I am pleased to say Gill liked it, I had been talking the island up after visiting last year so was worried she might be disappointed. It is totally different from the other Canary Islands we have visited (Tenerife and Grand Canaria), the geography is similar but there are not as many tourists and those which do visit are here for the walking, not sitting on a beach drinking pints of lager.
There are very few beaches which is what has spared La Palma from the mass tourism on the other islands. The cost of living here also seems reasonable, meals out with wine have been a little lower than at home, typically 25 euros each and incidentals like coffee are not expensive. The restaurant shown left was one of our lunchtime favourites which we visited twice.
A big part of our holidays is the food, we had low expectations of the all inclusive hotel during the first week, it was not too bad. We had one poor meal in the second week but most were well cooked, simple meals. The waiter introduces him or herself then explains what is 'possible' these are the daily specials which are probably better than what is on the menu.
On our last night we visited a restaurant right in the centre of Santa Cruz which was highly rated on Trip Advisor, it had five tables, could probably seat 14 people, it was full and at least five couples were turned away, we had booked two days before.
There was no menu, the owner came and sat next to us and described what they had to offer this evening 'what is possible', we made our choices, she then recommended the wine, we accepted. We had not the slightest idea as to how much this would cost. The final bill was 70 euros, cheaper than the equivalent meal in the Castle Hotel and the food was excellent.
The accommodation was also quite good value although a little rough and ready. The last few nights we stayed in an apartment right in the centre of Santa Cruz, pictured above.
It was in a perfect location, spacious, slightly old fashioned but the shower was useless. On the plus side it only cost 42 euros a night.
The walking is wonderful, particularly the contrast between different parts of the island and the tops of the mountains over 6,000ft and the lower areas around the coast.
The guidebook we used was good but it was helped by the excellent waymarking on the footpaths.
The picture left shows Gill who seems to be smiling right on the edge of a volcano 6,000ft up and no other walkers in sight.
There are plenty of Spanish and German tourists, not so many British but we did not encounter any problems with not being able to speak Spanish.
We did have a couple of wet days but the temperature seems to always be warm, none of the places we stayed had central heating and we ate outside most days, only the threat of rain made us go inside.
So is there anything wrong with the island? Just one cloud hangs over La Palma, a terrible scourge which has led to the extinction of all the furniture and household retailers, it has the devils initials – IKEA.
Every cup, saucer, glass or piece of new furniture comes from a big IKEA store on the island. Even the huge chain hotel we stayed in during the first week got all their crockery from them. I have never forgiven IKEA for trying to swindle me out of £5 twenty years ago so I wince every time I pick up one of their cups or glasses.
Despite this we will be back, it is a great place for a low cost winter break with a bit of exercise and no hassle.