Winter Solstice Sunrise on Mesa de Acusa

I liked this stage of the sunrise the most — the cone of shadow under Roque Bentayga was spectacular

An excursion to greet the first rays of the sun on the day of winter solstice is organized by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria every year. Well, this year there were two, on two consecutive days, coz, let’s face it, the difference in the position of the sun and timing is non-perceivable and we are no druids anyway.
We already tried to attend one of those three years ago. The bus picked us up later than it was promised, the driver took a long way to Acusa plus he seemed to be afraid of the dark or something. All these combined, we arrived to the Mesa de Acusa, a plateau in the upper part of the Acusa village, when the sun had already risen, to the general embarrassment of all.
This time was different. We started on time; the bus was small, so it could take a faster route via the smaller roads, and the driver was excellent. We arrived well before the sunrise and had a lot of time to freeze our bits off and to listen to a very good explanation from the Cabildo guide .
Of course, to observe the beautiful sunrise over the rock formations Roque Bentayga and iconic Roque Nublo you don’t need to be there on the day of solstice, but on that day and around it it’s well known where the Roques project their shadows (see map below). Plus, of course, I like a bit of ritual now and then.
Not overmuch, though.

Welcome to Winter Solstice!

Here I must mention that the guide we had was truly excellent at his job. I don’t know how many guides the Cabildo has in total, but two recent excursions I’ve been to both were led by the same guy. I hope he is happy with his job and keeps working for a good long while, he really adds value to the experience.
The explanation was given in Spanish, of course.

Spooky circular reflection

An observation for photographers — the rising sun gives you enough time to reposition yourself if necessary. In our case we were between the rising sun and Roque Bentayga (I like it more than Roque Nublo, it is much more imposing), so there was no need for me to run around. The nice thing about the plateau of Acusa (Mesa de Acusa is “Table of Acusa”, btw) is that it is sufficiently large and flat, so moving around is easy and reasonably safe once you get to twilight stage.
Don’t step over the edge though, the drop to the cave level is nearly vertical.

View from the ”dining room” of one of the caves which the Cabildo bought for preservation.

After the meeting and greeting the sun was over, we went down to the cave village Acusa Seca. There is a bunch of cave houses that are inhabited, a couple of holiday cave houses that you can rent (there were plates with “Vv”, standing for “vivienda vacacional”, by the gates). And then there is 26, if I am not mistaken, cave houses owned by the Cabildo. Apparently, you can ask for a key to some of them at the office and it will be given to you. I never tried though so I don’t know how long is the application process.

Nispero is flowering in a garden in front of a cave.

The original cave houses are small and not deep. The current owners, understandably, tend to want to make them bigger by digging in and/or adding a roofed porch. Problem is, in the deep parts of the caves there is no ventilation and adding depth leads to some undesirable consequences. (Here my ever-present craving for visual aesthetics adds “and the external add-ons are really ugly”.)
Anyhow, wishing to preserve the cave village as close to its “original” state as it is possible, the Cabildo bought twenty-something caves off their owners. They are not truly original, i.e. they are not holes in the rock, they do contain some old pieces of furniture, i.e. they are rather preserved in their post-conquista state.

See the horizontal cave openings half-way up the cliff? These caves were used by aboriginal dwellers for grain storage. I guess they liked their food really safe.

After visiting the caves we went up the same path. By then the plateau was in full sun. It was also full of dry thistles. I mean, I saw some before we went down to the caves, but it was too dark to appreciate the quantity. It must look spectacular when the pants are in flower, which is somewhere in the end of summer I think.

I think it is one of the species that are used as a curdling agent in one of the most famous Gran Canaria cheeses, Flor de Guia.

As a bonus, it was also full of sheep and lambs. The shepherd was sitting at the edge of the field discussing something with his friend. When I asked for a permission to photograph, the said friend hurriedly departed, being camera-shy, I guess. The shepherd himself, however, was quite happy to pose.

He’s got a traditional Canarian knife stuck in his belt.

More cheese, please.

Heroic posturing. The dog is not interested though

When I showed the snap to our guide, he said that the name of the shepherd escapes him right now, but that he looks so very typical of the local shepherds, what with the moustache, hat and the shirt half-unbuttoned.

And on his farm he had some sheep. E-I-E-I-O

That’s all folks.
Solstice images on Shutterstock 
Acusa images on Shutterstock