I've wanted to come to the Corpus Christi celebrations here in La Orotava for several years now and after a mistake in the date last week, we've finally made it.
The town is gently humming with anticipation and preparation is going on everywhere. The streets are being swept, no parking barriers erected, pop up bars set up, lawns receiving their final trim and the flowers dead headed so they look their best. We enjoy a relaxed tapas lunch in La Duquesa bar in front of the Inglesia de la Concepcion. As we enjoy Ropa Veijo and red wine we watch a floral display being made from carnations in the shadow of the church. A trip inside the church late reveals this was only a tiny part of the stunning floral arrangements.
After checking into the beautiful Hotel Rural Victoria, all old Spanish wood, galleried walkways and an enclosed courtyard, we stroll to the town hall. This year's "sand carpet" has the theme of mercy. The design and size are amazing and best viewed from upstairs in the town hall. We stand on the balcony, speechless trying to take in the details of the picture in front of us. As we walk back through the Town Hall we're equally impressed with the lovely Spanish building, the Victoria Gardens beyond have been manicured to perfection.
After a fiesta in the hotel we join the crowds, perambulating in their finest and it appears tightest most blingy clothes, stumbling across a wine tasting/tapas fiesta with Spanish salsa music. The crowd is a happy mix of babes in arms to old folk walking with sticks, all enjoying fiesta.
