Tag Archives: La Palma

Today I’m taking you on a stroll that begins on Pérez de Brito and winds up at a castle dating back to 1685, or even 131 years earlier if you count the original structure built at that location. But before we arrive there, let’s have some colorful fun along this magnificent pedestrian street, which is a continuation of Calle O’Daly and Calle Real.

You may have noticed from past articles and myriad Fun Photo Fridays that I love photographing architectural details, and I have a particular affinity for the more mundane — interesting doors, balconies and such. Pérez de Brito really fed into that.

Once again, the hilltop views along Pérez de Brito give great shots above the heads of tourists roaming below:

And those gorgeous side streets looking toward Santa Cruz de La Palma’s black sand beaches! Here’s a view of Calle Baltasar Martín taken from Pérez de Brita:

Let’s now continue upon:

And another picturesque and colorful side street. This time it’s Calle Santa Catalina. But this photo wasn’t taken from Pérez de Brito. We’ve turned left onto Calle el Castillette.

It is at this point, the intersection of Calle el Castillette and Calle Santa Catalina, that we’re now only about 165 feet/50 meters from our next destination. You’ll know you’re just about there when you stumble across this next fun little side street, Calle Méndez Cabezola:

We’ve now arrived. Here is:

With this convenient plaque to prove it:

Let me zoom in on the English portion of this historical marker so you may read up on this wonderful castle:

For more information, here’s an informative article on this 17th century fort Castillo de Santa Catalina (La Palma). One more photo before I leave you until this week’s Fun Photo Friday. This is the castle gate with the moat bridge in the foreground:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Today I shall show you the sights continuing northeast along Calle Anselmo Pérez de Brito, then take you on a short jaunt east to the parallel Calle Avenida Maritima. Here we’ll look at the famed Los Balcones (The Balconies) near the intersection of Avenida Maritima and Calle Tedote. But, first, let’s continue on Pérez de Brito:

Again, make sure you glance down the side streets toward the black sand beach. No telling what colorful surprise awaits you:

This long pedestrian street that keeps changing names has some hills on it. I found that topping these hills allowed for some colorful compositions above the heads of most of the crowds. That makes for some fun shots, such as this:

Not that people shots are to be ignored, though. When the composition is both fun and colorful…

When you arrive at the restaurant pictured above, you’ll actually be at the Placeta (small square) de Borrero. Some neat stuff here. Even the optical shops have a certain charm:

Above La Placita Restaurante, two stories up, is a wonderful florally decorated balcony:

But if you look below that you’ll find a sign with an arrow pointing to the left. That sign will say Balcones Tipicos, which translates to “Typical Balconies.” So, what constitutes a “typical” balcony here in Santa Cruz de La Palma? Let’s follow the directions over to Avenida Maritima, hang a left there, and head on over to Stop #3 on the map you see below:

This map was so handy that I photographed it with my cell phone for later reference. But, again, what constitutes a “Typical Balcony” here? Let’s take a look at a couple of them:

Wednesday we’ll take a gander at more Pérez de Brito scenes before heading on foot north to a castle formerly surrounded by a moat.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)