On the island of La Palma, as in the rest of the archipelago, or anywhere else in the world, civilisation has tried to extract as many resources as possible from the environment in which they are found. Sometimes this has been motivated by the search for riches, sometimes by the desire for expansion, but mostly it has been based on necessity and the pure instinct for survival. This is one of the stories of "sea salt", promoted and exploited on La Palma thanks to the conditions offered by the island in an enclave that, at first sight, might not exactly awaken dreams of prosperity. However, nowadays a visit to these places is practically a must for any newcomer to the island.
Fuencaliente, the southernmost municipality of the island, combines a variety of landscapes worthy of admiration. Its pine forests, its hamlets, its young volcanoes and its rugged coastline make it an attraction in itself. It is worth mentioning the "rejuvenated" volcanic landscape, as this is the site of the most recent volcanic activity in the Canary Islands: the eruption of the San Antonio volcano between 1667 and 1668, and the eruption of the Teneguía volcano in 1971.
In this geographical setting, Las Salinas de Fuencaliente are born, in a coastal spot where a chromatic play is created between basalt black, earthy brown, crimson hues and coppery tones, fused with the blue of the sea, its continuity with the sky, and the white of the clouds, the foam of the sea and, of course, the white mantle of the salt crystallisation in the salt flats. This enclave has taken an adaptive turn that has converted a natural resource such as salt into a Site of Scientific Interest (declared by the Government of the Canary Islands in 1994) moulded to the needs of today's society.
For all these reasons, salt, produced in the most traditional style, has become a distinct element of great value, capable of playing a leading role, in great detail, in a gastronomic route that revolves around this unique enclave.