprise - the majority being independently owned. We stopped a couple of times for refreshments - on one stretch we enjoyed a beach-side view of some very good volley-ball games and on another the athletic antics of surfers. We also learned from an info board that the 1956 movie Moby Dick, staring Gregory Peck, was not only filmed here but that it's naval carpenters built a life-size replica of the whale in a nearby workshop. The movie's famous director, John Houston, said that the most important sequence was filmed right here in this bay. On reaching the northern end of the promenade we caught sight of a more rugged beach - Playa de el Confital in the distance. We were tempted to continue onwards on the more rural path to reach it…but having already walked quite a few kilometres, we (reluctantly) turned around, and made our way to the area of Isleta. Situated on a small peninsula this old fisherman's area is built on steep ground and is full of narrow streets, old shops and bars. On the southern end is Castillo de la Luz, the oldest fortress in Gran Canaria. It was closed the day we were there, but we took a stroll around its outside area - a small park-like setting with an outdoor café.
We also took a look at the Mercado del Puerto, a remodelled version of the city's old food market - a building that dates back to 1891 and was designed by Gustave Eiffel. In 1994 the existing 20 traditional businesses were combined and revamped into 22 "gastro" spaces, which seems to be a trend in many old market halls. It's handy location, close to the beach, makes it a popular place for both locals and tourists to enjoy a drink and local cuisine. It was actually very quiet when we were there, which was sometime between late lunch and tapas time. It's open most days from 7am to 12am and although we've seen others that are larger, with more ambience, I'm sure that given the right time, it's a good place to go….and the building itself is worth seeing. At the northern end of Isleta, a hike of 239 metres will take you to the city's highest peak - Los Colorados - where (apparently) there's a fantastic view of the city, ocean and mountains of Las Palmas…but for us, not this time! There remains lots for us to see and do if we return….but before leaving this city and its amazing - and hard to beat coastline - we paused one last time on the long promenade to look at what locals call "the forever changing beach"….and after just under 17 kilometres of walking, we decided a well earned ice-cream cone was in order!