TENOYA. ACEQUIA y BARRANCO (comentado)(septiembre 2022)

An irrigation ditch that gave life and united a town. A ravine steeped in history and stories. A royal trail from which you can see the tallest palm tree in the Canary Islands... Are you in? Uncommented version:    • TENOYA. ACEQUIA y BARRANCO (septiembre 2022)   Many thanks to Baler@Wikiloc for designing and publishing this magnificent route and for their wonderful company. All the information, including the track, can be found on Baler's Wikiloc page "Acequia y Barranco de Tenoya Circular. LAS PALMAS DE GC." (https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderis...) We began with a research section looking for an alternative route to the section of irrigation ditch buried by the viaduct and the fence on its south side. You can cross it... but let's have a peaceful holiday. We did, however, take advantage of the dirt track provided by the construction site to easily access the irrigation ditch. This 1.7-meter-wide and 1.10-meter-deep canal dates back to the late 19th century and begins at the Lezcano dams, up the ravine, and ends in Tenoya. Excavated midway into the cliff near Tenoya, and using materials such as lime and cement that had adapted to the times, it allowed for the use of water in the highest areas of the town. At San Francisco Javier, we crossed the most beautiful corner of this route: an imposing shady wall that is lush with greenery in winter, with numerous palm trees gleaming today in the afternoon sun. Having seen it so many times from the road, I fulfilled my decades-long desire to explore it on foot. Parallel to the irrigation ditch at a higher level, there is another channel that ends near the Cemetery. This channel is less passable because it is deteriorated and hidden in sections by the undergrowth. The Tenoya Ravine originates in Constantino Mountain in the Cumbre Central massif, between the basins of the Guiniguada and Virgen ravines. From peak to coast, it takes on various names, such as Magrelagua, Las Rosadas, Teror, Miraflores, Lezcano, Tenoya, and Tinocas. We now visit a shed and house in "La Milanera," the name of a farm already mentioned in the 15th-century land allotments and more recently known as the Farm of the Barbosa de Arucas. We know firsthand that the house was inhabited between the 1940s and 1980s by the Déniz Perera family, with the head of the family, Juan Déniz, steward of the Barbosa estate, his wife, and a large brood of nine happy siblings. On the other side of the ravine is Hoya Olivares, a place name derived from Alonso de Olivares del Castillo, one of the first owners. We descend into the riverbed next to the "Cuesta del Picón," just 150 meters from the confluence of the El Pino and Lezcano ravines, right at the point where the ravine takes its name Tenoya. We return to our favorite corner of the ravine, now from the riverbed. Only the awkward walking over the boulders prevents a 100% pleasant experience. We continue our journey along the riverbed, passing under the old Tenoya Bridge, built with stone and limestone and a basalt ledge. An indelible feature of the landscape of this section of the ravine has emerged for some years: the Tenoya Viaduct, 113 m high and 528 m long. Just as travelers did in the 16th century, we leave the ravine along the cobbled Camino a Gáldar. It was the only communication route between the capital and Gáldar until the second half of the 19th century, when the Tenoya Bridge and the Machicao Tunnel, or the old Tenoya Tunnel as it is now known, were built. We reach the "mysterious" and stately Casa de la Gallera, of which only its last inhabitants are known: the Mendoza couple and Carmita, Juan "el Camarada," Juan Machín and Melián. At Finca Areva, we recognize the famous pair of palm trees, one the tallest in the Canary Islands at 36 meters tall, and both almost 300 years old. We leave the Camino a Gáldar and, wandering along the streets, take a path that, avoiding a landslide that requires careful maneuvering, leads us through El Moñigal and onto the main road. We cross the road and ascend along another path to reach Acequia de Tenoya Street. At the end of this street, we access the last stretch of irrigation ditch we will follow on the route. A section in which, although passable, we must fight with the reeds to avoid getting soaked. We finally leave the irrigation ditch to take a final path that climbs upwards and amid fantastic panoramic views of the ravine, leading us to the high streets of the ridge. In a real scavenger hunt of passageways and stairs, we managed to reach the starting point at the top of Lomo de la Viuda. #GranCanaria #Hiking #Tenoya ------------------- Music: "Cosmica" by Nomyn -------------------