Canary Islands – Gran Canaria

Atlantic climate and Sahara winds, palm trees and volcanic landscapes, beaches and mountain gorges. The Canary Islands promise contrasts in sharp contrast. Already a few kilometres behind the start of the route in Puerto de Mogán in the southwest of Gran Canaria, another contrast is already noticeable: the road winds up into the mountains, high above the crowds of the beaches. There's nothing up here to get attention. The charms of these Canaries want to be wrung from them. The first section takes a run-up to the north. A sprint along the long valley bottom to Casas Blancas. Behind it, the road bends to the first pass, followed by a depression and the next, higher pass. How many curves can be accommodated on a road section? This stage puts it to the test and tests drivers and cars with it. The right time: early enough to get everything out of the track in the shade of the mountains. At San Nicolas the route bends inland and heads directly for the Roque Nublo. In the gorges, the mountain top in the center of the island can only be guessed from time to time until it suddenly piles up right in front of the road. Enough time to circle the mountain to the north and dive into the early midday light like on a sundial. After the circumnavigation back to the west coast: on the horizon the cloudy Teide, its peak 3718 m high above the neighbouring island of Tenerife. The section to Agaete demands pure timing. Sharp curves high above the coast, while the narrow road does without a central reservation for long stretches. An invitation to take full turns in the midday sun, even close to the cliffs. The way back to the south makes the Roque Nublo appear in a completely different light from the east. Half way along, a detour to the viewpoint at Pico de las Nieves. If you spot a mountain road from here that was not yet part of the route, you are probably dealing with an optical illusion. On the final spurt of the route Fataga appears like a place between two worlds on the threshold to the desert-like south of the island. Anyone who feels like a visitor from another planet at this point during local delicacies is certainly not alone.