A few weeks ago, I was in La Palma, Spain. It’s an unknown gem of the Canary Islands. Tenerife and Lanzarote tend to still its limelight – the majority of the people I met on the trip (myself included) had never heard of the island before booking the trip. In fact, a few people thought they were going to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.
Many of you have already read about my irrational fear of flying. Still, I was feeling pretty calm despite the fact that I’ll be on a flying can with a hundred maskless passengers for 4 hours.
Halfway through the flight, the pilot announced some “important information”. He paused for around 6 seconds, which was enough time for my brain to conclude we were going to make an emergency landing. I actually pictured myself waiting to exit the plane on an inflatable slide. My life began to flash before my eyes.
The news was that the Queen was dead. Like everyone, I was pretty shocked. But then I had the sudden urge to laugh out of relief. I don’t think anyone expected to hear the news mid-air. There were some “how sad”, “she had a good life”, and “oh no, Charles!”, but then everyone went back into holiday mode.
Exploring the island honestly felt pretty life-changing as it is an incredibly green island. The inhabitants and government have imposed sustainable policies to clear the air for the enormous astronomical telescopes on the island's highest point. Farming and tourism are the two biggest industries – there are no factories, so the air feels super clean.
Some more facts about La Palma
Volcanoes!
La Palma is a volcanic island. A new volcano erupted last September, and in December 2021, it was declared “dead”. We were lucky enough to see the volcano from a very safe distance. However, you could still see steam coming off it — volcanoes tend to release steam 40 years after being announced dead.
It was crazy seeing the black rocks where the lava had spilt down and destroyed everything in it’s path. Around 4000 people were displaced, but there were no deaths or casualties. The scientists could give a 6-week warning that a volcano would emerge.
Pine trees
I was pretty obsessed with Canary pine trees after discovering they were fireproof. The tree shoots are the only part which tends to be damaged after a forest fire. Also, the trees cannot be grown elsewhere — people have tried to do so and have failed. A natural symbol against colonial theft.
When hiking along the dormant volcanoes, we were shocked to see thousands of pine trees growing inside the crater of San Antonio in Fuencaliente. Nature on the island really does heal itself.
Bananas! Or ¡Plátanos!
La Palma is covered in banana plantations. Even the tiniest patch of land has a banana tree growing out of it. I hate bananas; even the smell makes me gag, but it was cool to see how they grow.
The island is truly a hidden gem which is worth exploring. I’ll leave you with some pretty pictures below: