Santa Cruz

A relaxed start to the day. Around 11:00 I caught the 139 bus (€1.25) into Santa Cruz. The unmarked stop was right outside our marina gate. Highway TF1 winds towards Santa Cruz quite close to the cliffs which comprise large parts of the east coast of Tenerife. I could just see Gran Canaria across the channel.

The bus station is quite central, about 15 minutes from Plaza España which is presently a building site. This government building was on the south side. I wondered what the Scottish involvement was. There wasn't any. Scotland and
Tenerife share the same flag.



The "Talon", otherwise known as Auditorio de Tenerife, was designed by Santiago Calatrava. One local told us it was supposed to represent a dove. A guidebook states that it represents the innovative frame of mind of the Tinerfeño (locals). It looked like a big talon or claw to me.


From another angle the Sydney Opera House springs to mind. We booked tickets for a concert on Sunday night.


Downtown Santa Cruz with its dramatic mountain backdrop.


A restored lighthouse lens from the north coast now on display in the harbour passenger terminal at Santa Cruz.


An MSC cruise ship departing Santa Cruz harbour followed by an Australian built Fred Olsen high speed ferry with P&O's Aurora alongside.


We hired a car for a few days from Cicar. We had used them in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria. Here they gave us the same price, €30 per day all in, for a Vauxhall Astra or similar.

Puerto Radazul is built at the bottom of a cliff. The townlet of Radazul is divided into two parts. Alto, built on top of the coastal cliffs and bajo, is built into the cliffs. The latter and the marina are accessed by a steep switchback road.

Morro Jable to Puerto de Radazul

28th November 2007
We weighed anchor at 09:45 in light winds and decided to motor sail until we picked up stronger winds off Punta Jandia at the south west tip of Fuerteventura. "Aphrodite" had already left but we passed her shortly afterwards.

At 12:30, with Punta Jandia astern, we turned the engine off and proceeded under full sail with N3 winds.

"Aphrodite" is about the same size as "Kiriwina" but half the weight. She came powering past us at 14:00.


Throughout the afternoon we made modest progress. The winds eased to around 5-8 knots so the yankee and staysail were furled and replaced with the ghosting genoa. This gave us about 3-4 knots. After a couple of hours the wind increased and veered to NNE 13 knots. The genoa was taken down and replaced with the yankee and staysail.

Thereafter we had good sailing with speeds in excess of 5 knots through until the early hours.

29th November 2007

An attempt to photograph the lights of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria as we passed just after midnight. Not very successful. It's hard enough getting a good image at night. Even more so from a bouncing boat.


By 02:20 the wind had eased to around 5kn and we were making less than 1kn. At this speed we risked arriving off Tenerife after dark and so we proceeded under engine and main.

There was quite a bit of traffic in the Gran Canaria /Tenerife channel.



The summit of "El Teide" on Tenerife viewed from about 20 miles out.


A Norwegian LNG tanker and a Norwegian fast ferry.


At 11:20 we were able to continue under sail alone and arrived off Puerto de Radazul at 14:00. Tomas had phoned ahead and we were assisted into our finger berth by marina staff and all fast at 14:15. It then rained quite heavily.

Passage time 28 hours. Log 122.1 miles.


Gran Tarajal to Morro Jable

Overnight the wind decreased and by morning conditions were quite settled.

The german yacht "Nena" from Hamburg anchored nearby.



The beach at Gran Tarajal.


We weighed anchor at 9:35 and had a good sail down the east coast of Fuerteventura in NE winds F3-5.

At 14:20 we passed Morro Jable lighthouse and the main resort.



We had intended to berth on the pontoons in Morro Jable harbour but the anchorage just to the right oh the harbour appealed.


At 15:15 we anchored off the beach at Morro Jable in 5.6m of water. A lovely spot. Two yachts, one Canadian and one Finnish were there and later "Aphrodite" that we had met in Puerto Castillo arrived.

The water was lovely and clear and I was able to dive down to see our anchor perfectly set.


Eva from "Aphrodite"


"Kiriwina", "Aphrodite" and a Canadian yacht, Morro Jable anchorage.


My first attempt at photographing fish.


"Kiriwina" off Morro Jable" above water...


...and below water.


Later we took the dinghy and ate out ashore.

Puerto del Castillo to Gran Tarajal

Yesterday we spent some more time with Daniel and Eva and heard more detail about their rescue 90 mile north of La Coruña. They also had some surplus Caribbean paper and electronic charts which I bought.

Later I went ashore to check e-mails but couldn't find anywhere which allowed the use of one's own computer. In the end I sat in an amusement arcade and picked up a free wi-fi signal.

Puerto del Castillo has little to recommend it. It is a pretty cheap resort with a very expensive marina.

This morning we decided to make an entry in the complaints book. The facilities are a disgrace. Electricity was off for most of one night and their charging structure is byzantine. Tomas had a long chat with the manager who I thought looked a bit dodgy. The gist of the conversation was that they didn't want visiting yachts to stay for short periods but had been told they had to offer places. He tried to favourably compare his charges with Marina Rubicon among others.

At Puerto Castillo the posted charges bore no relation to what we paid. Instead we were charged a special "short term" tariff of €9.50 per day plus a flat fee of €15 to cover water and electricity whatever the length of stay. Payment was demanded on arrival at the dock with no breakdown of the charges. We pointed out that had we been told of these charges we would not have used water or electricity. He said we had to pay whether we used them or not. In the end he gave up trying to defend the indefensible and charged us €35 for three nights. Tomas reckoned the manager didn't want any complaints in his complaint book.

A place to be avoided.

We left Puerto Castillo at 11:40 and sailed rapidly down the bleak east coast of Fuerteventura under main with 2 reefs. The wind was mostly astern with a 2 metre swell. Wind speed varied between 15-27 knots peaking in the acceleration zone just before Gran Tarajal.


Punta Lantailla Lighthouse



2m Swell of Punta Lantailla.


Approaching Gran Tarajal we had some excitement in the wind acceleration zone. The wind would die away to almost nothing and then hit us with 25 knots. This happened several times.

At 16:15 we anchored off Playa Gran Tarajal in 6.5 metres of water with 35m of chain out. The wind was still northerly around 18 knots but it eased to 10-15 knots as night fell. Days run, 17 miles.

The anchorage was a bit bouncy but seemed safe enough. A german yacht was anchored a few cables away.



Day Tour - Fuerteventura

Not a good start this morning the showers were cold and the toilet was falling apart. When informed the harbour master said a plumber had been called. We shall see!

We had arranged to hire a car and were joined for the day by Daniel and Eva from the German yacht Aphrodite

They had had a very eventful trip down which included a dismasting and helicopter rescue on their Biscay crossing. After their boat was salvaged and fitted with a new mast they resumed their trip to the Canaries via Maderia. Their story certainly put into perspective my use of the word disaster in relation to the discovery of a cockroach onboard.

Our first stop was Gran Tarajal were we discovered that the harbour was better than we had thought with a secure anchorage in an adjacent bay. Then we moved on to Playa de Solaventa de Jandia, a long attractive beach backed by a tidal lagoon and very popular with wind/kite surfers.


At Morro Jable in the extreme south of Fuerteventura we found that mooring was available for around €5.00 per night on new but unserviced pontoons.


From Morro Jable an unsurfaced road led to Faro de Jandia and Playa de Cofete on the south west coast, a spectacular but dangerous beach viewed from Montaña Aguda in very strong winds which blew in off the sea and up over the mountain.


Fuerteventura is the second largest island in the Canaries and the bleakest we have seen so far. We drove north through dry mountainous terrain with few inhabitants and an occasional wild goat.




A squirrel like creature introduced from Africa.


At Betancuria, the original capital, we went for a walk around the town which dates from 1404.

Town square, Betancuria.


Goat on a roof - Betancuria.


Continuing north we stopped at a few spectacular lookouts but the terrain remain consistently brown save for a black line of surfaced road. Our hire car, a little Citröen C3, was a bit underpowered on some of the steeper sections.




At Correljo we reached the north of the island. The town was an unattractive high density tourist destination with the usual selection of jewelers, steak houses, english pubs, estate agents and TT shops.

Sand sculpture, Correljo.


By then it was dark and we turned south towards the capital, Puerto del Rosario, where we stopped briefly, there being no obvious reason to linger, before returning to Puerto del Castillo.

Marina Rubicon to Puerto del Castillo, Fuerteventura

Up early (06:30) as we wanted to take fuel and get away as quickly as possible. At 07:30 we left our berth and moved to the fuel dock where we took on 120L of diesel at €0.812 L. We had previously fueled in Mohammedia on 22nd September.

Marina Rubicon is one the best marina we have called at in Spain. It is very well run with good facilities and shelter. The location is uninspiring and they are a tad precious but by Spanish standards they are good value for money even after a 25% increase in May 2007.

At 08:10 we cleared Marina Rubicon and set course for Gran Tarajal. The wind was N2-3 and we motor sailed initially but by 09:30 it had increased to F4 and we proceeded under sail with the main and yankee goose winged.



Meanwhile a phone call to Gran Tarajal revealed that we would have to moor on the breakwater wall. This did not appeal so we decided to go to Puerto del Castillo instead.

A bleak looking Fuerteventura.


We had another sleigh ride. A lovely sail down the east coast of Fuerteventura with the wind pretty much astern all the way and with speeds in excess of 6 knots at times.


At 14:30 we entered Puerto del Castillo harbour where we went initially to the reception berth and then on to a finger berth on pontoon two where we were all fast at 14:45 having covered just over 30 miles.

There were no obvious attractions at Puerto del Castillo but the berth was very secure. We paid a very uppish €35 for two nights but might stay longer as the harbour master mentioned that a strong wind warning had been issued.


Marina Rubicon - Disaster Strikes

Our day started off with a power failure. The reason according to marina staff is that the power always goes off when rains. It must have rained for about 15 minutes last night. A few hours later we had power again.

A quiet day. We are planning to leave tomorrow and I changed the engine oil.

Back in Graciosa I saw a small cockroach but did not catch it. Today the critter appeared again and I got him. One of these
....



A male German cockroach about a cm long. We may get lucky depending on where he came from. If he has hatched from a cluster of eggs that came aboard with produce we are in big trouble. If he came aboard already hatched hidden in something we may be lucky if he is a one off.

We have had poison out for several weeks but it didn't get him. Our anti cockroach arsenal will be reinforced at the next big port.

Off to Fuerteventura tomorrrow.

Jameos del Agua - César Manrique

Jameos del Aqua is a work of art using intact and collapsed volcanic caves as a starting point. It was designed under the supervision of César Manrique and incorporates a concert hall, restaurants, a bar and reception areas along with a lovely garden. It opened to the public in 1966 and is similar in style to to the home of César Manrique we visited the other day.

It is a wonderful site and shows what can be done with few rock holes and caves given a bit of money and a lot of imagination and is well worth the €8.00 admission.


Entrance via a Jameo or collapsed cave.


Tidal grotto in a cave linking two Jameos. The water is crystal clear.


Looking up through the entrance.


Exit from the grotto.


Exit stairway where the volcanic rock has been filled to create a striking contrasting smooth finish painted in white gloss.


One exits via a series of terraces incorporating seating areas and bars.


Volcanic rock with contrasting filler.


Seating area with the grotto roof behind.


Entry sign. Each Manrique site incorporates a different style of sign.


Contrasting seashells spread under a rock in the garden.


Swimming pool in white and turqoise with stone paving set against a volcanic background.


Stunted trees with stone paving.


A bar area. The bar seats are smoothed curved rock and the stair trim is wood.


Rock presented in different forms.


Throughout the complex plants, white gloss, plants and smooth rocks of various sizes are used to create a striking visual effect aginst the stark volcanic rock.


And again.


A visual feast of colour and light.


Terraced plants and trees rising from the swimming pool level. The pool is now decorative only.


The concert hall is under repair.


When the repairs are finished it will look something like this.


Smaller plants set on ledges protruding from the rock wall.


A solitary tall palm rising from the pool level.


Natural and landscaped rock.


The pool and adjacent volcanic rock.


Exit stairs.


And again.


Looking down on the pool.


A kaleidoscope of blue. Sky, sea and pool.


Inside the cafe /gift shop area looking out.


And again but this is a mirror.


Garden and paving outside he cafe/gift shop area.


A window through a window.



Cueva de los Verdes

The Cueva de los Verdes is so named after the Green family who lived in it with their sheep in the 17th century. It was also used by the populace at that time to shelter from volcanic eruptions and from North African slave traders and pirates.

It is a volcanic tube formed from eruptions of Corona Volcano 3-4500 years ago. The 50 min tour is a spectacular walk through 2km of the 7km long tube. I found the interior very difficult to photograph and the pictures that I managed in no way do justice to the epic scale of the place. I must read my camera handbook.

The tour is enhanced by mood lighting designed by Jésus Soto and soft new age music plays in the background. To good effect I thought.

Entrance sign.


Looking up from the entrance stairs.


The tour path is paved but otherwise the cave is pretty much in it's natural state.


There are small rock falls in places but the tour section is otherwise safe and stable.


The tunnel splits into two or three galleries in places. The scale of the place is immense.


Rock shape and colour varies widely.


Vertical shafts run between the galleries at irregular intervals.


Some galleries are quite low.


The cave produces exellent acoustics and regular mainly classical music concerts are held there.


Part of the concert seating area.



This is a very effective illusion. The photograph shows a huge gallery with a rock bridge in the centre. In fact the lower half of the photo is a perfect reflection of the gallery ceiling. The cave floor here is flooded with 3cm of water. The illusion is revealed when a member of the public is invited to throw a stone into what appears to be the gallery below. Cue gasps all round.


This attempt at flash photography revealed patterns in the solidified lava flow.


Another €8.00 well spent.

La Santa, Playa de Famara, Teguise, Haria and Mirador del Rio

First stop on today's tour was La Santa on the west coast. There is a popular surfing beach and a large ugly sporting complex. We did not stop. The road north was blocked so we were diverted onto a dirt track with a ridged surface. Tomas said that if we went 100km/h we would fly over the bumps. He was right but I felt the potential downside of flying off the track into the sand was worse than a bumpy ride.

Playa de Famara is a lovely and somewhat remote beach on the north coast of Lanzarote. There is almost constant wind and the shallow dunes (or large sandhills) are constantly changing.


Playa de Famara looking NE towards Mirador del Rio.


There are lots of smooth rocks on the beach which are used by locals to build windbreaks thus ensuring they can sunbathe without being sandblasted.



Wind driven sand sculpture.


Wind driven ripples in the sand.


A very pretty spot marred only by the amount of plastic flotsam on the beach. A problem shared by many other remote beaches we have visited in Spain.

Next stop the old island capital of Teguise towards the centre of Lanzarote. A charming well kept town with a castle on the hill above...



...and a windmill...


...and this lady.


Moving north we stopped briefly in Haria. A pretty little town but with little to detain us.


A sign to our next destination. The Mirador del Rio.


Entrance to the Mirador. This looked ominous. We couldn't see the entrance about 50m behind the sign.


Entrance to the Mirador del Rio, another César Manrique creation, was €4.50. A bit rich since the cloud was so dense we couldn't actually see anything. On a clear day there is a spectacular view over the Estrecho del Rio to Caleta del Sebo where we spent most of October.

An alternate was to walk a few hundred metres to an alternative lookout but this too was obscured by cloud.



Next stop Cueva de los Verdes.

Marina Rubicon

Today was spent doing maintenance. The starboard navigation light had failed after a period of functioning intermittently. This was traced to faulty wiring. Replacement involved feeding the new wire into the pulpit tubing and down to a junction box in the forepeak. It was very fiddly and took a couple of hours. The old wire had chafed through on the rough edges where it entered the railing and water had wicked down to the junction box.

Our two 100A/H house batteries were no longer holding any charge and needed replacing. We drove into Arrecife and purchased two Vetus Marine108 A/H sealed batteries at a cost of €320 from Duque Hermanos, Calle Augustin de la Hoz 14-24. Not my first choice as I want to install Trojan golf cart batteries but these cannot be easily obtained here.

On the way back to Marina Rubicon I spotted these unusual houses designed by
Antonio Padron. Unfortunately there was no time to have a closer look.

Fundación César Manrique

We left park Timanfaya and drove along back roads towards Tinajo through a wine growing area.

The vines are planted in shallow pits with a stone wall on one side to protect them from the wind and radiate heat into the pit.


César Manrique was born in Arrecife on Lanzarote in 1919. He lived for many years in Madrid and New York before returning to Lanzarote in 1966. He was a painter and sculptor with an interest in urban planning and public art.

He died in 1992 leaving a legacy to Lanzarote of an homogenous built environment with strong empahasis on local architecture which is unobtrusive and very pleasing to the eye. It was a pleasure to see an alternative to the ghastly free for all that characterises much of Spain's coastal built environment.

After he died Manrique's home was passed to his
foundation which opened it to the public as a showcase for his work. It was built at Tahíche near Arrecife on a volcanic plain and incorporates lava tunnels into the building and garden. We went to visit.

Palms in the garden with characteristic white detailing contrasting with the volcanic rock.


Sculptures and cactus in the garden.


Volcanic plain seen through north facing windows.


A Manrique painting.


A volcanic tunnel connecting two reception rooms.


A reception room in a lava tunnel with partially open ceiling through which a tree is growing.


Garden with pool and water feature.


Reception room with sculpture and tree.


Brick oven in the garden.


Cactus set in pebbles.


More pebbles.


Another lava cave reception room.



Pool bridge with more white highlighting.


Pool and garden.



Pool and garden from a different angle.


Path from house to garden.


Another sculpture in a third reception room.


Plants growing through a ceiling hole in this lava tunnel reception room.


Distinctive signage. This for the "ladies".



Exterior mural in the upper garden.


An exterior mobile many of which adorn public spaces around Lanzarote.

Parque Nacional de Timanfaya

First stop today was the orientation centre Parc Nacional Timinfaya visitor centre.

This centre provides course 101 in vulcanology. We learned that the park was formed by two periods of volcanic activity. The first from 1730 to 1736 and the second in 1824. The park has an area of 51 sq km and is the newest part of the Canaries. There is very little flora in the park and the environment is very hostile with little rainfall. Lichens are capable of surviving and covery the lava rock extensively.

Volcanic plain and ancient volcano to the north of the visitor centre.



Then we moved on for a tour of the park. There are tourist faciities designed by César Manrique near one of the peaks which include a restaurant. Park ranges demonstrate a variety of heat effects before visitors board a couch for a tour round the park's volcanic highlights.

Extinct volcanoes in Parque Nacional de Timanfaya.



A magna chamber 4-5 km below heats this exterior oven to 200ºc.


An old firefighting training school trick. Water poured into a tube of 200ºc expands fourteenfold as it turns to steam creating a miniature geyser.


Temperatures 13m below the surface in this oven reach up to 600ºc with heat from the magna chamber 4-5 km below.

Oven vent.


Solidified lava flow.


Volcanic slope covered in fine sand.


More extinct volcanoes.


Volcanic landscape.


Crater edge.


Another solidified lava flow.


Bleak in the extreme.


Stratified lava flows.



Flight - Gran Canaria to Lanzarote

Our host family had to get up very early to catch their 08:00 flight to Spain. I staggered out of bed to say a final goodbye returning thereafter to the land of nod. Thanks Carmen and Genocho.

We got underway at around 11:00 and, assuming we did not have to checkin until 13:30 for our 14:00 flight, decided to do some more sightseeing. This time we took the GC520 north from Maspalomas to San Bartolome. Another chance to travel this spectacular route.

At San Bartolome we turned right onto the C815 which turned out to be yet another stunning mountain road. There are very steep drops to the valley below but most of the roadside is protected by armco. Nonetheless it was something of a hairy ride given the habit of many Spanish drivers to sit 3ft off the rear of the car in front. The road slowly descends around Montana Teheral via Santa Lucia and Agüimes to the east coast and on to the airport.

We were cutting it fine, returning our hire car and arriving at the checkin desk at 13:30 to find the flight had closed moments before. Oh well. A bit of confusion followed where we were put on standby for the next flight but with hand baggage only we might get onto our 14:00 flight if we got to the gate quick enough. We didn't. Tomas had a problem, which he resolved quickly, with his Swiss army knife. He had assumed it would be checked baggage and now it was in hand baggage.

We sat around and caught the 16:00 flight.
Binter Canarias inter island flights are operated with ATR turboprop aircraft carrying about 70 people. Passengers are taken to the aircraft by bus and aircraft seating is first come first served.



It was a good flight. The ATR is a STOL aircraft and cruises at about 3000ft. We had a good view of Fuerteventura from the starboard windows.


The flight was just over 45 minutes and we landed on time at Arrecife

where we hired a car for three days and returned to Marina Rubicon.

Kiriwina was just as we left her apart from some stretch in her warps. Although
Marina Rubicon is very secure some swell works its way in causing the boat to move around more than one would expect.

Gran Canaria - Puerto Mogan and Troglodyte valley

In the morning I took a tour boat along the coast to Puerto Mogan. Firstly there was heavy development, then the coast was in virtually it's natural state before reverting to heavy development.

Puerto Rico beach with the town beyond.


Industrial strength tourist development. A huge hotel just to the west of Puerto Rico..


...Followed by an unspolit bay...


...and on to the entrance to Puerto Mogan.


I spent an hour wandering around Puerto Mogan. There were a lot of yachts for sale and a few projects including "Fossil" from Dover.

Detail of repairs on ferro cement yacht "Fossil".


I caught the next boat back to Puerto Rico.

Tourist day trip schooner.


More undeveloped volcanic coastline.


Back in Puerto Rico, Tomas had returned and we set off on the afternoon tour. I had been told that Pasito Blanco was one of the best Marinas in the Canaries so we went to have a look. It wasn't bad. Set on a private development and providing berths for those who had bought houses. There were only a few berths for visitors.

We went north to San Bartolome on the road we had travelled a couple of days ago. It was just as spectacular going the other way. At San Bartolome we turned right towards Santa Lucía and Argüimes. It was a hairy drive down the C815 with often very little or nothing to prevent a car plunging down into the valley. Spanish drivers are different! Space between vehicles is not an established driving tactic here. Nor is using gradual braking or attempting to avoid high G forces on corners. I was a jibbering heap by the time we got to the bottom. This was my last day as passenger!!

Next we turned onto the Guayadeque road. This winds up a steep sided valley to what was marked on the map as the town of Guayadeque. When we got there the road stopped. There was a car park, a restaurant, a few normal houses and paths leading to many troglodyte houses (caves).

Valley road.



Troglodyte storage cave with old fridge and washer.


Nicely landscaped path complete with garden gate leading to troglodyte cave. We didn't see any troglodytes but there seemed to be quite a large community.


Cloud spilling over the mountain into troglodyte (Guaydeque) valley.


Troglodyte caves. They have metered water and electricity in some caves. Note twee street lamp.


On the way back to Puerto Rico we made a brief stop at Maspalomas to visit the Dunes. These are a protected area of wind driven sand dunes at the extreme south of Gran Canaria and look like something out of Lawrence of Arabia.

Dunas de Maspalomas with a freighter steaming north in the background.

Gran Canaria - North Coast and Las Palmas

Another lovely day. After a latish breakfast we took the motorway to Jínamar near Las Palmas and turned onto the Santa Brigada road. Then we followed a winding mountain road to Vega San Mateo, Terror, Firgas and Arucas. It was a very scenic route with many large houses belonging to Las Palmas Commuters.

We drove up to a very high mirador near Arucas with spectacular views over Las Palmas and the north coast of Gran Canaria. On a clear day one is supposed to be able to see El Teide on Teneriffe. We couldn't see it.


North Coast with Las Palmas in the distance.


Interesting trees and plants from the municipal gardens in Arucas.




Then we drove into Las Palmas for a visit to the old city. Not particularly overwhelming but some nice buildings and a fair amount of history. A sad sight was the supposedly enhanced national theatre. A lovely classical building hand been enhanced by putting a tin shed on the roof and building a box on one end to expand capacity.

Another theatre was closed for redevelopment and a third had been converted into a restaurant.

Statue of the writer Néstor Alamo.



A typical Canarian wooden balcony with some nice gargoyles.


Front view of the same building.


Another balcony.


We spent quite a bit of time in Casa Colon which was a sort of a museum about the discovery of the Americas with strong emphasis on the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Then it was back to Puerto Rico from where we went along the coast to Arguineguin for dinner in a restaurant called Bahia.



After dinner we ended up having a drink in a bizarre place called Busters Sports Bar.
It was full of Norwegians listening to an Irish singer (Irish John) do mainly country and western.

Gran Canaria - Central Highlands

Puerto Rico is a densely populated tourist resort with some hotels and apartments built into almost vertical cliffs. It is tourism on an epic scale and in no way prepared us for what we found inland.

We drove along the coast road to Arguineguin before taking a minor road north through El Sao and Soria. The road was well surfaced but very narrow in places once past Soria and with increasingly spectacular scenery. Steep mountains rose either side of the valley with trees including Canary pines and Eucalypts and shrubs. That said, the terrain was still pretty barren.

North of Soria


Fires had passed through last year. Note new growth at the top of this tree.


We turned onto a slightly wider road at Ayacata and began to climb higher. Terraced agriculture was scattered on some hillsides.


We stopped a very pretty little town called Tejera. Here the hillside was scattered with green patches of agriculture, water tanks and white houses.


The church in Tejera.


A steep residential street in Tejera.


Tomas admiring an old sewing machine set into a wall in Tejera. Public art?


A lovely little hotel nestling quietly in amongst the houses in Tejera. Looking for an out of the way place for that special break?


A view from Tejera looking down a valley towards the sea.


Continuing down along the mountain road we made our way to a small village called Las Lagunetas. Then we turned onto a minor road leading back up and over the mountain via Cuevas Grande to complete a circle in Ayacata. At the highest point on this road we passed through a dense pine forest.

At Ayacata we took the C811 main road to San Bartolome before turning south towards Fataga and Maspalomas.

This was another spectacular mountain road with glorious scienic panoramas too big to catch with my little camera. I managed to get a few micro panoramas.

Our road disappearing around a huge mesa.



A minor road on the other side of the valley.


Our road south winding along a mountainside.


A wonderful day and when we got back to Puerto Rico we finished with a walk round the harbour and drinks with our hosts.

By Ferry - Lanzarote to Gran Canaria

There being not great hurry we decided to catch the Naviera Armas ferry from Arrecife to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. The crossing took about four and a half hours.

Our ferry was large and comfortable with several bars and restaurants and films playing in the seating lounges.


A view of Gran Canaria from the boat deck.



We had a smooth crossing and arrived on time. It was only a short walk to collect our hire car. An Opel Astra Coupe with about 7800km on the clock. After stopping to collect some flowers and chocolates for our hosts we set off for Puerto Rico on the south coast.

The island is not that big and as it was motorway all the way our trip took just over an hour. Our hosts were staying in a self contained apartment in a fourplex about 2 minutes from the main beach at Puerto Rico. After settling us in they drove us along the coast to Puerto Mogan. This is a large relatively recent complex with a smallish marina. The mainly low rise houses are set on a grid of small canals. The marina is fronted on three sides by restaurants displaying menus in up to 6 languages. We saw on that didn't bother with Spanish. This development, in common with Marina Rubicon, looks to me what Puerto Sherry in Andalucia set out to be but didn't quite achieve.

After a stroll around we drove inland to the town of Mogan for an excellent meal at a restaurant called Acaymo.


Our host, Genocho, self and Tomas at dinner.

Caleta del Sebo to Marina Rubicon