"La Palma" a Isla de La Palma Travel Page by bianchis

We wanted a quick getaway from Switzerland and looked for somewhere a bit warmer and sunnier and we came up with La Palma 4 hours away with Air Berlin from Zurich nonstop to Santa Cruz the capital of La Palma.
We stayed a week at the Teneguia Princess hotel considered one of the best on the island. We were not disappointed. Although the hotel and meals were excellent we spent little time there as there was so much to explore and see of this rugged facinating volcanic island.
Although volcanic in its origin we were surprised how green this island was in comparison to the other canary islands. We discovered that the name La Palma came about because its shape is like the palm of your hand.

Fascinating was the drive up North where deep ravines forced you to drive down and then up again to get to the other side an island of 40'000 curves. In fact the whole of the island is just a zigzag road with treacherous uturns. Bus drivers always honk their horns when coming round the bend. What to expect is the sudden change in weather. We did drive up to the famous and highest mountain Roches de Los Muchachos but were greeted with clouds, high winds and cold weather. Another couple who had gone up in the morning of the same day experienced wonderful weather and could look over both sides of the mountain at the fantastic look out point.
We hired a driver as we wanted to concentrate on the scenery and we were rewarded with Fulvia an Italian who really drove through the most scenic and interesting parts of the island. We went to local Cafe bars and discovered the different types of coffee.
Most common: Café con leche: coffee with milk
Cortado: Espresso, strong with sweet condens milk
Café solo: small, strong, black
Café grande: large, black
this one really blew us:
Baraquito: made up of layers first condensed milk then coffee then milk then liquor, a sprinkling of cinnamon and to top it a twist of lemon.
Carajillo: Espresso with brandy

We discovered that lots of bikers come to this island to train they bring their bikes with them neatly packed in a special case. Many of them were on our flight checking in with their big square cases. It must be a torture biking up those steep roads.
Its also a hikers paradise the paths are well marked with green - easy, yellow - medium and black - difficult and dangerous. What makes it dangerous are all those loose rocks and pebbles lying around and when you have a steep descent with gorges on both sides then you had better watch every step. Don't underestimate! Good mountain shoes and walking sticks are a must. I took my nordic walking sticks and they really helped to maneuver my way around.
Spectacular was the Caldeira de Taburiente, it was a good day so we were treated with a fantastic view into this vast crater with its circle of towering mountains . With a diameter of 9 km and perimeter of 27 km this crater shows the different rock formations interpersed with lava and vegetation trying to find a foot hold in every cranny.
A bit out of the way but really north El Tablado is certainly worth the trip with its village perched on the top of a cliff hanging over two deep gorges on both sides. There is a Mirador bar Restaurante El Moral overlooking this awesome view and you can just sit there and sit there and feast your eyes.