Friday, November 20, 2009

Tenerife's Public Holidays in 2010

The Spanish government has today published the labour calendar for 2010, which in the Canaries will include the following 10 public holidays:

1 January - New Year (Año Nuevo)
6 January - Epiphany / Three Kings Day (Epifanía)
1 April - Easter Thursday (Jueves Santo)
2 April - Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
1 May - Labour Day (Fiesta del Trabajo)
12 October - National Day (Fiesta Nacional de España)
1 November - All Saints (Todos los Santos)
6 December - Constitution Day (Día de la Constitución)
8 December - Immaculate Conception (Inmaculada Concepción)
25 December - Christmas Day (Natividad del Señor).

In addition to these there are another two Canarian specific holidays (May 30th, for Día de Canarias (Canaries Day) and 15 August, Asunción de la Virgen (Assumption of Mary), other holidays specific to each island, which in Tenerife is: 2 February, Virgen de la Candelaria (Candlemas) and then a couple more that are specific to each municipal council area (for instance, Santa Cruz always declares Carnival Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday) as a holiday in the city - in 2010, Carnaval Tuesday falls on February 16th. More Carnaval dates here.)

Although, in Spain, there is a legal right to the days off on public holidays (there's no such right in Britain), if you work in the tourist sector, it's pretty unlikely you will! If you have business to do in Town Halls, banks, etc., they'll be shut on these days. If you're visiting, don't worry tourist provisions carry on as normal.

Via: GomeraVerde

Friday, November 06, 2009

Isla de Tenerife Rally and Rally co-drivers course

An item at El Cañizo caught my eye for some reason today, informing us that the Town Hall in Güímar are collaborating in the 3rd edition of the Curso de Copilotos de Rallyes (Rally Co-drivers Course) next February.

Gosh, imagine the authorities anywhere else subsidising something so fun!

Of course, if you're just visiting Tenerife, you're probably having enough trouble driving on the right side of the winding mountain roads at normal road speeds, so maybe not too many of you would be seriously interested in the course.

But before you imagine that a language barrier might be your largest obstacle to participation, it would be better to watch the video above to help decide whether you'd be likely to be able to keep your eyes open whilst speeding along those roads. I know I used to have trouble - and that was when I was driving! smile_wink

Any of you who already have any experience of the rallies in Tenerife - even if only as a spectator - will be relieved to know that there is some training.

This makes me feel 100% safer, given the general lack of marshalling!

Tenerife rallies are really well worth the day out - if only to remind yourself what the world was like before those evil twins, Health and Safety, took over.

Tenerife Island Rallies in November

The above article also reminded me that the 35th Rally Isla de Tenerife 2009 is coming up next weekend, on Friday, November 13th and Saturday, November 14th, starting in Santa Cruz. (Download route maps PDF.)

Later, on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of November is the 3rd edition of the Rallye Isla Tenerife Histórico (Historical Tenerife Island Rally), at which, presumably, one will be able to see classic and retro cars, such as this Fiat 131 Abarth of the Retro Cars Club.

The cars leave from the Parque Marítimo in Santa Cruz, at 8.30 p.m. on the Friday. The second stage leaves at 9.30 a.m. on the Saturday and, after a short stop in Vilaflor at around 2.30 p.m., terminates in Güimar around 5 p.m.

Via: Federación Interinsular de Automovilismo de Tenerife

Video: Victor Delgado_Isla de Tenerife 2008 from DXT Producciones SL on Vimeo.

Labels: Tenerife Rally

Monday, November 02, 2009

Sex at burger prices because of the crisis

Well, actually, the headline translated to "Sex at bargain prices because of the crisis", but who could resist, eh? (Sorry, you'll have to travel to Peru to try this pleasure in a bun.)

Last year it was reported that the word "crisis" overtook the word "sex" in internet searches for the first time, so it's clear priorities have shifted.

A recent report (via Gomeraverde) tells the tale of Mili, a prostitute in the south of Tenerife, who, before the crisis, worked 3 hours per day to obtain an average monthly income of around 3,000 euros. Now, she says, she works as many as 12 hours per day, but doesn't manage to earn over 800 euros per month.

It's reported that, because of a decrease in clients, many of the girls have been obliged to drop the prices of their services to attract "more careful" (read poorer / meaner) customers, or to accept clients they would normally refuse, advertising services at "anti-crisis prices" starting as low as 20 euros.

Meanwhile, sex shops aren't reporting any drop in trade, saying that while people are spending less on going out, they are spending more time at home (presumably, playing with their "toys") and sexologists are reporting a boom, as couples realize that it's cheaper to seek counselling than it is to separate.

In other reports, the consumption of cannabis, alcohol and tobacco are all down amongst the population of the Canary Islands, while the market for cocaine has apparently "stabilized." (This, it seems to suggest, is as much due to a drop in disposable income as that it's become so ordinary, the novelty has worn off.)

Licence to Mount Teide

Frankly, we're not sure if this is some sort of kinky "mountain husbandry" job or a permit to ride a racehorse called Teide, but the (purportedly) English version on this notice says:

"It is necessary to bring, an Applicant's photocopy of ID card or passport to obtain a licence to Mount Teide."

OK, it's fairly clear (as mud, maybe?) that what they think they mean is that you have to take a copy of your ID to obtain a permit to climb the mountain, Mount Teide. Or, at least, you need this permit if you wish to pass the armed guards at the top of the cable car, in order to climb the last 400 meters or so.

And you have to go to Santa Cruz to get this (or by post, email or fax, with a week's notice), clearly dealing with people who have no idea that Google's (or whatever automated tool was used) translation is left sadly lacking.

That seems to preclude English speakers from obtaining one - heaven forbid that someone not speaking Spanish should want to visit - unless they're just damn lucky they got the whole application process right: a lottery.

It really does seem absurd to have to jump through this many hoops in order to visit a "tourist attraction". On the other hand, the process does deter and keep the riff-raff off the part of this natural wonder that would suffer most, so maybe it's not such a bad thing.

We should point out that this permit is not required if all you want to do is the "averagely touristy" thing: to go up the mountain as far as the cable car goes - for that you'll only have to suffer the several hour wait at the bottom.

Please note that when I say "averagely touristy", I certainly don't mean that in a derogatory sense, just that it is available to any passing visitor. The trip is still a life-altering, breathtaking, amazing experience that I've done and thoroughly recommend. Have a taste via this 360 degree panorama taken from the upper cable-car station, or experience the ascent via the video below.

If you're energetic and want to learn about climbing Teide on foot, then read Andrea Montgomery's account here and this page will give you details of where you need to go to, should you actually want to obtain a "licence to Mount Teide."

Notwithstanding the absurdities of Tenerife bureaucracy, this is, or course, yet another absolutely bloody typical example of the utterly laughable standard of "official" translations on the island. They are perfectly amusing to those of us who can work out what is really meant. Even if, alright maybe especially if, you know anything about Tenerife bureaucracy, you might still wonder if this is a licence to take photos of the mountain or a permit to take it away, but to a passing tourist, these linguistic cock-ups lead to frustration or even dangerous ambiguities.

What do you think: are these translations amusing entertainment, or are they harmful to the island's image in the 21st Century and to tourists' well-being?

Speaking of absurdities, if you're a big fan of Tenerife's 3,718 meter volcano and you have a few grey hairs you'd like to disguise, then with the aid of Naturtint, you too can now turn your locks a shade called Teide Brown. No, really. We can see where they got their influences, but I guess "potato field on Teide's slopes brown" was nowhere near as exotic sounding! smile_nerd

From: e n t o r n o s a n t a c r u z via: the ever informative, Canarias Bruta

Labels: Lost in Translation

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tenerife Drugs Traffic: The yoof of yesteryear ...

A recent story in the local online press reports that a 92 year old woman, who was en route to Tenerife, was arrested at Madrid-Barajas Airport with 4.3 kilos of cocaine concealed about her person in various packages. The attitude of the wheelchair-bound nonagenarian passenger raised suspicion with the Guardia Civil, who carried out an inspection finding the drug. Her travelling companion, a 44 year old woman of Uruguayan nationality, tried to make "a crazy escape" from the airport, but was also detained.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Typically Spanglish

A new website highlights the best examples of Spanglish.

Apologies to readers who don't understand Spanish (or Spanglish, for that matter), but I reckon you'll probably pick up the gist.

Whilst getting stuff lost in tranalation is certainly a common thing in the Canaries, as I've said before, the use of "Spanglish" is not as common as it is in North America. But I was also convinced that Spanish speakers thought it was cool or less embarrassing to infer "blame" on the British or Americans by using English words for things. This video, "Vaya semanita-MEJOR EN INGLÉS" (Better in English), which offers up the theory that there is no need to change things you dislike, just name them in English, seems to bear out the theory. :-)

Via: Typically Spanish

Friday, September 18, 2009

Pitingo in concert tonight in La Laguna

With a magnificent and uplifting fusion of flamenco, soul and gospel music, Spanish singer, Antonio Álvarez Vélez, better known as Pitingo, is to perform tonight in the city of La Laguna as part of the Fiestas del Cristo 2009.

The concert is FREE and starts at 9.30 p.m. in the Plaza del Cristo.

[Hat tip to: Absolut Tenerife]

Friday, May 01, 2009

Labour Day, Día del Trabajador, or just Mayday?

Today, May 1st is a national Public Holiday in Spain and this weekend is a puente (bridge), or long weekend for people to escape and do something enjoyable. That is, unless you're one of the majority unemployed, when really, Worker's Day (celebrated by not working), doesn't seem much different to any other day.

Día del Trabajador (May Day), like most Bank Holiday weekends (anywhere), means roads come to a chaotic standstill as everyone tries to escape elsewhere and return later, while road deaths - through excess speed - increase in inverse proportion. It's an illogical conundrum, for which I have no explanation.

Had we been able to tell you earlier, you could have gone along and protested in Santa Cruz at mid-day about the terrible conditions in your job (if you have one), or the lack of one (if you don't). The aim was to "publicly denounce the systematic loss of rights that workers suffer, with the excuse of the current economic crisis." They do.

Interestingly, it is reported that Spanish PM, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is putting off the execution of measures against the crisis in the Canary Islands, until June. Funny that, when something goes wrong on the islands, it's Central Government's job to provide the funds and the wherewithal to fix it. At all other times, Central Government is accused of meddling and not leaving the regions to govern themselves. An idiom involving cake and eat it, comes to mind.

Gran Canaria Wins First Suspected Flu Case

The Pios of Las Palmas [Gran Canaria] couldn't manage to beat Tenerife in the local derby last week, but they just had to get one back and win this weekend ...

... with the first suspected case of the gripe porcina (swine flu) in the Canaries. The sniffler is a 28 year old male who had travelled to Mexico recently and who's state of health is described as "satisfactory."

Of course, the virus can't be called gripe porcina (swine flu) now, presumably because the WHO considered it politically incorrect and racist against pigs. Should we change it and follow historical convention, such as was used for the 1918 Spanish Flu or 1969 Hong Kong Flu outbreaks, then?

Clearly something needed doing, because it wasn't just the media in English that was getting a bit carried away with panic mongering. Some Canarian and Spanish sources had begun calling it "peste porcina", which translates to porky pestilence or plague, like it's 1350, with bodies in streets and crosses on doorways.

But who in their right mind, will go round telling their friends, "Sorry, I can't come to the pub tonight, 'coz I have a nasty case of influenza A(H1N1)?"

Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

But top marks to ABC in Las Palmas, for coming up with a useable alternative:

They've called it "nueva gripe", which translates to new flu. I suggest that in English, we should spell this nu-flu, which sounds more funky, 2009.

A Wiltshire Chimney Lining company should get a bonus boost in trade!

Masking the symptoms: While we're on naming conventions and boosts in trade, you may like to know that the co-operative that the supplies farmacias (chemists) in Tenerife is called Cofarte (remembering that the final letter "e" is never pronounced by English speakers) and they're reporting an "exaggerated and unjustified" increase in the demand for surgical masks.

The worry was that front-line medical staff would be left without and, the head of the College of Pharmacists is calling for calm amongst the island population.

The same article states that it has been prohibited, since last Monday, to distribute the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu, to chemists in Tenerife. This is to prevent indiscriminate use that might cause people to become resistant to the drug, which in turn would prevent it being effective later.

Mayday: Humm ... I just can't imagine there being any anti-social, isolated, uncontagious things to do in Tenerife this weekend. Oh, maybe walking alone in the mountains, but otherwise the Tenerife culture just doesn't do anti-social.

The biggest events on the island this weekend are the International Paragliding Festival, FLYPA 2009 and the Fiestas de Mayo / Fiestas de la Cruz (May Fiestas or Fiestas of the Cross.) See decorated crosses in Güímar and Puerto de la Cruz and catch the 3 hour firework battle in Los Realejos on May 3rd.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tenerife's Village of the Damned

The corridor stretches interminably before me punctuated by open doorways, some of which are portals to small empty rooms while others lead to corridors which matrix into hundreds more rooms and yet more corridors. The walls are graffiti’d stone with naked wires protruding at intervals along their length and beneath my feet cement dust and rubble cover small beige tiles. In places the plaster has fallen from the ceiling revealing hollow space beneath the roof. Through the glassless windows the sun’s blinding glare bounces around the dry scrubland rippling the air on the horizon above the ocean.

The echo of my footsteps is joined by the incessant cry of the wind which is following my every move, darting through open windows and rushing down corridors. At each new doorway I stop and peer inside at rusting bed frames and discarded Coke tins. Most of the cells are small squares with a tiled bathroom in one corner where fittings have been roughly torn from the wall leaving patches of exposed plaster in the tiling.

Feeling like a character in a Sergio Leone movie or on a level of Silent Hill, each new doorway holds the threat that I might stumble across a squatter, an itinerant or the ghost of one of the inmates this village was built to house. I’m peering into the gloom of a particularly dark room when there’s an explosion of noise directly behind me which sends my heart crashing into my ribcage and my head and neck sinking into my shoulders . My hair follicles register movement as the panic stricken wings of a pigeon flap the air centimetres from my head. I must have spooked it as it dozed in one of the gaps in the wall. The pigeon takes an erratic flight path beneath the low ceiling before veering through a window frame to the right and into the glare.

A couple of weeks ago Jack stumbled across an article about a ghost town on Tenerife’s Arico coast beside the TF1 motorway; an entire abandoned village which was constructed to house lepers. Despite frequent trips to the south of the island and an afternoon searching that exact area looking for the ‘Happy Donkeys’ (that’s another story) we’d never spotted anything that could remotely fit the bill of what the article was describing. So on Thursday, on our way back from a meeting in the south of the island, we decided to seek the ghost village out.

Leaving the TF1 and driving down to the beaches of Abades the outline of the empty church with its huge stone cross and 30 or so deserted buildings shone out from the headland like a beacon. How on earth we had managed not to see the village before now is baffling. I can only think that as Abades looks newly built we must have taken the empty buildings for just a half completed project, which in essence it is; only this one’s over 60 years old.

The village was originally conceived at the end of the Spanish Civil War when leprosy was rife, Tenerife alone having 197 known cases. The policy at that time was to house sufferers in isolation in a climate that was considered beneficial to health; hence the choice of the arid, sunny and breezy east coast of Tenerife, miles away from any large population centres. Under Franco’s command plans to build a vast leper sanatorium and place it under control of the military were put into place.

Designs were drawn up by José Enrique Marrero Regalado, a local architect from Granadilla de Abona whose works include the African Market in Santa Cruz and the Basilica in Candelaria.

Work was suspended in the 1940s when the use of Dapsone in the treatment of leprosy provided a breakthrough in halting progress of the disease and it was determined that sufferers responded better to treatment in the comfort of their own homes.

Building work stopped and the site was abandoned.

In 2002 an Italian developer bid for the site from Arico ayuntamiento and work began to create a huge tourist complex with a golf course and 3,000 beds. But in 2003 the Ley de Moratoria Turística (building moratorium) was passed which severely restricted the size and type of tourism developments permitted within open countryside in order to protect the environment.

So once again plans were thwarted and the village remained as it is today; a ghost village just metres from the island’s main motorway and yet strangely invisible – just as its original inhabitants were intended to be.

There are many fascinating parts of Tenerife waiting to be discovered by those who chose to leave the standard tourist trail and explore the Real Tenerife.

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

Monday, April 27, 2009

Second-hand bus, one careful owner

Times is hard, very hard. While searching for something at the TITSA (Transportes interurbanos de Tenerife, the only public bus company in Tenerife) website, I couldn't help noticing an animated advert in the sidebar for "Sale of used vehicles."

It was well known that TITSA's finances were not in the best of health, which is why they were taken over by the Island Corporation in 2007, but one has to imagine that things have gotten worse. Well, it's either that, or they have lots of new buses to take their place, but that doesn't quite fit in with crisis.

They really do provide a brilliant service. Tenerife natives don't appreciate this, but TITSA services are MUCH more frequent, clean, friendly, on-time and very, very cheap compared to British buses. Use them: keep them afloat, 'coz you know what they say, you never know what you got 'til it's gone.

Meanwhile, can we interest you in this nice Scania, for only 3,600 euros?

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