Sunset at Mirador del Balcón

My son suggests a place he really wants to go in Gran Canaria. It’s a viewpoint over the ocean at the end of one of the most beautiful roads in the world, he tells me.

We set off and it’s absolutely breathtaking. We’re driving into the sun and there are layers of landscape receding into the distance.

There’s a large temporary road sign in Spanish. While we’re wondering what it said, we carry on driving for mile after mile until we come to a large landslide and a closed road. “That must be what the sign said”, I say.

I check out the TripAdvisor reviews; ‘#1 of 4 things to do in Gran Canaria’, it says. Four things? Really? All the reviews are extolling the virtues of such a beautiful view. Each one seems to mention the word ‘breathtaking’. Many, however, are warning about an aggressive vendor selling coffee, exotic fruit or cake on a stick.

We arrive to find a car, the food stall and a single man, waiting to pounce on us with his cake on a cocktail stick. I wish I’d filmed it so I could count the Spanish expletives directed at us when we declined.

We descend a few steps down to the balcony and watch as the colours change. It’s incredibly beautiful. Breathtaking, even. The only thing which breaks the silence is the vendor mocking us, swearing at us in Spanish from the lay-by above.

The sun is getting lower and he decides to pack up and leave.

We’re left in peace as the sun lights up the high clouds with beautiful cloud rainbows. Aren’t they amazing?

Then there’s a final display of brilliant colour after the sun has set.

Breathtaking.

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