Or the cheap dessert of life.
You would think a cheap package holiday for the family was the one we’d allow ourselves to shove at the back of our minds. So, why does Puerto Rico, persist, refuse to die and sit right at the front of my mind?
The hotel rep for the week tells the newcomers: ‘Party and relax, is all you can do here’.
The preconceived heat burns the backs of at least one hundred holiday makers, all forming a packed gang- like circle around the pool’s edge. All but a handful are tucking into the sky high jam packed all-inclusive chicken burgers that they are able to take advantage of. (Which after only a few hours sleep for the new arrivals, luckily, went down a treat.) It probably comes from the word ‘budget’ that we decide this holiday is the one that we’re not going stay up at night thinking about because we can’t contain our excitement, over the ones we know we can’t really afford, therefore, making those the most exciting ones.
Anytime after sunset when people decide to take a walk down to the arcade of popular English and American named stores, why is it that a sudden new conception is formed, as if walking into a stranger town only a few metres away from my hotel? Identical men, in rows, stood with enthusiasm, and with smiles, trying with all their might to round up their sheep into their restaurants like Sheppard’s, creating a Puerto Rican wave of competitive cheekiness, knocking over the tourists now telling themselves they are famished. The promotion staff will stick to you like glue, and to shake them off, I advise you to smile and nod, or you may as well be just mirroring their actions.
Of course, once the belly’s are full, it’s time to go back, and by that I mean, take the dreaded steep stone stairs.(a good way to work off those beers). As Puerto Rico is built around two large hills, you will be lucky if you manage to avoid straining your legs, but I’m sure you’ll soon get your reward once you reach your hotel, and grab another well deserved drink. In the morning take a ferry ride to the other side of town, or jump in an extremely cheap taxi.
Next to the golden beach is a small strip of shops, again, with staff enticing people in, but above this strand a handful of restaurants sit on top. The smells of Italian and Spanish classics fly down to the noses of the shoppers, swaying especially towards the couples of the evening, creating a romantic magical trance of happiness and ease. One non- intrusive face approaches one couple and explains how proud he is to live in such a beautiful place on the Gran Canary Islands. Who wouldn’t be proud? The whole boulevard from the tranquil boats lined up at sea, to the old lady offering to braid young girls hair is one that creates comfort and ease, a destination that is allowed to be shared with the rest of the world. And the ones that do decide to experience it, can decide to rest alongside with the stars, or to dance like rays of sun in unbelievably cheap bars.
The beauty here is that, no matter where your hotel may be, it isn’t going to take you more than ten minutes to walk into this paradise of bustling culture. Never mind the tinny McDonalds on your left; you are in a whole new world, to be explored by you. One ear hears a karaoke classic whilst the other experiences the swish of the crystal blue sea, hallelujah!
Gran Canaria,
Puerto Rico,
Mogán,
España
