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

Keeping your hat on

La Fajana (pronounced Fahana) is rather a popular name here on La Palma and if you study the map you will doubtless notice several La Fajanas laid about.  In fact, we have two near us – La Fajana de Garafia which is the little port village and beach just below the finca in Franceses and La Fajana de Barlovento which is located by the sea between the towns of Los Sauces and Barlovento. 

So whilst they might share the same name, they are certainly different places with La Fajana de Garafia being our favourite spot for beach-combing, picnics, a walk and a swim or snorkel when the sea is calm and La Fajana de Barlovento our favourite for swimming, snorkeling or even just stopping off for a coffee or light lunch. 

So what can you expect to find there?  Well, the main attraction is the sea pools.  There are various sets of well-made steps that lead down from the car park to the pools and from there you have your choice – a shallow pool complete with handrails which is great for children and those not keen on getting out of their depth, a second pool which is a little deeper and at the side has an intermittent waterfall you can walk under and a third, large pool which is around 3.5m deep in places and also has an intermittent waterfall you can swim under and get a back massage at the same time.  All three pools are beautifully clear and teeming, yes teeming, with multi-coloured fish and whilst we have been SCUBA diving in the pools, you can enjoy seeing the fish by snorkeling too.

The facilities are excellent too and arguably the best on the island.  The toilet and changing block is completely free and every time we have visited, and that is often, they have been impeccably clean.  Outside there are a couple of showers which operate with a 50c coin. 

There is also a very small swimming pool for the disabled or elderly with a seat lift, although I can’t promise that the seat always functions (or there is water in the pool).  And as yet, there is no wheelchair access down to the pools.

But once down the steps to the pools, there are lots of flat spaces where you can lay out in the sun. Picnics are not allowed at all but a little further along from the swimming and sunbathing terraces, there are two bar/restaurants.  

Confident swimmers might also like to take the opportunity to swim in the sea during the summer months when a ladder is provided for access.  Always use careful judgement though as the sea can be rough at times and be aware that there is no life guard.   If you do decide to go in the sea, it’s a different experience altogether and the underwater topography is absolutely outstanding - and beautiful!

Conditions permitting then, there is  no excuse not to strip off and leap in - although of course you can always keep your hat on.  

Charco Azul - Blue Lagoon

When it comes to a drop of the wet stuff our favourite haunt is located at La Fajana de Barlovento.  Yes, it's a great place for swimming and snorkelling!  However, by way of a change, we decided to go for a swim at Charco Azul, the Blue Lagoon as I call it, which is near the picturesque village of San Andres, below Los Sauces on the east coast of La Palma.
The Charco Azul has in fact only just recently re-opened after a rock fall and I am pleased to say that it has been restored back to its former beautiful self.

 

It's a great place for people of all ages as it has a large children's pool complete with a couple of seawater pools, sea water fountain, changing rooms and plenty of flat space for sunbathing.  So, if you are heading that way, don't forget to take your cossie and you can look forward to a dip in the blue.

And don't worry about how you are going to replace those used-up calories after all that swimming as there are also a couple of restaurants handy.  One overlooks the pools and the other, called Romecabezas (either meaning 'brain teaser' or 'headbreaker' I'll let you take your pick) is just around the corner.   Mmm, wonder if the 'headbreaker' reference is anything to do with the rockfall which did in fact submerge the other restaurant!  Either way, the cliff wall has now been impressively and securely netted.  Yet another feat of engineering for La Palma!
However, no matter how attractive Charco Azul is, I think our favourite will continue to be La Fajana de Barlovento.  It's not just the choice of pools, abundance of fish, fantastic underwater topography in the sea, but it's nearer to our finca.  And that means it's also nearer for guests staying at their rural accommodation to rent in Garafia!