29 April 2008
FIRES IN THE CANARIES
Good morning folks,
Today, unfortunately, I have to star this blog my giving a sad news; last Saturday a fire started in La Gomera, one of the seven canary islands. More than 500 people have been evacuated and around 700 hectares have been burnt since then. Firemen from different islands have gone to help in this huge fire also because it is very near to the "Garajonay National Park" one of the beauties of this island.
Here you have some official information I got from the net:
Today, unfortunately, I have to star this blog my giving a sad news; last Saturday a fire started in La Gomera, one of the seven canary islands. More than 500 people have been evacuated and around 700 hectares have been burnt since then. Firemen from different islands have gone to help in this huge fire also because it is very near to the "Garajonay National Park" one of the beauties of this island.
Here you have some official information I got from the net:
An Interior Ministry spokesman said the fires were burning at three points in the north of the Spanish island that lies off the northwest coast of Africa. The towns of Vallehermoso, Hermigua and Agulo have been affected and several people were treated for smoke inhalation. So far more than 500 hectares (1,236 acres) have burned and residents were evacuated from their homes Saturday night as a precaution, the spokesman told The Associated Press.
Firefighting aircraft have arrived from the Spanish mainland to try to protect Garajonay national park, just south of the fires, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity in keeping with government rules.
More than 120 army specialists have joined firefighters who are using planes, helicopters and fire trucks to combat the flames in hot, windy weather conditions, the spokesman said. The 3,986 hectare (9,850 acre) Garajonay park is protected because it is the last remaining Tertiary Period habitat to survive in Europe, the Environment Ministry says on its Web site.
Climate change during the Quaternary Period caused the disappearance of other similar ecosystems, the ministry said.
The Tertiary Period began 65 million years ago and lasted until 1.8 million years ago when the Quaternary, or present period began.
Spain announced aid and tax breaks for the islands last August following the worst fires there in 50 years.
53 year old man from Hermigua has been arrested accused of causing a forest fire that has destroyed around 800 hectares close to the Garajonay national park. The blaze, which is almost now under control, is alleged to have been started accidentally as the detained man was burning stubble on his farm in Ibo Alfaro.
Let's hope this will end soon and that will not go further to the park.
Ruth
25 April 2008
For all women out there :-)
Buenas tardes a todos,
This is something a very special person sent me and I thought I would share it with you.
Maybe it could help some men to understand us women :-)
Here it goes;
WHY WOMEN CRY
A little boy asked his mother, 'Why are you crying?'
'Because I'm a woman,' she told him.'I don't understand,' he said.
His Mom just hugged him and said, 'And you never will.'
Later the little boy asked his father, 'Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?'
'All women cry for no reason,' was all his dad could say.
The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.
Finally he put in a call to God.
When God got on the phone, he asked, 'God, why do women cry so easily?'
God said:'When I made the woman she had to be special.I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,
Yet gentle enough to give comfortI gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.
I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue with out complaining.
I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.
I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.
I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.
And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.'
'You see my son,' said God, 'the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides.'
Have a good weekend!
This is something a very special person sent me and I thought I would share it with you.
Maybe it could help some men to understand us women :-)
Here it goes;
WHY WOMEN CRY
A little boy asked his mother, 'Why are you crying?'
'Because I'm a woman,' she told him.'I don't understand,' he said.
His Mom just hugged him and said, 'And you never will.'
Later the little boy asked his father, 'Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?'
'All women cry for no reason,' was all his dad could say.
The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.
Finally he put in a call to God.
When God got on the phone, he asked, 'God, why do women cry so easily?'
God said:'When I made the woman she had to be special.I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,
Yet gentle enough to give comfortI gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.
I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue with out complaining.
I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.
I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.
I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.
And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.'
'You see my son,' said God, 'the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides.'
Have a good weekend!
Ruth
21 April 2008
Hola a todos,
¿Qué tal va?
I'm sorry I haven't written for a while. Actually,when it is my turn to write I think; 'I'll do it now, I'll do it later? but then I have so many different things to do that I forget or do not have time enough, as Anja said in one of her posts, we do here a bit of everything and now that María is on holiday I have been busier.
When I began to work here, almost 5 years ago, I began in the reception and also doing reservations, I liked that department becuase you got to know the people and have a chat with them. The worth part was the schedule, had to work all weekends and never had a day off together with my husband. After a while I began to work in the office, where I still am. I do reserrvations, members service, I deal with the cashes in reception, also deal with the banks about the exchange of money, I do minimarket, like the shopping, new product etc, though here I have a wonderful help in María. But, María is gone on holiday now, so besides all my work, I'm covering reception a couple of days in the week, so as you see, I have too many things in my head and, MEA CULPA, forgot to write this blog :-)
I like my job, after being here so long I have gotten to meet a lot of clients, who, repeat every year, some of them has become friends and some of them have become more than that, like the Schofield family, I call them my second English family :-)(I also have my aunt in England and my cousin, his wife and children, though he is now in Afganistan).
As you see, this place is nice to work at, the collegues are very nice and we all help each other in what we can.
To sum up, let me tell you this is a wonderful place to be. You do not believe me?
Whay don't you come and experience it by yourself?
¿Qué tal va?
I'm sorry I haven't written for a while. Actually,when it is my turn to write I think; 'I'll do it now, I'll do it later? but then I have so many different things to do that I forget or do not have time enough, as Anja said in one of her posts, we do here a bit of everything and now that María is on holiday I have been busier.
When I began to work here, almost 5 years ago, I began in the reception and also doing reservations, I liked that department becuase you got to know the people and have a chat with them. The worth part was the schedule, had to work all weekends and never had a day off together with my husband. After a while I began to work in the office, where I still am. I do reserrvations, members service, I deal with the cashes in reception, also deal with the banks about the exchange of money, I do minimarket, like the shopping, new product etc, though here I have a wonderful help in María. But, María is gone on holiday now, so besides all my work, I'm covering reception a couple of days in the week, so as you see, I have too many things in my head and, MEA CULPA, forgot to write this blog :-)
I like my job, after being here so long I have gotten to meet a lot of clients, who, repeat every year, some of them has become friends and some of them have become more than that, like the Schofield family, I call them my second English family :-)(I also have my aunt in England and my cousin, his wife and children, though he is now in Afganistan).
As you see, this place is nice to work at, the collegues are very nice and we all help each other in what we can.
To sum up, let me tell you this is a wonderful place to be. You do not believe me?
Whay don't you come and experience it by yourself?
Ruth
18 April 2008
Por fin
Hola soy Anja del departamento de marketing. Vi que todos los blogs estan escritos en Ingles y pensé ¿Que pasa con nuestra clientela Española? Antes de todo quiero deciros que soy Belga y que mas de un fallo gramatical encontrarás en el texto. Yo aprendi a hablar y escribir el Español aqui en Gran Canaria con 23 años, sin tomar ningún cursillo. Ya se lo imaginarán, pues si, vine de vacaciones y me enamoré y desde entonces estoy aqui en la isla. Y para decir la verdad me gusta mucho el estilo de vida de aqui. Creo que no puedo adaptarme otra vez a la vida en Bélgica y sobre todo al clima. La última vez que fui a visitar mi familia, era en el mes de agosto y pasé frio. Lo que si echo de menos son los jardines y bosques. Aqui tener una casa con jardin cuesta bastante dinero. Pero tengo mi terraza en casa y durante casi el año disfruto de ella. Mi marido se llama Ramón y ya estamos 17 años juntos. Tenemos 3 hijos, los mellisos Emilia y Tomás de 14 años y el pequeño Iker de 4 años. De tanto decirle la gente "Iker Casillas" el esta muy confundido. En el colegio tenían que decir los niños sus appellidos y va Iker y dice: "Me llamo Iker Casillas Santana Vanderhoeven". Llevo trabajando 4 años en Vista Serena en el departamento de marketing y me gusta mucho. No hay tiempo para aburrirse, no solo es estar detras del ordenador y sacar estadísticas, pero también el contacto con los clientes. Pongo anuncios en internet, hago estudios sobre el mercado turístico, contesto a las peticiones de los interesados, hago las reservas de internet, mando las confirmaciones, intento de vistar a mis huéspedes, también ayudo en las reformas que hacemos, pedir presupuestos, hacer el pedido, control de los trabajos realizados, inventario, etc. Aqui hay que saber hacer de todo. A veces tengo que cubrir la recepción por un ratito, cobrar a la gente que compra en el minimercado, enseñar un apartamento a un interesado. Ya veis un trabajo con mucha variedad y lo más importante es que tengo unos colegas estupendos, nos llevamos muy bien.
La próxima semana os contaré mas cositas.
Buen fin de semana,
Anja
La próxima semana os contaré mas cositas.
Buen fin de semana,
Anja
P.S. en la foto mi marido y yo (en chandal gris) en nuestra fiesta de cumpleaños
14 April 2008
I am happy because Rachel is back. No I have somebody to talk to. Our office is down the stairs and has no windows, no views at all. Without air conditioning in Summer it is impossible to work. I call the office my cave, although there is a difference with a real cave. Have you ever stayed in a cave? Friends have a cave in the north of the island, and we have been there with them several times. If you do not know the exact location of the cave, you will not find it. When I entered the first time I was really surprised. The cave has a sitting area, a kitchen, a bathroom and several bedrooms. Electricity, telephone and television. On entering in one room you had to pay attention to the ceiling, believe me it really hurts when you get a rocky ceiling on your head. When it is cold outside in the cave it is warm, and when it is warm outside in the cave it is cool. In Summer I like to sleep in the cave, I have to cover me with a blanket. You really get cold if you do not use a blanket and do not forget to wear shoes or socks, because the floor is really cold. My children like to go to the cave, because they can play hide and seek, also if they are noisy it doesn ´t matter because of the rocky walls. I think I am going to call my firends, to see when we can go again...
09 April 2008
Did you miss me???
I'm back from Ecuador!!! I arrived back on Monday around 2pm, after nearly 20 hours of travelling!
It was definitely an experience, and I'm glad that I went. Ecuador is a very small country compared to the other South American countries, but it has a bit of everything.
We spent the first week in the city of Guayaquil. Guayaquil is a built up city with lots of buildings, cars, people, and businesses.
There are some very nice parts to the city, such as the Malecón 2000. Malecón 2000 is the jewel in the crown of Guayaquil which is solely for pedestrians, and has been constructed over the Guayas River. Safe, protected and guarded by the police force, this waterfront is home to lots of cafés, bars, monuments and a string of shops including a shopping mall (Centro Comercial Malecon).
However, there are other things that this city holds that aren't so nice. Being from a developed country, I don't think I was quite as prepared as I thought I was to see such poverty. I'm not used to seeing kids selling whatever they can, whether it be chewing gum, bottles of water, or cigarettes, just to make a bit of money. I wasn't prepared for the feeling of insecurity whilst walking around in the town either, and the distribution of wealth over there seemed more unfair then ever. But the people I spent my time with were lovely. They really went out of their way to make sure that I had everything that I needed.
The second week we spent in the town of Riobamba. We caught a plane to the capital city of Quito, and then it was a 3 hour drive from Quito to Riobamba. Riobamba is the capital of Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, which is located at the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is 200 km (125 miles) south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at 9,000 feet (2,700 m) on the Avenue of the Volcanoes. The city is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, and while sitting at the foot of the volcano Chimborazo, you can get the world’s highest view from the center of the Earth. This town was definitely something different to Guayaquil. It had a more laid back air to it all, not as hectic as the city, and I seemed to be more at ease security wise. The surrounding mountains and volcanoes with their snowy tops were beautiful, and we were well taken care of during our stay there.
One thing that I couldn't get used to though during my stay in Ecuador was the food :-( I just couldn't stomach it. I can't quite explain why, but the taste just wasn't for me. The fruit that was available was amazing, and the fruit juices they prepare are lovely, but I'm afraid that was as about as far as I went. I tried a bit of everything, but I have to admit to you all, on the last 2 days I snook out and had a McDonalds (something I haven't eaten for years!), and I also found a TGI Fridays restaurant and pigged out on a huuuuge hamburger and chips. Sorry!
All in all, I had a good experience in Ecuador, but it made me realise how lucky we are to live where we do, afterall, could you survive earning just £100 a month???
01 April 2008
The Celebration Bar
I guess not a many of you know that the bar/restaurant here at the resort is called Celebration Bar. Today Miguel left after more than 4 years working here. Now the bar/restaurant is ran under the supervision of Ramón and waiter Diego. This morning it was a real chaos. The girls started at 7 o´clock in the morning to clean the bar and kitchen. Ramón came at 9 to see how to prepare everything, because they had to open at 12.00 hours. You can imagine it is a lot of work without having anything. All the providers had to come before 12, and at 11.45 the beverage provider had not come yet ... And as we want to deliver a good service we had announced that beverages from 12 till 20.00 hours are at half price. You can imaging the bar staff was nervous when at 12 there still was no beverage at all..... But lucky 15 minutes later the provider arrived. For the next couple of days the bar will be opened from 12 till 20.00 hours, until it is completely running as it should be. I am getting thirsty, I think I go to have a drink at the bar at HALF PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anja
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