The Columbus Challenge

Columbus & Las Palmas

Not many people know of Christopher Columbus' Canarian stopover in 1492. In fact, the original plan was to sail on to the westerly island of La Gomera where he planned to stock up on food and other supplies. However, after his fleet was sabotaged by his own crew Columbus made an unscheduled stop in LP, a fledgling settlement that had only been founded 14 years earlier following the Spanish conquest of the island.

Noted Columbus academic Manuel Rosa explains how important the Mid-Atlantic setting of the islands were. "The Canary Islands were very strategically located for Atlantic sailing, and therefore it was an almost mandatory stop for any voyages heading west or south, "he reveals. "The Canaries were so important for Atlantic exploration that the King of Portugal had already tried to control them around the year 1340 and for those 150 years prior to Colón's (Columbus') voyage, the Portuguese tried with no success to conquer these islands."

Columbus left the old world, on a trip, and knew not where he was going, He did not know where he was, when he arrived there, and when he returned, he was not able to tell anyone where he had been." No wonder Columbus remains such an enigmatic figure.