Wednesday, 26 April 2017 12:05

There Is No Oil On Gran Canaria's Beaches

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This didn't happen in Gran Canaria and there is no oil on the beaches This didn't happen in Gran Canaria and there is no oil on the beaches

You've probably read that a passenger ferry crashed into the harbour wall in Las Palmas this week and that the accident caused an oil spill and closed beaches. Relax, the spill was minor and never came anywhere near ANY of Gran Canaria's beaches.

The ferry definitely crashed into the wall. It was just leaving Las Palmas on its way to Tenerife and suffered a complete electrical blackout halfway through its turn at the harbour mouth. Since the rudder is controlled electronically, the captain couldn't end the turn and the ferry continued on around and hit the wall. 

Contrary to hysterical press reports, nobody was seriously hurt and the ferry electrics came back to life a few minutes later. It went back into port under engine (with a couple tugs on standby just in case the lights went off again). 

Damage to the ferry was superficial but it caused a couple of million euros worth of damage to the harbour and broke a diesel oil pipe.

The diesel in the pipe flowed into the sea and spread out over the surface. The wind and currents took it south down the east coast towards Las Palmas' main desalination plant and local beaches. The plant and east coast beaches between Las Palmas and the airport were closed as a precaution.

 Again, contrary to press reports (just picture the underpaid journo trying desperately to hype the story into enough clicks to earn a dollar) the 'oil spill' was minor and never came ashore: Diesel is a light form of fuel and evaporates quickly. By the time the surface slick had reached the east coast (it went past the desal. plant well offshore) it had evaporated and none of the diesel actually touched any beaches.

The spill has now gone completely and doesn't seem to have affected any of the local wildlife as patrols haven't found any injured seabirds, turtles or dolphins. 

There was NEVER any chance of the diesel reaching south Gran Canaria's resort beaches. 

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Read 10777 times Last modified on Wednesday, 26 April 2017 12:39
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Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

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