A bit of gossip, on chatting to a village elder over coffee in the village square yesterday morning we were informed by him that our aljibe (water well) was the biggest in the village. He knew this because 51 years ago our house was actually a school for boys and he was a pupil, as were many of our friends in Haría, Arrieta, Maguez and most of the villages here in north Lanzarote. Not girls, they went without 🙁
This was, of course, common knowledge to us but, what we hadn´t heard was that at one time the well was empty and, because of its size, was used as a little ´up yours´ to the authorities casino….
It was then the time of Castro and there was a ban on gambling so the resourceful Canarians found a unique way of gambling away their potatoes, carrots, melons, pumpkins and……..grandmothers.
We don´t know quite how this was actioned and for how long it all lasted, that the full gossip will be imparted next Saturday at coffee time (we´re buying info).
As every year goes by, we learn something new about this mysterious place, seemingly a sleepy hollow but, behind those cotton curtains lies a myriad of peculiar behaviour, we shan´t dig too deep?