The Camino del Hermano Pedro route will once again travel 19 kilometers that run between Vilaflor de Chasna and the religious space of the Cave on the 23rd, after two years of suspension of activity due to the pandemic. The initiative, whose registration period is open online and which already registers a significant number of participants, is organized by the municipalities of Granadilla de Abona and Vilaflor, with the collaboration of AENA, Montaña Para Todos (MPT), the Diocese Nivariense, the volunteers of the religious space and mountaineers, among others.
The cultural route begins at 1,500 meters above sea level and is 19 kilometers long. For five hours, the walker will enjoy elements of the natural and cultural heritage, terraces, flower beds and fruit trees, in addition to a unique flora with scrub on the summit, pine forest, tabaibal-cardonal and coastal scrub, along with a fauna of great interest that can be seen throughout the route.
The Camino del Hermano Pedro is not only a transhumance route that extends between Vilaflor and Granadilla, but it is part of a set of traditional paths, some of them reflected in historical maps from the 18th and 19th centuries. It is alsothe route that Brother Pedro traveled to move his flock.
The XV edition of this walk was presented yesterday at the Franciscan Convent by the mayor, José Domingo Regalado; the mayor of Vilaflor, Agustina Beltrán, and the priest of the religious space of the cave, Valentín González. Regalado highlighted that it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the canonization of Brother Pedro de San José de Betancur; Beltrán stressed that for Vilaflor the figure of Brother Pedro “is an international benchmark and we work to make his symbol throughout the Archipelago as the first Canarian saint.” González summoned the population to the Eucharist that will take place before starting the route and to pray the novena at the end of the route.
The activity will begin at 7:00 am from the Plaza de Vilaflor. Participants will have the Titsa bus service starting at 5:00 a.m. from Cueva del Hermano Pedro, at a price of three euros. From 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. there will be a mass for walkers who wish to do so in the church of Vilaflor. Then, the route will begin, which will depart from the town center in the direction of the Cave, where they will arrive around 1:00 p.m. Other possibilities to make the route from the convent located in the González Mena square, the urban area of Granadilla de Abona (9:30); from the area of El Chorro, in Charco del Pino (9:30); the Plaza de la Cultura de San Isidro (10:30) and from the Plaza de El Médano (11:30).
The XV edition of the route will have a device that will ensure safety, counting, for this, with Civil Protection personnel from Granadilla de Abona and San Miguel de Abona, members of the Local Police of Granadilla de Abona and Vilaflor, as well as the Red Cross and a specific security plan in the Cave.
In 2005, the study of the recovery and revaluation of the Camino del Hermano Pedro and adjacent areas began, a symbol that aims to unite the region (Fasnia, Arico, Granadilla de Abona, San Miguel de Abona and Vilaflor de Chasna) through the revaluation of a tour that unites history, spirituality, landscape and culture.
