It's All About The Whole Journey And Not Just The Destination - Gran Canaria

Many people think that Gran Canaria only offers beaches, pools and hotels, what is not entirely true. There is no doubt that Gran Canaria has wonderful beaches and great hotel resorts, but this island offers much more beautiful and adventurous places than you can imagine, such as wonderful places as in the mountains with forest, lakes and waterfalls.

The most gorgeous places you can only reach with 4x4 vehicles. That’s why we are glad that we chose overlanding as our way of traveling, because otherwise we would never have explored these wonderful places on Gran Canaria. We have already discovered 4 outstanding remote places that we would never have found without our “Lennytheoverlander”.

And a couple of new destinations are already waiting to discover. So as soon as we have explored everything, I gonna write a complete overlanding round trip article for GranCanaria. But today I would like to share with you the weekend trip we did in September to the “Presa del Mulato”, which was in the valley of Mogan in the south-west of the Island. We had such a nice weekend, where we could disconnect and unwind with the help by being in nature.

But first I would like to explain to you what overlanding actually means. Maybe you gonna understand a little bit more why we are so passionately obsessed to this way of traveling.

Overlanding describes self-reliant adventure travel to remote destinations where the journey is the main goal. Typically, but not exclusively, using off-road vehicles. The main form of accommodation is camping with a rooftop tent, often for extended periods of time and often across international borders. While an expedition is defined as a journey with a destination, overlanding is all about the whole journey and not just the destination. It’s about exploration rather than conquering obstacles. The roads and trails we travel may be rough or technically challenging, but they are the means to an end, not the end itself. The destination is to see and learn about our world, whether on a weekend trip 100 kilometers from home or on a 10.000-kilometer expedition across another continent. The vehicle and equipment can be simple or extravagant, they are as well just a means to an end. History, wilderness, culture, scenery, self-sufficiency, these are the rewards of overlanding.

We have been living on Gran Canaria for more than 10 years. Through overlanding during the last year we have discovered so many beautiful places that we would never have reached any other way and we have learned a lot about the culture and people of that Island. We have not yet even discovered everything on that island, there is still much more to discover, so we are looking forward to some more adventures.

All of these you won't get if you spend your vacation in a hotel.

Actually, our journey already begins when we are looking for a remote place by using the satellite map in the internet.

Mostly we start with the search a few days before or at the very latest the day before. While we roam virtually across the island and we have found the right place, the anticipation starts. The next few days we gonna arrange all our camping equipment and prepare everything like food, water supplies power supply…etc. Since we have not yet installed a solar system, we have to charge all our batteries and power banks at home. This preparation and anticipation we always have before is where the journey starts.

When everything is packed, it's finally time to hit the road. With our favorite music we head off and enjoy the ride, especially the ride into the mountains of Gran Canaria, since up there are the most magnificent sceneries of the Island. That’s why we got into the habit of not going fast, but taking our time.

When we almost reach the place we have sorted out before, we usually have to drive for the last leg off road tracks to get to the lonely place. That's why one of us have to get out and check the track before. If everything is ok and the track is passable we gonna take the off road tracks with fun, which is also part of the journey.

When we arrived the camp site we first get out of the car to check how to park, so that we have the right position regarding view , sun and inclination. After we have parked we have a look at the direct surroundings. If everything is fine we stay and start to set up the roof tent.

As we often leave on Friday afternoon and arrive in the evening, we don't have much time before daylight fades, especially in the mountains and at this time of year. But we don’t mind, when we have set up everything we start to cook, eat, have a drink and sometimes we are playing cards. I like the nighttime up in the mountains because the lights in the valley of all the little villages are shining so beautiful.

The next day we spend mostly with a hike, for example to a lake. The lake on the pics was located directly below a plateau, where we have had our camp site. Our dog Nica likes to be in the woods and she runs and jumps around happily. She loves to swim in the lake because there are no waves and the water surface is calm. It’s always good to see her when she starts to thrive and feel comfortable so that she rolls in the sand with so much joy. As I wrote in the previous post, the physical and mental workload for our seniors dogs is essential in its everyday life.

We enjoy not only discovering the surrounding area but also stretch out our legs on that warm and sunny days.

I personally enjoy outdoor cooking, and Dani loves to have his morning coffee in the sun, Although it’s still a bit complicated to cook due to the fact that the kitchen has not yet been built-in. Right now all the kitchen stuff is not permanently installed, like the gas stove, which you have to set up for every coffee. But the interior conversion should continue at the beginning of the year. So looking forward to it.

And then maybe we gonna plan a journey with an extended period of time without having a real destination. Because we would love to experience life without having a goal. Almost all of us have set goals within our lifetime. Mostly we live our lives goal-driven but real life is about the journey and not the destination you set. No-one of us know our ultimate destination because life has so many twists and turns along its roads.

Sometimes life is changing and we didn’t reach the goals due to some circumstances but I can truly say that those changes, challenges or failures were just part of my journey. You see it’s all about the whole journey and you have to take it all. I’m not saying don’t make goals and plans but make sure you are loving the journey along the way even those goals and destinations will change. The reward is not the destination but the only reward is the process. So live you life as a journey and embrace the changes and challenges because you are on the road you are meant to be on.

Love,

Katy

Pics by Daniell Bohnhof

Text by Look2 Ocean