North from El Time, along an increasingly poor road through the not very interesting villages of Tijarafe and Puntagorda, is the fascinating site of ancient stone inscriptions, Fuente de la Zarza (64 miles beyond Puntagorda, near Garafia). Once presumed to be the work of the Guanches, it now looks as if these extraordinary spirals and whorls, like giant fingerprints, are immeasurably more ancient, perhaps dating from 1800-1500 BC. Some authorities point out that they bear certain simi-larities to Bronze Age inscriptions in other primitive Atlantic cultures, and surmise that they were linked to religious or fertility rites, but who exactly drew these patterns and what they really mean will probably never be known.
Between Garafia and Barlovento in the north of the island there are several picturesque but poorly surfaced roads along the forested outer flanks of La Caldera. For the moment we’ll continue south from El Time. At the mouth of the great Barranco de Las Angustias is Puerto de Tazacorte, 5 miles from Los Llanos. This is where Alonso de Lugo landed in 1492; now it is the small port of Tazacorte itself, a small inland town 24- miles away and containing more of those attractive old colonial mansions. At Puerto there is a beach and one or two cafes, and here you can hire a boat to visit La Cueva Bonita about 7 miles up the coast. This natural grotto penetrated by Atlantic waves, the name means Pretty Cave’, has been favourably compared with famous Blue Grotto in Azores Archipealgo. South along the coast is Puerto Naos; with its fine sandy black beach and good swimming, this little fishing port looks like being a favourite future holiday resort and already the tourist development has begun.
At the far south of the island lies the small town of Fuencaliente, surrounded by pine forests and vineyards, this is La Palma’s chief wine-producing area, famous for its malvasia. The town’s name derives from the hot springs that once bubbled to the surface round here but these have long since disappeared amid frequent volcanic eruptions. The southernmost point, Punta de Fuencaliente, is an arid volcanic wasteland, scene of La Palma’s most recent eruptions, with the tourist attractions of Volcan Teneguia (last erupted 1971, causing local evacuation but no casualties) and Vold’ San Antonio just to the south of town.
Now the main road heads north up the eastern side of the dorsal ridge, with a branch off to Cueva Belmaco, more prehistoric inscriptions and marvellous views, and a high road heading for Villa de Mazo, usually known simply as Mazo. Just below Mazo on the coast is La Palma’s airport, near Brefia Baja, centre of a growing tourist resort with a beach and natural swimming pools and a steady encroachment of holiday villas especially around Playa de los Cancajos.
From here the road north into Santa Cruz, 5 miles away, enters the small crater of la Caldereta and passes through a tunnel under Risco de la Concepcion on the crater rim.
One final excursion from the capital follows the C.830 north from town, skirting the lower slopes of the mountains, twisting and turning around the steep sides of the barrancos. This area is even greener than the north-west coast, offering splendid views down to the sea and crossing pretty valleys full of trickling streams and waterfalls. Near the small town of Los Sauces (`the Willows’), heart of rich agricultural land growing sugarcane and vines, are the coastal villages of San Andres and Puerto Espindola, with natural rocky swimming pools and small fishing ports. Inland from Los Sauces, the dense subtropical jungle of Bosque de los Tilos contains some of La Palma’s richest native vegetation, including the laurels (tilos) and giant ferns. Beyond Los Sauces, the road continues to Barlovento, northernmost village in the island, then meanders across the numerous barrancos in the north to Garafia, near Fuente de la Zarza.