Recently, Substation Curacao has launched a mini-submarine called “Curasub”, offering tourists from around the world the rare opportunity to take a memorable journey to the depths of the Caribbean Sea. The Curasub descends four times a day to unreachable depths for scuba divers, 1.000 feet (320 meters).  Onboard, submarine passengers can see colorful fish, corals and old shipwrecks in the waters that surround Curacao. During the dive you stay dry and you experience no pressure differences. Substation Curacao is also for non-divers a fantastic experience to explore the Caribbean Sea with its amazing creatures and species of coral. Most of us only know the deep ocean of TV but that is about to change during your upcoming stay in our finest Curacao holiday rentals.

Substation Curacao has been designed and built by Nuytco Research LTD from Canada, a world leader in specified underwater technology. The submarine is certified by Lloyds of London and the American Bureau of Shipping to a maximum diving depth of 1000 feet and therefore fulfills the highest standard and safety of the submarine world. This makes Substation Curacao unique in the world.

Substation Curacao has several diving programs. The unforgettable trips last about 1-1,5 hour and you will be able to take photos and/or your own movie of all creatures you encounter. All this without getting wet! When you are interested in this adventure and you want to rent one of our Curacao holiday rentals, you can visit our website: www.enjoy-curacao.com.

Besides a journey with Substation Curacao you can also dive and snorkel at about 65 locations on Curacao. There are always Curacao holiday rentals near one of these locations. Anyone who has ever snorkeled or dived in Curacao could not stop talking about the beauty of Curacao’s underwater world. In the waters of Curacao is an abundance of marine life. You can discover fish like colorful parrot fish, silvery barracuda, colorful butterfly fish, red snapper and more. Along the coast of Curacao you can see the most beautiful coral reefs.  Banda Bou and Central Curacao are the most famous diving locations.

Curacao has also a special protected underwater park, also known as Curacao Marine park. This is a protected area that is found by the nonprofit foundation CARMABI (Caribbean Research and Management by Biodiversity). The Curacao Marine Park extends from the eastern tip of the island towards the west (distance of about 20 km).  In this area you can admire many tropical fish and different species of coral during your Curacao vacation.

Curacao has besides the dive locations also schools where you can learn how to dive. The dive schools of Curacao are known as the best in the world. They offer you a complete package, from coastal and reef diving to extreme depths diving. Take your lessons at the best diving schools of Curacao and assure yourself of the best dive experiences of your life.

It doesn’t really matter in what way you intend to discover the sea surrounding Curacao, by snorkeling, scuba diving or with the submarine Curasub. The remarkable and stunning underwater life of Curacao is an area that you should definitely have experienced!

This year, the Heroes of the Mobile World Fringe Festival runs alongside the main event offering more opportunities for smaller players to get noticed and make connections with global players. We talk to mobile marketing guru, Congress veteran and Fringe organizer, Helen Keegan, about how to get the most out of Mobile World Congress in 2012.

1. Come early.

Helen recommends arriving the weekend before Mobile World Congress officially gets underway, and to entice early starters, the Fringe will be holding events over the weekend to get visitors into the swing of it. “Arrive in Barcelona on the Saturday or Sunday and ease yourself into it”, Helen says. If you are new to Barcelona, it makes for the perfect time to scout the venue and do a dryrun commute so you are not flustered on the actual event days. Barcelona transport is easy to use and accessible, so you can choose anywhere in the city for your Barcelona apartments stay and know that it is easy to get to and from Fira de Barcelona each day. When catching the metro, look to be on the red (L1) or green (L3) lines and get off at Plaza Espanya.

2. Eat properly

“Make sure you eat properly and drink lots of water”, Helen advises. There are often long queues for food at the event, so make sure you stock up on a healthy, energy-generating breakfast each morning. Staying in our Barcelona apartments makes it easy to organize your diet, as you have full kitchen facilities rather than having to rely on the Barcelona breakfast menus, which can be a bit pastry-heavy to offer you the carb and protein load you need to stay on your feet all day.

3. Get involved

“For independent apps developers and smaller businesses, don’t rely on walking around the exhibitor stalls and expect to somehow get noticed. You need to meet with industry players and be proactive about participating in networking events,” says Helen. Where MWC industry events can be dauntingly massive, the Fringe Festival offers more accessible ways to be linked up with representatives and delegates that are interested in your business. Events like roundtable lunches and meet a guru sessions are specifically designed by Heroes of the Mobile World Fringe to connect you to the best of the industry stakeholders.

4. Pace yourself

2012 will be Helen’s eighth Mobile World Congress. She believes that each year, newcomers still underestimate the enormity of the event and the frantic rthythm at which it operates. “It really is intense”, she warns. Do your research beforehand and know who you want to meet, what events at Congress and Fringe you want to attend, and make advance contact. Plans may change on the day, but having an overall strategy and being able to move from event to event can prevent the four days whizzing past in a blur.

5. Have your elevator script ready.

We have previously recommended this as an absolute necessity when attending any business event in Barcelona, but none moreso than Mobile World Congress. Know how to describe your business, what you can offer, and why people should be interested in you. You may only have thirty seconds to make an impression or to create a hook that keeps your contact lingering and asking for more. Don’t forget to be interested in their business and to ask questions rather than focus on yourself all the time.

Thanks to Helen Keegan for sharing her advice. Find out more about the MWC Fringe Festival events. Enjoy Barcelona still has some ideal apartments available to rent for Mobile World Congress.

Of course there are opinions, but what is a fact is that the gap has substantially narrowed down between the current winner of the Champions League and actual World Champion of Clubs, Futbol Club Barcelona and the holder of the Spanish Cup Real Madrid. There have passed several matches (remember that last season the two entities clashed 5 times in 4 weeks time) that were clearly in the advantage of the Catalans, that led to an incredible frustration at the Madrid end, this all resulting into more than passionate matches that frankly resembled more to rugby than football.

But now… now things are different… Real Madrid is stronger than ever. Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps not in his best shape but he gets filled in by the other two forwards, Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain and French football revelation of the season Karim Benzema. Being backed up by an unbeatable Iker Casillas, 4×4 Sergio Ramos and not to forget former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso, this team under the sensational coaching of José Mourinho (aka “special one” or simply “mou”) can turn around all stats.

Barça in turn, is damaged. Guardiola cannot count with the national team’s star David Villa. Going 5 points behind Real Madrid in the league it shows that a lot needs to be reinvented at the FC Barcelona end for them to win Real Madrid. But, pay close attention. FC Barcelona is actually evolving in accordance to their possibilities. No players available? Fine, if the stars are injured at Barça they get some of the many young talents this increible football institution has trained for years and all seem to fit in seamlessly to the “Barça-style”. As head coach Josep Guardiola learnt that the opponents are learning what the abilities and disabilities of this FC Barcelona are, he simply creates different variations of what everyone now expects from Barca. The latest experiment was to give play more spread out, so not only playing midfield “tikitaka” but to combine this with superfast players, like upcoming talent Iván Cuenca or Chili’s striker Alexis  driving their opponent out of their own area towards the chalk lines near the corner flag. So, if you think it’s all played for… well, no. A “el clásico” between FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid is never predictable before it is played, but then again.. Is any match?

Want to see the match in Madrid? Get your Madrid apartments rental plus Real Madrid tickets. In case that you should be going to Barcelona, you might consider to rents some of the fine Barcelona apartments and get match entrances as well.

This Christmas tradition has a name. The pieces of wood are called “Caga Tio”.

How do you recognize “Caga Tio”?

“Caga Tio” is a piece of wood with a face on it. It can have different sizes. “Caga Tio” wears a red hat, typical Catalan, called “barretina”. Sometimes they also have a blanket and are they provided with a stick.

Now you know what a “Caga Tio” looks like, but what is the tradition?

On the 8^th of December the Catalan children receive “Caga Tio”. Every day from the 8^th of December till Christmas, the children take care of their “Caga Tio”. They keep it warm with a blanket and they feed it “turron”. This is something they eat during Christmas; it looks a bit like nougat.

After the Christmas dinner, “Caga Tio” provides the dessert. The children hit it with a stick and sing a song. The children receive candy and small gifts from “Caga Tio”. They can be inside the log, or in the blanket. After the gifts are opened, the hitting and singing starts again.

The name “Caga Tio” means “poo log”. It may sound a bit weird to you, children hit a piece of wood and receive gifts, but now you know the story behind “Caga Tio”.  Next time you see this Christmas item at one of the Christmas markets, you know what it means and that makes it much more interesting.

When you stay in our apartments Barcelona during the holiday season, you should visit a Christmas market and take a look at all the Christmas items they sell. You will see lots of stands selling “Caga Tio” as well!

• Invite new industry contacts back to your shortstay apartment so you can continue networking,
• Deliver presentations in a comfortable space, or
• Host a few new contacts to build rapport with your new colleagues.

Of course, our apartments are also ideal if you are looking for a space to unwind properly after each day. Where a hotel can quickly feel cramped, your stay in one of our Barcelona apartments near Fira de Barcelona lets you recharge your batteries for the next day. You will have access to wifi, a DVD/TV, and both full kitchen and bathroom. If you are sharing with a business colleague, it also works out cheaper per person than a hotel alternative.

If you are a small mobile business or independent apps developer, you can even build a specific app just for Mobile World Congress. What better way to show your skills than by building a tool that delegates can use while they attend?

We have asked participants of previous years what would be useful for them when attending a conference event like Mobile World Congress 2012.

You can use our research to build a mobile app tool for delegates at MWC 2012!

Overall, there were three types of tools that participants said would be useful to use throughout the Mobile World Congress event:

Following exhibitors and their news announcements at Mobile World Congress 2012

In previous years, the official GSMA MWC app has been an essential download for everyone attending. However, given the major sponsors of the event, the app has tended to be focused on the telecommunications networks and the sharing of their perspectives on the event rather than being a real tool you can use to manage your own time and networking. Mobile business delegates focused on sales – like Alfons from Veliq who attended Mobile World Congress 2011 – wants to see a better MWC exhibitors guide app.

He also nominated a news app to assist delegates keep up with industry launches and announcements. This need not be overly complex. A budding entrepreneur could even find a way to utilize existing twitter hashtags for the event – #mwc2012, #mwc12, #mobileworldcongress and #welovemwc to find a way to filter these streams, add value and offer a unique product to delegates.

Messaging delegates at Mobile World Congress 2012

Award winning mobile executive and business leader Julia Dimambro suggested a messenger type of app specifically linked to your MWC contact list. While everyone makes business meeting plans beforehand, these invariably change at the last minute with everyone shuffling their plans about to take advantage of a new networking opportunity, or with the sudden realization that teleportation hasn’t been invented yet and they actually do need to allow time for physically moving from one location to another, even when the meetings are scheduled back-to-back.

“Something that linked up with your MWC network account, so that you have all your meeting contacts logged and can message them for free throughout the day whilst you’re running around the show,” suggests Julia.

A meeting location scouter app for around Mobile World Congress 2012

While delegates we interviewed universally wanted more help and convenience with an app that helps them locate nearby food, shopping, and good coffee, it is the opportunity to use surrounding venues as meeting spaces that stood out as having the most potential for leveraging into an app tool. Given she has been attending for 10 years, it is no wonder that Julia again is able to share some insights: “Something that is lacking EVERY year is a good source of nice, comfy (preferably sponsored) bars and café areas where you can meet people. I wouldn’t even mind paying a bit extra to gain ‘membership’ to these areas for the 4 days, just so you know it won’t be over-crowded and you won’t have to queue 30 minutes to get a coffee for a meeting that you have 40 minutes allocated to. A nice app would tell you where these areas are located and, if it’s really smart, monitor which ones are full, or have plenty of seating left, additional facilities (i.e. food, drink, toilets, etc).”

So there you have it! We hope these ideas inspire you to build a mobile app tool specifically for Mobile World Congress 2012 delegates. If you are planning to follow this advice, please let us know when you make your Barcelona apartments booking and we will assist you with more detailed information about surrounding venues and physical locations. Use the comments below to share your ideas about mobile apps for MWC 2012 or to alert readers to the mobile apps you have built for the event.

Business groups have shared with us that they really appreciate the extra space an apartment offers their work delegation when here for events like MWC 2012. Sharing an apartment bonds your team, builds strength amongst colleagues and helps them work together throughout the event while sharing a comfortable apartment space. This also lets you debrief each night, strategize for the following day, and develop new tools on the fly close to the congress venue and with access to all the conveniences of home (kitchen, full bathroom, wifi, TV and DVD).

There are always a few announcement bombshells at Mobile World Congress and we have begun to hear news of what is in store for the Congress overall and for events at Apps Planet 2012 in particular. Here’s the latest predictions from our industry contacts and Barcelona news sources.

1. Layar will be a standout feature throughout mobile app discussions

Netherlands-based mobile location programming standard, Layar, continues to grow from strength to strength and is fast becoming the most widely recognized location tool for developing new products. Ronald de Groot from One Shoe Mobile shared with us how Layar was used in a recent mobile app they developed, and this sums up the sort of discussion we expect to hear more of at MWC 2012: “For the biggest postal services in the Netherlands we built a mobile website, iPhone and Android app, introduced DMM (Direct Mobile Marketing) with personalized QR-codes and developed Layar to find the nearest postal offices and mailboxes. This was one of the first six Layars worldwide. Because of all these mobile services and the features inside it, we were last year nominated for the Mobile Integration Award.”

Our Apps Planet 2012 prediction: More developer conferences will include discussion of how to use layar technology in building location-based apps.

2. QuadCore tablet launches

There has been an excitable buzz on internet and twitter streams in recent days about the possible launches by major device makers for Quad Core tablets and smartphones at GSMA Mobile World Congress. HTC is expected to unveil a Quad Core Tablet while the rumor mill has already started regarding whether Samsung will launch the Lumia 900 in 2012, aiming to repeat the excitement they generated when they showed off the SII this year.

Our Apps Planet 2012 prediction: Developer conferences will specifically explain how to build apps for larger tablet screens.

3. The (unofficial) Fringe Festival will steal at least some of the show

Every big industry event deserves a fringe festival and the unofficial Mobile World Congress Fringe Festival looks like it has the potential to upstage the main event at least once throughout the three day event. In part this we expect this because it offers a new angle for journalists who have been covering MWC year after year, but mostly because the fringe is being organized by industry networking guru, Helen Keegan. The creator of the successful Barcelona Swedish beers events, this technokitten is expected to bring the same style, vibrancy, and out-of-the-box quirkiness to her latest endeavour and offer up a great side show to the main event.

Our Apps Planet prediction: Participants at Apps Planet will be talking about what they did at the MWC Fringe Festival last night.

4. Currently registered exhibitors will start fielding calls from savvy apps developers and independent businesses

With the GSMA Mobile World Congress website now listing exhibitors that have registered for next February’s event, apps developers who are planning to come to Barcelona to build networks and seek new industry contacts will start to make contact and introduce themselves. On our Apps Planet events page and in our Barcelona business trips for events guide. We strongly encourage independent apps developers to read our advice on how to network in advance – see our previous blog posts about Mobile World Congress and the Apps Planet 2012 page on our Enjoy Barcelona website for more industry recommendations to make the most of attending.

Our Apps Planet prediction: Apps developers who take the initiative now and start preparing their networking meetings will have the best success and growth trajectory throughout 2012.

It is not too late to book some quality, affordable and convenient business group and individual Mobile World Congress accommodation. Contact us for special discounts and deals or consult our Barcelona apartments pages.

What are your predictions for Mobile World Congress and Apps Planet in particular? Share them in the comments below.

What can you expect?

Between December the 2nd – 2011 and January the 9th – 2012 you can enjoy Christmas time at Plaza Catalunya. There is going to be an ice rink of 1200 square meters, an ice cream bar, stands where you can buy hot beverages and snacks, a dressing room and a place to rent your skates. If you want to rent skates it will cost between five and six euros for half an hour and for 60 minutes the price will rise up to 8 euros.

Barcelona shopping

You can start skating a few days after Christmas in Barcelona started. On the 30^th of November the Christmas lights will be turned on and this will be celebrated with a great Barcelona Shopping Night with lots of events. This large ice rink at Plaza Catalunya should promote the beautiful city Barcelona as a shopping destination and encourage the campaign about Christmas in Barcelona.

Experience the Christmas atmosphere in Barcelona

Go ice-skating on the most famous square in Barcelona between December the 2nd 2011 and January the 9th 2012 from 10:00 till 21:00. When you stay in one of our Barcelona apartments and want to experience the Christmas atmosphere, come to Plaza Catalunya and enjoy Christmas in Barcelona. Look at the people having fun at the ice rink or rent some skates and join them. Plaza Catalunya will show you the great Christmas atmosphere in Barcelona!

More than shopping

Block Wednesday the 30^th in your agenda because this is an event you do not want to miss. This is going to be the second edition of the Barcelona Shopping Night and it is going to be a party. First of all the shops that participate extend their opening hours. The opening hours will be from 8pm till 1am, this explains the name Barcelona Shopping Night.  But there is more, there also is a wide range of events. This years edition will exceed the previous; more shops participate, there are new areas and spaces and there are more events as well.

Last year more than 10,000 people joined the Barcelona Shopping Night. They went out on the street, went shopping, partying and they enjoyed the entertainment. The promoter of this event, Albert Garriga wants to make this a major international event.

Turning-on the Christmas lights

Coinciding with this, on November 30^th, there is another event in Barcelona. You can see the official turning-on of the Christmas lights. Passeig de Gracia will turn into a party area with events, music, celebrities and other surprises. This is going to be an unique experience.

When you stay in one of our Barcelona apartments and you want to go shopping and see the Christmas lights burning, visit the Barcelona Shopping Night!