We couldn’t have found a more beautiful spot for lunch if we had planned it, Tejeda is stunning.
We seemed to have spent an eternity climbing up the twisting road to reach the highest point of Gran Canaria, known as the Pico de las Nieves at 1949 metres. There’s no denying it was a marvellous view and a beautifully clear day too, we could see for miles, Mount Teide was visible on the neighbouring island of Tenerife.
Our tummies rumbling, we decided to decend into Tejeda for lunch, where we had been informed we’d also find the almond lady. We didn’t stop at the bustling crossroads Cruz de Tejeda, there’s a Parador hotel at this location and a few coach parties had stopped for lunch at the various restaurants. The town of Tejeda was 9km further on.
We parked above the town and walked down a steep incline to find the centre, there were a few choices for lunch, we settled on El Labrador a bar restaurant serving tipical Canarian food, with tables on the terrace and beautiful mountain views. After a simple lunch of jamon serrano, local goats cheese and some croquettes, we wandered around this sleepy rural town.
We were visiting Tejeda in the middle of the afternoon in June, it was very quiet, the rural hotel was closed for vacation and only one or two of the local shops open, we didn’t find the lady selling almonds. The traditional food to buy from Tejeda is marzipan and bienmesabe, which is a local dessert made from almonds.
We were approached by a fruit seller during our visit, who insisted we take some free organic plumbs to try during our walk. They were delicious and on our return, we stopped to fill a bag with fresh figs. When we asked the price, he just smiled and told us we should make a donation. What a lovely way to buy fresh local produce, and I’m sure he makes more money than charging in the usual way by weight.
There’s a history museum of Tejeda in the Plaza del Socorro which is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 15:30. Another place worth considering to visit is the Medicinal Plants Center on Calle Párroco Rodríguez Vega which is open at the same times as the museum.
