San Andrés, a little village in the north east of La Palma

The little village of San Andrés is the sort of place that makes you think, 'Ah, now this is a proper Spanish village.' Well at least that's what we thought when we were exploring La Palma for a place to unpack our bags for a few years at least. So when we happened to encounter San Andrés which is the equal and opposite of an archetypal British village, it seemed a fair swap.

From falling in love with San Andrés as a place to live and falling out of love with it unfortunately took less than 30 minutes which coincided with a coach full of tourists arriving. Yes, apparently we were not the only people to have noticed the immense charm of this little place. And off we trotted to go and live one-fifth of the way up a mountain in what friends call our splendid isolation (with views). But of course this doesn't stop us visiting San Andrés to do our own little bit of tourism.

So what is it about San Andrés that makes it probably the most beautiful village on La Palma? Doubtless, the little cobbled streets flanked by a selection of curious old houses helps. Along with the whitewashed 15th century church, the Iglesia de San Andrés. Plazas with restaurants and the odd cheeky bar always help of course. Admittedly, there is no village pond but it does have the Atlantic Ocean at its feet which somehow offsets any feeling of being short-changed.

But what I think probably makes it stand out is the lushness of the place. If you take a look from afar, such as from Los Sauces the town above it, you'll notice a green oasis - this is San Andrés.

So what else is there to do in San Andrés apart from walk along the cobbled streets taking photos of curious old houses, visit the church, eat, drink and enjoy the views? Setting off over the highly pleasing and photogenic bridge  ...

... takes us to the sea pools of Charco Azul and then the beach of Puerto Espindola plus a few other delights along the way. And that's probably a good place to leave it until the next blog post.
Meanwhile, want to find out what we do when not playing hookey? Check us out at our day job - www.holiday-lapalma.com

Walking the Cubo de la Galga

Last week we walked the Cubo de la Galga, a high-sided gorge in the east of La Palma and the most prolific laurel forest in the Canaries.  A beautiful walk and now part of our La Palma Highlights Tour!
You can read our blog post about it along with photos at our other blog site which is dedicated to walking on La Palma :
http://gr130-lapalma.blogspot.com.es/2015/08/walking-cuba-de-la-galga-puntallana-la.html

Feria de Artesania San Antonio del Monte

  Yesterday was the big day for the Feria de Artesania San Antonio del Monte in Garafia, La Palma - a feria being a country fair and artesania meaning handicrafts.

Whilst there are a few ferias around the island such as at San Isidro, San Antonio is by far the largest feria as they make use of a sizable piece of land with a church plonked in the middle.  When I say 'the largest' I mean that over 2,000 people turn up to join in with the fun - coaches, buses, cars, motorbikes, caravans, walkers and lots and lots of people with tents! In fact, one year when it was a four-day event (normally it's spread out over three days), we made camp in our Land Rover for two nights. At the time we loved it ... but that was ten years ago :)

However, the main thing about both the feria at San Antonio and San Isidro is the cattle and other farm animals, namely goats and sheep. Plus horses, mules and those oh-so-sweet donkeys!

Roberto's Wall

Once upon a very long time ago ... so the legend begins  ...
I love those stories, don't you?  And La Palma has quite a few legends as you would of course expect of an island 'cast adrift from mainland life.'  The legend of Robert's Wall (El Pared de Roberto) does not disappoint as, in the best of traditions, it involves a young couple deeply in love.
Now as we all know, young couples in love will stop at nothing to be together.  Which is just as well because Roberto and his young lady rather inconveniently lived on opposite sides of the island.  Not to be thwarted however, the two would make the long and arduous journey to the top of the island where they met in a secret lover's tryst.
The course of true love never runs smoothly though and imagine poor Roberto's anguish when, arriving at their rendezvous point, he discovered an impenetrable wall blocking his path.

In desperation, poor Roberto called out that he would give his soul if he could reach the other side.  Only silence followed.
At this, Roberto rather rashly bettered his offer with a promise of both his body and soul if he could pass (he was after all very in love).   At that, the devil heard him and Roberto was immediately engulfed in a ball of flames and burst through the wall, disappearing to his death.
The next morning, his young lady was found laid dead.  Her body was taken to the Roque de Muchachos and laid to rest.  And to this day, the gap in the wall remains.

If you would like to walk through Roberto's Wall, you can find it by walking between the Roque de Muchachos and the Mirador Andenes.  If you don't want the sort of long walk that takes body and soul, then approach it from the mirador end from where it will only take you about ten or fifteen minutes to reach.  Although there are several smaller walls in the area (must have been a busy spot in the old days), Roberto's wall is the most impressive and just to make it crystal clear, it is marked with the sign, 'Pared de Roberto.'

Not only will you be able to appreciate the size of the wall which even today springs up abruptly as if from nowhere but the views on a clear day are beyond awesome.

Sea of Clouds

The weather on La Palma can be many things - and often at the same time around different parts of the island. In fact, when guests arrive here at the finca either at the cottage accommodation or bed and breakfast, they often ask, 'Is it always like this?' And that is no matter what the weather is doing. The answer to the question is, 'It's never always like anything'. (Incidentally though, if I may take the opportunity to mention it, that is the title of our book out on Kindle later this year - Is it Always Like This? And you might be relieved to hear, it's not just about the weather on La Palma but about our journey which led us to come and live on a finca in the most rural part of one of the smaller and less well-known islands in the Canaries and, yes, fun on the finca.)
But talking of weather, last week we enjoyed a particularly hot spell even at daybreak with the air like a pleasantly warm bath.
And this early morning warm air induced a phenomena known in the Canary Islands as El Mar de Nubes, The Sea of Clouds.

The photo above was taken from our car park area right here on the finca in Franceses, looking westward towards Santo Domingo de Garafia. The time was 07.25 in the morning - what an amazing spectacle to wake up to.

And this photo was taken a couple of minutes later looking eastwards towards Barlovento.
La Palma never ceases to amaze me.

Bus stops

A few years back, when we had family staying with us, a certain member of said family (mention no names) was rather taken with the bus stops on La Palma.  And ever since I have been receiving emails from said family member asking when on earth they can become a subject for a blog post. Patience is eventually rewarded - just like waiting for buses - and so, eventually, some three years later, here it is!
The area of Garafia, where our holiday accommodation is located, and Barlovento is lucky enough to have some lovely bus stops, generally painted in pastel colours and with the logo of the area.

However, all around the island they are of a similar building design, being of a solid construction with three walls, a built-in bench, a lovely layered wooden ceiling and a tile roof.  In fact, a miniature house!
Puntagorda though, in the north west of La Palma, I have to admit easily takes the prize for the best decorated bus stops with the most amazing interior murals.

They are of local scenes such as a market stall packed with fresh fruit and vegetables, ladies preparing the almonds or the church, complete with little balcony.  

Have a look for yourself - and I think you too will wonder why it has taken so long to dedicate a blog post to the bus stops of La Palma.

Oh and by the way, you will find that buses on la Palma generally run on time so better make sure you arrive early enough to enjoy being at the bus stop.

Tazacorte Banana Museum - Plaza Museo del Platano

You're probably wondering what a Banana Museum is. I must confess, I was wondering that myself (scratches head in a thoughtful way). Maybe it's all about old bananas past their sell-by date or a display of bananas through the ages or the historical importance of bananas or .. what? It was definitely time to check out the 'Plaza Museo del Platano' in Tazacorte - billed as 'probably the only banana museum in the world.'

The banana museum you will not be surprised to hear is located at what you might legitimately call the banana capital of La Palma. In fact, 85% of the municipality of Tazacorte is agricultural and most of that is given over to the production of bananas. What better place then for a banana museum than Tazacorte!

The museum is located below the main road which runs from the town towards the beach resort of Tazacorte down a narrow and steep road opposite the church. Incidentally, this road also takes you past the Hotel Hacienda de Abajo which is relatively newly refurbished bijou hotel which once was a historic mansion. However, the museum is also an attractive building in its own quiet way and is surrounded by attractive gardens in which to stroll.

Inside is a downstairs reception where the teeny entrance fee is paid in exchange for a free banana each and an edifying stroll around the museum. Upstairs is where the main exhibits are with two rooms of large and attractive information boards – who’d have thought that the banana plant isn't in fact a tree but a herb and that Fyffe were responsible from the outset for the success of the banana industry in La Palma! Interspersed with plenty of facts, figures and photos are banana-related relics such as wooden-handled shears for cutting straw which was used in packing, a 1950 machine which was used for washing the crops, old-fashioned scales and rough wooden supports for the bananas.

 

Lovin' the old Fyffes sign

At one end is a lovely open area which overlooks the banana plantations of Tazacorte and also right down to the sea. A great place to sit and enjoy the complimentary banana.

 

My opinion? (for what it’s worth). Yes, do go. You won’t be blown away by a mass of exhibits but you might well be surprised at the facts and figures. Plus your support is always appreciated for initiatives such as this.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 10am till 1pm and from 4pm till 7pm. Saturday and Sunday only for previously booked visits. For more information on Tazacorte, check out our webpage here: http://www.holiday-lapalma.com/abouttazacorte.html