La Palma has over 1,000 km of footpaths – everything from challenges for fit people to gentle strolls. One of my favourites is the walk along the coast from Charco-Azul to Puerto Espindola, in the municipality of San Andres and Sauces. Charco Azul has salt-water swimming pools, rather like Piscinas la Fajana. At one time, Puerto Espindola was a working port, mostly exporting the agricultural produce of the borough. Now…
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…
Although La Palma has more water than the other Canary Islands, many farmers used to be desperately poor and frequently hungry. The only water for irrigation was rainwater, and obviously they had no control over how much they got. Then somebody suggested digging into the hillside to find water. (If anybody knows who, please tell me.) The idea is that much of the rainwater seeps into the ground, and runs…
La Palma has a network of well-marked footpaths, most of which are centuries old. As late as the 1960s, walking was still a major form of transport for the islanders, The whole network of hiking trails on the island comes to over 1,000 km, and between them they pass through just about every kind of scenery on the island: lava fields, pine forests, lush laurel forests, farmland and village centres….
It’s only a week until the volcanoes walk on the night of the 14th. Eek! Of course that means more training. So this morning I walked to Mazo market, which is about 5 km. Then I bought lots of veggies, plus bread, cheese and eggs and filled my rucksack. I deliberately didn’t buy potatoes, but the rucksack was so full that I stuffed a courgette down one side pocket, and…
On Thursday I took my get-fit-for-the-volcanoes-route programme up a notch. Instead of walking up to Montaña de la Breña, I had a go at the Breña Springs route, above San Pedro. Most of the path is through laurel forest, which I love. It provides a great workout, since it’s steep, and that day at least, rather slippery. I was glad of my new walking poles. As the name suggests, it…