A taste of Lanzarote: Walking and wining in La Geria

Lanzarote is world famous for its wine, not only for their unique volcanic origin but also, they are among the first harvest to reach European shores every year. Lanzarote37˚ went to investigate how these grapes are grown in such a harsh and dry environment, how they are harvested, made from grape i...

The plant with aphrodisiac power: Where the Wild Artichoke grows

Anyone who makes the climb from Haría - the Valley of a Thousand Palm Trees in the north of Lanzarote - to the El Risco hill, will not only be rewarded with one of the finest views the island has to offer, over Famara to the islands of La Graciosa and Alegranza, but will also discover a very special...

Lanzarote‘s Plant Life
The Common Ice Plant – a miracle skin treatment

The crystalline ice plant, although originating from South Africa, has strong ties with the history of Lanzarote. It has been used as a food plant and brought prosperity to the island. Nowadays the ice plant has been rediscovered as a plant with astonishing medicinal qualities.

Saunas, whirlpools and steam baths on Lanzarote:
Lanzarote37° handy guide to the spas on Lanzarote

Lanzarote brings neither snow nor minus temperatures. However, saunas, whirlpools and steam baths can be a pleasant and relaxing experience for the body and mind all year round. Here is our handy guide to the spas on the island. Usually a spa or wellness centre is a place that is based on the philos...

Lanzarote: Free Spanish classes in Playa Honda

15-06-2013 Lanzarote / Playa Honda (SB) - The municipality of San Bartolomé has announced a "Taller de Español para Extranjeros" offering free Spanish lessons for residents.

Turning a dream into reality:
Dominic Murray opens his Cabra Cabra Art Gallery

Lanzarote37° recently caught up with artist and Doncaster native Dominic Murray to learn about his passion for art, his hopes for his new ‘Cabra Cabra’ art gallery in the town of Teguise and to find out how exactly he ended up swapping the bright lights and skyscrapers of London for the tranquil sur...

Playa Honda nursery enrollment

31/08/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - The Ayuntamiento of San Bartolomé has announced that enrollment for the nursery in Playa Honda will begin next Monday. Parents and guardians will be able to enroll their child/children in the nursery from Monday, the 3^rd of September, until Friday the 7^th<...

Opuntia ficus-indica
Wonderfully versatile and healthy: the Prickly Pear

Although Lanzarote has no truly indigenous cacti, there is one species of cactus that grows here and on the other Canaries which it would be hard to imagine the island without: Opuntia ficus-indica. This plant is a characteristic feature of the scenery of the north of Lanzarote, especially around th...

Yaiza: Fiestas de Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios

28-8-2012 Lanzarote (BG) - This Friday marks the beginning of the Fiestas de Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios in Yaiza. A variety of events and ceremonies have been planned to entertain residents and tourists during the celebrations which run until the 9th of September.

Lanzarote events guide – August 20th to 27th:
Punk, rock, folk, cycling, beach volleyball & and full moon parties....

This week features a number of fun filled and action packed events on the island, from punk, rock and folk concerts for music lovers to cycling and beach volleyball events for sports fanatics. Add these to beach parties and full moon parties and you'll find there is something to suit everybody!

Rosana distances her concert from Oil protests

10/08/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - Cabildo Vice President and Minister for Employment and European Affairs, Joaquín Caraballo, yesterday admitted that they had “made a mistake” by associating Rosana’s concert with, and using it to promote, the continued protests against the proposed oil exploration. He lat...

Lanzarote Tourist Resorts:
Tourist centres expand opening hours for Summer

20/07/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - The Lanzarote tourist resorts have extended their opening hours to cope with the higher number of visitors during the summer season.

Timanfaya is open from 9am to 7pm, with the last bus trip taking off at 6pm. The restaurant ‘El Diablo’ is open from 9am to 4.45pm. Cueva...

MEETING:
New group aims to tackle current rental laws

12/07/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - A new organisation, Lanzarote Property Owners (LPO) has been set up with the aim of protecting individual property owners and to work and lobby on their behalf to bring about changes and clarification regarding the current villa rental laws.

The group was created by the...

Spanish healthcare changes:
British pensioners must contribute to prescriptions

05/07/2012 Spain (KMC) - British pensioners living in Spain are now required to contribute towards their prescription charges as a result of new changes to the public Spanish healthcare system introduced by the Spanish government.

The contribution for state pensioners is set at 10% of the cost, wit...

Insurance for all your needs:
Teguise Broker Emily Simkins

26/06/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Driving around Lanzarote in the seventies in an orange Citroën 2CV, is one of Teguise Broker Emily’s earliest memories of living on the island. Emily was born in Marylebone, central London; however she has lived in Lanzarote for mos...

Ladislao Rodríguez Bonilla: The Harían Barber

25/06/2012 This interview was a different one altogether. It was with Ladislao Rodríguez Bonilla (68), a Harían barber who is both deaf and mute and communicates in Spanish, whereas I speak English and unfortunately "hola" and "adios amigo" are the extent of my Spanish vernacular. But I simply had t...

On the lookout for the 'Big Five': The Birdwatching Bloggers

25/06/2012 - What is your hobby?

In Lanzarote there are three birders whose dedication to their birdwatching hobby has taken them all over the world, enabled them to meet new friends and encouraged them to create a popular online blog at surfbirds.com to share their observations and photos with lik...

Illegal holiday lettings:
Sanctions imposed on apartment and villa owners

08/06/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - According to DiariodeLanzarote.com, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned three owners of two apartment complexes and one villa in the municipality of Tias, for illegally advertising and rent...

Arrecife appoints new auditor

07/06/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - Mayor of Arrecife, Mauel Fajardo Feo, on Wednesday appointed Carmen Villaverde as the new auditor of Arrecife, following the arrest of previous auditor Carlos Sáenz. Villaverde has served as an accountant with the City Council since September 1994 and was responsible...

Fishermen demand retention of Emerlan rescue boat

06/06/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - The Fishermen’s Association of Puetro del Carmen, along with the Recreational Fishing club, has demanded the retention of the Emerlan rescue boat service. The future of the boat is in doubt after the Gobierno de Canarias (Government of the Canary Islands) announced t...

Unemployment hits record high

04/06/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - Unemployment in Lanzarote rose again in May and, according to the INEM, has now exceeded the 18,000 mark for the first time. During the month of May, a further 553 people registered their status as unemployed, representing an increase of 3.14%.This brings to 2,557, t...

Aetur calls for crack down on unlicensed adventure tourism operators

31/05/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - Employers’ federation Aetur has claimed a number of companies across Lanzarote, who, during the summer months, offer adventure tourism excursion such as scuba diving, are operating independently “without a license”, “do not possess insurance” and are “not paying taxe...

New motion on mobile phones

29/05/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - Blanca Blancas and Domingo Garcia, members of Alternativa Ciudadana en el Ayuntamiento de Arrecife, have proposed an initiative stating all council members who exceed the monthly €120 allowance for mobile phone usage, pay the outstanding amount out of their own pocke...

Arrecife townhall:
Corruption investigation progressing rapidly

Lanzarote/Arrecife (BG) -Authorities aiming to get to the bottom of the much publicised Lanzarote and Fuerteventura corruption scandal have this week focused their attention on a number of high profile figures. In an effort to obtain crucial evidence operations have started to intensify.

Tax probe into Banco Santander chairman dropped

23/05/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - The Spanish National Court announced on Tuesday it had closed its investigation into the tax affairs of Emilio Botín, chairman of Banco Santander, Spain’s largest bank. Botín, Spain’s leading banking figure, along with 11 of his relatives, were the subject of a tax prob...

Man drowns and four others rescued on Orzola beach

21/05/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - A 54 year old man has died following a drowning incident at Playa de la Cantería, Orzola, on Saturday afternoon. According to local sources, the man got into difficulty while attempting to rescue his 14 year old son who was struggling in the water. The Canarian Emerg...

Seaweed problem on Arrecife beach

16/05/2012 Lanzarote (BG) - A blanket of green algae continues to cover the sand and shoreline at El Reducto beach, Arrecife. The problem began in late April and does not appear to be going away. According to the city council, Councillor for the Environment, Rafael Juan Gonzales, went to analyse the...

Aeronautical museum commemorates International Museum Day

15/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Lanzarote’s original airport building will commemorate International Museum Day with a week of longer opening hours and a musical performance. From Monday 14th May to Friday 18th May the museum will open from 9am to 6pm.

On Friday 18^th May, which is Interna...

Heat wave hits Lanzarote

14/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Lanzarote is currently on orange alert due to the high temperatures experienced over the weekend. The island saw temperatures just below 40 degrees, and several people found themselves in hospital after suffering from heat stroke in Teguise.

The current heat wave is exp...

Tourist figures drop

11/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Lanzarote saw a drop of almost 23,170 tourists in the month of April, compared to the same time last year, an overall decrease of 14.51%. The low results for April have also affected the overall figures for visitors to Lanzarote in the first four months of 2012, which ar...

Longer open hours for Cabildo

10/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - The Cabildo de Lanzarote has extended its working hours and now will remain open for half an hour longer. The doors of the building will now open at 7.45am and close at 3.15pm. However this is not the only change, from 7th June, the Cabildo will also be open to the publi...

Return of the indignados

10/05/2012 Lanzarote/ Spain (KMC) - This Saturday, 12^th May, the Real Democracy Movement Lanzarote will take to the streets of Arrecife to celebrate the first anniversary of this wave of social action. The group will be at Calle Real in the city centre from 10am before gathering at the Mu...

Summer of music in Lanzarote

08/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Summer 2012 is shaping up to be a good one for music lovers on Lanzarote. Throughout May, June and July there are events to cater for all musical tastes from classical to pop and from rock to folk.

Two big names are coming to Arrecife, on Saturday 24^th May Lo...

Los Suaves Concert

07/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Popular Spanish rock band Los Suaves are coming to Lanzarote and tickets are on sale now. The concert takes place on Friday 15th June at the Carpa Recinto Ferial in Arrecife.

Tickets cost €20 and can be purchased at the following various outlets around the island:

...

Unemployment in Lanzarote rises yet again

04/05/2012 Lanzarote/Canary Islands/ Spain (KMC) - Unemployment in Lanzarote for the month of April has risen by 1.86%, with 399 people newly unemployed. The total figure for the island has now reached 17,599 according to the Observatorio de Empleo de Canarias (Employment Observatory of the Canary I...

Jolaterock music concert

04/05/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - The fourth annual Jolaterock concert will be held this Saturday 5 May at Charco San Ginés in Arrecife.

Performers include Tío Matt, a quintet from Gran Canaria as well as band such as The Goose Green, Sintasiva, Moses Marquez group, Overbooking, Snif Nh3, Child Noise an...

Imminent tax increase in the Canaries

24/04/2012 Canary Islands/ Lanzarote (KMC) - The CC-PSOE coalition have approved a draft law (Ley de Medidas Administrativas y de Modificación de Normas Tributarias) which paves the way for a 2% increase in tax here from the end of June 2012 to the year 2014. The Canarian Government hopes that t...

Peaceful protest to become punishable by law?

23/04/2012 Spain (KMC) - The Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz has announced a tightening of laws that could make some aspects of peaceful protest punishable by law. If the bill is approved by the Spanish Parliament the changes could come into force as soon as 2013. The reforms include ...

What`s on at the weekend?
Motor racing or reading in Lanzarote

20/04/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - There are two very different but exciting events occurring in Lanzarote over the next couple of days. The first is the annual Rallysprint Guatiza motor-racing event on Saturday 21st April. The ...

Ambassador Paxman dismisses ´health tourism’ accusation

20/04/2012 Canary Islands/ Spain (KMC) - HM Ambassador Giles Paxman has written a letter to Spanish daily newspaper ABC in response to an article which suggested the British Embassy was encouraging health tourism.

The article was published just before a meeting of regional health ministers on Wedne...

Cabildo press release on ciguatera poisoning

19/04/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - In response to a number of cases of ciguatera poisoning, the Cabildo de Lanzarote has issued a press release on the protocol for controlling ciguatoxin.

According to the Ministry of Health of the Canary Islands, the Ciguatera poisoning was caused by the illegal poachi...

Lanzarote Vision

10/04/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - The project ‘Lanzarote Vision’ was launched on 30th March and provides a different kind of tour around the main sites of the island. The service has a fixed timetable and functions like a public bus service in which ticket-holders simply jump-on and jump-off at designate...

Change to consular visit

04/03/2012 Lanzarote/ Fuerteventura (KMC) - The dates for the consular visit to Lanzarote in April have changed. The consul will now visit Puerto del Carmen (lounge of Hotel Los Fariones) on Tuesday 17 April (a.m.) and Playa Blanca (offices of Marina Rubicón) on Tuesday 17 April (p.m.)

The date f...

Spain’s new austerity measures revealed

30/03/2012 Spain (KMC) - Spain’s most austere budget of the post-Franco era has been revealed today by the Partido Popular government led by Mariano Rajoy. The budget consists of €27.3 billion in cuts and tax rises and a freeze on public sector pay. Government spending will be reduced by 16.9 per ce...

New Jet2 route – Glasgow to Lanzarote

29/03/2012 Lanzarote/ Spain (KMC) - This evening at 19.50 hours, Lanzarote receives the first flight operated by jet2.com from Glasgow. Lanzarote’s Minister of Tourism Carmen Steinert and the manager of Tourism, Hector Fernandez will travel to the airport today to welcome the passengers of the inaug...

Spanish strike makes flight disruption likely

28/03/2012 (KMC) Spain/ Lanzarote - Aer Lingus has said that all passengers flying to and from Spain tomorrow are likely to experience “significant disruption” due to the general strike.

A spokesman for the airline said the strike would affect flights from mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and t...

TUI tourist bus given go-ahead

26/03/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - The Cabildo has given the green light to the TUI tourist bus ‘Lanzarote Vision’. The decision was made on Friday morning by the government council and was confirmed by the Senior Vice President and Minister of Transport Joaquin Carabello.

‘Lanzarote Vision’ is a new tou...

Lanzarote says NO to oil drilling with biggest demonstration in history

26/03/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - According to local police between 20,000 and 25,000 protestors took to the streets of Arrecife on Saturday to say NO to Repsol’s oil drilling plans.

These numbers made the protest the largest in the history of the island, demonstrating just how important the issue has b...

British Ambassador to Spain pays visit to Canaries

22/03/2012 Canary Islands (KMC) - British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman, paid a visit to Gran Canaria on Wednesday 21^st of March to formally introduce Maria Leng as British Consul for the Canary Islands.

He made a number of interesting comments on topics including Repsol’s controvers...

Fierce opposition in Lanzarote to oil drilling

20/03/2012 Lanzarote/Fuertevetura (KMC) - Oil prospectors have been granted permission to drill for oil off the coasts of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Canarian authorities have reacted angrily to the decision by the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, to allow Repsol to star...

St. Patrick's day celebrations!

15/03/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Celebrations will take place in  Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca for St. Patricks day 2012.

On the Avenida de las Playas in Puerto del Carmen there will be music and dancing starting from 1.30pm (opposite Mulligans Irish bar). The official progra...

New TV series explores work of British Consulates in Spain

29/02/2012 Canary Islands/ Spain (KMC) - A new Channel 4 TV series covers how staff of British Consulates in Spain help citizens in distress.

The programme will cover problems which often affect Britons abroad such as lost and stolen passports and the costs and consequences of failing to buy holida...

César Manrique Foundation declared one of Spain’s best small museums

28/02/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) -

The Telegraph has included the César Manrique Foundation as one of the best small museums in Spain.

The report, by destination expert Annie Bennett includes eight small museums in total which are billed as the ‘finest lower profile museums in Spain’.

Also mentioned i...

British Embassy Open Day

27/02/2012 Lanzarote/Puerto del Carmen (KMC) - The British Embassy will be holding an Open Day in Puerto del Carmen on Wednesday 7th March.

The day will consist of presentations covering a wide range of issues including Consular services and pension, benefit and healthcare rights of UK citizens liv...

Carnival begins!

10/02/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - The annual Carnival celebrations commence tonight, with the islands capital Arrecife officially opening the month long season of parades, street parties, live music and much more.

The opening ceremony will take place in the Parque Ramirez Cerda on the seafront of Arreci...

Rubalcaba new leader of Socialists

06/02/2012 Spain (KMC) - The Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) have chosen party veteran Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba as their new leader.

The leadership contest was a close one, with Rubalcaba beating his rival Carme Chacón by a mere 22 votes out of 600.

Mr Rubalcaba is far from being a new face in the p...

Three Britons die after contacting legionnaires disease in Spain

03/02/2012 Valencia/Spain/UK (KMC) - Three British men have died after contacting legionnaire’s disease while on holiday in Spain. The men, who were between the ages of 73 and 78, were among more than 20 people who contacted the disease at the Diamante Beach hotel in the Spanish resort of Calpe, nea...

Unemployment rises in the Canaries

02/02/2012 Canary Islands/Spain (KMC) - Another 8,414 people have become unemployed in the Canary Islands since the start of 2012.

This brings the total number of unemployed on these islands to 273,983, a 3.17% rise from December 2011.

According to new data released today by the Ministry of Employ...

Ferrari team leave Lanzarote

02/02/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Fernando Alonso left Lanzarote last night after a weeks training at a special fitness camp. He was joined by Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa and Ferrari young drivers Jules Bianchi and Davide Rigon.

While staying at the La Santa sporting resort, the team participated in ...

Gibraltar minister says Spain won’t reclaim soverignty

01/02/2012 Spain/UK (KMC) - The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, has told Spain to get its priorities straight and drop any notion of reclaiming sovereignty of Gibraltar from the UK.

While speaking on Spanish ABC Punto Radio he said that Spain’s current unemployment situation is more im...