Thursday, December 01, 2005
Tablas de San Andrés
Officially, the celebrations of San Andrés, held each year on November 29th - the eve of St. Andrew's Day - were cancelled due to Tropical Storm Delta. The public opening of the bodegas and the tasting of the new wine (Tenerife's answer to Beaujolais Nouveau), accompanied by roast chestnuts, was sadly called off.
However, not even a storm could stop the youth in Icod de los Viños from enjoying their annual suicidal slide down near vertical streets on boards with nothing but a pile of old tyres to break their fall at the bottom.
This curious tradition, which is unique in the Canary Islands, was born from the need to transport wood from the highest areas of the town down to the workshops where it was used in handicrafts and in naval construction. More »
Ycoden Daute Isora among the most important wine growing districts of the Canary Islands.
Meanwhile, they also celebrate the Fiesta de San Andrés in Puerto de la Cruz. There it is popularly known as the Fiesta of Pots or Chestnuts. Kids drag strings of tin cans and throw scrap metal around the streets of the town to make as much noise as possible. The "Castañada" (chestnut feast) is held in the square itself, with the chance to try many typical products of the island. PuntoInfo.
