Camp Sites

If you want to get really close to nature and have really cheap accommodation, you can't do better than one of the camping sites on the island.

They're open all year round, but be aware that it can be cold in winter, and it's quite likely to rain. You have to pay before you put the tent up, but you don't have to book in advance except for the Caldera. You may also have a problem with transport. Some of them are a long way from public transport.

They've all got toilets, water, and picnic tables and benches. All except the Caldera camp site also have car parks, showers, and barbecues.

Barlovento
This is probably the best site if you haven't got a car. It's about 3 km from the bus stop in the village (still a long way carrying a tent, but just about manageable) and the offices are right beside the site. There's also a bar and restaurant, if you don't fancy cooking, plus a sports area and children's play area. The catch is that Barlovento is the wettest part of the island, and from about October to April the chance of rain is very high.

Tel 922 696023 Mon-Fri 10 am - 2 pm and 4pm - 6 pm. Saturdays 10 am to 3 pm. They say they speak "limited" English. Of course if you turn up at a camp site with a tent, it doesn't take a genius to get the general idea.

The last I heard it was €4.50 per tent per night Mon- Fri, and €9.00 at weekends and bank holidays. They also have small huts, €20 per hut Mon- Fri, and €30 at weekends and bank holidays.

El Pilar
Don't even think about getting here by public transport! It's up on the central ridge, and the nearest bus stop is in Tenerife. All right, I'm exaggerating. Just not very much. The office where you pay is in Santa Cruz (Avenida Los Indianos, 20) which is at least fairly close to the airport. The site must be well over 1,000 m and you need a decent sleeping bag even in summer, as I found out the hard way. (See Sleeping with my Best Friend's Wife ) Maximum 7 nights. In summer, it does tend to get very dusty.

So what's the good bit? You're in the pine forest, at the start of the volcanoes footpath (ruta de los volcanos), the kid's play area is really good, and the barbecues are large and plentiful.

Tel 922 411 583

San Antonio del Monte
This camp site is in Garafía, in the laurel forest. San Antonio used to be a big village, 400 years ago. Then the people moved away but the church and the fiesta stayed. Unless you coincide with the fiesta, it's very peaceful.
Max 1 night. Book in Santa Cruz, on (Avenida Los Indianos, 20).
Tel 922 411 583

As well as the campsite, there's a hostel intended for small groups of hikers doing the long distance path around the island. They only accept groups of ten or more, but lone travellers can phone up and ask if there's a group they can share with. You have to bring your own sleeping bag or sheets and blankets. They have heating, showers and a dining room.
http://www.alberguesanantoniodelmonte.com/index.htm (only works with IE, not Firefox.)

The Caldera Campsite
See The Caldera Campsite
Probably the most beautiful camp site of all. 2 nights maximum, pay in El Paso, and they'll want to see your ID card or passport. If it rains really hard, you may be stranded for a day or so.
Tel 922 497277

La Rosa (Puntagorda)
I've never been here, but it sounds so nice I think I will. They have hot showers (solar heated water) barbecue, a small gas cooker, dining room and 220V electricity available. You can hire a tent (sleeps three) for €4. Also mountain bikes, binoculars, Internet access, washing machine.
€5 per adult, €3 per child 3-6 years old.
They have also three cabins, each of which sleeps six, prices from €20 for two people to €90 for ten. They'll even cook for groups at reasonable prices.
You can hire a tent (sleeps three) for €4. Also mountain bikes, binoculars, telescope and star map, Internet access, and a washing machine.

The bus stops at the entrance to the site.

http://www.airelibrelapalma.org/ Click on "Centro de Naturaleza la Rosa"
Tel/fax:(+34) 922-493306 E-mail: airelibre@airelibrelapalma.org

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Piscinas La Fajana, Barlovento

Fancy swimming in sea-water without the waves?

These are some rather nice salt-water swimming pools at Fajana, five km outside the village of Barlovento, on the main road to Santa Cruz. At one time they were only the natural pools, but they've been improved rather nicely. There's a pool near the top for senior citizens and the disabled, but the best places are reached down two flights of steps. They come in different depths, so that some are ideal for nervous beginners and some have more space. There's lots of flat space for sunbathing, and some caves beside the pools provide space for those who want to read a book without getting burned.



There's a cafe/bar/restaurant. It costs a bit more than similar places on the islands, but then they've obviously made a considerable investment by providing the pools. You aren't allowed to take your own food down to the pools.

You can stay in the self-catering apartments (visible at the top of the first picture) Tel 922 186162.

There are also fresh water showers (50 cents) and toilets.

And would you believe it, the toilets/changing rooms have a lovely mural on the ceiling and the tops of the walls. ! It's signed by the local artist, Luis Morera.

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Belmaco Cave, the Royal Palace in Mazo

Belmaco cave, Mazo

Before the Spanish invasion, Belmaco Cave was the home of the kings of Mazo. The first rock carvings were found in the 18th century, which was the start of archaeology in the Canary Islands. Today, it's open to the public. The entrance where you pay (€1.50 for a resident adult) is also a handicraft shop. A little farther inside, there's a small, two-story building housing various artefacts, like shell spoons and bone punches, and lots of ceramics. Ceramics survive better than leather work, after all.



Benahorita artefacts, Belmaco museum

After that you follow the path under the road to the main cave, with its rock carvings. By the way, that little square construction inside the cave is much more recent. It's an oven for drying figs.

There's a path around the site, with nine more small caves and display boards explaining things like which kind of tree is in front of you, and what it used to be used for. It's a nice stroll of about a kilometre, but in some places the paths are steep and rough, so it's not suitable if you have serious trouble walking.

There's a legend associated with the cave. The old canton of Tigalate (now Mazo) was ruled by two brothers, Juguiro and Garehagua. Their sister, Arecida, was beautiful and charming, and she fell in love with a brave and handsome warrior called Tinamarcín. Of course princesses couldn't usually marry for love, but her brothers thought well of Tinamarcín too, and so they started to prepare for the wedding of the year. All the island's royalty was expected to come.

And then Guillen Peraza arrived at the head of a party of would-be invaders. Luckily for the Benahoita, he was inexperienced, and they drove him off to LA Gomera. Tinamarcín was particularly brave and skilful in the battle, and Arecida loved him more than ever.

But Guillen Peraza came back just a few months later, and this time he brought people from La Gomera and El Hierro with him. They worked as interpreters,and fought alongside the Spanish. One of them, Jacomar from El Hierro, was dazzled by Arecida's beauty. But he was a cruel man, and when he found that she would never give him her love, he tried to take it by force. She resisted him, and he murdered her with his knife.

Tinamarcín swore vengance, but Juguiro and Garehagua got to Jacomar first. They killed him and left his body for the vultures, and Tinamarcín was left with nothing more than memories of his love.

The cave is on the lower road from Mazo towards Fuencaliente, at km 7, near Lomo Oscuro. It opens Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 18:00 pm and Sundays 10:00 am - 14:00 pm, Tel. / Fax: 922.44.00.90 (but I'm not sure how well they speak English).

They have a website in Spanish here with a map.

Did you know that I have a Google map for La Palma? Go to http://maps.google.com/ and search for "la palma canary islands". So far, I've marked 24 places of interest.


Prehispanic rock engraving in front of the main cave, Belmaco

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The Christmas Road Train

If you were shopping in Santa Cruz last week, you might have seen a road train full of infants, grinning and waving, and shouting out "¡Feliz Navidad!"

The road train belongs to the local bus company. It's available for hire all year, but it seems to be pretty solidly booked in the last week of school term.

The school where I used to work had a regular routine. We put Father Christmas hats on the kids (a fun way to make them easy to spot in a crowd) and loaded them onto the train. First a short drive into town, waving and yelling "Merry Christmas" at everyone in sight. Then we got off and went down the main street into the square, where we had a group photo taken. We carried along the main street towards the post office, with the kids handing out hand-coloured cards along the way. It was great to see random shoppers and tourists forget their tired feet and beam as a four-year-old pressed a wrinkled bit of paper on them.

Father Christmas / Santa Claus is a very new introduction to Spain. These days he does turn up for most kids and leaves a few sweets, but the main presents arrive with the Three Kings on January 6th. So when we got to the post-office, the kids posted their letters to the kings, (the first time some of them had posted a letter) and we got back on the road train for a drive down to the next village along the coast, which is the tourist beach.

Well it was great. Bemused tourists waved, and workmen digging a ditch cheered, and passing cars (and one bulldozer!) honked their horns in salute. I felt like the queen, although I knew most of it was for the kids.

But I couldn't help feeling sorry for the occasional adults who just glared. All religion apart, if you can't raise the tiniest twitch of a smile or wave for sixty-odd kids grinning at you, then I think you're sad in every sense of the word.

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Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands

My father was a professional botanist, and he went into ecstasies over the wild flowers on La Palma. He was even fascinated by the roadside weeds. You see, because it's an island, the plants evolved in isolation, and in many cases the plant on La Palma is a different sub-species from the plant in neighbouring Tenerife. For example, echium wildipretti is a very tall cone of tiny flowers. The sub-species on La Palma has blue flowers, but the one on Tenerife has pink ones.

Anyone keen on plants will want a book to identify them. This was my father's favourite. The catch is that it was published in 1974 and it's out of print, but Amazon currently has a couple of second hand copies of this edition.

I'll be quite honest. If you buy through this link, I get a small commission, but it doesn't cost you any more.

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The Devil in Tijarafe

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

Drat! I missed the fiesta del diabolo in Tijarafe.

Every year, right in the middle of the annual village fiesta, the devil turns up at Tijarafe in the early hours of September 8th.

It starts off like most fiestas. The village centre is off the main road, and on the way in, you pass the usual mobile bars, blasting out music at full volume. In the main square, higher up, people dance to the salsa band.

Something I always notice at Palmeran fiestas - a lot of the younger people are pretty drunk, but it's very rare to see a fight. In fact I don't think I saw as much as a rude gesture last year.

Finally, at about 3:30 am, the giants and big heads appeared. These are standard carnival characters, and they wouldn't excite adults normally, but they're a sign that the devil will appear any minute.

The band launches into the traditional song, which goes something like, "Tra-la-la-la, the devil's coming soon." And then, sure enough, he appears.

The Devil's dance, Tijarafe, 2007.

It's a man wearing a metal suit covered with lit fireworks, and he heads straight for the middle of the crowd. Most of the jet is directed upwards, and I don't think you'd get serious burns if you got too close, but most people try to get away. (I wouldn't wear your best clothes to this fiesta. I really wouldn't.) Of course some people farther away try to get closer, so the result is a lot of pushing and shoving. (Don't take small children either!)

Meanwhile the band is singing, "Tra-la-la-la, the devil's here now," and "Tra-la-la-la, the party's not over yet."

After about five to ten minutes of this chaos, the devil runs out of fireworks and goes away. The Virgin Mary's defeated him again! And then the crowd thins out pretty rapidly as people go home. Boring normality is restored for another year.

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

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Palmeran Sow Thistles (Sonchus palmensis)

Sow thistles look rather like a dandelion gone balistic. That is, the individual flowers look much like dandelions, but they're growing on a shrub anything up to 2 m (6 ft) tall. And now they're flowing all over the island, especially on the east, up to about 1,000 ft. Like so many other plants here, La Palma has a different species from everywhere else - Sonchus palmensis.

The local names are cerraja or lechuguilla.

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The Banana Museum, Tazacorte

When I first heard there was a banana museum in Tazacorte, I laughed. But since about 40% of La Palma's population works works in the banana industry (growing, packing shipping etc.) it makes sense. Besides, bananas are the 4th most important crop in the world, (after rice, wheat and maize), and this is the only museum about European bananas in the world.



The museum contains lots of information panels in English and Spanish, all about thing like the origins and history of bananas, how they're grown, their health benefits, and the geology and history of Tazacorte. There's also a good selection of tools used for growing bananas.



Open Monday- Friday, 11 am - 1:30 pm
(Groups of visitors 10 am - 14:30 pm, but only by prior arrangement - Tel 922 480151)

To find the museum, first find the church then head downhill. The lane meanders through some lovely old houses, but if you follow your nose whenever there isn't a sign, you'll find it - the building's yellowy-green. And you can't beat the entrance price - it's free.

Beside the banana museum stands a mojo museum, almost ready to open. (Mojo is sort-of Canarian ketchup.) I gather the hold up is mostly paperwork, because they want to make mojo on the premises. That would make it far more interesting, of course, but the paperwork for anything to do with food is far more complicated.

The soon-to-be Mojo Museum next door

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Fiestas in Breña Baja

Los Cancajos
They'll be having yet another attempt to cremate the octopus in Los Cancajos on Friday 12th, starting at 8pm. This was supposed to happen during Carnival, but it's been postponed twice due to bad weather. The town hall assures everyone that the octopus won't have gone smelly, because it's been frozen during the wait.
[This is a joke. I'm sure it isn't a real octopus.]
Anyway, the procession will leave at 8 pm from the chemist's near the south end of the village.

San José
Spain celebrates Father's Day on March 19th, because that's St Joseph's day. Since the Spanish for St Joseph is San José, the village of San José will hold fiestas, starting on Friday 12th at 5 pm. There will be various sporting events and talks, an exhibition of oil paintings which opens on Monday evening, and films (in Spanish) . There'll be a special mass on Friday evening (the 19th) and on Saturday there's a hike, bouncy castles and a horse race. In the evening, there's batucada (serious percussion) a stage performance by the kids, and a disco.

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Tazacorte Church

The outside of the church of St Michael the Archangel, Tazacorte

On Thursday I was in Tazacorte, so I popped into the church. I'm not religious, but most of the churches on La Palma are beautiful, and worth at least a quick look. Even if the building itself isn't special, there's often a beautiful renaissance statue. In this case, I'd recently translated a text that said the church "was built at the end of the 15th century, making it the oldest religious building on the island. It has been restored, enlarged and altered on several occasions."

The old nave in Tazacorte church

Sure enough, this nave is very like most of the old churches on La Palma, with whitewashed walls, semi-circular arches, and a lovely coffered ceiling and baroque altar-piece.

The new nave of Tazacorte church

And this is the other nave! They weren't kidding about " restored, enlarged and altered" were they? I haven't been able to find out a definite date, but the style looks like the 1960s or 1970s.

The amazing thing is that the combination looks great. The architect must be a genius. I'm sure that if I tried to put a 1960s nave next to a 1490s nave, the result would be a right dog's breakfast.

Standing in the old nave of Tazacorte church, looking towards the new nave.



So I tried to work out why the two very different nave look as though they belong to each other. Well, they both have white-washed walls, and the same floor and pews. They're joined by semi-circular archways, which are common in the old churches here. Both have wooden ceilings, although the new one is lower, lighter, and simpler. So I sort-of see why it works. but I still say the architect is a genius.

And yes, there's a very old painting of St Michael the Archangel defeating the devil.

Old painting of St Michael in Tazacorte church

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Divine Biscuits from the Cistercian Convent

The Cistercian convent at Buenavista in Breña Alta, La Palma

The Cistercian convent of the Holy Trinity at Buenavista in Breña Alta is surprisingly new. It was founded in 1946, and it's the only closed order on the island. I was surprised to find out that there are only ten nuns who live there.

The convent has a small shop. I first went there about eleven years ago, in search of a rosary made of dragon-tree seeds, for a Catholic friend who was losing her eyesight. The seeds are big enough that you can feel your way through the prayers, and she was delighted. At the time, the shop was still in the older part of the building, and to my eyes, very exotic. The room was rather dark, and seemed darker because of the wooden paneling. The nun who came to serve me stayed behind a tiny barred window, as though she were in jail - until she saw that I had a toddler with me. Then she disappeared, and came round to my side for a good coochi-coo.
A nun in the convent shop

The new shop is much airier, as you can see. They still sell rosaries and religious medals, but they're best known for their biscuits, pastries and fruit liquors. Since they're handmade, they're a bit on the expensive side (these were €4.50), but they're delicious. My mother-in-law always used to say, "God knows what they put in them, but they taste divine."

Biscuits from the convent at Buenavista in Breña Alta, La Palma

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North Road Closing

We've had major roadworks in the north of the island for some time, with some places reduced to one lane, so that you have to wait for traffic lights. Now they'll be closing the road completely at km 24, just north of Los Sauces, twice a day.

The road will be closed Monday - Friday 9:30 am - 12:30 am and 4 pm - 7 pm.

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La Palma Carnival: Tuesday - Friday

Los Indianos, Santa Cruz de la Palma

Tuesday 16th
Santa Cruz de la Palma
5 pm Fancy dress ball in the senior citizens day centre, with live salsa music

Los Llanos
Cancelled

Wednesday 17th
Santa Cruz de la Palma
11 am Presentation of prizes in the town hall.

Los Llanos
11 am - 1 pm Children's activities, Plaza de España
8 pm Murgas, Plaza de España

Cancajos
8 pm the Octopus's Funeral followed by a dance



Thursday 18th
Los Llanos
7 pm Comparsas (musical groups) at the carnival stage
8 pm Murgas, Plaza de España

Friday 19th
Santa Cruz de la Palma
9 pm The Sardine's funeral. Procession from the Alameda to the carnival stage, followed by the cremation, fireworks and a dance.

Los Llanos
11 am - 1 pm Children's activities, Plaza de España
1 pm The Sardine's funeral starts at El Camino Los Lomos -Los Pedregales. At 7 pm the procession leaves for La Calle Ramón Pol. and should arrive a 9:30 pm. On it's arrival, the sardine will be cremated.
10 pm Live music at the carnival stage

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Puntagorda's Almond Blossom Fiesta

Puntagorda fiesta: almond blossom

La Palma isn't a big island, but it still takes almost 2 hours to drive from Breña Baja to Puntagorda. I found most of the blossom had been spoiled by the bad weather last week, but it was still pretty. (In a good year, the whole hillside turns pink.) Then I got sidetracked into visiting a friend's barbecue, and very nice, too. I finally got to the main fiesta just as they were packing up, at 10 pm. This is amazingly early for a Canarian fiesta, but they danced half the night on Saturday, and they all had to get up on Monday morning.

Puntagorda fiesta: Hippy playing a didgeridoo

A lot of German hippies live in and around Puntagorda, and they seem to get on very well with the locals. Here's one playing the didgeridoo at the end of the fiesta.

Puntagorda fiesta: the debris

You can see that people had a good time! One of the locals was embarrassed to see my photographing this, but I don't like rooms that are so tidy you're scared to sit down, and I think villages are supposed to get messy when they've had a good party. Besides, the street cleaners were already hard at work, and I expect it'll all be clean and tidy by the time I post this.

Puntagorda fiesta: The last bar open

Even though the band had left, and most of the stalls were packing up, a few people still gathered round the last open bar. As usual, people were merry, but nobody was outright drunk, and nobody was annoying. In fact I got two offers of bed and breakfast, but neither gentleman took offence when I said that, sorry, I was going home to my husband.

Puntagorda fiesta: the last few revelers

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Breña Baja: The Old Butcher's Shop

The 19th century butcher's shop, Breña Baja, La Palma

The old butcher's shop stands on the outskirts of the village of San Jose, in Breña Baja, near the Paradorof La Palma. The building dates from the late 19th century, and it was a butcher's shop until the 1960s. But now it's been renovated as a craft exhibition and shop.

The famous cigars of The Breñas

Although the place is small, they've packed a lot in. They've got lots of traditional embroidery and basketwork. They've also got the local cigars, which Winston Churchill enjoyed when he visited in 1959, and ceramics from a local artist.

Some of the fine embroidery and drawn-thread work

And my personal favourite is the Canarian style rag rugs. Like most places, poorer people needed to make use of everything, and so they made rugs out of old clothes. Here, the cloth to be recycled was torn into narrow strips, which were then sewn together to make longer ones, and finally used as the weft thread on a loom (usually with a linen warp thread).

The shop opens on Tuesday -- Saturday, 4pm -- 8pm

A Canarian-style rag rug

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It's Raining on La Palma

Some people think it never rains in La Palma. Well, it's the greenest of the Canary Islands for a very simple reason. And right now, it's busy getting greener. In fact, we have an official orange weather alert, and all school is cancelled for tomorrow, for the whole archipelago.

The thing is, it's not raining all that much, at last not here. It's just like a wet day in Wales.

I suppose it's rather like the way Britain grind to a halt with the sort of snowfall that wouldn't bother a Siberian at all. And of course here, the rain is at last warm.

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The Molino Museum

A collection of old weights

As well as the workshop making replica ceramics, the windmill at Mazo houses a small museum. Entry is free, but there are a couple of places you can make a donation. Upstairs is mostly a collection of old tools: an old Singer sewing machine, combs for flax, knife grinders, braziers...


Oil lamps

... the millers glasses, shepherd's poles, long handled pallets for putting bread in a large oven. To be honest, it's all crammed in rather haphazardly, but it's almost all labelled, and it's rather fun.



But the best bit is downstairs. Much of the bottom of the windmill is still there. You can see the main flywheel and the gears, and hoppers for the grain.



Best of all, you can still turn some of the mechanism by hand. Of course young boys love this.


The brake and the bread kneader

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Pre-hispanic Ceramics

Inside the workshop at El Molino

The Benahoaritas (or Auaritas or Awaras) were the people who lived on La Palma before the Spanish invasion. They lived in caves and wore animal skins, but they farmed, and they had ceramics. The older ceramics are simpler, and the newer ones usually more decorated.

At El Molino, in Mazo, they make replicas of these ceramics. The business was started by Ramon and Vina, but these days they have other people working there too.


Cutting the design into the clay

Each design -- usually a bowl -- is an exact copy of a object made before the Spanish invasion in 1492. The walls of the workshop are lined with the reference pieces, each one labelled with the place where the original was found. The finished items are for sale in the shop, and prices range from €12 to €200. They also sell souvenirs.


Smoothing the bowl with a pebble.

The workshop is in an old windmill. To get there, take the road from Santa Cruz to Fuencaliente which passes below Mazo, and look out for the signs and the windmill's sails. The windmill also houses a small museum (more in another post) and it's set in a beautiful garden.

Open Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 7 pm. Tel 922 440213

The web site is listed as http://www.ceramicaelmolino.com, but it isn't up at the time of writing.


The kiln at el Molino where the finished pieces are fired.

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My Top Ten Things to See and Do on La Palma

I had an email asking me to recommend the top ten things to see and do.

It was actually quite difficult to decide, because tastes differ so much. So this is a purely personal top ten. Your mileage may vary.

10. The Observatory
See The Observatory and Visiting The Observatory. While you're there, be sure to go up to the highest point of the island, the Roque de los Muchachos, and admire the view.

9. San Antonio and Tenguia Volcanoes
Teneguia last erupted in 1971, and it still looks a lot like the surface of Mars. See Which Planet Are You On? San Antonio is a much older volcano, with a visitor centre, and a nice strioll with spectacular views. You can even ride a camel.
See Taking the Hump

8. El Tablado
Well, I say El Tablado, but really the whole of the north of the island is stunning. You know those fantasy paintings, where the landscape is too steep and green to be real? That's what it looks like, sprinkled with picturesque villages clinging to the . El Tablado is just the most picturesque of these villages.

7. The Night Sky
There's a really simple reason why the observatory's here. I grew up in Leeds, and I was lucky to see ten stars in the sky. Light pollution's got a lot worse since then. After the big earthquake in Los Angeles, apparently some people phoned the police to ask what on earth that white streak was running right across the sky, man? You see, they'd never seen the milky way in their lives. I find that sad. So while you're on La Palma, pick a cloudless night, get a couple of hundred yards away from street lights, and wait at least ten minutes for your eyes to adjust. If you've always lived in cities, it may be some time before you remember to shut your mouth.
See http://lapalmaisland.sheilacrosby.com/2008/05/starlit-skies.html

6. Los Tilos Cloud Forest
At the top of the ravine just south of Los Sauces inside the clouds is an ancient forest of laurels and heather trees.Since La Palma is an island, many of the plants here have evolved in isolation, making them unique.I saw an overweight, arthritic botanist bouncing like a child on Christmas morning, almost incoherent with delight.“Oh my! Woodwardia. I hoped I’d see that but I didn’t dare hope too - Canaria canariensis! Oh look at this and -” He said that when he dies, he doesn’t want to go to heaven, he wants to come to La Palma.

5. Cueva Bonita
Cueva Bonita means Beautiful Cave, and it certainly is beautiful, especially at sunset. The catch is that the cave is only accessible by sea. You take a boat trip from Puerto Tazacorte. If you're lucky, you might see dolphins or even whales too.

4. Las Nieves Church
La Palma has lots of old, pretty churches. Quite often, they hold beautiful statues, a reminder of the days when the island got stinking rich from the trans-Atlantic trade. The loveliest is the little church at Las Nieves, which holds a little, 14th century terracotta statue of the Virgin Mary on a silver throne.

3. A local fiesta
Each little village has an annual fiesta, usually when the patron saint of the local church has his or her saint's day. This means that it's a rare week that doesn't have a fiesta somewhere on the island. Ask the local tourist office for details. A typical fiesta takes place the night before the local holiday (so you can sleep it off). It includes a religious procession carrying the statue of the saint around the village (some of the statues are very old and beautiful), a live band playing salsa music, and mobile bars selling drinks and food. Many have something special of their own, like dancing horses made of papier-mâché, decorated archways, or the recreation of a battle. I recommend rum and coke (called cuba libre) and a fried pork sandwich. Do NOT drink and drive. The police know when the local fiestas take place, and tend to be hiding with their breathalysers just down the road. Even more to the point, the roads are twisty with lots of spectacular drops if you take a bend too fast.
The tourist office will have details of what's happening.

2. El Time Viewpoint
See http://lapalmaisland.sheilacrosby.com/2008/06/el-time-viewpoint.html

1. The Caldera
The Caldera is a humongous crater, 5 miles (8 km) across, with rim walls almost 6,000 ft (1,800 m) above the floor. If you're really fit, I recommend the 27 km (17 mile) hike from Los Bresitos round to the camp-site and down the Angustias Ravine. It's exhausting, and I'm no longer fit enough myself, but the scenery is fantastic. Alternatively, you can stay a night or two at the camp-site in the centre. If you want to look down at the Caldera instead of up at the walls, a long-distance footpath runs around the rim, and if you're less fit, it's possible to walk short (or very short) sections to suit your abilities. Failing that, you can drive to a viewpoint on the rim and look down. The best ones are La Cumbrecita, La Cancelita, Los Andennes, and the Roque. See: The Caldera , Los Andennes Viewpoint and The Caldera Campsite

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Fiestas in Early September

There are two nice fiestas coming up at the beginning of September.

In El Paso, the statue of the Virgin of the Pine was carried in procession from the hermitage up in the mountain down to the village. On September 6th, there will be another procession to carry it back.


The Devil's dance, Tijarafe, 2007.

In Tijarafe in the early hours of September 8th, the devil will join the dance. This is a man in a suit covered with lit fireworks, and no, I don't think it's entirely safe. On the other hand, I've never heard of any bad accidents, and it's certainly memorable and great fun. The party starts the night before, of course, with the usual music, dancing, and mobile bars.

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