Marine biologists from Universities of La Laguna in Tenerife and La Palma in Gran Canaria have discovered a species of Millepora Hydrocoral growing around the coast of Tenerife.

The coral which normally grows in shallow, tropical or subtropical reefs in the Caribbean, Pacific and the Red Sea (see pic right) has never before been found North of the Cape Verde Islands.

The marine biologists say the coral’s migration is a direct result of increasing temperatures in the Canaries.

Emergency services were alerted on Tues 27thJuly when a 48 year old German woman was seriously injured when she fell while taking part in the famous Masca walk.

She was airlifted to safety by helicopter and flown to Tenerife North Airport where an ambulance took her to hospital.

The City Council is undertaking a project to reform and improvement the public lighting in Arguayo, Tamaimo and Puerto de Santiago.

The work has a budget of € 140,754.00.

The existing lighting and wiring, which is in poor condition, will all be replace by watertight fluorescent lighting with 36w lamps.

Blue Flag status is awarded to beaches in more than 30 countries in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbean. The Blue Flag requires compliance with water quality standards, safety, general services and standards of environmental management.

The Blue Flag is a badge awarded annually by the Foundation for Environmental Education to the beaches and marinas that meet a range of environmental conditions and facilities.

This year the awards went to the beaches of La Arena in Santiago del Teide (for the 24th consecutive year),El Médano, Leocadio Machado and La Tejita in Granadilla de Abona, Las Vistas and El Camisón in Arona, Troya I-II (Americas I-II) in Adeje,  El Socorro Los Realejos, Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz and La Arena (Mesa del Mar) in Tacoronte.

Many of these awarded beaches have a wide range of services such as showers, bars, restaurants, telephones, surveillance, police, Red Cross, toilets, sun-beds and umbrellas for rent, rental of sports equipment and access for disabled. Others have alternative services such as parking, camping or nudist area. Each has got its own personality and charm. Golden sands and white or black sand, wind and waves for water sports or quiet relaxation and serenity, different beaches to suit all needs.

Due to the number of Blue Flags beaches Tenerife is now  high on the list of best venues in the world.

Source: Tenerife News

Gema Montesdeoca, age 16 who represented Puerto de Santiago was crowned this year’s Gala Queen of Puerto Santiago fiesta which took place on July 22nd 2010.

Candidates were: Martin Yaridé Guanche, Tamaimo, Beatriz Linares Díaz The Molledo, Marquis Coraima Hernandez La Caldera, Gema Montesdeoca Puerto de Santiago, Lucía Martín Guerra Santiago del Teide, Álvarez Delgado Arguayo.

The gala was presented by Rebecca and Alexis Rojas Paniagua. Entertainers were MM Ballet Dance act, singer Priscilla Estévez, comedian Jesus Farray and Fog starring Irinea and Pepe Benavente.

Hover cursor over pic for names - click on pic to enlarge

This year’s Playa Arena to Puerto Santiago swimming competition, which was the 15th organised by the local council, attracted over 300 competitors.

First place in the men’s race was claimed by Francisco Javier Perez with a finishing time of 12 minutes and 51 seconds. Second place went to Jose Carlos Baez Gonzalez with a time of 12 minutes and 54 seconds and third place went to Ciro Ascanio Gutierrez with a time of 13 minutes and 59 seconds.

In the women’s race first over the finish line was Design Escatllar with a time of 15 minutes 28 seconds, second place was Usoa Gala Arocena with a time of 15 minutes and 29 seconds while third place went to Carmen Elsa Dominguez with a time of 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

There was also prizes for locals who entered. In the men’s category first place went to José Juan Casañas with a time of 16 minutes and 47 seconds, second place went to Thomas Jonay Glez Garcia with a time of 18 minutes and 13 seconds and third place went to Javier Diaz Linares with a time of 18 minutes and 15 seconds.

Local women’s category was as follows: first Dácil Hernandez finished, using a time of 21 minutes and 21 seconds, second place went to Vanessa Sanchez with a time of 23 minutes and 52 seconds, while the Third place went to Ana Belén Socas with a time of 27 minutes and 9 seconds.

I’ve spent the past few days planning a family and friends BBQ for tomorrow in one of the BBQ/picknic parks up Teide. The dive centre is closed for the day (wow a day off). I have 15kg of chicken legs thawing in my fridge! Plus there’s a good supply of beer in several friends fridge!

I was rather horrified this morning when the cabildo announced that they were banning fires and bonfires in the woods and hills due to the heat wave expected this weekend and the ban will not be lifted until the weather cools down. Panic what do I do with 15kg of thawed out chicken legs???

From tomorrow, July 10th and until further notice certain parts of the middle and higher ground on the island of Tenerife will be on orange alert due to a heat wave following the weather forecast issued yesterday by the Spanish Met Office.

The temperature is expected to hit 37 degrees centigrade this weekend, and has prompted an official ban on lighting of fires of any kind in recreation and BBQ areas. The Cabildo has confirmed that the ban will not be officially lifted until the weather cools down and the risk of forest and wild fires is reduced.
Some parts of Tenerife will be on orange alert tomorrow, which means significant risk. The affected areas will be the mountains and the lower hills in the south, east and west of Tenerife from 11.00 until 21.00 tomorrow, Saturday 10 July 2010, mainly those which are south and west facing because they received less draught from the cooler north westerly winds.

All visitors and residents on the island are strongly urged NOT to go up into the hills and woods over the next few days until the situation improves. The Island Corporation kindly request that drivers use only the tarmacked roads and avoid forest tracks whenever possible. Holidaymakers and residents are strongly recommended to take extra precautions when visiting the mountains.
In an emergency please call 112.

Our BBQ has been saved, thanks to Fred and Glynis, we are moving our venue to lower down the mountain where it will be a bit cooler at Tajinaste restaurant. We will just have to plan the mountain BBQ for another day.

This year’s swimming race from Playa de La Arena to Puerto de Santiago takes place at 18:00 hours on 10th July 2010 entries will be accepted up to July 6th.

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.loscabosos.com and the municipal website www.santiagodelteide.es. Or for more information call 922-86-81-08, lines open from 08:00 to 15:00.

The categories are female and male, divided into groups according to age. Entry fee is Euros 5.

This year all events will be taking place in the area of the Plaza de Puerto de Santiago on the evening of Wednesday June 23, Midsummer.

The entertainment and activities will begin at 21:00 pm.

There will be giant paella for all attendees and the lighting of bonfires. To top off the night there will be dancing to “Malagua” until well into the night.

The “Acantilado de Los Gigantes”, fifth annual underwater photographic competition, sponsored by the City Council of the Historic Village of Santiago del Teide, with the collaboration of the Tenerife Cabildo, will take place from July 3rd – 10th 2010.

The amazing volcanic rock formations, caves, tunnels and arches plus the amazing diversity of marine live in the Los Gigantes area make it an ideal location for the competition.

The Digital Underwater Photography Contest “Cliffs Los Gigantes” is open to all underwater photographers who wish to take part. (Subject to the number of places and compliance with the rules of the competition).

For more info visit www.fotosubtenerife.com
Entry fee is € 150 for Category A and 120 € for Category B. This fee includes participation rights in the contest and a place on four boat dives departing from Los Gigantes Marina.

The awards for “Category A” are:

1. First place: trophy and 2,500 euros.

2. Second place: trophy and 1,500 euros.

3. Third place: Trophy and $ 1,000.

The awards for “Category B” are:

1. First place: trophy and 1,000 euros.

2. Second place: Barbolight LED Flashlight.

This past weekend a local produce sale was held in the Plaza Bouganvilla, Los Gigantes.
It was an event in which farmers from different parts of the island could show their products (honey, cheese, pastries, wine, potatoes … ) The event was organized by the Local Development Agency, Tourism, the Department of Agriculture Hall of the Historic Village of Santiago del Teide and Tenerife Pantry.

The Pantry is a project of the Tenerife Cabildo de Tenerife and Tenerife Rural Foundation. The aim is to promote the local produce of the island. Among the initiatives under this project include the creation of the website (productosdetenerife.com) where users can access the different products of the land with the possibility of purchasing from home.

Jose Joaquin Bethencourt, Minister of Agriculture of the Cabildo of Tenerife, said that “one of the priorities in this area of the council is to relocate to society the importance of eating local produce because they all represent our culture, tradition and source of wealth for our people.”

Playa arena beach has become the most awarded beach in Tenerife. Since 1987 as it has been awarded the blue flag each year for the past 23 years.

The Blue Flag is a recognized symbol to stringent health and environmental levels, the presence of adequate sanitation and waste, rescue services, first aid and lifeguard as well as wheelchair access and other facilities for the disabled and free wi-fi internet access.

Plans for the new Fonsalía port (between Alcala and San Juan) have already passed the draft, blueprint and environmental impact stages and, if economically viable, will go out to tender in late 2011.

Councillor for Public Transport and Works Juan Ramón Hernández also announced that at the end of June this year, all documentation will be open to the general public.

The new port will be created on an artificial platform going out to sea, separated from the mainland by a narrow arm of water allowing for the movement of currents and avoiding stagnant water so as not to alter the peculiar morphology of the coastline.

This will create a 15.5 hectare “island” to accommodate commercial, fishing and marina use via a 200 metre long bridge with four lanes for vehicles and pavements for pedestrians. 2.77 hectares will be dedicated to fisheries and 5.50 hectares to sport.

It will have 739 metres of vertical breakwaters, 840 metres of artificial rubble breakwaters, four berths for commercial vessels, 460 moorings for pleasure boats and thirty for fishing boats.

Socialist deputy Julio Cruz said the port of Fonsalía is essential and very important for the Canary Islands and Tenerife, “especially considering that the port of Los Cristianos has collapsed.”

It will be an important logistics and communications hub between the Canary Islands, and should be constructed as quickly as possible as it will benefit two million users.

Source:- Tenerife News

West Tenerife’s got talent

29th & 30th May 2010 you don’t have to be a professional artist to enter Tajinaste’s

FIRST WEST TENERIFE TALENT COMPETITION

They may or may not be young, they may or not be pretty, they may be professionals or amateurs but for one afternoon with nothing to lose they’re daring to go for it.

Heats will be held on the Saturday with the final on the Sunday. Both starting around 14:30
Acts and/or sponsors of the act you are nominating can obtain an application form from Tajinaste restaurant (see below how to get there) or by email from enquiries@losgigantes.com
Alternatively call 610062353 or 678195750 and give details of the act.

There are many categories, female/male vocalists. duos, bands, instrumentalist, comedian, novelty acts, magic acts, dancer or dance troupe or other.

How to get there
From Los Gigantes Police/Fire station follow the road up the hill on the Tamaimo road for aprox 1km. Turn right into the village of La Caldera (there is no sign post) go past the laundry and turn left after the little church. Follow the very narrow road until you come to a fork in the road (aprox 1km). Fork right. Here you will see a small car park and the restaurant.

A taxi from Los Gigantes is around €3.50 and the restaurant owner will call a return taxi for you.

Airport help line 922 759 027/ 922 759 028.

Flights restrictions in the UK caused by a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano will remain in place until at least 1am on Saturday.

The latest advice from the Tenerife authorities is for intending flight passengers to most Northern European destinations not to travel to the airport unless they have confirmation that their particular flight is leaving and when. This way they are hoping to avoid unnecessary chaos at the airports.

People are advised to contact their tour operator or airline to find out what is happening with their flights. For more information call Freefone Turismo de Tenerife: 00800 100 101 00 where operators can offer help in English, German, French and Spanish. Tour operators are also being asked to check first before bringing bus loads of people to the airport. The Spanish Airport Authority also has a helpline 902 404 704 & el +34 91 321 10 00 with information about upcoming flight cancellation.

A new scheme is being introduced by Santiago del Teide Council to assist pensioners and people who have been unemployed for more than one year, with a rebate on their 2009 IBI (rates)

Eligible homeowners have until May 14th to make their claim. The rebate can be up to a maximum of 85 per cent of the amount paid on their primary property, depending on circumstances.

If you think you may be eligible, you can get more information either at the council offices in Santiago del Teide, or at the council sub-office in Playa de la Arena.

John and Jean Oliver, long time visitors to Tenerife, were returning to Reina Sofia Airport on 16th March following a month’s stay at Los Gigantes. They parked their hire car in a car park at Los Abrigos whilst they had lunch at one of the popular sea-front restaurants.

On return to the car, they discovered that that the vehicle had been entered and various items removed from the locked boot including their passports, a laptop computer, their UK car keys and several other personal items.

The Oliver’s travel mascot – a cuddly baby gorilla called “Bruno” was in the stolen travel bag and is, therefore, also missing. Bruno has travelled for over 20 years all over the world with John & Jean and is sorely missed. If you come across him, please contact losgigantes.com – a reward payment is possible.

The moral of this story is, of course, never leave your passports & other valuables in your car – always take them with you!

Work has begun replacing the street lights in the Avenida José González Fortes, Calle Hibisco and Flor de Pascua in Los Gigantes.

The work has a budget of around Euros 202,000

Tourist boat Shogun, which operates for Puerto Colon, had to detour and make an unscheduled stop in Los Gigantes yesterday when a passenger on board suffered a heart attack.

The incident occurred around 3pm. The man, who name has not yet been disclosed, was in his early 40’s. He complained of chest pains then lost consciousness. A nurse on board was unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead when the emergency services arrived.

A second blackout in just over a week, hit not just Los Gigantes but the whole of Tenerife for several hours early this morning.

The problem occurred at 1am at a sub-station in Las Caletillas. 50% of power was restored by around 5am to Santa Cruz and the south of the islands. Full power should be resumed during the course of today.

The emergency services had few serious incidents to deal with because the blackout occurred during the night, but a few people had to be rescued from lifts.

Many residents of Los Gigantes are in shock today at the tragic news of the death of popular Tony Fordham.

43 year old Tony suffered a massive heart attack early yesterday morning in his car at Tejita beach car park in El Medano. Ambulance crews were unable to resuscitate him.

Funeral arrangements
Tuesday March 2nd at 11am – Los Gigantes church followed by a reception at Tipsy Terrace.

No flowers by request, instead contributions towards the cost of the funeral will be welcome. Donations will be accepted by Kelly and staff at Offshore 44 or Jo and staff at the Green Corner.

Condolences to Tony’s family from theLosgigantes.com team. He will be sorely missed in Los Gigantes.

A new deal has been signed between Thomson holidays and Durham Tees Valley airport to provide a weekly flight to Tenerife.

The new service will depart from Durham tees valley airport on Saturdays at 08:00 and return at 18:15

The German supermarket chain Lidl, who’s aim is to offer clients maximum quality at the best possible price, has now opened in the canary Islands. On their respective opening mornings large queues were waiting and gifts of flowers, balloons and parasols were given out to the happy shoppers.

12 Lidl stores have opened in the Canary Islands. In Tenerife they are located in Puerto de la Cruz, Granadilla, La Laguna, Adeje, Santa Úrsula, Las Chafiras. In Gran Canaria they will open in Telde and Agüimes on February 25th and in Ingenio and Vecindario on March 4th and in Arrecife (Lanzarote) on March 11th and Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura) on March 18th.

SANTIAGO DEL TEIDE BRANCH
Asociación San Francisco de los Animales

Annual Report
01.11.08 -31.12.09

Due to the fact that we have brought the branch’s year end into line with that of the main association it should be noted that this report covers a fourteen month period.

2009 has been a year of ups and downs. Most fundraising events, with the exception of the dinner in December, have been approximately one third down on income compared with the previous year. Fortunately donations increased which has helped to compensate.

Fundraising is vital for our work with the abandoned animals. We receive no government or municipal funding, thus having to rely solely on our own fundraising activities and donations from the public. Without fundraising we might just as well ‘shut up shop’. Without income we could not afford our veterinary bills, which accounts for a very large proportion of our income. Read Full Story » »

Stormy seas, high winds and heavy thunderstorms continue to cause chaos to the whole of the Caranry Islands.

In our local area yesterday heavy metal manhole covers were lifted out of their places by the sheer volume of water causing the closure of the main road in Playa Arena. Today the clean up begins as dozens of council workers clear mud and rocks from the roads.

The new beach and car park in San Juan has been badly damaged due to a river of flood water which was too much for the drains. (See pics below) At the time of flooding 2 cars were washed down from the car park on to the beach.

Waves of between 4.5 and 5.5 metres have been recorded. A yacht ran aground on the coast of Puerto del Carmen in Gran Canaria yesterday while the Fred Olsen ferry was forced to return to Tenerife after attempting to enter the port of Agaete in Gran Canaria. Further crossings were cancelled.

In Las Calletillas, wind ripped off a gas station roof, which resulted in some people being evacuated from their homes.

Schools and universities are closed until further notice and several roads to Mt. Teide remain closed due to heavy snow, rain or rock falls. Carnival events in Santa Cruz were cancelled yesterday and again today.

Many places were without power yesterday, and today from around mid day until 4pm the whole of Tenerife was without electricity.

Several flights have been cancelled or delayed but all ports, airports and bus services are now operating normally.

It’s not over. There are more storms lurking in the Atlantic, due to hit us over the weekend, so don’t put out your garden furniture yet, but it looks like we may have a bit of a reprieve for tomorrow.

Click on pic for larger view

Once again Los Gigantes is being battered by bad weather. Heavy rain, thunder storms, high winds and rough seas are causing chaos for locals and tourists. This week no boats are leaving or entering the marina. As I write this you can’t see the cliffs from the marina because the rain is so heavy.

Until Friday a severe weather warning has been issued by the met office.

Local authorities and the Fire Brigade are once again inundated with calls for help and in the area of Las Chafiras, they are stretched to their limit having to pump water from flooded homes and roofs have been blown off in the high winds. Trees have been blown down, but luckily there have been no reports of injuries.

Yet again the road to Teide is closed.

Update 3pm Wed 17th

After the torrential rain this morning, with rivers running down every road, residents in Los Gigantes are once again mopping up.  The beach road drains were soon blocked with mud and stones causing flooding yet again to the shops and restaurant and this time the flooding of Poblado garages.

Stephen McKenna, councillor for Santiago del Teide who appeared in court in Arona last Thursday was acquitted of all charges against him.

The complainant made no accusation, and withdrew criminal proceedings. There are no further appeals against the ruling.

Councillor McKenna was accused and charged for propositioning a minor for sex in an incident on July 21st last year.

The truth coming out in court came as a great relief for the councillor. The incident had made front page news as well as a topic for local gossip, which no doubt affected his business, but the tremendous support and good wishes from locals and swallows helped him through the very difficult past 6 months.