I’ve been publishing this blog over for a year, and the readership has steadily grown. Thank you. It’s wonderful to feel that I’m not just talking to myself. But I think it’s high time I got to know you a bit better. Please take a moment to take part in the poll at the top of the sidebar to the right. And if you want something completely different, feel free…
April 23rd is world book day. On La Palma, the celebrations go on all week. Both Santa Cruz and Los Llanos have book stalls out in the street. Last year, they had a 10% discount, although most of the books were in Spanish. Since I’m a book-a-holic, I loved it. This year, they’re having events to encourage people to come. Amoung other things, Callou (from the TV series) will be…
The people who lived on La Palma before the Spanish arrived in 1493 called the island Benahoare, and themselves Benahorita. (Or according to some people Benawara and Benawaritas. They insist their spelling is correct. I find this odd, because to me the correct spelling would be the one the people themselves used, only they didn’t write.) The Benahorita probably arrived on La Palma somewhere between 1000 BC and 100 BC,…
Holy week procession, San Jose, Breña Baja The schools have just broken up for Semana Santa – Holy week. Of course my son’s delighted, even though they only get this week off. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays. Monday 6th is not.Holy week procession, San Jose, Breña Baja There will be lots of religious processions all week, everywhere, and some fairly spectacular ones, especially in Santa Cruz. We…
Every year Santa Cruz has a demonstration of living statues, and this year is the fourth. The statues are on the Calle Real today, Saturday and Sunday.Everybody calls the main street in Santa Cruz de la Palma, “the Calle Real”, but nowhere along it’s length is there a street sign with that name! I used to suspect that the whole thing was invented to confuse visitors, but now I know…
After an colder-than-average winter, the temperatures here have shot up. This happens whenever the trade winds give way to calima – a hot, dry wind and dust blowing from the Sahara. We used to get it only in summer, but for the last few years it’s been happening earlier in the year. Actually, it’s really nice at this time of year. Suddenly it’s warm enough to sit on the beach,…