🐄 How I Survived Gran Canaria’s Aerial Bombardment – Pipeaway Newsletter #200

Hi from Gran Canaria!

The tourism on this Spanish island is doing quite well. From January to October, 23,371,896 overnight stays have been recorded (a year-by-year increase of 1.3%).

Canary Islands‘ airports have been especially busy this holiday season, with 4,184 flights over the weekend (4.7% more than in the final weekend of 2024).

With such a surge in air traffic, episodes with unruly aircraft passengers should be expected, too. And so it was. On Christmas Eve, an Air Europa flight to Medellín had to make an emergency landing in Gran Canaria due to a double incident – a disruptive passenger was handed over to police, and a passenger experiencing an acute anxiety attack was escorted by a medical team.

I was lucky to spend my Christmas on this busy and popular island with no such disruptions or anxiety attacks.

My lovely hosts, Paul & Lars, took me on a fantastic road trip around this volcanic island. Driving from Maspalomas, first we stopped for breakfast in Puerto de Mogán, a town often described as “Little Venice” due to its canals and bridges.

Leaving the marina, we slowly drove through the mountain’s winding roads, stopping at several miradors, designated scenic viewpoints, to admire sweeping views over ravines, hiking trails, and natural wonders such as the Rainbow Rocks of Los Azulejos de Veneguera.

When we descended towards the Atlantic on the other side, Los Caserones welcomed us with dramatic beaches and a direct view of the snow-capped Mount Teide on the neighboring Tenerife Island, with a cup of hot tea in hand.

Another quick, leg-stretching stop at Roque Guayedra with archaeological remains of an ancient settlement, and the coastal road led us to Gáldar, the aboriginal capital of the island. This time, we were not exploring caves and museums, but just walked through the town streets, overflooded with Christmas decorations.

I haven’t seen anything like it in a long time, especially at a place where temperatures demand short sleeves, not gloves. Click on the link to see this magical place that connects a newborn Jesus, giraffes with chandeliers in their mouths, gigantic cookies, and unskippable Santa Claus.

The road then brought us to Arucas, where I found a real Father Christmas sitting behind the wheel of a big van, tinkering on his smartphone’s GPS.

We sat for a beer next to a massive cathedral, Iglesia de San Juan Bautista de Arucas. One clumsy handling and a sudden gust of wind broke my glass into pieces.

As I walked away from the bar, I passed by another one, and someone’s glass also hit the floor, just next to my feet.

Upon returning to Maspalomas after a grand circular Gran Canaria road trip, I opened the fridge and knocked down another glass.

Speaking of unexpected drops, at one moment, we were sitting at a coffee place overlooking the Playa de Melenara and a bronze Neptune rising from the wild water. Suddenly, a cow flew above me and dropped a load of manure over my head, shoulders, and legs.

I know, it was probably a pigeon, or some gigantic canary bird (that possibly gave the name to Gran Canaria?), but the size of that airbombed poop splattering my shirt and trousers was truly impressive.

This set of “unlucky” incidents inspired me to play the lottery, of course. But… My Eurojackpot ticket was not a winning one.

I still feel like a person struck by gigantic amounts of good luck, knowing that I got to spend Christmas in a company of friendly faces, in a landscape that inspires, in a climate that rewards. It might have been just one in those 23 million stays, but the luxury was clearly there. If nothing else, I should be lucky that cows actually can’t fly.

But we can! We made it to the 200th edition of the newsletter! It’s a luxury to have you around, truly.

I hope you’re spending the holidays as you like, surrounded by people you love, and doing things you adore doing.

Have the luckiest week,

Ivan Kralj        
Pipeaway.com

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Ivan Kralj

Editor

Award-winning journalist and editor from Croatia