The Bandama Caldera.
Yesterday, we felt like going to see this famous volcano. Bandama, with its peak reaching 569 m, is one of the youngest peaks on Gran Canaria. It’s nearly 2,000 years old. The caldera itself is a few thousand years old. During one of its most recent eruptions, the peak was formed on the flank of the caldera. It features unique vegetation and birds of prey. There are also a few houses dating back about a century. The caldera’s basin winds like a slalom course down the slopes of this volcano, at an elevation of 170 to 200 meters.
That morning, full of motivation and enthusiasm, we decided to go. But something managed to throw a wrench in our plans.
A car backing out of its parking spot tried to stop us right in our tracks. We were stopped, waiting for the car in front of us to enter the roundabout. So there we were, hit by a Canarian driver reversing—who apparently hadn’t seen us behind him while maneuvering. That resulted in a delay, filling out an accident report in Spanish (please), and a return trip… Back at the airport again (yet again, since our first return to the rental company was because we’d ended up with a massive, cruise-ship-like Astra for two people that we wanted to exchange…). So there was our lovely Mini Cooper, all dented up. What a nightmare! It took some time to sort everything out. We lost nearly two hours.
I’ll admit that, personally, I felt like the day was ruined, but the motivation my partner gave me to keep going with our plans for the day really helped.
After some research and a wrong turn, we found ourselves near Bandama Peak. Ready to descend into what we’ll call the volcano’s chasm. A path of about 10 meters of cobblestones gave way to a slippery descent over sand and volcanic rock. We zigzagged down the side of this chasm. It took a good hour, maybe more, to make our way down, take in the view, and snap some photos.
We knew that the gate was scheduled to close around 5:00 p.m. It was about 4:00 p.m. when we reached the lowest point. After a quick tour of the old buildings and the orchard, we picked up the pace to begin the ascent out of the canyon. The climb was grueling because of the heat but still fairly easy on our muscles.
Once we reached the top, we noticed that it was possible to continue the ascent by car all the way to the peak, where we had a breathtaking view of part of the island. A long break and a big breath of fresh air were just what we needed before heading back to civilization.
Ninve,
