Today (Thursday) we drove up to the edge of the volcano at Cumbrecita where we cycled last week and did a very touristy route round the edge. It is touristy for a reason, it is spectacular and with few tourists, great. Our photographs don’t do the views justice, the height difference from the bottom of the crater to the top is 5,000ft.
What amazed us was the steep road up there.
Last week we cycled it with ease, today the car was in 2nd gear most of the way. I am having to damp down any thoughts of buying similar electric bikes, they cost £4,500 each!
Yesterday we packed up and moved 100 yards to a different house where we have booked to stay until Friday week. It is an old house and reminds us of the Porch House.
Surprisingly the owners rent the whole place out on Air BnB, I don’t think they live on the island and just employ someone to sort out the cleaning, so we have the whole place to ourselves.
It has an old fashioned kitchen (but with dishwasher, freezer, oven and induction hob) as well as a real pizza oven although that is fixed shut, understandably to stop me playing with it.
There are three bedrooms, dining room, huge living room, roof terrace and a courtyard. It has an open plan core like the Porch House but no glass in the roof so creating a nice cool area in the middle of the house which is typical of the old houses in Santa Cruz. It was not available before otherwise we would have booked it.
The threatening noises about people entering the UK having to quarantine in hotels has got us worrying. Quarantining at home for 10 days is fine, being stuck in a hotel room is likely to test our marriage so we are having another attempt at getting a flight home.
Easyjet cancelled the last one and I am only 50% sure this one will actually run but we have booked to fly home on 5th February. We will of course need to arrange covid tests and a one way car hire from Gatwick (the only place they fly to at the moment) but such details can wait until nearer the time. The biggest issue is that the only ferry which still operates between the islands leaves La Palma at 5am and the local flights are not a lot better.