Happy Valentines Day! We were minimally more successful at an earlier rise and shine, so Mike went out and took some neighbourhood photo shots. After some goat kefir & leftover tortilla de papas we headed to Aguimes. Our research indicated it was worth a visit as a ‘pretty little town’. It is actually more than that – it is quite historic. Not only the central square with its church are historic, but also the ruins which have been found whenever they excavate to build. Generally they do a bit of exploratory digging and then just cover them over to preserve them. We also read about the giant .8 meter (2 1/2 feet) long wall lizards which are local to the island. They have now been introduced to the other islands. These are the largest wall lizard in the world and are very ancient. Unfortunately we never did spot any.
Next stop Arucas. The square was in full decoration mode in prep for the Carnival festivities which start here tomorrow (each town has their own schedule). We had hoped to check out the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista which is Segrada Familia like. It was certainly impressive on the outside, but unfortunately our timing was off – we arrived at 1:30 pm and it is closed from 12:30 – 4:30. Picked up a souvenir for Pat & Andrea and had a coffee to decide next stop.
So what else could we do….we decided to eat! We found a great asado (grill) restaurant which was very popular just outside of Firgas (our watercress meal). The food was delicious. We shared grilled smoked cheese, tomato & avocado with garlic (LOTS of it). Mike & I had grilled chorizo, peppers and we all had grilled chicken. For dessert we all shared huevos moles. Not as we expected, it was unlike the ones on the continent, but an interesting variation at any rate.
It was a busy day – so off to our next highlight – Roque Nublo. More hairpin, hair-raising, hairy driving for Dan who continued to be our hero on the roads. Until now, the farm fields have been covered – we assume to keep off the baking sun and to preserve moisture. But here (perhaps due to elevation) the conditions are more conducive to growing it seems – lots of tiered gardens but none of the covers. The island is small enough, and the centre is high enough, that it seems you can see the ocean even from the very centre – just amazing. I won’t even attempt a description of the landscape – check out the photos.
This place could certainly justify a couple of months visit as a winter getaway….
