Puerto Rico Beach

This is the closest beach to where I work (and live). I can actually see where I work from the beach so it takes away a little bit from the relaxing element. Puerto Rico beach was pretty quiet today but it's busy at the weekends when the Canarians descend in their hundreds from Las Palmas with their camper vans and tents.



You can walk to Amadores beach in about 20 minutes which is slightly bigger but the sand is less sandy. Actually it isn't sand at all, it's crushed stones (which, I suppose, is what sand is made of) and there's hardly any left. Near the top of Amadores beach, where the shops are, you can see the concrete under the "sand".

Lizards (or Iguanas)

Whether they are lizards or iguanas (I'm sure somebody is going to correct me) we have them in spades in Gran Canaria. My cat is especially delighted about this since she likes to bring them into the apartment and "play with" them. The lizards (or iguanas) are not quite so delighted.



One word of warning - if you have a washing machine don't let your cat bring any lizards (or iguanas) into the house. Our washing machine blew up and the washing machine repairman found a huge lizard (or iguana) sizzling in the main circuit of the machine. It still had smoke coming out of it.

It cost more than 100€ to fix (the washing machine, I mean. The lizard - or iguana - was beyond repair).

How Hot Does it Get in Gran Canaria?

Hot enough for ice cream...

.

Is it Always Sunny in Gran Canaria?

No.

Walking to Work

I live by the Europa Centre and I work in the harbour next to Puerto Rico beach so I spend about 25 minutes walking to work each day. I have to go down about 800 steps (which is why on the way back up I tend to be in a taxi).



It's quite a nice walk although someone should really clear up the litter on the way down the hill. Somebody dropped a cigarette end there last summer and half the hill was on fire. Strangely enough it took the fire brigade 34 minutes to get from Motor Grande to the hill (I can walk it in about 10 minutes).



I was quite surprised to see a lot of the pools on the way down without any tourists around them. It wasn't cold today. It was actually quite warm but there aren't that many tourists here it seems.



Or maybe the Haiti swimming pool is particularly chilly.

Pounds to Euros Exchange Rate

Right now the exchange rate is still pretty poor. I remember a couple of years ago you would get 60€ for 40 pounds. Now it's pretty much 1:1.



I took that photo today in the Europa Centre. No wonder so many people are booking all inclusive holidays to Gran Canaria so they don't have to spend much when they are here.

Canarian Pet Shops

The pet shops in Gran Canaria are a bit different from those back home. You can get tiny puppies and kittens in the pet shops here, unlike in the UK where I think it's banned (correct me if I'm wrong) and it's fish, fish or... mice. Or Siberian hamsters.

The dogs and cats from pet shops here are pretty expensive because they're pedigree. Expect to pay 500€ for a kitten (usually Persian or Siamese) and 600€ for a puppy (I don't like dogs much so I couldn't tell you the breeds).

You'd better make sure you have a securely fastened terrace too unless your pet stays in the house. If I paid 500€ for a cat and it ran off the day I bought it I'd be pretty cheesed off! That's one of the reasons I got a rescue cat instead. This is Cleo:



Not exactly elegant is she? I think she was snoring too when I took this.

Parascending in Gran Canaria

Since I work on a fishing desk I get to do lots of freebies, including parascending. I still think it's overpriced at 50€ (or something like that) considering you get 8 minutes in the air but I'm not going to complain about a freebie!



It was quite relaxing up there (apart from when the captain unceremoniously dunked me into the freezing cold sea). I've also done the Big Red jet boat, fishing, scuba diving and the dolphin trips and glass bottom boat. I have yet to do the jeep safari but I'd like to!