Reptile, anyone?

If you are coming on holiday to La Palma then one of the things that might interest you apart from taking in the culture, views and tranquility is reptile spotting.

 There are two main sorts on La Palma, those being the lagarto lizard and the gecko. Broadly speaking the lagartos are the ones that you will see during the day as they peak out from rocky walls or sprint across the road or path with the impressive speed of a clockwork toy or nibble at your banana when you're not looking. Geckos on the other hand are altogether more demure generally sticking (literally) to walls and ceilings and prefer evenings when tasty moths are about.

When you first start to spot the lagarto lizards you will quickly realise that there are two distinct groups of these - the larger, blue-cheeked variety with a head resembling a miniature dinasour -

 and the smaller brown lizard who dresses in stripes. Yes, you guessed it - blue for a boy and, well, brown, for a girl.

If you absolutely hate reptiles though or have a phobia about them, then don't worry because they really won't bother you or even eat you alive. Mostly. They only measure around 20cm in length which includes the tail, so not quite of the mammoth proportions of the Komodo dragon at around 3 metres. Now the Komodo's have been known to attack and devour a person. Raugh! Just fooling.
However, whilst the lagartos have many plus points from an interest point of view, such as their ability to jettison their tail in an emergency (cats like lagartos) the geckos win hands down for me.

 Not only are they gravity-defying with their amazing sticky little hands and a much calmer character than the lagartos but they have the kind of perpetual wide-eyed look of the innocent.  They seem to say 'Who?  Me?'  You've just gotta love them!