Ollie, one of HS’s
friends, who happens to live in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, took the day today to tour the north end
of the island with us.
We went to Arucas, a
small village with cobble stone streets and a huge cathedral and a mountain
with a 360 degree view. We went to El Roque, a town built on a rock jutting out
into the ocean in which all houses were joined together and the ‘streets’ were
undulating pathways barely wide enough for two to walk abreast and surfers rode
the waves in the bays in either side. We went to Agaete which is a small
fishing port beside steep verdant volcanic cliffs (think classic Hawaii) with a
coastline of jagged hills, a sleeping dragon, pointing out to sea. We went to Sardinia
where the colourful and photogenic classic fishing boats and ocean-side cafe
umbrellas belayed the poverty of the region. We drove past columnar basalt – I
learnt about that in first year geology and don’t remember if I have ever
actually seen it before – cacti, acres and acres of banana plantations in which
the plants were enclosed in large tarp ‘greenhouses’ that stretched, at times,
as far as the eye could see, spectacular surf crashing on rocky points, palm
trees, totally white towns climbing up hills, small volcanic cones standing
impervious to the elements, marvellous highway bridges across deep steep
valleys, and many other wonders. We stopped here to go for a walk and there for
a coffee in a tiny café and elsewhere in a restaurant on the coast for a fresh
fish-of-the-day lunch.
I tried to record as
much as I could with my lipstick camera but the light wasn’t good, or I wasn’t
good, or, for whatever reason, I didn’t get many of the sights captured very
well.
It was, nonetheless,
another awesome day.
