Santa Cruz de la Palma, with its colorful almost Caribbean-like patchwork of buildings and houses set on cobblestone streets, is known simply as “La Palma”. With a population of about 13,000, it is the capital of the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands of Spain.
Overlooking the waterfront are the ancient ruins of the Castillo de Santa Catalina. The fort was built in the sixteenth century to defend the island and the city from foreign attack, particularly marauding pirates.
The main street in town, oddly enough, is named Calle O’Daly, after an Irish banana merchant. This pedestrian-only thoroughfare offers a pleasant walk among historic residences, shops, and cafes, to the Renaissance style Plaza España at the north end, where locals were gathered in front of the Church of the Redeemer to hear local political candidates rally the voters for the upcoming elections.
Farther down, at the end of the Plaza Alameda, is the Naval Museum, housed in a huge replica of Christopher Columbus’ flagship Santa Maria, a common icon in Spain, the country that sponsored his new world explorations. Amazingly, the original ship that set off to explore the world was only 58 feet long, and just 20 feet wide.
Beyond the city limits, the island is known for its superb stargazing experiences and has a large network of hiking paths, from easy strolls through landscape painted by lush vegetation and natural beauty, trails to natural springs, and challenging hikes up the wild local peaks and volcanos, the difficulty of which was heartily confirmed by one of my fellow passengers. Conversely, a Spanish visionary born in this city of cobblestone pedestrian streets, hiking, and steep, rough terrain, is Manolo Blahnick, designer of high-end, delicate and stylish, couture women’s footwear….beautiful, but definitely not made for walking this town.
Stargazing paths……Celestial, or Cinematic? Just wondering. Always looking for a place to do some astronomical work! Your photos are very interesting and well done.
Not sure, but there is apparently a good observatory on the island, and it is a popular astronomical destination.
So interesting to hear about the Canary Islands–my Dad was there during WWII and I’ve always wanted to visit! Thanks for the preview!
Huge thanks for sharing. Chris & I want to visit the Canary Islands as part of a transatlantic cruise that includes stops in Spain and Portugal. This posting further “wets our appetite” for that cruise.
We really like Santa Cruz de Tenerife, too….coming up in my next post!