The ‘great white hotel’, as we called it, began across the road from where our small apartments ended. Its elegant, curving facade made it one of the most impressive of the ‘grand hotels’ on the Atlantic island of Gran Canaria.

Majestically, it hugged the line of the small ‘wadi’: a set of wide waterways designed to absorb the floodwaters from the nearby mountains.

“There haven’t been any in my lifetime,” explained the hotel receptionist, but it’s comforting to know they would save us, in the event…

Every day we would walk down to the local resort of Maspalomas passing the gardens at the back of the hotel. Every day, there was a well-meaning dad trying get his kids to engage with the giant chess pieces.

On the final day, we decided that nearly five hours on an aircraft warranted a pre-departure walk, even if it was just to stretch our legs. When we got to the place of the giant chess board, we were surprised at the scene of devastation before us….

Chess pieces lay ‘dead and dying’ around the perimeter of the board.

We suspect the children may have rushed down, just before their own departure, to make their feelings felt! Strong-minded little beings, their Grand Master future may be in doubt…

©Stephen Tanham 2023

Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, a journey through the forest of personality to the dawn of Being.

http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog