Cold spell in Canary Islands set to continue

Icicles on a special carnival edition Dorada beer bottle. Well, the ice wasn't  due to the weather...

The cold spell which lasted all week in the Canary Islands is set to continue well into the coming week. There was some snow in the mountains of Gran Canaria, and the peak of Tenerife's Mount Teide is wearing a white winter coat. Even lower areas of Lanzarote had a sprinkling of soft hail, leaving the black lava with a white dusting just briefly. The fresh to strong northerly winds are continuing to bring cold air down over the Canaries with some days a bit warmer than others, but generally the cold airflow with spells of scattered showers is set to continue according to forecasts. 
In La Gomera's mountains above 3.000 feet the temperature stayed in single figures all week and the lowest recorded at the weather station on the second-highest peak here, the Alto de Igualero at about 4.500 ft, was only 2ºC while the highest temperature there during the week just briefly reached 6.1ºC. It is a different story down by the sea in the southern resorts of La Gomera where the temperature can reach 20ºC, but only in sunny spots sheltered from the northerly wind which blows down from the cold mountain regions. Nights are colder than normally, too, but the sea temperature will be around 20ºC keeping it milder near coasts even at night and making an ice cold beer a feasible option.
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Bar Maria to become fast food outlet

Above is the architect's proposal for Casa Maria in La Playa (Image: Martin Hartmann)

Legendary Bar Maria, which has been a popular meeting point at the beach in La Playa in Valle Gran Rey since the 1960's, has finally been sold for an undisclosed sum. The bar and restaurant has been closed since Maria herself died two years ago and was put up for sale subsequently. It has now been revealed that it was acquired by the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants, who spotted the obvious commercial potential of this landmark building. 

Maximiliano Carne-Deres, the spokesperson for McDonald's in the Canary Islands, has stated that his company was particularly impressed with the large number of revellers gathering at Casa Maria around sunset time and the large amount of hungry and thirsty hillwalkers and hikers arriving in the area every day from the mountains. Mr. Carne-Deres stressed that the proposed refurbishment will blend in well with the already existing  infrastructure across the road, which includes a steak-house. He added that the McDonald's colours of yellow and red would go well with the sunset at the beach in front of the building, which is known as 'Playa Maria'. Ronald McDonald, the chain's emblematic happy clown, once erected at the premises would also ''form a harmonious combination with the many drummers and fire-jugglers who perform there at sunset, whom we intend to support and sustain with food vouchers''.

However, the island's government have attached certain conditions to the new licence and planning permission, namely that the former small front bar at the premises shall be retained  and must continue to serve alcoholic beverages ''to maintain the jovial ambience for which the location has established a tradition'', and that the fast food outlet will have to include some local produce in the menu. 

In response to these conditions Mr. Carne-Deres has revealed that the bar will remain separate from the restaurant to be run as a joint venture with the Tenerife-based Dorada beer company and that this will form the first 'McBar' in the world. For the menu a new burger called 'McCabra' (sic) with goat (=cabra) meat and smoked goat's cheese will be available as a new up-market option of fresh local produce on the menu when the fast food restaurant opens its doors at the former Bar Maria on April 1st 2018. Aren't you just ''lovin' it'' ?

This is a link to a video showing some peoples' first reaction to the proposal (click).