Dead Volcanoes and Ku Klux Klan Look-A-Likes

For some reason I seem to have less time on vacation for blogging then otherwise. Maybe because I feel I need to use my vacation to the fullest for things that are difficult to do in colder/darker climates. So I spent my vacation hiking, bathing, jogging, sightseeing, enjoying good food, and reading instead of blogging.

I spent two weeks in La Palma which is one of the Canary Island. I even read a Spanish book to match the destination so I thought I would talk a bit about Spain and the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t find an author from La Palma so it became a mainland author Manuel Rivas (born in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) and his book The Carpenter’s Pencil.

Let me start off by praising La Palma. It was a stunning little island with beautiful nature, not too many tourists, and an impressive infrastructure. The capital Santa Cruz was an adorable town with clean, old style streets, and charming atmosphere. It is a bit difficult to claim that I got to feel the authenticity of the place as I really was nothing more than a tourist but I imagined I felt it when I went to town early one day and could watch the old men sitting out on benches having the
morning chat with their friends or walking around alone listening to their handheld radios. I kept wondering why it was only men outside on the streets. Were they all avoiding their wife? Mysterious. I also got to see the Easter parade which really just freaked me out. I cannot get used to the fact that they wear costumes that look like they belong to the Ku Klux Klan. Sure the Catholic church had those weird costumes first but that is not your first thought when you see them. Then there was unfortunately what I have started referring to as the “smell of Spain” in every corner (smell of pee) but I am convinced the tourists can be blamed for that.

I also went for a great hike that I would like to recommend to anyone visiting La Palma, the Route of the Volcanoes. A very scenic route (approx 17-18 km) on the top of the island past some old and thankfully sleeping volcanoes.

Unfortunately, the book I read didn’t quite match the charm of La Palma. The story is about Doctor Daniel de Barca, an Republican and a revolutionary during the Spanish Civil War. It is told from the perspective of another man who is in love with the same woman as the Doctor. The story teller tells the story of his semi-stalking the doctor as his prison guard. There is some other stuff weaved into the story like a dead painter that he himself killed that is whispering into his ear.

The story wasn’t very interesting, the characters didn’t appeal to me, the writing felt simplistic, and the setup seemed to be trying too hard to be artistic making it all feel out of place. The book has gotten good reviews from others so maybe it was just the fact that I never got at attached to the story that ruined it for me. I however couldn’t manage to find much that appealed to me so I only feel like giving it 2,5 stars out of 5.

Despite this book not being worth recommending I now have a backlog of four books to write about. Two of them were great so stay tuned for some interesting recommendations.