La Palma may hold the record as the most nicknamed island in the Canaries. While reading about La Palma before we left home, I ran across three – La Isla Bonita (the pretty island), La Isla Verde (the green island) and The Fair Isle. Although the adjectives were a little different, they all conveyed the same theme: La Palma is a beautiful place.
The island’s capital city, Santa Cruz de la Palma, is known for its centuries-old architecture and lush landscaping. Founded in 1493, it became the third largest port in Europe in the 15th century. Herb and I planned to spend our day here the same way we had on La Gomera – letting this lovely city of 15,000 residents reveal itself as we wandered with no specific destination.
A Wonderful Walk
The first thing that greeted us were lines painted in the pavement from the port to direct our way into town, just as we’d encountered on La Gomera. This time there were three – a Canary Island way of keeping things organized, we laughed. We began our walk on the esplanade that runs along a beautiful black sand beach. The sun was in full display and a tinge of humidity blanketed the air, as if to tell us that if we hadn’t yet figured it out, Santa Cruz de la Palma is a beachy kind of town.
Santa Cruz de la Palma is also a flower-filled town. Multi-colored displays cascade from trees, buildings and most especially from the colorful balconies along Avenida Marítima. Lovely greenery seemed to greet us at every turn, evidence of the city’s nicknames I had read before arriving here.
Museo Insular de la Palma
About halfway through the morning I needed a restroom, and we began looking for options nearby. We headed to a 16th-century monastery-turned-museum with a beautiful staircase I’d hoped to photograph. Yes, they had a restroom, the woman who ran the gift shop told us, but we would have to pay the 4 euro museum entry fee. We gladly obliged, happy to combine our rest stop with my staircase photo quest.
The staircase was interesting, but it turned out that what was beyond the staircase was the real travel treat. The Museo Insular de la Palma displays natural history relics from La Palma’s past, and it’s also an art museum of the most surprising kind. There are rooms upon rooms of significant art from all over Spain. It’s the kind of museum you would expect to find in Barcelona or Madrid – not in a former monastery on one of the Canary Islands!
The added treat of this happenstance was that we had no specific plans for the day. We could stay as long as we liked, and I think we managed to explore just about every room. As we were leaving, the woman in the gift shop asked where we were from. When I told her we were visiting from California, she seemed almost taken aback. “Really?” she said “We don’t get many visitors from North America.” North America??…I was expecting her to say California or even The U.S., but an entire continent? This had clearly been a morning of surprises.
A Final Thought
As we walked back to the ship, I kept playing this unexpected experience over in my mind. I went looking for a restroom and found a treasure trove of art. It sounds kind of unbelievable, and yet, discovering the unexpected is really one of the great joys of travel, isn’t it?
It’s a shame you did not have the chance to venture further into our beautiful island. On a cruise, it is tempting to stay in Santa Cruz, due to the limited time available.
La Palma has so much to offer the visitor, the volcanic landscape, the Caldeira de Taburiente National Park, and Los Tilos to name but a few. A true hidden gem!
Mike, thanks for stopping by The Modern Postcard! I know what you mean about time limitations when traveling. We had a wonderful day exploring Santa Cruz and would love to visit other parts of the island on a longer stay. You live in a beautiful part of the world!
Wonderful, Mary, and an effective nudge to those of us who prefer to plan everything in advance, reminding us not to underestimate the benefits of serendipity! Some of our most memorable moments have come from similar situations, or times when we’ve spotted an opportunity and been prepared to *change our plans* at last minute!! As you can imagine, that so very rarely happens! However, your lovely discovery was a fabulous find and I especially loved those two small works by Miró, one of my favourite artists whose work appears so simple yet so full of energy. Thank you for sharing that find in particular x
Hahaha, thanks Gill…I think that nudge applies to me as well! Although in support of those of us who love to plan ahead, I may not even have known that the museum existed if I hadn’t had that staircase on my list! The museum is tucked away in a courtyard next to a church and is easy to miss. So glad you enjoyed seeing the Miró pieces. We were stunned to happen upon them! This is definitely a “must see” spot if you ever find yourselves on La Palma. The restrooms are clean and pristine, too.😊
That last one is a most important detail, Mary 🤣
😉 🤣