"Today at noon, after 5 weeks of hope and fear, our house was overrun by lava. And the volcano continues... ." Chris and Ottes sent this message to their friends at the end of October. They had to leave their home weeks ago as the lava flow got closer and closer. The town of Puerto Naos, where Bike Station La Palma is located, has been inaccessible for some time. "When a house burns down, you can normally rebuild it. But the property no longer exists. It lies under 2000 degree hot lava and is no longer habitable," can be read on gofundme.com. In addition, the bike area where they offered tours had been cut up by the lava flows.

German travel partners therefore set up a crowdfunding campaign for the tour operator. The house and the bike station were Chris and Otte's retirement provision. It is unclear how much insurance and the Spanish state will cover of the damage, according to the same site.

Biking on the volcano

Irony of history: The area in which Puerto Naos is located and where the guides offer bike tours was significantly shaped by the volcano. Eruptions in 1585 and 1712 increased the land area of the municipality by over 150 hectares. And last but not least, the entire Canary Islands would not exist without volcanoes. "Volcano Biking" is written in large letters on the bike station's website; riding through lava fields and over lava flows that have cooled into mountain ridges is what makes mountain biking in this region so fascinating, as the photos impressively show. This makes the fate of Chris and Ottes no less tragic, like that of the thousands of other inhabitants of the island who have lost their homes.

The crowdfunding is intended to help Chris and Ottes survive the next few months financially. What happens next is another question. After all, the guides at the station are already offering their first tours on the neighboring island of La Gomera.