Tejeda Gran Canaria
El Juncal Valley, Gran Canaria
In January 2021 we decided to visit Gran Canaria, I needed a forest setting for a photoshoot and since we live on a very dry island we decided to head to the closest green island next to ours.
We drove to Morro Jable to catch the ferry and two hours later we arrived in Las Palmas, from there we headed inland up through windy roads until we got to the house we had booked in Gran Canaria. Our eldest daughter had seen the house on the booking pages we had been searching and she was set that that is where we should be staying. I liked the look of it and I like to follow our intuition so I agreed. Little did I know it was exactly where I needed to be for our photography project.
We got there at night, it was dark so we couldn’t appreciate where we had landed, it was a cold compared to what we are used to and we were quite tired after a long day driving.
The next morning we woke up and saw the beauty that was surrounding us. Green pine trees all around the valley and silence, all you could hear was the buzzing of the insects and the birds.
The house was built at the end of the XIX century, back then it used to be a location where merchants passed by and stopped off to trade or buy goods and where the animals that transported the goods could also rest. In this area and in those times, almonds were one of the most important goods exported. Cadbury chocolate was a major importer.
A few years ago, the house was reformed by Carlos and Carmen our hosts, who turned it into a rural holiday home. All rooms of the house and the bathroom are separate and on two floors, the bedrooms are upstairs with a wooden balcony typical of the Canarian rural homes.
Carlos made us feel very welcome, they had left us some goats yogurt and plum jam all home made by their family, together with the freshest eggs I have had in a long time and a lettuce that they grow.
During our stay we went for walks, the kids could wonder off freely and play in the forest and explore the area without adult supervision or any dangers. Hardly anyone went past our house except some hikers at the weekend so we had a very peaceful stay, away from Wifi and disconnected from everything.
The sun would come into the valley around 10 am so it was quite cold before this time and when the sun set you could also soon feel it, but when the sun was out in the day time it was so hot we were in shorts and t-shirts.
One of our favourite walks was when we went off to see the views of Tenerife, it was an easy walk and we found a little waterfall and a natural pool with ice cold and clean water. We couldn’t resist jumping in and it was a shock to the system but such a great feeling. It had been a special year where it had rained a lot so the water had gathered.
The girls loved this experience and wanted to repeat it the next day. On the way back we walked through the pine trees forest and it was special to us because we don’t have anywhere similar where we live.
We returned a few months later, the valley had blossomed and was beautiful but the natural water pool had dried up.
Here are some pictures of the area so you can see what it looks like in case you ever decide to visit this special little spot of the island. I highly recommend it.
www.casaruralentejeda.com