I might be in the minority but I wholeheartedly support this. I would change the law to ban litter in general though, not just dog-ends. The beaches are often covered in empty cans, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, and other rubbish. And the beaches which are mainly Canarian (as opposed to the tourist ones) are the worst, I’ve found.

Personally I take ALL my rubbish home with me, as I believe everyone else should. The beaches are free to use, so why foul them up for others? No other municipalities are banning smoking on the beaches (or nighttime bathing) so why is Mogan alone in doing this?

What do you think, do you agree or disagree with the smoking on beaches ban? What is the law in your country? I am anti-litter, whether it’s dog-ends, cans, plastic, or whatever else, and I think it is a good law. I also don’t like to be peacefully sunbathing then start coughing, realising I’m downwind of someone puffing on a cigarette, oblivious to everyone else. If you’re stupid enough to kill yourself with cigarettes, do it somewhere away from others.

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The growing demand for Gran Canaria holiday bookings for the rest of this year’s winter is causing a lot of bookings for next year’s winter, which has seen an increase of about 10% so far. The Nordic tour operators are finding it hard to find available rooms in Gran Canaria for winter 2012/2013, according to sources at this year’s FITUR trade fair in Madrid.

Yesterday employers at the trade fair claimed that Scandinavian tour operators searching for rooms to book in the Canary Islands, and Gran Canaria in particular, have not been able to make any bookings because of the strong growth in demand which has forced accommodation providers to reject offers, some at very good prices.

So perhaps there is a moral here somewhere. If you want to be guaranteed of some winter sun, you might want to book your winter 2012/2013 holiday quick before everything is full!

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Photo by Pylon757

If Cork airport is the closest one to you then this makes it really handy, else you would have to make your way to Dublin or another airport in Ireland. The flight departs at 7am so you have to check in at the crack of dawn but at least that means you can arrive before lunchtime in the Canaries

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A short circuit caused a fire in the engine room which spread throughout the boat in a shockingly short amount of time. The boat then burst into flames and soon capsized five miles out

There were 27 people on board (2 crew and 25 tourists) and 5 of them were hurt when they jumped into a life raft. Others needed treatment for hypothermia, smoke inhalation and shock. The Liberty sank within 5 minutes and it’s really lucky nobody was seriously injured. Here you can see a video recorded by someone on a nearby boat.

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Here are some more details of the Mount Teide Tenerife eclipse: http://eclipsesolar.es/index_en.html

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The exhibition itself is on until December 12th but it begins on November 12th so that would be a nice evening to visit. You can find more information here: http://canariasarte.org/shop/start

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This ship can hold 2098 passengers and there are 996 crew members. The cheapest ticket for this trip was 2500 euros so if you’re looking for cheap holidays to Gran Canaria you might prefer to fly instead

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April and May are usually the quietest months though. It is the end of the Scandinavian season and not quite the beginning of the British/German season. Several bars, restaurants and hotels have closed down. However there are still tourists about.

The Barakuda Dos fishing boat is closing for the whole of May but we do every year. We need a month off so we might as well take the quietest. If you are coming over this month or in May you might find it a bit quieter than normal but take advantage of not having to queue, not having to wait long to get served and having a bigger bit of beach to yourself!

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Photo By Andrei Dimofte

Another 200,000 people lost their holidays or flights. If they booked a package holiday, most would have been covered for most or all of the price on their insurance but it will take up to six months to process all the claims.

Why is This Happening?

The credit crunch has a lot to do with it and it doesn’t help that 1,700 people who used to work for XL have suddenly lost their jobs. Now the other airlines have increased their prices so steeply that people who have existing hotel reservations will either lose their accommodation booking or be forced to pay the higher flight prices! And a lot of people just can’t afford that so their Canaria Gran tour looks like it’s cancelled.

Photo By Svenwerk

It’s also a shame about the other effects. Tourism is bound to take a nose dive if people can’t even afford to come here or if they lost their holiday and can’t afford a replacement until next year.

There are also those who won’t buy a holiday because they are scared of the same thing happening to them, whichever company they use. Some of the airlines on this page or this page might well go out of business next.

Have you lost your flight to Las Palmas Gran Canaria or do you know someone that has? Did you manage to rebook or did you lose your booking?

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Illegal immigration in Gran Canaria seems to be at an all time high and few of the illegal immigrant boats seem to make it to one of the islands, if they make it at all.

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