La Isleta Lighthouse

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Historic sites · Year: 1865

The La Isleta lighthouse was set on the La Isleta peninsula, and was built to mark out the northeast end of the island and the coastal strip of land covering an area from the lighthouse at Punta Sardina, to the west, as far as the lighthouse at Punta de Melenara, to the south. It serves as a beacon for boats approaching the Port of La Luz y de Las Palmas. It started operating towards the end of July 1865. The mountains on the peninsular of La Isleta and its lighthouse form part of the characteristic landscape around the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

On the way to the lighthouse, a short stop at the headland next to a bunker will allow us to make out the sea, unlike any other spot along our route. These views over the Atlantic are another of La Isleta's real treasures. The mountain with the lighthouse on it is the highest, by just one metre, measuring 240m. On its slopes are some military buildings, used as a boat look out, and designed by Leonardo Torriani at the end of the 16th century. Nearby are the remains of a former military order from last century. All these military remains are of great interest. Looking out to sea, some ten miles to the east, we can picture in our minds the point where the German UC-20 submarine sank the Portuguese vessel Emilia during the First World War. Bunkers are littered about all over the place, along with casemates and machine gun nests built in 1941 in response to Operation Pilgrim. This plan was surpervised by Churchill himself, as he foresaw an invasion of the Canary Islands in case Franco and the Nazi allies entered into the fray and occupied Gibraltar. The lighthouse's white beam is also its longest lasting occupant. When it came into operation in 1865 its flame was lit with olive oil used as fuel. From 1990 the beam was automized, and stopped having a lighthouse keeper. Its 150the anniversary is being celebrated in 2015.

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