I made time to go to the local zoo with my son this morning. It’s a very small zoo with no lions or elephants, but we had fun. And the peacock was actually displaying his tail! With his back to us. I managed to get around the front and grab a quick shot, but he stopped the display before I could get the wide angle on to record his full…
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,…
Last night was a local fiesta, so I lifted my nose from the grindstone long enough to go and take some pretty pictures. The plan was to go to Cruz de la Pavona at the top of the hill and work our way down past the crosses, with my husband driving. That way, as we joined the traffic jam above each cross, I could leap out with my camera and…
In the east of La Palma, Holy Cross Day (fiesta de la Cruz) is the biggest festival in spring. They only celebrate it in Santa Cruz, Breña Alta and Breña Baja, and as the name suggests, they decorate the roadside crosses – beautifully. As often happens, the main party is the night before the public holiday. Since most crosses are hung with gold jewelry (among other things) people stay beside…
Vegetables on La Palma tend to be good, as long as they’re grown on the island, because anything local is fresh. And because the island is so full of micro-climates, the variety of fruit and vegetables grown here is astonishing. I haven’t found gooseberries here yet, and rhubarb is scarce, but I’ve found just about everything else. But the organic veg is the best of all. I wanted to hold…
Today for a change, we have an interview with another author. Hank Quense is, an American author of humorous and satiric fantasy and scifi stories. We’ll be discussing Fool’s Gold, his novel about the Rhinegold myth. Tell us a bit about yourself. I was born a long time ago, married my wife, she gave birth to two daughters. I left my day job to write stories, my daughters gave birth…