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In this BBC report, Austin Wainwright, a worker with the Spanish Red Cross, describes helping African migrants who arrive in the Canary Islands after days at sea in small boats. (When there is a medal going, this guy deserves one.)

"The basic story most of the people tell is that they would rather die trying to make it to Europe than to stay in their country."

Aid worker tells of migrant ordeal

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Having picked the first of this year's figs yesterday, I thought we might like to know a little more about these fruit that grow in abundance in Tenerife.

The fig tree, ‘Ficus carica,’ possibly originated in Northern Asia according to archeological fossil records. Spanish missionaries brought it to the United States in 1520. Historical Sumerian tablets record the use and consumption of figs in 2500 BC.

In Greek mythology, the fig figures prominently as a gift of Demeter to Dionysus and as having received the blessing and sanctity of the Greek Gods. Plato documented that Greek athletes at Olympia were fed diets of figs to increase their running speed and overall strength. The figs contained up to 50% concentration of sugar which was virtually like feeding the athlete a candy bar.

The most famous Biblical reference to figs is that, in which Jesus cursed a fig tree for not producing any fruit for him as he passed by, a curse that killed the fig tree, Matt 21:18

The Jewish King, Hezekiah, was cured of a life-threatening plague by applying figs to the infected spot. 2 Kings 20 The Apostle, James, brother of Jesus, used the metaphor of the fig tree to describe the appropriate behavior that he expected to follow from Christian living. James 3:12 Fig leaves were used in the early church to hide the genitalia of nude, marble sculptures that adorned religious buildings. Fig trees were also used in ancient history as shade trees and to chop and use as quick start firewood.

Cooked figs were used as sweeteners in ancient times and this practice is still used in many third world countries in Asia Minor. The figs contain over 50% sugar. Hybrid figs contain many hollow, tiny seeds on the interior of the fruit, similar in taste as those found in blueberries and strawberries.

A fig fruit has a round tiny opening at the base of the fig called an ‘eye.’ A tiny wasp flies into the interior of the fig and pollinates the tiny flowers lining the interior walls of the fig. These tiny seed are not generally digested by the stomach and offer a great laxative effect to the elderly sedentary citizens. American hybrid figs do not require or receive pollination to be transformed into edible fruit.

Fig trees in Europe can grow to a tremendous height of 100 feet, but the fruit is very difficult to harvest when the tree grows taller than 10 feet.

In harvesting the figs, it is important to pick the fruit from the tree, when it is completely mature--usually when it sags, droops, and changes color. If the figs are taken from the tree prematurely, the sweetness declines, but more importantly, if the figs are removed in the juvenile developing state, a white milky fluid exudes from the stem, which is transferred to a person’s hands and then eyes or mouth, the fluid is very irritating and should be washed away as quickly as possible.

One of the most famous figs in the United States is the “Black Mission” fig tree, which was named after the California, Franciscan mission that dates back to 1770, when it was planted there and cultivated on a commercial scale.

Perhaps the most famous product of figs is the fig newton that uses dried figs placed between curved, sweet wafers and distributed by Nabisco.

In Europe, figs are gathered from commercial fig tree orchards where they are sized, graded, and packed to sell as fresh fruit at local markets. Figs are easily dried after harvesting from the trees, and various brands are popularly sold throughout the world, because of their extended shelf life in the United States, California is the largest producer of figs and most of them are marketed as dried figs. In the South figs are boiled in sugar liquid, sometimes adding strawberries and the resulting fig preserves are eaten during the fall and winter months as fig preserves on hot buttered biscuits.

The trees grow into picturesque specimens in many landscapes. The trunks are often whitewashed when young in order to keep the sun from scalding the tender bark. The roots are vigorous growers and will grow far away from the canopy; however, trimming these roots does not damage the tree.

Fig trees grown in full sun have soft wood that break easily. The trees easily grow to 100 feet in Europe but usually less than 30 feet in the United States. Fertilizing fig trees on most soils is unnecessary and unwise, because nitrogen fertilizer tends to promote aggressive branch growth and will reduce the size of the crop. If too much nitrogen is applied, the fruit does not mature properly and the fruit has an off taste.

The first crop of figs that matures in the spring is called the “breba” crop and the next and tastiest crop matures in the fall. Figs are harvested from the trees from June till October, although some new cultivars will be ready for eating in April. The shelf life for freshly picked figs is short and fig generally last only about three days in refrigeration. A fig should not be picked from a tree, if it is over ripe or mushy, since it will begin souring from fermentation. At this point figs will lose their roundness and begin to collapse inward. When a fig is harvested from a tree, it should be soft to the touch and a very firm fig will not ripen properly, if it is picked at this immature stage.

The beautiful leaves of the fig tree are used to make an odd scented perfume with the aroma of wood or musk. The white, milky latex from the tree can be used as a meat tenderizer or in making cheese, if the latex is dried and powdered. Figs can be frozen whole or sliced in plastic bags or jars and expected to last satisfactorily for one year. Dried figs can be soaked in warm water to restore their shape and softness. Fruit of figs is high in iron, calcium, potassium, and fiber, and they are used as a diuretic and a laxative.

Figs contain protein digesting enzymes and can be used as a meat tenderizer and a taste enhancer. Dried figs are often used to substitute for recipes calling for dried apricots, dates, or prunes.

Fig trees are considered to be about as cold hardy as citrus; however, recent hybrid cultivars show that fig trees can survive temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit for limited periods of time, and if the tree freezes to the ground, the new shoots will sprout in the spring to rapidly renew the fig tree.


About The Author: Patrick A. Malcolm, owner of TyTy Nursery, has an M.S. degree in Botany and has cultivated fig trees for over three decades. http://www.tytyga.com

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The BBC report, "The European Commission says it will do more to help EU member states handle large flows of migrants." "Justice Commissioner, Franco Frattini, said he would ask member states to show more solidarity with Spain, to increase the amount of money available for border control, and to strengthen the "operational capacity" of the new EU border agency, Frontex."

However, if you read the local reports of the same story, the news is greeted with far less enthusiasm. Canarias7 headline translates as, "Brussels recognizes that it can't cope with immigration" and, La Opinión say, "Europe isn't contemplating giving more resourses to Spain to slow down illegal immigration".

(I did learn something from the coverage. The Canary Islands operation, is apparently known as Hera. She who kept a mythical orchard in the west.)

EU promises help with migrants

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As we've mentioned here a couple of times recently, in July Google updated the satellite imagery of the Canary Islands in both Google Earth and Google Maps. The former satellite images from DigitalGlobe, were replaced by images belonging to the Canary Island public company Grafcan.

Well, I've discovered where you can currently see those previous DigitalGlobe versions, here at Flash Earth and I can confirm that these were what used to show in Google Earth. But the DigitalGlobe images are not as new as they appear to be either. The copyright statements, both for Google and DigitalGlobe, say 2006, but that bears absolutely no relation to the date of the images themselves.

Because, I can tell you that these are still pre-November 2003 when the roof of this house was painted. Also, if you look at this photo, which I took in April 2006 of the area around Los Pedregales. At the right hand side of the image, it should be easy to pick out the pinky-red roofed market building that has two white roofed pieces coming out at the front and the cars parked in front of it.

See behind the market area, there are several large 2-3 story yellow buildings with bright russet red roofs and a round grey bit that looks like a castle. They would, I think you will agree, be distinctive and easy to spot from the air.

Now compare it to this location on the DigitalGlobe images via Flash Earth.

The market hall, an inverted horsehoe shape with it's red and white roof, sitting in a concrete circle is easy to pick out. But what is behind it (to it's left on the map)? Just an area of dirt, maybe some walls, mostly before building had commenced. There are certainly no red roofs or castle-like bits, are there?

Those buildings certainly did not go up overnight, in fact, I can see them from the house and I have been watching the construction for three or four years.

No, I don't know what it all means and why we can't get newer images yet, which Grafcan say that they have, but it does suggest that the swap to the Grafcan images is not really much of a time-warp. The Grafcan images are a better resolution, but the main difference appears to be the "editing out" of sensitive areas, such as the military base next to the airport at Gando on the island of Gran Canaria. Compare the Grafcan image below with the base "whited out":



With this location on the DigitalGlobe version. Oh look, no censoring!

Vielen Dank to this German forum, plaza-la-palma, for linking to me, which is how I found their link to Flash Earth for the DigitalGlobe images.

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The trio had booked to go on a week long trip to Tenerife through the website sunmedresorts. com, report Malvern Gazette. They paid the £1,417 bill by credit card, and were due to fly to the resort at the end of September. On Saturday, when they phoned the agency to try to alter the booking so another friend could come along, they discovered they had been defrauded.

They warned other holidaymakers to beware of tempting offers on the web. "People should only use proper travel agents, ones that are ABTA registered."

Trio fall victim to internet travel con

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"In late July Google updated the satellite imagery of the Canary Islands in both Google Earth and Google Maps. The former satellite images from 2005 and 2006 were replaced by images belonging to the Canary public company Grafcan. While some applauded the partnership of Google with a local mapping company, others became immediately suspicious that the replacement images were at least six years old, leaving them to conclude that a government conspiracy was at hand in order to attract more tourists by removing unsightly, recent developments."

While there do not seem to be any new developments since our last post about Ancient Canary Islands in Google Earth, there are links and translations of more comments and, above all, the post at GlobalVoices shows that world is talking about it. The question is, are those who can clear the situation up listening?

A Google Earth Canary Islands Conspiracy?

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The regional government has announced plans to contract a private services company which will be able to offer five helicopters twenty four hours a day three hundred and sixty five days a year to cover any emergency situations which may arise on all seven of the Canary Islands.

Emergency helicopter plan for the islands

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The Mirror, of all places, recommends "La Gomera, a short hop by boat from Los Christianos, but a world away from its lively, up-all-night neighbour." Their description of Tenerife's neighbour, is spot on - I've been over four times already - and they, like me, recommend the government run Parador hotel. As an alternative, they also suggest the island of La Palma. The article is well worth a read if you are looking for the quieter kind of Canary Island experience.

Canary Mellow

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For Fotoseptiembre, seven photographers from the Canary Islands provide a contemporary look at the Spanish islands whence some of San Antonio's earliest settlers arrived in 1731. "A Ojo De Canario," goes on display Sept. 5 and runs through Nov. 30 at the San Antonio International Center. The project is being supported by San Antonio's Cultural Exchange Initiative, which also brought eight Canary Islands artists to create las alfombras, or a carpet of flowers and soil, last March for the 275th anniversary of San Fernando Cathedral.

Fotoseptiembre celebrates works of Canary Islanders

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CD Tenerife's first match, away at Almería, was a comforting start to the season. De Palmas scored an own goal in the 86th minute, giving Tenerife their first three points of the championship in front of the small crowd of 5,327 spectators.

Tres puntos caídos del cielo

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Police cleared the beach at Playa del Duque on the Costa Adeje in south Tenerife yesterday afternoon, after some tourists discovered "an explosive artefact"; an unusual cylindrical object containing phosphorous, which turned out to be an electronic piece from an US military vessel and "could be something to do with instruments used for locating submarines", says the report.

Police commissioner, Luis Carrión said that it was an "incendiary device of military use". The object had been washed up on the beach by the currents. The area was cordoned off, while bomb disposal experts detonated the piece in two controlled explosions. What's left has been taken to Santa Cruz to be analysed, to find out where it came from and who might have abandoned it.

Desalojan una playa en Costa Adeje para explosionar un artefacto

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Provisional tourism statistics for July 2006, from the Tenerife Island Corporation, indicate that 484,695 tourists were accommodated on the island during the said month - a record since the same month of 1978 and 0.38% more than in July of 2005.

Cabildo Vice President and Councillor for Tourism, José Manuel Bermúdez, says that "this figure ratifies the good times that tourism on the island is currently encountering." There had also been a 20.3% increase in visitors in June in respect to the previous year.

The principal markets, the United Kingdom and Germany, both suffered decreases, by 6.8 and 9.9%, respectively, in July, though, cumulatively, are up on the previous year. In July 157,309 British and 43,643 German tourists visited Tenerife. The biggest increases in July were among Irish (61.5%), Italian (33.2%), Swiss (23.4%) Belgian (15.1%) and Dutch (9.3%) tourists.

The average length of stay was 8.27 days - an increase of a bit over half a day. Hotel occupation was at 69.9%, 6.9% more than in 2005. There were less British tourists staying in apartments in the south of the island, while the north saw an increase in absolute numbers - 9.7% more than the previous year.

In the seven months of the year to date, Tenerife has accommodated 3,075,852 tourists in total. In the six months to June, the Canary Islands as a whole had received 5.5 million tourists, 3.4% more than in the same period of 2005.

Tenerife recupera su protagonismo turístico con 484.695 alojados en julio

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It comes to something when the news that NO illegal immigrants have arrived is news! However, as digital newspaper, Canarias Ahora, as well as many others today, report, "At 19:30 hours this Friday there had not been any arrivals of embarcations to the Canarian coasts all day." That made yesterday the first day during August when there have not been any arrivals and, more significantly, meant that the Red Cross, health services and security forces had been working for 26 consecutive days, non-stop. They certainly deserve a day off.

Primer día de agosto sin cayucos

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A committee of experts from UNESCO are to visit the Teide National Park in Tenerife in October, to study the proposal for it's inclusion the list of World Heritage Sites.

Park Director, Manuel Durbán, says that the committee will be wrapped in technicians from the park, scientists from the University of La Laguna and various other experts so that they can fully explain importance of the National Park and the uniqueness of the flora and fauna in this volcanic landscape.

Declared as Parque Nacional del Teide in 1954, the process for recognition was begun in 2002. A definitive decision is expected in 2007. The Canary Islands already have two sites on the World Heritage list; the city of San Cristóbal de la Laguna in Tenerife and the Garajonay National Park in La Gomera.

Un comité de la UNESCO evaluará el Teide como candidato a bien natural

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Football results in Tenerife are not merely left to fancy footwork, nor even luck. Much higher powers are invoked, because the CD Tenerife team have a tradition of visiting the Patrona of the Canary Islands, the Virgen de Candelaria, as part of their pre-season preparations.

The team made their annual expedition to Candelaria on Tuesday. They were received by Father Mendoza and, after making a floral offering, a few words were had in private with the captains and they signed the Book of Honour.

CD Tenerife president, Miguel Concepción, said "We've asked the Virgin to help us and bring us luck, although the rest we have to do ourselves." (Though, with so many seasons in the Segunda Division (Second Division) now, one might begin to wonder if the Virgin has become a Las Palmas supporter!)

The latest of the team's flurry of new signings for this season, most of whom are on loan, is Wolves Flop Thomasz Frankowski. Glenn Hoddle had high hopes for the £1.4M Polish International last season, but the "Goal Machine" failed to score. Let's hope the weather agrees with him here in Tenerife!

Tenerife play their first match of the season, today or maybe tomorrow (Marca says 27th, El Dia says tonight at 21:00 - they don't say if that is Spanish or Canarian time), away at Almería. Gran Canaria born player, Pablo Sicilia, on loan from Atlético Madrid, says that "the team has worked well and is prepared".

To keep up to date with CD Tenerife news, in English, visit the English Speaking supporters club, Armada Sur, in south Tenerife's website.

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De fiesta, a fiesta ... You'd be forgiven, mainly because you'd be right, for thinking that in Tenerife there is a fiesta a week (at least) to attend. And there is certainly no lack of variety in the entertainments these events provide.

It was indeed only a couple of weeks ago that the fiestas in Candelaria took place for the archipelago's Patrona. Then, as La Opinión report, the party moved to Garachico for fifteen days worth of fiestas in honour of San Roque, which this year drew a crowd of 30,000 to the traditional romeria alone - and that ain't a half bad turn out for a small town of scarcely 6,000 inhabitants.

The origin of the devotion to the saint goes back to the middle of 17th Century, when an epidemic of plague hit the island of Tenerife. The villagers in Garachico, who had been particularly affected, asked the saint to intercede and, apparently, it worked. Since then, the people of Garachico have remembered the event honouring the patron saint of the locality with a traditional romeria.

The police had never seen so many at this fiesta before. The town was completely blocked off by 11 a.m. and people had to park as far away as La Caleta. Forty-five carts went in procession behind the saint on it's route through the town, which along with good local wine, of course, potatoes and meat cooked on the barbeques on the back of the carts, kept folk amused for 5 hours.

In the meantime, La Guancha have also been celebrating their fiestas in honour of the Virgen de la Esperanza (Virgin of Hope).

This week, it is the turn of Buenavista del Norte, who celebrated a solemn mass for the town's patron, San Bartolomé, yesterday - along with an open-air rapid painting contest in the Plaza de Los Remedios. The winning entry, pictured here, by Meca González, recreated the scene of the unique dance of Las Libreras - which will be part of the fiestas here in El Palmar next month.

On Sunday, in Buenavista del Norte, also as part of the fiestas in honour of San Bartolomé, some 90 crafters will be taking part in the Feria de Artesanía de Buenavista del Norte (Buenavista del Norte Crafts Fair), which is also becoming one of the principal summer attractions of the Isla Baja area.

The time is given as "from the first hours of Sunday". I would translate that as about 10 a.m. ish onwards. As well as typical crafts, there will be ambulant musicians through the day and at 7 p.m. there is concert of folk music.

Also here in the El Palmar valley this week, in the district of Las Portelas, are the fiestas in honour of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, from today, August 25th, until September 3rd. I have it on excellent authority - proving the rule that public washbasins are indeed news broadcasting sites, so this is breaking news here in the "media" - that there will be a salsa band from Los Realejos tonight, fireworks tomorrow and mass and a procession on Sunday afternoon.

The Las Portelas fireworks are an annual event that I "attend" from home and it's a spectacle that has to be experienced. Fireworks are always spectacular here, but these have another, entirely unique attraction: that of the acoustic effects of the valley walls. I can hardly describe it, but because the valley is a big basin, almost completely surrounded by an inverted "D" shape of sheer walls, it's like a very noisy train running around that ricochets off the Teno mountains.

And, as I hinted above, the next local fiestas and mini country-fair will be those of the village of El Palmar itself, at the back end of September, which includes the dance of Las Libreras and the annual event of La Trilla (threshing).

And there are bound to be other fiestas, elsewhere, in the meantime! :)


PS: Well, what a coincidence ... I pop down to the local store (my other reliable source for local news) and what should they be talking about there? Fiestas or, more to the point, the sheer number of them happening in succession.

And we forgot one! Before the fiestas in El Palmar, there will be fiestas up in Teno Alto. Then, in October, there will be more fiestas in Buenavista del Norte and, there are the fiestas up in Erjos to be taken into consideration.

That, apparently, is "it" for this area. LOL!

(The fiestas in Las Lagunetas were earlier in the year.)

And you can't help thinking that once this fiesta season is over, it will be only a few short weeks before the two public holidays at the beginning of December usher in the month-long Christmas season. Then, as soon as we've had Los Reyes, in January, the Carnaval season will commence ... and as soon as that is over, the spring-summer-autumn romerias and fiestas circuit will begin again.

We came to the conclusion that the best job in the Canary Islands is hot dog or sweet stall holder, because they follow every fiesta of every type! :-)

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Sophia M. Garcia, describes herself as Half Spanish - Half British and was born in El Palmar, Spain, "a place where nature is mostly appreciated."

Sophia has exhibited in El Palmar and in Buenavista del Norte and is currently in Hong Kong. Her work is available for purchase or auction online.

This valley does inspire artistic thoughts: I probably couldn't paint a wall, but I do muse over taking up the brush every time I look out on the mountains. I love these vibrant colours and can see, for instance, how a scene like this here in the El Palmar valley, could inspire a work such as the one illustrated above.

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The Tenerife Chamber of Commerce considers the round of inspections that the Health Ministry will be undertaking in September in Canary Islands' establishments to verify their adherence to the Ley Antitabaco (Anti Tobacco Law), to be "precipitated". On the other hand, the Ministry says that there will not be one extra day given for bars and restaurants to conform to the law.

From September 1st, the obligation for establishments to have separate and perfectly compartmentalized areas for smokers comes into force. The law itself came into force on January 1st, 2006, but bars and restaurants were given until August 31st, to adapt their premises as necessary to comply with the law.

This only applies to such establishments with more than 100 square meters (only 10% of those in the Canaries reach this size) and who want to provide a smoking area for customers. Bars under that size can choose whether to be all smoking or all non-smoking (the majority locally are all smoking still.)

The principle difficulty that businesses, who do want to provide smoking areas, are encountering is in the basic structure of buildings, which is making it hard to properly separate the areas. The Chamber of Commerce is therefore asking for flexibility and wants the list of criteria that the inspectors will be using distributed to the sector, especially where the remodelling works will have a high cost or require businesses to be closed while the work is carried out.

The law also puts the bar owner in the role of vigilante, given that if someone smokes in an establishment where it is not permitted, the sanctions fall upon the bar if they cannot prove that they have taken "pertinent measures" to prevent the illegal conduct. For bar and restaurant owners, fines are between 601 euros and 10,000 euros, while for the smoker, the maximum is 600 euros.

The Spanish Hostelry Federation has already asked the Government for an additional period of grace of between three and six months for bars and restaurants to be able to adapt their premises.

At national level, only one in ten establishments has even applied for a licence to carry out such works. Meanwhile, the Ministry reminds establishments that they do not HAVE to do any works at all, if they just put up a sign on the door which says "Smoking Prohibited", i.e. entirely on the premises.

The problem, of course, is that bars and restaurants over 100 square meters do not want to turn away paying customers - whether they are smokers or not.

La Cámara pide a Sanidad flexibilidad en las próximas inspecciones ´antitabaco´

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Kids all over the world will be preparing to go back to school over the next few weeks - some with excitement, others with trepidation - but for many parents, the event often fills them with dread over the rising cost of the operation. Much more so if they have have more than one child of school age.

It's estimated, adding up the cost of text books, other materials and clothing that the average expenditure, per student in the Canaries, is 800 euros (c. £540).

In the Canary Islands, infant and primary children start the new school year on September 7th. Though parents have had the list of text books and materials for the new course since July, the president of the Tenerife Island Federation of Parents' Associations, Pura Toste, believes that stores and commercial centers could do more to make the items available over a longer period of time.

Parents associations are also putting forward the proposal that schools request the materials each term, rather than annually, because many families cannot manage an expenditure of this size in one single month.

La temida ´vuelta al cole´

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The Canarian Government is providing 166,670 euros for the initial proceedings of a project to urbanize a parcel of land in the district of Las Portelas in the El Palmar valley. This is part of a larger project of dynamization and economic development in northern municipalities in Tenerife and is to allow for the future creation of "a large number" of homes and "sociocultural spaces" in the area, so that the town hall can meet current demands for homes.

The land which has been acquired by the town hall is at the entrance to the district when arriving from Las Lagunetas and El Palmar. Some ten percent of the land will be destined for public use, with a cultural center, plaza and children's playground. The rest will be for self-build homes.

Mayor of Buenavista del Norte, Aurelio Abreu, considers this the first step in the social development of Las Portelas, one of the most singular areas of the Teno Rural Park. Developing the outlying areas of the municipality is also seen as a means to prevent an exodus of young people to other areas of the island.

El alcalde de Buenavista del Norte explica que el barrio experimentará un gran desarrollo en sus infraestructuras socioeconómicas y culturales

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And they don't just mean the landscape! Seventeen candidates for the title of Miss Norte from all over the north of the island, lined up at a press conference at the Orcario (Whale Pool) in the Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz yesterday afternoon. The gala beauty contest takes place in the plaza in front of the town hall in La Orotava tomorrow. (My money is on the whale. :-)

El Norte más guapo

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The drama of immigration has put the Canary Islands on the front pages of the media in half the world, causing preoccupation over the deterioration of the image of the islands as a tourist destination. The Canary Islands Government intend to combat the negative effects of the migratory phenomenon.

In September, the regional Tourist Council will undertake a marketing strategy to reinforce tourist promotion campaigns in those countries where news reports over illegal immigrants have had the most repercussions. The administration is also evaluating the impact of the uncontrollable arrival of cayucos among foreign tourists who holiday on Canary Islands beaches.

A month ago, just before the last wave of undocumented immigrants arrived, a team of sociologists also disembarked in Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife, where most of the boats arrive to get a feel for the reactions of the tourists on the beach. This species of urgent sociological investigation mostly came up with positive results. Tourists were aware of what was happening, before choosing the Canary Islands as their holiday destination and this did not affect their decision. They see it as a humanitarian drama and are not repelled by it.

While the administration are confident that, in the short term, this will not send European tourists to competing destinations and that the archipelago is still considered one of the most secure destinations in Europe, there is concern that the idyllic image of the islands is being damaged by constant media attention.

El Gobierno combatirá el deterioro de imagen

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The most expensive tunnel in the Canary Islands is due to be opened to traffic in April 2007. Difficulties with the excavations of the tunnel at El Guincho, Garachico, have elevated the investment to more than 18 million euros.

Work has taken more than four and a half years on the scarcely 650 meter long tunnel, the cost of which, at the moment, runs to 28,000 euros per meter, but the costs are not purely economic. Efforts, misfortunes and technical difficulties have also taken their toll. Inconsistencies in the terrain; volcanic ash, were at the root of the problems that the project has suffered since the beginning. During the works, there have been five collapses with their resultant dangers for homes in the vicinity, residents and the construction workers themselves.

After initially having little success, an exceptional system was adopted, which consisted in injecting concrete both from the interior and the exterior of the tunnel, which have slowly consolidated the construction.

Work on the El Guincho tunnel began in August 2002 and forms a part of the improvements to the TF-142 road between Icod de los Vinos and Garachico. The original budget was 15.7 million and work was expected to take 24 months.

En abril de 2007 se abrirá al tráfico el túnel más caro construido en Canarias

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The following web page has a nice little collection of photos of the village of Masca and of Punta Teno, both of which are in the area of Buenavista del Norte.

The image (left) shows the small church at the top of the village of Masca. Nowadays the village is one of the most visited sites on the island of Tenerife.

As recently as the 1970's, however, there were no roads in and out of the steep-sided valley and the only way to the village was on foot over the mountains.

Images of Masca and Punta Teno

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Gordon Matthew Sumner, more popularly known as Sting, could visit the island of Tenerife to perform at the Auditorio in Santa Cruz as part of Legendarios (Legends), a series of concerts that has already attracted grand musicians such as Van Morrison, Bonnie Tyler and Lou Reed. Currently, the Tenerife Island Corporation is in negotiations with the British star and with Eric Clapton to reach agreements over their possible appearances in Tenerife.

El Cabildo negocia con Sting y con Eric Clapton para que actúen en el Auditorio

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Posting at CafeBabel.com, a visitor to Santa Cruz de Tenerife says, "Visiting Tenerife in July, I bumped into this crucifix and could not believe my eyes. After 2006 years of adulation, Jesus Christ has now become the king of burgers." They found the combination of neon sign and crucifix grotesque and say that "the owners of the fast food restaurant could have left this wall bare."

Offending image: Jesus Christ, king of burgers

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"More than 300 immigrants arrived on the Canary Islands on Saturday morning, following 415 on Friday, and taking the total number of irregular arrivals to more than 700 in less than 24 hours.", report Typically Spanish. The weekend's arrivals reached 1,268 in the end, according to Diario de Avisos.

More than 17,000 illegal migrants have arrived so far this year, fleeing poverty in their home countries. "They change their routes depending on the controls they meet," Domingo Martin Garcia, head of the Red Cross rapid response team in Tenerife, said. "Our people in Africa have figures estimating that about 100,000 people could be waiting in Senegal for an opportunity to set off in a boat," he said in an interview in ABC newspaper on Sunday.

Meanwhile, over the next few days, two new centers for foreign minors will be set up on the islands and agreement was reached for Guardia Civil patrols to help watch Senegal's territorial waters to contain the avalanche of immigrants.

Immigrants arrive on the Canary Islands in ever-greater numbers
1,200 immigrants reach Canary Islands since Friday
Three more boatloads of migrants reach Canaries

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