I'm happy to report the ferry from Fuerteventura to Gran Canaria was much smoother. Our lesson learned from the last voyage was to take Dramamine earlier. I'm sure the placebo effect played its part as well. The sea was still a little too rocky to take advantage of the free wifi and stare at our screens, but we could briefly take in the scenery this time to enjoy the boat's Christmas decor before we closed our eyes. I now have a greater appreciation for our ancestors who sailed across the Atlantic ocean for months sans Dramamine. They would have thrown me overboard an hour into the voyage!
The infamous Fred Olsen ferry.
The beaches and mountains were unforgettable on the Canary Islands and definitely worth the trip. Jagged peaks dwarfed us, jetting straight up from the West coast's golden shore, while the aqua water sparkled on the white sand of the Eastern coast. We didn't escape the nudists on Fuerteventura, for us suit-wearing sunseekers were definitely still a minority! We've concluded that the typical nudist is a 60-70-year-old male who likes to stand proud and tall on the sand gazing out at the sea (instead of lying on the beach or sitting comfy in a chair).
Fuerteventura's East coast.
Fuerteventura's West coast.
We spent our last day in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria's largest town, where we will catch our flight to Porto, Portugal tomorrow. To our surprise, what appeared to just be a gritty port town actually has an old city center full of character. The kids' favorite part of Las Palmas was Cereal Thriller, a cafe that only served bowls of sugary cereal. Seeing all the colorful boxes flooded me with childhood memories from the 80s, like the treat of getting the mini boxes of "sugary cereals" when we'd go camping.
The Cereal Thriller cafe, note the VHS tapes on the bar wall.
Old Town Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
View from our Airbnb's rooftop in Fuerteventura.
View from our deck overlooking the small town square in Fuerteventura. Noisy but great for people watching. We lucked out with the town's tree right in front of us.
FACT: The exceptional geographic location of the La Luz Port on Gran Canaria has made it the most important port in the Mid-Atlantic, bridging Europe, Africa and America. It's also known as the Atlantic's fueling station. Christopher Columbus used this port 500 years ago as a refuge for his boats heading out to discover America.
Though they look tiny, those freight carriers are massive heading to port.
Haha, Uncle Kevin! I’m so happy to hear you are with me in my purse strap! We plan to visit you in MN this summer. Europe is great, but MN has my heart!
Hi Fink fam. Uncle Kevin here. Dummy me as I figured you would be posting some kind of blog and only now discovered it thanks to Shane and Robyn’s Christmas letter which posted the necessary information. I eagerly read each and every post over the last three hours with two cups of coffee and no pee stops! Yes, I really enjoyed each read and will check back frequently. It is now December 13th in Minnesota as Judy and I watch the giant snow flakes drift to the ground with temps hovering just below 32’. Although I don’t really mind this weather, I would prefer the temps you four are experiencing. I just wanted to inject at little MN back into…
Haha! Yes, the bar was lined with VHS tapes but none were recognizable. They were all foreign films!
Interesting Blog. The pictures look amazing. Interesting fun fact about Columbus. As I was entranced by all the creral boxes I glanced at the lower part of the counter and thought "What are all those VHS tapes doing there? Is this shop holding the islands top secrets on those tapes?" My conspiracy mind gets the best of me sometimes haha!!