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 that the storm had just reached the Caldera and I should not try and drive as the winds were very strong. She sent a video and suggested that I should stay in Santa Cruz until later in the week. 

I turned the car around just as I started to rain in Santa Cruz.  It then took me around for 30 minutes to find somewhere to park in the town.  I called Pension La Cubana and they fortunately still had a single room available.  I checked back in to the Pension and watched the storm pass over Santa Cruz.

By midday the wind had died down and the rain stopped. 

I went for a walk around the town and visited the old market before having lunch. 

In the afternoon I went for a swim in nearby resort of Canajos. While on the beach I met a local art teacher called Antonio.  We started chatting and he offered to show me around the local area.  We explored the hills behind Los Cancajos and then he took me to view point on top of a nearby volcano where there was a sculpture that he was commissioned to make. Every 100 years the local council places a cross on top of each volcano on the island. Antonio was invited to design the Millennium Cross as he is a well known artist from the nearby village of Brena Baja. 

He then took me to another viewpoint that had great views across Santa Cruz at night.

Antonio also showed me another of his sculpture which he was commissioned to make in commemoration ‘the mothers’ in the nearby town of San Jose. 

He explained that San Jose was the first town in Spain to celebrate Mothers Day.  He took me to a local pizzeria  and then explained about the strong connection between La Palma and South America.  Many of his grandparents generation moved to either Cuba or Argentina to work on the plantations as they could earn more money there than on the island. Antonio recommended some hikes I should do while I’m on the island and suggested I go hiking in the south of the island tomorrow as it should be sunny whereas the north is likely to still be cloudy and rainy.