Gran Canaria, p.3- Arucas, Firgas, Teror, Santa Brigida

The third day on the island starts unfortunately cloudy and rainy. Probably my sightseeing plans will be broken, because every day was planned to sunbathe, and the current weather does not look well. I have to improvise. Sitting in the car I decide that we will go to Arucas. What happens next, we will see later.

Below I have already told you the route, so you already know what we have decided 🙂

Today’s route (click here):

Arucas and the most beautiful cathedral on gran canaria

We get to the village. We leave the car on a large, free car park at the cathedral. While searching for a place we have our first adventure. Some gentlemen, certainly not car park workers, try to help us in parking. We try to ignore them, because we know what they will wish for such help. We are afraid that they will do something with the car, but fortunately everything is ok.

After adventures on parking lot we sit at the cathedral in the bar El Gotico, where I had already planned to have breakfast before. We order our chosen dishes and wait. I use my free time to take pictures of the area around the cathedral.

breakfast at the arucas cathedral

I go back to the bar when the meals are ready. Others ordered more traditional dishes such as salad with vegetables and tuna, planted eggs with sausages and fries, and I went a little more canary and ordered delicious shrimps in olive oil with garlic. It’s a pity that the portion is so small, but for now it’s enough.

After breakfast we enter the interior of the cathedral, which is actually called the parish church of St. John the Baptist. We admire beautiful stained-glass windows and paintings. The interior is quite dark, that’s why I give up doing photos.

walk in Arucas- what to see

After leaving the cathedral, we go to Plaza de San Juan Square, where we can see the building in all its magnificence. Wonderful façade, beautiful decorations, stained-glass windows and turrets required 70 years of work. The main building element was volcanic rock. The cathedral is distinguished by its 60-metre-high tower and a tiny cross in the middle of the building at the top. Small and refined details in construction remind me a little of Milan’s cathedral.

Without a specific sightseeing plan we go to where our legs will lead us. The initial route does not impress us, there is nothing special, which we would pay special attention to. I feel guilty that I took the rest to an uninteresting place 🙂

It gets nicer when we come across such a view. Narrow, steep street, and at the end the main showcase of the city. We go down the street.

the centre of the town of Arucas

Finally we get to the “centre”. We come across souvenir stands, cafes, restaurants and more interesting monuments.

We also reach the Town Hall. Opposite this building you can see the entrance to the Botanical Garden, which is called “Jardines de la Marquesa”. Unfortunately, it is probably in the process of renovation and it’s closed.

That’s why we walk further along the streets and photograph the local architecture.

arehucas rum destillery

It’s worth mentioning that in Arucas there is a rum factory Arehucas. It was founded in 1884 and arouses great interest among tourists, because rum production is said to be a speciality of the town. The building has its own cellar and is said to be one of the most important in Europe. You can visit the factory. However, I was not interested in this subject, so we decided to pass.

Mirador De La Montaña De Arucas view point

After the walk we return to the car and our plan is to enter the lookout point Mirador De La Montaña De Arucas. Under all circumstances don’t try to drive there from the city centre. Google map leads us up the narrow streets, then we get to a place where we can’t go further, because it’s too tight. We turn back, entering another street, because it is difficult to drive back the same way we entered. First we come across a sharp turn, which we take after few times, and then we have a tight downhill slope, probably with a 60 % slope. It’s impossible to get back and our car fits millimeters away from the wall. After such an experience, with beating hearts, we decide to let go of the lookout point and continue to Firgas.

If you want to climb to the lookout peak, go first to this place: (see) and then you will have an easy way up the hill. I discovered it calmly at home, in Poland, when I could have a closer look at the map.

vivid village of Firgas

We get to Firgas and leave the car in the car park right after entering this tiny village.

In a moment we are already in the centre. You can see that it is still cloudy and gloomy, which has its advantages, because it gives a special climate, which can be seen in the photographs. On the other hand, it’s not hot and thanks to that sightseeing doesn’t make us tired.

In my opinion, the most characteristic thing about Firgas are the stairs with a fountain, where we observe the azulejos tiles. They represent arms of the towns in Gran Canaria. Under the tiles there are stone benches, a bit like the ones we have all seen in Seville (including the Spanish city).

PASEO DE GRAN CANARIA

Going all the time uphill, we reach the street where the mosaics depicting the Canary Islands are located. Climbing higher and higher, we discover another island. The street is called Paseo de Gran Canaria and you can easily find it when you’re in Firgas.

It is also worth to walk along other streets leading among white houses, observe the inhabitants and discover all the charms of the town.

FIRGAS- INTERESTING MONUMENTS

The characteristic building in Firgas is the church Iglesia de San Roque. It stands on St. Roch’s Square next to the stairs with a fountain. Apparently, the neighboring islands of Tenerife and Fuerteventura can be seen from this area, of course in good weather. The view is rated as one of the best in the north of Gran Canaria. As you can already guess, the weather is not very favorable for looking at distant areas.

After walking around the town we return to the stairs. It’s hard to refrain from taking pictures and searching for new frames. Eventually a lot of photos came out and it was difficult to make a selection.

WHAT TO EAT IN SPAIN

Returning to the car we stop in a small pub and order the famous “churros con chocolate” – delicious little tubes, which are soaked in hot chocolate. We also have freshly squeezed citrus juices, including lime juices.

We set the navigation to Teror.

ATTRACTIONS OF THE TOWN OF TEROR

After about 30 minutes we are there. I recommend free parking located here. After a few minutes we enter the Old Town and from a distance we can see the famous Basilica of Our Lady of Pine. We pass the characteristic wooden terraces in the town, which lie in a row of colorful houses. We walk slowly, observe the architecture, go to souvenir shops.

In the town on the street opposite to the church, there are lamps on which the arms of the various cities of Gran Canaria hang.

BASILICA IN TEROR

Approaching the basilica we finally reach Piaza de Pino Square. It is the most popular place of religious worship of the island. History tells us that the Virgin Mary appeared on the pine tree at the end of the 15th century. This is where the name of the Basilica comes from.

We enter the interior. The church is small, but it has a very nice dome and an altar. Besides, we can say that the rest is modestly decorated. There are ordinary wooden benches and a vault made of the same material.

TEROR museum

Entering from the entrance on the other side of the building, we could reach a small museum. However, we are more interested in the fact that we can enter behind the altar and see the figure of Our Lady from close up. We must admit that the sculpture looks very nice.

After leaving the building we go to visit other parts of the town. Already a bit accustomed to the climate of Canary Islands, we discover new streets with white houses, sometimes interspersed with colorful ones. More wooden balconies attract our attention. The mountain views are breathtaking.

We climb to the top, because we have a plan to hook on a certain point.

We reach the Cistercian Monastery. It is famous for cookies baked by local nuns. Unfortunately, the nuns sell their products only at certain times and we arrive there too early. We don’t want to wait, perhaps in vain, because, as we know, on Mondays, different places and museums are often closed in Spain, and that’s the day of the week. We photograph a monument and surrounding flowers.

Then we return to the car via other nice streets.

TEROR – PANORAMA OF THE CITY

We drive in the direction of Santa Brigida. We leave Teror and pass a lot of turns. The town moves away from us more and more and we can admire it now from above. We stop by the road and take photos.

Be careful how you set the route from Teror to Santa Brigida. Navigation leads us 2 km shorter route than another, optional one. The road is sometimes very narrow (there is only one car) and leads through the wilderness. We pass maybe one smaller village. Follow the yellow road on the map through Ojero and San Isidro. It will be safer and you will be calmer.

ROAD TO SANTA BRIGIDA

We get to the parking lot in Santa Brigida called “Mercado Santa Brígida Parking” on Google maps. It offers such a view.

SANTA BRIGIDA – INTERESTING PLACES

Soon we enter the Old Town. And we like it here. The town stands out from others because it is much more colorful here. On the streets, which we are currently walking, there are pots with blooming flowers. They are a bit worse than those in Valdemos on Mallorca, but a bit of greenery immediately make it cheerful.

I didn’t manage to find many Polish travel blogs that would describe this place. The town is not very popular among tourists and almost completely empty. We pass only the locals who walk with their dog or have something to do.

We reach the church. You can visit this building, as well as its archive, which contains documents and books from the 16th century.

At the church there is a sculpture of acrobats. Probably everyone at the same time comes up with an idea to play the existing scene. We go a little crazy, and to calm down we enter the interior of the church.

COLOURFUL COTTAGES ON GRAN CANARIA

The cottages here are coloured and have bright stones in the walls. It’s worth to stroll along the cobbled streets and admire this distinctive architecture.

After a long sightseeing we would like to have some lunch. I check on the web which restaurants are recommended and find the very reputable pub “El Despacho”. We reach it, but it is closed. According to the inscription on the door it should be opened already for a bit, that’s why we wait for a moment. Unfortunately, nothing changes, the restaurant is not opened, so we go further. We decide to have a snack in the bakery we passed, and later in our Arinaga go for a dinner.

After returning to the car we leave Santa Brigida. We drive through small, colourful towns, although a little gloomy today.

PICO DE BANDAMA VIEWPOINT

Coming back to Arinaga, we are close to the lookout point Pico De Bandama. We descend lightly from the route and take a winding road to a peak of 569 m above sea level. At the top there are wonderful views of the Caldera de Bandama. It is a caldera which is about 1000 meters in diameter, 216 meters deep and 574 meters high. Inside there is a small village. Some sources say that it is now abandoned, others that it is still inhabited today. You can descend to the settlement with the permission of the nature conservator, because it is protected. Without a permit, however, we can circle the crater around, which should take about an hour. If you take a good look, you can see a tiny path from afar.

From Pico de Bandama we can also admire the ocean and its ships, the coast and lower towns.

evening in Arinaga

It’s enough for today, so we return to Arinaga, quickly leave unnecessary things in the apartment and at sunset we leave to eat dinner. We have to admit that our town has its charm and you can really like it. It is not found in many tourist guides as noteworthy, but maybe you will enjoy it. I promise to devote a separate entry to it, because we spend a lot of time here.

After a short walk we reach the pub. Photos remind me that I ordered an octopus. To this day I miss this taste, because it was really delicious. Perfectly prepared, it wasn’t even a bit rubbery and its ends were even crunchy. By the way, I recommend the restaurant “Restaurante miramar playa de arinaga”. We ate there many more times and everything was delicious.

Did my today’s entry help you? It was probably great for architecture fans. I invite you to other parts of the relationship, you will surely find something for yourself.

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