Last night I finally got to see the dancing horses (caballos fufo) during the fiesta in Tazacorte. I wanted to get photos, so I made sure I charged up the camera battery, and tookthe full kit. When I got there, I found that the horses were dancing in pretty dark streets, and that they move really fast. So I was really pleased that I’d brought along my big flash gun,…
Fufo horses in Tazacorte. Today (Monday 29th) is the feast day of St Michael. Since he’s the patron saint of Tazacorte, last night the town celebrated with their famous dancing horses. Famous on La Palma, at least. Would you believe, it’s the first time I’ve seen this in almost 18 years of living here. The crowd following the fufo horses. Well, it’s fun. As you can see, a horse-shaped frame…
Monday is the feast day of St Michael Archangel. Although he’s the patron saint of the whole island, shops will be shut only in Santa Cruz and Tazacorte – that’s the main town, not Puerto Tazacorte. It’s traditional to hold the best bit of a fiesta on the night before the public holiday, so you can party half the night without worrying about the alarm clock drilling into your hangover…
After three weeks of being responsible, helping friends (which I was glad to do, don’t get me wrong) and bashing on with the current translation, something snapped yesterday morning. So I went out. I told myself I was getting material for the blog, but to be honest, what’s the point in living on a paradise island, and then spending all day in the house? So I went to Belamaco cave,…
Salermera from the road above: the beach is in the inlet at the right. La Palma has lots of little beaches tucked away here and there, like Salemera. You take the main road from the airport to Fuencaliente, and just south of Mazo, follow the marked turning off. After four twisty kilometres, you wind up at the little village. It’s easy to park. The beach itself is tiny, but very…
In 1985, a year after I started my first job, I bought myself a house. I could only afford it because unemployment locally was so high that half the town was trying to move away. In fact my mortgage payments on the house in Shotton were slightly less than rent on a bedsit in neighbouring Chester. The catch, of course, was that the bedsit was furnished and the house wasn’t….