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The TIC Newsletter -, Winter, 2016
January 01, 2017

Hi everyone, especially those of you for whom this is your first TIC Newsletter. For those of you who celebrate it, I hope you had a great Christmas. Well, here we are in 2017, so happy new year! Let's face it, it's good to see the back of 2016, isn't it? Anyway, let's crack on.

Food and Drink Prices

This page on the site seems to be very popular, understandably. The last time Alison and I visited the island was November. It seemed to be that all the prices were pretty much the same as already listed on the page. In fact, the litre carton of wine that I normally buy from the supermarket for the apartment had actually gone down in price! Eventually, I'll get round to amending the site's page, but there's not much to do. For us Brits, the after effect of the UK voting to leave the EU, the drop in the value of the pound, is currently not as bad as it was at first. Just checking online now (December 27th), it is worth €1.17. That's in the UK. I'm pretty confident it'll be better if you change your money in Tenerife.

Using the Bus Service

I get many people contacting me via Feedback asking what bus to catch to get from A to B. Well, on the TITSA website (www.titsa.com - and it has an English language option), up in the top left corner of the landing page is a route finder. All you do is fill in your starting point and then your destination and it will tell you what bus or buses you need to catch. There's loads of other useful information on there, too (although I can't say I've ever managed to find details about fares). I can recommend these buses as a cheap way of getting around, however. They are generally clean and efficient, but unfortunately, as far as I know, still not wheelchair friendly. That's the only negative thing about them, in my opinion. Also, don't forget the Bono card. You can purchase one of these and make significant savings. They're available from the Interchanges at Santa Cruz and La Laguna, plus the main stops at Puerto de La Cruz, Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje, La Orotava and Icod. There used to be a machine to buy one at the south airport, but it may not be there anymore.

The Great Electrical Store Rip-Off

If you're a seasoned newsletter reader, you'll know I'm always banging on about this, but it's still going on, not only on Tenerife, but the rest of the Canary Islands and mainland Spain. They all use the same method, almost as if they were schooled in what to do. The word still needs spreading. This applies to those electrical stores dotted all about, generally run by Asians. If you enter one, you'll inevitably end up being scammed out of a large sum of money, so my initial advice is to never go anywhere near them. If, however, you do enter one, you'll immediately fall into their clutches. The scam begins with them offering you an electrical item, usually a tablet (seemingly of a prestigious brand) for a ridiculously low price. If this happens, get out of there fast. If you don't, you'll be taken through the full scam and you'll find your bank account several thousand pounds lighter when you get home. You have been warned and, if you use social media, I urge you to spread the word.

PS

Christmas may have been and gone, but spare a thought for the children throughout Spain. They've not received their presents yet! No, it's not Santa Claus who delivers them, but the Three Kings - and they don't put in an appearance till the evening of January 5th, when La Cabalgata de Los Reyes, or Cavalcade of the Kings, takes place. A good place to witness this is in Santa Cruz. The children will gather in the Stadium Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez and the Three Kings will arrive at around 5pm and, after they receive a symbolic key to the city from the Mayor, will set off on their procession. This begins at around 7pm on Avenida Bélgica and finishes at Plaza de La Candelaria at around 9pm. There, the Three Kings will worship the child of Bethlehem and collect letters from the children.

If you can't get yourself up to the north, the Three Kings can also be seen at Siam Mall, Costa Adeje. They are in residence from January the 2nd to the 5th. As well as meeting them, the children may have a photo taken with them, at a cost of €5. They are there 11am till 2pm, then 4pm till 8pm, except the final day, when it is just 11am till 2pm. Siam Mall is just off the TF-1 motorway and can be accessed by exiting at junction 28.

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Well, that's about it for winter's newsletter. Hope you all have a great 2017 and I'll speak to you again in the spring.

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