Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Mount Teide for sale on the internet
Characteristic rock at Los AzulejosA story which reached the local TV today, in tones of astonishment, I'd noticed at blog "Apestando por lo Nuestro" more than a week ago.
They report that a German is selling sand collected from Los Azulejos in Tenerife's Teide National Park - recently declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO - on internet auction site eBay and add that, if we take into account the fact that it is prohibited to extract mineral material (or plant cuttings, or anything at all) from the national park, then the sale of the same cannot be legal either.
They blame the cultural level of tourists who come to these islands, calling them "incapable of distinguishing between public and private" and, "the level of alcohol in the blood of the English and those who come from the east."
Personally, I don't see what the English level of alcohol has to do with a German selling sand, but those harsh words aren't entirely undeserved and, a little searching uncovered another auction for "A piece of volcanic rock from Mount Teide in Spain", being sold by someone in England.
On Friday, newspaper EL DÍA picked up the story, saying that various sites had denounced the "souvenir" sale - being offered for 1.10 euros (although they don't say how much you get for that price) - however, eBay has not, as yet, done anything, despite several people contacting them, to remove the illegal sale and the page, in German, still remained on the internet.
EL DÍA also say that they had attempted to get eBay's comments on the story (and those from the local authorities), but were unsuccessful.
Apestando por lo Nuestro: Se vende arena de Los Azulejos en Internet
