La Palma an island steeped in history

THE rain lies like a soft gauze curtain across the view of the terraced mountains and the white houses of the island of La Palma, westernmost of the Canary Islands.

Out over the sea, the prospect is clearer, lit by a weak sun, a pellucid grey light filtered through low cloud, with areas of blue sky.

Far beyond the horizon lies the Caribbean and the Americas. This was the island from which the Spanish caravelles set out on exploration, followed by warships carrying troops to conquer, and settlers to colonise, the peoples and lands of the New World, which, of course, the conquistadors claimed to be theirs.