Saturday, April 29, 2006
Dublin Airport issues advice to travellers
In a release offering advice to passengers over check in procedures at the airport, it was revealed that, "More than 310,000 passengers are expected to travel through Dublin Airport during the May Bank Holiday – one of the busiest weekends of the year. More than 2,000 flights are due to arrive and depart, including 125 charter flights to destinations such as mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and Turkey."
Dublin Airport issues advice to travellers
Friday, April 28, 2006
Guinness Book of Records Attempt in Tenerife
The timple - the traditional five stringed Canarian instrument - could mark its place in history this weekend if the organizers of a project entitled, "Seven islands in five strings" are successful in gathering 1,300 people in the Plaza de la Patrona in Candelaria, Tenerife tomorrow.
The attempt to beat the world record for musical interpretation with the largest number of stringed instruments, will take place this Saturday, April 29 from 15:00 onwards (Yes, if you're anywhere near and can play timple or guitar, they say everyone is welcome.)
Don't expect this to be a concert of traditional Canarian folk music though. The piece of music that has been chosen for the world record attempt is the well-known Serenade in G major, "Pequeña serenata nocturna", or, perhaps better known to us as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music), to honour Mozart's 250th Birthday.
Three famous Canarian timple players will be present, Benito Cabrera, José Antonio Ramos and Domingo Rodríguez "El Colorao". Those not familiar with this harp-sounding instrument, can read about and hear the timple, in English, at Benito Cabrera's website.
El timple, al "Guinness" este sábado
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Where are the boat people?
"Fears are growing for the welfare of hundreds of would-be immigrants known to be aboard a rust bucket which last week attempted several times to cross the invisible line that demarcates Canary territorial from international waters. The captain’s clear intention was to disgorge his human cargo in one of the Canary Islands." report Tenerife News.
It seems that we have these boats arriving in the Canary Islands more frequently than ferries, so I do wish Tenerife News dated their news items so that I could distinguish which influx it belonged to, but this one is potentially worrying for other reasons.
The Spanish Armada (yes, that really is the word for Navy) were out in force, "after it was revealed that the Spanish authorities had been advised by British intelligence services that among the illegals on board there were thought to be a number of Islamic terrorists of Pakistani origin." MI-5 had been closely monitoring the boat.
Where are the boat people?
Stand Up for Your Rights
Jaunted blog asks, "Are there plans afoot to make flying even more miserable than it already is? Beyond whatever nickel and dime policies carriers are toying with these days, a new concept for airlines could be headed to an Airbus near you: Standing room only seats, first reported in the New York Times. Passengers would be secured to a padded backboard with a harness like wearing a backpack; Airbus is pushing hard for this configuration on their new A380."
Now, OK, they are talking about the situation in the United States, but the fact is that the Airbus A380 is a European kit-built job, with parts being made in Britain, France and Germany and some further bits and bobs coming from Spain.
In fact, a friend of a friend works on the wings. When he told me they were making a double-decker plane, I asked if it would be painted red like the London busses. :)
Just my opinion, but the almost four hour flights from the UK to Tenerife are worse than seven hour transatlantic flights, because they use tourist class "sardine seating" already. A two hour flight to Spain and you can just put up with it. A long-haul flight does give you some chance to get fed twice to relieve boredom, get up and move around, etc.
The writers at Jaunted say, "Given the choice between hideously cramped seats and standing, we choose standing. Is it any worse than taking the subway?"
Well, from that I suspect they are of the "fit and well under 40" persuasion. Since I am neither, I would truly hate to see this kind of thing being used on our routes. Worse, since there are a lot of OAPs who make the trip regularly from the UK to the Canary Islands, what about them. Could they stand for 4 hours? What about people with medical conditions? I mean, non life-threatening, muscular types that make standing difficult.
This would be absolute torture in my opinion. What do you think?
Stand Up for Your Rights Via: Jaunted
Related:
A380 makes massive debut
Airbus A380 Makes First Long-Haul Flight
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Tenerife is not on the Google Map
Ogle Earth, a blog about Google Earth, alerted me to the fact that various new European Google maps sites, including maps.google.es are now officially live.
Hummm ... Well, if you go to the front page of the site for Spain, the first thing, glaringly conspicuous by it's absence is any mention of Tenerife or the Canary Islands, at all.
It seems that we do not exist. We're a figment of our own imagination or a legend in our own lunchtime, or something. They have the Balearic islands. They don't even include the Canaries, which are too far south to be in the shot, in an inset, as is the usual case.
Nevertheless, if you type "Tenerife" into the search box, the Canary Islands map appears. And, if you type in "buenavista del norte" (without quotes), you will zoom straight to the top left-hand corner of Tenerife to Buenavista del Norte and, even El Palmar is shown.
One can't then help oneself from doing silly things like using the "Cómo Llegar" (How to get here) function. For no reason at all, I decided my imaginary traveller would start in Manchester, England. What I really wanted to do was to trip Google up and see if it would insist on folk getting their feet wet coming to an island, but it coped quite admirably.
After coming down the M6/M1/M20, it takes you to the Dover Channel Tunnel. Then, after a route which avoids the Paris traffic, by diverting around Nantes and Bordeaux to Burgos in Spain, continues via Madrid, Seville and onwards to the Cadiz Ferry.
The only bit I couldn't follow was the last part in Santa Cruz, which does suggest at one point continuing on the Calle Peatonal Pitera. Hopefully, you would be on foot, because I reckon peatonal means pedestrian street. But, if you were walking, I think this journey might just take you a little longer than the 2 days 19 hours that Google estimate. :)
Google's function also did good on a journey from Santa Cruz to Buenavista del Norte, at least it used the available roads. I remember I tried this once at MSN and their map chose a direct route NORTH of Puerto de la Cruz. In other words across the sea.
What's the photo? It's a section of the TF-436 as it passes through the El Palmar valley. Heck, I've only been here seven years, but it wasn't until I looked at the Google map today that I found out what number the main road is passing just below my house. :)
Google Maps for Spain (In Spanish) Via: Ogle Earth
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Tenerife English News in Brief
Kreutz defends Tenerife Ladies Open at Abama
The Ladies European Tour season gets into full swing this week with the €242,000 Tenerife Ladies Open at the spectacular Abama Golf Resort from April 27-30, where Frenchwoman Ludivine Kreutz defends the title against yet another high class field in the Canary Islands.
El Médano fights back
An announcement made by the Ministry of the Environment has put the thirty members of staff at the Médano Hotel at El Médano, and most of the local citizens in a state of nerves. The Ministry said it has every intention of demolishing the hotel, a famous landmark of this southern seaside resort since 1963.
Tenerife train scheme steams ahead
The Santa Cruz-La Laguna tram might not yet be a functioning reality, but already the authorities are looking ahead to a Tenerife train which will link Santa Cruz with Tenerife-Sur airport in 30 minutes and Playa de las Américas in 45 minutes.
Tenerife port triggers protest avalanche in Brussels
Lobbying doesn’t get any better than this! The European ombudsman has announced his office has received well over 5,000 complaints about plans to build a megaport on the south coast of Tenerife, in Granadilla.
Cruise liner set to visit
Black Prince, a frequent visitor to Inverclyde started the cruise season when it docked in Greenock on Monday. The ship, which carries 420 holidaymakers, was starting a cruise to the Canary Islands, including visits to Lisbon, Gran Canaria and Madeira.
New 24 hour Medical Centre in Puerto Santiago
The new medical centre on Avenida Maritima was inaugurated on April 7. Services offered at this new centre include paediatrics, gynaecology, physiotherapy, cardiology and cardiovascular, and dentistry. With these services the private medical centre, which is linked to the Hospital Costa Adeje, will solve some of the medical shortages in the area.
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Classified Ads in Tenerife
Looking for somewhere to rent, an inexpensive item or even a date in Tenerife? Want to offload your old junk? It may be treasure to someone else. Classified ads, specifically for Tenerife and in English at Loquo.
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Salad Days in Tenerife
It's all to do with innovation in cultivation and finding new - and profitable - crops to grow. For which the Tenerife Island Corporation is carrying out tests on 14 different species of lettuce in the area of Santa Bárbara, in Icod de los Viños, to see how well they behave themselves. The aim is select those which prove most suitable and to give growers new alternatives for production.
El Cabildo realiza un ensayo de diferentes variedades de lechuga para estudiar sus posibilidades
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
The Fastest Way to Get to La Gomera
The ferry between Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife and the port of San Sebastian, on the neighbouring island of La Gomera, takes around 90 minutes. It is possible to improve on that time, bringing it down to 40 minutes, by taking the fast ferry.
But there is an even faster way, as these pilots, Ramón Morillas, César Maldonado and Francisco Renedo, from the Draco team proved, by paramotoring across the Atlantic ocean in a mere 25 minutes, reaching speeds of 84 kmph and with a 40 kmph north wind.
The trio took off from Los Realejos in the north of Tenerife and made the crossing to La Gomera, passing over the districts of Agulo and Hermigua, landing on the beach. During the last few kilometers they were joined by paragliders from the club, Izaña, who took off from the mirador de Abrantes, in Agulo, to perform acrobatics, landing in unison.
Ramón Morillas is three times world champion in paramotoring (2002, 2003 and 2004), while César Maldonado is the world number two in the same speciality and Francisco Renedo is the world team champion. The first Paraglide Crossing from Tenerife to La Gomera will be the spectacular opening event of the II International Paragliding Festival, taking place in Los Realejos between April 27th and 1st May 2006.
El equipo Draco completa la primera travesía a La Gomera
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Los Rodeos Airport to Open until Midnight
Spanish Airports' Authority, AENA, have announced that as from the end of May, the airport of Los Rodeos in the north of Tenerife will remain open until midnight - an hour later than its current closing time of 23:00 - during which planes will be allowed to land.
AENA took the decision after carrying out a study on the regional airports. The report also says that this has been requested by both passengers and operators for a long time, given that it is very common for the last flights of the day from Barajas (Madrid) to be diverted to the Reina Sofia airport in the south, because they have missed the deadline through delays. I'll bet residents local to Los Rodeos have a different opinion on the matter.
AENA decidirá a finales de mayo si abre Los Rodeos hasta medianoche
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Homage to the Last Goat Herders of Teno
Last Saturday, in Teno Alto, Buenavista del Norte town hall and the Federación de Salto del Pastor Canario (literally, Canarian Federation of the Shepherds Leap), paid homage to Francisco González Regalado and his wife María del Rosario, inhabitants of the small hamlet (of approx. 100 people), who are some of the very few people left in the area, dedicated to keeping and grazing their flocks of goats in the Teno mountains and who also practice the sport of Salto del Pastor, "the Shepherd’s Leap".
It is a pity there was no photo with the report, because it is most likely that I know these people - at least on nodding terms - because it is hard not to know everyone around here and, because they are certain to be participants in the annual San Antonio rural fiesta in Buenavista del Norte, in January each year. My photo shows a flock that had come down from Teno Alto for that event. It could even be of the aforementioned people.
The Salto de Pastor started as a genuine means for shepherds to negotiate the difficult and steep terrain around the islands and those who still keep goats in those areas do still use it as such. However, like the Canary Islands Stick Fighting (which always reminds me of Robin Hood and Little John), the Shepherd's Leap has also been developed into a sport that you are likely to see at various folk gatherings and fiestas. "The Canarian palo (stick) is associated with three interrelated functions – self defense, animal herding, and traveling across difficult terrain. The latter function has developed into the spectacular folk sport of Salto del Pastor, "the Shepherd’s Leap", which features a form of pole-vaulting down rocky precipices and across ravines." Go here for more explanation and photos.
You can even take a course to become a Leaping Shepherd if you feel so inclined, see Curso de Salto del Pastor Canario, which page also has a couple of nice images.
Homenaje a Francisco González y María del Rosario, últimos cabreros de Teno en Buenavista
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Gary Lineker's brother jailed for cash smuggling
The millionaire brother of Gary Lineker, the celebrated former England footballer, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for a £220,000 tax fraud and faces a further 24 months if he failed to pay a £90,000 confiscation order. Wayne Lineker, 43, moved to Tenerife in 1988 and, with his brother's blessing, decided to cash in on the name of the striker. Shortly afterwards, he opened the World Famous Lineker's Bar in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife.
Gary Lineker's brother jailed for cash smuggling
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
How Did That Canary Get Its Name?
Canary Wharf Tower Development., London, EnglandYesterday's picture of the day, Canaries for Sale, of domestic canaries, provoked a comment from Jez, who said "I was under the impression that the "Canary" part of the Canary Islands was a reference to Canines - dogs, not birds."
And he's quite right.
Accepted history is, indeed, that the Canary Islands are named after the dogs, while the birds are named after the Canary Islands. However, as I've mentioned on these pages before and am bound to say again (and again), I have not yet found and, I am sure I never will find, any topic related to the history of these islands where there is one, singular version that can be proven, beyond all reasonable doubt.
What do you expect from the Fortunate Isles, The Garden of the Hesperides and / or Atlantis - depending which is your favorite myth or legend to attach to these islands. None of which can be proven, of course, but then again they can't exactly be disproven either.
Dogs have been important in the Canary Islands in all known history, going right back to the ancient, guanche, inhabitants. Archaeological excavations in several burial caves in Tenerife have shown that the dog was buried with his master, so it could "guide the soul to the region of the dead".
When the the Mauritanian King Juba II, sent a marine expedition to the islands, between 30 and 25 BC, the discovery was described by Pliny, who wrote that the Canaries received this name "for their dogs, two of which were sent to Juba".
Apparently, "Juba was very happy with his strong and intelligent dogs and when he marked the island on his map he called it the "Island of Dogs". He wrote the name on his map in Latin, "canes". (Mauritania was then part of the Roman Empire.) He probably only meant, "Look that's where my puppies came from" or, "Go here if you want a free hunting dog". :)
Because, this report tells us, "Regardless of what Plinius wrote, the fact is that the island called today Gran Canaria, was inhabited by a tribe who called themselves the "canarii". They are said to have had North African, Berber origins.
People started to call all islands "the Islands of Canaria", from which they were later called "Canary Islands". Again, here we are told that the name derives probably from a north African tribe (the Canarii) or possibly the Latin term Insularia Canaria meaning Island of the Dogs. Take your pick!
There is also a further opinion - from Historian, José Juan Jiménez, of the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (Museum of Nature and Man) in Tenerife - that Pliny screwed up his translation and that the Canaries, in reality, owe their name to the "cannis marinus", a species of large monk seal that populated the coasts until the 15th Century.
Although the seals disappeared and the aboriginal people were wiped out, mainly through a mixture of disease and intermarriage, the dogs have remained "man's best friend".
Today's Perro de Presa Canario is originally from the Canary Islands in the 1800s, but may or may not bear any resemblance whatsoever to the original dogs of the islands.
"Its exact ancestry is unknown, but enthusiasts believe that an already established farm dog from the Canary Islands by the name of Majero bardino majorero was crossed with the Mastiffs and Old-Style Bulldogs that were brought from Europe to the Islands."
That many of those "imports" came from Britain, "The British character with their traditions to the fighting of dogs also arrived to the islands.", it should be no surprise that the fancy has gone full circle with renewed popularity among the criminal classes in the UK.
The Origin of the Presa Canario tells us that, "A few years following the conclusion of the conquest of the Canary Archipelago, reference is made in the Documents of the Municipal Council of Tenerife to their agreement of February 5, 1526, that in view of the damages produced by dogs to livestock, both small and large, the extermination of the same is ordered."
Presuming those were native wild dogs and that the order was carried out, it is doubtful much of the genetics of the original dog exists, if any.
Gran Canaria's Tourist Board sum it up best in, Mysteries of the Canary Island Dog:
"The origins of the Presa Canario are as old as the legends of the Jardines Hespérides (The Garden of the Hesperides). Many stories have been told about the dogs from the Canary Islands which confuse reality and fiction and experts and historians often contradict each other when talking about the characteristics of the native dog or the role which they played in the Conquest."
Nowadays, following a recovery that began in the 1970's, modern Canary Dogs have fanciers all over the world. Having a possible bit of one (a mix - compare my mutt with this specimen), I can certainly understand why. Bright, dependable and very, very strong. I've never put her to these kinds of weight pulling tests, but she's helped pull my weight up many a hill before now! :)
Because of links to a previous post about the disappearance of the dog symbol, I discovered two more websites devoted to these dogs, ElPresa.com - just Presa Canario and The Dogo Canario Club of America. For more information on the breed, see also, Presa Canario Canary Dogs and Canary Dog (Perro de Presa Canario).
From all this, it is easy to see why the dogs became adopted as a symbol of the islands, even, currently, being included on the islands' coat of arms (although not until the 1770's, first described by José de Viera y Clavijo), for their strength and versatility - not unlike the aboriginal inhabitants, which, assuming the Berber origins are correct, imagine a whole population of Zinédine Zidane's - and, by extension, became the protagonists in the accepted version of the history of the naming of the islands, whatever the facts.
We do definitely know from several references (well, maybe) that the native wild canary birds were named after the islands. The canary, common name for a familiar cage bird of the family Ploceidae (Old World finch family), descended from either the wild serin finch or from the very similar wild canary, Serinus canarius, of the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores and introduced into Europe in the late 15th or early 16th Century.
On the other hand, it is still a bit "chicken and egg", because, a little too coincidentally, the Latin verb "canere" means to sing. So were the birds named after the islands, or because they can sing, or were the islands named because the singing birds abound?
So, what has all that to do with a picture of London's Canary Wharf?
"Canary Wharf itself takes its name from the sea trade with the Canary Islands, whose name comes from the dogs (Latin canis) which the Spaniards found there, producing the linguistic coincidence of trade between the Dog Islands and the Isle of Dogs." However, just to add yet more uncertainty, another explanation for the latter denomination could be the rumour that the docklands was once the site of King Henry VIII's hunting kennels.
Nevertheless, exotic products from these islands had been unloaded on the site of the now One Canada Square or Canary Wharf Tower. A trade which began in the 16th Century when English
Was architect, Cesar Pelli, thinking of Spain's tallest mountain; Tenerife's Mount Teide, in the Canary Islands or perhaps the Guimar Pyramids when he designed Britain's tallest building; the 235 metres (771 ft) and 50 story pyramid-topped building, I wonder?
Like the rest, these are questions which will probably never be answered.
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Monday, April 24, 2006
111 would-be immigrants off the Canary Islands
Police on Sunday found 111 would-be immigrants packed aboard two fishing boats just off the coast of two of Spain's Canary Islands, authorities said. A police spokesman said 80 immigrants arrived on Spain's Canary Island of Gomera, and another 31 were detained earlier Sunday after they arrived by boat on nearby Tenerife island, off north-west Africa.
111 would-be immigrants off the coast of Canary Islands
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Ladies Euro Tour set for action
"The Ladies European Tour season gets under way with the Tenerife Ladies Open at the Abama Golf Resort from 27 April. France's Ludivine Kreutz defends her title against a high-class field which includes Italy's 2004 winner Diana Luna and in-form Welsh star Becky Brewerton. Kreutz took her second Ladies European Tour title in Tenerife last year with a two-shot win over German Miriam Nagl.", report the BBC.
Ladies Euro Tour set for action
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
From: Secret Tenerife Blog | Tenerife Daily Photo
Sunday, April 23, 2006
The real party's going on up north in Tenerife
Well, we knew that, didn't we? :) However, Katherine Derbyshire in the Mirror.co.uk seems pleasantly surprised to discover, "Far from the horrors of Guinness pubs and Sky Sports, I was astonished to find a historic, volcanic and botanical paradise full of real-life Spanish-speaking inhabitants. No, really." She even gets as far as Garachico and concludes, "For an island with such an almighty reputation for drunken English package tours, I was amazed at how rural, friendly and beautiful the north of Tenerife actually is."
Even though the island is small, it isn't always easy to completely orientate oneself with the map, the less so if one is a temporary visitor and, to be fair, I haven't found an article yet that doesn't have at least one discrepancy. Therefore, I will just point out that Taganana has no beach. Taganana is a village in the Anaga mountains - those in the narrow, north east tip of Tenerife above Santa Cruz - and after you've visited it and go on to the coast, the area with the rocks, black beaches and superb fish restaurants is Playa El Roque.
Also, I have good news for Katherine (or yourself on your next trip). You can now find out in advance whether the cable car on Mount Teide will be open or not. Yes, it used to be the case that you had to go there to find out and, if there was any wind, it would be closed. Nowadays, you can consult their website for this information, prior to setting off.
A High Old Time
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
Friday, April 21, 2006
Canary Islands Most Expensive for Grocery Shopping
All the local press led with the story today that the most expensive cities in Spain for the typical grocery shopping basket, are in the Canary Islands. Well, hey, we lead in something and the saving grace for us here in Tenerife is that Gran Canaria has prices notably higher than ours even.
Both Canary Islands capitals, Santa Cruz in Tenerife and Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, have amongst the most expensive prices in the country, according to figures released by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) yesterday.
The OCU study analysed 86,000 prices in 789 establishments (supermarkets, hypermarkets, discount stores and 9 online stores) in 53 Spanish cities.
Two types of basket were analysed; one with branded goods, the other economy brands.
The Canary Islands headed the price charts in both kinds of basket. In Gran Canaria, the branded goods cost 10% more than in the lowest priced city in Spain, while in Tenerife the cost was 7% higher. Canary Island consumers pay the highest prices in the country for meat, fish, fruit and packaged foods, while household cleaning products are the cheapest.
However, it is in the discount basket where there is a wider margin. In Gran Canaria, consumers pay 39% more than the people in the cheapest city, Ciudad Real, while the shopper in Tenerife pays 33%, almost a third more. In Santa Cruz, the brand name basket was cheapest in Alcampo, whilst it was most expensive in El Corte Inglés.
The OCU had no doubts why the Canary Islands featured at the top of these lists: lack of competition and the lack of deep discounts stores which are excluded from the region by legal restrictions, imposed by the Canary Islands government. The OCU spokesman says that the traditional stores have nothing to fear from the discount houses, "if they get their finger out", as "they have other weapons and attractions with which to fight."
Diario de Avisos, El Dia, Canarias7, CanariasAhora, La Opinion and ABC
Jonathan’s on the crest of the wave!
Tenerife born world class surfer Jonathan Gonzalez will have the official support of Tenerife Cabildo behind him throughout the 2006 international surfing season. This will be Jonathan’s eighth season on the European surfing circuit and his sixth as one of the world’s 44 best surfers. Tube specialist Jonathan’s 2006 calendar includes events in Brazil, Asturias, California, France, Hawaii, Mexico, Lanzarote, Tenerife, United States and South Africa for which he also has the support of his home town Santiago del Teide.
Jonathan’s on the crest of the wave!
Green light for Golf Hotel at Buenavista
Something I guessed was likely on the way: "The Isla Baja area of the island is becoming less of a secret hidden treasure as more and more tourists are being enticed to visit its attractive scenery and tranquillity away from the crowds. In fact so great is the popularity of the area that the tourist department of the Cabildo has just granted permission for the construction of a five star hotel on the Buenavista Golf course."
Green light for Golf Hotel at Buenavista
Studying the depths
The Spanish Institute of Oceanology has announced plans to issue the schools of Tenerife with full colour “maps” of the waters around the Archipelago to be used as teaching materials. The maps which will be virtually self explanatory will include detailed panoramic views of the underwater landscape as well as images of the local fish and marine animals. Tenerife Cabildo has also been carrying out an in depth study of the sharks, shrimps and crabs living off the Tenerife coasts.
Studying the depths
Gary Lineker's brother faces jail over tax fraud plot
The Guardian reports that Wayne Lineker, who opened the first World Famous Lineker's Bar in Playas de las Americas, Tenerife, in 1988, appeared at Southwark crown court yesterday facing jail for his part in a £220,000 tax fraud plot. The money came from the string of sporting theme bars he launched in Spain and Portugal bearing the family name and focusing on his brother's achievements. The bars showcased Gary's commemorative England caps, shirts and boots. They even had areas called Gary's Corner.
Gary Lineker's brother faces jail over tax fraud plot
Alarming Number of 500 Euro Notes in Spain
There was a humorous comment on the TV about this which said that €500 notes are a bit like Bin Laden. Everyone's heard of them, but nobody has ever seen one. And, in truth, I have never had one in my possession, though my friend at the bank did show me one once.
So it comes as a bit of a surprise to us normal, poor folk in Spain to discover that 25% of these high-value notes that have been issued by the central bank of Europe are in this country. There are, in fact, more notes of €500 in Spain than there are of €5.
Well, maybe that last fact isn't so inexplicable.
A €5 note is worth less than £3.50 and there ain't much one can do with that these days. Generally, when one breaks a €10 for anything, you only have shrapnel (coins) left!
Nevertheless, the number and value of €500 notes - 100 million of them, valued at 50,000 million Euros - is so excessive that it "does not correspond" with the size of the Spanish economy and has set off alarm bells with the tax man, who has opened an investigation.
The implication is, of course, that these notes are circulating underground on the black market and that behind this is an increment in money laundering.
What money laundering in Spain or the Canary Islands? No, surely, they jest? :)
Alarmante circulación de billetes de 500 euros en España. La corrupción, las comisiones y el lavado de dinero negro las más que posibles responsables
Puerto family rise to riches thanks to loto jackpot
Everyone dreams of a win – a really big win – on the loto and for most of us that is just what it remains – a dream. But one Puerto de la Cruz resident got lucky at the end of March and is now living that dream. Mohatar Mohammed Mimun, Mota to his friends, is now the fortunate possessor of a fortune of exactly €3,111,448 and 32 cents. And to get it he spent just two euros on a Lotería Primitiva ticket, purchased in the Plaza del Charco lottery office.
Mota’s millions - Puerto family rise to riches thanks to loto jackpot
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Canary Island Translation Hooters
Prepare your sides for a real severe splitting! Honestly, I have not laughed as loudly, or as much in ages, as I have at these two wonderfully screwed up translations.
How the hell the unsuspecting English speaking visitor is supposed to cope, is another matter entirely. Actually, now I know why British visitors stick to familiar English Breakfasts, Sunday Roasts, McDonalds and such, so prolific in the resorts. They obviously don't want to - literally - risk their lives with the local food!
The first example is a homemade desert menu (and the deserts), from a restaurant on the south of Gran Canaria, whose identity has been obscured to protect the guilty.
Miguel at Canarias Bruta comments that "He who has translated this menu into other languages (without doubt, someone called Babelfish, Systran or similar) ought to get the Nobel prize for literature for such great work." And continues, "I am going to order the Brochette of Fruits. It ought to have an explosive flavour." You bet it will!
See the post here and the full version of the menu image here
Oh, for those who don't know, where it says "yogourt of fragmentation hand grenade", it is actually trying and, obviously, failing utterly miserably, to say "pineapple yoghurt". :)
No, please, don't ask me how even a automated translation robot (even if it's on speed or acid) can make that connection! Personally, I'm not sure I really want to eat "Arm of Gypsy", either, but at least that is a literal translation of the Spanish original. Of the six items listed on that menu, not one of the English translations gets it completely correct.
But, wait, there is more ... Bandage the fragmentation hand grenade
Once you've risked eating the aforementioned hand grenade, it is pretty likely that you will want a bandage and the intrepid Canary Island traveller need go no further than the Lagartario de la Montaña de Arucas (Lizard zoo in Arucas), also Gran Canaria.
This time, they suggest - and I am going to translate it because you will not work it out from the English at all - that, "If you want to see the lizards in action, throw them a tomato."
Fair enough, so far? The next bit is what gets totally mangled, from "vendemos" (we sell) into bandage, which would have been "venda" in Spanish. What they really mean is that "if you don't have a tomato, we sell them in the restaurant." Perhaps, on the other hand, if you don't have a tomato, the lizard will bite you and you'll need first aid! :)
In all fairness to my neighbours, translations, it has to be said, are no better in Tenerife. I've had my rant previously about the Sweets of Canary and other Dodgy Translations. And, as I have said before and the above proves, menus everywhere contain similar examples of non-edible things to the point that I have given up on trying to translate their English.
Labels: Lost in Translation
British Government to Charge for Vomiting Abroad
And about time too, in my opinion. Really, it has to be said that those Britons who see fit to come to this island and behave like savages, spoil the image for so many visitors who might have come. The negative press makes potential visitors think that is all that goes on here, whilst such behavior causes some locals to think that all British people are louts and again, treat the rest of us with utter contempt and at times, downright racism.
Jaunted report, "The British government would now like to start enforcing a law on the books that will allow embassies to charge £84.50 ($151) an hour for their help -- in particular when it's the drunk Brits themselves that were at fault."
Let's hope they do and that it will make a few people think twice.
British Government to Charge Citizens for Vomiting Abroad
II International Paragliding Festival in Tenerife
If you are one of those adventurous types who likes real thrills, then you will want to be in the north of Tenerife, between April 27th and 1st May 2006, for the II International Paragliding Festival, organized by the The Town Council of the Historic Village of Los Realejos and the Canary Federation of Aerial Sport (FECDA).
They say, "Due to the great success achieved in the 2005 edition, when we brought together more than 150 pilots, over 60 co-pilots, 29 exhibitors and 72 accredited journalists, this second meeting will be likely to turn into one of the greatest shows and most well–known aerial festivals."
II International Paragliding Festival in Tenerife Via PuntoInfo
Postcards of Tenerife
PuntoInfo, the Tenerife Island Corporation's own Tenerife tourist information site has a small, but pleasing, selection of online postcards of Tenerife you can send to your family and friends. (Actually, so do we and we have more of them than they do.)
On the other hand, they do have something we don't and probably never will (balls, probably :), in this image, which is the first (numbered #2 in typical Irish wisdom), that is of the Punta de Teno - that is the far left bit of this end of Tenerife - taken from Teno Alto. Getting to the point from where this shot was taken would be too much of a vertigo inducing trek for me, so enjoy their view!
Postcards of Tenerife
Poverty In the Canary Islands
It is, of course, impossible that anywhere is all "sunshine and smiles" and, in this, the Canary Islands are no different from anywhere else. Something that, as visitors, you would be unlikely to be aware, however, is the true level of poverty of the hard working people who keep your hotel rooms clean, serve your food and otherwise pamper you on your stay.
Prensa Alternativa in this post on ¿Salario Social en Canarias? point out that, according to official statistics, more than 20% of the Canary Islands population lives below the poverty line, which is to say, have to live on less than half of the average salary.
Almost 400,000 people are in this situation. Also, even though employment has risen, it is characterized by seasonal work, precariousness (that is, with short-term contracts that do not allow workers to plan their futures) and low salaries. Many employees can be considered poor, because they do not earn any more than the minimum salary.
Spain has a minimum salary fixed by law, which according to the latest figures I could find, for 2005, was 17.10 Euros (roughly £11.40) per day or 513 Euros (approximately £342) per month. Workers with temporary contracts do have to be paid extras, which brings the daily figure up to 24.29 Euros (around £16) per day. Workers paid hourly, such as domestic cleaners, have their rate fixed at a minimum of 4.01 Euros (£2.60) per hour.
However, whilst the concept of minimum salary seems like a good idea on the surface, one of the frequent "abuses" of this system - and I have had employers play this game of words with me - is that they twist "the minimum we have to pay by law" into "exactly what we have to pay by law", making it into the maximum you can expect to receive too.
When the minimum salary was first introduced in 1963, wages in Spain stabilized. During the 1970's, the spending power of the minimum salary rose 2.5 times. However, in the 80's, this trend turned downward, as can be seen in these graphs.
When the press and media talk of poverty, they usually cite cases of people who have to live on 300 Euros (about £200) a month, or less. It is hard to imagine anywhere on earth where that is possible and though the cost of living is lower in the Canary Islands than in northern Europe, it certainly would be very difficult to do so, even here.
Such poverty leads to marginalization and misery. There is more poverty amongst youngsters, women, single parent families and the old and, causes rises in petty theft.
Prensa Alternative and EA-Canarias, rightly IMHO, say that it up to all of us to change the situation. As visitors, you may be wondering what you can do. One thing is to think twice before buying ultra cheap, all-in package holidays. They leave little, if any, money actually in the pockets of the local people. Know that tips are more than necessary and greatly appreciated. Insist that the people who serve you are afforded a dignified salary.
Canary Islands Government proposes sanctions for Endesa-Unelco over Tropical Storm Delta Failures
Marisa Tejedor, councillor for Industry, Commerce and New Technology in the Canary Islands Government proposes that her department should sanction electricity company, Endesa-Unelco, with a fine of 450,000 Euros for grave infractions, after detecting the high level of deterioration of the supply to the south of Tenerife after the island was hit by Tropical Storm Delta in November 2005, leaving many without power for seven days.
Although not related to the loss of power, further tests have also shown that the part of the 66 kilowatt supply between Las Caletilla and Granadilla in Tenerife, shows "a high grade of erosion and its charge capacity is reduced to almost half."
Ms Tejedor also underlined that some improvement projects have been held up because of problems within the company and others, for administrative reasons and delays in gaining permissions from the Government and Town Halls. Proposed modifications of the "Canarian Electric Law" aim to reduce such bureaucratic processes.
Industria propondrá al Gobierno canario que sancione con 450.000 euros a Unelco por infracción grave
Labels: Tropical Storm Delta
Teide volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands
The cropped detail shown left shows the inverted D shaped bowl that is the El Palmar valley. You can also clearly see the flat, Isla Baja region on the north coast, where you will find the town of Buenavista del Norte, with the "pimple" of the Montaña de Taco in it's center. On the west coast, are the marked "corrugated" ridges of the 500 meter plus, Los Gigantes cliffs.
The red spot (that I have added) is the highest point in this local area, the mountain Cruz de Gala (pictured right), which at 1,354 meters, as against Ben Nevis' (the highest peak in Britain photos) height of 1,344 m, makes them - as near as damn it - equal.
VolcanoWorld have various pages of information about Mount Teide, on Tenerife, featuring various satellite images and images taken from the Space Shuttle, photographs, as well as diagrams and simplified explanations of the geology of the island and its volcano. It's detailed enough, but is also fascinating and interesting enough, even for non-scientists.
Among the space images they use as reference is this SIR-C/X-SAR Image (pictured above) click here or on the image itself for a larger version including the whole island or, for more information and access to a full-resolution (22-megabyte) copy of this image, press here.
The image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard the space shuttle Endeavour on October 11, 1994. (SIR-C/X-SAR) is a joint U.S.-German-Italian project that uses a highly sophisticated imaging radar to capture images of Earth.
One of the things I did not know, is that the valleys of Orotava and Guimar formed as large pieces of the island were removed by landslides. The landslides are caused by the gravitational instability of the large island.
Teide (28.3N, 16.6W) is the third largest volcano on Earth. Like Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea (the first and second largest volcanoes), Teide is a shield volcano. Elevation at the summit of the volcano is 12,188.3 feet (3,715 m). The age of the main subaerial shield phase for Tenerife is about 5 million years. The Las Canadas depression formed by a combination of explosive emptying of a high-level magma chamber and collapse and lateral movement of the summit. The most recent eruption was on the northwest flank of the volcano in 1909.
Teide volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Seasonal Hours of Daylight in Tenerife
Apart from the relatively warmer weather, one of the major reasons for visiting this latitude (28°N) in the winter months is that there are far more daylight hours.
Whilst in the UK, it begins to get dusk at around 3:30 pm in mid-winter, the earliest here is around 6:30 pm.
On the other hand, in summer, we don't have such long days with it remaining light until well into the late evening. There is a variation between seasons (probably no more than two hours of difference between mid-summer and mid-winter), but it is not as marked a variation as it is at more northern latitudes, such as the UK or those places near the north pole that have total darkness in winter or where the sun never sets in summer.
Probably because there is little variation, after so many years here, I have developed the ability to tell the time, simply from the quality of the light at any given time of the day.
This is maybe not something you think about, normally, until you get here and notice that it has not got dark yet at the time you are used to it doing so, but it is certainly a good reason to visit the islands and avoid mitigate the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Tropical fossils under wraps
Despite those unforgettable images of A Million Years BC, the film shot in Las Cañadas, dinosaurs never roamed the craters – or anywhere else – in Tenerife. It was all a Hollywood fantasy. Nevertheless, local paleontologists haven’t drawn a complete blank when it comes to fossil finds. And of all the unlikely places, the bustling beach of Las Teresitas in Santa Cruz is one of the few places where fossils have been found in the island – and that doesn’t mean the ones sunning themselves on beach towels!
Tropical fossils under wraps
Binter’s Euro link out of Los Rodeos north airport
Local airline Binter Canarias has announced that as from May it will be flying from Tenerife to Paris and Milan every Saturday. The new route is perhaps a response to complaints from Tenerife tourism authorities. The Paris-Milan routes have up to now operated exclusively out of Las Palmas, but Tenerife attracts more visitors from France and Italy than the neighbouring island, so that, arguably, a Tenerife connection makes more sense.
Binter’s Euro link out of Los Rodeos north airport
Collection of Images of Snow at Mount Teide
If previous posts (here and here) did not produce enough snow for those of you who enjoy a winter landscape, this collection of images, taken at the Teide Observatory at Izaña in February 2005, should do it. Earlier this year, mountain roads were closed when they became iced, so it's possible that, as a visitor, it would be difficult to see such a quantity of snow in person.
Observatorio de El Teide, Febrero 2005
Homage to Republican Mayor of Buenavista del Norte
The 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, was celebrated with a homage to the last republican mayor of Buenavista del Norte, Antonio Camejo, who disappeared after being imprisoned, after he alerted authorities over the suspicious movements of troops by Franco, in May 1936.
The act was organized by the "Friends of the Republic" and included a floral offering to the monument which commemorates those who were imprisoned in the fruit packing plant of the Fyfes company in the Tenerife capital, Santa Cruz, in the months that followed the rebellion of July 18, 1936.
Antonio Camejo, was mayor of Buenavista del Norte on two occasions and advised the Civil Government that he had detected "suspicious" movements of the troops under the command of then military commander of the Canary Islands, Francisco Franco.
However, Camejo, received no response from the authorities and this was, therefore, probably the reason that he was detained in July of 1936. Nevertheless, he had previously received death threats, which had prompted him to relocate to Santa Cruz with his family, who he never saw again after he was imprisoned at Fyfes, even though his wife, Candelaria Rodriguez, took a basket of food for him every day.
His widow, who died in January 2005, was interviewed for a book to be edited by Buenavista del Norte town hall, believed that her husband had probably been thrown into the sea. One day he had managed to send a note in the basket which said he was to be taken to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and that was the last she heard of him.
Candelaria Rodriguez was left with three small children and pregnant with a forth child, a daughter, who died at the age of nine months. Without official recognition as a widow she, therefore, had no rights to financial assistance. The last image Rodriguez saw of her husband, on the way to court, was of a face tortured and disfigured.
Tenerife homenajea alcalde republicano alert movimiento Franco
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Republic began on 14 April, 1931 after the exile of King Alfonso XIII, following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas. The departure of the King, led to a provisional government under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora. Under the provisional government, titles of nobility were swept away.
New Pedestrian Boulevard for Icod de los Vinos
Certainly, the calle Emeterio Gutiérrez Albelo, the steep street which runs down the side of the town hall and joins the old center of the town of Icod de los Viños with the commercial areas below, is not a pretty sight, with its huge retaining wall (photo). However, according to this report from Infoicod Noticias, the area will soon be notably changed.
The containing wall is visible from the Parque del Drago, the main tourist attraction in the area and, for this reason, the authorities want to remove its unsightly visual impact.
Improvements to pedestrian access (walking down this 21% slope on the present shiny, slippery pavements is NOT easy and going up can be a bit of a challenge too, for all but the fittest), will embellish the area with an attractive boulevard with trees and green areas.
The works, which will take six months to complete at an estimated cost of 160,000 Euros, will have a central lane for vehicle access. On one side will be pedestrian access, which will alternate semi-horizontal sections with steps every five meters, while the other will remain as a slope. Both sides of the boulevard will have garden areas with jacaranda and other trees, alternating with new street lighting and park benches. At the bottom end of the boulevard, a new traffic island, with a central fountain, will substitute the current one.
Se incluye un bulevar peatonal en la reforma de la calle Emeterio Gutiérrez en Icod de los Vinos
Enjoying the Teide Snow
One way in which you can enjoy the Tenerife snow, from anywhere (even if you can't ski on it), is via the webcam situated at 2,400 meters above sea level on the residence building of the Canarian Astrophysics Institute's Teide Observatory at Izaña. They underline that, "On a clear day, Teide volcano is visible" and, it is certain that this view is often obscured by cloud.
However, through experience and frequent time wasting practice, I have discovered that the best time of day to, hopefully, catch a clear patch, is between 8 am and 10 am.
That is Western European Time and it will be the same times, if you are in the UK. If you live anywhere else in the world, you can use this tool, Time Zone Converter (Via: Quick Online Tips), to find out what those times correspond to at your location.
Webcams of the Observatorio del Teide
Tenerife Ski Resort?
There are many sports you can practice in Tenerife, like walking or golf, or any number of water sports. It is also true that Mount Teide can be covered in snow frequently throughout the year, but one thing you can not do here is to ski. Or can you?
Welcome to the Teide Ski Resort! This site, Teide Ski, which, actually, has been in operation since 2002, but has just come in for a bit of attention from the press - both Bernardo Sagastume at ABC mentioned it, as did the local Archipielago Noticias - would have you imagine otherwise.
The site, which claims there are "7 lifts, 10 runs (15 km of slopes) 2 green, 3 blue, 4 red, 1 black", is, of course, a joke and produced, probably just as a publicity and marketing stunt, by Nevasport.com, which is a genuine Spanish ski portal. The even funnier thing is that, of all the 2,500 ski resorts they list, the one which gets the most online visitors is the Teide Ski Resort, even though, in reality, it does not exist! Personally, I love their little camel logo with a woolly hat and snow on his back, but I wonder how many people have driven up Teide following their maps, looking for the resort in the "Orotava Land"? :)
Tenerife Ski Resort Via: ABC
Second highest “kamikaze” chute in the world
When Europe’s largest water park opens in December 2006, Tenerife will have the second highest “kamikaze” chute in the world and, experts predict an upsurge in tourism as tourists flock to the south of the island to experience the thrills and wonders of Siam Park.
Located just outside the vibrant resort of Playa de las Americas, this 50 million Euro development promises to wow visitors whatever their age. Built to reflect the magic of the old Kingdom of Siam the park will feature the ornate architecture of the Far East and an abundance of some of the most exotic flora on the planet.
Like its sister theme attraction – Loro Parque – in the north of the island, Siam Park will showcase some of the wonders of the animal kingdom. Big hunting cats, sea lions, crocodiles, aquariums, aviaries and all manner of exotic fauna will be housed in and around the park’s 180,000 square metres.
There will also be a white sand beach with artificial waves to attract the surfers as well as an adrenaline junkie’s dream – the second highest “kamikaze” chute in the world. Wild thrills also include tornado rides and a number of white knuckle installations to keep the extreme adventure seekers happy. There will also be some more sedate river rides for those who just want to sit back, relax and take in all the amazing animals and vegetation.
All this and more seems set to make Tenerife’s south a popular choice for tourists and according to one source at the government office tasked with promoting tourism in the Canaries: “It won’t just be foreigners who enjoy this themed attraction. According to our surveys, local people will be prepared to travel from all over the archipelago in order to enjoy this ground breaking experience”.
Click here for more information on Siam Park
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Tenerife's Secret Jewel: Teno Rural Park
The island of Tenerife has a wide variety of endemic flora and fauna, as well as several different landscape structures and, almost 45% of the island is protected.
The jewel in the crown is the Teide National Park, created in 1954, but the island also has the Corona Forestal Nature Park and the Anaga and Teno Rural Parks.
The population of the Teno Rural Park resides in small villages and many still live off the land through agricultural and farming activities. Among these hamlets are Los Carrizales, Masca, El Palmar, Las Portelas and Teno Alto, which together have around 1,500 inhabitants.
The area of the park is around 8,063.6 hectares and this unique landscape is testament to the importance that agriculture had for the local economy in the past. There are various houses renovated to offer rural accommodation, as well as a hostel, the Albergue de Bolico, situated very close to Las Portelas. The park's management office is located at the finca Los Pedregales, in the valley of El Palmar.
Flora and Fauna
Because of its altitude and position, the Teno area contains a great biological diversity and is a refuge for various threatened species, such as the birdlife of the sub-tropical rainforest or endemic lizards. The most representative forest area is the Monte del Agua, with many endemic plant species and, which is the remains of woodlands of the Tertiary period.
Natural Values
The Teno area is an ancient volcanic mass, which the processes of erosion have modeled to its current landscape, forming giant cliffs on the coast. The last volcanic activities in the area formed valleys and opened in the shape of a fan, giving rise to the Isla Baja (Low Island) areas, such as Buenavista del Norte and Teno Bajo.
The present geography is characterized by fertile valleys, such as that of El Palmar and by deep ravines, such as Masca. On the west coast are the impressive Los Gigantes cliffs, which reach over 500 meters in height.
Historical Heritage
Amongst local produce of importance are; potatoes, cheese, wine, saffron, fruit and honey. All of these products are produced commercially in the area. Meanwhile, in Teno Bajo, tomatoes are produced. Around Buenavista del Norte, there are plantations of bananas and nurseries for flowers.
Despite the demise in artisan products in general, in Masca you can still find items made from palm leaves and wickerwork in Las Lagunetas and El Palmar. In some hamlets, you can still find old kilns for making roof tiles and bread ovens.
The festivities celebrated in the various villages are mostly related to the end of harvest, in the months of September and October. Of particular historical and cultural interest is the Dance of Las Libreas, which is unique to El Palmar.
The Teno area has been protected as a Natural Park since 1987 and was reclassified to its present category of Rural Park in 1994, under the Canary Islands' "Law of Natural Spaces". A special protection zone for birds has also been declared.
Parque Rural De Teno
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
Tenerife has the greatest number of endemic species per square kilometer in Europe
Cruz del Carmen, in the Las Mercedes mountains in the north of Tenerife, is the point in Europe which has the greatest exclusive biodiversity in the smallest space and contains the largest number of endemic species per square meter in Europe.
An endemic species is one that only exists in a particular geographic area and, in this case, environmental agencies of the Canary Islands' government have listed 468 taxonomies exclusive to the Canary Islands in this one small area.
At Cruz del Carmen, 16 percent of the flora and 12 percent of the fauna endemic to the islands can be found. In the Anaga area there is a total of 731 endemic species and in the Canary Islands as a whole, a grand total of 13,328 endemic species have been listed.
The archipelago has a great richness in biodiversity and the discovery of new species increases this year by year. The relevance of this heritage is such that, a new species is described in the islands, on average, every six days and that an endemic species exists for every two square kilometers. Tenerife, despite it's small comparable size, has more endemic species than the whole of Germany or England.
El mayor número de especies exclusivas por kilómetro cuadrado de Europa, en Tenerife
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
April Snow in Tenerife
Today, a wind has been blowing that was almost strong enough to turn a cat's fur coat inside out and there was definitely a real nip in that air, despite the sun. It is strange, but whilst we can't actually see Mount Teide from inside the valley - because of the height of the valley walls - one can certainly feel when there is snow up there.
And there is, shown by this photo, which was taken on April 15th.
The photo is actually one of this Tenerife Set, which includes many emblematic photos of the island; Santiago Calatrava's Auditorio in Santa Cruz, photos in the capital itself and many of the countryside around La Laguna, which are well worth viewing.
Ecological Farming in North Tenerife
The local council in Buenavista del Norte is to cede some lands in the immediate area of the Finca Los Pedregales in the El Palmar valley to a private initiative for the development of ecological agriculture.
A young farmer, with ample experience in this type of farming, will be in charge of the cultivation. The agreement with the town hall is that, once the farm is established, it will be used for workshops and courses to teach future "ecological farmers".
Ecological agriculture and respect for the environment is important in the area and already, many agricultural firms in Buenavista del Norte and Isla Baja have observed the benefits of this type of cultivation, with the accompanying increase in the quality of the final product.
El Ayuntamiento cede suelo para impulsar un proyecto sobre agricultura ecológica
Moroccan Cultural days to be held in Tenerife
Organised by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Canarian autonomous government, the Canary Islands will host, from April 24 to May 6, “Moroccan Cultural Days”, a series of conferences and arts activities, Map news agency report.
Canary Islands “Moroccan Cultural days” to be held in Las Palmas, Tenerife
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Record number of Britons heading for Easter sun
Reuters report that, "A record number of Britons were taking to the air on Thursday in search of Easter sunshine, tourism chiefs said. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said it estimated a record 2.3 million holidaymakers would abandon Britain over the weekend because of the chilly temperatures. With Easter falling later in the calendar this year, many Mediterranean destinations were proving popular with some resorts already open. ABTA said Spain was the favourite country for departing Britons, with the Canary Islands and Tenerife particularly popular."
Record number of Britons heading for Easter sun
Historical re-enactment in the Canary Islands
Historical re-enactment and recreation are in their infancy in Spain, however a group (or as they say, "grupitito", a very small group) have formed the Compañia Sine Nomine (Latin for Company Without Name), centered on the Middle Ages and the start of the Renaissance, in Gran Canaria.
They claim that their current arms are a joke, but that the Compañía de los Cuatro Gatos (The Company of the Four Cats) also seemed appropriate. Perhaps I should volunteer as La Quinta Gata (The fifth girlie cat!) They are bound to need English pirates. :)
It is apparent from their website that they speak excellent English, so if you're seriously into historical re-enactment and you are visiting the islands, you may like to look them up. At the moment they are only realizing private activities, however, they say that membership is open to anyone with a talent and interests compatible with theirs.
Their hopes are to establish within Drachenwald, the European arm of the SCA.
Historical re-enactment Compañia Sine Nomine
Restoration of the Figure of Christ in Los Silos
There is an unexpected wealth of important religious art lurking around in Tenerife's churches. A few that come to mind are the figure Christ and the alter in La Laguna, several Icons in the cathedral at La Orotava and the magnificent filigree silver at Icod de los Viños.
Almost hidden from wider public knowledge are figures such as this one, EL CRISTO DE LA MISERICORDIA, which is housed in the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Luz, in Los Silos. The article tells of its restoration.
The meticulously detailed, life-sized image came to Los Silos some time between 1625 and 1632. The latter date being the first time the image is documented.
A brotherhood, Hermandad de la Misericordia, had been founded in the town in 1614.
During the process of restoration, it was possible to study the image in great detail. Experts are now confidently able to attribute it as the work of Andaluz artist, Francisco de Ocampo (1579-1639), who had made other sculptures for Tenerife in 1608 and Las Palmas in 1616. Other examples of his work can be found in Seville.
EL CRISTO DE LA MISERICORDIA DE LOS SILOS. TENERIFE
Insular investment of 1.2 million euros for the Teno Rural Park in Buenavista del Norte
The Tenerife Island Corporation (Cabildo) has approved a 1.2 million Euro investment package for the Teno Rural Park in 2006. The park's governing body met recently in its management offices at Los Pedregales in the El Palmar valley. The investment package, which was unanimously approved, is divided between conservation (454,800 euros), public use and environmental education (320,983.64 euros) and socioeconomic development (429,016 euros).
Councillor for Environment and Landscape, Wladimiro Rodríguez (CC), said that "the measures attempt to improve the quality of life of the local population, favoring socioeconomic development of the surroundings and guaranteeing the conservation of its enormous natural and cultural heritage. This year's budget aims to reinforce the local economy and to fight against depopulation or migration towards urban areas, by means of support of initiatives towards the sustainable development of the area."
He continued, "It is important to underline that more than half of the budget is spent on local labour and on materials and machinery provided by local companies. We can conclude that three-quarters of the finance directly benefits the area and its inhabitants."
The park's governing body is made up from members of the Island Corporation, the Canary Islands government, various councils in the area, as well as residents' associations and farmers in the area.
Inversión insular de 1,2 millones de euros para el Parque Rural de Teno en Buenavista del Norte
Airport Parking
UK Airport car parking might not be the most exciting subject in the world but we know it can greatly influence your mood at the beginning and end of a holiday. This site compares over 120 car parks at 23 UK Airports, including Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport, displaying prices, parking options and availability alongside real customer reviews.
simplyparking.co.uk Via: Travel plan idea blog
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Two and a half million to restore the Casa Salazar
The Diocese of Tenerife has collected 2.5 million Euros for the restoration of the Casa Salazar in La Laguna, Tenerife. The Bishops Palace, 17th Century former residence of the Counts del Valle de Salazar, was destroyed in a fire in January.
One point two million of this money is being paid out by their insurers, more than 800,000 Euros has been donated by companies and 93,000 Euros has been donated by individuals, amongst other donations made by various religious communities and parishes.
Architects said last Friday that the damage had been greater than was initially expected and have also recommended pedestrianizing the street, calle San Agustín, because part of the deterioration of the building and the facade is due to the vibration from traffic.
Selective salvage works have already been carried out to protect the exterior, but there has been very little that could be salvaged from inside the building.
It now remains to have the budget allocation approved for the spending and, provided that sufficient "tea" (heartwood) can be obtained, it is estimated that the palace will be restored, as near as possible to it's original design, within two years.
El Obispado de Tenerife ya ha recaudado 2,5 millones para restaurar su sede
Pleasures of the Canary Islands: Wine, Food, Beauty, Mystery
This book doesn't figure amongst the usual list of Tenerife guide books. One reviewer describes it as, "... the type of travel book that used to be written by Victorian gentlemen about the exotic places they found as soon as they stepped outside England. It feels more like a long letter from a dear friend than a short guide book; and even though it was published in 1992 it is a wonderful companion to have if you are to visit these islands.
Its point of view is that the traveler should gain and explore the natural pleasures of the islands, in food, in wine, in scenery, in its inhabitants, and in the sheer joy of being there. Ann and Larry Walker run a restaurant in California (or did when they wrote this book) and they cannot shake the laid-back bonhomie that marks people with such a background. Of course, importing laid-back anything to the Canaries is like taking the proverbial coals to Newcastle, for this is the land of the slow, of the meditative, of the "aplatanado," a wonderful word that can be translated as "bananified," but which means to convey the state of being exquisitely beyond the reach of pressures of any kind.
The Canaries consists of 7 inhabited islands, close to the coast of North Africa, and the book takes them one by one, in the order in which they were conquered by Spain. Because each island is so distinctly different from the others, each must be addresses separately.
The Walkers write delightful essays about each, telling you where to stay, where to eat and what to do. They hold your hand, as it were, and urge you to look at the night sky in La Palma, or to dip the local fish into the mojo sauces that arrived at your table on the island of Hierro. These are wonderful companions with which to course over all the seven islands. The book, little as it is, has some spectacular pictures taken by the authors, a section containing local recipes, and fine discussions about the island wines."
Pleasures of the Canary Islands: Wine, Food, Beauty, Mystery (UK visitors)
Time zone in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands, Spain
Here's a useful resource, which shows the time zone changes and daylight saving time start/end dates between year 2000 and 2009. The dates of these changes are the same as in the UK and in the rest of Europe, but if you are outside of Europe, they may differ from yours. The time in Tenerife and the Canary Islands is, of course, Western European Time.
That is the same time as the UK, one hour behind Central Europe and mainland Spain, which is extremely useful for British visitors and expats on the islands, but a constant source of confusion when referring to program times on Spanish national TV stations! :)
Time zone in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands, Spain
House for Rent in Las Portelas - Magnificent Views
One of my neighbours has a two-bedroom house available for rent (long term) in Las Portelas, with magnificent views over the valley of El Palmar. I got the listing shouting across fields :), so I don't have the full information, but assuming it is like the last one he had available, is likely to be furnished. Call Gregorio for details on 922 127862.
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias, Listing
New Stuff at The Canary Islands Tourism Portal
The Canarian Government's Council for Tourism have announced a new design and additional content for their tourism portal website, Canarias-turismo.com
As well as an excellent English version there are sections on each of the seven islands, information on leisure, nature, gastronomy, an entertainment guide, plus photo galleries, wallpapers and more.
One of the things I highly recommend is the promotional video, which you can download from this page. It credits tvCanaria.tv and appears to be highlights from their documentary series, "Un Paseo por las Nubes" (A Walk in the Clouds).
The excellent documentary, filmed from a helicopter, and amounting to 13 half-hour programs went on sale in March 2005 and may still be available in stores (El Cortes Inglés and other large outlets) on the islands as a three DVD set. Details in Spanish.
Turismo incorpora a su Portal Turístico más contenidos y enlaces con novedades en su diseño de portada
Garachico – Four Hundred Years and Counting
On the morning of 5th May 1706, at 3.00 am, thunder bellowed across Tenerife’s northern sky and a blood red horizon spewed grey smoke splintered with orange embers. By the time dawn broke over the Italian style mansions that lined the streets of Garachico, the town’s wealthy merchants, its priests, nuns, bankers, artists and beggars had just twelve hours to gather their most prized possessions and flee.
By nightfall the town would be engulfed in lava from an eruption of Montaña Negro and over the next nine days, 384 neighbourhoods would be lost and the port which had been the town’s source of unrivalled wealth would be destroyed ...
Garachico – Four Hundred Years and Counting
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Whales and dolphins in the Canary Islands
CajaCanarias is presenting an exhibition, “Whales and dolphins in the Canary Islands. A world to discover.” The exhibition is organised in conjunction with the Town Hall, and is taking place at the Exhibition Hall of the Franciscan Convent of Granadilla. The exhibtion of over one hundred spectacular images, is open to the public until April 28.
Whales and dolphins in the Canary Islands exhibition in Granadilla
Sensations of Santa Cruz
The city of Santa Cruz is the capital of Tenerife, the largest of the seven Canary Islands. It occupies 151 sq. kms. In the north east side of the island, rising up to 750 metres from sea level. If nature is what you are looking for, Santa Cruz is possibly the capital of the Canary Islands with the largest amount of green spaces. The Ramblas are the best known elements, long avenues with large trees on both sides which cross the city; as well as the Parque García Sanabria and Parque de la Granja, both with a large variety of plants and trees. The Palmetum Theme Park is yet another green area. This park has over 500 different species of palm trees brought from every corner of the planet, and aspires to be one of the most important theme parks of its kind in the world.
Sensations of Santa Cruz
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Flu Comes Late to the Canaries
Between March 26 and April 1, 299 cases of flu were reported per hundred thousand inhabitants, almost triple the number of cases (111) reported in the four previous weeks. Children between the ages of 5 and 14 were those most affected by the virus. This year's flu season arrived late in the archipelago, as it has throughout the European continent. Normally, the peak numbers of cases are registered during December and January. Health services do not discount new surges in the number over the coming weeks.
El número de casos de gripe se ha triplicado en Canarias en apenas cuatro semanas
Tenerife awaits a decision
When it comes to decision-making processes there are no quick fixes in Brussels and the vexed question of the proposed Tenerife megaport and industrial hub in Granadilla is no exception. Environmentalists have submitted a dossier on the largest fish breeding ground in the Canaries – which happens to be situated off the Granadilla coastline in the way of the future port. Destruction of this habitat would be nothing less than an “ecological catastrophe” say the greens who want to see the zone declared a national park.
Tenerife awaits a decision
Plane delay as pilot loses mobile
Passengers were left waiting four hours for an alternative flight at Doncaster airport after the pilot of their plane lost his mobile phone in the cockpit. The captain told travellers on the Thomsonfly service to Tenerife that they could not take off until he had found the phone as it was switched on. The phone was later found on the aircraft.
Plane delay as pilot loses mobile
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
The British Embassy in Spain enters the Biometric Age
In May, the British Embassy in Madrid will begin to issue the new British Biometric Passport. The new passports will have a microchip, which will allow immigration officials to compare the electronic data from the chip against the face of the person presenting the passport to ensure that it may only be used by the person to whom it was issued.
British Biometric Passport Via: Tenerife Resorts
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
UK residents are entitled to emergency health treatment whilst on short-term visits to Spain, provided they can produce a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the E-111 and other forms on January 1, 2006, each time they seek treatment from a Spanish National Health hospital or doctor. The treatment UK residents receive on temporary visits to Spain is equivalent to that received by Spanish nationals. The EHIC can be obtained online at www.dh.gov.uk/travellers. It is issued free of charge.
Meical cover and treatment in Spain
Canary Islands Flora
At present, the flora of the islands consists of about two thousand species, five hundred and twenty of which are to be considered endemic, and as many as five hundred and ninety three that are rare or becoming extinct. Many of these species are geneses or sub-geneses that are impossible to find outside the Canary Islands. Such great variety might in future be an important genetic resource for new plants of agricultural, horticultural or medical interest, provided the environment is protected from the often thoughtless action of man.
Canary Islands Flora
Find out when the bus is coming in Tenerife
Tenerife bus company, Transportes Interinsulares de Tenerife, S.A, TITSA, presented a new SMS service yesterday, which should be available soon to allow passengers to consult information about bus services by mobile phone.
Not all lines and bus stops are covered yet, but they will all be gradually incorporated.
How the TITSA SMS Service works:
Each bus stop will have a 4-digit code. Users will need to send an SMS to 5676 with the text TITSA XXXX (where XXXX is the numerical code of the bus stop you are waiting at.)
The information you will get back is the list of busses that are due at your stop and the number of minutes before each one will arrive, similar to the following: 
You'll know if you have time for a cup of coffee, or exactly when to leave the house.
Similarly, users can get information about the stops on any route by sending an SMS to 5676 with the text TITSA INFO LYYY (where YYY is the 3-digit bus route number.)
All SMS messages cost 15 cents, approximately 10 pence.
Get the manual in Spanish (PDF)
Los viajeros de TITSA podrán consultar el tiempo de espera en la parada, por mensajes de móvil
High-tech taxis for Tenerife
Tenerife taxis are poised to be catapulted into the 21st century with the imminent introduction of a computerised system that will allow passengers to pay for their rides by credit card. The computers will also provide cabbies with information on traffic jams, roadworks and internet access. Global positioning systems will give taxi drivers more security as they will be monitored by state and local police.
High-tech taxis for Tenerife
Canary Islands Christmas 2006
Here we are in Easter Week and already, visitors to this blog have shown that they are beginning to think of Christmas 2006 in the Canary Islands. Of course, one has to make travel plans in advance, so here are some ideas for you.
Christmas week is said to be the busiest week of the entire year for tourism in Tenerife. As Christmas Day 2006 will fall on a Monday, the busiest day for arrivals at the airport is likely to be the Friday, December 22nd, with a few more coming on Sunday, December 24th.
Read more of our posts and articles on Christmas in the Canary Islands.
Traditional Christmas, Only Warmer ... and Someone Else Cooks!
If what you want is a British-style Christmas - turkey and stuffing - with added sun, then you can have that. Many of the British bars in the resorts put on a Christmas Lunch. Better ones may require reservations, so make that a priority on the night you arrive. With satellite TV available almost everywhere, you can probably still catch the Queen's Speech too.
If, for a change, you want to catch the King of Spain's Christmas Message, first you'll need to understand Spanish, of course, but that is broadcast on Christmas Eve. If you follow the religious traditions, check out the church in Los Cristianos to see if they have a multilingual carol service on Christmas Eve, as they have been known to do in the past. It's fun.
Prices for Christmas week itself are at a premium, of course, but that is probably offset by the fact that you don't need to worry about Christmas food, gifts and decorations at home and, it's probably worth it just to have someone else cook the Christmas Dinner!
If you fall asleep on the beach after your Christmas Lunch, even at Christmas, prepare to be burnt crisper than an overdone turkey dinner. Toasted tourist isn't very tasty!
Escape the Traditional Christmas Dinner
If you want to escape the whole "traditional Christmas Dinner" thing, be warned that you may find restaurants outside of the resort areas closed on Christmas Day. This is not because the locals are celebrating, it's because they're resting from having done so the night before. Christmas Eve is a family gathering, Christmas Day is for recuperation.
Depending on the weather, many locals will head off up the mountain on Christmas Day. The 3,718 meter high Mount Teide, the dormant volcano at Tenerife's heart, does often get snowcapped for Christmas and is a beautiful sight to behold. As are the Christmas pine trees, seasonal red poinsettias and other natural "decorations" you'll see on the way.
The ideal conditions are enough snow to play in, but not too much to close the roads. You will need warm clothing, but wrap up, throw snowballs, forget the turkey and trimmings and snack on churros con chocolate and the odd lumumba (hot chocolate with brandy) for the non-drivers. Barbie a few prawns when you get back down to the warm coastal air.
New Year, New Clothes
If local street atmosphere is what you want, you would do better to wait until New Year, with probably an arrival date of Friday, December 29th. New Year's Eve sees pretty big street parties in most towns of any size. In Santa Cruz in the Plaza de España - and in 2006 the chimes will be televised from Tenerife - will likely be the location for the busiest party.
Similarly, the church square in Los Cristianos is usually rocking. Wherever the party, you'll need 12 grapes to eat along with the chimes. These will be followed by really superb fireworks displays and either a band or a disco until around dawn. New clothes are mandatory - this is another tradition to bring good luck - party hats optional.
Canary Islands Christmas, Like the Canarians Do
But, if you want to see local traditions and celebrate the season in the Canary Islands, as the Canarians do, then you need to be here on the evening of January 5th. That date in 2007, is a Friday, so depending on the times of flights, you may need to have arrived the week before on Friday, December 29th or on the Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007.
In either case, you may actually save money by waiting until after Christmas week itself, so this offers the best value, both in seeing something new and getting away from the January cold. Knowing what I know now, if I had to choose just one event out of the Christmas Season in the Canary Islands, I'd choose to be here for this celebration.
What you can expect to find are Los Reyes Magos - The Three Kings. This is when gifts are brought to children in the Canary Islands and is the biggest date of the entire winter holiday season, with parades through the streets in most towns, large and small. We have a full account of the parade, along with photos from Los Reyes 2006 in Garachico, so that you can get an idea of what is involved. It beats Santa in entertainment value any day!
And no, you don't need to bring or be a kid to enjoy it. Nobody's granny misses it, but you'll also find that the local teenagers attend, willingly, without losing their "street cred". :)
Of course, you can see any of this if you stay on the south of the island, where most of the tourist accommodation is. You only need to go to Los Cristianos for one of the biggest New Year's Eve parties or one of the most spectacular parades of The Three Kings.
Alternatively, choose to stay in Puerto de la Cruz. The weather may not be quite so warm as the south, but there will be all the authentic celebrations right in the town itself.
To really be in the thick of it, with ringside seats, so to speak, the pageant at the end of the Three Kings parade in Garachico is held in the very same square as the Hotel La Quinta Roja, a restored 16th Century mansion. Just a couple of streets around the corner and only a hundred or so years later in construction, is the Hotel San Roque. Having seen various Three Kings parades in different towns around Tenerife, Garachico's is still my favorite. Not too big, not to small, but with lots of atmosphere in glorious surroundings.
You can search for Christmas flights or holiday packages to Tenerife here.
Labels: Christmas
Monday, April 10, 2006
Tenerife Photos: A Triptych of Tenerife Trips
OK, a hat trick; three of them, for those of you who haven't swallowed a thesaurus lately.
In the first account, The Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox (bet those are pseudonyms) from West Sussex, seem to be regular visitors. Their trip, in March / April of this year, takes in north and south of the island, with some lovely images and interesting observations. As it is a blog, may be easiest start at the end and work backwards through the holiday.
Second up, if you have € 499 to spare (thought so, me neither), you can get this superb set of high-resolution, professional stock images of Tenerife, World, Landscapes & Travel Photos / Tenerife, on a CD. We poorpers can simply look at them and drool here.
Thirdly, is Martin Junius' PhotoAlbum - Tenerife 2004 with some lovely shots of the orchids and animals at the Loro Parque in Puerto do la Cruz (no, the penguins on ice are not Canary Island natives) and various points around the island; Teide, Masca, Garachico. There are also some great closeup shots of the Drago Tree in Icod de los Viños.
Parque del Drago Offers New Attractions
The Parque del Drago in Icod de los Viños has added new cultural attractions dedicated the world of the guanches - the aboriginal inhabitants of Tenerife, report Diario de Avisos.
A few months ago a volcanic tube was opened in the area, called the Cueva del Guanche (Guanche Cave), which now houses a reproduction of a mummy and a recreation of an aboriginal habitat. Scenes, incorporating 17 full-scale models, recreate the everyday life of these ancient people of Tenerife, their traditions and rituals. The cave itself houses five figures (three men, one woman and a child), as well as the mummy.
Another scene reconstructs the apparition of the Virgin of Candelaria.
The location of such scenes is not entirely fictional, given that the guanches themselves chose such places, where there was sufficient water, as their centers of population.
A further new exhibit shows the ancient menceyatos (Guanche chiefdoms) on the map of Tenerife, with the corresponding name of the mencey (King or chief) and notes concerning the guanche population and their eminently pastoral, Berber culture.
El Parque del Drago inaugura un espacio dedicado al mundo guanche
Sunday, April 09, 2006
How to Milk a Goat by Hand
There were 326,807 goats: the most numerous livestock in the Canary Islands, in 2004. Goat cheeses are made both commercially and hand-made by artisan methods and the quality is superb. A lot of the goats and certainly the 900 or so in this valley, are kept in small herds or individuals who just keep a couple for the family's needs and, of course, these goats will be milked by hand. Whether you want to milk a goat, or not, this guide will certainly make you appreciate what goes into producing those fine goat cheeses.
How to Milk a Goat by Hand
British spy hunted by IRA flees refuge
A British spy at the top of the IRA's most-wanted list has been forced to flee his holiday island hideaway after his cover was blown. Freddie Scappaticci, known as "Stakeknife", left his rented villa in Tenerife after being recognised by holidaymakers from his native Belfast.
British spy hunted by IRA flees refuge
Airport row firm expands service
An airline has announced it is expanding its services from an airport despite an ongoing inquiry into plans for a passenger terminal. Thomsonfly is increasing its number of low fares flights at both Coventry and Birmingham airports from Thursday. Extra flights to Tenerife will depart from Birmingham.
Airport row firm expands service
Immigrants Find New Life on Canary Islands
The influx worries locals who depend on the islands' reputation as a tourist paradise for their livelihoods. Officials fear many more migrants will attempt the dangerous 600-mile journey as the weather improves. If they do, officials say they will be dealing with an economic crisis, as well as a humanitarian one. The islands' economy is based almost entirely on tourism, and even a small drop-off in paying visitors would be devastating.
"If this phenomenon increases, it could provoke a feeling of alarm and rejection among tourists," said Ricardo Fernandez de la Puente, manager of Asotel, an association representing 290 hotels and apartments in four of the seven Canary Islands. "Tourists seek tranquility. They don't want problems, and as soon as they see one, they change their minds and go somewhere else." Others said the arrivals had a sobering effect, making them realize how fortunate they are.
Immigrants Find New Life on Canary Islands
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Ryanair in Los Rodeos bid
Low cost airline Ryanair is said to be among seven operators competing for one of two handling contracts up for grabs in north Tenerife’s Los Rodeos airport. The news has been greeted with interest by the tourism sector as being a fair indication of Tenerife’s figuring in the company’s longer term plans.
Ryanair in Los Rodeos bid
(PS: I presume they do know which airport this is?)
Canary Islands Less Connected
Some 33,2% of Canary Islands homes have an internet connection, figure which has increased little more than half a percent in six months, according to the National Statistics Institute. Also, in the islands, 40.6% of people over 15 years old have connected to the internet in the last three months, a percentage that is almost 2 percent less than the national average in Spain, where more than 15.5 million people (42% of the population) use the internet. The overall percentage has increased 2.5% in the past year.
El 33,2 % de los hogares canarios disponen de Internet
Klansmen and Krosses
Now that the Semana Santa (Easter Week) holidays are under way - the big exodus started from most Spanish cites yesterday afternoon - what does it all mean? GC PHILO is sensibly escaping to Morocco this year, but he wrote about the Easter processions in Cádiz last year and assures us that none of it is religious. No, no, we kid you not.
"After all, Spain’s a deeply Catholic country, right? Wrong. The country that gave us the Inquisition and Jesuits may have been deeply Catholic back during the days when Columbus first set sail, but not anymore.", explains GC.
Especially in small villages, all events and culture - basically all entertainment - revolves around the church. People turn up because it's a "get together" and there is likely to be free food! For those reasons, these traditions retain their importance and, to a certain extent, they are followed by rote, because people once HAD to do so. But hardly any do it with any measure of religious devotion, which may seem surprising to those of you who think Spain is a Catholic country, but isn't so difficult to grasp when you understand the history.
Remembering that Franco launched his campaign from Tenerife and that the island suffered some of the first and worst effects, a good example too is the blasphemous Burrial of the Sardine parade that is part of the Carnaval celebrations here on the islands.
Described by Julie Burchill in Carnaval queen, she says, "On the night the sardine is laid to rest, you realise how irretrievably the Catholic church's backing of Fascism during the second world war has damaged its reputation in its heartland. I knew that the Catholic countries of southern Europe now boast the lowest birth-rates in the world, but I never realised how complete their contempt for their religion is until I saw the burial."
Klansmen and Krosses
Canary Islands Seafood Goes International
Fish farming in the Canary Islands is ready to conquer the world. The first phase is getting known and, for that to happen, this week the Canary Islands have received a visit from Mike Urch, editor of magazine, Seafood International. It is one of the most prestigious publications specializing in the sector. During his four-day visit, Mr Urch visited fish farms in both Las Palmas and Tenerife, to get to know the industry here first hand.
La acuicultura canaria se promociona en la revista de pesca más prestigiosa del mundo
Friday, April 07, 2006
Whale watching off Tenerife
Catching a glimpse of a whale in the flesh is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that not many people can claim to have done. But visitors to Los Cristianos in Tenerife taking a trip on board the Lady Shelley catamaran will have the opportunity to sight whales and receive detailed information from the on-board guides. The catamaran, which can carry up to 225 passengers, can be found at the pier of Los Cristianos – easily reached by taxi or bus.
Whale watching off Tenerife
Tourists should be wary about holiday car hire
Four out of six cars hired in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife, were in a poor state according to research carried out by EuroTest last August for pan European motoring groups -- including the AA Motoring Trust. The motoring organisation said even an experienced consumer tester carrying out research was hit with a 300 euro (210 pound) charge on his credit card statement for damage the car hirer could not explain. They conclude, "Britons need to be a bit more forceful, adopt the attitudes of some of our fellow Europeans".
Tourists should be wary about holiday car hire
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Binter Invests 250 Million Euros in New Routes
Canary Islands airline, Binter, announce that they are to invest 250 million Euros in four or five new destinations to continental Europe and two to the African continent. No details on the new routes at the moment, which come after routes to Paris and Milan have been functioning for three months. The new routes should be in operation by May 2007. Binter, whose turnover is expected to reach between 120 and 130 million Euros in 2006, have just taken delivery of their seventh plane for use on inter island flights.
Binter invierte 250 millones de euros en cuatro nuevas conexiones a ciudades europeas y dos a África
Opening Gates to International Trade
Tenerife’s “zona franca” customs and tax free area will become the first in Spain to be granted the category of “open” and the second in Europe after Shannon in Ireland. Cabildo (Island Corporation) president Ricardo Melchior explained that at present the government was waiting for the Spanish Tax and Economy Department to approve the statutes of the zone but hoped that the process would be finished by mid April and that in a couple of months the “type two zona franca” would become operational.
Opening Gates to International Trade
Another avalanche of illegal immigrants hits the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands was hit by another avalanche of illegal immigrants yesterday: four vessels carrying 164 people between them, in just one day. The first was spotted from the air in the mid-morning on Wednesday, 24 miles off Tenerife. It was intercepted and towed into Los Cristianos port in Arona. There were 32 people on board, two of them children.
Another avalanche of illegal immigrants hits the Canary Islands
Immigrant wave strains Canary Islands
Sheer numbers fail to tell the story of the anguish of the people caught up in this drama. Both sides, because it has now become a strain on resources in the Canary Islands - there is nowhere left to put the people - also on those who have to care for them.
Officials here have seen the Africans' desperation up close.
"You get personally involved," said Los Cristianos police chief Luis Carrion, who has overseen rescue operations and care of the Africans for three months. "It's a human drama, a catastrophe, seeing how these poor, desperate men have assumed a tremendous risk to seek a better life."
"They know how dangerous the sea is. They know about the deaths of other immigrants, and despite that, they still want to come. It shows how desperate they are," Carrion said.
The Africans are jailed at the police station for 72 hours for identification and questioning. Then they are held for up to 40 days at two centers in northern Tenerife before being released with expulsion orders. During detention, the Africans are mostly silent - never protesting or asking for anything, Carrion said.
Immigrant wave strains Canary Islands
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
One hundred and forty kilos of Teide ...
Not everyone is impressed by the sand carpets made in Texas by Canary Islands' "alfombristas" (sand carpet makers) as part of the 275th anniversary of the founding of the city of San Antonio. One detail that has come to light, thanks to blog La ruina de las islas canarias, is that not only did we transport the people over to the United States to make the carpet, we also hauled 140 kilos of genuine Teide soils with which to do it.
And I have got to find myself asking the same questions as they did. Aren't there any multi-colored soils/sands in America, nor colorants? We complain every time that tourists take stones from Las Cañadas (I've even had to reprimand my own mother about this!) and, yet here are the island's very own authorities digging it out by the bucketload.
Never mind, the original report in Canarian daily, Diario de Avisos, goes on to say that, "fruit of this journey, the idea has been implanted to create a 'tourist bridge' between Texas and the Valley of La Orotava." Hummm ... I think they mean figuratively, but you could say that we already laid the foundation stone - all 140 kilos of it!
140 Kilos de tierra del Teide para Texas
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Islands worth singing about
Best known for their tacky image, the Canary Islands have plenty of rural hideaways far from the hordes. Carl Wilkinson and Jane Knight uncover the top 10, among them the grand seventeenth-century, colonial Hotel San Roque, in Garachico, which is ideally placed to explore the Isla Baja (Lower Island) area, a little-known part of Tenerife where the towns and villages have retained their original flavour and heritage.
Islands worth singing about
History of the Canary Islands
A brief history of the Canary Islands, this time in English, from prior to 1402 and up until after 1974. "Visited in antiquity by Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, described by STRABO as the FORTUNATE ISLANDS. Rediscovered by the Arabs (Ben Farroukh, 999), Aragonese (1330) and Genoese (1341). At that time the islands were inhabited by a people called GUANCHES, monotheistic people living in petty kingdoms."
History of the Canary Islands
The World of the Guanches
Lazos Rotos announce - with much happiness - the publication of the tenth issue of the online magazine, Mundo Guanche, which is dedicated to the ancient inhabitants of these islands. There are lots of pretty pictures for those who don't speak Spanish and 520 trivia questions to test how much you know about the archipelago's past and present, for those who do.
Mundo Guanche
Tenerife Photos : Gardens & Flowers of Tenerife
This selection of photos of the various Gardens & Flowers of Tenerife, Île de Tenerife has various pages of delightful photos of; Jardin de Aclimatacion de la Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz. Icod de Los Vinos, Jardin Aquatico-Risco Bello, Puerto de la Cruz, Jardin de Orchideas-Mansion de Sitio Litre, Puerto de la Cruz, Jardines del Atlantico, Valle San Lorenzo, Exotic-Cactus park, El Teide, La Orotava, Paysage lunaire, Vilaflor, Puerto de la Cruz, Bananera El Guanche La Orotava and a Tour de Tenerife.
Gardens & Flowers of Tenerife
Landing from Tenerife Delayed for Tea Break
A pilot told holidaymakers he could not land at Cardiff International Airport because an air traffic controller was on a tea break. Bemused and frustrated passengers on board the flight from Tenerife spent almost half-an-hour circling the airport until the plane was finally allowed to land. The captain of the flight on Saturday, reportedly told his passengers that he had "never encountered anything like it" in all the years he had been flying.
Controller's lunch break delayed landing
How to do Tenerife in style
Robert Yates writes in The Observer that, "The package-holiday favourite isn't just about cut-price resorts, it has an alluringly luxurious side too." Investigating a genuine sociological travel trend, he continues, "Over the past year or two, places best known for their enthusiasm for the all-day full English have started to look for new punters. Across the Balearics, the Canaries and southern Spain, boutique hotels and spas have opened, places whose pitch is to contrast with what surrounds them."
How to do Tenerife in style
Garachico Begins Celebration of Holy Week
This past weekend, on Saturday, April 1, the town and port of Garachico on the north coast of Tenerife, began its celebrations for Holy Week, with Eucharist in the church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, alongside the former Fransiscan Convent.
The religious activities related to this celebration will continue until April 16th. Those wishing to know the dates and nature of the events are directed towards the various posters that have been placed on public buildings throughout the town or to the programs available in its various churches.
Celebrations of Holy Week in Garachico date back to the beginning of the 17th Century. The first processions appeared in the year 1666, the same year as the Derrame del Vino, when local wine growers poured gallons of Garachico wine down the drain, in protest over ruinous prices, which put an end to the British monopoly of the sector.
El obispo de Tenerife leerá esta tarde el pregón de la Semana Santa de Garachico
Teide Passes First Phase for UNESCO Recognition
The Ministry of Culture announced that the Teide National Park in Tenerife has passed the first phase towards being recognized for special protection by UNESCO in 2007. Of 82 candidates presented by various countries, among them Teide and the Pyrenees, 45 have been selected. Representatives of UNESCO will decide in January 2007, if the Teide National Park is to be declared a World Heritage Site. The Garajonay National Park in La Gomera was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986, as was the City of La Laguna in Tenerife, in 1999. The Canary Islands government has been working since 2002 preparing the presentation to convince UNESCO that Teide deserves this classification. The important volcanic landscape receives more than 3.5 million visitors per year.
El Teide supera la primera fase para ser declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad
Ship carrying 500 illegals spotted off Canary Islands
Spanish police and navy were Monday searching for a ship believed to carry about 500 African would-be immigrants, which was expected to arrive on the Canary Island of Tenerife within three days, news reports said. The ship would carry the largest single group of immigrants among 10 similar vessels to have reached the Canary Islands since 1998. The ship was spotted by an air force plane at about 250 kilometres southwest of El Hierro Island on Saturday.
Ship carrying 500 illegals spotted off Canary Islands
Brits see refugees' hell
"Last month British tourists about to board a party ship called the Jolly Roger in Los Cristianos, Tenerife, were amazed when a boatload of half-starved migrants arrived in the port.", report The Sun. A Red Crescent spokesman said: “This is a human catastrophe. They are prepared to risk their lives for the chance of a better life.” Migrants pay people traffickers around £700 for a place in canoe-like fishing boats called cayucos. Spain has to determine the nationality of illegal immigrants and send them home — or they are free to go. Most are aware of the law and travel without documents. A spokesman for the islands’ government said recently: “If we cannot find out their nationality in 40 days, they are free to go to France, Germany, Holland or Britain — wherever.”
Brits see refugees' hell
44 African migrants intercepted off Tenerife
Spanish Police on Monday intercepted a boat carrying 44 African migrants off the coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife. The boat - an open, wooden fishing vessel - was spotted about a mile south of Tenerife before dawn. Civil Guard coastal guards transferred the occupants onto their patrol ship and took them to Los Cristianos port. The migrants were all men and appeared to be of sub-Saharan origin.
Another 32 sub-Saharans out of a group of 57 died after their boat shipwrecked in Mauritanian waters while they tried to arrive in the Canary Islands.
32 sub-Saharans trying to arrive in Canary Islands die
Sunday, April 02, 2006
A Night of the High Life at Tenerife's Altavista Refuge
Fancy a spot of the "high life"? The Altavista Refuge, located at an altitude of 3270 m on Tenerife's Mount Teide, consists of two buildings, fitted-out with an infirmary, storeroom, restrooms, kitchen and three dormitories, with capacity for 60 mountain climbers. The original refuge was built in 1892 upon the initiative of an English traveller who had established in Tenerife. 
Less energetic visitors will probably just wish to go up the mountain in the cable car. One of the problems with this has been knowing in advance, without making the trip up there, if the cable car is actually working. They can't run it, for safety's sake in bad weather, such as high winds. Well, now you can get Information in Real Time from the teleferico website.
Also at the site, which has versions in English and German, you can get information on the cable car itself, including times and prices, telephone numbers of the cablecar station and information on how to obtain a permit if you wish to have access to the crater.
The site also has information on the National Park and a small gallery of images.
Teleferico del Pico del Teide
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
Getting tough on the rust bucket ships from hell
"Not all the countless boats which put into Santa Cruz each year could even in their remotest dreams earn the description shipshape and Bristol fashion.", report Tenerife News. They go on to tell us about rust buckets belonging to unscrupulous shipowners, flying under weird and wonderful flags of convenience recently seized and impounded by the port authorities.
Seemingly, there are a lot of them in waters around these parts, because BoingBoing also report that Greenpeace has published an amazing first-person account of visits to the rusting Chinese "ghost ships" floating off the West African coast.
But as Tenerife news continues, "these and other rust buckets putting into Canary ports aren’t the only threats to the archipelago’s inshore waters. There are plenty of naval fleets passing through, among them that of the US Navy with military cargos which stop off en route to supply troops in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan."
"Among the material on board are weapons, even perhaps chemical weapons. Sailing under strict anti-terrorism security measures, they are under no obligation to reveal either the nature of their cargo or operations to the regional government. The situation has been widely criticised by the pacifist movement and in both the Canary and Madrid Parliaments by regional left-wing parties concerned for security and the environment."
Getting tough on the rust bucket ships from hell
Chinese "ghost ship" fishing boats rotting off of W African coast
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Significant Royal Visits to the Canary Islands
Mayor of Santa Cruz, Miguel Zerolo, says that today is "another society and a another monarchy", but that the interest in the Royal presence is just as strong now as it was 100 years ago in 1906, when King Alfonso XIII first visited the Canary Islands. Local authorities therefore intend to invite King Juan Carlos to visit the seven islands this year to mark the centenary.
Even though the Canary Islands had been under Spanish rule for over 400 years, when King Alfonso XIII disembarked at the port of Santa Cruz on March 26th, 1906, for an 11 day stay, it was the first ever visit of a Spanish monarch to the archipelago.
Later in that same year of 1906, on May 31, King Alfonso XIII married British Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887-1969), a niece of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Another 50 years would pass before King Juan Carlos and Queeen Sofia would visit as heirs to the throne. The reigning monarchs last visit to the islands was in November 2005, which coincided with the 30th Anniversary of the restoration of the Spanish monarchy.
Canarias propone a la Casa Real que viaje a las siete islas durante este año
El Parlamento celebrará en 2006 el centenario de la visita de Alfonso XIII
Photos from the 1906 visit: VISITA DE ALFONSO XIII EN CARRUAJE
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
