December 28th (i. e. today) is something like April Fools Day in Spain and in most countries in South America.

This day is named after the Santos Inocentes (innocent saints) and has its origins in the biblical legend of the killing of innocent babies under King Herodes. Spain and the other countries do not follow the tradition of April 1st, as most of us do in the English speaking world. If you want to tease somebody in Spain, it will have to be today.

Beware today of some of your Spanish acquaintances as they might wish to send you up the garden path. Don’t even trust all the news in your daily newspaper, be they Spanish or simply printed in Spain.

I promise that I am not teasing you with today’s photo. A friend of ours braved the waves three days ago, on Christmas day, here in Mallorca, on the Platja d’es Trenc. You will remember; it was a gorgeous day.

The photo was taken on Platja d’es Trenc, near Sa Rapita, Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 25th, 2007. The time was 15:05:15.