Tenerife Magazine’s round up of some of the most interesting news stories of the week in Tenerife.

Tenerife at the World Travel Market
This week Tenerife’s political leaders have been at the one of the biggest tourism fairs on the planet, the World Travel Market in London. They’re in Britain’s metropolis promoting Tenerife as the perfect location with something to tantalise all travel tastes; from sun and beaches, through spas, sports and nature, to charming traditions and colourful cuisine. Pretty much the same message we push at Tenerife Magazine.
One newspaper quoted a government source as saying that the Canary Islands’ stand at the fair was designed to ‘reinforce identity and at the same time providing a distinctive geometry with a bright, modern style that is sleek and at the same time able to convey a cosy atmosphere that reflects the warmth of the Islands’ (if you understand that, we’d appreciate being enlightened). Or in simpler terms, it’s getting this message across to weather beaten delegates at the WTM – ‘say no to winter blues.’

Latest News: The approach at the WTM must be working, the Cabildo have just anounced that Monarch have increase seats on flights from 264,000 to 344,000 whilst TUI have increased theirs by 24%.

Save Money at Tenerife South Airport
Good news for anyone passing through Tenerife South in November. AENA (Spanish airports) have introduced discount coupons for shops, bars and restaurants in selected airports across Spain including Tenerife South (but not Tenerife North) during the month. Discount coupons can be picked up at information points in the airport, in participating shops or even online and will entitle travellers to up to 50% discount on purchases. Maybe with one I’ll finally be able to afford to buy a coffee at the airport.

Multi-Cultural Tenerife
A few weeks ago we reported about 40% of the population of San Miguel de Abona being foreigners. This week the findings of a survey into the numbers of foreigners in Santa Cruz revealed very different patterns. Only 7.92% of the capital’s municipality are foreign. That’s 17,990 out of 227, 101 residents; less foreigners than there were two years ago when the figure was 18,718. Where it gets interesting is in the breakdown of what countries people come from. Whereas in San Miguel, British ex-pats made up the majority of foreign residents, in Santa Cruz they hardly figure. Instead it’s South Americans and Asians who make up the bulk of the foreign resident population, accounting for nearly 75%. The numbers of British fall somewhere between that and the one Jamaican who lives in the municipality. Unsurprisingly, hardly any foreigners live in the remote Anaga region (2.76%).

Smoke without Fire
On an island where temperatures stay warm throughout the year, you’re never completely out of the woods as far as the risk of forest fires are concerned. However, now that we’re into the winter season, when the risk of fire reduces dramatically, it’s time to say well done to Tenerife’s Medio Ambiente and Brifor (the forest fire service) for helping reduce the number of forest fires on Tenerife to 2003 levels. Between June and October, Brifor responded to 188 reports of fire, most of which were false alerts. In that period there were only three forest fires as opposed to thirty two in 2009; a positive result thanks to the efforts of Brifor and also a campaign to heighten public awareness of the risks of accidentally starting a fire. Not everyone has taken the  campaign on board; only the other day I watched an elderly Spaniard throw his cigarette into the undergrowth in the middle of a banana plantation.

You Light Up My Life
Anyone used to driving along the TF1 between the south of Tenerife and Santa Cruz after the hours of darkness will know that some sections are so dark that headlights are barely able to make an impact on the all engulfing blackness. Additionally, lights from drivers coming in the opposite direction can make actually trying to see the road ahead even more difficult. Thankfully authorities have finally seen the light or rather have taken action to let drivers see it. Fifteen hundred new motorway lights were due to be turned on this week, making the journey between Arafo and Tabaiba that bit easier…and safer.

And finally the TIT (This Is Tenerife) of the week award goes to… Adeje Ayuntamiento
The Tenerife Government and Adeje Town Council are at loggerheads over the reopening of the Barranco del Infierno to the public. The south of Tenerife’s most popular walking route has been closed to the public for over one and a half years. Apparently the director of the Medio Ambiente, Wladimiro Rodríguez, wants the Barranco del Infierno to reopen with the addition of signs warning about the potential dangers of walking in a ravine as well as advising that minors should be accompanied by adults who have full responsibility for them. But Adeje’s councillors say this isn’t enough to guarantee safety and are sticking to their guns about not opening the Barranco del Infierno until an acceptable safety plan is in place. It’s a position that has exasperated the Medio Ambiente director who sensibly commented that it’s impossible to give absolute guarantees when nature is involved. Maybe a signed papyrus from God might just do the trick.

Come on Adeje, it’s time to live in the real world.

Tenerife Magazine’s round up of some of the most interesting news stories of the week in Tenerife

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot
The big news of the week was the heat wave which pushed temperatures above the 40C mark across much of the island. As the hot calima winds turned Tenerife into a tinderbox, the Cabildo issued advice prohibiting any kind of fire in the hills and we kept an eye on the skies, listening for the ominous sound of helicopter blades – usually a sign of a fire somewhere at this time of year. And so it proved to be the case with thirteen fires reported in the space of one 12 hour period. Six were in La Laguna, three in Arona, two in Granadilla de Abona and one each in San Miguel de Abona and Santa Cruz. Thankfully the island’s fire services were able to extinguish them all. As residents worried about forest fires, tourists revelled in the hot temperatures. Every coin has two sides.

No Partying Here – This is a Tourist Resort
Some members of the council in Costa Adeje want to impose fines on those involved in the practice of enjoying a botellón in the resort. A botellón is a practice carried out throughout Spain which basically involves youths meeting in open air spaces to socialise and drink. It’s a cheap way of having a party without paying inflated bar prices. Botellóns can be messy affairs and areas where they take place look like a tip afterwards…but it is part of the culture. However, not a part of the culture that some politicians want tourists exposed to. There’s a certain irony that in an area designed for drinking, being merry and having a good time, there’s a chance that rules will be imposed to stop young locals doing exactly that, albeit in their own way.

Watching the Detectives
It doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in the sleuthing abilities of Tenerife’s boys in blue when you learn that the council in Güímar hired a private detective agency to do a bit of detecting instead of using its own police force. The situation became even more bizarre when it was revealed that the private dicks had been hired to spy on the Güímar police. In a ‘you couldn’t make it up if you tried’ scenario, the private eyes followed eight officers who had a reputation of pulling sickies on fiesta days. One officer allegedly suffering from a bad shoulder was seen carrying heavy blocks whilst another with an arm in a splint was spotted cleaning a car using the injured arm. Not so much a case of the long arm of the law as the wrong arm of the law.

If You Go Down to the Woods Today…
You might just meet a procession and we’re not talking about pilgrims returning from their annual jaunt to pay homage to the Virgen de la Candelaria.
Part of the pine forest in the upper La Orotava Valley around the stone rock rose has become temporary home to a quite serious little pest called the pine processionary caterpillar, so named because groups of them travel around the forest in a line. This little fellow is quite a nasty piece of work. They can decimate pine trees, leading to a higher risk of fires due to the increased level of pine needles they leave on forest floors. The authorities have advised that the pine processionary caterpillar is a seasonal visitor and the threat they pose to the forest should disappear when they do. If anyone stumbles across any of these caterpillars, don’t touch as they are dangerous. In fact run in the opposite direction as their hairs, which can be released into the air, are toxic and can cause painful rashes and itching which lasts for up to three weeks.

For Whom the Bells Don’t Toll
One of the nicest churches on Tenerife, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de La Luz in Los Silos was at the centre of a row which had the townspeople up in arms.
There has been a long tradition of the church’s bells sounding throughout the night for generations, but that was in danger when a resident who lives right behind the church complained about the noise and demanded that the bell ringing was stopped.
Initially the bell ringing ceased during the hours of darkness, but an impassioned outcry by the townsfolk soon had them ringing proudly again. We say well done to the people of Los Silos for standing up for your town’s traditions. The man who tried to silence the bells turned out to be a Spanish mainlander who had been living on the outskirts of the town before recently moving to a house behind the church. It never goes down well when a newcomer moves into a town and then tries to force people to change their traditions just to suit, but for a Godo to try it on Tenerife…

And finally the TIT (This Is Tenerife) of the week award goes to… the Humboldt Mirador in La Orotava

This beauty spot which wooed explorers, scientists and adventurers is a white elephant of classic proportions. It was reported last week that after four years of waiting, the Humboldt Mirador would finally open at the end of September…maybe.

The four year waiting is nothing unusual; it’s the story behind it that earns it the TIT award.

Construction of the Humboldt Mirador began in 1999 and in theory it was completed in 2005. However, bureaucratic shenanigans have delayed its opening for so long that the building fell into disrepair and required renovating…even though it had never been opened or used. So far the mirador-that-never-was will have cost around 2 million euros. It is so Tenerife – brilliant, but also criminally wasteful.