Janet Anscombe

Overview of News

It is a symbolic number that has been feared for some time, even though one or two positive stories about the rate of unemployment raised hopes that it might not actually happen. Those hopes have been dashed, however, with the news that unemployment in the Canaries is now over 30%. Latest figures show that the number of those out of work in the islands rose 27,500 throughout 2011, leaving 341,900 people without work, up 8.75% on 2010.

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.

Arona has opened a new Citizen Attention Office (OAC) in Los Cristianos for people who can’t speak Spanish. The office is multi-lingual, and allows municipal business to be conducted as in any other OAC. The office is open from 8am to 2pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 8am to 6pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is located in the La Montañeta area of the town, in local 7a bajo, Edf Verodal, Calle Roque de Jama. This isn’t easy to describe, but is near the Unelco office and the Ritmania Dance School. If you click HERE, hopefully it will bring up the street map with Calle Roque de Jama marked.

Bomberos rescued a five-month pregnant woman yesterday afternoon after her car left the road and ended up in the Barranco del Infierno in Adeje. The woman was trapped in her car and needed to be freed, after which she was transferred to Hospitén Sur. Mother and unborn baby are both said to be fine.

Update 23 January 2012: The President of the Canaries, Paulino Rivero, has said that the TF1 extension between Adeje and Santiago del Teide, which forms part of the island ring road, will be finished in December this year, and open to traffic probably in the first quarter of 2013. The extension will be two lanes in either direction between Armeñime (Adeje) and Tejina (Guía de Isora) and to the new port at Fonsalía, and a three lane “chicken run” between Tejina and Santiago del Teide.

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.

Update 23 January: This is just an update to say that the silence from official quarters on the subject of this proposed meeting is deafening! I have not heard anything more about it, and needless to say, if I knew, I would hardly keep the information to myself, so please don’t expend any effort in contacting me to see if I have any news. I will post the information here the minute I have anything to say.

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.

The Guardian has picked the five best places to live … and Santa Cruz is one of the five!

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

A 60-year-old woman is in hospital tonight after falling into the sea from a ferry in Los Cristianos harbour at 8pm this evening. The woman was travelling on the Volcán de Taburiente ferry when, for reasons which are still unexplained, she fell overboard. She was rescued within minutes by a lifeboat and brought to the jetty where paramedics were already waiting for her. She was treated and stabilized at the scene and then transferred to Hospitén Sur where she is said to be suffering from the effects of her near drowning, and to have received various cuts, but is, otherwise, mercifully not in a serious condition.

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.

A man and two women have received knife injuries after a fight in a bar in Calle Italia, in the San Eugenio Alto area. This is the road between the aquapark and Malibu Park apartments. Emergency services were called shortly after 10.30 last night with reports that someone had gone into the bar with a knife and was threatening people inside.

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.

A 57-year-old man died of a heart attack around 9.30 this morning in an attempt to walk to the peak of Mount Teide. The tragedy happened on the path up to the summit in the Montaña Blanca area. Emergency services were called out and a helicopter and ambulance were sent to the scene, but despite the best efforts of both teams of paramedics, nothing could be done to resuscitate the poor man and he was declared dead at the scene.

Update 13 January: The man under arrest for this attempted robbery is 34 years old and has a criminal record, police have said today. As he held up the supermarket, he grabbed a cashier from behind and put the knife to her neck to try to force her to hand over the money. A shopper grabbed a trolley and launched it at the thief who was pushed to the ground by the force, dropping the knife in the process. The robbery happened in the Mas o Menos supermarket, which I think is now a Hiperdino.

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.

Update 13 January: Aemet is forecasting increasing instability in the weather and the arrival of a front of low pressure from Sunday night bringing wet and windy weather. Aemet says that this will end what, with 1974 and 1994, has been one of the dryest Christmas periods in the last 60 years.

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.

Update 12 January 9pm: Coincidentally with John’s photos today, the press is reporting that the Playa de Ajabo, the new beach in Callao Salvaje, will be finished by March.

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.