I come from Yorkshire and I’m used to limestone caves, so I was surprised when I found that the volcanic island of La Palma has lots of caves too. Volcanic caves are formed when a river of lava solidifies on the top and sides, but the middle (insulated by the solid-but-still-hot lava around it) stays runny. Sometimes big bubbles of gas force their way to the surface, leaving a hole…
So we were driving along in Norfolk, when we found this in a little village. There was no sign of The Doctor, just a little note on the door saying that photos were fine in exchange for a charity donation. What a good idea! Luckily there were no darleks around. Unless, of course, The Doctor had to wipe our memories for our own good, like he did with Donna Noble.
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 like…
Well I did nearly all of it.The cat is safely installed in a new cattery since the old one wasn’t available. Both the yearly and quarterly tax returns have been done. My son has a new passport. We have B&Bs booked for the beginning and end of the holiday. I have told people who employ tour guides that I won’t be on the island. I have interviewed Pedro Álvarez, the director of Grantecan, although I…
The cover of “The Mammoth book of Time Travel SF” I came home from delivering copies of “A Breathtaking Window on the Universe” to the other side of the island, and found my contributor’s copies of “The Mammoth book of Time Travel SF” waiting outside the house. The last I’d heard about it was in December 2012, so I’d forgotten all about it. Obviously, this was a lovely surprise. And…
When I first came to La Palma in 1990, around 40% of the population depended on the banana trade: growing bananas, packing them, or driving them. But even with the EU subsidy, it’s hard to make a living from bananas. If you’re unlucky with the weather, you can work hard all year and still make a loss. So the economy is diversifying, and a good thing too. But bananas are…