THE alleged mastermind behind one of Spain’s biggest investment frauds has insisted he’s innocent.
Darren Kirby, who founded infamous Continental Wealth Management (CWM), told the Olive Press he left Spain with ‘just €50’ in his pocket.
This was despite his firm leaving hundreds of elderly expats ‘around €35 million’ out of pocket when it collapsed in 2017.
Having fled Spain, first for Australia and then Cambodia, he is now living in London, working in pubs.
The 60-year-old told the Olive Press this week, he was ‘aware’ of various lawsuits against his former firm and that his ex-partner Jody Smart (top) had just been sentenced to three years in prison. However, he insisted he was innocent and ‘there was no fraud committed by CWM’.
No money
The former financial advisor also claimed he had made ‘no money’ from the offshore investment scheme that he set up in Alicante in 2010.
In a bombshell phone interview from the UK, he insisted his ex-partner Jody, now Jody Pearson, had ‘stolen everything from me’.
“She even took my Savile Row suit and a sculpture of my baby daughter when she was just six months old,” he claimed. Kirby also insisted he ‘transferred everything’ into Jody’s name in 2015 on the advice of lawyers.
She was left with ‘all the assets, totally, completely,’ he claimed.
This even included the Costa Blanca villa that Kirby had been ‘planning to retire in’.
“Everyone says I ran away – I didn't run away,” he insisted this week, speaking publicly for the first time.
“But as soon as I left, Jody stripped all my assets, the cars – and a lot more too.”
The Olive Press will be revealing more of his sensational claims about the CWM scandal over the coming weeks.
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Anger is mounting against Valencia region president Carlos Mazon over the October 29 deluge that left 228
By Dilip Kuner & Alex Trelinski
people dead.
So far six large demonstrations have demanded his resignation given most victims had died well before an official regional government warning message was sent to mobile phones. Locals are also furious at how little has been done since the cata-
SERENITY CENTRAL DISGRACE
strophic storm turned quiet towns into disaster zones, leveling more than 75,000 homes in its path.
While officials promised a swift recovery, the reality on the ground is devastating - and it’s children who are suffering the most.
“We’ve been caring for kids whose childhoods were literally stolen by this flood,” said Rodrigo Hernandez, head of Save the Children’s flood emergency response.
“Things are slowly improving for some, but the job is far from done.”
That’s certainly not the case for Eduvmary Lopez (pictured left), a single mum, who lives with her 10-year-old son and her baby daughter in a Paiporta flat riven by damp.
Infections
“The mould has destroyed everything,” she said. “The woodwork, the clothes - all gone. My children have caught respiratory infections.
“And every time it rains, my eldest son panics and begs me to pick him up from school.” She tries to calm him with emer-
gency plans.
“I tell him: if it floods again, go upstairs, don’t come home, and help your classmates. But I shouldn’t have to say that to a 10-year-old.”
Carol, another local mother, fears for her five-year-old daughter’s mental health.
“I tried to act
when the storm hit, but she remembers. She talks about the water, the mud… even now, she’s scared when we walk through town.”
According to Save the Children, the psychological toll is staggering.
Children are terrified of weather, struggle to sleep, and have shown signs of depression, rage and emotional shutdown.
Adolescents, in particular, are suffering in silence.
“Mental health services for children must be urgently expanded,” said Hernandez.
“This disaster has left invisible scars on thousands of young people.”
And the flood didn’t just destroy homes - it shattered classrooms too.
Nearly 40,000 children were left without schooling in the immediate aftermath. Even now, some are still being taught in makeshift barracks, while others have missed entire subjects.
“With the school year ending, urgent action is needed to help kids catch up,” said Hernandez.
“They shouldn’t be punished by having to repeat the year - it’s unfair and socially damaging.”
Despite over €1.2 billion being poured into recovery efforts, thousands of families remain in overcrowded, unhealthy housing. And the most vulnerable - those in informal or contractless rentalshave fallen through the cracks.
“We need stronger housing sup
alarming 70,000 children are still living in squalor, trauma and uncertainty since the disastrous floods ripped through Valencia six months ago.
Half year on: More calls for Mazon to go as anniversary marks tragic floods update
TRAUMA: Children who lived through the devastating floods (left) have been suffering with mental scars
Porn sweep
POLICE arrested 10 people in the Valencia region as part of a nationwide sweep against child pornography being sent via messaging apps.
No entry
ELECTRIC fences and dogs will be used to keep Barbary sheep from getting into the grounds of Lorca Castle in Murcia to eat the area’s wellkept grass.
More work
JOBLESS totals in the Valencian Community fell in April to just over 302,000 people - the lowest figure for any April since 2008.
Power con
AN ALICANTE electrician vandalised an apartment block fuse box the day after the nationwide blackout and charged residents €50 each to restore supplies.
A 21-year-old man from Valencia has been arrested after allegedly running a lucrative sextortion racket, reportedly pocketing thousands of euros from a single victim.
The Guardia Civil are also inves -
Sextortionist made a mint
tigating his mother and girlfriend for helping to launder the cash.
The blackmailer targeted users of an escort website, with one
man from El Verger paying over €30,000 before contacting the authorities.
The victim received threatening
phone calls and messages from a foreign-accented caller, accusing him of ‘bothering his boss’s girl’ and demanding payment to avoid violence.
Five more victims have since been identified across Spain.
DEATH PENALTY LOOMS
Suspect in Audrey Fang murder faces deportation and possible trial in Singapore
A MAN accused of murdering Singaporean Audrey Fang in Spain could face the death penalty if convicted in his homeland.
Mitchell Ong, 44, is currently behind bars in Murcia’s Sangonera prison and, if deported, he could stand trial in Sin-
By Alex Trelinski
gapore for the brutal killing. Ong is facing expulsion from the country as he was in Spain illegally. The authorities are pushing for a decade-long ban on his re-entry.
Vengeful squatter
AN ALICANTE squatter allegedly set fire to a fifth-floor flat, days before he was going to be evicted.
The Policia Nacional arrested the man, 64, in the Virgen del Remedio district of the city.
Two people had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The entire block was evacuated and the damage to the flat was assessed as ‘significant’.
The property owner told police the squatter had lived there for ‘many years’ and had stopped paying rentprompting the court eviction order.
A private prosecution representing Fang’s family is fully backing the police’s request for deportation, which could see Ong face a death sentence if found guilty in his home nation.
The shocking crime unfolded in April, 2024, when Audrey, 39, was on holiday in Javea. CCTV footage captured Ong picking her up outside her hotel. Days later, her lifeless body was discovered in a remote lorry park in Abanilla, Murcia, 150 kilometres away. She had been viciously stabbed more than 30 times. Ong was arrested six days lat-
SHOCKING: Fang and alleged killer Ong
er in Alicante. Ong and Fang were said to have had a turbulent, on-off relationship for more than a decade.
Ong’s lawyer, Maria Jesus Ruiz de Castañeda, has strongly opposed the deportation, claiming it violates Spain’s legal principles and international agreements. She argues that expulsion would be a ‘flawed circumvention’ of the judicial process, violating human rights laws and Spain’s commitment against the death penalty. Ong has refused to speak, with prosecutors demanding he face trial for Fang’s murder.
Brit chased down
A DRUGGED-UP British motorist led police on a high-speed chase in Alicante province last week.
At least 12 parked vehicles were damaged by the Brit, 49, during the 10 kilometre pursuit. The man drove the wrong-side of various roads including the A-7 and N-340 in the Alcoy, Cocentaina and Muro areas.
Two Guardia Civil officers were assaulted while arresting him and a test confirmed he had taken drugs. The chase ended in Alcoy after the Brit crashed into several parked vehicles on Avenida Hispanidad, with nobody being injured.
Serial burglars caught in Javea
A DUO who allegedly plundered at least 84 Javea holiday homes in less than a year have been arrested. The burglars used the ‘slip method’ to gain entry into unoccupied properties in a spree that started last July. Front doors that had not been fully bolted were opened by plastic cards sliding down locking mechanisms. The men, aged 48 and 62, have extensive criminal records.
The party season begins
IBIZA is back – and the island is louder, prouder and ready to out-party everywhere on the planet.
The world’s most iconic clubbing Mecca has flicked the switch on summer 2025 with a raucous ‘soft opening’ weekend that felt anything but soft. While the official opening parties kick off later this month,
The Olive Press sent Yzabelle Bostyn and her mum to celebrate her 60th birthday at Ibiza’s opening weekend
By Yzabelle Bostyn in San Antonio
the Olive Press hit the White Isle early – and let’s just say, if this is the warm up, the main event is going to be biblical. Landing in San Antonio, my mum and I (and friends) joined the early-bird faithful dancing
FOODIE AFFAIR
through April’s warm nights at reopened legends like Es Paradis (home of the famous water parties) and Eden, which hosted tech-house royalty Deeperfect on April 23. Big names are lining up to take over the decks this season. Calvin Harris is back at Ushuaïa twice a week, David Guetta’s got Mondays, Martin Garrix owns Thursdays, and the mighty Hï Ibiza next door is bringing back Black Coffee, Hugel and the Martinez Brothers And let’s not forget Ibiza Rocks, where Craig David will Re-rewind once more by the pool. Even the super sleek Chinois is getting in on the act, bagging masked maestro Claptone for its summer run.
But it’s not just for 20-somethings chasing TikTok clout. We came for my mum’s 60th, with a group of family and friends of all ages and ended up dancing
HOLLYWOOD bombshell
Charlize Theron has declared her undying love… for croquetas
till 4am at the legendary Pacha’s ‘Purple Disco Machine’ night – with Grammy-winning DJ Mousse T spinning feelgood bangers and not a sticky floor in sight.
From age 19 to 61, we all agreed: Ibiza is magic. Sure, the drinks dented the wallet, but the vibes? Priceless.
And with celebs like Maya Jama, Idris Elba, and Rita Ora spotted partying on the island last year, we’ve no doubt Ibiza 2025 will be its most star-studded, beat-thumping, jaw-dropping season yet.
Now pass us the Berocca –we’re booking flights for the real opening weekend!
MULLINS IT OVER
DON’T LEAVE YOUR BRAINS AT THE AIRPORT, SAYS CHARLIE MULLINS
Sun, scams and a shooting near my front gate – welcome to the Costa del Crime, but leave my name out of it!
IMIGHT have only just unpacked the boxes and put the kettle on in my new life as a full-timer on the Costa del Sol, but make no mistake - I’ve had a second home out here for the better part of two decades.
Long enough to notice that the sunshine dream is being slowly soured by a rising tide of crime.
Think less ‘mañana vibes’ and more raw sewage bubbling into the Thames - only with palm trees.
Like many other weary Brits, I came to Spain chasing cleaner air, fewer muggers, and politics that didn’t feel like an episode of Black Mirror. But lately? The Costa’s gone a bit Costa Nostra.
Don’t believe me? Take a stroll through the crime pages of the Daily Mail - assuming you can still stomach the whiny UK rag.
Imagine my delight when my lovely Spanish villa - my little patch of escape - was namechecked in the Mail, no less... as a location marker for a gangland execution!
Yes, a poor bloke was gunned down in Mijas - and the journalist helpfully let readers know it happened ‘just 20 minutes from the villa of Charlie Mullins, Britain’s richest plumber’. How thoughtful!
Honestly, it sounded like they were about to chalk a crime scene outline outside my front gate. Next time something kicks off, maybe give Lord Sugar or Simon Cowell’s gaff a mention instead, eh lads?
Only kidding. Love the coverage. Sort of. All that said, I’m not hanging up the ‘For Sale’ sign just yet. Spain’s still a step up from the dystopian mess the UK has become in 2025 - where being mugged is practically a commuter sport.
But here’s the bit that really baffles me: Brits scamming other Brits. It’s like we bring our own villains with us.
Maybe it’s the warm weather, or the sangria-induced sense of security - but too many expats leave their street smarts at Malaga Airport and fall straight into the hands of a coach-load of charming con artists with British accents. We’ve seen it before. John Palmer’s dodgy timeshare empire in the ’90s, and now the disgraceful Continental Wealth Management (CWM) scam - €35 million swindled from mostly retired Brits who thought their money was safe in sunny Spain. Is the Iberian Funeral Plan case another one about to shock us?
The Olive Press, I should add, has been all over these scams from day one - hats off to them.
The Oscar-winning actress, 49, couldn’t stop gushing about Spanish food in a recent interview on US TV’s The Late Show even joking she’d be happy to tie the knot with the deep-fried delicacy.
“Is it legal to marry food in Spain?” David Letterman asked.
“I think you could probably marry a croquette if you wanted to,” Theron quipped, barely holding back the laughter.
The South African star revealed she fell head over heels in love with Spain during a getaway with mates across the country, praising the local cuisine as ‘next level’.
Theron didn’t stop there. She praised Spain’s tapas from tortillas and paellas to fresh seafood and ‘dirty but brilliant’ train rides.
THE LYNX EFFECT
THERE’S a furry frenzy in Doñana National Park as two more Iberian lynx cubs have pounced into the world. First-time mum Tamesis shocked staff at El Acebuche breeding centre after giving birth to a stillborn - then two days later, she popped out two healthy cubs. It’s the fifth litter of the 2025 season, bringing this year’s total to 14 cubs and counting.
Veteran mum Madroña kicked off the season with triplets in March, followed by Parra, Narsil,
And just last month, one of the main players in CWM, Jody Smart (aka Jody Pearson), got banged up for three-and-a-half years. Justice, of sorts.
What’s my point in all this? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure - except to say: there are bad apples everywhere, even in paradise. So keep your wits about you. And if a deal sounds too
it probably is.
in
or
PARTY TIME: Yzzy (in black) and her mum (far right) at Pacha
IN LOVE: Charlize fell for croquetas and trains
ISLAND FIXTURES: Idris Elba, Rita Ora and Maya Jama.
AT HOME: In Spain, but watch out for scammers like John Palmer (below) CWM and Iberian Funeral Plan (bottom)
TAKE THE SILK ROAD…
BIOPARC Valencia has announced a €65 million expansion, set to transport visitors through time.
The revamped zoo will recreate the legendary Silk Road, linking Valencia, Africa, and China in a new development.
The first phase, costing €18 million, is already underway, with plans to open in 2027.
It will showcase the Coptic route, connecting Egypt’s Alexandria with Kenya’s Mombasa.
Next up, a €1.2 million Mediterranean section will highlight Valencia’s history.
But the real showstopper? An Imperial China-inspired area, with a staggering €44.5 million earmarked. A traditional Chinese garden will offer an immersive experience of Asiatic culture.
Officials believe visitor numbers will soar from 600,000 to almost 1 million annually.
Protected island
Blackout wake-up
Spain’s blackout is a warning for europe’s fragile power grids
THE massive blackout - the worst in Europe in over 20 years - has sent shockwaves far beyond the Iberian Peninsula.
As investigators probe what caused half of Spain’s electricity generation to fail in seconds, experts warn that the incident must serve as a turning point for Europe’s energy transition.
Without urgent upgrades to its ageing power infrastructure, the continent risks more widespread and prolonged outages in the near future.
The 12.33pm fault in southwest Spain caused a cascade
By Dilip Kuner
of grid failures that rippled across the peninsula.
Trains ground to a halt, mobile networks collapsed, traffic lights went dark, and hospitals were forced to suspend routine operations.
While the precise cause remains under investigation, Spain’s rapid growth in solar and wind power - without sufficient grid modernisation or energy storage - has left its electricity system stretched and vulnerable.
TABARCA island is slamming the brakes on building with a strict new protection plan.
Loved by day-trippers but home to just 70 full-time residents, the Alicante-controlled island will now see zero new construction - not even adding floors to old homes!
Around 100 historic buildings are now under total protection, meaning not even a lick of paint without permission.
Only a few modern properties may be touched - and even then, under tight control.
Planning boss, Rocio Gomez, declared: “This respects Tabarca’s cultural charm. No urban sprawl here!”
That warning should resonate across Europe, where many countries are similarly increasing renewables without adapting their networks to cope with intermittent supply.
“This isn’t just Spain’s problem - it’s Europe’s preview,” said Janusz Bialek, a power systems expert at Imperial College London.
“Our grids were designed for steady, centralised power plants. But the new era of distributed renewables needs an entirely different architecture.”
Wind and solar power, while essential to decarbonisation, do not provide the natural inertia of fossil fuel turbines, which help stabilise frequency and prevent blackouts.
Without significant investment in grid-balancing technologies - such as batteries, flywheels, or synthetic inertia - Europe risks falling behind its climate goals and energy security.
The Energy Transitions Commission estimates the world will need to double its electricity grid length by 2050, with
DESPERATE FOR NEWS:
Residents in Barcelona crowd around a radio for updates
around $800 billion in annual investment in the 2030s and 2040s.
Europe alone ‘must inject €584 billion into its grid this decade’, according to the European Commission.
Yet progress remains slow, stymied by regulatory lag and fragmented planning.
“There’s a missing money problem across technologies,” said Kristian Ruby, head of Eurelectric. “Storage, transmission, and system flexibility need urgent financial and political backing.”
Countries like China are already investing tens of billions to expand and reinforce their grids, accepting some inefficiency in exchange for resilience.
Spain’s failure shows what can happen when those investments are delayed.
As Helge Barlen of Wood Mackenzie put it: “It was an accident waiting to happen.”
BENIDORM residents can now pitch ideas for the 2026 city budget, with 5% set aside for public proposals.
Councillor Ana Pellicer urged locals to help make Benidorm ‘an even better city’. Anyone over 18 on the padron can submit suggestions - from city-wide changes to local fixes. Past ideas funded include a footbridge and a new park. Submit your idea on the council’s website by July 31.
TORREVIEJA drivers can breathe a sigh of relief now the new Avenida Jose Carreras dual-carriageway has opened, connecting the CV905 with the Aguas Nuevas area. The route replaces the single-track road that had been closed for over a year, causing chaos and delays for commuters heading to La Mata and the north-east of the city.
Upgrades
Europe has the tools and technology to avoid similar disasters. But it must act now - not after the next blackout.
Part of the massive La Hoya housing development, the road stretches around a kilometre, ending at the bridge over the N-332which will also see upgrades in the future.
From front
MISERY GOES ON
port now,” warned Hernandez.
“Children are growing up in toxic, unsafe environments. Their development, their future, their health is at risk.”
His charity has opened seven safe spaces where social workers and psychologists offer care, play, therapy, and schooling in secure, child-friendly environments.
“These centres give kids a chance to be kids again,” said Hernandez.
“To laugh, to learn, to begin healing. But they can’t undo six months of pain alone.”
As the humanitarian crisis drags on, protesters have zeroed in on leader Mazon, accusing him of mismanagement and prioritising ‘press confer-
US flight bid
VALENCIA is hoping Delta Air Lines will reintroduce direct flights to the US. The route, axed in 2013, once linked Valencia with America four times a week.
Meanwhile, Air Transat is launching summer-only flights from Montreal to Valencia starting this June.
IN A FLAP!
PIGEONS in Valencia are to get contraceptives to tackle a growth plague. There are now 36,000 birds flapping in the city, up by 14,000 in just five years. The pesky pigeons are a public health hazard, with abandoned buildings and soft-hearted locals feeding them being blamed for their growth.
With some districts virtually overrun special feeders are being laced with sterility treatment.
VULTURE SURPRISE
A GRIFFON vulture is recovering at Alicante’s Santa Faz wildlife centre after it was discovered in a swimming pool.
The adult bird ended up in a pool in Ibi that only had around five centimetres of water.
Guardia Civil officers said the vulture was reasonably healthy but was disorientated.
It's possible the bird may have struck a power line, prompting the fall.
Coastal uproar
A CROWD of more than 300 gathered in Playa Flamenca to demand better services for Orihuela Costa, after years of feeling neglected.
The protest, led by the PIOC party, was staged outside the Orihuela council office, with locals furious at rising bills and little to show for it.
TIME TO GO!:
Six large demos have called for regional President Mazon to resign
ences over people’.
Banners reading ‘Six Months, Still No Home’ and ‘Your Speeches Won’t Keep Us Dry’ filled Valencia city during a recenteek’s mass demonstration.
Environmentalists meanwhile, point to poor urban planning on flood zones and the destruction of wetlands as reasons the
floods were so destructive. One protester told the Olive Press: “This isn’t just a housing crisis. It’s a full-blown social emergency. The kids of Valencia have been forgotten. And people are done with waiting.”
See Mazon must go! and Opinion P 6
Voted top expat paper in Spain
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.
OPINION
The crisis that can’t wait
SIX months after catastrophic floods hit Valencia, the region is still drowning in despair.
Nearly 70,000 children are living in squalid conditions, struggling with mould, broken schools, and severe emotional trauma.
Regional president Carlos Mazon’s response has been woefully inadequateslow action and empty promises.
Six large demonstrations have demanded his resignation, and it’s clear why: his failure to act quickly when the floods hit cost lives and devastated communities.
Children like the 10-year-old son of Eduvmary Lopez remain traumatised, living in damp, unhealthy conditions that breed illness.
They shouldn’t have to live in constant fear, but many, like the Lopez family, are stuck in overcrowded, unsafe housing, where their health and future are at risk.
Education for thousands of children has been disrupted, with many still being taught in makeshift classrooms, missing out on essential learning.
Over €1.2 billion has been poured into recovery efforts, yet the most vulnerable families remain overlooked.
Mazon’s government has failed to provide adequate housing support, and the crisis is now a full-blown social emergency.
Mental health services for children must be urgently expanded as depression and fear take hold of a generation.
Valencia’s children can’t wait any longer. The authorities must act with urgency to ensure proper housing, education, and mental health care.
If Mazon cannot lead effectively, it’s time for him to go. The people have waited long enough - it’s time for action, not words.
Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es
Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es
Yzabelle Bostyn yzabelle@theolivepress.es
Samantha Mythen samantha@theolivepress.es
Tom Ewart Smith tom@theolivepress.es
Victoria Humenyuk Makarova (+34) 951 154 841 admin@theolivepress.es
PAYBACK TIME!
WHEN a court on the Costa Blanca dismissed a case against the conmen behind the Continental Wealth Management (CWM) fraud in 2023, the Olive Press couldn’t find a single victim willing to talk.
All too exhausted after years of private litigation in one of Spain’s greatest expat scandals, they declined to even comment on their devastation.
The Denia court had ruled there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to prosecute four executives of the shameful ‘independent offshore investment company’.
Years of careful legal preparation showing how thousands of victims had collectively lost 35 million euros when CWM collapsed in 2017, apparently went down the drain. Meanwhile the crooks who stole their retirement savings looked to have gotten away with it, as they lorded it from their multi-million euro mansions in the Javea hills or exclusive beach clubs nearby.
One of those laughing all the way to the bank was a small-time TV presenter and glamour model going by the name of Jody Kirby.
She was listed as the sole director of Continental Wealth Trust, the successor company after CWM was wound up by her ex-partnerin-crime Darren Kirby, a financial advisor
A recent conviction sending infamous expat Jody Smart to prison casts a glimmer of light at the end of the long dark tunnel in the 35 million euro Continental Wealth Management scandal
By Walter Finch
from Henley, in the UK.
While Darren fled to Australia and later Cambodia, and somehow avoided prosecution to end up ‘working shifts as a pub chef in Surrey’, Jody stayed in Valencia.
Changing her name to Jody Bell and then to Jody Smart, she eventually became Jody Pearson, when she married an actual chef Franco Pearson, who was also based on the Costa Blanca.
She had already launched a fashion label, Jody Bell London, through the money she made from CWM and was even making regular trips, business class, of course, to promote it in New York, Miami and Milan.
IT HAS been six months since floods ripped through Valencia, killing 228 people and leaving entire communities drowning in grief.
But while nature may have sparked the disaster, many believe the true devastation was man-made.
Now, some of those responsible are finally being held to account.
On October 29, Valencia faced one of Europe’s most catastrophic weather events in recent memory.
A gota fria storm system - long forecast by meteorologists - unleashed a year's worth of rain in just hours.
Ravines became raging rivers. Cars floated through the streets of towns, where dozens died returning from work.
MAZON MUST GO!
Families were swept away. Lives were lost in garages, homes, and on the roads.
And yet - as catastrophe closed in - the warning never came.
The region’s emergency alert system remained silent until 8.11pm.
Yes - pm, not am.
By then, it was too late. Weather agency
Aemet had issued a red alert before sunrise and the university and schools had closed.
Emergency calls then flooded the system all day. But the regional government - led by Carlos Mazon (right) - waited until nightfall to act.
“The damage couldn’t have been avoided,” said Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra in a recent ruling.
“But the deaths could have.”
By Tom Ewart Smith
Tobarra, who is leading the criminal investigation into officials’ failure of duty, highlights an uncomfortable truth: The real tragedy lay not in the natural disaster, but the lack of leadership that followed.
Two senior officials - former emergency chief Emilio Argueso and Salome Pradas, who oversaw alerts - now face manslaughter charges.
Shockingly Pradas admitted she didn’t even know about the emergency alert system until the afternoon it was needed.
The message that was eventually sent was not only late, but vague - asking people to avoid travel, even though many had already died in their homes. Both were sacked. Yet Carlos Mazon
During saccharine promotional videos she bragged of her friendship with celebrities, including Denise Van Outen, and opened up her wardrobe to show off her hundreds of pairs of shoes and thousand-euro frocks. Boasting of her glamorous lifestyle on Instagram, where she dubbed herself ‘a yoga teacher, fashion designer and weeding planner’ she told her 9,000 followers about her trips to Thailand, Puerto Rico and Dubai, over an extraordinary 2,600 posts.
Using her upmarket Oceana beach club, in Benissa, as a base, she organised weddings and tried to reinvent herself as a philanthropist and entrepreneur, egged on by close friends who gushed about her business acumen and ‘big heart’.
For the victims though - many of them ruined and with an uncertain future in old age - there was to be some sweet vengeance.
For like a bolt from the blue, they received news, via the Olive Press, that Jody had been convicted of fraud in an Alicante court last month.
A three-and-a-half year jail sentence for Jody was like a gift from providence for the victims who had long resigned themselves to the innate cruelty of the world. While the first judge in Denia court failed to wrap his head around the enormous, multinational complexities of the scandal - or didn’t want tothe National Court of Alicante had no problems in finding Jody guilty in a smaller case hived off from the main prosecution.
mate protections.
His failings didn’t start on the day of
A year earlier, Mazon had scrapped the Valencian Emergency Unit, a specialised flood-response unit formed after fatal storms in
His government also promoted construction in flood-prone areas and rolled back cli-
While experts warned of increasing risk, Mazon prioritised cuts over caution.
In Paiporta, 62 people died. In Catarroja, 25. Many never had a chance - not because of what nature did, but because of what their leaders didn’t do.
Natural disasters are inevitable. Death on this scale is not.
Today, the scars remain.
The metro between Paiporta and Valencia still runs on a bus replacement.
Rubble fills the doorways of homes and businesses. Every cracked wall and broken shopfront is a brutal reminder of a nightmare that never needed to be this bad.
The anger hasn’t subsided either. Protesters have demanded Mazon’s resignation during SIX spearate protests.
One proposal submitted to Valencia City Hall suggests building a clay statue of the president - a tribute to his absence during the floods.
The satirical inscription would read: “Carlos
AT COURT: Jody arrives with her legal team, while (right) pension specialist Angie Brooks and lawyer Antonio Bertomeu
HAVEN OF SERENITY
THE serene and sophisticated coastal town of Moraira is from a different era. Just 30 minutes away is the Brits’-favourite resort of Benidorm, very much a part of the modern world.
But for a taste of old Spain - although very much with all the mod cons - stay in Moraira. Once a fishing village sandwiched between the mountains and the Mediterranean, it has been transformed into a sought-after retreat
where barefoot luxury and old-world charm coexist in perfect harmony.
Unlike many of its neighbours, Moraira has steadfastly preserved its roots. Think cobbled streets, terracotta rooftops, and a peaceful pace of life that draws in those seeking a quieter, more refined slice of Spain.
You won’t stumble upon signs advertising a full English breakfast for €1 or pubs blaring Premier League matches here.
Instead, Moraira caters to a discerning crowd - well-heeled Spaniards, style-savvy expats, and repeat visitors who appreciate its low-key elegance and Mediterranean soul.
Despite its growing reputation, the town has managed to retain its intimate feel. Moraira has a year-round population of around 10,000, but in the height of summer, that number swells to over 35,000 - a testament to its allure.
What makes Moraira special, even with this influx? For locals like Honorato Ibanez, a 63-year-old restaurateur who moved here from Granada more than three decades ago, the magic lies in the everyday rhythm of life. “The peace here is the main thing,” he says. “It’s just cortijos and campo. There is almost no stress - there aren’t even traffic lights!”
Continues on next page
STRUCTURAL SURVEY BENEFITS
Better be safe than sorry by getting a proper structural survey done
ALTHOUGH some estate agents still claim that ‘they don’t do surveys in Spain’ structural surveys (also called home inspections) are available locally and are just as worthwhile as in any other part of the world.
Buying a property is a big investment for most people, so it makes absolute sense to know what you are buying, identify any signifi cant defects early, and use this information when making an offer.
If you cannot arrange a survey before paying a reservation or deposit a ‘subject to survey’ clause can be included when making payments (provided all parties accept).
The results of a survey might well help you negotiate a lower price or sometimes the survey will confi rm you are getting a great deal or even save you from a troublesome property.
For free initial advice and a survey quotation contact - Mark Paddon Building Surveyor MCIOB.CAATIE +34 653 733 066 mrmpaddon@hotmail.com www.surveyorscostablanca.com
He’s seen the demographic shift over the years, especially in terms of foreign residents.
“Originally there were loads of Germans alongside the British,” he recalls. “But the Brits, by far our preferred customers, really started to dominate. Today there are plenty, but now we also have many Dutch and Belgians. It’s a nice all-round mix.”
The charm of Moraira isn’t just in its people - it’s in the landscape.
Winding coastal roads offer breathtaking views of turquoise bays and lush hillsides dotted with almond and olive trees. It’s no surprise that locals feel deeply
Moraira
connected to their surroundings. “Every morning I commute via the stunning coast road, and every day it puts a smile on my face,” says Helen Tye of Coast and Country Properties. “Even in the winter. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be. It’s wonderful for children, there’s a real sense of community, and it’s unbelievably pretty.”
Historyandnaturein harmony
Moraira might be known for its beaches, but its history runs deep - and high. Rising above the coastline is the Cap d’Or
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this area such a delight.
Nature lovers will also want to explore Marjal del Senillar, a wetland reserve located beside l’Ampolla Beach. Protected since 2004, the reserve is home to several endangered species and plays a vital role in preserving the area’s biodiversity. Stroll the wooden walkways and keep an eye out for native birds, amphibians, and rare plants that thrive in the shallow lagoons. For the more ad-
watchtower, built in the 18th century to defend against Berber pirate raids. One of many towers along the Mediterranean coast, it once stood as a sentinel; today, it offers panoramic views over Moraira, its sparkling harbour, and the distant Peñón de Ifach, a dramatic limestone outcrop in nearby Calpe. Reaching the tower is a popular hike from Playa del Portet, following a well-marked trail from the end of Calle Puerto de Alcudia. Along the way, you’ll be treated to sweeping views and a chance to experience the rugged natural beauty that makes venturous, a boat trip to the Caves of Les Rates just offshore reveals Bronze Age artefacts and colonies of protected bats. The caves are off-limits during breeding season (April to August), but outside these months, they provide a fascinating glimpse into both natural history and archaeology.
Beaches, boats, and the best of the Med No visit to Moraira is complete without time on the water. The town is blessed with a series of idyllic beaches and secluded coves. The Playa de l’Ampolla, located just beside the town centre, is the most accessible and popular, especially for families. A gentle slope and calm waters make it ideal for swimming.
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PEACE AND QUIET: Coastal coves and silent shores
INCE opening its doors in 2024, The Agency Costa Blanca has redefined what it means to experience real estate on Spain’s most desirable coastline. This isn’t just a brokerage - it’s a curated approach to luxury living, blending world-class service with intimate local knowledge. Led by founding partners Alistair Barton and Leonie Ter Brugge, the team brings a fresh perspective to the Costa Blanca property market, already making an impact in Moraira, Javea, and Benissa Costa.
Backed by one of the world’s most recognised luxury real estate brands, The Agency Costa Blanca offers a bespoke experience rooted in trust, discretion, and market expertise. With a global network spanning 130+ offices across 12 countries and over $80 billion in sales, they’re uniquely positioned to connect the region’s most extraordinary homes with discerning international buyers.
or rowdy, but humming with the quiet rhythm of coastal life. Here, you’ll find the Nautico Club, a hub for sailing enthusiasts, and the Fishermen’s Guild, founded in 1929, which still plays a key role in the town’s economy.
ies of Alicante and Valencia are all within easy reach. But for many, the true appeal is simply staying put - enjoying a morning coffee in the plaza, a stroll through the weekly market, and an evening meal at a clifftop restaurant as the sun sinks into the sea.
As the team expands into Dénia and Altea and takes on representation of exclusive new developments, their focus remains clear: to showcase architectural excellence, lifestyle-driven design, and the best of Mediterranean living.
A short walk away is El Portet, a Blue Flag beach often considered one of the finest along the Costa Blanca. Framed by cliffs and lush vegetation, its crescent-shaped bay and crystal-clear water make it a favourite for snorkelling and paddleboard-
Looking for something quieter? Cala Llebeig, a remote cove carved into the cliffs, offers privacy and stunning views for those willing to hike or boat in. It’s one of many ‘secret spots’ that locals like to keep under wraps. Moraira’s marina is a hive of activity - not loud
Thanks to Moraira’s roots as a fishing port, seafood here is not only fresh but abundant. Restaurants along the waterfront serve up the day’s catchthink grilled octopus, sardines, and rich fish stews - with a glass of local wine and a sea view.
Most visitors, find themselves content to fall into Moraira’s gentle rhythm
The Agency is the world’s most followed real estate brand - and for good reason. With award-winning marketing, a collaborative ethos, and access to a curated network of high-profile clientele, the Costa Blanca office is elevating the standard for luxury property representation in Spain. At The Agency Costa Blanca, real estate is about more than property. It’s about people. With over half their business involving international clients, their approach is tailored, strategic, and always personal.
From high-end campaigns to in-house lifestyle publishing, The Agency Costa Blanca is more than a real estate office - it’s the new benchmark for modern luxury on the Mediterranean.
A base to explore (or not)
For those who do crave the occasional blast of nightlife, Benidorm and its infamous fleshpots are close enough for a wild night out - but far enough to feel like a different world entirely. Most visitors, however, find themselves content to fall into Moraira’s gentle rhythm. It’s the kind of place where doing less feels like doing more. And once you’ve discovered its charms, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered looking elsewhere. vegetation, bay ing. quiand hike keep
Moraira also makes an ideal base for exploring the wider region. Day trips to Javea, the Xalo Valley, or the historic cit-
By P OO LVILLAS
INTREPID: Tackle
POLLY’S International
12 All about May 2025
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As the Costa Blanca’s largest stockists of quality used books we are bound to have a book for you in your preferred language.
Fiction, reference, collectables and antiques, your local Polly’s in either Javea or Moraira is here to meet your bookish needs.
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ORAIRA is best known for its turquoise coves, fragrant pine-covered hills, and simple Mediterranean charm.
But beyond its appeal to sunseekers and retirees lies a lesser-known identity: Moraira as a place of literary refuge, inspiration, and quiet productivity.
Over the decades, several notable writers have found in Moraira and its surrounding area a haven in which to write, reflect, or spend their final years - imbuing the town with a subtle but significant literary legacy.
One of the most prominent literary figures to have called Moraira home was Chester Himes, the celebrated African-American author best known for his gritty detective novels set in Harlem. Disillusioned with the racism and social constraints of the United States, Himes, like
Moraira
many African-American artists of his time, sought exile in Europe.
After living in France, he moved with his wife, Lesley Packard, to Moraira in the late 1960s.
They purchased a house in the Pla del Mar development, naming it ‘Villa Griot’- a nod to the West African storytellers who preserve oral histories, suggesting how Himes viewed himself.
Despite some rumored racial hostility from locals, Himes found peace in
Literary Moraira
A haven for a procession of authors to find inspiration, write and reflect on their lives
Moraira’s slow rhythms and dramatic natural beauty. His health declined in his later years, and he passed away in 1984, buried in the nearby town of Benissa. To this day, his presence lingers in the cultural memory of the area, and Villa Griot remains a poignant symbol of his complex relationship with Spain. The nearby town of Benissa also served as a retreat for another literary heavyweight: Martha Gellhorn, the renowned war correspondent and one-time wife of Ernest Hemingway. Gellhorn had a storied career reporting from the front lines of conflicts around the globe - from the Spanish Civil War to World War II and
If you are buying property in Spain or have problems with a property you already own, a professional structural survey can help identify and record defects whilst suggesting remedial solutions and cost implications.
Mark Paddon BSc Hons. MCIOB. CAAT. is a British Building Surveyor and Spanish registered Arquitecto Tecnico, insured via Lloyd’s of London. He has been working on the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida for over 20 years carrying out buyers structural surveys and providing general property purchase and insurance claims. (Thermal camera inspection is also included).
Whether its an old town house, apartment or luxury villa every property purchase represents a considerable investment and deserves a close inspection for defects such as damp, termites, subsidence etc. Specialist structural assessment of problem retaining walls and swimming pools is also undertaken.
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MORAIRA’S second busiest beach also has a blue flag. El Portet is smaller and picture perfect, with its unusual horseshoe-shaped beach curving around stunning turquoise clear water. A promenade flanked by palm trees runs along its length, connecting beach-goers to shops, tapas bars and restaurants with sea views, so you can really set yourself up here for the day.
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PLAYA EL PORTET
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ANOTHER beach with Blue Flag status, Andrago is a pebbled beach balanced out with crystal clear waters. A little promenade overlooking the beach also offers spectacular views of the coast. Check out Playa L´Andrago restaurant on the beach serving traditional Spanish tapas and paella.
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It was a joint prosecution brought by three separate victims, although tragically the most affected, Mark Davison, who lost nearly a million euros, died before the verdict.
“I think the difference between this case where Jody was found guilty and 2023 was this one was nice and simple,” pension campaigner Angie Brooks told the Olive Press this week.
Granada-based Brooks has dedicated years to help compile the case against CWM on behalf of victim groups. Alongside various Spanish lawyers, she is now compiling ‘a much larger case’ against other executives behind the fraud, while she is aware of various separate cases representing victims on the Isle of Man.
“In the recent case there was no need to explain complicated pension rules and trusts and insurance bonds. They simply took the money and kept it, and that was it,” she continued.
While Smart told the Olive Press, via a lawyer, the fraud was ‘a consequence of loans between individuals, in which my…signature does not appear’, the judge, Francisco Javier Guirau, waved it away.
In fact, he dismissed her entire defence, claiming her ex-lover Darren Kirby (above) had ‘coercively’ taken advantage of her ignorance to make her the sole administrator of the com-
DEVASTATION: Leader Mazon (left) vanished for hours and failed to send out warnings as 228 people drowned
Mazon. I was informed at all times.”
However, amid the grief, there is a glimmer of hope - provided by Judge Tobarra, who has quietly become a symbol of justice. Her own courthouse in Catarroja was flooded that day, but since then she’s gathered testimony from over 250 families, listened with empathy, and acted with resolve.
Victims describe her as more than a judge‘like a close friend,’ said one grieving relative. She has worked steadily to determine who held responsibility for warning the public, concluding that civil protection was a regional duty.
Even with the alert system overlooked, she noted, officials could have warned residents through radio, TV, or digital media.
While Mazon himself can only be charged by the Superior Court of Justice of Valencia, he has twice declined to testify, and still hasn’t explained where he was during those critical hours.
October’s unprecedented ‘natural’ disaster could yet become a landmark legal case.
SHINING A LIGHT
TWhile Jody has published 2,600 Instagram posts from exotic destinations, her ex Darren (inset) fled to Cambodia and now lives in the UK working in pubs
pany – and set her up as the fall guy.
In his verdict he wrote that Jody had ‘closed her eyes to the fraudulent activities of Kirby… because she was benefiting personally and handsomely.’
And indeed she had. Despite her protestations, Jody had not raised the alarm when receiving over €2 million in transfers over the space of two years from a Continental Wealth Trust bank account.
And exactly €652,800 winged its way into the accounts of her fashion label, Jody Bell, between 2015 and 2017.
According to bank statements presented to the court, a further €1.34 million landed in her property company, Mercurio Compro, during the same period.
As well as now facing prison, Jody was ordered to pay €70,000 to one victim defrauded through a sham loan agreement and €300,000 to another who was tricked into buying a property from CWM that was not even theirs to sell.
It marks an ignominious fall from grace for the costa socialite, who freely admitted in 2017 that ‘although I work in finance, I’m not a qualified financial adviser’.
By several accounts, she started life in Spain ‘cleaning the pool and toilets’ at the Oliva villa of Darren Kirby’s brother Patrick at the start of 2016.
Darren immediately fell in love and quickly took her off scrubbing to promote her to a job at the CWM headquarters, near Javea.
Together, they lost over half a million of their pension savings, despite having indicated a ‘low-to-medium’ risk preference.
Shamefully, they used a range of dubious shady tactics, including even asking a client to sign and return a blank dealing instruction.
One British victim, who lost €200,000, told the Olive Press: “My paperwork that I sent was altered, my risk changed from medium to high risk and my dealing instructions were photocopied repeatedly buying and selling assets I didn’t authorise.”
He added: “Some people have lost everything and don’t have enough to live on. One person only has 50,000 euros left from 480,000 euros.”
Marbella-based lawyer Antonio Flores, of Lawbird, who was representing various victims, said signing blank sheets was ‘very worrying’.
“This negates the very essence of financial advisory services,” he said.
And while the CWM clients’ life savings tanked catastrophically in risky insurance bonds and other financial vehicles, bosses took up to 8% in commissions and fees each year.
But a series of clever and tactical payouts meant that victims, the majority expats based in Spain, kept coming to them with their life savings.
The money was really rolling in, millions of euros each year, in fact, and Kirby and his colleagues including Alan Gorringe, now dead, Dennis Radford, Paul Clarke and Ward, who was based in Moraira, were living high on the hog.
They used a wide range of dubious and shady tactics
But aside from giving her a job in his office he – crucially – convinced her to sign the documents that would eventually get her convicted in 2025.
The Olive Press established during a long investigation (top) that CWM had started operating on the Costa Blanca around 2011.
While we only started exposing their fraudulent activity in 2017, the first reports of clients losing their life savings came as early as 2012.
It was Angie Brooks’ company Pension Life, based out of Lanjaron, that first started to hear the horror stories.
She told the Olive Press one couple, named only as ‘Pete and Val’, were convinced to lump their entire pension pot into a high-risk QROPS (Qualifying Recognising Overseas Pension Scheme) by a seasoned conman Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions.
The former British government pensions advisor, who has a Florida real estate empire, did not work for CWM. However, ‘his company was accused of scores of transfers of retirement funds on its behalf’.
They were largely disastrous. In the case of ‘Pete’ a CWM investment of £250,000, was soon worth only £93,000 – meaning a loss of 63%. While Val’s was ‘even more catastrophic’ dropping from £280,000 to just £50,000.
That was until, suddenly, at the end of 2017, clients received notice from Momentum Pensions Malta, the trustee company responsible for safeguarding and administering the pension funds, that CWM had ceased trading.
And then the dominoes started to tumble.
How did they think they could get away with it?
“People like Jody, Darren and co never really thought more than the next step” reflected Brooks this week.
“There was no thought given to what's going to happen to the victim,” she continued. “Because they're not very bright, they didn’t think ahead to what could happen to them, either.”
She added the philosophy of the CWM team was simple: “'I've taken money off this guy, and I know he's never going to get it back, but I don't care, as long as I get money to feed my coke habit, my champagne habit, my Jimmy Choo habit.’ That's really all they thought about.”
While Jody is currently appealing her sentence, it's highly doubtful she’ll be able to convince the judge she doesn’t bear responsibility as the sole administrator, given her name is clearly on the documents.
Meanwhile, a new ensemble of lawyers in Madrid has been instructed on a fresh round of legal action against Jody, Darren and the remaining culprits, many who still remain at large on the Spanish costs. Only time will tell, but finally, at least, some justice is being served.
HE historic blackout on April 28 sent millions of businesses and organisations into a tailspin.
At around 12.30pm, wifi went down across the country, traffic lights stopped working and millions of worried workers gave up for the day.
But not at the Olive Press.
We were one of the few media outlets able to soldier on through the fog of war, providing readers with comprehensive reporting of the day as it unfolded.
We were there on the dot to break the news that an unprecedented power outage was to blame even as many people still assumed it was just in their own building.
This was thanks to the ingenuity of our new digital editor Walter Finch, who crossed the border into Gibraltar, hearing that the power hadn’t turned off there.
Set up with electricity and functioning wifi, the Olive Press was able to keep our readers informed, from breaking news stories to regular social media updates.
We reported regular updates from the Spanish national grid and the nearby Junta – while Pedro Sanchez remained suspiciously quiet until power had returned to many places. Everyone wanted to know what had caused it? Was it a cyberattack? Our friends from Russia? We remained cautious and didn’t spread ‘bulos’ or fake news as was the case by certain rivals during COVID.
We reported on tales of people trapped in lifts, a woman giving birth in a hotel lobby and window cleaners left dangling from the side of skyscrapers.
Our editor-at-large Jon Clarke meanwhile, provided a gripping first-person account of the confusion and anxiety of ‘zero day’, as everyone – including the politicians – tried to understand what was happening.
And we’ve been reporting on the fallout ever since.
This is why over 70,000 of you have now registered to get our regular newsletters and thousands are also paying for our service, avoiding ads and getting lots of special offers.
For under a euro a day you get a daily newsletter/update plus four other newsletters on Property, Health, Travel, plus a weekend missive from our oneman news army, digital editor Walter Finch.
When the lights went out, they stayed on at the Olive Press Scan the QR code to get your last chance to use our easter discount on yearly Olive Press subscription
GLAMOUR:
Greener steel
SPAIN will use €60 million of EU money to fund a zero-carbon steel mill in the central Castilla-La Mancha region.
The World Economic Forum has described it as one of the 'five most important industrial decarbonisation initiatives in the world'.
It will be set up in Puertollano and use green hydrogen to produce sponge iron, which will then be mixed with scrap to produce up to 1.5 million tonnes of rolled steel a year.
The plant will create around 1,000 jobs and depending on the timing of formal approval for the project to go ahead, site construction could start before the end of this year.
Hydrogen bombshell Toxic decision
Fears over imminent reopening
of mine responsible for Andalucia’s worst environmental catastrophe
A NOTORIOUS mine behind Andalucia's worst-ever environmental disaster is poised to reopen – sparking fears of a second toxic tsunami.
The Aznalcollar mine, which unleashed a river of poison in 1998, has been given the green light to resume operations this July.
Environmental campaigners are warning it’s a ticking time bomb. They claim a jaw-dropping 85.5 BILLION litres of toxic wastewater could be pumped straight into the Guadalquivir River – threatening tourist
ORCA RESCUE
CONSERVATIONISTS are struggling to free a vulnerable orca hat has become entangled in fishing gear in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The mammal was spotted with ropes and buoys wrapped around its fin, making it very difficult to swim or feed.
A specialised team has been tracking the orca for the last week to try and free it from the objects -- but so far without success.
By Walter Finch
hotspots like Sevilla, Cadiz and the Costa de la Luz.
“This will flood the river with deadly metals – arsenic, lead, cadmium, the works,” blasted a furious Greenpeace rep. “It’s an ecological massacre in the making.”
The mine is being revived by Mexican company Min- la that could see the entire project axed – but that hasn’t stopped the Junta Locals aren’t having it. May-
The rescue operation, which also involved the Spanish coast guard, has had to observe strict legal protections for Spain’s vulnerable orca population.
Officials have urged fishermen to avoid throwing old fishing gear into the sea as it remains a major threat during the busy whale season in this key migratory route.
FEARS: of arsenic, lead and cadmium poisoning
SPAIN is making waves with plans to build its first offshore green hydrogen plant off Gran Canaria’s coast, aiming to cut fossil fuel use and boost energy independence in the Canary Islands.
Spearheaded by marine experts at PLOCAN (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands), the H2VERDE project will be located 1.5 km off the island’s northeast shore, using solar, wave, and wind energy to produce clean hydrogen.
Funded with €6 million from the Canary Islands government and the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the facility will generate 15,000 kg of hydrogen annually.
ors, farmers, fishermen, medics, scientists and even the Andalucian Ombudsman have banded together, demanding an independent probe into the risks.
Campaigners are especially alarmed about the threat to Doñana National Park, a UNESCO-listed paradise teeming with rare wildlife.
The original disaster in 1998 saw six million cubic metres of sludge devastate 60km of river and cost taxpayers €240 million. The Swedish firm behind it, Boliden, never paid a cent.
With the grim anniversary looming, eco groups are issuing a final warning: “This river is Andalucia’s lifebloodthe Junta must not make the same mistake twice.”
Gold
It will feature Spain’s first offshore hydrogen refuelling station, initially supplying port machinery before expanding to ships.
The project could cut 200 tonnes of CO₂ each year and reduce the Canaries’ 95% reliance on fossil fuels.
“This is about energy sovereignty,” says project lead Alejandro Romero. “The Canaries spend €18 billion yearly on fossil fuel imports, Spain spends €90 billion. Green hydrogen is our ticket to freedom.”
Locals are calling it a green gold rush, expecting jobs, innovation, and a clean-energy boom.
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
ATOCHA STATION IN MADRID
It’s the busiest station in the whole of Spain and one of the most recognizable icons, but Atocha isn’t just functional: it’s also a visual spectacle.
Atocha is the main hub for Spain’s AVE high-speed trains to major cities like Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia, and Malaga. Redesigned in the 1990’s after a devastating bombing by Islamist terrorists, the old terminal now houses a tropical garden inside the station, which is open to the public and features 7,000 plants. Its interior tropical garden stands out, where hundreds of plants coexist under an iron and glass dome.
ON THE TRACK OF TRAVEL GEMS
From neo-Romanic to modernist: These are the six most beautiful train stations in Spain
By Dylan Wagemans
TRAIN travel is undeniably romantic - the gentle rhythm of the rails, the slow reveal of rolling hills and dramatic coastlines, and the grand old stations that serve as gateways to adventure.
Spain boasts over 15,000 kilometres of railway lines and more than 200 stations, and the journey often begins - and ends - in buildings so beautiful they deserve a trip in their own right.
Many of the country’s railway stations are steeped in history, culture, and jaw-dropping architecture.
From ornate Belle Epoque masterpieces to Moorish-inspired gems, these stations aren’t just transport hubsthey’re living museums, bursting with stories and style. Some still hum with the bustle of daily commuters, others have been restored and repurposed into hotels, galleries, or cultural centres.
2
CONCORDIA STATION IN BILBAO
The Concordia station in Bilbao is a jewel of Basque modernism with colourful stained glass windows and ceramic decorations throughout.
Opened in 1902, the station serves as a terminus for several narrow-gauge railway services in the area. Narrow-gauge tracks were laid down due to the region’s difficult topography.
After the construction of a new high speed line is finished, Bilbao-Abando station will be renovated to accommodate all railway services starting in Abando, which will include the narrow-gauge services currently starting at this station. Bilbao-Concordia will cease to serve as a railway station after then, and its future use is still unclear.
Whether you're a rail enthusiast, a history buff, or just someone who appreciates fine design, Spain’s most beautiful stations offer a journey through time, culture, and craftsmanship.
And the best part? They’re scattered across the country, giving you the perfect excuse to hop on a train and discover the artistry of the tracks at leisure.
So pack your bags, grab your ticket, and let the Olive Press guide you to seven of Spain’s most beautiful train stations. These are destinations in themselves that prove the magic of travel begins long before you reach your final stop.
Located in the autonomous community of Castilla y Leon, the neo-plateresque station of Zamora stands out, with its four towers, coats of arms and its central clock.
Although it was designed in 1927, the building wasn’t completed until 1958, as the Spanish Civil War slowed down much of the construction.
The station played a crucial
THE OLD STATION OF ALMERIA
We start off with the old station in the Andalucian city of Almeria.
Designed by a French architect at the end of the 19th century, the building stands as a great example of the iron and glass blend architecture that was popular during the Industrial Revolution.
The building was damaged in a fascist bombing raid in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, but rebuilt back to its former glory.
The station has been defunct since the coming of the 21st century, but there are plans to transform the building into an event hall.
role in the post-war economic recovery, facilitating the transport of essential goods and the movement of people at a time when other forms of transport were limited.
In addition, the station building became an architectural emblem of Zamora, representing the rebirth of the railway infrastructure after years of conflict.
VALENCIA’S
ESTACIO DEL NORD
Opened in 1917, Valencia’s main station is an icon of Valencian modernism.
The building fascinates with its façade adorned throughout with motifs inspired by local agriculture, such as oranges and flowers.
As the main station of Valencia, it receives around 15 million passengers every year.
Due to its architectural characteristics and ornamental attributes, it was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1961 and an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1983.
For decades it was considered the most spectacular international station in Europe. Built in 1928 in the middle of the Pyrenees, Canfranc was a key railway link between Spain and France. This came to an abrupt end in 1970 when a train derailment damaged an important bridge in France. With only minimal services over five decades, Canfranc station experienced a major decline and neglect, resulting in much of the site becoming derelict.
As of 2024, the site has been reborn as a luxury hotel, with the original platforms and façade still preserved. 1
Gael force!
BOTH the men’s and women’s gaelic football teams in Costa del Sol have qualified for the Iberian finals. The women’s team have been unbeaten all season so far.
Blow me
RUSSIAN tennis hothead Svyatoslav Gulin was booted from a World Tour match after yelling ‘You, suck me’! in Spanish at the court umpire, while grabbing his crotch.
Beers
TIKTOKER Harry Poulton was astounded after stumbling across beer on the menu at Burger King’s branch in Benidorm. He was disappointed at the €3.06 price tag though.
FORGET the millionaire lifestyle of Marbella or Ibiza - if you want to be happy, head for the more modest seaside town of Chipiona.
The little-known beachside beauty, tucked away in Cadiz, has just bagged the title of ‘Happiest Town in Spain 2025’ – and locals are grinning from ear to ear.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY!
By Tom Ewart Smith
sandy beaches and the tallest traditional lighthouse in Spain, shot to number one in a nationwide YouGov survey for sugar brand Azucarera – beating out tourist darlings like Ronda and Nerja.
Spain’s happiest town is a tiny seaside gem you’ve probably never heard of
Pigeon Pete’s wrong turn
A CLUELESS racing pigeon
flapped his way into the history books after taking a wrong turn on his way from Mallorca to Ibliza - and ended up 5,000km off course in Canada.
Pigeon No. 9950, a first-time flyer from Mallorca, was meant to race a mere 125km to his neighbouring island. But he somehow ended up in Nova Scotia a month later - looking ruffled and a bit worse for wear.
The sunny spot, known for its end- less
So what’s the secret? According to the report, it’s all down to Chipiona’s ‘people, climate, and philosophy of life’. In other words: sunshine, smiles, and siestas.
then had them rate their top picks.
in the top five was Valencia’s medieval gem Peñiscola.
Owner David Fernandez reckons he hitched a ride on a cargo ship, calling the bird’s survival ‘amazing’. Now called Peter, the plucky pigeon has found fame and a new home in a Canadian rehab centre.
Last year, Chipiona came third – but this time, it’s claimed the crown, and proudly so. The poll, part of the ‘Los pueblos más felices de España’ study, quizzed over 2,000 Spaniards on what towns made them feel most joyful –
Andalucia dominated the leaderboard, with seven out of the top 10 towns coming from the southern region. Beachy Cadiz and sunny Malaga were the stars of the show, with Tarifa, Zahara de los Atunes, and Benalmadena all making the cut.
The only non-Andalucian town
Sunshine, beauty, and nature topped the list of happiness boosters – though northern towns like Santillana del Mar scored big for food and scenery.
So if you’re after joy in 2025 –forget the crowds and head to Chipiona. Happiness, it seems, wears flip-flops.
He was a little underweight, slightly dehydrated, and had some bad bruising when he arrived but has made a full recovery.
“If they have grown fond of him, I am not going to take Peter away from them,” said David, no doubt with one eye on the ‘complicated’ paperwork he would have to fill in to get Peter back.
TALL STORY: Chipiona has Spain’s tallest lighthouse AND happiest locals
