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00:00In 2025, more than 18 million people touched down in the Canary Islands, chasing a taste of sea,
00:15sun and island life. This Spanish archipelago isn't just a tourism hotspot. I could live here,
00:24so picturesque. There's something about these islands that so many tourists don't know. Its
00:31landscapes make it a fascinating otherworldly place to explore, but the geology here, while
00:38beautiful, is volatile. In September 2021, the ground cracked open. A volcano on the little
00:49island of La Palma erupted for 85 days, burying homes and reshaping the map.
01:01Lava didn't just destroy, it also forged raw landscapes and bold new adventures.
01:09Over time, volcanic activity has carved these cliffs and created sand as black as night. Because
01:21out here, life and lava share the same space.
01:25And as I'm about to find out, people here are still watchful.
01:35Imagine you have never rehearsed that, you hear an alarm, it would be funny.
01:40Prepared.
01:42Basically, it's the most sensitive area of the planet.
01:46And respectful of the power of nature.
01:50So how do Canarians live, work and welcome the world on islands still being shaped by the
01:56raw energy beneath their feet?
02:11Off Africa's northwest coast, the seven islands that make up the Canaries rise from the Atlantic Ocean.
02:17La Palma, at the far western tip, is the wild one. Raw, rugged, volcanic.
02:25The best way to see it? Trek across Cumbra Vieja, Spanish for Old Summit.
02:34In days like these, I call this Llano de las Brujas. Not only me, but also the local people here on the island.
02:40This ridge runs along a fault line, a weak spot in the Earth's crust, where La Palma's volcanoes are born.
02:50Including the massive 2021 Takal Aite eruption.
02:55Hikers were able to return here a year later.
02:58This view is just incredible. Almost ghost-like, or like being in a kind of scary movie almost.
03:13Our guide, Amanda Sputh, leads us along trails that didn't even exist five years ago, but are now one of La Palma's newest tourist attractions.
03:23Scientists can study magma. They can study the weak point in the Earth's crust, but they cannot predict pressure.
03:33One day science will be able to find out, do you think?
03:35The person who does it will get a Nobel Prize. For sure.
03:38You think you're going up to the volcano crater, or close to it, and you spend more time going down than you do up, weirdly. I'm sure it will balance out.
03:49Tajo Gaite is a long mountain that has not one crater, but nowadays seven.
04:03And the one that erupted in 21 was which one?
04:07This. The whole thing.
04:08Yes.
04:09This is right here.
04:12Sometimes the sand gets really thick and it takes a lot out of your feet. You got to keep going there.
04:18So all the craters are still hot. At about, they think 10 to 15 meters, there are approximately 650 degrees Celsius.
04:35And down where you have the lava rivers, you have up to 90 meters high lava rivers,
04:41and there the temperature, of course, is still very high.
04:51When lava hit the ocean, it unleashed acid rain and toxic gases,
04:56turning the shoreline into a no-go zone.
04:59But underwater, something unexpected was happening.
05:02The seabed was being reshaped into a world of black rock and hidden hideaways.
05:08And now, it's drawing divers from across the globe.
05:13I think this is for you.
05:16So that's going to be your way, so you can try it too.
05:19Okay, great.
05:20Just stick in your face and inhale from your nose.
05:23And it's close and well.
05:25Luis and Nora run blue magma diving in the town of Tazacorte.
05:30When the sea suddenly went off limits, their business vanished overnight.
05:36The day it happened, you're watching this happen.
05:39What were you thinking?
05:40What were you feeling?
05:43Yeah.
05:44I remember that night, we were with one of our friends at this room in a restaurant here,
05:52and he was like, that's going to be a ruin.
05:54That's going to be a ruin.
05:55Oh, a ruin.
05:56Yeah.
05:57We were like, not knowing what's going to happen.
05:59Just wait and see.
06:02Nora, can I help?
06:04Oh, nice in Spanish.
06:07Yeah.
06:08Oh, it looks heavy.
06:09I'm not sure.
06:10We're going to take them out, okay, to prepare and set our equipment.
06:27I'm going to go out on the boat.
06:29Yeah, yeah.
06:30To see the new area.
06:31It's completely amazing.
06:40Luis, tell me, what can we actually see from here?
06:44Pues lo que tenemos delante es la fajana principal.
06:47Es la principal entrada de lava al mar y ha llegado hasta los 350 metros de profundidad.
06:53Es decir, la mayoría o casi un 90% de la lava de la erupción ha sido inyectada bajo el mar a través de este punto.
07:01So you breathe in normal, but you breathe out loud.
07:16Marine life quickly collapsed after the molten rock entered the sea.
07:20Some invertebrate populations dropped by over 70% within a few days.
07:26Yet seven months later, fish, algae and more than 70 species were thriving in this new underwater domain.
07:36Basically, the Atlantic around here, the Canaries, is like a service station for marine life.
07:42Even newly formed rock is quickly colonized.
07:46That was an experience.
07:58And at the end, thanks very much.
08:00At the end, the current brought loads of amazing fish.
08:06And it was, well, incredible.
08:09I don't have the credentials to dive much deeper, but Luis and Nora do.
08:17They're heading down 40 metres to explore the lava tubes and see what else is hiding down there.
08:25Can you see it?
08:27Whoa! Wow!
08:29That's really big, huh?
08:31So what is this?
08:33That's a huge stingray, almost two metres wide.
08:36How common is it, how usual is it to see a stingray?
08:40Quite common.
08:41Yes?
08:42I mean, not every day, but yeah, always that you go deep, it's quite common to see.
08:45And this rock is the lava?
08:48That's the lava, yeah.
08:50Wow.
08:51Now you're swimming through the black rock, you're right through the walls.
08:54Wow.
08:55What does it feel like?
08:57It's so big that you feel small there, yeah?
09:00You are in 40 metres and you have all lava all around you and you know that it's going down.
09:05It's going down to 300 metres, so it's like, it's very impressive, yeah?
09:10You just feel very humble and very tiny thing there in the middle of all this black monster, yeah?
09:15Yeah.
09:16Yeah.
09:34Three, two, one, relax.
09:39After all that exploring, it was time to kick back and soak up some sun.
09:45And where better than Puerta Nau, with its blue flag beaches and palm-lined promenades.
09:51But look a little closer and you'll notice something unusual.
09:55This laid-back resort is wired with sensors.
10:04Now, this may look like paradise on the surface, but actually Puerta Nau is one of Europe's most closely watched towns, not for crime, but for invisible threat.
10:14Carbon dioxide seeping silently from the ground.
10:18Imagine the ground underneath Puerta Nau is just like this bottle, with lava tunnels from previous eruptions.
10:28Now, when the 2021 eruption happened, those gases built up pressure underground, just like this shaken bottle.
10:37Suddenly, those gases escaped, leaking into basements and up into streets.
10:46These sensors send live data to a control room tucked away in the local school.
10:53Where Juan Bermejo and his team track CO2 levels in real time.
10:58Why is CO2 a problem at all? Why is there an issue with it?
11:10Well, the problem of CO2 emerged after the eruption of the Tajo Gaite volcano.
11:15It was a problem of diffuse emanation, of gases that infiltrate through the ground and leave.
11:21It was detected, just to finish the eruption, the eruptions,
11:24that Puerta Nau and the Bombilla detected very high values, incompatible with life.
11:30And just to finish the process, the organisms involved, the ministry, the government of Canarias, Cabildo and Volcan,
11:39decided to monitor the entire area, to create a wide range of sensors within the buildings, within the houses and outside,
11:48to have a control in real time and to be able to take the best decisions
11:52so that, little by little, the area was recovering.
11:55At what point, what level do you go, oops, we are in trouble here, we need to evacuate or take measures?
12:02Well, when we started talking about levels of 40,000,
12:05they are already worrying levels. And if you go to 100,000 levels, they are extreme, right?
12:10So, what would you say to a tourist who has come here to reassure them that it is okay to be here?
12:18Because, basically, it is the most sensorized area on the planet.
12:21I don't know if there will be a place where, in so little territory,
12:26there are thousands of sensors distributed inside the houses and in the streets.
12:31That gives a level of security to people and tourists, without preceding.
12:37After the eruption, Puerto Now was a ghost town for almost three years.
12:46CO2 levels were too high for anyone to return.
12:50Today, many homes and businesses are still sealed off in the black zone, waiting for things to settle.
12:57And even outside it, some places haven't reopened because of lingering gas underground.
13:03Tess, take me through. This is Lali's Bar. That's you. It's named after you.
13:10The name of my bar is El Bucanero.
13:14But everyone says,
13:16Let's go to Lali. Let's go to Lali's Bar. To Lali's Bar.
13:20Because it's almost my house.
13:22So, everyone knows Lali's Bar.
13:26And if you look at the picture there, is that you?
13:36It's been a long time ago.
13:39Okay.
13:40Do you think it's fair that your bar is closed, even though it's not in the exclusion zone?
13:47And I think that nature is more powerful than us.
13:52So, trying to fight against nature is a lost battle.
13:57The sense of data shows that air quality has improved since mid-2024, and CO2 levels have stayed safe for months.
14:09In Puerto Now, life moves with the elements.
14:13The cafes buzz. The beaches embrace visitors.
14:17But this is a holiday town being rebuilt and protected by vigilance.
14:29La Palma's volcanoes have made the headlines in recent years.
14:33But what really stays with you here isn't just the elemental energy of the island,
14:38it's the resilience of the people who live alongside it.
14:41It's been nice to see the mother.
14:43It's the wind.
14:44This is rice.
14:45This is rice.
14:46This is rice.
14:48This is rice.
14:49This rice is from La Palma.
14:54Okay, with the stones, this is rice.
14:59We add cotton klep.
15:01It's either brown paste.
15:03Wow.
15:04Let's try the tuna first.
15:06It's beautiful.
15:08Because it's fresh, the sea.
15:10The sea, the river, the palm of the river.
15:12Yes, yes, yes.
15:13Yes, yes, yes.
15:14Yes, yes, yes.
15:15Yes, yes.
15:16Yes, yes.
15:17Yes, yes.
15:18Yes, yes.
15:19Yes, yes.
15:20Yes, yes.
15:21Yes, yes.
15:22There are more things than to eat.
15:23Yes.
15:27Before the eruption, Carlos Deniz owned a restaurant on the beach.
15:33Now, that restaurant and the beach itself are entombed under metres of black rock.
15:40I was excited because that was a special beach.
15:50I was in a kitchen with a big window where I saw the sea, the surfers,
15:58the surfers, passing with their tables, running, to catch the sea.
16:05It was an impressive view.
16:09The beach was a place where I tell you, I'm a emotional, I'm a emotional, I'm a emotional.
16:15I have touched a little bit the fiber.
16:18I want to remember this.
16:20I don't want to name anything.
16:23I can't go through that road.
16:26Because if I go, I know that I'm going to be crying for two days.
16:32For Carlos, a fresh chapter is beginning, and his new restaurant, a converted 18th century laundry,
16:41and he can now look to the future.
16:44And tell me this. If, however, you could go back, would you do that?
16:54With my eyes closed.
16:55It would give me 20 of these businesses to have to go back to where I was, of course.
16:59From La Palma, we hop over to Tenerife, the largest and busiest of the canaries, and I've holidayed here before.
17:28But this time, I'm heading somewhere new, Garachico, on the island's dramatic north coast.
17:43Yeah, pictures like this by local school children kind of sum it up, really, the attitude here.
17:48Garachico, glorious, in adversity.
17:51Beneath the picture-perfect streets is another story of fire and survival.
18:01More than three centuries ago, ships would be waiting on the other side of this gateway to transport wine and goods right around the world.
18:10Then, on the 5th of May, 1706, the Trevejo volcano erupted.
18:16Over 58 days, molten lava buried this bustling port under rock.
18:23Creating the town's famous lava pools that people bathe in all year round.
18:28I've arrived in Garachico at a busy time.
18:33Emergency teams from across Europe have gathered here, and parts of the town have been cordoned off.
18:39All for what's said to be the biggest volcanic eruption drill ever held on the continent.
18:46Good morning, everyone. We are in Garachico to make you participate in the situation of the volcano that we have been monitoring in a simulated way.
18:58Oh, it just got off on my phone.
19:01Civil protection alert.
19:03So here we go, this is it.
19:05This means that the whole of this town now knows that a volcanic eruption is imminent and they have to take action.
19:13Wow.
19:14It's theatre with purpose.
19:17So Paula, tell me, what is happening to you now?
19:21Okay, we have an accident in a car and I have a big...
19:28Injury in my head.
19:30Yeah, in my head.
19:31Yeah.
19:32And you think that doing these simulations is very important, very useful.
19:36So important.
19:37For all the people in Tenerife or in Canaria Islam, the situation has passed in La Palma.
19:44It's so important.
19:45It's real, it's real.
19:46Yeah, it's real.
19:47Yeah, yeah.
19:51Rescue teams race through the streets.
19:54And even mock press conferences are underway.
19:58While the eruption is a recent memory on La Palma, Tenerife's last eruption was more than a century ago.
20:04Nevertheless, volcanologist Alexis Schwartz tells me that drills like this are vital preparation.
20:12Is the rehearsal useful?
20:14Very useful.
20:16Imagine in the UK you are used to fire drills.
20:21So any institution, whatever.
20:23People hear the alarm, they know immediately everybody.
20:26They are not told, they know where to go.
20:28So people are used to.
20:29Imagine you have never rehearsed that.
20:33You hear an alarm, it would be panic.
20:35Yeah.
20:36So it's the same situation, obviously at a different scale.
20:43Now I know, and so to most of the crowd they hear now, this is a simulation.
20:47But I've got to say, it's brilliantly acted and the rescue teams are performing fantastically.
20:53It's as realistic as it could be.
20:55There is no sense that this is a practice.
20:58Very, very convincing and you do get a sense of fear, nervousness, anxiety as a result of what's happening.
21:06And the hysteria generally is just under the surface.
21:09A few hours later, the sirens fall silent.
21:21Make-up is wiped away and emergency crews gather for the debrief.
21:25Magara Chico, it's just another day on an archipelago forged by fire, where the beauty of island life comes with a quiet understanding.
21:39Living here means living with the forces that shaped it.
21:44So, Paola, tell me, what was that like for you?
21:47It is so heavy. I have a lot of emotions. I want to cry. So...
21:57You put all your whole heart into the performance.
22:00Don't worry, it's not real.
22:02Well, this trip has been a real eye-opener.
22:15Yes, the Canaries are a tourism magnet, but nature here is unpredictable.
22:21I admire the resilience of the people of La Palma and the island's rugged beauty.
22:25And then here in Tenerife, yep, I've been here before, but this time I saw a different side.
22:32The charm of Magara Chico and the meticulous preparation for any disaster.
22:38Basically, this archipelago is ready to face whatever comes next.
22:55You don't wanna be there at the portal.
23:09You surrender to my laughter, but this time I rise.
23:13And then you will be digging up from behind four times of your pickup decreasing.
23:16The remote room isWhy The 다음 peal is in the dwelling place
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