Sunday 5 December 2010

There will be no Snow this Christmas!



Living here in Lanzarote in the Canary's has many advantages, the weather being one of them. And whilst Christmas is a huge affair in the UK and northern Europe, it is still, by comparison, low key here. We most certainly will not be expecting snow, frost and cold temperatures. Though like most places, we are seeing a change in the weather pattern. But Christmas is still Christmas for us, we put our tree up and our outside lights out - wrapped around one of the palm trees, though none of the lights will be turned on before dark - around 6.15pm. The streets do have one or two decorations, though compared to the UK and other European cities, it seems very little at all. Shopping here, is a million miles away from UK shopping, for a start we do not have any large shopping Malls, we do well to have large shops! The local supermarkets, tend to stock lots of chocolates and cakes for Christmas, that's about as far as it goes here. A few years ago a new shopping centre (outdoors) was built and opened in Puerto del Carmen, the centre always makes a huge effort to decorate for Christmas and only when it is dark can you appreciate just how festive it looks.

15 comments:

Rosalind Adam said...

Now I know what your new avatar was all about! How strange to have Christmas without the ice and cold (although it would be lovely if it wasn't quite so cold here in the UK as it is right now!) and to be able to shop without pushing and shoving through masses of panicking people would be a joy.

p.s. Just thought I'd mention that there's a line of text hiding behind that Christmas tree!

Kittie Howard said...

I so enjoyed your post, I Googled Lanzarote to learn more about your beautiful island. Wikipedia had a lovely write-up. Enjoyed learning about your deep history. I also got lucky and was able to click over to some web cams, mostly at Playa Blanca. Wow, really impressive!

Hub and I spent a Christmas on Mauritius and understand what you mean about shops and decorations.

Joanna St. James said...

I know! xmas just feels weird sans snow, am trying to get used to it myself.

Pauline Barclay said...

Hello Rosalind,we've got used to having it warm at Christmas not sure how we would cope in the cold these days! Mmm I'm a little foxed about the line of text, I will have another look, but can't see anything! Keep warm x

Hello Kittie, thank you for taking the tine to have a look at details about our island. There is a web cam at Puerto del Carmen too, so hopefully it will be working the next time you have a peek. Have a fabby day! x

Hi Joanna, thanks for stopping by and yes it does take some getting used to, but we have no problems now! Have a great day! x

Helen Hollick said...

I always assumed Lanzarote was a Catholic country - so assumed Christmas was a big thing.

I suppose as long as Santa has you on the map though.... :-)

Pauline Barclay said...

Hello Helen, thanks for stopping by, it is, but Christmas is a quiet affair, the locals real Christmas is 3 Kings on 6th Jan. As for Santa on the map...no....too far away for family to send pressys..! x

Anonymous said...

Snow is only fun when you can play in it. BTW, those pics are gorgeous!

Pauline Barclay said...

Hello Liz, I've enjoyed looking at your snowy pics. Thanks for stopping by and we are just a 23c today! x

Suzy, The Grey Brunette said...

I know what you mean, Pauline. Life in the Algarve is a little similar, although we do have plenty of lights around the towns and cities. We have got our fair share of shopping centres, but its nothing like the UK.
I do miss the snow and even though the UK is having to deal with extreme havoc at the moment, I do envy them!
I've given you a blog award, which you can collect over at my blog!
Hugs
Suzy x

Pauline Barclay said...

Hello Suzy, I am so very happy to receive your Blog award, I will be hot footing it your Blog as soon as I pressed 'Post Comment' Thank you!

You seem a little more festive in the Algarve than we do on this Island. Lanzarote is lovely because it is relatively unpsoilt...yet! One of the few Canary Isles that can boast this.

Now off to collect my award :)
Hugs back x

The Happy Whisk said...

More great pictures. Love these.

Pauline Barclay said...

Hi The Happy Whisk, thanks for stopping by and glad you liked the pics. Have a great day!

The Happy Whisk said...

Thanks. Hope you had a great day too.

Emma said...

Hi, I'm live in Cyprus, and it's my 2nd Christmas here this year - I've also blogged recently about how it doesn't feel the same!

Would rather the slightly warmer weather though :)

Pauline Barclay said...

Hi Emma, thank you for calling by, I will take a look at your Blog. Here our temps are normally this time of the year, around 22c - 23c, but it is winter! Have a lovely Christmas.