Back from La Palma: Part IV

On our final full day in La Palma, each family went their separate ways. Nuria and Luis had some friends that were also on the island, so they spent the day with them, and Arturo and Reyes decided to enjoy a relaxing day at the beach.

Jaime and I wanted to do something we couldn't do anywhere else. We would have liked to visit the brand new observatory, but it was too long of a drive. We thought about several volcano hikes, but it was too hot outside and they would have been too strenuous for the boys. Almost everything we wanted to do was either too long of a drive or too much for the boys. So, we headed up into the El Pilar Refuge area not far from where we were staying.

We drove through some of the area enjoying the view and looking for a trail to the top on one of the volcanoes. After seeing the steep trail that was in full sun, we took another route recommended by a local. He told us that there were nice vistas from the mountain with the ratio and TV antennae and that, not only could we drive a good portion of the way, but that the path was easy. I don't think the driving was super easy, but it was a good recommendation overall.

We parked the car and "hiked" for a bit up to the towers and a little beyond. From the top we could even see the tip of Mt. Teide on Tenerife. We were followed by beautiful dragonflies and butterflies along the way, one of which even landed on Alex's hat. There also happened to be a 90 kilometer horse "race" going on through the area, and the boys got really excited each time they got to see the horses.

The boys walked the entire way out, but then wanted to be carried most of the way back. It was a tiring excursion for them and they fell asleep almost as soon as they were back in the car. We drove back to the main road, found a place to park, and we all napped.

Once everyone was recharged, we headed to the town of Los Llanos de Aridane for a little lunch and then it was back to the "hotel" for some swimming before the boys bed time. All the adults had one last late dinner together to mark the end of our week in La Palma.

Sunday morning we packed up everything and headed to the port to meet our boat. Luckily it was on-time, but it still stopped in La Gomera before taking us to Tenerife. We me some friends for a quick dinner in the South before driving home. As always, it's nice to travel, but it's also nice to get back to familiar surroundings and especially to your own pillow.