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| Unless indicated, this news is translated from the Spanish press
19th December Despite the chilly weather many people attended the opening ceremony of the giant nativity scene in the capital of Fuerteventura. The mayor of Puerto del Rosario, Marcial Morales, stressed in his opening speech, "the consensus of the islands associations, businesses and citizens in general, that the giant nativity scene had to be maintained despite the cost." Therefore Fuerteventura still has the largest nativity scene in Canary Isles, despite earlier reports that it would not take place this year. The giant houses, 50 buildings of various styles and shapes, have around a hundred different moving parts such as water mills, canals, creeks. The decorative elements have been made using paper mache, cork, fabric and natural materials, all under the artistic direction of the sculptor Majorero Miguel Cubas. In addition, the scene of Bethlehem has more than 50 live animals and various crops. Open from 10am to 10pm in the evening, you can visit the nativity scene and be entertained with Christmas carols. The Ministry of Sports has completed the network of Multi Stadiums with the collaboration of all the municipalities of the island, who have made the sites available and will carry out any maintenance work. The president of the Cabildo, Mario Cabrera, accompanied by Edilia Perez, the mayor of Puerto del Rosario, Marcial Morales, and the councillor for Sport, Beatriz Fajardo, visited the facilities of the sport stadium located in the area of El Charco in Puerto del Rosario. The project cost around 400,000 euros, which has helped install ten stadiums in Morro Jable, La Lajita, Betancuria, Tarajalejo, Great Tarajal, Antigua, Puerto del Rosario, Caldereta and Corralejo . The facilities are designed for the use of residents in each area and their objective is to promote sport. The design has been made so that several sports, on artificial turf, such as indoor football, basketball, volleyball or tennis can be played in one place. The Council of Environment in the Town hall of Fuerteventura, has a project for environmental recovery and to fight against erosion in Cofete (Pájara). The objective is to reclaim traditional structures in the majorero fields that were constructed at the time as a means to fight against erosion, to accumulate water and fertilize the soil, but over the years, because of the abandonment of the farming sector in the area there has been no upkeep, allowing the effects of erosion to multiply. The developed work has concentrated in the areas next to the town of Cofete, with the repairing of pre-existing stone walls, that have become washed away by the waters from the hills. They are not only maintaining the existing ditches and stone walls but rebuilding what had been demolished. The idea is to recover ways that historically have always been used in rural Fuerteventura as a means of fighting erosion i.e. planting crops, ditches, timber and walls, etc. We think the weather in Fuerteventura has been iffy, but on Monday a flight from here was diverted from Tenerife North to Reina Sofia in the south because of bad weather conditions i.e. fog and rain. A person arrested for armed robbery on Saturday, was released by judges on Tuesday. A shop, in El Charco, was entered near closing time and held up, the robber seized about €500 from the till, then tried to lock the doors so he could loot the vending machines. However, the shop person got rid of him by saying he was being recorded by cctv. Now the person in charge of the premises worries about having to encounter the thief on the street. Residents of the area are concerned about going out in the dark as they claim there are very few lights, and they come on after it is dark.
Corralejo has been given a small face lift, quite a few of the paths
have been levelled out and some of the holes along the cobbled
street filled in.
12th December A man died as a result of a pedestrian accident in the town of Tuineje, according to sources from the Coordinating Center for Emergency and Security (CECOES). The deceased was a man aged 50 who was treated by the staff of the Emergency Department Canario (SUC) at the site of the incident and was later transferred by ambulance to the advanced life support General Hospital in Fuerteventura where he died. The Council of Tourism is to embellish accesses to beaches in the section of Great Tarajal-Playitas. The works consist of a paved track or footpath for use of bicycles and pedestrians, parallel to the plan of highway FV-512. Also, landscaped areas for rest and relaxation will be built by the right side of this highway. The Health Council of the Canary Islands have decided to extend and remodel the Health Center of Morro Jable in Fuerteventura. When finished the center will have increased its size by 690 square meters. The new center will have a reception, administration and archives, 16 doctors, with 4 consultants for Paediatrics and Paediatric Infirmary; Bucodental attention, Odontolgy and a Dental Hygienist; and a Gynaecologist. This one will also consult on motherhood and have a room for the preparation for childbirth with corresponding waiting rooms and toilets.
WEIRD Shopper Amber Dibartolomeo, was arrested in a Wal-Mart store charged with selling crack cocaine inside the store. Police said they found over $2,000 in cash on her, along with a can of pepper spray, and 27 grams of cocaine, one in her bra and 26 in her vagina. Michael Smith explained that he was passing a church, spotted a drum set through a window, and could not restrain himself from trying it out. Officers found Smith in a spirited solo after the church's alarm system went off.
A 78 year old woman misread signs at
Arlanda airport in Stockholm, and placed herself on a baggage belt,
which led to a chute, but she was only slightly injured and did not
miss her flight.
10th December
Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (10th Dec)
confirmed that it will close all of its routes to/from Fuerteventura
from 31st January after local tourism group AIE failed to honor the
commercial agreement it entered into with Ryanair to promote
Fuerteventura as a tourist destination. At a meeting yesterday with local business people in Corralejo the Councillor for Tourism, Agueda Montelongo Gonzalez said that the airline had been offered 80% of the outstanding funds. She said that discussions were taking place with other airlines in order to replace the routes. Her ideas for promoting tourism for the island include a leaflet of restaurants who are offering menus del dia for 3e, as on the mainland, a competition with the London School of Marketing and promotion of the island to the Polish. Needless to say none of the audience were impressed. She also said that there was nothing that the Cabildo could do about restricting all inclusive holidays but there were asking AENA to lower landing fees, which are currently the highest of all the islands. In her opinion, Fuerteventura's tourism is growing whilst it is dropping in all the other islands. Perhaps she should be looking at the official figures released by Turismo de Canarias: See for yourself whether she is right:
All this makes me wonder just what has to happen to make this island wake up and see that very few people can make a living from goat's cheese and aloe vera!
6th December Unfortunately Ryanair's success also may have contributed to their downfall. This year so far we had just over 1 million tourists to the island, an increase of 0.3% from last year. If you remove the contribution that Ryanair say they are making, around 200,000 passengers, then Fuerteventura is showing a significant decrease, nearly 20%, in tourism. This pattern is not reflected in the other Canary Islands so cannot be attributed to the credit crisis. More likely is the complacent attitude by the people in charge of promoting the island, one of Ryanair's main complaints. There is a meeting on Tuesday 9th December at the old Gestion Hormiga offices on the road from the bus station to Hiperdino's. Ryanair a member of the Ayuntamiento involved in tourism will inform people what is happening with Ryanair, so come along at 6pm to get your point of view across. The new health center in Puerto del Rosario will open its doors nearly a year late. Despite the fact that the works were completed last May and is already fully equipped, the delay in the installation of the telephone exchange is hindering the opening. The Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) has already concluded that the new Primary Care facilities will not be operational until at least the first quarter of 2009. It was supposed to be opened last April, the months have passed and the center continues closed, waiting for the completion of the administrative burden for the public tender for the telephone switchboard. Everything indicates that it will continue to be inoperative for several months. The new health facility has been built on a plot of 3487 square meters and has required an investment of 4.4 billion euros. Started in 1992 as the project of a group of parents of people with varying types and degrees of disability, Adisfuer, is now a non-profit organization dedicated to the social-integration, with several projects of Collaboration in progress and prospects for further growth. The Association of Disabled Fuerteventura was launched as an initiative to respond to the lack of resources that existed on the island to help people with disabilities. The start was managed through donations and kiosks that the partners themselves assembled at fairs and festivals. Adisfuer already has a chicken farm in operation, located in a facility donated by the Town Council of Fuerteventura in the Angel Casillas. The farm began operating in borrowed facilities and about 1,000 old hens that were to be slaughtered by its owner. It currently has about 15,000 animals, with the prospect of their ability to multiply in order to reach 100,000 and become one of the most important livestock farms in Fuerteventura. The expansion will also need six more employees and more production facilities. "When we started this activity so that the guys had a real job, with timetables and accountability. The big surprise was to discover that not only that the kids could do the job, but they responded perfectly in all aspects of their lives. The two guys who started that are still working with us, "said Maria de los Santos Rodriguez, director of Adisfuer. However, the activity of Adisfuer has been diversifying over the years. There are currently several squads of personnel with different types and degrees of disabilities, thanks to cooperation agreements are working on cleaning the cars of the Town of Fuerteventura, the Municipality of Puerto del Rosario and Water Consortium. Also in conjunction with the capital's City Hall, staff working on programs Adisfuer cleaning of streets, gardens, recreation areas and beaches. Adisfuer obtained the qualification as a Special Job Center in 1995 and since April 2008 also has the Declaration of Public Utility by the Ministry of the Interior, "which has been a push to work all these years and we are convinced that probably represents a turning point in our evolution and growth, "said De los Santos. The Declaration of Public Utility is especially important because it offers the possibility for NGOs to provide services to businesses and public entities, so as to enable them to comply with the requirements of job placement for people with disabilities. Adisfuer has also had a very prominent role at the opening of the Center for Teaching Therapeutics, seen as an educational center geared to the needs of disabled children. About 200 school children from secondary schools across the island participated in the development of a giant red ribbon and the reading of the manifesto "For the dignity, solidarity and commitment to the fundamental rights of people with HIV / AIDS ", Which are conducted within the framework of activities organized for the International Day of the fight against HIV / AIDS, under the organization of various public institutions and collectives. Activities have been haappening since last week, including theater, film forum and workshop activities.
Consorcio Water Supply Fuerteventura
(CAAF) has two new mobile desalination plants with a production
capacity of 2,500 cubic meters each unit that will ensure the supply
of drinking water in the island. The new water treatment plants are
located in Puerto del Rosario and Gran Tarajal and its key features
are its low energy consumption, with about a 50% savings in
electricity compared to other teams, and their ability to be easily
transferred to other locations in if necessary.
27th November
Fuerteventura attracts such large numbers of tourists in part
because of the fantastic sunlight, with almost 3,000 hours of
sunshine every year, an expert has said.
The Lowcost Travel Group is claiming it is cheaper to go on an
all-inclusive holiday in the Mediterranean than stay in 'rip-off
Britain' this Christmas.
A BRAVE Northside girl has become the youngest person ever to
receive a ‘Just In Time’ award from Irish Water Safety for the
heroic rescue of her little brother. In May, Northside People
reported how Amy O’Donoghue (10), from Santry, dramatically rescued
her younger brother, Lee (4) from drowning in the Canary Islands.
Michael Kitt, Minister of State at the Department of the
Environment, presented heroine Amy with her award in a ceremony at
Dublin Castle last week.
It's more than likely that none of the eight partners
in 1997, who began the idea of creating the Cooperative Quesera
Guriamen three years ago, then thought that over time they would
receive an award at the World Cheese Awards, which are like the
Oscars. In addition, they have a grant of 120,000 euros, granted
recently by the Town Council of Fuerteventura, to support a
marketing campaign. It has led them to consolidate the Majorero
market, with up to 60% of production destined for Gran Canaria, and
they are also getting a foothold in the neighboring island of
Lanzarote. On the agenda for the future includes the production of
yoghurt and packaging of goat milk. The Polish tourist board presented at the Rio Hotel Calma its new catalogue for the upcoming summer season to 200 agents from Poland. The president and the minister of tourism of the Town of Fuerteventura, Mario Cabrera and Agueda Montelongo, respectively, and Arturo Claver, representing Turespaña (OTS Warsaw), the president of the company, Mariusz Janczuc who gave the catalogue to the agents. Montelongo encouraged the Polish to enjoy a destination that it considered "a priority in the expectations that have Fuerteventura before the opening of new markets", while Cabrera emphasized the good climate of the island as one of the main attractions offered to their visitors, along with "an impressive supply of beach tourism and nautical tourism and recreation throughout the year, just a few hours by plane from Poland. Janczuk announced that according to the tradition of the company, "the destination that welcomes the congress, experienced a growth of around 300 percent in sales volume of holiday and tourist packages the following year. The Minister of Defense, Carme Chacon, said today that the range in Pájara on Fuerteventura, are being taken adequate security measures with the objective to preserve environmental conditions in all its facilities. The minister of defense said if simulators could substitute for the actual training on the ground, they would, but noted that "for now" everything can not be simulated. She stressed that the Ministry of Defense always sought the action that "has the least possible impact on the population," trying to "help protect traditional uses" in the vicinity of the shooting range and customs of local residents. She reminded us that they have signed a partnership agreement with the mayor of Pájara that "allows fishermen to their travel through the countryside and even has parking to facilitate their tasks." Chacon has stressed, we require a lot of the military, "not only comply with our constitutional mission, but to also collaborate on missions for peace and international security" and this requires that the military have the necessary "equipment and training", which only the fields as in the area of Pájara can supply. The Counsellor of Public Works for the Government of the Canary Islands, Juan Ramón Hernández, announced this Monday in parliament that in early 2009, in writing. the expansion project and the environmental impact study of the port of Corralejo. This was announced on Monday, through a press release, detailing that an investment of 35 million euros, for new facilities which will allow several ferries to dock and have a marina with a capacity of 650 berths. Hernandez said that his department has already had up to 15 alternative designs for the port. Omara Portuondo, the Cuban singer performed at the Insular Auditoriium in Puerto del Rosario on the 26th November. The star, who has been in the business for 60 years, sang a repertoire of her most famous songs, which include jazz, bossanova, rumba and bolero.
WEIRD Agents with the British tourist board, who have met with a delegation from Fuerteventura at the World Travel Market in London, have assured them that the island will maintain its current parameters of passengers. The promotional initiatives undertaken by the Board and the Ministry of Tourism of Fuerteventura in London, have had a great reception in the current fair. The commercial pier in Puerto del Rosario could be inoperative for the next 24 days, if the pilots, carry out the strike announced when they weren't paid. The company has filed a notice of strike with the Port Authority, and are awaiting the response from their employers. The sailors who ferry the pilots to ships seeking to enter or leave the dock in the capital of Fuerteventura, still have to collect their pay for October. Although they remain open to any negotiation with the company, they have announced that for two hours in the time slot between 1100 and 1300 hours after the 24th, they will stop providing their services. Normally, that time slot they usually operate the boat from the Naviera Armas' Volcano of Tejeda. Pilots, are responsible for the company's boats and equipment necessary for the service, and not only man the boats, but do administrative tasks involved also. In March next year the spa 'Messier' is expected to open in Puerto del Rosario, an initiative of the group Majorero businesses to fill the gaps in leisure and health felt in the capital Fuerteventura. Under the premise of 'health through water', the architect Daniel Padron has designed a project that recreates not just a spa, but an ambitious multidisciplinary project, which combines entertainment, wellness and physical activity to health, not only for the inhabitants of the capital, but for the rest of municipalities and the thousands of tourists arriving in port. On the ground floor are located areas of entertainment, play pool, treatment room, sauna, jet treatments, steam baths, as well as a therapeutic area, with a rehabilitation swimming pool. The first floor will have private treatment areas and rehabilitation of physical well-being and fitness. A 48 year-old-man was seriously injured when his car left the FV2 near Puerto del Rosario. Firemen were called to the scene and had to cut the man from the wreckage, where he was found to have serious head injuries. After being stabilised at the scene, the victim was transferred to the nearby hospital.
The City council of La Oliva has begun to equip new
facilities on the beaches of the municipality to improve the service
for users and to improve its image. The mentioned Plan incorporates
the installation of toilets, first aid stations, showers, cycle
parks and wastebaskets. Two treated pine paths have been laid near
Tres Islas and Oliva Beach hotels, each approximately 100mtrs long.
Also the beaches of Corralejo and El Cotillo will be upgraded. They
are going to install three toilets with clothes space, two first aid
stations, a total of 105 wastebaskets, six outer showers with foot
baths, 20 cycle parks , 21 masts for flags, five turrets to monitor
beaches, five amphibious chairs for monitoring, two chairs for
handicapped people, two movable chairs for monitoring. The
councilman of Tourism, considers that this investment “is needed
because our beaches are, at the moment, our main attraction and all
these services are going to make these spaces better for the
public”, and adds, “finally the beaches are going to have functional
and modern showers, wastebaskets and turrets”.
14th November The property scene on the Canary Islands may be boosted by the launch of new flights to the archipelago by low-cost airline Ryanair. Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) has announced that the budget carrier is to commence new services next month that will fly from the city to Tenerife and Fuerteventura. John Pakey, the deputy chief executive of JLA's owners Peel Airports Group, said he expected the flights, part of a package of seven new Ryanair services, would be welcomed by the public who will enjoy getting away, "especially the sunny Canary Islands for some winter sun". Such extra flights will provide more access to the islands for those who buy property there, while also potentially increasing the number of tourists who may rent buy-to-let property. In a separate announcement, Ryanair has also said it is launching a new service to Fuerteventura from Birmingham. The dutch low-cost fare airline transavia.com has started operations from Billund and Copenhagen airports in Denmark. - The Danish market is attractive,” says CCO Willem Hondius. Sterling Airlines, a Danish low-cost airline that transported around 4.5 million passengers a year, filed for bankruptcy on October 29, 2008. At that time, the airline discontinued all its flights with immediate effect. Due to the disappearance of Sterling Airlines, transavia.com sees good opportunities on the Danish market. - The Danish market is attractive,” says Willem Hondius, Chief Commercial Officer. The British tourist board has met the delegation of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura in London and have ensured that the island maintain its current parameters of passengers, as revealed during meetings between the two parties that have taken place over the past few days. The promotional initiatives undertaken by the Board and the Ministry of Tourism of Fuerteventura in London, as have been the tour subjective 'FuerteventuraVisión' to the island and the agreement with the London School of Marketing, have had a great reception in the current edition of the fair. Councillor for Tourism in the island Corporation, Agueda Montelongo, said that "these rounds of meetings have enabled us to open new lines of work with the British entrepreneurs very interested in the island, while they have given us the opportunity to glimpse an overall vision of predictions for the future of Fuerteventura in the British tourism market. Google Earth is the best example of how geographic information has become popular and anyone can approach with a single click on a mouse any place of the world. Something similar is happening with the territorial information and its consultation on the part of the citizens thanks to Infrastructures of Spatial data (IDE) that are being created. For the past few months any user can access all the geographic information produced by the Government of the Canary Islands. This universalisation of the existing spatial data comes to support the citizens and also local administrations, that will be able to make use of this computer science system, available on the Internet, to help with its own planning. The IDE Canary includes a geographic viewfinder in three dimensions, search text outpost of the geographic data base, consults city-planning of the planning of more than 40 municipalities, basic maps, thematic maps (buildings, geologic and vegetation) or cartography of natural spaces. The cause of the death is not confirmed, although police sources state that there are two possibilities: intoxication or suicide of the woman, who was found in a vehicle by the sea. At Giniginamar, in Tuineje, when finding a vehicle semisubmerged in the border of the beach the local police were alerted. Immediately the Services of Emergencias, Civil Guard, Local Police, Firemen and Civil defense of Tuineje moved into the place to investigate. In the vehicle they found the body of a woman of about 60 years of age, of foreign nationality. The City of La Oliva, through the Department of Environment, and the NGO Clean Ocean Project with a good group of volunteers cleaning up near the port of Corralejo. The intention focused mainly on eliminating the cigarette butts which are stuck in the rocks around the edge of the coastline. People throw the cigarette butts out to sea, which sweeps them up on the rocks and they get stuck, and to remove them requires a thorough manual scraping. The City Council handed out bags and gloves and a snack for people who joined this initiative promoted by Clean Ocean Project. The cigarette butts are hugely polluting, said specialists, as it takes 50 years to become bio-degradable, they are also harmful to marine fauna. Estimates indicate that a single butt causes pollution to at least eight liters of sea water. Most of the water sports centers operating in Fuerteventura are illegal. More than half of the schools are illegal, they do not have liability insurance, and the teachers are not qualified or possess certificates in first aid. Regardless of the legality of the centers, at stake is the safety of beach users, in the absence of qualified and identified areas in order to impart lessons, which causes teachers and students mingle with bathers. The Municipality of La Oliva aims to sort these activities on its coastline, as currently there are no regulations on them. The rest of the Town Councils are in the same situation with the presence of nautical centers on its beaches in an irregular manner. Deaths on the roads Fuerteventura from traffic accidents have fallen to just under half in the months that have elapsed compared to the previous year. Speeding or inappropriate speed remains a leading cause of death. The first group of loggerhead turtles have hatched in Fuerteventura, from the eggs that were brought two months ago from Cape Verde to reintroduce the species there. Over the next few days the rest of the eggs are scheduled to hatch.
7th November Lanzarote’s Arrecife airport was closed for several hours last Friday after an Air Europa jet failed to stop at the end of the runway after landing in wet conditions. Flights were diverted to other Canary Islands including Fuerteventura and Tenerife so the aircraft could be towed from its resting place close to the airport’s perimeter fence. The flight, which took off from Glasgow in the early hours of Friday morning, had 74 people onboard but no one was hurt. Thomas Cook later confirmed all customers had been transferred to their hotels. An Air Europa spokesman said: “The runway was wet and the plane skidded off its normal trajectory. All the passengers left the plane and are fine.” Many Britons hope to leave the grey skies, drizzle and overcooked turkey at home this year, by jetting off to enjoy the festive season abroad, according to the findings of a recent survey. The poll by travel search engine Kayak.co.uk revealed that 60 per cent of Brits wanted to go abroad this Christmas, despite the ongoing credit crunch and financial crisis putting pressure on the budgets of many people. In a recent article, the Dail;y Mirror compiled a list of top winter sun destinations which included Fuerteventura. The Government of Morocco wish to restart the sea route between Fuerteventura and the port of Tarfaya, interrupted last April 30th following the sinking of the ship Assalam. The Moroccan authorities, among which was the chairman of the Investment Center of Morocco, offered an extensive explanation of the economic conditions that exist in Tarfaya, a city inhabited by 6,000 people, where the fishing industry is one of its main sources of economic wealth and which has excellent potential for tourism. The Chairman of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Fuerteventura, appreciated this meeting and called for reinstating the shipping line that will allow Morocco to boost sales of trade to and from the island of Fuerteventura.
A group of trained dogs particpated in a rescue
event, carried out in the upper area of El Matorral, organised so that Fuerteventura could learn about
animal training for rescue situations. The Council of Puerto Rosario aims to make it cheaper to purchase low consumption light bulbs thanks to the collaboration of various establishments from the capital. Thus not only contibuting to slowing down the climate change process, but also promoting an energy saving culture. The work license granted in 2003 by the ex- mayor, for the 4 star hotel, connected to the golf course in El Cotillo, has been declared null and void. The City council of La Olivia decided to cancel the license. The Town hall of Fuerteventura inaugurated a new store of crafts and typical cheeses of the island, in the airport, which triples its size.
News Of The Weird
31 October
Ryanair has
launched 14 brand-new services from Birmingham
Airport, including a route to
Fuerteventura. Ryanair now operates a choice of over thirty
destinations from Birmingham including flights to Dublin, Barcelona
(Girona), Porto, Oslo (Torp), Bratislava, Stockholm (Skavsta),
Biarritz and many more destinations. At the World Travel Market in London, between the 10th and 13th of November, a pavilion that will exhibit in graphics the islands as a unique tourist destination will be launched. The Islands will be promoted in in this way in future at international and national fairs. The new design of the pavilion has a great circular screen ten meters in diameter, installed inside the enclosure, which will surround the visitors with a succession of images of the archipelago in 360 degrees. Claudina Morales, the ousted mayoress of La Oliva, has been made president of the Canarias Consortium party for the whole of the Canaries. At least 50 students will be needed to register for the first course at the Medical School of Fuerteventura for it to be viable. The course is planned for 2009/2010. A study concludes that in Fuerteventura there is sufficient demand for this course. This university degree will be first that is distributed actually in Fuerteventura, although in the Islands there are already another five places in the National University which can be attended at a distance If the project goes ahead, Fuerteventura and its inhabitants could then enjoy the advantages of having a university on the Island.
Security, catering and health care services, are the main complaints
from tourists who visit Fuerteventura. This was the result of a
survey conducted on 1647 tourists between July 30th and Aug 10th by
a company in Tenerife. International artists, creative workshops, music and space for discussion on art have focused the cultural offerings of Fuerteventura's capital throughout the week, in the International Sculpture Symposium. All the artists had to use recycled rubbish for their materials. Figures with chicken wire decorated with nails, plates and other materials now decorate the city. This is the workshop of Ariane Garnier, who was born in Costa Rica. One of the surprises is the girls, made with tape and filled newspaper, the work of American Mark Jenkins. Hundreds of people have been able to observe and even participate in this seventh anniversary of the International Symposium of Sculpture in Puerto del Rosario. They have had the opportunity to enter into the art of recycling, and the importance of bringing creativity to any piece of material. It was a good excuse to get closer to the sculptors. Throughout Thursday and Friday, the Centro de Arte Juan Ismael hosted conferences by Rosario Aleman, a professor at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Parramón Ramon, a professor at the University Pampeu Fabra; Felix Duque, director of the Center Galego of Contemporary Art and Horst Hoheisel, among others. The City council of Puerto Rosario will not display its normal Nativity Scene this year due to the economic crisis. Since a great part of payment for the display comes from the commercial sector of Puerto Rosario, the City council agreed that it was not the appropriate moment to request monies from the companies.
WEIRD 23 October The City council of La Oliva has announced the creation of a company to be in charge of the management and promotion of the municipality as a tourist destination until the year 2020. This initiative is one of the solutions, as the council tries to revitalize the tourist potential of localities like Corralejo or El Cotillo. More than 90 canarian cheese and wine companies met in the Agricultural Museum the Patio of Tiagua, in Teguise. Majorero cheese is exquisite when accompanied by a good wine. Nevertheless, the majority of residents do not know it is made in the Canary Islands so the chamber of commerce organized a celebration for these companies. Products of all the islands were sent to other Spanish zones like the Basque Country, the two Castillas and Madrid. Fuerteventura has become the island which has more mobile classrooms in the archipelago. The island of Fuerteventura has a total of 41 pre-fabricated modules. Councilor for Education, Universities, Culture and Sports Executive of the regional, Milagros Luis, acknowledged this fact in the course of a parliamentary committee and said that Puerto del Rosario has the greatest number of these classrooms, a total of 20, and there are seven in the municipality of La Oliva, then six in Antigua, six and two in Tuineje and Pájara which guarantee an education for boy and girl majoreros. Milagros Luis, who appeared at the request of the parliamentary group of CC, to report the start of the school year in Fuerteventura, recalled that "due to population growth that has swept through this island, the demand for places at schools in areas such as Puerto del Rosario has been very important. " The counsellor did not hesitate to invite members of the parliamentary Committee of Education to accompany him to visit one of the mobile classrooms in the center of the archipelago. He stated the mobiles "are comfortable as they have air conditioning, bathrooms that are adapted for children and the doors are sound proofed." During his speech, the minister criticized the PSOE in the Canary Islands for calling them "barracks", when "in the Andalucia Manuel Chaves they call them shells." The nationalist Lidia Padilla recalled that due to the sharp population increase, Fuerteventura Island has suffered "significant gaps in educational infrastructure," but stressed that "society has been able to agree to demand that the government wanted a breakthrough and an update on educational infrastructre." Of those fishermen who, more ago than half century ago, bought land or houses but did not register them. Six cases in the Supreme Court has legitimized their ownership that the Delval International has disputed for the last four years. Brothers, Manuel and Marcos Figueroa Soda bought two houses in Corralejo in 1967. This week, 41 years later, Manuel finally can sleep peacefully because the Supreme Court (TS) has confirmed it is his property against the mercantile organization the Delval International that, in 2001, registered all the ground of the old Corralejo in its name. In the six cases, the TS declares that the sentences, in the first and second instance, are in favor of the residents of Corralejo. The other eleven cases awaiting a decision feel that the TS has set a precedent. Fuerteventura has eight Zones of Special Protection for Birds (ZEPA), approved by the Government of the Canary Islands and the European Union. The last one that was catalogued is where Monteagudo is located, the zone proposed to install the future power plant. In it lives 34% of the population of hubaras of the Island (about 63 units), two or three pairs of guirres (an endemic subspecies in danger of extinction), engañamuchachos and other high-priority species for the programs of protection and conservation ordered by the European Union. Two members of the Guardia Civil of Fuerteventura are to join forces with the Moroccan police for the collaboration between Spain and Morocco in the fight against illegal immigration. This time two officers have been posted from the Institute's Armed Fuerteventura, the Maritime Service and the Pafite (Fiscal Patrol Land), have been transferred to the Sahara to participate in joint operations. They arrived last Sunday and will stay in Laayoune until this coming Friday. During their time there, they have not intercepted any boat with illegal immigrants bound for the Canaries, although they have been informed that at least four boats could have left for the islands. Once they complete their stay in Laayoune, the Moroccan gendarmes will be moving for a week to bases of the Civil Guard in Spain, to further deepen relations between the two bodies and make further progress in the coordinated fight against the networks trafficking human beings. 15th October
Alternative flights have been booked for Irish passengers affected
by the closure of low cost Spanish airline LTE.
A FAMILY were thrown off a holiday jet after downing a litre of
vodka and abusing staff. Up to 23.3 tons of mussels will be relocated in Ajuy and Jandía with the purpose of the recovery of the species, that has not improved in spite of 4 years of banning collection. These additional stocks arrive on 20th October. The Council of Environment of the Insular Town hall will place special devices, four in the west coast (Ajuy) where the Perna perna traditionally is located, and also two in the east coast (Jandía). Smartlines are lines that consist of a tube of 126 meters in length and 25 centimeters of diameter, from which hangs a network of 120 meters in length by 2.5 to 3 meters wide. Natalia Évora, advisor of Environment, explained that the system is based on the natural fixation of the larvae of mussel on the networks, on which the units grow, “without leaving the water at any phase of the culture”. The positioning of these lines of culture in several zones is made to try and identify which location offers the better results as far as larvaria fixation, growth of mussels and resistance of the system. The Majorero mussel, Perna perna, is one of the more important molluscs of Fuerteventura. They are dominant in the rocky zones of the coast of west due to the outcrop that takes place in this zone that enriches waters with nutrients. Mussel characteristics are a brown coloration with green tones, of small stature and chestnut tree and violet coloured in those of greater stature, of which have not been seen in Fuerteventura for years The festival of Tuineje in honour of San Miguel Archangel, has just taken place. More followers every year come from not only different parts of Fuerteventura itself, but also Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, and the people become the real centre of this popular and festive event. From early afternoon, the town was already a hotbed of pilgrims dressed in their traditional costumes. Some 70 carriages and carts were paraded on the road to Corral Blanco, where hundreds of people were waiting impatiently the watch the spectacle. Tuineje has grown to be the largest and most crowded festival on the island and the residents of this southern town have succeeded in awakening the parade with more fervour and tradition. After paying tribute to San Miguel, the fiesta continued in the area surrounding the church. After a modelling competition in England, the barren sand dunes of Fuerteventura’s renowned beaches provided the perfect backdrop for the winning models first professional photo shoot. Charlotte Martin wore designer clothes and sunglasses from Joanna’s Closet in Ulverston. Wearing the tribal outfits that went down a storm in the final, the girls struck primeval poses in the sweltering heat before cooling off in the sea for more sizzling shots. The four girls were selected from a shortlist of six by a judging panel of former Modelling Competition winners Kirsty Price and Erin Hargreaves and photographer Mike Kells who have accompanied them on the week-long trip. After posing in the surf, Georgia Andrews, a 17-year-old beauty therapy student, said: “I thought the tribal theme was fab and it was great wearing our outfits again.” Basketball star Paige Livingston utilised her athleticism to create some energetic poses for the shoot. The 17-year-old said: “It was so much fun. I was jumping around everywhere and I couldn’t stop laughing.” Rebecca Harrison, a sales administrator, said: “I really loved my first photo-shoot and the landscape really helped me get in character.” Charlotte Martin, 19, was delighted with the results. She added: “It was my first photo shoot and I am so pleased with my pictures. I can’t believe it’s me.” For the second shoot Paige, of Victoria Avenue, Barrow said: “My purple dress picture is my favourite so far, but if I could describe my experience in one word I would say... sweaty!” Also wearing purple Becca, of Rydal Road, Ulverston, said: “This photo shoot was hard because of the heat but rewarding because the pictures are so good.” Looking stunning in a chiffon dress with a plunging, beaded halterneck, Charlotte, of Anson Street, Barrow, said: “I found this photo shoot really challenging and I put everything into it. Wearing a crimson and black dress Georgia looked striking against the sun-bleached backdrop. Georgia, of Conway Gardens, Walney, commented: “Eighty degrees, no shade, no wind, hot and clammy – what more can I say? Oh yeah, awesome and exciting!” The third photo shoot was at sunset with the girls modelling Vivienne Westwood sunglasses from Joanna’s Closet, with their own bikinis. The photo-shoot had to be wrapped up quickly to coincide with the sun going down. “This was definitely my favourite,” said Charlotte. “It was mental getting direction off the Kells team and having to work so fast. If a pose hurts that means it works,” added Becca. La Oliva council is trying to stop the harassment of tourists, by the touts trying to get people in restaurants and bars, on the streets of Corralejo, with the Local Police controlling the situation. They have also been asked to manage the illegal working problem.
In Pajara the council is looking into sexual discrimination in the
work place, after it was discovered only 29% of women were promoted
compared to 71% of men. October 10th The City council of La Oliva is in debt to the value of 27 million euros. Almost 5 million euros must given back to the promoters of the Partial Plan Coast of the Light, anticipated to develop in El Cotillo and cancelled by the Council. 25 million euros were from left over from the last government. 3 million euros were for Social Security; 2.5 million to the Fomento company; 14 million to their suppliers, and 5.5 million in bank loans. A loan of 6 million coming from ICO gives very low interest, that begins to pay back in 2011 and which has allowed the start if “very important works” in the municipality. Also 2.2 million euros are destined to Corralejo to decentralize services and to get them as the most important nucleus of the municipality, and 500,000 euros for the purchase of the premises for cultural activities in the place of the Molino de Oliva. In short, the debt is in works, buildings and infrastructures for the municipality. The Court of Contentious-administrative Nº 2 of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria has annulled the work license granted by the city council of Yaiza to construct 150 apartments in one of the parcels of the Papagayo Coast, in Playa Blanca. According to the Foundation, “the reason for the cancellation of the license has been, because of the absence of the report of compatibility with the Insular Plan of Arrangement of the Territory (PIOT)”. The court stated the omission of the compatibility report cannot be accepted by this Room because it has to consider information to stop superfluous and unnecessary building.
The airline company Ryanair announced last Friday, the cancellation
of one of its three weekly flights between Fuerteventura and Dublin
are in “breach” in its commercial agreements with the IEA (Grouping
of the Economic Interest and Promotion of the Tourist Development of
Fuerteventura) in failing its agreement to promote the flights of
this airline. One of the most important low cost European airlines
will cancel, from the 6th November, the flight to Dublin of
Thursdays from Fuerteventura. This cancellation could result in the
loss of 20,000 Irish tourists, according to data from the company.
The Government of Fuerteventura and the Canary Islands Government will develop a program to eliminate sea urchins from the shores of the island, considering it an invasive species and classified as a plague that is impoverishing the coast Majorero. The chairman of the Town of Fuerteventura, Mario Cabrera, and the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pilar Merino, yesterday signed a partnership agreement between the two institutions for the development of actions aimed at controlling the population of sea urchins. One species, they explained, whose proliferation on the coasts causes the so-called Clay Pit, acts negatively on the ecosystem by eliminating other species. The project has a budget of 50,000 euros, over a period of two years, and the possibility that the time will be extended if deemed necessary. The method is similar to that carried out on other islands in the Canaries and it is done to recover the rocky shoreline where the high density of sea urchins cause serious effects on biodiversity, especially in areas of commercial interest. The cleaning of the area selected will be conducted by divers from the lower edge of the algal coverage, which becomes the Clay Pit to a depth of about 20 meters, work that must be repeated every seven days during the first two months of the year. The economis crisis has plunged the real estate business into real agony. The island has 8,000 new houses that have no outlet in the residential market, because many developers are threatened by embargoes of banks not to release the money for certificates. The president of the Confederation of Employers of Fuerteventura, Eduardo Hernandez, admitted the existence "of more than 8,000 homes without outlet. The situation is not only serious but difficult." According to Hernandez, who met with the President of the Cabildo, along with members of the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the current economic situation, "it will take many years for the construction sector to recover, because they must first sell all the stock of residential housing, before they can begin to build again. The significant increase in the population that Fuerteventura has seen in recent years, led to a demand for the housing developments. Faced with this situation, employers are suing majoreros institutions to put the island on public working, which will not only alleviate the crisis, but to help generate new employment opportunities.
Porretas figs, millet, jareas, pejines, peas, cheese and gofio were
among the many products that parishioners offered to the Virgin of
the Rosary. Hundreds of people, many of them wearing native
costumes, participated in this traditional event. The procession of
the image, involved 18 groups from all corners of Puerto Rosario.
The church square of the capital of Fuerteventura and the May First
Avenue became a caravan of multicolor where popular music and dance
accompanied carts drawn by camels, cows and donkeys pulling a huge
variety of products. The followers took the image of the Virgin out
of the church and stood under a huge arch decorated for the
occasion. Along with the patron, were the capital's parish priest,
the president of the Cabildo, Mario Cabrera, the mayor of Puerto del
Rosario, Marcial Morales, and the councilor of Celebrations, Pena
Aguiar, who delivered the first basket of products to the Virgin .
At his side, the queens of the festivities were accompanied by their
bridesmaids. All the participating groups and many individuals who
joined the offering, came with their presents and delivered several
boxes of food that will be aimed at Cari-tas. Near the square were
completely swamped, but this year the organizers took the initiative
to install chairs for the audience to enjoy the three hours that the
offering took. Fuerteventura has a great tradition in the tourism and trade, and now has 1236 registered businesses.
Beach Jaruga of La Oliva was the scene of the death of a diver,
whose disappearance was alerted mid-afternoon at the Coordinating
Center for Emergency and Security regional 112. Staff from the Civil
Guard and Maritime Rescue were deployed to assist in the search for
the diver, whose body was finally located. It is not known who the
victim was. The body of diver was finally recovered at 18.20 hours.
Shortly after a surfer was in trouble when he was surfing in Pájara
and was dragged by the current about 3 miles offshore at 18.40. The
man was rescued unharmed after a while by local police officers who
intercepted him more than two kilometers from the coast, sources
reported. October 2nd
The island of Fuerteventura is nearer being declared by UNESCO a
Reserve of the Biosphere. After receiving the approval of the
Committee MAB (Man and Biospher) Spanish, dependent of the Ministry
of Environment, and finalized on the Friday 19th September the
official period of allegations without consideration problems
appeared, the international committee of UNESCO will pronounce
itself in Paris in the next few weeks. Bank Santander lost 4.21% in the Stock , up to 10.46 Euros, after announcing that it will buy part of the nationalized Bradford & Bingley.
The cured goat cheese with the covering of pimentón and gofio of the
Cheese factory of Arico, in Tenerife, has been awarded the best
cheese in the world in the World Cheese Awards 2008, that take place
in Dublin, among more than thousand five hundred products worldwide.
The Islands is won four gold medals in this year. The medals have
gone to Property of Uga and the Cheese factory of Arico, Maxorata
and Guriamen de Fuerteventura, Property of Uga - Lanzarote. A region of the municipality of La Oliva, 20,000 square meters, in El Cotillo to allow a waste water purifier to be constructed, announced municipal sources. The mayoress, Rose Fernandez, signed yesterday that Eduvigio Alberto Goatherd gives to the municipality a lot of 20,000 square meters located in the Masmorrilla, a zone located between the towns of El Roque and El Cotillo. The Bella Aida, the largest of the luxury ships that arrive in Fuerteventura in this season of cruises. The Cabildo Majorero hosted a welcome event, to the rhythm of traditional music and batucada, to the 1,800 passengers of that ship upon arrival in Puerto del Rosario, with the presence of many regional and island authorities. The cruise season runs from end of September until March 2009, and it is expected to increase visitors by around 13 percent, according to estimates by the Tourist Board. Last season 41,000 tourists came to Fuerteventura by this means, a 29% increase over the previous year, which shows a steady increase in this sector. The president of the Cabildo Majorero, Mario Cabrera, said that with the launch of this port infrastructure "begins a new stage for Fuerteventura, which will allow us to get in the best conditions for tourists who visit us via cruise ship and begin exploring a new facet tourism for the island. " For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Agueda Montelongo, added that "from now on we must get down to work to ensure that the island becomes a main port, which would mean that many cruises start and finish their journeys from here, which would strongly increase the overnight stays of thousands of tourists who would seize the opportunity to spend a few days in Fuerteventura. " A total of 18 buses departed completely full from the port with passengers of the Bella Aida, bound for various locations in Fuerteventura on a tour that had already been booked by the visitors. Agents of the Environment of Fuerteventura Hall, in collaboration with the Local Police in the municipality of La Oliva, has proceeded with the arrest of two people who performed illegal shellfishing from the beach Jaruga of Tindaya. Members of the Cabildo and the Local Police identified on Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, two individuals who were shellfishing in the area of Wind Point, near the Playa del Jaruga of Tindaya. They seized a total of 4 kilograms of species of Burgos' Osilinus' and limpets' Patella Tenius crenata 'and' Patella Candeias', the latter species are in danger of extinction. The prosecution asked for 46 years of imprisonment for a man who is accused of killing an English couple from Fuerteventura. A jury will judge in November John Carmelo SA for this double murder, which occurred two years ago in La Oliva and shocked residents of the municipality Majorero. According to the prosecution the crime occurred in July 2006, when Brian David Johnson and his wife, Tina Jane Johnson, 60 and 58 years old, travelled by car to El Cotillo to collect the rent on several apartments. Both were engaged in clearing and collecting the rent of those buildings, one of which was occupied by Juan Carmelo and was three months in arrears. But that morning the tenant did not have money to pay off the debt, an argument arose and the defendant ended up hitting Tina's head repeatedly with a hammer. Minutes later, Brian called at the door in search of his wife, entered the home and was attacked in the same manner. The accused used two bags to cover the bodies from head to chest, and tied with a ribbon. He also hid the bodies with blankets and kept them at his house for an indefinite period, before he finally went by car to Malpaís of Mascona and buried them with stones.
Corralejo held its yearly cultural weekend with more cultures taking
part than last year. Live music was provided as well as many
different stalls, dedicated to the different countries represented.
Unfortunately this years event did not seem as well advertised as in
years previous and therefore was down on numbers of visitors.
September 25th 2008 The citizens of Fuerteventura can enjoy, during December, discounts in shops, restaurants and hotels on the island in an initiative of the Chamber of Commerce, announced the Insular Town hall today. They will be able to obtain discounts of between 3% and 15% or to spend one night in an hotel on the island for only 25 Euros a night. It is hoped that this will encourage residents to become tourists for the day on their own island, allowing them to get to know the different establishments of Fuerteventura, explained the promoters. Altogether 69 hotels, 89 apartments, 90 shops and 159 restaurants in different areas of the island have joined the program. A Wheelchair burst into flames, minutes after it was unloaded from the hold of an aircraft coming from Fuerteventura. The incident took place shortly after a holiday jet landed at Manchester Airport, with more than 200 passengers on board. It triggered a warning from the Civil Aviation Authority about the dangers of carrying electrical goods on an aircraft. The plane, a First Choice Boeing 757, had landed at the airport after a flight from Fureteventura. Ground staff at Manchester airport were removing luggage from the hold when they saw sparks coming from the wheelchair. The wheelchair was placed on a ground vehicle and within seconds had burst into flames. "It was a real inferno," one industry source said. "Thankfully no-one was injured as a result of the Manchester incident," said Geoff Leach, manager of the dangerous goods office at the Civil Aviation Authority. "The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but it does highlight the need for passengers to be extremely vigilant when taking items on board aircraft. "Passengers need to be aware that some items, which are relatively innocuous in everyday use, are capable of posing a serious risk to the occupants of an aircraft, no matter where they are carried on-board and therefore need to be carefully checked." The incident with the wheelchair has highlighted the dangers of carrying electrical items, especially those which are powered by battery. According to the CAA, battery terminals should be covered. If not a piece of metal could, if it touches both terminals, create a circuit heightening the risk of a fire. "Passengers frequently travel with electronic gadgets or other battery powered items and, although the batteries in these rarely pose a safety problem, if they are loose or the equipment is inadvertently activated there is a danger of fire," Mr Leach added. [The Telegraph] A man is planning to take legal action against a holiday airline claiming he and his partner were treated as the “Family from Hell” and escorted off a plane. Simon Howley, a TV film producer, and his family had an altercation with Thomas Cook flight attendant after his two-year-old daughter Maisie became distraught on a flight to Fuerteventura. Maisie had become upset during the outgoing flight, but the flight attendant said the plane would not land unless she sat in her own seat. Despite this, the plane landed safely with Maisie on her mother’s lap, and the family claim they apologised when they left. When he and his partner Natasha Back returned to Fuerteventura Airport for the flight back to Gatwick however, they were asked to sign a form before they boarded. Thomas Cook have confirmed that this was an "additional conditions of carriage" form. Mr Howley, 41, claims that the names Howley/Back had been put on A4 sheets of paper at the check-in desks. A Thomas Cook representative said they had been expecting "the family from Hell" but admitted the description did not fit the family. Upon boarding the plane, they met the flight attendant Mr Howley had dealt with the week before. He asked for her name because he planned to complain when he returned to the UK and she allegedly replied: "That's fine darlin". Within minutes of settling into their seats, the cabin manager told the family to disembark because they had allegedly been behaving in "a threatening manner". Not wishing to cause a scene, they left the plane, despite mother and daughter in tears. After already spending £3,000 on the holiday, Mr Howley's family then spent a further £500 for a later flight home, after being refused back on. Mr Howley said: "As a frequent business flyer I have never had the ignominy of being escorted from a passenger jet." He has now complained to Thomas Cook and consulted a lawyer. He said: "It was bad enough being called 'darlin' by the stewardess but then being asked to sign what was in reality a good behaviour form and being labelled the family from hell was just too much. "Other passengers were very supportive of us and couldn't see what we had done wrong."It was a charter flight but I am not some kind of lager lout. My job takes me on flights around the world and nothing like this has ever happened to me before." Thomas Cook said they were investigating the complaint. [The Telegraph] 25 tourist reps from Puerto Rosario have had a crash course of English and German to welcome the passengers of the first cruise ship that will arrive this season at Fuerteventura in their own language. The “Beautiful Aída”, a luxury boat will inaugurate the season and the facilities of the new wharf for cruiser ships to the capital. In order to facilitate this during the upcoming season, a translator and interpreter will give two classes a week in English and German, although this week there will be three classes. If this initiative goes well, this experience could be repeated. The first classes that have been programmed will concentrate on introducing the students to the most basic aspects of both languages, so that they are able to greet, give a welcome, and to ask what their trip is like or to invite the tourists to dance. 43.6% of minors between 13 and 17 years that surf the Internet have received a sexual proposal through the network, according to data gathered by agents of the Judicial Police.
They have analyzed the risks, threats and opportunities that the Internet offers to minors and have confirmed that the Internet is not bad but a door to the world that the minors must use being conscious of the risks. Four people were denounced by the Civil Guard the past Wednesday after being surprised in the Natural Park of Jandía by watchmen of Environment camping illegally. The collaboration between the watchmen of Environment of the Town hall of Fuerteventura and the Civil Guard (Seprona), allowed them to locate, identify and denounce four people who camped illegally in the zone of El Roque del Morro, in the natural park of Jandía, municipal term of Pájara. The Civil Guard whose agents approached the campers at 19,00 hours on Wednesday, right at the moment at which four people returned with 8 kilos of mussels. After identifing them, the people were cahrged with camping illegally and the illegal shellfishing of protected species. The finess for each of them could be about 3,000 Euros. September 19th 2008 Britons are defying the credit crunch to catch
some European sunshine, according to travel retailer
Travelrepublic.co.uk. One person was injured in a traffic accident in Caleta de Fuste this week. Three vehicles were involved in the incident that left two cars virtually destroyed. A man aged 28 has been seriously injured after a fall from an empty apartment complex in Costa Calma. The incident took place at one in the morning last week and the man was transferred in a helicopter to the Emergency Department in Gran Canaria. The refurbishment project of the commercial area
of Puerto del Rosario, on the streets of Leon Castillo and Virgen de
La Pena, has begun to arouse suspicion and criticism from traders,
who complained of the disappearance of some 200 car parking spaces,
the problems of loading and unloading of goods and the slow pace of
works with the consequent economic loss. The Canary Islands are to get more stations to
help measure the quality of air. An Air Mediterranee Airbus A321-100, registration F-GYAN performing flight DR2504 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Fuerteventura,CI (Spain), had just landed in Fuerteventura and was taxiing off the runway, when smoke started the emanate from the left hand main gear. Fire engines immediately activated, but needed around 10 minutes to stop the wheel fire, which was helped by a hydraulics leak. The passengers disembarked normally after fire fighters brought the fire under control. [Aviation Herald] The prison of Fuerteventura will begin to be
constructed next year and could be operative before the 2011,
according to the president of the State Society of Infrastructures
and Equipamientos Penitenciarios (SIEP), Juan Jose Azcona. PuertoCalle 2008 approaches. Starting on Monday
22nd it has a total of 23 musical spectacles, of humour, acrobatic
and circus acts that comprise the program of the second edition of
this festival of scenic arts in the street. We should be getting access to cheaper and a wider
range of broadband services. The unique underwater cable system
between the Península and the Canary Islands is the one that
Telefonica rents to alternative operators who serve broadband. Up
until now the prices of the rent of this cable were not regulated by
the CMT. The Commission has now imposed a reduction of the 30.38
percent in all the capacities of the transmission available. Costs
for the alternative operators will be lower and better supplies will
be able to be made for broadband. Magdalena Alvarez, minister of Promotion of the
Spanish Government, confirmed that next weekend she will visit the
canary airports to supervise the Canary execution of the Plan 2020.
At the moment “we are in the middle of the execution” of this
initiative that affects all the airports of the Islands. September 11th 2008 Spanish firm, Futura International Airways had their operating licence suspended on Sunday night by Spain's aviation authority, and the future of the airline is in jeopardy. Yesterday, they said they had come up with a rescue plan which would see half their staff sacked and half their planes axed in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. Futura have flown holidaymakers from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports to destinations including Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Mahon and Tenerife. News of the airline's problems comes just days after the collapse of airline Zoom - who also operated out of Glasgow. It was unclear how many Scots holidaymakers would be affected by Futura's woes. Futura usually sell flights through operators such as Thomas Cook. Thomas Cook said they were working yesterday to get alternative flights for passengers affected by Futura's problems. The Spanish government have now lifted the flight ban. Futura's woes came after rising fuel prices. [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk] Two Wigan children triggered a daring rescue in the Canaries – while looking for chipmunks! Kayleigh Peach, 11, and her eight-year-old brother David bought bags of peanuts to feed the cute creatures and were scrambling over rocks on Fuerteventura.
But as they did so, the young holidaymakers noticed two fishermen stranded on a rocky outcrop, with the Atlantic Ocean thundering all around.
They alerted their dad, a Billinge GP, and within minutes the family set a life-saving operation in motion which left hundreds of fellow holidaymakers on the beach open-mouthed as the drama unfolded.
Mum Kathryn Peach shouted to the desperate sea anglers that help was on its way, while her husband Ian and his nephew Andrew raced back along the coast to raise the alert with the Canary Islands' coastguard.
Rescue frogmen in wet suits summoned by the Peach's SOS made attempts to attach 'bosun's winch' type lines to the rock.
But they failed because they were being repeatedly driven back by the heavy surf.
Then, minutes later, a Spanish civil defence rescue helicopter arrived, and the two men, one in his late 20s and the other in his mid-teens and both dressed in shorts, were hoisted up into the air to safety.
The successful rescue was completed with only seconds to spare. There were gasps of horror from the watching holidaymakers when, moments earlier, the fishermen disappeared completely from view as a huge wave crashed over them, threatening to wash them into the ocean and dash them against the sharp rocks.
Dr Peach, 41, and his family, who live in Standish and were part of a 10-strong party including his three children, his mum and other relations, were later told that although shocked, the pair escaped injury in their ordeal.
A GP at Billinge Medical Centre in Recreation Drive, Dr Peach said: "The coast is very rocky and we went down a path near to the sea looking for some chipmunks, which are a bit of local attraction and they live down by the rocks. "On the way back we saw a couple of rod and line fishermen on some rocks out in the sea in front of us. Cofete beach has become the incubator for 800 eggs of the loggerhead turtle for the 3rd consecutive year. The eggs come from Cape Verde with the objective of repopulating the archipelago with this endangered species. The eggs were distributed in 12 nests, in a perimeter of 100 square metres. This area is constantly moniored during the 2 months the eggs take to hatch. Once the turtles are hatched they are moved to a farm in Morro Jable before being released into the sea. The 1st year was a great success, but last year storms at sea caused major loses. Paulino Rivero, the president of the Canary Islands, has said that the location for the new power plant on Fuerteventura must be made before the end of September. The recent power cuts have shown the urgency of the situation, and no further delays will be tolerated. He said he will all the powers that the Canary Islands have over the island to ensure that this happens. He is also supporting the appropriation of land to complete the north south road and the regeneration of La Oliva and Jandia to make them more attractive as tourist destinations. A sewage leak ahs caused the closure of a beach in Puerto del Rosario. Fuentes beach near the port had to be shut off when the waters near the coast were found to be contaminated. The little beach next to it was also closed for hygiene reasons. The leak was due to technical problems at the pumping station. The water will be tested again beforee the beaches are reopened. The president of the Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has announced today who the minimum pensions will increase by 6 percent in 2009, This is to help the elderly through the tough economic times. Officials are investigating the sale of parcels of municipal land in La Lajita. Apparently these appear to have been sold at under their appraised price and there is some suspicion that bribery of the council was involved. The mayor of Pajara, Rafael Perdomo, insists that the sales were all above board and that the accusations are completely groundless. La Caldereta is to be home to the largest drinking water reservoir on Fuerteventura, which will be responsible for supplying the centre and south of the island. It will be several times larger than any existing deposits and it is anticipated that it will meet the demands of the island for the next three decades. The reservoir will be virtually buried, to reduce the environmental impact, the first construction being done on the island with this characteristic. The project will also include a new network of large-diameter pipeline, which will allow the system to provide greater flow. The joint investment will amount to 2.2 billion euros, which is being partly financed by CAAF. The new reservoir will have a capacity of 16,500 cubic meters, with exterior dimensions of 74.05 wide by 43 meters deep and maximum height of 6 metres. A new road link between Corralejo and Puerto Rosario is being built to keep traffic off the road through the dunes. With the aim or recovering and preserving the dynamic dunes and native vegetation. The road that is there now will either be removed or left to be covered by the movement of the sand. A study is looking into the possibility of creating 2 car parks tto allow access to the beaches. One in the vicinity of Moro beach and the other near the Hotels. There will be a 5 mile stretch of access for pedestrians and cyclists. On Friday a Spanair plane from Fuerteventura to Barcelona was forced to abort take off after trouble with its engines. After several attempts at take off and 30 minutes later the captain informed the 120 passengers of a fault and asked them to disembark. A lot of the passengers demanded another flight, as there was at least a nine hour delay because the mechanics had to flown in from Gran Canaria, detect and fix the fault. Another reason for demanding another flight was that the passengers were scared to get back on the plane as it was the same type that had crashed on take off in Madrid. News of the Weird Octopuses have been given Rubiks cube to find out if they have a favourite tentacle. Last words of Texas trucker.
September 4th 2008
The Canaries registered 176,339 unemployed in August, representing
an increase of 238 persons. August 25th 2008
The Spanair plane crash last week at Madrid airport included two
Fuerteventurans from Tuineje as its victims. Angry relatives of
Madrid crash victims asked yesterday why the aircraft was allowed to
fly two hours after it aborted a take-off because of a technical
fault. A total of 153 people died on Wednesday when the Spanair
aircraft bound for Las Palmas failed to take off, crashing shortly
beyond the runway and bursting into flames. Nineteen people were
injured. Spanair officials confirmed that the pilot aborted his
first take-off attempt after noticing that an air intake under the
cockpit window was overheating. Javier Mendoza, the airline’s deputy
managing director, said that the problem was treated and corrected
by maintenance personnel, who switched off power to the intake –
standard procedure for the McDonnell Douglas MD82 aircraft. His
explanation did little to quell the anger of relatives who gathered
at a makeshift mortuary in a convention centre to identify the
bodies.
The 33rd edition of the Festival for Youth has already begun, events
continue in Gran Tarajal until August 31st. Among the many
activities during the 14 days of this celebration, are sport
tournaments, including beach soccer, beach volleyball, 2 a-side
football andand 3 a-side basketball. It also includes word games and
lectures on different topics of interest in the island. On the the
beach, there are sack races or pañuelito, board games and inflatable
castles for the little ones. Apart from the sports, the week of
Youth has several entertainment activities such as: foam party,
tricycles, relay races, and toy libraries. A star player is chosen
from the concerts and galas to be held over the two weeks of events.
On Friday August 22nd, coinciding with the concert of The Jeffrey,
the number of buses increased between Gran Tarajal-Puerto del
Rosario, on Tuesday, 26 services will be strengthened during the
afternoon. As well as special services to enable the completion of
the gala Fuerteventura Summer Experience. These services are in
place to prevent the public being forced to go with their cars at
night and that this celebration is not tarnished by the mixture of
alcohol and driving. On Sunday 31st the festival closes with soaking
those who have refused to end the party at dawn.
If you've always fancied flying your own plane into Fuerteventura
airport, you can now - online!
www.flightsim.com has added our
airport to their flight simulation programme. It includes a
realistic rendering of the surrounding environment as well as an
accurate representation of the runways ad approaches.
August 17th 2008 Ryanair has announced that it will not honour tickets for its flights to and from Spain that not have been bought on its own website. This applies to all flights after the 25th August. The reason for this is that other websites and agencies have been contravening copyright. Passengers holding Ryanair tickets should rebook their flight on the Ryanair site and then try to reclaim their original ticket price from the organisation that sold it to them. Betancuria is in debt by more than 4,500,000 euros. This could mean that each neighbour will have to pay over 6,000 euros to clear it. The municipality has a budget of 1.4 billion euros, so Betancuria is trying to reach agreements with banks, and especially with suppliers, but most are small suppliers and are themselves struggling in the current economic crisis. The main problem of Betancuria, is that it doesn't generate much revenue. It gets a lot of tourists, but these are mainly during the day and the town itself doesn't have any large hotels. The mayor wants to put in place a new plan to launch tourism projects focused on generating revenue and promoting rural tourism, which will have to be approved by the Ministry of Environment of the Canary Islands Government. The number of abandoned dogs is increasing significantly as the holiday season gets into full flow. Municipal kennels are saturated with the growth in the number of animals. This is probably compounded by the economic slowdown we are experiencing. In most of the municipal kennels, the largest number of dogs are hunting dogs, many of which have no microchip, making the identification of the owner impossible. Abandoned dogs have a period of 10 days to be picked up by their owners. After this time, the animals become part of the adoption system. This kennel also tries to rehouse the animals in new homes in Germany. The kennel in Pájara works in conjunction with the council to avoid cases of abandonment. If dogs are chipped, they are immediately returned to their owners. The dogs up for adoption are vaccinated and registered by the council, to maintain control over them and if a further loss occurs they can identify those responsible for it. Another factor seriously influencing the increase in stray animals is the opening the hunting season, where dogs are often turned out into the countryside once they have outlived their usefulness. And on the subject of animals, more than 80 animal victims they have been taken care of in by the wild animal sanctuary. In the case of the birds, many of the injuries were made by predators, poisoning or hunters pellets. 7 dolphins were treated, 25 turtles, 48 birds of different species. In some cases the creatures were given first aid, and in others they were transferred to the veterinary clinic in the Zoo in La Lajita, or in serious cases to the Equipment recovery centre of Injured Animals in Gran Canaria. The Department of Fauna of the Town hall has indicated that with regard to birds, this year a high percentage of aguilillas have been registered (buteo Buteo) hurt by pellets, as well as kestrels (Falco tenninculus) youthful and adult with poisoning symptoms, possibly by the ingestion of fauna coming from gardens treated with pesticides or by drinking unsanitary water. In the majority of the cases the specimens were healed and sent back to the wild. The advisor of Environment and Infrastructures of the Town hall, Natalia Évora, indicated that “the fact that we have several cases of protected birds hurt by pellets denotes a worrisome and irresponsible attitude on the part of the users of the guns that hurt these birds”, and she was forceful when affirming that “our services of monitoring are going to be very strict on these cases of aggression against biodiversity. There is a 200,000 Euros fine against attempts to harm protected fauna as well as flora. A total of 100 members of the PP in Fuerteventura have been expelled from the party by burofaxes. The reason for this expulsion has been the attendance at "repeated" meetings and assemblies convened by Domingo Gonzalez Arroyo, who was suspended from being chairman of the PP in Fuerteventura. The affected people have refused recognized the expulsion since there was no meeting or notice in advance. The managing commission of the PP of Fuerteventura argue that the gestures of “indiscipline” and even a “aggressive attitude” of followers of the insular president of the party, Domingo González Arrroyo, are the main reasons for the suspension. Added to the list of suspended are those that attended the Plenary session of the City council of La Oliva in which the motion of censorship against Claudina Morals, CC was approved.
Work has finally begun on rebuilding the San Jose de Calasanz
teacher training college in Puerto del Rosario two years after it
was demolished after structural failures were detected. The new
building will be finished in May of 2009 and will be ready for
teaching courses in 2009/10. The project includes the total
construction of 18 classrooms, of which 6 will be for 140 students
of Infant Education and the other 12 for 300 students of Primary
Education. At the moment, the students are getting their training
through a correspondence course. August 9th 2008 Both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote were plunged into darkness this week when two power cuts hit the islands. Some 200,000 people in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were affected between 22.31 am on Tuesday and 2.53 in the morning on Wednesday. This is the second cut in just over 48 hours on Fuerteventura. Last Sunday, a cut which lasted about ten hours, only affected the south of this island. A break in the driver of the electric transmission line from that area caused a disruption of supply to the substation Matas Blancas, in Pajara. The latter occurrence, occurred in the electrical system shared by the two island territories and to which both are linked through the submarine cable installed in the Straits of Bocaina. Some bars and cafes closed but others, however, opted to continue to serve orders in candlelight. Hospitals and airports, which have generators, as well as several hotels, were not affected. The Director of Industry and Energy of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Jordan Cabrera, has urged the Canary Islands Government to initiate an immediate investigation by examining the records of Unelco Endesa to determine the origin of the problems. The director of electricity networks in the Canary Islands, James Martin, warned last month of the "fragility" of the electricity system between the two islands. The power cuts have mobilised the government into action and the decision was taken this week to change the location of the proposed new power plant to the coast west of Puerto del Rosario, between Molinos and Jarugo, If the approval process goes smoothly, work could start within a year. The site has been chosen as it will cause less environmental damage and it is sparsely populated. It would create around 600 jobs. The ambitious project will require of an investment of 500 million Euros and it would be executed on municipal land. If you are walking around El Cotillo and smell freshly roasted coffee don't be surprised, a new business has started up to supply us with these delightful beans. Caffee Coffee is the brainchild of businessmen Ernesto Reyes and Eugenio Sarti, and they already have about five hundred customers on the island, Tenerife and Lanzarote. Much of the secret lies, of course, in the selection of coffee beans. These are taken from Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica. The product will be available as whole beans and as ground coffee. The first priority is to target the catering sector. Among the ideas for the future are to introduce the product into small stores and specialist shops to be within easy reach of as many consumers as possible. The annual holiday month is here and with it has come campers to the beaches of El Cotillo, in spite of the ban that was put into place earlier this year. This has apparently caused some conflicts with local residents who feel that the campers pollute the environment and lead to an increase in petty crime. However, they also realise that these tourists make a significant contribution to the economy of the town. Gran Tarajal will be hosting an exhibition this month to show the reality of the experiences of the immigrants who make the dangerous journey by pateras, small boats, from Africa. The exhibit entitled The other side will open on August 14 from 11.00 am in a tent located on the Avenue maritime Paco Iron. It has been organised by the Red Cross and the Ministry of Immigration. The exhibition intends to convey feelings about the motivations and the journeys of people who take the decision to leave their country, their families, their environment and culture with the expectation of achieving a better life. Through it, visitors can appreciate what life is like in their countries of origin, the dangers they face, and the fears and abuses suffered during their migration process. The exhibition also wants to show the work and effort carried out by the Red Cross through its emergency teams, offering humanitarian aid to these people. The hospital in Puerto del Rosario is again under attack. After criticisms of the parking arrangements last week, this time it is the disposal of medical waste that is the problem. Although the rubbish area has a notice saying that access by unauthorised people is forbidden, there are no physical barriers to stop people entering. When there mush of the waste is on open containers, whereas they should have special latches to show they contain potentially dangerous materials.
August 1st 2008 The murderer of Brian Alexander Hobbs, aged 52 years, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hamed Mohamed Hamed, who comes from Melilla, punched and killed the British tourist outside a pub in Caleta in an unprovoked attack the early hours of May 4, 2006, after he had drunk 17 glasses of whisky and taken cocaine. He has also been ordered to compensate Mr Hobb's relatives with 60,000 euros. Mohamed Hamed had previously been sentenced by a court of Melilla to two years in prison for a crime of burglary and six months in prison for another crime of disobedience. He moved to Fuerteventura in April 2006 to attend a trial was outstanding on the island, where he lived years ago. The widow of the deceased, Anne Merret, travelled from Glasgow (Scotland) to Gran Canaria to attend the trial. After the hearing she said that although it was good that the murderer had no possibility of parole and could not now attack anyone else, she felt that he should have got life imprisonment. Margaret also spoke out about the lack of support for families of those killed abroad. All the court documents relating to Brian's murder were in Spanish and she said the UK consular and other authorities had been of little help. She added: "Even voluntary bodies like Victim Support, who have all been lovely people, haven't been able to help because this happened in Spain. They don't know what they can do to support us. "I think it is vital to have someone abroad to act as a liaison for families. Having someone die is bad enough. But to have someone die abroad is your worst nightmare." Brian had three grandchildren - Phoebe, 8, Logan, 5, and Joshua, 3. A grandmother who flew to the Canary Islands using her husband's passport has spoken of her shock about the document mix-up. Andrea Cole accidentally picked up the wrong passport when leaving her Cardiff home for the week-long holiday with her mother, and did not realise her mistake until minutes before their flight was due to leave. The mother-of-three had already passed through two sets of checks at Cardiff International Airport - and was then allowed through immigration at Fuerteventura without the error being spotted. Immediately upon arrival, Mrs Cole and her mother tried to get the problem resolved because they feared not being allowed back into Wales the following week. They contacted the British consulate, but were told there was nothing they could do because the passports were not being reported lost, stolen or damaged. “Luckily, we remembered the people we bought the villa from had photocopies of our passports,” Mrs Cole added. “It meant quite a few trips back and forth to the airport to liaise with Spanish police and immigration in Fuerteventura and also immigration at Cardiff Airport. When the relevant people were informed, they were amazed that this had happened not only once but three times in both airports.” The two labour inspectors responsible for checking businesses to ensure safe working conditions for employees have left the island and gone back to the peninsular. This only leaves two sub-inspectors who can only take action on social security infractions, not those protecting workers. The majority of workplace accidents happen due to long hours and lack of training for workers. The Cabildo is trying to recruit replacements. A 32 year old pregnant Brazilian woman has accused a member of the Guardia Civil of attacking her. The incident happened on Sotavento beach in the police tent set up for the windsurfing championships. There was a dispute between the woman and her ex-husband over a mobile phone and the police officer took the woman outside the tent and beat her so badly that she later lost her unborn child. The public prosecutor is investigating the matter. Fuerteventura is not complying with the Act of Historical Memory which states that towns should remove all symbols and references to General Franco and his administration from public buildings and streets. In Puerto del Rosario the facade of the Navy Command building has been recently renovated but Franco's emblem has not been removed. In Antigua and La Oliva there are still streets named after prominent members of the Franco regime. Municipalities are being told to remove these last vestiges of one of the blackest periods in Spanish history. The construction of the La Caldereta to Corralejo section of the north/south highway has been delayed due to problems in carrying out the compulsory purchase orders to obtain the land needed for the route. The contract to build the road link was awarded last May and had an estimated construction time of 40 months. However the start of works had been put off until all the land has been obtained. The route will go from the intersection of the La Oliva and the Corralejo roads on the FV1, through the mountains and meet the FV2 near the Lajares junction. The road from there into Corralejo will be widened to dual carriageway. The latest tourism figures are very positive for the Canary Islands. Tourism figures for May show an increase of 21.07 per cent over last year. Hotel occupancy figures are also positive, forecasts for August for El Hierro are at 84.30 per cent, Fuerteventura 83.73 per cent, La Palma 83.25 per cent and Lanzarote 81.55 per cent. The increasing cost of food has led to poaching on Fuerteventura. many livestock, especially goats and sheep, roam freely making it difficult for their owners to protect them. The poachers sit in wait by watering holes and shoot the animals who are then loaded into jeeps and sold illegally to restaurants around the island. There have also been cases of livestock being taken from corrals. Farmers have organised group patrols amongst themselves, but they are also calling for action on the part of the police to catch the criminals and those who are illegally catching shellfish. Farmers are also having a tough time with other poachers, the chipmunks. The weather conditions last winter have lead to an increase in their population and they are attacking local crops for food, especially grapes and figs. The rodents cannot be poisoned as this could affect other protected species in the food chain and hunting them can only be carried out in season and with the appropriate licence. Farmers are calling for the ability to hunt these animals at any time and without the need for permission. A study is being carried out to determine the feasibility of two new marine reserves. One would go in the Straits of the Bocaina, that separates Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and another one between Arinaga and Gando. The council of La Oliva has decreased the pay of council members and the mayoress. Council members will receive 5% less pay, bringing their annual wage to 30,918 Euros and the mayoress gets a 10% pay to 51,703 Euros.
South Americans have dominated the most highly anticipated event on
the world windsurfing calendar, the World Championship Tour, which
has just finished on Fuerteventura. In the mens’ draw, a fascinating
battle had been brewing all week long between reigning world
champion Marcilio Browne and Venezulean Jose Estredo, who was aiming
to make it his third major win of the season. 19-year-old Brown
eventually took the title, the first of the season for the
Brazillian. Sarah Quita Affringa kept her perfect record spotless
with another victory in the womens' competition. The Aruban put on a
near-flawless display of control windsurfing. The expansion of the hospital is causing an uproar. The latest section of the works has meant that most of the parking area has been moved to a new location much further away from the building, making it difficult for out patients and visitors to access the building. This has caused chaos with people fighting over the few spaces that remain near the entrance.
July 17th 2008 Budget airline Ryanair has announced six new routes from Stansted to winter sun destinations including: Fuerteventura (Canaries), Ibiza, Tenerife, Malaga, as well as Katowice (Poland) and Basel in Switzerland from December 21st. However, it also revealed details of its planned reduction in flights this winter. Stansted Airport's largest airline today (Thursday) announced that it will have 28 aircraft operating over the winter, compared with 36 aircraft last year. This 25 per cent reduction will mean an approximate 14 per cent reduction in the number of weekly flights from more than 1850 per week last year to just under 1600 this year. Ryanair blamed the cut back on Stansted being the most expensive of the airline's 28 bases and the fact that oil prices have risen to $140 a barrel.
The vote of censure against the mayoress of La Oliva, Claudina
Morales, was passed last week. She has been replaced by Rosa
Fenrandez of the Socialist party in an unlikely coalition with the
PP (similar to the Conservative) party. This has caused a political
uproar, with resignations from many CC members in other
political posts. Some believe that this is just the start and that
it will lead to similar actions against the national Canarias
Consortium throughout the Canaries. Carlinhos Brown did not disappoint the 9,000 spectators who attended the first evening of the festival Fuerte En Music, sponsored by La Caja de Canarias, which took place last weekend on the beach at La Concha, in El Cotillo. The artist, one of the greatest exponents of the Brazilian music scene is widely known for his social work against poverty. Brown captivated the thousands of spectators accompanied by 14 other musicians on stage. Other acts included Buche de Guirre and Galician Mercedes Peon, in addition to click Ragnar DJ and DJ Telephunken, all of them introduced by the presenter of the event, actress Maria Hernandez. The interpretation of classic swing by Buche of Guirre, in the style of the legendary Gypsy jazz artist Diango Reinhardt, impressed the audience which was still in the process of arriving during the his, the first performance. A tourist on Fuerteventura who was locked out on his hotel balcony with his wife plunged to his death after climbing over the railings to get help. John Williams, 58, of Govilon, South Wales, lost his footing as he walked along a ledge in the dark. His wife Gaynor, 57, was freed by hotel staff after she called her son in the UK who raised the alarm. John's body was found on a stairwell at the hotel an inquest heard. The BT engineer had shut the balcony door to keep out mosquitoes. A verdict of accidental death was recorded. We may soon be able to order our groceries online in Fuerteventura. HiperDino have announced that they are planning to take advantage of the internet market and produce a website which will be available in both Spanish and English. Parents of schoolchildren on the island are concerned that the start of the next school year in September will be problematic. A survey of the sites allocated for school buildings has revealed that many are well behind schedule for completion and will not be ready to house the new intake. The main problems are in the Puerto del Rosario, Pajara and Antigua municipalities. A demonstration is planned for the 10th September to highlight the issue. The Mountain of Monteagudo, in the town of Antigua, could host the first road tunnel on the island with a length of two kilometers. The Government is studying the possibility of using this type of infrastructure for the north-south autovia, in the stretch between the airport and Pozo Negro. This is because the proposed route of the road will go through a Special Protection Area Bird ( Zep) which is home to the Hubero and other steppe birds. The north-south autovia is included within the plan signed between the Government of the Canary Islands and the Ministry of Public Works in January 2006 and provides an important link that will connect Corralejo with Morro Jable with a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction. Currently only the first phase of the project has been completed, a 9 mile stretch in the south of the island. The mayor of Puerto del Rosario, Marcial Morales, has condemned the long queues that occur each morning at the premises of Commissioner of the National Police Corps (NPC) for the processing of national identity documents. He has called for immediate action to improve the situation as it reflects badly on the services of the island. Work has restarted on the new cruise pier in Puerto del Rosario. The construction was halted for 7 months due to disagreements between the developers and the port authorities. It is now expected to be completed in six weeks, in time for new cruise ships to stop here in October. July 3rd 2008
In times of economic crisis old bugbears raise their heads. The oil
company, Repsol are
seeking government permission to explore for oil in a zone located some 60 kilometres to the east of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
A dispute has arisen because these waters are being claimed by
Morocco which questions Spain’s jurisdiction over the area. Regional governments
are concerned that the majority of the revenues will be snatched away by
Madrid and Repsol, leaving the Canaries with nothing little except the mess.
The island of Fuerteventura is aiming to attract elite sports
tourism. A private initiative has taken the first steps to building
an Olympic pool at the Playitas Grand Resort. The new pool, opened
last Thursday, hosted some illustrious visitors: the German team
that will participate in the Olympic Games. The pool is 50 meters
long, and has eight lanes, an underground gallery for observing
swimming technique and seats for about 300 people. Fuerteventura is undergoing an energy crisis. Ramon Rodriguez, director of Unelco-Endesa said "There is clearly an inadequate network that will not last the year." Santiago Marin, head of electricity networks in the Canary Islands said "The relationship between installed power and peak power demand expected this year is about 1.2, well below the value of 1.7 in Planning and which is considered reasonable." Population growth that outstrips provision has been blamed for this. This on an island that probably has one of the best sources of renewable energy in the world, is a ridiculous situation. New houses are being built with electric water heaters that rot after eighteen months because of the acidity of the water, instead of solar systems that will not drain the power supply and that are built from more resistant materials. Duh, give out some grants for people to transfer and see how that affects the situation! The mayor of Tuineje has backed down to the wishes of the people and has stated the council will oppose strongly any proposals for a new power plant in the municipality.
If the wind is in the right direction, most of the north of the
island will be able to hear the music of the festival in El Cotillo
this weekend, Apparently Carlinhos Brown, Amparanoia, Cheikh, Oojami
and Mercedes Laborer, will be outputting more than 75,000 watts of
sound power. For those of you that attend this free festival, there
will be two giant screens either side of the stage. Forty chemical
toilets will be provided for the event. One, perhaps unintended, effect of the actions of La Oliva Council, is the decrease in students needing education in the municipality. Research suggests that the number of children requiring education will fall by around 100 next year. The same research suggests that although many people have moved off the island due to the economic crisis, there has also been a move of families from La Oliva to Puerto del Rosario municipality. Which probably means that the new schools that have been built without the foresight to actually provide teaching staff for them will go the way of the social club on Tamaragua and be left to rot and ruin. The APMUN has initiated a sanctioning process against “a serious” breach of the Law of Residues of the Canary Islands, for the dissemination of dangerous chemicals and non dangerous items of industrial character like scrap iron. The violator now has a term of fifteen days to argue against the allegations or they will be fined over 750,000e. The government of the Canary Islands has published new regulations allowing for the introduction of up to seven new racetrack gambling facilities at the islands’ popular tourist resorts. This includes Fuerteventura.
June 20th 2008 The festival rumoured to take the place of Fuertemusica will be going ahead. Fuerteventura en Música-La Caja de Canarias 2008 will take place on the 4th and 6th of July on Concha beach in El Cotillo. It is being funded by La Caja de Canarias, the Cabildo and the Ministry of Culture and organised by Vallebrown, who were responsible for the Blues festivals in Corralejo as well as a number of other musical events. The line up is international with offerings from Brazil, Senegal, Oojami from the UK and local bands. Carlinhos Brown will be topping the bill. Ryanair are introducing a number of new routes in October, including one from Birmingham to Fuerteventura. This will fly three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The route from Liverpool is also due to restart in October, so be prepared for an influx of Brits! Fuerteventura is to get some new residents. A pair of flamingoes at the Stella Canaris zoological centre have produced three eggs. The birds first came to the centre 15 years ago but had never reproduced fruitfully before. One egg has not survived, but the other two are doing well and are expected to hatch in early July. The Directorate General of coasts for the Canary Islands is prepared to provide funding for camp grounds on Fuerteventura. Municipalities will also be expected to contribute. This is so that campers can still enjoy the coasts of the island without breaking the law by being on public land. It is hoped that this will prevent uncontrolled sites and make it easier for the councils to provide an hygienic environment. The Cabildo of Fuerteventura and the municipalities are agreed for once - in that coastal tracks should not be closed. Apparently the Canarian Directorate of coasts has plans to restrict vehicular access to many beaches and fishing areas around the island using wooden posts. Work has already started on two tracks, one in El Cotillo and another in Puerto del Rosario. The authorities here are annoyed that this has been done without any consultation and have protested to the government in Madrid. Many of the roads are used by farmers to get to fields and wells as well as to the coasts. There are plans to improve Cofete village. this hamlet of just a few houses needs to be upgraded to provide better living conditions for its inhabitants. There is general agreement that Cofete is a living heritage site as it demonstrates how people lived in the 19th century here. Experts are considering how to do the work sympathetically, A ruptured underground sewer pipe is compromising the blue flag status of the beach at Gran Tarajal. The pipe has work done on it in a number of times but these have only served to weaken it in other places. The public health authorities are demanding that thorough repairs are carried out this time. Pajara hosted the apanada, a traditional gathering of goatherds this week. More than 1,500 goats were mass herded using dogs, from living semi wild in the mountains, in order that the farmers could mark the kids born this year. This is done by marking their ears. This pre Hispanic tradition has remained virtually unchanged for over 2,000 years. In the past this has been done in Cofete, but this year it was moved to Pesenescal. The greater distance that the goats had to travel meant that jeeps and trucks were used to help nursing mothers and the youngest kids. The event provides an opportunity for ranchers and farmers to meet and exchange ideas about methods and practices. The Cabildo has rejected the idea proposed by the Chamber of commerce to subsidise tour operators in order to stimulate tourism. Mario Cabrero said that he didn't feel that it would achieve it aim as much of the money would go to other countries and many of the tourists would be all inclusive. He also felt that it was not altogether clear that subsidising private companies is legal in the EU. He feels that the proposal needs further study. A new structure and leadership is being proposed in La Oliva. It is rumoured that a coalition has been formed between the PP and the PSC-PSOE which will give them power in the municipality. Apparently the mayor's role will be shared between Domingo Gonzalez and Rosa Fernandez, each having different areas of authority. The current mayoress, Claudina Morales has denied the rumour. However a press conference has been called for next Monday.
June 13th 2008 Gran Tarajal dressed in mourning on Saturday. 3,000 residents took to the streets dressed in black shirts to show their opposition to the installation of power plant that is proposed in the Agando valley. Thousands of people from Gran Tarajal, Giniguinamar, Tarajalejo and Las Playitas attended the march and presented a petition with over 4,000 signatures on it opposing the plant. At the end of the march, demonstrators gathered in Avendia Maritima where one of the organisers read out a manifesto in which he stated that the people came into the streets spontaneously " to defend their quality of life and decide on the model of island where we live. We went out to the streets to say no to the power station in Agando or elsewhere that harms the people and not to convert the dock in Gran Tarajal to take fuel tankers. The people want quality of life, "he said. The demonstration caused a division in the government group formed by Canary Coalition (CC) and New Canary (NC) following the intent of the mayor of the municipality, Salvador Delgado, to withdraw the consultation and information campaign. Two other sites Grande Valle and Monteagudo, in the municipality of Anitgua, are being considered as two possible alternative locations both of which are located further away from populated areas. However, Grande Valle is a protected area and Monteagudo is classified as farming land, according to the Insular Plan of Arrangement of Fuerteventura (PIOF). The Chamber of Commerce is going to subsidize to tour operators at the rate of 8 Euros per tourist in order to stimulate the economy. This aid will cost around 4.5 million Euros but it is anticipated that it will generate 300 million euros and will result in the creation of 2000 jobs. They are also proposing to work with the airport to turn it into a major centre for low cost flight operators.
Fuerteventura's education system is not meeting the needs of the
people. The significant population growth that the island has
suffered in recent years has not been
compensated by the Government of the Canary Islands in educational
investment for infrastructure to alleviate the serious shortfall. The Federation of Insular Majorero AMPA (FIMAP)
is working to improve the quality of teaching and
wants greater involvement of public institutions to address
educational disadvantage. Residents of Fuerteventura that have land, are being offered fruit trees of different species at cost price. Around 25,000 fruit trees (only 5,000 come from the peninsula) will be distributed to small land holders, the objective being to extend the production of fruits on the island. The trees can be bought from the Experimental farm in Pozo Negro. A number of different varieties are available including nectarine, peach, plum, apricot, almond and olive trees. The price will be between 3 and 6 euros. The varieties have been chosen based on their compatibility with the climate and soil of the island. A retired Red Cross Ambulance will travel around all the capitals of the municipalities of the Island, to sell tickets for a fundraising lottery to generate funds for the organisation. It will be in La Oliva on Tuesday from 11.00 to 14.00 hours The draw will be held on the 17 of July and the prizes will range from 2.210.000 Euros, to 850 euros. 315 prizes will be given. The taxi drivers united this week with farers, fishermen and transport carriers to demand aid to reduce fuel prices. The taxi driver association has threatened to strike if the Government does not fulfil its promise to subside fuel tax by 30%. This was supposed to have been in operation in April. If no action is taken a convey of around 200 trucks will go the capital to protest. June 6th 2008
In spite of
the prohibition on camping on Fuerteventura's coasts,
campers began last weekend to site their mobile homes and caravans
in the beaches in the North of the island, just as they have in
other years. The campers drove in their vehicles in full view of
the Policia local but the officers did nothing to stop them, nor
were they installing any more of the promised wooden posts to
prevent access to the sites.
Agueda
Montelongo, the tourism councillor for Fuerteventura gave an
interview last week with La Province newspaper. In it she said
that her department are making great efforts to study in depth the
performance of the market, which is rapidly changing to ensure
that the island is a preferred tourist destination. Fuerteventura unveiled two new sculptures in bronze on Canary day in Betancuria. These are dedicated to Ayose Guise, a Maher warlord, who, in the early fifteenth century fought the Norman conquerors led by Jean de Bethencourt. The event took place on the dividing line separating the territories of Guise and Ayose, and is part of a larger project aimed at empowering Betancuria as the historic capital of the Canary Islands. The ceremony was attended by about 200 people, plus representatives of the municipalities, the Cabildo and the Canary Islands Government. The sculptures are a donation from the company OHL and are 4.5 meters high and about 1.5 meters wide. They are the work of Emiliano Hernandez. Initially they were going to be located in the plaza attached to the Palacio de Congresos in the capital, but they finally opted for a more symbolic location and associated with the former warlords of Mahe. The current Fuerteventura government, formed by the Canarian Coalition (CC) and Popular Party (PP), have been accused of trying to favour their business associates in the proposed Territorial Energy Plan which is currently under public discussion. The secretary general of the Socialists also alleged that the proposal will ruin the island by putting up numerous wind generators. He branded "scandalous" the fact that areas such as the unique environment of Tindaya Mountain "might be filled with windmills in the future". He feels that this is a contradiction as the same Government are trying to convince us that the proposed monument in Tindaya should not go ahead due to its negative impact on the environment. He announced that his party is considering a proposal to the Energy Plan that is linked to wave generated energy, complimented by solar power.
The shops of
Gran Tarajal will be closed next Saturday as a sign of solidarity
with the residents of the town who reject the location of the new
power plant in the Valley Agando. A protest meeting will be held
to which not only the neighbouring town of Tuineje have been asked
to support, but also the entire population of Fuerteventura.
They are asking people to come dressed in black shirts as a visual
sign of their opposition to the project. A petition has already
been circulated and it already has more than 4,000 signatures. The chairman of the central government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, confirmed yesterday the unequivocal refusal of the State to participate in the proposed autonomous police for the Canaries. He made it clear that the Ministry of the Interior "does not envisage" its inclusion in the national Government's security model. The meeting between Zapatero and the president of the Canaries, Paulino Rivero, was "extensive and intensive", in reference to the unusual length of time it took - over two hours. A wide range of topics was covered. Both sides acknowledged that the creation of the Canarian autonomous police was the only point of total disagreement, although Rivero said that he felt that there was room for dialogue and negotiation as the Balearics and galicia are also proposing the same model. A further meeting between the Interior Minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and the Minister of Presidency, Jose Miguel Ruano is planned for the near future. However, another attendee at the meeting said "The president has made clear that in the Canaries the most important thing is to reinforce the action of the Security Forces and State Bodies (National Police and Civil Guard) and that autonomous police forces are not in the security model designed by the Ministry of Interior." Daniel Brühl, the handsome young actor who starred with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in Ladies in Lavender, has been holidaying in Corralejo on Fuerteventura. He had planned to spend a leisurely holiday reading and playing his favourite sport, tennis, but the director of his last film, Wolfang Becker, came with him and apparently much of the time was spent working on a script and attending the short movie festival of the Dunes. They also climbed Tindaya Mountain. Wolfgang admired the landscape of the island and said that it would make a good location as it was reminiscent of the desert areas in Texas and Africa, but was in Europe. Also the sun is so strong that lighting the sets would not be a problem.
The Court
Superior of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has rejected
proposal to open a quarry in La Caldereta on the grounds that the
area is a protected environmental area. The ruling explained that
the zone houses many types of flora and fauna and that it was
needed to favor biodiversity. The high court specifically
indicated the importance for the conservation of hubara, an
endemic steppe bird currently in danger of extinction. Water reserves in the Canary Islands are extremely low. The largest reservoir, Soria, in Gran Canaria, is only at 2% capacity and in Tenerife, the reservoir is only at 28% of its capacity. The situation, according to the experts, is worrisome but not alarming. It is possible that irrigation of agriculture may be curtailed during the summer but drinking water is guaranteed. Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are not affected as they use desalination plants for most of their water. Lack of rain during last winter is the cause of the problem.
Ten dogs have been found dead
after being left in two places in Tindaya, according to the Guardia
Civil. The animals were all Podencos, a hunting breed. Five were
found in a fenced off cave and the others in the ruins of an
abandoned house. No food or water had been left for them. All of the
dogs had microchips and three of their owners have already been
located. These have been denounced by infractions to the Animal
Protection Law 8/1991.
May 29th 2008 Fuertemusica, the popular outdoor concert that has been held in El Cotillo for the last four years, has been cancelled. In spite of many acts having been booked to play for months, the Cabildo have decided to withdraw their portion of the funding, making it impossible for the event to be held. The Cabildo claim that the event is too expensive to run, but much of the funding comes from the municipality of La Oliva and from private sponsors. Plans for a more modest event to be held in its place are being considered, and there are rumours that this will be called Fuerte es Musica and that it will be held on the 4th and 5th July in El Cotillo. Ryanair have announced a new route from Bremen in Germany to Fuerteventura. The route will start on the 30th October and will run twice a week. This is the seventh route that Ryanair operate to the island. The initial promotional offers mean that tickets will be available for just 17.99e. A woman who stabbed her husband twice in a domestic argument has been jailed for 9 months. The incident happened in Corralejo in June 2005. During the fight, the woman was struck repeatedly by her partner and even hit on the head with a frying pan. The husband was hospitalised with his wounds but has since recovered. The woman has also been told that she cannot go within 300 metres of her husband for a period of three years when she is released. The public prosecutor wanted a sentence of three years but the court felt that the husband's violence warranted some leniency. Car Hire firms that do not have booths at Canarian airports will not be allowed to deliver their vehicles or pick their clients up from the terminal building without having previously received authorisation. Instead specially designated areas will be provided for pick ups. However the area at Tenerife airport is apparently nearly a kilometre away. There have been strong protestations about this rule as it forces passengers to use the often more expensive services of those who do have offices in the terminals and decreases competition. Plans are being made to develop an irrigation system in Pajara. The pipeline will run between Cortijo de Tetuy and Ajuy and will utilise existing underground wells. The system will feed local agriculture and contribute to the drinking water provision. The directorate of coastal areas has decided to ban camping on public areas for the whole of the summer. Wooden posts are being installed all along the north coast of Fuerteventura between El Cotillo and Corralejo to prevent caravans parking there. The mayoress of La Oliva, Claudina Morales, has criticised this decision, as each year over 3,000 people, mainly from Gran Canaria, come her specifically for this purpose. For many families this is their traditional holiday. In previous years the number of people camping was limited by permits where a deposit was only returned after the site had been checked to ensure it was left in good condition. This year, camping will only be permitted for a maximum of three days in the two public camping grounds on Lobos (80 places) and Jandia (300 places). In addition to this the directorate will be closing off the road between the lighthouse in El Cotillo and Majanicho as this crosses public land. The new jetty in Puerto del Rosario, which is being built so that both cruise and cargo ships can moor at the same time, has been delayed from being completed. The Port Authority do not feel that the specifications have been met and so have refused to issue completion certificates to the construction company. The jetty was due to be opened seven months ago and at present a completion date cannot be set until the disagreements are settled. The Chamber of Commerce in Fuerteventura has criticised the lack of infrastructure in the Port. This particularly affects cargo landing at Gran Tarajal and Morro Jable, as because there is a lack of customs facilities, they have to take all their goods to a depot 25km away for inspection. This can lead to delays of up to five days to get their stock. They feel that any goods that have previously been inspected in Madrid should not have to go through this process. The Canary Islands Government has launched the Spatial Data Infrastructure de Canarias (SDI), a computer system where you can detect all territorial changes that occur in the archipelago and use data updates to discover what illegal constructions have been created. This system which can be accessed through the website 'www.gobiernodecanarias.org' and 'www.idecan.grafcan.es', works similarly to' Google Earth ', and allows the Environment Protection Agency to compare digital maps of the region every two years. In addition, citizens can use the site to fond out all the details of a particular plot, the level of soil contamination, topographic maps, map of occupation, vegetation, protected natural areas, sites of community importance and protected areas for birds. In addition, this system allows you to find geographical or topographical features, make calculations of routes with the road map and access land registration data. Weird News
After
officials in Batu, a tourist town in East Java in Indonesia, asked
its massage parlors to make clear to customers that they are not
houses of prostitution, one parlor owner created uniform pants for
his women with a padlockable zipper, and "locks in" each masseuse
in front of the client at the beginning of a session. Other parlor
owners have followed along. A local women's group representative
complained that it is the customers, not the women, who need
restraining. [Los Angeles Times, 4-26-08] May 22nd 2008 A teenager was abandoned on Lobos island for more than 27 hours this week. The youngster was part of a Danish group of wayward adolescents over here on an adventure holiday to help to modify their behaviour. Apparently when the group went over to the island the teenager killed a guinea fowl and as punishment was left alone on the island on Tuesday afternoon. He was found by two local residents who called the police. The Danish run company who lead the groups were arrested when they returned to pick up the boy the next day.
A 10-year-old Irish girl
saved her younger brother from drowning in a swimming pool while on
holiday in Fuerteventura. The family with their four children came to the
Canary Islands on April 29 for what they hoped would be a dream
family holiday.
However, that dream soon turned into a nightmare when ten year old Amy found
her younger brother Lee lying at the bottom of a swimming pool just
an hour into the holiday. “We had only just arrived at the villa we
had booked for our holiday when the incident took place,” the
mother, June stated.
“All the kids had already been in for a quick swim in the pool and
my husband had decided to go to the shops with our eldest daughter,
Kerrie, to get some food.
“I had literally only turned my back on Lee when he was out the door
of the villa and he obviously went back into the pool.”
June said Lee, who had no clothes on, must have also forgotten that
he did not have his armbands on when he got into the pool.
Within minutes, the terror-stricken mum heard a scream from Amy. The new health centre in Puerto del Rosario will not open on schedule. Although the main work will finish in the middle of June, there are still some outstanding issues to be dealt with, such as the construction of underground parking, furnishing the new unit and an out patients centre. The building will have 20 consulting rooms for General Medicine, 6 for Paediatrics and 2 for Dentisrty. In addition it will have an emergency room. Politicians in Gran Tarajal are campaigning to get cruise ships to arrive at their town. Currently the cruises only stop at Puerto del Rosario. Locals feel that Gran Tarajal has a lot to offer passengers and that as their new wharf can support large ships, they should be encouraged to show more of the island. YouTravel.com have revealed that there is a change in the way that people are buying holidays. They have found that there is a move away from the traditional package holiday, where the flight and hotel are bought together, to dynamic packaging, where consumers build their own package of accommodation and travel. Whilst Sharm-el-Sheik has remained their top holiday destination over the last two years, they are seeing increases in sales to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Sales to Fuerteventura have increased by over 220% from the year before.
Binter
Canarias has temporarily grounded an ATR 72 turboprop after an
incident in Fuerteventura in which a firearm was accidentally
discharged in the cockpit, holing the aircraft's fuselage. The Canary Islands government is being pressed to pass a plan for the future of energy provision on Fuerteventura. The plan outlines the urgent situation facing the provision of electricity in the island. Apparently the situation is so serious that the infrastructure is having problems continuing to provide services. The plan includes a number of different strategies, including the building of a new power station in the south of the island and the development of renewable energy sources. And on this subject, a petition of more than 1,600 signatures has been handed into the Cabildo insisting that the the current energy plan be amended to allow for the development of rural solar and wind farms. In spite of the fact that the island is rich in natural sources of energy this is currently not being exploited. Residents of Puerto del Rosario are concerned that the plans to improve the waterfront on the town will never come to fruition. Tenders were requested to improve the area for customers from the cruise ships and local residents in a process that was the first of its kind on the island, an open, democratic competition. The winner of the contest held in 2006 proposed a number of islands connected by small bridges. They also proposed a raised platform adjacent to the current maritime avenue, underneath which would be some 15,000 square metres of commercial land, parking and sports and leisure facilities linked to the sea. Around the port would also be a hotel of 15 floors and an aquarium and marina for 500 boats. However, after two years, very little evidence of the construction is evident and pressure is being put on the developers to move the works forward at a faster rate. Weird News
Navigation
System On, Brain Off: Brad Adams, 52, crashed his charter bus
(carrying two dozen high school softball players, who had to be
sent to a hospital) into a pedestrian bridge in Seattle's
Washington Park Arboretum in April (bus: 11 feet, 8 inches high;
bridge, 9 feet, 0 inches). Adams said he missed warning signs
because he was busy following the navigation system. [Seattle
Times, 4-17-08]
Should've
chosen another career: Joshua Crowley, 22, was charged with
robbing a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Camas, Wash., in
March after being chased down, wrestled with, and subdued by
passerby Mary Chamberlain, 66. [KPTV (Portland, Ore.), 3-20-08]
May 15th 2008 The authorities are continuing their clean up of coastal villages. this time they are focussing on Ajuy. People who live in houses that have been built on public land are receiving notices informing them that their homes are illegal. This does not necessarily mean they will be demolished. If the homeowners have been paying rates then usually they will be given a 30 year concession to live in their homes. People who have received notices have 3 months to respond to them to prove that they are legal dwellings. Naviera Armas have announced that they will cancel the ferry line between Fuerteventura and Morocco after the recent shipwreck. However, Confuer, the business association are determined to ensure that this does not happen or at least that authorities look for a suitable alternative, this time using a modern vessel, unlike the As Salama which was almost 50 years old. Confuer insists that the line is essential to increase the competitiveness and diversity of the economy on the island. The PSOE are also calling for the reinstatement of a route to Morocco but have suggested that this go to the port of Laayoune, which is much safer. This port not only has the facilities to handle large boats but also houses the Moroccan navy for added security. A public consultation is to be held on the subject of the development of a power station in the Agando Valley in Tuineje. There will also be a number of information days to help local residents to understand the impact of the project. local protesters believe that the plant will have a negative environmental impact on the local environment and they are concerned about the possibility of fuel spillages from boats landing at Gran Tarajal, the nearest port. The proposal for the plant was previously rejected by the council in 2004, but the plans have continued. Last weeks crafts fair in Antigua was well attended and included work from over 250 artisans, any of whom showed their work in action at the event. The activities included many techniques that have almost disappeared on the island. A camel wool suit, a pannier produced from two types of sheep's wool, palm and wicker baskets and numerous farm implements were part of a broad range of products developed and exhibited at the stalls. The OSP has requested the president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Mario Cabrera, make amendments to the regulations of the Council of Tourism on the grounds that they are obsolete and out of touch with the social and economic reality of the island. Tourism counsellor Marlene Figueroa presented this initiative during the last Tourism Council meeting with the aim to "give greater participation with local trade unions and businesses in order to create a range of solutions that face the reality of the current economic situation facing the island of Fuerteventura". Figueroa feels that it is not acceptable that the Cabildo have invested so much money in catering for cruise tourism where a large part of the proceeds go to public institutions such as the Port Authorities. The impact of the recent general elections are beginning to be felt. La Oliva, governed by the CC party is demanding that its decisions should not have to be ratified by the Cabildo insular, now run by the PP. Although attempts have been made to find a middle way on this, both parties agreed that their opinions were not even on the same playing field. The Cabildo have rejected this and are insisting that La Oliva develop a pact with other parties that would help its judgements fall more into line with the direction of the Cabildo. The Ministry of Defence has agreed to curtail its activities on the shooting range and practice grounds in Pajara in order to respect local inhabitants. This decision followed the demolition of several fisherman's hut in a military exercise. Areas of safe passage are to be developed through the zone and the huts are going to be rebuilt. The army said that the reason the huts were demolished was because of a controlled detonation of a grenade in the area.
A Training and Employment show was held last week at the fairgrounds
of Antigua. Twenty entities, schools, institutions and business
groups participated under the organization of the Cabildo of
Fuerteventura and the municipality of Antigua. The aim of this
exhibition was to help strengthen links between the entities and
increase training options to meet the main demands of businesses and
the labour market, facilitating access to the world of work,
particularly for low achievers. Weird News:
Almost-anything-goes "ultimate fighting," also known as "human
cockfighting," is a major "sport," mostly in Southern and Western
states, but only in Missouri are kids as young as 6 permitted on the
mats, according to a March Associated Press dispatch from Carthage,
Mo. Members of the Garage Boys Fight Crew, ages up to 14, including
one girl, regularly square off with only a few concessions in rules
and protective gear from their adult counterparts. Parents seem to
regard the sport as casually as they regard Little League or soccer,
and sportsmanship is in evidence, as kids are still best friends,
pummelling each other inside the cage but then heading off afterward
to play video games. [Star Tribune-AP, 3-27-08]
May 8th 2008 The Tourism Council of Fuerteventura presented yesterday at an extraordinary meeting of the Advisory Board, the results of the the Survey of Tourist satisfaction carried out during the winter season. Amongst the main complaints were the lack of leisure facilities; too much construction ruining the environment; not enough restaurants offering typical Canarian cuisine; and a lack of public transport within the towns. The lack of cleaning of public areas was also commented on. Despite this, the president of Tourism Council and the Cabildo island, Mario Cabrera, described as "very positive, the percentage of tourists who plan to return to the island as this stands at 50 per cent", He stressed the importance of caring for the environment "by doing a sustained effort over time, rather than through specific actions." On the other hand, the minister of island tourism, Agueda Montelongo, felt that the report is "an essential reference tool to improve and correct any errors." Local business owners on Fuerteventura held a meeting this week to begin the process of setting up a business association. The purpose of this is to have a strong voice with local government and tour operators. The initiative, led by Eileen Forrester of Penny Lane, proposes to work with the tourism and business areas of the council to improve services to both tourists and businesses. The meeting was well attended by the English and Irish communities, and it was felt that more work should go into encouraging owners from other nationalities, especially the local Spanish community to participate. The next meeting will be held in Mafasca's, Top floor of the Atlantico Centre, next Thursday at 2pm. For more details contact Eileen on 619 973 281. A Corralejo man was jailed for 5 years and ordered to pay 6,000 euros compensation to his victim this week. The man, Calvo Wilson Gutierrez, seriously attacked a man by stabbing him in the neck several times. The incident took place on 21st April 2006. Calvo went to the victims house in the Bristol Playa area at 5 in the morning and proceeded to attack him. The victim was saved by the rapid response of the emergency services but still had to take 81 days off work as a consequence. The argument was over Calvo's girlfriend who used to go out with the victim. A Uraguyan woman threw her four month old baby off a six metre cliff this week. The incident happened near Costa Calma. The baby was rescued and then airlifted to Gran Canaria for medical attention, but its condition still remains critical. The woman, Mariana Riba, had earlier in the day reported her husband for physical abuse. The Guardia took the man in for questioning and Mariana went home alone. She then left the house with the baby and was seen wandering around the tourist areas. When she reached a ravine she threw the baby over the side. Tourists who spotted her, called the police immediately and the baby was recovered, but had serious head injuries. Mariana is currently being treated in a local psychiatric facility. The National Energy Commission (CNE) has recommended an increase of around 20% on electricity bills. They want this so that tariffs truly reflect the high cost of production. The Cabildo are considering this in order order to determine whether they need to subsidise costs to keep tariffs down. The Canarias government has proposed a study into the impact of holiday homes on the islands. The proposal is being sent to Brussels for the summit next week for ratification, but has caused some controversy as to its purpose. The government insists that it is looking at the positive impact on population growth of this type of property, but opponents feel that it will open the doors to limiting second home ownership in the archipelago. To counteract this the proposal was reworded to reflect this difference in purpose. The Spanish property market continues to remain buoyant. A recent report by RightMove.co.uk showed that Spain dominates 5 out of the top ten searches for overseas property from the UK. The usual Costa locations are included in these, but both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote also feature in the top 100. The lack of growth in the construction industry has led to many migrant workers leaving the island. Figures show that over the last year over 3,000 labourers have returned to mainland from Fuerteventura. To many who live here, this will be seen as a necessity as supply of housing has increased way beyond demand over recent years. A slow down in this industry can only be good for property prices in the long term, but will have an inevitable detrimental effect on local economies in the short term. The current ban on harvesting limpets and mussels is having a detrimental effect on other types of shellfish. In one species, the Canarian whelk - the population has reduced by over 50%. The Cabildo is now considering setting up reserve areas for to protest these creatures. Weird news:
An Omaha man
struggling to breathe used a steak knife to perform an at-home
tracheotomy. Steve Wilder said he thought he was going to die when
he awoke one night last week and couldn't breathe.
A New York
woman has filed a $100 claim against Norwalk saying a family
outing to the Maritime Aquarium was ruined by dog feces. The woman
claims her child's shoes, along with the entire outing, were
ruined when her 1-year-old stepped in dog feces outside the
Maritime Garage.
It looked like
a small charcoal briquette, floating on San Francisco Bay, but it
was just a little bit too square to be a charcoal briquette.
May 1st 2008 A Spanish ferry with 113 passengers on board ran aground and partially sank off the Atlantic coast of Morocco, last Friday. The passengers were brought to safety after a dramatic rescue that involved the Moroccan navy and local fishermen. The ferry As-Salama was travelling from the Moroccan port of Tarfaya to Fuerteventura when it struck rocks a half a mile offshore in heavy seas and strong winds and began taking on water. All the passengers were safely taken off the ferry by rescue boats, but they had to leave all their luggage on board. The passengers were predominantly from Morocco and Spain, but it was also carrying holidaymakers from Germany, France and Japan. All the passengers were offered flights back to the canaries, but most refused, preferring to stay on dry land to recover from their ordeal. They were put up in local hotels. The latest Spanish Ministry of Housing (MVIV) figures, which have been released to the public, confirms reports of the growing decline in the Spanish mainland property sector compared to the Canary Islands where property resales have been strongest. The government research showed that the number of resale transactions to foreign buyers in Spain fell by almost 18% year on year from 21,628 to 17,815 overall. But in contrast, this period saw a huge increase in resales to foreign buyers in the Canary Islands which resulted in a year on year increase of 73%. Although there is no specific breakdown as to which nationalities are actually purchasing property it does prove the long-term strength of the market in the Canaries and the confidence in the future of the islands. (Goldacre Estates) Young people on the island are turning away from traditional occupations such as cheese making. Although Fuerteventura makes some of the best goats cheese in the world, families are concerned that their recipes and craft will die with the next generation as their children and grandchildren show no interest in carrying on the work. The youngsters are put off by the long hours and lack of weekends and holidays for recreational activities. Current producers say that the work is not hard but you have to be there all the time to ensure that the herds and cheese production run smoothly. Two fishermen have been caught with 34 kilos of fish that they caught using spear guns. This type of fishing is strictly controlled on the islands and sportsmen are only allowed a small quota of fish per day in order to protest the underwater environment. This haul way exceeded these limits. The men tried to hide their catch behind the concrete pillars at the entrance to Morro Jable port, but they were spotted and the police were called. The officers arrested the men and confiscated the fish and the men's spear guns. Pajara are building a path to connect the beaches of La Fuente and La Lajita. the path is being constructed to make access to La Fuente beach easier and to provide a pleasant route for a seaside walk. Hospital Patients are complaining that the daily allowance they receive is insufficient for their needs. Day patients in Fuerteventura hospital currently receive just 18 euros per day and they say that this does not even cover the taxi fare let alone food expenses. If the patient has to go to another island for treatment, then the allowance increases to 118e per day, but this has to cover flight and accommodation costs as well. They are also complaining that the amount that the Cabildo of Fuerteventura receives per patient is far greater that that taken by the patient and they are accusing the Cabildo of pocketing the difference to the detriment of residents. A new art exhibition at the Juan Ismael Arts Centre in Puerto del Rosario is aimed at increasing the exposure of local artists in order to generate interest in the arts amongst young people. The exhibition, The Artist and the Island, which opened on 30th April comprises of works from 23 local artists. A local Fuerteventuran group, Amolan, has produced a CD dedicated to the folklore traditions of the island. The disc, called 'El Día Clarinado' features mainly the work of their own group but includes tracks from 2 other local bands. Weird News:
What Housing
Crisis? "This is heaven on earth," said one resident living on
burned-out lava rocks about a mile from the oozing Kilauea volcano
near Kalapana, Hawaii, explaining the lure that he and his
neighbors feel, having built houses by hand, collected rainwater
to drink, installed solar panels for power, and planted vegetables
between the rocks for food. Said one of the semi-hermit residents,
to an Associated Press reporter in March, "I'm more scared of
people than I am a volcano." [CNN-AP, 3-25-08]
Astrid
Literski, in prison after pleading guilty to murdering her
4-year-old daughter in 2003, is due in tax court in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, in May to argue that she should not have to give back
$1,296 (Cdn) in tax benefits she was wrongly paid for the child
during 2002. Actually, the girl was living with her father at the
time, but Literski says she deserved the tax benefits, anyway,
because she provided "emotional" support. [Chronicle Herald
(Halifax), 3-1-08]
A 26-year-old
driver was arrested in Bay County, Fla., in April after being
spotted on the side of a road masturbating. According to the
police report, the man said "he had just left work and explained
that he needed some personal time with himself that he could not
have at home." [Northwest Florida Daily News, 4-2-08]
Instant Karma:
In March in Leesburg, Va., driver's license test-taker Nita Sureka
was told by the examiner to park beside the Department of Motor
Vehicles building, but she accidentally crashed into it, tearing a
hole in the wall and forcing the department to close for the day.
[Washington Post, 3-17-08] April 24th 2008 Two men have been found dead on board a ship coming from the Ivory Coast. The captain had found stowaways aboard and stopped in Puerto del Rosario to have them removed. A total of thirteen stowaways were found on board, but two had not survived the journey. Four more were hospitalised. The boat, the MS Rosa Delmas was headed for the northern Spanish port of Vigo.
The nineteenth Island Book Fair will have a very special guest this
year – Cuban writer Zoe Valdes. This is part of the festival that
takes place in Plaza de la Paz, in the capital from April 23 and 27 April
17th 2008 April 10th 2008
We’ve all noticed the hikes in supermarket prices over the past few
months. This has been worrying the Cabildo not just of Fuerte, but
of neighbouring Lanzarote. Both Cabildos recently got together to
discuss the best way of dealing with the situation. They want to
find a solution to what they see as the unreasonable prices
consumers have to pay, mainly because we live on one of the two most
easterly islands of the archipelago. Of course, part of the problem
is that imported goods in Tenerife and Gran Canaria have risen in
price. If we want these goods, the shipping costs involved in
getting them here increases the price even further. One of the ideas
proposed by the respective island governments to at least regulate
prices was to encourage supermarket chains which up until now have
not shown interest in setting up on the islands to open up new
branches in order to break into the “closed” shop which is operated
at present by the three chains operating in Fuerteventura and
Lanzarote. Fuerteventura had almost 8,000 unemployed in March, the highest of all the islands. This is an increase of about 4 % on February. In the INEM offices every day, there are people looking for work.
World Health Day was celebrated this week with special emphasis on
children and young people and their health. More than 1,400 students
from 4th level were in the plaza of La Paz for the IX Muestra
Insular de Salud, entitled ‘Right to the Protection before the
abuses, the maltreatment and the development ”. There were various
workshops to give the students information about healthy life habits
and the prevention of illness.
April 3rd 2008 A major IT congress will take place in Corralejo on April 17th and 18th. The congress is organised by the the Canarian agency of Investigation, Innovation and Information of the Chamber of Commerce. World experts in the field will participate in the VII Congreso Nacional de Telecentros. They will discuss technology improvements to those living in rural areas. Speakers include the general manager of Agency, Juan Ruiz Alzola and the chamber’s New Technology advisor Andrés Valerón. World experts include the ex-director for Development in Stockholm, Luis Abascal; the co-ordinator of the network somos@telecentros for Latin America and The Carib, Maria Lourdes Acosta. One of the objectives of the congress is to create a Canarian Telecommunications network.
A new craft shop is to open in the airport.
The shop is now located at the bottom of the escalators, a location
that has not been very successful. The new shop will be located on
the top floor, beside the rest of the shops. And a new craft shop is
to open in Puerto del Rosario, beside the tourist office. March 27th 2008
The problems with the original planning permission
for Las Rotundas shopping centre in Puerto del Rosario have once
again come under the spotlight. It’s just one month since the
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Canarias (TSJC) ratified the
licence’s nullity. The licence dates back to 2002. Already more than
half the time that was given to sort it out has passed. The order
passed called for the demolition of the parts that don’t have
planning permission. The company was only allowed to build 14.000
square meters but the Consistorio allowed 47,000. The 33,000 extra
sq metres should now be removed. Firefighters in Puerto del Rosario needed to use the two vehicles fire to quell a fire this week in a paint shop in the capital. The hazard of flammable materials that were inside the building forced the troops to use more than 3,000 litres of water and foam to extinguish the fire and protect the area. Despite the spectacular nature of the blaze there were no personal injuries although two cars were completely charred and four other vehicles were damaged. Results of the ‘Nos Vamos a la Playa’ promotion were presented to the Cabildo recently. This was a collaboration between the Tourism sponsors and the Chamber of Commerce that took place in February promoting the island in nine Spanish cities. The campaign reached an astonishing 11.5 million people and was a huge success. Comparing figures from January before the promotion and February, there has been a 32% increase over 2007. According to councillor Montelongo, Fuerteventura is the only one of the islands where tourism is increasing. He said that the promotion would have been very difficult if the Chamber had not been on board. The head offices of the Chambers in all the cities that were visited co-operated with the campaign. The Chambers were delighted as it gave them extra publicity. More on tourism: An extensive drive will take place across France over the next few months to promote the island. This is a joint initiative between the Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce and the French tour operator, Nouvelles Frontières. Mario Cabrera and Águeda Montelongo, president and adviser of Tourism accompanied the representative of the tourist agent, Oscar Palacios, and the president of the Chamber of commerce, Gregorio Pérez, at the signing of this agreement. Mario Cabrera spoke about the promotion of the Island as a need in which there must be co-operation among all sectors. The campaign will consist of a series of promotional performances that will be based on a campaign of marketing in the press, the Internet, news letters and the establishment of incentives for the merchandisers of Nouvelles Frontières. Statistics show that 32.888 French tourists came to the Island in the year 2007. Comparing this with the numbers coming here in 2003, there has been a huge increase of 267,64 %.
In just one year, between 2006 and 2007, the increase
was biggest.
We might all be using Ryanair to fly in and out of
the island but it’s still not enough. Ryanair Chief Executive
Michael O'Leary expects profits to halve in the coming year,
fulfilling the most pessimistic of a number of possible scenarios
given by the airline in February. "Our guidance remains the same
from our last," Mr O'Leary told reporters at a news conference in
Brussels today. "We will update this in June at our results but I
expect a 50 per cent drop in profits in the next 12 months." March 20th 2008 Semana Santa (Easter Week) will see a big influx of visitors to the island. The island is in the top 4 for sunshine holidays for the period, although many are taking advantage of the early Easter this year to head for the ski slopes. Hoteliers on Fuerteventura expect an occupancy rate of about 85 per cent as tourists arrive for festivities and religious services. Local churches will have concelebrated Mass, processions, special sermons, the re-enactment of Christ’s Passion on Good Friday. And there’s music in the main square in Corralejo on Saturday night. A campaign to reforest Fuerteventura will see the planting of over 6,000 trees. The programme, which will build on the development of the pine forest at Betancuria, consists of plantations in four different areas around the island; Castillo de Lara, Puerto del Rosario, Morro Velosa in Betancuria and el Pico de la Zarza in Pajara. Over 3,000 examples of different species will be planted, the majority being ones indigenous to the islands, supplemented by other heat tolerant species to increase bio-diversity. The main aim to to prevent more desertification of the island and to stop the degradation of the environment.
A new Natural Park has been proposed for the island. This will
include the coastal areas in the west which are home to many species
of flora and fauna unique to the islands as well as an area visited
by other European species of wildlife. There is also talk of
declaring the island a biosphere reserve. People in Corralejo were treated to an unusual sight on Wednesday night when the ferry from Lanzarote developed engine problems and could not dock. The ferry was afloat outside the harbour for several hours before the boat and its trapped passengers could be recovered. Lovers of good music will have an excellent opportunity to enjoy a set of extraordinary musicians who will be performing in the Auditorium of Corralejo on March 30, from 21.00. A world of Music is a spectacle produced by Kike Perdomo with the intention of uniting the music of various places around the world. Music has much of its roots locally and Perdomo likes to mix various cultures. Tickets will be available in the usual places in Corralejo – the cultural centre, the library and in the Department of Culture of the Ayuntamiento de La Oliva. A new exhibition was recently inaugurated in Casa de Los Coroneles, in La Oliva. This is the last exhibition by Canary artist Pepe Dámaso.
Electronic prescriptions are expected to be
operational here by the end of the month, according to the Canarian
government’s director general of pharmacy, Vicente Olmo. He also
stated that during January, 120,000 prescriptions were dispensed in
the Canaries using this system.
Jeremy Paxman famously complained that they do not
provide enough support, but a consumer watchdog has vindicated Marks
& Spencer’s pants. March 13th 2008
Big Brother has arrived in Corralejo!. The main street now has video
surveillance system. In fact, there are three cameras located on the
street, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, which will control and monitor
the traffic. Their exact positions are next to the police station,
on the corner of Calle Anzuelo, and on the corner of the Duna Park
complex. The cameras are for both safety and security and the need
for an effective way of controlling the traffic. The cameras are
equipped with night vision and zoom, and will be monitored at the
local police station. The recordings will be stored for a period of
fifteen days. Weather forecasters have predicted that the Canaries will get the tail end of the ferocious storm that has already caused millions of euros damage to seafronts in the Basque Country and Cantabria. As the storm moves away from the mainland, forecasters predict it could affect the coasts of almost all the Canary Islands, except El Hierro. The regional government has urged people to take extra caution when near the seafront and in exposed places to prevent mishaps. In northern Spain a car was lifted off the ground by a giant wave and tossed through the plate-glass front of a restaurant this week.
The ‘Tindaya affair’ as it has now been dubbed, is in the news
again. The regional executive has been ordered to pay more than two
million euros to firms involved with the fraud prosecution three
years ago. The executive failed in its prosecution for fraud against
the construction companies involved in the project and has now been
ordered not only to pay the two million but also meet the legal
costs of the civil case it brought subsequently to recover money
already paid.
It’s Blues time in Corralejo at the end of the month. This is the
third year of thr festival of Blues, which brings the best of
national and international flavour to the town. This is not just a
tourist attraction but is also for residents. The place to be is the
Municipal Auditorium on March 27 and in the Plaza Patricio Calero on
March 28 and 29.
A man in Florida was halfway through an order of steamed clams when
he bit down on something hard, it was a rare, iridescent purple
pearl. George Brock and his wife, Leslie, had been spent the day at
the beach Friday in South Florida and stopped at Dave’s Last Resort
& Raw Bar for a bite. Their discovery is thought to be valued at
$6,000 US or more. The gems are found most frequently in large New
England quahogs, clams known for violet coloring on the inside of
their shells. The clams in the $10 plate came from Apalachicola in
the Florida Panhandle, said restaurant manager Tom Gerry. March 6th 2008 Someone on Fuerteventura is over 800,000 euros richer this week. The lucky winner of the Primitiva lottery bought their ticket at Bazar JOPI in Puerto del Rosario. Last year the same shop sold a ticket that won over 1 millions euros, so it seems a good bet to get your ticket there if you want to be a winner! La Oliva council has started to remove the corralitas or stone circles from its beaches. The work started in El Cotillo but is intended to cover all of the municipalities coastline. The reasoning behind this is that they are unhygienic and prevent the free flow of sand. Many locals and holidaymakers are up in arms about this. The circles are invaluable when a strong wind is blowing, they offer a degree of privacy, especially to naturists and they blend in with the natural environment. Some feel that the circles will be replaced by sunbeds that tourists and residents will have to pay for. However, opposers feel that these will not offer the same protection as they counterparts and will destroy the natural feel of the beaches. Four more houses at Los Molinos have been earmarked for demolition. This is apparently part of a move to clear the whole village in order to build new apartments. Residents are being moved to other villages.
Four million euros is to be invested in the rehabilitation of rural
housing in the islands. Residents in rural municipalities with
scarce resources can apply to their local Ayuntamiento. Applications
are now being taken. The Commission of Social Well-being, Youth and
Housing run the scheme. This is a cash injection that the Commission
gives every year to help out families who may be in financial
difficulties. The maintenance of traditional housing is often
expensive. Subsidies will be up to 50% of the estimated budget.
A conference on Global Climate Change took place last week with
Pedro Sánchez Díaz, Professor of Physics of the Ambience of the
University of Las Palmas. There is continuing evidence of climate
change and its negative consequences on water resources,
agriculture, natural ecosystems and human health. And whether we
like it or not, climate change can affect us here in Fuerteventura.
But it seems that we live on another planet, as the islands are the
autonomous community that leads the non-performance of the Protocol
of Kyoto with regard to the reduction of the gases of greenhouse
effect.
Italians are used to buying bogus Gucci bags or Rolex watches to
look stylish but police found a new height of craftsmanship and
cunning when they broke up a ring selling fake Ferrari cars for a
fraction of the real price. |
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