Costa Blanca and Valencia - Issue 86

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Vol. 3 Issue 86

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July 28th - August 10th 2022

FAUX-BILITY EXCLUSIVE: How British tourists are bypassing disability rules to rent mobility scooters YOUNG Brits too lazy to walk and too mean to pay for a taxi are inventing fake disabled relatives in order to hire mobility scooters.

Now police in Benidorm have launched a crackdown on tourists renting mobility scooters and slapping them with fines of up to €500 if they have bent the truth on application forms.

The vehicles have become a popular means to get around the resort and are no longer the reserve of those who find it difficult to walk.

In fact, holidaymakers are lying to scooter rental companies in order to bypass rules, an Olive Press investigation has found.

“The Brits often lie to our company as they do not meet the requirements to get a scooter,” admitted

By Jorge Hinojosa

a whistleblower from a rental scooter company in Benidorm.

She said that young people often claim they are hiring a mobility scooter for a disabled parent, but when the company staff follow it up, they find there is no such person.

“Most of them are young Brits that want to use it to go clubbing to save the money of a taxi,” revealed Tania Costa, who works at Amigo 24 Mobility Scooter Hire in Benidorm.

She said ‘80% of the people who rent our scooters are from the UK’ and estimated that around half of them do not meet the requirements for a mobility scooter.

SCOOTING ALONG: Benidorm on alert over scooters

According to Benidorm bylaws, only those aged over 55 or with a disability problem are entitled to drive a mobility scooter.

“We have a lot of cases of

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people who cannot prove that they have a disability but they insist that they cannot walk,” claimed Tania.

“Others rent the scooter then give it to other members in their group to drive, which is also against the local law,” said David, the owner of the company.

Benidorm council has launched a crackdown following complaints about scooter users driving irresponsibly on the pavements and in bike lines.

“The majority of the drivers do not respect the maximum speed and it is really dangerous because it can cause accidents,” a spokesperson from Benidorm council told the Olive Press.

Benidorm’s council confirmed that so far this summer two people have been fined for not meeting the

requirements to use a mobility scooter.

In 2019 Benidorm introduced new by-laws to tackle the problem of mobility scooters, banning them alongside Segways, hoverboards and motorised scooters from the town’s pedestrianised areas.

Menace They were also banned in cycle lines and along the paseo.

The vehicles, a favourite among British tourists, have been branded a ‘menace’ and should only be used on sidewalks by people with genuine disabilities at 4kph or walking pace.

The new laws came into effect after a two-year battle and seven attempts and followed a similar ban in Alicante.

2

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF Beach death A 53-year-old man drowned at El Puig de Santa Maria’s Medicalia beach on Sunday. He was pulled out of the water but SAMU paramedics could not revive him.

Costly dump TWO people will be fined for dumping furniture and mattresses by a waste container in a Petrer street.

Besides penalties of up to €1,500, police forced the fly-tippers to remove the items.

Stuck hand A XIXONA nougat factory worker got one of her hands trapped in a machine on Tuesday.

Firefighters freed her and the 63-year-old was flown by helicopter to hospital.

Phone rage POLICE arrested a Valencia man, 21, who pulled his girlfriend’s hair before kicking her to the ground on Avenida del Cid because she wanted to see his mobile phone.

July 28th - August 10th 2022

Attack riddle

Silly cracker

A MAN, 32, is being investigated by police over a brutal knife attack on six hunting dogs in Benaguacil in which one animal died and five others were injured.

The alleged assailant entered one of the property annexes where 12 hunting dogs were kept and stabbed six of them.

The owners of the house where the dogs lived were not at home. Information from the Guardia Civil over the case is minimal, including the reason behind the savage attack on the dogs.

A BRITISH tourist faces a fine of up to €750 for setting off fireworks next to a high-risk fire area in Javea.

A neighbour in the Castellans area called police to alert them to the pyrotechnical display bordering the Montgo Natural Park and the Santa Lucia forest.

These are both red alert fire risk areas during the current high temperatures.

Police located the offending villa on Calle Langreo and denounced the Brit for breaking local by-laws.

AN Irish gang ripped off businesses and public bodies across Spain by laying down poor quality asphalt surfaces but charging for a vastly superior product.

Over two years of Guardia Civil probes led to five Irish nationals either being arrested or still being investigated with the help of foreign countries.

No details have been given as to where in Spain the group was based, but the gang leader is said to be out of the country.

In just one year, the gang made over €2.1 million with

No ta-mac Irish gang netted millions from shoddy work then laundered funds

after a Valencia Province businessman from Picassent complained in June 2019 that no taxes paid or records of he had been scammed by a any registered employees. group of Irish nationals.

Operation Ricadona was The con saw one of the memlaunched by the Guardia bers of the criminal group pretending to be a representative of a construction firm.

He would see POLICE on a drugs raid had a sur- house included tiles, pots, and potential cliprise when they found more than bowls from between the 12th and ents which be1,000 historical ceramics - some 18th centuries, with some regardsides private dating back to the 12th century. ed as ‘priceless’. businesses, Officers also found 13 bee hives The collection has been taken to would also instolen from Buenache de la Sierra Alzira’s Municipal Museum for clude schools. and Guadassuar. evaluation. A 68-year-old man He’d offer asThe ceramics collection has been has been arrested for crimes phalt resurfacdescribed by experts as one of the against historical heritage in ading at well bemost significant findings in the dition to charges of drug trafficklow the market Valencian Community. ing and the illegal possession of rate.

Items found at the Guadassuar weapons.

Victims took advantage of

By Alex Trelinski

STING IN THE TALE

what appeared to be a great bargain and the rep would produce bogus documents to show he was from a legitimate company.

Once a deal had been struck and signed, around 10 people mainly Irish nationals - would appear at the site with machinery to do the resurfacing.

Paid

Customers paid the firm but days later discovered the asphalt was of poor quality or not thick enough.

Payments went to the bank account of one of the gang members who then laundered the cash to avoid tax.

Transfers were made to foreign accounts or sums were withdrawn in their entirety from ATMs.

Peeping toms

TWO men, aged 18 and 19, have been arrested for recording a video of two people having sex in a toilet cubicle at a Gandia nightclub.

The teenagers made the recording early on Sunday morning by leaning over the upper part of the cubicle door and pointing a phone at the young couple.

The Policia Nacional were called in by security guards who detained the teenagers after a woman made a complaint.

Officers took away the men’s mobile phones and charged them with a crime against privacy. The woman told police she saw the men send the video to a friend via a messaging app.

Drunken carnage A DRUNK driver four times over the limit has been charged with homicide after two people died when he smashed into the back of their car, which burst into flames.

Two women, aged 22 and 55, in the vehicle died. One was thrown from the car while the other was released by fire-fighters but had passed away.

The collision on the V-23 in Sagunto led to other cars being caught up in the carnage.

A 56-year-old woman and her young son were seriously injured in another vehicle.

NEWS

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July 28th - August 10th 2022

3

YET ANOTHER OLIVE PRESS EXCLUSIVE

EXCLUSIVE: British couple claim foul play against ‘Urban Turban’ celeb A BRITISH couple have accused a popular Marbella celebrity of attempting to steal their business.

Ross and Laura Turner claim Bally Singh - dubbed ‘the Urban Turban’ - fleeced their homemade candle company during the lockdown.

They have called in the UK’s Action Fraud over claims the Life on Marbs star failed to hand them tens of thousands of profit from the business set up in September 2020.

The couple, based in Bedford, have brought in lawyers claiming Gem Scents Candles is owed ‘at least’ £20,000 (€23,200).

Laura, 42, had started making the candles during the first pandemic lockdown in early 2020.

It went well and quickly became well known, leading Bally to offer her a big investment in her business.

Until he got in touch she had never heard of the Marbella-based entrepreneur, who has nearly half a million followers on Instagram.

She read up to discover he claims to wash his watches with £20,000 champagne and counts pop stars Pharell and Sting as his friends.

“We were delighted when Bally got in touch about investing,” Ross, a former

A Singh in the tale

By George Mathias

mortgage advisor, told the Olive Press.

Bally suggested they enter into a business partnership splitting the profits 50/50 with the Marbella mogul investing £15,000 into the company in February 2021.

But things didn’t go to plan and just four months in, the Turners claim Bally’s IT team suddenly changed the password to the company domain name, locking them out of the business.

Meanwhile, despite previously making over £10,000 a month, they had stopped receiving any takings.

In total, they claim they are owed ‘at least £20,000’, with Ross submitting a complaint to the UK’s police fraud office, which is currently pending.

The Olive Press has seen legal documents accusing Bally and his wife of trying to register an official trademark for Gem Scents candles without the owners’ permission.

It had been registered under Bally’s company Be Immune Ltd, which should have made Ross and Laura equal shareholders with him and his wife Anna.

However, documents show the Turners were not registered as shareholders, while inexplicably local Marbella celebrity Maria Bravo, who runs the Global Gift FounCLAIM: Laura and Ross Turner dation and is

Trooping the colours FRIENDS?: Singh and wife Ana with Fernando Alonso a friend of Ballys, was made a major shareholder, as evidenced on Companies House.

After continual threats of legal action, the Turners have finally managed to wrestle their company back.

Money “It has become a profitable family business again, as it was before Bally got involved,” explained Ross, this week. “But he still owes us all that money.”

Bally meanwhile completely

denied he had swindled the couple, insisting it was merely ‘a smear campaign’ against him.

“I close multi million deals with big names in business, why would I want to steal from a small candle company?

“The Turners are the ones who swindled me, we provided the funding and didn’t get any money back.”

He also shared evidence showing payments totalling £4,000 and a settlement agreement between the two parties.

A LONDON court has given King Juan Carlos permission to appeal harassment charges brought against him by his former lover.

The disgraced monarch, who abdicated in 2014 and now lives in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates, is facing a personal injury claim for damages brought by Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 58.

She alleges he sent the Spanish secret service to place her under illegal surveillance and harass her after their break-up while she was living in the UK. In March, a High Court judge rejected the royal’s claim that he was personally immune from the jurisdiction of the English courts under the State Immunity Act 1978 as a result of him being a ‘sovereign’.

However, two judges at the Court of Appeal have now allowed him to challenge the ruling over whether he had immunity before his abdication in 2014.

Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein alleges that Juan Carlos harassed her after their ‘intimate relationship’ ended in 2012 using threats, surveillance, and break ins.

No court date has yet been set.

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Leonor, the heir to the throne who is studying at Atlantic College in Wales, wore a £75 Cayro Vestido yasmin pink and red dress while her younger sister wore a powder blue dress.

Letizia was decked out in a Vogana £220 ‘Mer’ dress in orange, with matching soft brown Carolina Herrera Mini Doma Insignia satchel and slingback camel suede pumps.

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SPAIN’S Queen Letizia and her two daughters looked a picture of glamour as they attended festivities to celebrate the St James in Santiago de Compostela on Monday.

The saint’s day was a public holiday in parts of Spain including Madrid and Galicia.

It celebrates St James, (or Santiago), the patron saint of Spain and one of Jesus’s apostles, whose remains are said to be held in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.

The 49-year-old Queen and her daughters Princess Leonor of Spain, 16, and Princess Sofia of Spain, 15 wore colourful dresses as they walked around the city in northwestern Spain with King Felipe VI.

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King kiss: Juan Carlos and Corinna

4 www.theolivepress.es Striking hell RYANAIR cabin crew unions in Spain have announced a schedule of weekly strikes running into January 2023.

The row over higher pay demands and better working conditions took a new turn on Wednesday with the USO and Sitcipa unions announcing a strike escalation from early August.

Union members will strike every Monday to Thursday from August 8 until January 7 in protest at Ryanair's refusal to negotiate.

Refusal

A joint union statement said: “Ryanair has not shown the slightest attempt to approach the unions but, on the contrary, has publicly stated its refusal to engage in any dialogue with the representatives chosen by its crew.”

USO and SITCIPA also called for the ‘immediate reinstatement’ of 11 dismissed cabin staff who supported strike action in June and July.

So far the strikes, though causing some disruption, have had a comparatively low impact because Spanish law demands a level of guaranteed services where alternatives are not available.

Climate change blamed as country suffers worst summer of fires ever recorded - and it’s only July BLACKENED earth, smouldering trees, the charred corpses of wild animals barbecued to a crisp. The pungent tang of smoked pine and eucalyptus lingers in the air.

Dozens of wildfires have devoured tens of thousands of hectares and forced thousands to be evacuated from their homes in what promises to make the summer of 2022 the worst wave of fires since records began.

An estimated 200,000 hectares of Spanish countryside have already been ravaged according to the latest figures released by the European Forest Fire System, overtaking the carnage of 2012 when some 189,000 hectares were destroyed in what was until now

NEWS THE Valencian government is to splash out €58,000 of EU money on a Catholic University study on the sex lives of octopuses.

It claims that the research will be of ‘high economic value’ to the fishing sector.

Called ‘Study of the reproductive characteristics of the octopus in the waters of the Valencian Community’, it will be funded by the European Mari-

July 28th - August 10th 2022

SUCKERS! Police boost

time Fisheries fund.

Mireia Molla, Minister of Agriculture of Valencia, said on Twitter that the study will be carried out by the Catholic University of Valencia.

She denied that results would also be used for ‘the analysis of sexual trauma in humans’.

SCORCHED SPAIN

By Fiona Govan

the worst summer on record.

Firefighters on the Canary island of Tenerife are currently battling a blaze with a 27km perimeter, flames are encroaching on protected biosphere in Donaña, while in Valencia, smoke stacks are visible from the Costa Blanca as woodland burns in Calles.

The tragedy was greatest in Losacio in Zamora where two people died in a blaze that destroyed more than 13,000 hectares of land in just two days.

While the blame has been laid on unusually high temperatures, few deny the role of global warming.

DANGER: Fires are ravaging the country Prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, was emphatic about the consequences of the climate emergency as he surveyed the aftermath of a blaze in Extremadura.

He said: “Climate change kills: it kills people, as we’ve seen; it also kills our ecosystem, our biodiversity, and it also destroys the things we as a society hold dear – our houses, our businesses, our livestock.”

One of the starkest images of this month’s fires was the miraculous escape of a farmer who was attempting to dig a fire-breaking trench to protect his local town, Tabara in Castilla y Leon, when his tractor became engulfed by flames.

Angel Martin Arjona was caught on camera running from the inferno with his clothes alight. He survived with burns on 80% of his body.

Astonishingly, authorities be-

lieve that 85% of the wildfires come about as a direct result of human actions, either set deliberately by arsonists or because of human error or negligent action.

Arrested

On Sunday in Catalunya, a man was arrested for setting three blazes while in Mallorca on Monday, a German resident is in custody suspected of sparking seven fires in the Calvia area over the weekend.

“For a long time we have been warning that climate change meant more intense heatwaves and more forest fires in the Mediterranean,” said Nuria Blazquez, a spokesman for Ecologistas en Accion. “But maybe they’ve arrived sooner than we were expecting.”

Opinion Page 6

THE Policia Nacional launched their ‘Operation Summer 2022’ campaign to guard against pickpockets, thieves and burglars.

Some 225 trainee officers will boost the force’s ranks during the peak tourist season, with them being deployed in traditionally busy tourist areas throughout Alicante province.

The reinforcements will be used for events that attract large crowds like local fiestas and a greater police presence will also be seen on streets as well as at Alicante airport and local ports.

Fly-tipping war BENISSA has launched a new move against fly-tippers with fines of up to €1,500.

The tougher council action against offenders comes after pleas to keep streets clean fell on deaf ears.

Benissa mayor, Arturo Poquet, has ordered the Policia Local to redouble efforts to catch offenders.

The fresh move against illegal tippers will run until the end of autumn.

Poquet said: “Before the end of the year we will have video surveillance cameras that will allow us to apply fines without the physical presence of police officers.”

Ten sanctions have been filed against offenders in the last month with fines enforced by the SUMA collection agency.

Poo patrol BURJASSOT council in Valencia province has declared war on dog owners who allow their pets to foul public areas without clearing up their mess.

A new law means all owners will have to carry poop bags to pick up mess and carry a bottle of water to clean urine deposited by their pets.

A DNA register is to be introduced to identify poop that has not been picked up, allowing owners to be traced and fined.

The council believes that based on experiences in other municipalities, the DNA register will allow dog mess in public areas to be reduced by over 70%.

Dead man FATAL GORING shock A FRENCH tourist has died at Denia Hospital nine days after being gored by a bull during the Pedreguer fiestas.

The 64-year-old man, named as Pierre, was struck during a bull run when he exited a bar and stood by a safety barrier unaware that the animal was hurtling towards him.

He was tossed in the air and suffered a severe head injury as he landed, with the bull then trampling over him.

Pierre was taken to hospital in a coma and never regained consciousness. He's the third person to die in the Pedreguer bull runs since 2015.

Seven years ago, a 44-year-old French tourist was fatally gored while taking a mobile phone video of the event and in 2016 a 29-year-old man from Almoines died when a bull gored him in the abdomen and punctured his lung.

POLICIA Nacional officers discovered a corpse was still very much alive on Tuesday after getting an emergency call.

They were summoned to a property in the Abastos district of Valencia City where they discovered the ‘deceased’ man still had vital signs after his brother phoned emergency services to report a death.

He was in a weak state and paramedics gave him initial treatment before taking him to hospital.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Happy ending A FIRE service helicopter rescued a British man in the Benidorm area after he went missing for two days.

Richard Morris, 76, suffers with dementia and disappeared during a trip to the Aqualandia Water Park.

He was found two days later just 500 metres away from Aqualandia in the Serra Gelada natural park.

Mr. Morris had several injuries having walked barefooted and was suffering from dehydration.

He was flown to the Benidorm fire helipad where he received treatment from paramedics.

July 28th - August 10th 2022

Some Like it Hot Records smashed as heatwave strikes the Costa Blanca with more to come THE mercury was well and truly rising across the Costa Blanca this week, with a sizzling Monday heatwave leading to temperature records being smashed across the board.

The Vega Baja region saw thermometers hit a scorching 46.2 degrees in the San Bartoleme area of Orihuela City.

There are only 11 instances of temperatures recorded

BRIT RESCUED

AN elderley Brit on the Costa Blanca has been saved after his worried wife called police from the UK. Police officers broke down the front door of a Hondon de las Nieves house and found the man - whose identity has not been disclosed - lying unconscious on the living room floor.

His wife was on a trip to the UK and after three days of not being able to contact the 75-year-old, she phoned the Guardia Civil.

Police found the family car parked outside but could not get an answer when they knocked on the door.

They then looked through a window and saw the victim.

An ambulance was called with medics successfully reviving him before taking him to hospital. He has since been released and is recovering well.

By Alex Trelinski & George Mathias

in Spain that have been hotter. It was the highest since official records started in the Vega Baja in 1927, beating the previous high of 45.7 degrees recorded in Orihuela City on July 4, 1994.

Algorfa, Almoradi, and San Miguel de Salinas all hit 43 degrees.

Alicante airport logged its highest temperature since

Back in business ONE of seven businesses closed in Javea's Paseo de Arenal beach area in midMay has reopened.

The Achill nightclub is one of three outlets owned by the Javea Company.

An Alicante judge allowed the venue to reopen while the Javea Company’s owner, Edgar Slamar, continues his legal challenge against a permanent closure.

It’s been claimed that Slamar and other traders did not have appropriate operating licences.

Protected

opening in 1967 with temperatures reaching 42.4 degrees on Monday at 2pm.

Elsewhere, Valencia city experienced the hottest morning temperature of the century, on Tuesday at 27 degrees, according to the State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET).

“With data since 1937, the past dawn has been the warmest in the Valencia observatory

(Viveros), together with that of July 28, 2015.

“In both cases the minimum was 27 degrees,” a spokesman said.

Another heatwave is expected later this week, though it is not thought that it will be as extreme as Monday’s.

Blistering

The record temperature in Spain remains a blistering 47.3 degrees, recorded in Montorro, Cordoba on July 13, five years ago. That is relatively cool compared to the official highest temperature on Earth of 56.7 °C recorded on July 10, 1913 at Furnace Creek Ranch, in Death Valley in the US.

5

In February, the Valencian Anti-Fraud agency ruled that seven businesses on the site had not informed coastal authorities of their use of protected land.

They acted on a complaint from a neighbour over alleged excessive noise. Javea Council enforced closure notices three months later.

The Javea Company is now waiting to hear from the same court as to whether its Acqua and La Bambula bars can reopen.

Two businesses, Atalaya and Balthasar, according to Javea council in May, had initiated' planning changes to allow them to trade again, but they have not reopened.

The Salt and Botanico restaurants also shut in May and reportedly filed a legal challenge.

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Your

expat

voice in Spain

Mijas Costa

HA

26th 2022

NDS O

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13th - July ess.es July

on Fight them the beaches

C O ST

Pic credit: Jose

Maria Caballero

are being drawn Battle lines ct as massive mega-proje football pitches could see 600 hotels ‘swamp’ of homes and virgin Tarifa’s famous beaches

Plans DISFIGURE: how the (below) showLances unspoilt Los ruined beach will be

protection

current are area’s their plans have understand there in status and to Cadiz for an He added: “I behind it, but been sent Impact Resome large banksis in danger. DevelEnvironmental Spain everythingbig business, like cars port (EAE). is far opment here is in Germany.” alarmingly, this are scheme But all. Another project In the most recent the from Valdevaqueto be announced,plans above nearby add to the town hall is backing and a ros beach will on the to build 730 homes (com- constant pressure area. number of hotels which the bedrooms) that the prising 1,360 square me- The scheme, understands The body arguedunsuitable Press in a 623,000 60 luxury villas, was totally opposite Olive is al- area development (back comprises around tre area right of euros each, for homes Los Lances beach. area costing millions board. the for around 360 on the drawing will see thenvarious hotels) as it bordered The mostly wooded sat protected ready scheme at Las Pinas, and del Estrecho and - inside the zone. de Los Another constructed.

Parque Natural Paraje Natural has al- 50 luxury villas first reported plans to in the EU’s Red Natura 2000Francisco when a se- This week, Tarifa mayor advanced Lances - currently apart The Olive Press the area in 2012, by the confirm how most no buildings, were organised Codorniz develop Ruiz refused to ries of protests Salvemos Valdeva- plans were for any of the schemes. from the La group hotel and restaurant. how- pressure Developers hope the queros. ever, to overcome

develon the Lances When pressed the Olive Press: “The opment, he told in 2006, but project was approved crisis building due to the economic Continues on

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to are digging in GREEN campaigners last remaining save one of Andalucia’s coastal zones. a national camThey are launching a series of projects paign to prevent the fragile ecology of from ‘destroying’ coastline. to the stunning Tarifa expats are expected Hundreds of en Accion to fight the join Ecologistas around 6.2 million pitchplans that mean - or 600 football square metres land are being made es - of protected the drawavailable to developers. have been on town In plans that 2004, Tarifa specific ing board since to develop sixfootprint hall is hoping its urban areas, increasing one by 450%. destruction of Eu“This is the blatant coastline in of bits of the loveliestGil, of Ecologistas, told rope,” Javier the Olive Press. to get involved to specula“Everyone needs invasive and condemn thistourism that will make tive form of like the Costa del Sol.” area Las the Tarifa at Valdevaqueros, The projects La Peña, Los Lances, Piñas, Torre de and Cabo Plata (in of Pedro Valiente total thousands nearby Atlanterra) dozens of hotels. on strain new homes and an obvious Apart from resources, there will be well as scarce water of sewage, as countless issues infrastructure. be developing such a “It’s absurd to area,” said British from the large unspoiled Peter Whaley, businessman group.

Hurricane Hoteltrying our best to pro“We should be of the coast, not build tect this jewel all over it.”

A

The

Jorge Hinojosa

By Jon Clarke, Mathias & George

ÍA

OU

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

ANDALUC

LIVE RESS

398 www.theolivepr Vol. 16 Issue

FF

George Mathias george@theolivepress.es

With the Olive Press breaking the news that Tarifa is earmarked for one of the biggest developments in a generation O P on its untouched virgin beaches, the Olive Press takes a look at some of the other beaches under threat…

FREE

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es

TA

SHORE WARNING

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

GUA Amarga is a pretty fishing village in Cabo de Gata-Nijar natural park.

With a population of just 400 it is still largely undiscovered by large-scale R COS tourism and remains one of Andalucia's hidden seaside treasures.

While its name translates as ‘bitter water’, the beach is largely sheltered with smooth, calm waters perfect for swimming and great for family visits.

Fortunately, Agua Amarga was spared from intensive coastal development during the early 2000s which saw vast swathes of neighbouring coastline built on.

There were many plans mooted and lots of projects fortunately turned down, much of them thanks to exposure by local protest groups and media.

But whether that will continue remains to be seen.

Just up the coast at San Jose, also in Cabo de Gata, the Junta authorised the transformation of an old farmhouse into a 30 room hotel in front of the totally virgin beach, Los Genoveses, earlier this year.

It came despite a petition signed by 250,000 people and six protest groups.

They say the Las Chiqueras project is a trojan horse for much more development. Developers will now have five years to develop the handful of old buildings built for agriculture, as well as add some more, plus swimming pools. Ecologists insist other nearby ruins will be next in line for development causing devastation to the beach and the area’s distinct fauna and flora.

OU

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

S ND O

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Voted top expat paper in Spain

THE Olive Press has reported on them all.

Heatwaves, hot dry winds blowing in from the Sahara, poor forest management, negligent workers and worst of all the arsonists who, for unfathomable reasons, see fit to spark blazes that destroy wildlife and threaten the lives of those brave firefighters sent in to battle the flames.

We have witnessed devastating blazes from the window of our office on the Costa del Sol. We have sent out our reporters to speak to residents who have been evacuated from their homes. We have stood alongside firefighter teams reporting on the progress of their efforts to extinguish the infernos.

Unfortunately covering the wildfires that blight Spain each summer has become as much a part of our job as writing about shenanigans of holidaymakers, new hotel openings or travel mayhem caused by striking airport workers.

For years the Olive Press has highlighted campaigns calling for better conservation of Spain’s countryside and has reported on environmental concerns that are adding to the fire risk, be it the widespread draining of precious wetlands to the failure to offer proper legal protection to some of the nation’s most vulnerable biospheres.

It seems like almost every day in recent weeks we have had to report on the outbreak of a new fire, often more dramatic than the last.

But we mustn’t become complacent. The threat from climate change is real and it’s about time governments wake up and smell the smouldering embers.

HA

NEWS FEATURE

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+ + THE DOCTOR SKY

THE CLIFFS OF MARO, NERJA NERJA town hall approved the construction of 1,000 houses, a golf course and a massive hotel next to the cliffs of Maro, a well known protected area in 2021.

It will stretch from the Barranco de Burriana to the Miel river.

Thousands of locals were joined by green groups to protest the decision, despite the complications of the pandemic.

They insist it will do untold damage to one of the most beautiful and last undeveloped enclaves of the east Costa del Sol. The developer Larios, which owns much of the land, insists it will be making a particular effort to protect the area, which has become unkempt and scruffy over recent decades.

ALL AREAS COVERED

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HE great diversity of ecosystems and wild species native to Spain make it the most biodiverse in Europe, but also put it on the frontline over the pressing issue of nature conservation.

Spain has the highest number of endangered plants in Europe, and a quarter of its vertebrates are included in the ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’ or ‘rare’ categories, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

While Spain has 1,600 protected areas, representing 12% of the country’s land (around 14 million hectares), it only has a few dozen virgin beaches left, very few in the south.

Continual pressure to develop rare undeveloped zones, such as the Cabo de Gata in Almería or the Cope area of Murcia, gets ever more acute, with a necessity for more jobs and commerce.

With Tarifa’s famous virgin beaches facing SIX new developments, the Olive Press has relaunched its Hands Off Our Costas campaign.

Working alongside Spain’s largest environmental group, Ecologistas en Accion, we aim to highlight the politicians and developers, who have historically shown little regard for the rich heritage of Spain’s fragile coastline.

“While a lot of effort is being employed to protect what is left of the environment, the development of economic activities is consuming and degrading natural resources at a dizzying rate,” a spokesman told the Olive Press this week.

Here, the Olive Press identifies five other coastal zones at risk of mass development.

COPE MARINA, MERCIA

CABOPINO AND ARTOLA DUNES, MÁLAGA GUSTY northwesterly winds and coastal currents brought a continuous flow of sand with them to form a bank of dunes reaching some 20 kilometres in length along this delicate enclave between Mijas and Marbella.

The dunes are home to unique vegetation, adapted to withstand the strong sunlight, scarcity of water and continuous buffeting of the wind.

Los Ladrones Tower is also an ancient military structure with the cultural property designation dating back to the Roman period and subsequently reconstructed by Moors and Christians.

THIS fragile stretch of coast was worryingly not included in recent proposals to list it as a ‘site of community interest’ despite it bordering land that is.

The area encompasses a wide array of animal habitats and unique flora and fauna which is internationally recognised.

In particular the strip is home to the Greek tortoise, which is an endangered and protected species with more than half of the population of Europe found in Murcia.

It is also one of the last undeveloped areas of Murcia, a rare exception to the overexploited costas nearby, with the Mar Menor already in critical danger of collapse.

This stretch of the Med has great ecological and geomorphological value and has been put in danger before.

In 1974 there was considerable opposition to a nuclear power plant, and protests took on the Ministry of Industry, achieving their objective a decade later when the project was withdrawn.

But locals remain fearful that new development plans could be announced at any time, with rumours being regularly bandied around.

CALA MOSCA, ORIHUELA COSTA THE last virgin beach in Orihuela is under threat from the construction of 1,500 new homes for tourism and second residences.

The town hall approved the development in September 2021, which ecologists insist will wipe out protected plant species.

Still worse, Estefanía Blanes, councilor of Izquierda Unida, claims that some of the politicians who have opposed the plans have received threatening messages from developers.

www.theolivepress.es

July 28th - August 10th 2022

7

NEW AGE FOR THE OLDEST PROFESSION? Will the sex industry be forced underground following new legislation? Asks Heather Galloway

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ORTY kilometres outside of Madrid, figures of dancing girls adorning the front of the seedy dark brick Olimpo are designed to lure punters off the motorway for a wild night of booze and sex.

In 1999, the same establishment was used to lock up 40 girls trafficked from Romania who were being farmed out to clients in Madrid’s Casa de Campo.

The Spanish owner was arrested along with his cronies, his activities curtailed. But, 23 years on, the Olimpo is still going strong.

One of 1,200 highway brothels in Spain, the Olimpo is registered as a nightclub. Others are registered as hotels.

Prostitution is a legal grey area on the Peninsula.

Some regions boast more of these clubs than others, such as the so-called Love Route on the N·301 between Cuenca and Cartagena, where a 14-kilometre stretch has eight such establishments.

Then there is the Mediterranean Corridor of Prostitution, a term coined by Valencia University sociologist Antonio Ariño, which goes from Cadiz to Girona, where every postcode has a brothel, either in the shape of a highway club or hotel, massage parlour or clandestine apartment.

A large number of Spanish men have paid for sex, at least once in their lives. In 2008, Spain’s Centre for Sociological investigation (CIS) put the figure at 32.1% compared to 11% of British men and 14% of Americans.

In 2011, the UN hiked Spain’s figure to 39%, earning the country its reputation as the brothel of Europe.

Data emerging from Ariño’s 2017-2021 study of the Valencian region found between 4% and 6% of Spanish men had had sexwith a prostitute in the past year compared to 1% of Americans and, in the last five years, 3.6% of Brits. Ariño believes his data probably applies to Spain as a whole.

There’s no doubt that brothels do roaring trade in Spain, said to be worth an annual €3.7 billion, but if the government has its way, the Peninsula’s days as a hotbed of commercial sex could be numbered.

The abolition draft law, which is forecast to be approved as early as October, will slap fines on clients and close the likes of the Olimpo down, punishing anyone profiting from prostitution, apart from the prostitutes themselves, including landlords knowingly renting premises for prostitution.

It sounds desirable. One might even think, ‘about time.’ But the proposal is not without its detractors, not least among the prostitutes themselves.

Vera, a sex worker from Eastern Europe, has worked in 12 different countries including

Sweden and Norway, both of which have opted for criminalising brothels.

She believes the new law will simply push more women in her profession into the hands of the mafias.

“If you want to get rid of abuse in the sector, you have to decriminalise it totally so that the police become our friends and protect us,” she tells The Olive Press. “If they pass the law, we’re more likely to go to the clients’ homes and you never know what could be waiting for you there. There could be five men instead of one. And on the street, there won’t be time to filter out undesirable clients.”

Vera adds that she won’t be able to report any violence in her own apartment for fear of being evicted.

“That’s what’s happening in Sweden and BUST: Draft laws would see Olimpo closed Norway,” she says. “The crimes aren’t being impossible,” she says. “Here, in Spain, men investigated.”

Vera has worked in both clubs and apart- are more likely to admit it.”

Gual agrees that there could be a link bements.

Some, she admits, force the sex workers to tween this openness and the explosion of perform oral sex without a condom and de- eroticism, known as the destapé, that followed the sexual repression of the Franco mand 12-hour shifts.

But now she’s independent and content dictatorship when bus tours shipped Spaniards across the border into France to watch with her situation.

“The working conditions are fine in Spain Bertolucci’s 1972 Last Tango in Paris. and the police don’t bother us. Nowhere Destapé translates as both “nudity” and could be worse than my own country,” she “opening up,” and sex was high on the says, refusing to reveal its name, but ex- agenda during the 1980s Movida – to the plaining that as prostitution is illegal there, extent that even the former king, Juan Carthe police tend to ask for free sex or a bribe los I, is alleged to have enjoyed the company of high-class hookers, “indicative perin exchange for turning a blind eye. haps of the kind of society he Fuensanta Gual from CATS, lived in,” observes Gual. an association in Murcia that But Rocio Mora is incensed lobbies for sex worker rights, Around 5% of that prostitution should in argues that, given that the Spanish men any way be equated with libsector operates more or less eral attitudes. above the radar in Spain, the had sex with A spokeswoman from the authorities are at least able to offer a modicum of proteca prostitute in pro-abolitionist association APRAMP that attends to sex tion. the past year workers suffering abuse, she “The police carry out inspecsays, “It’s not liberal or protions in Spain’s clubs from gressive to pay for sex. Some time to time, looking for victims who have been forced into prostitution of the women I tend to are so psychologiand also checking on abuse or abusive cally damaged, they can’t even talk about conditions,” she tells the Olive Press. “If what the industry has done to their bodies the clubs are closed down, the women will and lives.” be even more at the mercy of abusive ele- Moreover, Mora does not believe that Vera’s ments as they won’t have any other option. case is representative of women selling sex Ironically, they won’t have the protection of in Spain. But Vera points out, “There are no the law. They’ll not only be out of reach of current statistics on trafficking in Spain. The the police but also out of reach of the asso- government says it has based the law on a recent study but there is no recent study. It ciations who support them.”

Gual is not convinced that Spain is the doesn’t exist.”

The proportion of sex workers trafficked or brothel of Europe.

She cites a survey in which 400 Germans exploited is far from clear. were asked if they had ever paid for sex. Valencian sociologist Ariño believes that The findings were zero. “That’s statistically when the national police’s organised crime unit claimed there were 45,000 prostitutes in Spain, the figure most likely referred to those trafficked or exploited in some way.

He reckons there are between 100,000 and 120,000 sex workers in total, as does Gual.

Medicos del Mundo puts the total figure of sex workers much higher at 350,000, and spokeswoman Celia López says around 93% of these are foreign.

“Thirty years ago, it was Spanish women with a drug or alcohol problem. Now its immigrants. But what they all have in common is a precarious social and economic situation,” she tells the Olive Press.

In López’s view, the proliferation of pornography in Spain is driving the demand for commercial sex and normalizing it.

Abolition can only work, she believes, if accompanied by massive awareness campaign, flagging up the fact that those paying for sex are boosting demand and inevitably buying into the exploitation and trafficking.

“If we don’t address the situation,” Esther Torrado, sociologist at Tenerife’s La Laguna CANDID: Sex worker Vera says now she’s indepenUniversity and an expert in sexual violence, dent working conditions have improved and the tells the Olive Press, “we’ll end up a nation police don’t interfere with her of waiters and whores.”

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Page hits statistics are a crude but reasonably accurate way of seeing what our readers are interested in.

Then why don’t we simply slavishly follow the online stats when laying out the newspaper?

The answer is that we do use them as a guide, but they do not give the complete picture.

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It is a judgment call and our team of experienced reporters and writers is well placed to make that call.

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This is where website stats can help - for example, the cancellations and delays caused by RyanAir strikes and the latest on our U-turn campaign over driving licences proved a big hit.

But when it comes down to it, it would be an extremely dull paper if that’s all we put in.

This is why we always leave plenty of space for interesting in-depth features and articles. These not only allow our reporters and writers to stretch their wings but more importantly, they provide you with a fascinating and informative read.

But it comes at a price. While the paper is free, the Olive Press still has to pay for the staff to keep producing a quality newspaper and popular website.

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Three new crab species discovered in Spanish waters

RESEARCHERS from the Spanish National Research Council have discovered two new species of hermit crab and one new species of spider crab in Spanish waters.

It follows a study on the crab populations of the Andalucian coast carried out by researcher Enrique Gonzalez who compared samples to a collection of spider crabs found in Wales.

Crab species often cannot be identified purely by eyesight and molecular analysis is required to determine a species.

In this case, the crabs found in Andalucian waters were thought to be the same as a type of Spider crab native to the UK. However, further investigation in fact revealed that they were an entirely new species.

Search

Gonzalez said: "In both studies, the role of molecular techniques has been fundamental in confirming that these were new species, since morphology alone does not always allow us to reach these conclusions with certainty."

The new species has been named Inachus gaditanus.

Meanwhile the discovery of two new hermit crabs, Diogenes erythromanus and Diogenes arguinensis was made by Bruno Almon, from the Oceanographic Centre of Vigo, José Antonio Cuesta, from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia, and Enrique Garcia-Raso, professor at the University of Malaga.

"Everything suggests that they are African species that have their northern distribution limit in the waters of the Iberian Peninsula," Gonzalez-Ortegon said.

In the case of the spider crab, many have now been found on the La Caleta beach in Cadiz.

Not content with three new

By George Mathias

species, researchers are continuing their search.

"There are still several more new species to be described, also from Andalusian waters and from other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.”

PIC CREDIT: BRUNO ALMÓN / CSIC

Shock and claw PINCH: Searches for more species continue

July 28th - August 10th 2022

Big green deal

SPAIN has signed a major agreement with Chinese green energy company Envision Group to set up four new green projects.

They include an electric car battery plant, with €3.8 billion in total investment in a venture partly funded by the EU. Jose Dominguez, head of Envision Spain, was quoted saying the projects would be developed jointly with Spain’s renewable power company Acciona Energia, though he stopped short of specifying what its role would be.

The battery factory in Navalmoral de la Mata in the central-western region of Extremadura will require €2.5 billion in investment and could create up to 3,000 jobs, the statement said.

It would be the second electric car battery project in Spain following an announcement earlier this year t h a t Volkswagen will start building a plant in Sagunto near Valencia in 2023.

Don’t be insane, make changes now

Green

Matters

By Martin Tye

NET ZERO BY 2050 - FACT OR FANTASY? R EAD on. You decide.

But first of all let me explain the difference between two terms frequently bandied about - Net Zero and Carbon Capture.

NET ZERO This is the target of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity, to be achieved by reducing emissions and implementing methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

CARBON CAPTURE Carbon capture and storage of carbon capture is the process of capturing CO2 before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it for centuries to come. The cost of this technology is extremely expensive - the cost of the equipment and materials required to separate CO2, build infrastructure to transport it, and store it are prohibitively high.

So Net Zero is the most sensible game in town.

Politicians around the world bang on about achieving

OSTRICHES: Politicians have their head in the sand

Net Zero by 2050.

Easily said and politically correct.

Politicians are masters of promising things for the future that they won’t be around to be judged on.

The threats of climate change are the direct result of there being too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. FACT. Put simply, it is not enough to slow down emissions, we must reverse carbon emissions wholesale.This concept is central to the world’s current plan to avoid catastrophe.

There are many suggestions as to how to do this - from mass tree planting, to high tech direct air capture devices that suck the CO2 from the air.

All countries agree that if we deploy these and other socalled ‘CO2 removal techniques’ at the same time as reducing our burning of fossil fuels, we can more rapidly halt global warming. By 2050 we could achieve Net Zero.

GREAT IDEA IN PRINCIPLE In reality this theory helps perpetuate a belief in technological salvation and diminishes the sense of urgency surrounding the need to CURB EMISSIONS NOW. The human race is gambling its civilisation on the promise of future solutions.

“How did we get this so wrong? What are our children supposed to think about how we have acted?”

(James Dyke , Senior Lecturer in Global Systems , Exeter University)

CHECK OUT SOME FACTS ● President Biden has had his financial wings well and truly clipped. Net result - America has no chance of achieving net zero by 2050. ● China, India, Germany, and many more countries

are scaling up fossil fuel power plants thanks to the actions of the lunatic Putin. ● Planting billions of trees only partially helps. (No county is anywhere near achieving its commitments.

And deforestation continues to increase in the Amazon). Trees need water to grow - in some places where people are thirsty, how does this work? Plus, increasing forest cover in higher altitudes can have an overall warming effect because the land surface becomes darker. This darker land absorbs more energy from the sun and so temperatures rise.

2050 IS TOO LATE. It’s about time we are honest.

Policies that are being employed are motivated by the need to keep business as usual.

Forget the climate.

Einstein was right when he said…

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Time for action, Net Zero 2050 is FANTASY.

Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638145664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es

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LA CULTURA THE Diversity Valencia Festival has gone under leaving thousands of ticket holders out of pocket.

The company announced it was being liquidated just before this year’s festival was supposed to take place on July 23 and 24.

The event was set to see a host of big international names come to Valencia including Iggy Pop, Maneskin, and Christina Aguilera but due to financial issues, it was forced to close its doors for good.

It left thousands of fans denied the chance to see their music idols.

The platform in charge of ticket sales, See Tickets, issued a state-

July 28th August 10th 2022

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FESTIVAL SHAMBLES

ment explaining it was not giving any warning about the company’s sudden collapse, nor any money to be able to offer refunds.

“We cannot and are not responsible for proceeding with refunds,” a spokesperson for See Tickets said.

The only way left to contact the organisers is via email, though it is unclear if any staff are still working.

Romans revealed Big unknown Roman city found in north-east Spain ARCHAEOLOGISTS from the University of Zaragoza have found a previously unknown Roman city.

The urban complex, which existed between the first and second centuries, had buildings of immense sizes, as well as public facilities including baths, water supply, streets, and sewers.

Researchers thought the 10-acre site, located at Artieda, in the northeastern region of Aragon, was home to several separate archaeological sites, including San Pedro and the Rein Hermitage.

Live sports and music and the occasional celeb!

Traditional English pub service and banter along with great food, family area and open for breakfast

By Alex Trelinski

In 2018, Artieda City Council asked the University of Zaragoza for help in examining some of the remains found around the San Pedro hermitage, known variously as El Forau de la Tuta, Campo de la Virgen, or Campo del Royo.

And after three years of research, experts have confirmed that these sites form one large single archaeological complex.

El Forau de la Tuta is the name for everything now,

Rosalia rocks FAMOUS faces were among the 15,000 people to attend Spanish superstar Rosalia’s concert in Madrid.

The singers ‘Motomami World Tour’ kicked off in Almeria with her album ‘Motomami’ hailed as one of the best albums of the year.

The singer was in a buoyant mood, saying: “I have the best fans in the world, you are always supporting me,” and giving front row fans the mic to sing along to her hits.

And the crowd was not short of stardust too, with famous film director Pedro Almodovar and Cristiano’s Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez in attendance.

Rosalia has already played in Almeria, Sevilla, Granada, Fuengirola and Valencia and is due to perform in A Coruña on July 29 and Palma in August.

Tickets for the ‘MoSPARKLE: Rosalia with tomami World Tour’ Almodovar and TVs were sold out in just Belen Esteban four hours.

A PICASSO sketch worth half a million euros has been seized at a Spanish airport.

Ibiza customs agents suspect the picture may have been stolen.

Police were called in when airport workers discovered the art work in a passenger’s suitcase in early July.

The 1966 sketch with the title Trois personnages is valued at around €450,000.

Suspicions were aroused because the passenger, who flew in from Zurich, had not declared the piece.

The culprit, whose identity has not been disclosed, was immediately taken in for questioning.

He told officials the sketch was a copy

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www.sharpeyssportsbar.com UNEARTHED: Lost city discovered

since the team realised they’re all one interconnected city.

The team detected two phases of occupation on the surface of the site: one during the Imperial Roman period (the 1st to 5th centuries) and another during the early-medieval Christian era (the 9th to 13th centuries).

The researchers discovered two streets, the whispers of pavements, four rudimentary cement sewer outlets, one life-sized marble hand of a presumed

FOUND: a whole city

public monument, and even the reception room of a thermal bath - complete with mosaics preserved by the collapsed sandstone ceiling.

They did this by combining remote sensing techniques like georadar and aerial images with conventional methods.

A FUSION OF TASTES

Imperial Their report states that the settlement was 'of urban character' - the city’s name is currently unknown and it developed during the Roman imperial period”.

The researchers also learned that the settlement had another life as a rural habitat during the Visigoth and early Andalucian periods.

A medieval peasant village sat atop the Roman ruins from the ninth to 13th centuries.

FLY ART

and provided a receipt of 1,500 Swiss francs (€1,513) for the work.

However, officials then discovered a second receipt from a Zurich art gallery totaling 450,000 Swiss francs (€457,000), exactly in line with professional valuations of the original artwork.

Switzerland is not a member of EU’s non-customs territory, meaning works of art with a value of over €150,000 must be declared.

The passenger now stands accused of smuggling.

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DAYS OUT

July 28th - August 10th 2022

Lovers of Teruel, Aragon

Lucena’s chair, Cordoba

9 weird tourist attractions across Spain: food fights to Smurf towns

FURNITURE maker Grupo Huertas, for reasons best known to themselves, built the world’s biggest chair in April 2005. Standing 26 metres tall, it incorporates enough wood to make 9,200 regular-sized models. Unfortunately, while they still claim to have the biggest, according to the Guinness Book of Records, they have been usurped and there is now a 30-metre chair in Austria. Still, something to see on a rainy day if you are in Lucena.

TOURIST recommendations for Spain can get very predictable. If you ever grow tired of lying on the beach, exploring castles, or eating wonderful food, rest assured there is no end of weird stuff to see and do. Here is our pick:

A SPANISH Romeo and Juliet from the middle ages, Juan de Marcilla (known as Diego) and Isabel a Segura were lovers. Diego fell on hard times, and Isabel’s father forbade them to marry but agreed that if Diego could make his fortune within five years he would win his bride. Diego did this, but returned to find Isabel being married to another suitor. Heartbroken, he died at her feet, and Isabel died at his funeral. The deaths affected the people of Teruel so much that the bodies were exhumed in 1560 and the caskets put on display. The Amantes de Teruel now lie side by side in marble tombs near lots of art inspired by their story.

Skate church, Asturias

TO save the disused church of Santa Barbara in Llanera from total ruin, Red Bull sponsored a complete makeover and, with the help of a local association, ingeniously converted it into an inside skate park. Graffiti artist Okuda San Miguel was responsible for the multicoloured murals. It’s unusual but it works.

THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE FOR ALL THINGS GLASS iq windows and glass curtains

GLASS CURTAINS BELIEVED to be the world’s largest food fight, La Tomatina sees thousands of people converge on the town of Buñol for the specific purpose of throwing more than 145 tonnes of tomatoes at each other. The festivities take place on the last Wednesday of August each year, and kick off with a person shimmying up a two-storey-high greased wooden pole to fetch a leg of ham. Legend has it, the tradition began in 1945 when boys knocked into a parade of people dressed as giants causing one to topple into a vegetable stand.

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La Tomatina, Valencia

A

ll about

Sotogrande

July 2022

LAND OF PLENTY

Now he was dreaming about creating a similarly exclusive residential community in the Mediterranean.

In 1962, when his cousin Alfredo ‘Fredy’ Melian used his Swiss Air frequent flyer ticket for a trip to Spain, McMicking told him to keep his

eyes peeled for a suitable location.

Travelling dirt roads on a motorbike, Melian found a 1,800-hectare estate comprising a cluster of farms at the mouth of the Guadiaro, close to Gibraltar’s international airport, El Peñon.

The farmland had been owned by a succession of rich and famous – the Duke of Arcos, the Larios family and then financier Juan March, arms and tobacco dealer, founder of the eponymous science and arts institution, once the richest man in Spain. It seemed fated for grander use – and it ticked the boxes.

“We bought the land at Sotogrande without having seen it, like a pig in a poke,” said McMickling, speaking in 1967. “Paid $750,000 down and had to pay another third in six months and the rest in a year.”

McMicking arrived with his nephews, JaiDREAM: McMickling and wife Mercedes (inset) turned their dream into reality

me and Enrique Zobel (Enrique had overseen work on his friend the Sultan of Brunei’s 1788room palace) and Melian stayed on as director of works.

As the only bar for miles, the Antigua Venta Toledo served as an early HQ. The team had experience, connections but, best of all, patience and plans.

Inspired by golfing communities like Palm Beach and Pebble Beach in the US, McMicking was determined to build the community around a golf club and, in 1963, the world’s top golf course designer, Robert Trent Jones, was flown in to design the course.

The Real Club Sotogrande was Trent Jones’ first European venture and the first course in Europe with a new-fangled automated irrigation system.

None other than Spain’s top modernist arContinues overleaf

FACEBOOK

How a seaside farm, owned by Spain’s then richest man, transformed into the country’s most privileged resort, writes Sorrel Downer

PIC CREDIT: AYALALAND

I

T’S the largest privately owned residential development in Andalucia, home to the discreetly rich and famous, and a beacon of luxury on the coast of Cadiz.

Sixty years ago it was farmland.

But, an American-Filipino Joseph McMicking had a vision.

Married to Mercedes Zobel de Ayala and president of the family empire, the Ayala Corporation in Manila (the Philipines), McMicking had been responsible for a luxury property development, Forbes Park.

12

A

ll about

FROM FARMS TO FABULOUS

PAST OWNERS: McMickling (top right), the Larios family (above) and Juan March

From front

chitect, Luis Gutierrez Soto (Callao Theatre and fnac building, Madrid), designed the low-slung clubhouse – still avantgarde today, as well as the ultra des-res course-side bungalows.

McMicking poached the director of The Ritz in Madrid to run the club.

Trent Jones would return a decade later to design Valderrama, the setting for Volvo Masters events, the Spanish Open and the Ryder Cup. With another three courses in Sotogrande, and almost 70 within driving distance (no pun intended), McMicking helped the Costa del Sol become one of Europe’s top golfing destinations.)

A keen polo player, Enrique Zobel built a polo ground by the beach.

La Playa, inaugurated in 1965, wasn’t Spain’s first (the Jerez Polo Club dates back to 1872), but it revived polo passion and set the social tone.

Although la Playa has gone, Sotogrande’s Santa Maria Polo Club is considered one of the best in the world.

Soon after the first beach club appeared below the golf course.

Cucurucho (meaning cornet) and named after its conical shape, still exists today, though it’s bigger and grander, and officially called Trocadero.

And also in 1965, the first hotel arrived, the modernist, luxury motel style Tennis Hotel, now the Hotel Encinar.

Word spread and the rich, powerful and discreet began moving in.

Jaime Ortiz-Patiño of the Bolivian tin mining dynasty, diamond magnate Philip Oppenheimer, and banker and advisor to Onassis, the flambuoyant George Moore were among the first.

Javier Benjumea, the Marquis of

PASSION: Sotogrande is a world class polo destination

Puebla de Cazalla, was one of the few Spanish residents.

But French dukes, Belgian barons, Spanish counts, scions of business followed, and, later politicians (including Tony Blair and Fabian Picardo), and a smattering of celebrities from former England manager Glenn Hoddle and golfer Tony Jacklin followed.

Most houses are architectural gems.

The Domecq family mansion is now the clubhouse of the San Roque golf course, but unless you are a houseguest you are unlikely to see the best

A Question of Sport

The annual tournament returns for its 51st edition

T PHOTO CREDITS: santamariapoloclub.com

HOUSANDS (55,000 people) will descend on Sotogrande for one of the biggest events of the World Polo Tour circuit.

The tournament started on July 25 and will finish August 27.

For a month the Santa Maria Polo Club, the “Wimbledon of polo pitches”, will host ten teams of 1,400 horses and 88 players, along with spectators, who include the Brunei and British royals.

Players will come from different parts of the world like Uruguay, Thailand, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, France, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Italy, Australia and Switzerland.

The club has long been considered the polo set’s favourite field in Europe, but this year marks the start of a new era as players return to the grounds for the first major event since the coronavirus outbreak forced all sport to be reined in.

But it seems nothing will stop the annual event, now in its 51st year from racing ahead.

President of the Santa Maria Polo Club, Antonio Ortiz said: “Although the exceptional circumstances we are experiencing influence the format of this year, the important thing is that the tournament continues and we can see again high-level polo”.

He added: “Despite all the adversi-

ties, we wanted to keep this appointment, which is one of the emblems of the summer of Sotogrande. It is one of the few major events that remain this year in Andalusia and we want to help the economic recovery of the country.”

of the rest, some of which, like the Zobel house and Biddle House, have preservation orders on them.

American diplomat Nicholas Biddle’s house, built by Javier Carvajal fresh from designing the Spanish Pavilion at the New York 1963 World’s Fair, cost $160,000.

Sadly, prices have gone up: When Joseph Kanoui, head of the syndicate that bought Cartier, put his Soto property on the market for €26m in 2006, it was allegedly the most expensive house for sale in Spain.

McMicking’s plans for Sotogrande extended to the kind of person who came and what they built.

“A Sotogrande based on money would be the most horrible society

13 July 2022

imaginable,” he said.

However, it was only when Sotogrande was running out of cash and needed to open up to a new market of buyers that more affordable housing was developed.

Dictator Franco had helped the Sotogrande shareholders by waiving the rule that prevented foreigners purchasing land in Spain.

But he stuffed them by closing Spain’s border with Gibraltar in 1969.

With the N-340 under construction, the trek to Malaga airport was arduous.

The jet set couldn’t jet in, and Sotogrande fell into debt.

In the late 70s, the decision was taken to build apartments on the left

bank of the Guardiaro.

In 1978, to appeal to all-year residents, the International School at Sotogrande (ISS) was set up – initially in the old cattle sheds of one of the farms, Cortijo de Paniagua.

By the time the border reopened in 1985, Sotogrande was a different kind of place, still off the beaten track – it would be another 17 years until the AP-7 motorway hooked it up, but more connected to the real world.

Some of the residents even had day jobs!

McMicking’s vision had always included a marina with canals and islands of apartments with yacht Sotogrande is home to m views, and the 1980s developments included just that, in the shape of top-notch golf courses th ore the Puerto Deportivo Sotogrande, you can shake a nine-ironan completed in 1987, three years beat fore his death.

The construction of this mini-VenOLFERS are spoilt for ice was as good as saying times ta del Sol, with lush grechoice on the Cos- olive trees. might change, but the dream of SoMarbella, Estepona, an ens to be found in The course overlo togrande as a beautiful playground, oks the Med and the sur But those in the knowd Mijas. a gorgeous sanctuary, remains maintain that the hills, representing a real challenge for rounding best rounds are teed even the mo st ski intact. As he predicted: “Sooner or lle off d it does some of the old in Sotogrande, having as water hazar golfers thanks to its deep bunkers, later the Costa del Sol is going to be est ds an cou d rol rse lin s g on hil the ls.

Peninsula.

Iberian La Reserva Club is another gem mobbed but Sotogrande will be an It has even hosted the carved into the hillsid Ry de island of order in the chaos.” r Cu p in 19 97 at Valde- The 18e, with natural vistas in every direction. rrama, possibly the mo -hole course was de st difficult course

A GOOD WALK NOT SPOILED

PIC CREDIT: Ayuntamiento de San Roque

STILL GOING: Cucurucho is now the famous Trocadero club

G

in Spain.

What’s more, you get and the North African sweeping views of Gibraltar coa st.

Is it any wonder then, are also the favoured that Sotogrande’s golf clubs events, such as wedd location for a range of social ings and parties.

The first club to spring de Golf de Sotogrande up here was the Real Club , designed by Robert Jones in 1964.

Trent It was given an expen siv e fac e lift

by Rulewich & Fleury in 2016.

Designer Trent Jones im bu ed the course with his design philosophy, wit rement that the courseh the most important requiwith the natural surrou should ‘perfectly integrate Meanwhile Almenara ndings.’ se, created by famou Golf Club has a 27-hole cours British designer an Cup player Dave Thoma d Ryder cornocales natural pa s, which overlooks Los Alrk.

Thomas designed the on the site, which arecourse around the two lakes encircled by cork oaks and

signed in 2003 by can architect and cou rse designer Cabell B. Amerison with wide, sweepin Robinllenging undulations g fairways, gentle but chaan d un iqu e wa ter features.

It is probably the most with a higher handica accessible course for those p.

San Roque golf club is one of the most exc in Europe, nestled in the lusive meja, the course is ele foothills of the Sierra Berdalucia’s natural wond gantly integrated into Angolf courses and a dis ers with two championship La Cañada Golf Club tinctly peaceful atmosphere. rounds off Sotogrande mous five’ clubs. ’s ‘faEstablished in 1982, it is a no n-p rofit sportive association, whose main ob everyone through a conjective is to promote golf to ces sion-operated business model and was the firs The golf course lengtht public golf course in Spain.

18 holes, nine of which spans 5,841 meteres with were also designed by vid Thomas.

DaWith clubs like these, sur ely eve n Mark would have to reevalua te his famous adage. Twain

LA CULTURA IT’S one of the smallest villages in the Genal Valley near Ronda, but Juzcar stands out – for being blue. Back in 2011, Sony Pictures painted every single building, including the cemetery and Town Hall, as a publicity stunt to promote the premiere of The Smurfs 3D. The villagers liked the colour, and, seeing an opportunity to bring in some income from tourism, they kept it and became ‘Smurf town’. Even now, Juzcar receives over 250 tourists a day, though following a 2017 dispute over royalties, it’s now officially known as the ‘blue town’.

Summer New Year’s Eve, Granada

THE village of Berchules in the Sierra Nevada mountains suffers from regular power outages. On New Year’s Eve in 1994, an outage ruined the celebrations, so residents picked a date when power cuts were unlikely to occur and settled on the first weekend in August. Since then, the 800 villagers have celebrated new year in the peak of summer, joined by thousands of people happy to partake in the Spanish traditions of eating 12 grapes at midnight and welcoming the three kings . . . again.

Rio Tinto, Huelva

TRANSLATING as ‘red-wine river’, this river in Andalucia’s westernmost province, really is red.

Its colour is from the iron and copper which were mined here for 5000 years by everyone from the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, to the British Rio Tinto Company Limited. The area is now used by NASA scientists in their life on Mars investigations, and has a mining park tourist attraction with a train and a trip underground.

July 28th - August 10th 2022

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Blue town, Malaga Inland beach, Asturias AT just 40 metres long, not only is Playa de Gulpiyuri, near Llanes, one of the shortest beaches in the world, it’s also one of the strangest. Although it has waves and tides, it is 100 metres inland from the Cantabrian sea. It’s actually a flooded sinkhole, and a ‘hidden beach’, and it looks like an optical illusion.

Human towers, Catalunya PAINFUL and nail-biting – and that’s just to watch, the human tower or castell is made up of people balancing on top of each other in a gravity-defying display.

Valls, 40 km from Barcelona, is the epicentre, but the tradition is practised throughout these regions at major festivals, mainly between April and October.

LETTERS

Two sides of the same coin

Your expat

voice in Spain

Mijas Costa

July 13th - July 26th 2022

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Vol. 16 Issue 398 www.theolivepre ss.es

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Fight them on the beaches

GREEN campaigners are save one of Andalucia’s digging in to last remaining coastal zones.

They are launching a national campaign to prevent a series from ‘destroying’ the fragileof projects ecology of the stunning Tarifa coastline.

Hundreds of expats are join Ecologistas en Accionexpected to plans that mean around to fight the square metres - or 600 6.2 million football pitches - of protected land are available to developers. being made In plans that have been ing board since 2004, on the drawhall is hoping to developTarifa town areas, increasing its urbansix specific footprint by 450%.

“This is the blatant destruction of the loveliest bits of coastline of one in Europe,” Javier Gil, of Ecologistas, told the Olive Press.

“Everyone needs to get condemn this invasive involved to and speculative form of tourism that will make the Tarifa area like the Costa del Sol.” The projects at Valdevaqueros, Las Piñas, Torre de La Peña, Los Lances, Pedro Valiente and Cabo Plata (in nearby Atlanterra) total new homes and dozens thousands of of hotels.

Apart from an obvious strain on scarce water resources, DISFIGURE: Plans there will be countless issues of sewage, (below) show how as well as infrastructure. unspoilt Los Lancesthe “It’s absurd to be developing beach will be ruined such a large unspoiled area,” said British businessman Peter Whaley, from the Hurricane Hotel group.

He added: “We should be trying our best to pro- some large “I understand there are tect this jewel of the coast, banks not build Spain everything behind it, but in all over it.” is in danger. Development here is big business, like cars are in Germany.”

In the most recent scheme to be announced, the town hall is backing plans to build 730 homes and number of hotels (com-a prising 1,360 bedrooms) in a 623,000 square metre area right opposite Los Lances beach.

The mostly wooded area - inside the protected Paraje Natural de Los Lances - currently has almost no buildings, apart from the La Codorniz hotel and restaurant.

Developers hope however, to overcome the

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FREE

By Jon Clarke, Jorge Hinojosa & George Mathias

ANDALUCÍA

OU

Editor’s note: Unfortunately, flooding, like the forest fires, look to be becoming more of an issue and coastal areas are obviously at greater risk.

In August of 2019 thousands of people living on and near the coast in Santa Pola and Guardamar (a seven hour drive north of Santiago) witnessed devastation caused by overnight flooding as hot weather conditions caused a ‘mini-tsunami’. However, damaging though flooding is, it is still a rarity and the chance of death from flooding remains incredibly small.

The Costa Blanca is a glorious part of the world, you won’t regret upping sticks!

CAN I ask who the Olive Press is coming out swinging for in the Tory leadership race?

Battle lines are being drawn as massive mega-proje could see 600 football ct of homes and hotels pitches ‘swamp’ Tarifa’s famous virgin beaches Pic credit: Jose Maria Caballero

What would Joni do?

OLIVE PRESS

F

Robert Grant, name and address supplied

Readers get on board with our Save our Costas and driving licence campaign and it’s always nice to receive some praise…

OF

WE would appreciate your guidance please. We live on the Northern Costa Blanca and read your excellent newspaper regularly. We are considering moving to Santiago de la Ribera on the Mar Menor and would like to know if in your opinion, it has a problem with flooding regularly when there is heavy rain?

PAT ON THE BACK area’s current protection status and their plans have been sent to Cadiz for Environmental Impact an Report (EAE).

But alarmingly, this is far from all. Another project above nearby Valdevaqueros beach will add to constant pressure on the the area.

The scheme, which the Olive Press understands comprises around 60 luxury villas, The body costing millions of euros each, is al- area was argued that the ready on the drawing board. totally unsuitable for development (back Another scheme at Las Pinas, will see then for 50 luxury villas constructed. around 360 homes and various hotels) as The Olive Press first reported it bordered the plans to Parque Natural develop the area in 2012, del Estrecho and when a se- in the EU’s ries of protests were organised Red Natura 2000 zone.sat by the This week, pressure group Salvemos Valdeva- Ruiz refused Tarifa mayor Francisco queros. to confirm plans were for any of thehow advanced schemes.

I READ your excellent piece on the La Linea development. This is something worth battling over. It starts at La Linea and then will extend all along to reach Chiclana. Who benefits? A few developers and financiers in the big cities of Sevilla, Madrid and elsewhere, plus an even smaller number of absent landowners and politicians. Who loses? The whole world. That coastline is a jewel of Spain and these guys are going to steal it. There must be a value put on nature and that area is priceless. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” was written 50 years ago. Have we learnt nothing in that time? Has nobody understood climate change?

When pressed on the Lances development, he told the Olive project was approved Press: “The due to the economic in 2006, but crisis building Continues on Page

5

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July 28th - August 10th 2022

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Number crunching

Nancy Goldthorpe, name and address supplied

Editor’s note: We take no political position on domestic UK politics, though we continue to believe Brexit has had no benefit whatsoever for expats living in Spain. Given both candidates are running on a pro-Brexit ticket, you will no doubt be able to imagine the regard we hold both of them in.

I READ that the Spanish government is frustrated because the British government will not give them access to the DVLA database. But do they really need access to that when they could insist on receiving the same information from a British driver? As I'm sure you are aware, it’s a very quick process to go on to Google, type in view your driving license information, and all your driving license details are there and all you need is your driving license and national insurance number. Not sure if it would be enforceable by law, but the Guardia can be very persuasive when they want to and will park you up until they want to let you go. Especially if you are not playing ball. Maybe Much obliged it’s a suggestion for the people like yourselves doing the lobbying to think about.

I AM emailing to say how much I enjoyed the print edition of the Olive Press that I picked up in the Market in Valencia. A good fun read.

Stevie Robertson, name and address supplied

Editor’s note: The issue of data sharing is at the core of this woeful saga. As the UK embassy pointed out last week access to the DVLA is ‘something which no other EU Member State asked for, and which requires careful legal and operational considerations.’ We have been highly critical of the British government regarding this issue, but Spanish exceptionalism has also played a part.

Stephen Harding, name and address supplied

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6 St. Paul’s first name (4) 7 The majority when one third vote one way and the rest the other (3-2-3) 9 Quivers (8) 10 Leaf of a book (4) 11 Yellow quartz (5) 12 Credos (7) 14 Selling (7) 16 Untamed (5) 18 Disputed Middle East strip (4) 20 A “Family first” policy, perhaps (8) 21 One on her own rips tens to pieces (8) 22 Cups’ edges (4) Down 1 Short negligee (8) 2 Nature lover’s quest (5,3,5) 3 Agitated condition (5) 4 Airy dessert (6) 5 Issued without charge (13) 8 Bother persistently with trivial complaints (3) 12 Very popular (3) 13 Aroused, S. Amer. foe is frightening (8) 15 Polar degrees (6) 17 Recreation (5) 19 Current unit (3)

All solutions are on page 20

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL June 3rd - June 16th 2021

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UK market targeted

GRUPO Marques del Atrio has opened a UK subsidiary in a bid to grow the Spanish winemaker’s sales in its second-biggest export market.

The company wants to account for 10% of the UK’s Rioja sales and expand the range of wines it sells in the country to take in denominations such as Navarra and Ribera del Duero.

UK subsidiary director, Marie Knight, said: “Spain is a highly-valued market in the United Kingdom and having great wines not only from Rioja but from the main Spanish denominations of origin offers us the potential to reach an increasingly demanding segment of consumers.”

The London office is Grupo Marques del Atrio’s third international site. It also has subsidiaries in the US and China and is looking to expand to Canada and Mexico. Marques del Atrio’s largest export market.

July 28th - August 10th 2022

Fest quest launch DATES for next year's Benidorm Fest have been announced as Spain gears up for its 2023 search to find a Eurovision Song Contest winner.

The first Benidorm selection event in January had Chanel as the victor, and she came third in the contest in Turin in May Spain’s best result for many years.

Broadcaster RTVE held a special presentation on the city’s Paseo de Tamarinos with Chanel (pictured) and her team of dancers kicking off the event. It was confirmed that next year’'s Benidorm Fest will run with two semifinals and a grand final between January 29 and February 4.

17

Corking arrest A FORMER Mexican beauty queen has been arrested for an audacious vintage wine robbery that netted a bottle SOUR GRAPES: Beauty queen nicked worth €300,000.

Priscilla Guevara, 26 and her accomplice Dutch-Romanian dual national, Constantin Dumitru, 46 were held as they crossed into into Croatia from Montenegro after a tip-off from Interpol.

It is claimed they are behind the raid at the Atrio hotel in Caceres (Extremadura).

Their 45-bottle haul included the ‘star of the cellar’ 1806 bottle of Chateau d'Yquem, with the total value of the stolen wine put at €1.6 million.

The thieves had made several visits to the Atrio hotel and restaurant before striking on October 27 last year.

A hotel receptionist was distracted by a request made by Guevara for room service as Dumitru used a stolen master key taken during a previous visit to access the wine cellar.

ELITE EATING

A PAIR of Spanish restaurants have won coveted places in the top five of the world’s best restaurants in 2022.

The awards were announced in London with the top prize awarded to Geranium in Copenhagen, helmed by chef and restaurateur Rasmus Kofoed, while Central in Lima, Peru won second place.

Spanish chefs riding high with two restaurants in world´s top 5

By Fiona Govan

Disfrutar in Barcelona rounded out the top three while Spain’s enfant terrible chef Dabiz Muñoz won the fourth spot with his DiverXo.

It was a meteoric rise for Muñoz who saw his Madrid restaurant soar from 20th position in the last edition.

In all, six Spanish restaurants were named in the Top 50 list chosen by Restaurant magazine, with three of them in the Basque

Tourist award

Country.

Asador Etxebarri from Euskal Herria dropped from third place to sixth, while Elkano, also in the Basque Country came in at number 16 on the prestigious list and Mugaritz, San Sebastian appeared at 21.

The eponymous restaurant of chef Quique Dacosta in Denia was named at number 42 on the list.

This year’s Most Sustainable Restaurant Award went to Aponiente in Cadiz.

Sustainable

ALTEA has become the 17th area in the Valencian Community to be given the status of ‘Tourist Municipality’.

The accreditation was handed over to Altea mayor, Jaume Llinares, by regional tourism secretary, Francesc Colomer.

Colomer said: “To get this recognition, there has to be a tourism strategy with accredited tourism quality programmes and commitments to hospitality and sustainability.”

Recognised areas include Valencia City, Gandia, Cullera, Pucol, Benidorm, El Campello, Calpe, Denia, and Finestrat.

Chef Angel Leon was recognised for his focus on sustainable fishing, marine conservation, and community outreach to lead the way with innovative food that's responsibly sourced.

Formerly in the culinary shadow of its French neighbours, Spain’s gastronomic stock has soared in the past decade owing to its bountiful fresh produce and its effortless simplicity on the plate.

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Equipped with binoculars and brimming with high expectations, an intrepid family group head high into the mountains in search of one of Spain’s most elusive tourist attractions, writes Fiona Govan

July 28th - August 10th 2022

WE’RE GOING ON

T

HE mountain road winds up through verdant hills, past picturesque villages, and across broad burbling salmon rivers. We curve through tunnels carved into great rocky crags as we climb up from the Asturias coast into the heart of Somiedo National Park.

We have come in the hope of spotting one of Spain’s most endangered species, the Cantabrian brown bear, an animal that has defied all odds to bounce back from the brink of extinction.

A mere forty years ago, there were fewer than 60 Urso Arctos left in the wilds of Spain.

Much maligned and hunted virtually to extinction, firstly by Spain’s noblemen who came from the cities to shoot them as a trophy to adorn their hunting lodges and then by dedicated bounty hunters who paraded the corpses of bears through villages to collect their dues.

But now, thanks to combined efforts by conservationists, legislation to protect the bear, and a change in attitudes, they have made a surprising comeback and become a beacon of rewilding that has been noticed across the globe.

In the charming hilltop town of Polo de Somiedo, we meet Alicia Madrid Gar-

Long lens: Bear spotting proves fun for all the family cia, a wildlife ranger with the Fundacion Oso Pardo (Brown Bear Foundation), an NGO founded in 1992 to promote the peaceful co-existence of humans and bears.

The town is the hub at the centre of the natural park, its wooden buildings nestled in a valley surrounded by dramatic cliffs with vultures wheeling overhead.

As we visit the Casa del Oso, a quaint information centre about bears run by the Oso Foundation, Alicia warns us that summer sightings are rare and that spring and autumn are in fact the best times to see bears.

Although there are at least 80 bears resident within the park itself – of the 400

plus population across the Cantabrian it. mountains as a whole - they can be elu- Under an EU scheme back by the Spansive especially at this time of year when ish government, compensation is paid they are rarely active during the day and out to farmers that suffer loss of liveare easily hidden within the trees. stock, hives or crops and in Asturias this “But maybe we’ll be lucky,” she says. has gone someway to lessen the conflict “They are terribly fond of cherries which between man and beast, at least more are abundant right now”. so than in the Pyrenees In fact, she spent the where brown bear reprevious day harvesting More than 400 introduction has been wild cherries to create vociferously opposed by bears now new plantations in the farmers. far reaches of the mounFor in this region, bears roam across tains away from villages. have become a tourism “It is one of our projects the Cantabrian magnate, reinvigorating to boost the natural food a rural zone that was source for the bears and mountain range emptying out as genertherefore encourage ation after generation them away from cultivatmoved to the city. ed orchards where they can come into “Bears are becoming big business,” adconflict with human population,” mits Alicia, 33. “But so far it is proving the 33- year-old environmental scientist sustainable. The sort of tourists that explains. want to come and look at nature also Other projects aimed at promoting the tend to be those who want to do travel peaceful coexistence between humans responsibly.” and bears include providing electric During the last two summers when fences to cordon off orchards and global travel was curbed as a result of protect beehives from raids by sweet- the pandemic, the region saw a boost toothed marauders. in domestic tourists visiting from othBears are omnivores and in summer er parts of Spain. “Suddenly people some 85% of their diet is vegetarian. seemed to discover Asturias, they When they emerge ravenous from hiber- couldn’t explore foreign destinations nation in late winter, the females often so they looked closer to home and with young cubs in tow, they will eat found adventure here.” carcasses of animals defrosting in the And yet no one would call it crowded. snowmelt.

While the rest of the peninsula is swelThey move onto fruit and berries, over- tering in a July heatwave, up in Somiedo turn rocks to graze on insects, and this a mist swirls across jagged peaks and diet is supplemented by small mam- on the edge of the tiny hamlet of La Permals including the occasional goat or al, a group numbering little more than a sheep pilfered from a wandering flock dozen gather on a plateau to scrutinise and of course, honey when they can get the hillside across rolling pasture full of

wild flowers.

As dusk approaches, we join them to peer through binoculars to scan the landscape on the far side of the valley.

It is my keen-eyed nephew Ralph, who gives the first shout. “There! There!,” he shrieks, pointing to small clearing in the forested hillside, just a few hundred yards above a farmhouse. “I think I see a bear!”

He describes seeing a lolloping beast running into the foliage but the rest of us are sceptical.

After several hours hike with Alicia as our guide pointing out traces of bears, which includes a pile of cherry-pip filled

CORNER OF PARADISE: Rich in local culture and a glorious coastline

TELLTALE SIGN: Traces of bear are everywhere…if you know where to look

FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL

July 28th August 10th 2022

A BEAR HUNT

19

THE SPORTS BAR IN MORAIRA ALL SPORTS UNDER ONE ROOF 10 TVS, POOL, SNOOKER, GAMES MACHINES AND MUCH MORE poo, deep lines etched in tree trucks made by the claws of a territorial bear, and hairs collected from a favourite scratching post, we want nothing more than to see one in the flesh.

Suddenly my brother catches sight of something moving between the trees on an adjacent hillside, but it turns out to be two red deer and we all take it in turns to admire their antlers and count ourselves lucky that we have seen any wildlife at all.

Then, just as we prepare to give up and make

our way back to the coast in the last of the fading light, we hear an intake of breath from Alicia, as she spots movement in the trees just where Ralph had directed.

She hones in with her scope and we take it turns to peer through the viewfinder.

It is indeed a bear. And not just one, for in the wake of a beautiful big brown bear, her fur glistening golden across powerful shoulders, are two small balls of deep brown cubs gamboling down a rocky scree as their moth-

er scoops up boulders and rolls them over to look for grubs.

We stand enthralled by the scene taking place a good half a mile away on the opposite hillside, but one that feels as if it could be a display for us alone.

Hairs stand up on my neck and the view blurs as I blink away unbidden tears.

“It never stops being exciting,” admits Alicia.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you see a bear in the wild, it is always a thrill.”

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Discover Asturias, Spain’s best-kept secret

A

STURIAS is one of Spain’s best kept secrets. One of the smallest regions in Spain, it encompasses high peaks of the Picos de Europa and a rugged Atlantic coastline tucked in between Galicia to the west, Castilla y León to the south and Cantabria to the north.

CLIMATE A far cry from the ‘sun, sea and sangria’ reputation of the costas on Spain’s Mediterranean, Asturias is more-oft compared to Ireland as it gets more rain than many of the other regions making it a bright verdant green. While the rest of Spain sweltered in a heatwave during mid-July, Asturias experienced a top temperature of 27ºC and the occasional morning drizzle making it an ideal time to enjoy the outdoors.

ADVENTURE The Picos de Europa have some of the best climbing and hiking trails in Europe, with dramatic peaks, glacial lakes, ancient forests and picturesque valleys to explore. There’s kayaking and canyoning on the parks rivers and caving for the most intrepid thrillseekers.

CHEESE AND CIDER Nicknamed ‘El Pais de Queso‘ or ‘The Land of Cheese’, there are more than 100 different types of artisanal cheeses to try in Asturias. Don’t miss out on the strong flavoured Blue

SEASIDE SPECTACULAR: With historical gems and some of the best beaches found in Spain

cheese Cabrales, aged in caves in the Picos de Europa.

You’ll find the perfect accompaniment is a gulp of Asturian cider, which you’ll see being artfully poured with an arm outstretched above the head.

BEACHES From long sandy stretches to sheltered coves, there is so much choice on Spain’s Costa Verde. It’s a surfers paradise with rolling waves off the Bay of Biscay and crab-filled rock pools are great for kids to explore.

You’ll find charming cliff top chiringuitos with stunning sunset views and best of all, outside of weekends when day trippers come flooding in from Oviedo, the beaches are rarely crowded.

Plus you’re never far away from a charming seaside fishing village.

CITIES TO EXPLORE Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias, is a delight for a weekend break with pre-Romanesque churches to visit, an enchanting Medieval quarter, elegant squares and palaces

and a lively nightlife.

Declared by Woody Allen as his favourite city and immortalised on screen in the Oscar-winning Vicky Cristina Barcelona, it’s a well-heeled northern Spanish city that isn’t full of tourists.

Gijon, is Oviedo’s more working class artsy cousin. Asturias’ second city has an impressive promenade lining the city beach, and a bustling marina.

Asturias’ third provincial capital is Aviles, more overlooked but with a charming historic centre filled with great local eateries.

20

BUSINESS

Inflation nation

THE Spanish economy will continue to be battered by a high inflation rate for the rest of summer, according to economy minister, Nadia Calvino.

June's inflation rate stood at above 10% - the first time double figures had been reached in almost 40 years.

The government has now backtracked on earlier forecasts that the rate would fall in the next few months.

Speaking to Radio Nacional, Nadia Calvino said: “Forecasts are that high inflation, very high, will continue.

“Our goal is to get inflation down to near the EU average.”

She added that the government will take more measures to cushion the negative impact on consumers.

Inflation has accelerated in the last few months, driven by rising energy and food prices.

July 28th - August 10th 2022

THE investment arm of Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder and main shareholder of fashion group Inditex, has seen its real estate assets market value rise by over €1 billion in 2021.

Pontegadea has a 60% stake in Inditex and manages a portfolio of property investments that include holdings in Madrid, New York, Toronto,

ALRIGHT FOR SOME

and London.

Pontegadea recorded a net profit of €1.6 billion in 2021 up from €666 million in 2020, boosted by Inditex’s dividends which soared as the fashion retailer Zara recovered strongly from pandemic restrictions.

Ortega, 86, has mainly focused on real-estate assets though in recent years he has taken stakes in energy, including a 5% share in electricity grid operator Red Electrica and a 49% stake in a wind farm operated by Repsol.

BRITS SPLASH THE CASH Bonanza as Uk investment in Spain soars

BRITAIN has beaten the US to be crowned the top investor in Spain in the first quarter of 2022.

UK companies and individuals spent an incredible €3.3 billion, an increase of 17% from the first quarter of 2020.

It means the UK is now the largest foriegn investor in

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Quick Crossword

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Spain.

The British Chamber of Commerce in Andalucia broke the news at a special event to shine a light on the importance of British investment.

At the event, attended by

Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre, it was explained that the exceptional performance was boosted by massive investments in the sporting and entertainment sector. These included a record deal with British based CVC Capital funds to broadcast the top tier of Spanish football league LaLiga.

In Andalucia, 2021 saw a bumper year of spending from the UK, with some €150 million invested in the area.

The bulk of the money (90%) came from the food and hospitality sector driven by tourism with construction (2%), real estate (2%) and science and technology (2%) also significant sources of investment.

The news paints a much more healthy picture of UK foreign

INTERESTING HIKE T

GBP/EUR exchange rate retreats as ECB shocks with 50bps rate hike

HE past couple of weeks has seen the pound euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate trend broadly lower in response to a surprisingly aggressive interest rate hike from the European Central Bank (ECB).

During this period we saw GBP/EUR fall from a high of €1.1875 to strike a low of €1.1657.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? After soaring higher in the first week of July, the pound euro exchange rate initially sought to carry this momentum forward into the middle of the month, which led to the pound striking a new two-month high.

This initial upside in the pairing was primarily attributed to EUR weakness, with the euro’s drop to parity with the US dollar reflecting negatively on the single currency’s other pairings.

Also dragging on the euro were persistent concerns over European energy security.

However, a subsequent pullback in the US dollar allowed the euro to quickly bounce back from its lowest levels.

At the same time, barring a brief spike on the back of a stronger-than-expected GDP release, the pound struggled to attract support as the start of the Conservative leadership race stoked UK political uncertainty.

The start to the second half of July then saw the euro rally ahead of the ECB’s latest interest rate decision, amid reports the bank might discuss a 50bps rate hike this month.

The euro extended these gains as the ECB ultimately opted for a half percent increase.

Meanwhile a slew of high-impact UK data releases infused volatility into the pound last week. A hotter-than-expected inflation print coupled with a lacklustre wage growth reading raised fresh concerns over the UK’s cost of living crisis.

This offset some of the support Sterling saw as GBP investors began to price in a 50bps rate hike from the Bank of England (BoE) next month.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR? Looking ahead, a key catalyst of movement in the GBP/EUR exchange rate over the next couple of weeks is likely to be the BoE’s latest interest rate decision.

If the bankter delivers a 50bps interest rate hike and signals it will continue to raise rates into the Autumn then the pound is likely to strengthen.

On the other hand, Sterling’s upside potential is likely to remain capped as the Tory leadership race continues to cause market uncertainty.

On the other side of the Channel the focus may be on Europe’s energy security. While gas flows through the Nord Stream pipeline have resumed, the reduced capacity means the threat of shortages remains.

In terms of data, the Eurozone’s latest GDP and inflation releases will be in the spotlight. The former could act as a headwind for the euro if it reports Eurozone growth stalled or even contracted in the second quarter. While another acceleration of inflation may be supportive of EUR as it bolsters ECB rate hike expectations.

PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY This kind of volatility can cause some nasty surprises if you need to transfer money overseas. On a £200,000 transfer, just a one-cent gap translates to a €2,000 difference. And the larger the sum, the higher the discrepancy.

Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect against volatility.

Specialist currency brokers, such as Currencies Direct, offer different tools to help you navigate the ups and downs of the currency market.

For instance, you can use a forward contract to secure an exchange rate for up to a year. This way, you won’t lose out if the market moves against you.

Services like rate alerts and daily updates make it easy to keep track of what’s going on in the forex world so that you can make informed decisions. And with Currencies Direct you’ll have a dedicated account manager there to provide guidance and support whenever you need them.

At Currencies Direct we’re here to talk currency whenever you need us, so get in touch if you want to know more about the latest news or how it could impact your currency transfers.

Since 1996 we’ve helped more than 325,000 customers with their currency transfers, just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more.

Cough up BANKINTER says plans for a windfall tax on banks in Spain to help fight the cost of living will hurt economic growth and dent investor confidence in the sector.

The government expects to net €3 billion from banks over the next two years, along with €4 billion from energy companies thanks to the tax.

The windfall tax proposal is causing investors to turn their backs on the sector and the country, Bankinter Chief Executive Maria Dolores Dancausa told reporters.

“Uncertainty generates a lot of damage and is a very slow phenomenon to reverse,” she said, adding that this would also hurt economic growth in Spain.

Her comments came as Bankinter reported a net profit of €271 million in the first half of 2022, up by 11 % on the same period last year.

Economy minister Nadia Calvino said the rationale for taxing banks was to prevent windfall profits on higher interest rates.

Banked: New La Liga deal investment in spite of concerns over additional red tape in the post-Brexit era.

Indeed, over three quarters of UK firms in Spain surveyed said they would be increasing their investment in the country for the rest of 2022.

The mayor said: “The UK is an important country for Spain, Andalucia and Malaga.”

CRISIS?: Dancausa

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HEALTH Disgraceful

Baby infected

A SEVEN-month old baby has been infected with monkeypox, health authorities in Madrid have confirmed.

The baby, as well as both parents, have tested positive for the virus and are isolating at their home in the Spanish capital.

The health authority confirmed the infant had contracted the illness from the parents.

The three of them were said to be ‘recovering well’.

Since the first case of monkeypox was detected in Spain in mid-May, some 1,577 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the country.

It has mostly affected men who have sex with men, with an outbreak traced to a gay sauna in the capital and at Pride festival in the Canary Islands.

“The same contagion profile is maintained at a general level as until now, that is, men who have sex with men in high-risk situations,” insisted the regional government in a recent statement.

Outrage over enforced C-section

By Alex Trelinski

A United Nations committee says a Basque Country woman should be compensated after being forced to have a caesarean section birth which involved having her arms strapped down.

The UN committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women said medical staff were guilty of 'obstetric violence' against the woman.

Doctors at San Sebastian hospital induced the woman prematurely and without her consent, the committee said.

They then proceeded with a C-section without her husband present and did not al-

HOSPITAL BOOST A TENDER for a massive €70 million expansion of Orihuela’s Vega Baja Hospital is scheduled to be announced this week.

The promise was made by Valencian President, Ximo Puig, on a visit to the municipality last Friday where he met with Orihuela mayor, Carolina Garcia.

It will be the biggest current hospital project in Alicante Province, going above the €60 million allocated to extend the Marina Baixa Hospital in Villajoyosa.

Puig said that construction work is expected to begin before the end of the year in Orihuela and will last 30 months.

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July 28th - August 10th 2022

21

Rabies warning THE risk of rabies in Malaga province is on the rise, veterinarians have warned.

According to Antonio Villatoro, president of the Royal Academy of Veterinary Sciences of Eastern Andalucia, the increase in pets brought from Morocco is one of the reasons for the rise as well as pets arriving with refugees from Ukraine as both countries have a much higher presence of the disease.

Veterinarians are urging strict compliance with rabies vaccination to combat the rise.

Put your health first Dear Jennifer: SHOCKING: Committee condemns mother’s treatment low her to immediately hold her newborn boy since she was still strapped down, it added.

Spain's Health Ministry declined to comment on the case, but said a draft law approved in May would help promote good childbirth practices through a series of national guidelines.

The committee said such malpractice in childbirth is widespread and ingrained in healthcare systems, while they also said the woman

suffered physical and psychological damage.

Despite considerable numbers of reports from women, public investigations into such cases are rare.

Investigated

In 2020, in a similar case, the same UN committee also ruled against Spain in one of the only other examples where childbirth practices were investigated by the committee.

Hipra hope SPAIN'S new Covid vaccine made by Girona-based pharmaceutical company Hipra is producing a good antibody response to the Omicron variants causing cases to rise across Europe.

According to Hipra, 14 days after a booster is administered there is an increase in neutralising antibodies on the new variants.

The findings are in addition to previous results showing a better response when compared to the Pfizer vaccine.

A Hipra spokesperson said: “The vaccine is a more lasting and effective protection against new variants with a high safety profile as no adverse effects have been detected during the study phase.”

Trials will continue on Hipra as a booster dose to satisfy the demands of the European Medicines Agency which has to grant permission for the new vaccine to be used.

Some 200 volunteers from 10 hospitals in Spain will take part in new clinical trials from the end of summer.

Health Minister Carolina Darias said she wanted the Hipra vaccine to be available ‘as soon as possible’.

Make sure you understand exactly what cover you have

I

APPRECIATE everything has changed due to Brexit, but it is now far more important to have health insurance than ever. This is not as easy as it sounds as the choices are limited. Be very careful when deciding. Banks, for example, should usually be avoided as they offer relatively poor cover. You need to make sure there is an English speaker who can help you understand exactly what you are purchasing and how to use it.

It is vital you follow the guidelines for using the policy, especially in regards to emergencies and hospitalisation or you could find yourself with a hefty bill to pay if you do not follow the correct procedures. If you decide to use the Spanish National Health, you will be required to provide a SIP card, EHIC or payment before treatment.

The Spanish health system is very stretched, and of course this means long waiting lists. ASSSA provides hospitals, clinics, specialists and doctors, many of whom speak several languages to make your health decisions easier and faster.

If you are suffering with immnse pain, you do need to discover what is causing it and this can take many months to resolve if you go through the public system. Private health care offers the opportunity to speed up the process. ASSSA also provides emergency cover and their own ambulances, where you will be taken to a hospital related to ASSSA which you find in your ASSSA book.

My company has an ASSSA administrator to help answer your questions, process your authorisation requests and liaise with ASSSA on your behalf.

Yes, there are many cheaper options available, but be wary of low prices as you will usually find you will not get what you need or expect. All private health insurance in Spain is limited in certain areas, so be sure to understand these limitations before purchasing.

Of course, ASSSA health policies are accepted for your residencia and visa applications and they provide all legal certification required.

Unlike health insurance in the UK, you will be presently surprised at the prices here in Spain. The difference is the Spanish government does not discourage the use of private health care and therefore the prices and taxes are far lower than you may think.

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22

PROPERTY

July 28th August 10th 2022

First time buyer boost SELL WITH CONFIDENCE Live video walk throughs of your property Professional marketing and photographs No sale no fee Regular advertising on A Place in the Sun TV Existing database of clients Buyers are in safe hands Area covered between Benidorm and Gandia

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SPAIN’S youth is notoriously late at leaving their parents’ home and taking their own step onto the property ladder.

And in today’s climate of low wages, unstable work contracts, rising inflation and soaring house prices, who can blame them?

But Madrid regional authorities are hoping to change that with moves to encourage first time buyers under the age of 35.

This week they unveiled the ‘My First Home’ package to grant up to 95% mortgages to young people within the Madrid

“In collaboration with the banks, we will offer a guarantee to those who do have sufficient financial resources to find the deposit needed for the home they want to buy,” she said.

Housing crash Fury as British developer to build on radioactive land in Spain’s Almeria THERE has been outrage in Almeria after a British developer announced it is building on potentially radioactive land.

The plot in Palomares

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www.hello2spain.com Vanessa Mob: +34 672 208 879 Silvio Mob: +34 649 154 199

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Community.

Madrid’s Department of Housing has earmarked €18 million budget to ‘guarantee’ loans for those under 35s who have a sufficient salary but can’t raise the usual deposit demanded by banks.

“With My First Home, the regional government will encourage the emancipation of those young people from Madrid who, despite having financial solvency, do not have enough savings to obtain a mortgage,” said Madrid’s housing chief Paloma Martin announcing the scheme.

With Victoria Wright

Community disputes

By George Mathias

is near the site where a nuclear armed US B-52 bomber crashed after colliding with a refuelling aircraft in January 1966.

The bomber was armed with four 1.5 megatonne atomic bombs, two of which had their conventional explosives set off, spreading nuclear radiation across a wide area.

The company, Bahia de Almanzora, is British owned and has outlined huge plans to build some 1,600 homes in the area as well as a hotel and a sports complex.

The plot sits just one and a half kilometres from the zone deemed to be still contaminated and dangerous.

RISKY: Site is near the contaminated zone but developers deny radiation is present

The area in Palomares has been cordoned off ever since the crash.

Jose Ignacio Dominguez, a

A quick guide to the community of owners

F

ROM the moment an owner takes on the title deed of a property they also take on the community benefits and responsibilities.

There will usually be a coefficient reflected in the deed. In any community, there should be an administrator, a committee formed of homeowners, and a presiding president.

In our experience communities are best run by homeowners with a vested inter- colours, dividing garden walls, and satelest in the community. lite dishes, for example.

There are often communal elements Any changes to the community statutes and community statutes or committee members in the constitution, which should be passed by a mamay be surprising. jority vote of homeowners.

The community These include not just The community payments public areas such as swimare a legal obligation and has the ming pools and gardens, the community has the lelegal right to but building facades, tergal right to embargo your races, balcony railings, etc. account for unpaid fees. embargo your Even in the communities If renting, clarify your reaccount where these elements are sponsibilities and benefits not in common, such as with your landlord. It may individual villas in an uralso be worth employing banisation, we often find that the com- the services of a professional to intermunity has rules regarding exterior paint pret or act as a mediator.

FOR ANY HELP AND ADVICE ON LEGAL ISSUES, YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT: ALBA CONSULTAS - LEGAL ADVISERS (+34) 96 561 5061 / +34 692 386 293 C.C. EUROPEO, LOCAL 168, CTRA TEULADA - MORAIRA. 03724 INFO@ALBACONSULTAS.COM WWW.ALBACONSULTAS.COM

DISASTER: B-52 and tanker collided

lawyer from Ecologists in Action, condemned the decision, telling the Guardian: “The plutonium isn’t just in the fenced-off area because it’s carried on the wind and by animals such as birds and rabbits.”

Dominguez said tests conducted by the group found ‘dangerously high levels’ of radiation outside the crash zone.

Company director Fraser Prynne meanwhile told the Guardian the contaminated land was ‘nowhere near the development.’

“This stuff about particles flying about is nonsense,” he said.

CHEAP DIGS ON OFFER THREE new affordable green housing projects are to be developed in Valencia City.

The project will see 180 apartments built for rent in Moreras and Tarongers and form part of a new housing plan signed with the European Investment Bank.

Rent and houses prices have soared in Valencia over the past few years.

The Tarongers development will cost €15 million and is expected to take two years to complete while the building in Moreras has a budget of €12 million, taking 18 months to build.

Developers AUMSA say the buildings will have close to zero carbon emissions

Strict criteria is required to apply for the housing, with proof of income needing to be shown.

The maximum rental price for all the apartments has been set at €400, Deputy Mayor and Councilor for Urban Development Sandra Gómez explained.

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Cyber revenge

FINAL WORDS

A SACKED worker has been arrested in San Pedro del Pinatar for launching a cyber attack on his former employers which wiped key parts of the company server.

Paw-pulation SPAIN has more pets than young children, with 15 million furry and feathered companions compared to 6.6 million children under 15 as pet ownership soared under pandemic restrictions.

Buzzed off TWO beekeepers made a fake €96,000 insurance claim by saying an incredible 1,200 hives had been stolen from their Ontinyent farm. A father and son have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Xativa.

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Terrace tax Gastrobar hits headlines for charging customers every time a waiter served them on terrace A BAR in Spain is getting online flak after it started charging customers 20 cents every time a waiter served them on the terrace.

The Imperial Bar at Benavente (Castilla and Leon) is also accused of making diners pay for cutlery, with complaints doing the rounds on social media.

Customer Blas Galey Her-

By Alex Trelinski

moso from Bailen was shocked by the surcharges when he went on holiday to north-west Spain and his comments have gone viral.

“Every time the waiter came to the terrace table to bring something: beer, the tapa … he charged us 20 cents,” he said.

THE Supreme Court has ordered the Policia Nacional to stop discriminating against ‘shorter’ women wanting to join it.

A prospective female candidate filed a complaint to the court after she was rejected in 2017 for being six centimetres too short.

The woman’s legal team argued that the rules favoured men because just 3% of Spain's male population do not meet the height requirement, compared to around 25% of Spanish women. Current Policia

STEEP: Unorthodox charging panned “The last straw was the euro The Imperial Bar claimed that he charged us to [bring] the additional charge was for cutlery”, Galey commented. every drink that was served rather than every time the waiter went to the table.

It added that it’s ‘common practice’ for venues to charge an extra fee for service on the terrace. Online Nacional rules say women must meet a reviews have been scathing minimum height requirement of 1.60 meof what has been going on at tres, while men must be at least 1.65 metres the business. tall.

One customer said: “They Judges ruled that height requirements charged me for cutlery service. must take into account the average height We ordered several beers and for each sex - 1.74 metres for men and 1.63 they charged us 20 cents for metres for women. each trip the waiter made to the terrace.”

Get shorty

AFTER years of campaigning by pet owners, there is finally good news for travellers in Spain who like to take their pooches with them.

Renfe has announced it will allow dogs weighing up to 40kg to travel on certain high-speed trains between Madrid and Barcelona.

Spain’s train operator announced it will carry out a three-month long pilot trial of the policy, beginning September 13 and running until a week before Christmas.

“This pilot is one more step in the company’s commitment to its customers, as we think it is really important for our passengers to be able to travel with their pets,” said a spokesperson from Renfe.

Current rules only allow animals weighing up to 10 kg to travel on trains as long as they are carried in pet carriers, with the exception of support dogs.

During the trial, one large dog per passenger will be allowed, with a maximum of two large dogs per carriage.

Other EU countries like Germany, Italy and the Netherlands allow large dogs to travel with their owners on the train.