Balconies in Bloom

I have to say that our wonderful and historic capital of Santa Cruz de La Palma is looking especially beautiful at the moment with its balconies in bloom. 

 If you didn't know it already, La Palma is famous for its traditional wooden balconies which adorn not just the impressive mansions of the city but also the cottages jammed in amongst them.  

And of course restaurants such as La Placeta are no exception but this particular restaurant treats us with flower filled balconies both at the 'front' facing the sea (which historically is the back as the balcony was a lookout point for checking on the advancement of pirates) and the 'back' which is where you can eat al fresco from a pretty plaza. 

One of the main places to see balconies is Avenida Maritima which runs along the seafront where flower-festooned balconies lie in an impressive row.

But if you slip up one of the cobbled side streets, although you will find more balconies hanging from various buildings, everything bursts into flower again as you come into the main shopping streets of Calle O'Daly and Calle Perez de Brito.

Really the treats just go on and on ...

And on ....

And on ...

And on!

Flower Power

This is the time of year on La Palma when wild flowers are popping up everywhere in all colours.  April is when the action starts to get going (if you don't count the months building up to it) and nature is still on a roller-coaster of colour as we zoom into May.
Whilst each year is a little bit different with certain flowers being more prominent, a good old faithful is one that never ceases to amaze me although I guess it is not strictly wild. I see that I wrote about it last year as well - little wonder with its perfect little parasols of shocking purple!

 

Another plant that I really appreciate grows steadily throughout the year, slowly and silently spreading itself across the ground or down a wall, all along hoping you won't notice. It's a succelent plant which means that basically it doesn't care if it gets water or not.  This is my type of plant.   It then produces wonderful pale lemon flowers seemingly from nowhere and then of course it's too late to cut it back because you can't bear to cut the flowers off. 

Then there is a variation of the sweet pea.  My previous experience of growing them in the UK was that it took plenty of patience to first get them growing and then make sure they followed the appointed path up bamboo canes.  From there, with luck, they would make a colourful show.
Here on La Palma, they grow like plants posssessed!  Great tumbling and billowing clouds of them line the donkey path at the side of the finca but - to be honest - they don't do much harm there.  However, they are not content with that but want to envelop anything else they can find such as our lovely white wild rose which is in full bud at the end of the path. 

But my final salute is to the wild poppy.  It strikes me as being such a brave little flower with its 'hey, here I am' bright red colour.  And yet, when you come to inspect it more closely, it is in fact the most delicate of flowers with not a robust petal to its name.  For sheer simplicity, to me, it's a winner. And that's my reason for letting it grow (almost) wherever it likes on the finca here in Franceses.

Ruta de las Cruces

The 3rd of May is cause for celebration on La Palma - yes, something of a fiesta you might not be surprised to hear. However, this one is particularly important as it celebrates the founding of Santa Cruz de la Palma, which took place on 3rd May, 1493.   Like many fiestas, it starts rather late at 22.00 hrs and continues through the night.  The difference with this one is that it is in fact an excursion on foot - the Ruta de las Cruces - to see the decorated crosses to celebrate the event. 
If you are already on the island, you can enrol for the walk by ringing 603850336 and ask for Esther.  Don't worry, it won't be a dull half-dozen of you out for half an hour - it seems like half of La Palma go and it lasts approximately eight hours.  Or just turn up and follow the crowds.  You will find impromtu bars open, bands playing and singing and in general a great party atmosphere.  Oh, and the crosses are rather amazing too, decorated with jewellery, silks and flowers and many with huge but intricate backdrops made of tiny seeds.  And of course you can go and see them in the day too.

  Meet at 22.00 hrs in San Pedro and bring a coat, torch, walking pole or stick and reflective tabard or similar.
It'll be something of an eye-opener, even in the dark!

Land of the Landy

If you are a lover of good old-fashioned 4 x 4 vehicles, you're going to feel right at home on La Palma.  And if you are driving around the rural north, it seems that almost every car apart from hire cars are 4 x 4's! 

In the old days, mules were used to transport goods but then the farmer's friend and trusty steed became the Santana Land Rover.  Still chugging along the roads after 20 plus years of faithful service, the Santana is probably about as stuburn as a mule - and possibly about as comfortable.  But of course, you can cram a lot more on, in and around them than a mule. 

Then there are the baby pick-up's.  There are still a few of those about - they remind me of Matchbox cars that you really could 'pick up' and put in your pocket!  

And then the modern day Land Rover, still built from the same design and about as aerodynamic as a brick.  But it really is some workhorse!