This heavenly beach covering miles and miles of the south-east coast of Gran Canary is no longer an insider’s tip.

But despite of mass tourism and all of its implications, this gem of nature situated near the Maspalomas sand dunes has not lost any of its charm.

The team of Cárdenas Real Estate walked along this sea front for you, enjoying the enchanting view of the Malpalomas sand dunes.

Early in the morning, we ventured to the beach, where for thousands of years the waves of the Atlantic Ocean have thundered against the golden sandy shores.

Maybe this beach is one of he less known beaches in the south of Gran Canaria . Its located in a very dry area between Maspalomas and Arguineguin. No buildings, no mass tourism – only the sound of the ocean and the sea gulls.

Its a totally untouched beach – popular in the summer months – above all for locals.

If you are looking for a relaxing day at a wonderful beach, just a few minutes car drive away from the tourism centers of Maspalomas, Arguineguin and Puerto Rico – for sure this is your place to be.

We know that pictures say more than a thousand words – so we would like to leave you with some pictures of the austrian photographer Thomas Borstner.

Compliments are always nice to receive especially when they come from people in the know. Leading on line travel experts Trip Advisor have just released their list of the top ten beaches in Spain and Gran Canaria has 3 entries. Playa del Ingles, Maspalomas, and Mogan have come up trumps due to their quality and amazing popularity with holiday makers who leave comments on the Trip Advisor website.

As a further show of what a holiday magnet Gran Canaria is Playa del Ingles has also made the top 25 beaches in Europe, quite an achievement. Regular visitors and settlers in Gran Canaria will not be surprised by these accolades, the southern tourism zone is packed with large clean beaches that are great for families to enjoy.

Maybe the beaches will entice you to make the move to Gran Canaria but once you have arrived you will discover all the other attractions such as stunning natural beauty and modern facilities plus of course the relaxed pace of life.

Author: Tudor Barlow

Beautiful Gran Canaria

This pictures where taken by our photographer Thomas Borstner in the morning in the Dunes of Maspalomas in the south of Gran Canaria.

The agricultural and livestock market of San Fernando de Maspalomas, which celebrated last May its first anniversary, has already become a meeting-point for residents and visitors alike. It was created over one year ago thanks to an agreement between the municipality of San Bartolomé of Tirajana and the Cabildo (Island Government) of Gran Canaria, following the track of the markets of Arucas and Vecindario, to give farmers coming from all over the island the opportunity to sell their fresh and quality products at competitive prices.

It takes place every fortnight on Sundays, from 8.30 to 13.30, next to the municipal swimming pool.  Currently the market has 60 stalls, where you will find a huge variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, traditional bread and typical cakes, honey, kitchen herbs, oil, wine, and many other typical products, not to forget the various cheeses from different parts of the island. There are as well some stalls offering bio products. The producers of Arguineguín and Mogán are there too, with their lovely avocado pears and famous aubergines, amongst others. But my absolute favourite is the stall where you can find – in season – the delicious pineapples from Galdar, much sweeter than the pineapples from El Hierro, where they first started growing pineapples in the Canaries.

The next market will take place on Sunday 19^th September. Do not miss it

This municipality is home to more than 1200 Andalusians “not giving up to keep alive their customs”. Therefore, the April Fair is a great opportunity for cultural exchange.

The Fairgrounds, located in the vicinity of the “Parque Urbano del Sur” will have a craft market area, another of attractions for children and the main area with booths and where they will held the equestrian events, flamenco performances exhibits and parades etc.

The Fair will start on April 28^th at 21ºº.

Source: http://www.maspalomasahora.com/2010/04/22/la-comunidad-andaluza-celebra-en-maspalomas-su-particular-feria-de-abril/

It so seldom rains in Gran Canaria that it is quite a happening for the locals and all those who live permanently here. The tourists seeking the sun will forgive us for rejoicing over every drop of rain that falls upon the thirsty ground, making the landscape greener and greener.

So on a Sunday some weeks ago after the last big rain, we did the same as many people and went in search of the water running downhill from the mountains. But we did not drive far on crowded roads. We chose the small and quite secluded valley behind Los Palmitos Park and the Tennis Hotel Helga Masthoff (presently still closed for repairs after the fire damaged part of it in July 2007).  We just walked down to and past the hotel and then up the barranco, first on a narrow path on the hillside and now and then through the reeds and jumping from one stone to another across the stream. It was fun and a real pleasure to see and to hear the clear water streaming down and forming tiny water falls and pools, where our dog Simba thoroughly enjoyed herself paddling in the water.

But hush! Do not tell anybody about it! We would not want that lovely secluded place to get over crowded during the weekends…

By Rolande Chagrin

Some two years ago, a friend of us (over 65) told us he had been attending Pilates lessons at the Maspalomas Golf Club, and he felt that his health and physical well-being had gained much by them.  We had already heard something about the method, so Antonio and I did go and started taking lessons twice a week at the Pilates Centre. That is probably one of the best decisions we ever took.

The Pilates method, named after his German born creator Joseph H. Pilates (1880-1967), consists of hundreds of exercises, with many variants, to be done on either a mat or one of the specially designed “machines”, called Reformers.  With the exercises, combined with deep conscious pectoral respiration, you do feel all muscles and ligaments stretching and an increasing flexibility and strength of the whole body, but all happens in a gentle, progressive and pain free way. One of the main objectives of the method is to strengthen the body’s centre – the “Powerhouse” as J. Pilates called it – located in the abdominal and lumbar area, and so protect the vertebral column, improving the body’s balance, the upright posture and – last but not least – the pectoral breathing capacity, amongst other benefits like concentration, coordination and precision of your movements.

Pilates is a wonderful method for anyone, but I daresay its benefits are greater still for people of our age, since it helps to fight stiffness of the limbs, osteoporosis, arthrosis or similar undesirable but unavoidable signs of decay…

Therefore I feel it is now my turn to recommend the Pilates Centre, within the beautiful setting of the Maspalomas Golf Club. It is well equipped with the latest reformers and run by a professional Pilates instructor, Mauricio Ambiado.  He makes you feel relaxed and entertained by constantly varying the exercises and keeps a smiling – though serious – eye on your doing them properly.  For information call: +34 675 844 934, http://www.pilatesmaspalomas.webs.com/

By Rolande Chagrin Chevènement