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| Gran Canaria's beaches are threatened by oil prospecting |
Tufia
Tufia is a tiny village on Gran Canaria's east coast. It clings to a little cliff above a bay, with a tiny beach and calm waters. Almost all of the 50 houses in Tufia have been declared illegal by the Canarian Government. They are due to be demolished unless a legal appeal succeeds. The problem is that the houses are too close to the sea, and were built in a nature reserve. The locals say that they have been there for years, and don't do any harm to anyone or anything. Tufia is a nice spot on the otherwise windy and barren east coast. Stop in for a snack on the beach front before it is too late!
The Maspalomas Dunes
Maspalomas' famous sand dunes used to cover a much larger area than they do today. The Charco or lagoon used to extend into the dunes, forming a wetland rich with wildlife. 100 years ago there was a colony of 10,000 terns that nested in the dunes.
Hotels and roads have penned the dunes in, and without the space to move about, they are fading away. Maspalomas' little bit of the Sahara Desert are losing a foot a year in height. Within 50 years they will only exist in nudists' memories. Short of demolishing the Maspalomas tourist resort, there is little that can be done. Suggestions include building offshore groynes to shelter the dunes from the waves, to pumping sand in from the seabed. Ecologists protest that these solutions are worse than the original problem.
More on Maspalomas and its Amazing Dunes here.
The West Coast Road
The wild road that runs down the west coast of Gran Canaria is on borrowed time. Within 10 or 15 years a new, inland route will be finished. The original cliff-edge route between between Agaete and La Aldea de San Nicolas is to be abandoned. It is too expensive to maintain, and too dangerous during the winter. Dozens of people have died due to rockfalls over the last 40 years.
Until the road drops into the sea it is one of Europe's great drives. Clinging to the cliff edge up to 1.5km above the sea, it is car advertisement paradise. Don't worry about safety during the summer or dry periods of winter. The road is only potentially hazardous during and just after rain.
Read all about the Awesome West Coast Road in this post.
The Palm Trees
The West Coast Road
The wild road that runs down the west coast of Gran Canaria is on borrowed time. Within 10 or 15 years a new, inland route will be finished. The original cliff-edge route between between Agaete and La Aldea de San Nicolas is to be abandoned. It is too expensive to maintain, and too dangerous during the winter. Dozens of people have died due to rockfalls over the last 40 years.
Until the road drops into the sea it is one of Europe's great drives. Clinging to the cliff edge up to 1.5km above the sea, it is car advertisement paradise. Don't worry about safety during the summer or dry periods of winter. The road is only potentially hazardous during and just after rain.
Read all about the Awesome West Coast Road in this post.
The Palm Trees
Gran Canaria's endemic palm trees threatened by a bright red beetle called Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. This nasty little invader carries a fungus that is lethal to Canarian palm trees (phoenix canariensis). The only way to stop the beetle from spreading is to treat each tree with buy spray and fungicide, or chop it down. Unless Rhynchophorus can be controlled, there will be more Canary palm trees on Sunset Boulevard in LA than in the Canary Islands.
Check out this photo of the evil beetle on Flickr.
The Beaches
Plans are afoot to prospect for oil between the Canary Islands and Morocco. Spain's economic woes mean that the government can't afford to ignore black gold on its doorstep. The problem for the Canary Islands is that almost all the money from prospecting will flow back to Mainland Spain, but any oil spills will destroy the beaches and the tourist trade. If the prospectors strike oil, it is very bad news for everyone on the islands. That is why Spain's Energy, Industry and Tourism Minister, formerly the president of the Canary Islands, had to make a run for it on Lanzarote yesterday. Canarian members of his own party had to be restrained by the poilce after he told them that oil prospecting would go ahead whether they liked it or not! Good bit of PR there for thee weasel Jose Manuel Soria!
Check out this photo of the evil beetle on Flickr.
The Beaches
Plans are afoot to prospect for oil between the Canary Islands and Morocco. Spain's economic woes mean that the government can't afford to ignore black gold on its doorstep. The problem for the Canary Islands is that almost all the money from prospecting will flow back to Mainland Spain, but any oil spills will destroy the beaches and the tourist trade. If the prospectors strike oil, it is very bad news for everyone on the islands. That is why Spain's Energy, Industry and Tourism Minister, formerly the president of the Canary Islands, had to make a run for it on Lanzarote yesterday. Canarian members of his own party had to be restrained by the poilce after he told them that oil prospecting would go ahead whether they liked it or not! Good bit of PR there for thee weasel Jose Manuel Soria!
Want to know more about Gran Canaria? Click on these links for the best posts on the Sunshine Guide to Gran Canaria:
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