GUA-GUA

 The bus drivers on Tenerife and the other Canary Islands have to be skillful, intrepid and well-trained. The passengers of the local bus company Titsa must also be fearless, or at least prepared to shut their eyes and pray. Round here we call a bus a 'gua-gua', pronounced 'wa-wa', and until last month I didn't know why.

In a wonderful old restaurant in the back streets of Santa Cruz, on one wall of the central open air courtyard, there was a framed explanation. Roughly translated it tells us that an English firm - Washington, Walton and Company Incorporated - exported the first buses to Cuba, and the nickname 'Wa-wa' was born.
The Canary Islands have strong connections with countries on the other side of the Atlantic thanks to economic migration - and the name has been in common use in Cuba and over here ever since.

Or so they say - whether it's true or an urban legend is anyone's guess!