Hey guys, for weeks I've been looking for a new story on this site, but nothing has come, so I decided to do something about it. I admit, this is more a travel report than a bear tale. But it's about bears in one of the beariest places you're likely to find in the Old World. Playa del Ingles / Maspalomas at the southern tip of Gran Canaria may not be everyone's idea of paradise but, if you're a bear or a bear chaser, there's nowhere else in Europe - the Canary Islands are off the coast of Africa but belong to Spain - you can have a better time at this time of year (winter) than on its nude beaches and sun-baked dunes.

The earth is getting warmer, we're told, and no doubt that's true. But winters in Europe can be and usually are long, cold and dreary. This winter (2007-8) has been no exception. As I write this, northern and central parts of the Continent are digging out or mopping up from yet another big storm. So when a buddy asked me a couple of months back to go with him to Gran Canaria, I readily agreed. And I didn't regret it. Oh no, I didn't regret it at all!

There are direct flights to Las Palmas, the island's capital, from all major and many smaller European cities. I made the arrangements on the Internet - flights, a bungalow in a gay-friendly compound, meals in a neighbouring hotel - and everything was perfect and amazingly reasonable. In fact, I discovered it costs more to stay home than to go to Gran Canaria! The only thing I might do differently next time - apart from staying longer - is eliminate the meals. The food was great but served buffet-style, so we all ate much-too-much. On the other hand, it was nice to come home from the beach, take a shower and go to dinner without having to shop and prepare something to eat.

The Beach and the Dunes - that's where all the action is - at least during the day. It's a fairly long walk from either Playa del Ingles or Maspalomas to the gay area between them, but it's very interesting and good exercise to go up, down and around the dunes to whichever area you want to go. The beach was fun to visit and its hundreds of chairs occupied by an amazing variety of males from all over Europe - all nude. The water was a bit brisk but a few of us braved it and jumped the waves being careful not to get caught in the undertow and dragged out to sea.

The beach can also be quite windy, so many people stay back in the dunes, which are huge, many meters high, covered with prickly shrubs and small, wind-twisted trees. They look like pictures you've seen of the Sahara, as I guess they should, since they're formed by sand blown across from that not-too-distant desert on the African mainland. Iguanas are a common sight, some as big as squirrels. They come in a variety of colours and are completely harmless, although they look like mini-dinosaurs.

Of course, the main reason for being back in the dunes is not to observe nature but because that's where the action is. Interestingly, most people stay in groups according to nationality and can be found in the same place everyday. This is very nice because you quickly get to know people you can talk and relate to and perhaps even get turned on by. It also solves the problem of who's going to watch out for your things, if you want to do a little looking around. We were "based" with Italians - a great bunch of guys - some of whom we knew, most of whom we met there for the first time. There were also groups of Brits, Germans, Czechs, Danes, Dutch and Swedes, as well as Spanish. On my various „outings“ I got to know some of them, too.

One of the unusual phenomena were a number of male-female couples performing intercourse and other sex acts publicly before audiences of guys wacking off - not exactly my thing. No, "my thing" was definitely the incredible number of truly hunky bears - big, hairy, hung, young, old, you name it - everywhere you looked. I even met and talked with a 90-year old man out cruising. That was an inspiration! And everybody looking for action- especially at the end of a long, hot day in the sun. I won't go into detail - I'm sure that's not necessary - but believe me: If you want to meet great bears you could never meet otherwise in one place and have a great time in the sun, Gran Canaria in the winter is the place to go.

Before I conclude, let me say something about the nightlife, which is concentrated in the so-called Yumbo Shopping Centre in Playa del Ingles. The lower level is full of gay bars of every kind, where after 10.00 pm you can meet up again with all your buddies from the beach. New friends come, old friends go, it's like being part of a big family. So, guys, if you're tired of this seemingly endless winter, you don't have to wait till spring. You can do something about it right now. Viva Gran Canaria!