Entries Tagged 'Tenerife' ↓

More than 100 multicoloured birds inhabit the aviary with the same volume as the auditorium of the Paris Opera

Loro Parque, one of the finest environmental and zoological parks in the world, continues to expand its leisure offering with surprising innovations to delight its visitors, and on the 24th  of September it will launch its latest and majestic attraction, Katandra Treetops. Katandra is the word used by the Australian native people to refer to the song birds in the aboriginal language. This is Loro Parque paying homage to nature, returning to its roots, the birds, nearly 38 years after opening its doors for the first time.

The opening ceremony will be attended by the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Paulino Rivero Baute, President of the Tenerife Cabildo, Ricardo Melchior and the mayoress of Puerto de la Cruz, Dolores Padrón, among other authorities who will also attend the event.

This is one of the most impressive free-flight aviaries, where visitors can enter, climb the hanging bridge and look face to face the hundreds of different species and subspecies of birds from Australia and Asia.

Colourful lories, cockatoos, kookaburras, pheasants, thrushes and fruit doves, among many other birds, are the stars of this wonderful aviary, in which a mysterious tropical rain forest enshrouds visitors and captivates the senses. The humidity of Australasia moisture, the light and shadows, and the eucalyptus and caramel aromas combine with lush tropical jungle, in a unique environment.

Marvels of the air, earth and water. Among the species that inhabit Katandra Treetops one can highlight, among many others, over 100 lory species and subspecies, which attract attention for their intense and varied colours, up to 5 different colours in a single bird. Furthermore, the special tongue of these birds, thanks to its rough texture, allows them to feed on the nectar and pollen of flowers, an activity that can be seen from the high bridge in between Eucalyptus, Indian laurels and thick vegetation which adorns the exhibition, and which has maintained the original trees of the zone.

Among other striking birds, Katandra Treetops is home to species that live in the lower areas of the enclosure such as partridges, Crowned pigeons and Golden pheasants which, together with its distinctive laughing kookaburras and elegant herons make this aviary a melting pot of sounds and confirm the authenticity of his name. Besides the great bridge, there are also boardwalks, platforms and stairs included for visitors who so wish, and can truly enjoy bird-watching at really unimagined heights, and observe behaviour in the nests, the free flight within the enclosure and finding odd or fancy fruit hidden among the vegetation.

Pink cockatoos, Asian parakeets, Crowned pigeons and even Mandarin Ducks will give life and colour to the lake in the centre of the exhibit, which will become a mirror thanks to the rays of light illuminating it through the trees.

For the construction of Katandra Treetops an endless steel array of especially created complex pieces have been used, including the brackets, rings and pillars that comprise a stainless steel structure of 21 tons responsible for supporting the mesh of 3000 m2 and up to 27 meters at the highest points, which creates a huge space for free flight of 17,000 m3 (the same volume as the Paris Opera hall).

Katandra Treetops is also designed as an area of environmental enrichment in which the Loro Parque Fundación can carry out diverse educational activities, interactive videoconferencing on-line and species identification workshops, for children from many schools to have the opportunity to discover the wonders of this tropical forest ecosystem.

Loro Parque, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife

Ever fancied owning a yacht, maybe you thought and then decided it would be too dear? Well World Marine Guide have a great solution to the problem, find some like minded friends and spread the cost between you. World Marine Guide are experts in all things nautical and know the market for yachts and moorings, so you will even be well set for after sales service.

If you fancy something a bit more traditional, they also deal in property located by marinas in the Canary Islands, that can be invaluable if you use marinas for business or leisure. How great to be able to wrap up the whole package in one go, the service doesn’t stop there though, job opportunities, route guides for voyages, classified sales of a marine nature and legal contacts, World Marine Guide can do it all. Just log on and see what they can do for you.

Winter is not a frightening word in Tenerife, it merely signals slightly cooler temperatures that encourage more prolonged outdoor exposure, a good excuse to slip the mooring, and give the boat or yacht a good run out. To stay in ship shape condition a trip to www.canaryislandsmarine.com is a good idea, they can check your vessel over and set you up for another fun and season on the Atlantic.

Based in Puerto Colon, Costa Adeje www.canaryislandsmarine.com are always on the leading wave when it comes to the latest safety equipment and accesories. They can also offer expert advice on mooring, insurance and the buying and selling of sea faring craft. Tenerife is well placed to open up the oceans to all sailors, for leisure, business and sport, it’s good to have someone on tour side that shares your enthusiasm and love of the sea.

Puerto Colon is one of the most vibrant marinas you will find on your travels, it caters for all levels and interests, and is a tourist attraction in its own right. Before embarking on a sea adventure, pop in to www.canaryislandsmarine.com and see what they can do to improve your enjoyment of the Atlantic and beyond.

Selling Tenerife is a lot easier if you let it work for you, that’s why many companies are looking at a new way to conduct business meetings. Tenerife Yacht Charters are based in Puerto Colon and have just made their 74 foot Sunseeker luxury yacht available for hire.

A large oak wood conference table in the lower level lounge is the perfect place to thrash out new deals and ideas, as the galley provides food and drink to ensure minds and bodies are fed and watered. Plasma screen televisions with full DVD , VCR and sound, make presntations easy and up on the top deck, a cold drink is on hand to toast any new deal.

Prices are very competitive for such a unique venue and there certainly wont be any problem with guests being suddenly called away. Tenerife is a sunshine island, so it’s hardly surprising that companies are looking to adopt some real blue sky thinking for corporate and business situations.

Aitor, Gorka and Waiter

It´s true that all the best places are “hidden” and Escondida Restaurant  is no exception, as you can tell from the name!  This is a great Restaurant and Lounge Bar located adjacent to the sea  in Alcala,  in the south of Tenerife.  It was originally opened in 1995 and was predominately a fish restaurant, but in wishing to expand on their experience and knowledge, the owners, Aitor and Gorka, decided to create a wider choice for their discerning customers.  Their menu is decisive and inviting and their choice of  Restaurant and Lounge Bar lends itself to everyone.

A picturesque location close to the new Gran Sol Melia five star hotel in Alcala, a delightful ambiance with a creative menu and a friendly team await you at Escondida.  Book your table soon!!

July is nearly upon us and Tenerife has a vast array of events to entice everyone, including the biggest world wide musical, Mamma Mia!  Take a look at What´s on for July and plan ahead at one of the many Cultural and Leisure activities on offer.

English and German speaking staff will make Cabildo paper work and transactions easier

The Tenerife Cabildo, through its Centro de Servicios al Ciudadano or Citizens Service Bureaux (CSC) in Icod de los VInos, La Orotava and Los Cristianos (Arona), now has trained staff on hand to attend to the needs of foreign residents. The service has been launched  in keeping with a pledge made by Cabildo president Ricardo Melchior to cater for the large number of foreign residents living on Tenerife. It means they will have access to Cabildo services without a translator/interpreter. 

Rosa Baena, General Coordinator for Personnel & Legal Affairs at the Tenerife Cabildo, says: “We have hired these staff to make dealings with the Cabildo’s office easier because their enquiries and business can now be handled in English or German.”

As well as providing information about  the different activities offered by the Tenerife Island Government, the new customer service staff will also take care of the standard procedures which local resident shave to follow to be entitled to the public  services offered by the Cabildo  and  also the General Registry for receipt of documents.

In the north, the service will be available  at the offices in La Orotava  in Plaza de la Constitución  number 4 on Wednesdays and Fridays and in  Icod de los Vinos at Calle Key Múñoz  number 24  on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8am-2pm. In the south the service is avilable from Mondays to Fridays from 8am-2pm at the CSC office in the Valdés Centre, Avenida Amsterdam in Los Cristianos. 

The Citizens Service Bureau is a Cabildo one-stop service point for the public and forms part of a network of offices located around the island which all boast the latest information technology in an integrated system to guarantee qualityof  service. 

The CSC gives citizens access to an improved service because all kinds of Cabildo- related services can be dealt with under one roof.  The aim is to make the Cabildo’s public administration  simpler and more user friendly for residents anywhere on the island, who do not now have to travel to Santa Cruz to take advantage of the services offered by the Island Corporation.  Thanks to this network of offices, local government is now more accessible for ordinary citizens in the most important population centreson Tenerife and it guarantees access to services  under equal conditions.   

The CSC offices are NOT tourist information offices.

Two internationally famous musicians from the Canary Islands will open a season of cultural events called Vive Monje at a unique new venue in North Tenerife. Benito Cabrera, “timple” player par excellence and jazz pianist Polo Ortí are just a few of the surprises lined up for May at the brand new Espacio Cultural Monje at Bodegas Monje in El Sauzal.

As of next week, visitors to the winery will be treated to a complete wine experience including a video “The Sounds of Wine”, an unusual exhibition of sculptures made from wine barrels from the exhibition entitled 2º Biennial de Arte y Vino de Tacoronte-Acentejo and a photo exhibition Viñagrafia by Uwe Jurgens. But there are plenty more events to choose from during the month of May at this novel new cultural space themed on wine: theatre, music, wine tasting and traditional roast suckling pig are just a few..

Five generations of the Monje family have been involved in wine production at the winery, which dates back to 1756. Set in 17 hectares of vineyards in La Hollera in the district of El Sauzal, the wines produced here belong to the Tacoronte-Acentejo denomination of origin.

The winery now features new equipment for making vintage wines, the new cultural space and a Wine Club set 20 metres underground below the building. There is also a shop and a restaurant which is highly recommended. Tours of the wine garden are also available.

For more information and tickets please go to the web www.bodegasmonje.com or telephone 922 585 027

Spanish Airline to Offer Weekly Flights to Canary Islands

New York, NY, April 24, 2008 – Air Europa will inaugurate weekly service from Miami to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands on June 20. The Spanish-owned airline will offer one weekly flight on Saturdays from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Tenerife’s North Airport, or Tenerife Norte (TFN), aboard a 299-passenger Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with 24 Business Class seats and 275 seats in Economy Class.

Tenerife tourism officials are thrilled, as it will bring more visitors – some 300,000 Floridians are of Canary Island descent – to explore the beauties of the seven islands in the archipelago.

Air Europa flight UX 096 will depart Miami International Airport at 5:00 PM, arriving in Tenerife the next day at 7:35 AM. The return flight, Air Europa UX 095, will depart Tenerife at 1:50 PM, arriving back in Miami at 4:50 PM the same day.

Lying just 62 miles off the African coast in the Atlantic, these volcanic islands offer a year-round temperate climate, a variety of striking landscapes, every water sport imaginable, charming towns and a wealth of dining and nightlife options. The chain’s largest, Tenerife is crowned by the majestic dormant volcano of Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak at 12,195 feet. Surrounding peaks are carpeted with thick forests. Tenerife has miles of beaches to the south where many of the resort hotels can be found and several unspoiled villages surrounded by vineyards and banana plantations in the green north. Backed by mountains and shaded by palms, Santa Cruz de Tenerife is an important regional deepwater port and boasts many historic buildings including a church dating from 1500, archaeological and fine arts museums and the bustling food market/bazaar Mercado de Nuesta Señora de África. In Puerto de la Cruz there is a wine museum, the Orotava Botanical Garden and Loro Parque, a subtropical garden with over 1000 parrots and the world’s largest penguin zoo. The island’s first capital, San Cristobal de la Laguna is a busy university town with many atmospheric squares. It has UNESCO World Heritage status and as the first non-fortified Spanish colonial town, it was the model for many colonial towns in the Americas. The city’s historic quarter, between the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (1502) and the Plaza del Adelantado, has several Colonial buildings, including one 400-year-old mansion that now houses the Tenerife History Museum. The island has an abundance of sunny days and moderate temperatures which range between 65 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and 78 degrees in summer. Tenerife offers plenty of shopping, sports activities and entertainment options.

“Up until now it was difficult for Americans to get to the Canary Islands,” explains Javier Piñanes, director of the Tourist Office of Spain in New York. “This new service will open up a new warm-weather destination for Americans, particularly those from the southeastern U.S.,” Piñanes says.

And from Tenerife, travelers can continue to Gran Canaria which features one of the archipelago’s most beautiful stretches of beach – some five miles long – or opt for the futuristic landscape of Lanzarote with its hardened lava and dark dunes. The entire island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and conservation and controlled development make it an attractive vacation choice.

For further information about Air Europa, go to www.aireuropa.com . For further information about Spain, contact your travel provider or the Tourist Office of Spain in New York (212-265-8822); Miami (305-358-1992); Chicago (312-642-1992) or Los Angeles (323-658-7195) or go to www.spain.info

Further to recent media reports raising concern that Tenerife is vulnerable to the potential imminent eruption of Mount Teide, the “Cabildo de Tenerife” (Tenerife Government) would like to clarify that:

Mount Teide is a dormant volcano and shows no signs of volcanic activity according to ITER; (the institute that manages volcanic surveillance and which is a member of WOVO, World Organisation of Volcanic Observatories).

In addition, neither the Scientific Volcanic Evaluation and Monitor Committee (Comite Cientifico de Evaluacion y Seguimiento de Fenomenos Volcanicos), a national commission that evaluates volcanic activity in Spain, nor the IGN (National Geographic Institute), a public organisation responsible for the observation, surveillance and communication of volcanic activity, have sent a warning of volcanic activity in Teide to the authorities responsible for civil protection on the island. We therefore must highlight that the volcanic situation in Tenerife remains normal, as there is no indication of any volcanic risk.

The President of the “Cabildo de Tenerife”, Ricardo Melchior, has submitted a written complaint to the Superior Council of Scientific Investigation for the contradictory and incorrect information released by certain scientists of this organisation, which could lead the public to believe that there is a risk of volcanic activity in Tenerife.

The Cabildo would like to stress that Tenerife remains a safe destination, not only because there is currently no evidence of any risk of volcanic activity, but also because the island is equipped to deal with any volcanic risk situation (evacuation, volcanic surveillance and monitoring programme, etc).

Mount Teide in Tenerife is a dormant Volcano