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La Palma - even the Canarians call it the pretty one
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Highlights
 | Explore the beautiful Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente.
Its a volcanic crater which has a circumference of 28km and a depth of
700m. |
| Plenty and varied hiking trials, in spectacular countryside and
beautiful woods and forests. |
| The island is unspoilt, and tourist accommodation is not
bountiful, not that it will worry you arriving as you will be in your
luxuriously appointed yacht! |
Overview
Any Canary Island known by the locals as the pretty one deserves to
be taken seriously! The island of La Palma (together with it's nearest
neighbour El Hierro) is as yet more or less untouched by the tourist
excesses of some areas in the other islands. There are only a couple of
small charter flights arriving at the airport each week.
La Palma is the most recently active of all the Canary Islands (in
1971). The southern coast has some nice examples of volcanic craters and
almost all the coast line is volcanic, dotted all around are delightful
creeks and natural swimming pools formed as the lava cooled rapidly on
reaching the sea, try Charco Azul or La Fajana as particularly good
examples.
The Bosque de los Tilos is a UNESCO biosphere reservation,full of
streams, springs, water-falls, and ancient ferns and trees. It is a
spectacular place and very popular with hikers of all levels, including
mountaineers. To walk in the forests is to imagine yourself back in the
pre ice agelandscape of southern Europe. The Canary islands 50,000 years
ago when much of the area was covered in these thick growing and
beautiful forests.
La Palma doesn't do well on the golden sandy beaches front though
although the black volcanic sandy beaches at Playa Nogales or Puerto
Naos are delights, (but then if you have come for golden sandy beaches
you should get back on the plane or boat and get off at either Gran
Canaria or Fuerteventura.)
Facts
| La Palma has 1 marina and 3 anchorages. |
| The island has 82,000 inhabitants. |
| Longest dimensions, about 25 nautical miles north to south and 18
east to west. |
| The highest point on the island is the Roque de los Muchachos, its
2,426m high. |
| Most volcanically active of all the islands, last eruption was in
1971. |
| Its green and beautiful but don't come here for the weather, it is
the wettest of the Canary Islands. |
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Caldera de Taburiente
Half the island fell into the sea! The cliff is 2000m high in places |
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Laurel forests
The western islands are wetter than those further east. Attractive laurel forests result |
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Puerto de Naos
Its called Puerto but don't look for the deluxe marina. Nice beach though and very relaxed |
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Tazacorte
You're doing well if you get this far! The west coast of La Palma, previously the end of the known world. Next stop America and the Carribbean |
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La Caldera de Taburiente
Err, so pretty I took two pictures! |
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Highlights
| Plenty of whales, dolphins and turtles in the south coast. In some
places enough to be a navigational hazard. Nice anchorages and good
marinas. |
| Visit the volcano Mount Teide, at 3718m the highest peak in Spain, you
don't have to go to the top in the cable car (it's expensive and the
queues are often long) but whatever you do, hire a car, the drive up there
through the forests and lava fields, it is spectacular and changes every
season of the year. |
| Relax at Playa Teresitas or any of the other beaches or try a Parque
Maritimo. Santa Cruz probably has the best shopping facilities in the
Canary Islands. |
| Sizzling tourist nightlife on the south coast or sizzling Canarian
nightlife in Santa Cruz. |
| 10 days of Carnival in February/March. Not for the faint hearted, but
spectacular. |
| Delightful authentic architecture in La Orotava and La Laguna, good
night life in La Laguna too. |
| Take a day to explore the Anaga mountains and the rugged northern
coastline. |
Overview
Tenerife is probably best known as a tourist resort
and the year round sunshine, cheap shopping and benevolent climate mean that
it has a steady supply of tourists arriving in the southern resorts of Playa
Las Americas and Los Cristianos. However life outside these areas is very
different. The Canarians seem to have mastered the art of localising tourism
in particular places and not many tourists leave these locations, which is a
shame because Tenerife is a very varied and beautiful island.
The beaches in the south are beautiful but to see the
island from the sea is to appreciate the variety that exists here, beaches,
volcanoes, forests, gigantic standing stones, and fields of lava.
Mount Teide (really a volcano) is the highest
mountain in all of Spain, and stands a very impressive 3,718m high. For
several months of the year despite the temperature at sea level the peak is
covered in snow. The drive towards it is spectacular as you progress upwards
through the farm land, through the woods and forests, above the tree line to
the volcanic lava fields and the volcano itself which as a national park is
a protected area (Las Canadas National Park).
The flora and fauna of the island is as varied as the island itself, in
addition to bountiful crops of avocados, grapes, figs, bananas, papayas
there is the Drago tree, unique to Tenerife. The oldest one is at Icod de
los Vinos, very close to La Cueva del Viento which is the largest volcanic
cave in the world.
Facts
| Tenerife has 14 documented anchorages and 5 marinas. |
| Largest island in the archipelago, over 2,000 sq. m, and a population
of about 650,000. |
| Longest dimensions, about 40 nautical miles north to south and 30 east
to west. |
| Home to the Solar Observatory, Teide is a star watchers delight. The
thermal inversion layer at about 2,000m ensures (more or less) excellent
star gazing conditions above this almost every night of the year. |
| Millions of tourists come here every year. More or less they all stay
in Los Cristianos, Playa Las Americas or sometimes Puerto de la Cruz.
There is a LOT more to this island than these resorts. |
| Carnival here (February) is second only to Rio de Janiero. I will say
no more. You won't believe it till you've seen it. |
| Nelson lost his arm here (in Santa Cruz). The Canarians however
patched him and his crew up so well and released them that before he left
Nelson penned them a thank you letter (other hand presumably). It is
prominently displayed near the marina. |
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