News

Carnival under threat as Three Kings parade cancelled

The cultural drought on the Canaries seems likely to last well into next year after the news that Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has suspended its carnival celebrations for next year. The decision came a week after the announcement to suspend the parade in Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Europe’s biggest carnival event.

Masks in Cars

Just in case you’re not sure, here are the rules on the Canaries relating to mask use in cars.

Need to know: Travel Checklist

Many of us panic when organising the documents that are vital for travelling, and the Covid crisis and Brexit aren’t helping with that. At the moment, here are the main documents or procedures any traveller from Lanzarote to the UK or Ireland will need to sort out.

“This is how it needs to be done”

Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa yesterday congratulated the Canaries on getting their coronavirus figures down to the lowest infection rates in Spain. “This is how it needs to be done,” he said at a national press conference.

Spain hinders Canarian testing plans

The Spanish government’s refusal to allow airport facilities to be used for testing, or to test visitors from high-risk areas of mainland Spain, is causing increasing anger on Canary Islands, where authorities are desperate to salvage the winter season.

No solutions for patera problem

The arrival of five pateras (boats carrying migrants) on the shores of Lanzarote over the weekend have highlighted the urgent issue of migration, just as the Spanish minister in charge, José Luis Escrívá, completed a bad-tempered and fruitless visit to the Canaries to assess the issue.

The Madrid problem

The volatile political situation in Madrid took another turn late on Friday when the Spanish government imposed a state of alarm on eight large city municipalities in the region. Residents of these areas will be forbidden from leaving them for anything other than essential journeys.

No smoking in the street

The Canarian Government has banned smoking in the street from Friday 9th October, as distancing cannot be guaranteed.

Travel corridors get closer

Spain’s central government yesterday agreed a protocol that will permit the opening of travel corridors to the Canaries and Balearics.

4.5 Million Fines

The Traffic Department issued 4.5 million denuncias on Spanish roads last year, 10% more than in 2018. Two in three were for speeding, while half a million were for expired ITV stickers. Lack of insurance, drunk driving and refusal to wear a seatbelt each saw over 100,000 police reports.