Playa Flamingo Back in Business
The beach at Playa Flamingo should finally be restored to its former glory by September this year, according to the Ministry of the Environment. This popular stretch of sand in Playa Blanca has been without its full complement of golden grains since the Tropical Storm Delta blew away a good proportion of the beach back in November 2005.
A technical team has now calculated the amount of sand necessary for the task and a number of local businesses have indicated their willingness to assist with the restoration. Part of the reason for the delay was caused by the search for the right shade of sand from amongst the beaches of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with more than 300 samples taken for this purpose.
The Island Government has also just given the green light for the expansion of the ferry port in Playa Blanca.
This development will increase the port’s capacity by 10,041 square metres, allowing enough space for the creation of a new commercial area. The proposed expansion has been the subject of much discussion over the years and has only now been resolved, after being suspended in 2005. Within the plans will be the creation of a bigger parking area, a zone for commercial traffic and an area for sporting use.
Summer Sales Arrive Early
Visitors on the lookout for a bargain will be pleased to hear that the summer sales have been brought forward at the request of local businesses.
The island government has announced that the sales will begin on Monday July 7th rather than Saturday 12th July. It is hoped that this will stimulate shopping trade and is in part a response to numerous retail outlets already having discounted items available without officially beginning their sales season.
Museum Opens Doors Again
After fifteen years of remaining shut, the small museum in Haria dedicated to Sacred Art has re-opened its doors. This lengthy period of closure has finally ended, thanks to the remodelling which was needed for it to be opened to the public. The artefacts on display were originally housed in the old church of Haria, but in 1956 had to be removed due to the ceiling’s collapse. From then until 1975, when the museum was first opened, all the pieces were stored in houses and garages around the town.
However, the poor state of the museum prompted officials to close it in 1993 and it was only through the concerted efforts of locals and the Ayuntamiento of Haria that the renovation work was finally carried out.
Some of the pieces on display are of great historic value, dating back to the 17th century and include a newborn Christ from 1760 and a silver Holy Communion set from Portugal. The altar from the old church of Haria has also been recreated
Plane Talking
The future of cheap flights to Lanzarote could be in jeopardy. As the impact of rising fuel costs may soon be felt within the tourism industry, with airlines such as Ryanair considering reducing the number of flights on offer to the Canaries, should the escalation in fuel prices continue.
Low cost airlines are finding it increasingly difficult to protect their profit margin with the rocketing price of oil and are seeking ways to off-set these costs without having to increase ticket prices dramatically.
On a separate note, a recent survey carried out by Which? found that low cost airline Jet2.com was the most popular carrier amongst 30,000 of those surveyed. Ahead of both the other low costs airlines, such as easyjet and more traditional companies such as British Airways.
La Santa Anniversary
Club La Santa celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary on Sunday 22 June. With a well-established reputation as one of the best places for athletes to train, the Club is also responsible for organising the yearly triathlon, Ironman Lanzarote, which is considered one of the most important stages of the global Ironman competition.
Many famous names have passed through the Club’s doorway, not least amongst them the British boxer Frank Bruno and the athlete Linford Christie. The Club offers a variety of sports training facilities, with up to 35 different activities covered. Thanks to the benign climate found in the Canaries, it is recognised as one of the leading centres for sportsmen to hone their skills at.
The Club, based in the municipality of Tinajo on the north-western coast of Lanzarote, has 400 apartments that manage to sustain an 85% occupancy level throughout the year.
Moves are afoot to extend the complex and create an Olympic village style of resort, with an investment of 25 million euros to provide a further 96 apartments and make improvements to the existing facilities.
Greenpeace Condemn Over Development in the Canaries
Greenpeace has published a report denouncing the impact of urban developments upon the Canarian coastline.
The ecological group’s eighth report into the ‘Destruction of the Coast’ in Spain mentions areas of both Andalucia and the Canary Islands as regions that have permitted developments due to corruption in their respective local authorities.
The document analyses the hundred worst cases of building projects that have been carried out in cities and autonomous communities along the coastline of mainland Spain and in the Canaries.
Despite the moratorium in place against the development of further tourist beds, three projects had been approved in Tauro, Meloneras and Abama (all in Tenerife) legitimizing a further 3600 beds. And on the islands of La Gomera and Las Palmas the local authorities had planned a 17,000 and 13,000 more places respectively. Whilst on Fuerteventura tourist development reportedly threatens to invade every part of the island.
As a result the Canary Islands had the dubious honour – along with Andalucia – of having the most mayors and councils at the point of facing some judicial action for their involvement in corrupt urban developments. Amongst these the local municipalities on Lanzarote of Yaiza, Haria and Teguise were highlighted.
