Las Palmas

This weekend we went to Gran Canaria for the first time. If you consider that we've been living on one of the Fortunate Islands for over a year, it is a bit odd that so far we've only been to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote (ok, ok, and Isla de Lobos, if you start counting smaller ones too).  But time came to check the rest out and off we went on Fred.Olsen ferry from Morro Jable.

Ferry itself theoretically takes one hour forty minutes, but in reality it took about two hours in both directions. Both ways we also swayed quite alarmingly from side to side, maybe the "normal" timing really happens when the ocean is a bit calmer.

Important note: if you plan your journey yourself and are a foot passenger, i.e. one without a car, don't be fooled by apparent proximity between the arrival point of this ferry and town, as I was. I looked at googlemaps, checked the distance using my fingers and figured it's about one kilometer. When we arrived though it became clear that the arrival point is not where the googlemaps think it is. It's a lot deeper into the "container area" of the port, and you have to walk along Avda. de Las Petrolíferas, which is indeed lined with those huge cylinders full of something oily and therefore doesn't exactly smell of roses.

We only had one full day on Gran Canaria, so we didn't try to get anywhere, just spent the day checking out Las Palmas itself. I liked it. It is a comfortable size, neither one of the huge monsters where you would only ever know a tiny part, nor one of the sleepy little places where everything stops for four-hour lunch and streets become devoid of life.
I liked their graffiti, there are some very talented people doing them. I loved the fact that the guys behind the brightly graffiti-ed wall are changing the wall color from one shade of grey to another.

I am not sure, but he might have chosen this spot for talking knowing full well that it gives him wings from the observers' point of view

Las Canteras town beach looks quite agreeable, especially at night.  It's nowhere as good as white sand beaches of Fuerteventura, but I am told that there are better beaches once you are out of town. I will check them out next time.

A strange little cloud that waved us goodbye as we were departing Morro Jable.

Now, to come back to the uppermost pic. If you look carefully, you will see that the more solid conical peak on the left is reflected by less substantial, but similarly-shaped, peak on the right. It's Tenerife. I've never seen it before apart from the label of "Dorada" beer. So this weekend I have two "first time" things. I like those. Like first introductions, you never know which way the acquaintance will develop, maybe there will be no development at all. But there is something special about firsts.