Only our second overnight sail with just the two of us on board. We had a smooth 24 hour, 126 miles from Lanzarote down the eastern coast and around the southern tip of Fuerteventura and westward over to Gran Canaria. Fuerteventura offered beautiful views involving a variety of landscapes from rugged volcanic cliffs to long sandy beaches with hidden coves. As we rounded the southern end of Gran Canaria, we glided past towering rugged cliffs and found ourselves a little and quite rolly anchorage paradise at Punta de la Verga.
Discovering Gran Canaria
We anchored off of Playa de Patalavaca in the Mogán region of the island. The anchorage was lined with golden yellow beach in the foreground and large resorts and restaurants just off the beach followed by a climbing mountain of rocky cliffs in the distance. Having gotten settled, it was time to go explore our surroundings.
We hopped into Nugget and headed about a mile or two west over to gorgeous man-made Anfi beach lined with bars and restaurants. Man made…at the end of the Island? You bet. In the 1990s, a rich Norwegian businessman built the Anfi del Mar Resort and wanted it to have a Caribbean feel. So, he imported over 1000 tones of beautiful white sand from the Bahamas and planted a few palm trees…as one does! If you build it, they will come. Now Europeans can relax in the sun on the beach without having to cross an Ocean! And with year round average temps in the 70s, it’s hard to beat.
Exploring the Area: The Anfi and Arguineguín Beach Resort Areas
As you dinghy around to to the small port marina, you pass the small heart shaped and very green island which hosts Maroa Club de Mar, a beautiful area that can be reached from land by a small white balustrade bridge. It offers a restaurant, bar, and solarium. We tied up at a small dock at the small local marina. It was late afternoon and the area around the resort was bustling. We walked along the shops, boutiques and restaurants enjoying the lively atmosphere. There was even a pop-up very interactive kids show that came out of no where in center plaza. We opted to celebrate our successful over night sail with pasta y vino sitting outdoors at the lovely Bella Pasta.
After dinner we headed back out to the boat as the winds were picking up and the small bay was already getting very choppy. We enjoyed a incredible sunset, something this area touts as one of it’s biggest draws…they aren’t wrong! And then the coast line lit up as the night got started creating a beautiful silhouette juxtaposed with the dark mountains looming behind.
The next morning I put on my running shoes and went back into the same area where I saw a long path that seemed to run long the beach and resort and then further east. A 15 minute run brought me to Arguneguín, a charming fishing town and apparently the largest and one of the most visited destinations on the island. Running along the path, I passed bars and restuarants that were teeming in the late morning with tourists enjoying the views and their Almuerzo (second breakfast). Further down I hit the end of the path which turned me around at the port full of all manner of fishing vessel in all states of repair.
Erin Breaks Water Wings’ Rule #1
One of the highlights of cruising life is the people you meet along the way. We had met quite a few of our fellow cruisers bound for an Atlantic crossing at our last stop in Lanzarote. Sure enough they were our new New Zealand friends were our neighbors once again here in Gran Canaria. We had planned SV Waiata (Waiata is Māorian for music a tribute to the) to visit their boat for snacks, beverages and cheer. The winds had picked up considerably and there was A LOT of chop in the bay, at least a meter high at times. We thought about postponing the meet up, but we had been stuck on the boat for awhile and were looking for some social time. Feeling confident we could make it happen we opted to go. Rough anchorage swell wasn’t going to hold us back from a good time!
Kevin pulled the dinghy up to the their transom, we tossed them the rope and I tried to time stepping of as best I could. Unfortunately, we were held a bit close as a wave came through and I was mid-step with nothing to leap and grab on to despite my best efforts and fell bouncing of the transom then the front of the dinghy and into the drink. So much for confidence. Rule #1: Stay on the boat. Fail. I always joked I feel like “If it’s not if, it’s when”….well, here we are.
Once I knew I hadn’t hurt anything too bad, Kevin gave me the option to climb onto Waiata, dry off and assess the damage while, he would run back and get me dry clothes or swim back over to Water Wings. The smart option would have been to swim back and call it a day so Kevin didn’t have to try to get on and they would both have to try to get back to Water Wings. But, what is the fun in that. Kevin managed to get on and off both boats again just fine to bring me back dry clothes…show off!
It was worth it, lots of great stories, laughs, drinks, bacon crackers and pate. As the sun set, we headed back, thankfully without incident. Totally worth it even with a few bruises
Another Island, Another Hike, Another World Cup Game!
A calmer day on the water and the promise of sunny skies loomed. We started looking for a good hike, which is always a great way to spend the day. We scoured the All Trails app looking for a loop to follow. One that might get us up to the cross we could see up the mountainside from the anchorage. We found a network of trails, but couldn’t figure out where they started. After walking along the road across from the main resort, we noticed a rope up the side of a small cliff. Seems as good a place to start as any! Up we go! It turned out to be a short winding climb up to the iconic Patalavaca Cross. I could not find much on the history of why the cross was planted here. If you know, drop us a comment! From there we had sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean and our anchorage. Water Wings looked so tiny!
From there we continued into the valley along a well marked path that looked like it would loop around back to where we started (Arguneguín-Palmeral Route). We looped along the top edges of the valley. There weren’t any particular markings, but the route was fairly obvious. It was in the full sun with NO shade so did get quite hot. It looped around as we found interesting rock formations, old aqueducts, random vegetation, beauty as far as the eye could see and maybe an animal carcass or two, mmhmmm, yep. There is a story we will never get an answer to. I’ll spare you the visuals! We did also cross over the GC-1 Highway tunnels which was a neat view. We ended up doing about 5 miles which earned us a beer or two for recovery!
On our walk back, it was just about time for the US-Wales World Cup game. We settled into on and stopped into a fun outdoor bar, Havana Bar, with TVs on and tuned into the game. We had a great time even if the game ended in a draw.
How to Pull Off a big American Holiday Meal on a Boat No Where near the US!
Thanksgiving was coming in earnest. Missing home and our family stateside, we wanted to make as traditional of a Thanksgiving meal as we could pull off. Those that celebrate, know that there is a lot of food to cook and we live on a catamaran. So this is going to be entertaining if nothing else. We managed to find a decent side Mercadona to try and find some of the staples.
While we couldn’t find a Turkey, we did find 2 turkey breasts after a few laps around the store…close enough considering I don’t think I have seen any farms on the island and cooking a full turkey would have been tough in our little convection oven, we’ll see how it tastes. Potatoes, corn, and, surprisingly, stove-top stuffing was easy to find. We actually found jarred cranberry sauce in Gibraltar at an international grocery and picked it up knowing the holiday was coming. Good enough. Now how to cook it all!
We used the entire saloon on the boat to get it done. Mashed potatoes were made on the Nav station, though couldn’t quite get them smooth. The instapot cooked the turkey breasts over by the seating area. And the kitchen held the rest. Overall, it was an okay meal but reminiscent of home and we were able to FaceTime with our families while we ate… so almoooost like the real thing. Even followed it up with Cream Cheese Biscoff Bites!! So yummy.
at the Nav Desk
Our crew was due to arrive in Tenerife just after the Thanksgiving weekend for our big push across the Atlantic. Time to get a move on. One more Island stop to go.
