On my second trip to Gran Canaria I struck out on by myself to explore some of the port city. My first stop was to grab lunch at a cafe with some reliable WiFi (pronounced "Wee-Fee" in Spain) so I could keep in touch with some people back home and try and take care of some business online. I decided on the "Bar Da Vinci" because it fulfilled three necessary criterion. They had WiFi, were not busy (ensuring that the network bandwidth would be moving pretty fast), and accepted credit cards. I settled in for a small tasty lunch of grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a couple bottles of Coke Light (that's Diet Coke for those of you back home).
After quenching my thirst, satiating my hunger, and satisfying my craving for high speed internet I struck out for a walk. I was originally headed to a shopping center to look for a supermarket on my way back to the ship, but, saw that I had plenty of time before all aboard. So, I took a left turn (literally) and walked into the unknown.
A couple of observations that I made:
1) I'm used to bigger, more well-defined streets. The streets in the section of town I was in rarely had curbs and were quite narrow. I found myself having to look both ways even when I thought I was just crossing a sidewalk in order to avoid being run down by a taxi cab.
2) Port cities are quite similar. There are plenty of shops where you can buy knick-knacks that are locally made. There are also plenty of shop owners and employees out in the street barking at you to come in and have a look around. I guess some things aren't exclusive to Nassau and Key West.
3) Europeans seem to enjoy sitting outside. I encountered many cafés with most of their seating available outdoors. People were eating, drinking, and smoking more outside than in. Furthermore, I noticed while there were plenty of places to grab a seat outside, most of the furniture was incredibly small and positioned together closely. I'm not sure if it's because I'm American or because I'm bigger than your average person, but, I like a big chair, big table, and a big space to relax in. Small places make me uncomfortable. Surprisingly, I don't notice this too much on the ship. Or maybe I do. I have noticed that my cabin on Adventure is much smaller than my previous accommodations on Majesty.
After walking around for about 20 minutes I, rather by chance, stumbled upon a beach. Just turned a corner and there it was. I know that the Canary Islands are famous for their beaches, but, I hadn't seen one since arriving almost two weeks ago. As it turns out, this one was only about a 25 minute walk from the ship. It was a gorgeous day so I took the opportunity to stroll along the boardwalk and snap some pictures. There is something very cool to me about a beach that has mountains in the background. It just doesn't seem like those two things should be in close proximity. I mean, I'm used to sand dunes, but, not mountains.
I happened upon the beach at low tide. Lots of sand exposed and people made good use of it both sunbathing and building some very intricate sand castles. Also, there was some sort of rock formation or reef about 150 yards out into the water. Big swells broke against this barrier and provided a very calm area close to shore for swimming. However, it was low in the water so it didn't impede a great view of the horizon.
Another thing I'm not used to seeing at a beach (being American) are topless women. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just saying, I tried to keep the rubber-necking at a minimum. I think I did a pretty good job.
An observation and a couple follow up questions, if I may, about Euro beach policy:
Lots of totally naked babies at the beach. In fact, with the baby naked and parents both only wearing Speedos (bottoms only, mind you), there was one family that was almost completely naked together at the beach.
Now, regarding naked babies: what happens at "go" time? Is the beach just one big toilet? Are babies treated the same as dogs in this regard? What's the sunscreen policy and application procedure like?
What is the appropriate age for people to start covering particular areas at the beach? How is this decided? Is there a law or some sort of town hall meeting? Are people just on the honor policy regarding this issue?
Now, I'm not judging here. Just pointing out some thoughts that ran through my mind and asking questions.
Seems to me like the policy is reversed. I think that younger humans should wear more clothing at the beach than older ones. Seriously, it's for their protection (sun) as much as it is for everyone else's (see the aforementioned "go" time).
In any case, here's some pictures that I snapped off on my walk.
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