Early Christmas presents arrive in Tenerife

There's been speculation over whether there could be some of the Mexican "jet set" visiting Tenerife, as the shiny new Mayan Queen IV, is docked in the port of Santa Cruz. The 92 meter - British designed - super-yacht belongs to Alberto Baillères, second richest man in Mexico and fourth in Latin America, according to Forbes Magazine. The 75 year old is said to be worth 9.8 billion dollars.

Security had been so tight there was no telling if her owner was on board, but this report confirms that she was heading to Tenerife to pick up her owner.

Mayan Queen IV sailed from Norway and was last seen spending a few days in Dartmouth on the south of England, before arriving in Tenerife on December 14. The yacht is piloted by Babbacombe-based Richard Kirkby, who used to pilot Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich's super-yacht Le Grand Bleu. Mayan Queen IV leaves Tenerife on December 23rd, going to Barbados.

Tenerife's Extreme Cold

Already having classed this autumn as the coldest in 15 years, the weather gurus have had more to say about the unusually cold temperatures that Tenerife has been experiencing.

Apparently, it's the 9th coldest the island has suffered since 1965 and the coldest since 1993. (I was there then and, strangely, I don't remember being frozen solid ...), but says the Agencia Española de Meteorología (Aemet) (Meteorological Agency)'s delegate on the island, this one-off cold snap cannot be attributed to climate change.

Wind chill has added to the sensation of cold and, compared with the average temperatures in Tenerife between 1971 and 2000, this autumn has been classed as "between very cold and extremely cold." November's weather, which was the 7th coldest in 48 years, notably contributed to this, they tell us.

But after all this talk of cold has made you shiver and conjure up images of palm trees with frost on, what do they actually mean by "extremely cold?" "... the average temperature on low ground in the islands has been about 19.9º."

Yeah, that's plus and in centigrade. Your heart bleeds, doesn't it?

Lottery Premonition

If you're wondering if you're going to win anything in tomorrow's El Gordo lottery draw, pop along to the official Sorteo de Navidad website, enter your number in the little box and click the button that says "Comprobar."

Microsiervos are showing a strange case here, where someone has entered their ticket number already and the site is telling them they've won 100 euros. Dead clever that, since the lottery isn't drawn until tomorrow morning! :)

Economic Crisis' Million Pound Bonus ....

One thing that struck me as I was reminded that the first prize is 3,000,000 euros, is that, in previous years, I'd have been saying that was equivalent to only £2,000,000, but with the "crap" exchange rate it's £3,000,000, of course! 

And while searching for information and references, I found this site: The Fat One, all about the El Gordo lottery, but in English. They point to some videos, including this one that shows you how the children "sing" out the numbers and, they say, "As an interesting side note, the most famous ad campaign for the Christmas El Gordo lottery featured during many years a British actor who is very well know as "el calvo" ("the bald one"). See that video here.

Christmas Baby comes early

No room at the inn, check. Born in "inappropriate" setting, check. Arrives just in time for Christmas ... Where have we heard this story before?

News just in is that a 28 year old woman gave birth at 4.14 a.m. Sunday, in a car, on the Avenida Príncipes de España; the main road that passes through Icod de los Vinos, in Tenerife.

A municipal police officer went to the scene and helped the woman through the birth, guided by phone by a nursing trained coordinator of emergency services, until the ambulance arrived to take mother and baby to Bellevue hospital.

Both mother and baby are said to be in perfect health.

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