For our October magazine we had arranged an interview with a volcano expert at the Cueva de los Verdes and a walk to the Volcán del Cuervo long before another Canary Island started trembling. Then, the day before our final deadline, La Palma erupted.

The carpark opposite the Emergency Department at the Dr José Molina Orosa Hospital in Arrecife has been closed down for unspecified works, causing more congestion in the hospital area.

Canarians were glued to their televisions last night as lava from the volcano in La Palma finally reached the sea at 11.03 pm, cascading off a 100-metre cliff overlooking the Playa de la Guirre; sending up plumes of black smoke and white steam and forming a pyramid-shaped mound that continues to grow and will reshape the island permanently.

The nighborhoods of San Borondón, Marina Alta, Marina Baja and La Condesa have all been locked down given the possibility of the lava reaching the sea.

Flights to La Palma and Tenerife North airports have been suspended because of ash from the volcano at Cumbre Vieja, which has now entered a more violent and explosive phase than before. At the moment, only flights to and from La Palma are affected.