Reaching for the Stars

If there is one thing about living in the rural north of La Palma that's for certain, when we do visit the capital of Santa Cruz or go to Tazacorte, more often than not we are in a rush! What with shops that close for three of four hours during the afternoon and a long list of accumulated jobs to do and people to see, it's probably no great surprise.
But when we do have extra time available (or make a concerted effort) it makes it all the more special to go somewhere we haven't been to before - or not for a long time at least. And one such place a couple of weeks ago was the Mirador de San Bartolome.

 Now I know that we have been there before so I know that it's a great look out point (Mirador) and being just north of Puntallana at the 15km turn off for La Galga, we've passed close by a zillion times. But it must have been quite a few years ago since we went to the actual mirador and I can't say that I remember anything particularly remarkable about it, except for the great view of course and a statue to do with the legend of Lover's Leap.
Ah yes, I remember now - it was when we were investigating access points for the GR130 Camino Real and the logistics of accommodation along the route. But that aside, I had heard from the owner of a house in La Galga that it was a great place for observing the stars.  This we had to check out!

 As it turns out, we were in for more of a surprise than we had expected - not only is the Mirador way better than I was expecting (or remembered) but we were thrilled to see that even in the daytime there was lots of astronomy going on! First of all though, a little about Lover's Leap.
As the legend has it, a young farming boy was in love with a fair maiden but sadly, she didn't love him back. It can happen.
So, all being fair in love and war, she decided to set him an almost impossible task - that he should leap over the gorge three times. As he was so totally in love, he readily agreed to the challenge and with the aid of his lanza, the long pole used to leap down the steep barrancos, he completed the jump three times.
'There,' he cried, 'you are mine!' And with that he stepped back and fell to his death.

It's a bitter sweet story and very fitting that there should be a statue in its memory. However, if you are not into legends or great views, the mirador is well worth a visit for the astronomy aspect alone.
For example, do you know how many kilometres it is to Polaris? You can find out at the Mirador - and the direction too - but even when you know what direction it's in, the distance is just impossible to even begin to get your head around.

Or perhaps something that you might find immediately useful is the 'dial the stars' - a really great idea where you can set the disk to the month you are in and find out the relative position of the stars.

And with several information boards too, you may well find out something about astronomy that you didn't know before. But talking of which, I am thrilled that there is now a book available on the Observatories at Roque de Muchachos, A Breathtaking Window on the Universe, and in fact I have just received my copy.
It is written by Sheila Crosby who not only is a funny and inventive author with a decidedly different take on writing but when it comes to astronomy and the observatory on La Palma, she knows what she's talking about - after all she worked there as an engineer for 12 years and for the past three works as a specialist 'Star Guide.'
If like me you are not a great whizz at astronomy or even if you are - you'll find it incredibly informative but still a fun read - and that's not an easy act!!
You can order it here and quite frankly, you'd be crazy not to get a copy.

Felices fiestas

Christmas in the Canaries has a certain ring to it - a pleasant chime you might say - and although the goats' bells were ringing on the hillside, it's often a day of concentrated relaxation for most of us. 
In the past at Christmas time, we have gone to the Port of Santa Cruz to enjoy seeing the Tall Ships and market there. It's a great fun day out when you can go on board the ships and talk to the crew, many of whom are English and part of the Prince's Trust programme for young people. And we all love a good mosey around a market!

 However, Christmas Day in the Canaries is generally a fairly low key event with the main day for presents being the 6th January, Epiphany. Not only is this a cause for great excitement among the children but also a very good reason for another fiesta!
In both Santa Cruz and Los Sauces there is fabulous parade with the Three Wise Men being the centre of attention - in Los Sauces they ride on real camels, throwing sweets to the children along the way (and many adults too). It's an event well worth seeing!

But if there is one thing for certain, La Palma is big on nativity scenes. Every town, village and hamlet has its own nativity scene ranging from the simple to incredibly detailed works of art which include not just the nativity scene but also little springs with mountain water and tiny traditional houses with even tinier stones on the roof. Or sometimes full-sized figures tucked away in a cave along a quiet country road. Just watch out for any stray donkeys.

Wherever you are and however you like to celebrate Christmas and New Year, we wish you all the very best for 2013 and happy holidays for the future.
¡Feliz año nuevo!
Ann and David

Archaelogical Museum, Los Llanos

For some time now - in fact, ever since it opened - I have been hankering after visiting the new museum in Los Llanos, the Museo Arqueologico. Unfortunately, the opportunity had so far eluded me.
So I could hardly believe my luck last week when a collision of events co-operated enough to allow me the chance of a visit. Miraculously, we were in Los Llanos not only when the museum was open and not only with an hour to spare but also early enough to spend it before the museum closed again for the afternoon.  YES!

The building itself is both tantalising and impressive, built in a circular design with just a hint of Colosseum.
Met at the door by a friendly member of staff, we were pointed in the right direction for the main museum exhibition and also the current photographic exhibition. This confused me slightly as the first thing I expected to do was to pay! But no, it was entirely free of charge 'for the moment.' So, with my sense of fairness rather troubled that I wasn't contributing to the running of the museum, we headed off to the first floor exhibition hall.

So what's the museum all about? Not of the stuffed birds and oil painting variety but all about the history of the island, going right back to its volcanic roots, so to speak.
Starting off with back-lit display boards, the information in both Spanish and English is concise, interesting and broken up into bite-size pieces that encourage you to read further.
Life size poster boards and 'real' caves display life as it was for the Benahoarites, the Aborigines of the island.

The depiction of life on La Palma is very much brought alive by realistic stone dwellings in the centre of the room. These small stone dwellings are still evident on the island - there are some very interesting ones just off the road a little before the Roque de Muchachos. So it is very easy to imagine people living in them and it seemed almost cheeky to peer inside just in case somebody still was.

On the other hand ... there was definitely no signs of life from other exhibits.

But of course they can tell an awful lot about lifestyle from the skeleton and I suddenly found myself fascinated by dentistry - who ate what, when and why.
One particular exhibit took the story way, way further back though and this was a block of lava with pieces of human jawbone and ribs bedded into it. Apparently, analysis suggests the bones date from around 1090, an age which coincides with the chemical composition of the rock they were found in and which further co-incides with an eruption on the Cumbre - 9km from where the rock was found. Curious! Nothing else like this has been found and it is a piece which the museum is rightly proud of. 

Fascinating as that is, my favourite section of the museum was the display of what might be called 'natural tools.'  I have always been impressed by how resourceful our Palmeran neighbours are - something obviously handed down through the generations but also a necessity for anyone before DIY superstores and Sunday opening were invented.
Of course, stone and leather had many uses but I didn't realise just how much animal bones were used.  I'm not talking about chicken soup but rather the use of sharp bones for piercing and threading leather for example, or for decorating pottery. Seashells were used as spoons with the aid of a small wooden handle and palm fronds were used to make mats, bags and baskets. It was certainly not a throwaway society.

But if you would like to throw something their way, donations are gratefully received and you can put a few coins in the basket at reception.
Opening hours: 10.00 - 14.00 hr and 17.00 - 20.00 hrs. Tuesday to Saturday.

A Holiday in Puerto Naos, La Palma

Our last post was all about moving abroad, finding a house and then some of the work that is involved in restoring it. However this post is pretty much the opposite - having a bit of a holiday while still on La Palma.
OK, so the holiday was only one night admittedly but spending even a short amount of time on a different part of the island really does add a different dimension to it all. But then again, I suppose that's why we offer a two-centre holiday on La Palma as an option!
Just for a complete change, from all the places we could have chosen to stay, we chose Puerto de Naos in the west. This was perhaps a strange choice for us because it is a place that we don't frequent very often although we do go from time to time, either for a spot of snorkeling or to try a restaurant that somebody has recommended.  But overall, really we are much more familiar with Tazacorte as a beach resort. And that of course is exactly why it was a good idea to go to Puerto Naos.
Just to carry the theme a little further, it followed then that we should stay in the Hotel Sol at Puerto Naos. It is quite a few years since we last went to the hotel, not that we stayed for the week or even night but rather walked from the car park to the foyer and back again!  Hardly enough to get a fair impression! So definitely a chance to try it out for real.

The drive to Puerto Naos is a far cry from the sweeping green-clad barrancos of the north. There are however pine trees higher up on the western flank of the Cumbre plus of course bananas in their thousands so there is still a good deal of greenery but this is also volcano country. Ropey lava, pillow lava and just plain old lumps of lava in it's solidified state. It's all there if you wish to get out of your car and have an inspection. 
Once you turn off the main road and start heading down towards Puerto Naos and the sea, then you will also have the tantalizing view of the bay below.

Puerto Naos is in fact one of just three seaside resorts on La Palma along with Los Cancajos and Puerto de Tazacorte. That makes it sound all rather bucket-and-spadey, not that there is anything wrong with that, but it certainly isn't a case of mass tourism. It's what I call 'Tranquil Tourism.' For whilst there are quite a few self-catering apartments to rent in Puerto Naos, along with the Hotel Sol, it is still relatively quiet.
Apart, unfortunately, from the fact there they are 're-designing' the promenade at the moment which does involve removing certain sections of it and replacing it with who knows what. I sincerely hope that in the next two months with the lead up to Christmas and New Year that it will all be completed.
But it should be said that if you can manage to ignore that small fact, and let's face it these things have to be done sometime, then it is still mainly possible to walk along the front and not all of it is effected anyway.

As it happened, by the time we arrived at Puerto Naos, it was already almost 6pm so, after checking into the hotel, we didn't waste too much time before springing back out again for a stroll along the front. From the hotel, it really is just two minutes to the beach and then a few more minutes to where the restaurants and bars line the promenade.

At the far end of the bay is where many of the apartments are located and of course we wanted to check these out too!  It was also a good chance to look at a few menus and see where we might like to eat later in the evening.

Right at the end of the bay, there is another very small bay. This is often where you see the SCUBA divers entering the water. We haven't dived here yet but we have snorkeled on several occasions and were surprised at how good it was. But this is probably where you will find the most character in Puerto Naos with a few small fishing boats by the bay and single apartments hanging over the sea.

From here, a long flight of steps take you up into what you might call apartment land. But even so, it is only a matter of a couple of streets and many of them are low level. In fact, there is one very attractive group of apartments that caught my eye, just two-stories high and all the apartments painted in pastel colours, clustered around a pool.
They say that time flies, especially when you're enjoying yourself. It was time to wander back to the hotel just in time to catch the sunset.