A walk on La Palma is not like a walk anywhere else I know.
What brings this about I wonder. Is it the diversity of the scenery, the views, the stillness? Well, yes in a way. These very things are all brought about by the landscape which could be described as harsh yet beautiful. It depends on your point of view – whether you are a keen walker with plenty of time on your hands and keen to explore or a subsistence farmer with 10 hungry children to feed and inhospitable land on which to grow your crops.
One thing is for sure though, life was hard in the old days with families scattered across the unyielding countryside. Communication could therefore be a problem when you lived practically in the middle of nowhere.
But for us casual hikers, there is an almost guaranteed surprise to be found on some part of almost any route. This photo was taken on a walk from La Zarza to Santo Domingo. Having left San Antonio and any possible civilization, we were soon in a desolate wilderness with nothing but undulating countryside and long abandoned terraces. There were no hamlets in sight, let alone villages, and no sign of habitation except one elderly man sitting silently outside his remote house apparently also looking at the emptiness. After another half hour or so of walking, there stood a second house made of local rocks and tea wood, the heart of the pine tree. It looked abandoned (as do many of the inhabited houses deep in the country) and we headed toward it to seek some shade in which to enjoy our picnic.
It was in fact abandoned, but imagine our surprise to discover that it once hosted the local telephone. In its time, it was doubtless an incredible boon to anyone who would be glad to walk however many hours to get to it. An amazing advancement.
And now deserted, no longer of use. Quite sad, but beautiful in its way, and it felt special to discover this evidence of a past way of life even, or especially, in this remote outpost.
What brings this about I wonder. Is it the diversity of the scenery, the views, the stillness? Well, yes in a way. These very things are all brought about by the landscape which could be described as harsh yet beautiful. It depends on your point of view – whether you are a keen walker with plenty of time on your hands and keen to explore or a subsistence farmer with 10 hungry children to feed and inhospitable land on which to grow your crops.
One thing is for sure though, life was hard in the old days with families scattered across the unyielding countryside. Communication could therefore be a problem when you lived practically in the middle of nowhere.
But for us casual hikers, there is an almost guaranteed surprise to be found on some part of almost any route. This photo was taken on a walk from La Zarza to Santo Domingo. Having left San Antonio and any possible civilization, we were soon in a desolate wilderness with nothing but undulating countryside and long abandoned terraces. There were no hamlets in sight, let alone villages, and no sign of habitation except one elderly man sitting silently outside his remote house apparently also looking at the emptiness. After another half hour or so of walking, there stood a second house made of local rocks and tea wood, the heart of the pine tree. It looked abandoned (as do many of the inhabited houses deep in the country) and we headed toward it to seek some shade in which to enjoy our picnic.
It was in fact abandoned, but imagine our surprise to discover that it once hosted the local telephone. In its time, it was doubtless an incredible boon to anyone who would be glad to walk however many hours to get to it. An amazing advancement.
And now deserted, no longer of use. Quite sad, but beautiful in its way, and it felt special to discover this evidence of a past way of life even, or especially, in this remote outpost.
It seemed to quietly say, ‘it wasn’t always like this you know.’
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