Finally a museo day – this trip has certainly been more about the landscape than the culture so far, so time for some attention to the human aspects.
First stop was at some of the older, better preserved windmills. One was an actual mill used to grind grain, the other was used to divert water to the fields. What appeared to be a private observatory was also next the second mill. There are many abandoned buildings – both in the countryside and on the outskirts or even in towns. One flavour seems to be abandoned subdivision ‘shells’. We are guessing that an economic downturn left 1/2 of the homes unsold and the developer(s) walked away. Many seem to be abandoned farmsteads. Such were the ones near the mills. It would be interesting to know how long they have been empty. There are signs of wallpaper on the walls and rudimentary wiring, but no clear indication of whether it has been 10 or 50 years. Mike found a dog skeleton curled up in the corner of one – photo below.
Our next stop was the cheese museum – Museo de Queso Majorero. It was very informative, although a bit ‘dry’. It is a fairly new museum, and if they are smart they will include real goats and actual cheese-making to the exhibits. Although Dan did enjoy milking the plastic doe… The cheese-making was also shown through videos. We ended up purchasing some of the gofio-coated (local grain made from corn and more) curado (aged). The other traditional coatings are pimenton (Spanish paprika) or olive oil. All are very nice cheeses – although double the price to buy here than in the grocery store. You pay for the certification.
The Majorero goats are quite unique and are coveted world wide for their voluminous milk production. The exporting of these goats is big business. It’s surprising they are able to stand given the size of their udders! They have been bred for many centuries – they came here from the African mainland around 500 BC. The herding dogs that are used are also unique to the island – the Perro Majorero which is now rare and efforts are being made to sustain the breed.
Before we left the museo, we spent some time in the gardens around the museum – beautiful cactus and other plants. Unfortunately the cafe was closed on Sundays, so off for a ‘quick’ lunch. It was a Sunday which is the day for leisurely family lunches here. We know that now…. We found a very popular local spot but our quick lunch turned into 2 1/2 hours. Although the food was good and we had a little room in our bellies, we didn’t even order coffee or dessert as that could have meant another hour or two! In the end, it was so late that we missed the salt museum – hopefully we can capture it another day.
Instead Dan and Michael took us on a hunt for Hitler – or at least u-boats to the very south of the island. It is SO different there! Full of resorts and groomed walkways and gardens with colourful plants and shops galore. Many Germans here – perhaps a carryover from the WW2 days when the island was ‘secretively’ used as a u-boat port. Many rumours that Hitler had a fortress hideaway nearby – Villa Winter – as per the ‘Hunting Hitler’ reality TV show. Mike and Dan had their radar out 😉
We watched a lovely sunset along the ‘u-boat’ beach, picked up some groceries including a very adventurous goat milk liqueur. Finally the 96km trek back with Dan still holding the wheel 100% for which we are all endlessly grateful!
I Love the windmill series….varied perspectives of the same subject.