'Foggy water' from the Canaries is an environmentally-friendly delicacy
Friday, November 14, 2014 @ 7:05 PM
MOUNTAIN mist from the highest peaks in the Canary Islands is being bottled and sold as drinking water – an environmentally-friendly way of collecting this heavily-consumed commodity.
Two young adults from Gran Canaria captured fog from altitudes of 1,600 metres above sea-level using 30 prism-shaped 'traps', allowing them to siphon 20,000 litres of clean water every month from the mist gathered.
It is bottled and sold under the brand name Alisios, since this is the name given to the damp and chilly tropical winds that give the Canary Islands their typical climate at high altitudes.
This cool, steamy air has been captured and 'melted' to sell as 'Canarian mist water' without using any fuel-based energy or leaving waste or emissions behind, and does not need to be purified as it is effectively rainwater trapped at source, meaning the process is kind to the environment.
Similar techniques have been used in prehistoric times in the Canary Islands – the mythical Holy Tree on the island of El Hierro, known as the Garoé, was literally 'milked' and provided drinking water for the indigenous population in an area with no rivers.
The Garoé tree was mentioned by Pliny the Elder 2,000 years ago and, although it was blown down by a hurricane in 1610, another one has grown in its place and fills man-made ponds designed in the style of prehistoric reservoirs.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com