24th of July

Wasn’t going to leave the island without seeing something green. There must be more to Gran Canaria then beaches, sand dunes and barren mountains.
Booked a whole day trip promising ” A complete experience that brings you the history of an island”.

Pretty much forced my son to come with me. Didn’t want to, but he knows when not to say no, and didn’t really have a choice. Tried to convince his dad, couldn’t. “I don’t do whole day trips, need my afternoon nap.” Don’t blame him, hard to break a habit of long years. Sitting on a hot bus all day with lots of strangers didn’t sound exciting to him anyways.

Lots of strangers ticked, however the bus was freezing. Tour guide told us we will really need the air-condition in the mountains with 40+. And I packed a pullover just in case, which my ex made fun of after we got home. It was really interesting, although hot and tiring. The downside is that you don’t get to stay as long you want to, that’s why we always go back to the places I checked out first. If it’s worth another visit, then we go, hiring a car with a driver for a day. That way there is no rush, have plenty of time to just take in the views, admire buildings, gardens. Visited the caves of Guayadeque. I was happy to see construction work going on. Yes, construction, apparently they are becoming more and more popular. Perfect climate all year round, outside was so dry and hot, but when I entered a house ( a nice guy invited us in and proudly showed us his room, a bedroom), it was nice and cool inside. Didn’t know if I was expected to give him some money, kept looking around, looking for a bowl or a box where I could put it, but there was nothing. Maybe he was genuinely pleased to show us his home, just like that. Felt awkward. But he didn’t seem bothered by it all. Imagine all year round, every day tourists walking past your house, your door, in and out of it. I could sympathize with him, me living in a house in the middle of the forest next to a tourist trail, I get a constant stream of people peeking in, luckily only through the fence. It bothers me a lot. So hats off for this fellow. Saw a church( the first one built on this island), been to Firgas, gorgeous place , the smallest county on the island. I mostly enjoyed looking at the buildings. Maybe in another life I will be an architect. Winding roads leading up to the mountains, two way roads, not much wider than our bus, constant honking of horns, stopping, reversing, scary at times . Thought I was used to this being in Madeira a lot, but this was worse, much worse. So glad that I wasn’t sitting on the right side of the bus, didn’t envy those guys looking out and down their windows, their faces getting paler by the minute. Luckily we had a great bus driver, did tip him in the end. As we were going higher and higher, got greener. There were pine trees, their needles are much longer then usual, they have a softer and harder part of it, gather the humidity through them. Saw my favorite eucalyptus trees, love their barks, the different colors. Next to the mountain restaurant we had lunch at, there was one, ivy was creeping up it’s trunk. Nature’s combination. When I started to see agapanthus and hydrangea, coupled with areas totally covered with morning glory, their glorious blue trumpet shaped flowers wide open in the sun, felt better.

Budget lunch at the perfect location, with a really nice view of the valleys, the houses, lands, gardens. This island up until the sixties mostly relied on the export of tomatoes. Now, those fields are more or less abandoned. Their economy is based on tourism. So far the the tourists come from mostly Europe, 12 millions last year( distributed in between the 7 islands, 5 million on Gran Canaria). With the expansion of the airport they want to attract visitors from America and the Far East. I believe they will. Their climate is great, especially “off season”, pleasant mid twenties, when back home all you have is fog, cold, rain and sleet. Next stop was an Aloe Vera plantation. Nice demonstration on how do they prepare and use the Aloe Vera, trying it out ourselves, sipping Aloe Vera drinks and shopping in their shop. Must admit, did buy a gel for bruises and pains. Maybe this will help. Fingers still stiff, not being able to grip scares me. Hundreds of plants will be waiting for me to be planted back home, lawns to be mowed, a new area to be created for my roses, how will I do all this with one hand, with my left hand??? For now it doesn’t matter, gazing out the window and taking in the breathtaking scenery of the mountains, deep canyons. Their highest peak is Pico de las Nieves, at 1949 m, but the surrounding peaks are equally majestic. Drove through roads lined by almond trees, stopped at Tejeda. This is where the symbol of Gran Canaria, el Roque Nublo stands. It is a huge, over 70 meters basalt monolith, formed by volcanic action. Here we sampled some of their local sweet nuts, marzipans, and many different types of rum. Was way too

hot, the euro she gave me back when buying marzipan for Mish, almost burnt a hole in my hand. The last stop was at a camel farm. While my son was busy taking pictures of the camels, parrots and the cats relaxing in the shade, his mum was admiring the Bougainville covering even some of the palm trees, finally saw some mango trees and yes, I found frangipani. For an instant I almost forgotten where I was. Felt like Kuwait, looked like Kuwait, those lush gardens of the chalets protected by palm trees,where we used to go in the 90’s. Certainly had the temperature of it, dry heat…which was almost always followed by the humidity of August…so many memories we collect over the years. Just a smell, a sight, a sound, can trigger what you thought was forgotten, or so you thought. I am glad to have these memories, that nobody, nothing can take away from you. Only Alzheimer’s.

Glad we did it. Might have been boring at some points for Mish, but I believe he will have some nice memories of it as well. This was the perfect way to get to know the inner parts in such a short time. Saw amazing canyons, mountains, forests, beaches, had great food, met some kind people. Standing on the terrace early morning, gazing at the ocean, silently said farewell. When will I be back, I don’t know. My bucket list is so long.