Original post 4 February: In the wake of warnings to take extreme care and avoid hazardous coastal areas because of the orange alert for high winds, emergency services have spent much of the night searching for a man who disappeared into the sea near the Europa apartments in Puerto Santiago.

Emergency services were called shortly after midnight with reports that the man, said to be in his early 30s, had fallen into the sea. The search continues this morning and involves a search and rescue helicopter, lifeboats, bomberos, Guardia Civil and Policía Local.

Update 3 February 3pm: Just to update once more, the Tenerife Cabildo has issued the recommendation that because of the high winds forecast, the public should not make unnecessary journeys during this weekend. The Cabildo says that the recommendation especially applies to the northwest and southeast of the island, where the winds are expected to be strongest.

The Cabildo requests the public to:

• Avoid going out as much as possible, and shut and secure doors and windows during the strong winds.
• Take in or secure any objects that could be blown away, such as flowerpots, outdoor furniture, blinds, etc.
• If you have to go out, try not to walk in narrow tree-lined walkways, and avoid older buildings or construction sites.
• Stay clear of walls, fences, trees, etc, and avoid walking under cranes, scaffolding, or other objects that could be blown over by the wind.
• Don’t bathe in remote beaches which lack lifeguards.
• Obey any red flags raised as warnings in beaches with large waves or undertows.
• If you see other people in places of danger, pass on this advice.
• Stay away from areas where waves are breaking heavily, e.g. breakwaters, harbours, etc., and don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by sudden calm periods.
• In case of emergency, call 1-1-2 immediately.

Update 3 February 2pm: And now an orange alert for winds gusting to 90 km an hour is also confirmed for Sunday throughout Tenerife except for the north coast.

The north has a yellow alert throughout the weekend for winds gusting to 70 km an hour.

The orange alert is set, at the moment, until 3pm on Sunday, though the yellow alert for the whole island for winds gusting to 70 km an hour is set until the end of Sunday.

Update 3 February: The yellow alert for today remains in place, but tomorrow’s has been raised to orange level, with winds gusting to 90 km an hour now being forecast for all of Tenerife apart from the north coast. Sunday’s alert level, if any, is yet to be confirmed.

Original post 2 February: Aemet has activated a yellow alert for tomorrow for winds gusting up to 70 km an hour in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera. The alert is presently from 6pm tomorrow (Friday) and throughout Saturday.

Original post 1 February: The new national Government has eliminated the Canaries’ preferential air tax rates, and almost immediately, the Tenerife Cabildo has confirmed that as a consequence, flights to Tenerife have been reduced by Jet2 and Monarch. Both companies had increased their flights in 2011 but now say they are going to pull back. Not only that, but to add to the pain of a decreased service, ticket prices will increase.

The German airline Cóndor is also reviewing whether to proceed with a new route to TFN, a service it was considering offering. The Cabildo said that these companies’ reactions showed the direct correlation of the preferential tax with air connections, something that the new Government has denied. The irony is that the denial of the link, and the removal of the preferential rates, comes from the new minister for Industria, Energía y Turismo, the Canarian José Manuel Soria.

The minister said that although there is no empirical evidence as yet, all the signs are that there is a lot of crude oil, and of good quality. It seems that Morocco is already carrying out its own research in the same region in its own maritime area.

This is not the first time that Spain has been on the verge of authorising prospecting off the eastern islands, but previous plans have foundered for a variety of reasons, including environmental concerns. Sr Soria said, however, that Spain could no longer allow itself the luxury of not authorising such explorations, and that the Canaries would logically benefit from any discovery of such deposits, assuming that a further decision was made to extract them.

Original post 28 September 2011: Sanidad has announced the start of this winter’s flu vaccination campaign. Some 275,000 doses are in place in surgeries for patients between 3 October and 31 December. Canarian Government health minister, Brígida Mendoza, stressed that the vaccination is important for anyone with a heightened risk, including those with viral infections, immuno-deficiency problems, the elderly, pregnant women, children, asthma suffers, etc., as well as those who have a high level of interaction with the public. PV

The promoters are still insisting the concert will go ahead, and attribute the delay to “logistical problems”, but if past history is anything to go by, this could be a PR exercise rather than a real plan – and the concert list has been scheduled on Springsteen’s own site for some time without Gran Canaria figuring in it.

It might still happen, but I’ll believe it when I see it now. I’ll post again if and when the tickets go on sale, but if this turns out to have been a PR exercise, then those responsible need to learn that this sort of publicity is actually harmful, rather than beneficial, to the islands.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 19 January: Tickets will go on sale 1 February priced at €60 or €70. There will be 46,000 seats available in the venue, which is confirmed as the Estadio de Gran Canaria.

Original post 18 January: Well it’s not in Tenerife, but it is in Gran Canaria, which is a short hop from here really …

LM Producciones has reached an agreement in principle for Bruce Springsteen to perform in Gran Canaria on 15 May.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have confirmed five concerts for Spain between May and June this year: 13 May in Seville; 15 May in Gran Canaria; 17 & 18 May in Barcelona; 2 June in San Sebastián; and 17 June in Madrid.

Contracts will be signed in the near future and tickets will go on sale at that point. For the moment, the video above is of Bruce Springsteen’s latest single, We Take Care Of Our Own, to be released in March 2012.

Update 31 January: Jellyfish invaded a swathe of Arona and Adeje coastline yesterday, leaving the beaches of Los Cristianos, Las Vistas, El Camisón and Troya at the mercy of the creatures. Some 11 bathers were treated for stings, and swimmers were again advised to steer clear of the water. It is hoped that a change of wind direction will alter the currents today to steer the creatures away from bathing areas.

I am grateful to Sergio from www.mardefoto.com for permission to use the above photo of jellyfish in the Los Cristianos shallows.

Update 14 January: Today all four beaches in El Médano are closed to swimmers. The La Tejita, Chica, El Médano and Leocadio Machado beaches are all affected by the jellyfish invasion. Nine people have now been treated for stings. The El Cabezo and La Jaquita beaches are not affected.

Original post 13 January: El Médano beach and the neighbouring Leocadio Machado beach are closed to swimmers after being affected by an invasion of jellyfish. The creatures were first spotted yesterday by the hundreds of bathers using the beaches, seven of whom had to be treated for stings. Today, no incidents have been recorded but the beaches remain restricted for swimmers. If anyone is stung while on the beaches themselves, however, there is a help post next to the town beach.

Update 30 January: There has been a significant increase in the number of earthquakes over the last few days, with 11 today alone. Since many of these are under land (see some of the most recent locations in the map above), vulcanologists say that even with magma continuing to flow from the main vent, the pressure is building below the island. The harmonic tremor has been variable but, since last evening it has strengthened and maintained its level.

Throughout today there has been a great deal of smoking lava on the surface of the Las Calmas sea, almost like a show for the Prince and Princess of Asturias, who have been visiting the island on the Prince’s birthday in a show of support.

Update 25 January: In the last week, the harmonic tremor has been up and down, sometimes collapsing completely and at other times giving some extremely strong bursts. There have been several minor earthquakes … 8 the other day, 4 today so far. There has been bubbling on the surface, and quite a bit of smoking magma coming up … some of quite a size too.

Vulcanologists are still expecting it to become Surtseyan in type, but are saying it could be anything between hours and weeks before it goes up. There are science boats on the scene, Guardia Civil helicopters hovering over it taking measurements of temperature and gases being released….

One interesting bit of information was that the temperature inside the smoking maga is 426°C, said to be sufficient to allow the gases to ignite when they mix with oxygen at the surface. Another fascinating fact is that this undersea volcano has already released 12 times as much magma as the La Palma eruption that it is usually compared with.

I have pruned this post because it was becoming too long and unwieldy. I have had to divide all previous posts into two sections: the earliest are now HERE, and the later ones, to the start of this post, HERE.

Update 30 January: The programme for the Los Cristianos carnaval has now been published and is HERE, though the final details are said to be subject to modification.

The main events are:

• Opening parade on Saturday, 3 March at 7pm, from Avenida Francisco Andrade Fumero, to Centro Comercial Gala, Playa de las Américas.
• Carnaval Queen competition in the Fairground on Friday, 9 March at 9.30pm.
• Main parade on Sunday, 11 March at 5pm,  from Paloma Beach apartments through Avenida Juan Carlos I to the Fairground. To be followed by the carnaval dance with music from Orquesta “Wamampy” in the Fairground.
• Burial of the Sardine on Monday, 12 March at 8pm, followed by a dance in the Fairground.

Update 20 January: Tickets for all the competitions and shows in the Santa Cruz carnaval will go on sale tomorrow, 21 February, at 10am, at the Recinto Ferial box office. Tickets are priced between €2 and €19 depending on event; as might be expected, the adult murgas and carnaval queen gala will be the most expensive.

Original post 19 January: It’s Carnaval time again, and the Santa Cruz event, the first and biggest of the three main Carnavals in Tenerife, will start next Wednesday. It isn’t just the largest in Tenerife, however, it is widely considered to be the second largest in the world, with only the world-famous Rio de Janeiro Carnaval bigger. The official site for the Santa Cruz Carnaval is HERE; the full programme with dates is HERE.

The Carnaval runs from next Wednesday 25 January for a whole month to 26 February, and February often feels like the summer holiday season when trying to get anything done in Tenerife! There is huge interest in it, and many things grind to a halt, not least because of the murga competitions, a sort of combination of farce, satire and music (particularly involving a type of kazoo) with outlandish costume and group singing. They are phenomenally popular and there is saturation television coverage of all the stages and groups taking part. I’ve posted videos in previous years of them, e.g. HERE.

The two other Carnavals of great local interest are in Los Cristianos and Puerto de la Cruz. This year, the Los Cristianos Carnaval is between 2 and 12 March, and the Puerto de la Cruz one between 12 to 26 February. There is more information on these and other Carnaval events throughout the Canaries from the official Canary Islands Tourism site HERE (Click on “idioma”, the top right link, for the English option).

There is always a televised mass and procession in Candelaria itself on the 2nd, as well as in many towns throughout Tenerife, particularly in the north. There is also a tradition here of pilgrims walking from all over the island to Candelaria, and they are a regular sight walking in groups, even on the motorway, in the days leading up to the fiesta itself, though efforts have been made to stop this in recent years for the walkers’ own safety. There is more information from the Tenerife Cabildo HERE.

Update 15 January: Just a reminder that this coming Friday is a public holiday in Adeje for San Sebastián, the saint of the many arrow wounds. It is also a time to see farmers ride their horses, as well as drive their sheep and goats, into the sea for a symbolic purification, to be followed by local food and music. The main events take place at Playa Enramada, between Fañabe and La Caleta, starting at midday, though crowds start to gather from as early as 8am.

Original post 1 January: The calendar of public holidays in the Canaries has been published (see HERE), with the following the official fiestas for Tenerife in 2012:

6 January, Epiphany
2 February, Virgen de la Candelaria
5 & 6 April, Easter
1 May, Fiesta del Trabajo
30 May, Día de Canarias
15 August, Asunción de la Virgen
12 October, Spain Day
1 November, Todos los Santos
6 December, Día de la Constitución
8 December, Inmaculada Concepción
25 December, Christmas Day

The above 12 holidays are the 11 fiestas for the Canaries together with the extra day which each island enjoys which, in Tenerife’s case, is 2 February for the island’s patron saint day, Virgen de la Candelaria.

In addition, each municipality will have its own two days, bringing the total number of fiestas for every part of the Canaries to 14. It is the proliferation of these two local days throughout the island that gives the impression that the whole of Tenerife is constantly on holiday. The local fiestas in 2012 for Tenerife are:

Adeje:
20 January – Festividad de San Sebastián
15 October – Festividad de Santa Úrsula

Arafo (Villa de Arafo):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
27 de agosto: Festividad de San Bernardo

Arico (Villa de Arico):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
8 September – Festividad de Nuestra Señora de Abona

Arona:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
8 October – Santísimo Cristo de la Salud

Buenavista del Norte (Villa de Buenavista del Norte)_
24 August – Festividad de San Bartolomé, Copatrono de la Villa
25 October – Festividad de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios

Candelaria (Villa de Candelaria):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
26 July – Festividad de Santa Ana

El Rosario:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
6 August – Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza

El Sauzal:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
29 June – San Pedro Apóstol

El Tanque:
31 August – Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje
22 October – Santísimo Cristo del Calvario

Fasnia:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
20 August – Fiesta Patronal de San Joaquín

Garachico (Villa y Puerto de Garachico):
26 July – Festividad de Santa Ana
16 August – Festividad de San Roque

Granadilla de Abona:
24 April – Festividad del Santo Hermano Pedro de San José de Bethencourt
13 June – Festividad de San Antonio de Padua

Guía de Isora:
25 June – Celebración de San Juan Bautista
17 September – Santísimo Cristo de la Dulce Muerte

Güimar:
29 June – Fiestas Patronales de San Pedro Apóstol
7 September – Fiesta en Honor de Nuestra Señora de El Socorro

Icod de Los Vinos:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
25 April – San Marcos Evangelista, Patrón de la ciudad

La Guancha:
18 January – Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza
20 August – Lunes de las Fiestas Patronales

La Laguna (San Cristóbal de La Laguna):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
14 September – Fiesta del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna

La Matanza de Acentejo (Villa de La Matanza de Acentejo):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
6 August – Día de El Salvador

La Orotava (Villa de La Orotava):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
14 June – Infraoctava del Corpus Christi

La Victoria de Acentejo (Villa de la Victoria de Acentejo):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
27 August – Fiestas Patronales

Los Realejos (Villa de Los Realejos):
3 May – Exaltación de la Santa Cruz
30 June – lunes del Carmen

Los Silos (Villa de Los Siloa):
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
8 September – Nuestra Señora de la Luz

Puerto de la Cruz:
3 May – La Exaltación de la Santa Cruz y Conmemoración de la Fundación de la Ciudad
10 July – Conmemoración de la Festividad de la Virgen del Carmen

San Juan de La Rambla (Villa de San Juan de la Rambla):
25 June – Fiestas de San Juan Bautista
10 September – Fiestas de San José

San Miguel de Abona:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
29 September – Fiesta de San Miguel Arcángel

Santa Cruz de Tenerife:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
3 May – Día de la Santa Cruz

Santa Ursula:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
22 October – Día de Santa Úrsula, Patrona del municipio.

Santiago del Teide (Villa Histórica de Santiago del Teide):
16 July – Nuestra Señora de la Virgen del Carmen
25 July – Festividad del Apóstol Santiago

Tacoronte:
21 February – Martes de Carnaval
26 November – Santa Catalina

Tegueste (Villa de Tegueste):
25 April – Festividad de San Marcos Evangelista
8 September – Festividad de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios

Vilaflor:
30 April – Festividad del Hermano Pedro
27 August – Festividad de San Roque y San Agustín

As of yesterday, Callao Salvaje and Playa Paraíso have been adopted by Adeje after a wait of 40 years in the case of Callao Salvaje and 20 in that of Playa Paraiso. From now, the two towns will enjoy all Adeje’s services alongside the rest of the municipal area, whether rubbish collection or water supply, as well as street cleaning and garden work.

The only part of the entire area that is not fully adopted yet is a plot of some 10,000 square metres in Callao Salvaje destined for a green area, where there remains a legal case outstanding against the promoter. Adeje mayor José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga said, however, that the matter was more a formality than substantive.

As of today, 27 January 2012, Spanair has ceased its operations and therefore, given these exceptional circumstances, all our flights from today are cancelled.

If you have a ticket for the next few days or weeks, you have varios alternatives:

a- if you paid with a credit card, notify the card company for a refund
b- if you have cancellation insurance, contact the insurers to establish the cover you have
c- if you bought a tickt through a travel agency, you will need to contact them.
d- If you have a Spanair ticket for a different airline, your flight is, in principle, guaranteed. We ask that you confirm with the relevant airline.
e- Spanair, in co-ordination with the Cataluñan regional government, has arrived at an agreement with Vueling, Iberia and Air Europa for passengers travelling over the next three days to have a special tariff as follows:

- Domestic flights to the Balearics €60
- Flights to the Canaries €90
- International flights €100

f- In any other case, and to reclaim fares, you will need to submit a claim through one of the following channels:

· Spain sales offices
· AENA desks in the relevant airports
· Tourism offices in the relevant airports
. Cataluñan consumer agency

- Spanair is in permanent contact with the Spanish areronautic authorities and airports where the company operates flights to resolve this situation.

- Spanair Centre (900.13.14.15 – from outside of Spain +34 971 916 047) and airport sales desks will remain open to attend to clients.

- For updated information please consult our website www.spanair.com

- Spanair apologises for any inconvenience to those affected.

Meanwhile, a website, www.afectadosspanair.com, has been set up to help people reclaim help if they have been affected. I have no idea who set it up but the notice on its single page says this is someone who has reunited Spanair-affected people with money before, with legal help where necessary. The single page will, it says, shortly become a forum for those affected by Spanair going into administration.

The exact rate we are suffering here is 30.93%, according to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). The breakdown is Las Palmas province 32,36%, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife 29,46%. In Spain as a whole, only Andalucia has a worse rate, at 31.23%.

Update 26 January 2012: The President of the Canaries, Paulino Rivero, has visited the new Garachico port and expressed his satisfaction at the way the works have progressed. The port will have two docks, one for fishing and another for sports with the capacity to moor 40 boats. It will also have facilities for commercial maritime lines. The works are currently being finished, with the port expected to be in operation from June.

Above is a superb video of the entire works since August 2009 to date. It looks lovely now, and shows how much work has gone into it over the last two and a bit years. The storm damage I posted about below can be seen at around 3 minutes.

Original post 23 October 2009: Waves up up to 8 metres have damaged part of the breakwater in the new Garachico port, which is still under construction. The strong swell began lashing the coast in the early hours of yesterday morning and continued through to the afternoon, with water breaking through and reaching tens of metres inland. Chief engineer Rafael Aznar said, however, that he was generally satisfied at the wall’s performance after the waves were double the strength of those expected. Repair works are expected to take a few weeks. The works on the new port, intended for sports, fishing and touristic uses, should be completed by the end of 2011.  El Dia

Original post 13 September 2010: It was quite impressive watching it on TV as the huge drill broke through the wall of rock in the presence of the President of the Canaries, Paulino Rivero. The “tunel del Bicho” is part of the extension of the TF1, and it connects the two fronts of the work currently making good progress in Santiago del Teide and Adeje.

The tunnel, near Arguayo, has taken 10 months to excavate and is just over a kilometer long. It will reduce the journey time between the two municipalities by 17 minutes. It has cost 30 million Euros, slightly over 20% of the entire cost of the motorway link, which will eventually form part of the ring road around the whole island.

Around 90% of the route of the present section is now excavated, and the connection for the road down to the new port at Fonsalía will start shortly. ABC

Update 15 December: There is a public meeting planned for the second half of January in the south of Tenerife. Attending will be the Government tourism department, the chief of the inspection team, and other senior officials of the department. I will post details of this meeting as soon as I have them. Please note that if there is no update it is because I do not have any information to post, so please do not contact me for any details.

Update 14 December: I think that with the absence of any communication about tomorrow’s meeting, we have no choice but to assume it will not now take place. The general view seems to be that they became aware of what they were about to face, and pulled out. The two main lawyers who were co-ordinating the meeting in the south (which doesn’t seem to have crossed Turismo’s mind apart from as a cash cow) say they intend to hold the meeting regardless, but at this stage, we have to assume it will be on a different day. I will update as soon as I know.

Update 9 December: I have just had confirmation that Turismo has been given one last chance to clarify their position, but that in the event that they fail or refuse to attend the meeting, the local lawyers involved in the issue, and who are lobbying the Government to change the law, are going to hold the meeting anyway. I’ll update with further details asap.

Original post 26 November: I’m posting this in addition to THIS in case it gets missed in the long illegal letting thread.

There is to be a public meeting on the 15th December in south Tenerife. It is being held by the Minister of Tourism and the Inspectorate as the public information part of the Government campaign against illegal letting. I will confirm the time and place as soon as possible, but can say for the moment that it will be in the general Adeje area.

It is important that people attend not just to hear from the horses’ mouths the information as it appears in these posts, but also to convey to the Authorities the strength of feeling against the enforcement of this legislation. This will not intrinsically have any real or immediate effect, but will be useful background to the lobbying efforts to persuade the Government to rescind or amend the law. The public meeting will be held in Spanish, but an English translator will be present.

It says:

Yes, Tenerife. But not that Tenerife. As if. No, this is The Other Tenerife. The capital bears no relation to the island more familiar to Brits. Turn a few corners on the coast road and it’s like, well, Spain. Santa Cruz is magnificently, sexily exotic. Its neighbourhoods mostly date from the 1890s to the 1930s, all pastels and gin slings, though the long-lost recent economic boom has left its mark, too, with a new art gallery and public square by architects Herzog & De Meuron, and the obligatory “thing” (Is it a bird? Is it a plane?) by Santiago Calatrava. The tourist-free city is big enough not to be dull, small enough to be manageable – about the size of Leicester, only, alas, without its charms, although Santa Cruz does have bright placitas filled with orange trees and dark, drowsy coffee bars full of old men playing dominos, as well as a brilliant food market, Nuestra Señora de Africa. And when it all gets too much, there’s a series of great beaches (the Las Teresitas being perhaps the best), a great coastline for swooning driving, and mountains for hiking. Guardian

Loro Parque has two rather special new inhabitants – white Bengal tiger cubs. The cubs, a male and female called Yangyu and Linmao, are just a year old and have come from the Guangzhou Panyu Xiangjiang Safari Park in China. They can already be seen by the public in their specially designed enclosure, surrounded by vegetation, and a waterfall and lake for their exclusive use.

The cubs are settling in gradually, and are said to be extremely curious about their surroundings, exploring it all minutely, and taking long siestas. There is a series of photos of the pair of gorgeous cubs HERE. More information from Loro Parque HERE (there’s an English option top right), and thanks to them for the above photo.

One of the women, 47, was cut on the neck, while the other, 43, received arm wounds. The man, 47, had facial cuts. All are said to be foreigners in Spain. None of the three is said to be seriously wounded, but paramedics stabilized and transferred them to Hospiten Sur for treatment.

The police are investigating the incident.

Update 16 January 2012: It’s the time of year again, when the almond blossom is beautiful and aromatic … and when the annual Almond Blossom Route takes place.

2012’s walk is on 28 January, and this year will give a choice of two routes. The first starts at the Hotel Señorío del Valle and will take around 4.5 hours: it is described as of “high difficulty”. The easier route will leave El Calvario de Los Baldíos in El Valle de Arriba and will take around 3 hours: it is described as “medium-low difficulty”.

Walkers will leave in groups starting from 8.30am according to their chosen route, passing through the Chinyero Forest Reserve and on to Arguayo.

Places are limited, so those who are interested will need to register. Simply call the Ayuntamiento’s Culture Department on 922 863 127 ext 234 between 8am and 3pm, or call in at the Cultural Dept in Santiago del Teide. More information from the Ayuntamiento website HERE.

Update 28 January 2011: This walk has been postponed until Saturday 5 February due to the poor weather conditions being forecast for tomorrow. Ayto

Update 16 January 2011: As is clear from these photos, taken outside my house just a few minutes ago, the almond trees are in fabulous blossom again, and in Santiago del Teide, 2011’s Almond Blossom Route walk will be held on Saturday 29 January. The route is from Calvario de los Baldíos in the Valle de Arriba to Arguayo’s Cultural Centre, and is graded as a “medium” difficulty walk of around 3 hours.

Places are limited, so those who are interested will need to register. Simply call the Ayuntamiento’s Culture Department on 922 863 127 ext 234, or fax 922 863 212, or email cultura@santiagodelteide.es. The walk costs €4, and it is perhaps to limit numbers and ensure payment that no starting time has been announced in advance. Walkers are recommended to equip themselves with comfortable clothing and shoes, water, sun protection, and a walking stick or pole. SantiagodelTeide.org.

Original post 16 January 2010: It’s the time of year when the almond blossom is at its most beautiful, and the aroma is at its headiest.

That’s why there is an organized walk along what’s known as the Almond Blossom Route, starting from the Plaza in Santiago del Teide on 6 February, passing through the Chinyero Forest Reserve, and ending up at the Arguayo Cultural Centre, where there’ll be a short environmental talk and and drinks.

The walk takes around 4 hours, and leaves Santiago del Teide’s plaza at 8am. Turismo

Original post 12 January: Three women needed medical treatment after a Los Cristianos supermarket was held up just before 6pm this evening.

At 17.47pm emergency services were called to the scene in Avenida Juan Carlos I with reports that a robbery was in progress, being carried out by a man armed with a knife. The supermarket has not been named but this is the main road down into Los Cristianos to the fountain roundabout and on down past the Princesa Dácil hotel.

National Police attended the scene and called paramedics out to attend to a cashier who needed medical attention, as well as two women who had suffered anxiety attacks. Initial reports from 112 say that the robber has been detained.

Rain and a sharp fall in temperatures is forecast from Tuesday, the rain lasting until Saturday, though Aemet says that longer term forecasts such as this are not the most reliable for specifics, but give tendencies. In short, winter is coming next week, and as proof, Aemet anticipates that Teide will be snow-capped above 2,000 metres.

Original post 12 January: As often in the weeks before the real winter arrives, we have a series of calimas or sciroccos, and we have had a few lately. The one that arrived yesterday is quite an intense one, bringing poor air quality, very low humidity and visibility, and unpleasant winds. These conditions are forecast to last until Sunday, when the wind turns to the northeast, and the change will bring fresher wind and clouds, and even some light rain in parts.

Update 12 January: Here are some photos taken today by The Tenerife Forum member Big John, who is resident in Callao Salvaje.

This post was unwieldy with all the photos in it, so all previous updates including pictures are now HERE.

The arrests came as part of the police operation codenamed ‘Operación Chincheta’, the result of huge concern among the hotels in south Tenerife. The two under arrest are said to have passed themselves off as tourists in order to carry out their thefts. They are now being processed by the relevant judicial authorities.

Now, a new report from the Canarian Government’s Environment Department says that nearly three-quarters of Santa Cruz’s untreated sewage is being evacuated straight into the sea by the auditorium just 100 metres from the coast. The capital’s Ayuntamiento, reacting to the report, says that it has done this rather than pumping the sewage to its local treatment plant for a few years now … and that it has permission from the Canarian Govermnent dating from 2007 to do so.

So that’s alright then, is it?

Update 4 January 2012: As every year, the Kings will be arriving in various towns throughout Tenerife tomorrow 5 January to deliver their presents to all good children. There will be the usual arrival by ferry in Los Cristianos around 7pm, but many towns will see such parades.

Another main one in the south is Adeje, where Los Reyes will arrive by helicopter at 5pm in the football ground (entrance ticket €1) and will then parade at 7.30 through the town’s main street, Calle Grande.

Another huge parade is, of course, in Santa Cruz, where despite fears of a cancellation because of the economic crisis, the kings will after all arrive at 5pm at the main CD Tenerife football ground, the Heliodoro, before parading from 7pm through the city, starting at Plaza República Dominicana, and proceeding through Avenida de las Asuncionistas, Ramón y Cajal, Galcerán, Plaza de Weyler, Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás, La Marina and ending at the Plaza de La Candelaria.

The video below shows the main Santa Cruz Reyes cabalgata in 2010.

Do bear in mind that to get a good vantage point for any of these parades, it’s essential to be there a couple of hours or so in advance. Wherever you see the Kings, enjoy the atmosphere, and the little gifts and confectionary they throw to the crowd as they pass. Kings Day itself, 6 January, will be a public holiday, as always.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Original post 5 January 2010: In Spain, it is not Father Christmas who delivers presents to all good Spanish girls and boys, it is Sus Majestades Los Reyes Magos, their Majesties the three Wise Kings of the traditional and familiar Nativity story. In recent years, Father Christmas has become increasingly popular, with many Spanish children now asking for, and expecting, presents from both sources, but the arrival of Los Reyes is still the most special of occasions.

“Kings’ Day”, Epiphany, or our Twelfth Night, is on January 6th, so everything apart from the most touristic of businesses will be closed, and as with Father Christmas, presents are delivered on the Eve, rather than the Day itself. Throughout Tenerife, therefore, there will be parades of Sus Majestades this evening, the 5th.

One of the most popular of these cabalgatas in the south is in Los Cristianos, where the Kings will arrive at the harbour by ferry. Their procession starts around 5pm and follows the road up Avenida Suecia to Church Square and then on to the Cultural Centre. In Adeje, the Kings will arrive by helicopter at the El Galeón football ground around 6pm, and then proceed along the town’s main Calle Grande. In Guía de Isora, the procession through the centre of the town will start around 7pm.

There are many parades in the north too, with the grandest arrival set to be a magical spectacular in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López in Santa Cruz from around 5pm. Tickets have been sold out for days for this specific event, but anyone can follow their procession through the streets in Santa Cruz from around 7pm.

As I noted in the El Hierro eruption post, scientists say that they’ve never before seen anything like the volcanic material coming up as smoking lava bombs which they’ve called Las Restingolitas in honour of the little town of La Restinga so close to the eruption zone.  On the outside is a dark glassy substance, thought to be some sort of basalt composition comprising minerals of peridot, pyroxene, magnetite and halite (sodium chloride), but inside is a white spongy mass that is minerologically very different, probably a type of silica but of a highly explosive rhyolite type which might even have been brought up from the oceanic crust.

Now, Las Restingolitas are on display in Tenerife in the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre. The exhibition will last until 31 January, and is open Tuesday to Sunday, between 9am and 7pm. The museum is halfway between the tram Intercambiador (opposite the Santa Cruz Auditorium) and the main Plaza de España (with the fountain), and on the tram line it is just at the first stop (Fundación), where the ice rink has been set up.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE       —–      FELIZ AÑO NUEVO A TODOS

Update 30 December: The search continues today, with the disappearance now reaching a full week. Yesterday nearly 70 bomberos, police, and search and rescue teams, including two helicopters and lifeboats, searched widely for her to no avail.

The authorities have reminded the public that Margaret Holt is 65 years old, with brown hair, 1.65m tall, and slim. When she was last seen she was wearing a pink T-shirt, Bermuda-style light brown shorts, white sandals and carrying a black bag. Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch urgently by calling emergency services on 112, or bomberos on 080 or the Guardia Civil on 062.

Update 29 December: This story has now made the BBC, HERE, , and in Lanzarote, the search is being widened today with a lifeboat being brought in to see if there is any trace of her in the sea. The boat will search the north coast of Lanzarote, in waters off the Teguise and Haría municipalities where rescue teams on land and in the air will now resume a third day’s search.

Original post 28 December: A search was underway as of yesterday in Lanzarote for a missing 65-year-old British tourist named as Margaret Holt, who disappeared on 23 December. She was last seen on that day around 5pm near the Volcán de La Corona.

Margaret Holt is described as having brown hair, being 1.65m tall, and slim. When she was last seen she was wearing a pink T-shirt, Bermuda-style light brown shorts, white sandals and carrying a black bag.

She is said to be in good physical shape and a walker, accustomed to going off on her own. She was staying in the Hotel Barceló in Costa Teguise, and hiking route maps were found in her room which suggest she was thinking of walking in the Risco de Famara area.

The search was initiated on 26 December after her family raised the alarm, having not heard from her for several day. Family members are now in Lanzarote to assist the search effort.

If anyone knows anything about this woman’s whereabouts, they are asked to call emergency services on 112, or the bomberos on 080, or the Guardia Civil on 062.

Original post 30 December 2010: Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has announced that the minimum wage will rise by 1.3% for 2011, to €641 a month. In 2010, it was set at €633.30. ZP said that the rise shows the govermnent’s understanding of the difficulties workers face in the present economic climate, and the effort the government was making to help them, regardless of how difficult it was to raise the minimum wage for the coming year.

The minimum wage has risen some 37% since 2004, increasing from €460.50 a month to the €641 now approved for 2011. The new rate equates to €8,979.60 per annum, an equivalent of €21.38 per working day. For casual or temporary staff, defined as those who work less than 120 days for the same business, the minimum wage is €30.39 per working day, the higher daily rate being some compensation for the lack of long-term contracted employment. LO

The meeting, with some 20 or so very involved or interested parties, was called to clarify the situation to date and discuss strategy for the future. What follows below is an update to the present situation, themes for further defence against the punitive and ferocious fines that are being levied, and ideas for strategies to lobby the Government to amend the 1995 law.

First, I can confirm that the first responses to appeals were received yesterday; this is just the start of the replies so those who are still waiting a response will no doubt receive theirs shortly. The fine has been reduced on first appeal by €3,000; from €18,000 to €15,000. As part of the defence, the lawyers had presented the T&Cs of the websites which were provided by Turismo as evidence of illegal touristic offer; these T&Cs said that the websites were not responsible for the content or able to confirm that personal details were correct. Turismo’s response was that this defence was inadmissible because they did not accept websites as evidence …

This first appeal-response stage is still open, so it is not yet time to appeal to the Courts. The lawyers are still arguing with Turismo and there is a further 15 days in which to submit additional argument to see if the fine can be reduced again. Whatever the result of this process over the next couple of weeks, it will then be time to take appeals to the Courts. As I understand it, the lawyers will now need Power of Attorney from their clients to continue with this stage, so anyone who is implicated needs to confirm what their lawyer specifically needs. Power of Attorney does not require clients to travel to Tenerife: it can be arranged through Embassies in Britain and Ireland.

Before moving on to themes for defence and future strategy to lobby for legal changes, I want to clarify the following points that have come up several times previously as questions from concerned owners:

• This is not a time-limited operation. It is a “Plan Especial” and is not envisaged as being confined to 2011 alone.
• It is not just foreigners who have been fined: there are Spanish, and specifically Canarian, victims too.
• The fine size of €18,000, from a possible range of €1,500 to €30,000, is based on the Government’s opinion that illegal letting is “competencia desleal”, i.e. unfair competition.
• It is unlikely in the extreme, to the point almost of impossibility, that there will be any co-ordination between the Canarian Regional Government’s Tourism Department and the National Government’s Revenue Department. This would not help Turismo even if there were such co-operation because the Hacienda does not know the nature of the income declared as taxable.

Turning now to themes for defence against these fines, the lawyers intend to pursue three main avenues. It is important not to give away too much at present, but the themes will be political, economic and procedural. There is still plenty of scope for legal argument, though the Government’s own intractability is suggested by the puny reduction of the fine by just €3,000. There is still some way to go, however, before the final stage of appeal to the Courts is reached.

Turning finally to the wider issue of strategies to lobby the Government to amend the 1995 law, there is to be a public meeting (as presently planned, anyway) in the last fortnight of January. A local lobby is being organized by some concerned individuals in Santiago del Teide and they hope to bus in representatives from Canarian businesses (taxis, restaurants, etc). It is also hoped that even the southern Mayors (particularly of Arona, Adeje and Santiago del Teide) might attend now that they are beginning to realize the effects this enforcement will almost certainly have on local tourism.

One argument will be that the Government is itself damaging the economy and acting in an unfairly competitive way in terms of all-inclusive hotels. Another claim will be that even within the constraints of the existing law, the Government does not have the right to insist on the type of tourism the islands offer – that there is an implicit right for, say, groups of naturists, gay tourists, “eco” tourists, to holiday in a way that is not offered either by touristic apartments or hotels, of whatever star category.

To end, the lawyers had clear advice for owners who feel they have no choice but to continue to advertise while this lobbying is going on. That advice is firstly to remove any suggestion from adverts of a touristic offer: not just “holidays”, but “touristic services”, including cleaning, safe storage boxes, airport transfers etc. Secondly, for those with clearly touristic adverts, to write to the administrators of any websites hosting their adverts and say that you do not agree with what is reproduced in your name and that all your letting conforms to the Urban Letting Law – i.e. that you are only offering residential lets. It will be essential to keep a copy, and to send the original by registered mail for proof of delivery: here, there is also the facility of Burofaxes which prove what was actually in the letter sent.

I have pruned the original post with all the information to date on it because it was becoming unwieldy: it is HERE.

The following Christmas card images are taken from the website HERE, the Casa de Su Majestad el Rey.

From the king and Queen:

and from the Prince and Princess of Asturias:

There are also Christmas cards from the two Infantas and their families on the Casa del Rey website at the link above.

This area, of some 500,000 square metres, has been marked out with streets and paving for some time, and is now intended to become the “economic motor” not just of Los Cristianos, but of south Tenerife generally, according to the Ayuntamiento in a press conference yesterday.

The area will contain residential, touristic and commercial properties, and talks will start with businesses after Christmas to see how to get the maximum potential from the area.

Arona’s Urbanismo councillor said he recognized that given the crisis in the construction sector, realizing this potential might take years, but all possibilities and strategies would be examined to fuel touristic and commercial activity.

As of yesterday, Sonia P.B. is now in Tenerife II prison, while her partner is still under police guard in a secure part of Candelaria Hospital. His wounds are said to be self-inflicted. Meanwhile, the two poor children have been cremated, a service that was attended by the distraught father of the little girl.

Original post 13 December: The bodies of two children, a little girl of 11 and her 5-year-old brother, were found earlier today in an apartment in the Vistabella area of Santa Cruz.

The father of one of the children was also found seriously injured, though not life-threateningly so; he has been taken to Candelaria hospital while the children’s mother has been arrested on suspicion of killing her children and is under police guard in the psychiatric unit of the same hospital, police sources say.

A friend of the couple said that they had pyschological problems, and that the children might have been dead for a couple of days. The police investigation continues.

January 2012’s sales will start on 7 January, the day after Reyes, and finish on 6 March.

Next year’s summer sales period has also been announced. In all the islands except El Hierro, it will be between 2 July and 1 September. In El Hierro it will be between 15 July and 15 September.

Original post 12 December: Trafico is to post 20,000 checkpoints for alcohol checks on the road this coming week, including next weekend. That’s a national figure, but there will be plenty in Tenerife. The operation is intended to coincide with the beginning of the Christmas period, and is accompanied by a television information campaign. Police stress that these checkpoints will be in operation throughout the days as well as the evenings and nights. Just be careful out there.

The poor soul who died was a 32-year-old man who was run over. Another man, of 45 years of age, was also run over but only suffered slight leg injuries and was transferred to Candelaria hospital.

The other injured were a 17-year-old girl, a 38-year-old man, and a 36-year-old woman.

Update 24 November: Within a week of their strike they have called another one for 15 December. They will also strike on 12,19 and 26 January 2012. The strike is currently being called by the majority of the unions, and the others are expected to add their support tomorrow.

Update 16 November: Just a reminder, in case it affects anyone, that this strike is now tomorrow, and that despite talks to try to avoid it, it is still going ahead.

Original post 25 October: Health unions have called a one-day strike on 17 November in protest at cuts to the health budget for 2012. In real terms, they argue, the rise of 2.1% in the health budget conceals a cut of 32.5 million Euros, which equates to the loss of 1,300 healthcare professionals’ jobs, and a salary cut of around 8% for those who remain in post given that they will be required to increase their working hours from 35 to 37.5 a week.

Union representatives say that those who will really pay are patients who use the public health service, whether in terms of increased waiting lists, in diagnostic tests and consultations. They argue that the new budget is privatisation by stealth by the Canarian Government to save money and favour private healthcare businesses. C24H

Update 14 December: The viceconsejero de Turismo del Gobierno de Canarias, Ricardo Fernández de la Puente Armas, confirmed yesterday in Madrid that the closure of the El Hierro Parador will only be for five months maximum starting from January and agreed with the workers, for refurbishments.

Sr Fernández said that he was assured of this by the President of the Parador chain, Miguel Martínez, and indicated that he was satisfied by Sr Martínez’ awareness of the importance of the hotel to El Hierro.

Original post 9 December: The Parador group of hotels in Spain has announced the provisional closure of the El Hierro Parador and the opening of an official process for laying off staff. The senator elect of the El Hierro Independent-Coalición Canaria (AHI-CC) group, Narvay Quintero, is to meet with the president of the Parador group in Madrid next Wednesday to try to secure guarantees for the hotel’s future.

Sr Quintero said it was deplorable that the Parador Group, a state institution, was proposing the closure of such an emblematic touristic icon at a time when El Hierro was undergoing its worst ever crisis as a result of the recession and the volcanic eruption. He stressed that right now, El Hierro needed solutions to improve the island’s situation, and not something that could contribute to wiping out its tourism.