Long time no see

I hadn’t been to Gran Canaria’s second city Telde in a while, save for the odd visit to the out-of-the-town stadium to watch my boys in action and even play myself. And the plan was not to see it for a while still. For today’s Random Photo of Gran Canaria was slated to have been of Teror. Loyal readers, you’ll now, in turn, have to wait a while on that one.

Time takes a cigarette

However, with my eternal enemy, time, trying to outfox me at Parque San Telmo’s bus station, I jumped on the first Global bus leaving the terminus. It happened to be the number 12. To Telde.

The crow road

Other than going completely out of your way, there isn’t a scenic route from Las Palmas to Telde. By car, you’d follow the eyesore GC-1. The number 12, meanwhile passes through the unlovely Cuesta Ramon and the why-can’t-everybody-else-see-how-ugly-it-is El Cortijo. Not until you reach the Barranco de Telde does the journey get any easier on your peepers.

Telde’s Frankie and Johnny

The view gets even more picturesque when you encounter the neighbouring barrios of San Francisco and San Juan. San Fran is Telde’s old town, housing the city’s two main churches: San Gregorio and San Juan Bautista.  San Juan is pretty ancient too, home to houses of the nobility which include the Caso Museo León y Castillo.

And if you know your history

Telde was created in 1351 by papal decree. That’s pre-Spanish-Invasion Gran Canaria. Post-invasion, one of the key figures in its history was Inés Chemida (1467-1540). The daughter of one of the conquering captains granted land on the island, she was a Florence Nightingale-type figure, dedicating her life to helping the poor and sick. From receiving syphilitic beggars in her house, she went on to found a hospital in 1484. And this photo is taken in the suitably attractive Telde street which now bears her name.