July 2024 Recap: La Palma and Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
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In July, we said goodbye to the Island of Tenerife and flew to the Island of La Palma. We enjoyed our five weeks in Tenerife but were also looking forward to seeing what La Palma was like. After three weeks in La Palma, we headed to Patalavaca on the southern coast of the Island of Gran Canaria.
July was a pleasant combination of discovering two new islands, hours spent lying by pools, and a bit of planning.
First Stop: La Palma Jardin
We stayed at La Palma Jardin, a luxurious, secluded compound that lived up to the jardin name. The abundance of plants was a delightful change from the often barren landscape of the Canary Islands.
We had a one-bedroom apartment with a private terrace, but there were many peaceful places to relax. The complex has two pools, a hot tub, a spa, a tennis court, a gym, and a game room. It is quiet, especially compared to the Hollywood Mirage. You can read about that in our June recap.
The staff at La Palma Jardin did an excellent job. There was not one thing we could take issue with. Amazingly, this only cost $96 per night. We booked directly through the La Palma Jardin website.
Taking Care of Kitties
We only saw one cat during our five weeks in Tenerife, so we were delighted to find several cats and a litter of kittens at La Palma Jardin.
We made sure they had plenty of food and water. They visited us every morning and evening, meowing for food. After they became comfortable with us, they hung around.
Not the Best Day
A week into our La Palma stay, we had a less-than-ideal day. Fortunately, they’ve been few and far between.
The day started with an unwelcome discovery. We were planning to go to Tokyo in late August. We were looking for flights and lodging when we found out that Japan has very stringent rules about which medications and how much medication a visitor can bring in. Some prescription drugs that are legal in the U.S. are illegal in Japan, and you must get approval before you arrive if you are bringing in more than one month’s worth of medicine. There are also restrictions on cosmetics and contact lenses.
Since we both travel with enough medication for many months, and it usually isn’t in the original containers, we were concerned. There may be little risk of being singled out, but we don’t want to take a chance. So we had to pivot.
After a few days of throwing around ideas, we decided to start our Asia journey in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, whose drug rules are strict but less so than Japan’s. This gives us a chance to learn more about this issue and, if necessary, store our extra medications in Malaysia when we head to Japan.
The information about Japan bummed us out, so we drove 45 minutes to have lunch at a highly recommended seafront restaurant. According to their website, the restaurant was open. When we got there, it was locked up tight. It was in a tiny village with no other appealing places to eat.
We had seen a slightly larger community on the drive, so we looked there for a place to eat. We couldn’t find one open restaurant as we drove through the narrow, one-way streets.
Our next stop was the town of Los Llanos, very close to where we were staying. One of the restaurants we had wanted to try was open, so we headed there. We had sirloin steak. The steak was served rare, and we cooked it to our liking on a little stove at our table. It’s a fun concept, but it was the toughest sirloin we’ve ever had.
Steve was good about taking this all in stride, but I was glum.
We’d had enough, so we headed home. There was only one small problem. The gate in the parking garage wouldn’t read our ticket, and we couldn’t get out. A lady saw our dilemma and called for help. That was enough for one day; I quit.
The Newest Volcano
Two days later, all was right with the world as we embarked on a tour to see the newest volcano in the Canary Islands. Volcano Tajogaite was formed by an eruption in September 2021. The eruption lasted for 85 days, and 3,000 buildings were destroyed. Surprisingly, only one life was lost. Even now, almost three years later, you can often see smoke rising from the cone.
Here is a video of the lava swallowing a pool and houses.
The tour involved hiking through a protected area over the ashes from the eruption. It could be tough at times since it was like walking on loose sand, but the views were worth it.
Our guide, Federica, did a great job of explaining the area’s geology and the eruption’s effects. This tour was through La Palma Natural. You can book it here.
Exploring Los Llanos
The largest city in La Palma is Los Llanos de Aridane (pop. 21,000). It was a short drive from our apartment, and we went there frequently. The old town reminded me of St. Augustine, Florida.
Doctor’s Appointments
Because of Japan’s strict rules about medication, Steve and I decided to get three months’ worth of our prescriptions in La Palma. This way, they would be in the original packaging, and we would have copies of the prescriptions. We were also due for bloodwork, so Steve found a doctor who could do this.
We saw Dr. Dominik Reister at MediCenter La Palma and recommend him to anyone who might find themselves in need of medical care in this part of the world. He speaks Spanish, German, and English.
We continue to be stunned by the low cost of medical care outside the U.S. The cost for each of us was $130 without insurance.
I filled five prescriptions for three months each for $330 without insurance. This is $100 less than I would pay in the U.S. with insurance and more than $3,000 less than I would pay in the U.S. without insurance.
A Volcanic Tube Tour
We took a second tour with La Palma Natural, this time to explore a volcanic tube called Cueva de Las Palomas. Again, Federica was our guide. The tube was formed when the San Juan Volcano erupted in 1949. It is around 10 feet or 3 meters wide and can only be accessed with a guide.
A volcanic tube (or lava tube) is formed when lava flows over an area and the outside cools and hardens when it comes in contact with air, while the lava inside remains hot and keeps flowing.
The two-hour tour included an hour in the tube as we walked 1870 feet or 570 meters of it. We learned about the various formations and the animals that live in the tube. You can see the tour and book it here.
A Day Trip to Santa Cruz de La Palma
One day, we drove across the island to the city of Santa Cruz de La Palma (pop. 17,000), the island’s capital. We spent several hours strolling the streets near the coast, as these have mostly retained their colonial architecture.
We saw several depictions of dwarfs in town. They relate to a tradition in Santa Cruz de La Palma called the Dance of the Dwarfs.
Caldera de Taburiente National Park
Toward the end of our stay in La Palma, we visited Caldera de Taburiente National Park. I wish we had gone there sooner. If we had, we surely would have gone back.
The main attraction in the park is a huge volcanic caldera. A caldera is a depression that forms after a volcano partially collapses. This caldera is 6 miles or 10 km wide and 6,560 feet or 2,000 meters deep.
The scenery is stunning, and there are several hiking trails. We hiked the Lomo de Las Chozas, an easy trail.
Entrance to the park is free, but there are a limited number of parking spots, and they must be reserved in advance.
Leaving La Palma
We loved our three-week stay at La Palma Jardin so much it was hard to leave. It is one of the most perfect places we have ever stayed. Leaving was even harder because it meant saying goodbye to the cats and kittens we had befriended during our stay.
We headed to our third island, Gran Canaria. We are currently at Villa del Mar, and even though it cost the same as La Palma Jardin, there is no comparison.
Our apartment is close to the coast. The cool thing about the Canaries is that they are so mountainous that it’s easy to get an ocean view.
We have a spacious apartment with a huge terrace (360 square feet or 33 square meters), but the restaurant and the pool bar are closed. Everything is clean, comfortable, and safe, but compared to La Palma Jardin, it is a letdown.
Of the four accommodations we had in the Canaries, three were wonderful, and this one is okay. To paraphrase the singer Meatloaf, “three out of four ain’t bad.”
Getting Settled in Patalavaca
When Steve and I arrived in the Canary Islands at the end of May, we had eight weeks of accommodations booked. We had agreed that if we liked it, we would stay four more weeks. This would bring us to 84 days in the Schengen Area, six less than the 90 days allowed.
After we decided to stay the extra four weeks, we waited too long to book. It was a busy time of year because of summer vacation, so the choices were limited by the time we booked. In hindsight, we should have booked something that could have been canceled if we had decided not to stay the extra four weeks.
This is why we ended up in the small area of Patalavaca at the Villa del Mar.
Our first week in this area consisted of a lot of strolling. We walked along the ocean several times, taking in the omnipresent resorts, the beautiful beaches, and the seaside promenades.
We also spent oodles of hours planning our next two stops. We will head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August, and in September, we will go to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Maspalomas Shock and Awe
We had to visit Maspalomas, one of the most popular tourist towns in Gran Canaria. First, we shopped at the Yumbo Center, a sprawling open-air mall, then we headed to the Cita Park shopping center. It was there that we realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore.
Besides being LGBTQ friendly, it is popular with swingers. This was the first time in our travels that we saw swinging openly promoted.
The Maspalomas Dunes
The best place to go in Maspalomas, if you aren’t a swinger, is the Maspalomas Dunes. When I first mentioned them to Steve, he brushed it off, saying, “I don’t want to look at sand dunes.” But these aren’t any sand dunes. These are epic sand dunes. Once I showed him a photo, he changed his mind.
After the shock of the swinger clubs, the dunes awed us. They cover 1,000 acres or 404 hectares. Some are 80 feet or 25 meters high! Although many people walk on them, it is not an easy feat.
One way to get to the dunes is to go to the front of the Hotel Riu Palace Maspalomas. The hotel is built with a pass-through that leads to a plant-lined walkway to the dunes. It is an eight-minute walk from the Cita Park shopping center, but it is a world away.
What’s Next?
We’ll spend the first three weeks of August in Patalavaca, then endure about 24 hours of travel to Kuala Lumpur. We plan to be there for four weeks. It isn’t far from Singapore and its fantastic airport, so perhaps a side trip is in order.
Until Next Time
Steve and I hope you enjoyed catching up with our travels. Have you been to the Canary Islands? If so, please share your experiences in the comment section below. We’d also love to hear about things that shocked you while traveling.
Happy traveling,
Linda
Update
As I was about to publish this article, I got some good news. I learned from another traveling couple who had just entered Japan that they didn’t have any issues going through customs.
Travel Resources
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