Saturday, September 30, 2006
Population Ageing in the Canary Islands
ArchipielagoNoticias report a delightful story on the average age of the population in the Canary Islands, which begins, "In the last ten years, the Canarian population has aged almost three years ..." I knew the laid-back culture was good for something: less stress, slower ageing. What a shame we can't take that literally ... :)
What they are actually saying, of course, is that, the average age of the Canary Islands population, as a whole, has risen by almost 3 years in the last decade, from 34.5 years in 1996, to 37.3 years in 2006. The averages vary from island to island and from district to district, with Vallehermoso in La Gomera having the oldest average age at 47.6 years and Puerto del Rosario, in Fuerteventura, and Santa Lucía de Tirajana, in Gran Canaria have the youngest averages at 32.7 years.
The report also states that, in the last five years, the percentage of old folk, practically hasn't varied. That is to say that 12.09% of the overall Canarian population is 65 and over, up from 11.95% in 2001, which, perhaps surprisingly, is actually 4 percentage points less than the national average of 16.62%. El Hierro has the largest percentage of old folk (19.17%), while Fuerteventura has the least (5.79%).
Tenerife has an average age that is only just over the average for the Canary Islands, at 38 years, but there are enormous differences between municipalities. Granadilla de Abona has the youngest population at an average of 34.5 years, while Santiago del Teide is at the other end of the scale with an average of 44.1 years. Santiago del Teide also has the largest percentage of foreigners on the island, 49.2%.
The percentage of over 65 year olds in Tenerife, is also only a point over the average for the archipelago, but again there are differences between towns. In Adeje there are only 6.89% of oldies, whereas in Los Silos, 22.9% of the population are old folk.
(Actually, that is interesting, since Los Silos has one of the youngest councils. The mayor was only in his early 20's when he was voted in and, I believe, holds the record for the youngest ever mayor in Spain. There was quite a funny story in one of the newspapers, actually, about the first time they turned up for a meeting in Santa Cruz and nobody believed that the "youths in jeans" were the elected councillors.)
Fuerteventura presenta la población más joven de Canarias y El Hierro la de más edad
The greens get serious against Tenerife concrete
The various green parties have come together to form a coalition to try to present a common and united front which will be a common sense alternative to what they call the “consensus of concrete” backed by mainstream political parties like Coalición Canaria, Partido Popular and the Partido Socialista Canario. The new look party, Los Verdes de Canarias (Canarian Green Party), was launched at a recent news conference and hailed by Verde MEP David Hammerstein as “a clear option at last”.
The greens get serious
Tempers Flare in immigrant Retention Center
La Opinión report on the incidents which took place on Wednesday, at the immigrant internment center at Las Raíces in the north of Tenerife, when there was "a confrontation" between the army and the National Police. Minister of Justice, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Thursday, launched a message urging tranquility.
Who knows what went on exactly? According to the La Opinión report, one version is that the army wanted to fumigate one of the large cabins in which the immigrants are housed, believing it to be unoccupied. Another says that it started when the police wanted to accommodate immigrants in a cabin, in which soldiers were sleeping.
Sounds to me like "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand ...", but it easy easy to criticize, when you are not there, attempting to manage and control a situation with so many people and probably very few resources.
López Aguilar rechaza la alarma social en las incidencias con los inmigrantes
Alarma política por los incidentes en Las Raíces
Icod Celebrates Day of Tourism
The World Day of Tourism, apparently, was celebrated on Thursday in the town of Icod de los Vinos, in north Tenerife. In the Parque de Drago, they were giving every tourist roses. However, most of the celebrations in the town, will be held today.
Organized by the Drago Park and the Center for Tourist Iniciatives, today, Saturday 30, is an Open Day for tourists, who will, once again be greeted with flowers and gifts from the early morning. From 10:30, there will be music in the streets and guided walks around the historic center of the town, showing visitors the museum, the church of San Marcos, the house of the Cáceres family, the Franciscan Convent and other local buildings. Some of these locations also house various exhibitions. Visitors will also be able to taste local wines in the various establishments.
This evening, after a 9:30 p.m. "Encounter with the Dragon" - they mean, of course, the town's famous dragon tree, the night will turn into a "Noche de Parrandas", which means that visitors will be able to enjoy a fiesta like atmosphere, with traditional music, traditional food and more wine from the region in the town's streets.
Completo programa de actividades en Icod de los Vinos para este sábado durante la celebración del Día del Turismo
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Exhibition based on Korda's photo of Che Guevara, opens in Santa Cruz, Tenerife
The most reproduced image in the history of photography, that taken by Alberto Korda in 1960 of the guerrilla, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, in La Habana, is the basis of an exhibition that opened last week in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The exhibition, which has already been to New York, Mexico and London, includes works by artists such as; Vik Muniz (Brasil), Pedro Meyer (México), Martin Parr (England), Marcos López (Argentina), Annie Leibovitz (United States) and Andy Warhol.
It can be contemplated at the Municipal Museum of Art in the Tenerife capital until November 5th, before it goes on to Barcelona and Amsterdam.
Municipal Museum of Art
Calle José Murphy 12 (Plaza del Principe)
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Opening Times: from Tuesday to Friday, from 10:00 to 20:00 h. Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 h (Monday closed).
Tenerife acoge exposición basada en foto Korda sobre Che Guevara
Put Yourself in Their Place ...
The Bishopric of Tenerife, this week, asked catholics to put themselves in the place of the immigrants, "those who risk making the journey towards the north, trying to understand their rights and their reasons, without defending what appears to them as our privileged position and, that we see being threatened." The note has been made public against the "constant arrival to our coasts of so many people from the African continent and the death of so many more in their attempts to reach them."
The Bishopric of Tenerife considers that we need to be creative when looking for and offering possibilities and, to open up opportunities to share the gaps that already exist, in the Canary Islands, as well as the the rest of the State and in Europe, "taking in, integrating and making a dignified life possible for those who come."
The Bishopric also had words to say about the scarcity of the world's natural resources and propose that we need to change out style of life, consuming less, in a more responsible manner, sharing goods with solidarity and being conscious that the real solution to this situation, in the medium and long term, is a change in the rules of global commerce.
Interestingly and, I for one am glad they have issued this note given the amount of friction this issue is causing among the local population, they quote Exodus 22, "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt." and go on to underline that the social doctrine of the church is clear and forceful in this sense, in that it "defends the rights of all people to have conditions to live in dignity in their own country, without having to emigrate and, also, the right to emigrate."
Obispado Tenerife pide ponerse en el lugar de los emigrantes
Marc Anthony To Close Spanish Tour In Tenerife
According to Terra Actualidad - Europa Press, it is now confirmed that Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter,Marc Anthony, will end his Spanish tour with a concert in the south of Tenerife, on Thursday, October 19th in the Estadio Olímpico Playa de Las Américas, in Los Cristianos, Arona at 21:00.
The singer, husband of Jennifer Lopez, who accompanied him to the Canary Islands on his last visit in February 2005, drew a crowd of more than 30,000, when he promised to come back to Tenerife.
Tickets for the show, which are being put on sale, initially, through El Corte Inglés and CajaCanarias, will also be available from Discos Manzana, Deportes Salud and Music Line. Prices: 24 Euros in advance, 25 Euros on the door.
NOTE: It was previously confirmed (and here) that Anthony would be playing in Gran Canaria on October 19th and, even having searched, I can find no other article to alter or refute that. Therefore, there is a 50% chance that one of these locations is correct ... Or he's a very clever bloke who can be in two places at once.
Marc Anthony cierra su gira española de conciertos en el sur de Tenerife
Labels: Jennifer Lopez in Tenerife, Marc Anthony in Tenerife
Keeping Up With The Danes ...
In years gone by, we all attempted to keep up with the Joneses. These days, it seems, it's the Danes. No, I'm not talking about their larger, the famous bacon, nor the fact that Denmark was named as the happiest country in the world.
No, it seems, the Danes are also happy spending their money.
In the Canary Islands, at least. According to the latest figures from the Canarian Institute of Statistics, the tourists who spend the most money are the Danes, at an average of 172.50 Euros, per tourist per day, in total, 70.72 Euros of which is paid in Denmark and 101.78 Euros that is spent directly in the Canary Islands.
Norwegians were the second biggest spenders when they visit the archipelago.
They didn't say specifically what the British spend, but the overall average spending figures in the second quarter of 2006, were 105.40 Euros in total - almost two euros more than in the same period last year - 59.8% (63.02 Euros) paid in the country of origin and 40.2% (42.38 Euros) of which is spent directly in the Canary Islands.
This also starts to explain why the local authorities like "quality tourists" (golfers, those who choose five-star hotels, etc.) and, why they are currently busy courting low-cost airlines, based on the premise that the less a visitor has to spend to get here, the more they will spend on the islands to truly benefit the local economy.
Gasto medio
Canary Islands go to World Travel Market
The Canary Islands pavilion at this year's World Travel Market show in London, will, in the words of the Tourist Council, be "novel". The show, which runs from Monday 6 - Thursday 9 November, unites 5,000 travel companies from 177 countries.
The 679 square meter Canary Islands pavilion, which "symbolizes the dynamism of the Canary Islands tourist offer", will be divided into three modules.
Tenerife and Gran Canaria will occupy a space of 112 square meters; La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote will share a circular area in the center of the pavilion, with a further 180 square meters of space upstairs.
Councillor for Tourism, Manuel Fajardo, says that the Canary Islands are going to the London fair with good tourism figures. In the eight months of the year to date, foreign tourism in the islands has increased by four percent on the previous year, while tourism from the Spanish mainland has evolved even better, with a 7% increase.
Feria londinense
Your seat was sponsored by ...
The Canary Island Government yesterday revealed the creation of a Flight Development Fund, with a budget of one million euros, destined to promoting an increase in airline connections between the islands and with the exterior.
Aiming to help overcome the effects of the ultra peripheral location of the islands, the fund, available to all kinds of airlines, both national and foreign, will make available subsidies of so much per seat offered. The subsidies will oscillate between one euro per seat and three euros per seat, if they relate to new routes.
El Gobierno crea un fondo para impulsar nuevas rutas aéreas con el Archipiélago
Luxury British Tourists Double in Tenerife
The Tenerife Island Corporation's Councillor for Tourism and Landscape, Pilar Parejo, assures us that during the month of September the number of British clients who opted for five-star hotels on their visits to the island had increased by 111%.
The British market, she says, is behaving positively and, underlined that the increase has been constant - with an average of a 33% rise over the year to date.
Parejo resalta que este mes se duplicó el turismo británico de lujo en Tenerife
Islas Airways Unite Lanzarote with Tenerife
Tenerife based, Islas Airways, arrive in Lanzarote as part of their expansion plan to connect all the dots on the archipelago. From yesterday, a total of ten flights a day, six between Lanzarote and Tenerife, plus four with Gran Canaria, are operating.
Islas Airways une Lanzarote con Tenerife y Gran Canaria
EU restricts hand-luggage liquid
"Air passengers travelling from European Union countries are to be restricted on how much liquid they can take on board. The European Commission has proposed limiting liquids to 100ml containers which must fit into a transparent, re-sealable plastic bag. The rules are likely to be agreed next week and adopted in November."
So far, when I checked with Tenerife South airport (I had you and my mother's penchant for cheap Tenerife booze to think about), there had been no restrictions imposed at this end. Prices on the islands are cheaper than in the duty free, but bottles can't really safely be packed into hold suitcases. This restriction would prevent them from being taken onto the flight in hand-luggage too.
If this is to be adopted across the EU as threatened promised, then I would expect regions like the Canary Islands, whose economy relies on tourist spending, to kick hard against a restriction that could kill this booze business outright.
On the other hand, given that the Canary Islands are counted as being outside the EU when it comes to duty free allowances (inside for most other purposes), this may provide the key exemption. When we get more details, we'll report them here.
EU restricts hand-luggage liquid
Stand-off at Tenerife Retention Center
Typically Spanish report, "El Mundo says that police have stopped the army from evicting immigrants who are being held at an army barracks at Las Raíces in Tenerife. El Mundo said the stand-off there on Tuesday was out of a Hollywood movie."
Couldn't find the original story, but it's funny that I have not seen anything about this (unless it's somewhere down in the back pages) in the local press.
Spain Paper Review
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Remove haze from your digital photos
Many of my photos of Tenerife lack contrast, definition and sharpness.
There could be many reasons for that - I could just be a crappy photographer :) - but it is also because the light at this latitude tends to be a bit harsh, draining the colours (get up earlier to beat it), and because the Canary Islands are so often covered in heat haze or calima.
If you find that your digital holiday snaps are suffering from the same fogginess, these tips might come in handy to restore the colour and glory to your works of art.
Fixing Haze in Digital Photos Via: Lifehacker
Tenerife Still Inspires ...
Marc Roberts wrote the latest Daniel O’Donnell single that has reached No. 21 in the UK Singles Charts. “Crush On You” was co-written with Daniel during some feverish songwriting by the pair at Daniel’s Tenerife villa.
Making his Marc on the charts
Work Commences on the Restoration of the Church of La Consolación in El Palmar
Since I get around to going to this church once or twice a year, I can vouch for the fact that the poor old thing has suffered from the damp. Actually, in an old building or a church, one can excuse that characteristic musty smell, but it is clear that something needed doing before it became a serious structural problem.
INFOICOD NOTICIAS report that the works, which are budgeted at 371,230 euros, have recently commenced and consist in the remodelling of the ceiling of the main building and the consolidation of the structure. They are also installing a system against the damp and will be repairing the perimeter walls.
The Tenerife Island Corporation are putting up most of the money, some 70 percent, while the town hall is paying 20 percent of the cost. The Bishopric of Tenerife, who also paid to have the plans drawn up for the project, will add the other 10 percent.
They don't mention when the works are expected to be completed.
Comienzan los trabajos de rehabilitación de la Iglesia de El Palmar
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Clinton "Sells" the Canary Islands
"The former North American President, Bill Clinton, continues to bet on the Canary Islands.", say Canarias7. At the Clinton Global Initiative, which closed last week in New York, the US leader chose to refer to the islands again as an example for the development of the African continent.
The report in Canarias7 says that, "If one had to calculate the dollars by the minute for the publicity that Bill Clinton has done for the Canary Islands, the archipelago's treasury would be light by a good amount." I think they are forgetting the $350,000 we paid him to speak here last year.
Since he dedicated five minutes to talking about the excellences of the islands as an example of development for the African continent and over the islands' potential as a logistical base for projects for African development, I make that $70,000 per minute.
Is that good value, I wonder? If not, keep talking Bill ... :)
Also mentioned is that Clinton has accepted to return to the islands again next year, on this occasion to attend the Campus de Excelencia, which will be held in June 2007, in Fuerteventura with the attendance of around 100 Nobel prize winners, and which is dedicated to Africa.
Clinton ‘vende’ Canarias en el Foro de Iniciativa Global
Recommendation to NOT drink tap water maintained in twelve Tenerife municipalities
The three institutions said yesterday that this does not affect the whole of these municipalities completely and, in the majority of cases the recommendation to not drink tap water, not even boiled, only affects children under the age of eight. In four districts, however, the recommendation extends to the entire population.
Areas where the greatest restrictions (general population) are recommended are:
Adeje: Miraverde Las Torres, Roque del Conde, Los Molinos, Los Pepes-Armeñime, Tijoco 1 and Tijoco 2 and Tejina.
Buenavista: Las Portelas and Teno.
El Tanque: La Hoya, San José de los Llanos, El Tanque I, and Ruigómez-Erjos.
Icod de los Vinos: Cueva del Viento 1, Cueva del Viento 2, La Florida, Icod de los Vinos and Las Cañas.
They also coincided in a message of tranquility to the population, stating that this should not be considered as contaminated water and that there are no immediate risks to health: that the effects are produced only by prolonged consumption.
Meanwhile, individual councils are "taking the necessary action to palliate the situation as promptly as possible."
Cabildo, Sanidad y Fecam definen las zonas afectadas por flúor en el agua
Solicitan atención con los niveles de FLÚOR en el agua
And, those of us who live in the "no man's land" between El Palmar (under eights) and Las Portelas (general population), which rule do we follow? I am awaiting a call back from the relevant councillor at Buenavista town hall, as we speak!
La Traviata opens the Festival of Opera at the Auditorio de Tenerife Tonight
Seats now available for Tenerife Opera Festival Via: EL DÍA
Grotty grotto poses public danger
Grotty grotto poses public danger
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Public Health Services Advise Against the use of the tap water in Eleven Tenerife Districts
This is not a prohibition of the consumption of tap water, but they do advise that the water is inappropriate for drinking or in the preparation of food.
The World Health Organization say here that:
"Ingestion of excess fluoride, most commonly in drinking-water, can cause fluorosis which affects the teeth and bones. Moderate amounts lead to dental effects, but long-term ingestion of large amounts can lead to potentially severe skeletal problems. Paradoxically, low levels of fluoride intake help to prevent dental caries. The control of drinking-water quality is therefore critical in preventing fluorosis."
Diario de Avisos continue to tell us much the same information and, that this problem is down to the Tenerife geography, given that fluoride occurs naturally in water in volcanic areas. The galleries transport water with excess fluoride and it is necessary to treat it, which is carried out at the desalination plants in the north (Icod and La Guancha) and in the south of the island (Guía de Isora, Santiago del Teide).
Nevertheless, the amount of fluoride in the water does vary, as well as the amount of water treated in each municipality, which can cause spikes, such as that which has occurred now to severely limit the use of the water in the areas most affected.
It is now down to the individual town halls, who are responsible for the supply and distribution of water, to resolve the situation.
Actually, I had noticed that the tap water smells, noticeably, like bleach, which is not at all unusual here. Whilst they do not say so, should tap water also therefore be considered unsuitable for teeth cleaning? It certainly does not do dark fabrics any favours when used for laundry and my personal advice is that it is unsuitable for washing your hair, unless you want to end up looking like Worzel Gummidge.
Sanidad desaconseja el uso de agua en 11 pueblos tinerfeños
World Health Organization - Water-related diseases
K-Narias Play Madison Square Garden
Sisters, Gara y Loida - Tenerife's R&B / Reggae / Hip Hop girl duo, K-Narias - are to open the "Block Party" concert at Madison Square Garden in New York tonight. Other grand figures on the reggaeton lineup include; Daddy Yankee, Julio Voltio, Calle 13, Tego Calderón, Ivy Queen, Alexis and Fido Rihanna.
The Santa Cruz duo arrived in New York a few days ago, but not without incident. As EL DÍA report, Iberia misplaced their suitcases, which contained their wardrobe and an estimated total of 6,000 euros worth of equipment necessary for tonight's performance.
The latest news is that the luggage had been located. President of the Tenerife Island Corporation, Ricardo Melchior, is in New York to support the girls will be attending the concert. K-Narias will be staying in the US and are also scheduled to play at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles on Thursday.
La gran noche de K-Narias
Egyptologists meet in La Laguna
Whatever else they are, the contentious Lost Pyramids of Guimar in Tenerife (or at least the park built around the Pyramids of Guimar by the late Dr Thor Heyerdahl and shipping magnate Fred Olsen), makes for a great day out.
Yet, even if you try to imagine them as rubble, it is hard to believe that they are "simply piles of stones put there by peasants clearing the land", as some experts assert, while saying that these pyramids are not related to the Egyptian world.
Egyptologists meet in La Laguna
Fountain follies in the valley
Tenerife News talk plainly here about the "growing list of municipal roundabout fountains, each one surpassing the other in size, ugliness and costliness," being created in Puerto de la Cruz and La Orotava. They rate them as, "monuments to bad taste and design and hymns to the wanton waste of public money."
Fountain follies in the valley
Friday, September 22, 2006
Proposal to Abolish Prostitution in Spain
However, as has been previously reported "around 80 percent of prostitutes working in Spain (probably 90% in the Canary Islands) are immigrants, many of them illegal ... There is little doubt that many of the foreign prostitutes have been coerced into the trade by criminals who lured them to Spain with false promises of other jobs."
Tenerife:ciudad de mujeres (Tenerife: City of Women) blog report that the association, Jueces para la Democracia (Judges for Democracy) have opened an internal debate to study a report that is radically in favour of the abolition of prostitution in Spain.
The association rejects any form of legalization of this activity, which they classify as "against human dignity" and a manifestation of violence against women and their situation of inequality. Their assertion is that voluntary prostitution is rare and that, in reality is closely linked to immigration, trafficking of women and slavery.
Inmaculada Montalbán, spokeswoman for the association, has indicated that, "the current reality is prostitution of mostly immigrant women, in vulnerable situations and who are in no condition to decide if they wish to exercise prostitution."
Montalbán is also one of the people who will take part in a commission to study prostitution in the Spanish Congress.
Jueces para la Democracia propone abolir la prostitución
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Ryanair to launch five new Irish routes
Low-cost airline, Ryanair has announced five new Irish routes for next year, four from Dublin and one from Derry. The new Dublin routes are to Fueteventura in the Canary Islands, Tenerife, Alghero in Sardinia and Trapani in Sicily.
Ryanair to launch five new Irish routes
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Is it going to rain in Tenerife?
It's a good question and, is one that several searchers have been asking recently. OK, getting terribly scientific in my reply ... just hang on while I walk over to look out of the window ... still there? Good ... No, I don't think it's going to rain today.
But, being serious, how likely is rain in Tenerife?
To show you, I made this graph, using historical data on Tenerife's weather (please note that it does not come with guarantees), which shows the average number of days with precipitation (that it rains) in any given month. 
As you can see, on average, this month - September - can expect to see rain on only two days. Sorry, I can't tell you which two, whether they will be consecutive, whether it will fall during the day or night, nor how much rain might be likely. :)
In reality, the main season for rain in Tenerife, is between November and March, but even in November, the apparently wettest month of the year, the number of days that it is likely to rain is still only five. I have no idea how long ago that data was compiled, but I'd still say that, on average, it is about right. Well, except in this valley, where we certainly seem to get a lot more of it, as does the north of the island in general.
Whatever the case, we still get rain a LOT less often in Tenerife than where most of you live, she says, gloating. And, for sure I shall pay for that comment! :)
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias, Weather
Labels: Tenerife Weather
Azores escape worst of hurricane
"A weakened Hurricane Gordon has passed Portugal's Azores Islands in mid-Atlantic, causing little of the damage initially forecast. The hurricane's centre "passed further south than forecast", sparing western and central islands in the Azores archipelago, weather officials said."
Damage did cause toppled trees and disruption of the electricity network.
But, what is a hurricane doing towards this side of the Atlantic ocean and, heaven forbid, what if it had decided to pass even further south than forecast?
Hurricane Gordon (2006) | Hurricane Gordon Tracking Map
Azores escape worst of hurricane
Canary Islands Airports Handled More Than Three Million Passengers in August
The eight Canary Islands airports received 3,270,838 passengers during August - 83,616 more than in the same month of 2005. The statistics reveal that all of the islands' airports, except La Palma and Tenerife South, showed increases.
Of the total passengers, 1,636,077 were travelling on national flights within Spain (which includes to and from other Canary Islands) and 1,569,640 were international passengers. A total of 33,635 flights operated to and from the eight Canary Islands airports in August this year, 1,372 more than in August 2005.
Tenerife North Los Rodeos airport had the greatest increase, both in the number of flights as in the number of passengers handled. Nevertheless, Gran Canaria still handled the largest number of operations, followed by Tenerife South.
Más de 3 millones de pasajeros en los aeropuertos de las Islas en agosto
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Where to buy marijuana in the Canary Islands
Nevertheless, I was mildly amused to discover this site, which is attempting to provide a "useful service to consumers". As they point out, drug use and possession for personal use do not constitute a criminal offence under Spanish law.
Of course, what amused me more was the image that Jaunted found to go with the post, because we have rabbits coming out of our ears (almost) in this valley: the farmers complain that they eat crops and the hunters are currently shooting them to smithereens every Thursday and Sunday. I have not, as yet, seen any bunnies here chomping on this type of greenery, but maybe this is the answer. :)
WeBeHigh.com Via: Jaunted
A Year in Rural Tenerife
Just in case you are reading this blog via our newsfeed, you may not have noticed that - along with a few tweaks to the site - we've added a special feature: A Year in Rural Tenerife - 365 images that you mostly won't see in the brochures.
On these pages, you can browse through all of the images that we published in the first year of Tenerife Daily Photo.
Our 25 favorites are available as free Windows Desktop Wallpaper.
Individual images: 1. Roadside Poppies, 2. Peaceful Patio, 3. Margaritas, 4. In my dreams alone, I imagined such a place, 5. Arrival of the King, 6. Flor de Pascua, 7. Delta Dawn, 8. Mountain Cat, 9. Vines Vintage 2005, 10. Bouganvilla, 11. Strelitzia, 12. Looking Over Garachico, 13. Garachico from the road to El Tanque, 14. North Pole, 15. Going Postal, 16. Cafe Con Leche, 17. Garachico at Dusk, 18. Baskets of Joy, 19. A Quiet Corner, 20. Blossom, 21. Teide from Teno Alto, 22. Summer Sky, 23. Bouganvilla, 24. Saintly Roofline, 25. Roque Cinchado
Want to find some winter sunshine?
"Want to know where to find some winter sunshine?", asks the Telegraph.
"Then don't ask a high-street travel agent," they urge.
And, I don't know why not, because most of them recommended the Canary Islands! And, based on the slightly better odds on the weather here, I would too.
Of course, if you want to know about Tenerife in particular, I'd also suggest asking someone who knows the place - like me, for instance :) - before asking someone who has probably only seen the destinations they sell in their own brochures.
The writer though, obviously, finds the travel agents' advice to be a bit unimaginative.
On the other hand, based on the requirements s/he gave them, I think they gave those answers, because they were the "right" answers, i.e the most suitable destination. Reading between the lines, there is still this feeling that the Canary Islands are not seen a serious option and more of a poor relation.
This, obviously, is because people still have this mistaken brochure image of a barren Canary Island landscape with hideous holiday resorts, stuffed with hotels and drunken youths and ... nothing else. Alright, those things exist too, but, as we try to show here, there is a LOT more besides - with reasonably decent weather in winter.
Want to know where to find some winter sunshine? Then don't ask a high-street travel agent
The Explosion of Television in Tenerife
If there are almost as many vehicles as inhabitants on this island, then the number of TV channels seems to be not far behind these days! :)
Yesterday, I was talking to my neighbour about the current fiestas in the El Palmar valley. It's only down the road, but not within view and, not being a native, I don't know which act is on which day. But, would you believe it, there is nothing to tell me: no news - it's too small for the press and the valley doesn't have a newsagent anyway - not even a poster up anywhere that I could find.
She asked, "Have you seen Televisión Daute? They've been transmitting it."
Well, no, I hadn't, but I found it last night. This is super LOCAL tele folks. It's quaint and it's funny, but, strangely enough I think it will definitely have its uses.
There was indeed a transmission of the procession of the fiesta and the fireworks (that I had seen live, from the window of this very room) from last Saturday and it felt strange to see the curate I know and lots of familiar faces amongst the public.
Now, I'll have to watch it next time I go to one of these events! By which I mean, I'll have to be careful, or else I will end up watching myself on the box.
Most of the adverts too are for local shops and businesses that I know and use. Some of them are, well, shall we call them low-budget? Lettering, clearly done in Microsoft Word, on still placard images, like televised business cards. :)
What entertainment spectaculars await us tonight? After the documentaries at 18:00, there's Cronicas del Norte (Chronicles of the north), which, I assume will be a local news diary (unless it's a locally shot soap opera) and another program from the fiestas in honor of Nuestra Señora de La Consolación in El Palmar. WOW!
Daute is the name of the Guanche menceyato (kingdom) that was in this area of the island before the Spanish conquest (1496): the name is also used within the Ycoden-Daute-Isora Wine Region and the station's address is in Los Silos, next door.
So, this morning, I thought I would have a look on the internet to see if Televisión Daute have a website. They don't seem to have, yet, but I did find a list of TV channels in Tenerife in which they are mentioned that, frankly, surprised me.
There are 16 separate entities listed. The public TVE accounts for two channels (kinda like BBC 1 & 2) and there is cuatro that isn't mentioned on the list, so technically, at least, there must be at least 18 channels one could view.
(Not that my bent coat hanger can get them, you understand.)
Antena 3 was the first to offer Canary Island relevant regional programming, outside of the national TV. Then came Televisión Canaria, which covers the whole of the Canary Islands and, Canal 8, which combines local programming with transmissions from the "Eighth Island" - Venezuela. Now the list also includes all these home-grown TV stations, based in La Laguna, Tacoronte, La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje, Güímar, Icod de los Vinos and the aforementioned Los Silos.
As they will all be advertising supported, one wonders how those with tiny catchment areas will be able to support themselves, but it's an interesting "media explosion" nevertheless. Recently also, I read that the Canary Islands had the largest number of pirate radio stations in Spain. I also read that something like 150 new broadcasting licences had been granted. It's hard to imagine there being an audience for all of them, but I think I understand the motivation behind this need for communication: psychologically, because of the geography and isolated nature of the islands.
Still, don't go expecting Secret Tenerife TV any time soon! Or perhaps ...
Monday, September 18, 2006
Tenerife Achieves Another Guinness Record
Tenerife made a splash into the Guinness Book of Records on Saturday, when the beach of Las Teresitas beat the record for the largest number of babies in the sea.
The "concentration" was the initiative of physiotherapist, Raúl Más Julián, who has spent three years developing a method which improves the health of the little ones and communication between parents and children, via sea water activities.
Until recently here, very few parents dared put young babies in the sea, but for the end of the free summer course of activities for parents and babies from 0 to 3 years, Más had the idea to attempt the record. In the end, the proud parents of 128 babies registered and participated, with which they were able to beat the record.
In 2005, the beach of El Médano, in the south of Tenerife, also achieved a record for babies under the sea. On that occasion, 60 babies participated and the record that was achieved was that of a baby who stayed under the water - en apneas (Temporary absence or cessation of breathing) - for 12 seconds.
We often hear of the benefits of sea water, of which Más is completely convinced. The methods he uses are practiced in England, Argentina, Spain and which they are trying to patent in the US, strengthens the babies' immune systems. Parents claim that they "eat better, sleep better and are more relaxed."
Las Teresitas se convirtió en la playa con mayor número de bebés en el mar
Tenerife Wine That Cures
Yeah, any excuse! :) Interesting story in Sunday's EL DÍA about the production of vino de mora (blackberry or bramble wine) in Taganana in the Anaga mountains in the north east corner of Tenerife.
Apparently, this exclusive mixture that has been made for their own use in the area for years, is known for its curative properties on internal injuries.
Antonio Negrín, who was born in Taganana in 1953, is, they say, perhaps better known as a local Policeman in the Tenerife capital, Santa Cruz, a profession he has undertaken for the last 23 years, than he is for being one of the only three or four agriculturists who remain faithful to the traditional elaboration of blackberry wine.
Negrín, a member of the fifth generation of the family, who have lived in Taganana since around 1880, says that demand has exploded in recent years, because of the rumoured curative properties and the rise in homeopathic and natural medicine.
The makers of this wine guard the secrets of its process of elaboration jealously. Some have diluted it - sacrificing quality - in order to make enough to keep up with demand and, says Negrín, there are really only two or three bramble bushes.
What struck me is how, only 50 or so miles away in the north west, here in the El Palmar valley, almost all the paths and roadsides are lined with bramble bushes, yet there does not seem to be any tradition of using this fruit for any purpose and appears not valued at all. Shortly after they had blossomed this year, the council came and cut them back so hard at the roadsides, that hardly any fruit was to be had.
In other years, I have found things to do with the surfeit, because I can't stand to see anything wasted. Didn't get around to wine making, however, but I do think this is a demonstration of the typical circumstance on this island, which, because of the steep geography and, until recent times, difficulties in communications between one area and another, has developed quite different and distinct traditions and cultures.
El vino que cura
Fast Good Comes to the Canary Islands
Busy people, who like good food, report ArchipielagoNoticias, will have an new option from November when Fast Good - a place where fast food and quality are not mutually exclusive - comes to the Canary Islands.
"Fast Good, created by NH Hotels and Ferrán Adriá, proposes to offer a quality fast food service in order to satisfy the demands of the modern client who has little time to eat but who isn’t willing to compromise his or her health or the quality of the food."
The chain, with it's pop art style and designer furniture, are opening in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Folks in Tenerife will have to wait and continue to eat "fast bad" in those other establishments! :) Though why Spain needs fast food restaurants at all, with almost every bar offering a wonderful array of tapas, is quite beyond me.
Llega a Canarias un Fast Good, sitio de comida rápida diseñado por Ferrán Adriá y NH Hoteles
Tenerife almost as many vehicles as inhabitants
The Tenerife Island Corporation released information on Friday saying the number of vehicles registered on the island is now close to the number of inhabitants and classified the number as "extremely elevated". The president of the island corporation, Ricardo Melchior, said that there are municipalities where there are more cars than residents.
The Tenerife institution pointed out that the elevated number of vehicles is the cause of the frequent traffic jams, especially in the metropolitan area. According to the Cabildo, the situation causes an infinity of delays getting to work, loss of time and waste of fuel and an enormous amount of stress.
The Corporation indicated that, despite making great efforts in the construction or extension of infrastructures to increase the flow of traffic; the current increase in the size of the vehicle population, the size of the island territory, it's geography, ecology and fragility, prevent them from reaching this objective.
"Taking into account that we cannot continue increasing highways, if the number of vehicles continues, we will be at a standstill.", said Melchior. "The more we can decrease the use of private cars, the more benefits we will have", he added.
The corporation considers it essential to manage demand and rationalize the use of private cars, "harnessing and adopting alternative solutions to cover urban journeys."
Tenerife tiene casi tantos vehículos como habitantes
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Santa Cruz, Capital of 118 Countries
EL DÍA, phrasing it like Tenerife's capital is being overrun, tell us that 15,467 of the 223,000 registered inhabitants of Santa Cruz, were not born in Spain.
The figures, from January 1st, 2006, indicate that close to 7% (without looking it up, I think this is below the national average) of the capital's inhabitants are foreigners of 118 different nationalities. The largest number are Venezuelan and, of the 2,243 added in the previous year, almost all came from Latin America.
The increase in the number of Bolivians - almost 500 to 1,630 - surprised them. Third in the ranking are Argentinians (1,336), followed by Columbians (1,056), Cubans (1,158) and Italians (1,103). Other nations in the "top ten" are Ecuador (711), India (534), Germany (515) and Uraguay (491).
They underlined the curiosity of the presence of citizens born in countries as exotic and far off as Bhutan and Nepal and the fact that some are registered simply as "foreigner", without specifying the country. There are also 377 Chinese registered at 11th position in the "hit parade" and various Africans, but, curiously, the British in the capital did not get a specific mention.
Santa Cruz, capital de 118 países
Canary Islands Call Out the Armada
EL DÍA are calling it "Operación disuasoria" (Operation Dissuasion), in that the Spanish Navy are patrolling Canary Island waters to prevent the arrival of a second boat of asian immigrants that Spanish authorities have been alerted is close to the archipelago. They still don't know what to do with the first one.
La Armada vigila en aguas canarias para disuadir al segundo barco con asiáticos
Binter Offers Cheap Island Hopping Flights
Regional airline in the Canary Islands, Binter Canarias, have announced a new promotion of their economical tarrif, El Bintazo, under which they offer clients the possibility to fly between any of the islands for just 15 Euros (around £10).
El Bintazo tickets will be on sale from September 18th until September 24th and are for use between September 25th and December 15th, 2006. The airline added that tickets for this promotion would be issued at the time of purchase, will be electronic and that changes and reservations are not available.
Binter Canarias | Binter ofrece vuelos a 15 euros
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Crew of immigrant ship arrested in Tenerife
The crew of a fishing vessel which landed 165 undocumented Asian immigrants on the Canary Island of Tenerife have been arrested, reports said Saturday. The captain and four crew members are suspected of people smuggling.
Crew of immigrant ship arrested in Tenerife
Canary Islands Date Palms Under Threat in L.A.
We do conger up images of Los Angeles and California as the "typical" view with swaying palm trees, which we suppose to be native there. In fact, the majority - 1,520 of them - are actually Canary Islands date palms, thought to have been imported by the founder of the California Franciscan missions.
Junipero Serra, apparently, stopped in the Canary Islands to buy seeds and cuttings, including the Canary Islands date palm, on his way to visit the pueblo of Los Angeles a year after its founding in 1781.
Now, 42% of Los Angeles Canary Islands date palms are thought to be infected with the exotically named pink crown rot virus. Replacing them would be an expensive hobby, at $20,000 per plant, possibly because there are so few.
Here in the El Palmar valley, one of the very few places where you can still find them in their natural habitat, though I have never walked around and counted them, I'd be willing to bet that there are less here than there are in LA.
Plus, LA city officials argue that broadleaf trees such as the oak offer more shade, help clean the air more, and retain more water. That may be so, but personally, I couldn't imagine Los Angeles without palm trees any more than I could imagine the Canary Islands without palm trees, could you?
Los Angeles dispatch: Palm offensive
Friday, September 15, 2006
Dazed African migrants whisked from view
Clearly, the authorities are beginning to worry about the impact the immigrant arrivals will have on tourism, as this article in The Scotsman shows: "Blue screens were erected on a wharf in the Tenerife tourist town of Los Cristianos on Tuesday to hide boatloads of new migrants as they were attended by the Red Cross, given drinks and biscuits and changed into blue and grey tracksuits."
Well, that should please the tourists who don't want to see black people, but surely they realize that hiding the problem won't make it go away?
Dazed African migrants whisked from view in Canaries
Immigration, tourism collide in Canaries
The Mail & Guardian Online report that "some of the tourists say they have also had enough." Now, I'll partially curb my tongue over my opinion that those who fail to have sympathy - both for the immigrants' plight and for the hard worked rescue services who work around the clock to attend them - are not the kind of tourists we even want to have visit us, but it does worry me that there is still a LOT of misinformation over the issue and, unless corrected, could indeed cloud the view of tourists who would choose these islands. So, to hopefully counter some of this misinformation, I offer the following comments.
To British visitor, Beryl Parkin, who wouldn't like it if they pestered you:
When I first came to this island 15 years ago, there were already many African street sellers on the island; dubbed "Looky Looky Men". Yeah, they could be persistent, but they are just trying to make a life. Speak to them nicely and they have never been unpleasant to me, anyway. The trouble is, that some people will assume they are being pestered by "illegal immigrants" if they encounter any black person here, unless they are aware of the facts. Knowing that we are only 100 miles or so off the African coast, actually, it surprised me more when I arrived, that there were not more persons of African appearance here.
The main point is their presence pre-dated the "boat people phenomenon" by a long way. It would be a horrible mistake to assume that all black people on this island arrived recently on a boat! I also know black people who live in Tenerife, who arrived by plane from England and are just as English as I am.
The article itself says that, "If the migrants' nationality cannot be ascertained, they are ultimately freed onto the streets."
This is true, but it is not the whole truth. So far only FOUR immigrants had to be released on the streets of the Canary Islands - because flights to the mainland had been suspended while Senegalese officials on the island could determine how many of their countrymen there are in the retention centers.
French speakers are advised to choose France or Belgium and that is where a lot of them are heading, after they get their "free trip" to the Spanish mainland, so to Belgian tourist Christiane Klimek, who says he would go to Malaga or elsewhere if "there are lots of blacks around", I'd advise him to stay away from his own country, if encountering humans of other ethnic origin bothers him! He is far more likely to meet them at home, than he is on the streets of Tenerife.
Immigration, tourism collide in Canaries
Migrating to Spain ... on the 'D-Day' package
This article by Claire Soares for the Christian Science Monitor, suggests that the web site that sold voyages to the Canary Islands in cayucos was a joke. Well, I'm sure nobody here thought it was, even if that was how it was intended.
"You're young, you're Senegalese, you see no future at home so you want to break into Fortress Europe to have a chance at a better life? Why not consider the "D-Day package," suggests one tongue-in-cheek website. The virtual travel agent may be joking. But the reality is not far behind.", she writes.
Migrating to Spain ... on the 'D-Day' package
Pakistani immigrants disembark in Canary Islands
Eighteen Pakistani immigrants were taken off a boat carrying more than 200 people and carried ashore in a lifeboat at the port of Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife last night. It was the first time that Asians had tried to land on the Canaries, an official said in Tenerife.
The boat, which was sighted off Las Galletas, some four miles from the island, is said to have departed from Guinea Bissau five or six days ago.
The other immigrants remaining on the boat were to disembark on Friday morning, however, at this moment, remain on board the boat, which has been taken into the port of Santa Cruz, while diplomatic negotiations are being made with their countries of origin, which could be Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Pakistani immigrants disembark in Canary Islands
Interceptado un buque en Las Galletas con 250 hindúes y pakistaníes a bordo
Los inmigrantes se mantienen dentro del pesquero, a la espera de una nueva orden desde Madrid
British hand-baggage restrictions to be loosened
The BBC reports that the British Airports Authority will relax its punishing rules on hand-baggage next week, once again allowing passengers to fly with water, to carry on larger bags, etc. They say, "Larger bags will be allowed along with some liquids - such as toiletries, including toothpaste. These items may have to be placed in plastic bags so they can be easily examined at security."
Air baggage rules to be relaxed Via: BoingBoing
Spain admits possible CIA flights
Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, has admitted Spain may have been a stopover for secret CIA flights, but he said there was no evidence any crimes were committed on Spanish soil. The Spanish government is investigating more than 60 suspect flights, most of them passing through Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife.
Spain admits possible CIA flights
You Can Bet on the Tenerife weather
Wanna bet on the Tenerife weather? Well, you can, thanks to The Weather Lottery. Players select 6 numbers (0-9), trying to match the second digit of the recorded maximum temperature at 6 world locations. The cities stay the same -- Corfu, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, Tenerife, Spain, Innsbruck, Austria, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Stockholm, Sweden. We don't condone gambling, but The Weather Lottery plc says it helps Sporting Clubs, Schools, Charities and Societies to raise funds for special projects and general development.
The Weather Lottery Via: The Weather Guys
Labels: Tenerife Weather
Nightmare 12 days at sea seeking Canaries haven
Oumar Farougou Diallo, a 17-year-old Guinean, still trembles at the memory of his dozen days spent at sea crammed with dozens of others into a fishing boat precariously heading for the relative haven of Spain's Canary Islands.
Oumar's mother sold off her cows at home to pay his passage and is now counting on him to make a new life and feed the whole family back home.
Nightmare 12 days at sea seeking Canaries haven
Spain deports Senegalese migrants
About 50 illegal Senegalese migrants have been flown home from the Spanish Canary Islands. They are the first to be expelled from Spain since Senegal agreed to the resumption of a repatriation programme. The repatriation was due to start on Wednesday but Spanish media say the authorities in Senegal refused two flights permission to land "for technical reasons".
Spain deports Senegalese migrants
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Segway recalls all 23,500 of its scooters
Yesterday, we reported on La Laguna in Tenerife's decision to invest public money on Segway scooters, which sell for about $4,000 to $5,500 each.
Today, the Associated Press report that Segway is recalling all 23,500 of the self-balancing scooters it has shipped to date because of a software glitch - apparently the wheels can suddenly reverse causing injury to the rider.
To be honest, I can't imagine anyone in their right mind wanting to be seen on one of these things, but ... the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said consumers should stop using the vehicles immediately.
Segway recalls all 23,500 of its scooters Via AdRants
Tenerife to Host ABTA Convention in 2007
Teneife, in 2007, will be the location of the annual convention of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). Vice President of the Tenerife Island Corporation and Councillor for Tourism, José Manuel Bermúdez, underlined the importance of this meeting and said, "it will mark a before and after in the relations between Tenerife and the British tourist industry."
It is the second time that Tenerife has been the host of the ABTA convention; the last time was in 1997, when more than 2,000 travel agents, tour operators and other professionals from large tourism companies from the United Kingdom met on the island.
Such conventions draw a lot of attention from the specialized media in the UK. Tenerife was also host of the first convention of the British travel trade consortium, TRITON, this year and will be again for German tourist organization, Deutscher ReiseVerband (DRV), in November.
Tenerife acogerá la reunión de agentes de viaje británicos
Canary Island Parliament Approves Reform of Statute, Without Opposition Support
After almost seven and a half hours of tedious debate, the Parliament of the Canary Islands yesterday approved the project for the reform of the Statute of Autonomy, despite lack of support from the opposition Popular Party (PP).
The reform of the Statute of Autonomy - the highest set of rules for the archipelago - will be delivered to the President of the Spanish Congress today.
The text which was approved - backed by 60% of the Canarian Parliament; with 36 votes for, 15 against and five abstentions - coincided exactly with that which was proposed back in June and with none of the modifications proposed by various groups since.
The Popular Party's objection is on the basis, they say, that the "preamble falsifies history" and for being unconstitutional in many aspects. They also say it deepens the "calling effect" on immigrants, because it ties the Canary Islands as being part of Africa and bases history upon a supposed pact between African ancestors and the then Crown of Castille.
The document has to pass through both the Congress and the Senate and the text could be modified in the Cortes, but in its current form the new Statute of Autonomy includes the interior waters of the archipelago within the Autonomous Community and establishes the requirement that the State has to take distance and isolation into account in the application of its policies and legislation.
Other important changes are over future reforms of fiscal and economic policy and possible changes to the electoral system.
As well as the Statute of Autonomy, the Canarian Parliament also approved, again with opposition from the Popular Party, a proposition before the General Cortes for Transferencias Complementarias de Canarias (Complementary Transfers). This text, which accompanies the Statute, specifies items to be transferred to the Autonomous Community and are those that, basically, need to be done differently here due to distance, isolation and fiscal reasons.
Under this document, the Canaries reclaim the management of the ports and airports, control over residence permits and work permits of non-EU foreigners, of coasts and beaches, the radio airwaves and telecommunications.
El Parlamento de Canarias aprueba la reforma del Estatuto sin el apoyo del PP
Senegalese Government Suspends Immigrant Repatriations for "Technical Reasons"
Representatives of the Senegalese government have been in the Canary Islands recently, visiting retention centers, in order to identify their citizens so they could claim them and repatriate them back to Senegal.
Flights were scheduled to leave Fuerteventura yesterday, Wednesday, when Senegal's Interior Minister, Ousmane Ngom, asked Spain for the postponement of the start of the repatriations of their citizens for "technical reasons".
The Minister indicated that the flights have been delayed, but declined to give more details of the nature of the technical problems that justify the decision.
El Gobierno de Senegal suspende por "razones técnicas" las repatriaciones
Spain delays migrant deportation
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Hens With Golden Eggs
The Tierra Fuente farm is a non-profit making project with only social aims, which currently has 10 fixed employees who are given relevant training.
The hens "live like Queens" in and ideal, stress-free habitat in three open air terraces of between 1,200 and 1,500 square meters each. The hens are fed biological grain and production is approximately 1,200 eggs daily, varying with atmospheric conditions and season.
However, they have not been without difficulties. The installations were damaged by Tropical Storm Delta last year, but have been unable to be fully repaired. "We work in an area of the social economy and it is difficult to invest in the assets of the company", lamented a member of Isonorte's management.
Gallinas con los huevos de oro
The Cost of interpreters in Tenerife
The cost of providing interpreters to attend the undocumented immigrants who arrive on the Tenerife coasts, has risen to around 3,000 euros (some £2000) per day, says the president of the province's courts in Santa Cruz. This figure does not include the cost of interpreters for the courts in Arona in the south of Tenerife, just for those who deal with the immigrants.
Gasto en intérpretes inmigrantes Tenerife es de 3.000 euros día
Rubbish and Dolphins Among the Waves
Yesterday, a small embarkation left the port of Santa Cruz in Tenerife at nine in the morning with a group of volunteers and technicians from the Global Nature Foundation and the Tenerife Conservation Association to continue with a project being undertaken by these organizations and the Tenerife Corporation.
The project aims to diagnose the state of conservation of the coasts and marine areas adjacent to the island and to awaken the public's conscience over the problems and threats from which the sea around Tenerife suffers.
Less than ten minutes out of the capital's port, the boat was surrounded by a group of pilot whales, the odd dolphin, gulls and more. The cetaceans played fearlessly around the boat, offering magical moments that those present will find difficult to forget. However, from the port to Igueste de San Andrés, bags, plastic and other residue was also bobbing around in the waves.
The lack of sensitivity of the public, who throw so much waste into the sea and who seem to fail to realize that so much rubbish could kill these animals, is causing much concern. The corporation has sounded the alert over the worrying state of ecological conservation of the sea, the deterioration of the seabed and coasts that surround the island, owing to the over exploitation of marine resources, from spills and human occupation.
Basura y delfines entre las olas
Canary Island President Wants the Armed Forces Used Against the Cayucos
The President of the Canary Island Government, Adán Martín, insisted yesterday that the arrival of cayucos to the Canary Island coasts is already a humanitarian crisis and that it could become much worse. As one of the solutions, the President has asked the Spanish state to be "less pact making" and to use the Armed Forces to detect the boats and return them to Africa, preventing them from coming to the islands.
Martín pide al Estado que no sea pacato y utilice al Ejército contra los cayucos
Tenerife Granny still going strong at 105!
The old lady they call the grandmother of Igueste de San Andrés, in Tenerife celebrated another year at the end of August, her 105th!
During her long life she has lived through some terrible times: famine, epidemics, poverty and wars. As for her health, her daughter Juana describes it as “robust”.“Just look at her,” she said. “She’s in better shape than me.”
Still going strong at 105!
Signs of the times in Teide national park
Tenerife’s biggest tourist attraction, the Parque Nacional del Teide, has become a playground for foreign thieves and pickpockets. The offences may technically be minor, but try telling that to the victims! The losses leave a bitter taste, tinge their holiday memories and are generally bad news for the tourist industry.
Signs of the times in Teide national park
Web Site Sold Voyages to Europe in Cayucos
As if it were a travel agency, say El Dia, until a week ago, web site senegalaisement.com, offered voyages in cayucos - the open wooden boats used by thousands of African immigrants - to enter Europe via the Canary Islands.
As soon as it's existence was made public, the link offering "Come to Europe" disappeared from the said site. While it had been available, the internet portal had claimed that "the massive disembarkations in the Canary Islands are a good solution for Senegalese men, especially for the youngest." It also said that it can seem dangerous, but claimed the "contrary to what they would have us believe in the Western press, the risk is null and respects conditions of security."
Specifically, it said that "the best solution is to enter European territory via the Canary Islands." And the easiest and the closest to the Senegalese coast.
The site then went on to give it's recommended solution; that a group of men from one village get together to buy a boat and motor. A 50 seater cayuco with a good motor, they said, would cost 450 euros, only 90 euros per person. The petrol, food and security equipment would bring this up to 150 euros.
The site also offered advice on getting the police to close their eyes or look the other way, by paying a small bribe that was "not unappreciated" and on not carrying identification to avoid being identifiable - the key to success.
It said, "... thanks to the Red Cross, Amnesty International and the International League of Human Rights, if you manage to put up with a few days without revealing your identity, your possibilities of success are close to 100%."
Other advice was given about crossing frontiers and looking for work. Though they advised that it was indispensable to have a life jacket per person, the site merely recognized that the voyage was not very comfortable!
Another "promotional idea" was that the Canary Island coasts are the door to Europe. "Once you have disembarked in the Canaries, you are in European territory and circulation is free. You can choose the country in which you wish to instal yourself; the only risk is of spending 24 hours in prison after a security control." They advised French speakers to choose France or Belgium.
"Selling" the attraction of this almost "package holiday" it said, "the next step after disembarking in the Canaries is to arrive at an asylum center in Spain, where you will eat better than in Senegal and, you are allowed to use the phone. You will get a free trip, normally to Madrid, paid for by Zapatero."
Una web "vendía" el viaje a Europa en cayuco vía Canarias
See La Laguna the Segway way!
Some people are questioning the wisdom of La Laguna’s outlandish decision to invest public money in a fleet of Segway HTs (the initials stand for Human Transport, which says it all!), the equally outlandish mode of transport, invented in the US, which was at one time hailed as a transport revolution, but quickly became something of a joke. Perhaps there is an ignominious Segway HT mountain in some far flung corner of an American state and the person guarding it knew a sucker when he saw one … However it was, La Laguna city council has acquired them for tourism purposes.
See La Laguna the Segway way!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Humans 'causing stronger storms'
This report from the BBC, which says that "Hurricane formation is strongly linked to sea surface temperature, with warmer waters more likely to form storms." and confirms our instincts, saying that, "Scientists calculate that two-thirds of the recent rise in sea temperatures, thought to fuel hurricanes, is down to anthropogenic emissions."
This would suggest that poor little islands like the Canaries are beholden to the actions of large countries on the other side of the North Atlantic, whose actions are changing our climate. The big question is, if such storms are more likely and thus more likely to be repeated in the Canary Islands, are we ready for it, or are we still in denial and hoping finger crossing will do as a prevention?
Humans 'causing stronger storms'
Labels: Tenerife Weather
Tenerife Corporation Goes on the Knocker
The Teneife Island Corporation, through Tenerife Tourism and the Tenerife Convention Bureau will begin a door-to-door promotion in the United Kingdom tomorrow, visiting 30 companies in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London. The object is to promote the advantages Tenerife offers as a destination for conventions and incentive vacations. The promotional campaign will culminate with an attractive presentation about the famous Tenerife Carnaval to 60 British travel agents in London.
El Cabildo tinerfeño promociona la oferta de congresos en Reino Unido con una campaña puerta a puerta
Man of 73 Dies From Effects of Heatwave
A man of 73, hospitalized last Thursday at the Hospital Universitario de La Candelaria, in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, as a consequence of the high temperatures in the Canary Islands, died the following day, health services report.
He was the second person to have died in the Canary Islands this year as a consequence of the high temperatures, after an 85 year old woman died on September 7, in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
Two other people; a woman of 73 and a man of 48, who has respiratory difficulties, are still under the care of the Hospital Universitario de La Candelaria, though both cases are said to be evolving favorably.
Fallece el hombre de 73 años ingresado en Tenerife por sufrir un golpe de calor
Culture Ministry Calls For Respect, Interchange and Intercultural Dialogue in the Canary Islands
The Minister for Culture, Carmen Calvo, detailed that a part of the 400 million euros budgeted by the EU for the period 2007-2013 for culture, will in 2008, be destined to programs to promote intercultural dialogue. She said that it is not possible to continue imparting an image of immigration in non-constructive terms, permanently. At a press conference at meeting held between councillors for culture in Santa Cruz, the minister said that the budget will be applied to special activities in 2008 that promote dialogue between cultures and religions. The minster insists that what is needed is more democratic and peaceful understanding and respect to a situation that is relatively new to us.
Carmen Calvo anima a Canarias a fomentar el respeto, intercambio y diálogo intercultural
Monday, September 11, 2006
Stemming the immigration wave
Operation Hera II is the first of its kind for the European agency Frontex, led by the Spanish Guardia Civil [Civil Guard]. Guardia Civil Commander Eduardo Lobo, at the multinational Frontex HQ in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, says that in the three months that they have been operating off Mauritania, boats containing a total of 1,243 people have been intercepted and returned to shore.
Stemming the immigration wave
Migrants prompt tourism fears
Not the beaches and hotels that cater for millions of tourists each year, but the police stations, courts and detention centres being used to house the boatloads of illegal immigrants risking the ocean crossing from west Africa.
It has reached the point where some local authorities are publicly opposing efforts to expand existing centres or open new ones to house them while they are processed and either repatriated or sent to the Spanish mainland.
Migrants prompt tourism fears
More British airlines target Tenerife winter
A total of 29 airline companies have requested winter slots for Canary Island airports for the coming season, among them are four for Tenerife Sur and four for Tenerife north airport, Los Rodeos.
Among the four jockeying for positions in Tenerife-Sur are low-cost Asturias Airlines, a new company operating out of northern Spain which wants to establish two flights a week from Oviedo to Tenerife, and British company Fly Be which is interested in setting up three flights a week from Exeter.
More British airlines target Tenerife winter
You’ve got a date at Zona Kiú!
Calle del Colegio, in the town of La Orotava. The cream building down on the left is the Casa Lercaro. Also known as the Casa de Ponte-Fonte, this 16th and 17th century mansion is considered by many to be the most representative building of traditional Canary Island style.Zona Kiú is the hottest new place to be in the North side of the island for the rich and stylish. Situated within the mansion of Casa Lercaro, Zona Kiú consists of a restaurant, a coffee house, a pub and an area for weddings and celebrations.
It has only been open for one year, and yet the restaurant and coffee and tea room are always full; the catering service has weddings to cater for daily, and the pub (which opened two weeks ago) has become the fashionable place for the young “hip” crowd to hang out on weekends.
You’ve got a date at Zona Kiú!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Lets Talk About The Weather in Tenerife
If you want to talk about the weather in Tenerife - certainly lots of you want to know the weather forecast for the island - then I think I found THE place.
CanariasMet is a forum where folk talk about the weather, the weather and nothing but the weather in the Canary Islands. Take today's weather chat for 9 de Septiembre de 2006, which starts the day off with a report of the temperature at 12:36 am and continues for 3 forum pages (in Spanish only, sorry).
Given that temperatures and dates mostly come in numbers and recognizable words for month names, you can look up the current day via Actualidad.
For those who do speak Spanish and want to get into this a bit deeper, there is also a weather Biblioteca (library) of documents that you can consult.
This is not just idle chat though, amongst themes I came across, the forum members handle, for instance, requests from sailors for weather maps and so forth and, it seems that various forum members operate weather stations.
CanariasMet: Canary Islands Weather Forum
Labels: Tenerife Weather
Visa plea for African migrants
The arrival of boatloads of African immigrants to the Canary Islands is a sorry sight for Ghanaian businessman Tomas Doe, 51. He has lived on the island of Tenerife for 14 years and has a boat maintenance business in Los Cristianos.
Visa plea for African migrants
Aliens in the Milky Way? “Yes” says IAC boffin
To the age-old riddle of whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe (Ed: As well as on Tenerife? :-), astrophysicist Hans J. Deeg replies with an unequivocal “yes”. The investigator from the Canarian Astrophysics Institute (IAC) says he is “convinced” that there is intelligent life on planets similar to our own located within the Milky Way which is made up of 100,000 million stars.
Aliens in the Milky Way? ... “Affirmative” says IAC boffin
Friday, September 08, 2006
Goat-free roads made me speed
The BBC reports that "A Swiss man caught speeding on a Canadian highway has blamed his actions on the absence of goats on the roads." :) Well, that's an excuse that wouldn't wash around here, for sure, in a valley with 900 goats and well over 300,000 of them in the Canary Islands as a whole.
At fiesta time in Buenavista del Norte, they even drive goats down the main roads of the town deliberately. At other times, it's the goats themselves who might be caught speeding.
Jaunted couldn't resist the one about a being a baaa-d driver, but say, We Didn't Make a Horn Joke, at Least. They're all fortunate they don't live in the Sudan.
Goat-free roads made me speed
Burying Sardines in Buenavista
It's incredible to think that we are talking about Carnaval again, when summer isn't over yet - at least here it isn't - but it does have to be planned ahead, especially if you are participating or coming to the island from abroad to see any of the grand spectacle. If you are thinking of coming, you want to know what you can expect to see.
While we've shown you photos of Carnaval Queens and revelries in the streets, something that I was not aware of is that the most curious of the Carnaval celebrations the Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) is, "without doubt", says this site, "one of the most popular fiestas" in Buenavista.
The Burial of the Sardine is an entirely OTT, blasphemous funeral which symbolically marks the end of the festivities. The "deceased" is followed by a cortege of wailing widows; men dressed up like pantomime dames - as you can see (we hope even their mothers would not know them) - and who are "on the game". And Marchaymas.com have HEAPS photos to prove it!
They also have more photos from the Romeria in Garachico this year, Shakira's concert a few weeks ago and many other animated events in and around the area. Never let it be said that folk don't know how to have a good time here! :)
Labels: Carnaval 2006
How to Get Out Alive
A report from Time Magazine, From hurricanes to 9/11: What the science of evacuation reveals about how humans behave in the worst of times, offers sad, but interesting insights into the survival rates of disasters, such as the March 1977 runway collision between KLM and PanAm Boeing 747's at Tenerife.
As it turns out, the people on the Pan Am 747 had at least 60 sec. to flee before fire engulfed the plane. But of the 396 people on board, 326 were killed.
One reason that more did not survive was because they acted upon instinct - which was to freeze. Had more done, as one man who did survive the Tenerife crash and whose story is recounted in this article, had done - studied the 747's safety diagram and identified the closest exit - then their instinct, with the right information, would have been to act in an entirely different manner.
Actually, it makes perfect sense when you read it - and we all should.
We can't help being human. What we should do, whenever we are in new and different surroundings, not just on planes, is to pay more attention to the safety procedures, RTFM and familiarize ourselves. We can't guess how we will react in a real emergency, but we can increase the chances of it being the right way.
How to Get Out Alive
Labels: Tenerife Disaster
Rising immigration tide fuels Spanish discontent
As migrants continue to arrive and retention centers continue to fill, the emotional climate has been heating up as much as the weather.
Thousands of Africans had to sleep on the street in the early hours of Tuesday, as the courts and the police station in Arona overflowed. Tuesday had been a record day for arrivals - almost 900 - fuelling growing public discontent.
In the first seven days of September the number of arrivals has been an average of 537 per day and there just wasn't anywhere left to put them.
Yesterday, there were at least 1,200 people staying in the police station in the south of Tenerife, waiting to pass before the courts. The day before, it had been 1,500 and 20 minors had to sleep on the floor of the patio for two nights as they ran out of mattresses. And that is where they spend all day, while the paperwork is made out for them to be interred in the centers for foreign minors.
Four (only four, mind you) "irregulars"; a father and son and an uncle and nephew, had to be liberated onto the streets of Tenerife this week, after their 40 day "quarantine" was up and they could neither be repatriated to their own countries, nor sent to the mainland. It appears that transfers and repatriations had been suspended, while Senegalese officials on the island could determine how many of their countrymen there are in the retention centers.
It also appears that the eastern coasts of the Canary Islands are going to be without patrols for 10 days, as the Guardia Civil say they are short of personnel.
Complaints are from all sides. One migrant who was repatriated earlier this year, says that he was tricked into boarding a plane to Dakar that he and the others who were put on the plane, believed was bound for Madrid or Malaga.
The only "good news" is the report that Spain and EU have agreed to activate an urgent plan for the repatriation of these immigrants, which includes provisions for their "reinsertion" into their places of origin; training, particularly in realms of agriculture, new technology and administration and, via microloans.
A foreign ministry source revealed separately that Spain had agreed to finance an information campaign in Senegal, from where many of the immigrants hail, to try to persuade them not to head for Europe.
Canarias recibe en lo que va de mes una media de 500 inmigrantes al día
Unos 20 menores duermen en el suelo de un patio de la Comisaría Sur, sin colchón
La costa oriental de Canarias se quedará sin vigilancia durante diez días
España y la UE acuerdan activar un plan urgente de repatriación de inmigrantes
Rising immigration tide fuels Spanish discontent
Miles de africanos duermen en la calle debido al colapso del juzgado de Arona
Cuatro irregulares «quedan libres en Tenerife»
Senegal: 'They Tricked Us'
Canaries in record migrant influx
Canary Island Salaries Among Lowest in Spain
Not for the first time, it is reported that salaries in the Canary Islands are amongst the lowest in Spain at an average of 15,538 euros (£10,552 / $19,685) per year net. Only workers in Extremadura, with an average salary of 15,050, are paid less. As a consequence, the cost to companies of employing someone in the Canary Islands is the lowest in Spain.
The economic incentives offered to companies in the Canary Islands are also the lowest in the country. In other areas, there are grants and tax benefits approximately double those available in the islands. The difference between the Canary Islands and Spanish communities on the mainland, is that the archipelago does have it's own powerful incentive to the creation of employment, the Reserva de Inversiones para Canarias (Canaries Investment Reserve) (RIC).
Though, according to information from the Tax Department, of the 400,000 jobs created in the Canary Islands in the last decade, 200,000 corresponded to the effect of materialization of the RIC in new enterprise investments.
How related this is to the above figures, I don't know - it is certainly relevant to the other "hot potato", immigration. A TV news report recently stated that half of all new jobs that had been created in Spain in the last decade were as the result of foreign investment.
Los sueldos de los canarios y los incentivos económicos al empleo, entre los más bajos de España
Temperatures in Tenerife Drop A Little
Well, where I am, it is still 30C indoors, but the last two days have been more bearable than it was on Tuedsay and Wednesday. Tuesday's suffocating heat - when the alert level was raised to red - claimed a mortal victim, an 85 year old woman in Gran Canaria. In Tenerife, three people were hospitalized; a 48 year old man with respiratory problems aggravated by the excessive heat and dust in the calima. The others were a 60 year old man and a woman of 73.
Muere una anciana en Las Palmas y tres hospitalizados en Tenerife por el calor
La ola de calor en Canarias se salda con una mujer muerta y tres ingresos graves
Home Help for the Aged in Spain?
The other day, we linked to a story at the BBC about a British man in Tenerife who developed Alzheimers, but could not get the kind of support here in Spain that he would get in the UK. Yes, he'd get the same rights as a local, but discovered there is no home help or district nursing system here.
Yet. As I also mentioned in that post, there are developments in this area. Last December, the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government passed the draft for the Ley de Dependencia (a.k.a. Law for the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Attention to Dependent Persons). The project was passed in April.
Translation of the description is that, "The law regulates the basic conditions for the promotion of personal autonomy and attention to persons in a situation of dependency, via the creation of a national system of dependency, with the collaboration and participation of all the public administrations."
Basically, this is the first law in Spain that anticipates giving help to people to remain independent: i.e. not looked after by families or in residential care.
Although I have not had the time to read the full text, it is specifically recognized that there is a relation between dependency and age and, services anticipated (logically from the description) do include items such as; phone assistance, home help, day centers, residential attention and help for adapting the home.
In a recent talk given to an old folk's center in La Guancha, the doctor who gave the talk, Santiago Marrero Núñez, defined the Ley de Dependencia as "an important social achievement, as it proposes a national system of dependency, which will be gradually implanted during the 8 years beginning from 2007."
More Progress Comes to the Teno Rural Park
It's not just several projects in the town of Buenavista del Norte that are being carried locally, there are also numerous projects underway in the Teno Rural Park, in and around the valley of El Palmar.
Most of these works are being carried out by the Tenerife Island Corporation, in conjunction with Buenavista town hall. You'd think we were coming up to municipal elections in 2007. :)
For the last year, work has been going on to refurbish water tanks and to improve the domestic water supply.
Another project currently being carried out, is for an integral water system for agricultural use. This, apparently, is a pilot project to use low-cost, ecological alternative means to treat residual water. Over the last couple of weeks, we've run into new pipes running across fields and down lanes everywhere!
One of the biggest, which has been progressing at a "good pace" over the past few months, is the 419,000 Euro project to improve access roads to fincas in the El Palmar valley. It's actually on the opposite side to us - there is a good photo with this report and, yes we are one of those little white dots on that image! :)
Another 260,000 Euros is going into this project being carried out by the corporation via their Rural Park Management Offices, for the reconditioning of the old camino (track) that unites the center Buenavista del Norte with the small village of El Palmar, which will be of great interest to hikers.
El ciclo integral del agua se consolida en caseríos del parque rural de Teno en Buenavista del Norte
Continúan a buen ritmo las obras del Camino de la Longuera en el Parque Rural de Teno
El Cabildo acondiciona el camino viejo Buenavista-El Palmar
Small islands' migration drama
Families visiting Tenerife's resort of Los Cristianos tuck into their paellas, steins of beer and piles of ice cream, mainly oblivious to the wretched boatload of African immigrants being escorted into the harbour by the Coastguard.
An interesting report, written by Dominic Bailey in Tenerife for the BBC. It shows the mixed reactions and attitudes of locals, that police think there is more "going on" at sea, because immigrants don't always arrive with signs of a 10-Day journey and the incredible fact that emergency tents of the Red Cross are taken down between landings. It's as if they want to pretend they do not exist.
Small islands' migration drama
Five officers injured in immigrant centre 'mutiny'
What has been described as an attempted "mutiny" last Tuesday by some of the around 1,400 immigrants being held at the El Matorral internment centre in Fuerteventura was suppressed by the eight police officers in charge of the centre. Five officers and several internees sustained minor cuts and bruises during the brawl that occurred as the inmates were queuing up for their dinner.
Shades of Oliver: It seems that the incident started when one of the immigrants requested second helpings. Police say, "this type of situation is not new, and will happen again because the centres are getting more and more crowded and there are only a few officers to look after them. One day it's going to explode."
Five officers injured in immigrant centre 'mutiny'
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Tenerife Residents Burn Rubbish in Protest
Residents in various areas of La Laguna have been burning containers of rubbish in protest and after several days of complaints against the accumulation of refuse, created during industrial action by contractors, Urbaser.
Understandably, residents and public health services were concerned about the hazards, as the heatwave speeded up the putrefaction of organic materials in the rubbish, attracting rats, cockroaches, maggots and other insects.
Additional police patrols and fire services were called in, in case the protest developed into something more heated than bonfires. While, the socialist spokesman in La Laguna is reported to have suggested that residents "bring their rubbish to the Mayoress' office and see how the problem gets resolved."
Workers and the company reached a preliminary agreement last night, after negotiations that took 12 hours, so it is hoped that an end is in sight.
Whether related to this strike or not, refuse in the El Palmar valley was not collected on Tuesday morning and had already left a "stinking pile" of sacks outside the supermarket - just what you want in super hot weather, not!
La acumulación del basura extiende por el municipio la quema de contenedores
Sanidad advierte del riesgo que conlleva acumular basura con altas temperaturas
Carnaval 2007 Santa Cruz
Carnaval is celebrated in all the towns and villages of Tenerife, but with the greatest splendor in the capital of Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz. There are many activities as well as the main Carnaval 2007 Santa Cruz events, however, those which will be likely of most interest to visitors are:
Wednesday, February 14: Elección de la Reina del Carnaval
This is the huge gala for the selection of the Carnaval Queen, a spectacular event - for the size of the costumes - as well as performances of so many other groups involved. I've no idea how easy (or not) it is to attend this live, but it's televised - via satellite if you're outside Spain - and is well worth watching.
Friday, February 16: Cabalgata anunciadora del Carnaval
Once the participants are all chosen, this is the customary parade on the Friday night that brings "announces" the Carnaval to the streets of Santa Cruz.
Tuesday, February 20: Gran Coso Apoteosis del Carnaval
The main event of Carnaval is this big parade that happens on the afternoon of Shrove Tuesday. This is again televised, but that is no substitute for being there, preferably in costume. If you are visiting the island from elsewhere, this is the date you will not want to miss. Book early to avoid hotels being full!
Wednesday, February 21: Entierro de la Sardina
"Officially", the end of Carnaval, when the poor old sardine has his blasphemous funeral, followed by a cortege of wailing widows; men dressed up like pantomime dames and who are "on the game". (Well, you gotta make ends meet, don't you?) This is cited as happening on the proper date, Ash Wednesday. We'll keep our eye on this as it's been known to be moved until the following Friday.
Mind you, the whole of Carnaval had to be moved to the following weekend, owing to bad weather, this year. That was the only time in 15 years that I have know anything like that to have happened. Fingers crossed it remains so.
Two items that they don't mention and that I think are worth seeing are, if the usual calendar is followed, the Kids Parade on the following Saturday (in 2007, this will be February 24th) and the parade of Old Cars on the Sunday morning (February 25th, 2007) around the streets of Santa Cruz.
Obviously, we'll bring you more details when it gets a bit closer.
Carnaval 2007 Santa Cruz
Labels: Carnaval 2007
Marc Anthony Date Confirmed
Canarias7 confirm that salsa star, Marc Anthony (and husband of Jennifer Lopez), will perform in Gran Canaria on October 19th, as part of his Spanish tour that also takes in dates in Santander, Madrid, Benidorm and Barcelona.
The tour promoter says that they are still in negotiations with two further locations; Tenerife and Valladolid, to complete the tour.
Marc Anthony actúa el 19 de octubre en Gran Canaria
Labels: Jennifer Lopez in Tenerife, Marc Anthony in Tenerife
How To Cope With Post Vacational Syndrome
Most people probably think of this in relation to the difficulties of getting back into work and other routine after you return to your countries from holidays in the Canary Islands. When you think of people living year round on a "holiday paradise island", it's actually difficult to imagine them taking a holiday, but they do and they suffer the same trouble getting stuck back in as you do.
According to this article at Canarias Ahora, 79% say that having a few beers with friends and family helps. Another 68% decide to eat a more healthy diet, but 65% go out for "an aperitif". These, say the Canary Islanders surveyed, are the easiest habits to maintain after their vacations to help overcome post-vacational syndrome. On the other hand, sticking to the diet for the "operation bikini", resting more and being on time for work are the most difficult.
Personally, I love the bit at the end of the article where it says that "beer is a part of the Mediterranean diet: made with natural ingredients, such as water and barley; does not contain fats and provides vitamins, minerals and other substances with functional properties." Any blinking excuse!
Los canarios intentan superar el sídrome post-vacacional a base de cañas y comida
Back To School
From today, more than 138,224 infant and primary school children begin incorporating into their new classes at 879 public schools in the Canary Islands. While the rest will return to their classrooms next Tuesday, September 12th, seniors will begin classes on Wednesday, September 13th.
Compared to the figures for the school year 2005-2006, the number of registrations is significantly reduced from 183,758 last year.
Más de 138.000 alumnos de Infantil y Primaria se incorporan hoy a las clases
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
The Canary Islands Yesterday Reached Maximum Alert Owing to the High Temperatures
Health and Emergency services activated the maximum state of red alert in consequence of the heatwave, as in many parts of the islands, the thermometers reached 36 degrees Centigrade / 97 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday.
The maximum level of alert was considered finalized at 23:00 last night, but the alert level has remained at orange today. Personally, I would dispute their readings because, although it has seemed cooler today and my brain was not as fried as it was yesterday, the thermometer on my desk, indoors, with the shutters closed and in front of a fan reached 30 degrees Centigrade even today.
What I found really funny, when I popped down to the shop (early before the extreme heat) was hearing folk saying that "there is NO alternative to air-conditioning in all rooms." Honestly? Actually, I don't know anyone who has air-conditioning here and it only began appearing in shops 2-3 summers ago.
Hardly time enough for it to have become that indispensable, do you think? :)
According to information from the National Meteorological Institute, the calima (hot air from Africa, not to be confused with the equally unbearable hot air from politicians), will begin moving away gradually over the next few days, along with the arrival of trade winds that will also bring about a drop in temperatures.
Canarias alcanzó ayer la alerta roja por las altas temperaturas
Finaliza la alerta máxima por el calor
No Room At The Inn
Already on Monday, there were 5,461 immigrants in Canary Island retention centres, with another 700 temporarily housed in National Police buildings in south Tenerife - far in excess of the current capacity for 5,446 people.
I missed how many arrived on Monday, however, another 898 immigrants arrived yesterday, Tuesday. An emergency plan is being drawn up to alleviate the critical problem, in particular a plan to evacuate 20,000 from the archipelago to the mainland, if arrivals continue at their current pace.
However, irregular immigration from Africa, says a Diario de Avisos story, has turned the Canary Islands into a "damn that is about to burst" and, I am quite certain they mean emotionally, as well as logistically.
Also yesterday, the Canary Island Parliament held an extraordinary session to discuss the problem, but as this Diario de Avisos headline says, "Parliament showed themselves incapable of reaching an agreement over immigration." After five hours of debate, it sounds like it turned into a slanging match of finger pointing in the lead up to the municipal elections in May 2007.
2,500 illegal immigrants reach the Canary Islands since Thursday
Los centros de retencíón canarios se encuentran de nuevo desbordados
Madrid ultima un plan para evacuar a 20.000 inmigrantes
Un total de 898 inmigrantes llegaron el martes en cayuco a Canarias
El Parlamento se muestra incapaz de llegar a un acuerdo en inmigración
An uncertain future in the sun
"Jackie Walsh of Manchester wrote to the BBC News website about the problems her father was facing in his retirement abroad. Three years ago Jim Crook left for the sunshine of Tenerife. But his dream was shaken by the onset of Alzheimer's. And worse was to come when his family discovered Jim would not be able to get the kind of support he could expect in the UK."
The fact is, people from other EU countries (and for those commenters at the BBC site who do not know geography - Teneife, being one of the Canary Islands and Spanish territory ARE in the EU (EEC) are, technically, entitled to exactly the same health care as locals (who have also all paid their taxes).
Locals here too find that services to care for the elderly do not exist.
Nor does financial assistance for single households. No matter how old you are, under Spanish law, you are deemed to be the responsibility of your family.
There are some old folks homes here and, this is actually a growing area in health and social services in Spain, because Spanish families are moving apart and are not as close (physically) as they once were. It is just that this social development has taken place 30-50 years after it did in the UK. It's in it's infancy.
To be honest, I am not sure you get looked after "from the cradle to the grave", even in the UK these days. If you have any money or property, you mostly don't qualify for help and, if you do have assets, these would usually be taken away from you in order to pay for your residential or other care anyway.
In other ways, one wins here. Waiting lists in months are reported as if they were exceptionally long, but I have never seen any reported in years, as they are in the UK. And, while the lack of anything resembling "bedside manner" here is a real culture shock at times, the standard of medical care is equal and better.
The moral of the story is to know what the differences are and plan accordingly.
An uncertain future in the sun
New Image for Buenavista del Norte
The main street, Calle La Alhóndiga in Buenavista del Norte will be getting a new look by the middle of next year, thanks to a joint project between the Tenerife Island Corporation and Buenavista's Town Hall, to open up the commercial areas of the town. It is understood that the major part of the works will consist in the removal of the current pavement surface, which is to be replaced with stones (they either mean paving stones or cobbles) and numerous spaces for public use (which seems to suggest the odd park bench, here and there).
The Calle La Alhóndiga is the main artery through the center of the town, leading to the Plaza de Los Remedios (where work is already projected to refurbish the Casa Matula) and the church of the same name. Further works - all part of the plan to attract more tourism to the Isla Baja area - are being carried out in adjoining streets. Most of these works will be completed at about the same time as the completion of the remodeling of the park at the side of the church.
Mayor of Buenavista del Norte, Aurelio Abreu, explained that the project aims to make the town center more welcoming and comfortable for people who visit to shop, to make it more attractive from an architectural point of view, as well as being much more accessible for both cars and pedestrians. Once the work is complete, traffic will still be allowed into the main street, though access, they say, "will be in a much more regulated and organized manner."
Full story, with photo: La calle La Alhóndiga en Buenavista del Norte lucirá nueva imagen a mediados del próximo año
Monday, September 04, 2006
Heatwave Alert To Continue Tomorrow
The Canary Islands Government is maintaining the alert at orange level, until midnight tomorrow, in response to the forecast that temperatures in the archipelago will again reach 33 degrees centigrade on Tuesday.
In fact, the temperature reported by Weather Underground at around 2.30 p.m. this afternoon was 94F / 34C. Now I agree with them! Still, it has been the only day, so far, this year that has been really uncomfortably hot here.
Hasta mañana seguirá la ola de calor en las Islas
Labels: Tenerife Weather
Almost 1,500 Immigrants In 48 Hours
A sad record, says CanariasAlDia, that almost 1,200 "irregulars" had reached the Canary Islands in boats this weekend, when two more boats with more than 200 people on board were about to arrive in Tenerife. With these, the first weekend of September made record numbers again: almost 1,500 in 48 hours.
Meanwhile, Spain vows to curb migrant wave. The Spanish government has said it will not tolerate the continued arrival of African migrants on its shores.
Canaries migrant surge tops 1,400
Casi 1.500 inmigrantes en 48 horas
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Traditions know no frontiers ...
Photo: Delia Padrón - La OpiniónPurely in the interests of promoting understanding and harmony to a wider audience (which, I feel sure was their original intention too), I've nabbed this photo from La Opinión today.
The photo shows two of the immigrant youths, currently in Tenerife's care, during an outing to the Las Teresitas beach yesterday. It looks as though they are participating in the Canary Island native sport of lucha canaria.
In fact, they are fighting - sportingly - in the style of their own country of origin, which, say La Opinión, "demonstrates, once more, that frontiers are a political invention and that traditions are not heritage of a particular race or people."
"Multiculturality, whatever you say, is a fact."
Indeed, another Canary Island native sport, juego del palo (Canary Islands Stick Fighting), a tradition with more than 400 years of history, looks exactly like that which we would associate with the very English, Robin Hood and Little John.
You know, the longer I live amongst "foreign" people (yes, I realize I am the foreign one here), the more I realize how alike we all are at the heart. We are just one big family. Pity we can't manage to be a happy one, isn't it?
Del Océano Tenebroso a Las Teresitas
Another Record Day as Almost 700 Immigrants Reached the Canary Islands in Eight Boats
Reading more like the results of yesterday's match between England and Andorra (England 5-0 Andorra), Diario de Avisos list the islands affected and the number of boats; Tenerife (4), Gran Canaria (2), La Gomera (1) y El Hierro (1).
Some 674 people arrived in 24 hours yesterday, bringing the total in six days to 2,091. The main preoccupation now, is where to put all these human beings.
Cerca de 700 inmigrantes llegaron ayer a Canarias a bordo de ocho cayucos
674 inmigrantes llegan en un solo día a Canarias
Canaries on Alert for High Temperatures
Despite yesterday's forecast that the situation was not going to turn into a heatwave - at which time the alert level was yellow (this, according to the plan approved in June, means there is no need to give alerts) - and, despite the fact that the temperatures forecast for today are still 31C for Gran Canaria and 33C for Tenerife (OK, so it did reach 35C on a Gran Canaria beach yesterday), the alert level in the Canary Islands today has been raised to orange.
Nah, these may be a little unusual for September, but they are by no means unusual temperatures for the sub-tropical Canary Islands. And, this is nothing like the over 40C temperatures we've had in previous years, or indeed that some areas of the Spanish mainland are currently experiencing.
We have our own "foolproof alert system" here are Secret Tenerife HQ:
If the cats are mainly staying indoors, in the shade (which they are), then you know it's pretty warm. It only means very hot when they flatten themselves out like pelts on the cool tiled floors. Since none of them has done so yet today, I would estimate that there was no need to raise the alert level! :)
Stay out of the sun (like sensible cats do); drink lots of water.
Canarias, en situación de alerta por altas temperaturas
Saturday, September 02, 2006
September Started with Another 430 Immigrants
Three immigrants died on Friday during their attempt to arrive at the coasts of the Canary Islands from West Africa, on a day which brought six cayucos with a total of 430 people, among them at least 24 minors and four women.
That brought the number to 824 in two days and 1,481 since Monday.
Meanwhile it has been announced that Spain will host a meeting of countries forming the European Union's southern frontier to tighten maritime controls against illegal immigration, in Madrid, before the end of the month.
While locally, representatives of the seven island corporations and of the Canary Islands Government held a meeting yesterday to discuss the situation of the unaccompanied minor immigrants. The seven cabildos are asking the State to revise the tests which are used to determine their ages. They estimate that maybe half of the close to 700 in Canary Islands care at the moment could be of age and therefore eligible to be repatriated back to their countries of origin.
Tres muertos en una jornada con 430 inmigrantes en seis barcazas
High Temperatures in the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are set to "suffer" (speak for yourselves, I am perfectly happy!) high temperatures, which will prolong until Thursday, says this report at Canarias7. Temperatures during the months of July and August in the Canary Islands were, as we said before, below normal, but the first week of September has been announced as "plenty hot, but unlikely to turn into a heatwave".
Though, from tomorrow, Sunday, more hot air will blow in from Africa, on Thursday, the weather chappies say that the temperatures will begin progressively descending to reach their normal levels for the month.
And it's not just in politics that "my one is bigger than your one", between the two provinces on these islands. Whilst Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) are forecast to get temperatures of 31 degrees centigrade, in Tenerife, we get the edge with 33. :-)
Canarias sufre altas temperaturas que se prolongarán hasta el jueves
Labels: Tenerife Weather
Friday, September 01, 2006
Cocaine haul on UK-flagged yacht
French and Spanish investigators have seized more than three tons of pure cocaine on a UK-flagged yacht off the Canary Islands, French police say. They say the haul is worth an estimated 200m euros (£135m).
Cocaine haul on UK-flagged yacht
Out of Africa - Illegal Immigrants, Crime, Terrorism, Polygamy And Aids
To be honest, if you can get all the way through this exceedingly long article / paper on the current problem of illegal immigration - without requiring treatment for depression, succumbing to the temptations to lock yourself away in a castle, or just to end it all, then you are a stronger person than I. :)
But, for those who want all the facts and opinions on the problem that is facing the Canary Islands, Europe and the world, then this is a large part of the story.
To put it into perspective, 240,000 illegal African immigrants entering Europe each year does sound like a huge number. Amongst the many millions of European residents, it's not like we are overrun yet. Yes, there are crime implications, but you can find plenty of criminals amongst "our own" too.
Immigration does present a special problem for the Canary Islands, simply because of the limited resources a territory this small can be expected to have to deal with it. That would make the 20,000 or so who have made it to the Canary Islands so far this year pale into insignificance, if it were not for the physical and logistical limitations. That number, of course, has risen in large part because controls had been made better, stopping them from using other routes.
How one solves that, because every time you close one avenue, it only forces the immigrants to open another route, I just don't know. Any border controls just end up being band-aids. The whole world has to address the causes.
Despite all the fears, the doom and gloom, I cannot let go of two thoughts:
One, the desperate immigrants are fellow human beings. What are they doing that we would not do if "the boot were on the other foot"? Secondly, since man himself hailed from Africa many hundreds of thousands of years ago, you could say that we are all result of people who did exactly as these guys are doing now. Why is it OK in a history book and suddenly wrong when it doesn't suit?
What does really worry me and, which is very apparent from the article, is the growth in racism it's creating. Fear makes people irrational. Take the situation on these islands. Very few, if any, Africans remain here after their 40 days "quarantine" in the retention centers. Most are transferred to the mainland.
It is therefore, utterly irrational to worry about the African boat-people phenomenon in terms of it's effect on everyday life. But the subject of immigrants is NEVER off the lips of the local people. They worry about diseases from the Africans, but, maybe once they realize that the Africans don't stay, transfer their fear to those outsiders who do. British are not really "foreigners", since we are European, but don't think that matters to ordinary people.
Now, I'm not going to remind anyone how much Britain has contributed to the fortunes of these islands throughout history, because we have done plenty of damage too. But for as long as I have lived here, in areas where Canary Islanders have come across a lot of British tourists, not a few have treated us with contempt. Given the animal like behaviour of some of our drunken brethren, I can hardly blame them, but it is still wrong to make such generalizations or (as they do) to assume that we are all rich and hike prices accordingly.
Both of those things were part of the reasons I moved from south to north on this island, away from the people who just saw me as someone to take advantage of.
Fortunately, by the time Britain threw in with the US over the war in Iraq, most people in this area already knew where I stood. I still seriously considered putting up "Guerra NO!" (No War) posters, just to make sure no one was under any misapprehension and, I have made a point of discussing my views.
So far, so good. I've mostly been allowed to live in peace these seven years.
Only last Sunday, I took myself off on a nice little relaxed excursion by bus. After a very pleasant lunch and walk, I was getting the bus back to the valley.
There was a group of four people, from Santa Cruz, in their 60's doing much the same thing. They wanted to the bus to Icod (which fair enough was what the bus number said it was), but when they found out that it was going up to Las Portelas, basically said, "Oh, well lets get on that anyway and have a look around."
"We" friendly locals in this area all talk to one another on the bus, so I thought I was being helpful pointing out to this Santa Cruz woman that there was, in fact, going to be a fiesta parade in Las Portelas that very afternoon.
Know what she did? Snubbed me. Looked right through me and ignored me.
She heard me. My Spanish is GOOD, but I can't help looking English.
Well, low and behold, some five minutes later, the group are engaged in animated conversation with the bus driver about immigrants. For reasons that should be obvious (i.e. my benefit) this woman chose to make a statement that "there will be English everywhere". And Dutch, according to the driver!
If you don't think this problem needs tackling before this becomes widespread, more threatening than just a few ignorant comments, or racism doesn't worry you, wait until you're on the receiving end. My opinion is that even if guests are unwelcome, treat them nicely and they will, mostly, just live quietly and cause no trouble. Provoke us to react and, don't be surprised when we do.
Out of Africa - Illegal Immigrants, Crime, Terrorism, Polygamy And Aids
Fiestas Colombinas in La Gomera
What more fiestas? Yes, moving swiftly back in time and to another famous visitor to the Canary Islands - one who made the transatlantic trip in the opposite direction - the Island Corporation of La Gomera has announced a "half hundred" (50 or so) events to commemorate Christopher Columbus leaving for America.
The celebrations known both inside and outside the island as the Jornadas Colombinas (Columbus Days), have been celebrated in La Gomera for forty-seven uninterrupted years.
Among the celebrations will be concerts for young people, workshops for children, theatre, painting contests, exhibitions and sports activities throughout the month of September. The stars of the musical program are Spanish pop duo, Andi y Lucas and Tenerife R&B / Reggae / Hip Hop girl duo, K-Narias.
The big day of the Jornadas Colombinas is September 6th, coinciding with the day in which Columbus left La Gomera to begin his voyage to the New World.
Presentación de las fiestas colombinas de La Gomera
Marc Anthony to Perform in Tenerife
Diario de Avisos report that "in all probability", Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter, Marc Anthony (otherwise known as Mr. Jennifer Lopez) will perform in Los Cristianos, Tenerife in October. The singer was given a spectacular welcome by Canary Island public during his performance in Santa Cruz, in February.
Mayor of Arona, José Alberto González Reverón, says that they still need to have some meetings with the Canary Islands Government and the Tenerife Island Corporation. Without the costs of staging, sound, accommodation and other non-musical items, the event will cost 300,000 euros, according municipal sources. (Sounds to me like they need to have a whip round! :)
Of course, they hope to earn that back and more with the extra tourism that the show - and the visit, especially if he brings the wife - will inevitably attract.
Los Cristianos acogerá en octubre el espectáculo musical de Marc Anthony
Labels: Jennifer Lopez in Tenerife, Marc Anthony in Tenerife
Ever met a tired or grumpy waiter?
If you have, then this is probably the reason why. Breaking the myth, according to this report, in Spain people earn less than in other countries in Europe, whilst they work longer and their vacations are shorter, while production is low.
This data is a revelation over the peculiarity of the labour market in Spain, where seven out of ten workers are in favour of government measures to limit the working day by law, according to a survey for the Financial Times, carried out by consultancy firm, Harris. The working week in Spain is an average of 38.2 hours, above the European average of 36.5 and it isn't that Spaniards work more to be able to get longer breaks later, because the average number of day's holiday in Spain is 22.8 days, four less than the average in Europe and the lowest among the twelve countries included in the survey.
And to make matters worse, in the last year Spain is the country where the real value of the average salary has fallen the most.
National opinion in Spain is completely contradictory to all of the other large European countries, where most people are totally opposed to government intervention, something, which, at first sight, is surprising. But it should not be as, in the Spanish labour market, workers are expected to work longer, without being paid for the extra hours, with already comparatively low salaries.
What the report doesn't mention is the fact that in the huge number of cases in the hospitality sector - such as wait staff - those hours are not consecutive.
They are often required to work split shifts of morning, then evening. With costs of housing being prohibitive near the centers of work or, especially in Tenerife, the route too mountainous or too busy to consider 4 times a day, it is not the case that these workers get a long break between their shifts and - based on a morning shift that begins at 8 a.m. and an evening shift that finishes at 2 a.m. - they end up having effectively worked an 18 hour day, plus travel time, six days a week.
This is something that doesn't show up on the official statistics. So, if you do meet a tired or grumpy waiter, cut him or her some slack!
En España se trabajan más horas, se cobra menos y por menos vacaciones que el resto de europeos
What happened to the summer?
Sun seekers in the UK have been warned that summer is over - "putting to bed any hopes of a return of July's sizzling temperatures that made July the warmest on record, with some days seeing higher temperatures than popular resorts such as Tenerife." Never fear: summer hasn't really ended, it just flew south!
While Britain was sizzling in unaccustomed temperatures in July, one of the reasons why the temperatures were relatively higher in the UK than in Tenerife was because summer was a bit shy here this year. My neighbours and I even joked that we would probably get summer in October. We've had odd days that became quite warm - relative to the usual pretty mild weather for these islands - but it never really seemed like summer had really and truly got going.
We also had some light rain in August. Too light: rather than being refreshing, all it did was to make the ground outside smell musty like a wet dog. Here in the fertile El Palmar valley at least, a bowl that attracts foggy clouds at the best of times, we've had many days in August that started out good and became cloudy by lunch time - something that normally only happens in winter.
The last few days though, it has finally been hotting up, even in this northern valley that is always cooler than the rest of the island. So if you're missing summer or wondering where it is, rest assured it is alive and well in Tenerife.
Want to escape? Start with these Tenerife Star Buy Holidays
