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Staying at Habitacion Kiwi, San Pedro: 30th October 2020
Today I moved into a small house called ‘Habitacion Kiwi’ close to the town of San Pedro. I found the house on AirBnB and chose it as it was one of the cheaper places to stay on this side of the island and was available to rent for 10 days. The owner Lucy was born in Germany but was brought up on La Palma. She has converted four small houses as holiday rentals on a small plot of land over looking the hills across the north east of the island. The house is very compact but well designed with a fold out bed and plenty of storage room. The decoration…
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Moving back to the east side of the island: 29th October 2020
Today I left the Caldera and drove back to the east side of the island. I had reserved a small house through Airbnb for 10 days but it was not available until tomorrow so I rented an apartment at Mirador Isla Bonita on edge of the small town of Mazo for one day. The apartment balcony had views across the east of the island overlooking the airport and across to the main city of Santa Cruz. It was a well equipped apartment so I took advantage of the washing machine and did my laundry from the past week. While my clothes were drying I explored the Mazo town centre which…
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Above the clouds at Roque de los Muchachos: 28th October 2020
Today was my last day at Rivendell and an opportunity to visit the highest point of the island which is locate in the north of the island providing views across the Caldera all the way to the very southern tip of the island. It was going to be along long drive as I first had get out of the Caldera. It was a beautiful morning and had views across to the top ridge of the Caldera where I would be heading towards. After leaving the Caldera I headed towards Tazacorte before climbing up long winding road to Tijarafe. One the way I stopped off at ‘Mirador del El Time’ viewpoint…
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Exploring La Caldera de Taburiente: 27th October 2020
Today I wanted to take some of the hiking trails around the top ridge of the Caldera. I drove up out of the barranco and up towards El Paso where the visitors centre for the La Caldera de Taburiente is located. The centre provided information about the geography of the area and explained how the island is famous for being the steepest in the world. There was also information about the various hiking paths around the caldera. The visitors centre also had a great view of the ‘Cascada de Nubes’ which is a phenomenon caused when the humid moist sea air condenses when it is pushed up over the island…
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Puntagorda in the north of the island: 25th October 2020
Alison planned a day out in the north of the island as Rosie her daughter had an appointment with an Iridologist in Puntagorda. They invited me to join them as the town of Puntagorda to visit the Sunday market. It took 1 hour to reach the town as the road winds up a steep ridge towards the northern hills. We brought cheese, bread and fruits from the market for a picnic later in the day. We also brought some delicious cakes which we had with coffee while we waited for Rosie to return from her consolation. Nearby the market was a viewpoint which had great views down to the sea.…
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Petroglyphs at El Paso and La Bombilla: 24th October 2020
Alison invited me to join the others staying at the centre as today they were attending ‘Clowning Existence’ seminar in the nearby town of El Paso. It was led by the Galician Ivan Prado who takes a group of volunteers into major conflict zones to perform a ‘solidarity circus’ to bring hope and joy to children. It was a very interesting seminar and it was impressive to see the risks the group take to bring a smile to the face to children who are surrounded conflict. The workshop was originally going to be ‘hands-on’ demonstration of the techniques they use but due to covid it was changed into a seminar.…
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Sunset at Charco Verde: 23rd October 2020
It woke to a beautiful clear morning and joined a yoga class led by Clara who is staying at the centre. After breakfast I went for a walk back along the Barranco. The canyon was cool and perfect for walking and I met many hikers who were out for the day. In the afternoon I drove to the west coast beach of Charco Verde. It is a lovely bay with interesting rock formations and is surrounded by banana plantations. The cove was believed to have mystical powers and there is a shrine on the large rock formation in the middle of the bay. I walked along the coastline listening to…
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Staying at the Rivendell in the Caldera: 22nd October 2020
I called Alison at the Rivendell Centre to check if the road to Rivendell centre had reopened after the storm. She said that the road down to the base of the Caldera should be open and I was welcome to stay with them. I checked out from Pension La Cubana and drove over the top of the island to town of Los Llanos where I took the small road into the basin of the Caldera. I stopped in Los Llanos to stock up on food from the supermarket as the hostel is self-catering. Just as I started to drive down the road I came across a barrier saying the road…
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Hike from Los Canarios to Faro de Fuencaliente: 21st October 2020
It was raining in Santa Cruz when I woke and so I decided to follow Antonio’s advice and go hiking in the south of the island. I drove to the town of Los Canarios where a hiking trail on the youngest part of the island. The last volcanic eruption was in 1971 extending the islands western side. The hike started down the side of the San Antonio volcano and through lava fields created 300 years ago. A small observatory is located on the edge of the volcano. The valley to the north of the volcano is a major grape growing region on the island and are cultivated on the newest…
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Abandoned trip to the Caldera: Tuesday 20th October
Today I had planned to move to the Rivendell Centre located deep within the Caldera on the other side of the island. I packed my bags went to a local cafe to have breakfast before checking out of Pension Cubana. While having breakfast Alison who runs Rivendell called me to warn me that a storm was approaching and that I should leave now otherwise the main road over the top of the island may get closed. I rushed back to the pension and quickly checked out. I loaded up the car and just as I started to drive out of the town I received a call from Alison to tell me…