31 Jan 2026
It took til almost 2am for the traffic to die down, so I didn’t actually get much rest, but I was determined to sleep in today! I mean, I do have a bus to catch, and they don’t run all day, so I can’t miss it, but I was up well before my just-in-case alarm, and well after the sun had woken up:
I don’t remember seeing road paint anywhere else for bus stops:
Each stop had helpful sign listing the busses that stopped there and at what times:
My bus arrived promptly as scheduled at 0930 and began the trek out toward Agaete, which is the only place on the island where coffee is grown!
Crazy bikers were everywhere on this island- didn’t matter how steep the incline (or decline), there were always at least a handful of bikers everywhere I hiked!
Also, notice the word “STOP” painted on the road- I thought for sure they’d use “PARE”, which is what I’ve seen in South America, but nope!
Oh, the downhills…
Then a few (unpictured) uphills and I arrived at my coffee plantation!
They’re also a vineyard, but it doesn’t seem like grapes are growing right now.
There were a couple tour groups mid-tour when I arrived, so I just kinda hung back and listened and wandered around. I was mostly here to buy coffee, but when they offered me a sample, I couldn’t say no!
They also gave me a plate of cake with some apple/coffee marmalade that was AMAZING, so I bought a little jar of that too 🙂
Looking down into the valley:
I spotted a couple other fincas along the way- one was really busy, but this one was set off along the river a bit:
Coffee beans drying:
Coffee beans growing:
I didn’t have enough time to sample coffee here (if I miss my next bus, I’ll need to figure out how to taxi back to town as the buses stop running for a bit til mid-afternoon, and I’ve got a flight to catch tonight):
Made it to my bus with a few minutes to spare!
Back through town:
I switched buses in Galdár and continued my trip around the northeast coast:
to a park in San Telmo:
Cute little cafe, but you had to sit and order- not something I wanted to do right now:
Downtown:
Cute little pedestrian-only street, full of shops and restaurants:
I found a bookstore and spent some time browsing (mostly for kids books, because they have pictures and a similar vocabulary to me), but they were closing soon (afternoon siesta strikes again!), so I grabbed a Brandon Sanderson book I had previously read in English and hoped that would be helpful enough (I finished the book on my phone and wanted something for the airport)
Theater:
And finally, I hit up the grocery store- I’m still looking for that Snickers bar I ate on my first hiking day. Didn’t find that one, but I did pick up a few other treats for us to try:
It was starting to sprinkle, so I headed back to Calle Triana, the pedestrian street, and did some people watching while eating pastries. A solid way to end my trip 🙂
Then it was back to the bus station for one last ride to the airport:
Farewell, Gran Canaria!
I didn’t get a window seat this time either, which was most unfortunate as there was a GORGEOUS sunset as we were flying out.
Madrid was fairly dead when we landed around 1030p, though fortunately, there were a few shops open so I was able to grab a snack.
And before I knew it, my next flight was boarding:
I somehow got bumped out of the window seat I had chosen, but the gate agent looked so stressed (a lot of people had seating issues, and several had document problems) that I didn’t press the issue and stuck with my aisle seat. Probably better this way so I can get up and move if I need to- my legs are not ok.
I don’t remember if I picked a special meal, or if I got someone else’s meal in the seat swap, but I ended up with this non-lactose option:
Not the worst thing I’ve eaten, and while my breakfast wrap was weird, it was also much better than the usual plastic-y cheese or mystery meat I’ve had in the past.
Overall, not a terrible flight, though it was much longer than the flight out here and I didn’t manage to get much sleep.
1 Feb 2026
So I downed a giant coffee as soon as I landed in Dallas, then went in search of a postcard for my niece’s class project:
I liked the way all their tips clumped up:
I managed to sleep a bit on this short, 3-ish hour flight, but I also had to get up to use the bathroom twice. That pre-flight coffee may have been a mistake.
Also, was not expecting to see fresh snow:
I had the window on this flight and took pictures for my row-mates. Figured it was the least I could do after making them get up during the flight 🙂
I especially liked the giant plows strapped to the front of each tractor 🙂
This was the type of postcard I was hoping to find in my other states:
One last one for the collection!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Sure, I could have been a bit more prepared for the elevation gains and losses, but I did it! And I now have a baseline of my abilities for future hiking plans 🙂 Gran Canaria was beautiful, and the ever-changing scenery definitely helped keep me motivated to keep going.
Now, I just need to stay awake for the next 8-ish hours until it’s dark and I can go to bed; I have to work tomorrow morning 🙂
Total distance: 50 miles