It’s been a hectic year and we needed reenergising, so headed off to the sun for ten days. At short notice, Mr Word Loft booked a holiday in Gran Canaria. Neither of us had been there before, so it seemed like a good idea – and it was.

I scanned through the Berlitz pocket guide purchased a few weeks before departure and knew we were in for a treat.

On arrival at our hotel in Maspalomas on the southern tip of the island, we booked two excursions and identified other locations easily reached by public transport.

After a day or two of relaxing and reading beside the hotel’s swimming pool, we travelled to Playa de Maspalomas – one of the isle’s most popular beaches. The bus terminates by the resort’s lagoon and famous dune fields, a protected nature reserve. We glimpsed them through long swaying grass. As enticing as they were, we decided to investigate the sandy terrain on another day from Playa del Inglés on the other side of them. So we headed west along the promenade. Traders sell wares displayed on colourful blankets here and there, and restaurants, cafes and hotels line the embankment facing the Atlantic Ocean.

Within minutes, we reached the centre. There were tourist shops, brand-name outlets, and handmade craft stalls selling goods such as crochet, macramé, personalised T-shirts, and jewellery.

The beach was alluring, we bought icy drinks and found a shady patch under palm trees. I made myself comfortable on a large pumice boulder and wrote in my new leather-bound notebook. Mr Word Loft strolled by the surf. In the distance, ripples peaked in the breeze, and waves crashed onto the rocks. Pigeons cooed nearby. We had seen a number at our hotel and a nearby park, so I was interested to discover the town is named after them. In Spanish, mas means more and palomas is the word for pigeons.

Refreshed after our rest, we were eager to explore further. The stone lighthouse – El Faro was first. It combines a white rectangular building adjoining a tall slender beacon, built in the 19th century. It’s still active today and vital to shipping.

Behind it is a pretty square and gardens, and a group of people practised yoga on the lawns. A pathway leads around a beautiful fountain and sculpture depicting a man riding a sea serpent, where the spray trickles over a bed of large round pebbles. A busy spot but it emanates tranquillity with its aqua manmade lake and stream that flows under a footbridge to a floral-decked avenue. It loops back onto a walkway with other shops. We chose to stroll along the shore, and I was impressed by elaborate sandcastles and pebble towers created by artists for the public’s enjoyment.

The day flew by. With half an hour to spare, we stopped at a café and relished strawberry cakes oozing with cream, washed down with zingy peach tea before catching the bus back.

Waiting opposite the wetlands was idyllic. We observed all sorts of birds, especially two herons swooping between the bright green water to their nest high up on a platform in the boughs of a barren tree. The spectacular desert-like landscape glowed in the background, and it seemed as if we were witnessing a scene on the African continent instead of Europe.

Our holiday was off to a great start.

Until next time,
Sue. X