Faces and Places of La Palma #1 – Meet Bereno!

Bereno is my host dad and along with my host mom was the first person I met in La Palma. He and my host mom are fairly rare as they have been married for over 40 years and are still going strong. On more than on occasion I've seen Bereno run up and for no reason give my host mom a huge hug and kiss, he totally loves her and it's really nice to see. Bereno was once a farmer with a lot of land in and around La Palma. A number of years ago (I think like 10ish) they sold their land and made a really nice profit. With that money they were able to build the cabins (where I live), a micro bus (what we would call a mini van, but they use it for tourism) and 2 buses to run the bus line between Jimenez and La Palma. He and my host mom always seem to be a few years ahead of everyone else and I largely contribute that to their creativity. Bereno works all day long, he loves to work. If he's not busy taking people on rides in the microbus, he's working in the garden, fixing something in the cabina or using the machete on something. Bereno is super funny and always up for a laugh and a smile. I'm pretty lucky to have him on my side as he is very well known and respected within La Palma and on the peninsula. His actual name is Benadicion, but everyone calls him by his nick name Bereno. I'm pretty sure he can fix or make anything out of anything. He built the house that I'm now living in and he built the cabinas, this guy can do anything.