Set against the blue sky, far above humans, bees, lizards and retama shrubs, a falcon reigns supreme, its keen gaze echoing the vivid blue of the tajinastes when they flower between January and April. Walking the path into the Los Marteles Nature Reserve in Valsequillo leads us into a realm surrounded by retama shrubs and magarza, white sage, giant fennel, morgallana and pine trees.

This history, which at times rises to the skies, also descends into the depths. The Salviar Caves, at the beginning of the path leading to Roque Grande, both witness to and survivor of the area’s volcanic origins, speak of Gran Canaria’s rich pastoral culture, particularly that of Valsequillo, as they were once used by local shepherds.

Roque Grande and its inseparable companion, Roque Chico, cast their shadow over a landscape where springs also emerge, and where one might catch sight of a swift or even a small eagle in flight. At the foot of both, at an altitude of around 1,500 metres, a panorama opens out before us, scattered with farmland, varying shades of green, fruit trees and white houses, stretching as far as the Atlantic. An ocean both near and distant at once, like a guest in this deeply rural landscape, observing the scenes that unfold within it.

Valsequillo, the municipality of a thousand and one routes, writes some of its most expressive and lucid lines around Roque Grande and its finest scribe, Roque Chico. It is well worth stepping aside along this path lined with tajinastes up to four metres tall, listening to the silence and allowing yourself to be enveloped by the aromas of this wonder-filled countryside. Or lay out a tablecloth and, why not, savour a cheese from Valsequillo bought in the village, perhaps even a little of that honey whose origin lies in the fleeting symphony of the bees, here, where island nature reveals a face of stone and blue eyes.

Related links:
In search of the blue tajinaste in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria, an island that gifts colour across its mountains, cliffs and ravines