Summer Carnival In Puerto de la Cruz

Summer Carnival Poster

Thanks to Jack Montgomery for the head's up on this brand new event taking place in Puerto de la Cruz this year over the weekend of 16th, 17th and 18th September 2016: the Carnaval de Verano (Summer Carnival).

The idea behind the event is to provide a taster to tourists, visitors and folk from other parts of the islands, so they can discover what they would see even more of if they come to the carnival proper next  February.

Summer Carnival Programme of events:

Friday, 16th September 2016:

Inauguration of the event takes place at the Loro Parque at mid-day, along with the selection of the poster for the 2017 Carnival. At 4pm, there will be an exhibition of carnival costumes in the hotels Tenerife Playa, Valle Mar and Las Vegas, together with a carnival procession. The day will be completed with dancing in the Plaza de Europa from 9pm. 

Saturday, 17th September 2016:

From 11am in the area of San Telmo and the Avenida Colón, will be workshops in salsa and carnival make-up, accompanied by an orchestra and a DJ. At 6pm in the Martiánez area there will be performances by the choreographed dance troops. From 8pm there will be a sampling of the now infamous Mascarita Ponte Tacón (Men's High Heels Marathon) from the Avenida Colón to the Plaza de Europa. And from 10pm there will be a Fiesta del Flotador, which is a completely new event that's going to be a total surprise.

Sunday, 18th September 2016:

For the last day of this Summer Carnival, from 11am there will be kiddies activities in the
Avenida Colón, which will be complimented by a DJ performance in the Plaza de Europa. From 4pm is the trademark Carnaval Cavalcade leaving from the Avenida Colón and terminating in the Plaza de Europa, where, from 8pm, is La Chalana in concert.

El Carnaval de Verano llega a Puerto de la Cruz

Hats The Way We Like It For Virgen Del Carmen and other stories

Hat's off!

Hats The Way We Like It For Virgen Del Carmen
My school cap lasted five minutes before I deliberately lost it, never been keen on hats but the annual Fiesta del Sombrero (hat fiesta) as part of the Los Cristianos Virgen del Carmen celebrations has given me a new admiration for them. This Tenerife variety is much more jolly, inventive, and ingenious.

Adeje Hails The Slam Dunk Derby
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Unique school opens in Tenerife
Today saw the opening of a very special school in Tenerife. Synergy is an education and sports facility based in Chayofa that offers a flexible British-based curriculum which supports young athletes and allows them the time they need to train and to achieve excellent academic results. The school is fully authorised to teach in both British and Spanish systems, and is certified by the British Council.

XIV Subida Arona – La Escalona
Arona Ayuntamiento’s tourism and sports departments have announced the 14th Subida Arona – La Escalona rally [ed: actually, a hillclimb] to be held on 21 and 22 October. The race, organized by Escudería Zapatera Sport Arona, will be an international one this year, and aims to set Arona as the national capital of mountain rallying. Arona says that the race is the most important and prestigious rally held in Tenerife, and is recognized as such internationally.

WORLD megastar Ricky Martin will perform in Las Americas
WORLD megastar Ricky Martin will perform in Las Americas in what is certain to be one of the town’s biggest-ever gigs. The Puerto Rican artist started his European tour in Malaga last night (Thursday). he plays Las Palmas this evening then tomorrow, Saturday, it’s all systems go for the South of Tenerife at the Athletics Stadium.

Name that volcano, or even the cocktail
WHAT’S in a name? That has been asked a few times, and now local bars will try and explain – with cocktails! That’s because the latest “Volcanoes go to the bars” event was launched last Thursday. It runs until March and will feature bars in 22 local municipalities, offering their own bespoke cocktails that bear the names of Tenerife volcanoes, and other volcanic areas. The idea is to create a “local drink which captures the essence of our volcanic island”.

Guaza’s rain test for road workers
The Cabildo has given the green light for work on “Roads and Landscape”, on the Guaza road link, to avoid overflows occurring at this point near the South motorway whenever it rains heavily.

Flights of fancy, going for a song
Air Europa is this week running its Minimax campaign – a new promotional offer costing just 27 euros per flight, from the Canary Islands.

Weather Forecast for Tenerife from 5 to 11 September

Lago Martiánez, Puerto de la Cruz

The forecast is much the same as in recent weeks but hopefully minus calima. It should be a sunny week most places with shade temperatures hovering around the mid 20s. There’s a blip in the south and south west mid-week when temperatures jump by a few degrees before returning to mid 20s for the weekend. There could be some cloud over the weekend and a chance of showers with parts of the north being most likely to see some light rain at some point on Sunday.

Weather Forecast for Tenerife from 5 to 11 September

XXXI Feria de Artesanía de Pinolere 2016 and other stories

Valley between the slopes of Tigaiga and Pinolere

XXXI Feria de Artesanía de Pinolere 2016
The XXXI Pinolere Craft Fair takes place this weekend from 2nd to 4th September, from 10.00 to 21.00 each day, in the Ethnographic Park Pinolere, in the Orotava valley. This year, the traditional fair will feature 220 artisans from all of the Canary islands. Contemporary Canarian ceramics will be the theme for this year.




61st Cycling Tour of Tenerife will see traffic affected this weekend
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Waiting forever, it seems!
WAITING lists for public health care are staggering, according to the latest, official figures, which show that almost 92,000 people in the Canaries are either awaiting surgery or a specialist’s appointment.

South Hospital is such a big plus for patients
The opening of the first 49 hospital beds for acute, short-stay patients, along with the intensive-care activity, has relieved some of the burden on the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. It has also eased the burden on patients having to travel to Santa Cruz for treatment.

Seven Seas Explorer Sizzles With Style In Tenerife
If your aspiring to be the World’s most luxurious cruise ship, being 54,000 tons, 223 metres long, and costing 450 million dollars is just a start. Seven Seas Explorer prides itself on attention to detail and those added flamboyant touches. As the 14 decks loomed over me on Santa Cruz dockside, its lower hull was being power sprayed and roller painted to ensure it looked as good as when it was launched in Monaco barely two months ago.

Tenerife Fiestas in September 2016

Plaza del Adelantado. San Cristobal de La Laguna. Tenerife

There are no national public holidays in September, but the following Municipal Public Holidays occur in the month where offices and shops close in the individual districts:

- 5 September: Fiesta of the municipality's patron in La Victoria de Acentejo.
- 7 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora del Socorro in Güímar.
- 8 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de la Luz in Los Silos.
- 8 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de Abona in Arico.
- 8 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios in Tegueste. 
- 12 September: Fiesta of San José in San Juan de la Rambla.
- 14 September: Fiesta of the Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna in San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
- 19 September: Celebration of the Santísimo Cristo de la Dulce Muerte in Guía de Isora.

Amongst the numerous celebrations taking place during the month are the Fiestas del Cristo and the Festival del Drago in Icod de los Vinos; on 7th September there's the Romería Bajada del Socorro in Güímar; the Fiestas patronales en honor a la Virgen de La Luz de la Villa de Los Silos the biggest day of which is on 8th September; whilst on 17th September there's the Romería en Honor a San José in San Juan de La Rambla.

Meanwhile the annual in the village and valley of El Palmar in Buenavista Del Norte take place between 16th and 25th September, the final Sunday being the Day of Traditions with la trilla (threshing). Before that, from around 8pm on Saturday, 17th September, is the Baile de Las Libreas - a very curious satirical piece involving cross dressing, sarcastic gestures and Dusty Bin's Canarian Cousin showering the crowd with fireworks attached to his back. Honestly, unmissable.



Baile De Las Libreas - El Palmar - Buenavista Del Norte

But the biggest events of the month are the Fiestas in Honour of the Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna (Holy Christ of La Laguna) in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, which begin on September 1st. You can download the entire program of events (PDF) that runs to 60 pages (via).

There are many religious events, classical music concerts, Canarian folklore and much more to enjoy, but some of the main ones I'd pick to go to are:

From around 8pm on Tuesday, 13th September from the Plaza de la Concepción, is the Caballitos de Fuegos y pandorgas (chariots of fire parade with giants and floats), followed, from around 9:30pm, by a Noche de las Tradiciones (Night of Traditions) in the Plaza del Cristo, culminating in fireworks from the Montaña de San Roque at midnight.

On Wednesday, 14th September from 11pm there are the now famous fuegos del Risco y la traca - traditional noisy firework display and the arrival of the image of the Holy Christ to the square after a procession through the streets of the city.

And on Friday, 16th September in the Plaza del Cristo is the FESTIVAL CANARIAS REGGAE.

Fiestas del Cristo 2016

Image: Miguel Ángel García.

Weather Forecast for Tenerife from 29 August to 4 September

Adenium (Desert Rose) in Tenerife

A calima means another blisteringly hot start to the week with temperatures possibly reaching 34C. A yellow level weather alert covers the south, south west and east but not the north where temperatures should be around the 29C mark. From Wednesday things settle down with temperatures only varying by a degree or two on all coasts. There might be some showers during the second half of the week but these are likely to be in the hills and probably at night or early morning.

Weather Forecast for Tenerife from 29 August to 4 September

Tenerife Weather Forecast on 29th August 2016

Tenerife Beach

The warmest day over the next 14 days in Tenerife is forecast to be 30th August at 33°C (91°F) and the warmest night on 30th August at 24°C (75°F). The average temperature over the next 14 days is forecast to be 28°C (82°F) and there will be 11 days of sunshine . The average for August is 24°C (75°F) in Tenerife.

Tenerife: Weather Forecast

Designing Walking Holidays in the Canary Islands and other stories

Hiking in the Teide National Park

Designing Walking Holidays in the Canary Islands
 Usually, it takes an enormous amount of concerted planning, negotiating, effort, trial and error to compile a holiday that feels seamless. And sometimes, the line between a holiday’s success and failure undulates like one of the paths you’re trying so hard to showcase to your audience, like when we undertook to design an itinerant walking holiday on La Palma…

Mind how you stay safe in Spain
The Guardia Civil has issued a guide to keeping ourselves and our belongings safe while travelling in Spain, and the UK Foreign Office has also issued travel advice for visitors with mental health needs. Both deserve to be shared as widely as possible.

Trip to Tenerife the hard way for Isle of Wight charity riders
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Carnaval in Tenerife 2017
The Santa Cruz Carnaval 2017 will take place between 22 February and 5 March. The programme is still to be fleshed out, but the official website is HERE, and there’s a Facebook page HERE. After last year’s theme of The 1980s, 2017’s will be The Caribbean.

XXVI Feria de Artesanía Vilaflor de Chasna 2016
The Vilaflor Crafts Fair takes place this Saturday, 27th August 2016, from 10:00am to 6:00pm in the town's Plaza de San Pedro.

Hotel Sheraton La Caleta Charity Race in aid of UNICEF
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Güímar Pyramids museum longlisted for European Museum of the Year 2017
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Canarian cheese to feature at World Cheese Awards 2016
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T3 in Tenerife trained 19 Rio medallists including two British gold winners
It has been established for some time now as a top-rate international sports training centre, and now Tenerife Top Training can literally claim Olympic standard with Rio Games competitors who trained in T3 facilities here in Tenerife bringing back 19 medals – 6 gold, 8 silver and 5 bronze. 

Oktoberfest in Puerto de la Cruz
The Plaza de Europa will be the focus of Puerto de la Cruz’ annual Oktoberfest this Friday and Saturday, 26 and 27 August. The event starts at 7pm on Friday, but will be open from noon on the Saturday. In the square and its surrounding streets there will be stalls of beer and food, accompanied by traditional German music and dance. 

Arona reminds residents that pet registration is compulsory
Arona has reminded residents in the borough that they are required to register their pets in the municipal census. As I say HERE, the registration of pets is legally required, and this is done at local Ayuntamientos, even though some are more conscientious than others. Arona says that it has some 2,400 pets registered in its animal census, and reminds the public that registration is free and straightforward, and apart from being a legal requirement, helps to improve services and focus health alerts.

Our favourite places for a promenade stroll on Tenerife
The places we consider best for a promenade stroll are ones which have a blend of ingredients like having attractive views, somewhere nice to have a drink and also possessing a quality which makes them stand out from other locations.

National show jumping championship in Centro Hípico del Sur, Buzanada
The Centro Hípico del Sur equestrian centre in Buzanada will be home this weekend to a national show jumping championship that will bring international-level riders from all over the country to the Canaries, including the current Spanish “young equestrian” champion. 

New Housing Benefit limits for claimants going abroad
The new rules, which came into force on 28 July, prevent claimants from taking long drawn-out trips outside Great Britain while receiving taxpayer help with their rent, as well as bringing Housing Benefit into line with Jobseeker’s Allowance and other working age benefits, which already have stricter limits.

Weather Forecast for Tenerife from to 22 to 28 August

Garachico rock pool

The coming week is looking like more of the same with the south and south west due for another mainly sunny week and the north and east having a sunny first half but mixed second when there might be more showers.

Weather Forecast for Tenerife from to 22 to 28 August

Where is Playa de las Américas? ... and other pressing questions on Tenerife

Promenade Playa de las Américas

Where is Playa de las Américas?
Some people might raise sceptical eyebrows at this point, especially those who have visited Playa de las Américas many times over the years and know exactly where they’ve been laying out their towels on the sand/sunbed.

Drone captures moment daredevil idiot walks along dangerously high walls of a seaside ruin
The video shows thrill-seeker Ruben Alonso Bizarro walking along the narrow walls of the decrepit building, called La Gordejuela. The drone footage shows the building, covered in graffiti, sitting along the blue seaside edge.

Canarias Surf Film Festival 18-21 August in Hotel Villa Cortés
The Canarias Surf Film Festival starts today in the Hotel Villa Cortés in Playa de las Américas and will feature all sorts of films about surfing, bodyboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing and skating. The films are made by local, national and international directors, and there will also be photography exhibitions, special guests and music performances. The festival moves around the Canaries, and its temporary home in south Tenerife lasts until 21 August.

10 revealing things to look for in Tenerife travel articles
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Feria de Artesanía de San Bartolomé en Buenavista del norte 2016
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Tenerife service stations join “gesture to the scenery” campaign
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Taking a peek at our walking routes in Anaga on Tenerife
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Barbados Port enters agreement with Tenerife counterpart
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Muro in Tenerife, Spain
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Bus-lane scheme will ease congestion woes
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The great population boom
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