We had a 40 minute drive to the airport to return the car. Again, Reisen Car Rental never even looked at the vehicle. We just had to tell them what parking spot we left it in and how much gas was in the tank!
We had a good flight from Gran Canaria to Madrid.
The three hour flight flight was mostly over the ocean before arriving over Spain at the port city of Huelva.
We arrived at 5:30 pm local timeafter jumping another time zone. There were some really nicely lit clouds as we descended into Madrid. We landed at the newest terminal which is very modern.
We had to wait about 30 minutes for the next shuttle to our hotel but it finally did come and after enduring the rush hour traffic, we arrived at the Crown Plaza Airport Hotel. A nice hotel with friendly staff and importantly a bar and restaurant.
The room was good and we awoke ready to avail ourselves of the "included" breakfast. Well, that was a pleasant surprise! I have never had an inclusive breakfast anywhere, and I have had quite a few over the years, that was as comprehensive and good as this place. Even a cappuccino machine!
It was around then that I looked at my phone and noticed an email from Air Canada indicating a delay in our flight. After getting back to our room and doing some searching on the computer, I discovered that there had been a weather event (snow) in Toronto and the airplane we were to travel on back to Toronto, had been delayed by over three hours leaving.
The hotel was very generous in extending our check-out and re-scheduling the shuttle ride.
By now, we knew the ETA of the incoming flight so were comfortable that there would not be any further delay and could relax waiting for the plane to arrive and board.
This was supposed to be an Air Canada Rouge (budget) flight but were were pleasantly surprised when we noticed a regular Air Canada plane pull up to the gate. We weren't disappointed, the seats were very comfortable but with the typical economy food served. Here we are, ready for takeoff!
We caught a bit of rest as we chased the sunset back to Canada.
We had a very smooth disembark, customs check-in, luggage retrieval and shuttle to the car park. It was a bit of reality check removing a few inches of snow from the windshield before heading out on the highway for home.
So what are our overall thoughts on a trip/vacation to the Canary Islands and Madrid? Well, Madrid was interesting and worth spending a couple days in but probably not our favourite city in Spain. I would recommend Sevilla and/or Barcelona over Madrid
The Canary Islands are diverse in what they can offer. The inland areas are very rugged and can provide a local charm with hillside villages, hiking and stunning vistas of the volcanic terrain. The northeast is lush with vegetation while the southwest is desert like. There are historic smaller cities with classic Spanish architecture that would be great to visit for a couple of days. The major cities are what the cruise ships visit and with that, have all of the associated trappings. I think for a get-away vacation where you can base yourself for one or two weeks and choose to just relax or do some daily road or boat trips, the communities/resorts on the southern sections of Gran Canaria or Tenerife are what you would want to choose.
Our favourite was the more laid back area of Puerto Mogan and a few nearby places on Gran Canaria. No wild night life scenes that you get in Maspolomas or some of the bigger resort towns.
The weather was perfect for this time of year although we did notice things were starting to wind down a bit at mid November. The north-eastern parts of the islands tend to be more overcast and have occasional showers. The south-west parts have sunny with some cloudy skies but little rain and humidity. There is little difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures and most places do not require heating or air-conditioning.
If you are going to rent a car and drive to the interior, get the smallest one you can fit your luggage in. The roads are either some of the best freeway you have ever driven or a cliffside gearbox rowing adventure. Not much in-between.
There are multitudes of restaurants although we did wear out our appetite for tapas. I do like seafood, just not most of the seafood that is on the menu here. They do a great job on pork and chicken dishes.
Most visitors here are from Europe, with Spanish, Scandanavians, Germans and British dominating the scene. We did not encounter any other Canadians and very few Americans or Asians. You can get by with English in most places.
Get a local SIM card for your smartphone. It's cheap, $30 for a month of data, calling and texts. Google Maps is invaluable when walking around the cities or driving the car. Google Translate helped us out a few times.
This would rank near the top of the list for Fall trips we have taken.
Now the challenge is to sort through the 3000 photos to pick a top 300 set!
