Canary Island Update - La Palma

La Gomera is a beautiful island everywhere you go and all the hikes are scenic. The trails can be quite rugged and there’s always a big climb to start the day if you set out from anywhere near the sea. The leeward side of the island is arid and desert like while the windward is green and often brushed over with fog like clouds. The dry side can by hot and balmy while the other side can be cool and chilly.

On one day I intended to do a hike out of Vallehermoso but it was cloudy and cold so I just kept driving around to San Sebastian where I was able to hike in brilliant sun all day. You don’t really need a car on La Gomera but it does add flexibility and saves quite a bit of time. The buses are perfectly adequate and workable as long as your attentive to the scheduling which can be limited.

On one day I sufficed to take it easy and just walked around the villages of Valle Gran Rey and Vueltas. I bought a ferry ticket for the Island of La Palma. Every Island has it unique differences.

The drawback for me in Valle Gran Rey is that I find it to be a difficult place to meet people and strike up a conversation. The crowd that stays over in Valle Gran Rey is almost exclusively German. Germans are not the most approachable nor the easiest to chat with. They tend to cluster together with dead pan expressions while simply observing what’s around them. However, they are a well behaved lot. As is the case with most parts of the world these days younger folks speak pretty good English but not so much for the older people. Given that that most of the Germans are older in Valle Gran Rey there is a bit of a language barrier. There’s an old saying that Germans are hard on the outside and soft in the middle. They just take a little more time and effort to get to know.

After 12 nights on the island of Gomera I ferried over to La Palma. Also known as Isla Bonita. For me the first three days were not so bonita.

You would think stepping off the ferry onto La Palma might be a lot of fun considering I was arriving at the beginning of the busiest weekend of Carnival. I suppose had I been up for a raucous drunken couple of all nighters I’d be psyched but really I don’t much care for crowds and drunks. True, Carnival is more than that but I needed to get sorted first.

Well, everything was booked on the island and accommodation cost were grossly inflated. I think I found the last available rental car and figured if I got far enough away from the main city of Santa Cruz I find some kind of reasonable accommodation. Not so.

Instead, I found a good spot to park the car in Port Naos for the night and slept in my compact rental vehicle. To top it off an extreme wind storm full of African dust blew in and settled over the island with a thick haze. La Calima as they call it.

By time my second night on the island rolled around I found an overpriced apartment available due to a cancellation because the airport was closed. In my overtired stressed state I took the room but immediately after paying I noticed it had a strong strange odor. No more than 10 minutes had passed when I asked for a refund. The owner was not sympathetic at all and refused my request. He could care less. He had my money. It was my own damn fault for taking the room in the first place and not being more careful. Bone head decisions are a risk when overtired and not thinking clearly.

However, the room was clean. I did get a shower and some sleep with the windows and door open which helped. I made the most of it. For the third night it was back in the car at Port Naos.

My third night on the Island was the end of the biggest Carnival weekend so I got on the net and booked out my remaining nights in the Canary Islands. Once sorted I focused on the hiking and things have gotten better since.

Two nights in a pension located in Los Canrios where I day hiked moonscape down to Faro de Fuencaliente with a side trip up Volcan Teneguia. From there it was on to Mazo where I booked into an apartment for 4 nights with a grand view for forty euro a night.

The two days I’ve spent hiking in Parque Nacional de la Caldera Taburiente have been top notch with clear skies and splendid views. The African dust and haze had left for the time being. Both days were spent hiking along the rim of the roof of the Island. The loop I did over Pico Bejando was absolutely serene.

La Palma is not a flat island at all and is entirely volcanic so every hike is either up, down, or both. With tired legs I was content simply walking around the old colonial city of Santa Cruz, the main city, today. I found it curiously interesting the 1:1 scale Santa Maria replica turned maritime museum. Columbus was a gutsy guy. The Santa Maria was not that big! And, the Nina and Pinta were smaller.

Of course I’ve worked in a little beach time. I quite fancy Tazacorte. It’s a seaside tourist village of sorts where you can get in a cool swim off a black sand beach and follow it up with a nice Menu Del Dia fish dinner. A beer, bread, fish, salad, potatoes with mojo, and a coffee for 10 euros. The Canary Islands are known for their mojo sauce. One is red and one is green. I have no idea what’s in it but it’s so good! It appears to be a mix of olive oil, peppers and spices of some sort and is made to put mainly on potatoes but bread as well.

In a couple of days I’ll fly back to Tenerife for a short bit to wrap up this trip.