The good old days in Garafia

The small town of Santo Domingo lies in the far north west of La Palma and is the capital town of the municipality of Garafia.  It is a very quiet town, what you might call a back-water, but a peek behind the main street will reveal the intriguing old quarter with cobbled streets and an abundance of historic houses and quaint cottages.

However, it is in the main street of the town that you will find the 'Centro de Interpretación Etnográfico de Garafía.'

In the interests of brevity I call it a museum although there are no artifacts such as ancient handtools or pottery - best go to the museum in Santa Cruz de La Palma for that as they have amazing displays which fill vast rooms.  No, the Ethnographic Centre is a pictorial display of how people lived on La Palma - and not so very long ago.
The photographs are mounted on large fibre boards with the result that you are face to face with the indigenous people of La Palma, their lifestyle, hardships and culture.  

How about this for a thatched cottage? After all, Garafia was known as the threshing floor of La Palma so straw was a commodity not just for animal fodder and grains but also as a building material. Pretty useful when roofing tiles were the reserve of the rich.
And as for the traditional dress, these days we only see it worn at fiestas and special celebrations.  It's lovely to see both from the old days and the new!

Probably the only place you will see oxen in harness is at the annual San Antonio de Garafia show which is held around the 12th June every year.  It's a hugely popular event and if you are on the island, it is well worth a visit.  

And what about this bus that operated between Barlovento and Santo Domingo?  It is what my grandmother would have called a 'Charabanc' or carriage with benches. Apparently, the three tunnels just north of Barlovento were dug out just big enough to accommodate this bus.  There must have been great whooping and cheering from both those who dug the tunnels and those who could travel between the two towns by public transport for the first time. 
I presume it must have been somewhat uncomfortable and rather slow - but even so, much quicker than shanks' pony (on foot).  Whether or not the passengers would appreciate the beautiful scenery - history does not relate but it certainly makes us appreciate the modern bus that passes along our village road here in Franceses every two hours!
Opening hours of the centre are Monday, Wednesday and Friday 11.00 to 14.00 and Tuesdays 15.00 to 18.00 hrs.
It is absolutely free, there are plenty of brochures to help you on your way to discover what La Palma has to offer and the assistant who works there is super-helpful.
Enjoy!

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.  

El Bernegal

Any business person will tell you that the key to a successful restaurant is location, location, location. In that case, El Bernegal in Santo Domingo has thrown away the rule book.

Located on a semi-industrial looking road leading out of sleepy Santo Domingo, a town divorced from the main road by many kilometres and already out on a limb in the north west corner of La Palma, El Bernegal sits cosily between the fire station and health centre.  It’s hardly a promising start.

But the first glimpse of the restaurant will give you hope, not just by the number of cars parked on the piece of rough ground opposite, but by the façade of the building which looks temptingly interesting.  And you’d be right for just inside the main door, you will already see the central courtyard eating area with its bright blue Moroccan wall tiles, enormous ferns hanging from the high ceiling above and three small restaurant rooms and bar leading off. 

Apart from the current lovely décor, it is easy to see that El Bernegal is a historic house of some note, beautifully restored to the highest standard.  The menu is not however set in the past because, whilst it might look relatively simple, the presented dish really is about as cosmopolitan and carefully crafted as you will find on the island. 

 Starters include such dishes as grilled goats’ cheese with traditional mojo sauce, avocado with shrimp, chef’s own fish pate and mushroom with garlic and range in price from 3.00 euros to 7.50 euros.

The salads which, no matter how theoretically simple, the chef manages to turn into  exciting and beautiful platters, include tropical salad, roman salad, salad niçoise and tagliatelle with pine kernel and goats’ cheese and range in price from 5 to 7 euros. 

There are three types of omelettes to choose from – including banana omelette - and soups including courgette soup and a wholesome and filling Canarian soup.

If you manage to reject the famous ‘Bamy’ (tagliatelle with vegetables and shrimp at 7.00 euros – I think I’ve had it three times now and it’s delicious) then maybe fish is your fancy.

You can choose from fried squid, fresh tuna, perch with caper sauce (another favourite of mine) and grouper priced between 6.50 and 9.50 euros.

For the meat eaters, this is probably the main event and dishes include tournedo chasseur or béarnaise, half chicken, peppered steak, fresh pork chops or pork loin with chestnut cream - and once you’ve tasted pork from La Palma, you’ll know how tasty and moist it is compared to factory reared pork.   Prices range between 6.00 and 13.00 euros.

And then of course the desserts – home made peach sorbet, nougat glacé, crepe with chocolate sauce … If you don’t have room for any more at this point, share a dessert with some else – anyone else - or run around the block until you do!  Prices are 3.00 to 3.75 euros.

 Every single dish is presented with an artistic eye to detail and, with such a tempting menu and delicious food at a price which is more than fair on the pocket, be warned – it’s popular.  In fact, it’s so popular that they don’t even open in the evening and at weekends, reservations are highly recommended. 

I suggest you arrive no later than 5pm and don’t forget to leave room for that dessert.

Living on La Palma - here's an offer!

Next year, it will be our tenth anniversary of moving to La Palma.  Ten years sounds like a long time but to us it only seems like ten minutes.  I suppose though I must admit to that warm, comfortably feeling of having nestled into our home in Franceses and La Palma in general to the point where our nearest neighbours feel like they really are family and I am a fervent supporter of all things La Palma (nearly).
We take it as a compliment when neighbours ask us to help prepare the pig for the bbq or crush the grapes by treading and when villagers ask us if I can help their teenage children work through the maze of English verbs or read to the children in the village school.  It's what makes us feel like we belong.
And then further afield on the island, when people mention to us that they would like to sell their house as in the case of an English friend and do we know of anyone who would like to buy - and then of course people who ask us if we know of a property to buy.  Naturally, we are happy to introduce the two parties and they can hopefully live happily ever after.
At the moment though we have an interesting situation where our English friend really does need to sell his property and we are happy to try and spread the word for him.  For many years he enjoyed his visits to La Palma but now, due to his age and ill-health, there are no more plans for him to come to the island.
The property that is being sold is in fact a small complex of four apartments set in a village location.

 Originally, it was an old two-storey village house and this has been extended to provide two more apartments with central courtyard.  The old house, now two apartments but could be converted back, has original features with tea wood ceiling and floorboards.  Two of the apartments are completely furnished (most of it as new) right down to cutlery in the drawers and the four apartments all have balconies plus fitted kitchens and bathrooms.

There are also two large storerooms under the apartments, several seating areas around the complex and off-street parking.  They offer numerous possibilities to either keep as four apartments, convert back to a house and granny annexe or apartment to rent out.
The asking price was 175,000 euros but our friend is now willing to accept just 146,000 euros - and that is for all four apartments.
If anyone is interested in this amazing offer we are happy to provide more details and show you the apartments, inside and out.  Meanwhile here are some photos.  Someone, somewhere is going to snap up a complete bargain and there's not too many of those about! 
Next up on the blog - La Palma's natural phenomena, the sea of clouds.