Day Zero – Sunday: arrival and anticipation.
The journey really began before the walking did. I took the bus from Las Palmas Gran Canaria to Maspalomas, in the south of the island, and checked into the Corallium Beach by Lopesan, a large resort hotel right by the sea. It felt slightly surreal to be staying somewhere so polished and comfortable on the eve of a pilgrimage-style walk, but I enjoyed the contrast. A final evening of rest, the sound of the ocean, and an early night to prepare for the days ahead.
Day One – Faro de Maspalomas to Arteara (Monday).
An early, 07:00 am, breakfast at the hotel – the choice was immense. I then caught the bus to Estación Maspalomas and set off walking at around 08:30 – from Faro de Maspalomas (the lighthouse of Maspalomas). The morning started cool and pleasant, but it didn’t take long for the heat to build. The path was very well marked, which was reassuring, and surprisingly quiet – I encountered very few other walkers.
I passed many small hamlets along the way. The noticeable thing being agriculture and the need for water storage for irrigation.
By around 13:00 I reached the bus stop at Arteara, I was feeling very satisfied with my first day on the trail.
Distance: 11.5 miles. Time: 3 hours 49 minutes. Elevation gain: 1,598 feet.
While waiting for the bus back to Maspalomas, at the end of the walk, a Tejeda-bound bus stopped and an Indian family disembarked – a couple with two girls, aged about six and eight. They were heading for the Camel Safari Park, only to return shortly afterwards when they discovered it was closed. We started chatting. They live in Hounslow and met, as a couple, in the UK, though both were born in India and had worked independently in Kenya. The woman works in a hospital laboratory. The children were also very chatty. They shared some of their food with me. It was one of those lovely, unexpected Camino moments where strangers share a slice of life while waiting for a bus.
Later, an elderly gentleman appeared from nowhere, clearly out of breath. He told us he was 84 years old and from Berlin. He’d been hiking.
The bus headed back to Maspalomas arrived at 14:20. We all boarded. I then headed back to my hotel for a beer, and a well earned rest.
Day Two – Arteara to San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Tuesday).
I took the bus from Maspalomas back to Arteara and started walking at around 10:00. Once again, it was warm from the outset. The climb was steady and demanding, but manageable.
I felt a pang of sadness at the start of today’s walk. The Camel Safari Park that the Indian couple were looking for was not the one they checked out. Just around the corner was the active park. The poor guy had got so close but not close enough.
I arrived in San Bartolomé de Tirajana at around 13:30.
Distance: 6.25 miles. Elevation gain: 2,302 feet. Time: 2 hours 45 minutes.
I stopped for lunch near the main square and enjoyed a large bowl of vegetable soup. A young Eastern European couple, who were obviously cyclists, sat nearby, very chatty with each other; I noted that he ordered their food in reasonable Spanish. Afterwards, I went in search of my accommodation, Rural Suite Santiago de Tunte. It was a very nice place, though surprisingly chilly inside. I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the village, enjoying the afternoon sun and taking things slowly. By evening it was getting chilly. Evening meal of Steak with pepper sauce.
Day Three – San Bartolomé de Tirajana to (almost) Cruz de Tejeda (Wednesday).
The local bakery was open by 7am; cafe con leche with two croissants. I set off walking around 08:00 – in cold, drizzly conditions. It was immediately clear that this was going to be a tough day. Early on, I met four people from the Czech Republic, and we stopped briefly to chat and take photos.
As the day wore on, the weather deteriorated. The rain intensified, the wind picked up, and I became increasingly cold. My waterproof clothing began to fail, letting water in, and in many places the path had turned into a stream.
I reached Campamento El Garañón and made the difficult decision to abort the hike. Safety came first. I headed downhill to try to escape the strong wind and cold rain. At one point I had cross a huge dam wall at Presa de Los Hornos. The path along the top of the wall was flooded, and I had to wade through about a foot of water. My feet were now soaked and freezing cold.
I eventually found a car park with a few cars in it. The rain was torrential, my phone was malfunctioning, and I was struggling to think clearly. I briefly considered asking for a lift, but one by one the cars left, and I missed my window of opportunity.
With no better option, I followed the paved road downhill until I came across a bus stop. I couldn’t figure out the bus timetable and felt close to panic from the cold. Nearby, I spotted a small shack with a young man inside. I explained my situation. He told me there was a bus to Tejeda at 12:00. It was 11:59.
I made it back to the bus stop just as the bus arrived. My hands were shaking from the cold and I couldn’t get my money out. The driver told me to get on and not worry about paying. Eventually, once I had warmed up slightly, I managed to pay him.
We arrived in Tejeda (not Cruz de Tejeda) half an hour later. I had warmed up considerably. I found my accommodation, but the door was locked. I knocked – no answer. I phoned – no answer. Eventually some other guests let me in.
The host, Alicia, came rushing across to greet me. She explained that my room would be ready shortly. The previous guests were still in residence. When she saw how wet and cold I was, she brought me hot tea.
Twenty minutes later, I had my room. I stripped off completely, dried everything – including my hiking shoes – with a hair dryer, and slowly thawed out. It was an enormous relief.
Distance: 6.1 miles. Time: 4 hours. Elevation gain: 3,500 feet.
Day Four – Campamento El Garañón to Cruz de Tejeda (Thursday).
After the drama of the previous day, this felt like unfinished business. I took the 09:30 bus from Tejeda to Cruz de los Llanos, and then retraced my steps back to Campamento El Garañón before continuing on the path towards Cruz de Tejeda.
The weather was drizzly but manageable, and compared to Wednesday, it felt positively kind.
Distance: 3.61 miles. Time: 1 hour 24 minutes. Elevation gain: 389 feet.
From Cruz de Tejeda, I then walked back down to Tejeda, which took about an hour, enjoying the sense of closure after the previous day’s forced retreat.
Day Five – Cruz de Tejeda to Gáldar (Friday).
The day began misty. I took the 09:30 bus to Cruz de Tejeda, to the start of today’s walk and set off full of anticipation. It would be down hill all the way today.
It turned out to be a fabulous hike. As I descended, the weather improved dramatically. The views were spectacular, stretching all the way to Tenerife, where Mount Teide stood out clearly on the horizon at 3,718 metres (12,198 feet).
The path took me through beautiful farmland, with sweeping views down towards Gáldar. I passed plastic-covered banana plantations and the occasional potato field – a fascinating contrast of traditional and modern agriculture.
By around 15:00, as I neared Gáldar, my feet and knees were starting to complain, but the end was in sight. I reached my apartment at about 15:30, tired but deeply content.
Distance: 13.69 miles. Time: 4 hours 57 minutes. Elevation gain: 1,063 feet. Elevation loss: 5,830 feet.
Journey Statistics:
Total distance walked: 41 miles / 66 kilometres Total time walked: 19 hours – spread over 5-days. It is quite possible to do it over 3-days. Accumulated ascent: approximately 2,700 metres / 8,859 feet. Accumulated descent: 2,600 metres / 8,530 feet.
Summary:
Walking the Camino de Santiago in Gran Canaria was a journey of contrasts: sun and rain, comfort and discomfort, solitude and chance encounters. It tested my resilience on the hardest day and rewarded me with unforgettable landscapes and human kindness when I needed it most. A Camino in every sense of the word.
