2 January 2016

Today was set aside for seeing the Wild and Untamed interior of Gran Canaria...

We made an early start. We looked for a cash till and didn't find one. We looked for a petrol station and didn't see one for many MANY miles and many hours. I had visions of the three of us stranded in the mountains, sleeping in a cave, becoming troglodytes.

And so we found ourselves in the mountains with 5 euros and an almost empty tank on immensely winding roads with hair pin bends. Our first stop was a Caldera where a volcano imploded (exploded?) and the lava met the water of an aquifer (underground body of water). Today the inside of the crater is farmland and pine trees have been planted all over the mountains to replace forest that originally covered the island.

Our next stop was, Pico de Nieves or "Snowy Peak", an amazing "mirador" (viewpoint) where we could look out all over the island - including very nice views of Tenerife and Mount Teide! This was my favourite stop of the day. I was grateful for my new camera (2015 Christmas present) and took lots of pictures.

Ulric spent 1 Euro on a coffee for himself - so then we had 4 Euros left and a very thirsty Wife and 11 year old Son....

We drove onto Roque Nublo (cloud mountain) where Ulric and Brendan hiked all the way to the basalt monolith (see today's blog picture!). I decided to meditate in the pine forest instead. This site is a crowd puller and I have never enjoyed crowds or crowd events in my whole life!

Lunch was in Tejeda. I really like the local Canarian dishes: the small potatoes with bright orange Mojo sauce... the fried goat's cheese with blackberry jam... the friend green bell peppers with seal salt (Pimiento Paprika something)... After the trauma dinner of the first night, we are staying well clear of Pulpa Frita (or calamari/squid in any manifestation!!) In mainland Spain this was hard to do but no so here...

Final stop of the day was Artenara, the highest situated and most remote village on the island where many people live in caves. There are still 600 cave dwellings in this village! So we visited the Museo and it was very nicely done, giving a good idea of how people lived in caves (with a picture of Jesus over their beds and white cotton dresses with lace laid out for Church).

There was a writer/poet who visited the island and described the Cumbra (the whole mountainous region in the interior) as a "petrified tempest". I can see what he meant!

As sun started sinking (early evening) interesting shadows appeared on the mountains. (This reminded me of meeting Kokopelli in Death Valley in October 2015!) We got out of the car at yet another Mirador (no lack of viewpoints and jaw-dropping views). The farm animals were all very vocal. The air smelled of sage and lavender and other herbs (in January!!) The local farmers were chatting under an olive tree in an incomprehensible dialect and one toddler was playing old-fashioned games in the middle of the road. There was a huge sense of belonging and of tribe: of the landscapes of our childhood forming the inner landscapes of our soul. And I briefly envied those farmers, because I never felt this in my country of birth. I always felt out of place... yearning for mountains and wild landscapes untouched by human beings.

I am glad that we have now seen how much of this island is untamed (as well as an Unesco Biosphere Reserve!). It has reminded me how the untamed part of me is asking for space and expression in 2016...

Watch this space!!

Imelda Almqvist