When I heard that the road outside our house was going to be closed for a go-kart race, I was picturing loads of very noisy karts snarling past. Frankly, I was congratulating myself that it was due to finish at 7pm. One year the regular rally went on until midnight, and the noise drove me crazy. But this was great – motorless karts rolling down the hill, some cheap and…
Saturday is the famous Transvulcania. Crazy people will be running an ultramarathon around La Palma. The main race starts at 6 am down at the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island. The runners will race up the central spine of the island to the picnic site at El Pilar, then Punta de Los Roques. The race continues anticlockwise around the Caldera rim, climbing up to the observatory at…
Here’s a wonderful video of mountain biking on La Palma. Of course, if biking’s not your thing, you hiking through the same stunning scenery.
The Tazacote martytrs have an unusual memorial – 18m underwater at Malpique, the site where they drowned. There are 40 crosses, one for each of the victims. The memorial was created in 2000, and I’m told that it’s easy to visit even for novice divers. The photo was taken by Christian Carlos Tdo. Rguez who is a local diving instructor and ecologist. He has a blog in Spanish (with excellent photos)…
A feature of many livestock fairs on La Palma is the dragging contest (Arrastre de ganado). Two cows or two bulls drag a weight around a course (usually 70 m), and the fastest team wins. The animals compete in various classes – heifers, bullocks, cows and bulls, dragging different weights. At San Isidro, the weights started at 400 kg, and went up to 800 kg, and the fastest team dashed…
On Saturday, crazy people will be running an ultramarathon around La Palma. It’s the famous Transvulcania. The main race starts at 6 am down at the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island. The runners will race up the central spine of the island to the picnic site at El Pilar, then Punta de Los Roques. The race continues anticlockwise around the Caldera rim, climbing up to the observatory…