You see a lot of flags on La Palma. Most English visitors will recognise the flags of Spain and the European Union. But the Canary Islands are an autonomous region within Spain, and they have their own flag too. You see it a lot, especially around May 30th, which is Canary Day. And then each island has its own flag. Here’s the flag of La Palma: And as if…
Canarian waterfalls aren’t common. There are lots of temporary waterfalls after heavy rain, but they tend to be very short-lived. But La Palma has two, pretty much year round. This one is in the Los Tilos biosphere reserve. From the visitor centre, you follow either the ravine or the water channel upstream. (If you follow the ravine, be prepared for some scrambling. If you follow the channel, bring a torch…
The Square, San Andres, La Palma San Andres is a very pretty little village in the northeast of La Palma. From Santa Cruz, you take the main road north until you’re almost at Los Sauces, and then take the little road down towards the coast (yes, it’s signposted). The church was built in the early 17th century, when La Palma was rich from transatlantic trade. It’s supposed to be beautiful…
In the shadier corners of the laurel forest on La Palma, the ferns walk about. Sort of. Woodwardia ferns live in the damper parts of the forest. You can find them along the river bed at Los Tilos, and in the irrigated garden around the visitor centre. They have enormous fronds, anything up to a metre long. When the tip of a frond touches the ground, it often sprouts…
La Palma has a nice, new seaside footpath, which runs from Charco-Azul to Puerto Espindola, in the municipality of San Andres and Sauces. It’s been under construction for some time. My friends in Franceses went along to see how it was progressing, and found themselves in the middle of the official opening. Footpath from Charco Azul to Puerto Espindola. Photo: Helen Bennett Charco Azul has salt-water swimming pools, rather…
I’ve mentioned the tame Canary chaffinches at Los Tilos forest three years ago, but they’ve got much tamer since. They were coming right up to us (as long as we didn’t move suddenly) and they’ll even eat from the hand of one of the park rangers. I also saw two other birds. The common blackbird came for bread too. But the robin was much more cautious.