Vamos a la playa...Los geht's an den Strand?

Santorini and Rainbow My friends and I decided the Canary Islands would be the perfect spot for Spring Break, as it is still in Spain so we could practice our Spanish and there is a beach, which is kind of the definition of Spring Break, let’s be honest. I was expecting it to be a touristy spot, as we were going to Playa del Ingles, but it definitely ended up being a different experience as a result of the kind of tourists there were. Let me start from the beginning. My roommate and our friend decided to stay in a different place on the first night so that we could see a different, less touristy part of the island. This goes back to our reading, since we shied away from the classification of being a “tourist.” We arrived at the airport and took two buses to get to Agaete, a small town on the northwest side of Gran Canaria “famous” for its “dedo” literally finger) which has since eroded and no longer exists. After walking around the entire town for thirty minutes (yes, it’s that small) attempting to find our hotel, we finally asked a local. He informed us that it was a one kilometer walk because we got off the bus a stop too early. Being New Yorkers, walking 1km is normal, so we finally arrived and checked into our room. After settling ourselves and changing, we went to the grocery store and bought lunch to eat by the water. Walking through the town we noticed that all of the buildings are painted white with blue trim, prompting us to call our experience “our trip to Santorini.” We watched the fishermen hauling in their loads, and then decided to hike around the island. We found these amazing tide pools with mini arches to swim between, and the rocks also had brightly colored crabs crawling all over them. That night at sunset there was not one, but two rainbows with the full arcs, and we could see the tallest peak in Spain on the island of Tenerife in the distance. The setting in Agaete could not have been more different from Playa del Ingles, where we spent the rest of the trip. Our resort was filled with older people mostly from Germany. Much of the food offered had German names and preparations, and the jokes at the shows at night were certainly not geared towards an American girl audience. We were quite the anomaly. The beaches themselves were pretty with dark sand and clear water, but there was so much wind it was impossible to lay down. I am still picking sand out of my ears. In the end, Playa del Ingles offered beautiful weather and relaxation, which is ultimately what Spring Break is about, but Agaete wins when it comes to authentic Spain.