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1984-2016
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December 17, 2015 – January 6, 2016 King Felipe and Queen Letizia
Voice of the community
Loro Parque criticism
Spotlight on Andy McLeod
Spanish royals to visit UK
Samuel’s San Miguel vision
Are zoos logical?
Lights, camera, action!
Page 7
Page 13
Page 14 & 15
Page 30
Winners announced! Congratulations to Chris Murphy for winning the Island Connections and CanariasViaja (Binter Canarias) holiday competition held over the last two editions of Tenerife’s largest English language newspaper. Chris and his wife will soon be winging their way to Gambia for a seven-night stay in the small West African country. Peter Messmer from Germany won the contest in our sister newspaper Kanaren Express after reading about it when visiting his son in Fuerteventura recently and will visit Cape Verde in the New Year. Chris was presented with his winner’s certificate on December 12 at Binter Canaria’s exhibition at Siam Mall. Foreign Language News would like to wish both winners a wonderful holiday courtesy of Binter Canarias and all the very best for 2016! n
Union criticises government
Police fight for rights © SUP
Holiday draw
The SUP recently staged a protest in Tenerife and Gran Canaria
Island Connections’ publisher Joe Schacher and CanariasViaja Director Tina Sonck present Chris with his winner’s certificate
“We feel truly sorry that this government does not value us”, said the Spanish Police Union (SUP) in a recently published manifesto released amid a series of demonstrations that heavily criticised the budget cuts and conditions placed upon them by the current Madrid administration.
“For over four years the government has done nothing to change our precarious situation and we are tired of how we are depicted in the media and the unfair image we’ve been tainted with. We are the victims of discrimination, corruption and abuse by the Ministry of the Interior for their own agen-
das”, said a representative of SUP, summarising the discontent of the National Police. “We are also sorry that we are currently working with insufficient protection and equipment, that our own safety is at risk and that our budgets and salaries have been slashed. This in turn has led to inadequate
response times and we are also very regretful about this”. With the forthcoming general election taking place on December 20, the situation has been somewhat carpeted over and the SUP are keen to clear up their image, calling for nationwide demonstrations on December 10 and 17. On July 1 this year, president Mariano Rajoy famously passed the socalled Ley de Mordaza (Gag Law) which makes unauthorised demonstrations illegal and punishable – severely hindering the democratic freedoms of speech that once epitomised the Spanish Constitution after their relatively recent return to democracy. Fines of between €600 and €30,000 are imposed on unauthorised demonstrators but this has not deterred the National Police from going ahead with their protests; a group which is well aware that they should identify every person involved in the action, to be in accordance with the law. Continued on page two
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Support for SUP
National Police protests
Comment
If the police feel unsafe, what about us?
SUP representatives say that budget cuts prevent the police from protecting themselves and the public
Continued from front page In some cities, including Murcia, Badajoz and Cádiz, the police protest was prohibited while other borough councils did not respond to the petition to hold a demonstration. However, here in the Canaries the action received strong support and the police union carried out protests in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, successfully making their demands known to the general public. In other areas across Spain, whether they had official permission or not, the SUP bypassed the ‘Gag Law’ by using smaller groups to represent the union’s interests, as a demonstration is considered as such when 20 or more people are involved. “We just want to be better prepared to work efficiently and ensure that police officials and members of the public are properly protected. Everyone is talking about counterterrorism and prevention at the moment, and we want to provide the security that people expect, but to do so we need more funds and more staff”,
said José Luis Guedes, general secretary of the SUP. He also emphasised the positive response by the general public: “Many people have encouraged us to continue fighting and found it shameful that the police force must take to the streets in this country”. There were even further cuts to police services in the most recent budget put through by the present government and the number of new recruits has been severely reduced due to the decision to not replace retiring officers. “Over the last four years about 3,000 colleagues have retired annually while barely 500 new officers have been recruited. We need more people, this is simply unacceptable to carry out the job we’re expected to do”, Guedes said. He also described the dangers that officers face everyday due to austerity-imposed cuts: “Over half the police force does not have bulletproof vests and there are not enough firearms for officers to defend themselves. We have reported on many occasions
© SUP
© SUP
By Sabine Virgin
The National Police feel they’re understaffed and underpaid
how the practices of criminals and organisations have changed in recent times. They are using the latest equipment and technologies available and we, quite simply, are not. This makes it very difficult to effectively do our job – especially with regards to terrorist cells. If we discover something we are unable to use police radios as they’re easy to intercept so many officers are using their own phones and paying the bill themselves. In terms of staff numbers and resources we are ill-prepared to deal with the changing situation. Some officers are using their home as an office and are becoming more reliant on public information to help with cases – it’s an intolerable situation”.
Guedes also explained the general conditions officers are working under: “After over 20 years of negotiations, officers have been offered an increase of €20 for shift work. It used to be 10 per cent of the wages but this offer is simply abysmal! Shifts include covering the mornings, afternoons and nights with two days free. This is a tiring schedule that messes with body rhythms and family life. The SUP maintains its position that officers deserve better cover and suitable payment for the work they do”. SUP also wants clarification regarding honours and distinctions as they feel that recent changes in legislation have created a great deal of confusion and bad feeling: “There used to be strict requirements for
When considering the situation of National Police stations around the country – with reduced staff, poor equipment and low moral – it begs the question: how safe are we, the general public? The Spanish Police Union (SUP) recently called for nationwide demonstrations and feel totally neglected by the conservative PP Party government in Madrid as they forcibly continue with their austerity-drive. But if the National Police feel left out in the cold, what does that say about the vast majority of the public? Across the world, especially in Europe, national security has been heightened since the recent ISIS terrorist attacks and subsequent air strikes in Syria. However, Spanish president Mariano Rajoy appears to have his head buried in the sand with regards to the need for stronger police presence at this uncertain time. With the National Police so desperately hard-hit by budget cuts, reduced staff and inadequate conditions it is becoming a concern for residents and visitors alike. Tourist numbers are up and stories are continually released announcing furthering economic recovery and improving stability – yet very little evidence of this is being felt by the population at large, where student numbers are down due to rising fees, unemployment figures still remain alarmingly high, and more social cuts are announced for the disabled, pensioners and hospitals. With the Spanish general election taking place on December 20, this should be a time of refusing to listen to any more political fudging and self-serving sound bites and to stand up and demand more for our social services, not less! n an order of merit but this has been softened and now colleagues who earn a red cross are seemingly ignored while others are honoured by the Ministry simply for toeing the line. We are calling for clarification and transparent rea-
soning for these cases. Corruption and nepotism at the highest levels are undermining confidence within our ranks and creating resentment. Can Spain really afford to have such a desolated police force and n detrimental policy?”
We are on holiday soon… From December 21 of this year to January 4, 2016, our office will be closed. In urgent cases or for the inclusion of advertisements Jamie Lee Armstrong will be available on the phone number: 616 460 728. We will see you before then, but it’s never too early to wish all our readers a peaceful Christmas and a great start to the New Year. n
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Publishers: Tina Straub Schacher, Joe Schacher Design team: Javier Gómez, Maribel Rodríguez Editor: Andrea Abrell editorial@ic-news.com Deputy editor: Xena Fox Editorial team: Lee Bullen, Karl McLaughlin, Barbara Belt, Theresa Willson, Sheila Collis Contributors: Katy Kennedy, Manuel De La Flor, Chris Todd, Sabine Virgin Sales manager: Jamie Lee Armstrong sales@icmedia.eu Classifieds: classifieds@ic-news.com
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“Creating Europe” This company has qualified for subsidies from the Spanish Government, cofinanced by funding from the European Regional Development Fund, for the transport of merchandise in the Canaries.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
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From us to you
Merry Christmas to all our readers
According to the Christmas Story and the basis of the Christian faith, Joseph and a heavily pregnant Mary knocked on many doors in search of a roof over their heads and were turned away. They eventually found shelter in a humble stable and there Mary gave birth to a son who became a messenger of peace. Now, 2,000 years later, the story is still relevant. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are knocking at the door of the EU, looking for a safe roof over their heads and hoping to be offered shelter in Europe. Obviously this is a difficult task but, just maybe, it’s a step towards peace. Sadly, once again, children have the appalling experience of being on the run with their families. Fear and rejection should not shadow our get-togethers, but rather make way for an open heart and the will to help each other. Forget all the doubts and religious prejudices, Christmas is not just a present-exchanging feast, it’s part of a way of life characterised by openness and harmony. Caring and warmth is the greatest present that people can give today. We wish all our readers and friends of Island Connections a Happy Christmas, a free pass for all those doors you need to knock on, and we hope that you will make wonderful connections in the New Year. To give our hard-working staff a break, this issue will be on the streets for three weeks and the next issue will be published on January 7. Happy holidays! n
Holiday celebrations
Christmas time is coming… Christmas comes earlier each year it seems and in the Canaries it arrived in late November. Wandering around the local supermarkets you will have noticed tables and shelves loaded with a wide range of typical Spanish Christmas delicacies. Turrón is a big local favourite: tablets of chocolate, marzipan, or varieties containing nuts or colourful glacé fruit are to be found. These would be typically cut into small slices and arranged on a plate for the household and guests. Instead of mince pies you will find angelhair pumpkin or apple-stuffed fried pastries called truchas and the meringue-like dry polverones in various flavours. By the second week in December, most households will have set up a Christmas tree to brighten their homes. The Lutheran Advent wreath with its four candles is more of a German tradition, but is catching on here too. Christmas Eve is the main celebration for families and they meet up for festive food, social-
a full day’s enjoyment and a must-do for families over the Christmas holidays. After the first day, its normal opening times are 10am to 8pm, with the exception of December 24 and 31 and January 5 when they close early at 3pm and Christmas and New Year’s Day where they only open from 3pm until 8pm in the afternoon. For more information see www.pit-tenerife.com. The Magi arrive in Adeje by helicopter
ising and of course good Canarian wine. The main presents would normally be given on Three Kings – January 6, but in some households, el niño Jesus (Baby Jesus) will bring a little something to help the children wait-out the long holidays. Santa Claus is becoming increasingly generous too in these climes.
PIT 2016 A major event for children at this time of year is the
eagerly awaited PIT, which takes place in Santa Cruz’s Recinto Ferial (near the Auditorium). Catering for children of all ages and a lot of entertainment for the whole family, there are sports such as various ball games, climbing, zip lines, etc. Further exhilarating pleasures are offered by roundabouts and rides and there are tons of seasonrelated workshops and crafts to dabble in. The fun starts at 3pm on December 18 and continues until January 5. It’s
Christmas concert by the Symphony Orchestra For over two decades, the Tenerife Port’s Authority has hosted a free open-air concert by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife on Christmas Day. This year marks their 22nd concert and will be under the baton of conductor Michal Nesterowicz. It starts at 9pm and, attracting over 20,000 people, it’s one of the largest classical open-air concerts in Europe. This year it will also be broadcast live on Spanish television and via Internet.
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Continued from page 3 Pomp and ceremony in La Orotava
Nativity scenes This Christmas tradition plays an important role in the Canaries and nativity scenes are set up in most homes and many workplaces around the Islands. They can vary from simple cribs to the recreation of whole villages complete with son et lumière effects. There are often competitions for the best and some of them are very impressive. Matanza’s municipal nativity scene, which they set up in the garden in front of the Town Hall is always well worth seeing, with its many lovely little details and the life-size figures in front of La Orotava’s Town
price is a toy for an underprivileged child. Many supermarkets have charity boxes where you can put non-perishable goods. Local social services departments also collect toys and food for families in your borough. There’s a Christmas bazaar at the Hotel Playa Sur in El Médano, Tenerife, on December 21 from 5pm to 9pm where the German craft group Amigas de los Niños offer their work for sale with the proceeds going to help children in need. No child should
markets in individual tins, or you can buy fresh. TIP: peel and de-pip them beforehand and if you can, choose small grapes!
Three Kings The long waiting period for local children ends on the morning of January 6. Many will leave milk, biscuits and some forage on the windowsill to welcome the Three Kings and their camels (and ensure that they stop by!).
The sand nativity in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
be without a gift at this time, please help if you can.
New Year’s Eve
La Matanza’s nativity scene
Hall offer a particularly spectacular image. Gran Canaria’s best-known offerings are the ephemeral, sand nativity figures on the Playa de Las Canteras beach in the capital which are also well worth a visit.
Markets and concerts There’s a whole host of special Christmas concerts in all of the Islands over this holiday season. Amateur and professional,
Christmas carols, classical and even big band sounds are all on offer to put you in the mood for Christmas celebrations. Check locally what’s on offer, there’s sure to be something to entice you and most are free or very reasonably priced. A special one to look out for if you can make it is the folk group Los Gofiones’ free concert on December 23 at 9.30pm in front of the Plaza de Santa Ana, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Christmas markets abound offering handicrafts for those original gifts you’re seeking. One of the biggest examples can be found in Santa Cruz from December 18 to January 5 at the Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena (next to the Plaza de España). Until late into the night of January 5, last-minute shoppers can still get hold of one last gift. In general, most shops tend to open longer than usual
in the evenings. From now until December 20, the popular craft market in Playa del Inglés’ Hotel Maritim opens its doors from 4pm to 10pm daily in Gran Canaria.
Good turns at Christmas The holiday season offers a raft of ways you can add your grain of rice to help those in need. For example, look out for concerts where the entry
This event is welcomed by the Canarians in elegant style or with boisterous open-air parties. The larger boroughs in particular are known for offering big street fiestas, but again, check locally what’s on offer as of course there are many other smaller activities as well as sumptuous banquets in hotels and restaurants – something to suit every taste to welcome in the New Year. A curious tradition here is to wear red underwear for New Year’s Eve; it’s supposed to make you lucky in love for the coming year. Another Spanish custom is to eat 12 grapes in time with the midnight chimes for luck. If you want to join in with the latter, the grapes are sold pre-prepared in the super-
The evening before is marked by processions in most boroughs, and the bigger the city, the more sumptuous the parade. Some are in the afternoons, others wait for nightfall to make spectacular entries carrying flaming torches, but all are special. Ask locally for details of a parade near you. This is a free show that should be witnessed at least once. In some areas, parents are given the option of leaving a present for their child at the town hall and to see the children’s faces as they are called forward to collect their gift can be very moving. It’s a magical time for all. Particularly well known is the arrival of the three kings in Garachico in northwest Tenerife. There, the entire village is the backdrop for a stunning presentation of the Nativity story and amateur actors also put on a great show in Tejina n and Candelaria.
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Migrant boat organiser arrested
Photo: David Paddington
The Spanish authorities have made a significant breakthrough in the battle against migrant traffickers with the arrest in Mauritania of a man accused of organising the dispatch of two large boats to the Canaries in recent months. The arrest was made in a joint Spain-Mauritania operation involving officers from the Spanish Civil Guard and the African country’s Gendarmerie. Spanish sources say the man, said to have recruited over 50 migrants who arrived in Gran Canaria and Tenerife in September and November, respectively, was identified by two Sub-Saharans who contacted the police in Mauritania after they were prevented from boarding one of the boats, despite paying €900 up front for the crossing. The accused was detained near the Mauritanian border as he tried to flee the country after realising that he was n under suspicion.
As this photo of a ‘patera’ captured off south Tenerife illustrates, migrants regularly risk their lives crossing the Atlantic in flimsy boats
Fuerteventura
That’s enough! The death of a 24-year-old woman at the hands of her partner “has saddened the public” according to Nicolás Gutiérrez, the mayor of Fuerteventura town Puerto del Rosario. Representatives of the island’s local institutions, the Renacer Violeta Association and members of the public observed a minute’s silence following the death of the latest domestic violence victim, holding a banner saying “That’s enough! Chauvinism kills!”. President of the Fuerteventura Island Council, Marcial Morales, said that psychological help was being given to the victim’s family and announced the Council’s commitment “to continue generating measures to ensure that public resources can give confidence to women who report, or cancel a report, of domestic violence.” The dreadful incident took place in the early hours of a December morning when a foreign man presented him-
Photo: Cabildo de Fuerteventura
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
The people of Fuerteventura were shocked by the latest killing
self to the National Police and announced that he had killed his partner. The police immediately went to the couple’s home and found the young woman who had been mercilessly stabbed in her chest, abdomen, back and arms, presumably with a large knife
which was also found in the house. The victim was taken to hospital, and later transferred in a serious condition to the Las Palmas hospital where she later died. Disturbingly, the police also found a six-year old boy in the house, suffering from shock,
and they suspect that he witnessed the whole incident. The death of this Puerto del Rosario resident brings the number of women murdered by their partners or ex-partners in the Canary Islands this year to three - and that’s quite n enough.
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A trial in Madrid which led to the conviction of a Gran Canaria resident for extolling jihadist terrorism produced the startling revelation that one of the island’s most famous gay spots was a possible bomb target several years ago. According to the Canarias 7 newspaper, the trial heard that police were told by a teenager back in 2008 that he was being actively recruited by radical extremists to take part in an attack on the Yumbo Centre in Maspalomas, which is the headquarters of the Gay Pride Week held every year in the resort. According to the youth, he was harassed repeatedly by recruiters sympathetic to the jihadist cause and was asked to help prepare a strike. “Queers are good for nothings and should be eliminated.
Photo: Jenova20 C.C. 3.0
Yumbo centre ‘targeted for bomb attack’
The famous Yumbo shopping centre in Maspalomas was in the sights of Islamic terrorists
We can obtain the explosives required and an attack would be looked upon favourably by Allah” he was told by his recruiters. The disclosure to the police’s anti-terrorist brigade at the time led the authorities to
place a phone tap on Imad El Mouahhid, who was suspected of being behind pro-jihad activities during his time in Gran Canaria. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail for uploading videos praising jihadist terrorn ism on the Internet.
The 8th island
Venezuelans in Canaries hail ‘return of democracy’ Thousands of Venezuelans in the Canaries have given a warm welcome to the regime change in their home country, where the elections on December 6 saw the controversial Maduro regime lose power. The situation of the troubled South American country features regularly in the news here given the long-standing ties between the Canaries and Venezuela, which is popularly known as the ‘8th Canary Island’ on account of its large Canarian population, the product of years of emigration from these shores in the mid-20th century. Many Venezuelans opted to leave their homeland to
escape the regime installed firstly by Hugo Chávez in the late 90s and latterly by his successor Nicolás Maduro, whose brand of 21st-century socialism has seen the oil rich country plunged into poverty. It is estimated that 90 per cent of Venezuela’s emigration has taken place in the last 15 years, with thousands flocking to the Canaries (particularly Tenerife), but the imminent change of government could encourage many to contemplate a return. Nationals of the country living in Spain were barred from voting on December 6 under controversial legislation which Maduro’s critics
Former President Nicolás Maduro had to recognise the landslide victory of the centreright coalition Mesa de La Unidad Democrática
said was designed to improve n his election chances.
New parents’ relief
Online registration boost Parents of children born at the main maternity hospital in Las Palmas received an early Christmas present in the form of the news that they no longer need to take their infant to the Civil Register to have its birth recorded officially. After years of promising to do away with the onerous formality, which invariably necessitates hours of queuing with a days-old baby in arms, the Spanish Ministry of Justice has at long last taken steps to facilitate life for new parents and is allowing the registrations to be completed online by hospitals. The Maternity Hospital in Las Palmas is one of a number at national level selected for the pilot project, which has been warmly wel-
Photo: Nora Pacher/freeimages.com
Jihadists foiled in Gran Canaria
Photo: Agência Brasil C.C. 3.0
The registration of newborns is now faster and direct from the hospital
comed by the public even if criticised due to the repeated delays in getting it up and running. Online registration of births and deaths is already pos-
sible in a small number of hospitals in the Canaries and will gradually be extended to cover every hospital, both public and private in the n Islands.
La Palma
Fight against ring necked parakeet The Environmental Protection Agency of La Palma is out to capture exotic birds which have escaped from captivity, especially the ring-necked parakeets on the island. The cotorra de Kramer, as it is called in Spain, is considered to be an intruder which seriously harms the native flora and fauna. They are causing serious problems
in agriculture, and in the conservation of bird species native to the island. For this reason, the exotic brightgreen birds which over the last few decades have escaped from private collections and have now formed their own populations in freedom, must now be captured. In collaboration with the Spanish Ornithological
The parakeet feeds on fruit
Society, SEO/BirdLife, live traps are being constructed and laid, and employees of the Environmental Protection Agency are being educated about the lifestyle of n these parakeets.
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Festive sweepstake
Morbid lottery numbers
Photo: Creative Sir James C.C. 3.0
This year’s two big festive lotteries on December 22 and January 6 are, as usual, attracting massive interest, with tickets being snapped up like hot cakes in the Canaries. Virtually every adult here buys a ticket in some form or other and many stick to their favourite numbers in the hope that fortune will smile on them and make it the best Christmas ever. In most cases, ticket buyers opt for numbers with special significance such as the date of an important event in their lives, such as their wedding or birthday. Others buy numbers reflecting major world events during the past year, including plane tragedies such as the Germanwings crash in the Alps (24315) in which 150 people died or the Nepal earthquake in April (26415). However, a new phenomenon has emerged this year in the form of an obsession on the part of some with numbers commemorating the deaths of Spanish celebrities. Lottery offices report a surge in requests for numbers matching the dates of the deaths of well-known figures to have passed away this year, including iconic TV presenter Jesús Hermida (04515), actress and singer Lina Morgan (20815) and Marujita Díaz (23515). The interest extends to politicians also, with the date of the death of leading socialist and gay rights campaigner Pedro Zerolo (09615) proving a popular request also. n
A typical image: a bar in Santa Cruz advertising festive lottery tickets
Tea, sandwiches and cake?
State visit to the UK The British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, has welcomed the announcement of a State Visit to the United Kingdom from March 8 to 10 next year. Mr. Manley said: “The British government is delighted that Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain have accepted the invitation from Her Majesty The Queen. This State Visit will celebrate not only the long and deep royal and historic ties between our two countries, but also our strong relationship as partners in the European Union, NATO and United Nations. We enjoy close connections in terms of culture, trade, investment, security and defence. This is an opportunity to celebrate and deepen those links.” This will be the first State Visit to the UK by King Felipe and Queen Letizia, who will stay at Windsor Castle and attend a programme of events which will be announced in the near future. The British and Spanish Royal Families are directly
Photo: Casa Real/DVirgili
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
King Felipe and Queen Letizia
related through the marriage of Alfonso XIII of Spain to Princess Victoria Eugenia, known as Ena, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in 1906. Vic-
toria Eugenia is King Felipe’s great-grandmother. Today, the United Kingdom and Spain are close partners in the EU, NATO and United
Nations, among numerous other international organisations, and they cooperate together through the UN Security Council, of which Spain is a current member. The two countries are major trading partners and, additionally, Spanish companies have invested heavily in the UK’s open economy, including Santander, which employs more than 20,000 people in the UK; Iberdrola, which owns Scottish Power; and Ferrovial, which operates Heathrow and three other airports. Nearly 300,000 Britons are registered as residents in Spain and 15 million visitors came from the UK last year, whilst an estimated 131,000 Spaniards are resident in the UK and two million visited in 2014. This State Visit to strengthen ties could be of extreme importance for British ex-pats living in Spain, Spanish ex-pats living in the UK, and tourism if the UK votes in a future referendum to come out of the n European Union.
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PROMO
The flavoursome Indian Flavor
All meals are prepared with the freshest, local ingredients The restaurant features in TripAdvisor’s top 10 in Tenerife Jasmer Battan founded the restaurant in 2014
Indian Flavor is one of the finest and most popular restaurants in Costa Adeje, reflected by its high ranking on TripAdvisor. The restaurant focuses on providing modern Indian cuisine with a European touch, and creating tasty and elegant dishes for any special occasion. They also offer a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options and can prepare food around special dietary requirements.
Their philosophy is simple: give special treatment to every customer from the moment they walk into the restaurant; prepare meals with the freshest, local ingredients; inform clients so that they select the best dishes according to their tastes; and constantly improve the quality of customer service and food preparation and presentation. Indian Flavor was founded by Jasmer Battan in 2014, who started the concept from
scratch and quickly established it as a quality venue and leading restaurant in South Tenerife. In the same year he also set up their popular delivery service, available to curry lovers all over the south of the island! Today, Indian Flavor continues to upgrade and modernise, both at the restaurant and also online, where it holds a prominent position on social media networks and boasts a welldesigned, informative web-
Christmas consumer advice
Let your presents be the only surprise Find Indian Flavor in Torviscas, Costa Adeje
site. The founder and manager, Jasmer is immensely pleased with how far the team has come in one year and takes great pride in the many great reviews that have put Indian Flavor in the top ten restaurants in Tenerife in TripAdvisor rankings. The restaurant has an experienced, friendly staff and great facilities with a large outside terrace. The dishes are served in metal bowls over a flame to keep them warm and they use special Tandoori ovens for making naan breads. Indian Flavor currently has a special offer where orders of over €50 in the restaurant come with a €5 discount, and all takeaway deliveries amounting to €30 or more arrive with a free bottle of wine and two canned drinks. When selecting your sauce and preferred dish, the ingredients include the option of chicken, lamb, chicken tikka, lamb tikka, prawns, king prawn, paneer, fish or mixed vegetables. Most sauces come with set seasoning and vegetables that complement one another, however, specific requirements can be easily met. Their dishes include Balti (fresh onion, peppers, tomato, with medium sauce), Rogan Josh (mild sauce made with tomato and cream), Korma (medium sauce made with fresh onion), Madras (a traditional hot Indian sauce), Jalfrezi (made with green and red pepper, onion and green
Santa Cruz borough council’s consumer advice agency OMIC has recently launched an advertising campaign aimed at warning Christmas shoppers to purchase responsibly this winter. At no other time of the year do shoppers buy with such emotion than at Christmas and the season’s highs and general exuberance can easily lead to bad purchases. Consumer advice released by OMIC recommends that shoppers keep all receipts and warranty documents (new products generally have two years warranty whereas second hand goods often come with a guarantee of one year). If purchasing online be sure to use trusted websites, and it is also advisable to follow all expiry dates with regards to food during the festive period. OMIC also suggests that consumers take care with so-called quick and easy credit offers. They can often come with very high interest rates and it’s a good idea to look into all the details. Surprises are not always welcome! The consumer advice agency has referral and arbitration services for any shopping discrepancies. Information can be found at: www.santacruzconsumoresponsable.es/ n and www.santacruzdetenerife.es.
To avoid unwanted surprises this Christmas, buy with your head not your heart
chilli), Vindaloo (a hot sauce with spices, chillies and potatoes), Karahi (medium dish made with onion and green capsicum), and Jaipur (curry made with fresh mushroom and coconut). Special dishes include Chicken Neelghiri, Chicken Mango, Butter Chicken, Chilli Chicken, Keema Mutter Curry, Chicken Razala, Special Lamb and a
number of Tandoori options. Indian Flavor can be found at Calle Valencia 3, CC Pueblo Torviscas, Local 3 - 4, Costa Adeje. Telephone: 922 719 283. Email: restaurantindianflavor@gmail.com. For further information on dishes and services, visit their website: www.restaurantindianflavor. com/ and like them on Facen book.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
Tenerife: A personal view
Looking back half a century The exception was La Caleta where there was already a nice little fishing village, otherwise, for me, Tenerife was a bare volcanic rock in the middle of the sea. Who, if you please, would want to spend their holidays here? There’s nothing!” Thus Wolfgang describes his first impression of the island. Their route took them over unpaved or partially-paved roads and simple bridges over the valleys up to Chio and on into the Las Cañadas National Park. “The crater is the same size as the Chiemsee (Bavarian lake), 19
fgang with a smile. The ‘TS Hanseatic’ continued across the Atlantic to Florida, however its days as a cruise liner were numbered. The ship was burned out completely on September 6, 1966, in New York harbour. “We had bypassed a hurricane, but the ship had been shaken hard and cau-
Sparks flew between Wolfgang and Heide many years ago; his love affair with Tenerife came after the second visit Pre-Cesár Manrique designed Santa Cruz pools, 1965 Tourism in Santa Cruz, 1965
“Who wants to spend their holiday here?” That was the thought running through the mind of physiotherapist Wolfgang Ehrhardt as he came ashore in Tenerife on December 29, 1965. He was travelling on the turbine-driven entertainment ship ‘TS Hanseatic’, one of the few luxury cruise ships afloat at that time and they had just moored in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. They had set sail from Cuxhaven three days earlier and Wolfgang’s post on board was as the person responsible for the gym, massage and wellbeing of the guests. He had already made a name for himself, something essential in those days for a top job on such a luxury liner. For the 1959-60 season, Ehrhardt had looked after the German National Team for the Nordic skiing competitions and winter sports and later he was responsible for the German Female National Team during the Alpine skiing in Switzerland. It was after this that he was offered the prestigious job on board the ‘TS Hanseatic’ of a one-year contract in charge of the programme of wellbeing for the cruise tourists.
that time it was clear to him that he would never return to the desolate island of Tenerife.
Love at second sight
“At that time, it was only the big industrialist families like Reemtsma, Seidensticker, Henkell, Grundig and other successful factory owners who could afford such a cruise. Also aboard on this occasion were a Herr Geißreiter and his family. A rather portly man with a somewhat active wife and daughter. “When we anchored in Santa Cruz, I just wanted to go on a photo-excursion.” As they were going ashore, “Herr Geißreiter stopped at the end of the gangway. ‘I have a taxi booked for a tour of the island at 8.30am’ he told me, ‘If my wife and daughter aren’t here by 8.45, I invite you to join me.’ It was a real Godsend for me when the women didn’t turn up”, he recalls.
TS Hanseatic in 1963
Round the island by taxi “We headed south from Santa Cruz. The very first village that we saw was Los Cristianos, then consisting, (or so it seemed), of around five cabins. They can still be seen today as fencedin ruins. Otherwise there was nothing except now and then a few terraces with banana trees.
x 21 kilometres. I remember that well”, the senior citizen and former physical therapist continued. Over the Orotava Valley and past the Northern Airport, a mere stripling of its current self, then via La Laguna they went back to the capital. “When we anchored in Madeira for New Year’s Eve it seemed like a green paradise in comparison to Tenerife”, said Wol-
sed some oil pipes to leak, which wasn’t noticed. In the port we had a huge party with over 600 people and all seven auxiliary engines were on full power. After the guests had disembarked, we scaled back to two motors, but it had all been running so hard and hot that we had an electrical fire. The sprinkler system only gave out water vapour and the heat caused buckling and stretching which fed the fire oxygen and the flames were unstoppable. The entire 16 floors were gutted by fire. Luckily no one was killed. The crew was flown back to Germany the next day and dismissed. “In January 1967 I opened my own practice in Bad Reichenhall”, Ehrhardt continued. At
As so often happens, ‘Never say never’ ruled and Wolfgang Ehrhardt returned. Nine years ago a close friend persuaded him and his wife to travel to Tenerife, raving about how beautiful the island is. Finally, curiosity got the better of him and he flew over with his wife Heidi. They stayed in a small bungalow complex in Costa Adeje. “We were totally amazed at what has been created here in the last few years and how beautiful everything was”, say the couple today. For the last nine years they have returned for two months every autumn/winter. They treat themselves to a break from a family life which includes three children and nine grandchildren and they enjoy escaping the Christmas rush as well as the mild climate over here and the flowers. They enjoy a stroll along the promenade or in La Caleta for a fish-based meal, “the best in the Atlantic”, and every morning before breakfast and every afternoon they go for a swim which they enjoy very much. So say the lovely couple who fell in love with each over 50 years ago, but only with Tenerife at second sight. n
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Dealing with disability
Coping with ageing beings of more than ten years of age now, will be dead and gone in a hundred years, our atoms long since thrown back into the mix. T’was ever thus, despite us and our tabloids pretending otherwise. The realities of ageing need assessing and dealing with, as any of us with declining parents, or in decline ourselves, can testify. It can be especially difficult if parents are far away,
By Barbara Belt are well aware that concepts British tabloids are famous for announcing incredible health ‘breakthroughs’ as front page news. As the rest of the media world flexed its muscles for war and terrorist attacks, the Daily Express recently trumpeted “New way to fight dementia” and “Pill to help us live to 120” as main headlines, in the same week. This reflects the average age of the Express’s elderly readership of course. Publishers, Express Newspapers want to sell papers and
like enhancing, or prolonging, elderly life are attractive. Surgery, pills, potions, diets, dubious research results, dyes, creams, supplements and fads are all reported and often on offer. Use them all, is the implication, and you’ll escape ageing and that big unmentionable D word. Canute on his throne defying the rising tide springs to mind. Euphemisms abound. With phrases like “If anything should happen to you”, replacing “when you die”, we pretend to be immortal, despite all evidence to the contrary.
The highs and lows of Hermigua Houses in La Gomera are built in the most astonishing places Though family is still very important here in the Islands, there are still some unlucky elderly people who are alone
We give the names spring, summer, autumn and winter to the periods of natural birth, growth, decline and death that define our year, but are in denial about our own life cycles. The fact is, and I hope this won’t come as a nasty surprise to anyone, that you and I, along with all human
which is likely the case for most of us who’ve relocated to the Canary Islands. I’m writing this in the dull, chilly, early December England I decided to leave thirty years ago, where I’m worrying about how to proceed with a seriously depressed elderly mum who can’t be left alone, but can’t be moved either. My life’s on hold, commitments ignored, plans scuppered. This is normal. It’s what
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happens. We have to step in when our parents go down. It isn’t easy to live alone when your mobility and faculties are reduced, when you can no longer cope, but what happens if there’s nobody to step in? With the breakdown of the extended family, elderly people are far more likely to be alone now than they were fifty years ago. Granny will probably be watching afternoon TV
house she was born in, built by her parents high up at the top of the valley of Hermigua, in La Gomera. She and her five siblings grew up there. Later, she and her husband and three children lived there to look after her widowed father. They farmed the terraced land around their house, growing bananas as a cash crop, vegetables for their kitchen and vines for homemade wine. They
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The service organises the installation and maintenance of special telephone equipment, which provides 24/7 access to a centre by means of a worn device, a personal diary to remind users to take med-
ication, or of appointments, and frequent calls to see how they’re doing. It isn’t the same as having company, but it does mean that many older people have more confidence to stay n in their own homes.
Lush green valleys and steep sided slopes are perfect for farming
move into centres to be cared for and, to this end, the Cabildo has announced an increase in this year’s ‘telehelp’ budget. ‘Teleasistencia’ helps María, and other over 65s who live alone and are incapacitated.
Many of the older generation still depend on subsistence farming for survival
alone, rather than chopping veg for the family supper or telling the kids a story. Families have dispersed. In the Canaries, the elderly are more likely to be looked after by nearby family members, usually daughters, than in the UK, which has long relied on old people’s homes. But there are other problems of a particular nature when you’re an ageing Canarian, especially if you live in a rural area. They can be summed up by the Spanish term ‘barreras arquitectónicas’, which is literally translated as architectural barriers, but perhaps better understood as ‘poor accessibility’. Doña María C.C is in her late eighties and still lives in the
kept goats, chickens and “at least one pig at a time”. The family house was extended to provide extra bedrooms for their children - who went to college in Tenerife, married there and stayed on - grandchildren, and then great grandchildren, when they visit. Until she was eighty, Doña María still grew most of her own food on: “a handkerchief of land - nothing compared to what we had planted before -but it provided for me well enough” and kept a few goats and the chickens, until last year, when it became difficult for her to gather and carry fodder. This is understandable: her home, land, animal houses and
vegetable patch are right at the top of a punishing three hundred and fifty stepped, steeply uphill path. She’s been running up and down those steps since she could walk, often carrying weight, and probably because of that is a very fit eighty-eight year old, but she can’t easily get up there now, and once up, is wary of coming down in case she can’t get ‘arriba’ again. That’s her ‘barrera arquitectónica’: the difficult access to her home now she’s old, but this very sprightly lady can look after herself very well and doesn’t want to move. That’s the situation for many of the Islands’ elderly people. With help, they can stay at home, without help, they must
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Promotion
On your bike to Bikronos!
The magnificent display at Bikronos in Las Chafiras
Bikronos can only be described as a cyclists’ paradise which is quite unique in the south of Tenerife. With a massive showroom occupying 600 square metres, this is the only cycling store in the Canaries which solely distributes the well known Scott brand, and is the largest on the Islands to sell only one brand. If that’s not enough, Bikronos is also the largest Scott bicycle store in Spain. The Scott brand has not insisted on exclusivity, but as Scott is the number one brand in Spain, at Bikronos, they prefer to keep it that way. If you haven’t visited this impressive store yet, you’re in for a big surprise. There are at least 200 bikes on display, and that means that a customer looking for a new bicycle will most likely find the right model in the right size (of which there are around four) on the very first visit. Bikronos has a fantastic range of bikes for nearly all sports and terrains, from racing, trekking and mountain bikes, to
Live and learn
Tenerife teachers’ multiple tongues The Tenerife authorities have announced incentives to teachers on the island to improve their language skills by taking courses during the summer or participating in exchanges with counterparts in other countries. The local Council has set aside a total of €138,000 in grants to enable teachers to work towards enhancing their proficiency, including in English, to teach their subjects in their home schools using the language. The money has been earmarked for a pilot project to be introduced in 2016. The corporation’s education officer José Luis Rivero said it “should become normal for Maths teachers to deliver their materials in English. In other countries it is common for subjects such as Economics and Marketing to be taught solely through the medium of English”. The initiative is separate to the scheme put in place by the Canarian Department of Education to increase bilingualism in state schools, which has come in for criticism n due to lack of proper resourcing and poor results.
Bikronos Avda. Islas Canarias 104, CC Bordón. Las Chafiras Tel: 922 736 772 Email: info@bikronos.com Web: www.bikronos.com Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9.30am to 1.30pm and 4.30pm to 8.30pm Saturdays, 10am to 4pm
Photo: Vicky Johnson / FreeImages.com
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Teachers will give classes in English and other foreign languages
bicycles which are solely intended as a mode of transport, in models and sizes to suit men, women and juniors. They also have an on-site workshop which offers a full maintenance service. All the mechanics are cycling professionals, and the excellent service they offer includes repairs to all makes and models, not just Scott. So if your bike is in need of some tender loving care, take it to Bikronos.
You’ll also find a full range of spare parts for Scott bikes, including wheels, and Continental tyres to help your wheels to keep a grip. All types of accessories, clothing and footwear are in stock at Bikronos, for both cycling and running. These include helmets, sunglasses, gloves, socks, windbreakers, saddlebags, rucksacks, hydration systems and much more, in brands such as Garmin, Shimano, Syncros and Thule. Bikronos has only been open for 18 months, during which time it has gained an excellent reputation for quality and service with a smile. It is already extremely popular, bustling with customers of all nationalities. Everyone feels comfortable at Bikronos, as Spanish, German, English and some Italian are spoken. This is an establishment run by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. So why not make your next bike a Scott bike? With Christmas just around the corner, you’ll find plenty of gift ideas, big and small, for enthusiasts at Bikronos. Find it on the San Miguel side of the TF-1 motorway at Las Chafiras. n
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Voice for the expat community
Samuel’s vision for San Miguel San Miguel de Abona’s councillor for culture, tourism, fiestas and equality, Samuel de León, told Island Connections recently: “I want to be the voice for our foreign residents.” The young PSOE party councillor, who speaks English and Russian beside his native Spanish, as well as currently learning German, is helping to modernise San Miguel’s borough council and integrate and inform all residents of what the municipality is doing, as well as its plans for the future. Having spent a lot of time in other European countries, Samuel was impressed by how easy it was to deal with authorities in countries such as Germany, where other languages are usually available to nonnative speakers, making them
Samuel has a progressive vision for San Miguel
The council offices of San Miguel de Abona
feel part of the system and that they have a voice. In a recent census, figures showed that British resi-
dents in San Miguel account for around 3,000 of the overall 18,000 population – with Italians and Germans mak-
ing up just under 2,000. This, Samuel appreciates, is a significant number, and with influential voting power. He
also understands that many of those citizens are living in areas such as Golf del Sur, Amarilla Golf and Llano del Camello and paying higher tax rates, therefore he hopes to bring these communities into the system more by offering services and information on events in other languages. “I think that in the past, compared to some other borough councils in the south, San Miguel has been a little oldfashioned in its approach. Adeje, for example, has done fantastic work in modernising and integrating the municipality, and councils such as Granadilla, with their annual ‘Sensaciones’ event, and Guía de Isora, with the Mirada Doc festival, have established cultural activities that have been very effective in promoting their borough on an international level. That is what I want for
San Miguel. And like other councils, I want our events and fiestas to take place around the whole municipality and not always based solely within the town of San Miguel itself”, he said. “It’s these simple measures which will help bring the borough together. When information and services are not easily made available to people, they don’t try and are out of the system. In the past, maybe San Miguel believed that it was solely the responsibility for foreign residents to adapt, however, I think now is the time for us to adapt as well and recognise that we can do more to integrate everyone”. Samuel pointed out that San Miguel has a rich heritage and interesting historical areas, far more than just its coastal resorts, and sees the importance of properly pro-
moting what the area has to offer. They are updating to a multi-language website and are continually making more available online. The tourism portal for the council is now live and available in four languages, including English, German and French and can be visited at: www.costasanmiguel.com. “In a few months we’ve done a lot, and hopefully people can see that already. We’re even setting up a system where residents can send enquiries directly to councillors for when we meet every two weeks”. The mayor, Valentín González, presides over a CC and PSOE coalition following 18 years performing the role that Samuel now carries out, and their vision is clear: to keep what works and change the things that need improving. A major part of this is better educating people about what’s going on, improving promotion of the borough, informing the public of important events, and making the council’s services more accessible. Samuel is overseeing two key projects next year which will see San Miguel’s theatre and cinema improved, and the organisation of the Biannual International Festival of Contemporary Art, known as BACOS; something Samuel hopes will boost San Miguel’s standing on the international stage. Feel free to contact Samuel directly on his email: samueldeleon@sanmigueldeabona. org, or by phoning him on 922 700 000 ext. 259. For further information on San Miguel de Abona visit: www. sanmigueldeabona.org/ and www.costasanmiguel.com. n
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Loro Parque criticism
Are zoos logical? On the TF5 motorway in the north of Tenerife a famous sign by the side of the road at the 32 kilometre mark recently caused a stir. For several days the pun ‘Zoos Lógicos?’ (Are zoos logical?) could be seen by thousands of motorists at the popular notice, which changes weekly, usually with thought-provoking or humorous phrases that often get shared on social media. This particular message, designed to provoke moral questions about the usefulness of zoos, is a topic regularly raised by nature lovers and animal rights groups. Also along the TF5, just outside Puerto de La Cruz, is the world renowned Loro Parque – recently voted the best zoo in Europe and second best in the world by TripAdvisor – an animal park which often becomes embroiled in debates about animal welfare. Wolfgang Kiessling, the president of Loro Parque and its international foundation – which works with endangered species and conducts innovative studies – was quick to respond to the question: “Yes, zoos are very much logical. Two years ago we published a booklet in which we described the role of modern zoos and their perceived relation with nature, and what they offer people from large cities and towns. Loro Parque has 45 million satisfied visitors, and numerous national and international awards – prizes that can’t be bought, by the way. However, it seems like we are constantly in hot water for one reason or another. Recently, the Free Morgan Foundation – an organisa-
gan would not have survived. She is now strong and maintaining her natural position in the matriarchal structure of the orca family. That does not happen without some rivalry or resistance by others, but we observed the situation and I would say that today, Morgan is well integrated and a very likeable orca”, he explained.
Public relations
The sign that triggered the press conference Biologist, Rafael Zamora is a specialist on the scientific aspects
tion campaigning for the release of a female orca considered to be maltreated – was investigated by the authorities and a panel of jurors and we were acquitted on all four counts. Anyone who knows me is aware that I could never do anything to mistreat animals.” Wolfgang Kiessling has to regularly defend himself against criticism from animal welfare groups, and despite the many international accolades, these allegations usually gather speed despite often being unfounded or unproven. The Free Morgan campaign is a great example, with several British and Spanish mainstream newspapers picking up the story. Morgan is one of six orcas that live in Orca Ocean in Loro Parque and the
female killer whale has become the most famous. She was discovered half-starved in the wild in 2010 and subsequently relocated to the Dolphinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands. However, she soon outgrew the park and Morgan’s care was passed to Loro Parque via a Dutch court judgement.
The Tenerife zoo then found itself at the centre of a storm concerning Morgan’s wellbeing. Kiessling explained: “In nature, particularly in the sea where sound waves are transmitted over many kilometres, it is not easy for an orca to become lost; therefore every indication suggests that Mor-
gan was left behind for natural evolutionary reasons. We have several international specialists reviewing the case, which costs us a lot of money as their daily rates are not cheap, believe me! However, it is important for us to bring clarity to the situation, and they came to the conclusion that without intervention Mor-
Despite the seemingly innocuous slogan on the TF5 motorway, Loro Parque decided to hold an impromptu press conference – possibly as much to do with the drop in attendance at SeaWorld and their announced cancellation of all orca shows. The issue of orca spectacles was also highlighted by recent documentaries, Blackfish and The Cove, and a major backlash to the perceived exploitation of animals has erupted, particularly in the US. One such figurehead of this movement is Ric O’Barry, the dolphin trainer on the Flipper TV series; however, it is important to remember that training methods have improved a great deal since the 1970s. Many people believed the storm would pass but instead it gained momentum and public opinion decided the outcome. Loro Parque is keen to avoid similar negative publicity by continually promoting environmental causes and clearly informing the public on its conduct and projects, making the park approachable and open for dialogue.
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“We are proud of our training methods and results. We work with our animals over a long period of time, using patience and rewarding them. Many of the animals enjoy close relationships with their trainers and carers. We also offer the best conditions available within an environment of captivity; orcas at one French water park use ocean water with constantly fluctuating temperatures while we keep the water at a permanently cold 13 degrees, which is how they like it best”, Kiessling explained.
unable to survive in the wild for one reason or another, such as pack exclusion, mistreatment or injury. Here they are able to survive in freedom and enjoy plentiful food and water, giving them a much higher life expectancy.
Conclusion There are many factors to take into consideration and the argument really isn’t as black
Are zoos logical? The Loro Parque team has many good reasons to believe so Visible scarring on a wild orca seen near Southeast Alaska
“In Europe there are currently over 250 dolphins in various zoological institutions. Around 65 per cent of them are used to being served three meals a day and never learned to catch fish. They would not be able to survive in nature.”
Children need to relate to nature From a scientific perspective there are many arguments in favour of the existence of zoos, as remarked on recently by the biologist Rafael Zamora: “Are zoos logical? I don’t even need to think about the answer because it’s contained within the name itself: ‘zoo’ is from Ancient Greek meaning animals and ‘logos’ means science, which I think perfectly sums up how modern zoological institutions work”. Zamora also said “Zoos enable a wide range of people to make contact with nature and learn about life on our planet, including animals from parts of the world we wouldn’t otherwise experience or have any knowledge about. Around 50 per cent of the world’s population lives in cities and this is expected to rise to around 85 per cent by 2050. Children need to learn about these animals and how many of them contribute to our dietary habits and everyday life. Scientists working within zoos with good conditions and equipment can learn so much, and that in turn benefits the animals. For example, we have
developed a quick test for dolphins and whales that identifies a specific and rather dangerous bacterium. These are procedures and tests that can be expanded to other animals, and the Loro Parque Foundation does a lot of good work in protecting a large number of different species through its many projects.” Scientists observing orcas along the Strait of Gibraltar recently discovered that they only travel along that route when they’re forced to due to food shortage. Multiple photos also showed that many had notable scars and scratches, something which is commonly associated with human involvement, such as fishing techniques; however, they are more often than not the result of very natural behaviour. Many animals will use their teeth to hold their own. The Free Willy Campaign is another good example that reintroducing animals that were born in captivity or had a long period of recovery in that environment simply does not work. Keiko, the killer whale used in the film of the same name, was released into the wild following an intense campaign which drew over €20 million in donations. The famous orca returned to the wild and constantly sought the proximity of humans and could not fully integrate with other orca groups. Like Free Willy, animals as protagonists in films or literature often evoke human emotion
and generosity and our ideals reflect upon their specific situation. The case with Morgan is another similar story. However, the truth is that monies raised for such campaigns may be better used in welfare projects rather than trying to liberate the animal and return it to a worse situation than it came from. Another example of how zoological institutions help wildlife involves the Philippine cockatoo, another endangered species which has been receiving support from the Loro Parque Foundation for over 20 years, and as such is no longer threatened by extinction. The Yellow-eared Parrot from Colombia or the Lear’s macaw from Brazil also have a similar story. The protection of an animal must also include the protection of its habitat. Until recently in Ethiopia only three per cent of the country’s original forests remained, but with reforestation, particularly eucalyptus, there is now 11 per cent. It’s still far too little but it is an example of the work that needs to be done over time to receive the results and undo past damage. In 1900 there was about 60 million square kilometres of forest on the planet, by 2050 there will be half of that. As the human population grows, so shrinks the animals’ habitats. Also in 1900 there were around 10 million African elephants whereas today there are 600,000. The savannah could no longer hold the numbers as, bit by bit, their habitat shrank and nature responded accordingly. The Kiessling family also visited the Born Free Foundation Ethiopia in the capital, Addis Ababa recently. Across a 78 hectares park, wild animals live freely and safely. Many of these, including lions, were
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and white as many choose to believe. The fact is, each zoo should indeed comply with a set of standards and be judged by its actions, considerations and projects. To boycott zoos and take a strong stance in opposition of animals in captivity may be denying the good work that many have done in saving individual creatures and caring for them within the park’s confines, as well as the repopulation projects
in regions around the world. Likewise, the campaign work that animal rights organisations do to help fight the slaughter of seals, whaling, dolphin bycatch and ocean polluting is also highly commendable. Understanding the benefits from both sides of the argument is key to finding a happy medium – but there’s no doubt that animal welfare should be a high consideration on everyn one’s agenda.
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PROMO
A Christmas to crow about! There’s no doubt that one of the finest roast chicken establishments in Tenerife is the much loved Kikiriki in Los Cristianos – a must-visit with family, friends or work colleagues this Christmas! Kikiriki serves superb grilled and roast meat dishes, as well as fish, seafood and vegetarian options, while their most popular range is the chicken – hence the restaurant name, which in English translates to Cock-a-doodle-doo. They also deck the halls every yuletide and bring a superb Christmas spirit to proceedings. Since Kikiriki first opened in Cabo Blanco in 1998 the restaurant has grown from strength to strength. They moved to the Apolo Center in Los Cristianos and within a very short time moved again to much bigger premises on the front line of the same centre where they can cater for up to 80 guests. Kikiriki, which becomes busy after sunset, has a friendly family appeal, with a large, airy terrace screened with plants. Inside, the warm tones provide an intimate atmosphere, with the tables dressed in red and white, ideal for romantic dining. The speciality here is chicken, but there is an amazing choice right across the menu, including six types of savoury breads, soups, crispy salads, meat, fish, shellfish, specialities which include gratinated spinach cream, puff pastry with spinach and blue cheese, onion cake with smoked salmon, plus 23 different pizza choices. To round off your meal, they always offer irresistible homemade desserts. Suckling pig and succulent roast lamb
Kikiriki is stocked with tantalising treats this Christmas
Enjoy a festive dinner with family and friends at Kikiriki
Ribera del Duero. Many clients visit the restaurant regularly; some have been enjoying the food since the Cabo Blanco days, returning time and again. Kikiriki is a great place to go to with family and friends as the food is excellent, the service is second to none, and it is also great value for money with a 40 per cent discount off the menu on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays! Visit this restaurant soon. You’ll no doubt want to make it one of your regulars too. To make life easy, there’s a car park at the Apolo Center and a bus stop right outside. Kikiriki really is something to crow about! Try it this festive season and celebrate Christmas in style with n friends and family.
Restaurante Kikiriki
are also available at Kikiriki, although they are not listed on the menu, so be sure to ask one of your friendly waiters if one of them appeals to you. The gratinated spinach cream starter is served warm with fresh ground black pepper and sprinkled with enough cheese to add a subtle piquancy. The chicken, which is thoroughly marinated in Kikiriki’s secret sauce, is spit roasted and then cooked with the marinade and its own juices. The result is crisp skin, succulent meat and a taste sensation that will leave you wanting more. Like all the main course meat and fish dishes it comes with a choice of Canarian potatoes, chips or thick slices of potato fried with garlic. The chicken is served
with a choice of sauces: hot tomato with chillies and garlic, creamy pepper, soft Roquefort creamy cheese, and the house sauce, Kikiriki: a delicious blend of fresh tomatoes with cream and tarragon. If you save room for dessert they offer delights such as creme caramel with cream and walnuts, chocolate mousse and more. Beers, soft drinks and spirits are available from the well stocked bar, with San Miguel on draught and Reina, Heineken and Dorada beers available by the bottle. Wines can be bought by the bottle, carafe or glass. There’s a careful selection in addition to the house wines, with some old favourites and some great choices such as
CC Apolo Center Los Cristianos Tel: 647 955 831 / 922 753 074 Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to 11pm Sunday, 1pm to 11pm
Dental promotion
The travelling dentist from Oxford One of the specialists who regularly help patients enjoy a new smile at the dental clinic Medical Implant is Dr. Manuel Padrón. The native Canarian studied in Barcelona and London, and now lives and works in the city of Oxford in the UK, as well as once a week, every Wednesday, in Los Abrigos, Tenerife. The 35-year-old caring dentist, and author and co-author of many dental and aesthetic articles, supports the idea of dental tourism which offers favourable dental treatments in a wonderful atmosphere without any reduction in quality. Residents living in Tenerife enjoy this advantage throughout the year and those from Central Europe preferably use a few days of their vacation. It’s not only the holiday feeling that increases well-being, but also being aware of the fact that one could be saving up to 70 per cent of the costs of any professional treatment. Dr. Manuel Padrón is a doctor with a lot of experience, who has proved himself in the clinic and in knowledge about the latest developments in his speciality. In Great Britain, his chosen home, the father of two children engages himself in the field of public dental health and is especially involved in preventive measures among the younger generation. But he has also dedicated himself to dental aesthetics. Practicing dental treatments in an easy-going atmosphere is his priority and therefore he travels to the Canaries weekly. His British patients can even enjoy the advantage of him being availMedical Implant able after the treatment: in Oxford – as long as they live Los Abrigos, in the UK of course. This can Av. Los Abrigos, 21 take all the fear away, espeMon - Fri: 8am - 8pm cially when you are scared Sat: 9am - 2pm of possible after-effects, Phone: for example with a dental (+34) 922 749 742 implant. And patients who cita@medicaltenerife.com live in the Canaries will be www.medicaltenerife.com treated continuously on the island anyway. n
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Letters to the editor
Dear Editor
I am writing to you regarding a recent report: Parking – to charge or not to charge. Parking is a nightmare – so what? It’s a fact of life. Every driver knows that each driver has an equal right to be on the road – except when he wants to park his car. Then the fun starts. Temperatures rise, aggression creeps in and then the nerves react – especially when their dear wife [or husband! (ed)] starts to offer advice. What makes the authorities think they are going to change all that by charging to park? They are fooling themselves. Many drivers who park all day are workers. How are the authorities going to separate the workers from the non-workers? And it’s the non-workers we want to attract because they are the ones who spend money. If the authorities penalise those drivers by trying to limit their time of parking – and charging more for them to spend extra time in, say, having a meal or browsing around, then you will drive them away. Drivers will automatically go to the out-of-town shopping centres where they can park for as long as they need, do their shopping, and go for a meal etc. without having to worry about the car. If the authorities are seriously concerned about on-street parking there is one easy solution… Provide more multistorey car parks and charge €1 per day. No driver would complain about that and the local authorities would create revenue of at least €1,000 per day from each car park. What’s wrong with that?
Photo: Patrick Da Silva FreeImages.com
Yours Sincerely, Rodney Hart, Porís de Abona
Are multistorey car parks the way to cure the Islands’ parking problems?
By
Terrible storms and flooding have again ravaged the UK, yet it seems that almost everywhere on our planet strange weather is becoming the norm. At last many nations have agreed that Global Warming is a “real and present danger”. A recent study by researchers at NASA and the University of California found that a rapidly melting section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appears to be in an irreversible state of decline, with nothing to stop the glaciers in this area from melting into the sea. The study, incorporating 40 years of observation, indicates the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica “have passed the point of no return”, according to glaciologist and lead author Eric Rignot of UC Irvine and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The study was accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. These glaciers already contribute significantly to sea level rise, releasing almost as much ice into the ocean annually as the entire Greenland Ice Sheet. They contain enough ice to raise global sea levels by four feet (1.2 metres) and are melting faster than most scientists had expected. “This sector will be a major contributor to sea level rise in the decades and centuries to come”, Rignot said. “A conservative estimate is that it could take several centuries for all of the ice to flow into the sea, but of course if the global weather continues its upward trend of heating the oceans then that conservative estimate could be seriously reduced, with enormous and detrimental effects
y Kat
Hi everyone,
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is said to be in an irreversible state of decline
upon many low lying countries, including the UK. Further studies in the Arctic have revealed the same demise of the glaciers, with the subsequent rise of sea water causing global disasters as the planet warms more rapidly than was ever thought possible. All nations agree that the rise in temperature must be kept to a maximum of two degrees centigrade in order to prevent a runaway greenhouse effect. Three major lines of evidence point to the glaciers’ eventual demise: the changes in their flow speeds, how much of each glacier floats on seawater, plus the slope of the terrain they are flowing over and its depth below sea level. In a paper last year this research group discussed the steadily increasing
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katykennedy@telefonica.net
Photo: Jeroen GNU Lesser General Public License V2.1
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
flow speeds of these glaciers over the past 40 years. The study examined the glaciers’ flow out from land to the ocean, with their leading edges afloat on the seawater. The point on a glacier where it first loses contact with land is apparently called the grounding line. Nearly all glacier melt occurs on the underside of the glacier beyond the grounding line, on the section floating on seawater. Just as a grounded boat can float again on shallow water if it is made lighter, a glacier can float over an area where it used to be grounded if it too becomes lighter, which it does by melting or by the thinning effects of the glacier stretching out. The Antarctic glaciers studied by this group have thinned so much they are now floating
above places where they used to sit solidly on land, which means their grounding lines are retreating inland. “The grounding line is buried under a thousand or more metres of ice, so it is incredibly challenging for a human observer on the ice sheet surface to figure out exactly where the transition is”, Rignot stated, “this analysis is best done using satellite techniques.” The accelerating flow speeds and retreating grounding lines reinforce each other. As glaciers flow faster, they stretch out and thin, which reduces their weight and lifts them farther off the bedrock. As the grounding line retreats and more of the glaciers become waterborne, there’s less resistance underneath, so the flow accelerates. As the glaciers retreat, they cannot escape the reach of the ocean, and the warm water will keep melting them even more rapidly. The collapse of this sector of West Antarctica appears to be unstoppable. Because of the importance of this region, NASA’s Operation IceBridge will continue to monitor its evolution closely. IceBridge uses a specialised fleet of research aircraft carrying the most sophisticated suite of science instruments ever assembled to characterise changes in thickness of glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice. Let’s hope we can, as the leading species on this planet, look after the environment as lovingly as most of us look after our families. Take care of yourselves and n especially each other. Email: katykennedy@telefonica.net. Tel: 616 110 930.
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TENERIFE GENERAL
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Canine help for the elderly and disabled
Doggie health visitors For around twelve years Petra Ashara Schmid was an active honorary member of the voluntary ambulance service in Germany. In August of this year, she settled with her five greyhounds in the north of Tenerife – with a plan to offer a ‘visiting dog’ service in Tenerife. As a helper experienced in caring for the elderly, she believes that encounters between dogs and humans can be positive for both sides, and intends to offer her service free for seniors in need and children with disabilities. Petra says: “My greyhounds used to be racing dogs. In Ireland, greyhounds are seen purely
relaxes the child and removes any pressure to perform. People coping with trauma or conflicts, or even those training in the anti-violence field, can also have positive experiences.
Petra wants to take her greyhound Rudel to meet lonely people
In full flight…
Petra’s opinions
Christtraude Weber from the children’s aid project Harambee is delighted with Dubhlaìnn the greyhounds’ gentle nature
as a business, which involves betting and lots of money. When the animals are no longer suitable for racing they are discarded. There’s no charity in that, it just means death.” Thousands of greyhounds are registered each year in the greyhound racing industries in Ireland and the UK: The majority of which are bred in Ireland. Added to that are the many thousands which are not registered. It’s estimated that tens of thousands of greyhounds are killed each year in the country. Several different organisations work together to rescue unwanted animals when they
are unable to race, and to help them gradually become accustomed to family life. “The greyhound is the fastest dog in the world, and can run at over 70km an hour, even up to 80 kph. They don’t need humans, and that is exactly what fascinated me about them. They are very independent and you have to earn affection from them”. Petra, who trains all her dogs herself, fell in love with the greyhound breed a long time ago, and throughout her voluntary work with animal-assisted therapies she has come to appreciate their quiet character. “They cannot be trained as disability dogs, to lead the blind or to
“I saw a gentleman in a very depressive phase during which the patient no longer talked or laughed. I took my Spanish greyhound Philipp with me. While we were drinking coffee
Greyhounds are incredibly graceful
be helpers, and they can’t be taught tricks either. They are just there. Usually they just stand next to a patient and wait to see if they are going to be stroked, they are very patient and sensitive”.
Animal-assisted therapy ‘Visiting dogs’ are not only just thought to be beneficial, but their positive impact on people has even been proven scientifically. It’s been established that they can reduce the pulse rate and blood pressure of a person cuddling a dog, and in Alzheim-
er’s patients they can stimulate memories or provide a conversation piece. More active people will pet the dog, or even go for a walk with him, as trained therapy dogs take well to being on a leash, so anyone can handle them. For people suffering from depression, they are emotionally invigorating, and can break depressive phases. The disabled can also have positive experiences with them and sometimes dogs are used to help train children who have reading difficulties. A child will sit in a protected area in front of a dog and read. The dog
“Communication between dog and man is non-verbal, so it is therefore direct and original. I was once dealing with an autistic teenager; he walked with my greyhound while I stayed in the background. It was nice to see how my dog communicated with this teenager and brought him out of his own world for a while.” Petra took the smaller Whippet greyhound to see people in a vegetative state. The dog laid down with the patient on the bed, giving very close and sensory stimulation. The patient’s blinking enabled their carers to see that they felt the dog’s presence. A particularly touching memory for Petra is that of a visit for the Alzheimer’s family support group. She described how she had been summoned to a family in which the grandfather was suffering from Alzheimer’s. She said:
at the table, he stood next to the elderly man, who eventually began to stroke the dog. Very gradually, he realised what he had just done, then he smiled, stood up and patted the dog with both hands. He didn’t stop there; he was beaming all over his face. The family wept and even I was moved to tears”. From experience she knows how helpful and positive being close to an animal can be. That’s why she wants these encounters to be made available to children and seniors who cannot afford an animal-assisted therapy. In these cases, Petra is offering 30- to 60-minute visits free of charge. She said “Right now, during the Christmas season, many people feel very alone. I’d love to come and visit you with one of my dogs.” Elderly, disabled people or individuals can book by emailing mail@asharas.de. Alternatively, you can call Petra Schmid on n 605 054 683.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
TENERIFE GENERAL
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
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Promotion
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Taste your best wines and store them again with the Coravin System
The Torres winery is the exclusive distributor in the Canaries of a rather innovative system: one that Wine guru Robert Parker said is the most momentous invention for the world of wine in the last 30 years The new creation is called Coravin, and it allows you to take one glass of wine from any bottle you have, without the wine left in the bottle starting to deteriorate rapidly – something that usually forces people to drink the remainder of the wine within a couple of days. With Coravin, the bottle can be returned to the rack and kept there for years.
What does Coravin offer your client?
The simple item is the work of a North American engineer who specialises in medical technology: a small needle is inserted in the cork, an inert gas (argon) is injected, and the wine pours out through the needle. Once the glass is full, the needle is removed, and the argon gas occupies all the space left by the wine. You can store the bottle for as long as you wish, and the wine remains in the same condition as when the bottle was full. The possibilities for following the evolution of a wine, or for determining the best time to open a bottle of young wine
are now infinite. Are you ready for Coravin?
What Coravin offers the sommelier or the winery keeper With the Coravin System, clients can try wines, and taste samples from the most exquisite bottles before they buy, without any waste, and with more income from each bottle sold. - Optimise budgeting for sampling - Offer your clients samples of different varieties, vintages or regions
- Offer them the opportunity to taste wines before they buy, without affecting the price - Personalise tastings for each client, with little prior planning
What does it offer the hotel or restaurant owner? The Coravin System allows for tastings from your best bottles
The Coravin System allows the client to taste, share and enjoy the best wines without wasting a drop. - Improve flavours by comparing and contrasting. Try several bottles in one evening, comparing vintages and varieties - Make the most creative blends and serve red and white wines with different dishes during dinner - Instead of storing full bottles for special occasions, turn any event into a celebration
by enjoying the best bottles, by the glass - Savour your favourite wines and notice how they mature, observing the subtle changes in their evolution, and taste them again in the future when they have reached their best moment. For more information, see www. coravin.com. If you would like to watch the official video in English, see www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wMKGY8EmwEM n
Miguel Torres Internacional Avda. Manuel Hermoso Rojas, 2 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Tel: 922 59 52 00
FOOD
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Casa Esteban
Is this the best veal chop on Tenerife? By John I ask myself this question every time we go to Casa Esteban for dinner. We have been going there for more than five years now, so they must be doing something right. Not the easiest of places to find, half way down the hill below Santa Úrsula, and with a nasty habit of closing for all of August, it is nevertheless really well worthy of searching out. When we visited there the other evening we enjoyed a really good dish of Fabada (bran and pork stew) to start with. You know it is going to be good when the accompanying
The fabada bean and pork stew was delicious Traditional Canarian decoration: a setting that just yells: “Good meat”! Possibly the very best veal chop anywhere A time honoured and tasty way to cook meat
lent. Apart from that, there was chicken in garlic, pork chops, pork fillet, whole shoulder of lamb, chicken fillets or fried rabbit. Carnivore heaven! We were offered dessert, but it was all that we could do to get up and totter out into the n night. Just superb!
Casa Esteban
sauce is nice and thick, and the chunks of meat are just that, proper identifiable chunks, not tiny scraps doing lip service to the dish. We paid just €5 for enough for three people. And then on to the piece de resistance. The veal chops. You can choose to order small ones or medium ones. I don’t think that they dare offer the large ones anymore because there are so few that can cope with such a monster portion. So, two medium ones it is then, half
a chicken for my wife, and a plate of chips, please. These medium chops are well over an inch thick and cover the surface of an average dinner plate. Having been cooked on the brazier in the adjoining open plan kitchen, the fat is crispy, juicy and oh-so-tasty. They are priced by weight, and our two come in at a total of €30, which is probably less than one might pay in other establishments for a decent fillet steak. The half chicken was €3.50 (yes, truly)
and the big plate of hand-cut and well-seasoned chips was also €3.50. Did I mention Peter’s huge standard poodle? There was
enough left over for a complete meal for her the next day! The half litre of local Santa Úrsula wine was only €3 and was so palatable that we ordered another. You need good wine to dispose of monster chops. Heaven only knows where they get them
from, but the supply seems inexhaustible. Starters could have been chicken soup, garbanzas, sticky spare ribs or white local cheese. For a main course we could have otherwise chosen their goat stew, which I know from past experience to be excel-
Calle Santo Domingo 183, Santa Úrsula, Tenerife. Tel: 922 580 631 Open: Daily except Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays & Sundays: 12pm – 5pm Friday and Saturday: 12.30pm – 5pm & 7pm – 12am Loo Score: 7/10
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Canary Islands’ attractions for tourists and residents Island life
Contact details
Music and concerts
Cultural agenda
Summary of the Canaries
General information
Spin news
What’s on
Page 22 & 23
Pages 24 & 25
Page 26 & 27
Page 28
No-nonsense radio
Power up PowerOn! PowerOn Fm is the longest running English language commercial radio station in the Canary Islands and now has the largest coverage in the south of Tenerife. Playing the latest hits and classic feel good tunes, you’re guaranteed the best music mix available in the Canaries. Alongside a team of presenters that bring you the latest news and events, both locally and in the UK, you have the perfect soundtrack to your day, whatever you’re up to! PowerOn was founded over 20 years ago (originally as Power FM), going on to become one of the biggest English language radio stations in all of Spain. The station initially covered the area of Los Gigantes and the south west of Tenerife and the founder, Gavin Watson, hosted the first programme. In the early days the station was
based in the back room of an electronics shop and within two years it was covering the entire south coast of Tenerife, including Los Cristianos and Las Américas.
After expanding their coverage across the Islands the company went through a period of change and for the last five years have broadcast in Lanzarote and Fuerteven-
tura. After recently returning to Tenerife, the station is now covering the largest area of any English language radio station; all the way from Abades to Santiago del Teide!
They also plan to broadcast to La Gomera soon. PowerOn strives to be a nononsense station that simply plays great music, stressing that opinionated posturing is not part of their presentation. They also offer affordable advertising and have the perfect platform to best market your business. Current presenters include: Danny Looker, Scotty Silver, Jules Weakley, Spencer James,
ment on 922 717 031. For further information visit: www. poweron.fm. You’ll find PowerOn Fm on 99.2 in Lanzarote, 92.2 in Fuerteventura and for Tenerife: Abades to Guaza on 89.8;
Richard Spinks, Leroy Brown, Craig Trapps, Paul Baker, Stevie Essex, Si Kennett, and Dave Michaels. For advertising enquiries, contact their marketing depart-
Los Cristianos to Costa Adeje on 89.5; and Callao Salvaje to Los Gigantes/Santiago del Teide on 88.7fm. Tune in today and power up n PowerOn!
Danny Looker presents the Breakfast Show
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HOLIDAY GUIDE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
The Canaries have what is considered one of the best climates anywhere on the planet, making the Islands the perfect destination for all year round tourism.
ous luxury hotels and some very nice, small white sand beaches. In the foothills above these towns you will find three great places to visit. Siam Park (The Water Kingdom), recently declared the best in the world, has something for everyone, from beach lovers to adrenaline freaks. See: www. siampark.net Aqualand, on Avenida de Austria, a water park with a dolphin show. See: www.aqualand.es. The Jungle Park, at Las Águilas del Teide, is great fun for kids of all ages. See: www.aguilasjunglepark.com
Tenerife Teide National Park The highest peak in Spain, at 3,718m, is one of Tenerife’s greatest attractions. It is possible to hike to the top, and also to catch the cable car. See: www.telefericoteide.com. To access the summit of the volcano, Pico del Teide, you need to obtain a free permit in advance, issued by the Administration Office of the National Park, which you can download at www.reservasparquesnacionales.es.
Los Gigantes
Benijo beach
summer solstices. See: www. piramidesdeguimar.es
Santa Cruz
Playa de Las Américas
Santa Cruz, the vibrant, bustling capital city of Tenerife, is located on the northeast coast. It has a variety of interesting museums and art galleries, a well maintained historical centre, and an important commercial port. See: www.santacruzmas.com.
Currently Tenerife’s main tourist destination, this area has spectacular views of La Gomera. There’s a big night-life scene which attracts younger tourists, but it’s also somewhere you can relax, eat, and go sailing, whale and dolphin watching or golfing.
La Laguna La Laguna, a university city, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. It has a lively night life and a thriving cultural scene.
Puerto de la Cruz The town of Puerto de la Cruz was a popular tourist destination long before the south was. Its attractive and busy town centre has maintained its picturesque fishing-village charm, and nearby is the prestigious, award-winning Loro Parque Zoo. See: www.loroparque.com.
Bananas
La Orotava One of the prettiest towns on the island, La Orotava also gives its name to the whole valley, which has a very prosperous history. The town centre has beautiful old mansions reflecting the wealth of the past.
Anaga Rural Park The Anaga Rural Park occupies much of the mountainous mas-
Los Cristianos sif in the northeastern corner of Tenerife. This is a steeplysloping area with exceptional natural and cultural treasures, and amazing landscapes.
Güímar This northeastern town is best known for the ethnographic park which was developed by Thor Heyerdahl. The pyramids are a complex construction, astronomically orientated according to the winter and
Once a little fishing village, Los Cristianos began as a tourist destination for ailing Swedes who came to enjoy some rest and recuperation. From the port you can take a ferry to La Gomera, La Palma or El Hierro. The two main beaches offer safe swimming with disabled access.
Costa Adeje Costa Adeje is an upmarket area of South West Tenerife
which is popular with European, Russian and national tourists. There are vari-
The town of Los Gigantes, which lives mainly from tourism but on a much more modest scale than Playa de Las Americas or Los Cristianos, is overlooked by the towering cliffs. There is good diving and a small harbour. El Duque beach
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
Other islands La Gomera Only a 45 minute ferry ride from the port of Los Cristianos, La Gomera is a small, peaceful island with amazing hiking and a pre-historic rainforest which is a UNESCO world heritage site and the only one of its kind left in the world. The ferry will take you to the capital, San Sebastián, famous for being Christopher Columbus’ last stop before crossing the Atlantic on his voyage of discovery. Valle Gran Rey, in the southwest of the island, and Playa
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is Fuencaliente: the place to go in La Palma to see a real volcanic landscape. The western side of this borough has nice beaches and withstood the many volcanic eruptions the island has suffered, the most recent being the Teneguía volcano in1971. La Palma has a lovely variant of Carnival called Los Indianos, where everyone dresses in white and people take to the streets during the day to cover everything, including each other, in talcum powder.
like parts of North Africa than it does the other islands. The interior is mainly empty, with a few sun bleached villages and a surprising amount of goats, but the coast has some lovely towns and villages and kilometres of white sand beaches ideal for sunbathing and surfing. The capital is Puerto del Rosario, a relatively modern port town, rather sleepy and quiet despite the fact that nearly half of the island’s population live there. The two main tourist towns are at opposite ends of the island; Corralejo in the north and Morro Jable in the south.
Gran Canaria Teatro Pérez Galdós, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
green and rugged, with breathtaking sights and one of the best places in the world for star gazing, hence the location of the world’s most important astrophysical observatories on its Roque de los Muchachos.
El Hierro
Santiago, in the south, are the main tourist towns. Valle Gran Rey is a beautiful valley with good beaches and great restaurants. The harbour still has a small fishing fleet. Garajonay National Park houses an ancient laurisilva (laurel) forest at its heart, with over 400 species of flora and fauna. The forest was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1987.
HOLIDAY GUIDE
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
El Hierro The smallest and westernmost of all the islands, El Hierro only has three municipalities; Valverde, Frontera and El Pinar. For exploring, it’s best to hire a car, and you can easily drive all over the island in a day. Valverde is a small town in the north, the only capital in the
Canaries not located on the coast. Frontera (El Golfo) is a milder, bigger town to the west, with more going on and better weather, and right down in the south is La Restinga, famous for its diving.
La Palma Also known as ‘La Isla Bonita’ (the pretty island), La Palma is
The capital, Las Palmas, is a much bigger city than Santa Cruz de Tenerife and has a nice historical quarter, a good night-life and Las Canteras - a long, yellow sand beach with areas for supervised swimming - and another beach for surfers of all levels. The main tourist areas are Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas, with its beauti-
Lanzarote Lanzarote is known as the ‘Isla de los Volcanes’, with over 300 volcanic cones. Like Fuerteventura, it’s flatter than the other islands and there’s very little rain, even by Canarian standards. The whole island was
Las Canteras beach, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The capital, Santa Cruz, lies to the east of the island. It’s a pretty city of seafaring tradition, although Los Llanos de Aridane in the west is in fact the biggest city on La Palma. The towns in the north of La Palma are also very beautiful and in the south of the island
ful sand-dunes and all-night bars and clubs. The island also has some spectacular archaeological sites.
Fuerteventura Flat, arid and sparsely populated, this island looks more
declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, and those who take the time to explore the island will find it’s strangely beautiful. The capital is Arrecife, to the east, and the three main tourist resorts are Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca and Costa Teguise.
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
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General information for visitors
Useful contacts Tenerife Santa Cruz Tourist Office, Plaza de España Tel: (0034) 922 281 287/922 289 287 Open Mon - Fri: 9am - 6pm; Sat, Sun: 9.30am-1.30pm
Time zone: The time zone in the Canary Islands is the same as in the UK and Ireland. Foreign exchange The Spanish currency is the Euro. You can change currency in any bank by showing your passport (Mon – Fri, 8am – 2pm), or in the many exchange agencies in resorts. Can I drink the water? You can drink the tap water in the Canaries, but the change may affect your stomach. If your visit is short, it’s perhaps best to stick to bottled. Discounts Students and senior citizens may receive discounts on ferries, tickets to concerts, museums, etc., so always ask, as long as you can provide ID to prove it. Shopping Normal opening hours in the Canaries are from 10am to 1.30pm and 5pm to 8.30pm. However, in big tourist resorts and shopping centres the opening hours are longer, often from 10am until 10pm, sometimes even later. On Sundays and Bank Holidays only the shops in tourist resorts open. There is a flea market in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, every Sunday morning Duty Free Despite popular belief, it is generally cheaper to buy alcohol and tobacco on the Islands than on the plane or at the airport. Limits are: 200 cigarettes/50 cigars/ 250grs rolling tobacco 1L spirits over 22% or 2L spirits under 22% 2L wine 60ml perfume, 250 ml eau de toilette Medical care All residents of the EU have the right to free medical and hospital care from Tenerife’s Public Health Service whilst on holiday (ie less than three months). To receive this you need to have the European Medical Card or equivalent document, which can be applied for in your home country. It doesn’t cover all treatments; excluding dental treatment, except for emergency extractions, and repatriation due to illness.
Plaza del Duque, Adeje
If you are ill, find a Centro de Salud or Centro Médico. The ones in the tourist resorts generally speak some English. Make sure they provide care under your insurance policy or EHIC before you sign for anything. Unscrupulous taxi drivers have been known to take back-handers for taking sick people to private clinics so make sure you are in the right place before paying. Safety Only take out credit and bank cards you actually need: leave the rest in the hotel safe, along with your passport and other valuables. A UK driving licence with a photograph is usually accepted as ID for most credit card purchases, a photo credit card will still have to be accompanied by photo ID, daft, but there you are. Do not leave belongings unattended. Particular vigilance on the beach and when you are travelling with luggage is recommended. Take the minimum with you on excursions and lock everything in the boot that you aren’t carrying with you and only access it where you are not overlooked. Do not leave anything in sight. Cars have been broken into for a beach towel before now. If you are at a bar or nightclub, don’t leave your drink unattended and avoid dark streets on the way home. The Islands are safer than many places in Europe, but there are always those who prey on the unaware: relaxing your vigilance could cost you dearly, not just in money but in precious holiday time - reporting the loss of a passport to the police for example and then the visits necessary to the consulates to replace it.
Emergency number: (all Canaries) 112 Guardia Civil (all Canaries): 062
Post Offices Open Monday to Saturday, generally 8.30am - 2.30pm. Some city offices open later.
Blue Badge users Parking for Blue Badge holders in the Canaries is limited to the ‘disabled only’ (Minusválidos) parking spaces in each town. There are no concessions to park on yellow lines or anywhere else normal parking is not allowed. And even if you have a Blue Badge, don’t park in a disabled area which has a registration number marked on it – you will be fined and probably towed away. For further information: www.bluebadgetenerife.com
Consulates British Consulate Tenerife: (0034) 922 286 653 British Consulate Gran Canaria: (0034) 902 109 356 Honorary British consulate Lanzarote: (0034) 928 262 508 Indian consulate: (0034) 922 241 416 Irish Consulate: (0034) 922 245 671 Consulates can issue passports, give information about medical care, education and
legal matters, give assistance to people under arrest, under exceptional circumstances give you enough funds to be repatriated (on loan), and help you in the case of emergency/catastrophe. Inter island transport: Fred Olsen (Ferries): 902 100 107 www.fredolsen.es Naviera Armas (Ferries): 902 456 500 www.navieraarmas. com Binter (Flights) 902 391 392 www.bintercanarias.com Canary Fly: 902 808 065 Airport and flight Information: All Canarian airports are controlled by AENA. www.aenaaeropuertos.es Buses The transport company TITSA has buses that reach all corners of the island. The main bus station is in Santa Cruz, near the Adán Martín Auditorium. Clients can choose to purchase a ticket on the bus for each individual journey or to buy a Bono-bus ticket, a card which can be shared by various people and will mean saving up to 50 per cent of the fare, depending on the route. They are on sale in any of the TITSA bus stations and also in a number of kiosks and small establishments (often newsagents), identified with a green sticker on the window. If your Bono-bus has insufficient credit to purchase your last journey, the difference can be made up in cash on the bus, but not with another Bono-bus card. For information you can call TITSA on: (0034) 922 531 130 or see: www.titsa.com
Taxis Tenerife taxis are white and, unless they are minivans, the maximum number of passengers is four, including children. Eurotaxis have ramps for wheelchairs. Eurotaxis, Santa Cruz: (0034) 609 867 581/607 612 816/629 132 269 Taxi Santa Cruz: (0034) 937 780 030 www. teletaxi.es Radiotaxi San Pedro: (0034) 922 310 000 Parque Marítimo César Manrique (next to the Auditorium) Open every day: Sun-Thurs: 10am-8pm, Fri, Sat: 10amMidnight Adults: €2.50, Children (under 12): €1.50, Over 65s: €1.50 Tel: (0034) 922 229 368 https://es-es.facebook.com/ parque.manrique Palmetum Open Tues – Sun, 11am - 2pm, 4pm-6pm. Adults: €4, Children (under 12): €2.80, Canarian residents €1/1.50 Tel: (0034) 697 651 127. info@palmetumsantacruz. com Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (Nature and Man) Open Tues – Sat, 9am - 8pm; Sun, Mon, 10am - 5pm. Tel: (00 34) 922 535 816 www.museosdetenerife.org Museo Militar (Military Museum), C/ San Isidro. Tel: (0034) 922 274 224. Open: Mon-Fri 10am-2pm, ecocmar@et.mde.es Castillo de San Cristobal, Plaza de España Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm http://www.museosdetenerife.org Auditorio Adán Martín Tel: (0034) 922 568 600 www.auditoriodetenerife.com Teatro Guimerá, Plaza Isla de la Madera. Tel: (0034) 922 609 408/922 609 400 www.teatroguimera.es
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ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
La Laguna Tourist Office, Casa Alvaro Bracamonde, C/ La Carrera. Tel: (0034) 922 631 194/922 601 106. The tourist office offers a free guided route around the city. Call to make a reservation.
Tenerife South Playa de Las Américas Tourist Office Plaza del Centro Comercial City Centre, Avda. Rafael Puig, 19. Tel: (0034) 922 797 668
Museo de Historia y Antropología de Tenerife, Casa Lercaro, C/ San Agustín. Open Tues - Sat: 9am-8pm; Sun, Mon, Bank holidays: 10am 5pm. www.museosdetenerife.org.
Oficinas de Turismo: Avda. Juan Carlos I (Bus station) Tel: (0034) 922 730 133 Paseo Marítimo Playa de Las Vistas Tel: (0034) 922 787 011
Taxis: (0034) 922 715 407
25 Twin Tickets can be purchased for Siam Park and Loro Parque. www.siampark.net Lost Property Offices Tenerife North Airport: (0034) 922 635 855 Tenerife South Airport: (0034) 922 759 391 Arona: (0034) 922 725 562 Costa Adeje: (0034) 922 710 606 La Laguna: (0034) 922 608 805/922 251 080 Puerto de la Cruz: (0034) 922 378 448
Evangelical Service Centro Apolo, 1ª planta, Los Cristianos, Arona. Tel: (0034) 922 792 007 Services: Sundays at 11am and 6pm Swedish Church Abroad Coronel, s/n, Los Cristianos, Arona. Tel: (0034) 922 75 00 68
Radiotaxi La Laguna (0034) 922 255 555. Puerto de la Cruz Tourist Office, Casa de la Aduana, C/ Las Lonjas. Tel: (0034) 922 386 000. Centro de Información Turística, C/ Puerto Viejo. Tel: (0034) 922 370 243/922 388 777.
Taxis: (0034) 922 747 511 Tourist Office Costa Adeje Avda. Litoral Playa Fañabé Tel: (0034) 922 716 539 Jungle Park: Urb. Las Águilas del Teide, s/n Tel: (0034) 922 729 806. www.aguilasjunglepark.com. Aqualand Avda. Austria, 15 Tel: (0034) 922 715 266. www.aqualand.es Twin tickets can be purchased for Aqualand and Jungle Park, see websites. Siam Park (The Water Kingdom) Avda. Siam Park s/n. Tel: (0034) 822 070 000.
Santa Cruz: (0034) 922 606 354 Religious Services In Spain, Catholicism is the main religion and almost all towns and cities, including tourist resorts, have churches where mass is frequently held. Below is information about Catholic services held in languages other than Spanish and services for other faiths. Holy Communion Anglican Church, Iglesia de San Eugenio, Las Américas. Tel: (0034) 922 793 143 Services: Sundays at 10.15am Anglican church, Puerto de la Cruz www.allsaintstenerife.com/
San Sebastián Tourist Office C/ Real, 4. www.sansebastiandelagomera. org/turismo/ Taxis: (0034) 922 870 524
Tourism Board C/ Triana, Las Palmas. Tel: (0034) 928 219 600. www.grancanaria.com/patronato_turismo.
Valle Gran Rey Tourist Office C/ La Noria, 2, La Playa. Tel: (0034) 922 805 458 www.lagomera.travel/islascanarias/la-gomera/es/acerca/ visitar-valle-gran-rey/
Las Dunas Tourist Office Avda. De Tirajana (Hotel Riu Maspalomas), Playa del Inglés. Tel: (0034) 928 765 242.
Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, Avda. Los Menceyes. Tel: (0034) 922 315 265. Open: Tues-Sat: 9am-8.pm. Sun, Mon, Bank holidays: 10am - 5pm. www.museosdetenerife.org.
La Gomera
Gran Canaria
Las Canteras Tourist Office Paseo de la Playa de Las Canteras (opposite the Hotel Meliá) Tel: (0034) 928 446 824. www.lpavisit.com.
La Laguna
Teguise Tourist Office Plaza de La Constitución, s/n Tel (0034) 928 845 398 www.turismoteguise.com
Island Tourist Board Avda. España (Yumbo shopping centre), Playa del Inglés. Tel: (0034) 928 771 550. www.grancanaria.com/patronato_turismo. El Portón Tourist Office El Portón Shopping Centre, Playa del Inglés. www.turismo.maspalomas. com.
Lanzarote
Taxis Valley Gran Rey: (0034) 922 805 058
Costa Teguise Tourist Office Avda. Islas Canarias s/n Tel: (0034) 928 592 542 www.turismoteguise.com
La Orotava Tourist Office C/ Calvario, 4 Tel: (0034) 922 323 041
Los Llanos de Aridane Tourist Offices: Avda. Dr. Flemming, s/n Tel: (0034) 922 402 583 / (0034) 922 402 528 www.lapalmacit.com Llano de Argual, 31 (also handicraft shop) Tel: (0034) 922 401 899
Taxis: (0034) 922 895 698
Puerto Naos Tourist Office Puerto Naos car park Tel: 618 856 516
Fuerteventura Puerto del Rosario Tourist Office Avda. De la Constitución, 5 Tel: (0034) 928 530 844 Taxis: (0034) 928 850 059 / 928 850 216 Corralejo Tourist Office Plaza Grande de Corralejo Tel. (0034) 928 866 235
Morro Jable Tourist Office Avda. Saladar, Jandía shopping centre Tel: (0034) 928 540 776 turismo@playasdejandia.com Taxis: (0034) 928 541 257
Residents choose
Rani Tandoori
Fuencaliente Tourist Office Plaza Minerva, s/n (Minerva Square) Tel: (0034) 922 444 003 Taxis: (0034) 922 434 071 www.taxilapalma.es Caldera de Taburiente National Park www.visitlapalma.es/recursos/recurso-parque-nacionalde-la-caldera-de-taburiente / www.reddeparquesnacionales. mma.es Theme Parks Maro Parque, Breña Alta. Tel:(0034) 922 417 782. www.maroparque.com Palmex Cactus, El Paso Tel: (0034) 922 464 862 Paraíso de las Aves, El Paso Tel: (0034) 922 485 701 All information was correct at the time of going to press. Please confirm before travelling.
Exquisite Indian Cuisine
Lago Martiánez Avda. De Cristóbal Colón, 1 Tel: (0034) 922 385 955
C.C. Pueblo Canario · Loc. 308 Opening times: 38670 Playa de Las Américas Every day 6.30 pm – 11.30 pm Adeje · Tel.: 922 798 943 Director & Chef: Yoguendra „Michael“ © 2015 FLN
Taxis: Servitaxi (0034) 922 378 999
Taxis: Radiotaxis La Palma: (0034) 922 181 396 www.taxilapalma.com: 686 553868 Radiotaxi San Miguel: (0034) 922 416 070
Taxi rank: (0034) 922 462 001 www.taxilapalma.com / (0034) 686 553 868
Taxis: (0034) 922 378 999. Loro Parque, Avda. Loro Parque s/n Tel: (0034) 922 373 841 Open every day from 8.30am to 6.45pm www.loroparque.com
La Palma Tourist Office Avda. Blas Pérez González s/n Tel: (0034) 922 412 106 www.visitlapalma.es
Playa Santiago Tourist Office Avda. Marítima, s/n. Tel: (0034) 922 895 650 playasantiago@lagomera. travel
Taxis: (0034) 928 866 108 Arrecife Tourist Office Parque José Ramírez Cerdá s/n Tel: (0034) 928 813 174 www.turismolanzarote.com
La Palma
Check out our reviews on Tripadvisor
Pickup Point 2nd Home Tenerife C.C. Plaza del Duque
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HOLIDAY GUIDE SPIN NEWS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Alice in Wonderland, The Musical
A very strange tea party Lewis Carroll’s unforgettable story of Alice in Wonderland has become a musical, and will be performed in Tenerife by the Clapso theatre company at the beginning of January. The story begins when Alice doesn’t particularly like the jam which her sisters prepared for their afternoon picnic by the riverside. Bored as her elder sister reads a book, Alice became drowsy. Then she noticed a fully clothed, talking White Rabbit with a pocket watch, which ran past her, looking her in the eye as he did so. She followed this strange creature down a rabbit hole, and fortunately or unfortunately, as the case may be, she fell a long way down and landed in a curious hall with several locked doors of all sizes. She found a key to a door which
was far too small for her to fit through, but on opening it she could see a very attractive garden. Alice discovered a bottle on a table next to the door, which was labeled ‘Drink Me’, and she did. The result of this magic potion was that she drank so much she became too small to reach the key on the table. So she ate a cake with ‘Eat Me’ written on it – with very strange consequences. Eventually, she entered Wonderland, and had some very odd encounters with other crazy characters such as the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Duchess, the March Hare, the Mock Turtle, the Queen of Hearts and many more. Always a riveting and thoughtprovoking story, the musical adaptation promises to be an
enchanting fantasy show for children, as well as for adults, especially those who read the story in their childhood (and have maybe forgotten the ending). Alice in Wonderland, The Musical, will be at the Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz on January 2 at 6pm, and
on January 3 at 12pm and 6pm. Tickets are priced at €8 and €10, and are available from the theatre box office, or online from www.tomaticket.es. The story is in Spanish. See www. teatroguimera.es for more inforn mation.
Kings and their camels
The big day
Have you ever thought how difficult it is for the Three Kings to get into your home to deliver children’s presents on Three Kings’ Day? The legendary Three Kings of the East have been delivering presents since well before any of us were even born. They were used to visiting old country houses, which were low and open, easy to creep in and out of, surrounded by gardens, or with rivers or fountains. Nowadays, modern construction design has made it really difficult for the Kings and their tired old camels laden with gifts to get in. They are faced with lots of stairs, lifts they can’t squeeze into, and masses of railings and grilles. The buildings are too high and their chimneys, if they have them at all, are far too slim, windows are closed, and there are security systems, not to mention all the traffic on the roads and motorways. It’s a conundrum, and one that the family show Sin camellos no hay Reyes Magos (Without camels, there would be no Three Kings) performed by the Teatrapa Company, explores this interesting theory via characters which are tender and emotive puppets. There will be some amusing conversations and sweet songs created especially for the show, which closes with an unexpected musical ending! You can see it at the Infanta Leonor Auditorium in Los Cristianos on January 3 at 12pm. Tickets cost €7, and are available from the Cultural Centre in Los Cristianos, Monday to Friday from 9am to 2pm; on the day of the show at the box office; or from: www.arona.org. Prams and pushchairs are not allowed in the auditorium. n
Flamenco returns to Los Cristianos
Southerly breeze Flamenco is a traditional music and dance genre which originates from the southern regions of Spain, especially Andalusia, Extremadura and Murcia. Flamenco includes singing, guitar playing, dance, rhythmic hand clapping and finger snapping. The flamenco dance is known for its emotional intensity, pride, expressive use of the arms, and rhythmic stamping of the feet in a manner akin to tap dancing. The art of flamenco is closely associated with the gitanos, or gypsies, and pure flamenco remains close to its gypsy influences. Several different styles have developed from this over the course of time, but classi-
cal flamenco is the style most often used by Spanish dance companies, with the women performers wearing beautiful long, frilled dresses. New flamenco, as its name suggests, is a more recent style in which
the costumes are toned down and the men often dance bare chested, while the women wear plain jersey dresses. The style we can see in the Viento del Sur show is traditional, classical flamenco at its
very best. With this, the dancer and choreographer, Yolanda G. Sobrado, is continuing the process she began with her show Collage, which reflects her energy and mature form of creativity. In Viento del Sur, Sobrado will be accompanied by Rodrigo Alonso on guitar, vocals and percussion. Her show returns to the Infanta Leonor Auditorium in Los Cristianos, on December 28 at 8pm. Tickets, which cost €10, are available from the Cultural Centre in Los Cristianos, Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 2pm, or on the day of the show from two hours before the performance onwards, at the auditorium box office. See: www.arona.org. n
Jingle bells, jingle bells…
Free OST Christmas concert The Tenerife Symphony Orchestra is again offering its traditional Christmas Day Concert organised by the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The free open air musical extravaganza on December 25 takes place in the Dársena de Los Llanos in the city’s port area, and will be directed this year by Michal Nesterowicz. Now in its 22nd year, the concert attracts up to 20,000 spectators annually. The music fest starts at 9pm – all you have to do is turn up and be merry! See: http://sinfonicadetenerife.es for more information. n
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
HOLIDAY GUIDE SPIN NEWS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
Art supermarket
A great gift idea The Merkarte Art Supermarket is now open in La Laguna, and it could provide you with some very individual gift ideas. This event, which is backed by the Tenerife Island Council, displays the most recent creations by 45 young Canarian artists, and they are available for purchase at very reasonable prices. The aim of Merkarte is to offer the artists the opportunity of displaying and selling their work, opening the door for them to the art market. Last year’s event attracted over 3,500 visitors, and sales made were valued at over €10,000. This year’s exhibition is being prolonged until well after Three Kings Day, and each visitor can vote for their three favourite artists by pushing a button on the panel or glass where the works are located. Each vote will be immediately reflected on the adjacent screens in each of the halls. The three artists with the most votes will win a prize which consists of the organisation of an exhibition to display a selection of their works in one of Tenerife’s best art halls. Merkarte aims to bring the new artists closer to the most commercial side of art, to help them on the road to a professional career – a worthy cause indeed and also a wonderful opportunity to treat your loved ones to something unique. Merkarte, the Art Supermarket, is on right now, until January 17 at the Tenerife History and Anthropology Museum, Casa Lercaro, La Laguna. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 10am to 8pm, and Mondays, Sundays and bank holidays, 10am to 5pm. For more information see: www.merkarteon. com or find them on Facebook. n
27
Christmas dance gala
Sylphs and choirs The Ballets de Tenerife dance company will be performing a special gala for Christmas, in three distinct, but equally fascinating parts. The show will start with Les Sylphides (The Sylphs) by Chopin. The ballet has no real plot, but it is a romantic reverie. The work is composed of a suite of dances in the romantic atmosphere of a moonlit park where a group of magical sylph figures dance with the poet under the moonlight, in search of an ideal. This choreography displays the most delicate side of feminine dance, and the most refined art of male movement. There are seven scenes, the last of which is a Grand Waltz. The evening continues with the piece Chanson Flamenca, a strange mix of a French song and flamenco dance, in which the performers are influenced
by both cultures. The technique used forms part of the ambience which they wish to transmit to the audience. It will be interpreted by guest dancers Cosima Munoz and Héctor Navarro: ex performers with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, the
Marseille Ballet and the Victor Ullate Ballet, among others. To close the show, the audience will be treated to the latest creation by the choreographer Miguel Navarro, with a renewed style and music including choirs, which aim
to reach the hearts of those in the audience. This fabulous show will be at the Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz on December 27 at 8pm. Tickets, priced at €8 and €10 are available from the box office. See n www.teatroguimera.es.
Famous running race arrives
Put your brakes on!
DO MORE THAN HOPE
FOR THE BEST
902 886 226 www.todocancer.org
aecc Join us and combat cancer
Ponle Freno, the running race which has already taken place all over Spain drawing multitudinous crowds, is coming to Adeje in Tenerife. This is the first time this race has come to the island and, with the knowledge of the neurological rehabilitation needs in the Canaries, all the money collected will be donated to the Step by Step Foundation, so they can open a centre in Tenerife to help victims of road accidents. Step by Step is a nonprofit organisation which was created at the end of 2007 to help with recovery from medular injuries suffered in road accidents. Once the first phase of rehabilitation in a hospital has been completed, a patient can then choose to continue their rehabilitation based on physiotherapy, which will ultimately improve their quality of life, though after many months of hard work.
Year after year, the Ponle Freno race in other Spanish cities has exceeded expectations, and each time a record has been broken in terms of the numbers of people taking part, and the money collected – can it be done here too? This is one race not to be missed by amateur runners or individuals or families who would like to run as a tribute
to victims of traffic accidents. You don’t have to be a professional runner, but you’ll need oodles of enthusiasm. The Ponle Freno (Put your brakes on) race takes place in Costa Adeje on December 19, starting at 11am from the CC Siam Mall. The five kilometre option is open to those aged 13 to 80, and the 10 kilometre race is for those aged 16
to 80. The registration fee is €10. To register, or for more information, go to: http://www. adeje.es/agenda/2162-1-carrera-ponle-freno-canarias and n click on ‘inscriptions’.
HOLIDAY GUIDE WHATS ON 2015
28
December – January
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
December – January
GRAN CANARIA TENERIFE DIARY DATES
DIARY DATES
December 17
December 17
December 26
January 5
5pm - 7pm: Children’s workshops, Christmas decorations, Salón Paroquial, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Carmen, La Isleta, LPGC.
5pm-7pm: Crafts, bouncy castles and children’s workshops, Plaza del Centro Cultural, Parque la Reina, Arona. 7pm: Christmas concert, free entry, Auditorio Infanta Leonor, Los Cristianos. 8pm: United for Christmas, free concert, music school, local bands and Ballet Beanky, Plaza de España, Adeje. 8pm: Quantum Ensemble III concert, classical music, Auditorio Adán Martín, Santa Cruz. www.auditoriodetenerife.com.
5pm – 7.00pm: Bouncy castles, workshops, crafts, collection of letters for The Three Kings, main squares in Fañabé, Armeñime, Las Nieves and La Hoya, Adeje.
Most Municipalities will have Three Kings parades, Garachico, where the Christmas story is acted out all over the town soon after sunset, is particularly good, as is Adeje; 5pm: Arrival of their majesties by helicopter to the football ground, followed at 7pm by a grand parade along the Calle Grande with favourite personalities from children’s programmes, Adeje. Ask at your local town hall or information office for your area.
December 18 4pm - 7pm: Children’s workshops etc. as above. 8.30pm: Christmas concerts in front of the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus and in Parque San Telmo.
December 18 – January 5
December 19 11am: Christmas market, Plaza de San Roque, Firgas. 12.30pm: Christmas concert, Iglesia Parroquial, Vega de San Mateo. 9.15pm: Christmas concert, Templo Ecuménico, Playa del Inglés, San Bartolomé de Tirajana. December 20 All day: General election. 10am – 8pm: Christmas market and Carols concert, Plaza del Lomo Los Frailes, LPGC. 11.30am: Folklore exhibition, free, Pueblo Canario, Francisco González Díaz s/n, LPGC. December 26 6pm: Puppet festival, Sala Insular de Teatro, Avenida Primero de Mayo, LPGC.
Various opening times, see web: ‘PIT’, rides, workshops, sports and crafts for children and the family, €8 (over 65 and under 2s free, ID required), Institución Ferial, Santa Cruz. www. pit-tenerife.com. December 18 - January 10 Times tbc: Ice skating, €8 per hour, Centro Magma de Arte y Congresos, Costa Adeje. www. tenerifemagma.com. December 18 5pm - 7pm: crafts, bouncy castles and children’s workshops, Calle Obispo Antonio Tavira, Cabo Blanco, Arona. 10.30pm: Christmas carols concert, by the folklore school, Calle Grande, Adeje. December 19
4pm: Christmas raffle, magic and hot chocolate, Plaza del Pino, Vega de San Mateo.
11am: Ponle Freno, charity road races from 5 and 10 km, €10, from Siam Mall, Costa Adeje. www.adeje.es. 5pm - 7pm: crafts, bouncy castles and children’s workshops, Calle Bélgica, Las Galletas, Arona. 6pm: Christmas Carols and activities, main square, Armeñime, Adeje. 7pm: Arona municipal band concert, free entry, Auditorio Infanta Leonor, Los Cristianos. 8pm: Christmas concert, local bands, Centro Magma de Arte y Congresos, Costa Adeje. www. tenerifemagma.com. 8.30pm: Superalejandrito, rock, free acoustic show, Room Club, Plaza del Quinto, La Orotava. 11pm: Pumuky, funk, €4, Café Quilombo, Calle Cantos Canarios, Plaza del Quinto, La Orotava
January 5
December 20
Most municipalities will have Three Kings parades. Ask at your local town hall or information office.
All day: General election. 6pm: Children’s workshops, bouncy castles, crafts, Father Christmas, Plaza César Manrique, La Postura, Adeje.
December 27 11.30am: Folklore exhibition, See December 20 12.30pm: Puppet festival, see December 26 January 2 – 5 10am – 9pm on 2nd – 4th and until midnight on the 5th: Christmas craft market, Parque San Telmo, LPGC. January 4
EXHIBITIONS Until January 7
December 23
Stunning sand nativity scene, Free entry, Playa de Las Canteras, LPGC.
6pm: Charity clowns show, entry price one toy, Cultural Centre, Adeje. 7pm: Christmas carols concert, Callao Salvaje, Adeje.
Until January 10
December 25
Black Hole, a collection of pastels and charcoals by local artist Raúl Artiles, CAAM (San Antonio Abad), LPGC. www.caam.net.
9pm: Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, free concert, Dársena de Los Llanos, port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. sinfonicadetenerife.es.
December 27 5pm – 7.00pm: Bouncy castles, workshops, crafts, collection of letters for The Three Kings, main square, Los Olivos, Adeje. 8pm: Christmas Festival, local dance academy with guest performers, mixture of genres, €5, Auditorio Infanta Leonor, Los Cristianos. 8pm: Ballets de Tenerife, ballet and flamenco dance, €8 and €10, Teatro Guimerá, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. www.teatroguimera.es.
Until January 10 Adeje’s Christmas fair, bouncy castles and rides, Cultural Centre parking area, Adeje.
December 28
Every Monday and Wednesday
8pm: Viento del Sur, Flamenco, €10, Auditorio Infanta Leonor, Los Cristianos. www.arona. org.
Yoga for children, 5.30pm - 6.15pm, Caracola Espacio En Movimiento, Calle San Agustín 5, La Laguna. 610 630 765/caracolaespacioenmovimiento@gmail.com.
December 29 – January 4 8 shows: Sister Act, The Musical, Spanish production, tickets between €25 and €60, Auditorio Adán Martín, Santa Cruz. www.auditoriodetenerife.com. December 29 5pm - 7pm: Crafts, bouncy castles and children’s workshops, Calle Flor del Sur and Urbanización Virgen del Carmen, Guargacho, Arona. December 30 5pm - 7pm: Crafts, bouncy castles and children’s workshops, Plaza El Madrigal, Guaza, Arona. December 31 10.30pm: New Year’s Eve celebrations with live music from Son del Valle, Deliciosa and Pasión Gomera, in front of the Centro Cultural, Los Cristianos. 11pm: New Year’s Eve celebrations with live music from the Maquinaria and Sensación Gomera orchestras, Plaza de España, Adeje. 11pm: New Year’s Eve celebrations with live music from the Arguayo and Maracaibo orchestras, Plaza de Buganvilla, los Gigantes, Santiago del Teide. January 2 6pm: Alice in Wonderland, The Musical, Spanish production, €8 and €10, Teatro Guimerá, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. www.tomaticket.es. January 3 12pm and 6pm: Alice in Wonderland, The Musical (see above). 12pm: Sin Camellos no hay Reyes Magos, puppet show for children, Spanish production, €7, Auditorio Infanta Leonor, Los Cristianos. www. arona.org.
Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday Canarias Folk Fest, parade, regional costumes, traditional dancing, singing, crafts and tastings in Las Galletas and Los Cristianos. Thursday – Rambla Dionisio González, Las Galletas; Friday – Avenida Las Américas (Golden Mile), Playa Las Américas; and Saturday – Plaza de la Pescadera and PaseoMarítimo (Avenida Juan Alfonso Bautista), Los Cristianos. Thursday and Saturday, 5pm - 8.30pm, Friday 8.30pm. Every Saturday morning Events for specific groups, families, seniors, women etc., Activate Sports Club, opposite the entrance to the Baobab Suites, Calle Roques del Salmor, Costa Adeje. www.tenerifeactivate. com.
EXHIBITIONS Until January 17 Los Objetos Hablan (Objects speak), paintings and objets d’art on loan from the Museo del Prado, Madrid. Includes works by Rubens, Sorolla, Goya and Ribera, Free entry, Monday to Friday, 11am - 2pm and 5pm - 8pm, and Saturday 10am - 2pm. obrasocial.lacaixa.es. Merkarte, Art Supermarket, Tenerife History and Anthropology Museum, Casa Lercaro, La Laguna. www.merkarteon.com. Until January 31 Vivencias de la cumbre (Living in the hills), photography, a collection of old Tenerife pastoral hill scenes, beekeepers, snow collectors, goatherds, charcoal makers etc., TEA, Santa Cruz, Daily, 9am – 8.30pm.
For regular church, charity and recreational events, please see: www.islandconnections.eu/1000003/1000027/0/41004/living-lifestyle-article.html
MUSIC
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
Beach clean up
A successful day at La Caleta An underwater clean-up and awareness campaign at the La Caleta pier in Costa Adeje on December 12, planned by the One.Two Dive team, was an absolute success with a great turnout. The Adeje council was well represented on the day, with the presence of Andrés Pérez Ramos, the borough’s councillor for beaches and traffic; Esther Rivero Vargas, councillor for the environment, works and municipal services; and Carmen Lucia Rodríguez, a councillor who takes a special interest in La Caleta. Also in attendance were members of the voluntary fire brigades from Adeje and Santiago del Teide. The well known marine biologist Sergio Hanquet gave an awareness talk and presentation, while 38 divers took turns in small groups to retrieve trash from the sea floor, right in front of the most popular cafés and restaurants. All types of rubbish were hauled out of the sea, including old anchors, chunks of metal and rope, plastic bags and bottles, an array of footwear, and one of the biggest problems in this area, hundreds of cigarette ends, all of which can pose a danger to marine life. At least 20 other volunteers helped with other tasks, including carrying the garbage to the big container provided by the Adeje council. The aim of this event was not only to clean up the sea floor, but to spread awareness of the need to dispose of rubbish properly, rather than throwing it in the sea where it can harm or even kill creatures such as turtles and dolphins. Thanks are due to all those who came along to help, and to Roy Patel for providing food and refreshments for the volunteers. For more information about the next clean-up, n see: www.12dive.com, or facebook.com/12dive.
THE QFM MUSIC GUIDE - YOUR GUIDE TO MUSIC CREATED IN THE CANARY ISLANDS
Médano LIVE 2016 New sounds and fresh ideas for South Tenerife During the month of November, the Jazz Roja Festival took place on the plazas and terraces of El Médano. Each and every one of the 14 concerts enjoyed full attendance by the public, and the festival is firmly becoming one of the Canary Islands’ most important cultural events. Following on from this success, the organisers (Qfm’s cultural association) made the decision to extend its activities throughout 2016, with three music cycles and two music festivals. To clarify, a music cycle is a series of concerts spread
El Médano’s Red Mountain, which gave it’s name to Jazz Roja
Abraxas featuring Charly Daicz and Matteo Malavasi proved very popular during Jazz Roja
The volunteers and divers were delighted with the result
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Photo: Monica Siddy
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
over several months, whilst a music festival is considered an event where concerts are continuous over a period of days or weeks. The first music cycle is due to start in February, with a dozen or so World Music concerts.
Once this cycle ends, the second will begin with 16 Alternative Music concerts starting late March. After a few weeks’ break, Jazz Roja will return with its 2016 edition, featuring 14 concerts. Médano LIVE will take a break for the
summer whilst the Sansofé Festival and local fiestas take place, returning in October with 18 concerts featuring this island’s singer-songwriters up to the end of November. And in December 2016, the first Jazz Blanco Festival
will take place, with six concerts featuring jazz, blues, soul and gospel, all with a seasonal twist. The Granadilla Council is working together with Qfm to promote the project, and also to grant permissions for each concert to take place. Also, certain security criteria must be met at each event to ensure the safety and comfort of the public. In addition, a special sound system is being configured to avoid noise issues with residents of the town. Each cycle or festival provides a unique opportunity for the public to enjoy the true side of Tenerife’s music industry and hear performances from hundreds of talented musicians who seldom get the chance to play their own music or styles to a live audience. For more information, visit www.medanolive.com or listen to the daily cultural guides on Qfm 94.3 or Qfm2 105.3. n
See all our shops
and you?
vape ? www.goodsmoke.es
©2015 FLN
SMOKE or
30
SPOTLIGHT
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Spotlight on Andy McLeod
Lights, camera, action! occurred to me that Tenerife had a film industry, and I started to work for the company as a cameraman, mostly shooting commercials.” In 2007, Andy’s daughter Alba was born and so was Film!CanaryIslands – he and
Andy McLeod filming in the Teide National Park
trustee for the Orangutan Foundation UK, got on board. With Andy in the director’s seat, the subsequent film, Terry Pratchett’s Jungle Quest, was Pick of the Day upon its broadcast in 1995 on Channel 4. Andy also worked on the Lonely Planet series for Channel 4, filming in Ethiopia and Pakistan; the BBC’s The Really Wild Show and Tomorrow’s World; several tornado chasing documentaries for the Discovery Channel; as well as a series of programmes on Egyptology for Channel 4. In 2000 Andy completed his commercial diving training in Fort William, qualifying him as an HSE Media Diver and Dive Supervisor. He went on to film Heart of Ice in Antarctica with Sir Peter Blake for three months, which involved
Andy with one of Film!CanaryIslands’ aerial drones Film!CanaryIslands has the most advanced underwater filming services available in Europe
his first foray into underwater camerawork. Shortly afterwards he decided to take a year out to develop his diving skills and in 2001 he came to Tenerife to train as a PADI and BSAC diving Instructor. A friend on the island had his own scuba school and he soon fell in love with Tenerife, obtained his certificates and started working as a diving instructor, travel-
ling abroad for freelance film projects. The first project he brought to Tenerife was the BBC’s Walking with Monsters series, where all the underwater sequences were filmed here. It was at this time that Andy met the producer Norbert Schilling, his current business partner, who then owned the island-based film company 24-6: “It had never
Norbert decided to set up their own company, going on to produce commercials for the TUI Group, First Choice and BMW, among others, plus music videos, short movies, and TV projects for Germany’s ZDF Channel. In 2010, Andy won the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography prize at the Factual Entertainment Awards in Santa Monica in the US, for his work on the TV documentary series Daredevils. Today, Film!CanaryIslands is a leading supplier of camera drones and multicopters for film and TV productions, the biggest rental company of movie cameras on the island, and has the most advanced
underwater filming facilities in Europe. They also provide crew and equipment for any feature production and photographic assignment, regularly supplying photographers and cameramen to cover press shoots, events, conferences, TV spots, documentaries and films. Film!CanaryIslands has cutting edge equipment including two digital movie cameras with 6K resolution and DVC Pro HD and DSLR video rigs. They also offer post-production services and can also edit inhouse or move their suites to the site. Similarly, they can arrange video displays and AV equipment to project their work at dinners and events. The company’s experienced and creative photographers use the professional range of Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses and can be equipped with studio or portable flashes. Andy’s passion for the outdoors life continues, as does his love with photography and a series of his infra-red black and white images recently featured at the Ten Diez Movement’s exhibition at Baobab Suites in Costa Adeje. Andy’s partner, the designer Stella Lotycz, is incorporating one of these images into a line of dresses and plans to use more of Andy’s photographs in future clothing lines. For more information on Film!CanaryIslands’ aerial drones and multicopters visit the website of their sister company Cactus Camera Rental at: www.cactuscamara.es. For further information on their production services and projects visit: www. n filmcanaryislands.com.
Pedro Alegre Alonso Pilates trainer ä Physiotherapist ä
Tel. 699 521 649
pedroalegrealonso@hotmail.com
©2014 FLN
Andy McLeod is an internationally renowned cameraman, director of photography and co-owner of Tenerife’s premier film and TV company, Film!CanaryIslands. Also experienced as a director, producer and underwater cameraman, Andy has worked on music videos for established artists such as David Bowie and Janet Jackson, as well as major movies like Ma Ma with Penélope Cruz and The Lazarus Effect with Olivia Wilde. Born in Edinburgh, Andy was “a bit of a handful as a kid” and calmed down when his father bought him a camera when he was 14 years old. He quickly developed a passion that went on to take him to Bournemouth Film School to study filmmaking and, later, move to London to start work as a freelance cameraman and camera assistant. He spent several years lurking in bushes, filming the hilarious scenes for the hugely successful Beadle’s About during the late-80s and early-90s, and working on music videos for the Eurythmics and many more. However, London wasn’t his scene and he missed the great outdoors, mountain climbing and the nature around his Scottish home, and returned when he realised that “quality of life is more important than career”. When a friend told Andy about the work his environmental organisation was doing with orangutans in the rainforests of Borneo he decided to selffund a documentary. Channel 4 became interested and the British author Terry Pratchett, a
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
BLEVINS FRANKS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
31
The UK Autumn Budget Stamp Duty Land Tax
By Paul Montague, Partner, Blevins Franks
advice if you are affected, particularly when it comes to the interaction between UK and Spanish taxation, and the tax planning opportunities available for your investments and wealth.
From April 1, 2016, where UK residential properties are acquired as either second homes or buy-to-let properties, stamp duty land tax will increase by three per cent. This only affects new purchases from that date. Even the cheapest properties will be subject to this tax under the change; alternative investments may be more cost-efficient.
Chancellor George Osborne presented his Autumn Statement on November 25. This article summarises the announcements that may affect expatriates, depending on your situation.
Capital gains tax due date – sale of residential property
Deeds of Variation
With effect from April 6, 2019, payments on account of UK capital gains tax on residential properties will be due within 30 days of the date of sale. Currently, sellers have between 10 and 22 months to pay. This affects both residents and non-residents (non-residents have been liable to capital gains tax on residential property since April 2015). However, it will not apply to properties used as a principle private residence in the UK.
“Chancellor George Osborne presented his Autumn Statement on November 25th”
The 2015 Summer Budget included a proposal to curtail deeds of variation, since they have been used to minimise or avoid UK inheritance tax. Mr Osborne now announced that there will be no change to their use, although they will monitor the situation. Deeds of variation can be useful, particularly when combined with trusts for Spanish residents, and can also help with assets skipping generations for UK inheritance tax. Estate planning is a complex area, seek professional advice.
Tax evasion crackdown and General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) penalties HM Revenue & Customs will invest an extra £800million to fight tax evasion. The Chancellor outlined some measures that will be included in the 2016 Finance Bill. These include a new criminal office removing the need to prove intent for serious cases of offshore tax evasion on income and gains, and civil penal-
ties for deliberate offshore tax evasion. Where GAAR is successfully invoked the penalties will increase to 60 per cent of the tax due. This should only concern those who have used abusive means of avoiding tax. It is worth noting that the Liechtenstein, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man disclosure schemes close early to new notifications, on December 31, 2015, because the new global automatic exchange of information regime starts in January 2016.
Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual is advised to seek personalised advice.
UK state retirement pension
To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the From April 2016, the basic UK latest news on our website state retirement pension will www.blevinsfranks.com increase to £119.30 per week. A new, single-tier system will Blevins Franks has 20 established offices across Spain, come into place at that date, France, Portugal, Cyprus, which gives an overall miniMalta and UK, and decades mum state pension (including of experience advising British what would have been SERPS expatriates. Contact our Partetc under the old system) of ner Paul Montague on 922 just over £155 per week. 716 079 or paul.montague@ This is just a summary. It is blevinsfranks.com important to seek specialist
Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for a Prosperous New Year contact us now on
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922 716 079
paul.montague@blevinsfranks.com
Blevins Franks Financial Management Limited (BFFM) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, reference number 179731. Where advice is provided outside the UK, via the Insurance Mediation Directive from Malta, the regulatory system differs in some respects from that of the UK. Blevins Franks Trustees Limited is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the administration of trusts and companies. Blevins Franks Tax Limited provides taxation advice; its advisers are fully qualified tax specialists. This promotion has been approved and issued by BFFM.
FR ANCE
SPAIN
PORTUGAL
CYPRUS
MALTA
UNITED
KINGDOM
w w w . b l e v i n s f r a n k s . c o m
MOTORING
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
A season for safety
Sales continue to rise
Don’t be taken for a ride…
Call us!
Photo: Barun Patro FreeImages.com
1 Driver or 2 Drivers, Baby Seats or Booster, Free Airport Service & Hotel Delivery Full insurance · All Inclusive No Hidden Extras · Short or long term Ask for details Call Stuart on 922 79 08 25 or 662 566 630 Or send us email: autosamericas@web.de
S•
ESTABL I
Autos Americas
©2014 FLN
Need a car?
Sales of cars and SUVs are on the road to closing the year at 21 per cent higher than in 2015
E D IN T E
CIF: B 38.39 39 14 C/ Luciano Bello Alfonso Polígono Industrial Las Chafiras
David Williams concludes: “We encourage young people to plan their travel options. Sharing taxis, using public transport or taking turns to be driver can all work with planning, and will help to avoid situations where they may be stuck in the back of a car on a journey where they feel scared or nervous. “If you do find yourself in just such a situation, especially if you don’t know the driver, then a usually effective technique is to speak up and blame yourself as a nervous passenger, or to explain that you feel sick. Most drivers will respond quickly and positively to the threat of having their n car interior spoilt.”
SH
RENT A CAR LAS AMERICAS S.L.
are male. So as well as being more prone to speeding and risk taking, they also tend to be good at banishing the possibility of a crash from their thinking. GEM’s tips for arriving home safely include: Think about the person who will be driving you before you get in a car. If you have any doubts about safety, don’t get in. If you do get into a car, always wear your seatbelt whether you’re sitting in the front or the back. Try to avoid putting yourself in a situation of risk by needing a lift with a friend or other young driver, and if you suspect a driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs, it’s vital that you don’t accept a lift.
5 YE AR
generally don’t say anything on the journey, because they don’t want to create conflict, they have a low belief in their ability to influence the driver and they also don’t want to appear ungrateful for their lift.” Studies have shown that young drivers’ accident risk increases when they are accompanied by passengers of similar age – particularly when the passengers
Photo: James Campbell / FreeImages.com
Photo: James Cawley / FreeImages.com
It can be terrifying feeling ‘trapped’ in a car with a speeding or inebriated driver
R2
Photo: Yazici Ekrem / FreeImages.com
Don’t let a good night be spoilt for lack of travel arrangements for home
GEM has several recommendations for not putting yourself in ‘party´danger. Follow them on Twitter @MotoringAssist
“The driver could be speeding, following too close, swerving or braking harshly, or using the phone - all symptoms of a desire to show off, backed up by that sense of invincibility that tells them accidents happen to others. “Nervous or concerned passengers often feel unable to do anything about what they see as the increased risk. They
The latest monthly sales of cars and SUVs in the Islands again brought positive figures, as well as increased financial incentives for those buying a new vehicle. During the month of November, 4,354 units were fresh out of the factory and newly registered in the archipelago, which represents an increase of 20.4 per cent over the same month last year. Of the cars and SUVs sold, 1,352 were intended for the rental sector, 592 were purchased by companies, and the rest - 2,410 - were purchased by individuals. Rafael Pombriego, president of FREDICA, the Canarian Auto Business Federation, says: “the figures are encouraging and, although the Canaries have grown less than the rest of the country in November (the national average is 25 per cent), in the annual calculation, we are on a par at 21 per cent.” Pombriego also applauded the recent announcement of the extension of the Plan PIVE 8 to the first quarter of 2016. The eighth of the system of cash incentives, for those scrapping an old car and replacing it with an energy efficient new one, was budgeted at €225 million and set to finish on December 31, but funds have not been exhausted so potential customers have another three and a half months to apply. The implementation of the Plan MOVEA, which aims to promote the use of cars which do not rely on either petrol or diesel – i.e. renewable energy cars such as electric models – has also been welcomed by the sector. The plan applies to commercial vehicles, passenger cars, motorcycles and electric bicycles, and will be in effect from January 2016, with a budget of €16.6 million for grants and the installan tion of electric charging points.
RIFE FO
GEM Motoring Assist, the independent road safety association from The Guild of Experienced Motorists, established in 1932, is keen to help young people concerned about accepting lifts from a potentially risky driver during the festive period. GEM chief executive David Williams MBE comments: “The Christmas party season is upon us – a sociable and enjoyable time when young people are going from one event to another. “A late night lift home from a friend, or a friend of a friend, might seem the ideal option, as it’s convenient and cheap. But many young people will recall recent experiences when as passengers on a car journey they felt unsafe, anxious or afraid.
Canarian new cars abound
NE
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17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
BUSINESS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
33
PROMO
Cosy warmth and dry walls Infra-Deco is the comfortable, healthy and decorative solution for dealing with the cold and often damp winter months in the Canary Islands. Infrared heaters are designed to look like a picture hanging on the wall and aren’t recognisable as heaters at first glance. They come in a range of different images to best suit your house and emit cosy warmth into your living area. You can custom design your image, whether a photo print or an airbrush design, and even the frames can be personalised. Another advantage is the low consumption energy costs and that the heaters – hanging attractively on the wall – require little or no maintenance due to the lack of wear and tear. Similarly, to assemble the unit is quick and easy. During the last two winters, even in the coastal regions, temperatures were unusually cold. Many households, especially those in higher altitude areas, encountered problems with damp and people had to wrap up in sweaters and blankets to keep warm. Infra-Deco founders, Luc and Gaby, have built an established and trusted heating business based in Tenerife. When the idea of infrared heating first came to them in 2012 the pair fell about laughing. However, there was something interesting about the heaters so they made tentative moves into researching market potential. In early 2013, the couple visited the mainland and returned to Tenerife with their motor home. It was a chilly
New Pension Freedoms
Beware of
Fraudsters!
An art gallery? No, those are infrared heaters hanging on the walls!
eight degrees Centrigrade the morning they arrived on the south coast and they decided that moment to start the business. Infra-Deco began supplying the first infrared heating models to friends and family in the areas of Palm Mar, Valle San Lorenzo and Costa del Silencio and quickly found that whether young or elderly, with rheumatism or asthma, the effects were very positive. Conventional radiators warm the air by convection, which is very slow and unevenly heats a small area with most of that warmth rising to the ceiling. Infrared systems heat the air directly as well as solid materials such as floors and walls, as well as the people in the room. The air is gradually warmed at a much lower temperature than a conventional radiator and this creates a pleasant and comfortable environment. Infra-Deco believes in strong customer service so that each client’s needs are individually assessed. They will recommend the best heating system and required wattage so that the rooms in your home will remain cosy and warm, the walls keep nicely dry, and the thick socks and sweaters stay in the wardrobe. Remov-
ing damp from the walls is also very beneficial for health reasons. Due to fantastic feedback from clients, Luc and Gaby opened a showroom in Costa del Silencio on December 12. You can make an appointment to see firsthand the mountable heating systems and various designs available. Contact Infra-Deco today. Be cool with an infrared n heater!
Benefits of infrared heating:
Light and flat Wall mountable No noise, no fan Comfortable and practical No wear and tear, no maintenance Low cost • No fumes Dry walls and no mould • Very good for asthmatics and allergy sufferers For further information: Infra-Deco (showroom visit by appointment) Tagoro Park, C/ Ulises, 3 38630 Costa del Silencio 922 099 928 / 626 166 046 www.Infra-deco.es
Canaries’ Moody’s ratings’ boost‘ Confidence in the economy of the Canary Islands is riding high following the upbeat forecast given by one of the world’s best-known ratings agencies. Moody’s predicts that the Canarian economy will grow by almost 3 per cent during the coming three year, well ahead of the national average forecast for Spain. Together
with La Rioja and Madrid, the Islands are expected to be among the front-runners of the national economy in terms of GDP growth in 2016. The forecast has been warmly welcomed by the regional authorities, where sources said that the backing from Moody’s which made the financial papers - should make it considerably easier for the Canar-
ies to secure funds on international markets if they are required. The upbeat prediction contrasts with the more uncertain expectations for Catalonia, which Moody’s says is likely to continue to be affected by political tension due to the stand-off between the region and Madrid over independence. n
As part of the 2014 Budget, wide ranging Pension reforms were announced which gave individuals greater flexibility in accessing their pension savings, the most fundamental change to how people access their pension in almost a century. From April 2015 people were able to access their defined contribution pension savings as they wish during retirement, subject to their marginal rate of income tax. The 25 per cent tax free lump sum continues to be available. However, along with these freedoms has come a new range of scams which could result in losing a lifetime’s savings. How do I spot a scam? The Pension’s Regulator has provided a list of warning signs: A cold call, text message, website pop-up or someone com-
ing to your door offering you a ‘free pension review’, ‘one off investment opportunity’ or ‘legal loophole’ Convincing marketing materials that promise you returns of between 10 and 15 per cent per annum on your investment Paperwork delivered to your door by courier that requires immediate signature A proposal to put all of your money in a single investment Overseas transfer of funds Pension access before age 55 If you believe you are being targeted by scammers or are already involved in a scam you should visit the www.pensionscams.com website to find out what action you can take. It is very easy to be taken in by scammers, and even the most
financially aware people have been duped by sophisticated fraudsters. Always check the company you are dealing with is: 3 regulated 3 the adviser is qualified to advise on pensions 3 the company carries professional indemnity insurance should anything go wrong If you would like more information about pension freedoms and what they mean to you please do not hesitate to call or email and one of our fully qualified and regulated advisers will be happy to discuss these with you. Sebastian & St James International Financial Advisors Limited: advice based on integrity, n trust and experience.
34
CHRISTMAS IDEAS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Merry Christmas!
Small, compact and with a strong performance: The LG system offers Bluetooth and a wireless connection to your TV. The modern styles look great in black and red. A wonderful gift from Kriplus in Las Chafiras.
From precious jewellery to fine wines, here are lots of ideas for great gifts to celebrate the festive season – for your family, good friends and, of course, yourself!
A relaxing sporting experience and a feeling of having a whole new body. That’s what the experts at Yoga ZenTher can give you. A soothing massage makes the experience complete - and now you can give one away as a voucher.
Tenerife’s mountains have a magical attraction for many people. For mountain trekking, good boots play a crucial role. Dachstein models ensure comfort and a good fit. Available from the Outdoor Center.
Credit: Hund-Tico/freeimages.com
Stressed, tense and tired? A massage from Ilona Rebisch can work real miracles, relaxing the muscles and increasing blood flow to the skin, making it glow. A voucher from Ilona Rebisch would be the ideal gift for all wellness fans.
The ideal gift for all dog owners: a voucher from the Vet-Express veterinary clinic. Whether it’s for a heartworm pill, an annual examination or vaccinations, this gift will make both the dog and owner happy. Credit: dog-Tico / freeimages.com
A precious gift of nature: Orchids. At Flores y Mas, there’s a great range of these exotic beauties in many shapes and colours to bring a touch of paradise to Christmas, and of course everyday life. They also have many other unusual and beautiful floral ideas.
How about a really fiery evening? Why not give away a meal at Café Caliente - more specifically, one of the house specialties: the table grill with three skewers. You only have to see this to develop an appetite!
The Beauty Room with Mina Coventry, who has over 20 years experience in the UK, is a premier source for beauty. A highlight is an anti-aging treatment with Rinnova Plus TS, a device which uses radiofrequency radiation.
Everyone knows that hands can be a real eye-catcher. The small works of art by Jörg Partzschefeld at Nageltantenonkel are unique - thanks to their innovative airbrush technique and unusual motifs.
Ideal for the table or a cosy reading area. The Tiffany style table lamp, with unusuallyfinished feet, ensures soft but ample lighting. From Luz Garden.
It need not always be diamonds. A Larimar with its beautiful, white and blue colour scheme looks as good on necklace pendants as in a ring. There are plenty more ideas for jewellery fans at Aqua Aura.
Water is life. Water that is filtered well is really healthy. The Carbonit SanUno water filter is very easy to install. A great gift available at the Botanico Health Store.
Crunchy, tasty and low in fat, and as well as being really healthy, chicken has always been a favourite. No wonder the Kikiriki restaurant is so popular! Those who love juicy steaks get their money’s worth there too - a meal at Kikiriki would be a really great gift idea.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
CHRISTMAS IDEAS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
The unusual futuristic design of the Krups Coffeemaker ensures that this piece will be an eye-catcher in every kitchen. At the same time, the Dolce Gusto capsules produce some wonderfully varying tastes. Available from Worten.
Moringa is considered to be a true miracle tree - the tea made from its leaves supplies the body with essential vitamins and trace elements. Now you can buy it as a Christmas package. Health as a gift, from Moringa Suerte.
Handmade liqueurs combine fresh ingredients with skillful crafts to create a special delight. And this certainly applies to the liqueurs made by Tierrasana. With flavours like citrus lemon, wild berry and coffee, you’ll find the right gift for everyone.
Good sleep depends not only on the bed, but also the mattress and the pillows. At Canary Colchon you’ll find the right pillow for each sleeper, like the really trendy visco-elastic pillows with an anti-allergenic cover.
Using an e-cigarette, actually called vaping, is a real alternative to smoking. The 2015 Ufo model has a charge status display and is available in three attractive colours, from Good Smoke.
Gone are the times when heating was simply ugly. Infrared heating panels not only guarantee comfortable temperatures throughout the house, but thanks to their artistic designs, they’re a real eye-catcher. From Infra-Deco.
A new style? A great colour or some highlights? If you know someone who would like to do something different with their hair, this gift voucher from Hairstudio 2000 offers the right choice.
35
Be mobile, stay mobile. The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime with a 5-inch LTE (G4) touchscreen display and a camera with 8.0 megapixel resolution which delivers crisp and printable photos. From PCI.
A great way to find gifts is to visit the Christmas section at Marks & Spencer, where you’ll find some delicious festive ideas. There are lots of decorative items and figures, as well as rings and chains. Gift vouchers are available.
Read a book or watch an exciting thriller in comfort. It’s really easy to adjust the electric relaxation armchair. With comfortable padding and a wide range of positions, it will soon become a favourite piece in the apartment. From Conforama.
Sleeping in luxury: linens with gold and lime green designs guarantee snuggly comfort and sweet dreams. During the day, their beautiful designs are eye catching. From Bettenhaus Hammerer.
A gift basket full of healthy and tasty things from Moringa Garden. Try Moringa mustard, a fruit mixture, peppers and much more. Especially suitable for those who do not yet know the versatility of Moringa.
The noble Torres Celeste Crianza wine is a great gift, not only because of its elegant design. Its taste of dark fruits with spicy tones and velvety aroma will be appreciated by connoisseurs. From Torres
Make an amateur cook happy and bring Christmas dinner with you. Without all that shopping for food and preparation, Christmas will be much more fun. From Wurstquelle.
Do your friends or family enjoy eating delicious food in a cosy, relaxed atmosphere? Yes? Then a voucher from the Rocket Café would be perfect, for example, for a homemade burger and a soft drink or beer.
36
HEALTH
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Beloved Kealoha
Personalised Pilates and Quiromassage
The centre also offers Ayurveda services and supplies Jeevan Ayurveda products
and other aspects of your lifestyle to cultivate an inner state of equilibrium. The centre also supplies Jeevan Ayurveda products from India, one of the few distributors on
Kealoha’s Pilates studio has two state-of-the-art Reformer machines
In Hawaii the word Kealoha means ‘beloved one’, and best describes the personalised care and service extended to clients of this brand new Pilates, Quiromassage and Ayurveda studio in the heart of Los Cristianos. Gisele Ribeiro is the owner of Kealoha as well as a qualified masseuse, Pilates instructor, physiotherapist and Ayurveda specialist. She has made Kealoha a one-stop-shop for varying conditions of the body and mind, fitted with state of the art equipment, such as two Pilates Studio Reformers, and offering a range of services to naturally help body pain, ailments and improve circulation and equilibrium, including:
Incorporating floor exercises and routines on the Reformer machines, Kealoha holds Pilates classes for individuals or small groups of no more than three. “When you have large groups of 10 or more people, as is common at many centres, it is difficult to accurately assess and improve each individual’s needs”, Gisele explained. “It is important to observe every person, taking into consideration their movement, weight, skin, etc. Kealoha is different to big sports centres which tend to just leave you be; we continually adapt to individual needs and personal factors.
Come, unleash your internal power and heal your mind, body and soul completely through energy healing, hypnosis and past life regression. Get Space Clearing carried out for more positivity at home and in your work place
Call 619 519 858
Kealoha Pilates and Quiromassage centre is located in the Valdés Center, Los Cristianos
We’re also one of the few centres on the island to have the multi-use Reformer machines which allow for a wider range of exercises and treatments”.
massages. These techniques are accompanied by using specialised creams, oils and essences to complement the massage style.
Quiromassage/ Physiotherapy
Ayurveda
Quiromassage is a technique that is directed towards eliminating or reducing muscular pain related to tension, blocked energy, poor circulation or lack of toning. It is also used to compliment other therapy types, including relaxation, muscle stimulation, sports injuries, and other therapeutic
Gisele best describes Ayurveda as a “lifestyle”, incorporating diet, herbal treatments, meditation and breathing techniques for complete inner balance. Ayurveda is a personalised approach to health and understanding your mindbody type which allows you to make optimal choices about diet, exercise, supplements,
the islands, and offers specialised rates based on those on the Spanish mainland which work out substantially cheaper than most centres in the Canaries. Kealoha Pilates Studio can be found on the first floor of the Valdes Center in Los Cristianos in Block A, Local 14. For further information, email them at: kealohapilates@ gmail.com or call directly n on: 622 426 096. ©2014 FLN
Pilates
Therapies, Spiritual hypnosis, Past life regression
Promotion
We’ve all encountered people in our lives who seem to have an inner glow, an inner beauty that has nothing to do with youth, movie star good looks or a perfect figure. We can’t quite put our finger on what sets them apart, but they seem to be surrounded by vitality and wellness. While there is an abundance of pills and powders on the market claiming to hold the secret of perfect health, the real secret can be found in one simple concept: Balance. By maintaining a healthy balance between the opposing forces in our lives, we can achieve an optimal state of wellness. Just as there are degrees of illness, there are degrees of wellness: it is not something that merely happens to us, and is much more than the absence of illness. It is the result of being conscious of our physical and psychological needs, and making a commitment to provide for them to the fullest extent possible. A majority of the factors that contribute both to wellness and illness can be broken down into four categories: Exercise, Diet, Spirituality and Rest. The quality of our relationship with each of these four pillars of health directly affects the extent to which we are able to achieve wellness. Nature has provided us with all the wisdom we need. Our bod-
Valuable vertebra The atlas is the topmost vertebra of our spinal column and the axis forms the joint connecting the skull and spine. It is only a small piece but plays an important role due to its shape and position, and even just a little restriction upon it can have a large impact on our health. The atlas supports the globe of the head, hence naming it after the Titan who held up the sky in Greek mythology. It is unusual in that it is annular and not wedged like the other spinal vertebrae. The atlantooccipital joint allows the head to nod up and down on the vertebral column and to move our heads. The odontoid process (dens) acts as a pivot that allows the atlas and head to rotate on the axis, side to side. This is impor-
HEALTH
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
Wellness & Balance Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations)
ies are equipped with an array of signals that alert us when we are out of balance, but are we aware enough to notice and acknowledge them, and to act accordingly to correct imbalances? If we see ourselves as active agents in maintaining our health, then we have the power of infinite choices. Regardless of our age, gender, size or body type, exercise is essential for a healthy mind and body. Many find the repetitive methods of exercise they encounter in traditional gyms to be unappealing. This can be compounded when the motivation behind engaging in the exercise is an unattainable body image which may be resented to begin with. However, Yoga provides a variety of movements and approaches. The possibility of a beautiful body is an attractive by-product, rather
than the purpose: The practice addresses the whole person. Goals like inner peace, spiritual exploration and fitness, rather than beauty, are a few of the characteristics that are drawing more people to yoga. The result is exercise with purpose and a wide variety of benefits like: • Releasing endorphins that improve mood and provide energy • Increasing respiratory capacity, physical endurance, and improving muscle tone • Slowing down the aging process • Releasing pent-up emotions such as tension and anger • Increasing feelings of selfesteem and an improved self-concept • Preventing conditions such as hypertension and depression • Decreasing negative thinking
37
first through the physical body. Similar to physical therapy, yoga movements can significantly decrease pain and suf-
• Improving the quantity and quality of sleep • Reducing the risk of illnesses • Keeping weight controlled Practicing yoga means leading a balanced, harmonious life, fuelled by a strong inner awareness. In the West, yoga was almost for the élite initially. Today, the scene is very different; there are hundreds of styles to suit. More and more doctors are recommending yoga for a variety of health conditions, and the benefits have become indisputable. The recommendation is just 2.5 hours of exercise each week, however, when busy, there are small ways you can still squeeze some in. Here is an idea for how to practice yoga whenever you have a spare moment:
There are several variations to this sequence. It’s traditionally practiced as the sun is rising: it’s a great way to warm up and start to sync movement of the body with the flow of the breath, and can help create a sense of inner calm. All yoga practices are essentially for the purpose of liberating consciousness from the limited identification of self as strictly human, to a more expansive one of the Divine Self. It is natural to connect
fering, and help one regain vital energy and at the same time begin to change our perception from being the body n to being ‘in’ the body.
YogaZenther centre Avenida San Francisco 6, Los Cristianos Tel. 922 193 510 Email: info@yogazenther.com www.yogazenther.com
Discovering your atlas be prone to injury and if it shifts, the blood circulation to the head can become adversely affected. Headaches, dizziness or tinnitus are just some of the symptoms that can be caused by an obstructed atlas. There are many different treatments and methods to return the pivotal vertebra to its correct position and problems can be resolved by a specialised therapist, however, there are also certain exercises and routines that can be taught for you to carry out at home.
Photo: Anatomography CC 2.1
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
The atlas vertebra (C1 lateral)
tant neurologically because the brain stem extends down to the
axis. It protects the medulla oblongata part of the hindbrain
and many important arteries and veins meet at this joint. Due to its intimate proximity to the spinal cord, the atlas plays a key role in neural modulation of the body and is the
regulatory centre for important functions such as breathing, blood pressure and circulation throughout the spine. Due to its mobility and importance in everyday actions it can
For further information contact physiotherapist and holistic therapist Elena Herz on: 600 424 252. Also visit Elena’s website at: www. elenaherz.com. Elena is based in Chayofa and also does home n visits.
PETS
38
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Adopt, don’t buy
Animal charities’ round up Acción del Sol have begun their educational programme with 60 children from Adeje
K9 The Christmas fundraising event at the Acción del Sol refuge takes place on December 19
Acción del Sol Our Christmas fundraising event at the plaza in Las Galletas takes place on December 19 from 3pm to 6pm. It will be an afternoon of fun and games, children’s workshops, Christmas carols, singing and dancing and the main event will be a fancy dog competition with the theme being Christmas, of course! There will be prizes for the winners and we are also having a photo competition with the same theme, so please get snapping and email your photo entries to: teneriffa@aktiontier.org. Please call the number below to register your pet for the fancy dog competition. We have begun our educational programme with 60 children from Adeje College coming to learn about animal welfare in the hope of improving the dire situation here in Tenerife. Call 922 778 630 if you would like to help out in any way. The refuge is situated at Poligono Industrial Estate; Exit 51 on the TF1, directly next to the Parque Eolica where the wind turbines are. We are open to
Tierhotel Lilly We look after your pet while you are away
(short or long term)
Tel: 697 826 738 (D/E), 659 131 382 (SP, Trainer)
www.tierhotel-lilly.com
the public Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 2pm to 5pm. On Saturdays we’re open from 1pm till 4pm. The refuge is closed Wednesdays, Sundays and public holidays Email the refuge at: teneriffa@aktiontier.org. Also visit the Facebook page: ‘action tier Accion del Sol’.
Live Arico (PAWS) Our Christmas raffle last year was so popular we’ve decided to repeat it this year, with great prizes once again. Win a FitBit lifestyle band, a head camera or a drone for just €2 a ticket. The raffle will be drawn on Boxing Day on the top square in Golf del Sur. Tickets are on sale in our shops. Come and check out the all new Golf del Sur shop and prepare to be amazed. It really is something special. We are situated at Golf Park, which is on the loop road before the lottery kiosk, and we are now open from 10am till 7pm every day (10.30am to 3.30pm on Sundays). We also have shops in Los Cristianos, on Calle Reverón near Churchill’s Bar, as well as in San Eugenio opposite Hotel La Niña by Amanda’s Bar at Las Carabelas complex. Both shops are open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday, and until 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Come and have a browse, bag a bargain and help the animals. Find us at: www.livearico.com, on Facebook, or join us on Twitter: twitter.com/live_arico.
We regularly ask San Miguel borough council to help us find suitable land that we could buy or rent within a four-mile radius of our existing kennels, which have become harder to maintain. If anyone knows of somewhere suitable for animal use, we would love to hear from you. Our shop on Alcalá Plaza is in continual need of donations. If you have anything suitable, please take it to the shop. The kennels are open every day from 11am until 2pm. If you have any enquiries or are looking for a dog or cat, the number is: 667 638 468.
Cats Welfare Tenerife A recent study showed that less than two per cent of cats without microchips were returned home. However, if a cat is chipped, the return-to-owner rate is 20 times higher. It’s not expensive, somewhere in the region of €20 to €30, which over the life of your pet is a very small amount of money and it won’t hurt any more than a routine vaccination. Even if your cat is homely and never goes outside, a collar and microchip is just as important. It only takes a second for a cat to slip through an open door or window, especially in our climate. During the Christmas period, Poinsettias are a popular plant and here in Tenerife they decorate the verges and roundabouts as well as being fashionable as house plants. The milky white sap found in poinsettias contains poisonous chemicals
but while poinsettias are commonly hyped as being poisonous plants they rarely are. Far more worrisome are holiday bouquets containing lilies, holly or mistletoe. Even bouquets brought into the house by holiday guests should be thoroughly inspected, as lilies are the number one flower used by florists. Just one or two nibbles of a lily can result in severe acute kidney failure in cats. Other Yuletide plants such as holly berries, mistletoe, and rosemary can also be toxic to cats (and dogs). When holly is ingested, it can result in severe gastrointestinal upset thanks to the spiny leaves and the potentially toxic substances in the leaves. Keep your pets safe this holiday season and think carefully about the plants and flowers you have in your home. Our featured cat this edition is Sophie, a young female tabby cat. She is spayed and inoculated and will be chipped too. There are pictures of Sophie,
LIVE ARICO
Pillo needs a home Live Arico are on a mission to get Pillo homed for the New Year – he deserves it. He really is a cracking young dog of medium size and is playful too: just lovely. For more information on Pillo, and indeed all their dogs, call Sue on n 629 388 102.
and all our other cats and kittens awaiting adoption, on our website www.cats-welfaretenerife.com/pets. If you have questions or would like to meet any of the cats or kittens we have available, all you have to do is complete the
Can someone give Pillo the perfect Christmas present
us there is also lots of information about fostering. Money at this time of year can be tight but if you are looking for something special to wear for a festive do, look no further than our charity shop on San Blas in Golf del Sur
Sophie at Cats Welfare is hoping for a festive forever family
contact form on the website or ring Theresa on 680 475 500 between 10am and 6pm any day. If you are not able to commit to the long term adoption of a cat but would still like to help
(behind Hiperdino). The shop is open seven days a week 10am until 6pm, except for Saturdays which is 11am to 4pm. Pop in for a browse and help us help n the cats.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
FARMERS MARKET
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
Farmer’s Markets Adeje Calle Archajara, s/n, in front of Makro Saturday/Sunday 8am – 2pm / Wednesday 4pm – 8pm Telephone: 922 775 200 Alcalá Plaza de Llano Monday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 850 100 Arafo Plaza San Juan Degollado Thursday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 511 711 Arico Porís de Abona Sunday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 676 159 034 Arona Valle San Lorenzo, Carretera General 122 Monday/Friday 8am – 2pm Telephone: 922 767 138 Buenavista del Norte Plaza de San Sebastián Opening times: Saturday 8.30am – 2pm Telephone: 922 129 030 Candelaria Wednesday 8am - 2pm Next to council offices Saturday 8am – 2pm. Plaza del Centro Comercial de Punta Larga Telephone: 922 505 014 El Médano Plaza Principal Wednesday 8am – 2pm Telephone: 922 759 966/62 El Rosario Carretera General del Norte, la Esperanza Saturday/Sunday/festivals 8am – 4pm Telephone: 922 010 160 El Sauzal Hoya de la Vida, next to the church, Ravelo Friday/Saturday/Sunday 7.30am- 2pm Telephone: 922 584 657
Güímar Plaza del Ayuntamiento Sunday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 526 105
side behind Titsa Depot) 8am – 3pm closed Mondays Tel 922 076544
Guía de Isora Plaza del Pueblo de Garachico Friday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 850 100
Playa de San Juan Plaza de la Iglesia Wednesday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 850 100
Icod de Los Vinos Calle Key Muñoz 5 Monday/Friday 8am – 2pm Telephone: 922 815 700 / 922 447 938 La Guancha Carretera General TFS km 49 Saturday/Sunday 8am – 3pm Telephone: 922 360 788 La Laguna Plaza del Cristo Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday 6am – 2pm Telephone: 922 601 100 / 922 253 903 La Matanza de Acentejo Ctra. General del Norte Saturday 8am – 3pm, Sunday 8am – 2pm Telephone: 922 577 120 La Orotava Calle Educadora Lucía Mesa Saturday 8am – 1.30pm Telephone: 922 336 804 / 681 277 633 Los Realejos Camino Viejo de San Benito, Finca el Llano, Realejo Alto Saturday/Sunday 9am – 2pm Telephone: 922 346 234 Los Silos Plaza de la Luz, Los Silos Sunday 9am – 2pm Telephone: 922 840 004 Parque de la Reina – El Cho Calle Infanta Elena, 32 (before Karting on right hand
39
Farmer’s Markets
Island support!
Puerto de la Cruz Avenida Blas Pérez González, 4 Wednesday to Saturday 8am – 2pm Telephone: 922 386 158 San Isidro Mercado del Agricultor de Granadilla Off the roundabout leading to El Médano Saturday/Sunday 8am – 2pm Telephone: 922 759 966 San Miguel de Abona P.I. Las Chafiras, San Miguel de Abona, next to the fire station Saturday/Sunday 8am – 2pm Wednesday 2pm – 7.30pm Telephone: 922 735 386 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Avenida José Manuel Guimerá Sunday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 606 000 Santa Úrsula Carretera General, near the town hall Saturday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 301 640 Tegueste Calle de Asuncionistas, 6 Saturday/Sunday 8.00am – 2pm Telephone: 922 316 100 Vilaflor Plaza de Vilaflor Monday to Thursday 8am – 1pm Telephone: 922 709 002
We at Island Connections are sure in the knowledge that one of the best ways to help yourself, and the economy, is to buy locally – even if you are just visiting for a short time. Canarian farmers harvest an extensive range of crops, which can be seen growing in the typical stepped-terrain farms around the Islands. Products range from tropical fruits, such as mangoes, to worldwide staples like lentils, potatoes and onions. According to the agricultural group COAG-Canarias, prices of fresh fruits and vegetables differ greatly between the amount the farmers receive and the sale price in the supermarkets. For instance, towards the end of last year, small marrows, which the farmers were paid just €0.07/ kilo for, retailed at €0.84, and leeks sold at €0.36 were passed onto the consumer for around €2.23 a kilo. Many of the prices don’t even seem to cover the cost of production - and this is when subsidies became necessary to keep farms from disappearing, which, like the hiked prices, also come out of our pockets. Enter the farmers markets, where the grower can sell directly to the customer without an intermediary. They are
dotted all over the Islands, with at least one in almost every town. They allow customers to purchase fresher, higher quality produce at cheaper prices, and the farmers receive a fair payment for their efforts. This enables them to maintain or raise the standard of their crops and uphold productivity levels – it’s a win-win situation. In these markets you will be sure to see a variety of seasonal products, as well as some local home-made delicacies such as
preserves, honeys and Canarian goat’s cheese. A selection of meats and fish can also be found among the stalls, along with an assortment of cakes, pastries and biscuits. Buy locally, eat healthily, pay fairly – this is one way we can all help each other. So, to show our support of local farmers we are taking this timely opportunity to publish the details of the many farmers’ markets around the island n of Tenerife. Enjoy.
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HOROSCOPES | CLASSIFIEDS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Horoscope for period: December 17 to January 6 Aries 21.3 - 20.4 Those around you are currently amazed by your bright mind and new ideas. Make sure, however, that they are not using your talent for their own advancement. Financially, everything is looking rosy. Taurus 21.4 - 20.5 Taurus is often considered one of the luckiest signs of the Zodiac and it seems this is certainly true for yourself at the moment. Professionally, everything is going well, if a little different to what you expected. Gemini 21.5 - 21.6 Being a bit more prudent would not be a bad thing right now. Try not to comment on people’s lives unnecessarily - not even if you have the right in the matter. Sometimes restraint gets better results. Cancer 22.6 - 22.7 Your moods are swinging like an ape in the trees at the moment enough to make even the most level headed person dizzy. Try to relax and get a little rest - you will be able to reach a better perspective on matters. Leo 23.7 - 23.8 You are so full of energy that you want to do a hundred things at once - exactly the wrong way for you right now. Firstly, because you thus neglect your private life and, secondly, because you’ll achieve more if you take it slowly. Virgo 24.8 - 23.9 You have a lot of self-confidence these days and are convinced that you are on the right track. This wonderfully positive mind set will continue to provide the answers for you. Shining as you are, you are bound to get noticed. Libra 24.9 - 23.10 You are basing all your decisions at the moment on your feelings. It’s good to trust your intuition but sometimes you run the risk of overlooking the pitfalls in a given situation - So never forget to check the small print. Scorpio 24.10 - 22.11 You have no reason to complain: everything is running smoothly. Therefore, it makes no sense to get upset over little things. These are not rocks that people put in your way; they are small pebbles that you are getting out of proportion Sagittarius 23:11 - 21.12 Some things you should definitely be more careful with. Sagittarians can overestimate their skills sometimes. A little more caution can save you from unpleasant incidents that you really do not have the time for. Capricorn 22:12 - 20.01 Even if you sometimes have to accept small setbacks, things are definitely looking up. Make sure, however, that you do not glorify certain things from your past. Otherwise it could lead you to making a big mistake. Aquarius 21.1 - 20.2 You are rejoicing in the fact that you will soon have a few days off. But before you can celebrate Christmas there are still a lot of things to do. It is best to keep a checklist to hand so you can be sure you don’t forget anything. Pisces 21.2 - 20.3 Your ability to reach out to other people will be particularly useful for you. Not only will it gain you brownie points in your profession, but also in your private life. Do not be afraid to seek dialogue, you will find that it is to your advantage in the end.
Contacts Relaxing, energising, sensual and tantric massages for her, him and couples in Playa de las Américas. Tel. 642 311 909 Erotic massages, also tantric and other services with attractive German lady. No rush, nice location and Jacuzzi. Tel. 619 614 380. Liberal German couple invites men to erotic parties, also threesomes: Tel. 0034 648 245 425 Only for ladies: Escorts, excursions, wellness and also erotic massages with Marc from Germany. I speak English well, have own apartment and car, visit to your location possible. Tel. 630 759 974 Las Chafiras, Pamela Black, very loving, all services, relaxing pain relieving and prostate massage, medium breasts. www.canarias69. com ‘Pamela’. Tel. 635 801 105 Los Cristianos, Margaret, 23 years old, beautiful, slim, white, dominant, erotic massages, natural French, horny, adventurous, spectacular hips, explode in my mouth, private apartment, discreet, 24 hours. Tel. 692 50 69 73 / 664 077 390 Come and enjoy our erotic body to body massages with happy ending! Unfor-
gettable experience. New beautiful ladies! Opening hours: 10am – 10pm. Playa Paraiso, Costa Adeje area. Tel. 0034 662 960 065 www.edentenerife.com
www.sensestrantricmassagetenerife.com. Appointment also via Whatsapp (0034) 673 631 177 Los Cristianos 2 girls: Fully figured Russian 35 years old and slim Ukrainian 23 years old. Relaxed, discreet apartment. In front of bus station, Building Royal – Los Cristianos. Call us before. We speak little English. Tel. 626 712 090
Blonde Colombian woman, slim, beautiful, amazing body, all services, natural French, massages, erotic toys, kisses, threesomes, swinger club company, private apartment, hotel visits. I will make your fantasies come true. I speak English. Los Cristianos, Ukrainian, You will repeat this experi- provocative blonde, escort, ence. Tel. 649 879 663 great body, only for demanding men in calls – out calls, Los Cristianos, Patricia all services, I will fulfil your from Venezuela returns, big dreams. Just call me on breasts, French, positions, 602 631 367. You won’t vibrators, massages, private regret it apartment in Calle Noruega near the Altavista supermar- Passionate and elegant, ket in Los Cristianos and I Brazilian lady in Costa can get to you 24 hours. Adeje. Nicole, 21 years, you Tel. 650 442 665 will enjoy an amazing and relaxed time, in call and out I’m Diana, Latin woman, call. Tel. 611 290 618 23 years old, amazing body, French, positions, mas- Cockney girl, Ana, just what sages. Available 24 hours. I you need to get pampered. am waiting for you in my pri- 30 years old. Let your leivate apartment in Los Cris- sure be my pleasure, owo, tianos. Tel. 605 072 917 French kissing, Los Cristianos, opposite bus staLucia, fully figured blonde, tion. (0034) 611 203 925. 140cm of natural breasts, Busty curvy without limits, I will do anything you ask me to, I’m Nikol and Melani sisters from waiting for you in my private Venezuela, big breasts, just apartment in the centre of arrived on the island, special Los Cristianos, you will enjoy services, lesbian massages, it! Tel. 665 303 382 drinks, special promotion. Building Royal in front of Do you want to experience bus station in Los Cristianos. an orgasm without ejacu- Tel. 667 349 448 lating? The main idea is to extend the excitement and prolong pleasure. To advertise your When you decide to go services with us, for it, it is really intense. I’m Amaia, exotic Colomplease call bian girl. Tantric massage 922 75 06 09 and all services for men.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
Island connections media group s.l. www.islandconnections.eu
Island Connections Online: www.islandconnections.eu
Classifieds Deadline Next Edition The deadline for edition 762, which is published on 7th Jan., is 5th Jan. No classifieds will be taken after this date.
Head Office: Calle Francisco Feo Rodríguez 6º- first floor. Pol. Industrial Las Chafiras 38620 - San Miguel de Abona. Tel.: 922 75 06 09 Fax: 922 795 810 Office Hours: Mon-Frid 9:30 -16:30 hours
Classifieds Info: For personal and professional help in placing your classified in Island Connections all you need to do is pop along to our new offices in Las Chafiras and speak to our Staff. Not only is Island Connections here to ensure that your advertisement reaches its target market, we will also advise on sizing requirements for maximum exposure, with prices to suit your pocket.
Rates: * Lineage classifieds: From 16 € * Small & Long Term: Ask for long term advertising (3, 6, 12 months) and our special discounts. * Further Options: color / boxed adverts. To Place your advert call: 922 75 06 09
You are welcome to come to our offices in Las Chafiras to place small ads. Card payment facilities are available.
CLASSIFIEDS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
General Services
Masonic Lodge - Ave Fenix No.73. New meetings starting in October 2015 on the fourth Thursday of the month. If interested, all visitors are welcome to come down. For further information, lodge secretary John Donaldson is available to contact on Tel: (+34) 922 178 091 or Email: ave.fenix73@gmail.com
Integrated Tax Planning and Wealth Management since 1975
922 716 079 www.blevinsfranks.com
Gardening services, palm tree care, gardening waste disposal. Work on residential gardens all over Tenerife. Special discounts for regular services and long term maintenance agreements. Tel. 675 409 478
MASONIC MEETINGS
www.autoescuelaenred.com
Logia Ave Fenix Nº 73
Driving School Online
Rocket Café - An American style diner selling 100 per cent beef homemade burgers; homemade cakes; the best coffees; and exquisite cocktails. C/ Luis Álvarez Cruz, 5 (Opposite the post office), Las Galletas: 922 731 847
(+34) 922 178 091 or ave.fenix73@gmail.com
For sale. Home-produced ecological vegetables, Tenerife south. Interested businesses, call 650 323 751 (Spanish only), send WhatsApp or email to: michelteide@hotmail.com www.mascuidados.com Website for our massages, dedicated to bringing the benefits of therapeutic massage to your home or hotel, no charge for travel. Do you want a massage? www.mascuidados.com Tel. 663 190 727
Bachelor of Arts in Philology I give private lessons of Spanish for foreigners and I do translations of Romanian, Spanish, French and English. In Los Cristianos, Tenerife.
Mirela: 663 216 858
Santiago del Teide Lions Club
Bargains galore From clothes and children’s toys to kitchenware and books – there are plenty of great deals on second-hand goods. They even have sets of golf clubs! Don’t miss out – visit their shop below the plaza in Puerto Santiago (Behind Vigilia Park). Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10am – 1pm and Wednesdays 2pm to 8pm.
Edificio Simón, Los Cristianos. Meetings every fourth Tuesday starting in October (Installation), November and January to April.
All Visitors welcome Contact John Donaldson (Secretary):
After school classes, help or activities in English, German or Spanish, please contact Mrs. Garus. Tel. 602 506 793. We are 5 minutes away from Wingate School in Cabo Blanco. Qualified specialist from Germany helps you with back pain, neck pain, sciatica, headaches and insomnia. Tel. 0034 699 15 61 47 (ask for Eugene).
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Clases individuales Individual lessons info@autoescuelaenred.com SMS or whatsapp
629 135 005
BLOCK BUSTERS
Lamp Factory
internal and external using our high pressure jets and cameras.
Buy during your holidays We deliver to your home country
WE UNBLOCK ALL TYPES OF DRAINS
Call
647 928 223
Ctra. General C-820, Travesía la Panadería, 1 38440 Santo Domingo (La Guancha) Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Tel / Fax: 922 130 301 OPENING HOURS: Monday to Saturday 9 am to 2 pm & 4 pm to 9 pm
Massage saloon Ilona. Offer: 60 minutes full body massage for €36. Couples, four hands, lava stones, massages, etc. Playa de las Americas, Ernesto Sarti no.18, across from Iberostar Hotel in Torviscas Playa. Tel. 602 608 626 or email: ilonarebisch@hotmail.com
Caron Murgatroyd B.A. Hons
Fully qualified UK primary school teacher Private English classes for ages 3-11 Also available private lessons for all other English National Curriculum subjects including: Maths, English, Science, History & Geography For further information or to book contact on: caron.murgatroyd@gmail.com
602 483 017
Spanish and English Lawyers
Conveyancing • Inheritance & Wills Family Law • Criminal Law Civil Litigation & Personal Injury Timeshare • Tax & Commercial law
T: E:
922 719 520
tenerife@decottalaw.net
Av. de Los Pueblos, Residencial Villaflor B-20, San Eugenio
www.decottalaw.net
CLASSIFIEDS
42
Rental Classifieds
For Long
Term Rent
Puerto de la Cruz, two bedroom furnished apartment on quiet, select complex with tennis court and pool near Parque Taoro. Private gardens and garage. Long let only. €575 monthly. Call owner 922 205350 / 699424501.
For Rent Playa de las Americas 1 Bedroom apartment. Well-furnished and equipped, central location, quite area close to beach. No Finder’s fee. €570 all in. Call 620 230 871 / 922 75 11 13 Winter letting Puerto de La Cruz Studio apartment, 24 hour concierge, pool, sea views. Minimum three month contract. €500 per month. 669 652 149 Los Cristianos Cactus 2, for rent attractive two bedroom apartment, sea views, pool, satellite TV, large terrace, unsuitable for children, €650 per month + bills, minimum 3 months. Tel. 629 606 494 Rustic finca for long term let near Icod de los Vinos. Fully equipped and furnished, open fire, satellite TV and Wi-Fi available. Fantastic sea and mountain views, sun terrace and barbeque, €450 PCM. Tel. Spain: 0034 922 865 776. UK mobile: 0044 (0) 7786 390541. Spanish mobile: 0034 674 287 632. Email: Philhirstconsultant@btinternet.com or P.D.Hirst@gmail.com 1 bedroom apartment for rent in Playa Paraiso. Tel 662 507 191 www.villasandmore-tenerife.com
SALEs Classifieds Three bedroom house in Costa
del Silencio for sale with 182 m2. One big living room and one small one, two bathrooms, two terraces and a patio. Price: €160,000. Tel. 922 73 28 40
Comercial property for sale in Los Cristianos Calle Suecia, best place for a store or cafe! Directly from the owner. 42 square meters. Phone: 922 726 029 / 696 978 211 Two very good business premises for sale. Leasehold, restaurant near beach in Los Cristianos, €120,000, and bar/snacks
Santa Úrsula
Los Cristianos, €65,000. Tel. 690 676 527 €39.990 Sunny apartment for sale (Studio) in Playa Paraiso (Tenerife-South), 40 m2, with balcony, spectacular sea views, pools, SAT-TV. Very near to the beach, supermarket, restaurants and bus-stop. Private sale. Tel. 922 30 15 75, email: mesa3@telefonica.nice Looking to swap my house in Tenerife for a house in Dublin or surroundings. If agreed, the time could be arranged. From a month to a year time gap. Call Carmen 693 727 683
Mature people preferred. 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, big kitchen, 1 terrace, living room, garden with fruit trees, in quiet area. Tel. 609 531 178 melquiadesm@hotmail.com
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Villa for sale in San Isidro, 11,500 m2, living area 400 m2, 4 bedrooms, living room, 4 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, office, double garage, utility room, hobby room, pool, sauna. Telephone 922 390 951, email: horstbrett@gmx.de. Price: €990.000 (negotiable) possibility of payment terms. Website: horstbrett.de Apartment Tabaiba Alta for sale, only five mins away from the German school, roughly 102ms, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room, utility room, garden, big terrace. Spectacular views of the sea and mountain, big garage with 2 spaces, 2 closed store rooms, price €180,000, mob. 686 798 367, email eoptenerife@gmail.com For Sale! Favourable living in the sun. Staying at the most beautiful camping place of Tenerife. Nice view of the sea and La Gomera . A Caravan (Weippert) with compact wooden front structure. (Aluminium windows and doors). Total 40 sqm. Fully equipped with TV, washingmachine and so on. p.jaegertf@gmail.com or Tel. 922 85 06 85 Offer of the month in Puerto de la Cruz. Beautiful studio, at Playa Jardin, with nice furniture, 40m2 with terrace and oceansight, pool, tennis area, restaurant, elevator 48.000€. Mov. 604 100 174. Los Cristianos centre near beach, I’m selling 2 business units together (90 + 40 m2) – They can be separate. Updated installations. Each one has an alarm and air conditioning. Tel. 922 792 168 – 649 142 612 Amarilla Bay, Costa del Silencio, large, two bedrooms, two bathrooms apartment to rent. Fully furnished, English TV, three balconies, community swimming pool, close to all local amenities. €550 per month plus bills. Telephone 659 489 690. One of the most beautiful fincas! Villa and Guesthouse. Pool, Sauna Whirpool, Tennis court, Bodega, Garage, Water
5 bedroom house for sale, separate studio, 3 bathrooms, sauna, sea and mountain views, garden with fruit trees. Great location, only 8 minute drive from Puerto de la Cruz
tank. Nice view to the sea and Teide, 8,500 sqm. P.o.r. p.jaegertf@gmail.com or Tel. 922 850 685 For sale, Bungalow 160m2 Costa Sauzal, situated front row with guaranteed spectacular sea-views, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms , living room with panoramic windows, modern kitchen, dining room connected to the terrace, including a heated 4 x 8 m pool, all on same level, garage and a marvellous tropical garden with 800m2 landscaped with various plants and lots of fruit-trees. Private sale contact: info@ simonsananes.com. Tel.: 00 34 699 444 879 Best Deal Properties from banks & firstline. Bungalow Club Atlantis, 2 bedrooms €249,000; Fañabe beach 1 bedroom, €170,000; Torviscas beach 2 bedrooms 159 m2, €250,000; Torviscas 2 bedrooms, €110,000; Cristianos beach €118,000. Tel. 628 486 190 – 922 718 257 Looking to swap my house in Tenerife for a house in Dublin or surroundings. If agreed, the time could be arranged. From a month to a year time gap. Call Carmen 693 727 683 www.teneriffa-fincas.net Los Cristianos, central apartments, 1 and 2 bedrooms, furnished, Tel: 649 142 612 Apartments for rent & sale. Apartments at playa Jardin, centricity, furnished, with washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, TV plasma, fully equiped, 1 or 2 bedrooms, new prices for rent 530€ and 650€ per month, water and electricity apart, garage. Also available studios, townhouses and villas all over Tenerife. Mov. 604 100 174. Appartment in Botánico with BBQ, common pool, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, salon, kitchen, terrace, aprox,300 m2, 1 extra bedroom with toilet, garage, for sale 380.000€ or for rent 1.350€ + Extras per month, Mov. 604 100 174. Property Wanted - Kundalini is expanding. In Los Cristianos, Las Américas and Fañabé areas. Four or Five bedrooms and bathrooms, lounge, terrace and if possible a pool. Exclusive area with discreet entrance. Ask for Irene: 693 979 153
Reduced price from €260,000 to 215,000 Tel. (0034) 695 977 163 (available evenings)
Property for Sale Golf villa for sale
Urb. Oasis Dakota, Playa Fañabé
3 Bed Semi Detached. Toilet, complete bathroom, separate kitchen, totally equipped, furnished, 35m2 terrace, secure access to pool, infant park, good views, beside commercial centres, 800m from Playa Fañabé, community fees 30€/month. Tel 629 244 958
€ 155,000 Situated in the
LOS CRISTIANOS
Lovely condition 1 bed with 1 bathroom apartment plus balcony. All New kitchen, All New Bathroom, new furnishing, very good condition. Nice size balcony, town views, great location well run complex with pools. Fully furnished. EEC Registered.
Well Priced £99,000
Call Alan. (0034) 667 513 689
Real Golf Club Tenerife
www.villatenerifenorte.com
243 m2. Garage for two cars. Hall with a little toilet, dining room, living room, 2 bedrooms with 2 complete bathrooms, dress room, kitchen, service bedroom with bathroom, and terrace around the villa. Garden 750 m2.
8% Commission to intermediaries
in Tacoronte
Information Tel. +34 659 928 805
Parque Santiago 11
Sought after complex. 2 bed Duplex Ground Floor apartment. Las Americas sea views, fully furnished. Big private sunny terrace and upstairs terrace. Rental opportunity!
Great location! Price €220,000
Call Alan: 667 513 689
€690.000
Private Sale 10.800 m2 Tel. (0034) 682 392 956
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
CLASSIFIEDS
43
44
Situations Vacant / wanted
Sales staff needed to represent a printing and design company in the south of Tenerife, applicants must be presentable and have their own transport. For more details please call Jon on 604 103 048 B Funky Fashion Shows are looking for international girls to model swimwear in the south of Tenerife for an immediate start. Must be presentable and speak good English, other languages are an advantage. PR experience essential. Daily work, salary, commissions paid and contracts given. Call José, between 11am and 5pm
CLASSIFIEDS | PASTIMES
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Vehicles Renault Meganerieng,
Diesel, A/C, power ste in 13,000km, first driven . April 2014
Contact: 610 783 713
Suzuki Intruder VS 600 - 1996 Custom Bike in good condition, 61.000 km. Very low seat. All services done regularly. ITV until 2017
2.600€
Tel. 677 799 475
on 606 181 946 or 922
Almost New Year... therefore New Career?!
Place your advert at
SegurCaixa Adeslas, one of Spain’s leading insurance organizations....is in expansión and requires several agents to spearhead a new wave of exciting growth for 2016 and beyond...... Are you a people-person ? Does advancement appeal to your career needs and the prospect of coordinating / managing a team / region in the near future ? Not to mention the income potential where you get paid for what you are worth ? Our requirements : You initially have at least 10-15 hours per week, are organized, have integrity, determination & a teachable mindset to learn from the specialists. If so we would be delighted to hear from you, for an interview forward your CV to : cruzen@oficinaLocal.segurcaixaAdeslas.es
Classified Agent for
Across
1 - young mammal (3) • 3 - sight; boy’s name (3) • 5 - carnivores (5) • 8 - level result (4) • 9 - seized (8) • 11 - destroyed (10) • 13 - pieces (6) • 14 - matches (6) • 17 - softness (10) • 21 - took a firm stand (8) • 22 - role model (4) • 23 - seabird (5) • 24 - pen point (3) • 25 - extremity (3) • Down
New and second hand books C. Juan XXIII, 29 Los Cristianos 922 797 542 www.libreríarehound.com
1 - gave away (5) • 2 - drained colour (8) • 4 - ten more than eighty (6) • 5 - relay device (5) • 6 - yearn for (4) • 7 - tempts (7) • 10 - leave out (4) • 12 - window sash (8) • 13 - uprising (7) • 15 - remark (4) • 16 - first year doctor (6) • 18 - ski run (5) • 19 - raid (5) • 20 - lies (anag) (4)
(For Crossword and Sudoku solution see pag 40)
751 021
SPORTS NEWS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
Gran Canaria Marathon
Running event will be ‘best ever’ With the big day fast approaching, the organisers of the Gran Canaria marathon are confident that the 2016 race will be the biggest and best ever. The Gran Canaria Maratón is an annual marathon and halfmarathon running event that takes place in Las Palmas. Despite teething problems in finding a company to look after the mammoth task, the final preparations are now well under way. Island authorities are convinced that issues encountered in past years, including poor signposting along the route and the inadequately organised wheelchair race, will not rear their heads at the end of January. “A team of around 20 people are working on the organisational aspects round the clock and a main sponsor has been found in the shape of Hospitales San Roque. We are confident that there will be a record number of runners”, said the Gran Canaria Cabildo’s Sports Councillor, Ángel Torres. However, critics say the event, now in its seventh year, still fails to attract top names due to a lack of serious marketn ing by the authorities.
45
Ayoze Pérez payout
Moral victory for junior club Tenerife-born footballer Ayoze Pérez remains the subject of winter transfer speculation as several big Premiership clubs consider enticing him away from Newcastle during the January window. Here in his native island the club he played for as a youngster is watching developments with interest in case it might be able to cash in again on the move. The club, San Andrés from Santa Cruz, has just claimed a moral victory after winning its case for a small slice of the fee paid by Newcastle to Tenerife in the summer of 2014. Although the sum is believed to be just €10,000,
it was received with joy by San Andrés, who say it will help cover the cost of running its boys’ teams and, hopefully, help unearth another Pérez in years to come. “After lawyers’ fees are deducted, the amount is very small but it is an important moral victory for us as Newcastle had been unwilling to consider our request for a share of the fee for the club where Ayoze cut his footballing teeth” said a spokesman. The dispute was only settled after San Andrés took the case to n FIFA.
Photo: David J Nelson Sports Photography CC0 1.0
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
Ayoze Pérez playing for Newcastle this year
Iberostar Tenerife
The Gran Canaria Marathon is in its seventh year
New Iberostar Tenerife coach Txus Vidorreta has shown he has the managerial style to get the most out of his new charges at the premiership basketball side although he still has work to do to ensure they perform consistently. Vidorreta, who took over from Alejandro Martínez in early November, chalked up his 150th top flight win with the giant-killing 92-98 victory at Caja Laboral, one of Spain’s top three clubs, and has already endeared himself to home fans with his no nonsense approach.
Photo: flickr.com/people/www_ukberri_net CC 2.0
Photo: fibercool C.C. 2.0
Fans take to Vidorreta
Txus Vidorreta has endeared himself to home fans
His arrival has seen a welcome return to form for Blagota Sekuklic, who had a very quiet
Spanish basketball
The latest recruit to top flight Canarian basketball goes under the unlikely name of DJ Seely but his name has nothing to do with exploits at the turntable. Dennis Jerome Seely, to give him his full name, arrived in Las Palmas in time for the crucial fixtures over the Christmas period, which will determine whether his new club qualifies for the Cup competition. He says he realises he has a big
start to the season before suffering an injury that kept him out for several games. The
Montenegro international is now back to his best, topping the individual rankings for the second time in three weeks, and he has almost single-handedly steered the La Laguna club off the bottom places. Vidorreta also seems to have found the right touch with playmaker Davin White, whose form fluctuated considerably before coming good at last against Caja Laboral. With the Christmas period under way, Iberostar Tenerife will be looking for at least three wins in the festive fixtures to put daylight between them and the bottom sides. n
DJ Seely joins CB Gran Canaria job on his hands to stand in for Kyle Kuric, who has had to give up the game temporarily after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. Seely, a 26-year-old shooting guard from California, has played for several clubs in Europe, including Besiktas in Turkey, Germany’s Medi Bayreuth and Serbia’s Radnicki Kragujevac. He has some experience in Spain, having played briefly for pre-
miership side Manresa at the end of last season. The new arrival said at his first press conference that he wanted to avoid being compared to Kuric and added that he had received “very good references” about Gran Canaria from his former team-mate Lamont Hamilton, who told him that the Las Palmas club was always “one of the toughest to beat in the league”. n
46
SPORTS NEWS | POOL LEAGUE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Pool roundup
Tenerife Super League results
Powered by EXPRESS BAR DELIVERIES S.L. Information supplied by Tenerife Pool Super League www.tenerifepoolleague.com
sphere gained a much needed point against Bad Bobs, drawing 5-5. Dos Hermanos lost at home to Scruffys 6-4.
Division one. Week 13 Legends A were up against stable mates Legends B in what turned out to be a very close affair. The league leaders dropped points but still remain top and are four points clear of Summerland Elite who were without a match due to the withdrawal from the league by Phoenix. A hard fought tussle at Sloops Bar playing Marius & Lo ended with the honours even (5-5) and they remain third and fourth in the table. Legendry Jokers had a resounding win at Polygon, 9-1. Bad Bobs also inflicted a 9-1 result over relegation threatened Dos Hermanos. Mad Hatters, as expected, beat bottom team Atmosphere 7-3, whilst Scruffys were beaten at home by Britannia Inn (Paraiso) 7-3. Toby Jug Saints were back on form with a good result over Clouseaus,
Tenerife Pool Super League
Division two. Week 13
Legends A remain top of division one
winning by 7-3. The latter is now third from bottom.
Division one. Week 14 Legends A were without a game which gave those chasing for the title a chance to
Summerland Elite missed a good opportunity to close the gap
close the gap. Summerland Elite could only force a draw away to Britannia Inn (Paraiso). They found themselves 5-1 down but fought back to level the scores 5-5. Marius & Lo demolished Mad Hatters 91 to leapfrog Sloops, who were
away to Clouseaus and had a rude awakening, winning only one frame. They will have to play better than that if they want to be serious contenders. Legends B drew with stable mates Polygon Legends 5-5. Bottom of the table Atmo-
Lupain Properties travelled to Los Cristianos to play top of the league Boothen Bar and were put in their place, losing 9-1. There was excellent play from all the players of Boothen especially top of the stats Jambo, who was in superb form winning all his frames to stretch the team’s position at the top to six points. Bar 180B dropped two points at home to Bar Nauta, drawing 5-5. They are now 11 points behind, occupying third position. The Tavern are on a good run after beating Bar 180C 73 to climb up the table. Bar Leones beat The Hunters 73. The George Bar beat lowly Palms Pool Bar, also by 7-3. The Tavern were good value for
a 7-3 win over Bar 180C. The Boothen Squad earned a point at Summerland Shooters after a 5-5 draw. James Place were beaten at home by Britannia Bar (Silencio) 6-4.
Division two. Week 14 Runaway league leaders Boothen Bar defeated the Boothen Squad, 8-2. Second placed Grandee O’Donnell’s were held to a 5-5 draw away to Bar 180C. Bar 180B remain in third position after a 6-4 win at Britannia Bar (Silencio). Lupain Properties cemented fourth place with their first visit to their home venue, Taylors Lounge, after a hard fought win against The Tavern from San Blas (6-4). The Hunters beat James Bar, 6-4. There were also good wins for the George and Leones, both winning 73 against Scruffy Macs and n Palms Pool Bar.
World Handball Championship
Star handballer flies the flag Gran Canarian María Núñez, a formidable 27-year-old professional handball player who plies her trade for ES Besançon in the French league and for the Spanish national side, is featuring at the current 2015 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship taking place in Denmark until December 20. María Núñez recently reached 35 appearances as a senior international for the Spanish handball team and is one of the side’s star players having come through all the international ranks, including: youth (13 appearances), junior (51 appearances), university (6 appearances) and is now well established in the senior side. Spain’s last international campaign saw them finish runnersup at the recent 19th Spanish International Tournament staged in Gijón. After defeating Angola and Tunisia, the host
María in action for Spain María has been honoured by Gran Canaria’s island council on several occasions
nation met Denmark in the final and despite drawing the match 25:25, Denmark were announced champions due to a better goal average, and now host the World Championships.
María Núñez is highly celebrated in Gran Canaria and has been honoured by the island council on several occasions. She was also recently received by the mayor of San Bartolomé,
Marco Aurelio Pérez, who perhaps wanted to pay her in kind for the promotional work she does wearing a ‘Maspalomas Costa Canaria’ insignia featuring the borough’s logo.
María Núñez Nistal began playing handball as a young girl at the Marcial Franco School and soon became part of the Maspalomas Atlantic team. Her strong play earned her many admirers and she went on to play for Mar Alicante and Balonmano Bera Bera before making the jump to French handball. At ES Besançon, María is one of
the team’s most important players, while in the Spanish side she plays alongside two other Canarian handball stars, Marta Mangué and Eli Perdomo. During the 2015 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship, Spain are competing in Group D along with Norway, Romania, Puerto Rico, Kazakhn stan and Russia.
17.12.2015 – 6.1.2016
FOOTBALL AND SPORTS NEWS
ISLAND CONNECTIONS 761
47
CD Tenerife news
05/12/2015 Elche 0 Tenerife 0 The blanquiazules had their keeper Dani Hernández to thank for a superb shot-stopping display, including a firsthalf penalty save. Elche were playing in La Liga last season and were only relegated due to financial irregularities during the summer. The squad is still strong and they were expected to bounce back but results have been average to say the least. They came flying out of the traps against Tenerife and the first half saw wave after wave of attack by the home side. At least six good chances were created by Elche but they came up against Venezuelan International Dani in superb form for Tenerife. After the break the game became more balanced with Tenerife at last hav-
ing efforts on goal, albeit tentatively. The entrance of young Cristo González gave some spark to the blanquiazules late on but the match finished as it had started, 0-0. It was a good point in a tricky away game for new manager Pep Martí, which keeps his unbeaten run of five games intact. 12/12/15 CD Tenerife 2 Mallorca 1 The young guns won all three points for Tenerife in a magical two minute second-half spell. One player who stood out in particular was Cristo González who hails from Añaza on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. Cristo burst onto the scene last season making his full debut at only 16 years and 10 months old
(the second youngest debutee for the club) and he possesses all the attributes to go a long way in the game. His quick feet, vision and spark remind me of the ex-Tenerife striker Ayoze Pérez, now a big hit in the Premier League. But the game against Mallorca started in the worst possible fashion with the visitors taking the lead after just one minute! A well taken goal by Swiss/Portuguese striker Thierry Mountinho made the task ahead even harder for the blanquiazules but at least they had another 89 minutes to do it! The rest of the first half left little for the faithful to shout about and at the break the Balearic side deserved to be 0-1 to the good. Tenerife improved after the break. The aforementioned Cristo was brought into the
Photo: Cristo González
Two minutes of young magic
Tenerife’s two young heroes, Cristo (left) and Omar (right)
fray and at last cracks began to appear in the Mallorcan defence. Then, just after the hour mark, two magic minutes happened. Cristo picked the ball up on the edge of the box, beat one player before cracking a sweet shot into the corner of
the goal: a true ‘golazo’ as they say in these parts. The blanquiazules were now on the rampage and in the next attack Cristo played a quick one-two with Omar, and the Canarian winger took his chance with a class that
eclipsed his young age. The match in a blink of an eye had turned in Tenerife’s favour and they were now 2-1 up. You couldn’t really see it coming but we were certainly not complaining! The last ten minutes of the encounter proved to be slightly nervy but Tenerife held on to record another victory. They are now six matches unbeaten under new boss Pep Martí, winning three and drawing three. We do need to improve if we are to have any hopes of a playoff spot but the good times are slowly returning to the Heliodoro with this young promising team. As it stands, Tenerife are only four points off the play-off zone but sit only four points from the relegation area before their trip to Valladolid this n weekend.
Nomads Football Club
Fantastic footballing fun Sponsored by: Foreign Language News & www.windowsplus.co.uk Nomad’s youth sides still need a few extra players for the under 8, 10, 12 and 14 teams. We have started a new youth club that helps kids to enjoy playing in the local Spanish leagues, and now at Nomads Football Club in South Tenerife we have a weekly group of youngsters from countries like Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, Uruguay, England and Russia and more. Now that the new league season is about to start we are looking for new players to join the teams and will be providing weekly football sessions at our training pitch in Los Cristianos for the following groups. If your child would like to come along please let us know: Pre Benjamín (under 8s) on Mondays at 5.30pm, Wednesdays at 5.30pm, and Thursdays at 5.30pm.
Nomad FC youth teams will tour Spain and the UK next summer Nomad FC’s under 8s side
Benjamín (under 10s) on Mondays at 6.30pm, Wednesdays at 5.30pm and Fridays at 5.30pm – this team still needs two additional players. Alevín (under 12s) on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6.30pm, and Fridays at 5.30pm – this team still needs two players as well.
Infantil (under 14s) on Tuesdays at 5.30pm, Wednesdays at 6.30pm, and Fridays at 6.30pm – this team still needs one player. Each team has its own webpage. For more information visit: www.nomadsfc.com. Our Nomads youth team will go on tour next summer to
mainland Spain and the UK to enjoy culture, education, football and tons of fun. All young footballers are welcome to join the tour and maybe it would even make for a perfect Christmas present! Our Men’s 6s Winter Cup is hosting the semi finals before Christmas and Atlantic Hori-
zon are being pushed to try and win the League and Cup double again. We also host a weekly men’s 6-a-side league for the social adult footballer living in the south of Tenerife. Some teams need a few extra players so please contact us if you would like to play in the weekly 6s league.
We have started a new local website to inform people on the men’s weekly social 6s league and friendly games, and also the growing youth football classes and teams. Please visit: www.nomadsfc. com. Also, email: info@premfs. com or contact: +34 654 200 n 470.
PROMOTION
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 028
Mi-gusto guide awards
Vote and win! Mi-gusto, the guide to gastronomy, lifestyle and much more, along with the Island Connections and Kanaren Express newspapers, invites you to choose your favourite restaurant in Tenerife, as a candidate for the mi-gusto Restaurant Award. This is the greatest excuse on earth to go out and dine before you vote! Awards will be presented in the following categories: 1. Gourmet/Creative 2. Spanish/Canarian 3. Mediterranean 4. Steak and Grill 5. Seafood 6. Asian and Eastern 7. Tapas/Aperitifs
New music maestros On December 12 the Adeje Cultural Centre rang to the sound of one of the most innovative new bands on the scene in their introductory concert. The Royal House Band is formed of 15 members who have spent the last two months pulling together a unique sound that is most definitely going to be a hit: An intriguing mix of popular dance tunes and ‘House’ music played live on a variety of musical instruments from cello and violin to trumpet, sax, guitars and percussion. And this was no ordinary first performance either – the whole gig has been pulled together by Ashil Daryanani who, along with his brother Deepak, are director and producer of this latest musical offering.
8. Cafes, Bars, Cocktail Bars, Clubs The restaurant which achieves the overall majority of votes will be presented with the first migusto Award as the best restaurant in Tenerife. Vote for your personal favourite in each category and you can win spectacular prizes including iPhones, new generation tablets and hotel and restaurant vouchers with a total value of more than €5,000.
This is how it works From now until January 31, 2016, you can vote to place
your favourite restaurant in the final round by sending an email to info@mi-gusto.guide. You can also vote for any restaurants, regardless of whether or not they appear, or have appeared, in the mi-gusto guide or on the mi-gusto App. Voting for the final starts in February 2016. 1. Vote for your favourite restaurant. 2. Register with your email address, so that if you win you can be contacted directly. This is very important. 3. You will receive a participation code which will be entered into a prize draw. 4. You can vote for restaurants
in every category and you will receive a participation code for each vote you cast. 5. The draw for hotel and restaurant vouchers will be held weekly. The main draw will be held on May 31, 2016. The
winner will be notified by email and the participation codes will be published in Island Connections and Kanaren Express, and on the mi-gusto.guide App. You have to be over the age of 18 to participate, as well
as have a valid email address for contact purposes. And be ready for a little publicity if you win! For full terms and conditions and more information see: www.mi-gusto. n guide.
A very Royal House Band
After a short introduction and message of thanks, the curtains lifted to reveal the band and, as the opening bars rang out across the theatre, an incredible laser show lit up the room!
Through a repertoire which included Fat Boy Slim, John Newman and Tears for Fears numbers, the band and singers gave a spirited and entertaining show – one that was highly appreciated by all members of
the audience, which was an eclectic mix of generations and nationalities: Clapping, dancing and singing their way through the exciting evening – there was no doubt that here is a band that is sure to go far.
The mayor of the town stood to join his message of peace to that of the theme of the show and the Adeje celebrations this year. Many of the members of the band belong to the Adeje Yamaha School of Music, information of which you can find at: ymusicschooladeje. com, and vocalists included
two Spanish pop stars: Ainoah and Roxy. The Royal House Band is an audacious and ambitious project that is certainly fulfilling its promise. This is definitely one group to look out for in the future. The next concerts, to be announced, will be during the Santa Cruz and Los n Cristianos carnivals.