January 2025.
I love to start the new year out with a trip (it has now become a tradition). Left Estonia on an early Saturday morning in a very heavy snowstorm. The previous day, more than half of the flights in our region were cancelled, by some miracle my flight left almost on time, although it was snowing so hard that during our plane defrosted the runway had snowed in again and required another cleaning. Had a quick layover in Switzerland and by noon was already in sunny Malaga.
That weekend was 20+ degrees and blue skies. So headed to the market for a quick seafood lunch and straight to the beach.
I also met the most interesting people and had some fascinating conversations on my first days in Malaga. Amongst them was a Colombian musical theatre student who surprised me with a improvisational rap/song on the beach and a Norwegian healer who grew up in east Berlin in the 80s. We had a couple last beers with her before she was gonna head inlands to fast for 2 weeks. She drinks only water for 2 weeks and does it every year and says it makes her feel amazing. I’m not convinced yet.
On Sunday, spent the first half of a day on the beach. Afternoon, had some tapas and visited the Roman Theatre, the Alcazaba fortress and the Picasso museum. Although I've been to Malaga several times and done most of the touristing, decided to use the free entrances to the museums. Many museums and historic sites in Malaga are free every Sunday, so go explore!
On Monday went to play volleyball on the beach with some friends. In the evening met up with a cool international group of people through Couchsurfing. Had some tapas and wine. We started at 100 Montaditos, which is a budget friendly chain-restaurant for tapas, and moved on to some local pubs later.
On Tuesday morning woke up to a much chillier weather. Luckily it was time to leave and fly to Gran Canaria!
Las Palmas is the largest city in the Canary Islands. It's located in the northeastern corner of the island, 150km off the coast of Morocco, and was founded in 1478. In 1492, Christopher Columbus stopped here on his way to the Americas.
I was staying in Las Palmas at a surf hostel literally next to the beach. The Agüita hostel is very cute and cosy and has an amazing rooftop. They organize a lot of activities as well, so it’s really easy to meet people. There are family dinners, parties, yoga classes or dance lessons, even daytips to the nature on some weekends. I have to say we got quite lucky and had a very fun group of people!
On my first day, did a little hike to the mirador Cruz del Confital. Walked through the vibrant la Isleta neighbourhood and up the hill. The views were over the El Confital beach, over Las Palmas in general and the nearby mountains and collapsed volcanoes.
In the evening met the hostel people for tapas at Bodegón Pachichi and later went to a bachata class at a nearby bar/club. We also wanted to go to karaoke but the place was having some technical difficulties so we opted out for a picnic on the beach and sang songs ourselves. One of the guys had his guitar with him, so the vibe was lovely.
Chorizo infierno!
On Wednesday went to the south. Took a bus to Puerto Rico. Local transport on the island is understandable and well organized. Enjoyed the beach and walked around. It was mid-January but truly felt like summer. Air was +23, water around +20.
There are several resort towns on Gran Canaria, I specifically wanted an active vacation, not to stay in a resort, but it was lovely to check one out for a day anyway. In the heart of Puerto Rico is a beautiful sandy cove with calm waters. It’s said to be the sunniest but also the most crowded beach on Gran Canaria. That's not a problem in January tho! Although there were plenty of people already.
In the afternoon took a ferry to the nearby Puerto de Mogán, which is a gorgeous port town! It's an old fishing village that is nowadays called "Little Venice", where one can stroll around on the narrow streets with colourful houses and walk over little bridges spanning canals.
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