Santa Cruz de La Palma‘s programme is here. (The actual programme starts on page 7) Los Llanos‘s programme is here The programme for Los Sauces is here I’ve just found out that some places (El Paso, Garafía, Tijarafe, Fuencaliente and Puntallana) held their carnival early, presumably so as not to compete with the bigger places. Barlovento‘s is here. Breña Alta had their parade yesterday Breña Baja will have parrandas in…
Before the Spanish invasion, Belmaco Cave was the home of the kings of Mazo. The first rock carvings were found in the 18th century, which was the start of archaeology in the Canary Islands. Today, it’s open to the public. The entrance is on the other side of the road. A little farther inside, there’s a small, two-story building housing various artefacts, like shell spoons and bone punches, and…
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 sheltered. You don’t have to worry that a big wave will come along and…
Casa Goyo mostly serves fish that was swimming around last night. The décor isn’t posh, although they’ve gone upmarket since I arrived on La Palma and swapped the earth floor for a concrete one. Most of the tables are in little concrete or wooden booths. The restaurant itself is at the end of the airport runway, which means that conversations have to stop when a plane comes into land. That…
Today is Canary Day, a local holiday in all the Canary Islands. Expect to see folk musicians and dancers, and lots of traditional foods on the menu. Most of the shops will be closed. This year, it’s also Corpus Christi. (The Corpus Christi fiesta is ten weeks after Maundy Thursday, so the date moves about to follow Easter.) If you’re on the island, I strongly recommend a visit to Mazo…
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,…