Back from La Palma: Part I

We arrived back from La Palma on Sunday evening and I have been doing laundry ever since...we had a nice time hanging out, going to the beach, exploring, seeing family, hiking, etc. I've decided to do several shorter posts about it instead of one long one... hopefully I get them all in before we celebrate the boys 2nd birthday on Sunday!!!!

So here it is, part one:

Friday the 14th of August, we packed up the car and the boys and drove to the South of Tenerife to board the ferry to La Palma. The boat was suppose to leave at 8:00p.m. but got delayed, so we walked to the plaza and had some drinks and munchies before returning to port sometime around 9:30p.m. (WAY past the boys bed time).

Waiting for the boat:

Once we were on the boat, the boys had a blast running up and down the isles and generally goofing off. It was suppose to take 2 hours to get to our destination...

On the boat:

...and then it was announced over the P.A. system that we would soon be docking in La Gomera. What?!?! That's not what the website or the tickets said....Apparently, with the crisis, instead of having two separate routes and boats, they combined these voyages to save money. Surprise, surprise. We then learned that we would not arrive in La Palma until after midnight. So, we tried to get the boys to sleep on board, but they merely rested (unwillingly) until we arrived. Once we got them into the car though, they crashed immediately. We drove about 45 minutes to the "Villa Verde," transferred to boys to bed, and got ourselves settled in and off to bed as well.

The next day, the rest of the family arrived by plane from Tenerife. The day was mostly uneventful...hanging out around the "apartment" and then going to the beach for a little bit.

At the Beach:

On Sunday, we all went to see the house that Jaime's dad was born and raised in. It has been remodeled a bit, but the structure is still the same. Jaime's grandmother raised 7 children in this small house. Luckily, there was a doctor in the house (built in 1871) across the street.

Where Jaime's dad was born
and a view of the "doc's" house:

Next was a traditional "run" down Monte Breña which Jaime's dad used to do as a boy and Jaime and his siblings repeat when they visit La Palma. The government has planted pines and other shrubs along the hillside, so the terrain has changed a bunch since the last time they were there. Still, it was a fun tradition which all the children (except the boys) and most of the adults (Reyes and I drove the pick-up vehicles) participated in.

Running down the montaña and our lunch:

After all the morning excitement, we stopped for a yummy lunch and then headed to another beach. This beach was on the North side of the island and was a bit windy and colder so most of us enjoyed the view from the sand before heading back to the apartment.

At the beach:

Next up:

Exploring another one on Spain's 14 National Parks