Every month we receive information from the Tourist Office here that Fuerteventura holidaymakers are on the increase in fact some months they are better than the other islands, but where are they?
Now it’s your chance to have your say on what’s happening good or bad to the island. Whilst Fuerteventura is seen for its relaxing atmosphere and not everyone wants it to have the hustle and bustle of some of the Tenerife/Lanzarote resorts businesses have suffered in the past few years with the decline in the number of tourists and the increase in rents for the bars and restaurants. On the other hand, is it that the holiday companies mainly promote the ‘all inclusive’ options. New research reveals that while millions of Britons are taking package holidays, the majority spend their breaks in the ‘bubble’ of their resort.
Research conducted with over 2,000 respondents has identified, that while a massive 2.5m Britons take a package holiday each year, the average holidaymaker spends a meagre seven hours outside their Ihotel and all inclusive breaks now count for 33% of all holidays.
Days out with the family are a 'no no' when on a holiday with adequate facilities at the hotel. Almost three quarters (70%) of package holiday Brits never visit modern tourist attractions such as a water or theme park. It seems a long day at the same pool, will be followed by a long evening in the comforts of the same bar as many opt to eat in the resorts catering establishments rather than go and sample the local cuisine. Understandably, the current exchange rate of the pound to the Euro could account for some of this with families on a budget. In addition, it is difficult to get flights to and from the island throughout the year for those who want to be an independent traveller.
Are the right people in charge promoting the island in the right places? For example, one reader visited Ireland where holiday destinations were promoted but the island of Fuerteventura’s stall was small and the woman on the stand did not speak any English.
Are the airport taxes too high?. Why do we not have the same regular services from holiday/flight companies that other islands such as Tenerife and Lanzarote have. We have a meeting with the director of the airport in May to see if we can get any answers to these questions. Do you have any questions to ask?
There is no doubt that the island of Fuerteventura is a wonderful place to visit for a holiday and to live with its all year round sunshine, stunning landscapes and beaches but is there still room for improvement? Have your say and contact the paper now! Elsol news wants to make Fuerteventura a better place for tourists and to live and we would like your comments.
Email info@el-sol-news.com
Tel: 928 160 518

El Cotillo’s neighbourhood association “Roque del Mar” rallied together the residents of the village at the beginning of May to protest in the streets against the installation of two mobile phone antennae which are situated according to the president of the association Laura Benitez, less than a hundred metres from the village school and sports courts.

Although the antennae, belonging to major operators Vodafone and Orange, were installed on the roofs of buildings near the school over eighteen years ago the neighbours, concerned about possible links between the structures and an increasing number of cancer cases in the zone have decided that enough is enough and organized the demonstration to pressurize the companies into taking down the masts.

There have in fact been seven cases of people who lived near the masts dying from cancer in the last twelve months, explained Laura Benitez commenting that the group is convinced that these deaths are in some way linked to the fact that the receiving power of the masts has been made stronger over the last year to improve the quality of calls.

As proof of the sheer strength of the signals currently being received in the area the neighbours explained that as a general rule the TV reception in the area has been very poor over the last year but when workmen “disconnected” the masts to carry out repair work the TV pictures were “as clear as a bell” but when they were reconnected the interference returned.
The neighbours are concerned that if nothing is done to prevent these companies from continuing to use their masts then Movistar’s plans to install a mast on the roof of a nearby restaurant will also be given the go ahead with all the consequences this incurs.

From the relative safety of African soil the terrified passengers of the “Assalama” ferry could not believe their eyes as they watched the ferry which was supposed to be taking them to Puerto del Rosario slowly sink in Moroccan waters at the beginning of May due to the problems experienced by its crew embarking on the return leg of their journey.

The forty one year old ferry had collided with the harbour wall in Tarfaya when attempting to leave the port unable to carry out the habitual manoeuvre because of bad weather but the damage was considered to be superficial and with the passengers on board the crew decided to set sail for Fuerteventura.

However only a few miles into the journey the “Assalama” began to experience problems and the captain decided to turn back and return to Tarfaya. In no time the ferry began to list to one side and to the dismay of the passengers the vessel touched rocks on the seabed and became trapped surrounded by huge waves. Panic took control and the passengers were taken to the car deck where they were given life jackets.

A potential tragedy was avoided by a quick rescue operation which was carried out using the ferry’s own life boats and several “pateras” (local fishing boats more commonly used to carry illegal immigrants in the journey to the Canary Islands) successfully evacuating all 114 distraught passengers.

The passengers, around thirty of whom are canarians, were transported to various different hotels in Morocco where they had no alternative but to wait for the Canarian government to arrange flights to bring them back to the Archipelago.

The “accident” has brought the whole “Assalama” ferry question to a head. The teething problems caused by the lack of infrastructure in Puerto del Rosario had, until now, been the main complaint since the Frontier Inspection Point for the control and inspection of perishable produce entering Fuerteventura has not yet been installed making the entrance of plagues and prohibited produce inevitable but the sinking of the “Assalama” has now painted a dark future for the line which had only been inaugurated in January of this year and which was supposed to act as an important commercial and social link between the North of Africa and the Archipelago.

The fact that the unemployment figures in twelve of the eighteen autonomous communities of Spain went up in the month of April is unquestionable but the fact that the Canarian Archipelago came out tops with an increase of 4.66% is definitely a cause for concern. The general slow down in construction in the islands is the obvious culprit for such an increase since there are thousands of people canarians, mainland Spanish and immigrants, employed by the sector.
As far as Fuerteventura is concerned according to the latest figures issued by the island’s Confederation of Businessmen, the number of people out of work on the island now stands at 8,292, an increase of 305 people in a month.
In fact if we compare these figures with the information for the same period last year there has been a 59.16% increase in unemployment on the island.
The increase, which is the highest in the Archipelago, affects mainly the Puerto del Rosario area and includes a large number of ex service sector workers although many ex hotel and construction workers have also joined the dole queue.

As the Faycan scandal investigation in Telde, Gran Canaria continues indications of illegal practices in the sale of land by Pajara town council have also become known.

Rafael Perdomo, mayor of Pajara, and two ex councillors, namely Blas Acosta (Urban development) and Antonio Olmeda (financial affairs), have been accused of illegally favouring the sale of various plots of land in La Lajita at a much lower price than usual.

Although the mayor and the councillors claim that there are “absolutely no suspicious circumstances” behind the sale of the plots, the fact is that Anton Martin, one of the businessmen accused of illegal dealing in the Faycan case along with the ex councillor for Urban Development in Telde Jose Luis Mena is not only the sole administrator of the organization under observation “Grupo Europa” but is also the owner of “Garden Kit SL”, which is the company that has purchased the aforementioned plots in La Lajita and as such is being investigated in depth.

Suspicious circumstances surrounding the sale of the plots were under covered by the judges investigating the Faycan case since pertinent documents indicated that Garden Kit SL had acquired 12 plots in La Lajita totalling 17,511m2 of general land and 20,996 m2 of land with building permission but instead of being charged at least 400 euros/m2, which is the minimum permitted price, an “agreement” was reached whereby Garden Kit SL would only be charged 206 euros/m2 and would furthermore be allowed to pay for the land over the next six years.
In short, the land was sold for just over 5 million euros when the price should have been 9.7 million euros and irregularities have also been noted in the way the land was registered.
The councillors have been summoned to appear in court to make their declarations.

While carrying out a routine inspection the Guardia Civil who received the Fuerteventura - Gran Canaria ferry were surprised to discover 310 kilos of hashish hidden in boxes under a sheet of plastic in the hold.
With the help of sniffer dogs, the officers were checking the cargo area of the Naviera Armas ferry “Volcan de Tejeda” when they came across the haul which was located in five boxes piled one on top of another.
The problem is of course that the person responsible for loading the boxes into the ferry is very unlikely to come forward to claim the merchandise and a long investigation will be necessary to identify the risky smuggler

The regional minister for Education Milagros Brito Luis is standing firm in her confrontation with the teaching staff of the islands remaining unconvinced by the argument that the non-university staff of the archipelago should be paid the same amount in their wage packets as other civil servants of their same rank.
Brito explained that following the “obvious” lack of success of the day strike action organised by the teachers the department was expecting a change in attitude and since this has not been the case the Education Department will be calling a meeting for May 15th where the possibility of contracting new teachers if the existing members of staff refuse to accept the conditions attached to any future pay rise, will be discussed.

The teachers for their part also refuse to be intimidated and the situation is therefore one of complete stalemate. The 300,000 non-university pupils in the islands, many of whom are preparing for important exams, are likely to suffer at least one more strike before the end of term, which is just over a month away with the next date proposed as May 14th.

Two of the conditions proposed by the Ministry are that firstly it will be obligatory for a quarter of the islands’ schools to provide support classes for children with learning difficulties out of normal hours and secondly by 2010-2011 a quarter of all classes will be given in English as part of a plan to improve the standards of English teaching in the Archipelago. A team of inspectors will also control the schools more closely.

“Rosa Delmas” a French cargo ship sailing under a British flag anchored a mile off Puerto del Rosario on Sunday 20th April to allow twelve African stowaways, who had been discovered around six days after setting off from West Africa’s Ivory Coast hiding below deck, to be taken to hospital by the authorities in Fuerteventura.
Four of the surviving stowaways were taken to the intensive care unit of Fuerteventura General hospital in a serious condition while the others received medical attention.
Although the captain of the vessel knew that one of the stowaways was dead, he was not aware that there was another dead stowaway onboard, it was the survivors who alerted the police of the presence of the corpse.
It was only when the specially trained Guardia Civil (GEAS) approached the depths of the ship that the deplorable conditions under which the captain had “hosted” the Africans became obvious.
Police divers were forced to postpone the inspection until adequate diving suits were brought in from Gran Canaria due to the presence of large amounts of water contaminated with faeces and fuel and the extremely low temperatures; conditions under which the Africans had been forced to live for at least a week. True to the information supplied by the stowaways, the corpse was found and removed for inspection by forensic experts.
The allegations of the deplorable way they were treated on board the “Rosa Delmas” led to a full-scale investigation of the captain and his crew but the vessel was eventually allowed to set sail for Vigo Pontevedra.

Hundreds of expert goatherds from all over the island will gather together on June 14th in Pajara to show the school children in the area the “tricks of the trade”.
La Oliva’s councillor for Agriculture Juan Tomas Armas Alonso commented that the event will be quite an occasion since the children will not simply receive a lecture on how important the goats are for Fuerteventura but will receive hands on experience of how the goatherds work. The men will collect the goats and their kids, which are grazing freely on the hillsides in the area, early in the morning and take them to the “gambuesa” (stone pen) in Pecenescal where it will be decided which goatherd each of the new born kids belongs to.
The traditional marking ceremony will then proceed during which the kids are branded or have their ears cut to indicate who their owner is.
Although interest in continuing with traditions like goat herding has diminished in recent times and only recently it has been reported that the families of the major producers of “majorero” goats cheeses are not interested in continuing the work of the parents and grandparents, the event is very popular with the local children and Pajara town council hopes to encourage the new generations to consider following in the footsteps of the goatherds instead of opting for more modern careers.

Not even the huge fire that broke out at the Puerto del Rosario Coca Cola plant towards the end of April managed to stop the supply of the sweet brown fizzy staff reaching the island’s bars, restaurants and supermarkets.
The fire, which caused a great deal of damage to the installations in Puerto del Rosario broke out in the late afternoon and could not be completely extinguished until at least eleven o’clock at night because of strong winds and the warehouse was almost completely destroyed.
However neighbouring company Inpescasa stepped in and offered to let Coca Cola use their installations until the warehouses can be rebuilt. Also Coca Cola warehouses in Gran Canaria and Lanzarote have promised to help out until the supplies are restored.

The councillor for security in Pajara town hall was pleased to announce that the borough is to have its own neighbourhood police in the very near future.
Pedro Armas Romero explained that a group of officers will be specially assigned to “neighbourhood” duties such as making sure there are no traffic problems, keeping an eye on the children as they go in and out of the schools and generally keeping peace in the neighbourhood.
Armas, who added that the presence of these neighbourhood officers is always appreciated by the local residents, explained that the creation of the group had been in response to requests to modernise the service in the borough adding that he was sure the initiative would be a great success.
Armas also commented on plans to install close circuit television in and around the public centres of the borough such as the cultural centre, the senior citizens centre and the youth centres in order to increase the level of security of the buildings especially after dark.
Also there will be closed circuit TV in the borough’s schools but the councillor assured that the cameras would only be operative after school hours since the new neighbourhood police would be at hand throughout the day.

Drivers in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will have to watch where they are parking from now on as a special patrol car armed with a precise camera capable of capturing the registration plate of a whole line of cars illegally parked along a yellow line at just one click will be doing the rounds.
Mayor of Las Palmas Jeronimo Saavedra and those who were present at the official presentation of the new camera were amazed at how the machine could capture the plates of any illegally parked vehicle and process the details to discover whether the car has been stolen, has any payments pending or has been parked in the same position for too long and should be towed away.
The new patrol car will not however be “sneaky” since the vehicle will be bright yellow and will make it quite obvious that a photograph is being taken. The offending motorist will then be sent the photograph together with the corresponding fine indicating the time and date if the offence making any dispute about whether or not the vehicle was badly parked almost impossible.
It will only be a matter of time before the system is introduced to the other islands so get used to parking legally from now on.

Four dogs have been found dead and tied up in a lava tube in Tindaya. The dogs were hunting dogs, which had reached the end of their usefulness and were shot. They were only 500 yards from the Esquinzo, which looks after and re-homes the elderly dogs of Fuerteventura. The director Andrea Wittwer said that ‘they appeared to have been shot so that nobody could hear them barking or howling’. Okapi is demanding more control of hunting dogs from the council and Town halls.

The initiative, which will be financed in full by the town council, not only aims to update the image of the tourist resort but also aims to unite the taxis, which are without a doubt the means of transport “par excellence” of the tourists who visit the borough. The distinctive logo will make it easy to identify and single out any unauthorised transport.

Local councillor for Tourism Nereida Calero was delighted to present the new plan to the press explaining that over the next few months all the taxis will be adorned with the logo making those, which have licenses to pick up in La Oliva stand out.

Pioneer road safety campaign

A brand new road safety programme will be carried out in Fuerteventura during the next academic year.
The programme, which will in fact involve teaching road safety not only to the island’s school children but also to the disabled and senior citizens, is the first of it’s kind and counts on the support of Insurance company Mapfre Guanarteme.
As part of the programme, the Island Cabildo will organise the visit of a mobile road safety unit to each of the island’s schools, day centres for the handicapped and Senior citizens centres.

On yer bike!

The dangers of using bicycles on the main roads of the island will soon become outdated, at least along the ten kilometre stretch which joins Las Granadas with Puerto Lajas.
According to the local council of Puerto del Rosario the work on the construction of the new bicycle and pedestrian lanes is going to plan and should be completed in the very near future. The plan, which has a budget of one and a half million euros, forms part of the Tourism Initiatives being promoted by the island Cabildo and the regional government and has been jointly financed by both entities. The lanes are 3.2metres wide and the council has thought about the convenience of users by constructing shelters every so often to provide a resting point in the shade and drinking fountains have also been installed to provide refreshment. Earth has even been repositioned to make the stretch as level as possible thus avoiding the need to go up and down hill.

Island councillor for the Environment Natalia Evora also revealed that La Oliva town council is also planning to construct a bicycle and pedestrian lane to provide a continuous link between El Cotillo and Corralejo.
Eventually, explained Evora, the Cabildo plans to construct a network of bicycle and pedestrian lanes to cover the whole island with the intention of encouraging people to get out and about without necessarily using cars and buses. The new lanes will reduce the possibility of any accidents since they are separated from the main road by a garden area and the construction of shaded rest areas will add to the attractions of using the system.
It is also hoped that tourists will opt for the healthier approach to discovering the Fuerteventura.

Cord blood possibility under discussion

The managing director of “Crio Cord”, a company which is dedicated to the collection and preservation of umbilical cord blood for therapeutical uses, has announced that the company is interested in discussing the possilbity of offering the service in the Canary Islands.

Carlos Moreno explained that since the birth of the Princesses Leonor and Sofia, whose parents Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia took the precaution of preserving the blood from their umbilical cords for future use, interest in umbilical cord blood has increased with the general public realizing that the blood can be used for “auto transplants” and the treatment of cancers such as leukaemia since the cells produced by the foetus during gestation do not provoke rejection.
To date there have only been a couple of cases where umbilical cord blood has been conserved in the islands but Moreno believes that the service should be generally available for all new borns and as such has already begun talks with the Canarian Health Service to discuss its introduction.

By Bob Purdy

UD Fuerteventura 1 CD Ourense 1

We have managed to squeeze in the final league report for this season with our last home game played Sunday 11th May against Ourense a team from Galicia in Northern Spain who back in December had the better of us by 3 goals to 1 at their ground. Hopefully this wont be the last report as we now have a fantastic chance of finishing in the play offs for promotion, all we need next week in our final game of the season away to Lugo, is a win or draw and that will consolidate our current position of 3rd to ensure entry in the promotional play offs, we were victorious at home against Lugo by 2 goals to nil last time we played them. All week I had been looking forward to today with our last home game with the play offs in my mind , then rounded off with the prospect of watching the Man Utd & Chelsea games simultaneously on TV what more could one want for dessert on a Sunday? I did not even manage to get a seat before Fuerteventura took the lead with a penalty from Gustavo in the second minute, what a dream start 1 goal up and not even sat down yet, things could only get better couldn’t they?. Reason for my small delay was due to a professional rhythm band who were blasting out a great Latin American beat to add to the atmosphere which drowned the roar of the goal celebrations.

As you can see from the Table poor Ourense a club founded in 1952 were all but relegated on the day unless they win at least 5 – 0 and hope Villa Sta Brigida get beat, but even then they will still have to win a play off with 3 other teams involved from the other groups. From our position, as you can see from the above table we play CD Lugo who are equal on points however we have a superior goal difference plus we beat them 2-0 this season so a draw or win then we are in the play offs, if we lose then we are in the hands of the gods as all three of the teams fighting for a play off place are at home and I cant see all 3 losing.

So to put things in to perspective, Fuerteventura’s first season in the Segunda B since promotion last season has been superb, and even if we don’t progress through to the play offs which I think we will, is a much improved squad on the last time we got promoted as we came straight back down again. Who knows the next report hopefully will be on UD Fuerteventura getting promoted now that would be a dream come true.
From myself and the team at the EL Sol News we wish all the players and management at UD Fuerteventura lots of luck and success especially for the last game and moreover the play offs should they reach them.

In the event of Fuerteventura reaching the play offs I will keep everyone updated on the play off fixtures and results on our web site
www.el-sol-news.com

p.s. Congratulations to Manchester Utd League Champions 2008.

bob@properties-fuerteventura.com

Schools Athletics tournament under starter’s orders

The grand final of the IV Schools Athletics Championships is programmed to take place in the Gran Tarajal sports stadium on May 21st. The event which will bring the trials which have been taking place over the last few months to a conclusion is very popular and over four hundred budding athletes from ten different schools on the island are expected to take part.

Cabildo councillor for Sports Edilia Perez expressed her satisfaction with the tournament so far underlining the importance of encouraging the youngsters to participate in sporting activity as a healthy pursuit and a way of incurring qualities such as tolerance, respect, and sportsmanship.

The tournament, which is sponsored by the Caja de Canarias and the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, costs around 12,000 euros to stage but is one of the most important sporting events in the Archipelago.

SPORTS DIARY

What a load of bull. This big guy is looking smug alter winning first prize.

This year’s event was bigger and better with the attendance exceeding 40,000 visitors. Although classed as an agricultural fair, there was plenty to do and see for all the family

This year’s event was bigger and better with the attendance exceeding 40,000 visitors. Although classed as an agricultural fair, there was plenty to do and see for all the family. The stands and exhibitions specialised in local produce such as cheese and wine, giving away free samples. There were even wine tasting lessons and of course the usual free beer tent which proved popular. Animals on show included goats, donkeys, the traditional Majorero dog, camels, chickens, cows and sheep.
Events took place each day, the last day saw the horseracing, donkey racing and the official cheese-tasting where 138 cheeses were compared and rated by a panel of judges. In the goat milking competition, the winning goat produced 9.00 litres of milk.
All in all a fantastic day out. Not to be missed next year!

“Wake me up when it’s time to go”. The donkeys are always fun, but it was all too tiring for this little chap.

Lost voice of just a little hoarse. Note the visitor having a second look just to make sure it wasn’t Tina Turner alter all.

“You won’t win”. “Well neither will you”. These two likely lads swap notes ahead of the Majorero dog show.

The interior stands sold local goods such as cheese, wine, cheese, plants, and cheese. Sorry cheesed off now.