The exterior of the church of San Juan, Puntallana As Palmeran churches go, the church of St. John the Baptist in Puntallana isn’t all that old. The presbytery and the side chapels date from the 16th century, and the nave from the 1719. It was officially declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (rather like a listed building) in 1994. The main altar in the church of San Juan, Puntallana The…
The Juniper trees
We spent most of yesterday chatting and being lazy. Today we went around the west of the island to see the Hemitage of the Virgin of the Kings and the juniper forest. I’ve wanted to see it for some time, but you have to drive down a dirt track. Since my friend knows nothing about fixing cars, and can’t possibly afford to replace hers, she´s understandably reluctant to go off…
On El Hierro
Well, we’re on holiday in El Hierro again. The last week was mad. I enjoyed the fiesta in Puerto Naos. I cooked a giant biscuit as a thankyou for my son’s teacher, and we collected his marks. He’s passed everything except Geography and History (one subject) so I have to spend an hour most days teaching him. (To be fair to him, most kids seemed to have failed it, so…
Visiting the Observatory, 2009
GranTeCan, the huge new Spanish telescope La Palma is home to one of the three most important astronomical observatories in the world. (The other two are Hawaii and the Atacama desert in Chile.) The observatory sits at the top of the island, at the Roque de los Muchachos. It’s a fascinating place to visit, but it’s not normally open to tourists – they’re too busy doing science. You can visit…
St. John’s bonfires
In Spain it’s traditional to have a bonfire to mark the feast of St John the Baptist, on the night of June 23rd. There are lots of private bonfires on La Palma, and some people use the occasion to have a good clear out and burn the rubbish. Several beaches hold bonfire parties, too. And I’m told that in some cases there’s nude bathing. I don’t know about you, but…
A Procession
I went back to El Paso to see the procession of the Sacred Heart. It meant going right past the site of Saturday’s accident, but it had to be done sooner or later. And I got a lot of nice photos, some of which are on the blog about La Palma And my son’s finished school for the summer. We don’t get his report until Thursday – fingers crossed. At…