Archive for July 15th, 2009
Culture on draft in San Miguel

Fuelled by a British promotors pledge to stage speedway in San Miguel, the ancient south east Tenerife town roared to the top of my “must explore soon” list. I had brushed the fringes a few years ago on the Camino de la Hoya walk but now felt the urge to do it justice. A 416 Titsa bus to Granadilla, whisked me up through pretty Arona towns, La Camela and Valle San Lorenzo before dropping me at the edge of San Miguel 30 minutes later, at a cost of 1.25 euros on my Bono ticket.

A mirador (view point) greeted me, and a sculpture of a fiqure indulging in Salto de Pastor (above) , paid tribute to the ancient way that farmers would vault across ravines to get around. A stroll down the main road through town, Carretera General del Sur, showed me a neat busy town with plenty of new sports and exhibition halls. I can’t seem to escape my Oxford past, posters advertised a council sponsored 4 day trip for local youth, to London, including a day trip to Oxford – all for 625 euros. They best take plenty of spending money, it will come as a shock to them, I sampled a few local cafes, and coffee and cakes were even cheaper than Los Cristianos prices.

The church is always a good place to start, I followed the sign off the main road and the square towered 17th century church of Arcangel, smiled brightly at me, framned by two leafy green trees. I wandered around the attached plaza, but the church was closed, and admired the distinctive building. Sadly some planning oaf has allowed a large communication mast to be put up near by, it looks bloody awful and when you look up to see the church tower from around the town, its intrusive shadow ruins the view.

Cutting through the back roads, I found the El Aljibe exhibition hall. This former reservoir is partly hewn out of the rock and was opened in 2004. The two tier display area (FREE entry) is currently home to acrylic paintings by Susana Gomez. It’s a great setting and well worth popping in from 10 am to 2 pm or 5 pm to 7.30 pm, Monday to Friday.

Stopping off for a cool drink and a snack at the Vera de la Cruz  bar in Carretera los Abrigos, the bamboo decor and cart wheels on the ceiling were very soothing, and set my mind thinking about the speedway connection. I was a keen Oxford Cheetahs fan for many seasons alas they are defunct, at least for now. Mike Bowden, chairman of Plymouth Devils, claims to have land and planning consent to start speedway in San Miguel, possibly within a year. There is already a popular moto cross circuit nearby, but in Tenerife there is always a huge chasm between planning and realization – but I would love to smell the fuel and the shale again.

Onward, to the Casa de la Capitan, a museum made out of a wealthy land owners house. The two storey building is wrapped around a central courtyard, complete with sculpture (below) and has a granary and wine press, after a fire in 1978 it was partly rebuilt. There is a strong theme of the agricultural past of the area, with tools and photos on display, as well as a small but informative library of local history. This is another FREE attraction and opens from 8am to 2 pm Monday to Friday.

I was planning to pop down to Las Galletas on the way home but waited at the far end of town, only to find that the 484 Titsa turns off early at Carretera los Abrigos. Never mind, the 416 back to Los Cristianos comes along every 40 minutes. Travelling back past the craggy Roque de Jama, I could feel the urge to do some more walks in this direction, that things to do list certainly doesn’t get any shorter.