In 2007 Murray (my husband who passed away in October 2020) and I spent a month in the small village of Tazacorte on La Palma Island, part of the Canary Islands. In disbelief I have watched recent videos of the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption which began on September 19. The eruption continues and a recent BBC article describes what has happened:
Lava flowed down the mountain and through villages after the crack opened in the Cumbre Vieja volcano on 19 September, throwing jets of lava and ash into the air.
The red-hot liquid rock destroyed everything in its path – empty villages, schools and hundreds of homes – before reaching the sea 10 days later.
Farmers have been racing to save crops of bananas, avocados and grapes before the lava reaches plantations – which are rich with volcanic, fertile soil – on which many islanders depend for their livelihoods.
The Canary Islands Volcano Institute has suggested the eruption could last between 24 and 84 days.
It appears that over 1,100 buildings were destroyed and in the small village of Tazacorte, which we got to know and adore, a resident was quoted in one of the papers saying, “The lava ploughed through on its way to the sea, wrecking houses and farms.”
The black sand beach of Tazacorte makes a nice curve along the shoreline and along with the rocks, it let us know that volcanos created the island and eruptions had happened as recently as 1949 and 1971. We often walked alongside the beach which was really like walking three or four blocks in New York City and we would sit and watch the display of splashes as the waves hit the crop of rocks jutting out into the Atlantic. I don’t remember going swimming or even sitting on the sand nor seeing many people venture into the water. It may have been because it was February or that it just wasn’t an ideal place to swim. I do clearly remember many of us walking along the beach.
We had rented a modestly furnished one-bedroom apartment in a bright blue three-story building about one block from the main street and just another block to the beach. I spent a good deal of time doing pastel paintings while Murray reviewed Spanish for an upcoming few weeks in Spanish school in Granada.
Sometimes we would go sightseeing by picking up the nearby bus that made a circle of the island. One time we took it to the overlook of the Cumbre Vieja volcano and wandered around the National Park before taking the bus back. Another time we took the bus in the opposite direction and took a delightful hike that led us to a different bus stop for our return to Tazacorte. (Before we had departed for what was becoming an annual two-and-a-half months spent in Spanish-speaking countries, I had discovered a wonderful book describing hikes on La Palma including how to begin and end using buses. It came in very handy!)
After reading about the recent volcanic eruption and deciding that I wanted to write a blog remembering our time on La Palma I wondered if I could find any of the pictures that Murray had taken while we were there. Much to my delight when I went to a hard drive that he had prepared before leaving Santa Fe in January 2020, I discovered all of our trips neatly organized in folders with four folders featuring La Palma. I also had kept one of the pastel paintings I did in the winter of 2007 and I just had it framed. It is now hanging in one of the bedrooms here in Costa Rica.
As I end with photos I feel a deep gratitude for having shared this adventure with Murray, and appreciation that he so neatly organized the pictures so I could find them in just a few minutes. And deep prayers to the citizens of La Palma and particularly Tazacorte that they may be able to rebuild their lives on this beautiful island.
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