No. 2 - Its Gran Canaria Magazine

8
GET TO KNOW GRAN CANARIA I CONOCE GRAN CANARIA Nº 2
The sun in our hearts
Presa de Sorrueda
Santa Lucía de Tirajana
Santa Lucía de Tirajana
This year everything has been different, and continues
to be so. But there is something that will
never change: September is a 30-day farewell to
the summer, a season that wishes to have made
everyone happy, year after year. A period full of gruelling
but exciting adventures. This summer began
on 20th June at 23.44 and completes a period of
93 days and 15 hours. It ended with the start of autumn,
on 22nd September. Summer has gone.
The month of September is a time for reflection, to
reinvent ourselves and to tackle what’s ahead with
vigour. Today more than ever. Here in Gran Canaria,
September is always golden. In the south, in the
capital, in the middle of the island, or anywhere in
fact on this miniature continent. Many who don’t
know it seem to think that there aren’t four seasons
of the year here. It goes without saying that
this presumption is incorrect, as those who live
here well know.
Summer packs its bags in September. For many
of us holidays are over and the month becomes
a little bit of a chore. The return to work, return to
school, and in short the return to summer, but returning
to a life that has little to do with the freedom
and release that summer tries to simulate.
The never ending days become shorter, nougat
ice-creams no longer melt daily in our hands, the
super abundance of light gradually fades and the
intense heat that always reminds me of the protagonist
in Camus’ masterpiece The Foreigner, becomes
as docile as a lamb.
To take a route around the middle of the island after
the summer is a joy. The island offers beauty
all along its thousands of roads and footpaths that
lead to its central point. There are peculiar and extraordinary
landscapes, although mostly quite dry.
The summer sun has left its mark. In keeping with
our theme this month, we are going around some
dams, a route that offers ever-changing landscapes,
panoramic roads and bizarre views.
We start at the south and head northwards along
the GC-505 as far as the Soria dam. The road itself
is a fiesta of fantasy that gifts us some wonderful
perspectives around every other bend. The dam
is lodged in a deep ravine, surrounded by rolling
mountains. It is the largest dam to be found in the
Canary Islands in terms of height and volume, and
is the only one in Gran Canaria never to have overflowed.
We move on around hundreds of curves in the
road, every other one like a panoramic viewpoint,
again and again. Thousands of different perspectives.
Thousands of jaws dropping and gasps. Two
and two are four, not five. We come to the Little
Switzerland of the Canaries, Las Niñas dam. An
idyllic spot, a mystical location.
Continuing along the road we stop off at a true oasis,
Fataga and its traditional architecture. Just for
a short while we lose ourselves around the backstreets
and are amazed by its stunning valley. We
then carry on as far as the third and final dam on
our route, Sorrueda dam. This is an amazing place,
so peaceful and natural. The backdrop is provided
by huge volcanic peaks, and the valley is full of
palm trees. We may well be on our own here. Time
to sit back and reflect.
Santa Lucía de Tirajana
This is what September has in store for us. Reflect.
Summer packs its bags, while we pack our heads
full of thoughts. The summer gave us plenty of sun.
We carry the sun in our hearts. Especially in Gran
Canaria, where the sun is our number one ally. With
the sun in our mouths we welcome in Autumn.
Gran Canaria stretches out and breathes long and
hard. It carries the scar of melancholy. We move on
to new horizons, leaving a hot September behind.
The September wind blows us a kiss, and takes a
tear or two away with it. White pearls that leave the
soul. It is now time to pack our bags for the future.