Monday, October 25, 2004
Helicopter Exercises
Click for full imageA couple of times recently, the hill next to my house in the valley of El Palmar, near Buenavista, Tenerife, seems to have been used for what I can only assume were training exercises of some kind.
We've also seen spectacular flying displays when these "little birds" swoop into irrigation tanks, then take off, vertically (with all that weight in a bag) to carry water to the site of a local fire.
One time, I actually got slightly wet watching as one helicopter passed no more than 30 feet above my roof as it banked round to go from the source of water down in our valley to a fire in the next, but this is the first time I've managed to get any half-decent photos. (Other than those on my only trip in a helicopter: the obligatory tourist flight around Manhattan, circling the Empire State.)
In an operation identical to another we witnessed recently, this helicopter first passed and briefly hovered as a half dozen or so people, all wearing vivid yellow tops, alighted onto the top of the hill. The helicopter took off & circled. The yellow people walked 50 yards or so and the helicopter landed to pick them up again.
Why? Beats me! With luck I'll find someone to ask one day.
Anyway, seeing the angle at which he'd landed, I knew he had to take off in my direction, so I rushed out with the camera. 
Click any thumbnail for its full image in a new window
Now, admittedly the valley floor goes down quite a way lower than you can see from this angle, but having taken off from the top of the hill, the helicopter then dropped right down towards the valley floor that, by the second shot (and it went much lower before pulling up), my stomach was in my mouth. He then had to bank right pretty sharply (see 3rd frame) in order to avoid a) the power lines b) bringing me lots of guests for coffee.
You can see the problem clearly in the full shots. We have cables strung everywhere. It's more unsightly than the bunch of cable spaghetti at the back of anyone's PC and it is a danger. Five lives were already lost in this tragic accident in Gran Canaria in March of this year, when a rescue helicopter, carrying injured from a bus accident, plus pilot and medical attendants, became entangled in power lines as it tried to leave from a mountainous location.
My total admiration goes out to these pilots for what they have to achieve here. But I think these events show that we urgently need major investment in moving those cables, both to recuperate the image of the landscape and to make their jobs easier & lives safer.
[Update] I have confirmed that these were indeed training exercises for rescue operations. And my neighbour was also watching and I wasn't the only one to think that the chopper decended a mighty long way down into the valley floor!
Pretty Pictures Of Tenerife
Holiday-truth.com have galleries of user-submitted photos, including this Tenerife & Gomera Photo Album that you may enjoy perusing.
Quite a lot of photos of kids around pools of numerous, seemingly identical, holiday complexes and persons in suspect states of sobriety in karaoke bars (oh sure, I used to do a spot as a compere, but I've never considered it visually appealing. Or maybe that IS better than hearing it!), but there are also some really nice shots, such as the sunset at Puerto de La Cruz (shown above) and various pictures of Mount Teide and in and around the National Park.
Holiday-truth.com also maintain a Tenerife Discussion Forum, where you can find out or tell the truth about your Tenerife holiday.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Watering The Bananas
This fantastic aerial view is of the Montaña de Taco in the Isla Baja area of the north coast of Tenerife, overlooking Buenavista.
"This 1,055-foot (322-m) volcanic dome appears to stand guard over the farming region of Buenavista. Its ancient crater has been converted into a reservoir to supply the banana plantations that cover the coastal plain of northwestern Tenerife. Banana plantations, which thrive on the fertile volcanic soil and subtropical climate, account for a third of the Canaries’ agricultural produce."
In the background to the right of pic is the island of La Palma (La Isla Bonita). Make a left between the two arms of the Teno mountain range you can see to the left of the shot and you'll end up in the Valle El Palmar and at my house. About 2-3 miles.
Full post and bigger pic. (Via Puerta del Sol Blog.)
