It’s strange to think it’s been thirty years since I last set foot on Gran Canaria. Three decades gone in a blink, yet the island has changed so dramatically it feels like I’ve stepped into an alternate version of a place I once knew. The development, the sprawl — whole new towns where there used to be dusty tracks. Las Palmas especially feels like a different creature now. I never imagined I’d be stuck in a traffic jam here, but today proved me wrong. The city pulses with a kind of restless energy, even under heavy rain.
The weather on the night we arrived was relentless. Sheets of water hammering the streets, the kind of rain that makes you put on the window wipers at doube speed. The traffic coming out of Las Palmas was also terrible. And yet, once we left the coast and wound my way into the mountains toward La Suerte, everything shifted. The air cooled. The noise softened. The landscape opened up in a way that felt almost like an exhale.
The digs were tucked into the hillside — simple, quiet, and surrounded by steep mountain walls that rise like ancient guardians. Well… quiet except for the barking dogs and the occasional strimmer whining somewhere in the valley. Oddly, even that felt comforting. Real life happening around here, not the polished tourist version.
What struck me most is how green it was here. I remembered the south around Maspalomas as arid, sun‑bleached, almost lunar. But up here the island feels alive — lush, textured, layered with shades of green. I did remember that before but it was particulalry green this time with recent rains. The sun broke through the clouds in sudden, dramatic bursts, lighting up the slopes and the sea in a way that feels almost theatrical.
The next day we drove through the Valle de Agaete, and it looked beautiful. It was how I remembered when driving along the mountainous roads all those years ago. The steep sides of the mountains, the terraces, the sense of being held inside something ancient and vast.
Our appartment was the highest in a set of a reltively new ‘Urbanisation’ - a small number of sensitively built appartments overlooking the valley. The views down into Playa de las Nieves and the sea were wonderful, especialy in the evening when the red sky seemed to paint the view. We had our own small pool and a hot tub - well, luke warm tub. Luckily the outside temperature (mainly in the mid-20’s) didn’t cause the hot tub temperature any concerns.
With an Aldi 15 mins drive away, we were nicely self-contained and didn't need to go elsewhere for entertainment - just watching the sunset and chilling in the sun during the day.
When we were in the small village of San Pedro at the bottom of the hill in the valley, I was delighted to notice a large lizard. After some research I identified them as Giant Gran Canaria lizards Gran Canaria giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini) a species endemic to Gran Canaria.
We went on a ‘round the island tour’ in the rental car. The anticlockwise first-half wound around the steep mountain roads, expertly navigated by Hannah. We stopped off for a beer and looked around the Port of Puerto de Mogan. The port contained a few new hotels and apartments but generally it was tastefully designed. The small port, little canals and sail boats were nice to see. The whole front was full of restaurants, which weren't all that cheap. We decided to move on and head back continuing our anti clockwise route, quickly past Maspolomas and Playa des Inglis and back to where we started.
We found a Michelin listed restaurant called the Casa Romantica. A treat and certainly worthy of the Michelin status, but pleasingly not the price to match. A bonus was to be shown around the gardens were most of the produce is used in the restuarant. The valley is a coffee growing area and so we finished off with a wonderful cup of coffee.
Into Las Salinas on the penulatimate day— the power of the sea there is something else entirely. Waves smashing against the rocks with a force that feels both terrifying and hypnotic. I stood watching for ages, feeling very small in the best possible way.
It’s was an inspirational return. Not nostalgic — something deeper. As if the island is reminding me that places grow, shift, and reinvent themselves, and maybe I can too. The sun and warmth are great for my chest and it was wonderfu to see the mountains. A great place. I will be returning for sure.
Video here
