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Showing posts with label salto del pastor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salto del pastor. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 08, 2021

Fishing or leaping ?

The above image shows the statue near the picnic area at the Embalse de La Encantadora, the large irrigation-water reservoir near Vallehermoso in La Gomera's north-west. The lake-like reservoir contains plenty of fish, and permits for angling are available for a small fee from the local town hall. Should you catch anything, you can cook it right there as the lovely picnic area boasts ovens and barbecues, basic kitchen facilities (all under a traditional roof) and clean toilets. Most times there's even a large stack of firewood supplied for use by the public and all these facilities are free of charge. A great place for parties, too, but please inform the locals and the town hall of your plans if a larger crowd is expected to attend. The locals nearby are very helpful and it might be a good idea to invite them. They do make good wine there, you know...
The statue of the aboriginal Gomeran stands on a small headland jutting out into the artificial lake very close to the picnic area.
However, he's not holding a fishing rod, nor some type of spear. The long pole he grips was and still is used for the so-called 'salto del pastor' (shepherd's leap), a means to speedily traverse the rough and steep terrain of La Gomera. There's more about that tradition, with a video of how it's still done today here...

Wednesday, December 06, 2017

Learn to leap

From tomorrow Dec. 7th 2017 the annual national gathering of the federation promoting the traditional Canarian shepherds leap (salto del pastor Canario) will take place in the municipal regions of Vallehermoso and Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera. There will be workshops and classes concerning this spectacular form of pole vaulting as well as other forms of culture and traditions in the Canary Islands. More than one hundred 'leapers' will be travelling cross country using the long poles. Here's how they do it...

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Shepherd's leap


Above video demonstrates the traditional way of rapidly moving across the often difficult and steep terrain in the rural areas of the Canary Islands with the help of a long, pointed, lance-like vaulting pole. This allows the shepherd to move faster than his goats and is called salto del pastor Canario or 'leap of the Canarian shepherd'. It is still practised on La Gomera and it is fascinating to watch farmers move across rocky terrain in the mountains with breathtaking speed when they gather stray goats. The salto is now becoming increasingly popular as an adventure sport activity and classes are on offer sporadically all over the Canary Islands to learn this ancient form of pole vaulting.