On 11 February 2024, Steffi and I flew back to Santa Cruz de La Palma together for a few days’ holiday on ME. And the timing couldn’t have been better: the next day was my birthday – and it fell on Carnival Monday, of all days.
The Día de los Indianos
On La Palma, Carnival Monday is celebrated in a very special way: as the “Día de los Indianos”. It commemorates the many islanders who once emigrated to the Americas – above all to Cuba – and later returned home rich. The whole thing is poked fun at with a big wink: everyone dresses in white, in the style of the old colonial days – and everybody showers everybody else with white powder. You can buy the powder bottles on every corner, and nobody is spared.
It was absolutely brilliant! The whole town was packed, everyone in white – and all of it in shorts and T-shirts, in the middle of February.
New friends from the Isly
That day we also met our boat neighbours Martin and Conny from the Isly – the name, by the way, stands for “I still love you”. We had a fantastic day with the two of them and loads of fun – until late into the night.
We paid for it afterwards: it took us a whole week to get the boat, our clothes and simply everything clean again. The powder was in every crack, absolutely everywhere. Disgusting – but still wonderful and unforgettable!
