Riding a plank down a cobbled street

This is not a re-enactment for tourists, nor something recent. On the night of 29 November the cobbled slopes of Icod's old town fill with young people hurtling downhill on greased wooden planks, at a speed that is frightening the first time you see it. It is the municipality's best-known festival and one of the strangest in the Canaries.

When it is

The date does not move: San Andrés is 30 November, and in Icod it spreads over three days. On the night of the 28th the new wine is uncorked on Plaza de Lorenzo Cáceres, with wineries from the comarca. The board run is on the 29th and 30th. The big one, the night in the photographs, is the 29th.

What the board run actually is

Wooden planks, sometimes joined in pairs, greased underneath. The rider sits or lies on top and lets go down a steep cobbled street, braking with feet or hands. The streets are prepared, sections are cordoned off and people go down in turns. It is worth understanding that this is not a show staged for an audience: it is local people going down, and the public watches from the sides.

Where to stand

The run happens on the sloping streets of the old town, the area around Plaza de la Pila and the church of San Marcos. If it is your first time, the sensible thing is to arrive early, find a spot high up overlooking a straight section, and stay off the roadway. Each year the council publishes a programme with the exact sections and times: worth checking, because they change.

Something you will see repeated that is not confirmed

In 2017 there was a move to have the boards declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, and since then it gets repeated that they are. We have found no resolution completing that process, so we do not claim it here. Whether the festival is worth seeing does not depend on an administrative label.

Staying that night

Late November is a quiet season in the north except for that week. If you are coming for San Andrés, book with time to spare: it is the busiest night of the year in Icod, and the old town closes to traffic.