As the weather alert in the Canary Islands is declared over, it's been a case of "lovely weather for ducks" to end the year in Tenerife. Following the orange weather alert which advised people on the island to stay indoors, gales and heavy rains caused the closure of a few roads, including one carriageway of the Tenerife south highway and, airports on the island also suffered some important delays due to the bad weather. Here are images of the rainy day on December 28th, in gorges around Santa Cruz. (The beautiful mountain landscape is indeed a bit damp, but so very, very green.) 

Lots of people, both tourists and locals, watch to see if Tenerife's Mount Teide has snow on it for a White Christmas excursion up the mountain. This year, it seems there was, although it was also reported that mountain access roads were closed on Christmas Day because of sheets of  ice, while La Gomera had tornados! It's good news for agriculture - and there's an old saying on the island about a good harvest to come - if there's snow on the mountain at New Year. As this image shows, there was a light covering of snow on December 28th. No doubt, with more having been left by the heavy rains in the last couple of days. (Photo: Jøran Pecher.)

The official weather man is forecasting a colder start to the New Year than is usual in the Canary Islands and 2008 has already been declared "the least warm year of the 21st Century." Don't forget that what's called "cold" in Tenerife is not cold as you and I know it. Last report had rated 19.9ºC as "extremely cold". 

But, while rain might close the odd road, it wont wash out a party and, in any case, the good news is that fine, clear weather is now expected for the 31st.

San Silvestre Lagunera

I'd wondered what it was when I saw that archway go up in La Laguna last year, now the "mystery" is solved with the news that the annual San Silvestre Lagunera (Saint Silvester's Day Roadrace) has beaten it's own record with some 1,200 runners participating in the twenty-seventh edition of the race around the principal streets of the historic centre of the town on Wednesday, December 31st.

Where to find New Year's Eve Parties ...

Parties will be held in just about every venue and town square across the island - it might be easier to tell you where they won't be - so just follow the crowds, the noise and the fireworks. If you're on the south of the island, the party in the church square in Los Cristianos is usually rockin' ...

Described as Gran Fiesta de Fin de Año, the fun starts in the plaza in Los Cristianos from 11 p.m. (until dawn), with two orchestras; "Sensación Gomera" and "Corinto Band", party bags, fireworks and more surprises.

Meanwhile, Televisión Española will be bringing in the New Year from the area around the Ermita de San Sebastián in Adeje and that's Costa Adeje (the posh way of saying it's up the better end of Playa de las Américas, so you won't have far to go (map).

In Santa Cruz, television channel Televisión Canaria will be broadcasting the chimes from the emblematic Iglesia de la Concepción in Santa Cruz.

The customs at New Year are to wear your very best, new clothes and to eat 12 "lucky" grapes (Uvas de la Suerte), one grape on each stroke of the clock.

And, as we mentioned earlier, there will be be uninterrupted bus and tram services right through the night of New Years Eve for revelers.

Other year-end news in Tenerife

If you missed it earlier, Ricardo Melchior, the President of the Tenerife Island Corporation recorded a Christmas and Happy New Year message in three languages this year. Here's the English version and a transcript.

Numbers of tourists visiting Tenerife were down 6.46% during November, bringing figures to the end of the 11th month to 0.78% more than in 2007. Bad news if you were looking for growth, not so bad when you see that numbers have still more than equalized those of last year. The Canary Islands have launched a £1.26 million European promotional campaign to entice more visitors and prove the islands have more to offer than just sun, sea and sand …

Sail on the last working Royal Mail ship in the world, the RMS St Helena, which sails from Portland UK to Cape Town and back, via Tenerife. Once St Helena Airport on the south Atlantic island of Saint Helena - most widely known as the original resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte - opens (originally due to be completed by 2010, but is now expected to be completed by 2012/2013), the RMS St Helena will have reached the end of its working life. Saharan Vibe blog has a great post about both the island and the ship.

The population of Spain at January 1st, 2008 was 46,063,511, over 5 million of whom were foreigners.  In the Canary Islands the total population had reached 2,075,968, 50,017 (2.47%) more than the 2007 figure.

Give With One Hand, Take Away With the Other:

The relevant ministry is increasing the minimum salary in Spain to 621 euros a month in 2009 (yeah, not a lot is it?) But, water, energy, transport and telephone are all going up in the Canary Islands from January 2009.

Duty free allowances changed on December 1st and from 1 January 2009, the other goods allowance will increase again from £300 to £340.

Iberia are launching special tariffs for flights between the Canary Islands and Madrid, from 71 euros.

Flu has reached epidemic proportions in 7 Spanish communities, among them the Canary Islands.

ChargeBox mobile phone charging units come to the Canary Islands in January. Distributor, Avances Tecnologicos (A&T), will deploy 25 units across the archipelago in the new year, and hopes to install 100 by the end of 2009.

And heath services have activated their plan to give press coverage to the first babies born in Canarian hospitals in 2009. (Assuming that those first New Year babies are born in hospitals and not in the streets like the Christmas ones were!)

And that just leaves me to wish you all a Feliz Año Nuevo

... and remind you to write / pronounce that with the ~ tilde (squiggle), lest your greeting be misunderstood as having to do with this impolite fighting talk.

(Año, "year" in Spanish, ano, "anus" in Spanish.)

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2009 is just around the corner, time to resolve to do things differently or in some way improve your life in the coming year. Well, for all of you who, like us, decide that it’s time to leave the bad weather, the ailing pound and the stress of trying to keep your head above water in rip-off Britain and head to Tenerife’s (normally) sun kissed shores, here are a few pointers that will help you to get the best possible start to your new life.

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The government in the Canary Islands has declared a state of orange alert in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife due to forecast storms with high winds and rains. Winds of up to 90 kph may be experienced on high ground.

Advice from security and emergency services, includes avoiding leaving home, particularly the elderly. They also remind you to park vehicles somewhere where they're protected from the wind and rain.

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On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, trams in Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz, will be running normally during the day, until 6 p.m., when frequencies will begin to reduce until service ends at 9 p.m. The last trams leave the Intercambiador in Santa Cruz or the La Trinidad terminus in La Laguna at 8.30 p.m.

The tram service will start running again at 8 a.m on Christmas morning.

There will, however, be uninterrupted services right through the nights of New Years Eve and the Eve of Los Reyes (night of January 5th) for revelers.

You'll find a similar situation on the buses. Transportes Interurbanos de Tenerife (Titsa) have announced modifications in frequency of services on Christmas Eve, again winding down to a stop at 9 p.m. On December 25th, January 1st and 6th, bus services also restart at 8 a.m., to follow their usual fiesta timetables.

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"To the disappointment of children and romantics - and the relief of bookmakers - there is virtually no chance of snow falling on Christmas Day in the UK this year.", report The Guardian today. But what about the chance of a White Christmas in Tenerife? The forecast at Weather Underground, says there's a chance of a thunderstorm on Wednesday night (which could upset Santa's travel plans) and a 30% chance of precipitation. With the "polar" temperatures  (relatively) that Tenerife has been experiencing lately, that could indeed mean waking up to a sprinkling of snow on Mount Teide for the annual Christmas Day trip.

But do try not to get lost and go prepared! Guardia Civil Mountain and K9 Rescue teams have had to help no less than three walkers who got lost in the mountains this weekend in Tenerife. An Italian tourist was rescued from between the Pico Viejo and the peak of Teide, unhurt, but with a mild case of hypothermia. The other two, residents of La Orotava, were found safe and well, but had become lost on a forest track, in the evening, without warm clothing or torches.

Tenerife Celebrates El Gordo wins

As the kids from the San Ildefonso school sang out the winning numbers, the annual Christmas Lottery didn't forget the Canary Islands entirely for once. The Number 1 and oldest Lottery Administration in La Laguna distributed a total of 9,750,000 euros in prize money on one of the 5th prizes - the number 36199 - with a 50,000 euro (or £50,000) payout per ticket (the strip of 10). Individual décimos (10ths), of which 1,950 were sold there, win 5,000 euros each.

The first prize was won by ticket number 32365, but none of those were sold in the Canary Islands. Sales of Xmas lottery tickets were down 2.79% this year.

And the magician Xerax, apparently correctly identified the winning lottery number. A few minutes after the draw (just enough time to write the correct number on the card?), the locked box that had been suspended in mid-air from the Cabildo building, for the last week, was  lowered and opened, revealing, yes, WOW, gosh ... the number 32365! (Sorry, if I fail to be impressed!)

You can get everything in a service station these days

More news on the Christmas Baby born in Icod de los Vinos yesterday, reveals that the littl'un, a boy, was born in the petrol station (either the Cepsa pictured, or the Shell down the road, I guess) after the parents, both German, had stopped to fill up for the journey to hospital. Mother and baby are pictured here with the police officers who had helped in the birth.

What were the odds that a second baby would be born in Tenerife, in similar circumstances, on the same day? This time, a little girl was born, at 13.26 on Sunday afternoon, on the main road in Guía de Isora. A member of the family received instructions by phone. Both are doing well in the Hospiten Sur.

Firemen visit the kids in hospital

If you're a kid and you're sick in hospital at the moment, you could have been having a pretty grim experience, but one thing's for certain, you won't have been lacking in visitors. Today, firemen were to visit the kids at the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (HUNSC).

Just for fun, they were going to be rappelling or abseiling down the building like Spidermen and doing a surprise demonstration with foam.

This is on top of the visit from the CD Tenerife football team on Thursday and, Papá Noel (Father Christmas)' on Friday, in an open-topped car, loaded with sweets and gifts, escorted by municipal police officers from Santa Cruz and members of the Tenerife Chapter on their Harley Davidsons.

Negative results at year end

Tenerife is to close 2008 with negative results, says this report. Tourist figures had been 1.4% up by the end of October, but the corporation are forecasting "a bad month", this month with a few less visitors than last year.

By the end of November, the number of foreign tourists to visit the Canary Islands was 8.5 million, just maintaining the level of the previous year.

At least CD Tenerife football club is closing the year with a victory and, they are just two points away from the promotion zone. So close! Remember when Tenerife played the giants of the Spanish first division and of Europe? 

Monarch adds flights

Monarch is increasing its scheduled flying program to the Canary Islands for Summer 2009, with extra flights from From Manchester to Tenerife.

Monarch also recently introduced a complimentary hold baggage allowance of 10kgs for infants. Customers booking to travel with infants will receive their standard allowances of 20kgs of hold baggage and 10kgs of hand baggage, but infants will also now qualify for a 10kg hold baggage allowance. This can be taken in addition to pushchairs, prams and car seats, which will continue to be carried free of charge. Bookings via Monarch Holidays.

And tomorrow, at the recently opened Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA), in Santa Cruz, there's to be a workshop for children on Cosmic Christmas.

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There's been speculation over whether there could be some of the Mexican "jet set" visiting Tenerife, as the shiny new Mayan Queen IV, is docked in the port of Santa Cruz. The 92 meter - British designed - super-yacht belongs to Alberto Baillères, second richest man in Mexico and fourth in Latin America, according to Forbes Magazine. The 75 year old is said to be worth 9.8 billion dollars.

Security had been so tight there was no telling if her owner was on board, but this report confirms that she was heading to Tenerife to pick up her owner.

Mayan Queen IV sailed from Norway and was last seen spending a few days in Dartmouth on the south of England, before arriving in Tenerife on December 14. The yacht is piloted by Babbacombe-based Richard Kirkby, who used to pilot Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich's super-yacht Le Grand Bleu. Mayan Queen IV leaves Tenerife on December 23rd, going to Barbados.

Tenerife's Extreme Cold

Already having classed this autumn as the coldest in 15 years, the weather gurus have had more to say about the unusually cold temperatures that Tenerife has been experiencing.

Apparently, it's the 9th coldest the island has suffered since 1965 and the coldest since 1993. (I was there then and, strangely, I don't remember being frozen solid ...), but says the Agencia Española de Meteorología (Aemet) (Meteorological Agency)'s delegate on the island, this one-off cold snap cannot be attributed to climate change.

Wind chill has added to the sensation of cold and, compared with the average temperatures in Tenerife between 1971 and 2000, this autumn has been classed as "between very cold and extremely cold." November's weather, which was the 7th coldest in 48 years, notably contributed to this, they tell us.

But after all this talk of cold has made you shiver and conjure up images of palm trees with frost on, what do they actually mean by "extremely cold?" "... the average temperature on low ground in the islands has been about 19.9º."

Yeah, that's plus and in centigrade. Your heart bleeds, doesn't it?

Lottery Premonition

If you're wondering if you're going to win anything in tomorrow's El Gordo lottery draw, pop along to the official Sorteo de Navidad website, enter your number in the little box and click the button that says "Comprobar."

Microsiervos are showing a strange case here, where someone has entered their ticket number already and the site is telling them they've won 100 euros. Dead clever that, since the lottery isn't drawn until tomorrow morning! :)

Economic Crisis' Million Pound Bonus ....

One thing that struck me as I was reminded that the first prize is 3,000,000 euros, is that, in previous years, I'd have been saying that was equivalent to only £2,000,000, but with the "crap" exchange rate it's £3,000,000, of course! 

And while searching for information and references, I found this site: The Fat One, all about the El Gordo lottery, but in English. They point to some videos, including this one that shows you how the children "sing" out the numbers and, they say, "As an interesting side note, the most famous ad campaign for the Christmas El Gordo lottery featured during many years a British actor who is very well know as "el calvo" ("the bald one"). See that video here.

Christmas Baby comes early

No room at the inn, check. Born in "inappropriate" setting, check. Arrives just in time for Christmas ... Where have we heard this story before?

News just in is that a 28 year old woman gave birth at 4.14 a.m. Sunday, in a car, on the Avenida Príncipes de España; the main road that passes through Icod de los Vinos, in Tenerife.

A municipal police officer went to the scene and helped the woman through the birth, guided by phone by a nursing trained coordinator of emergency services, until the ambulance arrived to take mother and baby to Bellevue hospital.

Both mother and baby are said to be in perfect health.

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Got your map of Santa Cruz handy? Got a pen? Good, then you can start changing some street names, just as the town hall has done this week, when mayor, Miguel Zerolo signed a decree changing the names of eight (out of more than 100) of the streets with names that had something to do with the Franco era, in accordance with the Ley de la Memoria Histórica (Law of Historical Memory.)

The names, which changed as of Thursday, are as follows:

The new names have been chosen partly in consultation with residents, but we can't help thinking that the choice of those 5 street names isn't, er accidental.

There are, of course, numerous opinions on this. There are those who think that changing the names is actually sweeping the bad stuff under the carpet; that once the names are taken off the streets, this ugly part of history will be forgot.

It is not for me to opine over what might be more suitable names for streets in the Santa Cruz of today, but one commenter has already beaten me to it anyway, suggesting that streets should be given names like Corrupción en Miami (Miami Vice Street) Rambla del Padrino (Godfather Way), or Avenida Corleone (Corleone Avenue), Plaza del Gangsterismo (Gangsterism Place).

(* The Godfather movie's line "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." was voted as the #10 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.)

One thing I couldn't resist, was looking for one of these new street names in the Callejero (Street map) at the town hall's website and of course, I wasn't a bit surprised when it came back with, "No se han encontrado coincidencias con su búsqueda" (Nothing has been found that coincides with your search).

No more queues to ruin the end of your holiday

Low cost airline, Jet 2, are launching some new free services for passengers in the new year, it is reported, amongst them an increase in luggage allowance from 17 kilos to 22 kilos and offering made-to-measure menus where passengers can choose their hot meal at the time of booking.

Jet 2 will also be offering online check-in, with seat allocation, to avoid queuing, on flights leaving from a number of Spanish airports, including Tenerife.

Thousands expected to fly abroad this Christmas

Thousands of Scots will defy the economic downturn by jetting abroad for Christmas. More than 250,000 holidaymakers are expected to pass through the country’s main airports in the run-up to December 25. As heavy rain and wind lashed the country, 53,000 passengers were booked to fly in or out of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports on what was predicted to be the busiest 24 hours of the festive season. Popular destinations include the sun-soaked beaches of Tenerife, Alicante and Dubai.

The Painted Cave comes to Garachico

As we reported earlier, the annual nativity model village in the Hotel La Quinta Roja in Garachico, generally takes the form of one of the Canary Islands in the pre-conquest era and that this year's offering features the island of Gran Canaria, the foreground of which represents, La Cueva Pintada (Painted Cave), where this year, a young aboriginal Jesus makes his entrance into the world. This report shows the model, together with the man who made it, Vicente Antonio Díaz Melián (blog), while here are some closeups of the model's detail.

Lucky #5

Tickets ending with the number 5 are the ones that have been repeated most often throughout the history of the El Gordo Christmas Lottery in Spain, being winners 31 times.

It's followed by the numbers 4 and 6, which have won on 26 occasions and the numbers 3 and 8, both winning 20 times. The number that has won the least number of times is the number 1 - that has only won on 8 occasions.

Smog in the City

An article in the Tenerife press yesterday, informs us that Santa Cruz town hall is in possession of a report revealing "possible contamination risks" from the refinery, saying levels of nickel in the atmosphere are three times the permitted amounts, a situation classified as "dangerous and alarming for the city." Photo: Foro contra la Incineración.

Have yourself a Healthy Little Christmas

Public health services in the Canary Islands recommend that you control your consumption of fats and alcohol, to enjoy a Healthy Christmas.

And we all know what we think of "untimely" killjoy advice like that, don't we? But they're right. Variety, moderation and, they suggest cutting down on eggs, since so many of the traditional Christmas foods, particularly turrón and many other sweets and deserts also contain them.

Still time to order: Turron, Christmas Candy and Treats

Rod Stewart Concert Tickets Selling Fast

Tickets for the Rod Stewart concert to be held on May 16th, 2009 in Adeje, Tenerife, have been selling like hot cakes, with 8,000 sold in the first 4 days since tickets went on sale last Monday and, at some points of sale, people even had to queue up.

Organizers say that the phone lines were saturated on the first day and that they've received communications and emails from Scotland, England, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland.

Stewart's Latin fan club, headquartered in Barcelona, are said to have reserved "an important number" of tickets in the front row and hotels are reportedly getting busy. If you want to attend, better get it organized while stocks last.

Labels: Rod Stewart in Tenerife

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The Daily Express, this week published an "alarmist" headline: Misery for holidaymakers: One pound is now worth one euro, saying thousands of families - including those travelling to the Canary Islands for some winter sun - will find the cost of their trip has rocketed - clearly blaming the exchange rate as the culprit.

Even so, relatively, most of the things you're likely to buy, on holiday, will still cost you less in Tenerife than they would in ripoff Britain. "Allowing that prices have gone up here, it's still far better value to eat out and to travel on public transport", says ‘Going Native in Tenerife’ author, Andrea Montgomery.

Let's look at the example of coffee ...

When I left the UK in 1992, coffee in Britain was uninspiring stuff, but as The Independent comment in this 2002 Coffee Special, "Is it really only 10 years since our idea of a good cup of coffee consisted of pouring boiling water over a teaspoon of instant?"

Now 16 years later with coffee shops everywhere in Britain, quality has definitely got better, but prices have risen disproportionately, keeping them well above Tenerife levels.

An espresso in a local (as in Canarian, away from the resorts) bar in Tenerife costs around 90 euro cents. When the exchange rate was around 1.5 euros to the pound, that coffee would have cost the British punter around 60 pence. With the exchange rate having now dropped to a par, it's 50% more, at 90 pence.

However, in a small independent coffee shop in an ultra provincial town in the UK, an espresso is priced at £1.

At the Costa Coffee chain it's £1.35 single and £1.70 for a double shot.

In a provincial branch Caffè Nero in the UK, the espresso is the higher price too, but note, whilst I've said that coffee in the UK has got better (and they are all drinkable), the taste of the Caffè Nero coffee is the only one that I feel really comes anywhere close to the quality and richness of even the most stunningly average coffee in Tenerife.

Meaning, that even though that exchange rate has dropped like a lead balloon, the equivalent coffee in Tenerife is still 80 pence cheaper - virtually half price - than it is in provincial England. (It must be even more in big cities.)

Don't, please, make the mistake of thinking that Tenerife's resorts are "sadly lacking" a branch of Starbucks. Any street corner or roadside bar, wherever you happen to be passing in Tenerife, will serve a perfectly good espresso (or cafe solo) and many more varieties besides. They've been doing so since long before any of these chains were even thought of. Maybe you won't find in them 1001 different flavoured coffees, but then good coffee tastes of coffee!

And coffee is but one example. I've double-checked with our correspondent on the island and the same can be said for restaurant food, booze prices and a whole lot of other things besides. Just as in the UK, it depends where you shop, but in general, prices are always better, provided you get away from the resorts.

Mind you, Andrea informs me that the price of a pint of Dorada has gone up from £1 to £1.50 in the resort of Playa de las Américas. Britain still worked in pounds, shillings and pence last time a pint was that cheap! :) Again, using examples of  very provincial pubs in Britain, I've paid £1.50 and £2.00 for just a half.

"Oh and petrol is back down to 0.60 something a litre now", in Tenerife, added Andrea. So what of the Express' assertion of "misery"? Far as I can see, the only way to be miserable is to stay in bloody freezing, over-priced Britain.

Feed your coffee addiction ...

Some while ago, I read that coffee consumption was overtaking tea swilling in Britain, but a surprising little discovery here is that, even in 1997, the English were consuming 1.76 kilos of coffee per head, only one place and 10 grams behind Spain's 1.86 kilos, in the European coffee drinking league table.  

Now tea breaks turn into coffee stops as 'builders' brew' is being replaced by 'labourer's latte' as Britain's workmen switch from tea to coffee for a breaktime beverage; and a mug of instant is not enough for their delicate taste buds.

So here's another money saving tip: go to one of the big supermarkets in Tenerife; such as Alcampo, Mercadona, Hiperdino, etc, and stock up.

You'll find 250 gram bags of coffee for around £1.25 in Tenerife still, rather than the 3 quid or more that you're paying for lacklustre flavoured coffee in Britain. All of the brands sold in Tenerife have more flavour and less harshness.

NB: Coffee, according to this article, is the "more modern drink". Perhaps it is in Scotland? In England, it's the coffee drinkers who are returning to the traditions of old. Coffee was being consumed earlier than tea, even in the UK. Samuel Pepys used to go about his business or scribble his diary in one of London's famous, 17th Century coffee-houses. (See The rise and fall of English coffee houses and The English Coffee House), while tea was only then just being introduced to the nation, via Charles II's Portuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza. So there!

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Is also the translation of the title of a new Christmas carol (I'd have said pop song), "Es Navidad en Santa Cruz", written by Tenerife artist, Iván Troyano, who performs it with Dan Silva and R&B / hip-hop sextet, Soul Sanet. I'm sure it will be popular with locals and, how many cities have their own "Christmas carol"? Watch the video though, the lights look pretty.

Also, this new "carol" will be performed live for the first time on Saturday, December 20th, in the Plaza del Príncipe in Santa Cruz at 7 p.m.

15th Annual Christmas Day Concert in Santa Cruz

You too may prefer the Christmas Concert by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra to be held on Christmas Day in the port of Santa Cruz; this year in its 15th year. I say this every year, but I simply cannot impress on you enough how high the quality is. Goodness knows what you'd have to pay to see a top orchestra like the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra elsewhere, but this concert, on Christmas Day in the evening, in the open air on the port at Santa Cruz is completely FREE, with seating for 20,000.

This year, the OST, conducted by Lü Jia, will be accompanied by Chilean soprano, Cristina Gallardo-Domâs.

The program, coinciding with Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini's 150th Birthday, on December 22nd, contains some of the most representative arias of his works; from La Bohème, Madame Butterfly and La Rondine.

There are also the 1st and 3rd parts of Ralph Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite and pieces from; the lyrical opera Eugene Onegin, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the finale.

As usual, the concert will be televised live by Televisión Canaria in the Canary Islands. Local TV in Castilla La Mancha are also showing it live and Telemadrid will be showing it the next day. For the rest of us, the note continues that, as last year, you can watch the concert live via the internet at the Tenerife Ports Authority website: Puertos de Tenerife. Show starts 10 p.m.

Tenerife hoping on 278,973 chances at winning

Today was the last day to play El Gordo 2008, the Spanish Christmas Lottery. This year, every Canarian will spend an average of 46.41 euros on Christmas Lottery tickets, six euros more than in 2007.

Interestingly, the average spent on Christmas Lottery tickets in Santa Cruz province (56.71 euros) is around 20 euros, per person, higher than in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with Tenerife this year betting a total of 55.79 million euros on some 278,973 tickets.

People hope at least one of them will come up, of course, though the headlines every December 23rd, always lament the fact that the islands get "forgotten" by El Gordo. Surprisingly, this may, in part, be due to the comparatively LOW (not so's you'd noticed, eh?) participation in this lottery on the islands. In contrast, in Spain as a whole, the average spend on tickets for the annual December 22nd, El Gordo, is 73 euros per person.

Three million travel over Christmas

As many as three million Britons will escape the gloom engulfing the economy and the weather and head overseas this Christmas, it has been revealed. Travel organisation ABTA said Christmas getaway numbers did not appear to have been affected by the economic downturn, with Tenerife still heading the list of most popular sunshine destinations for Britons.

Who may not all be too pleased to hear that ...

The Canary Islands will have the coldest and driest winter in years. The Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (State Meteorological Agency) has declared this autumn the coldest in the last 15 years. The coming winter, according to Aemet's crystal ball, will bring above average temperatures on the Spanish mainland, meanwhile temperatures are expected to drop in the islands.

First ever helmet with airbag in the world

A Spanish company has launched the first ever helmet with airbag in the world, to be distributed exclusively throughout the Canary Islands.

As a special offer during the launch, it will be on sale for just 649 euros until January 5th, which, the news item continues, "is practically 200 euros less than the usual selling price which amounts to 715 euros."

Yes, that is "practically" 200 euros, I suppose, if you happen to think there's very little difference between 66 euros and 200 euros. Must be the falling exchange rate again. Or that most reporters are notoriously bad with figures! :)

Defend your human rights

Join the demonstration on Saturday, December 20th in the Plaza Weyler, Santa Cruz (map), against immigration policies that are racist and that clearly contravene basic human rights, being held to mark International Migrants Day, which was on December 18th.

For more details of what this protest is all about, in English, read this Call for International Day of Action Against Immigration Prisons.

Crisis, what crisis?

The volume of home sales has fallen by 32% in the Canary Island archipelago in the last 12 months, more than the national average drop of 29.8%. (Though that, in turn, says that 2/3 of the usual rate of business is still being done, which seems fairly positive to me, given the ever increasingly uttered word, "crisis.")

El Cañizo say they will continue to analyse the data, but point to a news item published in Europa Press, from sources obviously close to the CajaCanarias (Canarian Savings Bank), whose business growth has dropped by 2/3rds in the last year, compared to 2006/2007, causing them to reach a diagnosis that Tenerife's economy is seriously injured. (Let's hope it doesn't prove fatal.)

All the other news that didn't fit ...

Kicking sand in our faces - tales of Tenerife beaches, "Nice new walkways to improve access, and better facilities can make a big difference to Tenerife beaches, but sometimes the warning bells start ringing when the word improvement is used." If bland is an improvement, this was.

The Hollywood Motor Show starts today in Puerto Santiago, has been a huge success in Santa Cruz, San Isidro and Granadilla and will be in Los Cristianos from 25th Dec to 6th Jan.

Christmas program in Granadilla de Abona

The Center for Tourism Initiatives in Güímar has launched a new campaign, "Senderos de Güímar. Tesoro Natural de Tenerife" (Footpaths of Güímar: Natural Treasure of Tenerife), to promote the district's natural resources to visitors. The project includes a DVD with 10 reports on each of the routes, guides, maps and itineraries, in Spanish, English and German.

The Tenerife Corporation is to carry out 9 further projects of "tourist regeneration" in Arona, Santiago del Teide and Puerto de la Cruz.

Direct flights Tenerife to Miami. After many months of planning the new Air Europa flight between Tenerife and Miami will commence in the New Year.

Joe Cawley the award-winning travel writer, copywriter and author, gets the last word on the upcoming Rod Stewart concert in Tenerife next May:

"Well, it’s official. I mean officially official. The announcement was made several weeks ago that the oldest mullet in town was heading to Tenerife… but you know how things are on the rock. A ‘definite’ is a maybe, a ‘probable’ is a no chance, and a ‘possible’ is as likely as a gecko being voted mayor of Arona." (See, we're not the only cynics!)

Labels: Rod Stewart in Tenerife

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“When it what?!” I hear you cry…well yes, it can and does sometimes rain in Tenerife. Hugely inconvenient for anyone on holiday here at the time, but essential to agriculture, mains water supplies, health and sanitation, in fact the on-going survival of the island.

Of course, here in the ‘north’ we’re perfectly okay with rain; we see it as the ingredient that provides us with our beautiful tropical vegetation and consider the few occasions when we get whole days or even a whole week of rain as a small price to pay for our surroundings.

It’s said that Tenerife has one bad month of weather a year and it’s just a question of waiting to see which month that will be. But this year, it’s proving to be a November/December crossover and is teetering on the edge of being more than a month.

Given the appalling summer that Britain has just experienced and the continued downturn in the value of the pound, this unusual spell of ‘poor’ weather has led to an unfortunate set of circumstances. Many hundreds of Brits are finding themselves with two weeks in one of Tenerife’s southern resorts with no sun and a great deal of time on their hands. Naturally, the tendency is therefore to spend more time in bars, cafes and restaurants parting with more of their significantly reduced euros than they would normally do, and has in turn led to many people complaining that there’s nothing to do in Tenerife without the sun and that it’s far more expensive than it used to be.

Well, here’s a simple and cost-effective solution to the whole question of what to do in Tenerife when it rains…

Get out of your resort and explore.

There are endless possibilities of places to see and things to do that will cost you a fraction of what you’ll spend by killing time in resort bars.

Other than the cost of getting there, exploring Tenerife’s fascinating landscape and historic towns doesn’t have to cost a céntimo if you don’t want it to. But by leaving your resort, you’re automatically increasing the value of your euro anyway, so lunch, a cold beer, a coffee, soft drinks, ice cream all cost considerably less around the island.

There are some excellent museums on Tenerife. Not the sort that house exhibits gathering dust that will threaten a revolt from your offspring the moment the front door looms into sight, these are positive fun houses! Like the Museum of Science and the Cosmos in La Laguna which has hundreds of wonderful scientific puzzles to play with including lifting a Mini with just one hand, getting lost in the mirror maze and casting shadows on a wall that stay there after you’ve moved.

Then there’s the Museum of Man & Nature in Santa Cruz with its morbid collection of Guanche mummies, or the Military Museum in Santa Cruz in a working barracks which has a scale reproduction of Nelson’s unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz amongst its arsenal of military paraphernalia.

And if you go on a Sunday, every museum has free entrance.

To make things really easy for you, the brand new ‘Going Native in Tenerife’ guide gives you a comprehensive insight into 38 different towns and villages across Tenerife and tells you the best bits to see and the best places to eat. Along with local food, best-buys and a guide to the island’s many colourful fiestas, ‘Going Native in Tenerife’ will tempt you to get out and discover some of the beautiful places that exist on Tenerife.

Make your holiday go further; see the island and save money while you’re doing it, then come back and tell me there’s nothing to do on Tenerife when it rains!

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CD Tenerife football club, the blanquiazules (the blue and whites) have prepared a series of initiatives, offers and events for the Christmas season.

From Wednesday, fans who spend over 30 euros in the official club shop - which is staying open 7 days a week (they need to grab every opportunity) - get a free ticket to the next home game against Sevilla Atlético (on Jan 3rd or 4th), as well as participating in a raffle for a basket of CD Tenerife goodies and two other raffles; for a ball signed by all the club members and junior kit.

As well as collaborating with homeless charity, Cáritas, as they do traditionally at this time of year, at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 18th, after training, various team members are to visit the children's ward of the Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria and, on December 30th, they will do likewise, when visiting the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC).

CD Tenerife players will also be putting in appearances at the Parque Infantil de Tenerife (PIT), from December 20th in the Fairs and Congress Center.

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Tomato growers in the Canary Islands have voiced their "amazement" at the Spanish government after a summit in which 520 million euros of Spanish aid is agreed for the Kingdom of Morocco, while the sector in the islands is still waiting for transport subsidies for 2007 and 2008, their businesses virtually paralyzed by debt.

(If they were thinking of throwing their rotten produce in protest, maybe they should consider throwing shoes instead. I hear it's all the rage these days!)

US Confirms Illegal CIA Flights

The United States has confirmed landings of illegal CIA flights in Tenerife. The plane which flew from Guantanamo to Los Rodeos airport on the north of Tenerife on April 12, 2004, "participated in a special rendition operation". That is to say, it moved one or more persons illegally, from one country to another without due process of extradition, nor judicial control whatsoever - and with the certain risk of being subject to torture.

The flight took the route, Guantanamo - Tenerife-Constanza (where it's suspected the CIA had a secret prison at that time) -Bucarest - Casablanca - Rabat - Washington although, it's claimed by US diplomats, was not carrying passengers nor prisoners during the brief time (2.5 hours for refuelling) it touched down on Spanish soil. (Though I might have heard something with bells on and, I don't think it's an approaching sleigh.)

Madoff Fraud touches Tenerife

The Madoff fraud has touched the well-known Tenerife financial guru, Ram Bhavnani (patriarch of a family of Indian traders, settled on the island for more than 30 years and considered one of the most influential financial visionaries in Spain), who had 2.45 million euros in a fund managed by Madoff. Bhavnani had invested via the Santander group, which has been affected by the scandal.

Banks to report transactions of €3,000 or more: "several new plans are being introduced to track down those guilty of tax fraud and will come into effect on 1st Jan 2009."

The rest of the good, the bad and ...

The Tenerife Cabildo's Nativity display is being well visited this year, as 16,300 viewers have been to see the 1,000 piece antique model since it was put on display to the public on December 1st.

The number of the winning (if the magician has done it right) lottery ticket is now suspended (along with our belief) from the Cabildo building.

75% of Canarians consider the public health services to be bad or just "regular".

Refuse collectors in San Miguel de Abona have parked up their lorries and gone on strike, leaving the municipality without a refuse collection service from the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The Miss Gay International Canarias 2008 beauty contest taking place at the Discoteca A Saudade in Santa Cruz, this week has been organized as a strategy to attract gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual tourists to the island. (There seems a kind of naive honesty in stating that.) The 11 candidates; from Santa Cruz, La Orotava, Granadilla, San Miguel de Abona, Puerto de la Cruz, Los Realejos, Guía de Isora, Adeje, Arona, Arafo and La Palma, compete to participate in the Miss Gay International contest taking place in London next October.

The Isla Baja Consortium (formed by the administrations of Buenavista del Norte, Los Silos, Garachico and El Tanque) and the Tenerife Corporation have jointly agreed on a plan to not go above 1,000 tourist beds and for the restoration of more old Canarian casonas (manor houses) as rural hotels.

In search of the perfect wave ... The adverse weather on Tuesday, on the north of the island, gave rise to high seas, particularly in Puerto de la Cruz, Garachico and Tacoronte. In Puerto de la Cruz, some daring types took advantage of the conditions to surf (see image).

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Christmas is a high-risk sport, for thousands of rock-climbing or paragliding Santas (made in China) still fashionable as Christmas decorations on the island since the first one was strung up in around 2005 ... and, now for a growing number of sets of Three Kings as the idea is adapted to the local culture.

Christmas under the sea - matched in daftness only by the under-water flower arranging that happens in Los Silos each September - last Sunday, a bunch of divers from the SeaDive diving centre made their "typical" (it may be to them!) dive to place and decorate a Christmas tree at a depth of 18 meters under the waves (photo) in the bay of Radazul, El Rosario (Tenerife).

1. If Jesus had been a Canarian and other Canarian Christmas Carols
2. Christmas Program 2008 in La Laguna
3. List of New Year's parties in Tenerife

Pure as the driven snow ...

"In the consumption of cocaine, [the Canaries] are above the national average." As they are for the use of ecstasy, tranquillizers and sleeping pills, but score below average - surprisingly - on smoking and the consumption of alcohol.

(Surely, they've omitted all the drinking undertaken by the expat community, which could take the archipelago back to the top of the league? :-)

Experts (in "stating the bleedin obvious", presumably, given the data on cocaine consumption) sound the alarm over an increase in violent behaviour related to the consumption of drugs.

Meanwhile, the 1950s are alive and well ...

Two out of three Canarians believe that the islands do not need foreign workers (those from small communities, over the age of 55 and with Spanish nationality, were more likely to think this), while 44% of those surveyed see immigration as negative for the Canaries (this is up from 38% earlier in the year and 34% in 2007) with unemployment, the economic crisis and immigration the principal problems that exist in the Canary Islands, according to an autumn 2008 barometer of public opinion.

(10 not-so-great things about the 1950s)

In other news ...

Bad weather Monday caused three flights to be diverted from Tenerife North to Reina Sofia airport in the south. Two were flights from the Spanish mainland and the third, an inter-island flight from Fuerteventura.

This article on consumer rights in The Independent, explains why your  European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), may not always cover the cost of any medical care you might need while you're on holiday in Tenerife.

The price of used apartments in the Canary Islands has dropped by 4.21% during 2008. (Which seems a low drop compared to figures elsewhere.)

And finally, whilst in the UK, Alistair Darling implores everyone to spend, spend, spend to save the economy ... in the Canaries they make it the law: The Canarian Parliament has approved a draft set of incentives to kick economic activity up the backside, which proposes tax cuts to come into force on January 1.

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According to one study, carried out by Ciao for Philips, 28% use "stimulators" (a euphemism for vibrators) and another 43% of those who don't already, have expressed a desire to do so. Also discovered was that more than half of the population - especially women (no surprise) - consider foreplay to be very important in sexual relations. Average Canarians make love twice a week at most, 28% of them even plan it in advance, though 48.4% say that any time, day or night, is the right time - differing with the national average who mostly prefer sex just before going to sleep. And the favourite fantasy of 72% of those surveyed, is having sexual relations in prohibited or unusual places.

Spain is amongst the European countries with the least number of abusive alcohol drinkers. Only 3.4% of Spaniards consume alcohol at a rate considered a risk by the World Health Organization, the lowest figure since 1997. Ireland has the highest rate, apparently. (Now there's a surprise!)

Is it better to pay monthly?

Unelco-Endesa, the electricity company which supplies the majority of homes in Tenerife, has been informing its clients by letter that, since November 1st, it will be invoicing and collecting charges monthly instead of every other month as it had until now. (I can't help thinking that there's something Freudian about the fact that my spell checker wants to change Unelco to Unwelcome. :)

Your Christmas Wrapped Up ...

Christmas program in Santa Cruz, Tenerife in downloadable format (PDF). 1,700 events during December and January; sporting events, lots of musical events in many varied styles, Christmas markets, Nativity displays and much more.

The town hall in La Laguna has increased their budget for Christmas events by 10 percent and are offering a program of 250 free activities over the holidays in various parts of the district.

And, if you haven't already, I suggest you check our calendar for more.

In other news ...

Adeje is to spend 4.5 million euros to improve two streets; Venezuela and Panamá, both of which lead into the Avenida Rafael Puig and the Avenida Centenario, two of the principal routes in Playa de Las Américas. The works will start in January and are expected to take 15 months to complete.

School kids reach for the stars. Pupils in Rochdale use school computers to link up with the telescope on Mount Teide on the holiday island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and learn about the solar system.

Pound vs euro costs: How has pound's fall hit your holiday? Tenerife doesn't come out too badly in this list of prices, compared to some of the other destinations, but remember that the figures the Mail is quoting are almost certainly those in the resorts where prices are higher. Move outside of your comfort zone / hotel bubble and you'll be able to experience something much more authentic and at a fraction of the cost.

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Dressed for Christmas with pretty lights in the trees. Ahh.

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As seen on December 11th, by Jose Mesa in Güimar (also in Candelaria, La Laguna, Santa Cruz). Be interesting to see when the images are live. (Via

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Real estate business portal Globaledge published the results of what it claims is the biggest ever study into global demand for overseas property. The study analysed 1.4 million English-language searches undertaken on Google during September 2008 and employed a team of researchers to categorise the information into regional and country categories.

According to the study, the most popular overseas property destination among English-speaking internet users is Spain. Searches for Spain and its towns and regions outstripped France, which came second, by a ratio of over two to one.

Among the most popular locations in Spain are Tenerife, Mallorca and Costa Blanca. All three were more popular than Paris, the top location in France.

Photo: by whitesja

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The forecast for Monday and Tuesday, is for "... strong north-easterly winds and wild tides, particularly at altitude in Tenerife." Gee, you know the weather's bad when those wild tides get as far up as "at altitude"!

Truthfully, yellow alert is really only a pre-alert and in this case will only affect those at high altitude - where the winds can certainly be wild - or at sea.

All you need to know about Weather Alerts

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Something that will be more than apparent to those of you living in the UK, but is interesting to see from the Canarian point of view too, is that a healthy meal with fresh fruit and vegetables, is becoming too expensive for many.

In this article, Carlos Padilla, compares the cost of a "kit" of fresh vegetables of the type usually used for Puchero Canario (Canarian Stew) [another recipe] available at that time from Mercadona at 4.10 euros, with the cost of a ready-to-eat meal of a burger from McDonalds that cost just 1.75 euros. Or, even when you add a drink and fries, is still around equivalent to the 4 euros.

Given that puchero also usually contains about three types of meat, cabbage, potatoes and chick peas that are not in that pack, even though it would probably make 4 portions, I'm willing to allow that the healthier meal will still come out more expensive, even before adding energy and labour costs.

It is easy to see why people go the cheapest and easiest route.

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Whether you're working or just visiting, you might want to know what days are public holidays in Tenerife, which in 2009 are the following:

- 1 January, Año Nuevo (New Year's Day).
- 6 January, Epifanía del Señor (Epiphany / Three Kings Day).
- 9 April, Jueves Santo (Easter Thursday).
- 10 April, Viernes Santo (Good Friday).
- 1 May, Fiesta del Trabajo (Labour Day).
- 30 May, Día de Canarias (Canaries Day).
- 15 August, Asunción de la Virgen (Assumption of Mary) Fiestas in Candelaria.
- 12 October, Fiesta Nacional de España (National Day of Spain).
- 7 December, (in lieu of the 6th) Día de la Constitución (Constitution Day).
- 8 December, Inmaculada Concepción (Immaculate Conception).
- 25 December, Natividad del Señor (Christmas).

To this is then added one day specific to each island, which in Tenerife is:

- 2 February, Virgen de la Candelaria (Candlemas).

And as well as these 12 days established by law [1], there are also a further 2 days given each year as local holidays, which differ from one district to the next. These are all listed here, or via this post you can access spreadsheets and a public Google Calendar with all the Fiestas Canarias 2009 listed.

[1] That alone makes public holidays in Spain a different from Bank Holidays in the UK, where "There is no automatic right to time off on these days."

What's a Public Holiday like in the Real Tenerife? 

"Unlike the UK during a bank holiday Monday, the roads here were remarkably quiet", says Jack Montgomery, who adds that "the sun was shining."

It sounds like fictional story telling, doesn't it? :)

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Next year's Carnaval in Los Realejos will have as it's theme, recycling. This northern town in Tenerife has chosen an eco-friendly and crisis-beating theme that deliberately aims to have a dig at the public conscience to reuse as many items as possible from previous years.

There appears to be some Irish logic going on with this one, however. Santa Cruz Carnaval, they re[port is currently 8th in the ranking to select the 7 best fiestas in Spain. How can one of the most well-known features of Tenerife and the best after those of Rio de Janeiro, possibly fail to make a very high placing, if not be right at the top, on the list?

The plaza in front of the corporation building in Santa Cruz is to become the scene of some magic, related the the El Gordo Christmas Lottery.

On Monday, December 15th, at 10.30 a.m., magician, Xerax, will place a number into an urn, which according to him, will be the winning number of the lottery on December 22nd. The urn will then be lifted by crane and suspended in mid-air, where it will remain for the week until the lottery is drawn, after which the number will be revealed. Now if only you could get a glimpse ... [Photo: Jose Mesa.]

The mayor of Candelaria has been accused of deception, for not having called a council meeting over Cho Vito (the coastal village where demolitions were carried out in October.) He's been criticized for turning a blind eye to the plight of residents. As an earlier article explained, "As is often the case with illegal homes in Spain, owners have official water and electricity connections, and have been paying property taxes to local government for decades."

Photo (left) by Jose Mesa, shows a view of Cho Vito before (in February 2008) and after (in November 2008) the demolitions took place. It seems that the houses had to go to make way for ... wait for it ... a footpath. This is despite the fact, as Jose explains, that "in contrast to other points on the Candelaria coast (invaded by private chalets, hotels, the Unelco [electric company's] installations, etc.), you could walk along the coast of Cho Vito, as the houses, grouped organically, didn't impede access at any time." There seems nothing fair or logical here.

(More images of the demolition and how the village was before.)

In other news ...

The Canary Islands Government presents a new book on the costumes typical of La Orotava on Friday.

The Tenerife International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, will be showing films from 15 different countries, between January 26th and February 1st, 2009.

Unemployment affects half to all members of 20% (one in five) of homes in the Canary Islands.

The Tenerife Island Corporation is to destine more than 300,000 euros to kicking tourism up the backside.

And in the "late to the party" department, the mayor of Arico wants to promote more tourism to combat unemployment during the crisis.

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Looking very much like a live nativity, says this article (being somewhat poetic), this nevertheless highlights the very real situation.

While figures for the percentage of people in the Canary Islands living "beneath the poverty line" appear to grow, year on year, there are still more people than you'd care to imagine living in chabollas (shanty shacks) like the one pictured.

Yes, all those luxury hotels on the one hand, while some local people live in home-made buildings, made from any materials that people can find that had been thrown away. This one is in a gorge behind the old market place in La Laguna, but I know of plenty of other precarious settlements as this.

On the positive side, I suppose the recycling is eco-friendly.

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Tenerife Lass Hot Favourite for Miss World 2008, which takes place in Johannesburg on Saturday 13th December. Miss España, Patricia Yurena Rodríguez Alonso (more pics), who hails from Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife, is named among the top ten favourites (with odds down to single-digits at 8/1), to win the event or place in the top five.

As Patricia asks in the video, "Vote for me at MissWorld.com please."

Guardia Civil Christmas Campaign

It might sound like it from that headline, but I doubt they merely want to collect donations (well, maybe there's an element of that too) nor hand out "regalos" (gifts), but "We can expect road blocks throughout the day as well as night, as their aim is also to clamp down on those driving home from office parties." Spoil sports! :)

By the way, these are the guys who want to take points off your licence!

dying to go to La Gomera?

Benjamin Franklin said that "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Inevitable as death may be, it can now be a less taxing experience - financially speaking - on the island of La Gomera, because the corporation has announced it will cover the cost of funerals for all of its residents.

Well, for the ones who die, anyway. The island currently has around 22,000 registered residents, including those who live abroad (between 120 and 200 of whom die each year) and the service has been offered since 2002, but they've decided to keep it going, given the current economic crisis.

The policy apparently covers all of the paperwork, death certificate, religious services, a floral wreath with a dedication ribbon, a niche for at least 5 years, even a luxury car for the chief mourner ... but there's a catch, because all of the coffins offered have "a wooden cross with Christ on the lid."

Athiests and other non-Christians are advised to arrange to die elsewhere.

Yes, we have No Almost 6% less bananas ...

Exports (if you can call them that) of bananas from the Canary Islands to mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands were 5.95% down in November. Mind you, the islands still dispatched some 22,860,722 kilos of bananas, just 1,360,464 kilos less than last year. (The mainland and the Spanish Balearic islands are the only places Canarian bananas can be "exported", since EU rules favour those inferior tasting things from even more "disadvantaged" countries.)

Canary Islands Music Festival 2009

The 25th edition of the Canary Islands Music Festival (January 9th - February 16th) is to have a program consisting of 1,812 artists in a total of 66 concerts (on 8 islands), not to mention a budget of 6.5 million euros.

Tickets, program, etc. here, in English.

In Other news ...

Be prepared: know where the Volcanic hazard zones in Tenerife are. (Yeah, you thought only the Daily Mail scared you shitless with stuff like that, but it's actually an academically, really very, very interesting diagram.)

Close to 5,000 foreigners have been removed from the municipal registries in the Canary Islands in the last year. (We assume that's because they've moved on elsewhere or gone back to their respective home countries.)

A supermarket opened in Puerto de la Cruz so families in need (registered as such with the town hall) can do their weekly shop for just one euro.

Santa Cruz' town hall is given an ultimatum to retire the symbols of the Franco era. And it's not just street names that still recall that era in Tenerife's capital.

New documents reveal former Spanish PM, José María Aznar's, complicity in the secret CIA flights - some of which touched down in Tenerife.

Where was Lance Armstrong on December 6th? Riding up the Teide!

A couple of days earlier, Armstrong and Contador had been testing themselves in Masca. (Yeah, on that vertigo ride on the road with "more hairpins than a Japanese geisha house") The Spanish report here has details of the route they took ... which will have meant that they went right by the house where I used to live. (The disappointment is tempered by the fact that, had I been there, I still wouldn't have known who the bunch of passing cyclists were - nor exactly when they would be passing - until it was far too late.)

Finally some photos of the day: Tenerife Christmas '07, from the sound bloke who came to do the Christmas Concert in Santa Cruz last year.

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Tickets for the Rod Stewart concert in Adeje next May 16th, 2009, will go on sale from December 15th at: Tick Tack Ticket, www.ticktackticket.com or tel: 902150025, Carrefour, Base Deportes Salud, Travel Shop, Maya Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Maya Playa de Las Américas, Boutique Parah, Generaltickets, www.GeneralTickets.com.

In other news ...

Not only will they have to know English, but the new Canarian Police will be obliged to know the history of the conquest of the archipelago.

Yeah, a good education is just what they need to deal with ...

A "spectacular brawl," involving 300 yoofs that took place in Santa Cruz in the early hours of Sunday morning. Four were detained.

The now famous El Guincho tunnel (opened at last) the most costly work in the history of the Canary Islands. Tenerife Matters say "it'll cut down on the congestion on that road…wait a minute, there wasn’t any congestion!"

Be fair, there was, frequently, for the roadworks, of course! :)

Still on the road ...

During the pre-Christmas anti-alcohol campaign, between December 8th and 21st, traffic cops will be stopping and testing around 200,000 drivers.

A total of 12 British film producers were to arrive in Tenerife Tuesday, with the objective of looking for locations for film, television and publicity. The visit has been organized by the Tenerife Tourism board, via its film commission.

Photo of the day: Statue of Columbus pointing to the new world... Columbus notoriously believed that "he'd reached Asia until his death in 1506. He also believed the peaks of Cuba to be the Himalayas ..." and, from the comments and description of this photo, it looks like he's lost again! :)

Labels: Rod Stewart in Tenerife

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Did you know that lurking beneath the newly tarted up Plaza de España in Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz, are the remains of one of the walls of the Castillo de San Cristóbal (Saint Christopher's Castle)?

They were found during the works on the plaza and are now open to public viewing on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, closed.

So it's a wall and it's underground and you're saying, "am I bovvered?"

Well, yes, you probably should be, because this fortification, which was built in 1575 and stood until it was demolished to make way for the plaza in 1928, had defended Santa Cruz against pirates for many a long year.

Especially against that English one called Nelson! :)

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The Bank holiday on Saturday, December 6th, was to celebrate Spain’s Constitution Day: 30 years of Constitutional Monarchy following the death of the fascist dictator, Francisco Franco. Monday, December 8th, was also a bank holiday for Catholics to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Most offices and shops will have been closed on those days, but some supermarkets, normally banned from opening on Sundays, opened on Sunday morning.

What it also traditionally meant, was the start of the Christmas season proper, being when people usually put up their Christmas decorations.

However ... 41% of Spanish people were not going to be able to go away this "puente" (long weekend of the Consititution Day / Immaculate Conception), because of the crisis. Well, my maths reckons that the majority, 59%, still can manage this extra holiday and, blimey, there's only 3 weeks till Christmas ... then New Year ... then The Three Kings. You end up thinking that those "poor" Spanish are really badly off for fiestas, don't you? My heart bleeds!

Councillor for Economy & Tax and deputy to the mayor of Santa Cruz, Ángel Llanos, inaugurated the Christmas Market in the Plaza del Príncipe, Friday. The market will be open until December 21st, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Friday and from 12 mid-day to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.

And on to Carnaval 2009 ...

Santa Cruz carnaval may have had to adjust its budget, but it is still looking to have a big impact. Thursday, the design for the scenery for Carnaval 2009 de Santa Cruz was presented. According to designer, Carlos Saénz, instead of going for excess , they're going for something more simple, but nevertheless, within the confines of the budget, procuring that it has as much impact as possible. Councillor for Fiestas, Maribel Oñate, says the budget cut is around 40%.

In other news ...

Family travel: 'We want to fly light, but what about all the baby stuff?' The Independent list companies that will deliver all your baby stuff and baby-friendly hotels in Tenerife.

No jobs? No worries.  The Dept. of Employment is to put 14 million euros into promoting self-employment amongst the unemployed in the Canary Islands.

Authorities in the Canary Islands will require agents of the Policía Canaria (Canarian Police) force to have a knowledge of English. (In theory?)

The fire station in Arona-Adeje will be a reality in two years. (Hands up all those who feel a little nervous to learn that a circa. 100K combined population district with all those hotels and tourists, doesn't already have one!)

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If you can't see the video, click here.

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Remind me, is Lance Armstrong in Tenerife for training or a photo shoot?

Click here to see loads of pictures | News and quotes

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Canary Islands' citizens, it's announced, will be able to get all the necessary information on administrative formalities via the internet from 2010. It's so tempting to say that sounds just like the usual delay, but I think they really mean that, by then, there'll be a system in place so that folk can consult the oracle of bureaucratic processes, 24 hours a day, from the comfort of their own homes.

Less traveling and less paper maybe, more speed we cannot be so sure of. :)

Los canarios podrán conocer en 2010 información sobre sus trámites administrativos en Internet

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You'd imagine there was no economic crisis as three new women's clothing chain stores are to open this very week in Santa Cruz' pedestrian shopping street, the Calle del Castillo. The three are German chain store, New Yorker, Spanish brand Blanco and, at the discount end, the Canarian, Número 1.

Clothing prices have risen 1.4% in the Canary Islands over the last year, almost a whole percentage point over the national average, of 0.5%.

Las cadenas de ropa pasan de la crisis

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When it's not sun, sea and sand (other things starting with "S" are a constant).

The various rally events in Tenerife; in particular  the annual Tenerife Rally, Adeje Rally and the Tamaimo Hill Climb, draw pretty large crowds, so perhaps it's only natural that the town of Guía de Isora doesn't want to miss out on all the fun (and the chance to sell the spectators an ice cream or two), as this year sees the very first Subida a Guía de Isora (Guía de Isora Hill Climb).

It's also the last rally event of the season, so "rally lovers should stake out their place on the TF 463 between Playa de San Juan and Guia de Isora on Saturday 6th December".

 Tenerife Matters: Crazy Driving on Tenerife - 1st Subida a Guía de Isora

Inauguration of the El Guincho Tunnel ...

Well, I've got to admit to giggling as I translated this (ok, yes, that's nothing unusual) ... Anyway, Victor in Garachico says that tomorrow (today when you read this), December 5th, will be the public opening of the El Guincho tunnel (between Icod and Garachico.)

He adds that, "as usual, there's nothing in the press [yet], for sure something will come out tomorrow ..." (i.e. there was no advance notice, like almost every other event on the island. Glad we're not the only ones to notice.)

The last news had been that the official inauguration was to take place on November 29th. Not sure if this means that the tape cutting did take place then, but that traffic still wasn't allowed through, or if the fanfare takes place today, but I suppose it's perfectly in keeping - this is Tenerife, after all - that getting the tunnel opened would take almost as long as the digging!

The latest on the ferry "mishap" in Los Cristianos is that reverse gear failed on the Bonanza Express. The broken down Bonanza Express has been re-floated and is now tied up in port and the oil spill from the stricken Bonanza Express won't affect the beach next to Los Cristianos. No idea why, but I was waiting for "and the cheque is in the post" to follow that last one! :)

Robbers haul soft drinks, sweeties and condoms

We're sorta wondering what kind of party these lads were planning ... 

Municipal Police in Santa Cruz detained 5 yoofs (aged 17 and 18), in the early hours of Wednesday morning as they attempted a getaway at speed, after breaking into a vending machine in La Laguna. (The driver later confessed.) Found in the car, were 25 cans of soft drinks, plus several boxes of sweeties and condoms.

Now you know why kids shouldn't accept sweeties from strangers ...

Arrestados al robar refrescos, golosinas y condones

The Advance of the Sales ...

The Consumers' Association "consider it necessary" to bring forward the start of the sales to January 2nd. Yeah, they might have thought it necessary, but bringing the sales forward to that date is mere wishful thinking and, about as likely as hell freezing over. Most gift shopping in Spain is done between January 2nd and January 5th, as it's customary to give gifts on January 6th, the day of Los Reyes (The Three Kings.)

In fact, the dates have already been agreed. The Winter Sales, throughout the islands, will start on January 7th, 2009 and run for exactly 2 months, until March 6th, 2009.

The dates for next year's Summer Sales have also been decided and, in this case, will begin on July 1st, 2009 and end on August 31st, 2009.

Back to more Christmas events for your diary ...

December 17th to 21st, there's to be a XXX Encuentro Coral Ciudad de La Laguna (choral contest) at the recently refurbished Teatro Leal in La Laguna, with Handel's Messiah and Christmas Carols with all the choirs participating on the final night. You may also like to know that, participating on the Friday night (19/12) is the Camerata Lacunensis (La Laguna based 2nd place winners at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in 2008) and the Exeter Cathedral Choir. Entrance is FREE, but you need to pick up invitations from the theatre box office first (open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.)

Program for the Teatro Leal (La Laguna) for December 2008 

Christmas cultural program for Arafo, Music and Dance for Christmas 2008 in Arona, Christmas / New Year / Three Kings Program 2008-2009 - Adeje and Christmas in Candelaria has begun with the municipal Nativity display.

Christmas in Tenerife will be a slightly more frugal affair this year, according to the latest survey of 5,000 people by Spain's Independent Federation of Consumers. Locals will apparently spend less on gifts, but the belt-tightening does not seem to be affecting sales of Christmas lottery tickets.

Canary Islanders To Cut Back On Christmas Cheer

Labels: Tenerife Rally

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Well, I imagine that's what he might be called! Apologies if he's a she. :)

Once upon a time, the Fiestas de San Antonio Abad, held each year around the middle of January, attracted only farm animals. Over the years,  pet dogs have also been brought along to the fiestas to be blessed by the preist and, now as appears to be the international fashion, the pet exotic animals turn up, like Sr. Iguana here on a lead, walking around the cobbled streets of Los Silos.

The French call these NAC (for Nouveaux animaux de compagnie - new types of pets). Anyone know if there is a similar term in Spanish (could be the same: Nuevos Animales de Compania) or English (other than exotic pets)?

San Antonio Abad 2008 - Los Silos | San Antonio Abad - Buenavista

With Christmas coming: It shouldn't happen to a reptile

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Employers in the tourist sector are worried that the Canary islands' Government's proposal to increase opening hours of bars and restaurants in commercial centres could seriously prejudice tourists who visit the islands, because it would impede them from getting their normal rest. The proposal wants to move closing times from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. or even 6 a.m., depending on various factors.

Icod de los Vinos is promoting its stores in the run up to Christmas with ads on the backs of the 106 and 107 buses; routes which travel across the north of the island from Buenavista del Norte to Santa Cruz. Other novelties are the forthcoming installation of free wi-fi in the streets of the town centre and various concerts and street theatre performances during the holiday period.

The Three Kings have asked to be allowed to arrive from the Orient by sea to Puerto de la Cruz this year and, it seems that the town hall has given them the necessary permission, because their procession in Puerto de la Cruz, on the evening of January 5th, will start from the old fishing port.

In other news ...

• Brussels proposes to advance 25 million euros in aid to palliate the effects of the crisis in the Canary Islands.
• The Fred Olsen Ferry: here you can see where it stands parked now with the CostaMar hotel and the Gran Arona hotel in the background.
• The town hall in Buenavista del Norte is to promote stores in the town and is giving away raffle tickets to customers as a Christmas campaign.
• Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz, is to receive 38 million euros of government money to invest in "infrastructures" and to create jobs, mainly in construction.
• People in the Canary Islands will spend around 94 million euros buying El Gordo Christmas lottery tickets. Sales, so far, match last year's levels.
• Close to 27% of the population of the islands lives below the poverty line.

Do you have any friends? Don't forget to send them to Secret Tenerife.

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The capital unveils its belén (nativity scene) in the Plaza de Candelaria at 18.00 on 17th December, so here's one we made earlier (from there last year.)

The traditional Nativity display inside the Cabildo de Tenerife (Island Corporation) building in Santa Cruz was opened on Monday and can be visited between now and January 6th. It's open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m and 4 p.m to 9.30 p.m. (December 24th and 31st, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. December 25th, January 1st and 6th, from 4 p.m. to 9.p.m.)

The display, with over 1,000 unique, hand-made pieces, has been described as a real jewel. Constructed at the beginning of the 20th Century and, over 100 years old, it's the first time that it's been on show in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz town hall has installed the traditional nativity display on the steps of the Municipal Palace (Calle Viera y Clavijo, No 46.) It can be visited by members of the public on working days, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More: Christmas in Santa Cruz - Concerts and Fiestas

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From the huge, life-size nativity outside the town hall in La Orotava.

The Nativity, Belén or Nacimiento is still the most important of the Christmas decorations in Tenerife, where Christmas still revolves around the birth of Jesus, unlike those "developed" countries, where it's become an equal opportunity (just to make a profit) multi-denominational feast! :) 

There are specialist belenistas (nativity makers), contests and organised routes to go round and see them; private family nativities (some of which open their homes to the public), then there are regular public nativities in squares (such as the life-size nativity outside the town hall in La Orotava, see above), in the Plaza de Candelaria in Santa Cruz, in shops and malls, such as La Villa in La Orotava, inside the Cabildo (Tenerife Island Corporation) building in Santa Cruz, in town halls, most churches (of course) and, even hotels.

The aboriginal nativity at the Hotel La Quinta Roja in Garachico, which each year depicts Jesus being born into a pre-conquest family on one of the Canary Islands, has become a regular feature. This year, theirs depicts the island of Gran Canaria (more images); in 2007, El Hierro and in 2006, La Gomera.

These "Holy Model Villages" full of detail usually reserved for model railways, are fascinating to see and won't be difficult to find, all around the island.

Not every detail is serious mind you, as this and Jack Montgomery explains.

Most of the nativity displays will be available to see from around now, usually until Los Reyes (The Three Kings Day) on January 6th. The display at the Hotel La Quinta Roja will stay on view, until Candelmas on February 2nd.

More photos of nativity displays in Tenerife

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Here's another of those "strange but true", farcical stories about Spain's infamous bureaucracy: Apparently, in a fractured system, described as a "failure", it can be simple luck of the draw what happens if you're stopped for a motoring offence, depending if the locality's town hall is hooked up to the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) system, or not.

For instance, the article says, if you drive around Madrid without a seatbelt, the Municipal Police will do two things (providing they catch you):

1. Firstly, they'll fine you 300 euros and ...
2. Secondly, they'll send a report to the DGT, which will get 3 points deducted from your licence.

But, if you're stopped by the Local Police in Alcobendas (Madrid), Collado Villalba (Madrid), Altea (Alicante), Granollers (Barcelona), Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña), Estepona (Málaga), Dos Hermanas (Sevilla).

... or in any one of 5,711 districts all over Spain, all you'll get is the fine.

As the headline says, those 5,711 municipalities, cannot take the points off your licence, because they're not connected to the points system and so nobody is going to inform the DGT of your infraction.

Even the Director of the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Pere Navarro, admits that the licence points system is not being applied equally all over Spain.

The "bad" news, although newspaper 20minutos has had access to the full list of the 5,711 municipalities, sadly, I haven't, so I can't tell you how many, or which ones in the Canary Islands are connected to the system or not. And now it's out in the open, they're bound to fix it sooner, rather than later.

Guess you're just going to have to obey the rules of the road after all! :)

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On January 1st, 2009, we are reminded, it will be 3 years since the Ley del Tabaco (Anti-Smoking Law) came into force in Spain.

In that time, public health authorities in the Canary Island archipelago have carried out some 2,400 inspections in more than 1,800 leisure establishments, where as many as half were found to be in breach of the rules, with poor signage and incorrect sizing of areas destined for smokers and non-smokers being the main complaints - not an ideal situation, in a sector so visible, in an area reliant on tourism.

Non-smoking in closed working areas, on the other hand, is being observed correctly 90% of the time; the prohibition on tobacco advertising, 100%.

In general terms, in Spain, tobacco consumption has dropped just 2 or 3%, bringing the percentage of the population that smokes down from 31% to 29%. There are constant proposals to make the prohibitions stricter.

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Works on the north-south train, uniting Santa Cruz and the south of the island, that were originally planned to have started during the second quarter of 2008, are now being slated to begin in 2011.

The Corporation says that the south train project is going to suffer a delay because, not enough money had been allowed in the budget. Works on the north train will begin in 2013.

(With the economic crisis and budget cuts everywhere, we just hope it hasn't been reduced quite as much as our "artist's impression" might suggest!)

La obra del tren del Sur, en 2011, y la del Norte, en 2013

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The Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz has become the first and, so far only, theme park in the Canary Islands to have a semi-automatic defibrillator, which along with the correct training, means park staff will be able to give visitors rapid assistance in the event of a cardiac emergency. So take heart: you should be in safe hands if the excitement gets a bit much for you!

Loro parque se convierte en un espacio cardio protegido con la instalación de un desfibrilador

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Until December 8th, the northern Tenerife town of Garachico is holding its first gastronomical event, "de Tapas por Garachico", where bars and restaurants are offering delectable little dishes at no more than 2.50 euros, per person.

La Villa y Puerto celebra esta semana su primer concurso de tapas

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La Orotava's mayor, Isaac Valencia, may not be famous for saying the right thing, but his town hall appears to be walking better than he talks in efforts to mitigate costs in the current economic crisis. At least in one area: that this year's Christmas Program isn't going to be printed on costly dead trees, being available only online:

The program of events certainly doesn't look lacking, but has already been slimmed down. However, if rumours are true that Valencia is even considering doing without a chil­dren’s favourite, the procession of the Three Kings on January 5th, I'd say that could be viewed as being a cost cut too far.

Download La Orotava's Christmas Program 2008 here (PDF)

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... despite the picture generally painted by the press and media of all persuasions, doesn't necessarily require a British passport:

For top prize in this week's foot-in-mouth contest (and it's still only Wednesday) goes to La Orotava's mayor, Isaac Valencia, who made comments, referring to immigration arriving from Africa, about the Canary Islands being "at the mercy of the Moors".

It doesn't seem terribly insulting when translated to English, but the islands' press has its knickers in a twist over it, his own party, the nationalist Coalición Canaria, call the remarks "unfortunate", the socialists call them "racist and xenophobic" and the Moroccan government apparently want it rectifying.

"Canarias está a merced de que el moro venga un día y nos lleve por delante"

Returning to your regular program of tom foolery ....

Lots of local youngsters in Icod behaved like proper jackasses skidding down the near-vertical town streets last weekend, but "After half a dozen varieties of both red and white had been tasted and points awarded, I would have had a go on one of Icod’s ‘tablas’ had one been handy", say's Real Tenerife Island Drives' Andrea Montgomery, who has a full report of the night's events, both there and in Puerto de la Cruz, here: Jackass and wine, a lethal combination.

"Think of Las Americas in relation to Tenerife and it's likely you'll imagine a lively resort town in the South of the island renowned for its nightlife, high-end hotels and tipsy tourists." As if you would? Tenerife and The Americas.

And silly U.S. cyclist Chris Horner of Astana team, led by Lance Armstrong, was stopped by police because Horner wasn’t wearing a helmet during the training on the road from Los Cristianos to Santiago del Teide. Tut, tut.

Pro cyclists Chris Horner stopped during training for not wearing helmet | Cycling Central

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The 25th Anniversary edition of La Orotava's annual choral Christmas offering, the XXV Muestra Coral de Navidad, looks to be an event worthy of adding to your holiday season diary. It takes place on Saturday, December 20th, from 8.30 p.m. in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.

Organized by the Coro Polifonía Orotava (Orotava Polyphonic Choir), this year's luxury program includes performances by the Coro Polifónico Universitario, Orfeón la Paz de la Laguna, Camerata Lacunensis (2nd place winners at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod), Coral Uniersitaria de la Laguna, Ensamble Vox Canticorum de Valle Guerra y Tegueste, Coro de Cámara de Garachico, Carpe Diem de la Laguna, Virgen de los Dolores de Tejina, Coral Polifónica Liceo de Taoro and the Coro Polifonía Orotava themselves.

As this concert takes place in a church, I'm sure it's free.

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The live touring show, based on the children's television show, Sesame Street (or Barrio Sésamo, if you watch it in Spain) will make its first visit to Tenerife between January 29, 2009 - February 1, 2009, performing at the Pabellón Insular Santiago Martín (the oval building beside the TF-5 motorway, affectionately known as La Hamburguesa - The Hamburger), between Santa Cruz and La Laguna.

Just in case you're wondering (this is Tenerife), this is the official show, and the dates above are as per the official Sesame Street Live website.

According to Mojo Canario, from 2009, "El Show de Barrio Sesamo", will be making a regular, annual visit to the island, bringing different adventures of the characters most loved by kids and many adults alike.

(I wouldn't mind betting that Sesame Street has more adult fans that kids!)

Tickets (for Jan 30/31 and Feb 1st) are already on sale via GeneralTickets.

Just don't confuse "El Monstruo de las Galletas" with any beastly character you may have encountered from a south Tenerife fishing village, because that is, of course, merely the Spanish for "the Cookie Monster". :-)

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One of Fred Olsen's Fast Ferries in Santa CruzOne of Fred Olsen's fast ferries, the "Bonanza Express" which plies the route from Valverde in El Hierro to Los Cristianos in Tenerife (with a stop off in La Gomera) daily, ran aground on a beach close to its destination port in Tenerife at around 8.10 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

Apparently, none of the 170 or so passengers on board, who were all successfully taken off the craft, were hurt.

And, there probably wasn't that grave an emergency really, seeing that it was probably unlikely to sink in just one meter of water. Engine failures are being blamed for the incident.

If you'd read the Daily Mail's version, you'd have read about an entirely different event, "Major rescue operation launched as ferry carrying British tourists crashes in Spanish harbour". Their readers obviously need, once more, to be frightened back inside their hotel bubbles. (Can't have them straying out and actually enjoying themselves, now can we?)

The two "undocumented immigrants", by the way, were not, as is implied by "found among the passengers", a pair of stowaways, but, according to the Spanish reports, being transferred from El Hierro to Tenerife.

Encalla un ferry en el puerto de Los Cristianos (Tenerife)

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"Well, I'd like to know where in Provence, or Tuscany, or any of the other "respectable" destinations the tourist-hating "travellers" flock to every summer you could find even a fraction of the fascination that stems from the serene strangeness of these islands, where Europeans live the sweet life under African skies and dead volcanic formations do such good impersonations of the Garden of Eden." - Julie Burchill, writing about the Canary Islands in The Guardian.

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