Ayuntamiento Santiago del Teide Discount Fair

Scheduled for Sunday, November 6th 2011

The City Council of the Historic Village of Santiago del Teide, through its Department of Commerce and the Association of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen of Santiago del Teide (ASEMTEIDE), are organising, another Discount Fair, to be held on Sunday 6th November in the Plaza in Puerto de Santiago, 10:00 to 18:00.

Bouncy castles for the kids and lots of bargains, time to start the Xmas shopping!!!!

The fair will be attended by about 30 companies in the municipality in the following categories: Fashion & Accessories, Furniture, Home and Gifts, Child Clothing, Hardware Stores, Florists, Computers, Perfume, Pet Shops, Bookstores and linens, amongst others. There will be raffles and activities for younger children.

Saturday 15th October saw Santiago Del Teide Lions Club celebrating their President´s Night, with a magnificent Buffet Dinner and Cabaret evening at El Marques in Puerto Santiago.

Invited guests were Deputy Mayor Inocencio Doble and his wife Remedios and Legal Advisor to the Council, Antonio Espinosa and his wife Alexandra.

The evening was a huge success, with 89 guests in attendance.

Entertainment was provided by artist and showman Gavin Nicholas, who had many of the audience in tears of laughter and music to get everyone dancing came from the superb saxophonist, guitarist and singer, Stu McCoy.

It was a perfect evening for departing President, Steve Gilbert to hand the reigns to incoming President, Ken Ward.

Apart from the traditional welcome to all guests, Steve Gilbert was delighted to award the coveted “Lion of the Year” plaque to Terry Hill for his unstinting support and dedication to the work we do.

During the evening, brief speeches were made by Steve Gilbert, Ken Ward, Inocencio Doble and John Brookhouse from Las Rosas.

All were thanked for giving us such fantastic support and Inocencio Doble was pleased to announce, that after the 20^th November General Election in Spain, the Ayuntamiento will be giving the Lions Club use of a local in Puerto Santiago. This will be set up as a store where people can donate unwanted items, that can then be sold on to generate more income to assist many local families experiencing difficulty in these harsh economic times.

It was announced by Steve Gilbert that during the last year, the Lions Club has raised 5,600 euros to put into their Food Voucher Scheme. It is hoped that with this new source of generating income, we will be able to support many more local people in need.

Deputy Mayor, Inocencio Doble addressed everyone in Spanish to give his personal thanks for all the help we were able to offer. His speech was ably translated by Jamie Gilbert, much to the relief of the majority of the audience.

All guests agreed that the evening represented tremendous value at only 30 euros per head and many are now eager to attend the next event, which is scheduled to be Charter Night in the early part of next year.

Ana Martin, Resort Manager for EL marques, was warmly thanked for the excellent service of all her staff in making this evening such a success and once again demonstrated that this venue provides a superb setting for this type of occasion.

With Spain’s economy undergoing such a bad period, hardships inevitably occur, especially among the unemployed who have families to support. This Lions club has designed food vouchers to the value of 10 euros each, which are distributed by the local Social Services, to between 40 and 50 those families, in the Santiago del Teide area.

The vouchers are recognized by the Transito Supermarket chain, and the Supermercado El Valle in Santiago Del Teide. The vouchers are for necessary food items only, toiletries, and fresh vegetables and fruit, no alcohol, cigarettes etc.

The Lions members hold weekly quizzes at El Marques Time-share resort, to raise the money, to redeem the vouchers. So far over 3,000 euros has been raised and spent, helping to alleviate the pressures of those in financial distress.

If anyone wishes to send a donation to help in this cause, a special account has been assigned at the ;-

Banco March, Playa de la Arena office,
Acc No 0087731. 0061 0215 10 0115530119
IBAN ES 28 0061 0215 1001 1553 0119

All the monies raised will be for the voucher effort, and nothing else.

A celebration of animals and their contribution to our lives

World Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. Since then it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and is widely celebrated in countries throughout the world. October 4 was chosen as World Animal Day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. However celebrations may take place within the two weeks either side of this date.

It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.

Launched in the UK on 4 October 2003. organisations, groups, animal shelters, places of worship, schools, clubs and individuals who participated in what was to become an annual event, quite simply, helped make history.

I am sure you will agree that, building the World Animal Day initiative is a wonderful way to unite the animal welfare movement and something that everyone can join in with whether they are part of an organisation, group, or as an individual.

World Animal Day is not linked to any one individual, organisation or campaign, but belongs to everyone.

The Santiago del Teide Branch of Asociaciòn San Francisco de los Animales was the first association in the Canary Islands to officially participate in this world wide event, which can be held two weeks either side of 4th October.

Santiago del Teide’s tourist information offices in Playa de La Arena, Los Gigantes and the town centre had a busy September, with over 3,000 enquiries.

The office in Los Gigantes was the busiest of the three, with nearly 1400 visitors, the majority of them British and Spanish. The local council says the figures are a further reflection of the upturn in tourism enjoyed by the area in recent months.

CODENAME: MONEYMAN, a new spy novel by Mark Arundel, has recently been
published and it features the west coast of Tenerife as its main location,
especially Los Gigantes, Puerto Santiago and Playa de L’Arena. The book is
on Amazon and here’s a link:

It’s currently in the UK Amazon kindle Top 100 bestsellers list for Spy
Stories.

The remains of a giant squid, possibly about 8 metres long, was spotted floating about two miles from the coast of Los Gigantes. The discovery was made by a film crew from the company Aquawork, who was preparing a documentary about the cetaceans’ colony in these waters.

The specimen of the genus Architheuthis was found last month in front of Los Gigantes cliff.

“The animal was in good general condition although some of the tentacles and the eyes were missing. It also showed its original pigmentation,” said Rafa Herrero, a documentary maker, to EFE agency.

According to Ángel Gerrea, professor of the Higher Council for Scientific Research(CSIC) and one of the leading specialists in cephalopods in the world, “it is possibly an adult female, which could be about 8 metres long with intact tentacles.”

Samples of the squid’s suckers and beak were taken and send the Association for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Islands (SECAC).

A local man in his late forties was pronounced dead at the Playa Chica in San Juan on Monday evening.
The man was spotted floating in the water but attempts from emergency services failed to revive him.
Witnesses suggest that the man suffered a heart attack while he was in the sea, and was unable to swim back to the beach.

A 58-year-old woman is in a critical condition in hospital after almost drowning in the pool of an apartment complex in Puerto Santiago.

In the latest pool tragedy to hit the island, the holidaymaker was rescued at around 5pm yesterday after other users realised she was in difficulties. She was tended by the public until the emergency services arrived to rush her to the hospital in Playa de Las Américas, where doctors have managed to keep her alive. Her condition last night was critical.

Apartments El Sombrero, located at the heart of Los Gigantes, has recently received an award from tour operator Thomas Cook. Clients have voted them top marks for customer service, friendliness, cleanliness and professionalism.

Virtually all of Tenerife can expect thermometers to hit the mid-30s today, which will feel even hotter due to the lack of wind.

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura bore the brunt of the high temperatures yesterday and the heat wave is expected to spread to Gran Canaria today. The Met Office has raised the alert status to orange (’major risk’) for Tuesday for all three islands.

Forecasters say the hot spell will remain until Thursday at least.

The sweltering weather has triggered concern at the prospect of fires on San Juan Night (23 June) getting out of control and causing major blazes.

The tinderbox conditions created by the current hot weather may force a rethink of the locations of the bonfires celebrating the shortest night of the year and the accompanying fireworks which are a tradition in some towns.

Fire brigades fear that sparks and burning embers could be carried by the wind to adjacent scrubland and woods, setting off dangerous fires. No decision has been taken yet whether to restrict the number of bonfires or ban them altogether in at-risk areas as a precautionary measure.

The 16^th annual swimming race from Playa de La Arena to Puerto de Santiago takes place at 18:00 hours on 9th July 2010.

The race covers 950 meters. The start line is at Playa de La Arena and the finish line is the beach at El Bajio in Puerto de Santiago.

The race is organized by the Department of Sports Hall of the Historic Village of Santiago del Teide, with the collaboration of the Federation Swimming Insular de Tenerife, Tenerife Referees Committee, Mar Red Cross, Civil Protection, Volunteer Fire Santiago del Teide and the Ad Hoc Underwater Civil Guard.

Entries may be made on website , www.santiagodelteidedeportes.com for more information call 922-86-81-08, lines open from 08:00 to 15:00.

On the day the female swimmers will head off first, followed by the men, in groups segregated by age

Entry fee is Euros 5.

Over the last few weeks security guards have been employed on the Marina in Los Gigantes. Any boat owner who has not paid up his fees has been refused entry. There have been many heated arguments and damage to the security gates but the guards have stood their ground which has resulted in a large percentage of the outstanding fees being recovered.

The money recovered is being used to resurface the entire road around the marina. Once completed parking spaces will be marked out to improve the road.

Now the not so good news: Parking fees will be introduced. The cost has not been decided yet but it is expected that a day’s parking will be in the region of Euros 4. It will be possible to enter free for 10 mins or so for deliveries. Business owners will be able to purchase a parking permit.

Scheduled for Sunday, July 10th 2011

The City Council of the Historic Village of Santiago del Teide, through its Department of Commerce and the Association of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen of Santiago del Teide (ASEMTEIDE), are organising another Discount Fair, to be held on Sunday 10th July in the Plaza in Puerto de Santiago, 09:00 to 20:00.

Lots of bargains, time to start the Xmas shopping!!!!

The fair will be attended by about 30 companies in the municipality in the following categories: Fashion & Accessories, Furniture, Home and Gifts, Child Clothing, Hardware Stores, Florists, Computers, Perfume, Pet Shops, Bookstores and linens, amongst others. There will be raffles and activities for younger children.

The three tourist information offices in the municipality of Santiago del Teide received about 4,500 visits during the month of May.

The tourist information office in Playa de La Arena recorded around 2,000 visitors, the new office in Los Gigantes recorded 1355 visitors and the office in Santiago del Teide 1100

The nationalities of the visitors are mainly English and German but also a good number of French, Italian and Scandinavian.

The main questions asked by the tourists are advice on places to visit, maps, trails, and brochures.

ATTENTION BAR AND RESTAURANT OWNERS!

One staff member must speak Spanish

It has been brought to our attention that in the Cabildo’s Tourism & Planning Department law regulating bars and restaurants, published as decree 90/2010 on July 22 2010, certain minimum conditions are stipulated, and failure to comply could lead to inspectors charging you an on-the-spot fine of up to €3,000.

The decree states quite clearly that you must have staff who speak Spanish. We presume that employing one Spanish speaking member of staff would fulfil this requirement.

Some of the other requirements are that you must have an exit available, other than the main exit, through which you can remove rubbish from the premises; that you must have an adequate extraction system in the cooking area; that electrical equipment must belong to the energy category B or equivalent, and that you must use energy saving fluorescent tubes and light bulbs. Relating to toilets, there should be one toilet and wash basin available for every 50 dining places.

There are many, many more stipulations, and for restaurant owners, it really would be well worth reading this document in detail.

Source - Island Connections

Have you tried it yet? If not, Why not?

I’m talking about the new Fish Spa in the marina los Gigantes . The spa was recently opened and is great for your feet, the tanks are all filtered and sterilised constantly for the health of the fish as well as the customers, and a foot bath is mandatory before you can put your feet in the tank, all under the watchful eye of Vicky the Manageress.

The fish are all genuine Garra Rufa and legally imported, the healing effect of these tiny fish is well documented.

When you put your feet in the tank for the first time it can be a little scary, but the mild nibbling sensation is very relaxing, and the massaging of the fish can help to improve circulation.

I can’t wait until my next visit and while you are there and well relaxed, why not pop into one of the bars next door and enjoy a relaxing drink, to round off the experience.
Read Full Story » »

Arguayo Fiesta 13, 14, 15 and 16 May, in honour of San Isidro Labrador

Friday 13 May

18:00 hours, Nino Radio

20:30 pm Gala Election of the Queen followed by “Gomeray Group.”
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Saturday 14 May

10:00 am bouncy castles in the square

Throughout the day contest will be held on decorated homes and balconies.

19:00 various entertainers followed at 23:00 hours by a large festival orchestras
“Arguayo Band” and “Wamampy
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Sunday 15 May, celebrates the pilgrimage in honor of San Isidro Labrador, from 12.30 pm Holy Mass in honor of San Isidro Labrador priest officiated by Pastor José Luis García and sung by the “Roots” of Santiago del Teide . Followed by the traditional pilgrimage to the park Arguayo with entertainment from;-

- Folk Dance Group Tegueste.
- Grouping Arguayo breezes.
- Grouping of Tamaimo Taym.
- Roots of Santiago del Teide.
- Municipal School of Folklore.
- The Arguayo revelers.

Followed by by a large festival orchestras Wamampy and Group Gomeray. ”
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“Hey Sheila, are you joining us for the clean up on Saturday morning”. It was the voice of Councillor Steve Gerrald.

“Sorry, can’t this year I’m looking after the “Gremlins” for the day, (my Grandchildren David, 4yrs and Lily almost 3 yrs).

“Well bring them along too, it’s something different for them” was the reply. “and there’s a huge paella being served after the clean up for all the volunteers”.

So Saturday morning arrived, no need to set the alarm, the kids were up before me, oh dear could I have ever been that cheerful and full of so much energy that early in the morning!

“Is it time to go yet” they were asking. (Not before my 2 cups of coffee to wake me up, I was thinking).
How about playing with the lego until it is time to go, I suggested to them. They agreed.

The starting point of the clean up was the beach and harbour in Puerto Santiago. We arrived there to meet up with at least 50 volunteers all armed with rubber gloves, bin bags, brushes and dust pans.
Councillor Gerald soon had everything organized. There would be 3 groups. The divers would clear the harbour. One group would clear the coastline towards Puerto Santiago plaza and the other group would cover the walkway towards the Barcello Santigo and the rock pool – I chose this route as it would be easier for David and Lily.

Very soon we had dozens of large bin bags full of plastic bags, bottles and cans which were cluttering the rocks below the walkway. After a well earned coffee break (and ice cream too) we then cleared the rock pool area. Then it was back to base to see the amazing looks on the faces of bystanders by the the amount of junk which was being pulled out of the harbour itself by local divers.

It was a good morning out, something different to do, and the area does look so much better, what an achievement.. The kids were happy, David had found a toy car – and to finish we all tucked into that huge paella.

A big thank you from the organizers to all who took part.

There is rather a lot of activity this week in the Los Gigantes Marina when it was revealed that the Clash of the Titans crew and cast had returned to film scenes for Clash of the Titans part two: “Wrath of the Titans”.

Once again Teide National Park, with pine forests and lava fields, Garachico, Guía de Isora and Icod de los Vinos will stand in for Ancient Greece, but it is our famous cliffs of Los Gigantes that will be the backdrop for many of the scenes, with a replica of an ancient Greek ship already berthed in the Marina (pic right).

Local Whale and Dolphin trip boats Nashira Uno and Gladiator have once again been hired for the camera crew but a much larger boat will be needed to carry the 200 local people employed as extras. Filming will take place along the cliffs from Barranco Seco to Punta de Teno.

Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Gemma Arterton reprise their roles whilst Jonathan Liebesman replaces Louis Letterier as director. This time it is being filmed in 3D and is scheduled to be in cinemas around spring 2012.

Casting for extras caused havoc around Tenerife last month with over 5,000 aspiring extras queuing up in La Laguna, some dressed in Ancient Greek styled robes in order to improve their chances of being selected. Whilst in El Medano many camped out overnight for a better chance of being chosen. Apparently there were a lot of mysterious illnesses affecting schools and businesses on casting days

The storyline of Wrath of the Titans is about hell being unleashed on earth.
A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus-the demigod son of Zeus-is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus’ godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans’ strength grows stronger as Zeus’ remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth… Written by Warner Bros. Pictures

This second part of Clash of the Titans will be a follow-on to the original which was one of the biggest blockbusters in cinema history, earning nearly $500million worldwide.

It started on the 1st of January, a sponsored slim to raise money for Breast Cancer awareness, by the end of the allotted time they had lost 94lbs between them and raised the fantastic sum of 436 Euros.

Fit friends was started a few years ago By Sally who now runs Tipsy Terrace. Chrissie took over from Sally when she took on Tipsy Terrace, and now runs the group which meets every Tuesday morning at Tipsy’s here in Los Gigantes

The numbers vary through the year but they have a core of about twelve residents both women and men. So why not pop in and see them and get fit with a friend.

For More information why not give Chrissie a ring on 922 861012 or 666 513969

We recently had an exclusive interview with Councillor Steve McKenna, to put to him many of the points which had been raised in the recent string on Los Gigantes.com about Norovirus

We asked him, had there been any new cases of the virus, which now must be notified to the authorities.
Councillor McKenna said to his knowledge no new cases had been reported this year.  The public health authority, from Santa Cruz, had been requested by the hotel to help and visited the hotel a number of times during the last year to advise on additional hygiene precautions that should be used to help control the original outbreak and help with the sterilisation of the dining room, although no trace of the virus has to date ever been found in the dining area. The Health authority believed it had not started in the hotel, but was brought in by a client/s from a cruise ship. The authorities and the hotel continue to monitor the situation.

One comment we have heard at losgigantes.com frequently is:- There is a common feeling from many of the staff and the tour operators that many of the reported cases of stomach upsets (commonly labelled as Norovirus, but are not) this year are just a means to getting compensation. They feel that the hotel has been unfairly singled out, especially when if you do a web search for Norovirus, you will find that it is prevalent across the UK in hospitals and hotels etc. Councillor McKenna had heard this to but felt it would be inappropriate to comment on it.

I then asked about the outfalls in the area.  Steve answered that all of our outfalls comply with the current EU standards, and that the water quality was checked every two weeks by the environmental health organisation, which is why Playa de la Arena is able to keep it’s blue flag. Steve said that whilst it was not his particular remit he understood that the final connections to the new centralised waste water management scheme for the south and west of the island were due at any time. Additionally the new motorway was being used to provide a waste water route for the upper villages of the area.
At the moment the los Gigantes beach looks as though it will become a blue flag beach in the next few weeks.

The Counicls priorties for the the coming year is the regeneration of Los Gigantes, with the extending of the beach, the opening of a passageway beteen the beach and the marina, and not least the building of a new 400 place car park and community centre, the funds for these projects have already been approved by the parties (Party Popular) hierarchy.

Written by:  Paul Marley

Tourist figures for the first three months of this year show an increase to more than 1.258 million visitors, which is 8.8 per cent up on the same three months of 2010 year.

Figures for April are expected to show an even bigger increase due to the Easter holidays.

President of the Tenerife Cabildo, Ricardo Melchior stated that the rise in figures was mainly due to the crisis in North Africa and the Middle East, but estimated that without the problems figures would still be up to around 5 per cent

Guia de Isora’s drive to attract upmarket tourism continues to gain force with the early stages of planning approval for 2 new luxury hotels in Playa San Juan.

Town Mayor Pedro Martin said that that a new zoning plan has been agreed by the council after lengthy negotiations with other levels of administration and with the companies behind the project, which will see a total of 1,100 new hotel beds added to the area, along with an upmarket thalassotherapy centre. “We are adamant we only want a few hotels and the ones we do allow must be 5 star” explained the major.

The council will also go ahead with public works which will improve parts of San Juan, particularly those close to the locations of the new hotels.

According to the mayor there will be a new connecting path created between Calle Artes de Mar (the road that goes down to the beach) and a new urban zone which will also boast one of two new public parking areas for the town, the other to be constructed near the Agua Dulce neighbourhood and the TF47 and the new hotel sites.

According to Martin the council’s planning is three-fold. “One, to acquire and develop more public spaces which will happen within the plan: Two, to see two new luxury hotels built with the intention of turning Guia de Isora into a reference point of the world of tourism, and last but not least to inject some economic life into the zone”.

Regarding the latter, the mayor said that the economic benefit of having 5 star hotels in the area were two way, “just as the hotels will benefit from having a beach nearby, the beach wins too by having such hotels in the proximity with people coming and going, commercial activity and an increase in the leisure activity”, all leading, it is hoped, to economic benefits for the area.

Council approval has now been sent to the regional government as well as the Cabildo and the Costas department and once all the approvals have been received work can begin.

Source: Tenerife News

Three gorgeous young girls are all hoping to be this year’s junior Carnival Queen.  The gala for the election of the queen, as well as many entertainers will take place tonight Friday, March 18, from 18:00 pm in the Plaza Los Gigantes.

Candidates are:

1. Gina Contini Martina Cruz with a costume “Tasty in a Latin Carnival”

2.  Évora Adriana Jimenez with a costume “100×100 sugar”

3.  Mayerlin Dorta Ravelo with a costume “Tourism in Africa”

A total of 3 candidates hope to be crowned “Queen of the Adult Carnival 2011″, which this year has the theme “Latino.”

The gala for the election of the queen as well as the appearance of many entertainers, will take place this evening Thursday 17 March, from 21:00 pm in the Plaza Los Gigantes.

The candidates this year are:
1. Veronica Cairns Martin, who will wear the fantasy, entitled “Night of Fantasy”.

2. Tamara Pérez Gorrín will wear the fantasy “Madam 1909″.

3 Tatiana Pérez Hernández with the fantasy “The Guardian of Dreams”.

The new speed limit of 110 kmh on motorways and dual carriageways came into force early today.

Plans to cut down on the national bill for crude oil, was formally passed by Parliament last week in response to soaring oil prices caused by the continued unrest in Libya, which supplies around 13 per cent of Spain’s oil.

Traffic authorities say the switch-over, which meant that signs had to be changed on almost 10,000 km of road during the night, by teams of workers on the TF-1 and TF-5, has gone smoothly and motorists are observing the new limit, 110k per hour.

Speed traps throughout the country have been adjusted to take into account the new figure, which will remain in force for four months and then be reviewed.

The work on Los Gigantes beach is going ahead at a good pace. The huge rolls of wire meshing, which have been shipped in from Santander from the mainland are currently being crane lifted, unrolled and pinned into position.

St. Patrick’s Night

Have you a little bit of Irish blood in you? If so you must come to the “Blarney Stone”, in Playa Arena on March 17^th 2011. With Lions Club of Santiago del Teide they will be holding a traditional Saint Patrick’s night from 7:30pm

The evening will include Irish music and a full carvery with special drinks prices and a raffle. The proceeds will go to Lions funds.

The “Blarney Stone” is opposite the beach in Playa Arena.

In all a great family night out. Tickets Euros 15 per person (children Euros 10)

Tickets available from the “Blarney Stone”, and MDI Alcala

If you require any further information call Mary 607435267 or Sheila 637819204

A 33 year old Polish man and his 21 year old female cousin were washed off the rocks by high waves in the El Jurado area near the beach at Puerto Santiago at around 11.30pm on Tuesday night.

The woman managed to clamber over the rocks back to shore and was suffering from cuts bruises, hypothermia and shock.

An over night air sea rescue search was coordinated and the drowned man was eventually recovered the next morning from the sea near the Europa Buildings in Puerto Santiago.

The family had just arrived and they were staying at the Playa Arena hotel