766. Canary Islands Part 6 | Vegueta Market & Banana Plantation

This post is dedicated to my newfound obsession with fruits. I've always liked fruits but back in Toronto I would only get a small variety of them (a lot of melons and strawberries..sometimes grapes, blueberries, etc). But here I've recently started a goal to try all the different types available and at least one per day. I guess this new interest is due mainly to the new book I'm reading called The Fruit Hunters. It's a super interesting book that talks about a lot of exotic fruits around the world, most of which I had no idea existed. Maybe that's why I suddenly got a desire to try as many different fruits as I can (there's thousands of different types around the world), especially on my travels. Eventually I will start a separate Instagram account to document them all. I wish I started this sooner, especially in Peru and the Amazon last year as there were a lot of exotic ones there! But here in Canary Islands is a pretty good place to start as well.

So in the photo above is Vegueta Market, a farmers market full of fruits and vegetables (and some meat/seafood stalls). I really loved it there..the stalls were all bursting with different fruits and colours. This photo below is the book:


Last week we visited a banana plantation (there's a LOT of them here).


They had some other fruit trees as well like this citrus tree (it grew both lemons and oranges)


Growing bananas under the flower leaf


One thing I didn't know was that each tree can only yield one bunch of bananas in their lifetime. Once the banana bunch is cut off/harvested, the tree must also be cut down to make way for a new tree to grow. Canary Islands grow their own type of banana which is a bit smaller and tastier than the other varieties.


Some of the fruits we brought back from the plantation. The guava got a bit crushed.


I can't believe it was my first time trying guava (I think). I love the smell of them. They are pretty good and convenient to eat.


Mango


Dragonfruit


Palm tree dates


Guava again. I thought the green ones were just another type of guava but I guess it's the unripe kind lol.

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765. Canary Islands Part 5 | Maspalomas Dunes

We've visited Maspalomas twice so far. It's a resort town on the southern coast of Gran Canaria island, known for the sand dunes and a couple of beaches. It takes about an hour to get there from our area in Las Palmas. The town is really nice and I wouldn't mind staying there for a few days (however for longer periods I do prefer our area/beach more). It looks like it's completely made for tourists; almost all the buildings there are hotels/resorts and there's a huge strip of restaurants and souvenir shops that feel very touristy. It was very quiet there though. Due to COVID of course, the amount of tourists here now is very very low. I was surprised all the restaurants and shops were even open. It was quite sad to see. I imagine in other circumstances, the place would be filled with people. I do also enjoy having the place to ourselves in a way. Like being out in the dunes is nicer without other people getting in our photos.

Our first time visiting, it was considered a "cold" day here on the island. It was about 22/23 degrees. I actually liked it like that because it made the dunes bearable to walk on, and I didn't get all hot and exhausted by the end of the walk. When we went again the second time, it was really hot. It was maybe 30 degrees and the sand burned under my feet. I wasn't able to walk barefoot for long. But the second time, we mainly went on the dunes again to take photos using the drone (which we didn't have with us the first time). After some photos we went to Playa del Ingles to read/tan for a bit.

So the only other time I've visited sand dunes was in Peru (Huacachina). I really loved that experience as we also went up and down the dunes in a buggy but didn't really walk on them. This time we did and I really enjoyed it as well. The first time we walked from the beginning of them, up and down, across to the water. It's tiring walking up on dunes as each step you take you slide back down halfway as well. Although it's on a much smaller scale than Peru's dunes, these ones were quite unique as you can also see the ocean right beside.


The strip of restaurants and shops beside the beach..so empty


This is what the strip of restaurants/shop look like from outside


Some pretty cool houses beside the dunes


I took this photo because I was amazed at how blue the water was - I barely edited it!


We went for lunch at one of the touristy spots beside the beach and I didn't expect it to be so good but I was pleasantly surprised. I looooooved these baby squids!! They were so good. I could eat them every day hahah.



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764. Canary Islands Part 4 | Arucas and Teror

Earlier this week, we visited two nearby towns called Arucas and Teror. They were both really small and cozy, and quite devoid of people. We first went to Arucas and had lunch. I had a paella (my first since arriving in Spain).


After Arucas, we visited Teror which many consider as the most beautiful town on this island. It's also the oldest town here. I really liked the architecture and mountain views there. Many of the houses have wooden balconies.


On the way back, we stopped at the Triana neighbourhood for a small dinner.



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