We knew we had made it to the Spanish Canary Islands as soon as we saw ham legs hanging in the airport. One can't go one block in Spain without seeing its famous jamón everywhere! Flying from Portugal to Spain was way less stressful than our flight from Spain to Portugal last month. No one batted an eye at our American passports!
Empty Lisbon Airport
Our all-day journey included a six-hour layover in Barcelona—a city originally on our must-see list. Sadly, Barcelona and Madrid were crossed off of our itinerary once COVID hit hard there last summer. But after envisioning ourselves sitting in the airport for six hours, the temptation to explore Barcelona was too strong to resist, especially when we found ourselves luggage-less during our layover. We decided to venture out for a 4-hour whirlwind walking tour of two of Gaudi's famous buildings and LaRambla Street. Barcelona is a beautiful and ritzy city with surprisingly tons of people out and about. It was more crowded than any other city I've been in since pre-COVID times. By dark, our legs were tired and we were ready for our connection flight.
My COVID radar was flying high on the flight to Gran Canaria. Our flights have been almost empty until this point, so it was an unwelcome surprise to see the plane 90-95% full. If I could have held my breath for 3 hours, I would have. We avoided using the bathroom, eating and drinking minus the three crackers I inserted into my mouth under my mask like a debit card into an ATM machine, avoiding any unnecessary air intake.
We arrived at midnight, so I couldn't tell you a thing about what the Canaries looked like. Most Airbnbs and hotels wouldn't check guests in after midnight, so we opted to stay at a fancy-schmancy resort that would pick us up and check us in during the middle of the night. The positive to traveling during a pandemic is that you can get incredible discounts on accommodations—ones we would never stay in pre-COVID. This resort currently has 300 guests but can accommodate 2000.
I feel like we have used all of our personal COVID points getting here, so now it's time to lay low for a while. We are looking forward to soaking up some sun and pool time.
Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia—though construction began in 1882, it is only 70% finished. When it is complete, it will be the tallest church in the world.
First Christmas tree stand sighting.
Gaudi's Casa Batlló
Gaudi's Casa Batlló
Barcelona's busy streets
Gorgeous fruit stand in a Barcelona market.
Just before we headed back to Barcelona airport.