Nativity Scenes in the Canaries
Christmas trees are a newish thing here, although probably most houses have one now. The main traditional decoration is nativity scenes. Some just show the stable, but some public ones are so elaborate...
View ArticleTall Ships 2014
Tall_ships_2014 The Tall Ships are back! They used to hold an annual meet-up in Santa Cruz de la Palma for Christmas, but last year’s was cancelled. Luckily, they’re back. The ships will arrive on...
View ArticleHoly Innocents on La Palma
Tall_ships_2014 The 28th of December is Holy Innocents’ Day, which commemorates the massacre of the innocents by Herod in Matthew’s gospel (although according to Wikipedia, it’s probably not a...
View ArticleHave a happy 2015
I hope you enjoyed new year’s eve, I hope 2015 brings you whatever you most want. I “left the year” (as they say in Spanish) with the extended family. New year is a big thing in Spain. Many people...
View ArticleTheir Majesties, the Reyes Magos
Gaspar visiting Santa Cruz de la Palma Although Father Christmas does visit Spanish children, he’s a new arrival. Traditionally the presents arrive on the morning of January 6th, when the three kings...
View ArticlePitahayas
The fruits of several different cactuses are called pitahayas. The yellow ones in the picture are Hylocereus megalanthus, and the pink ones are Hylocereus undatus. To be honest, I was rather...
View ArticleThe Bell from La Verdad
Today we have a guest post by Thomas Cox from Maine, USA Being a lifelong ocean sailor, some years ago I was intrigued when I found the ships bell from La Verdad for sale in a marine antique store. I...
View ArticleTuesday 13th
You know how some Brits and Americans are superstitious about Friday 13th? Well in Spain, some people are superstitious about Tuesday 13th. So this is your chance for slightly cheaper flights.
View ArticleWhere the Heck is La Palma Anyway?
I originally came to La Palma to work at the astronomical observatory here. Almost as soon as I heard I’d got the job, my parents went to a travel agent to find out how much it would cost to visit. The...
View ArticleWater Mines on La Palma
Although La Palma has more water than the other Canary Islands, many farmers used to be desperately poor and frequently hungry. The only water for irrigation was rainwater, and obviously they had no...
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