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Spanish Government free telephone helpline for anyone affected by the La Palma eruption – 900 222 665 Spanish Government insurance compensation consortium –www.consorseguros.es To help, food and clothes aren’t needed but monetary donations are welcome and can be sent by Bizum (mobile bank apps might need latest update) – use code 03747. Or make an e-transfer to account ES47 2100 9169 0122 0017 9456 quoting reference Donación volcán. More info on this from La Palma Cabildo HERE. Photo: Untouched image of the Cumbre Vieja eruption with the montaña de La Laguna in the foreground at 7.50pm, Saturday 23 October. GE Volcan. Updated 10pm, 24/10: A speeded-up,READ MORE

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Photo: Pedro Martín. Guía de Isora has welcomed the investment, amounting to over €27m, that will see west Tenerife’s wastewater treatment problems solved. That’s the idea, anyway, and work has already been started by public company Aguas de las Cuencas de España (ACUAES) at the sewage treatment plant and pumping station in Playa de San Juan which will incorporate pre-treatment of water from Guía de Isora and Chío which is then combined with that from coastal drains to be jointly treated. Technically, the works are designed for a population of around 100,000 and a maximum treatment flow of 10,325 m3/day by 2036. This stage ofREAD MORE

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Posted by Mencey El País has an article HERE reporting on the return of Juan Carlos Carracedo to La Palma, where he was investigating the eruption there in 1971. The article has a photo of him standing on the spot where they took his photo in 1971 against a background of red-hot lava. Notice the total absence of safety equipment back then. One amusing anecdote he relates is a press conference he attended in 1971 when he was the only volcanologist present, and he gave a talk to the local farmers about what was happening. Next to him stood the local priest, who then gaveREAD MORE

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Photo: La Oliva Ayuntamiento. Updated 13 October: Oceanográfica, an agency for the public understanding of science, has confirmed that these blue sea dragons have now reached coasts throughout the Canaries. The agency says that the creature is “yet another example of the rich biodiversity of the islands. It’s pelagic, well camouflaged when it floats on the surface of the sea, and no more than 3-4 cm as an adult so is not easy to see in its natural environment. Occasionally, it’s carried by wind and ocean currents along with the jellyfish on which it feeds.” For our immediate purposes, Oceanográfica says that blue sea dragon has “theREAD MORE

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Posted by Mencey El País has an excellent article HERE explaining the formation of the Canary Islands a mere 20 million years ago. The very clear diagrams should compensate for the Spanish text which is in fact fairly easy to follow. This diagram from the article shows the relative ages of the islands. edited (Janet): also in the English El Pais now, HERE.READ MORE

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We are most familiar with the Cory’s Shearwaters – the “wacka wacka birds” in Spring, when their distinctive call is heard as they return south from their winter migration. It’s this time of the year, however, when this species, called the Pardela here in the Canaries and classified as “vulnerable” and so protected by law, is most at risk. None indeed are more in peril than the chicks making their first flights and becoming disoriented and, at night, being dazzled by the lights of buildings on the coast. Each year there is a campaign to help them, with environmentalists, police, and bomberos often making difficultREAD MORE