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ll about
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Our special issue discovers why everyone is having so much fun in Playa Flamenca See page 11
Issue 77
Playa Flamenca
T was back in the 1960s and 1970s that a group of hardy an interest in the Belgians took coastline of Playa pretty, unspoilt Flamenca. Boasting two beautiful coves and hectares of wide open countryside, the Flemish speakers from Flanders were soon in their element and building homes. With its rolling olive imity to both the groves and proxmain coastal road and the rapidly growing fishing port Torrevieja, it was the perfect place of settle. to Today, Urbanisation Playa Flamenca is one of the most popular, es to live on the south bustling placCosta Blanca. Featuring two of Orihuela Costa, itthe best beaches of of Alicante, part sits in the province cian Community, of the sunny Valenes and flamingos. famed for its orangMany people assume from the flamingoes its name comes who have one of Spain’s biggest colonies revieja’s Laguna Rosa nearby at Tor(a record 1,500 pairs bred there in 2020), but in fact comes from the Flemish it Today, the population settlers. is much more cosmopolitan and more than just theis made up of a lot however, still well Belgians, who are represented. Most of the residents are British, Germans and Scandinavians and the majority permanent some stay for part residents while of the year or visit for their annual holiday.
www.theolivepress.es
PERFECT PLAYA November 2022
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With its year-round sun, unspoilt coast and golf, Playa Flamenca in Orihuela Costa is the perfect playground expats and tourists for alike
Perfect climate, perfect beaches
With more than 320 a year, short winters,days of sunshine and an average year-round temperature of 18 degrees, Playa Flamenca has a perfect climate and is a beach resort for seasons. all Its white and sandy the small neighbouring By Jo Chipchase coves. and La Estaca, have coves, La Mosca Go past Playa La this pretty Blue Flag status sincehad the coveted find a designated Mosca, and you’ll course lies 1992. dog-friendly beach, rene Famous for their where you can exercise crystal-clear waters, palm and natural, and are backed by with your four- b e t w e e n they are the perfect trees legged friend. For place for swim- In summer and cacti. interthe brave at heart two ming and watersports there’s also a nudist or just lying with walkersthe coast path is bustling ther beach a bit fur- c o n n e c t e d back and enjoying and punters enjoying on – you have been valleys, surwarned! beach restaurants. the Despite the fact beach life. rounded a bustling comBut the whole area mercial centre by hillocks lies right network of ramblas has an excellent next to the main that protect road The riverbed, the and coves (N-332) that borders it from the cas, is dry most ofRambla de las Estathe urbanisation, wind and the year and makes another popular walking Playa Flamenca the beaches providing trail. It runs down to niently close to is situated conve- a microclifeel setwo of the most which, during the La Estaca beach, mous golf fa- mate summer, courses on has the a lively ca, both Costa Blan- any that makes it suitable for golf chiringuito (beach hole, which is who look as if they bar) and lifeguards drive away.approximately a 10-minute tel, day of the year. It has its own hoare straight off Bayshop, and restaurant reputedly one of watch. the best short holes complex. The Royal Campoamor in Europe. Golf Course Also ranked highly is the Villamartin It’s possible to was opened in 1988 walk, hire electric Famous golfers by Juan de Bor- Golf Course, one of the first to open bon, Count the in include Seve that have played here of Barcelona, and Valencia region. scooters or cycle Ballesteros, Jose a tournament is held every Maria Olazabal along the wide August to honour Opened in 1972, it was designed his name. legendary Californian by course is welland Ian Woosnam. The promenade tended, with plenty With neatly manicured Putman, and attracts architect, Robert plants and and explore of greens and pine trees, golfers panoramic views towards the coast, afield. An old-school course from far of the Mediterranean. and fine views The clubhouse steeped in golfing history, it has a famous 17th Continues
In the heart of golf country
on next page
The
O LIVE P RESS
Your expat
voice in Spain
COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA FREE Vol. 3 Issue 77 www.theolivepress.es November 3rd - November 16th 2022
Licenced to scam THE British embassy is warning of a scam taking advantage of expats caught in the driving licence debacle. It claims adverts have appeared on Facebook offering to get them ‘a Spanish licence in exchange for cash’. The alarm was first raised from a social media pressure group which threatened to invade the embassy last month. The group is representing what is believed to be thousands of British residents who haven’t been able to legally drive in Spain since May 1. One member told the Olive Press the scammers are asking for €550 for the service.
POLICE have kicked 40 Glasgow Celtic ‘fans’ off an AVE train for ‘uncivil behaviour’ towards Renfe workers and other passengers. Officers say their behaviour turned to aggressive abuse and insults, with fellow passengers asking to be moved to a different carriage.
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Points
“Please don’t do any business with these guys,” he said. British ambassador Hugh Elliott revealed this week there were only two outstanding points still being hammered out between the two sides, in advance of an agreement. Meanwhile, Elliott, has denied the delay in reaching a post-Brexit deal on driving licence exchange has anything to do with the Gibraltar border negotiations. He insisted this during a meeting with the pressure group, which is trying to help the thousands of British residents who have been unable to drive.
Kicked off
The Alicante to Madrid high speed train was delayed by 52 minutes, with passengers due a refund. Renfe will file a complaint
against the 40 ‘hooligans’ who were on their way to yesterday's Champions League clash with Real Madrid. They will most likely be faced with covering the compensation as well as other charges, subject to a court order.
Hope for Kim
Tourist to get new hands after losing all her limbs after Spanish holiday five years ago A BRITISH woman who was told she had six hours to live while on holiday in Spain is finally set to undergo a rare double hand transplant. Kim Smith lost all of her limbs after she contracted sepsis following a common urinary tract infection while on holiday five years ago this month. The 61-year-old is near the top of a waiting list for hand transplant surgery, which will ‘make her life better again’. “I’ve just got on with my life and stayed strong and positive for so long, it’s been the only way,” she told the Olive Press. “After my transplant, I’ll be able to drive again and do more things life will get better again.” Kim had fallen ill while she and her husband Steve, f r o m Milton Keynes, were on holiday on the C o s t a Blanca in Novem-
EXCLUSIVE By Anthony Piovesan
ber 2017. They had plans to spend Christmas there, but one day while visiting the historic town of Sax she felt a pang of pain in her lower back. Thinking it was a urine infection she went to nearby Elda Hospital and pointed at her back, telling doctors ‘pain here’. “In hindsight I should have said I had an infection because they just x-rayed my back and sent me away telling me I had no breaks or fractures,” she explained.
Infection
NIGHTMARE: Coma and aftermath of sepsis drama
The next day she went to see another doctor, who did a test for a urine infection and, after confirming it, prescribed her with a course of antibiotics. But that night at 4am she was in so much pain she was rushed to hospital again, where doctors told her husband she ‘only had six hours to live’. She really thought she was ‘going to die’ and was put into an in-
duced coma for nine weeks, three weeks of it in her local hospital in Milton Keynes. When she finally woke up surgeons told her that her hands and legs would need to be amputated as they had ‘gone black and completely died’ from sepsis. After major surgery she then spent half a year in recovery.
“For six months I was just in bed, I couldn’t move,” she recalled. “I had to learn how to sit up and use my muscles again. It was awful.” She is now near the top of a waiting list for a double hand transplant at Leeds General Infirmary, the only hospital in the UK that can perform the surgery. The former hairdresser says she misses her hands most of all, and looks forward to cooking, sewing and driving again after the operation.
Inspirational
Tel: 952 147 834
See page 17
HAPPY TIMES: In Spain before infection
Kim hopes by speaking out she will be an inspirational voice for others who have also been impacted by sepsis. “Everyone always tells me I’m so strong and positive and so I encourage those people to be the same - It’s the only way to get through,” she concluded.