On our first night in La Palma whilst tucking into some excellent pizza at a pavement cafe watching the locals go by we realised that a much higher percentage of the young people of Santa Cruz, La Palma are fatties compared to La Gomera. Is it significant that the town also has a McDonalds or did McDonalds come here as their market research showed a higher number of fat people?
It would be rude to show pictures of fatties so instead I have posted a picture taken from our apartment window. The black stuff is actually sand, a bit coarse but OK. This is the main swimming beach for Santa Cruz as the breakwater gives plenty of shelter.
Throughout the town there are motifs of men wearing “Napoleon” hats as you can see behind the sign at the top of the page. I spent quite a long time searching to find out what it represented and it is something which in politically correct Britain would be banished like blacked up Morris Men. To quote Wikipedia:
The dance of the Dwarfs of La Palma is one of the main acts of the festivities of La Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves, in Santa Cruz de La Palma, held every 5 years. It is a tradition that began in 1905 as yet another token of appreciation to the Patron Saint of the island. This dance is performed by 24 men in the same costume to the sound of a polka.
A sign of appreciation? Bring out your Dwarfs!!!
I can image the fuss that would be made if we introduced the Dance of the Dwarfs at Michaelmas.
Over the Christmas period the wind was from the east, that is from Africa.
As a result it sometimes becomes hazy as sand from the Sahara forms clouds, a phenomena called a calima. This year it also brought a swarm of locusts. Fortunately not too many to cause a significant problem but apparently in 1958 there were so many they caused millions of pounds worth of crop damage, particularly to tomatoes and potato plants.
We found this dead locust on the west side of La Palma.
Quite often in the Vaults you see people "from off" who can’t believe the quality of the music they are hearing in a small pub in Shropshire.
This evening we had a similar experience, we heard some good music coming from a small fort which is behind our apartment, we walked up and there was a free concert being performed by Los Benahoare, a group of 30 men, all dressed in white suits wearing brown trilby hats, some of them looked like Saddam Hussain. Ten were playing guitars / mandolins, there were two trumpeters, a double bass and some percussionists and they almost all sang. All the instruments were mic’d up, and they all had voice microphones, the sound quality was brilliant when you consider it was outside. They played for an hour, we got the last seats, 106 and 107, close to the front, socially distanced from everyone else. There are a few U-Tube films of their concerts but they don’t do justice to the impressive sound when they are right in front of you. A memorable night.