EASTER SUCCESS Saint George’s celebrations

NERJA is set to celebrate St. George’s Day in style thanks to the local dele‐gation of the Royal British Legion. The or ‐ganisation is hosting a family fun afternoon in honour of England’s na ‐tional day, and it’s all for charity!

THIS Easter Week was the most successful ever as far as number of visitors and money spent accord ‐ing to the Junta de An ‐dalucia.

It revealed on April 11 that a report from the Ministry of Tourism, Cul ‐ture and Sport concerning tourism figures for the Holy Week saw the whole of Andalucia receive more than one million visitors who generated income for the community of around €403 million which places this recent holiday season as the best ever.

Compared to last year, there has been a 15 per cent increase in visitors and an increase in the av‐erage amount spent of 27 per cent and the improve‐

Paws for a cause

A WHOLE host of animal lovers are coming together to mark the ‘Day of the Po‐denco’ hunting dogs on Monday, May 1. The APARIV ‐ Asociación Protec‐tora de Animales del Rincon de la Victoria and The Under Dog will unite pod lovers for a six kilometre walk along Axarqu’a’s scenic coastline to honour the occasion.

Dog lovers and their four‐legged friends will meet from 7pm opposite the Messai Mara Beach Club at the Torre del Mar prome ‐nade, where participants can register and pay a dona‐ tion entry fee of €5 to the charities. ment in income is not on‐ly thanks to the increased numbers but the fact the average stay was half a day longer than in the past, generating an esti ‐mated extra €76.94 per visitor.

The walk will then get un‐derway from 7.30pm, cover‐ing three kilometres to La Caleta before returning to Torre del Mar’s promenade.

The Day of the Podenco advocates for the welfare and protection of hunting dogs in Spain, in particular for Podencos which are of‐ten abused or abandoned, despite being loving pets. Podencos and all other dogs are welcome at the walk.

For more information, participants can get in touch by calling: 711 031 414.

The amount spent, saw the ‘lion’s share’ collected by restaurants and bars at 45.6 per cent, whist 24.7 per cent was spent on ac‐ commodation and 5.3 per cent on general purchas ‐es.

As far as hotels are con‐cerned, the greatest num‐ber of stays took place in coastal resorts and as far as Malaga Province is concerned, there was a very acceptable 81.4 per cent occupation rate which was beaten only by Sevilla.

The event will take place at The Chapel Bar on Calle Jaen in Nerja from 2pm on Sunday, April 23. Guests can look forward to an exciting afternoon of activities, including a tombola with fabulous prizes and a variety of games to try their hand at. Attendees can also indulge in a se ‐lection of food and drinks while socialising and making new friends. All gifts and donations are welcome, and the support of local resi ‐dents is appreciated. The Royal British Legion relies on this essential support for their charity of choice, the Poppy Ap‐peal, which supports ex‐service people in the UK and the allied forces. Last year’s event raised almost €600 for the charity, which the group could beat this year!

For more information, those interested in at ‐tending can contact Dorothy by phone on: 643 212 944 or : 951 834 488.

ONE AxarquIa town is inviting visitors to step back in history to the dawn of mankind. AlcaucIn’s Cultural Interpretation Centre officially opened its doors on Saturday, April 1 with an inaugural exhibition about neanderthals.

This exciting exhibition space features two rooms packed with fascinating arte­