A group of daredevils’ vertigo-inducing descent down a sheer rockface has left viewers feeling rather queasy.
Cirilo Melián Díaz and four others are seen edging down an impossibly steep cliff using poles twice their height.
They were wearing no protective gear and were just inches from a colossal drop into the ocean below.
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Cirilo, 49, filmed the clip on a 360 action camera while descending from Chinamada, a small village in Tenerife’s Anaga massif.
“You can see me practising a Salto del Pastor Canario technique known as ‘bastonear’,” he told What’s The Jam.
“It involves descending very close to the rockfaces, with the pole firmly gripped between the thighs and the hands.”
Salto del Pastor, or Shepherd’s Leap, is a traditional Canarian sport in which shepherds use a long wooden staff to move quickly and safely across cliffs.
It involves climbing, jumping, and balancing on steep rock faces – a skill passed down over generations.
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Cirilo, an electrician by trade, added: “Salto del Pastor Canario is part of
the essence of our past, of our indigenous ancestors, the Guanches.
“I say Guanches because that is the name used for the native people of Tenerife, as each of the seven Canary Islands has its own name for its aboriginal inhabitants.
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“This legacy passed down by the Guanche shepherds has been preserved over time thanks to goatherds and the need to use the ‘astia’ or ‘garrote’ to move with livestock across the cliffs.
“The ‘astia’ or ‘garrote’ is made up of two parts: the tip, or ‘regatón’, and the wooden shaft, known as the ‘lanza’, ‘astia’ or ‘garrote’.”
The clip left viewers dizzy.
Morgan declared: “No – in every language.”
Ele asked: “Why bother when you could be sitting on a terrace with a beer?”
Danilo joked: “Part of the series ‘Why men don’t live as long’.”
And Alessandro added: “Not for all the gold in the world!”
However, some suggested the descent might not be as scary as it seems in the footage.
One viewer noted: “The camera lenses on these go-pros exaggerate everything – it’s the price you pay for a wide angle. It’s served adventure and action sports well.”
Juan agreed: “The 360 camera makes it look like that, but it’s not really like that.”
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