Saturday, November 15, 2008
Tilting at Tenerife's windmills
There are ruins of windmills dotted all around Tenerife and, according to this article, it appears, at last, these are going to be restored. Recently, the Tenerife Island Corporation began restoration work on the old windmill in the Barranco Grande, which had consisted merely of burnt out remains. Along with watermills, these windmills stand as a testament to the industry of the past and could be fun to visit (maybe you should bag them like lighthouses?)
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Time for TEA: new arts space in Tenerife
If Prince Charles thought the Central Library in Birmingham, England, looked more like a place to incinerate books, then goodness knows what he'd suggest is the likely role that this building in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, will play with the arts. We must assume that all the beauty shall lie within. :)
The Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, or TEA for short (which will either make it attractive or confusing to English speakers), is yet another work by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, is scheduled to open on October 31st, with open days on November 1st and 2nd, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The building is to house the museum of contemporary art Instituto Óscar Domínguez (Tenerife's famed surrealist); the Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife (Tenerife Photography Center) and the island's central library.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Russian Tall Ship in Tenerife
If you go down to Santa Cruz port today, you'll be in for, not just a big surprise, but a tall treat: a chance to cast your eyes over the second largest sailing ship in the world, the training ship Kruzenshtern, of the Russian navy.
As citizen reporter, Juan Campos, suggests, it must be well worth a look at the 114.4 m (376 ft) four masted barque and tall ship. She was built in Germany, in 1926, but passed into Soviet hands after the Second World War. (The Wikipedia article about her, here has some beautiful images of her in full sail.)
Apparently, this is not the first time the Kruzenshtern has visited the island either, because last year she was seen off the south of the island, close to the port of Los Christianos taking part in filming some sequences for a film.
Don't hesitate though: the ship arrived in Tenerife on Tuesday and is scheduled to set sail tomorrow, Saturday, October 25th, at 4.pm.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tenerife's Trilingual Pigs
This pretty much qualifies for the "oddly enough" category, so it was impossible to resist. In this image, taken from the car park of the petrol station close the Playa del Soccorro in Los Realejos, we see a family of little piggies, who gather daily to frolic in a pool alongside (not visible in the photo.)
They must be very clever little piggies too, because they appear to be able to read no less than three languages; Spanish, English and German!
The bread delivery ...
Special for Tim. Taken La Orotava, on a "carpet day."
Monday, October 20, 2008
Is bread in Tenerife expensive?
One of the foodstuffs that has increased in price most notably in the last year in the Canary Islands, is the bread. Currently, many supermarkets are selling a large barra de pan (230-250 gm baguette) for 45 cents (about 35 pence), which still seems like very good value to me, but it is relative, both to the previous prices and to the wages and purchasing power of the Canarian family.
The Canary Islands achieved a top place in September, becoming the most inflationary region in Spain in the last year, where prices rose by 5.4%, compared to 4.5% nationally. Meanwhile, the price of bread in the islands, shot up by 14.5%, almost double the national average increase of 8.6%.
So the nice folk of Lo que pasa en Tenerife went out onto the streets of Santa Cruz on Friday, October 17th and reported back various bread prices:
- Almost coinciding with the publication of the September figures, Mercadona reduced the price of their bread from 52 to 45 cents.
- French owned hypermarket, Carrefour, also sells their bread at 45 cents.
- The best price they found was at Alcampo, selling for 43 cents.
- The traditional bakeries were the most expensive, selling for between 65 and 70 cents in those they visited in Santa Cruz, but as they point out, the quality is usually that much higher; often more natural and less mass produced. (If you're looking for nice bread in Santa Cruz, I recommend the bread from the stall in the Nuestra Señora de África municipal market.)
- Supercor, which belongs to El Corte Inglés, priced their bread at 66 cents.
- Last Friday, the least economical was Hiperdino, ironically the one that advertises on the tele all the time saying "Siempre los mejores precios de canarias" (Always the best prices in the Canaries), at 85 cents.
And, of course, the best thing about the bread in Tenerife is the fact that you can still have it delivered daily to your door, fresh and warm and so natural and devoid of nasty chemicals that it bearly lasts until lunch time.
Now that's something you cannot buy at any price in Britain.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Upcoming in Tenerife
Currently, I'm having numerous difficulties with other commitments and with hand and wrist pain that I'm trying to avoid becoming a larger (carpal tunnel) problem, so meanwhile, here's an agenda of upcoming events:
For the time being, I'm piping (sporadic) news snippets and calendar additions through our main feed so that you can stay as up-to-date as possible.
You can subscribe to the calendar itself, or subscribe to our news feed (add it to My Yahoo!, Bloglines, Feedster or Google Reader); follow us on Twitter or get daily, weekly or monthly newsletters, mobile version and more.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
What's on in Tenerife W/E 05/10/08
Subida a Tamaimo (Tamaimo Hill Climb)
This year's 34th Subida a Tamaimo (Tamaimo Hill Climb), according to the 2008 rally calendar issued by the island's motorsport federation, will be held this coming weekend, on Saturday 4th October.
The "subida" is one of the most popular events on the island's annual sports calendar and usually attracts a crowd of around 30,000. According to TenerifeMotor, there are 77 cars and drivers participating in the spectacular climb, which will be 350 meters longer than in previous years.
Tenerife Second Hand Car Show
While we're still on motors, the 2º Salón del Vehículo de Ocasión (2nd Second Hand Car Show) is on this week at the International Fairs and Congress Center, in Santa Cruz, with 12,000 m² and more than 400 vehicles for perusal between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., Thursday to Sunday, October 2 - 5.
Adeje Lan Party 2008
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 3rd, 4th and 5th October at the Casa de Juventud in Adeje. Limited places and pre-inscription necessary.
Adeje Lan Party (Via Mojo Canario and Blog Tenerife.)
Beach Volleball Champions Cup
Also being held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 3rd, 4th and 5th October, is the Tenerife Beach Volleball Champions Cup. Not content with over 200 miles of coastline that has many beaches and coves in Tenerife, the event is being held at Siam Park in Adeje. Teams from Spain, Russia, France, Italy, Britain, German y Poland will be taking part and it's to be covered by Spanish and Canarian TV. The publicity won't harm the new park any, will it? :)
Colin Kirby has more details and tips on what to watch here
Bargain Hunting in Los Cristianos
Who isn't looking for a bargain in these crunch times? Head along to Expo Outlet at the Los Cristianos Exhibition Center (alongside the "El Grillo" municipal sports center) on Saturday and Sunday, 4th and 5th October, the object of which is to give local companies the chance to liquidise liquidate some stock (of non-damaged goods). Open to both the public and trade, you'll find fashion and accessory items, decoration and home, children's items, gifts, and jewellery.
VI Festival Rock & Roll 50s
On Friday and Saturday, 3rd and 4th October, Tenerife celebrates the 6th Annual 50's Rock 'n Roll (Rockabilly) Festival with various groups and DJs and, undoubtedly, many a brace of Ducks' Arses on show, at the Hotel Panorámica Garden, Los Realejos.
Tenerife Tattoo Fest
The event that has been getting the most coverage this week is the upcoming Tenerife Tattoo Fest, being held at the Parque Maritimo, in Santa Cruz on Saturday and Sunday, 4th and 5th October.
Attractions include around 100 of the world's best tattooists showing off their talents live; a chopper bike exhibition; a skateboard championship; art, graffiti, body painting, rock concerts (Halagoogoo + G. A. F. + Mistake + Marvell Hill) and chats with sociologists, celebrated tattooists and other experts.
Entrance is 14 euros per day or 20 euros for both days. Open midday to midnight Saturday, midday to 10 p.m. Sunday.
There will also be restaurant areas with typically Canarian food to savor.
Quite why there's a photo of the man who looks least likely to have a tattoo anywhere; the mayor's "First Lieutenant" and councillor for Economy and Tax, Ángel Llanos (he who managed to confuse us over Elton John), on the festival's website baffled us. The poster also mentions a "Freak Show".
Tenerife Tattoo Fest MySpace Via: Blog Tenerife
El Pequeño Deshollinador / The Little Sweep (Benjamin Britten)
For something completely different, why not take the kids to the opera?
The coming week sees three performances, on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, October 5th, 6th and 7th, of Benjamin Britten's opera from 'Let's make an Opera', an entertainment for young people, El Pequeño Deshollinador, The Little Sweep (1949) at the Auditorio de Tenerife.
Voices from the Santa Cruz' Conservatory of Music and music from the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra (who are difficult to beat for quality.)
Ah, this takes me back: I remember going to concerts at the Royal Festival Hall in London when I was a kid (and the hall was still fairly new!) and Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra still sticks in my brain today - I mean, I can still hum bars of it to this day! I should imagine this will be just such a memorable event and, tickets are a measly 6 euros (around £4.70).
Football: CD Tenerife v Alicante
If none of that appeals, why not give some moral support to Tenerife's football team, CD Tenerife, who are at home to Alicante, at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, on Saturday, October 4th. K.O. is at 5.30 p.m.
If you're looking for the traditional Canarian stuff, this week, you'll find it in the Fiestas de Arona 2008 and a varied program of daytime and evening events.
You want more? Other events, exhibitions, etc., listed on our calendar.
Labels: What's On?
Want To Get Our News Faster?
Last minute announcements of events in the press - even on the very day that they're happening - are nothing unusual for Tenerife. In fact, until relatively recently, all published information was after the fact and I'd come to the conclusion that you needed to be related to someone on the organizing committee of a fiesta before you'd hear about any of them in advance.
With the advent of the internet it's becoming easier to gather news, but even if more Canarians than average use computers and the internet, other than a notably select few, sites don't seem to "get" the concept of regularly updating anything. Actually publicising events in advance just doesn't appear natural and I often wonder if this stems from the idea that, since "everyone" (born in the relevant town or village) already knows, there's simply no need.
It's all just part of the "charm" of the laid back Canarian culture.
Yes, it's infuriating and, one wonders why the authorities themselves aren't publishing more of this information, in English, especially when it relates to tourist events and, even ironically, for World Tourism Day. They can't really believe that all tourists speak Spanish, or do they? Or maybe they only want Spanish speaking tourists?
But then you hear how these villages want to keep traditional events going and how they see them as tourist attractions and how they want visitors to come and share them ... and yet they still don't publicise them outside of a few local posters, seen by those who already know and, only in Spanish. It's at this point I begin banging my head against the nearest wall for relief. :)
Honestly, I couldn't even begin to explain how difficult it is to bring you "local activities that are about to happen, and not after they have happened", or how much I appreciate that finally, someone has noticed that I do. :)
Without giving away my "trade secrets" (that aren't really secrets, but the detail would be excessively boring), basically to maintain this blog, I monitor and skim read headlines from literally hundreds of sources, many of which are themselves digests summarized from many more sources, on a daily basis.
Details of events with dates, I then add to this calendar, translating snippets or whole articles (where these have particular relevance), as I go along.
It is this information - that has been gathered, fact checked (as far as is humanly possible, which it isn't always at all) and translated, all manually - that then goes together to bring you selections of upcoming events.
However, I should point out that there is only one of me.
And circumstances are constantly contriving to diminish the amount of time I have. This site is a personal effort (plus odd guest articles); it's not run by a company or corporation, as many people who write to me seem to think.
So, can you have information in a more timely fashion, as I've also been asked on various occasions? Nope, sorry! It would take a staff to do that, but the meager amount of revenue that the site has ever generated, has bearly covered its running costs and has never paid me, let alone anyone else. Even if it did, it wouldn't be possible to do, because event organizers, town halls, local media, etc., wouldn't publish the original information any sooner.
What I can do ...
Through the miracle of technology, however, I can offer you a variety of ways to get the news and events I can manage to cover, as fast as possible.
weekly newsletter
As well as a monthly newsletter, published since the site began, I've just added a new weekly newsletter option. This will still be just a roundup of our headlines (and it can't round 'em up until AFTER they've been published), but it will be delivered more frequently - once weekly, on a Friday - so (when possible) it will bring you a list of the coming weekend's entertainments.
In addition to dated events, I save various links, photos, or news items that may be of interest. Rather than translating all of those - very often just the headline is enough information for most purposes - access those here.
As well as subscribing by email, you can also get our updates to your mobile; subscribe to our Google calendar (rss), follow us on Twitter or add our updates to; My Yahoo! Bloglines Feedster Google Reader More options ...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wine, food and crafts this weekend
Tacoronte and Garachico town halls are celebrating, today and tomorrow this suddenly popular Día Mundial del Turismo (World Tourism Day), with an ample program of activities, write Diario de Avisos in this report, published today.
Tacoronte: scenic beauty and richness of the wine sector
The first you'll have missed as it happened this morning and I'm only mentioning it at all, because there are regular jaunts along the Ruta del Vino Tacoronte Acentejo. This spot of enoturismo (routes of wine and wineries), in the Tacoronte Acentejo wine region, began at 9.30 at the Drago, on the Tacoronte-Tejina main road and the guided tour was to take in the "scenic beauty and richness of the wine sector", visiting El Sauzal and, La Matanza.
In those latter localities, visitors were calling into the Farmers' Market and the installations of the Bodega La Palmera, where a tasting was being offered.
Today's tourist trip terminated with the customary Almuerzo de la Vendimia (Harvest Luncheon) in an [unnamed] establishment in the district. Places were limited anyway, but the cost (including transport and visits, but presumably excluding food) was an amusing 5 euros per person (under £4).
More details on The Wine Route Tacoronte Acentejo, wine route tour, includes visits to vineyards, bodegas, museums and monuments, tastings and food.
Garachico: Canarian crafts, traditional food and pastries
Meanwhile, the odd tourist finding themselves in Garachico can enjoy events taking place on Sunday morning, from 10 a.m., in the Plaza Juan González de la Torre (a.k.a. Plaza de la Fuente (Fountain Place)). In this pretty little square, visitors can try a wine tasting, traditional food and pastries, plus sample typical Canarian crafts, with folk groups providing the day's musical entertainment.
Aptly for tourist day, alongside this plaza, was the Doña Gregoria Boarding House (now a grocery store) that, in times past, provided accommodation to the "odd tourist from England". Is there any other type? :)
