Gran Canaria: A European Winter Escape
Playa Anfi del Mar Winter blues are very real in the northern hemisphere. From my past experiences, January and February are always the toughest months. The lights and festive energy of Christmas are long gone, and we are deep back into routine - grey skies, cold mornings, and very little to look forward to. After the smashing success of our Mallorca trip , we decided to visit the next popular winter destination: the Canary Islands. We had heard of Gran Canaria from neighbours and colleagues who travelled there to get some sun and escape the bitter cold in Germany. It is the third-largest of Spain’s Canary Islands - a European tourist hotspot welcoming over 14 million annual visitors across the archipelago. When it is 0°C in Germany, it is a pleasant 20+°C in Gran Canaria. Geographically, it lies less than 100 km from the African coast and about 1,363 km from mainland Spain. So why is it a Spanish island, you may ask? Here’s a small historical nugget. The island’s colonisation began i...