If there is one thing that I love about La Palma - apart from the nature and the people - it's the history of the island. It's varied, it's vibrant and quite frankly, beyond fascinating.
Now you might find this rather surprising as Tazacorte is better known for its beach, apartments, restaurants and the boat trips to see the dolphins and whales. And the hint is in there somewhere if you think about it. Yes, it has a harbour.
Despite there being many coves and beaches on La Palma, there are also three operational harbours - one at the capital of Santa Cruz in the east, Puerto de Tazacorte in the west and Puerto Espindola near Los Sauces in the north east. The coves in the remote and isolated areas of the island were the province of pirates. Our neighbouring village of El Tablado has a particularly hidden cove which is well worth exploring if you are nimble and adventurous!
But Tazacorte was to be the stuff of greater import as this is where the Spanish Conquistadors landed on 29 September 1492. Let battle commence. In fact, it took until the 3rd May the following year until the last stronghold on the island, the Caldera de Taburiente, was taken. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to capture an area such as that?
There were two failed attempts by the men under the command of one Fernandez de Lugo to capture Tanausu, the ruler of the Kindgdom of Acerco, the Caldera de Taburiente. There was only one thing for it - to lure him out with promises of a treaty. Tanausu was captured and although he was taken by ship to mainland Spain, he did not live to tell the tale as he starved himself, determined that he should not arrive alive.
So if you decide to book an apartment at Tazacorte and find yourself sunbathing on the beach or walking in the Caldera de Taburiente, you might just reflect on the incredible history for a moment. Things were not always so calm!
One of the great resources for reading about the history of La Palma is on the website of the ING (Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes). I hope that you'll find it fascinating too.
Pick an area, any area, from Puntagorda to Puntallana, Mazo to Las Manchas, Santa Cruz to San Andrés or any of the other municipalities on La Palma and you'll find a different history.
One of the municipalities that I find of particular interest is Garafia in the north of La Palma although of course I am biased as that is where I live! (You can find the short version of our own guide to Garafia here.) But even I have to concede that the area which is one of the most historically important on La Palma is Tazacorte.
But Tazacorte was to be the stuff of greater import as this is where the Spanish Conquistadors landed on 29 September 1492. Let battle commence. In fact, it took until the 3rd May the following year until the last stronghold on the island, the Caldera de Taburiente, was taken. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to capture an area such as that?
So if you decide to book an apartment at Tazacorte and find yourself sunbathing on the beach or walking in the Caldera de Taburiente, you might just reflect on the incredible history for a moment. Things were not always so calm!
