The island of La Palma is the 5th largest of the 7 main Canary Islands. It has a population of almost 86,000 people. The capital is called Santa Cruz and is around 5 miles north of the islands' airport. After leaving the airport, we travel through the streets of Santa Cruz. These are dotted with banana plantations. Then we start to make our way up the mountain. 10 minutes later we find ourselves winding through tropical forests. These give way to pine forests as we continue to climb higher and higher up the mountain. Soon the winding road will become much straighter. The views are incredible. Then we see some telescopes on the hillside, creeping into view... We're almost there!