Las Galletas Christmas Festval

Now you know what 'Tapas' are!

Food plays an important part of any event

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Bus Route: 470[Los Cristianos] to Las Galletas'

Return: 470[Granadilla] to Los Abarigos however a taxi (Fare12€ at the time) was required as the event finished after the last bus (about 20:00 hrs).

As I mentioned in my last blog, 'Los Cristianos for Christmas', I was going to have a trip into Las Galletas (p.Gayetta) s I had seen that they were having a Christmas Festival too.  The 'English speaking' newspaper 'Island Connections' (http://www.islandconnections.eu/) which is published fortnightly keeps a diary of events around Tenerife and is a very useful source of information. It is available from newsagents an can be 'found' in Iceland, hotel lobbies and other businesses who contribute.

The event was advertised as starting at 19:00 until 22:00 hours so I knew that this was not going to be a complete round trip on a bus, however compromises have to be made at times and I can usually work out a bus/taxi combination which costs the least amount of money.  We arrived just before 7 and it was still light as we wandered around Las Galletas looking in the various fashion shops as this village appears to have some quite upmarket places to spend your money. As darkness descended, which is quite fast around here, the various 'folk groups' and 'costumed' locals emerged and the whole place stepped back in time. I have discovered that every 'Canarian', young and old,  possesses a traditional 'dress'. The Christmas lights were on, the shops looked inviting all participating by decoration and the traditional tree or bush outside covered in bows and festive greeting cards. We stopped for a lovely meal of traditional 'Tapas' before migrating to the square where the 'Nativity' was played out, in a much quicker fashion than at Los Cristianos, and the traditional dancing began. Everyone enjoyed themselves and a sense of community abounds. Two young children joined in with the dances taking their lead from the grown ups but no-one complained or stopped them. The smiles of the old and the pride in the faces of the parents were heart-warming at this festive time of the year. Hot chestnuts and almonds along with other delicacies were to hand as the evening grew comparatively colder in this clime. As the event finished we strolled through the decorated streets feeling at peace with the world.