Question 1

La Palma on Your Own

Accepted Answer

From the port you walk straight into the old town of Santa Cruz, where the main street, the Calle Real, passes many of the historic buildings. A bus to the beach at Los Cancajos is the simple add-on. Calle Real: The main street is made up of Calle O'Daly and Calle Anselmo Pérez de Brito. Look for the Palacio Sotomayor, with its front of basalt stone, and the Casa Principal de Salazar, with four floors of balconies. Plaza de España: The square with the church of El Salvador, the town hall and a stone fountain is the main example of Renaissance architecture in the Canary Islands. Avenida Marítima: The old wooden balconies along the seafront avenue, made of Canary pine, give the city one of its best-known views. The ship museum: On Plaza de La Alameda stands the Barco de la Virgen, a replica of Columbus's ship, the Santa María, that houses the island's naval museum. Los Cancajos: Bus line 500 runs from Avenida de los Indianos to Los Cancajos, one of the island's two main beach resorts. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Watch the clock: The Canary Islands keep Western European Time, one hour behind mainland Spain, so check whether all-aboard is given in ship's time or island time. Carry photo ID: In Spain you must show photo ID if a police officer asks for it.

Question 2

Getting Around the Island

Accepted Answer

La Palma has about 1,200 km of roads, including a paved road of about 180 km around the island, and buses link the main towns. A hire car is the practical way to reach the remote mountain and forest areas. A road crosses the island from Santa Cruz to Tazacorte on the west coast through a pair of tunnels, the longer one 2,880 meters. The main roads are paved and in good condition, but many have sharp bends and some are very narrow. A road climbs all the way to the Roque de los Muchachos at 2,426 meters. Access is restricted at night because of the observatory, and roads near the top can close for a few days in winter because of snow. Taxis are available in Santa Cruz.

Question 3

Food and Drink

Accepted Answer

Canarian cooking is built around papas arrugadas, small potatoes boiled in very salty water until their skins wrinkle, served with mojo sauces. La Palma adds its own goat dishes, almond sweets and wine. Mojo picón is a spicy red sauce made with chili and garlic, and mojo verde is its green partner. Both are also served with fish. Cabrito is young goat, usually fried. Cabra is older goat, usually stewed. Bienmesabe is a very sweet dessert of ground almonds and honey, and its name means something like "it tastes good to me". Gofio is a grain flour eaten at breakfast or with potaje, a local stew. A barraquito is espresso with sweetened condensed milk, sometimes with a shot of liqueur. The island has many vineyards, and its wine is sold in specialist shops and most supermarkets. Rum is also made locally.

Question 4

Tipping in Spain

Accepted Answer

Tipping is not mandatory in Spain and is not considered customary, and no service charge is added to the bill. The currency is the euro. If the service in a mid-range or better restaurant was exemplary, 5 to 10 percent is one suggestion. Some taxi drivers ask foreign passengers for a tip, especially on airport trips, but a tip is in no way required.

Question 5

Festivals

Accepted Answer

The best-known celebration in Santa Cruz is the Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves, held every five years since 1676, when the image of the island's patron saint is carried down from her sanctuary above the city. The last one was in July 2025 and the next is due in July 2030. The Danza de Enanos is the high point of the Bajada: a group of men dance in costume and, within seconds, turn into small, fast-dancing dwarfs. When the Virgin reaches the Barco de la Virgen, a short play in verse, the Dialogue between the Castle and the Ship, is performed, as it has been at every Bajada since 1885. Los Indianos, on Carnival Monday, pokes fun at islanders who came home rich from Cuba and Latin America. People dress in white linen and Panama hats, dance to Cuban music and throw clouds of talcum powder. On May 3, the city's founding day, the many crosses in its streets and squares are decorated with flowers and jewelry for the Fiestas de la Cruz.

Question 6

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Before the Spanish conquest the island was called Benahoare, and its people, whose ancestors are believed to have come from the Berbers of North Africa, lived in twelve cantons. Santa Cruz stands in what was the canton of Tedote. The Spanish first landed in 1405, but resistance lasted until 1493, when Alonso Fernández de Lugo defeated Tanausú, the last king, by luring him out on the pretext of talks. Santa Cruz was founded on May 3, 1493, at a sheltered bay that suited ships. In the 16th century the port was the last stop on the route to the Americas, and it rose to be the third port of the Spanish Empire after Seville and Antwerp. In 1553 the French pirate François Le Clerc, known as Peg Leg, destroyed the city, which was then rebuilt and fortified. In 1558 Philip II set up the first Juzgado de Indias here, where Spanish ships trading with the Americas had to register. The Castillo de Santa Catalina was built between 1683 and 1692 to guard the city against corsairs. In 1773, after a lawsuit brought by the merchants Dionisio O'Daly and Anselmo Pérez de Brito, Santa Cruz held the first town council election by popular vote in Spain. The two streets of the Calle Real now carry their names. The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory was inaugurated in 1985, and the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias was dedicated there in 2009. On September 19, 2021, an eruption began on the Cumbre Vieja ridge. It lasted 85 days and destroyed more than 2,600 buildings. To learn more ashore: the naval museum inside the Barco de la Virgen, on Plaza de La Alameda.

Question 7

La Palma with Children

Accepted Answer

A beach near the capital suits younger children, while older ones who like stars or volcanoes can head up to the observatory at the island's highest point. Allow plenty of time for the drive, because the island's roads have many sharp bends. Younger children: Los Cancajos, on the east coast, has a black-sand beach of small coves, about 624 meters long. School age: The Caldera de Taburiente, the vast hollow in the north of the island, gave geology the word caldera after a German geologist visited in 1815. Guided hikes go into it. Teenagers: The road to the Roque de los Muchachos ends among the telescopes of an international observatory, and a visitor center opened there in December 2021. The Caldera de Taburiente National Park can be entered only on foot, and walking on the riverbed in the winter months can be dangerous because rain brings flash floods. Look out for lizards: the La Palma giant lizard was thought to be extinct until it was found again in 2007.

La Palma, Canary Islands

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Arriving in La Palma