Last month the city of Las Palmas introduced the new cycling trails.
As we have two bikes in Surf Office Gran Canaria, we decided to check them out, one of the cycling route ends here, near Auditorio.
1. El Confital
A forgotten part of Las Canteras beach that can be reached easily on foot, but cycling is definitely faster. El Confital isn't just a surf & bodyboard spot, it’s also a perfect place to have picnic, sunbathe, chill and enjoy the view to the whole Las Canteras beach. Don't forget to pack a beach towel to lay on.
2. El puerto de Las Palmas
When you cycle to Las Palmas port you pass Mercado del Puerto, a perfect place to have tapas-break, Castillo de la Luz, built in 1494 as a fortress, and Fabrica de Helado. Yes, they have an ice plant here! Cycling around the port is fascinating because you see lots of huge boats and shipwrecks that someone parked there one day and totally forgot about them. The port is huge, so you can easily spent hours cycling around without noticing it.
3. Vegueta
Cycling around the Old Town is fine but not the best. If you cycle there in the morning, you will not have any problems, because Canarians aren't early birds. At noon streets are full of tourists and people running around, so the cycling becomes a little horror story. However, it’s nice to see the main shopping street, the cathedral and cute narrow streets of the city. The good idea how to make the trip better is to grab some fruit in the marketplace or taste fried churros dipped in hot chocolate at one of these cafeterias outside.
4. San Cristobal
The return trip from Auditorio to San Cristobal is approx. 20 km long but it is worth cycling there. This little fishing village full of colorful houses on the shore is one of these marina districts where you find good seafood restaurants in which you can enjoy fresh fish. My favorite one is El Atlante de San Cristobal (opening hours: We - Mo: 12 am - 12 pm) where they serve tasty chipirones (squids), puntitas de calamares (small cuttlefish) and full range of Canarian food (pimientos de padrón, papas arrugadas, gofio escaldado). Everything there is just yummy!
So, the result of our cycling trips is that new routes are pretty good and cycling is a fun way to explore the city or spent the afternoon. There are still some missing parts of trails but the infrastructure will be finished later this year. The only thing I miss is the cycling trail on the promenade, but who knows? Maybe one day...
