Rooftop Viewpoints

Traditional roof with a space to view the port.

These days, Santa Cruz de la Palma is a bit of a backwater. But three hundred years ago, it was the third biggest port in the Spanish Empire. Almost every ship traveling from Spain to the Americas stopped here. In the 19th century, it was still a major port, and many of the inhabitants waited anxiously for a ship bringing their merchandise, letters from family members who'd emigrated to Cuba or Venezuela, or the loved ones themselves, as passengers or crew.

Consequently many of the older houses have viewpoints on the roof, like a little crow's nest. They're all designed to give a view of the port, although in some cases the view is now blocked by a tall, new building, like these houses in the Calle Real. They're a nice reminder of the past, and I have fun trying to spot them, even though I can't believe that they get much use in the internet age

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Nativity Scenes

Christmas trees are a newish thing here, although probably most houses have one now. The main traditional decoration is nativity scenes. Some just show the stable, but some public ones are so elaborate that they include the whole village, and it's always a Canarian village. Obviously that's historically inaccurate, but no more so than all the English nativity scenes where Mary and Jesus are blond.

This one was on display in Santa Cruz de la Palma last year.As you can see, it came complete with moving figures and running water. In fact the lights at the back are on a timer, and simulate sunset, night, and morning too. I didn't include that on the video, because it took too long and I didn't think the camera would film the low light levels anyway.

Usually a large nativity scene (belen in Spanish) includes at least one person squatting behind the bushes. If there's one here, I missed it.

They've just opened this years belen in Palacio Salazar, on the Calle Real. It's open from 10 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 8:30 pm until January 6th.

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My Top Ten Things to See and Do on La Palma

I had an email asking me to recommend the top ten things to see and do.

It was actually quite difficult to decide, because tastes differ so much. So this is a purely personal top ten. Your mileage may vary.

10. The Observatory
See The Observatory and Visiting The Observatory. While you're there, be sure to go up to the highest point of the island, the Roque de los Muchachos, and admire the view.

9. San Antonio and Tenguia Volcanoes
Teneguia last erupted in 1971, and it still looks a lot like the surface of Mars. See Which Planet Are You On? San Antonio is a much older volcano, with a visitor centre, and a nice strioll with spectacular views. You can even ride a camel.
See Taking the Hump

8. El Tablado
Well, I say El Tablado, but really the whole of the north of the island is stunning. You know those fantasy paintings, where the landscape is too steep and green to be real? That's what it looks like, sprinkled with picturesque villages clinging to the . El Tablado is just the most picturesque of these villages.

7. The Night Sky
There's a really simple reason why the observatory's here. I grew up in Leeds, and I was lucky to see ten stars in the sky. Light pollution's got a lot worse since then. After the big earthquake in Los Angeles, apparently some people phoned the police to ask what on earth that white streak was running right across the sky, man? You see, they'd never seen the milky way in their lives. I find that sad. So while you're on La Palma, pick a cloudless night, get a couple of hundred yards away from street lights, and wait at least ten minutes for your eyes to adjust. If you've always lived in cities, it may be some time before you remember to shut your mouth.
See http://lapalmaisland.sheilacrosby.com/2008/05/starlit-skies.html

6. Los Tilos Cloud Forest
At the top of the ravine just south of Los Sauces inside the clouds is an ancient forest of laurels and heather trees.Since La Palma is an island, many of the plants here have evolved in isolation, making them unique.I saw an overweight, arthritic botanist bouncing like a child on Christmas morning, almost incoherent with delight.“Oh my! Woodwardia. I hoped I’d see that but I didn’t dare hope too - Canaria canariensis! Oh look at this and -” He said that when he dies, he doesn’t want to go to heaven, he wants to come to La Palma.

5. Cueva Bonita
Cueva Bonita means Beautiful Cave, and it certainly is beautiful, especially at sunset. The catch is that the cave is only accessible by sea. You take a boat trip from Puerto Tazacorte. If you're lucky, you might see dolphins or even whales too.

4. Las Nieves Church
La Palma has lots of old, pretty churches. Quite often, they hold beautiful statues, a reminder of the days when the island got stinking rich from the trans-Atlantic trade. The loveliest is the little church at Las Nieves, which holds a little, 14th century terracotta statue of the Virgin Mary on a silver throne.

3. A local fiesta
Each little village has an annual fiesta, usually when the patron saint of the local church has his or her saint's day. This means that it's a rare week that doesn't have a fiesta somewhere on the island. Ask the local tourist office for details. A typical fiesta takes place the night before the local holiday (so you can sleep it off). It includes a religious procession carrying the statue of the saint around the village (some of the statues are very old and beautiful), a live band playing salsa music, and mobile bars selling drinks and food. Many have something special of their own, like dancing horses made of papier-mâché, decorated archways, or the recreation of a battle. I recommend rum and coke (called cuba libre) and a fried pork sandwich. Do NOT drink and drive. The police know when the local fiestas take place, and tend to be hiding with their breathalysers just down the road. Even more to the point, the roads are twisty with lots of spectacular drops if you take a bend too fast.
The tourist office will have details of what's happening.

2. El Time Viewpoint
See http://lapalmaisland.sheilacrosby.com/2008/06/el-time-viewpoint.html

1. The Caldera
The Caldera is a humongous crater, 5 miles (8 km) across, with rim walls almost 6,000 ft (1,800 m) above the floor. If you're really fit, I recommend the 27 km (17 mile) hike from Los Bresitos round to the camp-site and down the Angustias Ravine. It's exhausting, and I'm no longer fit enough myself, but the scenery is fantastic. Alternatively, you can stay a night or two at the camp-site in the centre. If you want to look down at the Caldera instead of up at the walls, a long-distance footpath runs around the rim, and if you're less fit, it's possible to walk short (or very short) sections to suit your abilities. Failing that, you can drive to a viewpoint on the rim and look down. The best ones are La Cumbrecita, La Cancelita, Los Andennes, and the Roque. See: The Caldera , Los Andennes Viewpoint and The Caldera Campsite

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Fiestas in Early September

There are two nice fiestas coming up at the beginning of September.

In El Paso, the statue of the Virgin of the Pine was carried in procession from the hermitage up in the mountain down to the village. On September 6th, there will be another procession to carry it back.


The Devil's dance, Tijarafe, 2007.

In Tijarafe in the early hours of September 8th, the devil will join the dance. This is a man in a suit covered with lit fireworks, and no, I don't think it's entirely safe. On the other hand, I've never heard of any bad accidents, and it's certainly memorable and great fun. The party starts the night before, of course, with the usual music, dancing, and mobile bars.

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Piscinas La Fajana

Fancy swimming in sea-water without the waves?

These are some rather nice salt-water swimming pools at Fajana, five km outside the village of Barlovento, on the main road to Santa Cruz. At one time they were only the natural pools, but they've been improved rather nicely. There's a pool near the top for senior citizens and the disabled, but the best places are reached down two flights of steps. They come in different depths, so that some are ideal for nervous beginners and some have more space. There's lots of flat space for sunbathing, and some caves beside the pools provide space for those who want to read a book without getting burned.



There's a cafe/bar/restaurant. It costs a bit more than similar places on the islands, but then they've obviously made a considerable investment by providing the pools. You aren't allowed to take your own food down to the pools.

You can stay in the self-catering apartments (visible at the top of the first picture) Tel 922 186162.

There are also fresh water showers (50 cents) and toilets.

And would you believe it, the toilets/changing rooms have a lovely mural on the ceiling and the tops of the walls. ! It's signed by the local artist, Luis Morera.

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The Santa Maria

Replica of Columbus's Santa Maria in Santa Cruz de la Palma

Back when I worked for the observatory, we ocassionally gave visiting astronomers a lift up to the mountaintop. I always enjoyed detouring past the replica of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, partly to see the visitor's reaction.

Astronomer: "What on earth is that!?"
Me: It's a concrete ship in the middle of the road. What's it look like?"
Astronomer: "Concrete!?"

One astronomer even begged us to stop, so that he could go up and touch it, because the "wood" paint was so convincing that he couldn't believe it was concrete. It's beautifully done. It even has old fashioned "nails" with "shadows".


"Nails" in the replica of Columbus's Santa Maria

The ship houses a small naval museum. Now I'm no expert on ships because I get sea-sick standing in a puddle, but I enjoyed it. Downstairs they have some rather nice model ships, sextants, and two old figureheads.


Model ship in the naval museum


Figurehead in the naval museum

(They also have several empty display cases, because they haven't quite finished the refurbishment yet). Upstairs there's a display of old charts.

When appoaching the Straits of Gibraltar, be aware that fishermen have tunny nets extending up to seven miles from the coast.

If you want to take photos of them, you'll need a polarizing filter to remove the reflections.

And then you can go out onto the deck and up to the aftcastle and forecastle. At that point, if I were eight years old, I'd instantly be desperate to play pirates. They even have two small canons. That is, they look small until you imagine canonballs that size whizzing straight at you.


Canons on the main deck

The stairs are steep, and might be a problem for elderly knees. And they have genunine C15th safety barriers, which is to say no barriers at all, so you'll need to hang onto any impetuous little people. It's no problem for sensible adults in the replica, although it must have been downright dangerous in a storm on the original.

The bit that surprises me is that this full-scale model is so small. Columbus's crew of thirty-nine men spent thirty-four days in a boat this size, from La Gomera to the Bahamas. I suppose an estate agent would have called it cosy.

To be honest, it's not the world's greatest museum, and I was only in there for twenty minues, but then it costs one measely euro.

The Santa Maria is on the Plaza Alemeda at the nborth end of Santa Cruz de la Palma. It opens from 10 am to 2 pm, Monday - Friday. Price €1.00. There are public toilets opposite.


The deck of the Santa Maria, in Santa Cruz de la Palma

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Santa Cruz Carnival Programme for the weekend

Spain celebrates Carnival in the week before the season of Lent. I always say people are making sure they have something really juicy to repent, but these days most people just regard it as a darn good excuse for a party.

The funfair's already here, and the main programme starts on Friday.

Friday, 20th February

6 pm. Opening Parade
Children from the schools and nurseries will parade from the Plaza de la Alameda (the concrete ship) to the Carnival stage (the sea-front car park.) Each class has a different costume, and a lot of them will be seriously cute. The parade includes several bands and drumming groups (batucadas).

8 pm. Music (probably salsa) and dancing at the main carnival stage.

Saturday 21st February

11 am to 1pm Cuban Music
In the Plaza de la Alameda.

6 pm The Ambassador's Parade

Everyone welcome. Come dressed as the ambassadors for whichever country you fancy. (See photos of the 2006 parade here) or just watch. The parade will run from near the port to the concrete ship, accompanied by bands. On arrival at the Plaza Alameda, there will be Cuban music.

9 pm - 11pm Music from the 60s and 70s
In the Plaza de la Alameda.

9pm Concert by la Banda de Oxford.
In the Plaza España. (That's the triangular "square" near the main road up the hill.)

11pm Verbena Popular (music and dancing)
Music by the live bands Arena Caliente and Salsaludando at the main carnival stage.

Sunday 22nd February

12 noon. Performances by the group Renacer in various places along the Calle Real.

6 pm. Drumming festival (Batucada), with drumming bands from all over the island performing in the main streets.

8:30 pm. Festival «Young Solists» at the carnival stage.

10 pm Public dance with music by the group Geniales at the carnival stage.

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These days, Santa Cruz de la Palma is a bit of a backwater. But three hundred years ago, it was the third biggest port in the Spanish Empire. In the 19th century, it was still a major port, and many of the inhabitants waited anxiously for a ship bringing their merchandise, letters from family members who'd emigrated to Cuba or Venezuela, or the loved ones themselves, as passengers or crew.

Consequently many of the houses have viewpoints on the roof, like a little crow's nest. They're all designed to give a view of the port, although in some cases the view is now blocked by a tall, new building, like these houses in the Calle Real. They're a nice reminder of the past, and I have fun trying to spot them, even though I can't believe that they get much use in the internet age

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Fugeddaboutit!

I love La Palma, and I believe that most British tourists who come here love it too. But you know, you can't please everybody all the time, and I occasionally hear of people who were very disappointed. That's a shame when you've saved all year for a holiday.

So who shouldn't come?

Well, the weather isn't quite as hot as the bigger Canarian resorts. You don't get much in the way of night life, although there are plenty of restaurants and quite bars. You won't get much English food. And the beaches are black sand, and not all that many of them.

The Los Tilos cloud forest doesn't have any tigers or lemurs. As one disappointed traveler said on Trip advisor, "It's just a load of trees." (And ferns and flowers and rare birds which may or may not show themselves). It's a botanist's paradise, because many of the plants grow only in the Canary Islands, and quite a few only grow on La Palma. My father practically jumped up and down like a two-year-old at Christmas, but if you don't know an oak from a beech, then it's just pleasantly green and cool.

On the other hand, if you're prepared to explore, La Palma has an amazing variety of stunning scenery, practically everywhere you look. Really active types can mountain bike or paraglide or scuba dive. Those who aren't so fit, like me, can hike or stroll through it. Couch potatoes can admire it from a car. We also have lovely old buildings, starlit skies and peace and quiet by the truckload.

So if you want to experience something new, come to La Palma. But if you want Blackpool Pleasure Beach with added sunshine and cheaper booze, forget about it. You'll be happier in southern Tenerife or Gran Canaria or Lanzarote.

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The Dragon Tree Viewpoint

The leaning dragon tree (Dracaena draco).

There's a rather nice viewpoint in Puntagorda, on the main road at km 78. Its most obvious attraction is the dragon tree, leaning much further over than the tower at Pisa.


Red-billed chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax barbarus.

But when I was last there, I was charmed by a tame red-billed chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax barbarus. They're relatives of rooks and crows, but this particular sub-species only lives on La Palma where they're called grajas. They're something of an icon here, because they're so distinctive. They're also pretty intelligent for birds, and rather curious. My husband once had one pecking away at the windscreen wipers of his car.

The graja at the viewpoint came right up to me and begged for food. He even lay down and pretended to be injured, until he realised that the other family there had food, and I didn't.


Red-billed chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax barbarus, pretending to be injured.

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Weather Pre-alert

A pre-alert means don't panic yet, but check before you go out.

High winds are expected tomorrow (Thursday) in the eastern Canaries: Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuertaventura, and the day after (Friday) in all the islands. They expect gusts up to 75 km/h / 46 mph. That's Force 8 on the Beaufort Scale: "Twigs broken from trees. Cars veer on road."

So Friday might not be the best day for ridge walks or a boat trip.

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More Magic

Fitting another mirror segment to MAGIC II

The MAGIC gamma ray telescope is getting a twin. MAGIC II will work together with MAGIC 1 as a two-telescope array.

The first thing you notice about MAGIC is that it's huge. The mirror is 17 m (55ft) across. This is because Gamma rays never reach the earth (unless they come from an atomic bomb). What the telescope is looking for is something called Cherenkov radiation, created by Gamma rays hitting the earth's atmosphere 20 km up. This is very faint and very, very brief, so you need a big mirror to catch as much of it as possible.

The second thing you notice is that there's no dome. For one thing, a dome that size would cost a fortune. For another, it would move too slowly. The telescope has to react to brief bursts of Gamma rays which may last from twenty seconds to three minutes. A dome that took three minutes to rotate would be about as much use as a chocolate poker. Thirdly, the telescope isn't taking pictures in the usual way, so the mirror doesn't need to be kept to optical quality.

The telescope base for MAGIC II has been on the mountain for some months. But now they're fitting the mirror segments. Once the work is finished, they hope the instrument will be three times as sensitive. This is partly the extra mirror area, and partly newer, better instrumentation.

At present, most of the new mirror segments have been fitted, but they're still covered with a white, protective coating. Next week they hope to finish fitting mirror segments and start aligning the lasers.

The webcam for MAGIC II is at http://www.magic.iac.es/webcams/webcam2/

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St Maurus's Church, Puntagorda

The first church on this site was built in the 16th century, when this was the centre of the village. Since then, the population moved uphill, leaving the church rather isolated, and the church has been rebuilt twice (the current building dates from the 19th century), and finally fell into disuse and ruin. It was replaced with a newer one, in the new centre of the village, in 1951, but many footpaths still run past the building. Perhaps more importantly, this is where Puntagorda holds it's annual religious fiesta, from the 14th of August to the 22nd. (The other fiesta celebrates the almond blossom, at the end of January or the beginning of February.) They'll be lots and lots of special masses, and a procession with the statue of the saint in Sunday 17th.

I'd never heard of St. Maurus (San Amaro in Spanish). He was an abbot and theologian in 8th century Germany, and apparently he was popular with the Portuguese settlers who founded the village.

The associated sports contests all happen before the religious ones, from August 4th to 14th. They hold tournaments of football, tennis and chess, athletics and an exhibition of Go-Karts.

The old parish hall stands in front of the church. It's a beautiful ruin, (OK, so I'm weird. I think ruins can be beautiful) but there are plans to restore it.

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Wednesday was the Fiesta del Carmen, which is celebrated in Santa Cruz and Puerto Tazacorte. They have a special mass, and then they take the statue of the Virgin of Carmen out for a procession. So far, so much like most fiestas on the island. Only in this case, they take the statue of the virgin out on a boat parade, to bless the fishermen.

These photos are fromPuerto Tazacorte. The boats go from the harbour, round to the bay just off the beach, where they sail in circles for a while before heading back to port. Then they have fireworks.

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"The Music of Stars"

For some time rumours have been circulating around the island's that Brian May's going to give a concert here for the inauguration of the huge, new, Spanish telescope, GranTeCan. Today, the IAC announced that Jean-Michel Jarre has visited the observatories here and at Teide, and will be playing too.

My goodness, I think it's really going to happen.

More details at http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?_rss=1&fuseaction=readrelease&releaseid=530918

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