In 1492, Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) anchored in the port of Las Palmas for repairs to the rudder of the Pinta (one of the three ships in his expedition). Other than a stop on his way back, Colombus had no impact on the Canaries. It should come to no surprise that the old city of Las Palmas has a 📍“Casa de Colón” (House of Columbus). They also have the Columbus Square and Columbus Beach. Must have been one giant boat repair bill, just saying.
Las Palmas is divided in five districts. We’re staying in the island, port and quarry (La Isleta-Puerto-Canteras) which, as far as know, doesn’t contain a quarry but it does have a very nice beach (good trade!). We decided to go and explore the Centro district. It contains the older part of the city after all, so there’s a good chance to see some architecture and get some culture in.
The center isn’t remotely at the center of the city but along the coast. About a 15-minute bus ride from where we were or a one-hour walk. We opted to use the bus and were super happy that, like in Tenerife, it’s just a question of tapping with your iPhone or credit card to pay your passage.
We spent an hour or two walking the old city going from park, to places, to significant streets and alleys. There are beautiful buildings but nothing we hadn’t seen before. We stopped by the Plaza Santa Ana, the oldest plaza in the city, with 📍Catedral de Santa Ana on one side and the 📍Casas Consistoriales (a type of ecclesiastical court) on the other. But all the meandering had to lead us to the Casa de Colón.
We visited Colombus’ house back in Genoa. It was a disappointing visit, costly, small and without any context. The Canaria version isn’t much better. A couple of posters about the different journeys Chris took across the Atlantic and a replica of the inside of a ship in a house doesn’t add much. The basement has artifacts from the regions visited by Colombus. The artifact themselves are interesting but would make more sense in the country they were taken from IMHO. Better than Genoa, but you know, a let down. It made us wonder if the name isn’t cursed. Well, there were two parrots in the inner courtyard and we enjoyed snapping their portraits, so there’s that.
Relaxed by the city exploration, we bused back to our hotel, grabbed our laundry and went to our expensive laundromat to do laundry. The benefit is, obviously, that the laundry stays perfectly safe while in the machine and we can scamper out for a glass of wine on the beach while the machine does the work. Not exactly worth the price but very enjoyable none the less!
