A Nativity Scene

Christmas time can bring excitement for many reasons and on La Palma, one of those is the nativity scene, or  Belenes, as they are called.  They are a real work of art and each village, town or area take it upon themselves to bring this little piece of magic to us. Just by looking at them, apart from the religious significance, you can tell that the people who made them had a lot of fun doing it. Often they are in a church hall and are a landscape complete with tiny Canarian houses (with pebbles on the roofs to represent the stones that people really do put on their roofs), goats and chickens grazing nearby, water tanks, crops in the field and of course somewhere in among it all, the nativity scene itself.
Or maybe, out in the country such as the road going down to Santo Domingo, the scene is helped along by a group of small Canarian houses tightly clutching the hillside (think gnomes in a garden).
In Franceses our local people go for the life-size version set in a cave which lies between Los Castros and Los Machines (two areas of Franceses).  

Attention to detail is not spared and old artifacts are casually laid about to add interest.  Here you can see a horse's saddle behind Mary and in the photo below, you can see old implements such as the machete in a chopping block of wood and even a very worn beret as worn by the elderly French residents of the village.

The people who create this scene each year always make it a fun event and cook up a huge paella to reward the work.  But the effort is certainly not wasted and people often stop in their cars to admire the results.   I just love the angel dangling dangerously from the ceiling!  However, from the photos, it's hard to get a sense of perspective until you put a person in front of them!

It has long been our desire to create a nativity scene ourselves, although on a miniature scale as I don't think I could cope with three 6-foot kings about the place.  We have had a couple of attempts over the years but seem to have lost a few components along the way and it has never come to much.  But we do have the very place for it in our own tiny cave just by the sala.

So this year we decided that we would renew our efforts, in a small way. Actually, it's very easy because many of the shops sell figures and little stable-like items or animals just for this purpose.  The only problem is that you can end up with a donkey bigger than a house and the stable so small that baby Jesus won't fit in.

Hopefully this time we have got the scales about right and not only did we enjoy making this little scene, but we are ridiculously proud of it!

Wishing you a Happy Christmas

To everybody out there - family, friends, visitors past and present and even those who we don't know and have never met - we wish you a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With love from Ann and David

xx

Love Actually

Where do our guests come from - are they all English?  This is something we are often asked and the answer is, they come from all over!  Britain and the rest of Europe of course but also Japan, Latvia, Finland and sometimes America.
Just last week we had a lovely guest from Appleton, Wisconsin, USA who had come all the way to La Palma to walk the GR130. It's a very long way to come for a very long walk.  What a star!  And I think I can honestly say that I have never (knowingly) met anyone from Wisconsin before and my only knowledge of the place is from that well-known film.  I think we can hazard a guess that the portrayal of Wisconsin in the film was not strictly accurate. 
In fact, it seems Wisconsin is the dairy capital of the United States and Appleton sits in its heartland.   And it is in Appleton that you can find Wilmar's who are famous for their small batch fresh chocolates.

So I have just two things to say to our guest:- many thanks for making the big trip over to come and stay here and well done for your impressive walking endeavours on La Palma.  Oh, and thank you for the chocolates!

Wish you were here

You might think nothing ever happens around here.  Well, you'd be wrong!  Take Sunday for example - around 5 o'clock not only do the church bells ring which is pretty exciting in itself but also we get to see the weekly crossing of the cruise liner on its way from La Palma to Madiera.  This photo was taken yesterday overlooking our roofs at a time when it would be dark in the UK.
Bet those people on board were really sorry to be leaving La Palma because I don't imagine Madeira can be nearly as much fun. 

Going back

One of the questions that people ask us - apart from 'What made you choose La Palma?' - is 'Do you ever go back to the UK?'
And the answer is that yes we do, from time to time.  After all, our passport photos nearly look like us and we were not banished due to bad behaviour, as far as I know.  And of course we have our yummy family there.
So last week I dug out my scarf, hat and gloves and hopped on a flight, first to Gran Canaria and then on to Edinburgh courtesy of Ryanair.

My eventual destination was Stirling - Scotland's newest city and one of its most historic.  I had never been there before so there were lots of treats to be seen and some fantastic walking.  And shops,  oh yes, shops.  And I did.
Next, I headed due South by train to York, a city I know somewhat better.  And somehow, I had entirely dodged the snow - none in Stirling and none in York but plenty in between.  By the next day, that had been rectified, although with beautiful blue skies.

Back in La Palma, the scarf, hat and gloves have been packed away again, until the next time.  Mind you, in the next few months there might be snow 'up top,' at the highest point of the island.  Ah yes, snowballing followed by a dip in the sea.  Can't be bad, can it? I shall keep you posted.