Events on La Palma this weekend

Silk exhibition at last year's craft fair

Friday night is the best meteor shower of the year, the Perseids. Of course it should be visible all over the planet, but La Palma's astronomical viewpoints will probably be a particularly good place to see shooting stars. Unfotunately the full moon will spoil the show quite a bit. Astrotour will be in La Polvacera bsketball court from 9 pm - 11:30 pm with telescopes.

This year, the island's annual craft fair will be in San Pedro, Breña Alta, from yesterday until Tuesday. There are 179 different exhibitors, showing 40 different crafts, so there should be something for everybody. The fair is in a big marquee in the Parque los Alamos just north of San Pedro, beside the tobacco museum. It will be open from 5 pm to 9 pm Friday, Saturday and Wednesday, and 11 am - 9 pm on Sunday and Monday.

Puntagorda is celebrating its annual fiesta, of St Maurus the Abbot. On Saturday there's a romería (something between a religious procession and a party) from the village centre to the old church, followed by a special mass, shared picnic and dance.

There are other fiestas in Concepción, Fuencaliente, Barlovento, and Argual.

Monday is a national holiday, and most shops will be shut, although most food shops will open at least briefly.

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What to Feed Lizards on La Palma

A female wall lizard grabbing watermelon, Tedote, La Palma

Yesterday I discovered that the local lizards (Gallotia galloti palmae) are fond on watermelon on a hot day. Figures. Unlike most lizards, they eat quite a lot of plants, especially ripe fruit, to the point where they can become a nuisance in vinyards.

I recently discovered that we only have one species of small lizard here. What I thought were two species is one, with different colours for males and females. The one in the photo above is a female - brown and stripy. The males are greyish, with a blue throat (below.)
Male Palmeran wall lizard, Gallotia galloti palmae

My friend has been told that it's a big mistake to feed them, as they can loose all fear of humans to the point where they'll bite your toes. We discussed this, and agreed it seemed unlikely, and if it did happen, it wouldn't be all that bad. After reading Wikipedia, I conclude that it's extremely unlikely. Apparently one colony on Teide of the subspecies on Tenerife (Gallotia galloti galloti) has become quite tame and will provide photo opportunities in exchange for ripe banana. There's no mention of tourists getting their fingers bitten off.

I have to try this. Watch this space.

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