A small rock in the Atlantic: 23/03/2008

More Living Statues

This is Aladin. to my amazement, he said he'd only been practising with the glass ball for about a year, although sometimes for hours at a time. He's from Poland originally, but now he lives in Tenerife because he's in love with the golden Fairy.

There were a couple of other living statues that did a better job of staying immobile (in my opinion) but were less interesting when they came to life.

And then there was the alien. He had a set of scary teeth, but unfortunately I didn't manage to capture them on film.

And the sailor was very cool, too.

This is the third year they've held this competition, and it seems to be getting more popular each year. So there's every chance there'll be another next year, which is fine by me.

Labels: Canaries, Canary islands, culture, La Palma, living statues, performance arts, Santa Cruz, street theatre

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Whiskers

My favourite of yesterdays living statues was Whiskers.

I spent a lot of the morning learning how to edit video, and here's the result.

Labels: Canaries, Canary islands, culture, La Palma, living statues, mime, theatre

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Living Statues

This morning, Santa Cruz played host to a competition for living statues.If you haven't seen these before. they stand completely still until you put some money in the container, and then they perform.

I've seen a few before, but this competition brought in 16 artists from all over Europe and beyond.

They'll be back tomorrow and Saturday, from 11 am to 2 pm.

And I'll get some video up tomorrow.

Labels: Canaries, Canary islands, culture, La Palma

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What to put in your suitcase

The Palmeran climate's a lot less predictable than it used to be. We had an unusually dry winter, but so far spring is wetter than usual. In any case, at this time of year, the weather's very changeable. It's not like Ireland - if you don't like the weather just wait five minute and it'll change - but half an hour ago it was pouring, and now it's just cloudy.

So do bring the waterproofs if you're planning to go walking. Bring good boots too, unless you're planning to walk mainly on roads. The trails vary, and some are very rough. Do NOT try to hike round the Caldera rim in high-heeled shoes! (I did see someone trying once. She didn't get far!)

Then there's the change in climate due to altitude. Down at the airport (260 ft, or 80 m above sea level) it's currently 15ºC. Up at the Roque, (7,900 ft or 2464 m) it's just below zero (-0.6ºC). So unless you're planning to sit on the beach for the whole holiday, you'll want a jumper or even a fleece. Bring the swimsuits too - they don't take up much space, and we've been getting intervals of glorious sunshine. Ten years ago, we only got the calima - the wind off the Sahara - for a few days in the middle of summer. But we had it for a few days in January, and even the locals headed for the beach.

Very often, the west of the island (including Cancajos) is sunny in the morning, and the cloud builds out from the mountain as the day goes on. So the beach is the last place to cloud over. The East of the island (including Puerto Naos and the Princess hotel) is much sunnier and drier.

I've created a page with links to weather stations around the island here. At the moment, it's still very basic, but it will improve as I find more weather stations and webcams.

Labels: Canaries, Canary islands, La Palma, Weather

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Napeloen Bonepart in the Caldera de Taburiente

Rock formation in the Caldera de Taburiente, La Palma

A couple of weeks ago, I promised more photos of the Caldera de Taburiente.
At the top of the Caldera there's a rock formation that from one angle looks distinctly like Napoleon Bonepart, or an indian. So it's called Boniface or El Indio. This photo is taken from below the Roque de las Viñas, beside the vineyard.

The best viewpoint has a lethal drop and no guard rail. It's totally unsuitable for small children, people with vertigo, and idiots. I'm assuming readers of this blog have some common sense.

The river bed beneath is the Taburiente. There is water down there, but it's under the stones.

Rock formation in the Caldera de Taburiente, La Palma