After kicking off the season with a useful 1-1 draw away to Sevilla Athletic last Saturday, CD Tenerife crank up the home campaign this week.
On Sunday, it’s home to Cadiz, one of the other fancied teams for promotion, kick off 6pm in the Heliodoro Rodriquez Lopez stadium, Santa Cruz. The transfer window closed without the hoped for return of former goal hero Paunovic but Cristo Marerro is fit again. The Armada Sur have 2 coaches running to the game and will be in good voice.
On Wednesday September 5, it’s cup time as CD Tenerife take on Poli Ejido in the Copa del Rey (Spanish F.A.Cup) kick off 9pm. Congratulations to south based Raqui San Isidro who got through the preliminary round last week with a 1-0 away win at Caudal Deportivo and also on Wednesday, will host Racing Portuense in the next round.
News of a former backroom member at CD Tenerife, Paco Ayesteran, has reportedly quit as number 2 to former CD Tenerife manager, Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, after working with him since their Tenerife days.
Nice to see Tenerife thinking big with the news that pop legend, Sir Elton John is to play a November concert in the capital Santa Cruz.
The Santa Cruz mayor had promised some big name acts to push the city and the island on the international music circuit, and they certainly don’t come any bigger than the Rocket Man himself. Santa Cruz council say they have cut a deal with Elton’s production company and ticket details will be released next week.
The 30,000 capacity concert will take place on Thursday November 15 at 9pm on the harbour at Santa Cruz. Several big concerts have already been staged there, and it can be sealed off and controlled fairly easily.
The mayor also said previously that negotiations were underway with Dire Straits and Sting for further concerts. Bring them on, lets see this rock roll.Â
It’s a dream come true, your very own paradise island, and in the wonderful climate of the Canary Islands. There are only 7 main Canary Islands but quite a few small islets just off their coasts. So welcome to your new home, Montaña Clara, just off the north coast of Lanzarote, yours for just 9 million euros.
This island is actually a stratovolcano, the traditional sort, built up layer by layer and with a deep shaft in the centre, don’t worry it’s not likely to erupt anytime soon. As for size, it’s just 2.7 cubic kilometres and part of the Chiniji Nature Park. The neighbours can be a bit noisy and messy, it’s a marine bird reserve, but just wave a packet of Paxo at them and they will soon take the hint.
The island was bought 50 years ago by Lopez Socas, the then mayor of Haria in Lanzarote, but now the family wants to sell it, maybe they could try EBay? I have looked down the back of the settee, but i’m still a little shy of the asking price, but i’m sure my nice friendly Spanish bank will help me out. I can see it all now, once the work is done, with a brewery, a football pitch, speedway track and ice hockey rink, and if Sue Barker wants to pop over for a while – heaven.
Finally it’s official, any bar, restaurant or business owner could have told you that Tenerife tourism has been on the slide for the last few years, now official government figures confirm that.
The number of foreign (non Spanish) tourists for the first 6 months of this year was down by 4.3% for the whole of Tenerife. That’s a drop of 94,000 less visitors made up of 51,000 Brits, 23,000 Scandinavians and 19,000 Germans. Breaking that down in the main resorts of the south, that’s a loss of 3.8% in Adeje and 3.7% in Arona. Even now the Cabildo (Tenerife government) is complacent. The minister for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Jose Manuel Bermudez, tried to put some spin on the figures by saying that they looked bad because there were record highs for the same 6 months last year.
The picture is the same across the 7 Canary Islands with a drop of 200,000 overall and only Fuerteventura bucking the trend with a rise of 32,000.
At the risk of being lynched by readers in the UK, can I say how badly we need some rain here in Tenerife. Someone reported a U.F.O the other day, but turned out it was just a cloud.
Latest government figures suggest that the 23 resevoirs on the island are on average, just 30 per cent full and there is only enough water to meet demands until November. Strangely the lowest and highest levels are in the same municipality, Granadilla, San Isidro is at 64 per cent full and El Saltadero is a mere 10 per cent full.
It’s not only the hot weather that has drained the water but also the recent fires that ravaged the north west of the island, vast loads of water were used to dowse the flames.
It all takes me back to the UK drought of 1976, yes they did have summers then. One of the water saving suggestions was to share a bath, mmmmmmmmm sounds good, now all I have to do is convince some poor lady that it really is for the good of the Tenerife environment.
The waiting is over at last and the new Spanish football season is underway. CD Tenerife started off with a good 1-1 draw away to Sevilla Athletic in the Segunda Division, thanks to a second half goal from new forward, Nino, after 66 minutes.
It was a poor first half display and Sevilla took the lead after 29 minutes with a Sanchez penalty after Culebras was judged to have handled in the area. A better showing in the second, especially after a double substitution at 58 minutes brought Iriome and Rosquete into the action. The equalising goal came when the creative Longas sent the ball across for Nino to head home. A good point, cant wait for Cadiz at home next Sunday at 6.00pm, contact the Armada Sur if you want to go.
Elsewhere, good to see our nearest and dearest, UD Las Palmas lose 3-0 at Numancia, the first of many stuffings for the Pio’s. In the Primera, Barcelona drew 0-0 at Racing Santander, Real Madrid started with a 2-0 home win over city rivals, Athletico, and Almeria had a superb start to life in the top tier with a 3-0 win at Deportivo.
A sad postscript to the weekends games. Sevilla senior team player, Antonio Puertas, collapsed twice in their weekend Primera game and was taken to hospital with heart problems. sadly he died on Tuesday, aged just 22.
Even if you are not, you could soon be converted at the 22nd annual Pinolere arts and crafts fair in the La Orotava valley on the weekend of August 31 and September 1st and 2nd. Basket weaving might sound a bit Womens Institute but this is one of the great traditions of the Canary Islands and is only a small part of the huge fair.
If you want to see and sample food, drink, crafts and traditions and get a real feel of what the Canary Islands is all about, this is for you.
To read my full preview, with photos from last year, look at the website of The Tenerife Sun, or pick up a free copy of the islands top paper from one of the 300 outlets.
Well it could be worse, could be crabs on the rocks! I just wondered, have Crocs taken over in the UK, they are everywhere out here in Tenerife. I realise that the footwear of choice in the UK this summer has been wellies but even on the few dry days, the brightly coloured sandal like sensations must have made an appearance?
It seems everyone, young and old, male and female and all nationalities are wearing them here. They look like sandals but feel like polystyrene (no not the lead singer of punk band X Ray Spex) and just wash under a tap. Most of all though, you will hear them clip clop before they arrive, like the crocodile stalking Captain Hook.
I was hoping to do a nice story about them, hoping that they had been invented by an old cobbler, penny less and down on his luck, who had become an instant millionaire. Alas not, they come from a big corporation in Colorado, America, so some corporate cobbler now has new stock options.
Anyway, it just goes to show that I do take an interest in fashion, maybe I should research ladies thongs on the beach!Â
It has to be a drinkers dream, free alcohol on tap, but it’s come true in the island of La Palma. In Fuencaliente they now have a fountain that spurts out free wine, please form an orderly queue.
The free flowing fountain is in the San Antonio plaza, near the church, and is a tribute to the islands wine making tradition. One if the big local wine producers has it’s headquarters nearby and donated 3,000 litres of fine wine. Before you rush over with a bucket, the fountain will only pour plonk at special times of celebration.
It may be a little early for christmas but, for what it’s worth, top of my list this year is a Dorada beer fountain.
Still a week to go until the Spanish football league starts and CD Tenerife have added 3 trophies, well friendly ones, and signed another forward.
On Sunday 12 August a 2-2 draw at La Orotava with Sevilla Athletic, saw them pick up the Teide Trophy 4-1Â on penalties. Good to see Icod boy Ruben Rosquete score and another young gun Omar get the second.
On to Tuesday at La Laguna and a 0-0 draw with Valladolid followed by another penalty win for the Puma Trophy. Enter another forward signing with Nino finally joining from Levante but not in time for the Hermano Pedro Trophy at Raqui San Isidro last night, 15th August.
A nice 3-2 win and again the young local players grabbing the headlines. Suso equalised an early San Isidro goal and by half time Rosquete and Sicilia had made it 3-1. The home team pulled one back late on but Tenerife got their hands on some more silver ware. Things are shaping up nicely.