After our long passage from Portugal to the Canary Islands, we spent two nights in Las Palmas to stock up with food and then we were off again. This time, heading for the south coast of Gran Canaria.

The weather was noticeable warmer; even I managed to break out the shorts! We had a beautiful sail along the coast to Pasito Blanco on the southern side of the island. The sun shone, the sea was kind and the winds just enough. This is the life…

Perfect sailing

We didn’t have very long to stop and explore, so chose to make Pasito Blanco our base for a few days.

Pasito Blanco is a very pretty place. It is a gated community with apartments and villas used by local residents at weekends and holidays. Apart from the Marina, a small SPAR shop and a restaurant, there is very little there. Some may consider it to be a little too quiet, but for us it was a wonderful place to catch our breath.

Pasito Blanco

Whilst at Pasito Blanco, our son, James and, his partner, Aimee joined us for a night and we got the chance to sail a few miles down the coast to anchor off a local beach resort. While here, we had a day of fun in the water, including swimming, dinghy driving and trying out our inflatable kayak.

Let's explore
More exploring

Also, while in Pasito Blanco, we met a new friend. Agustin is a port official from the Ocean Cruising Club. Being a resident, Agustin was an excellent source of local information and made us feel very welcome. He was kind enough to invite us to his home and share with us a few local dishes and a glass or two of wine. Many thanks to Agustin for his hospitality and support throughout our time in Gran Canaria.

An OCC welcome

All too soon, the time had come to sail back to Las Palmas. We knew that this would be a difficult sail as the wind would be against us the whole way. So, we decided to sail 60 miles across to neighbouring Tenerife, stay the night there and then sail 60 miles back across to Las Palmas. This may seem crazy, but the plan worked perfectly and we had two great days sailing!

One of the joys of travelling is the people you meet along the way, some of whom you know will stay in your lives for ever. You may not see them for years, but then you meet in the most random places and it is like you have never been apart.

Our trip to Tenerife coincided (quite by accident) with The Harveys holiday. A couple of changes to both sets of plans and the outcome was a great catch up. We even managed an a very tasty Indian meal! Great to see you guys…next time, the Caribbean!!

Cheers to good friends