THE AMURGA´S SANCTUARY

Today I am going to write about an ancient and forgotten Guanche sanctuary.

Amurga is a name given to the phonolitic mountains 1000 meters high near to the town of Fataga, where they end in a big cliff over the Tirajana´s Gorge.


This mountains is called the rhinoceros because in the cliff there are an amazing horns of stone like an rhinoceros seen from the town of San Bartolome.

But there is something that most people don´t  know: There is a Guanche sanctuary in the top of the second horn.

You could be thinking  "Why in this place? Were the Guanches crazy?"
There is an explanation for this.


The sanctuary is in a strategic location because it´s one can see the entire Tirajana´s Gorge, and  the sanctuary is positioned above the only route to the top of the Amurga´s mountains from the center of the island.

In fact, if you continue along the path to Amurga, you will find a wall of stones (resembling the Guanches´ Thermopylae)

Some archaeologists think that this mountains was the real Ansite fortress, one of the legendary fortresses of the Guanches.


Actually the most of the people think that Ansite´s fortress is the one that is near to Santa Lucia but i don't think so because in this fortress there wasn´t water and it was very important in the old world.

In the amurga´s sanctuary there are many holes dig in the stone which when it rain can conserve the water like natural wells.They are connect each other.

The humidity of the clouds can fill the holes too because the sanctuary is very high.

How can we go there?

In three hours or less you can reach the sanctuary if you don´t lose the way or die falling down. 
I am joking but it´s true that it´s a hard way.

I recommend to park in Fataga and walk upward the high part of the town.
When you arrive at a tank of water, turn right in these houses and you will find a cobbled way.

This ways connect Fataga with  Sorrueda´s lake and Santa Lucia which are in the other side of the mountains.

When you will be in the top of the mountains its important that you leave the way until it became to down and turn right toward "the horns of the rhinoceros"

In this part you have to try to continue the path which is marked with a little hillock of stones.

Remember that the path always is in the Fataga´s side and always go up.
In some parts the path could be dangerous so you must be concentrated.

There is only a path to climb Amurga therefore if you aren´t sure where you are, come back and start again.(I lost it two times, the first time that i went there but i could climb it at last)

when you will be under down the second horn, you must leave the path and climb it, but you don´t worry because it´s easy do it.

And now ENJOY the great view and feel the magic of this place.

P.S. Be careful and just don´t fall down

THE CHARCO´S CELEBRATION

Spain have a lot of crazy celebrations like "San Fermines" or "la Tomatina".

For me this is the most original traditional celebration of the island or at least the most fun.

The "charco" is a natural pool of salt water near to La Aldea de San Nicolas.
The origin of the celebration is ancient because the tradition says that the "guanches" people celebrated this party too and it´s likely that used to fish.

Every year on 11th September a lot of people from all over the island go to La Aldea and drink and dance on the beach while they wait for "the moment".

It´s when at the sound offirework everybody runs to the pool and tries to fish with a basket.
It´s a crazy time and everybody splashes each other and tries to throw more people into the pool.

 It´s tradition and fun in an amazing party on a beach surrounded by high mountains.

A different "alcohol, sun and beach"
P.S. Remember if you drink you mustn´t drive because there will be a lot of police checks.

CABRON´S BEACH

Under the Arinaga´s mountain and in the middle of a volcanic desert it is Cabron´s beach.

In this especial beach you can relax and be quiet because there are only five old fisher´s houses protected from the wind and usually there are few people.

For me Cabron´s beach still is like used to be the old beaches before the new constructions and the overcrowding touristic.

For this, Cabron´s beach is a "top secret"...

But Cabron´s coast is very famous because is a marine reserve and the most popular place of the island to dive.
In Arinaga the are some dive centres if you want to dive safely.

In my opinion the best free experience is to do snorkeling in its beautiful subtropical waters and see "the big arch" and the abyss.

Here there are some divers videos about "the big arch":

The last summer i watched this video in YouTube and i wanted to do the same in the big arch in Cabron.

I was training free-diving all the summer and i have to say that i became obsessed with do it but i know it could be dangerous and i didn´t dive alone.

One windy morning, me and my brother in law went to Cabron and finally i free-dive through the big arch.

 

It was a very very intense experience for me and although i was very nervous i enjoyed it very much and i wont never forget... when i breathed again HAHAHA.

P:S: Cabron was a Spanish pirate who arrived on this beach .

# MISSION: THE UNDERGROUND MILITARY BASE

I´m going to ask you two questions:

1.- Do you know what is the Pilgrim´s Operation?
2.-Can you imagine an underground military base built inside a volcano?

If you answered No... I have one mission for you:

During the second world war the general Franco and their Nazi allied arranged to invade Gibraltar.At the same time Churchill arranged to invade the Canary Islands.
this operation was called Pilgrim´s Operation.

To prevent  this, the general Franco built many defensive constructions in the coast of the islands.
One of the most important  was the underground military base of the mountain´s Arinaga.
This base is near to the Gando´s base and was very important in the strategy against the Pilgrim´s operation.

The underground base was built in a volcanic cone called Arinaga´s mountain.This is 200 metre high and dominate all the coast around.
In the actually the base are abandoned and its a natural park.There isn´t any problem to visit the zone because it is allowed .


I recommend to park the car in the Arinaga´s lighthouse  because you will enjoy an fantastic view of the "roque" and it´s near to the base.

Them you can walk toward the mountain and you will see trenchs and machine-gun nest in the way.Just in the middle of the mountain there is a edifice, walk to this old construction and you will find a tunnel.

Jump and explore all the underground base without danger because it´s safe.
Inside there are many rooms ( kitchens, baths...) in two levels, there are upstairs and Cannon balls elevator.

If you need there is a map for lost soldiers:

It´s an intense experience to walk like if you were in the "call of duty".
You must have a good light and "cojones" because in the walls of some rooms the local people have drawn Ouija boards to contact with the dead soldiers spirits.Do you feel their presence behind you? HAHAHA.

When you finish, go to the other exit of the first tunnel and walk to the old edifice.Before you reach, you will see a trench that upward to the summit of the mountain.

It´s an incredible experience because you walk into the lava layers and you can see all the geological parts of the volcano.



And you will feel like Teseo in the maze.

The trench continues in Zig Zag and finish in another tunnel but it´s difficult to entry because there is a landslide.You can walk to the right and you will see this command post:

There is an fantastic view: Cabron´s beach and the lighthouse with the "roque"

In the top of the mountain (The old crater)  you can find free souvenirs: the typical Pahoehoe lava.

For all of this i think it´s an amazing free attraction of the island that nobody know and i use to recommend to my friends.And if you don´t want to visit the underground base you almost should walk into the trench and see the view of the top.

P:S: The local people use to play paintball games in the old edifice.

The base is a famous place for the URBEX (Urban explorers).

ENJOY IT!



ONE MOMENT!

I will write about lonely beaches, lava tubes, Guanche´s ruins, beautiful volcanic mountains, underwater caves...
But some places could be dangerous.
Every year some people die in the island hiking in the mountains or drowning the sea.

Please, be careful !


I recommend:


- NEVER, NEVER, NEVER walk with more than 28ºC in the south or the west of the island.It´s very dangerous (I never do it).
-Always carry almost 1 litre of water (not beer HAHAHA) map, mobile,cap and light.
-If you dive or swim, look for information about tides, wind, waves... and never do it alone.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS BLOG?

I wanted to practice my English and i thought that it would be a good idea to create a blog in this language.
I decided to write about Gran Canaria because i want to show the other Gran Canaria, that island which the standard tourist never see but neither do local people.
I will write about special places that i known because a like hiking and i love to walk across the loneliest and wildest places of the island.
I´m a mineral collector and an amateur archaeologist .I like History and Nature too.
I love this island and i want to help other people to know that Gran Canaria is more than sun, alcohol and beach.
In this blog i´m not going to write about the typical attractions of the island and i wont try to persuade to visit any park or boring museum.There are many webs and blogs about this.

If you want to help me, please write a comment if i write something wrong.
I´m an English student and not a tourist guide but i would be pleased to help if somebody need more information about the post of this blog.

Welcome everybody and let´s go to the hidden Gran Canaria!