Watching the world go by

This cat was watching the world go by from its perch on a bit of old scaffolding above the road in La Calera.

The Sunday Sessions continue...

The bus station with bar in La Calera

Most Sundays at Ramiro's bus station bar near the bridge in La Calera there's live music or informal sessions and sing-songs, mostly starting from around lunchtime and sometimes continuing until sunset. From this Sunday a few regular visitors with various instruments will meet there again - probably not only on Sundays - to have a session and sing-song just for the fun of it, which is called a parranda in Spanish. One of them, an English musician and singer, has even written a new song about the event and all going well you can hear its premiere there tomorrow. Well done, Fred !

A beautiful beetle

I spotted this well-preserved VW 1500 'beetle' car in La Playa, Valle Gran Rey, yesterday. This historic Volkswagen petrol-guzzler dated from 1966 with an original Tenerife registration. It attracted a lot of attention and I wasn't the only one taking photos.

Rare musical performance

As part of the 33rd Festival de Musica de Canarias the 'Duo Antwerp' will perform in the Casa de la Cultura in La Calera, Valle Gran Rey, this Friday, January 27th, at 7 pm. The duo play two rarely-heard instruments, namely the marimba and the bass clarinet. To quote the organisers:

''Duo Antwerp is formed by two outstanding performers: Adilia Yip on the marimba and Daniel Belloví on the bass clarinet, who always believe in the enormous potential of this unique combination. Through original works from contemporary composers and classical arrangements, the Duo extends the amazing possibilities of marimba and bass clarinet in both musical interpretation and high technical level. Every concert of the Duo is an enjoyable music experience full of creativity and cultural excursions.''

Do not forget...

I spotted this table decoration in a bar and restaurant in the harbour of Valle Gran Rey. Hmmmm....

Mini arts festival starts today

'Festina Lente' begins at 4 pm today. For details see previous post. Below a nice publicity stunt, filmed in Vueltas harbour:

A festival floats to La Gomera

Four sailing

boats on a 15- month journey to seven countries with a couple of dozen mostly French  artists, musicians, dancers and performers aboard will visit the harbour of Vueltas, Valle Gran Rey, this weekend to show their talent during a two-day festival here. They will also collaborate with local artists and the event is facilitated by the Canarian ports authority.

Their interesting programme includes concerts with music from Balkan to Latino to Jazz, a DJ, acrobatics, live painting, and exhibitions (one of them underwater) and more. Films will be projected onto the sails of their boats and you can get French crepes. You may  visit the boats, go on a short sailing trip or book one of several workshops (Click the programme above for details). The troupe is part of the French 'Artquipage' association and their show begins on Saturday, January 21st 2017, from 5 pm until midnight and on Sunday from 3pm to 10pm. (Update: Entertainment starts at 4 pm on both days. Workshops on both days from 3-5 pm. There are some more changes to the programme above to include local artists). Don't miss what promises to be a very entertaining weekend with a wandering arts festival. The performances are located at the end of the pier in the inner harbour and are free of charge, but donations will be appreciated, I'm sure.
The festival had initially been planned to take place last weekend, but was moved forward by one week. Some of the musicians used the delay to play a few impromptu low-key gigs in the meantime to enthusiastic crowds, like their excellent Jazz band (below, sorry for the poor image quality):

Magician performs today

A magician called 'Charly Braun' will perform free of charge today in Valle Gran Rey and he will also give a short workshop. This event takes place at 6 pm in La Playa's Plaza San Pedro and is being organised by the local administration.

Pottery museum now open again

The interpretative centre and museum showcasing the traditional pottery in the mountain village of El Cercado, one of the very last places where pottery is still made in the traditional way as it was done by the original settlers more than 1500 years ago is now open again. It was sadly closed for quite some time but now you can enjoy the nicely laid-out exhibits once again. It is called 'Las Loceras' and located in the village square of El Cercado where there are also toilet facilities. The opening hours are daily from 11 am to 3 pm, except Mondays, and the entry is free of charge.

There are still three of the traditional potteries in the village where you can watch the potters at work in the traditional way without a potter's wheel, and all three include a craft shop selling the earthenware and other local products.

Hare Krishnas taking a dip in La Gomera

A busload of members of the Hare Krishna cult, apparently Spanish-speaking and from mainland Spain, arrived in Valle Gran Rey in La Gomera's southwest last Saturday and caused quite a stir. Many visitors and locals were attracted to the scene of chanting Hare Krishnas taking to the sea in the rock pool of Charco del Conde, commonly and aptly known as 'baby beach', where they formed a circle standing in the water. I didn't even know that Hare Krishnas still existed in such numbers...

Many thanks to J. and E. for the images. Music by 'Gong'

Festival postponed

The festival 'Festina Lente' planned for the coming weekend has been postponed and will now take place one week later. More about this 'wandering arts festival' soon...

Job offer for the permanently female

Hermaphrodites need not apply !

I spotted the above job offer in La Playa, Valle Gran Rey, today (with many thanks for the tip-off to the man from Scotland). So, if you're of the fairer sex, have definitely made up your mind about staying female for good, and bring the necessary gender-confirming documentation you may apply to the shop named Calima (see shop sign below). And mind you, it is  called after LA Calima, the female dry, hot, dusty, blasting easterly wind.

The Christmas Fiesta in January

Above the programme. Find out more about this traditional event...

One man drowns, another rescued

Playa de La Calera on a calm day

A swimmer has drowned in the sea at Playa de La Calera, better known as Playa Maria, in Valle Gran Rey on New Year's Eve in the afternoon. The victim was 64 years old and of German nationality. He had been spotted by other swimmers in the sea and been brought ashore where attempts were made to resuscitate the man and an ambulance with a doctor arrived on the scene, but the victim was pronounced dead a short time later.

While this beach is generally considered to be a safe one, the sea conditions were rough at the time with very choppy waters and a strong south-easterly wind with gale gusts.

In a separate incident some time later another swimmer got into difficulties at the same beach. He too was spotted by other people on the beach who called the emergency services on 112 and brought the drowning man ashore while the ambulance with a doctor was on its way. The 49 years old man had a lucky escape as this time resuscitation was successful and he was said to be recovering well in the local health centre.

Hello New Year