"Same same...but different"

Ted. Wandering the streets of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, I keep thinking of a funny phrase that we heard last year in Cambodia. In SE Asia, when one asks why a "Rolex" is just $15 or how one can distinguish two fish and rice dishes, the response is usually, "Same same...but different." To me, this expression can also describe two places like Las Palmas where we are now and Cádiz, Spain where we spent the first two months of the year.

Naturally, the stores, prices and products are about the same. The wine and tapas are much alike. Once again, parts of town are a bit seedy and we notice some graffiti and a few professional panhandlers. The accent sounds similar to my ear. The weather here is comparable, generally sunny and windy, though about 10 degrees (F) warmer. The local population blends seamlessly with tourists and expats. Cruise ships come and go, bringing surges of tourists. As in Cádiz, we hear lots of German, to which is now added Italian and various Scandinavian accents. Las Palmas has even more surfers and, once again, we have a nice promenade along the beach with plenty of benches.

The topography is a lot different, though. Gran Canaria is a volcanic island with the highest point at 6,400 ft. Head out of town and you pretty much drive straight up into the hills.

The people here, called Canarios, seem to be a bit more outgoing than Gatitanos (locals in Cádiz) and typically respond to a greeting of  “Buenos Diás!” on the street. They also use some different words, reflecting the historic presence of Portuguese and English visitors and centuries of interaction with the New World, especially Cuba and Venezuela. For instance, in Spain (what many Canarios call the mainland), one calls a bus an “autobus.” Here, we use the Cuban term “guagua” (pronounced “wawa”). 

I have also noticed many similarities to Hawaii such as black sand beaches, palm trees, an abundance of surfers and great fresh fish. Here are some more:

Characteristic                              Canary Islands     Hawaiian Islands

Formation of islands                     volcanic                   volcanic

No. of main islands                       7                               8

Ht. of tallest volcano                     12,200 ft                  13,800 ft

Population                                      2.1 million              1.4 million

Estimated arrival of human          1000 BCE                300 CE

Avg year round temp, F                71-84                       79-90

One could argue that the Canaries are Europe’s Hawaii. A big difference for us, though is that the prices are much lower here. So, we will enjoy the warm weather and inexpensive wine and tapas for a couple more weeks. This makes a wonderful place to relax and study Spanish as we finalize plans for our next trip – South America.

Hilltop view of Las Palmas

A Grand time in Gran Canaria

Judy. When we told friends we were spending a month in the Canary Islands, on the island of Gran Canaria, they typically said, “Well, that’s a great place for you to relax. There’s nothing to do there.”

I’m not sure just what part of the Canaries they visited, but we’ve hardly slowed down! I’ve heard that Maspalomas, the “English Beach,“ is like that, but here on the north side of the island, in Las Palmas, living near Playa de las Canteras, things are hopping!

As we did in Cadiz, we walk along the beach promenade almost every day. Further south on the same beach it’s somewhat touristy, but here we get surfers and locals. The waves are massive, and it’s fun to watch the surfers, from about age six up, from novices to experts, maneuver through and around to get the best ride. You can grab wine or coffee and sit for hours watching them.

Tide's out!

Or you can wait for the tide to go out and plop yourself on the black lava sand and enjoy the sunshine. The water’s surprisingly warm here, and the rocks hiding just beneath the surface make for interesting wave patterns.

But that’s on the quiet days, the ones where you take more than a couple of hours for a nap or rest.

Our first Saturday we walked to Parque de Santa Catalina and stumbled on a group of Canarian folk dancers and musicians. After a song or two, locals just started dancing as well. After enjoying that, we walked downtown to the Old Town and tourist information. We definitely want to go back to see the sights there. I posted a video below. Remember to see the video, you'll have to visit losingsightshore@blogspot.com.

Our friend Jose Maria, who spent Christmas with us several years ago, lives here, and

With Jose Maria

one night took us to San Lorenzo, a tiny town in the mountains, to eat typical Canarian food, which was not like any food I’d had before, but delicious:  tiny potatoes with mojo sauce; ropa vieja, a pork dish; and delicious Canary cheese.

One day we took a bus tour around the northern part of the island and discovered mountains, forests, rocky outcroppings and quaint towns. One of these, Tejeda, is named one of the most beautiful towns in Spain. Spread out over several hills, its white houses sparkle against the green trees. They also have some pretty delicious marzipan. We definitely want to return to two other towns, Teror (where the Virgin appeared in a pine tree years ago), and Arucas (where a student of Gaudi built the massive church, and also where Jose Maria lives).

Teror, monument to the Virgin in Pine

Gaudi's student's work, Arucas

A view from the mountains

Tejeda 

Ever heard of WOMAD, the World Music and Dance festival? It’s held in venues all over the world, and one weekend, it was here—and free! For three nights we walked to Parque de Santa Catalina and listened to flamenco, North African music, Canarian bands, Scottish bands, and Ladysmith Black Mombasa, whom we’ve loved listening to since Paul Simon released his album Graceland.

Maalem Hamid dl Kasri

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

I’ve located a yoga studio, and in addition to practicing in our apartment, I visit Om Yoga Studio weekly. As it’s my third time practicing in a Spanish studio, my Spanish—at least the directions and body parts words—is improving. And John, who's Irish, and his wife, Christelle, who's French, translate from Spanish to English when needed!

Speaking of improving Spanish, on Tuesday evenings we go to an intercambio. We meet at a café on the beach, pair up—one English speaker and one Spanish—and walk the beach for about 45 minutes, speaking Spanish one way and English another. Not many of the English speakers are English or American. We’ve met folks from Poland, Finland, and Germany, among others. Last Tuesday, I paired up with Maria, who was terrified—her English was almost non-existent. I was feeling pretty cocky helping her out till it was time to speak in Spanish. I’ve still got work to do. After the walk we sit in a café in groups and talk. Poco a poco, our Spanish is getting better.

Holy Trinity on Veterans' Day

We located a little Anglican church, Holy Trinity, in the English Gardens part of the city, about a 20-minute walk away. On Veterans’ Day, they had a deeply moving service with readings from soldiers and poets about WWI. The church was packed. Regular services don’t have quite so many folks, and they can take the time to speak to us.

It’s odd to see Christmas decorations going up everywhere, without any hint of Thanksgiving except for the ubiquitous Black Friday sale signs. I have to admit they took me by surprise, since I tend to lose track of what month it is, much less what day.

Christmas is coming!

Ted located a tiny 16-seat Argentinian steak house that is absolutely delicious, and not expensive at all. While we mostly eat at home, that’s one of the restaurants on our “return” list.

A couple of Ted’s shirts got stains on them, and we located a second hand shop that had beautiful clothes he bought for replacements! For seven euros he walked out with a wool sweater, a corduroy shirt, and a new pair of sunglasses.

Ted's birthday coffee & cake

Along the way in our travels, we’ve developed the habit of getting an afternoon coffee and maybe a treat. Here we alternate between sitting in a café on the beach, where the coffee’s not so terrific, but the view is to die for, and Café Regina, a fabulous coffee shop about five blocks into town. No view, but incredible coffee. It was a great place to celebrate Ted's birthday. Oh, and I’ve discovered leche leche, a coffee drink made with condensed milk and coffee with regular milk. It’s a lovely dessert all on its own.

Sunset coffee

So we’re two weeks into our four-week stay, and rather grateful for the rain today, since it means we’ll relax for a bit. It's Thanksgiving today, and we were able to talk to our family on FaceTime. Just one more month till we see them again. Meanwhile, there's more to explore!

Fes

Ted. I have always wanted to visit the ancient imperial Moroccan city of Fes (also written as Fez). Having checked off Judy's goal of seeing stars in the Sahara, we made plans to visit a place that was on my list. The train from Marrakech to Fes is inexpensive ($60US round trip, first class) but it takes 7-8 hours each way. As Judy pointed out previously, we did meet some nice people along the way, which helped pass the time. One thing we did not like was the presence of a tout on each train who posed as a traveler. They are paid to redirect you to their client riads (hotels) and, from our observation, are pretty good at it.  We had already booked a great riad in Fes (Dar Fes Medina) and they had warned us about this trick so we kindly blew them off.

From the 12^th to 14^th centuries, Fes was one of the great centers of learning in the world, dubbed "The Athens of Africa." The University of Al Quaraoiyine was founded there in 859, making it the oldest continually operating university in the world. The wealth of Fes led to the establishment of a large community of artisans that still exists today.

Entrance to Al Quaraoiyine University

See the storks guarding the gate?

Old town - a UNESCO world heritage site

Narrowest street in Fez

The woodworkers' well

What I did not know was that Fes, and the rest of Morocco, served as a sanctuary for Jews fleeing Spain in the 15th century. When the Christian kings, Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Andalusia (the south of Spain), Moslems and Jews could either convert, die or escape, often to Morocco. There had been Jewish Berbers since the time of the Romans and this influx added a wealthy and educated group to the community. Jews in Morocco often suffered, especially in the 20^th century and most have emigrated to Israel where they now constitute the second largest Jewish community. Morocco has worked hard to protect the tiny Jewish communities that remain and every year over 50,000 Jews of Moroccan descent return to visit their ancestral home.

Street in Jewish quarter

When one thinks of North Africa, two decorative arts may come to mind – mosaics and rugs.  These are still produced here in abundance. The city is also known for leatherwork, metalwork and, of course, the eponymous head gear, which is now only seen in souvenir shops. Due to the brevity of our visit and the size of the city, we chose to hire a guide for a day. We saw the historic sites but also visited cooperatives where artisans were trained and their finished works displayed for sale. The process to hand make mosaic tiles fascinated me. 

Hand cut mosaic pieces

One piece is the wrong color - can you spot it?

Before approaching the fabled tanneries, we were handed sprigs of mint to mask the stench of the process.

The leather tanneries; cow, sheep, goat & camel hides

We were also taken to a coop that hand weaves scarves from “agave silk.” It turns out that the brightly colored thread is not, in fact made from cactus fiber but is actually rayon. The scarves are beautiful so, frankly, this seems to be an unnecessary ruse. 

Dried agave showing fibers alleged to be used

Final result

We also visited a coop that makes hand knotted rugs. Judy got to lend a hand.

The Apprentice

Judy tied the four knots in the upper left hand corner

It was cold and rainy during our stay but a cozy riad and the interesting art and history made the long train journey worthwhile. We may not return to Fes anytime soon, but we are glad we went.