The Spanish Olympic swimmer, Thaïs Henriquez, who is also Canarian, took part in a promotional event last week at the Jameos del Agua. Thaïs is a silver medal holder in synchronized swimming from the Olympics in 2008.
The swimmer declared that she is ‘in love with Lanzarote’ and was delighted to participate in a promotional campaign to highlight the island´s sporting credentials, with a display of her aquatic skills in the beautiful pool at the Jameos.

Daniela and Daniel are the most popular children’s names according to a survey carried out by the Canarian Institute of Statistics of babies born recently in the archipelago. The study relates to those born in 2009, the last year when complete figures for all seven islands were available.
Also often chosen were Pablo, Alejandro, Diego and Hugo for boys and Lucia, Carla, Sofia, Sara and Paula for girls. A particular preference for Daniela was noted in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Tenerife. Whilst Hugo was selected ahead of the other boys …

Playa Blanca´s taxi drivers are launching a new on-line service so that both tourists and residents can book their taxi on the internet.

A new waterskiing competition will be launched at Marina Rubicon, Playa Blanca,  in July this year. Organised by the Canarian Federation of Water Skiing it is the first such tournament to take place in the Canaries.
The trials take place between 18th and 24th July and participants are expected from throughout the Canary Islands and Spain. 80% of those who practice the sport in Spain are located in the Canarian archipelago.
High speed water skiing can see aficionados reach up to 125 kilometres per hour and is considered a high risk sport …

This March has been the wettest in the Canary Islands since 1996, according to statistics compiled by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). With an average of 50mm precipitation recorded during the third month of 2011.
Also noted were two periods during the month when the temperature dropped considerably, most notably on 5th March and again between 11th and 16th March. During this second period, the fall made air temperatures noticeably colder than normal, with as little as -6ºC registered in the mountainous areas of Tenerife. However, by the end of the …

PR´s touting for trade on the pavements in Puerto del Carmen may soon become a thing of the past.  As the Ayuntamiento of Tias aims to take action over the ‘aggressive’ promotion of bars and clubs by individuals on the street.
The Atlantico Commercial Centre in the heart of the strip, on the Avenida de las Playas, has long been GCHQ for the PR´s.  And the mayor of Tias, José Juan Cruz Saavedra, indicated yesterday that the local police will be initiating action against those establishments which choose to promote themselves …

Despite the recent introduction of strict new anti smoking laws Lanzarote is still home to over 35,000 smokers, representing nearly 30% of the population of just over 140,000 residents.  According to data just released by ISTAC, the Canarian Institute of Statistics. A figure that has in fact increased in relative terms over the last five years.
This figure is though much in line with the rest of the Canaries and Spain.  With over 11% of the total adult population also admitting to enjoying a regular drink, consuming alcohol four times or …

December 2010 was one of the warmest months recorded in the last fifty years across the Canary Islands and was the third driest of the decade, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).
 
AEMET  has just confirmed that the final month of 2010 was one of the fifth warmest Decembers on record with average daily temperatures hitting  20.7º C on the coast and of 15.3ºC in central areas. And only December 2009 has exceeded these temperatures in the last decade.
 
In addition, with only an average of 41mm of rainfall, it was …

Seventy percent of Canarian homes now have access to the Internet, which represents a higher than national average of connectivity with the web. At least 61% of the Canarian population have used the internet at least once per week over the course of the last three months, according to statistics compiled by the Canarian Institute of Statistics (ISTAC).
 
In terms of computer ownership, 77% of all Canarian houses possess either a laptop (44%) or desk top computer (55%). And of the 70% of homes with access to the Internet, 68% of …

Fewer Britons will be spending their summer holidays in the UK next year, according to travel website Trip Advisor.  As a result of recent washout summers.
A poll conducted by Trip Advisor, which polled 902 British travellers, found that the number of tourists booking a UK break looks set to fall by at least 6% in 2011.  With 66% of Britons planning at least one long haul holiday during the course of next year, despite the current economic climate.
Trip Advisor spokesperson Emma O’Boyle, said: “Overall, 2011 looks more positive for both …