|
We set off along the coast N of San Sebastian with two reefs in the main and full genoa, with a strong, gusty breeze blowing down from the cliffs in a vaguely SW direction - the opposite from that forecast, but it was on the beam so we took it. A large Beneteau out of San Sebastian passed just inside us, and we kept them in sight all the way to Santa Cruz – although I think we motored a bit more than they did.
As we approached Hermigua the wind began to moderate and I decided to shake the reefs out. What do they say - the time to take a reef out is 20 minutes after you first thought of it? We were immediately caught in a gust, overcanvassed with tangled reefing lines, hurtling in towards the foot of the cliffs. The two reefs were hastily replaced and we carried on, still parallel to the rugged coast for another couple of miles until we were able set a direct course of 312deg for Santa Cruz de la Palma.
We passed a small red yacht called Karfi heading SW on a reciprocal course to ourselves, waving furiously, and watched as they hit the wind acceleration zone off the coast and heeled over sharply. As we angled away from La Gomera's mountains the wind began to draw aft of the beam – but still, unexpectedly, on our port quarter – and as I was expecting it to come round further I began to rig up a preventer. While I was up on the foredeck the biggest gust of the morning, maybe 30 knots, suddenly put us over to 40 degrees with the side deck in the water, resulting in a bit of shouting at the helmsman. That was the end of the drama, though, and as we drew away from La Gomera the wind began to come round forward of the beam again and die away. We were unable to lay a direct course and keen to arrive in daylight, so I am afraid we fired up the Beta and ended up motor-sailing under all plain sail in an unlikely light westerly breeze, making up to six and a half knots very close hauled in a flattish sea and modest swell.
Around one o' clock the wind picked up and we decided to switch the engine off and have a peaceful lunch. Spanish sausage, bread and strong Azorean cheese on a smooth sunny sea while making a pleasant four knots just ten degrees to the right of our direct course . . . but before the lunchtime beer was finished the wind had dropped to five knots or less, the Navik had lost the plot and we resorted to engine again just before two. By twenty past three the wind had come round to a more normal Northerly direction (although not the broad-reaching Easterly we had been promised) and we were sailing again.
The last three hours were spent close-hauled in a F3-4 Northerly . . . putting in a couple of reefs increased our speed by half a knot and immediately made the motion much more comfortable, but as usual I had to talk myself into it . . . two reefs in 17 knots apparent sounds a bit excessive, but if there is any sea running it works every time for us. We prefer to keep the full genoa for as long as possible, as we find we point just as high then – reefing the genoa first usually means we fall off a bit with no increase in comfort.
The sun went behind the hills of La Palma as we entered the large harbour at Santa Cruz and got the sails down. Luckily we had looked at a webcam shot of the marina the previous night, as the entrance is not easy to spot.
If you click the link to the webcam (above) you will be able to see us live while we are here. You can't see much detail, but at least this should put paid to those ugly rumours that we are hiding behind an island in Loch Melfort putting out false position reports. (The screenshot on the right shows where we are on the pontoon.
|
 |
|
We are bows-to (no fingers) with a lot of scend coming in even in the current calm conditions – I was up very early this morning trying to stop the incessant snatching of the bow ropes; we could really do with a couple of decent snubbers (Forsheda or similar) but in the meantime I have led the bow lines over a fender which is being alternately squished on one side then the other. Getting on and off is a bit difficult - I can't pull the boat really close to the pontoon as it increases the snatching.
But . . . it is only 6 Euros a night, with excellent showers, use of a swimming pool, free electricity and water, free wi-fi and a fantastic looking city and island to explore. Went for a brief wander last night and had a couple of beers at a pavement cafe and just people-watched. Very Spanish, lots of elegantly turned out people, lots of young people and the place was buzzing at ten o' clock at night - perhaps the liveliest place we have seen since La Coruna.
Just chilling today, going to take a wander round the town this afternoon.
Thurs 4th Jan 2007 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
Checked out the superb facilities at the Club Nautico then just wandered round the town - it's supposed to have the best preserved collection of traditional Canarian architecture anywhere in the archipelago. Went out in the evening for tapas instead of cooking . . . totally stuffed after sharing 5 euros worth of tortilla and ensaladilla (Russian salad). |
|
Real Club Nautico, La Palma |
|
Merchants house, Santa Cruz |
Fri 5th Jan 2007 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
Slept late, did a few things on the boat then went up to the Club Nautico to use the wi-fi. I have a weak signal on the boat, but I wanted to do some serious downloading - 'learn Spanish' courses - as I am very keen to be able to do a little more than order two beers and ask where the bogs are. Very few people speak English here, but they are delighted if you speak a little Spanish, even if it is rubbish.
Went to the tourist office in the evening to enquire about hiring a car and discovered that tomorrow is Three Kings Day, a bigger festival in Spain than Christmas. The narrow streets were mobbed - everyone must have been out to watch the big parade. Several bands, various floats and a herd of strange horses were followed up by the three wise men on real camels. It was an amazing spectacle, but sadly we had left the camera on the boat as we didn't know any of this was about to happen!
Sat 6th Jan 2007 - Los Llanos, Tazacorte and Fuencaliente
Took a bus to Los Llanos over (and through) the rim of the Taburiente crater. From there we took another bus down to Puerto de Tazacorte on the W. coast to check out rumours of a new marina there. We found a couple of brand new pontoons, but because it was Three Kings Day no-one was about to give us any details.
From Los Llanos we took the bus back by the Southern circular route via Fuencaliente - very spectacular, with some raw lava flows from a 1949 eruption. We were sitting in the front right hand coujple of seats, in front of the wheels - so we were actually overhanging a huge drop on some of the corners. Bus driving is a pretty strenuous occupation on these islands. |
|
Mountains behind Los Llanos
|
|
Puerto de Tazacorte
|
|
Tazacorte harbour |
|
New pontoons at Tazacorte |
Sun 7th Jan 2007 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
Quiet day - everyone recovering from 3 Kings day
Mon 8th Jan 2007 - Getting High on La Palma
Hired a car today (30 Euros). Drove up the very long and winding road through the clouds to emerge in glorious sunshine on the rim of the Taburiente crater. We parked the car and walked up to Pico de Cruz, then drove round past the big astronomical observatory to Roque de Los Muchachos, the highest point on the island at 2426m (7884ft ASL). Spectacular views down into the National Park in the crater. Went for another short walk - you get breathless quickly at this altitude.
From Los Muchachos we took the equally long and winding road down towards the North coast then all the way round back to Santa Cruz through spectacular scenery, the road twisting and turning to follow the contours of the huge ravines that run down to this coast from the central mountains. We then took the main road through the tunnel to El Paso and drove up into the National Park to the end of the road, where we had another very pleasant walk through pine woods with spectacular views of the crater.
We just had time before it was dark to drive up to the El Pilar recreation area through recent (C20) lava fields then back down to Mazo and Santa Cruz. |
|
Sea of clouds
|
|
Roque de Los Muchachos
|
|
The observatory |
|
High above Tazacorte |
|
Caldera de Taburiente |
|
Volcanic sunset |
Back down at sea level we took our well-used hire car back before going to a nearby bar for tapas and a well-earned beer. This was the most spectacular landscape we have ever seen.
Tues/Wed/Thur Jan 9, 10, 11 2007 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
Quiet days wandering round the town or going up to the Club Nautico to use the wi-fi - nothing much to report. Our house tenants have suddenly bailed out, leaving a big dent in our income for the next few months if we don't find replacements. Yet again we are glad to have a decent internet connection so we can sort things out.
A few boats from La Gomera have come in. We would have left on Wednesday if the wind had been good for Gran Canaria (a Northerly) - but it is looking like all SE and E for the next few days, so we may as well stay here. I am going for a long hike over the mountains with Melvin from Zarafina tomorrow (Friday) - hope my knees stand up to it. Kathy is not coming!
Fri Jan 12th 2007 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
Restless night because of swell getting in to the harbour - lots of snatching. As the boats were moving so much Melvin and I decided to postpone our walk for a day. It calmed down later and Kathy and I went for a long walk to the N. end of town and had a look at lots of interesting private gardens full of exotic plants. On the way back we discovered two big supermarkets a bit out of town - although we don't need anything, the bot is still really well stocked.
Sat 13th Jan 2007 - A Walk in the Mountains
Melvin and I took a bus to the Caldera visitor centre just outside El Paso (3000ft ASL) then walked up the road through pine woods to the beautifuly situated little church at El Pino. From there the pass climbs steeply and relentlessly from 3,500ft to 4800ft at the pass known as the Cumbre. This was the main route on the island before the modern roads were built - it is well constructed, paved with rocks for much of its length and engineered to twist and turn relentlessly, taking some of the sting out of the gradient.
At the Cumbre we decided we wanted to go a bit further rather than start straight down for Santa Cruz, so we walked along the ridge towards Pico de la Nieve intending to take a different route down to Santa Cruz. At 6000ft we ran out of steam, and although we found the path it looked alarmingly steep with the promise of becoming precipitous later, so we retraced our steps to the Cumbre and started down the long descent to the centre of Santa Cruz. The path was again well engineered and maintained, but by the time we came to the first road crossing near the Cumbre tunnel the strain of the unremitting gradient was beginning to tell. |
|
Church at El Pino
|
|
Melvin at El Pino
|
|
Looking down to Santa Cruz |
|
The way we came
|
|
Pico Bejanado from the pass |
|
The path down |
As we got nearer Santa Cruz the route turned into a series of grassy then paved tracks, gradually leading down thruogh old residential areas, always heading straight down for its objective, crossing and recrossing the newer roads with their big sweeping curves and gentle gradients. At one point we saw a signpost for the path we had rejected as a descent route up on the ridge . . . it was posted as 'LP2 - sendero muy peligroso' on the signpost. I retrieved the phrase book from my rucksack and translated - 'very dangerous path'. We had made a good choice.
We just missed a bus as the track crossed the main road near a stop, but as we approached the end of the path at the city's central square we were pleased that we had walked to the end. By this time my legs were barely functioning, but a large cold beer gave me the strength to complete the last quarter mile to the marina. We had now completed a descent of 6000ft from our high point on the ridge, with a total distance walked of maybe twelve miles or a little more.
After a hot shower Melvin came round for a curry and the last Madeira cake wth a dram or two. I slept well!
Sun/Mon Jan 14/15 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
Spent Sunday with aching legs . . . went up to the Club Nautico in the afternoon and lay around beside the pool working on our tans.
On Monday I spent the whole day working on the Atlantic Marinas Guide and got it up to date. Early evening we went out for beers and tapas with Melvin, who was planning to leave in the morning for Gran Canaria - but when I showed him a current grib file with nothing but easterlies for the next few days he changed his mind. We would like to get to Gran Canaria as well on our way back to La Gomera to meet friends who are arriving for a holiday on 2nd Feb, but if we don't we will get it later . . .
All the news from home suggests we are missing one of the wettest windiest Winters in recent years - so on the larger scale our timing seems to be good!
Tues 16th Jan 2007 - Volcanoes
Took the bus down to Fuencaliente to walk down to the lighthouse at the Southern tip of the island and see the two volcanoes down that end. Volcan San Antonio is a spectacular classic cinder cone - it last erupted in 1678, and Canarian pines have begun to colonise the bottom of the crater. We walked up that, then had a look round the visitors' centre, which shows the volcanic history of La Palma and the other Canaries.
We then set off down the track to the beach, but it turned out to be further than it looked on the map so we decided that instead of going all the way we would climb the Teneguia volcano to the left of the track and have our lunch on the top. Tenigua erupted in 1971, and is much starker and less 'classic' in shape than San Antonio. |
|
The San Antonio crater
|
|
The route up Tenigua
|
|
Tenigua summit |
|
Bananas on the lava flow |
The path up the shattered pile of the Tenigua volcano is precipitous in places, but the climb is worth it if you have a head for heights. From the top the green of the banana plantation by the sea below contrasts sharply with the bare black lava flow it is situated on. We sat sheltered from the wind by the summit cairn and had lunch, grateful that we had bought plenty of water with us.
The descent down the volcano is followed by the relentless trudge back up along the volcanic ash road towards the visitor centre, culminating in a 500ft pull up a steep winding dusty path on the side of the San Antonio cinder cone. Luckily cold beer is available at the top. A dusty sort of day, but well worth it to be on the top of two volcanoes in one afternoon.
Wed/Thur Jan 17/18 - Santa Cruz de La Palma
On the Wednesday I spent quite a lot of time on the web then in the afternoon Kathy and I finally took the plunge in the Club Nautico pool. We were surprised to find that it is salt water, but at a lower temperature than the sea!
On Thursday we decided it was time to leave, but the wind was still looking on the nose for Gran Canaria,so we decided to leave on the Friday for El Hierro, the smallest and most remote of the seven main Canary islands.
| 
