Gooooood Morning, La Palma !

During the 2nd half of january (2011) Patricia went to La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) for a fortnight of observations with the Belgian 1.2 m Mercator telescope. The campaign wasn’t a big success, due to extremely bad weather at the 2400 m high observatory Roque de los Muchachos. But the fact that she was already on the island, was a good opportunity for me to fly over. So as soon as her observing run finished, I joined her at Santa Cruz de La Palma, where we spent a one-week holiday. As I’d never visited the island, I considered this trip to be a reconnaissance-trip. I wanted to find out what La Palma had to offer for a photographer interested in nature and wildlife photography. An internet-search had already learned me that the fauna of La Palma would not be overwhelming, to say the least… So I had decided not to take much photographic gear with me. But landscapes looked promising.
And, yes… the island’s scenery did not disappoint. We observed various magnificent sunrises from our balcony every morning. We saw impressive volcanoes in black moon-like environments. Fantastic light
would suddenly show up through low clouds or mist, lending a strange extra-ordinary look to the surroundings.
The time spent there was very fruitful, not because we took lots of pictures, but because we discovered quite a few fascinating spots where we will definitely return, waiting for sunrise or sunset, clearing storms, etc. La Palma, we will come back!