Find out what’s happening in Costa Teguise in February

On the 12th February 2012, in Lanzarote’s Playa Blanca, the third Vuelta Playa Blanca handbike race will take place.

One of the most important sporting events of this type in the world, the event will feature more than 70 contestants from around the world to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Amongst them will be Sands Beach Resort sponsored athlete and very good friend, Rafa Botello.

Sands Beach Resort proudly sponsors Rafa, founder of the Push With Me slogan which, through its branded sports wear, supports organizations such as TriWWW who are working with athletes with disabilities. With the aim of helping everyone to achieve their own personal potential, Rafa uses his own popularity, his branded sportswear, his hard work and his influence to help others to look and feel good so that they perform well in their chosen sport. A highly accomplished athlete himself, Rafa will be amongst the 70 contestants at the Vuelta Playa Blanca, and Sands Beach Resort will be there to cheer him, and all the athletes, on to the finish.

On Saturday 11th February, the day before the Vuelta Playa Blanca, the resort will host the First Concentración Cyclista de Lanzarote (Lanzarote Cyclists Group) bike ride from the Hotel H10 Timanfaya Palace to Puerto Marina Rubicón in which cycles of all types will be welcome to join the hand bikers. The event is free but organisers are encouraging everyone to purchase a €3 raffle ticket, the proceeds of which will go to TriWWW.

So whatever your age, ability or bike, head along to Playa Blanca over the weekend of 11th and 12th February and join in the fun, challenges and rewards of helping to create a level playing field for athletes of every ability level.

We hope to see you there

The last stall at the International tourism fair, Fitur 2012 has hardly been taken down and already there’s good news for Lanzarote’s tourist industry coming out of the prestigious event in Madrid.

Lanzarote and Sands Beach Resort might have more of a French flair from February with the island’s tourism minister, Astríd Pérez announcing a direct flight from Paris beginning on 19th of February. She told press that French tour operators Thalasso No1 also were interested in introducing another route during summer months, this time linking Nantes/Lyon with Lanzarote.

As well as the French connection, flying to Lanzarote will get even easier for Scottish holidaymakers when British tour operators Jet2 introduce direct flights from Glasgow from 29th of March. The company already operate flights to Lanzarote from Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and the East Midlands.

Thanks to demand from people wanting to visit Lanzarote, Jet2 will be increasing seats of flights by 29% over the summer months bringing an estimated 112,300 visitors to soak up some of Lanzarote’s generous sun and hospitality.

According to ASOLAN, the Lanzarote hotelier’s association, occupancy levels in the island’s hotels and apartments averaged a smile-inducing average of 77% during 2011 which, for an island known predominantly for its winter sun, is pretty good going. So what is it that brings visitors to Lanzarote in their droves?

Sunshine. It’s the number one reason why so many northern Europeans flee winter at home and our beautiful island is blessed with it all year round. With the daytime winter mercury rarely falling below 20°C and an average of 7 hours sunshine a day, Lanzarote is a sun-lover’s paradise.

Distance. Within four or so hours flying time of northern Europe, Lanzarote offers all the tropical benefits of a long haul destination, without the long haul.

Safety. Lanzarote lies just 140km off the coast of Africa yet is a thousand miles away from its troubled neighbours. Part of the wholly autonomous Spanish region of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Lanzarote enjoys a safe and laid back lifestyle with a generous sprinkling of ‘amable‘ (friendliness).

Sports. The island’s temperate, year round climate and unique landscape make it the consummate destination for sports enthusiasts. Home to the Lanzarote Ironman triathlon and host to the PWA windsurfing World Tour, Lanzarote has superb facilities and conditions for an energy-sapping choice of air, land and sea based sports.

Landscape. Birth place of the world renowned architect, sculpture and artist César Manrique whose influence ensured Lanzarote’s trademark, uniform white and low buildings, the island’s landscape is truly unique. Black volcanic terraces flashed with the yellow green shoots of vines, and rose quartz volcanoes in ash gray overcoats form a spectacular foreground against the azure Atlantic and sky.

Timanfaya National Park. Born of the longest volcanic eruption in history that, for six years from 1730, tore the island apart, Timanfaya National Park is a magnet for visitors keen to witness the volcanic wonderland where latent intense heat sets dry bushes alight and cooks lunch over one of the world’s only volcanic ovens.

Food and Wine. With 17 bodegas (wine producers) around the island, getting to know Lanzarote’s wines can be a pleasurably time-consuming affair. Coupling the aromatic crispness of a Malvasía Seco with some of the island’s creative cuisine is a favourite local pastime and you’ll find excellent tapas bars in most towns and resorts.

Walking. For those who enjoy pulling on the boots and strapping on the rucksack, Lanzarote offers superb guided walking routes that will take you to volcanic landscapes, palm filled valleys, dramatic cliff tops and tropical islands.

Secret Canary Islands. Lying just a short boat trip off the northern coast of Lanzarote are three islands – the nature reserves of Alegranza and Montaña Clara where Egyptian vultures, Osprey and the beautiful Eleanora falcon comes to nest, and the paradise island of La Graciosa where you can leave your shoes at the shore and collect them on your way home.

Sands Beach Resort. If you still need a reason to holiday on Lanzarote, look no further than Sands Beach Resort where sunshine, sports and fun in the sun combine with beautiful, beach or poolside villas and a tranquil Costa Teguise location to bring you the very best that Lanzarote has to offer.

This week Madrid hosts one of the biggest tourism fairs in Europe, Fitur. The event, held at the Feria de Madrid, lasts from the 18th to 22nd January and is a meeting place for professionals from the world of tourism including hoteliers, tour operators, tourist boards and the travel press. It is also open to members of the public on 21st and 22nd January.

Fitur represents an important date in the tourism calender as it is the place for making contacts with others in tourism and learning and sharing new and successful initiatives to help keep the travel moving forward in its quest to continue meet the demands of ever more sophisticated travellers.

It is essential for those serious about staying at the forefront of developments in the travel industry to attend events like Fitur, which is why Sands Beach Resort is represented by General Manager, Juan Carlos Albuixech at the event.

To keep up to date with Juan Carlos at Fitur follow him on his Twitter account @JCALBUIXECH and to stay genned up on the latest news from Fitur, you can follow what’s happening on the fair’s Twitter account @Fitur_ or via their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/FeriaFitur

Imagine getting out of bed on a dark and dreary, icy winter morning to face temperatures of around 4C knowing that by lunch time you could be sitting in T-shirt and shorts tucking into tapas of Jamón serrano, crispy fish croquettes, calamari and papas arrugadas (little wrinkled potatoes).

Imagine, as you pull on your clothes as quickly as possible in a bid to keep warm, that by the afternoon you could be stripping down to as little as possible in order to let a warm sun caress your skin.

Imagine, as the dark morning chills you to the bone, that by the time darkness returns you could be sitting on an outside terrace nursing an exotic cocktail and basking in the golden glow of a sublime sunset.

It’s easy for us living in this wonderful climate to forget how privileged we are to enjoy winter weather that can be better than summer weather in some other locations.

Lounging in the sunshine on the golden sand and 20-25C temperatures around the Sands Beach Resort lagoon in January, the very notion that this is winter can seem ridiculous.

And yet this is the reality of what winter in Lanzarote offers. Winter days are long, sunny and perfect for banishing those winter blues by recharging batteries on the beach or around one of the pools in the resort. The temperature in Lanzarote’s sparkling blue seas varies by only a few degrees between winter and summer, making them the perfect playground for exploring the island’s colourful undersea world. A few steps from Sands Beach Resort’s front door and you swap the bars, restaurants and smart villas in Costa Teguise for a quiet rural scene and country tracks that are ideal for exploring on two legs or by two wheels whether you simply like to keep fit when on holiday or are a professional sports-person seeking perfect warm weather, winter training conditions.

And the beauty of this almost perfect winter scene is that you can be part of it within a few hours from wherever you are in Europe. So don’t just imagine it…make it happen. Lanzarote and Sands Beach Resort are waiting to give you a very warm winter welcome.

On Christmas Eve, while children all over the world squeeze their eyes closed and try to force sleep to win out over excitement, children in Spanish and Latin American countries will sleep soundly… until the night of January 5th.

Emulating events of the Old Testament, Spanish and Latin American countries give their gifts on the day that the Three Wise Men (Los Tres Magos or Tres Reyes) gave their gifts to the baby Jesus – on the Twelfth Night after his birth, having travelled many miles to worship him. Every year children write letters to The Three Kings (Tres Reyes), Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar, telling them what gifts they would like and the Kings travel their journey anew, arriving in cities, towns and villages all over Spain and Latin America on the night of the 5th January to bestow gifts on the children.

It’s a beautiful tradition that sees colourful parades of elaborate floats depicting scenes from the Bible and Disney in equal measure, accompanied by the Three Kings or Tres Reyes in their Royal finery. Sometimes the Kings ride atop floats, sometimes in open top cars and often they ride camels.

Throwing sweets from huge sacks into the crowds of excited children who line the route, the Three Kings make their way to the appointed place where the baby Jesus awaits them to re-enact the Nativity scene. Trailing at the back of the procession will usually be seen a float or a cart loaded with coal – the dreaded ‘gift’ which every child is threatened with getting if they don’t behave over the course of the year.  When they awake on the morning of January 6th, a public holiday in Spain and Latin America, the children will find the gifts they wrote and asked for, unless of course they haven’t been good, in which case… Unsurprisingly, every child is always well behaved enough to avoid the lump of coal on Twelfth Night

Traditionally ending in a fireworks display, the Tres Reyes parade is one of the most loved across the Canary Islands and makes for a very special family night out. If you’re on holiday at Sands Beach Resort or anywhere else on Lanzarote around the 5th January, pop along to the route of your nearest Tres Reyes parade and join in the fun. And if you’ll take our advice, it’s worth getting some catching practice in before you go to ensure you bag some of the flying goodies that will come your way.

Tres Reyes parades on Lanzarote will take place on January 5th at the following venues:

• Arrecife, 18.00 – Three Kings Parade beginning at Avenida Vargas before heading down La Marina and Mancomunidad and ending up at Playa del Reducto.
• Costa Teguise, 18.00 – Three Kings Parade.
• Haría, 16.30 – Children’s reception at the harbour. Three Kings Parade through the streets from 20.30, theme is ‘The House of Herod’.
• Puerto del Carmen (Varadero), 17.00 – The Three Kings arrive at the harbour.
• San Bartolomé, 19.00 – Three Kings Parade departs from the High School and ends in Parque Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente with a performance from the group Gimnasia de Aída Santana.
• Teguise, 18.00 -  Children’s musical ‘Christmas in Disney’ followed by the Three Kings Parade, which is themed ‘A Thousand and One Nights’, through the streets of the old town of Teguise ending with hot chocolate in the Museo de Timple.
• Tinajo, 17.00 – Three Kings will be in residence at San Roque prior to their parade at 17.00.

Think of Christmas in Costa Teguise and no doubt the image that pops into your head will be of gently swaying palm trees, blues skies, even bluer seas and a big golden sun ready to wrap visitors from Northern Europe in its warm embrace.

This is the seductive scene that awaits those who have opted to spend Christmas on Lanzarote. The only problem is that it might not sound very Christmassy. And, bah humbugs aside, most of us like to taste that magical festive spirit that comes with Christmas.

However, the reality of Christmas in Costa Teguise is that visitors can still enjoy a festive atmosphere with their sunshine. There’s a packed programme of fun events in the resort to celebrate Navidad (Christmas)…and you even get Santa Claus into the bargain.

Between the 15th December and the 5th of January, there are Christmas concerts, local folk groups, choir singers, parades, exhibitions and all sorts of seasonal goodies to add a festive glow to the sun tan, many within an easy stroll of Sands Beach Resort.

Visitors to Costa Teguise should enjoy the Teguise 40 en Navidad pop/rock concert in the car park at Playa de los Charcos on Saturday 17th December. The concert includes a load of bands and DJs and lasts from 8pm till 3am. Entrance is free.

Younger visitors will be thrilled to see Santa Claus has joined them in the sun at the Father Christmas in the Pueblo Marinero event in the centre of the resort on Thursday the 22nd of December. With concerts, dancing and games & fun for the children from 5.15pm, there’s something to keep the parents and children amused until 8pm when Santa Claus (or Papa Nóel as he’s known in Spain) arrives.

With those sort of ingredients combined with Lanzarote’s fabulous winter weather, Christmas at Sands Beach Resort and Costa Teguise promises somewhat of an irresistible package.

This year you have literally to step outside the front door of Sand’s Beach Resort to find yourself on the starting line of the 2011 Lanzarote International Marathon.

Proud sponsors of the event, Sands Beach Resort are offering some irresistible marathon holiday packages to competitors and their families so you can combine a winter sun getaway with some winter marathon training and a whole lot of fun.

Races and associated events are being held over the weekend of 2nd, 3rd and 4th December 2011 and will include full, half and quarter marathon races; a child’s marathon which is free to enter and a race fair taking place along the Costa Teguise promenade around Pueblo Marinero.

Book a three or four night marathon break around the Lanzarote International Marathon weekend and Sands Beach Resort will provide accommodation on a half board basis, your marathon entry fee, a special race day energy breakfast and 15% discount on sports massage and other treatments for just €45 per person, per day. Book between five and seven nights and the rate drops to just €40 per person per day.

Luxury apartments and villas set around swimming pool plazas where you can enjoy complete privacy and relaxation, combined with all the facilities of a gym and the services of a sports physiotherapist combine to make Sands Beach Resort the ideal base for sports enthusiasts and their families. Located on its own lagoon at the eastern edge of Costa Teguise, Sands Beach resort is ideally placed to take advantage of Lanzarote’s unique landscape and climate which lends itself so perfectly to an active holiday of cycling, running or water based sports.

It’s also a great base for anyone who enjoys walking; from promenade strolling to volcano hiking, Lanzarote has the terrain to suit. And with endless golden beaches, year round sunshine, fine wines and notable gastronomy the opportunity to combine quality leisure time with your fitness regime is just too good to miss.

Come and join us on the Lanzarote International Marathon weekend and see for yourself.

Start jogging along the coastal paths of Costa Teguise, line up some muscle treatment with physiotherapist Juan Montero at the Sands Beach Resort Wellness Centre and mark the date of Sunday 4th December 2011 on the calendar because the Lanzarote International Marathon is one event you won’t want to miss.

This year the all-important, all-inclusive marathon is being sponsored by Sands Beach Resort and Club La Santa and the course begins in Avenida Islas Canarias, right outside Sands Beach. From there, the course continues to Avenida del Jabillo where it heads towards the marina before joining the promenade all the way to Las Caletas, passing La Mareta, the Spanish royal family’s holiday residence en route.

Iron men and women will slog out four laps of the course for a 41.195km total marathon distance where they’ll be competing alongside top athletes. The event also welcomes wheelchair participants and we are looking forward to seeing some of our good friends and athletes participating on the day.

Less experienced athletes and those still wearing their marathon L plates may prefer the half marathon distance of 21.100km which is two laps of the course, while beginners and those who just want a good running workout can opt for the quarter distance of a single lap and 10.550km.

Trainee marathon runners, also known as children between the ages of 4yrs and 13yrs, will enjoy toning their muscles and showing off their potential in the 1km kid’s marathon to be held on Saturday 3rd December. Entrance is free and it should prove to be a fun family day out with the guarantee of tired children at the end of it.

With the ambient December temperatures creating the perfect climate, and the beauty of Costa Teguise as the setting, the Lanazarote International Marathon is bound to attract a big crowd so keep an eye on the official marathon website for registration opening.