Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial) j Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified), www.clitheroetoday.co.uk


The sheer beauty of the Gran oh the walking boots and


____ _______ by Frank Welsby - . II" THIS elegant church is one of Iho highlights (s)


SUDDENLY, she appeared out of the mountain — Hola, holai’ she cried, vigorous­ ly waving her arms.


Then she vanished. Drenched in sweat, I was


taking a breather after climbing 10 miles up a silent, deserted, spell-binding canyon.Was I now suffering from delusions in the baking Canarian sunf Er...did you see tha t woman shouting Hello? ” My wife’s shaking head convinced me it


had been a mirage. Seconds later, the smiling woman, dressed from


head to toe in black, rc-appeared, carrying a tray. of three glasses and a jug of freshly-crushed orange juice. At nearly 4,000 feet, you don’t got many vis­ itors - especially when you live in a cave. “Como” , the young widow beckoned as we


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thanked her, gratefully gulping her thirst-quencher. She threaded the way along a narrow, stony path almost hidden by boulders and dragon trees. She paused outside her arched front door, smothered in cascading bougainvillaea. Maria Eugenia - I did­ n’t take a note of her other five names - insisted on showing us around her spotless homo, a des res, whitewashed throughout, with all mod cons, including a plugged-in personal computer and dis­ creet fluorescent lighting. With, of course, a breathtaking, panoramic view straight down the canyon to the Atlantic Ocean.


were in wonderland, exploring the wild and magi­ cal barrancos — dry-bed canyons, gorges and ravines-of Gran Canaria. On the tiny volcanic, macaroon-shaped Spanish


island, just 40 miles long and 35 miles wide, there are 150 magnificent barrancos, 50 of which carve


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their way from the central highlands, 6,000ft up, to the sea. Maria Eugenia’s fertile and beehive-stud­ ded barranco - Guayadeque - is claimed to be the most beautiful.


Terraced, cultivated fields give way to sprawls of


prickly pear, palm groves, lofty eucalyptus, wild pink and white-blossomed almonds clinging to sheer-faced cliffs and, finally the dragon tree, a tougli yucca crowning the skyline.


mere name is exciting. Each one has a character of its own - green and hospitable with dazzling pink- roofed hamlets; terracotta and desolate, so Ari zona-like; jagged, brooding and ing headlong into a sapphire sea.


For me, every barranco is beautiful, even the


centre of civilisation long before the Spanish con­ quered Gran Canaria a little more than 500 years ago. With Maria Eugenia, just half a dozen fami­ lies still live in the caves high up in the barranco. But in its hamlet, Roque - population 51 - on the


Guayadeque barranco was a major troglodytic .


canyon bed, 17 caves are inhabited, as they have been for 5,000 years. There, the cave is truly the in place, the pub, the


___________________ _____________________ p ) T F r - —. " But cave living is now bizarre. Street lights illu­


minate the zig-zag paths to the front doors, TV aerials peep out of the rocks and today’s trogs


stunning, sensational Barranco del Silo, a gem of desert beauty, undeniably a mini Grand Canyon. Driving it is best - start with lunch first in heaven­ ly Artenara at 4,127ft, the highest village on the


mile ride down to the sea. Stop on the way to savour the finest views of the Gran Canaria’s most famous landmarks - Roque Nublo (5,859ft) and Roque


In the atmospheric Tirajana barranco, with its


sub-tropical island. Some 70% of its inhabitants still live in caves, posh though they are. Then comes the spectacular, helter-skelter, 15-


I had never met a cave-proud woman before.We - S* At. - Av-«*ots!S5E3z*»a^ by Nick Foley W . " - S • \


Ingram - the man who had to J ence to discover th a t Gail 1


H E h a s been convicted o l ch e a t his way to th e top J TV show “Who Wants To! lionaire?” and branded “nicl But disgraced Army mail


daughter in “Coronation S t | phone a friend to find out th;| Foyle is in Northern Ire la i l answer for his critics.


f S3355SG5E ENJOYING the beautiful beaches of Gran Canaria (s)


BS FRANK WELSUY booked a flights only package to Gran Canaria with Britannia Airways, part of Thom­ son Direct (0870 550 2555) which currently offers


from around £230. In Puerto de Mognn, Frank Welsby rented an


return flights only from £130, or seven nights B&B (accommodation allocated on arrival) from £'249. Airlours (0870 241 5330) has seven nights B&B


apartment from Cork-born publican, veteran car col­ lector and entrepreneur Liam Dennehy, owner or


waterfront bar-restaurant The Marina (00 34 928 565095). Accommodation can also be booked through Inter­ net Mogan on www.intcrnetmogan.com


palm forests and awesome rock massifs, you cannot help feeling moved. Here, in 1483, the Spanish finally crushed the native Canarians.


Fortaleza Grande is a honeycombed, castellated stle-like rock surging 1,000 feet from the barran-


sion-layered walls, highlighted by a brilliant, cloud­ less sky, change colours with the moving sun all day long.


MSassSSSsz momaaeassssi


co’s bed, the last of the patriots - most of the 600 remaining aboriginal fighting men — committed mass suicide, choosing to leap to their deaths from their cave homes in the red outcrop rather than bow to the conquerors. The 12-mile long Barranco vw UVVUlVx 1W C1U”


. . r " vv*‘ “ From the 5,128ft Mount Sandara, it meanders


through the charming pueblo of Mogan, noted for its black and white piebald cottages, through 14 hamlets to Puerto de Mogan, an enchanting sugar-


■\rT77 - *


banana plantation, of snow-capped Mount Teide in all its 12,192ft glory on neighbouring Tenerife, serenely surveying the seven-island Canaria archi­ pelago.Gran C an a ria ’s guaranteed sunshine attracts 2.5 million visitors a year. Las Palmas, a


gold beach and kaleidoscopic promenade; the for- ever-shifting sand dunes of Maspalomas; and the tourist urbanizaciones - resorts catering for every whim - pull the punters.


---OI *—~ v.iuii M, muuiuuo UU1 veu


walking boots are the first item to go into my suit­ case.


But it is the barrancos that lure me back. The


cube fishing village and haven for millionaire trans- Atlantic yachtsmen and serious blue marlin hunters. Puerto de Mogan is Gran Canaria’s up­ market resort, the first to be developed under strict


building controls. There is no finer place to rest up after a ■stint of barranco exploring. The village cheekily dubs itself Spain’s Little


Venice because its half-moon, grey-sanded beach, working harbour, the base for a 25-strong fishing fleet, and its superb 225-berth marina are linked by three short, shallow canals boasting eight hump­ backed bridges. Still, Puerto de Mogan would be my lottery-win hideaway. Back on the road, sere­ naded by the native chirping canaries - little brown finches which are not good singers - we walked the oleander, olive and palm-fringed track across clifftops from the Mogan canyon to the parallel­ running Barranco de Veneguera, refreshed by a


scented sea breeze filtering through pines and junipers. The reward is a spectacular view, through a vast


“I am not thick,’’ he protested L


am a member of Mensa, for gooefl Mensa, of course, is the sociel


sparks and brain boxes that has f (and disproving) people’s claims al superiority since 1946.


you know - rather than who yoil tates whether you can join its illul


bership list. [ Ingram is ip. good company!


and th a t motor-mouth TV J Bushell.


Mensa status. Carol Vordermarj Countdown presenter who h a | (Intelligence Quotient) of 169, is| So too are Mary Archer, Sir


But how do you go about join! 26,500 UK members?


I |


entry into the society is based ent| ity.


you are a pub quiz genius, the onl.l in is to take the society’s IQ test,!


It does not matter how rich j |


Garbett, Mensa’s Communicatioil explains.


I


(costing £9.95) which is marked t l an idea of whether they have a dial ing the supervised IQ test."


“People can opt to take a tel 1


trated test are then invited to sit J IQ test under exam conditions (ajl £9.95) which will determine whetl[ join the society’s clever clogs. “The test is broken down into L


Applicants who do well on the sti


one which tests verbal skills and th| tial awareness.”


join the Mensa geniuses and anyol to meet the grade is asked not tel


A result of at least 98% is thel at least three years. I


that most people who take the I trying to show off but admits soirl to prove a point.


Caroline, a Mensa member hel |


cational system or who are withl qualifications and they do it to p | of competence and it also looks g<f CV”


“We’ve people who didn’t fit irl I For TV presenter Carol Smilliel


to prove she was more than just a l proved too much of a temptatiJ recently confessed to cheating ol test.


The ex-model, who once sat t l


part of a television experiment to J show hostesses had both brains al admitted she got a friend - a Mens;| to fill in the difficult parts of the i| she did at home several years ago. I She said: “Ever since th a t dl


THE picturesque streets of Gran Canaria are a welcoming sight (s)


because of its thriving social scene.l who pay an annual fee of £40,1


always be known as someone with and I think I ’m quite glad I cheatJ Others are motivated to jol


organise events whicli range from hi I I


The good news (or the bad n! I


The only requirement for joinil


that an individual’s IQ falls wii 2% of the population - and that i|


A unique and highly prestigioil L for the beautiful barrancos will have you pulling . . . . ‘ ^ ~Chai


CELEBRATING its sixtll birthday at one of the counl try’s premier football stadiums!


is Ribble Valley Ladies’ Lunf cheon Club.


I


for research into childhood can­ cers.


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1 It has been no mean feat and!


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