WALKING THE SEVEN ISLANDS TO HELP OTHERS!

In 2011 British ex-pat Alan Gandy walked the length of Lanzarote and raised over £1300 for Charity. This year, on April 7th 2012 he starts another walk – this time across the 7 main islands that make up the Canaries.

Having said after last years walk he’d never do it again, Alan soon changed his mind after getting such a thrill out of both the sense of achievement he got from the challenge itself, and that in doing it he was able to help others.

Alan says; “Obviously I enjoy the long distance walking in itself, and though not everyone’s idea of a ‘holiday’, it is mine. It’s a challenge, and hard work – so if whilst doing these things I can raise awareness, and hopefully some money for extremely worthy causes, as I feel the charities I support are – that’s a massive bonus!”

He adds, “Last years walk of Lanzarote wasn’t too bad, this year I’m not underestimating the estimated 500km involved – and am well aware that this is going to be much, much more difficult”.

Alan expects to complete the walk in between two and three weeks, but has said that if it takes longer, then “short of a major injury, I’m not coming home until I’ve finished”!
The ‘Siete Islas’ walk has taken a lot more in terms of planning than the previous event, and Alan has been training for a number of months with Lanzarote based Personal Trainer, Mitch Mitchell. He has also received financial support to cover equipment and travel expenses from currency exchange company AxiaFX.co.uk, and additionally the Canary Island ferry company Naviera Armas have donated free crossings between the islands.

Alan is supporting the same charities he did last year – Niños Tercer del Mundo, the Lanzarote based charity that undertakes projects in the Third World; and The Rose Road Association a UK charity that provides support to disabled children and their families.

Starting in Orzola, Lanzarote, the planned finishing point of the walk will be El Hierro via Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, la Gomera and La Palma.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the walk can do so via justgiving.com/Alan-Gandy-Siete-Islas-2012 and can follow Alan’s progress on his blog at alangandy.com.

Menorca has more beaches than Mallorca and Ibiza put together: close to 80 – and most of them unspoilt!
Learn about this island in the Mediterranean, declared a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO, and enjoy its nature parks and cycling trails. Walk the former look-out bridleway along the coastline or experience its historical summer festivals.

What was that song, “Ain’t nothing stranger than the truth”?

Coys Rent-A- Car are the ONLY company I recommend for car Hire on the Costa Blanca. I have used them with TOTAL satisfaction for literally 100s of weeks over 9 years. Their head office is in Torrevieja but they also service both Alicante Airport and Murcia Airport.

When I asked them if I could introduce them to a friend, Björn Heidenström, they were immediately attracted to his “The Shirt” project. This is a project to create the biggest football shirt in the world. How does he do that? Well Björn CYCLED from Norway to South Africa whilst I cycled to all the 92 grounds in the UK. Björn followed that up by cycling the length of Norway in 6 weeks. Coys quickly offered a signed shirt and have since provided many more as well as introducing us to Liverpool Soccer School and the rock-band, Slade. Great guys! If anybody would like to add to the shirt by donating a shirt (old or new, adult or child, man or woman) please speak to anybody at Coys. They will put you in touch with Björn.

What do they say about themselves:

Coys Rent a Car is a family run
car hire company based and established in
the Spanish town of Torrevieja since 1992.

We have a varied fleet of vehicles to hire,
ranging from small vehicles to mid range, up
to 7-seater people carriers, click on PRICING.

Check our fuel policy, no paying for full tanks.

If you are looking for a quality used vehicle,
well maintained with full service history,then
Coys Rent a Car also offer vehicles For Sale.

Coys Rent a Car, a family run business you can rely on !

(Please note: you can now book your car online for great savings)

‘This is Spain Exhibitions’ – a day out for all the family with singing, dancing, eating and drinking! 24th- 26th February

Hotel La Zenia, Orihuela Costa off the N332 or exit 763 from the AP7 – 10.00am until 6.00pm each day

Reasons to Visit
Diverse range of new products, such as X5 Steam Mop, barbecues, garden products and new gadgets at prices to beat the crisis!
Innovatitive secondary glazing
Laminate, wooden and luxury vinyl flooring
New heating system, air-conditioning, guttering and paving
Swimming pool construction and accessories
BGE, TIBA (local buisness groups) and Costa Blanca north estate agent
Insulation, toldos, conservatories, blinds and mosquito screens
Health care including free blood pressure and back checks
Magnetic jewellery, accessories, handmade jewellery and craft
Furniture and soft furnishings, candles and ornaments
Car rental, caravans, insurance and financial services
Many local and international charities
Full programme of entertainment and demonstrations; see website
Snack/ drink available for 4.50 euros; Buffet in the restaurant for 15 euros
1 euro entry includes free raffle ticket

Living Well and Cheaply from Your Garden or Apartment Terrace, followed by a question and answer session, at 1-00pm and 3-30pm on Saturday 25th by Clodagh and Richard Handscombe, regular contributers to the RTN and Euro Weekly.
Wine tasting and appreciation of Monastrell, a local red grape variety, sampling five wines followed by question time. 5 euros, refunded with a voucher to be redeemed either at the show or Magica Gourmet in Benijofar. 1-00pm on Sunday 26 February.
Raquel Pena’s FLAMENCO FOR ALL amateur dance group will perform at 2.00pm on Saturday 25th. The group dance Guajiras, Alegrias, Bulerias and the very popular Sevillanas.

For more information, call Christine Roche on 699 549 261 or 965 632 835 or email her via the website at www.exhibitions-spain.com for regular updates.

Tourist information site relaunches with major makeover

Lanzarote Guidebook (www.lanzaroteguidebook.com) – the in-depth Lanzarote information guide – has relaunched with a stylish new design, a host of great new visuals and much improved site navigation. Making it even easier for tourists to gain holiday inspiration, access thousands of pages of information and book unique breaks direct with local companies than ever before.
Lanzarote Guidebook was first launched online in 2004 by long term island resident Nick Ball, with the intention of offering comprehensive online information for British and Irish holidaymakers for the first time.

“Back then there really weren´t any websites out there providing accurate details and inside local knowledge about Lanzarote for visiting tourists. Independent travel to the island was starting to really take off so we decided to change all that and start our own. Over the years this labour of love blossomed into an enormous website with many thousands of pages, attracting over 110,000 visitors per month. But increasingly our design and layout became dated, whilst the site itself became increasingly difficult for visitors to use due to the sheer quantity of data on there.”

The all new Lanzarote Guidebook website addresses and overcomes these issues thanks to a stylish new redesign and a much simpler to use format. So providing more holiday inspiration and greatly improving the overall experience for visitors – who can also use the site to book a wide array of unique accommodation options, from yurts and fishermen´s cottages through to luxury villas and hotels. Whilst flights, car hire and excursions are all bookable direct online too.

The new site also boasts an array of new features and additions, including information about all of the latest island news and events, fully interactive maps and a site wide button that allows visitors to download a copy of Lanzarote Guidebook (a 108 page island guide that is printed every quarter) entirely free of charge. Whilst visitors can now also interact more with Lanzarote Guidebook via on site topic discussions and new social media pages.

Whilst some overseas destinations have struggled in recent years Lanzarote continues to thrive and despite the recession the island has just enjoyed its busiest year since 2004. Welcoming over 900,000 arrivals from the UK and 180,000 arrivals from Eire during the course of 2011. (Source :: Centro de Datos Lanzarote). With overall foreign visitor numbers up by 18% versus 2010.

MORE INFO ::

Email Nick Ball

TEL :: 0034 928 177730