My Erasmus Placement in SPAIN Sept09-June2010: Gran Canaria...a 'paradise' (for Germans!)

Departing on another adventure….

The next day we all got to the airport at around 6am, bleary eyed but excited by the prospect of collapsing on a beach for 5 days! Ryan returned on the 20 hour journey back to the States and the girls and I took a 2 hour flight to the exotic island Gran Canaria in search of some sunshine. Unfortunately the rain and cold weather that has been affecting the whole of Europe these past few months has taken its toll on the canaries too! Before leaving we had heard about the flooding in Tenerife; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247920/Tenerife-floods-Canary-Islands-hit-downpours.html which is just a few miles from Gran Canaria and so we were just a little concerned that our 'exotic getaway' could be a disaster. Having booked a cheap non-refundable plane ticket, we prepared ourselves mentally for the worst, prayed hard for dry weather and boarded the 7.10am non-stop flight to Gran Can. The Spanish are always claiming ‘eso no es normal’ and ‘no tienes suerte’ i.e, this bad weather isn’t normal, you’re just unlucky. The first day was, as expected, a wet, windy and miserable day. Having been to Tenerife the winter before with Heidi and Hannah during intersemester break, I couldn't believe the contrast in weather conditions. The hot, exotic winter of 2009 seemed like a dream as I peered out the apartment window at the palm trees swaying in the wind and the rain causing the drains to flood in the streets. Holiday from hell came to mind. However, praise God- the next day was a miracle! We woke up to clear sunny skies and spent hours at the beach, soaking the rays!

The scorching sun only lasted two days and then the weather became overcast, however we were grateful for a Vitamin D boost, and I certainly felt healthier and glowing. On the final day we went on an adventure to Masapalomas in search of the camels! The Colombian taxi driver made my day- the coolest, friendliest taxi driver I have EVER encountered and her clear musical colombian spanish made my Andaluz accent seem rather dull and unattractive!!!
Don't upset the camel, he's already got the hump! hahahaha?!?!?!

Gran Canaria is one of the smaller islands in the Canaries which means it’s quieter. We did however end up in the rather touristy district ‘Playa del Ingles’ which was full (ironically) of Germans! They were everywhere! The beach was even lined with German restaurants and bars! I wasn’t too impressed by this, as most of you know German is not a passion of mine, and so we tried to choose SPANISH bars and steer clear of the Germans! This was quite a successfully accomplished mission as we found a fantastic bar one night that had a dance floor and, yes …SPANISH people! We danced away to Verano Azul and Maria Maria all night long!

A few anecdotes from the trip; at 5am one night/morning we met an American Army Technical Sergeant in the midst of an early mid-life/identity crisis. Yes, he was rather drunk, so we listened to his life story a few times, consoled him and after a couple of hours, pointed him in the direction of his hotel!
Another guy we met was actually a neighbor of mine, well not really, but he was from the Wirral which is very close to Chester. It was fun watching Kate and Christina’s reaction to the scouse accent! ‘Where youse from? Ah, our Andy is from round der like!’ Oh my. This legend of a guy had flown to Gran Canaria for a weeks holiday a few weeks back and decided to stay and work- didn’t blame him to be honest! We had a good laugh with him as he told us all about the bull fighting and chase in Pamplona. This is a very famous festival in July where bulls chase people down the narrow streets of Pamplona until finally reaching the ring. Many people get trampled, gored, even killed by the bulls, yet Spain still holds the race as an annual tradition and the Spanish love it. This guy ran in it last year, and is still alive to tell the tale. Think I might give that one a miss! Here's a video showing the 'tamer' side of the race....
http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/video/pamplona-bull-run.htm

Next week I’m heading to Barcelona to explore the world of Gaudi, so keep an eye out for that update!

Besos y abrazos a todos!
Cor xXx