By: Serenity Pearlman
Activities, Beaches, Culture, , , , , , , ,

El Belen de Las Canteras aka Awesome

Vol.15

Quick Facts

Fun meter: Whoaaa for about 5 minutes.
Location: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Adventure: Culture
Type: Art
Time: 15 minutes
Level of difficulty:basic.
Good for what ages: All Ages.
Cost: free but they make you register.
Access: parking nearby somewhere. Good luck. .
Hint: there is a playground on the sand right next to the exhibit. Get the wiggles out first.

Overview

Every year in December, the city has a sand art nativity scene. The sculptures are bigger than I am and show religious scenes. It’s not just baby Jesus though as many of the sand sculptures show cool scenes of Canarian culture and history.

How to get to the Belen de Las Canteras

The sand sculptures are at the end of playa grande at la puntilla in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We walked from our house but there are some parking garages near by. If you are hungry the Mercadillo del Puerto is a 2 minute walk and has tons of options. If you want a double header, check out the Castillo de Luz. 

This year they made us register to visit. We had to give all kinds of information using their website. The signs said it was because of Covid. In the past years on the weekend there were very long lines. But not this weekend. We spent about 10 minutes looking at the sculptures and then went for frozen yogurt.  

2020 Highlights

The family favorite was the three king’s and their camel navigating the stars, debating about a map. Their faces looked so real. Here in the Canaries, they are the true super stars of Christmas presents. Sorry Santa. The sand castle of the Teatro Perez Galdós, which is where mom and I saw swan lake, was really cool. I recognized most of the fruits and vegetables in the market scene. We felt silly and I had Sojourn pose like the sick patient that medics and old women saved.