Trip to The Fisher Village Caleta de Arriba
The “Fisher Fortress” where Cats call The Shots and Tourists Stand Out
This colourful fisher village stands like a fortress on a rock spur that towers over the Atlantic. Year round the powerful surf rolls against the black volcanic rocks and fills the atmosphere with salty wetness and a relaxed rush. Cats and people alike look curiously and sceptical at the Giri who are armed with cameras and a surfboard ( Giri = a Spanish description for fair-skinned and blonde tourists). The human inhabitants of the village greet visitors in a friendly manner whereas the pets of the village, which are predominately black cats, lick their fur indifferently and look right through the tourists in an arrogant manner. Lazy and sun-spoilt, these cats hold their siesta in the fishing boats of the village or in some other warm corners of the harbour.
The door locks seem to be installed only for decoration purposes because everyone knows each other in this village and during the day the doors are opened, even though some of the house owners are not even home. The bakery’s morning delivery dangles from the door knobs and a few locals renovate the brick wall that leads along the coast and prevents it from falls. The world-famous “bone-breaking” Surf spot El Fronton and the more mellow and name-less spot, which we spontaneously named “El Capullo”, are located directly in front of the village. An old fisher man, who strolled through the village, said when questioned about the El Fronton: “Estos que se tiran alli estan locos!” – “The people who surf there are crazy!” From a beautifully designed and elevated viewpoint at the edge of the village one looks over the two surf spots and after watching the goings at the surf spot Fronton for a couple of minutes one will shake one’s head and unanimously agree with the old man.
By car
One has to drive from Galdar towards Playa del Agujero. In the center of Galdar visitors will find many information signs which will lead the way. Halfway one will find another sign which will show the way towards Caleta de Arriba.
By bus
The two bus lines 103 and 105 leave the bus station San Telmo in Las Palmas toward Galdar. Starting at 7am these buses depart twice an hour. A roundtrip costs 5,20 Euro. From Galdar one can walk or hike through banana plantations to Caleta de Arriba or one can just take a cab for about 2,50 Euro.
Mit dem Auto
Die Anfahrt folgt von Galdar aus in Richtung Playa del Agujero.
Im Zentrum Galdars finden sie zahlreiche Hinweisschilder, die den Weg
anzeigen. Auf halbem Weg finden sie ein weiteres Schild,
welches den Weg in Richtung Caleta de Arriba anzeigt.
Mit dem Bus
Den Busbahnhof San Telmo in Las Palmas verlassen die beiden Buslinien 105 und 103 in Richtung Galdar. Ab 7.00 Uhr morgens gehen die Busse 2x stündlich. Kostenpunkt für Hin- und Rückfahrt nur 5,20 €. Von Galdar aus kann man entweder zu Fuss durch die Bananeplantagen nach Caleta de Arriba wandern oder aber ein Taxi für rund 2,50 € nehmen.
