Today we have a guest post by Thomas Cox from Maine, USA Being a lifelong ocean sailor, some years ago I was intrigued when I found the ships bell from La Verdad for sale in a marine antique store. I bought it. In searching for some history about the Verdad, I came to realize that the vessel was built in La Palma in 1873 and has quite a history. There…
The fruits of several different cactuses are called pitahayas. The yellow ones in the picture are Hylocereus megalanthus, and the pink ones are Hylocereus undatus. To be honest, I was rather disappointed by the (lack of) flavour of them both. Some time ago I had what I think was a Hylocereus costaricensis, which was deep red all the way through, and much tastier. I wish I had a bigger garden,…
Christmas in Spain doesn’t finish until January 6th, when the three kings take their presents to Baby Jesus, and to good children. So it’s sort-of new year today. Or at least, it’s the first day of 2015 when I’ve had time to get off the hamster wheel for some medium-to-long term planning. So I’m reading “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” by Jeremy Dean. Like most people, I don’t do very well…
Although Father Christmas does visit Spanish children, he’s a new arrival. Traditionally the presents arrive on the morning of January 6th, when the three kings visit baby Jesus. (The sales don’t normally start this early, because Christmas isn’t over here.) And on the evening of the 5th, their majesties ride in procession through most of the major towns and villages in Spain. In previous years we’ve usually gone to…
I hope you enjoyed new year’s eve, I hope 2015 brings you whatever you most want. I “left the year” (as they say in Spanish) with the extended family. New year is a big thing in Spain. Many people dress up – I mean really dress up, as though they were going to the opera at Covent Garden. Traditionally, lots of people eat out, although I suspect there’ll be less…
OK, so it’s a purely arbitrary point on the Earth’s orbit, but hey, let’s have fun. And getting off the hamster wheel for some reflection and forward planning isn’t a bad idea either.