SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 16 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Cabildo de La Palma has proceeded this Friday to reopen the Interpretation Center of Caños de Fuego, which complements the work of the Roque de Los Muchachos Visitor Center and the El Tendal Archaeological Park.
The Caños de Fuego Interpretation Center was closed due to the eruption. Being located in the neighborhood of Las Manchas, it had to live with the gases, the earthquakes and the tons of ash that the volcano spewed.
“It is a reference information center on volcanic eruptions and cavities; a place of reference to learn more about our history, while highlighting the environmental importance of the fragility and conservation of the ecosystems that surround the Center”, explained the Minister of Cabildo Tourism, Raúl Camacho.
The Caños de Fuego Volcanic Cavities Interpretation Center was born as a result of the discovery of a set of volcanic tubes in the Las Manchas area. Tubes from the solidification of the lava emanated in the eruption of the San Juan Volcano in 1949. But the last eruption has given this enclave a new attraction.
“The flows of this last volcano rest almost parallel to those of San Juan. It is the mixture of the old and the new. Of history and a sad present,” added the counselor, recalling that in recent months the Cabildo, In addition to adapting and conditioning the Center for the public, it has incorporated an initial room in which unpublished material on the last volcano can be seen.
The Center has a main exhibition area with visual references to the geological forms of lava and volcanic tubes; an audiovisual room; guided access to visit the volcanic tube ‘Cueva del Vidrio’; a souvenir shop; a panoramic viewpoint at the top, and also views towards the new volcano.
In addition, outside the Center, crossing the road where it is located, is the system of floating walkways that give access to the floating glass viewpoint and the entrance to the ‘Cueva de Las Palomas’ Volcanic Tube.
Thanks to the reopening of Caños de Fuego, the Island has its Network of Interpretation Centers operational. On December 19, while the emergency was still in operation, the Cabildo inaugurated the Roque de Los Muchachos Visitor Center.
With an investment of close to 6 million euros from the Canary Islands Development Fund (Fdcan), the Cabildo opened a door to the universe and laid the first stone for recovery after the volcanic eruption.
As the president of the Cabildo, Mariano Zapata, said at the opening ceremony, the Roque de Los Muchachos Visitor Center is a commitment to the development of La Palma, to the recovery of the Island and to reinforcing the work of the Network of Centers of Interpretation managed by the public company Sodepal.
“The Roque de Los Muchachos Visitor Center will triangulate the bet of the tourist centers promoted by the Palm Corporation to claim its essence and idiosyncrasy. The Roque de Los Muchachos Visitor Center, in Garafía, pays homage to astronomical observation. The The Caños de Fuego Center, in Las Manchas, Los Llanos de Aridane, deals with the island’s volcanic history, more alive than ever due to the recent eruption, while the El Tendal Archaeological Park, in San Andrés y Sauces, digs into the the Benahoarite roots of the palm trees,” Zapata said at the time.
HISTORY, MAGIC AND TRADITION
Regarding the Archaeological Park of El Tendal, its nerve center is in an enormous natural cave in which twenty Benahoaritas lived, as the aborigines who lived in La Palma are known at least a thousand years ago.
Thanks to the excavations directed by Ernesto Martín Rodríguez and Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos, thousands of remains that were part of the household trousseau, such as ceramics and stone pieces, have been discovered and studied. Evidence of their daily activities in the cave was also found: bones of domestic fauna, food evidence of marine origin, vegetable collection, charcoal and seeds.
In the Visitor Center you can find information not only on the research carried out in Cueva del Tendal itself (Barranco de San Juan. Los Galguitos), but also on the original canton of Adeyahamen (now San Andrés y Sauces). Regarding the latter, the use of the natural environment and its magical-religious beliefs, embodied in cave engravings, stone piles and sets of canalillos-bowls, as well as its funerary customs, deserve special attention.
The exhibition is completed with original archaeological pieces, explanatory and audiovisual panels, including a scientific documentary, several short fiction films and a video mapping, exclusive to the Tendal Archaeological Park.
