04/1204/12/2024, view from the GC-21 road, to part of the rural barrio of El Tablado. - a major troglodyte centre!
Circa 1,350 m / 4,429 feet above sea level.
The photo was taken at 1533 hrs local time. I have left the looming black shadow in at the bottom left to show how the terrain quickly blocks the light. In fact, even where I live, much lower down at about 420 m., there is a 'mountain' out back, which the sun does not rise over until about 1130.
Better to observe this at full size: This incredible array of old, hand built terracing, was built over many generations by the hard working inhabitants of the area.
Formed, and perfected from foraged volcanic rocks, the terraces enabled the mineral rich soil to grow the potatoes, corn, and vegetables which in turn, provided the nutrients to keep families & their domesticated animals alive. Rain and mountain springs/runoff must provide the water needed for crop growth.
I can only guess that metalled roads did not reach up here until the 1950's or 1960's, so before rural road transport became established up here, it was do-it-yourself or die.
The houses are all cut into the rock. Cave houses rooms usually maintain a constant, ambient temperature throughout the year (more or less) & offer protection from the weather (it can be very wet & windy up here, & provide super sleeping conditions: silent and pitch black.
Now, looking at the mostly barren terraces, with many cacti growing, it readily demonstrates how life has become 'easier' for the inhabitants. Looking carefully, I think I can see a number of terraces with fruit trees, some bee hives, and potatoes growing.
Copied & translated from a Spanish website re: El Tablado: "Its entire sunny side is home to numerous troglodyte hamlets, dug into the highly disintegrable volcanic breccia substrate. Its origin dates back to the indigenous period, when the region was called Artevirgo, or Artevirgua, a toponym that seems to have been lost during the 18th century.
El Tablado is the largest troglodyte settlement in this part of the island, and one of the most important in Gran Canaria. Located under the Cruz de Valerón, where the Barranco del Culatón is now called Barranco Hondo, along the terraced sunny slope, and as a result of the determination of its inhabitants to obtain cultivable land, the swarm of caves that make up the town still emanate the aroma of its cereal, pastoral and artisan past."
Use Flickriver Badge Creator to create a badge linking to your photos, your group or any other Flickriver view.
You can place your badge on your Flickr profile, Blog or Website.
Add to your iGoogle or Netvibes page
Flickriver widget for iGoogle or Netvibes can display almost any Flickriver view - most interesting today, by user, by group, by tag etc. Once added to your personalized homepage, just edit widget settings to select your desired view.
Clickr on one of the buttons below to install:
Embed on your Web site
To embed this view, Copy and Paste the following HTML code:
Add 'Search on Flickriver' to your browser's search box. Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Install search plugin
"View on Flickriver" Greasemonkey script
A Greasemonkey script that adds Flickriver links to various Flickr photo pages - user photos, favorites, pools etc, allowing to quickly open the corresponding Flickriver view.
Also, allows quickly viewing any Flickr photo on black background in large size.
