"ES PASSOS" IN SANT VICENT DE SA CALA

HOLY WEEK IN SAN VICENTE (SA CALA)

Although most of the parish churches celebrate it on Good Thursday, few of them do the Vía Crucis on previous Palm Sunday, as here in Sant Vicent de Sa Cala. This rural Vía Crucis is called by the locals "es passos". there are fourteen stations where they stop at each marked cross, and then the Priest reads about that station of the Christ passion and then men sing a very old traditional song for each station, and so do women as well, after them.

There is something that can amaze the visitors, sometimes this church during the Holy Week is surrounded by many multicolours bands due the near feast celebration of San Vicente Ferrer the saint Patron of the little village and so, sometimes they celebrate the Passion surrounded by many small flags hanging from the church.

The outdoors crosses are the sign of where to stop the porcession of this Vía Crucis and celebrate each station. the "passos" of Sa Cala and San Miguel are the most ancients of the whole island and are really interesting. In all this kind of processions men are supporting the Christ image...

...meanwhile women are surrounding the Virgin Mary of the Sorrows that follows his son, during the procession as we can see at the above footage.

So, during some moments these two images go around the little village, and are surrounded by beautiful and natural landscape.

It can happen that the 5th of april (as this year) can be as well the Good Thursday or Good Friday or another day of the Holy Week, when the catholic church celebrates the mourning of Christ. So, the festivity of the Saint Vincent will be celebrating on the next sunday which is the Resurrection day.

The image of Our Lady of Sorrows, in this parish is not dressed in black, but grabs in his hands the nails that held up his son on the cross, visible is her heart with seven daggers (pains). Thanks to younger people, these old traditions are remaining alive and seems that will go on, as the roots of their ancestors.

AGAIN THE ALMOND TREES FLOWERS

ALMOND FLOWERS IN SANTA AGNES


They came on delay this year, but have arrived. I do not know if it's true or not but I heard from some farmers of Santa Agnès de Corona, that the almond trees in very cold weather purposely can delay flowering, and do not know if this is so, but the truth is I've never seen a long-delayed flowering as this year.

In fact I believed that this year would not see the white explosion that often create these trees during flowering, and although we could saw some isolated flowers, this year noway is at all as used to do so.

The big cold waves (in fact two), are over, and the white colour that the snow brought, was replaced in days with the white colour of the almond flowers, giving a chance to enjoy those Ibiza fields full of them.

The white colour of the flower, combined with the white cottages, green meadows and the deep blue sky. In this intense winter flowering, the spring starts showing the face, in few days begins. we barely twenty days begins.

IBIZA UNDER THE SNOW

SNOW IN IBIZA

Till few weeks ago, the island of Ibiza was engulfed in an unusually warm winter which many people could not just sunbathing and even bathing on the beaches, when suddenly it was announced a drop in temperatures as so it was.
Although the inhabitants of Ibiza are used to hearing about snow at the Balearic Islands (Mallorca has mountains much higher than the rest of the Balearic Islands) this time was also true for Ibiza. In fact not few people did the traditional snowman, as we see normally on the winter pictures of northen Europe.
The long-awaited winter white lady, hardly came to us in to the island, on this occasion we were able to enjoy many winter images as Christmas postcards. The traditional flora of the Island as junipers, pine trees and shrubs with fragrant wood where all under a unusual white.
Images of the Alps in Ibiza, children and older people making snow wars, as genuine as any winter season. Yes, the white lady did not stayed much time in Ibiza and as fast she came, she left few hours after, but anyway we could enjoy much more time than previous snows of many years ago.
The typical Ibizan pine trees have also been adorned by the white detail, although I at that time and due to the great cold I spended more time in bed. These images I´ve got are from Marius Schadrack and Agnes Boned they both are the persons that took the pictures of this post.
And not only snowed on the highs of the island (the maximum height is 475 meters above sea level) but also at sea level as we see in these two images from the beach of Sant Antoni that offered this wintery picture. Ibiza for a few days was again the "white island" that was time ago, but not for the houses and churches of lime but for the snow.Year of snow is year of prosperity as one spanish proverb says: Año de nieves, año de bienes.

SA SITJA

SA SITJA DE SA ROTA D´EN COCA

A sitja (now totally obsolete) was made to obtain coal in the island. It´s a complicated process that just 70 years was a daily method for which the coal was obteined after a long process. Nowadays you can see some old sitjas spread in some forests of the island, completely abandoned. The wood is placed with pine blogs with the heaviest and largest below, and filled all the interior with the rest of the tree logs. After all trunks, it is covered with dry pine needles and it´s surrounded by stones, all in a kind of an oval form oven as we see in the pictures. A sitja like this on the images, burns for about three days non stop. Once the coal is made, the coal is used in the area and the rest was carried to "Vila" (the name that is used to Ibiza town by the locals) to sell it. Annually in Santa Agnès (where these photos were taken) there is an exhibition about the sitjas and one is made and burned within the program of the village fiestas. It is one of Ibiza's traditions that have been recovered.

ES CALO (FORMENTERA)

ES CALÓ

Just before starting the climbing way to La Mola, we find a small fishing village on the eastern side of the island, known as Es Calo of Formentera. Here we enjoy views with the backdrop of imposing cliffs of La Mola.

Here we can enjoy small beaches of white sand in an area mainly rocky. The turquoise waters itself worth the visit...

Here is where we can find those typical and very rustic wooden docks or boathouses for the small fishing boats of the inhabitants of this area of ​​the island.

These wood buildings exists in Formentera in large numbers scattered around the coast, but perhaps here in this place is where we can find the greatest number of them. I must say that in this town we can see also some tourists and there are small family hotels, so in summer some of the tourists are mingled with locals.

It´s amazing how even after the worst windstorms these wooden dwellings have little damage, and those that exist after a major storm are rapidly repaired by the owner itself.

Here, in this place also we find the junipers that fill the island (sabinas). This tree native of the Pine Islands (Pitiusas) and that not exist in the rest of the Balearics.

The day I visited this place I found a plague of jellyfish, but these are not at all dangerous and also completely harmless to humans. always we find them in large colonies. They navigate a sailboat in fact have a sail of them on top that make navigating and sailing vessels. In Castilian sailing jellyfish are known in their scientific name of "Velella Velella. But in english the name of this jellyfish is very clear: By-the-wind-saylor

Es Calo is a place where crowds have not reached here yet that invade the island on summer. The beaches are still unknown to most of the visitors, their transparent and turquoise waters are unique on the island and also has the charm of its sandy beaches surrounded by rocks and docks where "rest" the small fishing vessels in the area . A place to relax and enjoy nature and landscape.

IBIZA´S SHEEP

OVEJA IBICENCA (SHEEP OF IBIZA)
Some time ago I took these pictures, I think they are quite appropriate to start the year. They are like a postcards that everytime is more difficult to find them on Ibiza, but if we going out to the countryside and their fields we have many chances to find them. I have found these photographs left in a corner and so I have now the chance to pass a small tribute to a girl of "vila" that enjoy a lot her visits to the countryside of the island.

When I visited other Mediterranean islands such as Malta, Sicily or Sardinia I realized that sheep are different from Ibiza. It turns out that the sheep is a breed native Ibiza in the Balearic Islands. It has several characteristics, but it strikes me that the forms of their wicks are called pyramid schemes. Often with small reddish or black. Although they are generally white wool. This breed was mixed with others from others areas and the peninsula, but thanks to the breeders and its commitment to this breed, this breed of the Ibiza´s sheep has been achieved.

SEASON GREETINGS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Its Christmas again. To all who follow this blog and who don´t, for those who have visited Ibiza and for those that will do so in the future, to those who like Christmas and to those who don´t and to those who are living near or the ones who are living far... to everyone my very best wishes for a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

BON NADAL

Just say that those pictures I chose for this entry to greet Christmas, belongs to some great pictures exposed in the Church of Santo Domingo at Dalt Vila.

ES CUBELLS DEL CARME

ES CUBELLS

One of the most spectacular villages of the island is located atop a cliff in the south of the island in an impressive semi-enclosed bay where you can see the spectacular views of the south side of the island. The small town is about this little white church of the XIXth century on the edge of the cliff and where weddings of renowned celebrities and local people as well who choose this beautiful temple as well as its wonderful enviroment to celebrates here their special day.

The sea views are stunning and many of its inhabitants are fishermen who do not have easy access to their boats because they are located down the beach where there are several very simple piers, meanwhile fishers are living on the top around the village.

On the way to the beaches down there are wonderful views that will surprise us on the way down. If important are the neighbors who are engaged in fishing is also important those above and are engaged in farming.

But the area of the cliff and the beach is the most important for those who have their boats and therefore the central axis. Es Cubells and the sea have a special relationship but totally different from other coastal towns on the island and the sea is separated by the height of the coast.

Although its beaches have no sand, but small pebbles, there is always clean water that invite us to take a bath, preferably during summer months.
Es Cubells is also famous for its spectacular mansions that exist in the descent to the coast, stunning houses with swimming pools and all the luxuries needs and no mention to the privileged views of those houses.

Es Cubells has a strange harmony between the interior Ibiza fields on its highest point of the sea and the sea in its coasts, clay cliffs and large tracts of pine trees, docks simple fishing boats and big houses ... everything has its place in this village.

Celebrities have had or still have their houses here. Ursula Andress Among them was the most popular but many others as the composer Mike Oldfield who was inspired by this place to compose his music.

Es Cubells even has its mistical side and thus recalls a sculpture next to the church dedicated to Father Palau y Quer a monk that came from the mainland, who popularized the tradition of the Virgin of Carmen that is so entrenched in this town. This hermit monk lived two stages on the island in 1864 and another at the next year.Incluso

This monk became very popular throughout the island and in Formentera, but it was in the nearby islet of Es Vedra where he spent much of his time living as a hermit and drinking from a natural fountain that exists at the top of the islet and living in one of its caves.

Back in Es Cubells one drinking fountain reminds us of another of the episodes of Father Palau over the island. Very near here put a picture in a small chapel and part of the land in this place that was dry made ​​it a small orchard.

Nowadays Es Cubells is not an isolated place as before, we can enjoy here an enviable peace and tranquility. There is also a Carmelite monastery where you can buy a palautiana route book which explains in detail the life of this religious monk. An interesting book edited by the Carmelite missionary group and I have had the pleasure to cooperate with some of the pictures that appear in the publication.