‘We land in Cruz de Tejeda with salty skin and black lava legs from hiking through volcanic dust’ – Gran Canaria’s camino

Hiking takes in spectacular scenery and sacred aboriginal lands

A sea of clouds while hiking in Gran Canaria

Catherine Murphy

La Calima blows a Saharan sand storm through the resort, like nothing we’ve seen before. At midnight it’s 34C outside, 10C above Gran Canaria’s benign average temperature.

We’re on the island for a dual holiday – beachside relaxation in Playa del Ingles followed by a Camino de Santiago hike – just as an unexpected October heatwave hits. Our decision to do things back-to-front, relaxing before hiking, proves fortuitous. We have time to watch weather updates and acclimatise before four days of strenuous, mostly uphill hiking.