General information

                        

Study Visit (group 194)
Integrating ICT and Foreign Language Learning in Language Schools in Spain

Maspalomas, 22 – 27 April, 2012

Maspalomas Lighthouse (El Faro)
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDY VISIT
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Official Language School of Maspalomas

Dates and venues 


Our Study Visit will take place from Monday 23 April to Friday 27 April 2012, at the Official Language School of Maspalomas (host institution). An informal meeting will take place on Sunday afternoon (22nd). We will visit other venues and institutions (see programme).

EOI Maspalomas
C/Manuel Pestana Quintana, s/n
35109. Maspalomas. Spain.
Tel. (00 34) 928 141336 / 928 141088
Fax (00 34) 928 141315
e-mail: 35009735@gobiernodecanarias.org
hhttp://www.eoimaspalomas.com/



Bungalows Dunas Maspalomas

 Accommodation will be offered by Dunas Hotels & Resorts: Bungalows Dunas Maspalomas (3*) and Dunas Suites & Villas Resort (4*). This is a very nice villa type hotel, close to Maspalomas beach and to the new and posh areas of El Faro and Meloneras. It is also close to our host institution (EOI Maspalomas).

http://www.hotelesdunas.com/en/
Bungalows Dunas Maspalomas
Avda. Air marin s/n
35100. Maspalomas. Spain.
Tel. (00 34) 928 140912

Dunas Suites & Villas Resort
Avda. Sunair s/n
35100. Maspalomas. Spain. Tel. (00 34) 141800

Contact person

José (Juan) Rodríguez (Pérez): Study Visit’s organiser.
Personal Tel.: (00 34) 646 27 54 20
Personal e-mail: studyvisitmaspalomas@hotmail.es
Blog: www.studyvisiteoimaspalomas.blogspot.com


Interpretation

The working language of the seminar will be English, no interpretation will be offered to/from any other languages.

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USEFUL INFORMATION JUST BEFORE YOU ARRIVE
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Getting to your hotel from the airport

Bus Company logo
Please kindly note that there will be no welcome desk at the airport upon your arrival. You are kindly requested to make your own arrangements from the airport to your hotel.
There is a daily bus service between the airport and El Faro de Maspalomas (it takes roughly 40 minutes). You can check  timetables in http://www.globalsu.net/es/lineas.php (Click on line nº 66). As a summary, line number 66 (airport-Faro de Maspalomas-airport) operates every hour, from 7.20 am to 22.20 pm if you travel from the airport to El faro, or from 6.15 am to 21.15 pm if you travel from El Faro to the airport. You can take this bus right out of “arrivals”(it is a small airport), it is a colour blue bus and its name is GLOBAL. The ticket costs 4€ (no big notes accepted) and you can pay in cash to the bus driver. Once you get to El Faro bus stop (which is the last stop), the hotel is within walking distance (15 minutes approximately), but I recommend you to take a taxi (3€ approximately), specially if you have heavy luggage with you.

Please mind the limited timetable for this bus service: if your flight arrival time is not within this span then you will have to take a taxi (38-40€ approximately).

The hotel also offers a shuttle/transfer service: check prices with them by clicking on their web site above.



 “GRAN CANARIA” airport



Departures


The airport is located on the east coast of Gran Canaria, 25 Km from Maspalomas and 18 km from the capital city of Las Palmas.
Airlines operating in Gran Canaria Airport are:

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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ISLAND
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Location

 
Satellite view of The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands lie on the west coast of Africa, but politically they belong to Spain. There are seven major islands (from east to west: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro), and five minor islands (Lobos Island, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste). There is a distance of 2,051 km from Madrid, and 2,550 km from Barcelona. It takes approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes to travel from Madrid to Gran Canaria, and 3 hours from Barcelona.





Time
The Canaries are  the same time as  Greenwich Mean Time  throughout the year.

Language
Spanish is the official language but English and German are widely spoken in the touristic area of Maspalomas.

Currency
The Spanish currency is EURO. Credit cards are widely used in most establishments. Most currencies and traveller’s cheques can easily be changed either at banks, hotels or moneychangers with some handling charges.

Weather in April
Dust storm over The Canaries
Gran Canaria is known as “the tiny continent”, because you can find different landscapes and weathers in such a small island. However, the weather in April is quite uniform all over the island: sub-tropical weather (between 20-25 degrees Celsius). In the north, temperatures are lower because of Alisios Winds: they come from the Atlantic Ocean and they carry humidity with them. Sometimes winds blow from the Sahara desert, but that happens only twice or three times a year; in that case temperatures will go up to 40-45 degrees Celsius plus dust/sand storms (let’s cross our fingers)



Power supply
The standard current in Spain is 220 volts. Plugs are European standard with two round pins.


People & Life

Maspalomas, El Faro and Meloneras
Maspalomas is a very popular international holiday destination. You will certainly enjoy a pleasant and relaxing or exciting stay in the area. Canarian people  are friendly and happy to help with any questions. During the day it is usually too warm for anything but sunbathing, although some alternative interesting activities can also be done (all kind of sports and fieldtrips around the island). The atmosphere is unique during the evening and at night: commercial areas in the open air and shopping centres, bars, cafés, pubs and restaurants get crowded as the sun sets. Be ready to encounter all kind of people from all nationalities and types: Maspalomas is also  well known as a gay holiday destination.


What to do
Las Canteras Beach
You can find almost everything in Gran Canaria: if you go to the north (Las Palmas capital city with 450,000 inhabitants) you will be in a big city environment full of shopping centers, sports centres, theatres, museums, historic sights, festivals, a nice nightlife, etc. Las Palmas is also one of the few cities in the world with 3 beaches, specially Las Canteras beach, which is protected by a natural barrier and which is also known as the European Copacabana.



Roque Nublo

The centre of the island is the perfect place to escape from the touristic ambiance. There are high mountains, beautiful pine tree forests, laurisilva forests, typical Canarian architecture, typical Canarian food restaurants, etc. El Roque Nublo, a big rock in the centre of the island, is thought by many people to be a kind of powerful or magic point where you can contact beings from the outer world; either true or false, you can witness a wonderful 360º view of the island from up there.
Maspalomas is in the south of the island, and this area is one of the most important holiday destinations in Europe for many reasons: for being a beautiful place full of wonderful beaches, for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural community, for its kind and smiling people, for its gay friendly attitude, for its lively nightlife, for its security (as for health and crime, plus political stability), for its carnival, and for its wonderful and mild weather (take into account that The Canaries is the only place in Europe where you can sunbathe in winter). The dunes are a must in Maspalomas: this is a natural landscape, with a natural lagoon where a lot of birds come every winter for nesting, and with a natural palm tree oasis. The dunes are also the tourists’ favourite beach area.
Maspalomas Dunes
Maspalomas Beach












Useful websites
http://www.grancanaria.com/ (what to see and what to do in Gran Canaria)
(weather in Maspalomas-San Bartolomé de Tirajana)
Useful phone numbers
112                                                   (emergencies)
11888                                      (phone book information)
(00 34) 928 771550/768409        (Maspalomas tourist offices)

Other tips


Don't forget to bring your European Health Insurance Card: if you show this card you won't be charged by the Spanish health system in any hospital. We would also appreciate if you could send us a copy of your card in advance for us to keep it on record: in the undesirable event of an emergency we will be your "family" during your stay in Maspalomas, so we`ll need to show proof of insurance to avoid your being charged for any kind of health care. Remember participants are responsible for organising their own accident/health insurance cover during the visit.

European Health Card

Please, do not hesitate to contact the organiser (check for contact information above) for any important personal information you think we should know : meal preferences (e.g. vegetarian), allergies or other health problems, religious concerns, etc., we will do our best to take care of all these little worries.
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