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Gran Canaria
i’M HAPPY I HAVE LOLITA’S BAPS
to keep me warm. Before you get excited,
Lolita is a grandmother who doesn’t speak a
word of English, but is a one-woman riot of
limitless energy, nonetheless. She’s welcomed us
with open arms into her hole-in-the-wall bar in
Cercados de Araña while the heavens have opened
above us in Gran Canaria’s interior. The baps are
the delicious bread rolls that’s she prepared for us,
filled with freshly made tortilla, which serves as a
hearty early lunch as we wait for the rain to pass.
This is not the Gran Canaria that we were used
to seeing in the brochures. First of all, we were
about 45 minutes away from the bright seaside
towns of the south that stretch from Puerto
Mogan to Playa del Inglés. And secondly, without
prior warning, the heavens decided to open up
directly over as we arrived.
‘We’ were myself and my two sons, Dani (12)
and Alex (nine), along with Brits David Beecham
and Derek Maude, owner and guide of Carp Gran
Canaria (carpgrancanaria.com), respectively.
Our destination is nearby Presa de Chira, one of
69 stunning reservoirs on the island and arguably
the best place to fish for carp.
I hadn’t been fishing since I was a kid, while
Alex and Dani were more used to splashing in
rock pools with a net and bucket. As for my wife,
she was happily indulging in spa treatments and
sunbathing back at our hotel, the Lopesan Costa
Meloneras (thomascook.com) – and where we’d
be spending the rest of our holiday enjoying the
fabulous dining and fantastic seafront location
next to the wind-swept Maspalomas sand dunes.
Even if you’re not travelling with kids, there are
quieter resorts along this tourist stretch, like
San Agustín, where you’ll find the adults-only
Iberostar Costa Canaria (thomascook.com). It still
benefits from sea views and all-inclusive dining,
but is an oasis of calm with its manicured gardens
and Thai Zen spa.
Activities for families are rife in this area and
the white-sand beaches of Maspalomas are both
stunning and safe, so we had no trouble keeping
Alex and Dani entertained here with pedalo boat
rides and paddling in the warm sea, and a nearby
go-karting track and waterpark really sealed the
deal. But would the fishing trip be a winner?
The island’s been a firm favourite with carp
anglers since the late-1950s, when the fish were
introduced into its reservoirs by the local council
to chomp on the aquatic weed that was causing
a mosquito problem. But little did they know
66 THOMAS COOK TRAVEL
”I WASN'T
EXPECTING
TO BE
SITTING
AROUND
MOST OF THE
TIME BUT
ALTHOUGH
I LOVE THE
BEACH, IT
WAS GREAT
TO BREATHE
IN SOME
MOUNTAIN
AIR.“
Dani
A REEL GOOD
TIME: ALEX (NINE)
AND DANI (12
GET HOOKED ON
FISHING
that their underwater lawnmowers would start
breeding and thrive in population – which David
estimates to be in the thousands – making it the
most prolific reservoir on the island for fishing.
The drive up had taken us from sandy beaches
through to the rural village of Fataga, where the
cobbled streets are a maze of unexpected activity
and the Barranco de Fataga, a ravine as verdant
as a Welsh valley. Only we weren’t expecting the
weather to be quite so Welsh.
Back at Lolita’s Bar Vista, David, Derek and I
lament the end of our day trip over a beer, while
the children happily play with some of the local
kids. It’s that sort of a place where the informal
hasta luego (‘see you later’) is used in preference
to the more final adios – despite the fact you may
well never see these people again in your lives.
The short outburst of rain has baffled one of our
fellow anglers for the day, another Dave, a paper
salesman from Dublin. “I’ve been on around 15 day
trips and it’s never rained once,” he tells me. “It’s a
glorious place to fish, though, isn’t it?” I can’t help
but agree, especially as the mist on the water gives
the area a certain Celtic magic. It’s one of the first
things you notice about Presa de Chira: it’s not
the Gran Canaria you expect. If the sand dunes of
Maspalomas are akin to the Sahara, then Presa de
Chira is close to the Alpine wilderness in summer,
minus the snow-capped mountains. Even if you
don’t see yourself as a keen fisher – though Carp
Gran Canaria caters for absolute beginners as
well as more professional anglers – it’s a refreshing
day trip for any family holiday to the island.