I had a lovely surprise on Sunday when the couple from the boat next to me (Paul and Catherine) asked if I would like to accompany them for a drive up into the mountains in the afternoon, they had hired a car for a couple of days. In the morning, I like to go for a walk in the mornings as it is cooler, I went for a look at the Naval museum which is in a replica of Columbus’s caravel ‘Santa Maria’, built using the original specifications, very interesting.
After lunch we set off and after a detour to get their diving bottle filled, we had heard there was a dive centre close by so set off and asked the way at the fishing harbour where we were directed to the police station and ask for Miguel, who it turned out had his own compressor and filled the tank in the evening. The road into the mountains is narrow and very winding with the inevitable sheer drop on one side, but quite spectacular as we rose through the tree line and then the cloud base,
eventually into the clear blue and cold air, the highest peak tops out at 2426m where there a number of radio telescopes and astronomical observatories and beyond which one can walk around the neighbouring peaks and the caldera (we didn’t);
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| Trying not to look cold |
we returned via the northern coast another very winding road
getting back to Santa Cruz well after dark, the sun goes down about 6pm and rises about 7am, where we had a very pleasant meal.
On Monday I set off on foot to find the dive centre, eventually finding it after a good two hours, in a shopping complex in a holiday village two bays south, well off the main road, so it was lucky we found the very helpful policeman on Sunday, I spent the afternoon recovering and tidying and doing chores. Wednesday morning I went off in search of culture, and wandered around the Museo Insular de La Palma which is in a 16th century Franciscan Convent, which I found to be a very peaceful place, especially in the cloisters (helped by my being the only person there) as well as interesting,
a couple of churches, historical houses and a pseudo fort built for a play(Castillo de la Virgen).
Hey Alan,
ReplyDeleteDo you have an aproximate itinerary? Venezuela is a huge hassle for yotties, as far as I can understand the situation but I'd love to sea you (?). Let me know where we can meet up. If you want to anchor the boat in a safe haven and travel a little in Venezuela let's do it. My Christmas trips have all been cancelled so I'm out of work until July!! Travelling around here at Christmas is a real pain due to volume of traffic..
Look after yourself and let me know..
Billy