Agaete

Agaete is a small town on the West side of Gran Canaria, just a 20 minute walk to Puerto de Las Nieves which was home to the famous Dedo de Dios until it collapsed in 2005. Agaete is more local, Puerto de Las Nieves is more touristy, but has the beautiful local beach. The beach is composed of black rocks, which most everyone except us came prepared for with pads of all sizes and sorts. Besides being a bit bumpy, it was crystal clear water and a great way to transition from the hustle and bustle of Las Palmas.

We stayed in Casa Luna, a casa rural (literal translation: rural house) which is basically a really beautiful home with three extra rooms (and a gorgeous terrace on the roof). You hang out with the people who live there a little, but mostly do your thing while staying in a more local environment. They had a three week old kitten named snowflake which was amazingly cute. We were also the third North Americans to stay here… in 9 years!

The entryway of Casa Luna

It’s incredibly dry here. The people we stayed with in Agaete said it had rained 3 or 4 days this year. It rains so little that there’s no roof on much of the house, everything is open-air. And it’s so sunny and warm that they have no heat, and the hot water comes from a solar heating system on the roof.

The amazing rooftop terrace!


Food here is a little more local than Las Palmas which came as a relief because we were looking for some of the local favorites. Papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes) with mojo (ingredient list goes something like: garlic, olive oil, garlic, pimiento, salt and garlic – delicious!), gofio (a local grain mixture that Canarians are extremely proud of, so much so that if you’re talking about something fantastic they retort “…as good as Canarian gofio?”) served a bit like a bean dip with chunks of onion to scoop with, and the fruit of the prickly pear (fresh picked on early morning birding outings - deep red, more tart than sweet), and potaje de berros (watercress soup). We saw a woman in the grocery store buy ridiculous amounts of watercress (minimum 2 kg) – wow! That’s some serious soup. Canarians are also quite fond of condensed milk, which they serve in coffee unless you ask them not to (or are a tourist and therefore obviously don’t want it). We’ve been served both ways, and prefer regular milk thanks.

More to come soon about our adventures in Agaete.