The island of La Palma will soon go nuts for about five weeks as we celebrate the bajada. Bajada means “coming down” and in this case, they bring the statue of the Virgin Mary down from the lovely church at Las Nieves down to Santa Cruz. They’ve been doing this every five years since 1676, when the statue was credited with ending a terrible drought. These days the bajada involves…
Concepción is a headland on the boundary between Santa Cruz de la Palma and Breña Alta. The top is at 400m, and the sheer cliff down to the beach is about 300 ft (100 m ) high, which is about the size of a mature California redwood tree, or a Saturn V moon rocket. These days it’s got a tunnel drilled through it, but until 1917, the only way to…
Replica of Columbus’s Santa Maria in Santa Cruz de la Palma Back when I worked for the observatory, we ocassionally gave visiting astronomers a lift up to the mountaintop. I always enjoyed detouring past the replica of Christopher Columbus’s ship, the Santa Maria, partly to see the visitor’s reaction. Astronomer: “What on earth is that!?” Me: It’s a concrete ship in the middle of the road. What’s it look like?”…
Author and friend in Los Indianos, Santa Cruz de la Palma In Santa Cruz de la Palma, the highlight of Carnival is Powder Night – Los Indianos. This commemorates the people who emigrated from La Palma in the 1940s to 1970s and especially those who came back rich. An Elegant Lady Anyone can join in the parade. You just dress up in white, maybe have a suitcase full of Monopoly…
Los Indianos, Santa Cruz de la Palma Tuesday 16thSanta Cruz de la Palma5 pm Fancy dress ball in the senior citizens day centre, with live salsa music Los LlanosCancelled Wednesday 17thSanta Cruz de la Palma11 am Presentation of prizes in the town hall. Los Llanos11 am – 1 pm Children’s activities, Plaza de España8 pm Murgas, Plaza de España Cancajos8 pm the Octopus’s Funeral followed by a dance Thursday 18thLos…
One of my favourite things about carnival is the small kids in costume. I hope you enjoy it too. Some of the cute kids.