12th of December 2020
Although the Dutch government advised people to stay home during the Christmas holiday of 2020, my partner and I decided to leave. We both enjoy spending Christmas in a quiet environment, away from the shopping madness. A friend of mine frequently visits volcanic La Palma and told me about the endless hiking possibilities on this impressive mountainous island, which is part of the Canary Archipelago. We both got curious and investigated if flights were going to this non-touristy part of the Canaries. As most flights were cancelled in The Netherlands, we looked at possibilities just over the border. From Düsseldorf a flight was going with Eurowing, straight to Santa Cruz de La Palma. We didn’t think twice and booked. In December 2020 we were not yet vaccinated, so the preparations for the trip were a bit stressful; Covid apps, Health Declarations, QR barcodes and most important the Corona test, which had to be done within 72 hours before departure. We were packed and ready to go, but without the negative test result we couldn’t travel. Our flight was going early Saturday morning and on Friday afternoon the results were finally sent to us! Hurray!
We had arranged a rental place via http://www.lapalma-oceaanzicht.nl. Villa Laguna was situated not far the village Todoque, on the western part of the island. That village is now completely destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Cumbre Vieja.
After collecting our car from company Narki, at the airport of Santa Cruz, we drove the curvy road to the other side of La Palma. The house didn’t have an official address; you just count the side streets!
Our house was a typical Spanish holiday home, but with a huge terrace, garden and covered (freezing) swimming pool. The best part was the view; the banana plantations (which are now covered by molten rock!) down below and fabulous sunsets at the end of the day.
Our adventure started!