Go Canaries: When charter flights were the only way to get to the Canary Islands, we stuck to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Now it's far easier to explore the lesser-known parts of the archipelago, writes Marie-Claire Digby
LA PALMA . . . Isn’t that in Majorca, or is it Gran Canaria? Actually, neither answer is correct. La Palma is a stunningly beautiful island, the second smallest in size, but with a big personality, of the seven that make up the Spanish-governed Canarian archipelago, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Most of us don’t know all that much about La Palma, because until scheduled flights from Ireland to its neighbouring islands of Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura became available in recent years, most visitors to the Canaries took package tours and didn’t stray too far from their resorts.
But not any more. This quiet oasis is the most westerly and the greenest Canary island – yes, it’s the wettest, too – and it’s an easy 30-minute hop from nearby Tenerife. The Irish are now discovering its charms. A recent visitor, JJ Burke from Thurles, Co Tipperary, recorded favourable impressions in the visitors’ book at one of La Palma’s several national parks, writing: “We had to pass through heaven to get here.”
When you think of an island-hopping holiday, the Canaries might not be the first destination to come to mind. But with almost hourly inter-island flights and ferry crossings, independent travellers can cherry-pick from the best that these diverse islands have to offer, perhaps combining a couple of days chilling out and getting back to nature on the sleepy, green island of La Palma with a luxurious beachside stay in Costa Adeje, Tenerife’s most upmarket beach resort.
La Palma
They call it La Isla Bonita, and with good reason. La Palma is arrestingly beautiful, with dramatic pine-covered mountains that loom over its network of pretty hill towns with their colourful, freshly painted houses. It is said to be the steepest island in the world, proportional to its size, and the mountain peaks, which reach to almost 2,400m, are in stark contrast to the giant volcanic craters, the deepest of which, Caldera de Taburiente, in the national park of the same name, plunges to a depth of 1,500m.
La Palma is also the most volcanically active of these islands, with the most recent eruption recorded in 1971. Locals don’t seem too perturbed. “It’s not dangerous. You can easily outwalk the lava flow,” our guide said. One person died in the 1971 eruption. “It’s only when people get too curious and approach the lava that they die, from the poisonous gases,” he assured us.
The sheer scale of the volcanic activity can be seen first hand at the San Antonio volcano and visitor centre, at Fuencaliente, in the south of the island, from where you can, if your head for heights is up to it (mine wasn’t), walk around the crater towards San Antonio’s even bigger neighbour, the volcano of Tenegía.
But there are lots of things to do in La Palma that don’t involve trekking up mountains and shuffling along precipitous ledges. When you mention star-spotting in the context of a Spanish holiday, the chic beach clubs of Marbella and Puerto Banús might spring to mind, but here star-spotting has another connotation; 2009 is International Year of Astronomy, and the most important collection of astrophysics observatories in the northern hemisphere is on Roque de los Muchachos, the highest point on the island, well above cloud level.
Some 15 giant telescopes, housed in a variety of futuristic buildings and operated by scientists as far away as Mexico and Sweden, peer into space from their perch on the roof of La Palma. They rely for their scientific work on the island’s famously clear skies, undimmed by light pollution. To facilitate this, La Palma’s night-time street lights are of a downwards-pointing design and a strange, muted colour. The best place to see this special effect is from Mirador de la Concepción, a popular viewpoint from which Santa Cruz de la Palma is spread out before you, bathed in an eerie orange glow.
Access to the big boys’ telescopes is limited, but there’s nothing to stop amateur astronomers from indulging their interest here, in what is reputed to be one of the three best places in the world for astronomical observation.
La Palma’s rugged beauty is impossible to ignore, but its picturesque towns and villages are worth a visit, too. Santa Cruz de La Palma, the capital, is a well-preserved, richly endowed former trading post through which sugar cane, almonds and the island’s famous malmsey wine were exported to Europe.
Santa Cruz is a sleepy place that you can explore in a couple of hours. Take a stroll down the cobbled main street, Calle O’Daly (named after an Irish immigrant who became a big-shot lawyer), with its antiques and craft shops, admire the Italian Renaissance-style town hall, marvel at the traditional 18th-century wooden balconies and peer at the timber replica of Christopher Columbus’ ship Santa Maria and you’ve just about covered all bases.
To see island life with a bit more buzz about it, head inland, through banana plantations and avocado, almond and mango farms, to Los Llanos de Aridane, a lively town on the west coast famous for its street art – 13 huge contemporary paintings executed on the sides of buildings scattered through town.
From Los Llanos it’s a short drive down to Tazacorte port, where fish restaurants surround one of the island’s black sand beaches and you can lunch like a king on local specialities such as grilled alfonsino – which as well as being a delicious red-skinned, one-eyed fish is also the word locals use to describe sunburnt tourists.
The meaty white fish called pámpano is also worth trying, as are gambas a la gabardina – prawns in an overcoat of light, crunchy batter. Grilled goat’s cheese is served with both red and green mojo (hot) sauces, and of course you have to eat the salty, wrinkled Canarian potatoes (papas arrugadas). Local wines are of good quality, and inexpensive. Vega Norte, an aromatic dry white, comes highly recommended.
Nothing happens in a hurry on La Palma, so sit back and have another glass of wine while you wait for lunch to arrive, and make plans for island hop number two.
Tenerife
If you leave La Palma when it’s raining you’ll be escorted to your flight by an airline employee bearing a copious umbrella. It’s VIP treatment, although afforded to everyone, and it sets the tone for what’s to come if you’re heading for Costa Adeje, an upmarket resort on the southern coast of the busy, cosmopolitan island of Tenerife, with some of the smartest hotels on the island.
For sheer, hedonistic luxury, begin your Costa Adeje sojourn by checking into Vincci la Plantación del Sur, a five-star resort hotel modelled on an early-19th century colonial banana hacienda. The hotel has been feng shui’d to within an inch of its life, and it is undeniably zen, as well as discreetly glamorous.
Most rooms have fantastic sea views over Playa del Duque, and small independent villas have their own jacuzzi terrace, which, with their “bathtub menus” – champagne on ice, scattered rose petals, body products – are a favourite with honeymooners.
It can be hard to leave the cocoon of this elegant and restful hotel, but Tenerife has several towns worth exploring, as well as its own volcano, Mount Teide. A day-long tour by car can begin, just under an hour’s drive northwards, in the capital, Santa Cruz, where you’ll find all the big-name chains, such as Zara, Mango and Massimo Dutti, for shopping at prices a third lower than in Ireland, as well as plenty to occupy culture vultures, including the contemporary art museum Tenerife Arts Space; Santiago Calatrava’s award-winning Auditorio de Tenerife; and the city’s historic centre.
Or you might be lucky enough, while strolling around, to catch a glimpse of the city’s beating heart, such as the troop of young men we spotted, in the historical La Noria district, training to take part in the Semana Santa (Easter Week) celebrations, their shoulders getting accustomed to carrying the crushing weight of the religious floats they would be carrying in the nightly processions, their feet following a complicated, shuffling choreography.
Puerto de la Cruz, on the northwestern side of the island, is an elegant, flower-filled town where you can while away your day at the César Manrique-designed lido, with its swimming pools, restaurants and casino; visit the botanic gardens; or spend a pleasant hour or two having lunch in the restaurant district adjoining Calle El Lomo and Calle Cruz Verde, or in one of the atmospheric tascas, or wine bars, at the marina.
A short drive from Puerto de la Cruz is the aristocratic hill town of La Orotava, in the fertile valley of the same name and famous for its magnificent 17th-century Church of the Immaculate Conception, where you can visit a museum housing the church’s glittering array of precious metals and religious icons. The town is also famous for dramatic “carpets” made of volcanic sand, coloured salt and flowers, which cover the area in front of the town hall each year on the feast of Corpus Christi (June 11th this year).
Travelling on from La Orotava, you can stop off at Bodegas Monje, a family-run vineyard at El Sauzal, where you can take a guided tour of the impressively modern facility, by appointment. It is also possible to take part in fascinating, hands-on classes in making various types of mojo sauce, given by Dolores Monje, wife of the proprietor, Felipe, followed by a regional lunch with wine.
A minimum of 12 people is required for these events, but if you contact the vineyard (www. bodegasmonje.com), they’ll let you know if there’s a group you can join.
A pleasant drive westwards and then south, past the dramatic cliffs of Los Gigantes, will bring you back to Costa Adeje in time for a reviving massage in La Plantación del Sur’s Nammu Spa, before dinner in the hotel’s El Gourmet Canario restaurant, presided over by head chef Javier Mora.
Mora, who spent his holidays in Dublin last year, and was won over by “the cheeses, the breads and the fantastic fat mussels” – describes El Gourmet Canario’s style as “modern Canarian”. His showcase dinner for visiting Irish journalists featured Canarian potatoes served with mojo sauces; foie gras with banana; cod with onions, lobster and scallops; Iberian pork with mango and mustard; and a tasting plate of Canarian desserts. It was a sumptuous feast and a fantastic end to a whistlestop tour that showcased just how much these islands have to offer, over and above seaside resorts and nightlife.
Four days, two islands and not a mention of beaches, other than as nice spots from which to enjoy great seafood meals. Who needs them?
Go there: Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) flies to Tenerife South Airport from Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Dublin and Shannon. You'll need to catch a bus for the 40-minute trip to Tenerife North Airport to fly on to La Palma. The route is served by BinterCanarias (www.binter canarias.com) and Islas (www. islasnet.com). Fares cost about €100 return.
Where to stay and eat if you're visiting the islands
Where to stay
LA PALMA
Parador de la Palma. Ctra del Zumacal, Breña Baja, 00-34- 922-435828, www.parador.es. A new parador, or state-run hotel, just outside Santa Cruz, traditional in style, arranged around a courtyard, with beautiful gardens and a pool. Doubles €145, but check online, as rooms are sometimes offered for less than half this rate.
Teneguía Princess. Ctra de la Costa, Cerca Vieja 10, Fuencaliente de la Palma, 00-34-902-406306, www.princess-hotels.com. A huge resort, with almost 400 rooms arranged around 12 pools. Doubles cost about €100.
TENERIFE
Vincci la Plantación del Sur. Calle Roque Nublo,1, Costa Adeje, 00-34-922-717773, www.vinccihoteles.com. Luxurious colonial-style hotel with four-poster beds, giant bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes and linen-draped Balinese daybeds around one of the six pools. Doubles from €138.
Where to eat
LA PALMA
Casa Osmunda. Subida la Concepción 2, Breña Alta, La Palma, 00-34-922-412635. A very stylish former venta, or family-run roadside cafe, now transformed into a stylish, modern Palmeran restaurant. Try the tasting plate of home-made pates, and the roasted Pelibuey lamb, a hairy breed that grazes among the banana trees and produces a strong, almost muttony meat.
Parador de la Palma. (Details above). Paradors take pride in presenting the best local ingredients, and their restaurants are usually exceptionally good. In La Palma, chef Manuel Martí's regional menus are popular with residents as well as with tourists.
Restaurante Playa Mont, Puerto de Tazacorte, 00-34-922-480443, www.playamont.com. You'll feel as if you've stumbled on a real find as you sit among local families getting stuck into giant platters of fried and grilled fish and shellfish at this casual beachside restaurant. Order grilled alfonsino and pámpano. Desserts include a light, moist cake called Tres Leches, made with natural, condensed and evaporated milks.
TENERIFE
El Gourmet Canario. Vincci la Plantación del Sur (details above). The tasting menu of modern Canarian dishes (€78.75) is served in an airy dining room with comfortable sofas for after-dinner drinks, and a stunning water feature.
Marlin Restaurante. Calle Artes de Mar 1, Edificio Merlin 1, Playa San Juan, 00-34-922-832-365, www.marlin-restaurante.com. The fishing town of San Juan, a short drive from Costa Adeje, is famous for its fish restaurants, and the stylish Marlin is one of the best. Pick your fish from the display, and have it cooked any way you like.