Santa Cruz de La Palma

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Thu 14 Oct 2010 10:07
When we arrived in La Palma, we realised that we were back in Spain as everything closed down in the afternoon for a siesta. We decided to do some sightseeing around Santa Cruz before going for a siesta ourselves. We then went back into town in the evening once everything had reopened. The marina is brand new and has only been open 3 months and there are very few boats here at the moment. The town itself is very pretty and quaint with lots of narrow streets. La Palma is known as 'La Isla Bonita', or the pretty island, as it is very green despite being very volcanic like the other Canarian Islands. It also has a large hole in the middle of the island, a volcanic crater called Caldera de Taburiente, which is 27 kilometres round. There are a few volcanos in the south of the island, most of which are still active, the most recent eruption being in 1971. We have arranged a hire car for the next three days so we can tour around.

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The main square in Santa Cruz

Whilst walking round the town this morning it was agreed that I needed a haircut, so we found a nice looking hairdressers. The hairdresser unfortunately spoke little or no English and I should have been sensible and realised at that point that this could end in disaster, but no, I decided I would make an appointment and I was told to go back in 20 minutes - what's the worst that could happen, I mean I only wanted a quick trim. I did think I was going to be in for a lengthy wait when I returned and found that there was a lady in front of me in the queue - it was a bit like mens hairdressing, no appointments and you just wait your turn, but not to be. The lady in front of me had long hair half way down her back, but in less than 20 minutes, it was washed, cut into a short bob, blow dried and straightened - my turn.
I asked for a trim, for my hair to be a little bit shorter than it was, using my fingers to show her how much I wanted cutting off, about 1cm apart, as you do. However, my attempts at explanation were obviously lost in translation, what I ended up with is hair about 1 cm long all over, I even have a few baldy looking patches it is so short!! John thinks I look like GI Jane, but I disagree as her hair was definitely longer than mine! I had a terrible fit of the giggles when I realised quite how short my hair was and I got a few strange stares walking home laughing to myself. However, as they say every cloud has a silver lining, in this case there are a few, I need less shampoo, it dries before I am even out of the shower, and I have saved money as well as it won't need cutting again for about 6 months!

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My new look!! I even need to put suncream on my head to stop it burning!!