La Palma holiday packing check list: camera, walking boots, sun hat and cream, T-shirts, swimming gear, a good book and snow poles. What! I thought La Palma was one of the Canary Islands, not Canada. I was planning to lie on the beach and go walking, not go ski-ing.
Well, actually ski-ing could prove a little tricky due to the number of rocks and the alarmingly serious gradient. But if you come to La Palma in winter, you may well find snow in the upper reaches. This picture was taken from Mirador Andenes up by Roque de Muchachos, home to the observatories. It is a dramatic drive up there at any time of year as you wend your way through forests of impressively tall pine trees. Approaching from the north, the road is certainly the steepest and twistiest on the island and you feel that you are being rotating round in some sort of fairground ride. I have to confess that it is probably not for the faint hearted or car sick. Eventually though, you suddenly realize that you have broken through the pine trees, and the land is covered in short rather featureless brush. In fact this has been the scene for several films set on the moon, it has such a deserted look.
In winter though you will get a different impression when there is snow on the ground. For here, on the roof of the island where the wind has free reign, the snow can pile up in a most impressive, if not alarming, way. The snow poles which line the road in an apparently bizarre hopefulness of being useful almost disappear. A little tip of red peaking out of the baron white is a crucial call to tell you where the road is, some 2m under the snow.
When it is really bad though, the road is closed and no cars are allowed up. But when it is only ‘half bad’ then you can expect a flurry of cars along with the snow as the islanders race to the top in glacial glee.
Well, actually ski-ing could prove a little tricky due to the number of rocks and the alarmingly serious gradient. But if you come to La Palma in winter, you may well find snow in the upper reaches. This picture was taken from Mirador Andenes up by Roque de Muchachos, home to the observatories. It is a dramatic drive up there at any time of year as you wend your way through forests of impressively tall pine trees. Approaching from the north, the road is certainly the steepest and twistiest on the island and you feel that you are being rotating round in some sort of fairground ride. I have to confess that it is probably not for the faint hearted or car sick. Eventually though, you suddenly realize that you have broken through the pine trees, and the land is covered in short rather featureless brush. In fact this has been the scene for several films set on the moon, it has such a deserted look.
In winter though you will get a different impression when there is snow on the ground. For here, on the roof of the island where the wind has free reign, the snow can pile up in a most impressive, if not alarming, way. The snow poles which line the road in an apparently bizarre hopefulness of being useful almost disappear. A little tip of red peaking out of the baron white is a crucial call to tell you where the road is, some 2m under the snow.
When it is really bad though, the road is closed and no cars are allowed up. But when it is only ‘half bad’ then you can expect a flurry of cars along with the snow as the islanders race to the top in glacial glee.
