Cubo de la Galga

Cubo de La Galga, Puntallana
May 28, 2013

Cubo de la Galga is a very pretty walk along the bottom of the Galga ravine, between Puntallana and Los Sauces. By Palmeran standards, it’s an easy walk. There is now a car park at the beginning of the walk, on the road at km 16. You’re unlikely to get lost for the first kilometre or so, because the path’s actually asphalted, never mind signposted. It’s a matter of taste,…

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How to Drive Quickly Across Garafía

Don’t. You can’t. And it’s dangerous to try. And anyway, you’re on holiday, aren’t you? Relax, take it slow, and enjoy the spectacular scenery. After all, that lovely scenery is the reason for the twisty roads. And if you get stuck behind an old man driving at 30 km/h, count yourself lucky. I seem to get constantly stuck behind one who drives at 25 km/h.

May 23, 2013
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Mother’s Day

Today is mother’s day in Spain. Or rather, everywhere in Spain but here. And to the best of my knowledge, the first place in Spain to have an official Mother’s Day was Breña Baja. The local poet, Félix Duarte Pérez , left home for Venezuela at some horrendously young age (fifteen, I think). Not surprisingly, he missed his mother a good deal, and they sent each other lots of letters….

May 5, 2013
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Santa Cruz Tourist Office

When I first came to La Palma, the tourist office was in temporary accommodation in the third floor of an office building, with absolutely nothing at street-level to indicate where it was. Basically, you had to ask a local to find it. Obviously this left something to be desired, so they put up two signs: one at the south end of town pointing north, and one at the north end,…

April 18, 2013
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The Art of Fire

Artefuego glassblowing studio is at the back of Plaza Sotomayor, where they hold the Argual flea market every Sunday. It’s a good idea to combine the two, because they hold public demonstrations on Sundays between 10 am and 2 pm. They combine fragments of lava into their creations, and to the best of their knowledge, they’re the only people in the world to do so. This makes every piece unique….

April 13, 2013
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Poppies

La Palma has lots and lots of wildflowers at this time of year. We even have five different poppies on La Palma. The Corn Poppy, Field Poppy, Flanders Poppy, or Red Poppy is easily the commonest. This is the poppy that mostly grows wild in fields. The next commonest comes from California, which has a similar climate. And then there’s the opium poppies, which are presumably garden escapes. And finally…

April 6, 2013
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