The founding neighbourhood of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria offers history, culture, cuisine and the odd enigma.

A stroll around the district of Vegueta begins at a very distinct point, back to a time over five centuries ago. At the foot of Guiniguada Ravine, gigantic palm trees rose up and served as a beacon to guide boats bringing in Spanish troops deployed at this point since 1478. The roots of those first historic palm trees that stood tall in what we now call Vegueta are also the roots to the name of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

They say a recipe itself doesn’t have a soul, rather it is the chef that provides it. Nevertheless, nobody doubts that crockery is a fundamental part of a recipe today: it enhances the dish, while each piece adds a dash of beauty to the end product.

This opinion is shared among critics and gastronomic experts all around the world, so much so that neuroscience has taken it on to study just how the shape of crockery, along with its colour, material and density all influence how, what and how much we eat.

Roque Nublo, the geological wonder and emblem of Gran Canaria, invites you to join it in reaching up to the sky.

Your climb up had provided you with your first glimpses in your mind. But now you are actually here, and you are breathing in the pure mountain air carrying the aroma of pine trees, and local flora including alhelíes, tajinastes, chestnut trees and broom. You look up and there it is. You feel compelled to walk on as far as its base and touch the sky alongside it. It’s the Roque Nublo, the proud son of the volcano and one of the most awe-inspiring stone monoliths in the world. And today you are visiting it in its lair at over 1,800 metres altitude.