The President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has suffered a fibrillar rupture of his left leg playing basketball, for which he has suspended the visit he had planned for tomorrow to Gran Canaria, according to sources from the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands.
After his injury, which occurred this afternoon at the house of La Mareta, Zapatero was treated and is now resting in what they have chosen as a residence to spend the holidays with his family.
The President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was scheduled to visit Gran Canaria tomorrow and tour the area affected by the fires declared on July 21 on the summit of the island, which consumed 150 hectares.
The accident occurred in a game that the president, who turned 45 years old today, was playing with some friends, after returning to Lanzarote after visiting the island of La Graciosa with his family, where he had gone to spend the day.
ZP's Birthday
The President of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, celebrated his 45th birthday yesterday on the Eighth Island, coinciding with the fact that such a significant date on the calendar of the country's highest leader coincides with his holidays on the Island of Volcanoes, which will undoubtedly have contributed to making the celebration more relaxed than if it had had to be held in Madrid.
It must be recognized that the president has been lucky to be able to spend his birthday outside of La Moncloa and on a splendid day in terms of weather, although today he must forget about rest, even if only for a few hours, due to the commitments he has assumed.
According to what the editors of this newspaper have been able to verify, the President of the Government is greatly enjoying the visit to the Island, where after a long hectic year in Madrid he can relax and spend his time with his family, delighting in the unique Lanzarote landscapes. Every day the president reads the insular and regional press to keep up to date with current affairs in the Canary Islands, the problems and concerns of citizens.
Aboard a red 'zodiac' boat, the president left yesterday morning for La Graciosa, where they had planned a lunch and a walk through the Chinijo Archipelago, through the Marine Reserve.
Fishing sources explained to EFE that from the early hours of the morning a security device was deployed in the port of Orzola, from where the boats that cover the regular maritime line that connects the islands of Lanzarote and La Graciosa depart and dock.
Although the President of the Government has at his disposal a recreational boat that has been docked for several days in Puerto Calero, on the coast of the municipality of Yaiza, he boarded yesterday for Caleta del Sebo, the capital of La Graciosa, from the town of Orzola, according to sources.
Zapatero, his wife Sonsoles Espinosa and his daughters were dressed in informal attire when they boarded the red 'zodiac', about five meters long, and set course for La Graciosa accompanied by a discreet security team.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the inflatable boat in which the president was traveling was escorted a few meters away by another of the Civil Guard, as well as by a patrol boat that followed them more discreetly.
The local mayor of La Graciosa, Margarita Páez, popularly known as "Margarona", had made a public invitation to Rodríguez Zapatero to visit said island "because we Gracioso people also want to see him".
Margarona assured EFE today that if she coincided with the president she would invite him on behalf of all her neighbors "to a fish broth, of grouper, which is typical here and with scalded gofio".
