Mum hides ruins of her volcano-wrecked home after tourists turn it into an Instagram hotspot
3,000 buildings were destroyed when the Tajogaite volcano erupted in 2021.
A MUM whose volcano-wrecked home became an Instagram hotspot has hidden the ruins with a tarpaulin in a bid to deter happy-snapping tourists.
The house on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, in Spain, was mostly buried by ash when the Tajogaite volcano erupted in 2021.
But part of the upper storey remained visible, resulting in a striking photograph that was featured by the New York Times.
Now the house is a popular photo opportunity for tourists – and the owner, Amanda Melián, is hitting back.
She said: “The fact that they treat our house as a tourist attraction is very sad.
“It is our house and seeing it constantly in photos reminds us of the uncertainty of three years, always wanting to recover what is ours – a hope that appears and disappears.
“So we prevented it from being seen by covering it with a tarp, tired of all the tourists who go up and down without caring about the pain of others.”
Amanda, 36, described the eruption of the volcano as “traumatic”.
She said: “After so much struggle, both for my in-laws and for us, gradually we had a house for ourselves and our children.
“Overnight we found ourselves with nothing, no memories, no personal belongings, starting over again.
“And after so much sacrifice, no matter how much we think about it, we cannot imagine or know how to start.
“Our lives fell apart when the volcano erupted.”
Amanda, who has two small children, believes others are now profiting from her ruined home.
Yet she herself lives in temporary accommodation provided by the Canary Island government in nearby El Paso.
And she still doesn’t have permission to re-enter the building, to try to salvage her property.
She said: “We decided to cover it up because we got tired of not having solutions.
“Everyone can go up there but we have not been allowed to even dig up our home.
“The first plan for the future is to dig it up and see what we can recover from our memories and try to move on.
“We don't even think about the rest until we manage to see the house unearthed.”
Whether they can live there again remains uncertain.
The home was buried by a newly-appeared volcanic vent that emerged in the garden, just 20 metres from the front door, according to Spanish Newspaper La Vanguardia.
Amanda said: “We would love to go back, but we have two small children, and we know that the terrain is not suitable for them.
“But one day I would like to wake up in the morning breathing that winter air, in absolute silence, peace and tranquility, with the new views – although they are not as beautiful as before.”
She’s now calling on the Spanish government to provide more aid for volcano-affected families.
The eruption of the volcano lasted 85 days, prompting the evacuation of roughly 7,000 people, destroying some 3,000 buildings and causing an estimated €843m (£712m) worth of damage.