Sunday 1st 

Feliz Año Nuevo to you all (that's Happy New Year).

Yesterday we drove along the north coast road of the island. On our previous visits this has been closed because of rock falls and road works. It is now open again with the most amazing views of the gorges and equally amazing metal fences preventing cars being flattened by falling rocks.

When we here for New Year two years ago we could not understand why the streets were deserted at 8pm, now we know, everyone was hung over! On our return at 3pm we discovered Santa Cruz was party central. There was a stage set up with a band playing Latin American music and about a thousand people, mostly young, drinking a little too much in the sunshine. All the girls seemed to have very short skirts on and a great deal of cleavage on display, I should have spent the whole afternoon here. It seems a bit odd seeing girls dressed up in the afternoon. Most of the restaurants had big family gatherings in full swing and the customers had spared no expense on champagne, much singing and jollity but there is no way any of them were going to keep going until midnight so now we know why the town is dead after 8pm.