Tenerife Magazine’s round up of some of the most interesting news stories of the week in Tenerife.
A Helping Hand for Nature
Last week a green turtle was happily reunited with the sea following 30 days of caring recuperation at the El Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre in La Laguna. The turtle’s shell had been badly damaged by a boat’s propeller, but the unsung heroes at the centre nursed the shell-shocked creature back to full recovery. Last year a total of 334 mammals, birds and reptiles enjoyed a bit of R&R at the centre before being released back into their natural habitat. So flap those wings, slap those flippers and clap those scaly claws together in a big round of applause for some real Tenerife heroes of nature.
Are All Inclusive Holidays Taking Over Tenerife?
The answer, according to statistics released by the Tenerife Government is no…not yet anyway. Figures relating to visitors staying in Tenerife in 2010 show that staying half-board is still the most popular choice with visitors (27.4%) with accommodation-only bookings a close second at 25.6%. However, all-inclusive is now the third choice with 18% of all visitors opting for a coloured wristband and food and drink on tap. The remaining 29% chose bed & breakfast, full board or flight only ““ the latter presumably disappearing off the accommodation map by staying in a private apartment, with a mate, or dossing in a tent on the beach.
Santa Cruz Police Are Not Following Any Leads
In some ways it’s nice to know that on Tenerife, big brother is not watching you…even when presented with the perfect tools to do so. The police in Santa Cruz showed that they were social media savvy recently when they launched a Twitter account. The idea is that they can keep citizens up to date with what’s happing re police related matters in Tenerife’s capital. It’s a nice idea and so far they’ve got over 350 followers on Twitter. The amount of people the Santa Cruz police are following on Twitter is a big fat zero. What’s amusing ““ to us at TM anyway ““ is that basically, everyone can keep an eye on what the police are up to…but as they aren’t following anybody, they don’t really seem interested in what anyone else is up to. Only in Tenerife.
Did the Earth Move for You?
An earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale that lasted around four seconds rattled Gran Canaria yesterday. It was only considered a minor tremor and nothing to worry about by the National Geographic Institute monitoring seismic activity but it was enough to have some people heading to the door-frames. It isn’t the only earthquake to be registered in the Canary Islands of late. El Hierro has been recording regular activity for weeks with up to 22 very minor earthquakes being recorded in the one day.
However, before anyone starts heading for the hills, the seismic activity has been taking place way, way below the surface and scientists say this sort of activity can be normal in volcanic areas as magma and energy builds up and dissipates many miles underground. Some places around the world, like parts of Hawaii, live with constant volcanic activity…which is reassuring to know.
And finally the TIT (This Is Tenerife) of the week award goes to…Tenerife’s politicians in general for the second week in a row…but this time they’re joined by Tenerife businesses ““ in general of course
What’s to be done with Tenerife? As a holiday destination it ranks as one of the best in the world, but if it was a business the managers would have been sacked and replaced a long, long time ago. 500 years ago it was a frontier society and sometimes it feels as though not a lot has changed.
Many people who reside on Tenerife will no doubt have heard all too often tales of people not being paid for the work they’ve done. Avoiding paying people what they’re owed seems to be endemic in Tenerife.
When you look at the facts, it’s easy to understand why. It isn’t just ‘dodgy’ businesses that are guilty. Recently we’ve heard of CD Tenerife football players going without their wages and of hotel workers not being paid their salaries for months.
The problem is how can a society change its ways when those at the top of the chain are guiltiest of all? There are stories week after week in the Spanish press of councils not paying their bills. The new mayor in Victoria discovered this week that the previous incumbent has left a shocking 700 unpaid bills as a legacy…and the municipality’s budget is all but already spent. This lack of good business practice ripples all the way down the line.
When it comes to leading by example, some of Tenerife’s politicians are setting an absolutely shocking one.
