2016 Hike La Palma Volcan Teneguia and San Antonio, Rother nr 46

0930 hrs 28th September 2016 drove with Tom and Annie from the Santa Cruz marina to Lo Canarios at the southern tip of La Palma. 

This map is from the ViewRanger App

 

Parked on the road leading to the Centro de Visitantes Volcan San Antonio 

 

 

and walked south down the black volcanic ash track towards the Faro de Fuencaliente - Hike nr 46 Rothers Walking Guide.

 

 

 

 

Our first objective, the Teneguia Volcano which was formed by an eruption on 26th October 1971 and continued till 18 November

 

 The Teneguia Volcano

 

Climbing the Teneguia Volcano 

 

The summit of  the Teneguia Volcano - 439 m

 

The flatish land along the coast here is a coastal shelf formed by the lava flow from the 1971 eruption - it is now used to grow Bananas

 

The saltpans and Punta de Fuencaliente Lighthouse were amazingly not affected by the 1971 lava flows.

 

Looking northwards at the San Antonio Volcano which erupted in 1677

 

After climbing the Teneguia Volcano we returned to the car via the San Antonio Volcano. 

This involved climbing a very steep volcanic ash slope

 

Almost at the top

 

Looking into the pine forested San Antonio crater from the crater rim

 

Continuing clockwise around the crater rim

 

Looking back at Volcano Teneguia

 

Continuing around the rim

 

 

Looking over the crater to Los Canarios

 

 

After returning to the car we stopped at this Bodega to sample the famous Malmsey desert wine - this is the largest area for the Malmsey vines on La Palma - growing on the volcanic ash from the 1677 San Antonio eruption. The vines on La Palma were planted in the 15th century by the first European settlers.    Phylloxera devastated two thirds of the mainland vineyards in the 19th century. The relative isolation of the Canary Islands protected them from this disaster thus conserving all the strains that had become acclimatised to the islands

 

We then drove to the Faro de Fuencaliente - there are two - the old disused one predates the 1971 eruption

 

Close to the lighthouse is a large area of saltpans where sea salt is still being comercially produced

 

There is a 30 minute selfguided tour of the saltpans where several information boards

 

Looking north towards the volcanos

 

 

Passed this neat little shrine? in the lava on the way back to the north