Perilous Activity and men of honour


So, how safe is it to go to Tenerife I hear you ask. Well, last month the island had its biggest drill in case bits of the island decided to go for a walk.  At 9am on 26th September an alert was sent and thousands in the northern town of Garachico were evacuated.  Recently Mount Tedie has had a bit of a rumble which has caused concerns.


There have been a confirmed 42 eruptions in the last 10,000 years.  Apparently some Biscayan sailors recorded one in 1341 but some people doubt them as reliable.   The most recent one was in 1909, when Chinyero had three days of explosive outpourings and then another seven days of less energetic stuff.  On the anniversary each year, after a mass, locals take images of Santa Ana de Tamaimo, Santo Domingo de Guzmán and the Virgin of El Pilar de Las Manchas, to the place where the eruption began: the place known as El Calvario, where the residents in 1909, fearing being swept away by the lava, carried the image of Santa Ana in procession to the foot of the lava flows. 



The Illustrated London News covered the story in 1909.  ‘PERILOUS ACTIVITY; THE GREAT ERUPTION The volcanic eruption in Teneriffe on the 18th of last month at Mount Chinyero. in the south-west of the island. Lava flowed down three directions, two streams moving towards Santiago, and one towards Icod. ruining towards banana, potato and tomato plantations.’    Two streams were reported as being 433 yards wide, another 650.  On the opposite page was an advert for Buchanan’s whiskey.




I have got to say I am not happy with this road.  The sheer cliff edge makes me concerned for everyone, especially those chaps who had to construct it.  Let us pass the Tantra Bridge School of Authentic Tantric Practices and nip into the Guachinche Casa Gabriel restaurant for a fortifier.  It holds 4.3 stars proudly in the air.  Three months ago Annemarie gave it one star and said it was closed for the whole of May.  In May Carmen said ‘All the food was very delicious, the staff very friendly, the place very quiet and outdoors with the sound of the birds... very good discovery!’



The Mirador de Pajara is a bit spectacular.  Graham gave it a three star review of the sort that you feel would be three stars in a well ordered anything less than five is a shambles sort of the way.  He said ‘Contrary to other comments, the spot was very clean when we went.  The drive itself had nicer views than the actual lookout spot, though it was a pleasant stop and I was glad we took the route vs the highway.’  I am led to believe that the statue is of a Canarian wrestler.



OK, rabbit hole time.  Canary wrestling aka lucha canaria.  In 1420, shortly after the Spanish conquest, Alvar García de Santa María first recorded the wrestling techniques, including the use ofumpries, or hombres de honor - which sounds a bit mafia.  The rules were first laid down in 1872 and in the 1940s several provincial federations were formed,eventually coalescing into the Federación Española de Lucha in 1984. As it needs a sand circle, lucha is usually fought on special pitches, and inter-island contests, are covered by local TV.



We end the day near the ArañaLandia. Google calls it a place of worship.  A Youtube link takes you to Rick Astley singing ‘Never going to give you up.’   I will relay edited highlights from all the reviews left….


Guille ‘A beautiful place to spend with the children. The water park is amazing, it was packed with people. ‘


Jorge ‘I love it. The best BDSM massage I've ever received. The owner is a bit rough, but generally very friendly.’


Matarec ‘The best cigar I've ever bought. Plus, they have all kinds of cigars. I recommend buying the Romeo y Julieta and Cohibas, which are classics.’


Pablo ‘Very beautiful views as well as good musical accompaniment. A very relaxing place and I definitely recommend visiting.’


Kudaz ‘The food was spectacular, ‘


Alejandro ‘A great place for a family vacation’



Ok, time to move on.










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Much a do about something

Image
  In North Lincolnshire there is an OS square which is all but empty,  In a single corner stretches a few metres of power cables to spoil the virgin whiteness.  Today’s walk is not so blessed with flat calm.  We will see trees.  We will see ups.  Views are compulsory.  Houses aren’t.  Let's talk about Asturias in the years from 718 to 757. In 711 the full force of the Islamic tide swept from North Africa into Visigothic Spain. At the Battle of Guadalete King Roderic and much of the nobility were killed and the Iberian Peninsula collapsed before the all conquering crescent.  The thing is, Asturias is a long way from the main body of Spain. It is a bit wet and more to the point lacking the plunder which was the way of paying the Army of the Conquest.  The Caliphate’s hold on Asturias was tenuous to say the least.  Enter  Pelagius. Pelagius has many myths swirling around him and a very butch Victorian statue in Gijon.  Accord...
Read more

In which a Roman Bridge and a Funeral Parlour are reviewed.

Image
  We are rising again. We are rising 20 of your earth metres today. We will be 818m above the level sea. We are about at the highest point in the Cheviot Hills. We cross the Rio Porma and into Villarente and Puente Villarente. Both these twin settlements, lurking along the roadside, have generally grown in size since 2000.   https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/en/art-culture-heritage/great-routes/way-saint-james/puente-villarente First we must cross the Roman Bridge. Coyotuco is back with a five star review: A beautiful BRIDGE with a lot of history but it is not PEDESTRIAN. For pedestrians they have made a PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY right next to it. We are passing by the Artesanias Luyma so let us gaze at their ceramic goodness. Let us wonder  https://www.artesaniasluyma.com/categorias/pereruela/ While we are here and we are passing the Tanatorio Camino de Santiago let us visit this 39 reviewed funeral home. It gets an average of 4.9 stars.  https://www.antamontalvo.es/esq...
Read more

Mini Pieces of Supposed tuna

Image
  Pina de Ebro has something for everyone who enjoys the architecture of Spanish pueblos.  It has the tiny lanes, on which houses have been rebuilt for generations without a care for the needs of the modern motorist.  We have the pathways which have been tiled over but once were dirt tracks.  We have the modern suburban developments of low rise houses and 80s hopefully aspiring shacks.  First all, however, we have a park. One thing we noticed, especially with a small boy in tow, was the number of parks with interesting play equipment.  This is because, in Spain, people seem to like children.  This does make them a semi-public property and people feel free to indulge them with sweetmeats and pass comments. ‘I think sucking thumbs makes children look ugly’ said one elderly woman.’ My Spanish for ‘well desiccated prune face, no one asked you’ deserted me.  The play equipment is in the Plaza Pilarin Artigas.  Honestly I’ve looked and was giving u...
Read more