A body found in a barranco in La Gomera corresponds to 56-year-old Briton Richard Michael Lee, says the Guardia Civil. Mr Lee disappeared on 7 October while on a walking holiday alone to San Sebastián. His clothes and belongings had been left in his hotel room and it was feared that he had suffered an accident but no trace of him has previously been found. The body discovered this morning was in a very inaccessible area, and was recovered by helicopter. There was no evidence of any violence, so it does indeed appear that the poor man was the victim of a tragic accident.

It’s been held before, but never in the south. La Noche de Caridad Anual (annual charity night) will this year be held at 7pm on 29 June in the fabulous Gran Hotel Bahía del Duque, a Disneyesque fantasy castle of a hotel that has won awards throughout the world, frequently being voted best spa resort in Spain, if not Europe. The charity in question is the burns unit of the Gambo Hospital in Ethiopia, which has an agreement with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid for research: the hospital has some 150 beds and serves around a million people.

The event is sponsored by El Corte Inglés and registered charity (ONG) Optimismo en Acción, and is described as an exclusive combination of top fashion labels, sophisticated music and art, buffet with cocktails, all in the most luxurious settings and in aid of course, of solidarity with the most needy in the world. Now it’s being held in the south it is also expected to attract a great number of other nationalities, perhaps primarily Russians, along with the Canarians who traditionally support it.

Numbers are limited and tickets cost €55. If you would like to go, they can be bought from “It’s” in CC Plaza del Duque; in Tez Tour and Interventure Property in CC Fañabe Plaza; in Nathalie Tours in Las Chafiras; and in the Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque itself on the day of the event if tickets remain. They can also be purchased online – see the instructions on www.optimismoenaccion.org: this is also the website on which one can track the bank movements of the charity so as to have full confidence in the probity of the event and the cause itself. Any further information, please contact Ignacio Rosillo on 696 685 996.

The Tenerife Symphony Orchestra will be presenting a concert in south Tenerife once again in its third chamber music cycle. The performance is on 20 June at 8.30pm in the Valle San Lorenzo cultural centre. Entry to the concert is free, and those who attend will hear the following programme:

That lack of faith is understandable, indeed, since Sr Bethencourt’s vague promise of money “soon” was accompanied by the equally vague comment that the future of the abattoir would have to be “discussed” because “one has to adapt to current circumstances”. Sr Bethencourt blamed the abattoir workers for their “astronomical” pay demands and said that they should be reasonable given the exigencies of the market, which have resulted in low profit margins and reduced consumption. Unions say that these “sky high wage negotiations” saw rises in workers’ income from €600 to up to a maximum of €1,000 per month – €12,000 or so per annum. I’m not sure how many would agree with the Cabildo that this is unreasonable, particularly when we see Canarian municipal politicians’ salaries in the tens of thousands  - accompanied by claims recently that it’s not enough and that “if you pay peanuts you get monkeys”.

One would have hoped that in the current circumstances – i.e. in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, even in economically hard times and in a remote corner of Europe – the concept of a decent day’s pay – or even any pay - for a decent day’s work was a concept recognized to be as natural and normal as the sun in the sky. Apparently not. Workers say they’ll lift the strike and return to work when they see money in the bank. I for one don’t blame them.

Original post 15 June: The 42 employees in the Matadero Insular, Tenerife’s only abattoir in La Laguna, have gone on indefinite strike because they have not been paid since January. The workers say that when they failed to be paid in May, and were then told that June’s extra payment was not going to be made – and indeed that there was no money to pay them for the rest of the year – it was the straw that broke the camel’s back and so they decided, in desperation, to call the strike.

The island’s abattoir workers are hardly coining it in, earning less than €1,000 a month, and without even those wages coming in for the last four and a half months they are in dire straits, many of them now fearing eviction because they have got behind with their mortgages. A major part of the problem seems to be that the abattoir is dependent on the Cabildo, and there is no public money. Privatization is a possibility, but sources say that with meat prices so low there is little commercial appetite for such a business. Meanwhile, the fresh meat shelves could start looking quite thin.

Those who know me have all heard about the Corner family, comprising Mr & Mrs C, and Miss & Master C, and the Rose family who live in the original cottage wall under an ancient rose bush that has refused all efforts to dislodge it, and also Joe Smallweed, the cross lizard with the brightest coat imaginable (hence Joseph of the dreamcoat and Smallweed, the little ball of bitterness, from Dickens’ Bleak House). Many are also familiar with the giant lagarto of El Hierro …

but none of them come close to the largest lizard in the Canaries, which is found in Gran Canaria. Some building works have uncovered a whole tribe of them, and the local Ayuntamiento has authorized their transfer to an area where their survival will be guaranteed. Some 500 have been moved to fincas with walls and orchards full of fruit trees … paradise for lizards! I don’t have permission to post the photo, but have a look HERE! Simply amazing. There’s also a video above of the GC lizard.

Update 14 June: And so it continues. After sectioning off a part of the beach for private sunbed users, a move that subsequently saw rapid backtracking amidst allegations that the sunbed concession had repeatedly been deemed illegal, it now seems that this summer will find Arona’s Los Cristianos and Troya beaches without any sunbeds or umbrellas at all.

Apart from the questionable contracts, it appears that no money has been coming in to the council from the concession for over a year, leaving a financial hole in the council’s coffers of, in total when all services are taken into account, around €2,000,000. Moreover, the Ayuntamiento’s General Secretary confirmed that when the current contract expired – at the beginning of 2012 – the contract required the sunbeds to be removed.

The municipal legal chief says that the whole thing must now be put out to public tender according to recognized procedures, and insisted that the council brings to an end the current “irregular situation”, a situation evidenced by numerous reports issued since early 2011. With just a week or so now to go before the summer period formally starts, the chaos on Arona’s beaches shows no sign of improving. If anything, it is just getting worse and worse.

Update 29 April: Is Arona to be condemned for ever to live in the shadow of incompetence and maybe even worse? After the fiasco of the sectioned-off beach for the concessiary to exploit, it now appears that the contracting service of the Ayuntamiento has warned the environment department at least 26 times that, on the basis of technical reports, seasonal services on Los Cristianos and Troya beaches, and the sunbed concession on Playa de las Vistas, should be suspended because they are being run illegally. A report from the municipal Contratación service dated 25 March is categorical: “Since 7 February 2011 there have been 26 warnings that there is no legal basis for the provision of such unauthorized services and they should be ordered to be suspended”. And of course the lifguards …

What does it take … ?

Update 18 April: It seems that the Ayuntamiento is having second thoughts about putting up notices about “exclusive use” of parts of Playa de las Vistas because they are “rather aggressive”. Concejal de Medio Ambiente, Antonio Sosa, said that the council was now seeking alternatives to the notices, but not to the rule itself, because “that is specified in the conditions drawn up by the Ayuntamiento”. While announcing this, Sr Sosa also confirmed that his department had spoken with the Dept of Costas: it was a formal matter, he said, to which a solution is being sought. Why do I get the distinct feeling that Arona has overstepped the mark here, and that it’s more than just an issue about “notices”?

Original post 17 April: Arona Ayuntamiento has reserved a section of Playa de las Vistas for those who want to hire sunbeds and sun umbrellas from the resident concessionary company. The general public will no longer be able to use it without paying for a sunbed, and anyone who just wants to put down a towel will have to use the non-reserved part of the beach. These areas are expected to become rather packed in the height of summer, and criticism of the council’s move is widespread.

Despite such criticism, however, signs in both Spanish and English will soon bear witness to the privileged section reserved for those who are prepared to pay for sunbeds, and expressly prohibit leaving a towel or other belongings on the beach. Arona says the service is profitable, raising 1.3 million Euros a year for the concession less just 110,000 paid to Costas. That’s good for the council, of course, but not so good for the many people who actually want to use the beaches without being charged for the privilege.

The celebrations are far from restricted to the inland villages, however, with fires and parties on many beaches – particularly popular ones are held in El Médano and Los Cristianos, but the most spectacular will again be the celebration at the fiesta’s namesake beach, Playa San Juan. If you are near one, you might even see some people jumping over the flames three times, a rite considered to be purifying and lucky, representing a burning away of the leaper’s problems.

In Guía de Isora, the 24th, San Juan Bautista’s Day itself is a public holiday, but the largest actual celebration takes place in Puerto de la Cruz, where goat keepers from the hills above the town bring their flocks down to the coast to bathe them in the sea in the early morning. This Baño de Cabras (bathing of the goats) is a tradition that is said to date back to pre-Hispanic times, making the animals literal scapegoats whose purification in the waters will bring good fortune on their keepers and the local community.

Wherever you celebrate la Noche or el Día de San Juan, I hope you have a great and safe time.

For more information in English see Don Quijote.org

Update 19 April: The Canarian Government’s Public Works minister, Domingo Berriel, has said that the motorway extension between Adeje and Santiago del Teide is too important and strategic a project for the economic development of the island to be allowed to lapse, and that it will go ahead this year despite the cuts in public funding. His comments were backed up by Tenerife Cabildo Vice President Carlos Alonso, who confirmed that the Public Works Department would find some formula over the next few weeks to allow the works to be resumed. Two possibilities that seem promising are to finance works under regional deficit, or to increase the aval conditions to provide better guarantees for contractors to continue. However they do it, they’re looking at works resuming “in a few weeks”.

Update 17 March: In January, works were “just waiting for a signature”, but now, in bad news for our infrastructure and our employment statistics, the TF1 extension and connection between Adeje and Santiago del Teide is officially paralysed. All that will be done for the foreseeable future is the placement of a bridge underneath the village of Tejina. Apart from this, the nine subcontractors of UTE Adeje-Santiago del Teide are collecting plant and material because, in their own words, “the chief of works has said that it’s finished”.

The announcement was made by Agroexcavaciones Prieto and González Casañas, two of the businesses affected. Benjamin Prieto, owner of the excavation company, said that the cessation of works in respect of the most important road infrastructure in Tenerife could leave some 200 workers out of a job, and added that they had been given to understand that the works would not go further because of the lack of funds, and had been told only to stop, with no information about when works might resume. González Casañas confirmed that “they are blocking the exits and handing over materials”.

The problem lies in the cuts in funding from Madrid to the Canaries for its road investment. Described as brutal, 2013′s funding was reduced by 74% from 207 to 54 million Euros. Mayor of Guía de Isora Pedro Martín, however, said that despite the cuts, the works could go ahead given the right priorities being drawn up by the regional Parliament. He described the lack of funds for the extension to be finished as “nonsensical”.

Update 31 January 2013: Works on the TF1 extension between Adeje and Santiago del Teide have been practically paralysed since September for the lack of a signature. So says Tenerife Cabildo consejero de Carreteras José Luis Delgado, who stressed that the stretch is almost finished, but that the installation of its two bridges is stuck for the want of authorization to begin which just needs the Canarian Government’s consejero de Obras Públicas, Domingo Berriel, to put pen to paper.

Delgado said that the papers in question had been on Berriel’s desk since September, and if money was what was really behind the delay, the works so far had cost over €150 million and would only require a further €20 million to complete. Money does seem to be the issue, indeed, since the Canarian Government’s budget for this year’s allocates only €100.000 for the ring road, an allocation that Delgado classed as “insufficient”, and an amount that might not even cover security, let alone works.

Update 3 September: Although there was doubt earlier in the year, the Canarian Government has now formally committed itself to providing funds to finish the motorway extension between Armeñime and Santiago del Teide. The works, which have been paralysed, originally had a completion date of the end of 2013, and the Cabildo says that the Government’s commitment makes that deadline feasible again. This is also when the motorway connection between Icod de Los Vinos and El Tanque comes into use, and so the dream of the Tenerife ring road is back on once again.

Original post 2 April:  The completion of the Adeje to Santiago del Teide extension of the TF1 is in doubt after national Government cuts of 64% for road projects in Tenerife. Works on several other roads are also up in the air, the Canarian Government minister for public works, Domingo Berriel, has announced.

Apart from road users, of course, among the most affected will be the actual contractors who were allocated the projects, and who the Government now fears will seek compensation for the loss of some 130 million Euros in 2012 alone – the projects were due to run to 2017.

Apart from the TF1 extension, other road works affected by the cuts include the third carriageway between Güímar and Santa Cruz, the TF1 extension between Santiago del Teide and Icod and then on to El Tanque. North Tenerife is also affected in respect of the Via Litoral in Santa Cruz, and works on the TF5 between Ofra and El Chorrillo, and Padre Anchieta to Los Rodeos.

Sr Berriel said that the regional Government was studying the possibility of an appeal to the Supreme Court or even the Constitutional Court to contest the decision for breach of agreement.

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.

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

Original post 17 August 2012: Loro Parque is delighted to announce the birth of a new orca, only the second ever born in Spain, and an indication, says the park, of the well-being of the mammals in the Parque. Mum Kohana is 10 years old and this is her second baby, who weighed in at 152 kilos after a 2-hour labour assisted by Loro Parque vets, biologists and trainers. Moments after being born, the new arrival swam instinctively to the surface to take its first breath. It is said to be strong, and very energetic, and makes everyone associated with the Parque very happy, said Miguel Díaz, chief orca trainer.

copyright Sir Old Golfer

Update 16 June: There was a real turnout for the triathlon this morning by the looks of it, and there are some fantastic photos of the event HERE - thanks to Sir Old Golfer Bill for the link, and for the above photo too. Fantastic images which really bring it all to life.

It’s for hardcore athletes all right, but it’s also a great spectacle for the less energetic! The annual El Médano triathlon takes place on 16 June from 9am, with several hundred taking part and, no doubt, just as many if not more lining the routes to watch the 1.5 km swim, followed by a 40 km cycle race, and ending with a 10 km foot race. Gruelling is not the word! For further details, the official website is HERE.

Referring to the eastern province’s claims that the Tenerife hotel sector was being favoured over that of Gran Canaria, Sr Soria said that the law wasn’t a fraud that shows preference to one part of the Canaries over another, but in a far wider sense it was a fraud in respect of the archipelago as a whole. In terms of the law’s very title, which includes the word modernization, he said that there is nothing more opposed to modernization than the establishment of obstacles and restrictions in the tourism sector.

He expressed the opinion, too, that each island, through its Cabildo, should be allowed to determine its own tourism priorities and promotions, “without the “guardianship” of any regional administration. Sr Soria reminded the conference of the regional PP that 2013 was the year in which the Cabildos, democratically elected, celebrated their centenary: what’s with the Canarian Government’s obsession and mistrust about the powers and jurisdiction of the Cabildos, he asked. Sr Soria closed by asking the Canarian Government to reflect on the enormous damage such anti-competitive laws can do, and insisted that what the islands needed was the best hotels for tourists themselves to decide where they want to stay.

I think many will agree with him, though it should be noted that he himself is still talking in terms of hotels. It should also be borne in mind that there is not the best of historical blood between him and Canarian President Paulino Rivero. None the less, it’s good to hear a voice, albeit a Canarian one, speaking from the national seat of power. This is Madrid calling …

Update 2 June:  The ink is hardly dry on the paper, and I’ve not yet even had a chance to settle down to look at the clauses in detail, but already the new law is under attack. There are the usual interest groups seeing the legislation wrongheaded in almost every way from favouritism for Tenerife province over that of Las Palmas, to restrictive practices, violations of EU law, etc. The debate on this will rumble on and on, I suspect, and some argue that the law will hardly last a year before it has to be redrafted.

In my own opinion, the law is indeed clearly restrictive. Whether this is permissible within the terms of the EU seems clear – it is. That at least is the current opinion of many if not most judges here and two previous EU rulings. Whether it’s legally valid, though, is for me less of an issue than whether it’s effective. It seems to me that the restrictions are still so great, and the focus on hotel accommodation so marked, that the authorities really haven’t got the measure of their own market, and are failing significantly in understanding that what really matters is not the Canaries, but what tourists want.

This is the view, too, of Sergio Moreno of the Instituto Universitario de Turismo y Desarrollo Económico Sostenible (Tides). He says that this legislation is based on an important conceptual failure because the government is focusing the debate on the territory rather than the tourists. Sr Moreno argues that the whole controversy about numbers of stars – a detailed debate over whether 4* hotels should be allowed in addition to 5* ones ending in the decision that they were not allowed as newbuilds but allowed as renovation projects – was pretty senseless since it is services offered, rather than number of stars, that is the real indication of quality.

I can do no better than repeat his conclusion: what is important is not the territory itself, but the industry’s own adaptation to tourists, and to do this, you have to specialize. You can have a 5* hotel all you like but if it isn’t following and adapting to the market of the moment, its stars are of no value whatsoever.

Update 3.30pm: Sorry this is all bitty, but I’m rushed off my feet at present. HERE is the new law, now published. HERE is the process it has gone through.

Update 29 May: As expected, the new tourism legislation was approved yesterday. I will post details as soon as possible …

Update 24 May: The Canarian government yesterday approved clauses for the new law so as to provide a framework within which more than 5,000 villas in the Canaries that are currently residential will be able to be used touristically; moreover, their plots will be reclassified at Government level, thus bypassing where necessary individual Cabildo restrictions and Ayuntamiento land usage designations. The law will also considerably reduce the “coastal band” for villa legitimacy: the Government had been aiming for a 500m exlusion area but this has now been reduced to 200m, and even further to 100m if in a clifftop area. Lanzarote, which is where around half of the properties affected are located, is likely to benefit especially from the measure.

The final debate on the legislation is scheduled to take place this coming Tuesday. This is something that Alotca has lobbied actively for, and continued to negotiate about even though much of the work was carried out in the background. Although we’ll have to wait until at least Tuesday for the final detail, needless to say we are absolutely delighted with this news.

Update 11 April:  The new law is still mired in Parliament. Today we’ve learned that the Canarian Socialist and nationalist groups will be presenting separate amendments to the Bill.  The main reason for posting something of such little immediate import is to show the two main issues that are causing problems right now … and neither is concerned with the matters that would concern most readers here, I imagine. The first is the nature of the role of Cabildos and Ayuntamientos in modernisation plans, and the other is that of the categories permitted in newly created tourist establishments. There is also dispute over whether to include 4* establishments in the moratorium. There is still no sign of when this will be translated into law.

Update 7 February 2013: The moratorium will be, as I posted below last September, enshrined in law and “indefinite” once the new law comes into force. The legislation passed its first parliamentary process yesterday, with the total rejection of all opposition amendments. The opposition, and amendments, had argued that the new legislation was interventionist, and ignored completely island cabildos and local Ayuntamientos. All such arguments were dismissed. Environment and Regional Policy Minister Domingo Berriel said that this was going to be a permanent law to regulate the growth of the tourism sector, and that any problems in its imposition would, as was the case with any law, be dealt with in the normal  course of events and in the normal manner. “Call this interventionist if you like”, said Sr Berriel, “but this strategic activity must be regulated”. Sr Berriel confirmed that the new law will act to correct residentialism, something that had been very negative for tourist areas. The word  he uses is “reconducir”. I’ve translated “act to correct”, but could equally have used “redirect”. Once again it is far from clear what the government has in mind in this respect, which is of such great interest to those who own property of any type in tourist areas. I’ve posted previously on other measures in the bill, so won’t repeat them here, but it’s worth mentioning that Sr Berriel insisted that no more land would be classified for tourist use, “because there is enough available”. The bill now continues its way through Parliament, with the first hurdle cleared.

Original post 22 September 2012: The Canarian Government has sent the draft new tourism law, the Ley de Renovación y Modernización Turística de Canarias, to the Consultative Committee for consultation. I haven’t seen the full draft yet myself, but the Government has asked for a speedy response: as we know, the new law must be on the statute books in December at the latest because the touristic moratorium was extended in May only until the end of the year. What the Government has formally announced at this point, though, is that the law has as a primary objective the renovation and modernization of touristic urbanizations, areas and products; the diversification of its touristic offer; and authorizations in 2013 and 2014 for 5* hotels in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.  Once this period is over, new licences will be considered for establishments under 5* as long as they provide luxury places tied to renovation projects or replace obsolete beds. Construction team employment must significantly favour those who are registered as unemployed. Existing restrictions outside of these criteria are to be maintained indefinitely. Recognizing the criticism of this stance in some quarters, the Government says that whether people agree with this or not, this is the Government’s model and decision, and that the new law does away with the need to keep renewing the existing touristic moratorium which can now be considered to be enshrined in law. The fundamental objects of the legislation are:

• to manage and organize the growth of the touristic offer, tying this to quality improvement both in terms of renovation and new build
• to increase quality levels and the category of touristic establishments
• to avoid, and if appropriate, redirect the residentialisation of touristic areas
• to provide the Government with effective juridical mechanisms to incentivise and, as appropriate, ensure compliance with conservation, renovation and effective use requirements
• to restore the image of touristic areas

The new law envisages the possibility of touristic licences being awarded in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote only for:

• the renovation of existing touristic establishments
• the implementation of touristic places based on rights deriving from renovation projects
• hotels on approved urban non-touristic land (suelo urbano consolidado) and rural hotels
• hotels of a minimum 5* category
• non-hotel accommodation where planning rules expressly permit, or do not prohibit, it, with a minimum 5* category in respect of apartments
• specialist accommodation establishments

The new plans will complement, and in some cases replace, existing urban designations in order to make urban renovation more viable. They will also include new formats in touristic organization such as the condominium – based on the American model – and touristic villas, the latter being at least 500 metres from the coast, of a density of between 10 and 40 units per hectare depending on overall plot size, and which do not exceed 20% of the surface area concerned. In addition, a procedure is envisaged to regularize and authorize accommodation establishments which have existing licences from before Ley 19/2003, and which comply with all requirements necessary to be considered touristic establishments. With regard to incentives for renovation, the law includes measures for financial incentives and additional places – up to 50% for hotels and 25% for apartments, except where:

• the category will be lower than 3*
• the conversion is from a hotel to a non-hotel establishment
• when the conversion is from a non-hotel to a hotel establishment that does not convert the regimen of horizontal property to one of ordinary ownership or co-ownership

The recent open day to the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos for International Museum Day was a great success, and now the the museum has announced a further two open days on Friday and Saturday, 21 and 22 June, in honour of the official start of summer on the 21st. Entry to the planetarium itself, the attraction that evokes the most enthusiasm, will also again be free. What with the IAC observatory open days being held on the same weekend for the same purpose, it’s the starriest summer weekend imaginable!

Update 31 May: This comes into force tomorrow, and it seems that hardly anyone is prepared for it. Even notaries seem unaware: I was told yesterday that one advised an enquirer that it only applied to newbuild properties. With such misinformation and confusion around, please look for yourselves at the links below, which are government links, including one to the actual new law, which comes into force tomorrow, 1 June 2013.

Given the questions I’ve been having, I think it needs to be clarified that it is the legal responsibility of owners – no-one else – to acquire the certificates. Evidently the best agents will advise, and even help obtain the certificates, but it is the owner’s responsibility, and there is no legal onus on the agent even if a property is advertised without a “label”, or with an incorrect one. What agents are required by law to do is advise owners of their own legal obligations, and place the “label” that they are supplied with on the advert.

Clearly the “owners” of a new build are the promoters, and they have been providing these certificates since 2007. With all resale properties, however, it is for the owner to arrange. The certificate also has to be registered: it is the responsibility of the owner to do this but the registration will no doubt be arranged by the certifier. Luckily, the Canaries is one of just a handful of autonomous regions where this can be done: the majority do not yet have the registros in place to process the certificates!

One major concern was whether notaries would stop a sale being signed if the property concerned did not have a certificate. It appears now that they will not have the power to do so, but as is the case where there is an issue with other relevant documents, they will advise both parties of the missing or erroneous document, warn that it must be arranged or corrected, and insert a clause in the new escritura to these effects.

Update 26 May: A few extra details about the new energy certificate system which is due to come into force in less than a week now, on 1 June, and despite the fact that much officialdom seems to be unready. The system will be administered by the autonomous regions, which have until mid-July to finalise lists of those permitted to issue certificates.

The average cost of the certificates will be €200 to €250. They will be valid for ten years, and will be required for any property being sold or rented for more than four months. Fines of between €300 and €600 are envisaged for advertising which breaches the new legislation. Fines of up to €6,000 are envisaged for more serious offences such as falsifying details.

Update 14 May: Anyone wishing to organize one of these certificates, or to confirm that someone else is legally able to issue them, now has an official regional contact point. THIS is the national list from the Government, and the details for the Canaries specifically are:

Consejería de Empleo, Industria y Comercio. Dirección General de Industria y Energía
C/ León y Castillo, 200; Edificio Servicios Múltiples III , Planta 4ª; 35071 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Tel: 928-899-400 ; www.gobcan.es

THIS appears to be the full list of those qualified to issue these certificates in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Update 13 April: Real Decreto 235/2013  has now been approved and published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado nº 89 (13/04/2013). These certificates will continue to be voluntary until 1 June 2013, but from that date, they will be a requirement for anyone selling or renting a property.

Original post 1 April:  I’ve now had a few emails and contact requests for information about a new requirement for all properties being sold or rented out for more than four months to have an energy certificate. I was actually holding off from posting it because it is not yet approved by the Spanish Government. The system should have started in January, with a new law in place as a result of EU directives (please see HERE), but it was only in January that the draft legislation was in place. It has recently been sent to Industria and as far as I know, the new law will be approved by the end of this month. When approved, it will come into force in June assuming there aren’t any changes to the draft legislation.

The bottom line is that from June (we assume), no-one will be able legally to sell or rent out a property without a certificate showing how energy efficient that property is. I will have to confirm later how the certificates can be obtained, but I can at least say that as far as cost is concerned, fees will be determined by market forces: it’s expected, though, to be around 250 to 300 Euros. I myself think it’s barmy to apply this across the EU without regard for the great differences in energy use and systems, and cannot really see what purpose it will serve here, but it is something that is coming in the near future. I’ll update when I have more information.

edit: given the date, it occurs to me to say that this is not an April Fool’s Day joke. I might join in with the Spanish Día de los Santos Inocentes, but there are no jokes on 1 April.

Update 15 June: Above is a graphic showing what’s going on where in the Arona en Colores urban fiesta in Las Galletas today. For a full size version, please click HERE.

Update 3 June 2013: This was a success last year, and so Arona en colores (Arona in colours) is back in Las Galletas on Saturday, 15 June. The idea, as before, is to offer a boost to the town’s commerce, but apart from shopping, there will also be music, prize draws, exhibitions, and competitions throughout the day.

Original post 26 May 2012: ‘Arona en colores’ (Arona in colours) is the name of a fiesta that will be held next Saturday, 2 June, between 6pm and midnight in Las Galletas. Arona mayor, José Alberto González Reverón, says that it’s a “multiclour urban fiesta” which is intended to revitalize the area’s commerce. Among the activities on offer will be an exhibition of traditional fishing practices, and an exhibition of old photographs of Las Galletas. There will also be a dog competition, gymnastic and skating displays to music, children’s activities, and a prize draw of two cheques of €300 to be spent in the town.

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has announced two Open Days on Friday and Saturday, 21 and 22 June. Between 10am and 3pm, visitors will be able to have a guided tour and be told about the work done by the Observatory, as well as to ask whatever questions they like, whether about the solar system, nearest stars, galaxies, nebulae, or the age or origins of the universe.

The Open Days will be held in the Observatory itself, at Izaña. Groups will be taken at intervals to see the telescopes. Parking is available in the precinct’s own carpark. IAC recommends that since it is a high mountain area, visitors bring comfortable shoes, eye shades or sunglasses, as well as a coat. Those with any cardio-vascular or respiratory problems are advised that the altitude might present them with a problem and they are advised to check first with their doctor.  I went to one of these a few years ago, and I’d highly recommend it.

Original post 13 June: A man died around midday today after a traffic accident near the Quiron Hospital (formerly the USP) in San Eugenio. Eyewitnesses say that the car started swerving when it was travelling between the San Eugenio commercial centre and the Playa de las Américas bus station, ricocheted off several trees, and finally crashed into a stone wall. The driver and passenger were taken to hospital, but the driver sadly didn’t survive his injuries.

Update 13 June 2013: History the musical will be back in the Magma Centre from July. It was hugely successful last season in 2012 and I’m sure it will be so again this year. I’ll put the dates in my What’s On page HERE as soon as I have them.

Update 10 July 2012: History, the musical, is the new resident show in the Magma Centre. It is produced by Magma Arte & Congresos and Viana Shows, and the ambition is to “present a quality and different leisure event, adding value to the tourist experience”. This is what has come out of the presentation today in the Magma Centre by director and creator Eric Viana, Magma director Héctor Hernández, Adeje mayor José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, and Arona tourism councillor Francisco Niño. Also at the presentation was Nataly, one of the main artists in the show, and its musical director Rolo Rodríguez.

There is to be a preview tomorrow for tourism professionals, and it will be open to the public on 17 July. Seats will cost: VIP €45, general €35, and residents €29.  Children between 10 and 15 will be charged at half price, and under 10s will be admitted free. Tickets are already on sale through the magma website www.magmatenerife.es (I hope I’ve set the link to the English page) and the centre’s box office.

Original post 25 February:

The Magma Centre is the venue for the spectacular musical show “La historia de la música” next Saturday, 3 March, at 9pm.

The show comprises more than 30 artists from over 14 countries, and through the course of two hours, covers the history of music from classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Strauss, Liszt and Puccini, up to more modern artists like The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Pink Floyd.

Moving on to very recent times, it covers Queen, Abba, Michael Jackson, U2, Shakira, and Beyoncé, as well as West End and Broadway musicals like the Phantom of the Opera and Sister Act.

Music, song, and even dance and acrobats – this is an audiovisual spectacle for all the family, and it’s launching its European tour here in the Canaries.

Tickets are €20, and can be bought online HERE (in english HERE) or from the Magma box office.

While I’m reminding about the page, can I just reiterate that these properties are nothing to do with me and they are rentals direct between owners and tenants … and as such, please can people let me know when they’re suited so that I can remove the details!

Update 12 June: All the media coverage so far over the past ten months has been Canarian. Now, though, it’s national. The video below is of a slot this morning on TVE1, the equivalent of the UK’s BBC1, and draws attention apart from anything else to Arona’s loss of three blue flags. It ends with the presenter saying that they’d tried – several times – to get someone from Arona Ayuntamiento on the programme … but that there didn’t seem to be anyone available … . Now maybe the national shame will have some effect.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 8 June: The council has taken down all the protest banners and notices overnight. Most people might think it would be better to be more concerned about sending people to replace supplies of what was stolen, or preparing a defence for the Caso Arona … where the other day some 20-odd senior Arona Ayuntamiento officials had their corruption case trials confirmed and their appeals rejected.

With the leading Arona political class in the dock for corruption, and with the municipality’s beaches having neither blue flags nor lifeguards any more, and with the one remaining safe beach having had all its supplies stolen … the council thinks the most important thing is removing placards. And of course, it’s a violation of the constitutional right to peaceful protest. A violation of the rights of people? In Arona? Surely not …

As the lifeguards say, if you take down two placards, we’ll put up four.

Update 5 June: Playa de las Vistas was the only beach in Arona with lifeguard service, but now after the burglary the other day they have no medical supplies, no walkie-talkies, no walkie-talkie control central, no defibrilators, no rescue tubes … . A black flag is now flying.

Update 3 June: The lifeguards are still without their money, and today have arrived at work to find that the Las Vistas station has been burgled overnight. Seven walkie-talkies have been taken along with their control central, 2 defibrilators have gone, 10 rescue tubes …

Update 2 May: It was Veronica’s own case that was judged on Tuesday, and that judgment came from the  Juzgado de lo Social #5 itself in Santa Cruz. The Court found that Arona Ayuntamiento is indeed responsible for her salary, and as I said on 30 April, this will almost inevitably apply as well to all her colleagues when their cases come before the Court. The judgment relates to the three months of salary outstanding before the concessionary went out of business, and so there are still six months’ wages to be made good, but for the moment, the council has been sentenced to cough up €2,565.23 for Veronica. And that will be x17, thank you. Oh dear, Arona …

I’ve split the previous posts to make my front page less unwieldy. The full previous posts are HERE.

Graphic courtesy of IGN

Rather than oil on the water, it will be fuel on the flames for those who oppose oil exploration off the eastern Canary Islands. A 3.7 earthquake was registered overnight at a depth of some 20 km between Fuerteventura and the African coast, in the area where Repsol has now been given confirmed consent to carry out oil prospecting. There were two aftershocks of 2.4 and 2 on the Richter scale in addition. IGN says that such tremors are normal seismic activity relating to techtonic movement, but that will perhaps hardly reassure those who foresee an oil catastrophe for these islands.

Arona will be quite magical during June when it hosts the VI Festival of Magic, bringing some of the best illusionists, conjurers and magicians to perform in the municipality.

The programme is:

Thursday 13th, 7pm, Plaza de la Iglesia, Cabo Blanco

Friday 14th, 8.30pm, Plaza, Valle San Lorenzo

Thursday 20th, 7pm, C/Flor del Sur, Guargacho

Friday 21st, 8.30pm, Plaza de la Iglesia, Buzanada

Saturday 22nd, 8.30pm, Parque Infantil, Las Galletas

Thursday 27th, 7pm, Plaza de Guaza

Friday 28th, 8.30pm, Plaza de La Paz, Arona Casco

Saturday 29th, 8.30pm, Plaza exterior del Centro Cultural, Parque de La Reina

Sunday 30th, 8.30pm, Plaza de La Iglesia, Los Cristianos

For more information, call Arona Ayuntamiento on 010 if within Arona, or 922 761 600 from outside the municipality.

The school philosophy is that all children are individuals and work to their own education plan, so that whenever they arrive their work is planned specifically for them in a topic based curriculum. This way no child is ever missing out on basic skills as we just work from the point they have reached using whatever subject we are covering at that moment.
 
The British Council have just awarded a certificate recognising our British status after the monitoring committee studied the documentation containing the information about the systems, curriculum delivery and assessment procedures in place at the school before agreeing to award the certificate.
 
This document will now be part of our quest for registration by the Spanish Authorities as a legally recognised school on the island delivering a British Type education. The Centre will be subject to periodic inspections to ensure that the status is maintained and that British Curriculum standards are upheld.
 
There is more information on our webpage www.callaolearnoing.org
 
I can be contacted as follows:
 
Jean Simpson
B.Ed(HONS); Cert. Ed.
922 742 000 / 695 978 551
facebook.com/callaolearning
info@callaolearning.org
 
Callao Learning Centre
7 & 8 CC Albatros
Calle El Jable 42
Callao Salvaje
38678 Adeje
Tenerife
 
I think that our profile blurb from MyDestination.com HERE sums us up very well:
 
The Callao Learning Centre is a British School in Tenerife for multinational children aged 4 -12 years. With over 40 years experience in the UK educational sector, Jean Simpson the school head, fully believes that children are individuals; ‘they learn in different ways and at different speeds’.
 
That is why each child at the Callao Learning Centre has an individual education plan based on the UK curriculum. It’s designed to enhance their strengths, overcome their weaknesses and broaden their skill sets. All this is achieved in a dynamic interactive atmosphere where the small class size promotes the ‘one to one’ which forms the central pillar of their learning experience.
 
Residents of Callao Salvaje, where this English-speaking school in Tenerife is based, refer to their community as ‘the village’ and in many respects the Callao Learning Centre has the feel of the traditional village school but with 21st century teaching techniques. Reading is taught by successful phonics-based methods and computer skills are a daily activity.
 
Of course the core subjects of English and Maths form the backbone of the curriculum but these are integrated with Spanish lessons, PE and dance. In addition, the flexibility which characterises the school’s ethos allows time for art and pottery sessions delivered by visiting specialists.
 
Lessons are taught in a structured environment via a listening, supporting, encouraging and befriending approach which helps to engender self confidence and a natural curiosity in the children.
 
Pupils are from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some started their education there. Others met barriers to their educational development in previous schools and needed the targeted personal help offered by Jean Simpson and her team to overcome these obstacles.
 
Official classes run from 9.00am – 3.30pm.
 
It may well be that you’re happy with your child’s current school but feel they need a helping hand in certain subjects. Individual or group private lessons in Tenerife are also available between 4.00pm – 6.00pm to bridge the gaps.
 
So whether your child is about to start their educational journey or feel they would benefit from the different approach on offer at the Callao Learning Centre, request an appointment to discuss their individual needs.

Original post 14 May:  In a blow for everyone who has despaired at the time wasted in getting seaplanes to these islands when forest fires are raging, the Minister of Economía, Hacienda y Seguridad, Javier González Ortiz, has announced that Madrid has rejected the Canarian Government’s request for one to be permanently based here to fight summer blazes. Sr Ortiz said that the regional Parliament had not been asking for increased resources from the national government, but simply for resources to be fairly distributed throughout the Spanish regions. As such, the Canarian Government had asked for at least one of these aircraft to be based here in the summer months to fight the devastation such fires can cause rather than for the islands to have to wait at least 20 hours for one to arrive, a delay no other region needed to suffer.

Or at least, that’s what guachinches should be. Because of their success, some have become more like fully commercial restaurants, with wines bought in when the bodega’s own has run out, and with menus offering commercially prepared meals all year round. And as their success has grown, so has opposition and pressure from the catering sector, which claims the guachinches represent unfair competition.

Now, as a result, regulation is to be legislated by the Canarian Government, and yesterday the draft law was approved in the regional Parliament. It will now pass to consultation and should be in Parliament in around three weeks’ time for final approval and publication in the Boletín Oficial de Canarias (BOC). The approved law is expected to be on the statute books by the end of this month.

Once it is in place, guachinches will have to register with their island Cabildo, and will be given a plaque that must be displayed outside the premises. They will only be able to operate for four months of the year, and must stop even before that if they have run out of their own produce. They will only be allowed to offer a choice of three meals, all of which must not only be homemade but also primarily contain only the vineyard’s own produce or that which is from its immediate area. All wine must be the vineyard’s own. Police will be empowered to inspect and even to force closure if the guachinche is found to be breaking the law.

There’s an unusual and entertaining music event in Adeje on Friday 28 June – an “educational concert”. Now I know that “educational” anything often puts people off, but I’ve seen one of these concerts before and they are just brilliant, not only as an introduction to each instrument for those at the beginning of their interest in music, but of how they perform, and what can be done with them. This will be fun, by anyone’s standards. I guarantee that. The concert is being given by the teachers of the Adeje county music school, and it will be held in the auditorium in the Adeje Cultural Centre at 8pm. Entry is free.

Update 7 June: I thought I’d update this because I now have the poster in English, and because it’s tomorrow in San Miguel for any history or military buffs, or those who were looking for something to do over the weekend …

Original post 5 June: 25 July, 1797. Mean anything? Horatio Nelson … mean anything now? We grow up with the idea of Nelson as a paradigmatic symbol of British greatness, and particularly of utter British naval supremacy, so much so that we perhaps stop questioning the image of the one-armed admiral. Of course, here in Tenerife, it is a different story, and they know very well how and where he lost his arm – in the battle of Santa Cruz, on 25 July, 1797.

The defeat, in Nelson’s terms, was unusual, but in Canarian terms, the victory was immense. It is still celebrated, and there are historical reenactments all over Tenerife to commemorate the day. The biggest one is in Santa Cruz, but for those in the south who don’t want to travel north, there will be one in San Miguel on Saturday 8 June, starting at noon, and following the route in the following map. Below the map I’ve also posted a video from a Santa Cruz reenactment to give a flavour.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Courtesy of La Orotava Ayuntamiento

Update 6 June:  Above is a photo of this year’s main carpet in front of the town hall in La Orotava. Beautiful!

Update 5 June: With many people planning to visit the town tomorrow to see the carpets, the official programme for La Orotava’s Corpus Christi is HERE. Tomorrow is an all-day event starting at 7am with bell chimes and a Mass. The carpets, of course, are a “marathon photographic” event! I hope everyone who goes has a marvellous time and I’ll happily publish any photos if anyone would like.

Update 29 April 2013: 2013′s Corpus Christi in La Orotava is set for 6 June, with Faith as the theme for this year’s carpet display. The end result will be primarily red and white, and use some 1,250 kilos of coloured soil divided into five sections. Two will be primarily floral, and the three main sections of the triptych will illustrate the resurrection, the doubt of St Thomas, and the ascension, as in the drawing above, presented recently by La Orotava Ayuntamiento.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 9 June 2012: This year’s carpets display in La Orotava’s Corpus Christi takes place on 14 June, with the sand carpets inspired this year by the theme of faith, symbolized in the central panel by Jesus praying, the depiction framed by a six-pointed star. The left panel shows Moses receiving the ten commandments, and in the right panel Abraham offers his son Isaac for sacrifice. Above is a video off youtube from last year which gives a good flavour of what it’s like.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 13 June 2011: It’s that time again, and the creation of 2011′s sand carpets in La Orotava can now be followed on a dedicated blog HERE. It’s in Spanish, German and English. It can also be followed on Facebook HERE, or on twitter … I don’t know how twitter works, but twitter users should recognize #corpusvilla and #corpuslaorotava, and @alfombristas. The list of activities can be seen on the Ayuntamiento website HERE, and the full programme downloaded HERE.

The main carpets this year show scenes from Christ’s passion. The right carpet depicts the Piedad from Annibal Carraci (1600); the left one the Flagellation of Christ from William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1880); and the main central carpet the Crucification of Christ from Diego Velazquez (1632).

Adeje also has a marvellous Corpus Cristi carpet display, and information about this year’s on 25 June is available from the Ayuntamiento website HERE.

The video above is a presentational one, and gives a good idea of what to expect.

Original post 24 May 2010: It’s Corpus Christi time again, and the main carpet for the La Orotava display is already taking shape. Last year’s is pictured above, and as always was absolutely stunning. This year, the display is on 10 June, and as usual will be in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. A total of 17 alfombristas and 7 students are collaborating on the work, which is designed and directed by González Expósito. On 10 June, 870 of the Plaza’s 950 square metres will be covered in a stunning 41.5 x 21 metre carpet composed of 1,400 kilos of earth of 23 colours, the principal theme of which will be the Last Supper.  El Dia

The new law also reduces the maximum period for long-term residential contract renewal from five to three years. It also expressly and explicitly excludes tourist rentals from urban letting legislation so as to put them within the the remit of another relevant sector ‘s laws:  this is wholly designed to undermine the use of urban rental legislation to try to circumvent tourism laws.

The new law hasn’t got to the statute book without criticism and complaint, but whatever its history, it is now law and applies from today. For general advice on rentals, don’t forget that this blog has a page for information HERE.

Original post 23 August 2012:  The Government is introducing legislation to make it easier to evict tenants who are behind with their rents. According to new draft proposals to be approved tomorrow by the Consejo de Ministros, landlords will be able to apply for eviction in just ten days if a tenant is in arrears. Tenants will have the right to make their own  declaration to the Court, and if they do not, then an eviction order will be granted. The measures are part of the Ley de Medidas para la Flexibilización y Fomento del Mercado de Alquiler.

Development minister Ana Pastor explained that with the law as it stands, landlords have to  take legal action and get a ruling that non-payment of rent could lead to eviction. This can take months and what is more, she said, tenants  can pay at the last moment to avoid that eviction. With the new law, however, a period of just ten days will be established after the landlord makes a denuncia to the Court, and if payment is not forthcoming, the Court will be empowered to rule that a rental contract is cancelled immediately. Sra Pastor said that the Government was seeking to reduce the red-tape that delayed the whole process and that it was clear that anyone who didn’t pay their rent was not going to pay it even if given more time.

Another major measure in the new legislation is that tenants will be able to terminate any contract of any length without having to pay compensation providing that they give a month’s notice. Similarly, the owner of the property will be able to recover it for use as a main home with notice of two months.

Further to your recent posts with regard to the latest developments in our class action against these fines for illegal holiday letting, we realize that this information, although it was clearly explained in your blog, might have caused some confusion for your readers. This is mainly due to the complexity of the Spanish and Canarian administrative laws which sometimes are difficult to understand even for experienced lawyers.

We also notice that recently an article has been published in a local newspaper by a British solicitor in which he comments and gives his legal opinion about how our law firm should conduct Court proceedings and litigation strategy in the Courts of Law in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

This behaviour might be appropriate if the said solicitor had the same qualification, professional experience and knowledge of the Spanish language as any registered Spanish lawyer, but we understand that the said solicitor is only registered in the Colegio de Abogados as a foreign lawyer as stated in his own web page.

Furthermore this British solicitor, despite not being part of these Court proceedings nor representing any of our clients, is advising our clients not to finalize the dispute with the Government with an agreement and is encouraging our clients to take this matter to the European Court.

It might be normal practice in the UK that Spanish lawyers, without being asked, advise British lawyers or their clients about the way they should conduct their practice in British Courts, but this is not ethical behaviour in Spain and is clearly not accepted as ethical professional behaviour in our Canarian Law Society (Colegio de Abogados).

Having said that, we want to make very clear that we have no wish to start a debate with this foreign solicitor nor with any other lawyer about the Court cases we are dealing with at present.

Although we have been asked, we have no wish nor intention whatsoever to publish, nor to disclose, any information about our litigation strategy in a local paper as we do not think this is a professional way to defend our clients’ interests. Anything we have to say about Canarian and Spanish law we will state in the Courts of law.

Having said that, we would like to make very clear some points which we think your readers who might be affected by these fines should keep in mind:

1. Although the fines in the majority of the cases are the same, i.e. 13,800€, clients’ circumstances could be different and defence arguments may also be different depending on the defence the clients have submitted (if any) when they received the first letters from the Tourist board. Litigation strategy must therefore be adapted to each client’s individual circumstances.

2.- Clients have been fined for advertising apartments on the internet without an inspection book (9,000€ initial fine) and for not having a customer complaint book (9,000€ initial fine): now these fines have been reduced to 6,900€ each.

3.- There are other clients who have been fined for renting properties in a touristic complex where there is already a licensed management company in place (fines could be in the region of 25,000€).

4.- Management companies, estate agents and cleaning companies have been fined for advertising or renting properties without a licence (fines could be in the region of 66,000€).

5. Spanish administrative law states very clearly that the fines must be paid and subsequently these fines can be disputed in Court.

6. To be able to challenge these fines in Court the client must present all possible appeals against the letters received from the Government and reach the last appeal to the President of the Canary Islands Government (RECURSO DE ALZADA): if this last appeal is rejected, then the client can present a claim in Court.

7. When a client submits the claim to the Court, it is possible to request from the Court an order to suspend the execution of the fine to avoid damages (embargo on property, accounts etc.).

8. After hearing the petitioner’s arguments, it is possible that the judge will authorize the petitioner to deposit the amount of the fine in the Court subject to the outcome of the Court case and the final verdict .

9. Prior to the trial, the Judge may invite the parties in a dispute to reach an agreement to put an end to a dispute, the judge can even give some guidelines and advice for negotiation, but this is only with the aim of reaching a solution to the problem. The final Court decision is not determined by this request or invitation from the judge.

Please find below the wording of article 77 of Spanish litigation legislation in administrative contentious matters (Ley 29/1998 dated 13th July) de Jurisdicción Contencioso Administrativa) :

ARTÍCULO 77

1. En los procedimientos en primera o única instancia, el Juez o Tribunal, de oficio o a solicitud de parte, una vez formuladas la demanda y la contestación, podrá someter a la consideración de las partes el reconocimiento de hechos o documentos, así como la
posibilidad de alcanzar un acuerdo que ponga fin a la controversia, cuando el juicio se promueva sobre materias susceptibles de transacción y, en particular, cuando verse sobre estimación de cantidad.

Los representantes de las Administraciones públicas demandadas necesitarán la autorización oportuna para llevar a efecto la transacción, con arreglo a las normas que regulan la disposición de la acción por parte de los mismos.

2. El intento de conciliación nosuspenderá el curso de las actuaciones salvo que todas las partes personadas lo solicitasen y podrá producirse en cualquier momento anterior al día en que el pleito haya sido declarado concluso para sentencia.

3. Si las partes llegaran a un acuerdo que implique la desaparición de la controversia, el Juez o Tribunal dictará auto declarando terminado el procedimiento, siempre que lo acordado no fuera manifiestamente contrario al ordenamiento jurídico ni lesivo del
interés público o de terceros.

10. Considering the above, we strongly advise anyone affected by this problem to seek professional advice from Spanish registered lawyers who have experience in “Derecho administrativo contencioso” as, sooner or later, if they submit a claim, they will be facing in Court well trained and experienced Canarian Government lawyers who will no doubt do their utmost to defend Canarian laws whether they are good or bad in the eyes of European Law.

Update 6 May: The figures in the previous post below were for the first quarter of 2013, i.e. up to the end of March. Now, April’s figures have been released and show it has gone up in the Canaries yet again, a further 1.42%, equating to 4.152 more people out of work, the largest rise of any of the Spanish autonomous regions.

Also up is the figure of those who are beyond the end of their help and in receipt of no income whatsoever. There are now a further 4,350 people in that situation, a total of 130,314 – that’s 130,314 people on no assistance at all. Nearly half – 44.68% – of the registered unemployed in the islands are without any income. How are these people supposed to live? It is worth noting, too, that Spain’s next budget has reduced the amount needed for unemployment benefit: the Government knows that there will be fewer people receiving paro as they fall off the end of their entitlement. The problem is that they’re not falling into a job.

Nationally, only the Canaries, the  Comunidad Valenciana, and the Ceuta and Melilla enclaves in north Africa, saw rises. Throughout Spain, it fell ever so slightly, less than 1% on average, but at least a fall, and brings the national figure back under the psychological 5 million barrier … only just, though, at 4,989,193.

Update 25 April: On the day when Spain’s unemployment statistics nationwide were officially announced to have hit a new record high of 27.2%, equating to six million people out of work, Canarian figures themselves were released showing 17,200 more unemployed in the islands during the first quarter of 2013, leading to an awful rate of 34.27% here, a total of 385,600 people out of work. Only Andalusia with 36.87 % and Extremadura with 35.56 % have worse figures throughout Spain.

Between the two Canarian provinces, Las Palmas has 209,100 unemployed, a rate of 35.24%, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife has 176,500, 33.18%. The regional statistics also show that two out of every three people out of work are now officially long-term unemployed: all 243,300 of these have been seeking work for more than a year. They also show that 118,000 households, 15% of the total, now have every single member out of work.

Update 4 March: And it has risen again. February’s figures released today show a further 1,957 people out of work in the Canaries, bringing the total unemployed in the islands to 291,474. The province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro) suffered more than Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote): in SCT, 1,163 more people are unemployed than in January, bringing the total to 136,767, whereas in LPGC, the number rose by 794, bringing the eastern province’s unemployed up to 154,707.

Update 4 February 2013: Up and up it goes. According to figures released today by the Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social, the number of unemployed registered in the Canaries has risen again, by 4,602 people out of work in January compared with December, a further rise of 1.6%. This brings the total of the unemployed in these islands to 289,517.

In Spain nationally, unemployment is now at a frightening 4,980,778.

Update 4 December: It seems that October’s fall in unemployment figures was a blip after all. November’s are now released, and show a further 1,212 out of work, leaving 289,032 unemployed in the islands as a whole.  Of those, appallingly, around 124,000 are beyond the end of their unemployment benefit, and indeed beyond the end of any additional help whatsoever. The figures mean that 43.04% of the unemployed are without any income at all. Nearly half. In a civilized first world country. Which is why some are questioning whether Spain deserves those labels.

Update 6 November: October’s figures show that unemployment has gone down in the Canaries by nearly a thousand, the biggest fall nationally. Whilst it’s good news for the moment, the year on year figures show that we had 30,000 more unemployed here this October than last. Let’s hope it continues, and that it’s not just a blip.

Original post 26 October: On the day that unemployment figures announced for the Canaries show that it has gone up yet again, with a further 7,400 out of work – there are now 378,200 unemployed in the islands, a rate of 33.69% – this youtube video has gone viral. Just enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

It has fans everywhere, so it’s going to be unmissable. Grease, the musical, is coming to the Adán Martín auditorium in Santa Cruz. Performances are between 3 and 7 July: on Wednesday and Thursday, 3 & 4 July, the show starts at 8.30pm, on Friday and Saturday 5 & 6 July at 6pm and 10pm, and on Sunday, 7 July, at 6pm. Tickets cost €25-50. More information HERE, and the following video gives a taste …

Click here to view the embedded video.

A fourth man is now missing in Tenerife. Juan Rosendo Oval Morales, known as Juanito, disappeared on 29 May from the Granadilla area. The immediate telephone number to contact if anyone knows his whereabouts is 659 589 754, but also for him or the other three below, please just call the police if you are able to help.

Also still missing are:

54-year-old José Hernández, known as Pepe, from Palo Blanco in Los Realejos, disappeared on 28 April (link)

32-year-old Antonio Muñoz Romero from La Laguna, disappeared on 16 April (link)

49-year-old José Manuel Rodríguez from El Tanque, disappeared on 10 April (link)

Notificación de Asistencia en la Audiencia en el procedimiento de que se trata en esta conducta regional. Procedimiento de esclarecimiento anti drogas.

On opening the attachment, a virus is downloaded. Police are investigating and request that anyone who receives such an email does not click on the link and reports the receipt of the email.

Photo courtesy of Karl McLaughlin

A month or so ago a British ship which was on its way to Somalia, supposedly to help fight pirates and with denials of mercenary intentions, was forced to stop in Los Cristianos.  After Arona officials called in the Spanish Navy, claiming irregularities, it was transferred to Santa Cruz. Later reports claimed that a large fine was to be imposed but that the owners had been told they could leave if they paid €10,000. Now, it’s done a runner, making a dash for it from port in the early hours this morning and leaving without permission. Authorities consulted by the press refused to comment …

This weekend, 1 and 2 June, an annual spectacle that should not be missed tales place in the main street of Adeje. In honour of the religious festival of Corpus Christi,  some 3,500 kilos of vibrantly coloured salt will be used to create alfombras de sal (carpets of salt) throughout Calle Grande and Calle Corpus in the old part of the town.  Each carpet is created by a different collective, which will start work around 6pm tomorrow, Saturday, with the religious Corpus Christi procession on Sunday at 6pm.

The collectives taking part are Hermandad del Santísimo; Parroquia de San José de Los Olivos; grupo de comunión, jóvenes de confirmación, Escuela Municipal de Música y Danza de Adeje (EMMA); Universidad de La Laguna (ULL); Ballet Beanky; Parroquia de Fañabé; Bomberos Voluntarios de Adeje, AEA Sur; Todo Foto; Asociación de Vecinos El Galeón; Mariano y Gema vecinos de la Calle Grande; Cit SUR; Asgote; colectivo de Mayores de Adeje; Asociación de Mujeres de Blanco; Gimnasia Rítmica; Juventud de Adeje; Porteadores de la Virgen; Taller Ocupacional Los Olivos; Escuela Infantil de Folclore de Adeje; Grupo Municipal de la Escuela de Folclore de Adeje; Cáritas y Colegio Costa Adeje.

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 2011: 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.

Update 18 December 2012: The EU Transport Commission has approved the inclusion of Tenerife’s airport and port infrastructure into the Basic Transeuropean Network, which means that the island will now have “priority” when presenting projects for finance. The decision was made after almost three horus of voting, and places Santa Cruz as the principal port, along TFS Reina Sofia. The final vote on the project will be taken by the European Parliament early in 2013. Tenerife President Ricardo Melchior expressed his gratitude and said the decision was a giant step forwards for Tenerife.

Original post 8 October: The Tenerife Cabildo has asked the British community to help to get Tenerife included in the Red Transeuropea de Transportes (Transeuropean Transport Network). The campaign is being run by “Tenerife se Mueve”, a group of different institutions, business associations and local residents of Tenerife with a common interest in making the island the best destination possible for its tourists.

Tenerife se Mueve says:

If Tenerife is not included in the network, it will negatively impact the tourism industry and the reality of life here on the island for its visitors.  The island, as a holiday destination, will become more expensive due to the increase in the costs of services and products and the loss of thousand of jobs.

This would mean:

• Increase in the price of airlines tickets.
• Less direct flight connections to Tenerife.
• Increase in the price cost of lodging.
• Increase in the price of goods and services

Tenerife would miss out on a total of 50,000 million Euros of EU funds with the corresponding impact this would have on the development of existing infrastructures. Tenerife relays on its airports and ports to attract visitors to the island. We would have to wait until 2050 to have access to the funds necessary for continued development.

If we are included in the Trans-European Transport Network and have  access to these funds, the island would be able to improve its existing infrastructures thereby providing a better service to its tourists.

We kindly request your support for this initiative, by signing the petition attached. Your support is essential for achieving our goal of being included in the Trans-European Transport Network.

Together with your help, we can ensure that Tenerife becomes a better destination for the enjoyment of all.

There was some success last month when the European Parliament accepted amendments to the original proposal which would allow Tenerife to be included, but it seems 100,000 signatures are needed before June 2013 for it actually to form part of the network. You can either sign online by accessing the following link:www.tfsemueve.org or personally at any of the Cabildo Citizen’s Info Bureau offices (Oficina de Información al Ciudadano). You can find the nearest one to your home address here

The EHIC is explained by the EU HERE. It is a free card that provides access for EU nationals to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary visit to any other EU country, as well as Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Treatment or medication is free for the patient at the point of use, with costs reclaimed by the visited nation from the home country of the patient.

Original post 17 May:  As I’ve insisted previously, whilst it appeared that the southern comisaría in Playa de Las Américas was informing resident expats that their permanent Certificados de Registro had, in fact, to be renewed every five years, they were not actually able to do this. I was aware of one particular case of renewal where the police were being unhelpful in its processing, but reports were widespread that the police themselves were telling people that they must renew certificates even if those certificates bore no expiry date, and indeed were “permanente”. Now, it is clear: they have either been doing something they are not allowed to do, or their stance has been misunderstood.

Regardless of where this confusion has arisen, the situation is now perfectly simple: no-one has to renew their Certificado de Registro. The only legislative change in the last year or so has been for new applicants who, since March last year, have to prove they can afford to live in Spain and have cover for healthcare. Existing Certificados de Registro, however, are permanent once an EU-national holder has been in Spain for five years. Those certificates which have an expiry date will have been issued to applicants who had not been in Spain for five years at the point of application: these may be exchanged for ones that state they are permanent if the holder wishes, hence the police being prepared to issue renewals, but no-one is required to do so because EU nationals are allowed permanent residence in another member state once they have legally resided there for five years.

I have been discussing the matter with investigative journalist Karl McLaughlin, who has recently been seeking formal clarification from the department of the Interior Ministry responsible for every extranjeria in Spain. Madrid confirms not only that there is no requirement to renew, but that no instruction or communication in this respect has been sent to any comisaría in the country. Karl has now written an article for Island Connections (see pp2-3 of THIS edn), and tells me that the queries were addressed to the Ministry of the Interior, with the reply from the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras, i.e. the highest authority of the police stations that have Extranjería sections for issuing residence cards, registration certificates etc.

He has given me the original of the official response he has translated for the Island Connections article. It is HERE so if you would like Madrid’s confirmation in writing that you do not need to renew your Registro, please click to download and print it off to carry with your Registro. The only document that needs to be renewed every five years is a resident card of a non-EU national spouse of an EU-national resident, a status that very few British expats need to be concerned about. For the rest, whether your Registro says it is permanent or not, it does not need to be renewed.

Update 29 May: The next exhibition starts on 29 June and will feature Nikki Attree, well known for her Tenerife Dogs website, and of course, more recently for her book Nobody’s Poodle. Also featuring in the exhibition will be photographic works by Ankor Ramos and Emili Bermúdez.  Please click through to the Ten Diez site HERE for more info on the exhibition.

Update 5 April: After the previous successful exhibitions, the Ten Diez Movement is opening the gallery-space for the third time tomorrow, 6 April, to showcase different creations from local artists. The exhibition will comprise abstract art, illustrations, realism sketches, sculpture and photography. The exhibition doors open at 6pm tomorrow, and at 8pm, the artists will give a brief talk; the event will end with a performance by DJ Pablo Amador. Thereafter, the exhibition will run each working day between 9am and 2pm, and again between 3 and 5 pm. Entrance is free.

Update 30 January 2013: After the resounding success of  previous events, Ten-Diez is once again holding an exhibition in the Magma Centre, on Friday 1 February between 5 and 11pm. The exhibition is called Studio, and entrance is free. For more information, please see Ten-Diez’ website HERE.

Update 8 November: The first exhibition was so successful that the Ten-Diez movement is opening a gallery space in the Magma Centre on 16 November to showcase local artists and share their art. The inauguration starts at 9pm, with music from 9.30pm, but doors open earlier, at 5pm. From Monday 19 November, the gallery will be open to the public between 9am and 2pm, and again between 3pm and 5pm, Monday to Friday. There is more information HERE, and I’m sure we all wish them every success.

Original post 30 July:  There’s a rather special event to look out for between 21 to 29 September, when the TEN-DIEZ movement presents an 8-day-long exhibition in the Magma Centre in Playa de las Américas. The concept is a cultural community one: 10 Photographers, 10 views, 100 images –  all the photographers offering a united view of their artistic environment (they’re all Tenerife based) and showing their own Tenerife beyond the exotic geography that we’re familiar with.

The motivation for the exhibition is for these artists, and they’re artists, of that there’s no doubt, to produce a closer and more extensive interaction with the public, with the photographers involving themselves actively in image production, demonstrating it to the audience, and collecting feedback direct from them, a contact between creators and spectators. They’ve been working on this exhibition since November 2011, and now have backing from over 25 local and 4 international businesses.

There will be additional activities and competitions sponsored by various international companies, and these will be announced over the course of the next few weeks. For further information, see the TEN-DIEZ website HERE and Facebook page HERE. Entry to the exhibition is free

Update 27 May: And now to the national market, “to recharge your batteries” …

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 25 April: The upmarket trend continues. The luxury travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller has released its own guide to Tenerife. Check out its website HERE.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 15 March: Adeje joins the upmarket video trend, with golf, spas, fine dining, Siam Park, dolphins, nature walks, culture … not a Brit bar in sight. The above Costa Adeje promotional video was unveiled this morning in the Magma Centre.

Update 27 February 2013: The upmarket push continues, with Puerto de la Cruz passing new municipal regulations that will outlaw plastic terrace furniture in restaurants, hotels and bars, and require the leisure sector across the board to provide furniture made from  aluminium, wrought iron, or wood. There is to be a colour branding exercise in the town too, with toldos and umbrellas being required to match – either natural colour or burgundy.

Councillors for Urbanismo y Desarrollo Económico, Sebastián Ledesma (PP) and Lope Afonso (PP), yesterday presented the details of the new bylaw which, they said, would require all establishments with a terrace to seek a new municipal authorization, in the granting of which the technicians will also determine the number of square metres authorized for each terrace. The rules officially came into force last November, but the Ayuntamiento has until now given a period of grace for adaptation.

edit: And within minutes of posting the above, I came across THIS from the Telegraph on hiking in Tenerife. Niche holidays are the way the government wants to go, and the policy seems to be working!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 23 October: And now it’s Arona’s turn. Following Guía de Isora’s video below, Arona has released the above film. Once again, watch it with half a mind on what the Government wants to stress; once again we have spas and golf, retirees, special interest holidays, and now nature, walking, diving, culture, upmarket shopping … this is becoming a well and truly established theme now. And not a “full English” or a cheap pint in sight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 25 September: As a clear example of what’s in the minds of the politicians when they talk about “up-market tourism strategy”, have a look at the above video, focusing on Guía de Isora. While you’re watching it, remember what the Government wants to stress: spas and golf, retirees, special interest holidays like golf and cycling, eco-tourism … . This is what they’re after.

Update 3 July:  As evidence of the Government’s mindset on upmarket tourism, it has today released statistics showing that golfers spend  an average of €161.66 daily, 35% more than other types of visitor. Ricardo FPA, viceconsejero de Turismo, released the figures at the opening of the Asociación Internacional de Touroperadores de Golf convention, being held this week in south Gran Canaria, where he stressed that the Canaries is being converted into the international capital for golf.

Original post 12 June:  In a clear statement that Turismo wants the Canaries to go up-market, the new tourism promotion strategy for 2012-2016 that has been unveiled today by the viceconsejero de Turismo del Gobierno canario, Ricardo Fernández de la Puente, will take the islands back to their roots, namely the scientific and irrefutable fact that they have “the best climate in the world”. The central strategic themes of the new plan are to promote culture and a touristic awareness in residents, to improve information and touristic knowledge, to encourage training and increase co-operation in touristic administration.

The strategic plan points out that the Canaries are losing out to the competition but that the causes are not just based in current problems, but are due to the increase in rival destinations, the limitations of air connectivity, and the need for an overhaul of the islands’ image, including becoming increasingly specialized with a particular identity. Sr Fernández said that the Canaries therefore needed to consolidate a recognizable image. This image was based, he said, in the climate, “the best in the world”, and it needed to be linked to and complemented by specialist offers, e.g. marriages and honeymoons, diving, cycling, conventions, cruises, golf, and environmental and thematic offers, among others.

The key markets that this message will be taken to are Germany, Britain, Spain, Norway, Belgium and Ireland, where the intention is to overhaul and upgrade the islands’ image. Other markets where special attention will also be paid are Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Finland and the Czech Republic. The message for all will be that the Canaries is a place for families and senior citizens to come for rest, relaxation and awareness.

This is the thinking behind the decision not to release the video, but José Escobedo will instead write a legally detailed piece for me to post with a screenshot of the video explaining the current situation and the discussion in the meeting that led to the negotiations now about to take place. He has also asked me to stress that while Alotca has the majority of the cases, and in our opinion the best strategy and defence (we can’t go into detail for what I hope are obvious reasons), he and Santiago are not miracle workers. They will, however, put all their expertise and commitment into the negotiations and hope, with good reason, for a satisfactory outcome.

I’ve been asked to stress, once again, that while all identical cases, and even those that can be argued to be identical, will be put into the class action, there are other types of cases being heard in other Courts. The situation is not a simple, black and white issue, so there is much room for confusion to be created when people have partial or unvalidated information.

On a matter that is giving rise to lots of questions, I can confirm that anyone who is at the stage of appeal to the Courts with a non-Alotca lawyer can request to join the class action: they just need to instruct their lawyer to contact Tenerife Litigation in La Caleta, and the lawyers can decide between them whether the case is of a type that can be added to the action. Anyone at that stage will already have had their appeal presented to Court and so could not switch lawyers even if they wanted to. Anyone who is still at the stage of first phase appeal to the Government can, however, if they so wish, switch to Altoca.

Please note that I say this in response to queries that I have received, and José Escobedo and Santiago Saenz want to make it crystal clear that this does not represent any sort of touting for business. Finally, anyone who is already with either Alotca lawyer need do nothing unless they wish to opt out of the class action: if their case is such that it can be added to the action, it will be added automatically unless they instruct to the contrary; if their case is different, and such that it is not appropriate to the class action, it will be defended in the Court according to the instruction already agreed.

Thank you to everyone for bearing with us: it is a phenomenally busy, and complicated, time. We do hope you understand the reasoning behind the decision not to upload the video, and will have a legally-detailed and qualified piece here for you as soon as José has the time to write it up.

Update 24 May: I’ve been asked to point out that the offer of a class action with a €5,000 fine for signing a document is only available  to those cases which form the majority of Alotca appeals – i.e. those whose fines started at €18,000 and which were reduced on first appeal to the government to €13,800. All cases in the class action must be identical, and clearly, not all are, with some owners being fined on the basis of random inspections and/or private adverts, others for running multiple properties as a business, and yet others who have been denounced by communities or neighbours etc.

As a general rule, anyone who has ended up with a confirmed fine of above €13,800 will have been fined for a different type of infraction – very generally these will be for offences against the “principio de unidad de explotación e intermediación turística”, i.e. sole agent system, or multiple apartment letting. All Alotca clients who fall into the class action category will now have received, or will shortly receive, an invitation to join the class action. As of today, I can confirm the outcome one of these (different) types of cases where the appeal (not via Alotca) was rejected yesterday by the Court and the Government’s fine upheld … and with no possibility of appeal granted.

Update 23 May: Just a quick update about the video. I will have my copy on Monday and once I have that, I will be able to upload it here as soon as I have technical advice on doing so, unless it’s obvious to my technophobic mind …

Update 21 May: There is a recording HERE of my interview with Atlantis FM this morning on this subject. Thank you to Jon Maxfield for the airtime to get the message out there as widely as possible.

Original post 20 May:  The first appeals of fines issued under the Plan Especial went to Court last Thursday. Before the hearing, however, the judge called Alotca lawyer José Escobedo and the Government’s lawyer into a meeting. Also present were a legal assistant from Tenerife Litigation (the office of the two Alotca lawyers, José Escobedo and Santiago Saenz), and the two chief Turismo inspectors.

Before I talk about the meeting I would like to clarify two things that have been the subject of much discussion and rumour. First, the judge confirmed that Canarian law is valid, and applicable, to these cases of fines against individuals for private holiday rentals. Secondly, he confirmed that previous judgments concerning “prior authorization” have no relevance at all to them.

The judge requested the meeting because he had certain things to say in general terms about the specific cases being heard and others like them still to come to hearing. These were that he considered the fine amount to be disproportionate (as I’ve previously posted, proportionality of punishment is written into the Spanish constitution); that Alotca lawyers had prepared a strong and detailed defence; that the Government nonetheless had a case that could be developed during a hearing; that such cases would take a considerable time to hear; and there were so many of them that Court time would be inordinate. As a result, he had consulted with other judges and it had been decided that all cases would be heard by that same judge through the one Court, number 4 in Santa Cruz.

Having made these comments, the judge then asked that a class action be formed for an out of Court settlement which would apply to all the appeals underway at present. Since Alotca has the vast majority of cases to be heard, and was behind the first appeals to be heard, the class action is to be conducted through Alotca, with cases being handled by other lawyers forming part of the Alotca action. The settlement will require a document to be signed by the appellants acknowledging that they had been in error, that this error had resulted in a breach of the law, that they accept a fine as punishment, and, naturally, confirm that there will be no future breaches. The document will stand as a legal judgment so that even with an out of Court settlement, any future fines arising from continued letting would be at the second offence level of up to €30,000.

The Government has been given a month to liaise with José Escobedo and Santiago Saenz to negotiate the settlement, involving the final document to be signed and the level of the fine: the judge said that in his opinion, it would reasonably be in the region of €5,000. The Court provided José Escobedo with a list of all cases involving other lawyers, and any appellant with a non-Alotca lawyer who wishes to join the class action must instruct their lawyer urgently to contact Tenerife Litigation so that their cases can be presented to Court as part of that action. Those who are already with one of the two Alotca lawyers need do nothing.

There is a video recording of Thursday’s meeting which I watched this afternoon. I will have a copy uploaded onto my website as soon as it can be transposed into a file in a format that I can upload. I am dependent on the help of others to do this, so please bear with me.

José and Santiago ask that any enquiries come via me to free them up to get on with this work. Evidently they expect to hear directly from lawyers of those who have been fined and who are to join the class action. In terms of general questions, however, they ask people to email me. If anyone has just received a fine, or does so over the next few weeks, please also contact me urgently to find out what Alotca lawyers will need so that time is not wasted with them answering basic initial questions.

On a wider basis, Alotca is about to start negotiations with the OCU (organización de consumidores y usuarios), the Spanish Consumers Organization, which is preparing to fight the recently announced national proposals to limit tourist letting throughout Spain. The fight is very far from over, but with regard to the fines issued so far, we at last have clarity.

Update 23 May: San Miguel doing well again, offering a service and the information in advance about it! The full programme with times is above, and the tourism office has announced that there will be a free shuttle bus service to the evening celebrations in San Miguel. They will run as follows:

4pm Hotel Golf Plaza, 4.10pm Hotel Aguamarina, 4.20pm Hotel Vincci, and 4.30 Hotel San Blas. 

There will be a bus service, again free, back to the coast at 7pm.

They ask that people confirm first so that they have an idea of numbers. Please call 922 738 664 between 8am and 3.30pm, and after that time, 660 583 228. For those staying in hotels, please confirm your name and room number, but Turismo San Miguel stress that the bus service is for everyone, and not limited only to those staying in these or other hotels.

Original post 23 May:  The Canarian Government has announced its programme for the public holiday on 30 May for Día de Canarias. The programme is above, with the full size version HERE.

There is also a programme of events in San Miguel town church plaza. The programme is below, with full size version HERE.

Meanwhile, the loos have a guardian of the keys who demands money before you can enter. Now it is my understanding that all restaurants and cafés must have bathroom facilities, and that they must offer these freely even to those who are not using their establishments. We were using the establishment but still had to pay. OK it’s just 50 cents –  there’s no sign but she told my husband that his 40 cents was not enough, and that he must add at least 10 cents more – so is there a fee, or not, and if so, what is it? And, that’s from everyone … busload after busload … for something that should be free.

So, we decided to go to the visitor centre. This had been closed for “reformas” when we were last up there a year or so ago … and we had rolled our eyes because it had already been closed for a year at that point. But no, still closed. What on earth is the point of pretty road signs dotted all around the island’s roads directing them to tourist destinations which are clearly clueless, and have not the first idea about nor interest in how to deal with the tourists who arrive? Get your act together, for heaven’s sake.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update 3 May:  Although not a Tenerife-wide public holiday, a fiesta today in Los Realejos draws people from around the island and even further afield. The Exaltación de la Santa Cruz (Día de la Cruz) is known for providing the best fireworks display in Tenerife, and indeed, one of the ten best in the whole of Spain.

The fiesta is famous for the participation of the Hermanos Toste in a competition between two streets in Los Realejos for the best firework display, a tradition that started, incredibly, in 1770. The Hermanos Toste themselves date back to 1788 and have a factory in Los Realejos, the only one in the Canaries that makes fireworks. Tonight’s display will be affected by the economic crisis, they say, but will still be a stunning exercise in light, colour and sound … and it was deafening when I went a few years ago! The short video above of 2011′s displays will hopefully give some idea of what to expect.

Update 30 April: Just a reminder that tomorrow is a Canaries-wide public holiday for May Day, the Fiesta del Trabajo. I imagine that almost everything will be shut.

Update 27 February: There are two public holidays this week, tomorrow Thursday 28 and Good Friday 29 March. Don’t forget, either, that the Adeje Passion Play takes place on Friday (see HERE).

Update 9 February: Just a reminder that this coming Tuesday, 12 February, is a local public holiday in many parts of Tenerife for Carnival Tuesday. Many shops and businesses will be closed in the areas which have chosen this day as one of their two public holidays. To check the areas affected, see the full list of  municipalities below.

Update 31 January: Just a reminder that this Saturday, 2 February, is a Tenerife-wide public holiday in honour of the Virgen de la Candelaria. Many shops and businesses will be closed, as La Morenita (the Black Madonna) is the Canary Islands’ patron saint, and she has particular meaning for Tenerife because her apparition is said to have taken place in 1392 in Candelaria, where her basilica is now located.

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 3 January: The two days for each municipality’s local fiestas have now been published. I’ve added them below the original post. These are added to the twelve public holidays for the Canaries as a whole.

Original post 6 September:  The Government has today approved  the draft decree for next year’s calendar of public holidays in the Canaries. The following are the official fiestas (bank holidays) for Tenerife in 2013:

1 January, New Year’s Day
7 January, Epiphany (6th is a Sunday so public holiday is on the 7th)
2 February, Virgen de la Candelaria
28 & 29 March, Easter
1 May, Fiesta del Trabajo
30 May, Día de Canarias
15 August, Asunción de la Virgen
12 October, Día de la Hispanidad / Fiesta Nacional de España
1 November, Todos los Santos
6 December, Día de la Constitución
25 December, Christmas Day

The above 12 dates 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, the Virgen de la Candelaria.

In addition, each municipality has 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. These are the local fiestas in Tenerife for 2013.

ADEJE.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 14 de octubre: Festividad de Santa Úrsula.

ARAFO (VILLA DE ARAFO).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 26 de agosto: Festividad de San Bernardo.

ARICO (VILLA DE ARICO).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 24 de junio: Festividad de San Juan Bautista.

ARONA.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 7 de octubre: Santísimo Cristo de la Salud.

BUENAVISTA DEL NORTE (VILLA DE BUENAVISTA DEL NORTE)

- 24 de Agosto: Festividad de San Bartolomé, Copatrono de la Villa.

- 25 de Octubre: Festividad de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios.

EL ROSARIO.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 5 de agosto: Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza.

EL SAUZAL.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 3 de mayo: Fiesta de la Cruz.

EL TANQUE.

- 31 de agosto: Celebración Festividad de Nuestra Señora de Buen Viaje.

- 21 de octubre: Celebración Festividad del Santísimo Cristo del Calvario.

FASNIA.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 19 de agosto: Fiesta Patronal de San Joaquín.

GARACHICO (VILLA Y PUERTO DE GARACHICO).

- 26 de julio: Festividad de Santa Ana.

- 16 de agosto: Festividad de San Roque.

GRANADILLA DE ABONA.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 13 de junio: Festividad de San Antonio de Padua.

GUÍA DE ISORA.

- 24 de junio: Celebración de San Juan Bautista.

- 16 de septiembre: Santísimo Cristo de la Dulce Muerte.

GÜÍMAR.

- 29 de junio: Fiestas Patronales de San Pedro Apóstol.

- 7 de septiembre: Fiesta en Honor de Nuestra Señora de El Socorro.

ICOD DE LOS VINOS.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 25 de abril: Festividad de San Marcos Evangelista, Patrón de la ciudad.

LA GUANCHA

- 18 de Enero: Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza.

- 19 de Agosto: Lunes de las Fiestas Patronales

LA LAGUNA (SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LA LAGUNA).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 14 de septiembre: Fiesta del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna.

LA MATANZA (VILLA DE LA MATANZA DE ACENTEJO).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 6 de agosto: Día de El Salvador.

LA OROTAVA (VILLA DE LA OROTAVA).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 6 de junio: Infraoctava del Corpus Christi.

LA VICTORIA (VILLA DE LA VICTORIA DE ACENTEJO).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 2 de septiembre: Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de La Encarnación, Patrona del Municipio.

LOS REALEJOS (VILLA DE LOS REALEJOS).

- 22 de enero: Festividad de San Vicente.

- 3 de mayo: Exaltación de La Santa Cruz.

LOS SILOS (VILLA DE LOS SILOS).

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 24 de junio: San Juan.

- 3 de mayo: Fiesta de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz y Conmemoración de la Fundación de la Ciudad.

- 16 de julio: Conmemoración de la Festividad de la Virgen del Carmen.

SAN JUAN DE LA RAMBLA (VILLA DE SAN JUAN DE LA RAMBLA).

- 24 de junio: Fiestas de San Juan Bautista.

- 9 de septiembre: Fiestas de San José.

SAN MIGUEL DE ABONA.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 30 de septiembre: Fiesta de San Miguel Arcángel.

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 3 de mayo: Fiesta de la Santa Cruz.

SANTA ÚRSULA.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 21 de octubre: Día de Santa Úrsula, Patrona del Municipio.

SANTIAGO DEL TEIDE (VILLA HISTÓRICA DE SANTIAGO DEL TEIDE).

- 25 de julio: Festividad del Apóstol Santiago.

- 26 de julio: Festividad de Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana.

TACORONTE.

- 12 de febrero: Martes de Carnaval.

- 25 de noviembre: Santa Catalina.

TEGUESTE (VILLA DE TEGUESTE).

- 25 de abril: Festividad de San Marcos Evangelista.

- 9 de septiembre: Festividad de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios.

VILAFLOR.

- 26 de abril: Festividad del Hermano Pedro.

- 2 de septiembre: Festividad de San Roque y San Agustín.

Adeje’s Feria del Saldo 2013 will be held on 8 and 9 June between 10am and 9pm in the car park of the Adeje Music School in Las Torres … on the fountain roundabout near Mercadona. This is an annual market for local businesses to offer at sale prices all the stock they wish to liquidate, or ends of lines, and so on. The organizers hope that it will help local commerce, and it will certainly see quite a few bargains for shoppers.