Construction work will soon commence, in Puerto de Santiago, on a three storey new Tourist and Cultural centre with a large urban park next to it.

It is a local project with local financing and the plot of land allocated is situated on the new road between the fisher woman’s roundabout and the New Costa Los Gigantes Hotel.

Plans are also in place to include a 432 seats theatre/auditorium on the third floor complete with dressing rooms, toilets, lifts, a box office and a terrace. On the lower floor will be a number of multiple-use salons and meeting rooms, a library with archives and a cafeteria.

According to the Mayor, Juan Damián Ramos Gorrín at a cost of three million Euros, once completed the building is expected to be a key installation for the area.

The hotel association, Ashotel have received countless complaints from tourists regarding the location of the fish farms being too near to tourist beaches.

Whilst the association understand that fish farms are a large part of our economy and every effort must be made to protect the livelihood of the fisherman and his family, they insist that the farms could be situated on better sites away from the busy tourist zones.

The most affected areas are Arona, Adeje and Santiago del Teide.

Our own Mayor of Santiago del Teide, Juan Damián Ramos Gorrín is not opposed to aquaculture but considers that it should not take place in tourist areas, such as the cliffs of Los Gigantes.

An outdoor activity company El Cardon, based in Buenavista del Norte, are offering a wide range of themed hiking routes, as well as several other activities in the best natural areas of Tenerife. The walks are specifically aimed at tourists. The company have been established for 10 years and their professional guides, environmental educators, will enhance the walks by telling you about the history, nature etc.

Some of their activities are:-
The laurel forests every Tuesday in the Monte de Agua.
El Teide is on the first Saturday of the month.
Masca ravine on the second Saturday of the month.
Caving in the world famous San Marco cave on the third Saturday of the month.
kayaking off Punta de Teno on the fourth Saturday of each month.

Check out their web site (it’s in English)

Tel. 922 127 938 or email info@elcardon.com

Important press release from the Cabildo of Tenerife:

The Director General of Police and the Minister of the Interior have asked that as many people as possible are alerted to the following:

“Do not retrieve any mobiles that you may find, especially in Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Indiscriminate attacks are being prepared with detonators recently stolen from Grenoble by E.T.A.

Their modus operandi is to insert grams of dynamite in mobile telephones, key rings etc. that they then abandon in the streets.

They are sufficiently powerful to take off your hand.

Please alert as many people as possible, including the Red Cross.”

There is hope that the economic crisis might not affect Tenerife tourism as much as was originally feared.

A report announced by the Association of British Travel Agents suggests that despite the doom and gloom of this financial crisis more than two-thirds of consumers are adamant they will have their annual holiday.

In a Holiday Value Report 68 % of people questioned intended to spend the same as last year or possibly increase their budget. The report also predicts that a single person will spend an average of £632 and a family of four £2,500. 37% said a holiday was the most important annual purchase – more important than a new car.

Between 24th December 2008 and 5th January 2009 2,447 adults took part in the poll.

By: Roger Diss ( Roger said he didn’t want credit for this story but I didn’t want anyone to think I was into female legs!)

They came in all shapes, colours and sizes but there was no doubting the big hit at the second annual Asociación San Francisco de los Animales dog show – among the male onlookers, at any rate.
Xena, a golden retriever, was the dog in question but most male eyes were turned to her owner, Sabrina Biagini, whose long and shapely legs made the pair firm favorites to win the fun class, Best Six Legs, in the competition. Read Full Story » »

Tourism minister Rita Martín and tourist Board bosses from each of the Canary Islands are in England this week to meet with leading UK tour operators, including Tui and Thomas Cook.

The main aims of the meetings are to discuss the demands from tour operators pressurising hotels to lower their prices and the “what ifs” of a repercussion of a charter airline collapse .

In a bid to create more jobs for the unemployed and to boost the economy in this time of crisis three major projects, which have been on hold for various reasons, are being kicked back into action.

The controversial issue of the construction of the new port in Granadilla which will create 500 jobs and cost around 200 million euros is likely to get the go ahead once a few technical issues are sorted . Green campaigners are far from happy but industrialists claim it is vital for the future of Tenerife.

Work has resumed on the new hospital El Mojon, in the south of Tenerife, which has been at complete standstill after rows broke out over the planning. Arguments are still going on but it is estimated that the new hospital will be opening in 2011.

Plans on another huge project, train of the south, which is estimated to cost around 1,712 million euros are well underway. The territorial plan will be formally approved in February, which will allow preparation work, split into 23 projects, to go ahead. Stations are being planned for Candelaria, San Isidro, Reina Sofia Airport, Las Americas and Los Cristianos and possibly another in Arona, between the Guaza mountain and San Miguel.

The met office has issued yet another storm warning. High swell is starting to build and wave height is expected to reach between 4 and 5.5m. The North of Tenerife is expected to be hit worse than the South.

Higher up from the coast temperatures reached four degrees below zero in Las Cañades and the approaching roads to Teide have been closed due to black ice. Worst effected towns were La Esperanza and La Orotava where temperatures reached two degrees below zero.

Here on the coast of Los Gigantes daytime temperatures and sunshine have kept the average temperature around 20 degrees.

The Photo was taken at Punta Blanca at 9am this morning. You can also see the waves coming over the Los Gigantes Marina wall on our web cam
(Sorry about the grubby state of the web cam housing, but as fast as it’s cleaned it is covered in salt spray again).

Flyglobespan have announced a January sale on winter and summer flights.

Departures from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Durham Tees and Belfast include Tenerife as a destination in their offers. On some routes there is as much as 25% discount. Some flights are as low as £29.99 and all flight prices listed are one-way, including taxes.

Three people in Tenerife have been poisoned as a result of picking and eating highly poisonous mushrooms. One person was rushed to hospital for a liver transplant after eating the highly poisonous mushroom Amanita phaloides, which grows in the forests of La Conejera in Santa Úrsula.

The other two people suffered gastro-intestinal problems after eating an unknown species of mushroom picked in La Esperanza, El Rosario, they were treated at home.

The Public Health department have requested that all the Town Halls provide posters and placards to warn the public of the dangers of eating the mushrooms.

As a result of demand from customers for summer 2009 Monarch is to increase its low fare schedule of flights from May 1st to Tenerife.

Flights will be available from Manchester to Tenerife. The airline is offering extra low fare seats, and you can book on line via www.monarch.co.uk from as little as £52.99 one way, including all taxes, charges and web booking discount.

Commenting on the additional services, managing director of Monarch’s scheduled service division, Liz Savage said “We have already seen strong demand for our Summer 2009 services, and particularly the Spanish Islands which have been left underserved by the failure and withdrawal of a number of airlines during 2008.

This is the 12th year of celebrating Fiesta del Almendro en flor. This year’s annual walk is being organised by María Candelaria Pérez, councillor of Santiago del Teide’s, in collaboration with the Department of the Environment and the Rural Park of Teno.

During January and February hundreds of almond trees in the Santiago del Teite area start blossoming and the site, when all these trees are in full bloom, is quite spectacular.

On February 7th at 9am the walk departs from the Plaza de Santiago del Teide, and passes through places such as the Chinyero Forest Reserve and ends at the Cultural Centre in Arguayo.
There is a registration fee of 5 Euros, but places are limited. You can register by calling 922 86 31 27, extensions 234 and 235.

It is important that you wear adequate footwear and clothing, take water, food and a camera with you if you want to enter the official photographic contest.

Photo competition
Should you decide to enter the almond blossom photo competition you have until 2pm 5th March to hand in your work. Photos can be colour or black and white, with a minimum of 25×20 format. A maximum of 3 entries per person is permitted. The winners will be announced at the Town Hall on 13th March.

First prize. …………………………….. 300 euros.
Second prize …………………………. 200 euros.
Third prize ……………………………….150 euros.

All works will be exhibited in the courtyard of the Town Hall approximately two weeks before and after the 13th March For more information regarding the photo contest contact the Department of Culture Tel: 922 863127 ext. 234/235.

A campaign is being launched this week by the Tenerife Tourist Board to promote the “lesser-known side of the island” in a bid to attract new holidaymakers to the Island.

A film called “Another Side to Tenerife” which highlights the more luxurious attractions of Tenerife has been produced with travel expert Peter Nunn and is now running online on Travelguru.tv during 2009.
See the film on line travelguru.tv

Amidst the doom and gloom of the credit crunch which is affecting tourism here in Tenerife, matters are being made even more miserable by yet another spell of rain, high winds and rough seas, it’s the worst weather the Canary Islands have seen for many years. The Los Gigantes area is generally better off than most other parts of the island claiming the highest sunshine records and very little rain.

This picture of a rainbow over Los Gigantes Cliffs was taken this morning at 9am but as I write this the sun is now shining again, although it is still very windy and the sea is a good force 4, tour boats would be crazy to venture out in these conditions.

It is predicted that worst affected areas of Tenerife will be Vilaflor and La Orotava and it is expected that the island of La Palma will be worst hit.

It’s almost carnaval time again here in Tenerife and it is celebrated in every town and village on the island, Santa cruz being the most spectacular carnaval, closely followed by Puerto de la Cruz.

Festivities are due to kick off in Santa Cruz on the 18th Feb and will attract thousands of visitors to the area. All events take place in the decorated streets, with the main events held in Plaza de España. You will find stalls, music kiosks and street parties everywhere which give a truely festive atmosphere.
During carnaval there are daily competitions between various carnival groups, bands and dance schools as well as fancy dress competitions and a parade of antique cars.

The main events are:-
18th February: Gala for the Election of the 2009 Carnival Queen.

A huge gala evening, lasting several hours to elect both the Carnaval Queen and the Junior Carnaval Queen. If you can’t make it to this event then don’t miss it on TV. The costumes get bigger and more spectacular each year.

20th February: Proclamatory Parade.

Cabalgata Anunciadora (Announcing Parade), The newly elected Carnaval Queen leads the parade through the streets. The procession is followed by a firework display.

24th February: “Coso” The apotheosis of Carnival (4 pm)

The Coso Apoteosis, a huge spectacular parade through Avenida de Anaga and Marítima, starting around 4 p.m. Ends in a spectacular firework display around 9 p.m.

25th February: Burial of the Sardine.
This is a very amusing event for first timers to Carnaval. Men dress up as “Widows” to mourn the death of the sardine!

1st March: Piñata Sunday
Gran Concurso en la Ciudad de Automóviles Antiguos - a parade of beautiful vintage cars starting from the Calle La Noria in the old part of Santa Cruz.

Full callendar click here

Fancy dress is optional, but if you really want to take part then a costume is a must, any costume goes, but if you want to match this year’s theme it’s “el cine de terror” Horror Films.

This year’s poster was chosen from 111 entries, and the winning poster was by Gonzalo Luis Álvarez Fernández and entitled “Bailarina Monstruosa” (Monstrous Dancer).

Travelling to  Santa Cruz carnaval
Don’t even think of taking a car, it’s a nightmare, you will never get parked. The 111 bus runs to Santa Cruz from Las Americas and Los Cristianos and many extra busses run during the night to ferry people home. If you are staying in the Los Gigantes area there are several local companies like El Mar Services who will be making arrangements. Many of the hotels will also be laying on transport.

Other Carnaval dates:-
Los Gigantes 5th – 9th Mar 2009
Los Cristianos 7th – 16th Mar 2009
Puerto de la Cruz 19th – 28th Feb 2009

The Santiago del Teide Branch of Asociación San Francisco de los Animales are holding a Fun Dog Show for Pedigree and Non Pedigree dogs, on Sunday, 25th January 2009. This will be held behind the Los Gigantes Hotel, Los Gigantes, Santiago del Teide. It is open to dogs from anywhere on the island.

Entries for the show will be taken at 10.30 a.m. The judging will commence at 11.00 a.m. There will be 4 classes for conformation for both pedigree and non pedigree dogs. The rest of the classes will be fun ones open to all dogs. Amongst these will be an Obedience and Fancy Dress - for the dog! Winners of each class will receive prizes and the first four placements in each class will receive rosettes and certificates. Trophies will be awarded to the top scoring Pedigree and Non Pedigree dogs.

All puppies entered must be not less that 4 months old and fully vaccinated.

There will be a Refreshment Stall selling food and drinks. Why not have a fun day out with your pooch and support our animal charity at the same time?

A full list of classes is as follows:-

Pedigree
Puppy (4 to 9 months) Pedigree not required
Junior (9 to 18 months) ” ” ”
Open (18 months to 8 years) ” ” ”
Veteran (8 years & over) ” ” ”

Mixed
Puppy (up to 9 months)
Junior (9 to 18 months)
Open (18 months to 8 years)
Veteran (8 years & over)

All
Obedience
Best Dog with Children
Dog most like the owner
Handsomest Dog
Prettiest Bitch
Best Six Legs (dog & owner)
Best Condition
Best Abandoned Dog which has been homed
Fancy Dress (the dog)

To speed up registration on the day entry forms will be available for completion in advance from Simple Simons and Ocean Drive in Los Gigantes and the Custom Built Computers/losgigantes.com office in El Varadero.

Please Note Entry fees will be payable on the day.

For more information contact Judith on 922864102

Siam Park celebrated Christmas at the same time that it reached its hundredth day of being open since its inauguration last September, with a very positive balance. The most spectacular theme park with water attractions of Europe closed this first period with the clear objective of offering fun and high quality services, as well as protecting the environment with the latest technology developments, like the first and only Natural Gas plant in the Canary Islands that is used to heat the park´s water. This great achievement means warm water at 24ºC the whole year and minimizes the impact on the environment by the emission of 70% less poisonous gas to the atmosphere.

The park has been visited by thousands of people from all over the world during this first hundred days, distinguished visitors like Her Royal highness Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Princess of Thailand, Begum Inaara, several director of the most important tour operators of the world; Paul Scholes, Manchester united player among others. There are hundreds of congratulation notes from the visitors in Siam Park´s web site www.siampark.net and in all the blogs dedicated to the park that come up every day on the internet.

Siam Park has attracted the attention of several national and international mass media, like outstanding news, TV programmes and illustrated reports prestigious publications of England, Germany, Russia, Norway, Cuba, Italy, Scotland, USA, France and Spain among others nationalities. “El Viajero”, supplement of the newspaper “El País”, presented Siam Park with the headline “Human torpedoes at the giant slide – Siam Park, a new waterpark in the south of Tenerife thought big” , “The Independent” placed Siam Park among the top 5 Europe´s theme parks, like number 1 and The Times said in one word “Spectacular”.

The most popular attractions have been The Dragon and the Tower of Power, the surprise of finding the whitest beach of Canary islands stands out, plus the Wave Palace are all the most desired attractions for the visitors.

All the visitors have been really taken by Siam Park´s exotic settings and natural landscapes. The park has been selected to host numerous events as the Tenerife Champions Cup, Kick boxing world Championship, surf clinics, Loro Parque-siam Park cycling prize presentation, and a wide variety of successfully culture activities. Siam Park is scheduling its agenda for this year at this moment to be able to offer a new range of attractions to its visitors. The activities programmed for 2009 started last Saturday with Hawaiian Tropic beach party.

Christoph Kiessling, park´s director, has expressed his satisfaction for the number of visits until today, that proves the international interest in Siam Park and its success. With 185.000 m2, 20 millions of litres of water and all the safety measures the park combines the latest technology that has been used behind the attractions with the mystery of the ancient kingdom of Thailand, that transports visitors to far remote lands.

More information at www.siampark.net

As if this current crisis wasn’t bad enough Unelco have just poured salt in the wound by increasing their prices by 3.4 per cent, and if that wasn’t enough, to add insult to injury, we will now receive our bills once a month, not bi monthly as in the past, meaning our bills will be even greater as we will have the extra administration costs to pay each month too!

The biggest shock was to find they had changed over their system in December and we all had an unexpected bill between Xmas and New Year. The horror of it all was they had taken more or less the same amount as the previous month! Not slightly more than half as I would have expected. Does this mean we can expect a low bill in January?

The increase of 3.4 per cent is only slightly below the 3.5 per cent increase anticipated by the industry. The increase proposed by the regulator was a staggering 30 per cent!

Iberia has launched special travel rates which will be welcomed by travelers in this time of crisis. They have cut prices on more than 100 domestic and international destinations.

Flight tickets from Tenerife or Gran Canaria to Madrid are reduced to 71 Euros one way. Residents can get a discount of up to 50%. Shuttle flights from Madrid to Alicante, Valencia, Santiago de Compostela, Santander or Majorca are now 22 Euros one way.

On European flights, you can get an inclusive round-trip from Madrid to Lyon in France for 83 Euros, to Paris for 106 Euros and to Toulouse for 135 Euros.

You can also get a round-trip ticket from Madrid to Italy, Milan 97 Euros, Florence and Pisa 100 Euros and Rome 101 Euros. Madrid to Lisbon, Portugal 71 Euros, Frankfurt, Germany 97 Euros, London, UK and Geneva, Switzerland 111 Euros.

It’s not all doom and gloom. The Canary Islands continue to benefit from the steady drop in fuel prices at petrol stations.

Over the past month diesel has fallen another 10% and unleaded 95 octane petrol 8%, now down to 61 cents at many fuel pumps.

Experts predict further decrease in the next few weeks and it is hoped that the worsening crisis in the Middle East doesn’t increase prices again.

It can be a bit of a problem when you are out and about and you suddenly find you need your mobile phone and it is down on battery power because you forgot to charge it up. It happens to the best of us.

New machines called “Charge Boxes” are being set up in shopping centre, health centres, hospitals, airports and many other public places which will enable mobile phone users to have a 30 minute charge for 1 Euro. The machines are also able to recharge many portable devices such as iPods and mobile game consoles.

These “Charge Boxes” were first installed in the UK three years ago. 25 devices will be installed throughout the archipelago in January and over the next twelve months another 100 will be installed. They are compatible with all the main types of mobile phones.

The new charger is a tower divided into six compartments, each secured with a key, where mobile devices can be recharged with complete security, you simply put a euro in the slot and the machine will give your phone a 30 minute boost while you do some shopping or go for a coffee

.A spokesman for the company providing the service said: “This invention will fill a niche in the Spanish market, since we have all found ourselves with a dead mobile at some time”.

Margaret and Keith Weller of Calle Adelpha in Los Gigantes got the shock of their lives on the morning of New Year’s Eve when they discovered their apartment had been robbed - while they slept.

Margaret woke first to find their patio door open, she was about to blame Keith for leaving it open overnight but then noticed their TV had gone!

They had gone to bed at around 11pm and as their freezer is rather noisy they sleep with their bedroom door shut, so heard nothing.

The thieves had forced open the patio door and had gone through every cupboard and drawer in their lounge and got away with 2 mobiles, Keith’s wallet, a digital camera, an I pod their TV, but the biggest shock of all was when they discovered all Keith’s joinery tools gone. Keith relies on these tools for his work.

It is assumed that the thieves had a panic getaway as all their remote controls had been taken with their TV but their DVD player and satellite box were disconnected but not taken. They found their two pair of binoculars outside on their terrace.

The cheeky thieves had even taken a bottle of water and some mars bars out of the fridge and discarded the empty bottle on the path outside.

They were somewhat disconsolate to find that the police showed no interest whatsoever in the dearth of fingerprint evidence left behind both on the patio door and plastic bottle from which they were drinking. It is a sad indictement of our local police that they seem to have more interest in parking infractions and noise from bars than solving real crimes.

Margeret and Keith agreed to tell their story to losgigantes.com in the hope that it would be a warning to others to step up security in their homes.

Keith and Margaret do have the necessary house insurance, but how long it will take to agree a figure with the insurance company is anyone’s guess. A payout will compensate for the goods stolen but not for the stress caused and the worry that it may happen again.

Happy New Year to everyone.

High winds and heavy rain was forecast for the Canariers over the Christmas and New Year holiday. The Los Gigantes area had its fair share of rain and many had flooded terraces to cope with but fortunately Christmas day was mild and sunny, although the sea remained rough. After a few more days of high winds and rain our luck was in once again as on New Year’s Eve it was very mild with a cloud free sky, and there has hardly been a cloud in the sky since.

The Los Gigantes Plaza on New Year’s Eve was heaving as everyone forgot the current crisis and enjoyed the evenings celebrations, many dancing until dawn.

The continuous rough seas and high swell delighted the surfing enthusiasts at Punta Blanca but has been a disaster for all the dive centre owners and whale/dolphin trip organisers who had hoped the Christmas busy season would boost business in this time of crisis.

The warm sunny weather brought many people out and on to the beaches for a last minute panic tan before the end of their holiday. Playa arena beach was packed and many chose to ignore the red flag to have fun in the waves. The life guard’s job was made very difficult as people ignored his whistles and shouts. People really don’t understand that it is for their own safety as the undertow can be treacherous and many over the past years have not lived to tell the tale.

Below are views of the area taken on New Year’s day.

1. Surfing at Punta Blanca
2. Snow on Teide
3. High waves Playa Arena Beach
4. Crowded Playa Arena Beach
5. Cliffs of Los Gigantes
6. Los Gigantes beach and Marina