If you happen to be splashing about in the waters off Spain, Italy, Japan, the Atlantic side of Panama or a growing number of other places and you accidentally swallow a tiny jellyfish worry ye not because you may have just ingested Turritopsis nutricul the only living creature who possesses the secret to immortality.

I’ve no idea if the jellyfish-like creature has made it to the waters of Tenerife yet but if you see me wallowing about open-mouthed in the coastal waters off Los Cristianos – now you will know why. In the meantime, just to prove I am in fact sane and haven’t imagined this fascinating creature follow this link to find The Curious Case of the Immortal Jellyfish as published in Discover magazine.

If you are on holiday in Tenerife at the end of August  you will find lots of free beach-related activity and workshops centred round the Los Cristianos area. It’s all to do with the annual Aguaviva Canarias festival which is held to celebrate the sea and drive home the message that the wide blue oceans of the world are full of natural treasures that need to be tended, protected and loved. It is a collaborative effort with input from scientists, government bodies, musicians and entertainers, educators and the public.

There are free events and activites from August 22 and an open air concert on August 29th which requires payment but at only €15 should be worth the entrance fee.  The whole festival comes to a close on 30th of August with the release of turtles which has been co-ordinated by members of the Neotropico Foundation.  There are also volunteer educational projects like the cetacean research project run by Buena Proa.

Saturday 22 August

10:00 hrs – Beach Clean Up at Playa de Las Enojados, Las Galletas (free)

Sunday 23 August

18.30 hrs – Marine Life First Aid Workshop (seabirds, turtles and whales), Playa de las Vistas, Los Cristianos (free)

19.00 hrs – Marine Graffitti Workshop on the seafront of Los Cristianos, Memorial Plaza (free)

Friday 28 August

11.00 – 14.00 hrs and 15.00 – 17.00 horas, Aguaviva Baptisms – Make a spiritual connection with the ocean (free)

Dive into Aguaviva – Playa de Las Vistas. Playa de Las Vistas.

10.30 – 15.00 hrs – Workshops on the beach of Los Cristianos. (free)

18.00 – 20.00 hrs – Workshops on the beach of Los Cristianos. (free)

21:00 hrs Street Parade with CIRCUS JAM -Paseo Marítimo de Los Cristianos – Plaza de Los Caídos (free)

22.00 hrs – CONFABULADOS in concert. – Paseo Marítimo de Los Cristianos – Plaza de Los Caídos (free)

Saturday 29 August

11.00 – 14.00 hours and 15.00 – 17.00 am Aguaviva Baptisms – Get baptised in the ocean (free)
Dive into Aguaviva.- Playa de Las Vistas

10.00 hrs -  Cleaning the Deep Arona in Playa de Las Vistas. (free)
13.00 hrs -  Human Chain of Pollutionfrom the Playa de Las Vistas to the Centro Cultural de Los Cristianos. (free)
19.00 hrs Round Table in Arona in Playa de las Vistas (next to the breakwater of the port).
Panel discussion on the current state of conservation of the seafloor and the coast of the Canary Islands.Various interested groups are invited to attend including scuba divers, fishermen, scientists, researchers at the ULL and the Natural History Museum, conservationists, politicians and hoteliers.
10.30 – 15.00 hrs Workshops on the beach of Los Cristianos.
18.00 – 20.00 hrs Workshops on the beach of Los Cristianos.

21.00 hrs  AguavivaFest Concert

The Zaragoza pop rock band Amaral are the headliners with We Are Standard, Line, Ramon Dominguez and Adjacant and DT Project also in the line up. See clips of Amaral, We Are Standard and Ramon Domingues below for a wee taster of what the night will hold.

Estadio de Los Cristianos, Annex. Advance tickets 15 euros.

Sunday 30 August

11.00 – 14.00 hours and 15.00 – 17.00 am Baptisms Aguaviva. Make direct contact with the underwater world with a free ocean baptism.

Dive into Aguaviva. Playa de Las Vistas.
10.30 – 15.00 pm Workshops on the beach of Los Cristianos.

16:30 hrs - Turtle Release in  Playa de Las Vistas
21.00 hrs – Cinema on the Beach in Arona in Playa de Los Cristianos.

Looking like something out of War of the Worlds  (the original , not the crappy Tom Cruise version) this picture really does show a Tenerife  invasion of sorts though of course not of intrastellar origin.

The black spiky things in the picture are lime urchins. In a balanced eco-system they have a very important role to play in  keeping the reefs and corals healthy but in Tenerife, the lime urchin population has exploded. They are hungry little blighters and munch their way across wide swathes of underwater landscape leaving not much edible matter in their wake. (Sort of like when my brother comes to visit)

Like the Tribbles in Star Trek  (again the original version) the urchins are insatiable and unless controlled they may end up eating the whole spaceship!!!  Aaaahhhh ….

Bumping back down to earth, the lime urchin invasion is not actually news. Plans have been afoot to curb the voracious  little buggers for some time – including turning them into a lunchtime delicacy – but as Pamela Heywood of  Secret Tenerife said:

It just goes to show you how important balance is, with the right number of the various members of the food chain hierarchy, each having their part in the “grand scheme” and, how important it is that we protect these marine areas and not keep overfishing them, nor tipping heaven knows what kinds of waste into them.

See this picture and more scuba diving photographs at the Tenerife Diving Gallery.

Though I suspect I know the spot that the Bard of Ely is referring to in his post, ‘Strange Creatures Call From the Sea’, I couldn’t name or describe the sea creatures that live there.

Much better and far more interesting if you go  along with the Bard for a poke about in the rock pools along the Costa Del Silencio coast line and let him tell you all about the creatures and plants you find there including this colourful Sea Hare from the ‘Strange Creatures…’  hub.