Guayadeque... Back to the Stone Ages
Cuadro de texto: Guayadeque was the home of the aborigine settlers on Gran Canaria; why they couldn’t have chosen a more easily accessible one remains a modern day mystery It’s notably mentioned in historical journals that when Christopher Columbus sailed by the island and stopped off for tea, the Guanche race still hadn’t heard of the wheel, nor were they too experienced on the domestic front either as they hadn’t quite managed the practice of baking the daily loaf of bread. Needless to say, Don Columbus only stayed long enough to draw the island on his map before he upped anchors and was off again to more civilised coasts. Cuadro de texto: A trickle of perspiration, the close equivalent of Niagara Falls, is streaming down my back. It’s blazing hot and the air is so still, without even the ruffle of a feathered wing, that it’s difficult to breath without wheezing. A mountain goat, of which there are none apparent, would have struggled with the craggy stone steps that form the twisted pathways leading to the higher caves at Guayadeque, Gran Canaria’s most historic monument. A goat wouldn’t have been daft enough to do it a three o’clock in the afternoon either, with the sun at its strongest and the surrounding rocks heated to a frying temperature from the mornings basking! Cuadro de texto: My climb brings me stumblingly closer to the summit, red in the face from over exertion and a lack of oxygen! There’s a notably peculiar smell permeating the atmosphere; which is growing increasingly stronger the closer I get to the cave houses, it’s so strong its almost overpowering. A random thought had crossed my mind earlier with regards to the delicate question of plumbing. The only running water here is the small perpetual stream on the other side of the valley, and as the cave houses are still inhabited, it does leave a certain doubt outstanding. As much as they’ve been modernised; there’s one cave with its own satellite dish and telephone cables, even my imagination won’t stretch as far as an en suite cave bathroom with full flushing facilities. With the first cave now at close proximity and a tissue pressed firmly over my nose, it seems my suspicions are about to be confirmed. The extent of the waste disposal installations don’t appear to come even anywhere close to the normal below-standard average continental job. There is a swarm of flies buzzing by the door to the cave and a worrying slimy brown coloured stain is ingrained in the old wooden timbers. The stench is overwhelming. A rattle of the metal latch signals the occupant is about to vacate the premises, and not wanting to cause an embarrassing situation, I turn to leave. From deep inside the cave’s shadowy bowels a soft low moan escapes. No, it isn’t the groans of a delicate IBS sufferer; Gran Canaria’s latest intrepid explorer has discovered a cow shed! Cuadro de texto: © This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without prior permission of the author.

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Written by Liz Correal contributing writer for Suite101
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