A small rock in the Atlantic

On Top of the World

Looking east towards Tenerife.

The highest point of the island is the Roque de Los Muchachos, at 2,426m (8,000 ft) above sea level. Most days of the year, the view is spectacular. Even when it's raining at sea-level, the summit is nearly always above the clouds. In fact, you can often look down on a sea of clouds surrounding the island. Of course that's one reason why the observatory is up here.

North towards the observatory. Telescopes left to right: Herschel, Dutch Open, Mercator, Swedish Solar Tower, Newton and Kapteyn.

You also get a wonderful view into the Caldera de Taburiente. I believe the patch of bright green at the bottom here are fields near the water-manager's house, some 1,600 m (5,280 ft) below.

South, along the central ridge.

The Roque is just inside the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, and part of the municipality of Garafía. When I came to La Palma, seventeen years ago, the place was as nature made it. But now that there's a road, they got enough visitors here to cause a serious problem with erosion. Now they've built paths out of local stone, and they've done a really good job of making it look natural, except for the occasional fence. It's best to keep tot he paths. If you slip on the lose gravel it's a long way down.

Roque de Los Muchachos means Rock of the Boys. The name comes from the stone pinnacles at the summit, which look vaguely like giant people.

And these are the "boys" themselves.

Labels: Caldera de Taburiente, Canaries, Canary islands, Garafía, La Palma, La Plama, Roque de los Muchachos

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Los Andennes Viewpoint

There are lots of good viewpoints on La Palma, but one of my favourites is Los Andennes, where you get an amazing view into the Caldera.

The viewpoint is between km 32 and 33 on the road from Santa Cruz to the Roque de los Muchachos, and there's parking for several cars. Most days of the year, you're well above the clouds, often looking down on them. Soemtimes the Caldera is full of cloud, which is impressive in its way, but not nearly as good as the times when the crater is full of fluffy little clouds and you can see between them all the way to the bottom, some 4,000 ft below.

To your right, you can see Robert's Wall which has a legend attached to it.

Labels: Caldera de Taburiente, Canaries, Canary islands, La Palma, video, viewpoints

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Strange Caterpillars

Yponomenta gigas caterpillars and web.

I'd never heard of caterpillars that make cobwebs before, but these do. Like many others caterpilars in the family of ermine moths, they form communal webs. I suppose it discourages birds from sticking their beaks in.

My book on Canarian insects doesn't mention them at all, but then they aren't easy to find unless you know where to look. They live on the Canarian Willow, Salix canariensis which only grows in the Canary Islands and Madeira in places with plenty of water. But there are lots of them in the Caldera de Taburiente, near the campsite at the Playa de Taburiente.

Labels: Caldera de Taburiente, Canaries, Canary islands, La Palma, Wildlife

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Prehistoric Rock Carvings

The people who lived here before the Spanish invasion in 1493 were called Benauaritas. Since they didn't have writing, not all that much is known about them, and what there is comes from the invaders. Not exactly an unbiased source!

Their technology was pretty basic, maybe because the climate in La Palma is kind enough not to encourage things like weaving. They wore skins, lived mostly in caves, herded goats and grew barley. They also collected things like shellfish and wild dates. There were fourteen tribes on La Palma, and each tribe had its own territory. The modern municipalities roughly correspond to the old kingdoms. Much of their history and culture has been lost.

But they did leave behind rock carvings. These are inside the Caldera de Taburiente, but there are far more spectacular ones at La Zarza (in Garafía) and Belamaco (in Mazo). Archaeologists believe that they poured a libation of goats' milk onto the stone, which would flow down the channel, making its shape stand out clearly.

I have a very strange mind. It looks to me as though the stone is imprisoned, presumably because it's dangerous.

Labels: archaeology, Caldera de Taburiente, Canaries, Canary islands, La Palma

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Napeloen Bonepart

At the top of the Caldera there's a rock formation that from one angle looks distinctly like Napoleon Bonepart, or an indian. So it's called Boniface or El Indio. This photo is taken from below the Roque de las Viñas, beside the vineyard.

The best viewpoint has a lethal drop and no guard rail. It's totally unsuitable for small children, people with vertigo, and idiots. I'm assuming readers of this blog have some common sense.

The river bed beneath is the Taburiente. There is water down there, but it's under the stones.

Labels: Caldera de Taburiente, Canaries, Canary islands, La Palma

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The Caldera Campsite

If you're very fit, you can see the Caldera national park on a one-day hike. But it's 27 km of rough going, (from the Los Brecitos viewpoint, via the campsite, to the Barranco de las Angustias) and I wouldn't dare try it myself these days.

The alternative is to spend a night or two at the campsite in the centre of the park, right by the river. This makes it much easier to get into the top end of the park. (Two nights is the maximum stay.) You need a permit in advance, which you get from the Visitor Centre in El Paso (Crta Gral. Padron, 47). They open from 9:00- 14:00 and from16:00- 18:30. You'll need to collect the permit in person, and they'll want to see either a passport or an ID card. Phone 922 497 277

The camp site provides water and picnic tables. There are toilets, but you have to bring your own toilet paper (these little things are important!).

All that water means beautiful, lush greenery, but it also means that mosquitoes can breed almost year-round. Be sure to remember insect repellent.

Pack carefully; it's about 30km to the nearest shop. You have to carry everything in yourself, and you have to take your rubbish away yourself. It's about 7 km from Los Brecitos to the campsite (almost all downhill), and 20km from where the road crosses the river bed in Barranco de las Angustias to the campsite, mostly uphill, and rough in places. In fact one stretch is called "el reventón" which roughly translates as "the killer".

On the other hand, in the middle of summer you don't need a tent. Isn't that nice?

Labels: Caldera de Taburiente, camping, Canaries, Canary islands, La Palma