For logistical reasons we will not be meeting any flights at the airport, mainly because very few people have requested this service.

Most delegates will arrive on domestic flights from Madrid at Tenerife North (Los Rodeos Airport). This airport offers a regular, half-hourly bus service to Puerto de la Cruz (price about $3). The bus arrives at the main bus station in Puerto de la Cruz, from where it is a short taxi ride to the hotel. The bus leaves from outside the check-in hall at the airport.

Alternatively, a taxi direct to the hotel from Los Rodeos costs around 3000 Pta ($20). This is a set tariff. If two or more people arrive together, this is by far the cheapest and best option. The taxi rank is directly outside the arrivals hall; you may need to wait a few minutes for a taxi as there may be a significant queue if several flights arrive at about the same time.

If you arrive at the south airport (Reina Sofia) the best option is to take the direct bus to Puerto de la Cruz from outside the airport building or, alternatively, take airport bus service to Santa Cruz (bus 341), followed by the Puerto de la Cruz Express bus and a taxi from Puerto de la Cruz bus station to the hotel. A taxi ride from the airport to the hotel will be expensive (around 8000 Pta, or $50). The bus journey to Puerto de la Cruz is one and a half to two hours.

The registration desk in the conference centre will be manned from 08:15 to about 19:30 each day. Messages to participants can be passed through the following numbers for the conference desk:

+ 34 22 605291
+ 34 22 605292

There are public telephones in the conference centre which can be used for making and receiving calls.

Welcome cocktail:

There will be a welcome cocktail at the conference centre from 17:00 to 19:30. The registration desk will be manned from about 16:00. Please come and have a drink and register to avoid a rush on Monday morning.

Teide Observatory trip:

Teide Observatory has had its first heavy snow-fall of the winter on January 26th and some snow is continuing to fall. At present the observatory is temporarily cut-off by road. The weather forecast for the next few days is bad and, for safety reasons, we may be obliged to cancel the visit unless there is a major improvement in the weather and the observatory's internal roads are clear of snow. In normal circumstances this would not be a big problem, but the size of the group (over 80 people) forces us to err on the side of caution. Today (Thursday) we are more optimistic about the weather and hope that the trip will go ahead as planned.

A decision will be made on Friday about the visit and an alternative excursion will be arranged if necessary. You are reminded of the necessity to bring adequate clothing and shoes on the trip (street shoes are NOT recommended, even in good weather as we will be walking on tracks during part of the visit) on the assumption that the weather will be cold (around or below 0 degrees Centigrade) and wintery.

Public lecture:

Alan Hale, Tom Bopp and Richard West will give a public lecture in the conference centre at 20:00 on Monday February 2nd on "Comets Hale-Bopp and West seen through the eyes of their discoverers". Please note the Alan Hale is making a very considerable effort to attend and will only be at the conference on Sunday and Monday. Don't miss this memorable opportunity to hear the discoverers of the two most spectacular comets of the last few decades speak about "their" comets.

Loro Parque visit:

This visit will be held on Tuesday afternoon, February 3rd, leaving the conference centre directly after the morning session. A packed lunch will be provided and extra food can be purchased at the park (although somewhat pricey by local standards). We are receiving free admission and a guided tour for up to 150 people when the normal cost of admission per person (no guided tour) is approximately $20. The Park is extremely beautiful and features a wide range of wildlife in open enclosures.

Please meet outside the conference hall as soon as the morning session ends. You will pick-up your packed lunch as you get onto the bus.

Vineyard visit [NEW ITEM]:

The Canary Islands are an important wine-producing region with each island producing its own distinctive wines. To reflect this fact we have arranged a visit to the Monje (Monk) Vineyard on Tuesday February 3rd. The trip includes transport, a tour of the installations, food (tapas) and the opportunity to sample some of the wines from the vineyard. The food will be quite substantial and you will not need a separate dinner.

The visit will leave the conference centre at 20:00 and will return around 22:30. Tickets will be on sale at the Registration Desk from Sunday afternoon at approximately 1800-2000 Pta ($11-13).

Conference dinner:

The conference dinner will be held on Wednesday February 4th at "El Monasterio" (The Monastry), in Los Realejos, a small town near Puerto de la Cruz. Three menus will be offered (meat, fish and vegetarian). The price, including transport, three courses, plus optional coffee and liqueurs is 4000 Pta ($25). Please make sure that you specify the correct menu option when requesting your ticket.

The complete scientific programme will be put in the Web today, with times for the lectures. This information will be in your folders when you arrive.The conference will begin at 09:00 on Monday, with the first lecture at 09:15. A coffee-break will be held at 10:30 each day and at a somewhat more variable time in the afternoon (according to the demands of the programme).

150 poster panels will be available in the main hall. The space available is 1 metre wide x 1.1 metres high. We will supply thumb-tacks/drawing pins/ push pins for the posters. Other materials such as transparencies, scissors, glue, etc. will be available. There will also be a photocopier, but for small numbers of copies only please.

The page limit is 20 pages for invited papers. 6 pages from contributed papers and 15 lines (abstract) for progress reports. The proceedings will be published in Earth, Moon and Planets, as a monographic issue.

All invited and contributed papers will be refereed and should be submitted at the conference. There will be an "Editor's help desk" set up in the conference centre, which will be open during all coffee breaks and poster sessions. If you have problems meeting the deadline, or problems with your manuscript, please contact Hermann Boehnhardt (hboehnha@sc6.sc.eso.org).

Authors instructions are at the following URL:

Style files can be obtained at the following URL:

Please note that you must sign, complete and leave the copyright form at the conference.

All hotels except Puerto Palace are now full and we are approaching our room block. Note that no group lunches will be provided, you should eat either at your hotel, or in town at midday. Puerto de la Cruz is a highly international city and menus can be found in restaurants written in most European languages. Many restaurants cater particularly for foreign clients (German, Scandanavian, British, etc.), being run by the local ex-patriate community and will serve you in your native language more easily than in Spanish.

Prices are highly variable. A cheap (but quite edible) cafeteria-type meal may cost as little as 600 Pta ($4), but good restaurants may charge five times this amount for lunch; the key is to shop-around.

A list of restaurants and bars will appear in your conference folder.

We will be providing a small computer centre with 5 Sun workstations alongside the poster area. These machines will have a high-speed line to permit you to connect to your home institute by Telnet.

Please note that the Canary Islands are a duty-free area and, instead of 17 % Value Added Tax, there is a flat 4.5 % local tax. This means that many items (particularly alcohol) are much cheaper in a non-tourist supermarket than in duty-free stores and airport shops.

The weather at present is stormy in all the islands. Puerto de la Cruz is at sea-level and has a very mild climate, but some rain can be expected, particularly for those people who arrive early. Expect temperatures in the range 15-20 degrees Centigrade during the day, but quite a lot cooler at night. If a northerly wind blows down off the mountain, night-time temperatures might get as low as 5 degrees. The weather is variable at this time of year, so you should ensure that you have both warm clothing and something lighter.

If you are receiving local support you will be able to claim it at the registration desk on Sunday.

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