Cultural-Immersion Carnival in Las Palmas
Traveling to Gran Canaria in wintertime? You are not alone! Join the thousands of sun-deprived Northern Europeans, who as snowbirds or just for vacation flock on innumerable charter flights South to the sunny Canarian Islands. Upon arrival at Gran Canaria's airport, however, most visitors will head right down to the southern resorts of MASPALOMAS and PLAYA DE INGLÉS for fun times in the Dunes, at the Beach and in their holiday communities. Contact with local culture is thus minimal, reducing any stay on the island to a generic fun-in-the-sun vacation experience.
In our effort to infuse travel with culture and to reach a deeper understanding of local Canarian ways and means, however, we may want to opt for a different stay on Gran Canaria - one that veers off the beaten track and goes local once again. Such an alternative travel paradigm can best be experienced in the North of the Island in the capital city of LAS PALMAS. With a population of around half a million, this is as urban as the entire Canarian Archipelago gets - it feels like a big busy city with its vast array of urban charms and woes like traffic, crime, nightlife, shopping and...yes, local culture. Add to this mix the best climate of any major city in Europe, a magnificent geographical location rivaling that of many better known scenic destinations and one of the longest, most beautiful and best maintained city beaches in the world - the magnificent PLAYA DE LAS CANTERAS. Accomodation of any category can easily be obtained, and for a stay of up to a week, not even a rental car is needed, as more than a few days can easily be spent in the capital, and a day trip or two to other destinations on the island can readily be planned and executed by using public buses.
No better time to experience the local charms of Las Palmas than during carnival season. It may not be the quietest period in town, but certainly one bound to leave a lasting impression on visitors, as Carnival on Gran Canaria ranks among the world's biggest and most opulent along with Rio de Janeiro and neighboring Tenerife. So the weekend prior to Ash Wednesday seems like the ideal time to go, as various carnival events are celebrated in and around the famous PARQUE SANTA CATALINA neighborhood - a stones' throw away from the yellow sands of CANTERAS beach. The Friday before Lent, for instance, sees the annual DRAG QUEEN AWARD SHOW with ever-changing over-the-top displays of glitz, glamor and campness. CARNIVAL SATURDAY then marks the wildest party in town following the annual carnival parade in and around Santa Catalina. Make sure to take a long siesta ahead of time and be all rested for a typical canarian carnival experience starting late around 12:30 to peak around 3 am and tamper off around 7am. Sunday then is a day of rest, while CARNIVAL MONDAY is again a party highlight as the official peak of celebrations in town, although frankly, Monday's crowd, taste and party pattern make that night feel a bit like sloppy seconds. And while the party is raging, R & R can also be had in Las Palmas, as only a few blocks away from the Carnival frenzy we find over 6 kilometers of boardwalk along one of the most scenic urban beaches anywhere.
No walk along CANTERAS BEACH is ever the same. Changing weather patterns, a diverse variety of visitors ranging from beach lovers to surfers to runners, walkers and strollers along with different types of events year-round make every visit here of any duration a specific, enriching and unique experience. And only a few blocks away from the Canteras boardwalk, deeper into the Santa Catalina neighborhood, local restaurants, cafes and businesses make for interesting browsing and culinary adventures. Two modern shopping malls, El Muelle and Las Arenas, catering to locals and visitors alike and both within walking distance, complete the urban-goes-idyllic local Canarian paradise.
Of course other neighborhoods of the city also merit attention, such as the VEGUETA neighborhood and the area around TRIANA and SAN TELMO PARK, near to which the Old Town of Las Palmas can be enjoyed with relatively few tourist crowds. Yet nowhere else do carnival frenzy, local customs, beach idyll and recreation lie so close together than in the Santa Catalina neighborhood of Las Palmas. And it is a riveting, seductive and addictive blend of nature, culture and spectacle that make for a perfect love affair with Gran Canaria's metropolis - a love affair bound to be special, culturally enriching and bound to last a lifetime.
In our effort to infuse travel with culture and to reach a deeper understanding of local Canarian ways and means, however, we may want to opt for a different stay on Gran Canaria - one that veers off the beaten track and goes local once again. Such an alternative travel paradigm can best be experienced in the North of the Island in the capital city of LAS PALMAS. With a population of around half a million, this is as urban as the entire Canarian Archipelago gets - it feels like a big busy city with its vast array of urban charms and woes like traffic, crime, nightlife, shopping and...yes, local culture. Add to this mix the best climate of any major city in Europe, a magnificent geographical location rivaling that of many better known scenic destinations and one of the longest, most beautiful and best maintained city beaches in the world - the magnificent PLAYA DE LAS CANTERAS. Accomodation of any category can easily be obtained, and for a stay of up to a week, not even a rental car is needed, as more than a few days can easily be spent in the capital, and a day trip or two to other destinations on the island can readily be planned and executed by using public buses.
No better time to experience the local charms of Las Palmas than during carnival season. It may not be the quietest period in town, but certainly one bound to leave a lasting impression on visitors, as Carnival on Gran Canaria ranks among the world's biggest and most opulent along with Rio de Janeiro and neighboring Tenerife. So the weekend prior to Ash Wednesday seems like the ideal time to go, as various carnival events are celebrated in and around the famous PARQUE SANTA CATALINA neighborhood - a stones' throw away from the yellow sands of CANTERAS beach. The Friday before Lent, for instance, sees the annual DRAG QUEEN AWARD SHOW with ever-changing over-the-top displays of glitz, glamor and campness. CARNIVAL SATURDAY then marks the wildest party in town following the annual carnival parade in and around Santa Catalina. Make sure to take a long siesta ahead of time and be all rested for a typical canarian carnival experience starting late around 12:30 to peak around 3 am and tamper off around 7am. Sunday then is a day of rest, while CARNIVAL MONDAY is again a party highlight as the official peak of celebrations in town, although frankly, Monday's crowd, taste and party pattern make that night feel a bit like sloppy seconds. And while the party is raging, R & R can also be had in Las Palmas, as only a few blocks away from the Carnival frenzy we find over 6 kilometers of boardwalk along one of the most scenic urban beaches anywhere.
No walk along CANTERAS BEACH is ever the same. Changing weather patterns, a diverse variety of visitors ranging from beach lovers to surfers to runners, walkers and strollers along with different types of events year-round make every visit here of any duration a specific, enriching and unique experience. And only a few blocks away from the Canteras boardwalk, deeper into the Santa Catalina neighborhood, local restaurants, cafes and businesses make for interesting browsing and culinary adventures. Two modern shopping malls, El Muelle and Las Arenas, catering to locals and visitors alike and both within walking distance, complete the urban-goes-idyllic local Canarian paradise.
Of course other neighborhoods of the city also merit attention, such as the VEGUETA neighborhood and the area around TRIANA and SAN TELMO PARK, near to which the Old Town of Las Palmas can be enjoyed with relatively few tourist crowds. Yet nowhere else do carnival frenzy, local customs, beach idyll and recreation lie so close together than in the Santa Catalina neighborhood of Las Palmas. And it is a riveting, seductive and addictive blend of nature, culture and spectacle that make for a perfect love affair with Gran Canaria's metropolis - a love affair bound to be special, culturally enriching and bound to last a lifetime.
Comments
Post a Comment