Plenty of news from the islands today and, none of it good, I'm afraid.

Have you seen this girl?

Tenerife is currently living its largest ever search for the disappearance of a young girl. Fernanda Fabiola Urzúa - who is 15 years old, originally from Chile and who moved to Tenerife with her family six years ago - went missing on Thursday, just meters from her home in the Ten Bel area (Arona).

On Saturday, 100 soldiers were called in to join the search for Fernanda Fabiola, who was wearing a black shirt and white pirate trousers when she disappeared.

A shoe and a belt found at the scene are said to belong to the youngster.

Since many English speaking foreigners live in or visit the areas of Las Galletas, Ten Bel and Costa del Silencio - and since the smallest clues can often produce the biggest breakthroughs - I wanted to pass this on, so that if you are due to visit the area in the near future, you can be on the alert.

On a personal note, having lived near that area myself and, probably having walked my dog on the very track where, from the reports, I believe she disappeared, I have to say that it sends chills down my spine.

Army called in to help in the search for missing teenager on Tenerife
Tenerife vive la mayor operación de búsqueda de su historia por el caso de la menor


Mencey Taoro II Found in Panamanian Waters

Meanwhile a lifeboat belonging to the Mencey Taoro II, which disappeared on July 23rd, 2006, when it left Puerto de la Cruz on the north of the island, to cross from Tenerife to the neighbouring island of La Gomera, has been found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles east of Miami, by a Panamanian fishing boat, 2,000 nautical miles from the archipelago.

The mystery continues, because, while 5 lifejackets and personal documents of the crew have been found in the waters around the inverted boat, there was no sign of Antonio de la Cova, Luis González and Pedro Santos - all three experienced sailors - who left on that trip.

Aparece a 2.000 millas del Archipiélago el "Taoro II" desaparecido hace un año en aguas canarias


Forest Fires in the Canary Islands

In Gran Canaria currently, they are dealing with a forest fire of "historic proportions" - the biggest ecological disaster on the island - that has affected 3,500 hectares of land, 2,500 that have suffered direct consequences.

The uncontrollable fire has worsened considerably, after today entering the village of Mogán, where 2,000 people have been evacuated and where at least 30 houses had already been destroyed. Now more houses are burning, including that belonging to the mayor - not to mention the ecological disaster of losing prime forest, habitats for endangered birds and the hundreds of wild and domestic animals that are being prematurely cremated.

The fire had 8 active centers this morning (later reports counted 9) and winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour, temperatures of 40 C and humidity of only 8% are making the situation "very complicated."

It's so bad, the fire can be seen on this NASA satellite image.

Forest Ranger Started Fire To Save Job

And the pyromaniac whom, it appears, allegedly, deliberately started the fire was a fire watchman, whose job contract was about to expire, so it seems he thought he would create himself enough work to get it renewed.

The 37 year old, named as Juan Antonio Navarro Armas - Canarias Bruta show a photo of this "Face of Shame" - was detained by the Civil Guard and later confessed to setting the fire with matches. After a first court appearance today, he has been imprisoned without bail.

Forest Ranger Started Fire To Save Job

Meanwhile, another fire has been raging on the island of La Gomera that has devastated more than 100 hectares in the district of Vallehermoso. Most of the inhabitants of the village of Chipude, who were evacuated on Friday, have now been able to return to their homes.

Another Forest Fire in Tenerife

And today, in Icod el Alto, Los Realejos in the mountains close to La Guancha in the north of Tenerife, the alarm was raised at 10 a.m. over a forest fire with several centers. The local authorities are working to evacuate homes and campsites close to the area and, it seems from the reports in so far that this fire may also have been deliberately set.

Declarado un conato de incendio en las cumbres de Los Realejos, Tenerife


Barbecues Prohibited in Tenerife Mountains

And, in Tenerife the Island Corporation has prohibited lighting fires in the recreational areas of the forests around Teide (Corona Forestal), Anaga and Teno, owing to the extreme heat and the meteorological alert currently in vigor to prevent the risk of forest fires.

El Cabildo prohíbe hacer fuego en las áreas recreativas de la zona forestal de Tenerife por las altas temperaturas


Sirocco causing temperatures close to 40ºC

As you will see from the screenshot with the post I made on Saturday (actually, it was written late Friday night), the Canary Islands have been colored in orange on the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología (National Meteorological Institute) Avisos meteorológicos (Meteorological Warnings) map since at least then - and the forecasts have merited that level.

I'm glad I took that screenshot when I did now, because it is dated and it makes it slightly worrying to think that maybe the weather men might take weekends off, because, we read from Canarias24horas that the INM only declared the orange alert officially today, Monday.

The extreme heat, with temperatures expected to reach close to 40ºC - well, they already did over the weekend - today and tomorrow, are being caused by a strong sirocco - wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa, Wikipedia tells us. All I know is that opening a window is equivalent to turning on a hot air blower.

And, of course, it's bringing with it a great plume of dust.

The heatwave is expected to continue until at least Wednesday and, say Canarias24horas, the south of La Gomera, and the east and west of the island of Tenerife are the areas where the heat will mostly be felt.

If you're feeling the heat, you could follow these recommendations to "keep hydrated, stay in the shade, avoid going out during hours of sun and to use sun protection." Though, to be honest, we've done all that and find that not even sitting naked and wet in front of a fan in a darkened room is doing very much to prevent the one remaining brain cell from frying! :)

Canarias con temperaturas que rozan los 40ºC y fuerte siroco

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When you're planning a visit to Tenerife - and deciding what to pack - you want to know what the weather is going to be like on the island in a particular month, so here we reproduce a chart for the whole year, giving you the number of hours of sun, the average day time temperatures, average temperature of the sea and the number of days when it might rain.

Climate data	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sun Hours/Day	5.9	6.6	7.1	7.7	8.8	9.8	10.6	9.8	8.5	6.9	5.9	5.5
Air [°C]	17.9	17.9	18.6	19.0	20.4	22.2	24.3	25.0	24.3	22.8	20.6	18.7
Water [°C]	19	18	18	18	19	20	21	22	23	23	21	20
Days with rain	5	5	5	3	1	0	0	1	1	3	5	6

[Reproduced / translated from Wikipedia.]

Now, bear in mind these are averages and for the whole island.

As far as the number of hours sun goes, we are in the northern hemisphere, so there is a difference between summer and winter, but it is nowhere near as marked as it is in the UK. Here it doesn't get dark at 3 p.m. in winter: it's more like 6 p.m. and, conversely, it doesn't stay light as late in summer.

The average air temperature makes me giggle, when you consider that, at time of writing, in July, it's 37°C currently, when we should have 24.3°C.

These "official" averages, I half suspect, were taken in a dark room, at the top of Teide, with the air-conditioning on. I suggest that you take them that the temperature is not usually likely to go below those given. Of course, I have to add the qualifier that they may do so in some exceptional circumstance.

Water temperature, you can check by dipping in a toe. :)

Days with rain can mean anything really, from a five minute shower to a few consecutive days. It's never that many days and rain seems to come all at once here, so once it's over - generally (adding the usual proviso that nothing is guaranteed with the weather) - you won't see any more for a long time.

Since most of you will stay in the south, you will also be glad to hear that 73% of the rain that does fall in Tenerife, falls in the north and, most of that in the mountains above La Orotava at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,200 meters.

Check the Latest Weather in Tenerife

Labels: Tenerife Weather

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It seems such a "Terribly British" thing to keep harping on about the weather, but in my experience anyway, the preoccupation isn't merely confined to those nations who are only used to weather of the crappy variety.

Whenever I go to my local supermarket, you can be sure there will be some comment, if not lengthy conversation about the current state of it. Whilst the concerns of locals here in this agricultural valley normally revolve around the scenario of too much / not enough rain for the crop of the season, the other day, we were discussing the fact that what the weather reports say and what we feel, in relation to heat, seem to bear scant relation to one another.

This, of course, is because the official temperature readings are taken in the shade (we'd all managed to "blow up" a thermometer at some point too trying to get a "real" reading. Bunch of kids!) I also think that the north and south temperature readings in Tenerife are taken at the respective airports.

Vast open spaces with nice cooling breezes whipping through them.

Something the average house, poolside or sun-trap patio doesn't have.

For most of the year in Tenerife, the south is hotter than the north. The latter usually has the vientos alisios (trade winds) cooling it and bringing along clouds. Only sometimes, in the hottest part of the year, around August usually (give or take a few days), the situation can get reversed.

Today, while at around 4:30 this afternoon, it was 91 °F / 33 °C in the south, in the north, it had reached 102 °F / 39 °C, having had 105° F / 41° C forecast for the hottest part of the day.

By 5:30 p.m., the situation was back to "normal", with the south clocking up 106° F / 41° C and the north dropping to a "cool" 100° F / 38 C!

Yes, curious thing, but as the sun starts to drop here, so do the winds (not that there has been much today to begin with) and, so the temperature can go up in the early evening, not dropping again until the early hours.

Today is definitely not a day to be without air-conditioning and merely reliant on a pathetic fan that bearly "recycles" the hot air. (Mind you, in winter, people in Tenerife bemoan the fact that pathetic fan heaters are ill equipped to deal with the "freezing" temperatures, that, in truth, seldom drop below 15° C.)

It's also one of those days when you'd love to take a cold shower to cool off too, but never mind frying an egg on the pavement, you could almost boil one in the sun-heated water that is coming out of the "cold" taps!

(Money saving ecological tip: do laundry and wash dishes during the hottest part of the afternoon in summer with machines on the "cold" setting to save energy. Your stuff gets a very hot wash too!)

Tenerife Island, the largest in the Canary Island archipelago, is approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) long and 32 miles (54 kilometers) at its widest point. With Pico de Teide, its volcanic peak, rising 12,198 feet (3,718 meters) above the sea, Tenerife has the distinction of having the highest elevation in the Atlantic Ocean. The island has a surface area of 2,034 km² (785 sq.mi).

[Sources: Earth from Space and Wikipedia.]

Not huge, but with vast changes of height, landscape, etc., in the relatively small area, this is what causes some startling changes in climate.

It's actually fascinating how different the temperatures can be in different places. Not just north and south, but at lower and higher altitudes - again, the higher altitudes are generally cooler, until you get to the hottest part of the year when their inland location, away from the breezes, tends to trap the heat - and, even between different places just minutes away from each other.

Andy Williams, who also lives in the north of Tenerife, writes:

"Here in Tenerife the weather is a little strange. Yesterday, at my house, the temperature was 25C. I went off to the market (its about 10 minutes away on the motorway), and the temperature there was 36C there. After the market, I went of to Santa Cruz (another 15 minutes drive), and the temperature there was 42C. Phew, that's hot.

Anyway, we headed off back home, and the temperature began to drop. Within the space of 1 Km, the temperature dropped a staggering 9 degrees. Back home, the temperature was 26C. That's 16 degrees difference in temperature for two places 20 minutes drive from each other."

So when you want to know what the temperature is in Tenerife, it helps to know which bit, otherwise you could get a wide variety of answers. But, let's face it, that same variety is what gives us so much to talk about! :)

You can check north and south current weather and forecasts here

Labels: Tenerife Weather

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August is almost here and, after a lot of not at all July-like, July weather here in the north, today, whilst it's a "nice cool" 28 C / 82 F here indoors, opening the front door was like opening the door on a blast furnace. So I've never opened the door of a blast furnace, but it's what I imagine it to be like. The very hot air came at me and hit me in the face like a brick wall!

In the south of Tenerife, even though there are scattered clouds, it's passed the "magic" 33 C mark (more on that in a moment), today reaching 34 C, with 35 C forecast for Sunday and 36 C on Monday/Tuesday and, with lows of around the 25 - 26 C mark at night, according to Weather Underground.

This means the weather alert situation has been raised to orange.

Why, where do we get that information and what does it all mean?

The weather alert information in Spain comes from the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología (National Meteorological Institute) and, specifically, this page: Avisos meteorológicos (Meteorological Warnings). This screenshot, taken today, shows that much of the south of the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands are colored in orange, while other areas are yellow or green.


Green No risk       Yellow Low risk       Orange Important risk       Red Extreme risk

On the map on the live page, if you hover over any of the areas where there is any level of alert yellow, orange and, if there were any, red; a little icon shows above the map, indicating what weather condition is the cause.

Those little weather pictures are pretty easy to understand, even without knowing any Spanish, but you can get English explanations for them and see the similar map for the whole of Europe, here at MeteoAlarm.

What each of those colored risk levels mean, explain INM, is that "risk" is directly related to "rarity": that is to say that the more unusual a phenomenon is, the less prepared the population is to deal with its effects.

GREEN	No meteorological risk exists.
YELLOW	There is no meteorological risk for the general population, although there is for some activity in particular. This level does not produce a warning, but does alert people to be attentive to the forecast.
ORANGE	An important meteorological risk exists (meteorological phenomenon that are not habitual and that pose a certain grade of danger for normal activities.)
RED	The meteorological risk is extreme (meteorological phenomenon that are not habitual, of exceptional intensity and with a very high level of risk for the population.)

Something they do not take into account, but you should, is that the levels given for Tenerife and the Canary Islands considers "usual" for these islands. If you're visiting temporarily from the north of Europe, your personal level of preparedness to deal with high temperatures, for instance, will be less. Your level of risk may therefore be higher than the general, local, population.

What criteria are usual / unusual on these islands?

The INM have published all the facts and figures (in Spanish, naturally) in a PDF document, but Canarias24horas have explained it all in plainer language (still Spanish) here. Ah, but you want it in English, don't you? :)

Levels and Recommendations

To qualify as a "heatwave" in the strict sense, temperatures have to reach some maximums and minimums simultaneously. These thresholds are fixed by the National Meteorological Institute and for the Canary Islands, they are 33 C maximum and 23 C minimum (i.e. nighttime).

Level one yellow is activated when the forecast (note: not the actual) is for temperatures equal to or above the 33 maximum and 23 minimum for one or two days. At this level, you are recommended to drink water frequently, avoid going out during hours of sun and to use sun protection.

If the forecast for these temperatures prolongs to 3 or 4 consecutive days (as you'll note from what I told you above about today, tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday's forecast), then level 2 orange is activated. A warning to the population is issued so that people can be especially attentive to the needs of special risk groups, such as; young children, old people, pregnant women and the chronically infirm. Recommendations are to keep hydrated, stay in the shade, avoid going out during hours of sun and to use sun protection.

If the high temperatures prolong for 5 days or more, then level 3 red comes into force and the above mentioned precautions need to be reinforced as well as using air-conditioning (ha, if we had any). They also recommend precaution when undertaking sports activities and in carrying out any heavy work. In case of any symptoms, such as exhaustion, muscle cramps, symptoms of fatigue or dizzinesses, get medical attention or call 112.

Another cause of weather alerts are the calimas (Saharan Air Layer) that can happen at any time of year. In winter, these same levels and their corresponding recommendations, will come into force for different reasons, such as heavy rains, high seas, strong winds or unusual storms.

Labels: Tenerife Weather

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Every Wednesday (except August 16th, when that week it's held on the Thursday) between July 18th and August 22nd, CajaCanarias are sponsoring a series of open-air classical music concerts at the beautiful old finca "La Baranda" that is Tenerife's wine museum, La Casa del Vino in El Sauzal in the north of Tenerife.

You can download a PDF document with the program here. There are English and German translations of performers' bios at the end.

Shows start at 20:30 and prices are 12 euros (about £8). Space is limited, so you will need to book. Telephone numbers are in the program.

More information from the Casa del Vino website

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This weekend in Tenerife, if you don't want to simply lie on a beach, you can take your pick from; a motorbike tour, traditional fiestas in picturesque villages, music of various styles and a wide variety of exhibitions.

XX Vuelta a la Isla en Moto

The 10th annual Round Island Motorcycle Tour leaves La Orotava this Sunday, July 29th, at 10 a.m., with stops for breakfast (they don't say where) and lunch in the south (free food), returning to the Plaza del V Centenario in La Orotava at 7 p.m. for dinner and a raffle.

Likely as not, you won't be taking part, but if you like bikes, you'll want to look out for them passing (probably can't miss 'em)!

More information from the Ayuda en Emergencias Anaga (Anaga Emergency Help) website (in Spanish). My reporters, Jack and Andrea Montgomery of Real Tenerife Island Drives, had this advice to proffer:

"In our experience, if you're not actually going to be a part of the tour, it's best to stay off the roads altogether as several thousand motorbikes, assorted 2 and 3 wheeled vehicles and the occasional gorilla suit on a quad bike cause absolute havoc!"

Fiestas Aguamansa 2007

The La Orotava district of Aguamansa have their fiestas this week, which began on Saturday 21st and culminate this weekend with the selection of the fiesta queen tonight, Friday, 27th July. On Saturday, 28th July there is a Verbena (Open air dance) from 9 p.m. onwards and, on Sunday 29th July, there's a foam party and bouncy castles for the kids from 3 p.m. and Mass at 8 p.m. with folk groups, a procession and events rounded off with a firework display by Los Realejos' celebrated pyrotechnics firm, the Toste Brothers.

Fiestas Aguamansa 2007

Fiestas Del Batán: Virgen De Candelaria

On July 27th, La Laguna celebrates the Fiestas de San Cristóbal. Do you think we could find a program of events for it? Nope. But, we did find one for the Fiestas El Batán, which, it appears from the photo and the description, are taking place in the hamlet of El Batán / village of Taganana in the Anaga mountains.

I'm afraid that we missed last weekend's attractions; football matches of single girls v. married women and single blokes v. married men, the bouncy castles and a good meal of Papas, Piñas y Costillas (Potatoes, Corncobs and Pork Ribs), amongst other things.

However, on Saturday, July 28th there are still some final events:

At 07:00 canons will be fired to wake the old folk up to make their way to the fiestas from various parts of the island. At 14:30, there is lunch. At 17:00 there is a kinda afternoon tea dance and in the evening, from 23:00 onwards is a Verbena Fin de Fiesta (End of Fiesta Knees Up / Street Party).


XII Festival de la Canción

The 12th Candelaria Song Festival, a song contest that has gained much importance in the islands and in Latin America over the years, kicked off in Candelaria this week, with Puerto Rican pop singer Ricky Martin in concert at the football stadium on Thursday.

Tonight, Friday, July 27th, are the semi-finals of the song contest, when 6 of the 12 semi-finalists will be chosen to go through to the finals, to be held on August 4.

Argentinian singer, Coti, performs in the Plaza de la Basílica, from 22:00.

On Saturday, July 28th, "The Salsa Gentleman", Giberto Santa Rosa performs also in the Plaza de la Basílica, from 22:30.

Just my opinion, of course, but this is the real quality end of salsa. Puerto Rican born Santa Rosa, has worked with El Gran Combo and Andy Montañez, just to name a couple of my personal favorites.



Link to video: Perdoname - Gilberto Santa Rosa

It's wholly appropriate that salsa is popular here and that many Puerto Rican artists perform on these islands. When you see images of some of the old parts of Puerto Rico they are very reminiscent of the architecture on these islands, which comes as no surprise when, "Thousands of Spanish settlers also immigrated to Puerto Rico from the Canary Islands during the 18th and 19th centuries, so much so that whole Puerto Rican villages and towns were founded by Canarian immigrants, and their descendants would later form a majority of the Spanish population on the island." [Wikipedia]

Música.- El XII Festival de la Canción de Candelaria arrancará con el concierto de Ricky Martin
El Festival de Música de la Candelaria en Tenerife ya tiene semifinalistas para la duodécima edición
Virgina (NF 2007) in Festival La Candelaria
More from the Candelaria town hall website (in Spanish)

La Noria Urban DJ Festival '07

Every Saturday during July, August and September (23:00 to 03:00) in the Calle La Noria in the old part of Santa Cruz; urban DJs doing whatever it is that urban DJs do these days, in a predominently 16th and 17th Century setting.

This seemingly strange inter-marriage is what I would call a very typical Tenerife vibe.

La Noria Urban DJ Festival '07 Via Marchaymas

II Semana de Jazz Costa Adeje 2007

Costa Adeje's Second Jazz Week at the Magma Arte & Congress Center in Adeje, Tenerife, on the 26th, 27th and 28th July, 21:00 to 23:00.

II Semana de Jazz Costa Adeje 2007

Summer Tour 07 - Seven Eclectic Dance Club

Friday, July 27th, Seven Eclectic Dance Club, Playa de Las Vistas, Los Cristianos.

Electronic noise music from Carlos Fernandez y Jacobo Padilla (actually, even I know that these are top names on the island), fashion shows of swimwear and accessories and a personal appearance from Izabella Dembinska, who was a finalist in the CHICA INTERVIÚ 2007 contest, which for those who don't know, signifies a scarcity of clothing.

Doors open at 10 p.m., but Marchaymas warn that as it's a limited sized venue, that it might not be possible to get in on the night.

Summer Tour 07 - Seven Eclectic Dance Club (in Spanish)



Moulin Rouge - La Goulue. (1891) Poster.Homage to Toulouse-Lautrec

"Intrepid reporters", Jack and Andrea Montgomery of Real Tenerife Island Drives, also inform me that there is a fantastic exhibition at the Cultural Center in Los Cristianos; a Homage to Toulouse-Lautrec.

Sixty graphic designs from around the world spanning the 1930s to the end of the last century, together with photographs of Toulouse-Lautrec and reproductions of his posters are being shown to the public in Spain for the first time.

The exhibition is on from July 25th to August 25th, 2007. Opening hours are Monday to Friday: 08:00 to 22:00 and Saturday 09:00 to 13:00. Sundays and Public Holidays, closed.

Diseñadores para un mito. Homenaje a Toulouse-Lautrec

Still ongoing exhibitions elsewhere include:

* Tenerife, un balcón al Universo (Tenerife, a Balcony on the Universe)
* Exhibition, Beñesmen Arte (Prehistoric art of the islands)
* Festival Ben-Gara, Garachico (Religious art)

Plus the summer sales are still on, on the islands. For more details on those and more, you can now visit our Calendar, which I have been busy trying to update with events, fiestas, exhibitions, markets, holidays, etc. (Please note that I will never be able to catch all of them, but hopefully include the most important that, in my judgement, can be enjoyed by English speakers.)

You can subscribe to the calendar itself, if you use Google Calendar.

You can also subscribe to a feed of calendar events to be updated with "What's On" info (note: this will serve them in the order I add them, which is not necessarily date order), or get that same information by email.

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Gazpacho, fish and beer is the summer menu for Canary Islanders

During the hot summer months, Canarians prefer foods that are fresh, natural and traditional, apparently. A study, carried out by Quota Research for Cerveceros de España, revealed the ideal summer menu in the Canaries as; chilled gazpacho soup to start, fish as the main dish and ice cream for desert, with beer as the favorite drink to wash it down.

The Canaries Maintain Second Place for Beer Consumption

They don't tell us which Spanish region beats us, but this comes as no surprise, based on the previous news item. Canarian Beer Company Compañía Cervecera Canaria (CCC) are reporting "very positive" results anyway, with 54% of the Canarian market, where, would you believe, there are 150 brands of beer to choose from.

La Laguna's Market Closed After Building Damaged

Last Friday, the Mercado de La Laguna (market) in the Plaza del Adelantado, in La Laguna was closed as a precaution for the security of both stallholders and users, after defects were found in the structure of the building. It is not yet known how long the market, which is of significant commercial and tourist interest, will be closed to the public.

Apparently, the building is in danger of "imminent ruin" and they have not yet discounted the possibility that it may have to be demolished. The cause of the damage appears to be demolition work being carried out next door to the market hall and the courts.

The market sells spectacularly fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and flowers, amongst other things. Well worth a visit, when it reopens.

Speaking of markets, Los Silos, here in the north of Tenerife hopes to launch the island's first organic market in 2008, at which local farmers will be able to sell their ecologically produced products at reasonable prices, direct to the public. It is envisaged that the market - which is to be located in the center of the town, close to the former convent of San Sebastián and the church of Nuestra Señora de La Luz - will open weekly or fortnightly on Sundays.

Meanwhile, the new farmers market in the town of La Orotava that opened last month, on Saturdays and Sundays from 8.30am to 3pm, has already established a popular following with locals and visitors alike.


Tenerife Farmers Are Revolting

About the plans to change the route of the proposed train to link Santa Cruz with the south of the island.

Typically Spanish say that the farmers claim that the train will cost them 2 million euros a year and are angry at plans to divert the tracks across their land in San Miguel and Arona.

Whilst it would be easy to take this as the usual resistance to change that comes with all proposals of this type - no matter where they are in the world - when reading the full report (in Spanish), we discover that this is an area of intense agriculture (one of the largest extensions of bananas, oranges and pineapples), declared for protection and that has, since 1993, been supported by European Union funds so that it wouldn't disappear.

The new route would literally cut plantations in two with a 20 meter wide corridor and make it impossible to get from one part of a plantation to another, interrupting the already existing irrigation systems.

The farmers are asking the route moved back to where it was originally planned to go, alongside the motorway, and for the electrical supply cables to be put underground, as the farmers say they have been told that it is the pylons that are occupying the space where the train should have gone.

This, presumably, would be UNELCO's new electrical supply to the south: needed, but with the big ugly red and white painted eyesore towers that - in my 'umble opinion - should have gone underground in the first place.


Google Earth Images of Tenerife Updated

Finally! A post at Gerald England's Hyde Daily Photo alerted me to the fact that Google Earth had an update, so I thought I would take a look.

If you're in the UK, you really want to do this: I had a look at my mother's house in the south of England, which previously was just a blur.

Now I can clearly see the patio outside her sitting room, that is only about 6 slabs and the fact that her trees did need a bit of pruning! :)

But, that's by the by ... Getting back to Tenerife, WOW!

The difference is astounding. The current images are much clearer, wonderful resolution and, more importantly, are considerably newer.

The previous "ancient" images, supplied to Google by local public company, Grafcan, were at least six years old and had provoked a lot of criticism, even to the point that some believed there could have been a conspiracy to cover up the true level of construction and development on the islands.

Using local landmarks as a guide, I'd say that the new images are around a year old. Probably the ones that Grafcan told the local press last July that they would taking, by airship, within the month. I'd tell you exactly, but looking at the angle of the shadows, they flew over too early in the day for me!

Fly here to see those local landmarks »

May looks to sky to complete PhD

Guitarist Brian May is to spend two days studying the night sky in the Canary Islands as he completes the PhD he abandoned in 1971 to join Queen. May is going to La Palma to observe the formation of "zodiacal dust clouds".

May looks to sky to complete PhD

Ballesteros ends dazzling career

On a personal level the idea of Ballesteros retiring, is scary: he's a month younger than me! :) Anyway, you can't imagine him not touching a golf club again though, can you? So, are we likely perhaps to see more of him at the golf course he lent his name to, here in Buenavista del Norte?

Even if not, Seve?s Golf School at the course will continue to teach a personalized program for beginners as well as advanced golfers, using the natural skills of each student and techniques introduced by Seve.

Ballesteros ends dazzling career

Meanwhile, Joe Cawley, author of More Ketchup Than Salsa, thinks that last weekend's Radio 1 gig at Tramps was good for Tenerife.

The previous week's Festival Eólica in Granadilla surpassed expectations with a crowd of around 17,000. You can see photos from the festival here.

And, the biggest prize in the history of the Euromillions lottery fell next door in Gran Canaria. Almost 57 million euros (about 40 million quid). Not a bad return for a 4 euro (£2.50) ticket. So near and, yet so far! :)

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The Victoria was one of the five ships of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition.Queen Victoria's First Visit

As we've already mentioned, Cunard's new cruise ship, the Queen Victoria, to be launched in December 2007, will spend her first festive season around the Canary Islands.

She will visit during the Maiden Canary Islands Festive Celebration voyage. The actual date she will be in Santa Cruz, in Tenerife (for any ship spotters on the island who wish to take this first opportunity to see and photograph her), will be Monday, December 31st, 2007, between 8:00 am and 11:00 pm.

After the cruise to the Canary Islands, the Queen Victoria will embark on her first world cruise, circumnavigating the globe in 107 days (the first ship to do so was also called Victoria; in 1153 days from 1519 to 1522).

On September 6, 1522, the Victoria returned to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, with Juan Sebastián Elcano and 17 survivors of Ferdinand Magellan's 265-man expedition, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.

Full circle: Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese maritime explorer who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the earth, is said to have visited Tenerife, arriving on September 26, 1519, near the start of that particular important three year voyage of discovery.


QE2 in Brisbane. Photo: GarryQueen Elizabeth 2 Final Calls

The Queen Elizabeth 2, last in the Canary Islands during her 108-Day Silver Jubilee World Cruise in January, is due to come to Tenerife a few more times before her retirement - to become a luxury floating hotel in Dubai - at the end of 2008.

The next time you'll be able to see the QE2 in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, will be on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 (All Saint's Day - a National Holiday - so those Santa Cruz shops will be shut again!), on the Canary Islands Splendour cruise. Following that, she'll be back a month later, on Saturday, December 1st, 2007, during the Atlantic Isles Idyll voyage.

In 2008, the Queen Elizabeth 2 again calls into Santa Cruz on the Atlantic Isles Idyll trip, on Friday, June 20th, 2008. It has also been reported widely that she will be back on the autumn Canary Islands Splendour cruise, however, it looks to me as if that plan has changed. Listed for that date now at Cunard's own site, is a Farewell to the British Isles Voyage, leaving Southampton on September 30th. For your final chance to see the Queen Elizabeth 2 in Tenerife, I would take the June 2008 date to be true.

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TripAdvisor have produced a printable Canary Islands guide, which they say, "captures the very best of Canary Islands as reported by millions of real travelers like you."

It's not a very big guide, but it does contain a few tips you might find useful and, interestingly, 8 out of the top 10 attractions they list are in Tenerife.

Listed are; Favorite hotels, restaurants and attractions, Hidden gems and best views, Recommedations for romance, families and traveling on a budget, How to get around, what to pack and more ...

Right click to download the Canary Islands Guide ...

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If China has it's Great Wall, Icod de los Vinos, in Tenerife - home to the emblematic Drago Milenario (Dracaena draco canariensis) - has it's Muro de la Vergüenza (Wall of Embarrassment) - the wall constructed in front of the tree that currently has lettering and a bunch of flags obscuring visitors' views.

So the weekend starts off on a high point on Friday at 11 a.m. when the town hall has organized a press call in the Parque Andres de Lorenzo Cáceres opposite the tree, for the grand occasion of the removal of the flags.

This is stage one in a wall reduction or elimination plan, which hopefully means that people will be able to see the tree that we're so proud of.

Icod's town hall are also studying the possible reopening of the Mariposario (Butterfly zoo) that is also alongside the Drago Park and church area in Icod. This attraction, which I visited some years ago, had been closed by the previous administration in the town for some bureaucratic infraction.


BBC Radio 1 Coming to Tenerife

Meanwhile, BBC Radio 1 is taking over Tramps Terrace Bar, in Playa de Las Americas, for two days 21-22 July. "With JK and Joel, Judge Jules and a special extended Dance Anthems from Dave Pearce, Tramps is the place to go that weekend", they say.

Or place to avoid, if such boisterous parties are not your style. :) But, hey, at least Tenerife is still on the map, even if this does merely serve to promote the "sun and sea", "party island" image that we're trying hard to shake.

"The Tenerife roadshow is part of Radio 1?s ?Six Weeks of Summer? event, which also sees live broadcasts from other European holiday destinations such as Majorca, Ibiza and Zante.", say Isle of Tenerife - Blog.

BBC - Radio 1 - Six Weeks of Summer 2007


Fiestas: Horse Fair in La Laguna

As part of this month's Fiestas de San Benito Abad in La Laguna, there is the II Feria del Caballo (II Horse Fair) at the Casa del Ganadero en San Diego, in the Avenida San Diego from 11 a.m. onwards, 20/7 to 22/7.

Art and Culture

In Puerto de la Cruz until July 31st there is the exhibition, Beñesmen Arte, covering prehistoric art in the islands. From July 15th to 31st there is the Festival Ben-Gara in Garachico: part of a program of events in honor of Cristo de La Misericordia (Christ of Mercy). And, in various locations, among them; Puerto de la Cruz, Los Realejos and Santiago del Teide, there are musical events as part of an International Folklore Festival.

Ongoing (from 1/6 to 2/9) at the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos (Museum of Science and the Cosmos) in La Laguna, there is an exhibition from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., entitled Tenerife, un balcón al Universo (Tenerife, a Balcony on the Universe) showing some of the marvels of the universe captured from the island's peaks.

There's the Festival de Danza, Arte y Movimiento de Granadilla de Abona 2007 (Festival of Dance, Art and Movement) on 21/7 al 22/7, from 8:00 to 17:00, in the Plaza del Médano, El Médano, Granadilla de Abona.

Meanwhile, the Boston Ballet is performing at the Auditorio de Tenerife.

Otherwise, it looks to be a pretty quiet weekend coming up in Tenerife, but after the number of festivals in Tenerife lately (with more coming up next month), last week's Fiestas del Carmen and next week's Fiesta de Santiago and the commemoration of Nelson's defeat, this may be a good thing.

More events, exhibitions and what's on, in our calendar.

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Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe, is to be one of the panel of judges to select the Carnaval Queen in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, in next January's Carnaval Gala.

Meanwhile, David Copperfield - the American magician and illusionist, that is, not the David Copperfield that actor, Daniel Radcliffe, played in 1999 - will be providing the actual magic.

The theme of the 2008 Carnaval in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, in case it wasn't obvious by now is, "La Magia" (Magic) and, Santa Cruz seems to be very keen to put some of it back into Tenerife's Carnaval, by every means with this prestigious, all-magic cast for the most visible of Carnaval events, given that the spectacular Gala is televised, both nationally and internationally.

At the Gala for the Selection of the Carnaval Queen in Santa Cruz, on January 30th, 2008, Copperfield will make last year's outgoing Carnaval Queen, Elizabeth García, appear and disappear, costume included.

The 2008 Gala, which will be directed by Jaime Azpilicueta - who is also directing a musical on the life of Celia Cruz to open in New York in September - is to be held outside again, (as it used to be, previously, in the Plaza de España), this time in the car park of the Parque Marítimo which is alongside the Auditorio de Tenerife, rather than the Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos where it has been held in recent years.

An interview with the new Councillor for Fiestas in Santa Cruz, Maribel Oñate, gives the reason for the move outside again (they've been studying various sites on the port) as being that there was not enough time to organize it in the Recinto Ferial. Just my opinion here, but since there are still over 6 months to go and, I'm sure that Carnaval organization is very high on everybody's agendas year round, I wonder if the real reason might have been to make a clear contrast (if not total disassociation), with the venue that was the scene of last year's disastrous gala directed by Rafael Amargo.

So while Las Palmas in Gran Canaria will be going to Ancient Greece next year, the town hall in Santa Cruz has already started meetings with the murga groups. They are looking into the possibility (depending on the football fixture calendar) of holding the finals of their contest in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium: home ground to CD Tenerife.

Santa Cruz town hall have also announced that they are planning a future Museo del Carnaval (Carnival Museum) in the city too.

Carnaval is early in 2008: Shrove Tuesday (Carnaval Tuesday), the day of the Main Carnaval Parade in Santa Cruz, will be February 5th, if you're planning to attend. We'll publish more carnival dates in due course.

David Copperfield, actuación estelar de la gala de la reina del próximo Carnaval

Labels: Carnaval 2008

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Airflights.co.uk say that, "While the UK wallows in distinctly unseasonal downpours, holiday hotspots like Tenerife and parts of Spain are expecting the mercury to top 32 degrees Celsius over coming days."

It's 25°C now in the south of Tenerife - according to Weather Underground - and I'm writing this at 2:30 a.m. here in the north, where it's only meant to be 61°F / 16°C. The thermometer on my desk, however, says that it's 80° F. / 27° C. My other "barometer": four cats and a dog, lying flat like trappers' pelts on cool, tiled floors confirms the fact. :)

Nevertheless, there are no current weather alerts: the forecast has to be for 33° C and over for several days running, before it's called a heatwave.

The forecast for Thursday is a high of: 86° F. / 30° C, but judging by the current night-time low temperature, I would say "and the rest ..."

Labels: Tenerife Weather

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Rosanna de Lisle offers golden rules for looking after your skin in the sun, starting with: "Stay out of the sun in the middle of the day. If your shadow is shorter than you are tall, seek shade. Be aware that the solar noon may not be 12pm; in Spain it is more like 2-2.30pm. Act like a local and take a siesta." In Tenerife, it's an hour earlier. Same time as the UK.

Stay safe under the sun

Labels: Tenerife Weather

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Plaza del Adelantado, La LagunaTonight, Friday the 13th, as part of the city of La Laguna's July Fiestas, is the Pasacalles: Noche de Burros (literally, a Night of Donkeys, a procession of carts), at 20:30 in the Plaza del Adelantado. On Sunday, from 10 a.m. in the Camino Tornero, La Laguna has their country fair, with livestock and traditional sports and games. More info in our feature on July Fiestas.


Gran Telescopio de Canarias First Light Live on the Internet


Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on the island of La Palma. Photo: L@ OCT@V@ ISL@Don't get too excited, because at the moment it's merely the inauguration / switching on ceremony, in which the Prince of Asturias will do the honors, however Telefónica are transmitting the "Primera Luz" (first light, or pictures), live on the internet.

Below the video on this page, they also list Seguimiento de la Primera Luz (literally, Following the First Light) for 11 p.m. tonight (midnight CET), which I interpret to mean that we can all see the first images that the telescope - for a short time will be the largest in the world - will capture.

Take advantage of this free offer, because a night of observation with the Gran Telescopio de Canarias will cost 100,000 euros and Spanish astronomers have already reserved 90% of it's time.


Brinsley Forde at Festival Eólica

The lineup for the Festival Eólica (or Festival Internacional de Energías Renovables) tomorrow, July 14th, in Granadilla, has increased by one.

Former lead singer and founder of British Reggae band, Aswad and presenter of "Dub Bashment" on BBC 6, Brinsley Forde, will be on the Organic Stage for a 2 hour DJ session.

Eólica 2007 amplía cartel con Brinsley Forde, líder reggae de Aswad Founder

Brinsley Forde's MySpace Page


Brazillian Rhythm in Santa Cruz

Meanwhile, double Grammy winning Brazillian pop musician, Lenine, will fill the Centro Cultural de La Caja de Canarias (Caja Canarias Cultural Center) in Santa Cruz, tonight, July 13th, with his mix of Brazillian and international styles.

Los ritmos del brasileño Lenine llegan a Canarias

Lenine in the Canary Islands: photos from his own blog. He seems to have found out where we serve the food OK! :)


If you're staying at home this weekend (I can't imagine why: the weather's nice now), you may like to know that the Colegio de Ópticos de Canarias (College of Opticians in the Canary Islands), say that the controlled use of video games improves visual and spatial memory.

And, don't think you can relax when the weekend's over, because on Tuesday, July 17th, are the Fiestas del Carmen in Puerto de la Cruz

More events, exhibitions and what's on, in our calendar.

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Far be it for me to suggest that you miss Tenerife out all together on the way, but the neighbouring island of La Gomera is very much worth visiting and, from November you'll be able to do just that, when Cadogan Holidays begins Gatwick to La Gomera flights, which avoids the 20-minute catamaran transfers from Tenerife.

Astraeus describes La Gomera as "nature in its purest form: leafy woodlands, rugged ravines, cliffs of impossible shapes and villages that have conserved their most ancient traditions so as to offer you a different kind of holiday".

This is certainly true, but, while it's bad enough that people come to Tenerife and never see what's outside of their hotel, let alone the resort, to do that in La Gomera would be a sin. It's an immensely beautiful place and, since the island is only about 15 miles in diameter, is just begging to be explored.

Every village has it's speciality, but I think the gofio from the mill in Alajero is the best on the islands. The pottery in Chipude is notable for it's simple beauty and there's a bar at Las Rosas that sells an unique pan de queso (bread with herbs and chunks of goats' cheese in it) that you really must sample, to name just three things that stuck out in my mind.

In Guanche times, Travelotica tell us, "it was customary, particularly in La Gomera, for the guest in a Gomeran household to be offered use of the wife - a facet of local culture that many conquistadors eagerly embraced."

Around September 6th is a good time to go to San Sebastian in La Gomera, as that's when they hold week-long festivities to celebrate the anniversary of waving Christopher Columbus off on some important journey.

The date of Columbus departure could have been earlier, but he dallied around for a month partaking in some of that ancient local culture!

These days, I think you'll have to be content with touring the island's beautiful small towns and villages and visiting the Garajonay National Park, but I'm sure you'll also want to hang around once you get there.

You can read more about the island of La Gomera's ample attractions in this article, West Canaries Tourism Guide - San Sebastian de la Gomera

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Fiestas del Carmen

In July the Fiestas del Carmen are the high spot on the calendar and are celebrated most largely in Puerto de la Cruz in the north of Tenerife, where the effigy of the Virgin del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) is carried through the streets to the harbour, then boarded onto a boat, for a "sea parade" and a ceremony to bless local fishermen - transforming Puerto's quiet, old port area into a chaotic, noisy sea of fiesta fun.

Read about Puerto de la Cruz' July Fiestas in this feature, Fishermen's Friends: Fiestas del Gran Poder y La Virgen del Carmen.


Our Lady of the Fishermen

As well as looking after fishermen, Church Forum tells us that La Santísima Virgen del Carmen (The Holy Virgin of Mount Carmel) is the patron of the armed forces, of transporters and of retailers. With such a heavy workload, I wonder if this is how we get the saying "A woman's work is never done"?

According to pious tradition the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Simon Stock at Cambridge, England, on Sunday, 16 July, 1251. This explains why the rightful day for her festivities is July 16th, but what I wondered is how did she become implicated in the fishing trade and why she is specially venerated in the Canary Islands?

According to the Bible (Kings, 18) the prophet Elijah was praying on top of Mount Carmel, as God had punished his rebellious people with a three year summer. Eventually, a cloud formed over the sea, which brought a huge amount of rain that made up for those 36 months without water.

The Catholic church believes that this was the work of the Virgin Mary - or that The Virgin is like this cloud, signifying the end of the drought - and thus the association with Mount Carmel. Carmen also came to mean fertile lands that produce lots of good fruits, so it becomes obvious why she would be adopted as the Patrona and have festivities in her name in fertile inland locations, such as here in the El Palmar valley. The annual Fiestas del Carmen in Las Portelas, may be inland (and therefore be a little short on boats), but they have one of the best fireworks displays in the area.

Messing about in boats: When the Saracens invaded the Holy Land, the Carmelites were obliged to flee and they put to sea. Once upon a time, before electronics and GPS, sailors relied on the stars to guide them.

Ancient tradition has it that before setting off, the Virgin appeared while they were singing Salve Regina and promised to be their Estrella del Mar (Star of the Sea), to guide them through difficult waters and into a secure port.

It was a Mallorcan Admiral, Antonio Barceló Pont de la Terra (1716-1797) who promoted the celebration of the already popular Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen amongst the sailors under his command. Since then, the Spanish Armada (Navy) began substituting their old patron, San Telmo, for the Virgen del Carmen to protect them against shipwrecks and storms.

The Virgen del Carmen is venerated wherever the Carmelite order went throughout the world, particularly where there are seafarers and, the Canary Islands have a long tradition of fishing as a means to sustain its population, which accounts for the particular importance of her following here.

The denomination, Star of the Sea, is also given because Mount Carmel "rises like a star beside the sea". Although I've not read any reports that suggest this as an additional reason for the particular popularity of the fiesta in Tenerife, the same description could easily be applied to our very own Mount Teide, which rises so high near the sea as to cast the world's largest sea shadow.

The Fiestas del Carmen are celebrated on all seven of the Canary Islands. On Tenerife, with particular note in; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Puerto de Santiago and Los Realejos.

The Virgin del Carmen Puts to Sea
La Santísima Virgen del Carmen
La estrella del Mar y los Carmelitas
Virgen del Carmen


Santa Cruz Celebrates Victory Over The English

More seafarers, of the attacking kind. On July 25th, the Tenerife capital, Santa Cruz, commemorates the anniversary of its famous and proud victory over English Admiral, Horacio Nelson, whose failed attempt on Santa Cruz, on July 25th, 1797, cost him his right arm.

As well they might celebrate, because, whilst British history claims that he "only" intended to sink the Spanish ships in port in Santa Cruz and bankrupt Spain because of the huge cargos of gold they were carrying, the Spanish version claims that Nelson wanted to take the island and use it as a base for further activities. Well, he wouldn't be the first. Isn't that exactly what the Spanish did with the islands, 300 and 400 years before?

Santa Cruz Celebrates Victory Over The English


Fiesta de Santiago


Fireworks by the sea
Fuegos acuáticos en el mar. Fiesta de Santiago, 25 de julio. Puerto de Güímar. Photo: Mataparda.

Candelaria celebrates the Fiestas de Santa Ana on July 25th. Puerto Rican singer, Ricky Martín, will be performing in Candelaria on July 26th, 2007.Santa Cruz, along with Los Realejos and the Puerto de Güímar, celebrate the Fiesta de Santiago on July 25th. Santiago (St. James), is the Patron Saint of Spain.

In Güímar at least, as the image shows, this is celebrated with an impressive firework display from the sea.

Also around the time of St. James Day on July 25, you can buy the traditional, almond, Tarta de Santiago, from the Spanish region of Galicia, usually decorated with the Cross of Saint James.





July Fiestas in La Laguna

Former capital and World Heritage city in Tenerife, La Laguna, also celebrates fiestas in July. Last Sunday was their Romería San Benito Abad (the official date is July 11th, i.e. nearest Sunday before) a day of dressing up in local costume, with music, dancing, much wine and food.

Not unlike the January fiestas for San Antonio Abad, the accompanying processions included lots of animals and, particularly herds of goats, who all filed neatly past the town's Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, founded 1511 and, which was the first church in Tenerife.

Also notable and worth seeing; traditional to this parade were some beautiful floats, drawn by horses and made to look like galleons, all rigged and with their sails set. These, I guess, were about 20 or so feet long and of a scale height, so they were quite an impressive sight.

On July 27th, La Laguna celebrates the Fiestas de San Cristóbal, the full name of the town being San Cristóbal de La Laguna, will give you an idea that these will probably also be of some importance. In the meantime, events continue with Pasacalles: Noche de Burros (literally, a Night of Donkeys, a procession of carts) on 13/7, at 20:30 in the Plaza del Adelantado.

Sunday, July 15th, there are Arrastre de ganado y Juegos Tradicionales (Ox pulling contests and traditional Canarian sports and games) from 10:00 a.m. at Camino Tornero (behind the San Benito College). Country fair, with exhibitions of livestock and also threshing with oxen and horses.

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Ra II in the Kon-Tiki MuseumLike the great Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, a German biologist and amateur anthropologist is obsessed with ancient long-distance seafaring.

But while Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki and later Ra expeditions proved that ancients could have used trade winds and ocean currents to drift westward around the globe to South America and the South Pacific, Dominique Goerlitz wants to prove the opposite.

Goerlitz, 41, and a crew of eight plan to set sail Wednesday from New York in a prehistoric-style reed boat to show that people 6,000 to 14,000 years ago could have made the more complicated eastwardly journey from the New World to get back home again.

Ancient-style reed boat tackles Atlantic

Heyerdahl lived the last years of his life in Tenerife, building the Ethnological Park around the Pyramids of Güímar, where there is also a replica of the reed boat, Ra II. The Abora 3 expedition starts today from New York, sailing first to the Azones, on to Cadiz and then to the Canary Islands.

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On, or around the 16th July, fishermen all over Tenerife hold emotional processions in honour of their patron saint, La Virgen del Carmen. In Puerto de la Cruz these celebrations go overboard, almost literally, when the town honours not only La Virgen, but El Gran Poder de Dios as well. Oh, and San Telmo, the patron saint of Spanish and Portuguese fishermen, is thrown in (metaphorically speaking) for good measure. It's all part of the town's month long festivities, known simply as the July Fiestas.

Merrymaking includes the obligatory crowning of the fiesta queen, traditional Canarian dances, jazz and rock concerts, antique car rallies, sporting events, air displays, the procession of the Gran Poder and the popular 'Sardinada', where the air around the ermita de San Telmo is filled with the aroma of grilled fish and a couple of euros will get you a plate of sardines and a beaker of robust country wine.

The highlight of the fiestas is the 'embarcación de la Virgen del Carmen' on the 17th of July. If you're a newcomer to Spanish fiestas, don't expect a quiet, reserved affair. This is big, boisterous, wet, noisy and chaotic as well as being good natured, great fun, an unforgettable experience and a spectacle for the senses.

The best way to get into the fiesta swing is to buy a couple of beers and a plate of pinchos (lip-licking seasoned pork kebabs) from a harbour-side stall, chill out and enjoy the fun.

For anyone under twenty, the idea is to get as wet as possible and stay that way all day. This involves holding running water pistol battles, which amuse the older townspeople until a stray squirt hits them in the eye resulting in much use of the word "coño"; jumping, or being thrown into the harbour; and being drenched by basins of water cascading from balconies around the harbour. You don't have to be Einstein to deduce that shorts and t-shirts, preferably over swimming togs is sensible dress for the day. To really fit in, buy a Virgen del Carmen t-shirt from one of the stalls around Plaza del Charco.

By late afternoon finding a space by the harbour is nigh on impossible. If you're not of basketball player proportions, try standing behind a group of Canarian women. As they're normally five foot nothing, or less, it affords a good view.

At around 6.30, La Virgen and St Telmo or, as one Canarian woman mischievously described him to me, 'La Virgen's boyfriend', appear swaying on the shoulders of local fishermen with a motion which represents the rhythm of being on the ocean. The couple pause en route to the harbour for a heartfelt rendition of 'Ave Marie' (tissues definitely required), before being carried through the crowd to the water's edge.

After 'a few squeaky bum moments' as Sir Alex Ferguson might put it, San Telmo and then La Virgen are transferred aboard their brightly decorated boats amidst a frenzy of splashing and chanting of "no pasa nada, la Virgen está embarcada" (which pretty much means, "all's well with the world, the Virgin's safely on board") and taken on their annual sea trip around the bay, ensuring that a good fish supply is guaranteed for another year.

This excerpt was written by Jack Montgomery, freelance writer, photographer and editor of Real Tenerife Island Drives.

Read the full feature on the July Fiestas here »


Copyright © 2007 Real Tenerife Island Drives. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of Real Tenerife Island Drives.

Lying on a beach all day every day might make for a relaxing holiday, but memories of it fade as quickly as your sun tan. Island Drives is aimed at travellers who want to experience the real essence of Tenerife, not just its pools and beaches. If you want an unforgettable holiday as opposed to a good one, Real Tenerife Island Drives will make the difference.

Labels: Real Tenerife Island Drives

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Meticulous research, excellent writing, plus absolutely stunning photographs, makes Real Tenerife Island Drives the very best on-the-road guide to Tenerife.

After 15 years on the island, I've seen a lot of guide books. Jack and Andrea Montgomery's Real Tenerife Island Drives is one that actually lives up to all it's promise. They've spent three years researching the island's history and culture (as well as travelling it's roads and visiting it's countryside, towns and villages) to produce this beautiful volume and, it shows.

Those wonderful little facts that make it so interesting are not just the usual re-hashed, regurgitated information covered in every other guide book and that, almost invariably, is wrong.

Jack and Andrea kindly sent me a copy of the book to have a look at and it's obvious to me that they have gone back to the source and done original research. Consequently, when you take yourself off one one of their 6 carefully planned trips, you get an accurate and complete guide.

This is kinda important, if you don't want to get lost (mind you that's pretty hard on an island), but the fascinating facts that you'll be rattling off to your friends will open their eyes to Tenerife in an entirely new way.

You'll discover Hidden Depths and Forgotten Roads; places that Francis Drake sacked or or Nelson attacked, but you'll also know how long it takes to get there and where to eat, park and find the loo when you arrive.

There are just the right amount of driving and other tips that you need to know and the book is written in a readable and amusing way, giving you an insight into the island's culture. Such as this on the use of horns:

"Horns are rarely used in aggression; instead used mainly as a greeting to friends, a warning at blind corners on narrow roads, or when Tenerife FC win a match."

To be fair, they don't get much use in that final capacity, so where I live, car horns are also used for other announcements of almost similar importance, such as politicians winning their seats back at elections.

The more I dip into the book, the more impressed I am actually with the depth and detail of the things they have managed to discover - and then condense so beautifully - in just a three year period. You can be sure that you will not miss important items that make your visit truly memorable.

This 66 page, soft-cover, book has all the information you need for exploring Tenerife by car, without bogging you down with too many facts and it's size makes it small enough to carry around or fit in the glove compartment.

More information and ordering, visit, Real Tenerife Island Drives


New Monthly Tenerife Feature

The other piece of good news is that we've pressed the authors of Real Tenerife Island Drives, Jack and Andrea Montgomery, into providing a new monthly feature here at Secret Tenerife, which may be about happenings in a particular month, or excerpts from the routes. (Finally, some good and interesting writing here!) The first of these features is upcoming.

Labels: Real Tenerife Island Drives

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Prince Felipe at the Foundation Stone Ceremony in June 2000. Photo GTC ProjectPrince Felipe, heir to the Spanish throne, is to inaugurate the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on Thursday, July 13th. The Prince will input the codes to will start up the telescope's systems.

The inauguration of the 10.4 meter telescope, which has cost 130 million euros, financed by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Canary Islands Government, at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, has been planned to coincide with the new moon.

El Príncipe Felipe inaugurará el Gran Telescopio de Canarias

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If I thought having a rally come past the house was exciting, obviously I hadn't seen this, the Prueba 4x4 Norte Bruta 2006 (4x4 trials), somewhere way off the beaten track, in La Guancha in the north of Tenerife.




I've got to say it, but I can't imagine for the life of me why they filmed the night sequence, which was apparently shot at 3 a.m. We're also told that the first trial ended at 6 a.m. There's no denying that there is a sport or hobby for all tastes here, but I reckon whoever thought this sadomasochistic trial up has been watching too many Japanese Endurance programs. :)

Link to video

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Tenerife Times have a handy reference chart of the prices of booze in the Duty Free at Tenerife South Airport. As they point out, however, Tenerife is a Duty Free island, so you can normally buy these items in the shops on the island for less and, suggest that you use their list (which they aim to update periodically) as a guide when you're shopping.

Just as a quick comparison, I picked up a similar list of the prices from Mercadona supermarket. As you will see from that list below, just taking the example of the J & B Whiskey, which in the Duty Free costs €16.00 and in Mercadona, costs €13.25, you can save almost €3 (about 2 quid).

No doubt there are other places selling it for more or maybe less.

But ... there's always a but, isn't there?

Because of the new EU baggage restrictions brought in last November, any bottles you purchase in shops on the island would have to go in your suitcase that goes in the hold of the plane. That's your decision, of course, but I wouldn't like to say how safe from breakage that might be.

You can take liquids onto the plane (as hand luggage) that have been bought in the duty free area, however, so basically, you're paying your 2 quid or so extra for "carry on rights" and insurance against having a suitcase full of Whiskey flavored clothes when you get to the other end!

Product	Price (Euros)
Four Roses Bourbon, 700 cc.	€11.99
Southern Comfort, 1 L.	€14.75
Dewars White Label Whiskey, 1 L.	€13.99
Black Swan 10 Yr Malt Whiskey, 700 cc.	€14.95
Macallan Malt Whiskey, 700 cc.	€37.35
Johnnie Walker Red Label 1 L.	€13.25
J & B 15 Yr Reserve 700 cc.	€20.29
Jack Daniels, 1 L.	€18.64
Chivas 12 Yr, 1 L.	€24.95
Johnnie Walker 12 Yr, 1 L.	€24.42
Ballantine's, 1 L.	€13.10
DYC, 1 L.	€8.30
Haig, 1 L.	€12.40
J & B, 1 L.	€13.25
William Lawson's, 1 L.	€9.99
100 Pipers, 1 L.	€12.50
Bailey's, 1 L.	€13.90
Tia Maria, 1 L.	€13.25
Sheridan's, 700 cc.	€12.99
Cointreau, 700 cc.	€11.59

All of the Brandies listed at Mercadona were Spanish brands, with prices ranging from around €4.99 (about £3.50) to approximately €24.00 (£18.00). Mercadona didn't have prices of tobacco listed online, but since you can't smoke anywhere in the UK now, that's probably academic!

Prices are subject to change and are only to give you an idea.

It's also worth reiterating the rules and reminding you that you have to adhere to the duty free allowances when entering the UK, which, from the Canary Islands is the same as when coming from OUTSIDE the European Union.

Those allowances, according to the HM Revenue & Customs are:

When travelling from a non-EU country (including the Canary Islands, the Channel islands and Gibraltar) you can bring the following into the UK for your own use without paying UK tax or duty:

* 200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250g of tobacco
* 60cc of perfume
* 2 litres of still table wine
* 250cc of eau de toilette
* 1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22 per cent volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine*, sparkling wine or other liqueurs *such as port or sherry and
* £145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs.

Do check their website for the full details, including age limits, etc.

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For once, we're not talking about the popular folk festivals that happen in every town and village on these islands, but other forms of music festivals, of which there is an ever increasing number, converting the Canary Islands into a Tierra de festivales (Land of festivals), as ABC noted recently.

Most of the world's eyes will be on Live Earth this weekend - in fact, there are three Live Earth House Parties in Tenerife, in Adeje, La Laguna and Santa Cruz. Meanwhile, here on the island itself there is much more too.

We've already had Santa Blues and Aguaviva. The latter drew a crowd of 30,000, despite Keane pulling out at the last minute.

Canaries Jazz Festival

Tonight is the turn of the headline act in this year's Festival Jazz y Más de Heineken, as the Chucho Valdés Quintet & Bebo Valdés perform at the Auditorio de Tenerife.

As the program says, there are only two or three figures remaining from the golden age of Cuban music and one of them is pianist, Bebo Valdés. Now 89, he is the father of Chucho Valdés, but if you think you don't know the name, you are sure to know his music, backing a number of big names, including the late Celia Cruz.

The festival is on from June 26th to July 9th.

XVI Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Heineken


Nocturnos de Verano

Also this weekend, the Museo de Historia de Tenerife (Tenerife History Museum) begins it's Nocturnos de Verano (Summer Nocturnal Events) tonight and tomorrow night, July 6th and 7th, from 8:30 p.m. This is a cultural activity, open to the public, combining literature, music and history.

Nocturnos de Verano


Festival Internacional de Piano

From the 2nd to the 9th of July, six young pianists will offer concerts during the XVI Festival Internacional de Piano (16th International Piano Festival) in Santa Cruz, in Tenerife. All of the concerts are free and are being held at the cultural center of the CajaCanarias.

XVI Festival Internacional de Piano


First International Festival of Film Music

The First International Festival of Film Music takes place in Tenerife between July 9th and 15th. The Teatro Guimerá is the venue on July 14th, where music by Callery, Danna and Illarramendi will be performed. On July 15th the music of Davis and Navarro will fill the Auditorio de Tenerife.

Film music in The Canaries


Festival Eólica

Aguaviva promoted the defence of the oceans and, in similar vein, coming up next weekend, is the Festival Eólica or Festival Internacional de Energías Renovables promoting the use of renewable energy that will be held at the Parque Eólico de Granadilla (ITER) (Wind farm) in Granadilla de Abona on July 14th.

The official version, from the festival's MySpace page goes:

One of the most original and charismatic events that take place in Spain is back this summer, celebrating its 5th edition. Taking place at a WindPower Park in Tenerife, below gigantic windmills and on the shore of the ocean, EOLICA feeds on renewable energies bringing over twenty hours of art, music and ecology to life. Recycling and Natural Resources are the highlight of the show, encouraging many different activities, all with one common goal: ecology. Great artists, musicians and bands from all over the world will come together to support the cause, giving their best at four different stages that will take place simultaneously. Starting at noon July 14th, the event will go on until the break of dawn on the 15th.

Brummie band, The Charlatans head the lineup.

Festival Eólica (English)


Those coming from other islands can travel at a discount to many of these events, as they are covered by the government's Días C de la Cultura (Cultural Days) program, report Bienmesabe.

And to this, we must add some really huge names in individual concerts.


Joe Cocker has a date in La Laguna

British blues legend Joe Cocker has switched the venue of his Tenerife concert on July 10 to the Pabellon Santiago Martin in La Laguna.

Tickets for his Tenerife concert can be ordered online at GeneralTickets or at the Pabellon Santiago Martin box office on the day itself. (Pabellon Santiago Martin. Mercedes, s/n 38108 Los Majuelos - Tenerife Tlf. 922 82 20 56 - Fax. 922 31 01 93) The concert starts at 9pm.

Joe Cocker has a date in La Laguna


Youssou N´Dour

Meanwhile, Senegalese singer and percussionist, Youssou N´Dour, best known for his collaborations with Peter Gabriel, Neneh Cherry or Paul Simon, his work with the United Nations and UNICEF and appearances at three of the Live 8 concerts, is to play the Auditorio de Tenerife on July 11th.

Youssou N´Dour

Chick Corea & Gary Burton play the Auditorio de Tenerife on July 13th. On the 20th and 21st, we change genre a bit for the Boston Ballet.

On top of this there are probably countless hundreds of talented individuals and bands playing in halls and bars all around the island. These days in Tenerife, you're spoiled for choice as far as entertainment is concerned.

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Hopefully, this will all be off the shelves before you might come across any, however reports today are that 18,000 packs of counterfeit toothpaste had entered the Canary Islands from South Africa and was being distributed under the Colgate name in various establishments in Tenerife and most of the other islands.

The toothpaste is contaminated with diethylene glycol, which is toxic to humans and animals. Some of the toothpaste had even been given to patients in hospitals in various Spanish communities, while others quantities have been distributed to shops, mainly discount stores and bazaars.

Authorities, with collaboration from the local police, are searching these establishments to ensure that this product does not remain on sale: a task they say is not easy and which will take several days.

Meanwhile, if you have purchased any Colgate toothpaste on the island recently, take a look at the packet. Apparently, you should be able to tell the real thing as it will have text in Spanish and there should be a customer contact telephone number, presumably missing on the fake.

Ya se han detectado 18.000 unidades de dentífricos ilegales en Canarias

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Well, a couple of things here in the north that are somewhat off the normal tourist track ...

First of all, you're invited to get along to the streets of the town of Icod de los Vinos on Friday evening and Saturday morning, because they'll have a bit of everything going on to get refreshed and have fun this summer.

There will be musical performances, exhibitions of breakdancing and treats will be handed out ... as well as various workshops.

¡Refréscate este Verano en Icod!


Garachico Crafts Fair

The Plaza de la Libertad in Garachico is the place to be from 12 midday on Saturday July 7th, for the 27th Garachico Crafts Fair, which will bring together 70 artisans in 40 different specialities.

This edition will pay homage to the basket weavers. There will be an inaugural performance from the old folk's association folklore group, Mar y Lava, as well as others during the day. Next to the crafts on display, in the Glorieta de San Francisco, will be stalls offering various gastronomical products from the Isla Baja area.

On Sunday, July 8th, is the second part of the show, with the doors opening at the fairs enclosure at 10 a.m., with a crafts show. Also during the better part of the day, there will be traditional sports and games as well as various musical performances. Some 15,000 visitors are expected.

La Villa y Puerto de Garachico celebra este fin de semana una nueva edición de su feria de artesanía

More events, exhibitions and what's on, in our calendar.

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Image of Hermano Pedro inside the cave that bears his name. Photo: WesisnayThe Bishop of the Diosis of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez Afonso, is to visit Guatemala (specifically, La Antigua) between July 24th and August 1st, to visit the tomb of Saint Hermano Pedro (in the San Francisco El Grande Church), in celebration of the fifth anniversary of Hermano Pedro's canonization, on July 30th, 2002.

Accompanying the Bishop on this pilgrimage will be the Mayoress of La Laguna, Ana Oramas, as well as the Mayors of Arico, Eladio Morales, and of Vilaflor, Manuel Fumero García, plus a group of around sixty other people from the island.

One of the Bishop's principal objectives is to meet with the people of Guatemala, particularly the indigenous population, to whom material aid is being given, via the social works carried out by the orders that Hermano Pedro helped to set up to serve the needs of the poor and needy.

Hermano Perdro, was born in Vilaflor in Tenerife, in 1626, where he worked as a goat herder, travelling a route between his home in Tenerife's highest village and the cave that bears his name, near the coast: a route which has now become a pilgrimage itself on the island. When he emigrated to the missions in America, he began his works for the poor that earned him his canonization as the "first Guatemalan and Tenerifean saint."

El obispo de Tenerife viajará a Guatemala para peregrinar a la tumba del Santo Hermano Pedro

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The Teno Alto PlateauThe Tenerife island corporation is to undertake another reforestation project in two estates, the Fincas La Siete and El Bujío, situated on the Teno Alto plateau in the Teno Rural Park.

This is being done to combat erosion that has been affecting the area - a problem currently affecting all of Spain - in this case, caused by the weather and, by farming and tourist activities. The existing footpath is to be improved, with steps installed to make the slopes easier to traverse and less prone to erosion, in an attempt to strike a balance between conservation and the traditional uses of the land.


Myrica fayaThe authorities plan to repopulate the area with acebiño (Ilex canariensis) - a local species of the familiar Holly; faya fir trees (Myrica faya) and laurel (laurel-leaved evergreen hardwood trees) that are all part of the important Laurisilva ("laurel forest"), an endemic type of humid subtropical laurel cloud forest found on several of the Macaronesian islands of the North Atlantic, namely Madeira Islands, the Azores and the Canary Islands, a precious relic of the Pliocene subtropical forests.

It's interesting to read that Myrica faya is native to Macaronesia (the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands), yet in the Hawaiian archipelago, this fire tree is an invasive exotic plant species (designated as a noxious weed) that jeopardizes the survival of Hawaii?s native plant communities and is subject to control there. It was introduced there, in the 1920s and 30s for watershed reclamation until its invasive qualities were recognized.

On face value, there do seem to be marked similarities between the volcanic Canary Islands and the equally volcanic Hawaiian islands (just for the record, Hawaii?s Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are the two largest volcanos on earth, which Tenerife's Mount Teide is the third largest), but this just goes to show you how fragile and different each of these ecosystems is in reality.

Tenerife in general and the Teno Rural Park in particular, also have more than their fair share of invasive species that they battle against constantly.

When you think of all those exotic species that the Victorians, particularly, were so keen travel the length and breadth of the earth in search of, bring home and grow in their gardens ... Great discoveries, of course, but now we're learning about the real cost of those horticultural "immigrants."

Roughly 60 km² of laurisilva remains on Tenerife, much of which is in the Teno Rural Park, either on the Macizo de Teno (Teno Massif) on the slopes of the Pico de Baracán or Monte del Agua.


Ilex canariensisAcebiño or acebo canario are the local names given to (Ilex canariensis) a small-leaved holly also endemic to the Macaronesian islands and the Canary Islands archipelago, which is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It's a shrub or small tree growing up to 10 meters in hight, with oval leaves that have little or none of the spine-tipped serrations so familiar on its more northerly cousins. It produces white petaled flowers and red berries. Other reasons for its demise are that the Canarian holly has been used for leña (firewood) for cooking guarapo and for use in making domestic and agricultural utensils.

The plant must be thought quite special though, because in 1973 the Aceviño or Ilex canariensis appeared on a Spanish 5 peseta postage stamp, against a backdrop of Mount Teide.

Knowing that this holly species grows here in Tenerife, on La Palma and on the neighboring island of La Gomera, you might wonder why it is not traditionally a part of Christmas here - apart from the plastic variety, which must baffle the locals. That is because, although it does produce red berries, similar to those of its northern cousin, the Ilex aquifolium, the berries on the Canarian holly do not appear until the end of spring.

Acebiño (Ilex canariensis) in fruit in the Parque Nacional de Garajonay, La Gomera
Acebiño (Ilex canariensis) in flower in the Parque Nacional de Caldera del Taburiente, La Palma
Another image of Ilex canariensis in flower
Ilex canariensis Poir at Taganana. Tenerife
Aceviño trees (Ilex canariensis) in cloud forest at 1,100 metres, Garajonay National Park, La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain World Heritage Site

El Cabildo aprueba un proyecto de reforestación en el Parque Rural de Teno en Buenavista del norte

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If you're going to be doing any shopping in Tenerife, you may like to know that the Summer Sales in the Canary Islands started today, July 2nd and run through to September 1st.

Yes, it's just as much of a social phenomenon here as anywhere else and, according to the Canarian Consumers Association, 79 percent of consumers here prefer to do their shopping during the sales. This year, the association estimate that shoppers will spend an average of 110 euros.

Las rebajas de verano comienzan el día 2 de julio hasta el 1 de septiembre

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Undoubtedly, the news of the week, month, year ... millennium maybe for Tenerife is that the Parque Nacional del Teide (Teide National Park) was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO this week.

UNESCO quite rightly say, "The visual impact of the site is all the greater due to atmospheric conditions that create constantly changing textures and tones in the landscape and a ?sea of clouds' that forms a visually impressive backdrop to the mountain."

The international recognition is important, I believe and let's hope it will help do away with the myth that Tenerife is just one big resort.

Of course, the pronouncement was celebrated with a huge party on Thursday, a performance from Los Sabandeños and lots of fireworks.

The Teide National Park includes the 3,718 meter high volcano Pico del Teide (7,000 meters above the ocean floor and the third-largest volcano in the world), as well as the surrounding cañadas (canyon). It recieves 3.5 million visitors per year already, but if you haven't been up to see it's amazing lunar landscape yet, take this declaration as one more "stamp of approval" that assures you that it will be well worth your while doing so.

This makes three Natural World Heritage Sites in Spain, along with the Doñana National Park in Andalusia and the Garajonay National Park on La Gomera, also here in the Canary Islands. Tenerife already had a Cultural World Heritage Site: the town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

But before we take it all too seriously, Charlie's comments in the Canarias Bruta Podcast this week made me smile. He wondered aloud that, if Teide now belongs to everybody / the world, where could he sell his bit of it.

"Can I put it up on eBay?", he asked. :)

(Incidentally, if you're learning Spanish and have an interest in the Canary Islands, their weekly podcast is worth a listen. Whether to be "thoroughly modern", international, or to take the piss really doesn't matter, but they throw in enough English phrases to give you a clue you can follow.)


No Smoking in the Mountains

Yes, we know that if you're coming from the UK, you aren't allowed to smoke in public anywhere now, but while we're on the subject of mountains, we're reminded that the months of July, August and September are the ones with the highest risk of forest fires.

Although there were less than previous years, there were 123 fires in the Canary Islands archipelago last year, 33 of them in Tenerife.

Dozens of volunteers, as well as the all the normal services are on alert during the season, but you can't beat a bit of prevention and that is something we can all play our part in. Advice from Civil Protection services includes; not throwing cigarette ends or lighted matches on the road, avoid smoking in the mountains and camp only in authorized areas, amongst others.


Giving up smoking? Head for the Spa

On the other hand, if you've decided to kick the evil weed, as the Guardian suggest, you'll need somewhere to spend your ciggie savings and, they point out that, "At the Mare Nostrum Spa in sunny Tenerife smokers are welcomed with open arms. From now on they can roll up any time they like for a three or seven-day 'Stop Smoking' package in the sun."

The Mare Nostrum Resort and Spa is perfectly situated only 15 minutes from Reina Sofia International airport and beside the fine white sands and lapping clear blue waters of Playa del Camison Beach. The hotels Julio Cesar Palace, Mediterranean Palace, Sir Anthony, Cleopatra Palace and Marco Antonio Palace form the charming Mare Nostrum Resort.

Book your detox now via Alpharooms ...


Keane Pull Out of Aquaviva Canarias Festival

The other big news of the week is British band, Keane, pulled out of the Aquaviva Canarias festival that's been going on in Los Cristianos this weekend, less than 24 hours before they were due to perform. Their website cites "logistical difficulties." Of course, we don't get the whole story, but you'd have thought they would have known about those earlier.

Arona town hall and the promoters, La Luciérnaga Producciones, were apparently offering full refunds to people who no longer wished to attend, despite the other 19 or so acts going ahead. Apparently, some fans had come from the Spanish mainland.

The idea of the annual Aquaviva is to promote the protection of the oceans. Star quest speaker this year was Alexandra Cousteau, niece of the mythical Jacques Cousteau, whose plea is "Don't eat any more prawns, please!" Oh, we know she's right, of course, but the cynic in me still has a nasty suspicion that Spain will report a record number of langostines eaten at Christmas!


An Inconvenient Canarian Truth

Both of those events overshadowed the visit of Al Gore to the archipelago. Well, I read about some fuss over him changing hotels - much to the chagrin of the one that was left with lots of suddenly empty suites. The conference was described, more or less, by Canarias Bruta as being (the message of) "An Inconvenient Truth", made topical for the Canary Islands. Which is great, but it really should have been a very important event to take most seriously, but I get the impression that hardly anyone is really taking any notice.

Maybe they will when climate change threatens golf course profitability?

Yet, climate change, owing to the actions of man is an unquestionable reality that will have grave consequences for the Canary Islands. Emilio Cuevas, director of the Observatorio de Izaña, on Tenerife's mount Teide warns that the simple increase in the temperature of the Atlantic increases the probability of the islands suffering more tropical storms - like Delta - and will mean more calimas (Saharan Air Layer) and heatwaves.


Tourists spending more money

Good News: A report from the Tenerife Tourism Authority on the winter season, which ran from October 2006 until April this year, demonstrated that the island's visitors are coming from higher income brackets and that this is having repercussions in an increase in spending and a preference for more expensive accommodation. Of course this is the sector that the authorities are marketing to, but if this is a trend then days may be numbered for the plethora of British bars selling English Breakfasts and Sunday Roasts.


Where do Canarians spend their holidays?

While we all think of the Canary Islands as a place to come to for holidays, one tends to forget that the archipelago's 2 million residents probably like to do something entirely different in their own time off.

Top of the list this year, according to this report, are Eurodisney in Paris, the Disney parks in the United States and Madrid, where there is a Warner Brothers' Theme Park.

Please, don't anyone suggest that we need a theme park in Tenerife!

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