Archive for May 7th, 2010
Busy, Even In The Quietist Tenerife Moments

My head is spinning like the girl in The Exorcist, the La Liga fate of CD Tenerife will be decided in the next week and my emotions are in overdrive. Never mind I can always distract myself with a visit up to Santa Cruz, and yesterday I had a double whammy of articles lined up for www.tenerifemagazine.com , sadly things don’t always work out quite as planned.

First call was the Auditorium, surely one of the most remembered images from peoples holidays in Tenerife ,I have been trying for ages to get on the tour that runs at 12.30, when they have bookings, and there are no rehearsals on. I phoned before I got the bus and luckily a Dutch couple were booked on too. Arriving, I paid my 5 euros and off we went, the first thing the guide said once we were in the main body of the building was no photos could be taken as architect Santiago Calatrava has copyright on the building. That scuppered my story, shame because the tour was very interesting and the performance halls are amazing combinations of architectural style and accoustic amplification. I went to the pre opening some 7 years ago and have been to a few concerts but it still impresses. The tour lasted 40 minutes, a bit overpriced but informative. Of course the best way to experience this iconic building is to go and see a show or concert, try the Auditorium site or the Cabildo (government) Whats On site.

On to the nearby Recinto Ferial for the SALT (Salon Atlantico de la Logistica Transporte) Â Trade Fair. My target was the new Hybrid Tempus bus that the TITSA bus company are to trial for 2 weeks around Santa Cruz. It promises to reduce polution in urban areas and may be the forerunner of several more. Hopefully that article will be on www.tenerifemagazine.com in the next few days. There is always something new to see in the Tenerife capital and I noticed the Wi Fi hot spots being promoted by the local council. There are loads of these in key places around the city with special text and phone numbers to register for your limited access, you can find out more at www.sctfe.es .

Sadly I was a day late for the latest huge cruise ship to loom into port, the Azuru on it’s maiden voyage from Southampton is a goliath at 19 floors with 3,500 passengers and 1,200 crew. It’s a snip at between 700 and 6,000 euros for the first cruise, there will be many more passing through during the year, whicj¡h makes the Fred Olsen terminal building a regular stop off point on my visits.

Today I have been trying to catch up a little on my write ups without neglecting my daily routine of sea swimming and checking the local papers. This afternoon I was invited along to Mega Bowl in Fañabe by the Sorted Sites crew, something different for me.  I habe only been bowling a few times in the UK, the last about 10 years ago, and as it happened on varias football and Ice Hockey away trips, I wasn’t exactly sober. It’s all east these days with the scoring done for you, I surprised myself by not demolishing the building and even hitting a few clean strikes, maybe that Aunt Sally throwing in Oxford had stood me in good stead.

Oh well here comes the weekend, a Jazz Fiesta in Los Cristinaos church square tonight with an interview to do, and some AFC Bournemouth supporting friends over to share the joy or pain of tomorrows CD Tenerife game. Somehow I think a Dorada or two may be sneaking into the equation.