Costa Blanca South/Murcia Olive Press - Issue 65 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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Moraira MARVELLOUS

May 2022

Close to Benidorm

yet a world apart

- discover the Spanish

UST half an hour up Benidorm, you’llfrom builtBy Kimberley Mannion of the most relaxed find one seaside towns in Spain. Oozing with charm, Moraira is one fishing villages, and it remains full of the Costa Blanca’s of history classic old unspoiled and tradition, and largely today.

charmer with expat

You won’t find signs for English breakfasts or lager pint here, this is an at one euro a as popular with upmarket resort

refined Spaniards as it is with upmarket foreign tourists-in-the-know.

appeal

This is not to say Moraira is undiscovered by holidaymakers – far from it. The demographics confirm its status as a popular tourist destination. Continues on next

We also have delicious pies and Scotch We have gluten eggs. free and Keto diet Contact us for any options as well. special requests. Call for details about delivery.

Don’t miss our special pullout on the evocative secret village of the Marina Alta

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...and what were Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn doing there?

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Vol. 3 Issue 65 www.theolivepress.es May 19th - June 1st 2022

Policy of denial Driven to distraction The UK licence drama deepens

Page 4

Get on board

Travel industry bounces back

Page 6

Expats’ €14,000 medical bill because insurance company ‘wouldn’t answer phone’ after accident

A BRITISH couple have been handed a huge medical bill for hospital care, despite being fully covered by their private health insurance company. The expats have been slapped with a debt of €14,000 because of the company’s negligence - they claim. Dawn Bridge, a 50-year-old writer, originally from Cheshire, suffered a bad fall in her hometown of Mazarron, Murcia, in December 2021. Husband Adrian, an academic, immediately went to call the number on his nsurance medical card, believing emergency staff would be on call to deal with it. However, after a whole NINE MINUTES of waiting - while Dawn screamed in agony - the 59-year-old still had no answer. Eventually he was persuaded to call

EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade

an ambulance by a concerned neighbour and a local emergency service turned up ‘within minutes’. She was soon receiving emergency treatment for two bad fractures at Cartagena’s public hospital Dawn to St Lucia. She also had to have a dislocated ankle put back into place. But, in reality, her problems had only just begun, as despite paying two premiums for a policy that promised ‘immediate access to care’ and ‘no copayments’ the opposite occurred. Indeed, on leaving St Lucia Hospital, some days later, they were handed the bill which their insurance company REFUSED to pay. This despite them paying €1,300 a year.

MYSTERY SOLVED OVER MASS DEER DEATHS

Off the beaten track Our picks for a Spring adventure with a difference

Page 20

BETTER DAYS: The Bridges on holiday and (right) Dawn after accident

The main reason given; because Dawn was treated in ‘the wrong hosAN investigation has ruled that 100 deer found in an Andapital’. lucian natural park died from a rare lung complication. “Yet during that week, I received no Scientists from the Junta have ruled the animals found in advice on transferring her to a hospithe Sierra de Baza in April died from a severe pulmonary tal recognised by our insurance comcongestion caused by the bacteria Pasteurella. pany,” slammed Adrian, a former It comes after extreme weather in late March, known as the history lecturer at York University. Calima, brought episodes of heavy rain and a drastic drop in “We had no help in providing additemperature. tional care, no communication and no explanation why our emergency call wasn’t answered.” And over the last half year, he claims they have received ‘not an ounce’ of concern or compassion regarding their plight. This despite Dawn still being heavily dependent on a wheelchair for mobility and having to endure intensive physiotherapy sessions. A remarkable email stream, the Olive Press has seen, demanded if the couple could ‘prove the [emergency] call’, and also questioned if PHOTOVOLTAIC they had even rung the CHARGERS FOR INSTALLATIONS ELECTRIC VEHICLES right number. “We both feel totally abandoned, and lost within a spiral of conautoconsumo@solarworks.es +34 965 085 888 fusion, bureaucracy and data protection,” continued Adrian. “If only they’d an-

swered their own emergency number (and we’d gone to an appropriate hospital), my wife would have been treated in a timely manner AND without costs.” Thankfully, the Cartagena Hospital has been gracious enough to offer the Bridges a staged payment scheme which eases the financial burden. In the meantime, they hope their experience might save others from the same pain, cost and anxiety. “It’s the principle,” insisted Adrian, “they’ve just washed their hands of us, all down to their own terrible service when we needed them most.” A spokesperson from St Lucia de Cartagena told the Olive Press “When the insurance company does not cover the services provided or the patient is not registered with Seguridad Social, we require them to pay the bill.” The couple paid €1,300-€1,400 a year for their insurance health bill. On deadline the Olive Press received a letter from the insurance company's lawyer saying that the company had acted ‘in strict and rigorous compliance with the terms of the policy’. Opinion Page 6

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF Clamp down THE Valencian government wants all councils to pass a bye-law that targets pimps and people asking for sex. Some town halls have already introduced the measure which fines offenders up to €3,000.

Lighting up THE Murcia region has the second-highest percentage of cigarette smokers in Spain, behind Extremadura. Figures from cancer group AECC say eight million people smoke in the country each day.

On gas THREE men who stole 20 butano gas cylinders from a Torrellano area shop to sell on the black market have been arrested.

Bag snatcher A man has been arrested for robbing at least 10 women in Los Alcazares streets. The hooded thief followed female targets before attacking them and running off with their bags.

A CROOKED builder has been arrested for scamming an elderly client by stealing €7,000 from a new bank account that he helped her open. The Guardia Civil are probing the man in Los Alcazares for fraud after the pensioner filed a complaint. She had hired the man to do re-

May 19th - June 1st 2022

Helpful fraudster pair work at her property which would be paid for by her insurance company. He persuaded her to open a new account which would accept the insurance payments to cover his work.

He even went to the bank to help set it up, but stole the new bank card while she was distracted. He used it to make withdrawals over a period of months - totalling over €7,000.

PAEDO PRIEST PUNISHED

San Pedro pervert ordered to pay €30,000 in compensation

A PERVERT priest who sexually abused a boy has been jailed for eight years. Murcia Provincial Court heard how he groomed the youngster in San Pedro del Pinatar when he was a junior priest between 2006 and 2013.

He got to know the child’s family and built up a strong relationship, which extended to staying in their home. They even stayed close when he was promoted and given his own parish in Yecla in 2013. By then, the boy had turned

Let down POLICE has arrested a man in Cartagena accused of selling unauthorised drugs to treat erectile dysfunction. He was also allegedly selling ‘poppers’, a synthetic inhalant drug which produces a short sensation of euphoria. Buyers of the drugs were reportedly sourced by the seller through popular dating websites, and then met in person to complete the transaction.

13 and frequently travelled the 140 kilometres to stay with him, receiving many gifts and meals during his stays. However, the prosecutor told how frequent sexual abuse badly impacted on the youngster’s progress at

Washed out

AN international money launderer wanted in Sweden has been arrested in Torrevieja. The man, 31, is accused of laundering over €222,000 in March 2020 via an account belonging to an Italian company. A series of bank transfers using four collaborators took place. All of the money came from criminal activity. Extradition proceedings have begun in Madrid.

school, along with his mental and emotional state. The case did not come to trial until the victim revealed what had happened to another priest and the Diocese of Cartagena stepped in to take the matter to the Prosecutor’s Office.

Jail

Aside from the prison sentence, Antonio LZ, was handed a five-year order to stay away from the victim, once freed from jail. He was also ordered to pay his victim €30,000 in compensation. Two other child abuse accusations, also in San Pedro del Pinatar, have yet to reach court.

Mugger snared A MAN has been arrested after violently mugging a series of women in Los Alcazares. He is accused of at least 10 similar crimes over a week-long crime spree. He allegedly threw them all to the ground before snatching their bags. He usually followed the victims before attacking, wearing dark sports clothes, covering his face with a mask and a hood over his head. Some of the women suffered serious injury as a result of the assault.

Gay insult AN Elche councillor has slammed a homophobic insult shouted at him during a seaside walk with his husband. Equality and Social Rights councillor Mariano Valera was holding hands with his partner in Santa Pola when two youths riding bicycles called them ‘deviants’. “We were perplexed and didn’t know what to say or do, and we simply looked at each other as what happened made us very sad,” he revealed. Rather than reporting a hate crime, Valera decided to publicise the incident ‘for what has happened and for what is happening and continues to happen’.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es BRITISH entrepreneur Richard Branson hung out - and played - with tennis legend Rafa Nadal at the star’s tennis academy on a recent visit to Mallorca. The pair also visited Virgin’s latest resort - the Son Bunyola in Mallorca, which is due to be formally opened this week and coincides with the new cruiser Virgin’s Valiant Lady docking in Gibraltar before making an inaugural call to Mallorca. Following his visit, the 71-year-old said: “Rafa was deep into preparations for the

Coals to Newcastle

A TAIWANESE dance group has just won the top prize of a Flamenco competition held in Madrid. The Genio Dance Group scooped the award in the 31st edition of Certamen de Coreografia de Danza Española y Flamenco. Lead dancer Hsueh Yu-hsien (below) said she was ‘surprised and delighted’ to beat Spaniards at their own game in the highly competitive final which featured six other teams. The group was invited to Madrid after judges viewed a YouTube video of their performance. The competition was founded in 1992 and is held annually by Producciones Maga, a company currently headed by Spanish dancer Margaret Jova.

May 19th - June 1st 2022

SERVED UP

current Masters tournaments, building up to the French Open he has dominated for so long. But he was good enough to give us a few hours to sit and chat about what is going on in the world – and of course share some of his tennis wisdom. I’m still looking to improve!” See Virgin hotel, page 16

From lead to gold New life for set of doomed BBC show Eldorado

IT was the TV deal that producers had golden hopes for, but after just a year and two series Eldorado turned to lead. The BBC soap famed for its wooden acting, dreadful sound quality and unknown thespians was cancelled. And its purpose-built set in Coin, inland from the Costa del Sol’s Fuengirola was left abandoned. In the years since the minitown has been used as a hotel, tourism attraction and most ignominiously as a paintballers ‘battleground’ before being finally left to crumble. But now the set has been taken over to be turned into a

Cheeky!

RE-BIRTH: New resort on the series set By Kimberley Mannion

plush new hotel and commercial centre. So any fans of the programme (and there weren’t too many) will be able to relive the golden days of Eldorado with a nostalgic BRITISH actor Dennis Waterman has died at hosholiday at the pital in Spain at the age of 74. new Versus His fourth wife, Pam Flint, who the actor married Resort. in 2011, was at his bedside when he passed away. Hotel bosses The popular actor was a permanent fixture in have signed a dramas in the 70s and 80s where he usudeal with the ally played a hard-man role, starring as local counbodyguard Terry McCann in Minder and cil for 8,000 copper George Carter in The Sweeney. metres of In his later years he starred in the popucommercial lar investigative series New Tricks. space, 4,000 He then announced plans to retire to La metres of garManga in Murcia to do ‘f*** all’. dens and a hotel with 170 rooms. The company will

Final curtain for Waterman

pay €90,000 per year for the privilege. The contract has been granted for 50 years. Versus Resort will hope that it lasts longer than the one year which Eldorado ran for. Focusing on the lives of expats on the fictional town of Los Barcos on the ‘Eldorado’ coast, the BBC had hoped the programme would be as much of a hit as soaps like Eastenders with the twist of the exoticism of Spain.

Disaster

The production, which cost the BBC around £10 million, is widely considered one of the BBC’s biggest disasters and has become a synonym for fiasco. The new hotel will have four stars - which some unkind critics might say is four more than the BBC soap had.

KIM CLARK

A new Banksy? HAS Banksy snuck into the Axarquia to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine? This mural is unmistakable in his style and has appeared under a motorway bridge between Torre del Mar and

Velez-Malaga. It is inspired by the anonymous artist’s iconic Girl with Balloon series of stencils that first appeared at London’s Waterloo Bridge. Banksy has several times used variants of this design in social campaigns.

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SPAIN has broken its tragic record as a Eurovision failure and come in third after a raunchy performance by Chanel with the reggaeton hit SloMo. Chanel won 231 points from the jury and 228 from the televote, which placed Spain in third spot overall. It is the best result since 1995 when Anabel Conde came second with the song Vuelve conmigo. The 31-year-old Cuban-born entertainer wore a revealing outfit styled on a bullfighter’s traja de luz. The last time Spain won Eurovision was in 1969 with Salome’s Vivo Cantando. This year’s contest, which was held in Turin, was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, in a symbolic show of public support following the country’s invasion by Russia. Sam Ryder came second for the UK, the country’s best result since 1998.

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4 www.theolivepress.es Not saved by a whisker AN influx of kittens needing homes will not save one key expat charity shop from closing. One of La Marina’s Pets in Spain shops will close this month due to a lack of funding. It comes after the Vega Baja charity admitted it was ‘overloaded’ with eight kittens alone arriving on its doorstep in just one week. One arrived with maggots in its eye, but after a visit to a vet and steroid drops the eye is expected to recover.

Thriving

All eight are now thriving on bottle fed milk by the charity’s foster carers. “The pandemic has hit charities hard with fundraising events having to be cancelled,” Yvonne Lewis of Pets in Spain told the Olive Press. Anyone wishing to continue supporting the charity can deliver donated items to a second shop on the lower level of Consum, also in La Marina.

NEWS

HELP groups are appealing to expat Brits to get their documentation updated ‘without delay’. They insist residents need to get new TIE identity cards to make life in Spain simpler and easier. Both Age in Spain and the Expat Centre in Quesada strongly recommend getting the Tarjeta de Identidad Extranjero (TIE) card that was introduced in July 2020. The card that was introduced in the run up to Brexit gives ‘many advantages’ according to chief executive of Age in Spain, Helen Weir. “Not just its durability. It is evidence that you are officially resident in Spain, it’s a valid ID and all you need for internal travel in Spain,” she told the Olive Press. “Most importantly, it is recognised by every administrative body in Spain.” She added that it comes as some bodies in Spain have even stopped recognising the old NIE green card. “The Employment Office only recognises the TIE since January meaning if you are employed, on ERTE, or receiving unemployment

GET CARDED! By Simon Wade

benefit, it’s imperative you apply for a TIE,” she continued. According to a recent poll conducted by the charity most expats have either received or are in the process of applying for their TIE. But a substantial minority have been deterred from applying for a variety of reasons – some are worried about the bureaucracy involved, don’t know where to start, or don’t feel it’s important, while others just haven’t got round to it. Moira Carmenate, owner of The Expat Centre in Quesada added: “There are definite advantages to having the TIE card, especially when travelling through the Schengen region, as passports aren’t needed. “There is no current obligation to swap the green card, but that may change.”

May 19th - June 1st 2022

Still flying NEARLY a dozen beaches in Orihuela have kept their Blue Flag status for the fifth consecutive year. The honour shows that 11 beaches in the area meet the highest requirements for quality of bathing waters and sand. Only Vigo, in Galicia, has more blue flags than Orihuela in Spain. The Valencia region has the largest number in Spain with 139 blue flags, compared to 122 in Andalucia.

Round the bend THOUSANDS of British expats have been left unable to drive legally in Spain after the failure to strike a bilateral deal. And they are getting angrier about it, with dozens speaking out slamming the British government for betraying them. In most cases, they are longterm expats who were either wrongly informed, let down by bureaucracy or were even defrauded. They include 62-year-old

Anger mounts over driving licence ‘betrayal’ for Brits in Spain despite possible deal still in the offing Alastair Carmichael, resident in Spain for most of his life and who is now stranded in the small town of Lloreda in Cantabria and even one of our own staff Tina Brace. According to sources Spanish authorities have not agreed a deal because the UK refused to give Spain access to its vehicle owner database so it can

chase up holidaymakers with unpaid driving fines. Marbella lawyer Mark Wilkins has vowed to hold the British government to account for its inaction: “This is a preposterous position. The government would rather protect British tourist law breakers than the legitimate interests of the legally Spanish resident British population.” Wilkins, who has directly contacted transport minister Grant Schapps, told the Olive Press: “We must offer a hand of cooperation to the British Government who seem paralyzed.” The British Embassy this

week told the Olive Press it is still working on an agreement to allow the exchange of driving licences without the need for a Spanish test.

Swap

Since May 1, Brits resident in Spain for at least six months and hadn’t yet swapped their licences for a Spanish one can no longer legally drive here. Ambassador Hugh Elliott explained that he sympathises with the hardships caused. He said: “If your inability to drive is putting you in a very vulnerable situation, you can always contact your nearest consulate for advice.”

OUR READERS DRIVEN TO DESPAIR We have received dozens of complaints over the past month, many insisting they have been let down by gestors and others conned My wife has an oncology consultation on Monday. No public transport in our area,’ insisted one. ‘I haven’t a clue how I’m going to get her there.’ Another wrote: “Many people who move here are retired, have been driving for over 40 years. It is unfair to make them take a test. If it puts people off moving to Spain then Spain is losing thousands of euros every year that would be spent from UK pensions.”

The best summed it up perfectly: “There is a massive ‘black hole’ in what has happened since Brexit. Thousands of people paid good money to legal advisors to assist only to find these Spanish ‘legal experts’ didn’t understand what their own Spanish government’s directive was. Now those who fell into that ‘black hole’ are left unable to drive, while a fresh-faced tourist who passed her test a week before her holiday is deemed safe.”

SINKING FEELING A SINKHOLE on Cabo Roig beach is threatening to sink the new leadership in Orihuela. Mud-slinging has been aimed at the new PSOE council over the slowness of dealing with the hole that the PP opposition claims is threatening the safety of beachgoers. The PP insists ‘maximum urgency’ is needed to fill in the landslip that has dropped below the main walkway to the beach.

Danger

PP leader Damaso Aparicio says it has been a danger to users for weeks and the contract to fix it had been awarded before his party lost a vote of no confidence. The attack looks entirely politically motivated however, after four of its councillors ended up implicated in various corruption scandals. The cases, which stretch back over the three decades the PP has been in charge, saw Luis Fernando, Jose Manuel Medina, Monica Lorente and Emilio Bascuñana, all former mayors of the town in court. The group has been accused of fraud, misappropriation and other crimes during its tenure.

BACK ON THE BEAT IT is a step in the right direction. Ciudad Quesada now has its own Guardia Civil office, albeit only twice a week, for now. Rojales council and the Ministry of the Interior have reached a collaboration, meaning locals won’t have to travel to Almoradi if they need help or to report a crime. Police had operated out of the same Calle Blanca office between 2007 and 2016 but had to close for ‘operational reasons’.

Spending

It is set to open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from next month. It comes after complaints from residents last year that Rojales Council wasn’t spending enough on infrastructure throughout the urbanisation. The town hall hit back that as only HALF of the mostly foreign population were registered on the padron, it received much less government funds than it should have.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Rooftop corpse AN ‘urban explorer’ called the police after spotting a mummified corpse on the roof of a semi-constructed commercial building in Alicante. The hobbyist, who visits abandoned premises looking for discarded items, made his grim discovery in a property on the Ocaña highway: Access to the rooftop for the police was difficult and fire crews with a ladder were called in to assist. He was identified as 56-year-old Julian Ortega, who disappeared in July 2019.

May 19th - June 1st 2022

SHADY DEATH

Couple planning to leave Spain after hunters shoot their beloved dog Sombrita AN expat couple have slammed police inactivity after their dog was shot dead by hunters. Jennifer and Victor Gebhardt, 67 and 78, are furious that the Guardia Civil are refusing to probe the slaying of their beloved Sombrita. The retired South African couple, who have lived in Almeria for over a decade, are distraught and planning to leave Spain over the incident. The three-year-old Mastein was left whimpering in pain after a hunter fired a trio of shots at them during the eve-

By Alex Trelinski

EXCLUSIVE By Jorge Hinojosa

ning walk near their village of Guainos Bajos. Chipped and vaccinated, Sombrita (meaning shadow in Spanish) had been running around chasing rabbits and ‘having a really fun time’. “It had been a lovely long walk in the mountains and we were nearly home when I heard the first shot, then the second, then finally the third which hit her,” recalled Jennifer, a former teacher.

Sad farewell

Dun roaming

LEN PRIOR who had his ‘illegal’ home demolished by order of the Junta despite having a building licence from the town hall, has died aged 77. He and wife Helen spent 14 years living in their garage after the bulldozers flattened their Vera (Almeria) villa in 2008. The local council was eight years later ordered to pay compensation. In 2016 a law came in to protect homeowners who bought in good faith from having their homes demolished until compensation was agreed .

KING Juan Carlos will return to his former realm this weekend for the first visit since he fled into exile in Abu Dhabi in August 2020. The scandal-hit monarch will attend a yachting regatta in Galicia. He will then travel to Madrid to meet with his son King Felipe. The ex-head of state, 84, who abdicated in favour of his son in 2014 left Spain in the wake of a series of damaging financial scandals. The return comes after a judicial investigation into his secret fortune was shelved on technical grounds, despite finding that the former king had evaded more than €50 million in tax by failing to declare offshore accounts.

Four day carrot

HAPPIER TIMES: Gebhardt family with Sombrita “I was calling out making sure they knew who we were, but that didn’t stop them. It could have easily been me.” Despite being petrified and

He is still being sued in London by former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (above), who claims he spied on her after their five-year relationship ended.

wanting to flee, Jennifer tried to identify the hunters in the dark. “I shouted at them to come out, but they vanished obviously knowing they had killed my dog. “It was definitely not an accident, I’m sure, because they shot with a rifle that has a night sight.” As it was too dark she was unable to find the body until the morning, when she went out with her husband, a former safari ranger in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. She reported the incident to Guardia Civil but was unimpressed with their response. “They did absolutely nothing to help… in fact they were really unsympathetic. She continued that the incident had made them decide to leave the country.

GRANTS of up to €200,000 are being offered to firms who move their staff onto a fourday working week in an intriguing regional experiment. The regional government of Valencia also wants the number of weekly hours cut to 32 hours. In one of the first such experiments in Europe it’s hoped such a move can bring improvements both for companies and workforces. Shortened weeks both reduce workplace energy bills; cut pollution with fewer journeys to work; and improve both employee morale and productivity.

Productive

“We are working over 100 hours a year more than the European average, but we are one of the least productive countries,” explained Valencia employment secretary, Enric Nomdedeu, on introducing the scheme. The subsidies will run for three years with the aim of ensuring workers won't be paid less. Each company will get €9,611 per employee over three years with an overall limit of €200,000.

NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es 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 Barking up the wrong tree IT’S hardly a secret that Spain is not a nation of animal lovers. A slew of bullfights and the sheer numbers of dogs and horses tied up in the countryside is proof of that. But when it comes to pets, it’s high time the authorities start taking proper care. While new animal rights laws were introduced last year, it will be a while before they have any teeth. The indifference to animal cruelty by police is a case in point. When a family has their beloved three-year-old pet shot by hunters on an evening stroll, it is simply not acceptable. To then fail to show any empathy and insist they do the leg-work is taking a liberty. Spain has long lagged behind countries like the UK and Germany when it comes to animal welfare, receiving a C grade from the World Animal Protection Index. As the deputy leader of Spain’s animal rights party told the Olive Press this week, hunters simply think they own the countryside and the rest of us should stay at home. These are the same people who think blocking footpaths is acceptable. The Ramblers Society was set up in the UK in 1935 to tackle issues like this. It’s about time somebody set up a similar body here.

Surely not INSURANCE companies are frequently in the firing line for their heartless treatment of claims and continual blocking of payouts. But their blatant failing of an expat couple in Murcia proves just how low they sometimes stoop. How the health insurance firm failed to help the couple after failing to answer an emergency line is shocking in the extreme. When such a firm’s entire business is based on the concept of protecting people from financial loss they simply cannot be allowed to get away with not paying a loyal customer what the time comes for a claim. It is cases like this that surely call for a review into the industry, which seems to be getting shadier by the day.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

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Simon Wade simon@theolivepress.es

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FROM BUST TO

ASTER is the unofficial start date for the Spanish tourism season, and with hotels averaging 85% occupancy during the holy week, the year looks set to be a bumper one. The figures for April - down just 6% on 2019 - suggest that Spain is back on everyone’s bucket list this year. Yet, you use hotels rather than run them, it’s easy to forget how apocalyptic everything looked back at Easter in 2020. The president of the Spanish Hotel Association, Manuel Vegas, told me at the time: “I’ve been through the economic crisis and the Madrid train bombing, but they were phases to be endured after which we moved on. “It’s the uncertainty that is having a negative effect. However, we have to keep going for future generations. I believe we’ll get out of this. I want to be optimistic.” Two years on, and there is optimism aplenty – even a bit of swagger. It comes after a record €3.2 billion was invested in hotels last year, despite the tricky travel restrictions, further waves of Covid, and low visitor numbers. In total, 75 new hotels are set to open over the coming three years (according to TopHotelsProjects) adding another 14,225 new rooms between now and 2025. “The reaffirmation of Spain as a preferred destination for international-level hotel investment is positive,” explains Laura Hernando, boss of the hotel sector at Colliers International. And she expects it to continue at a similar level for the next few years. Super-luxurious properties are opening across the country. The launch of Barcelo’s Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel, in Aragon last year is one of them, as is the 500-room Club Med resort this month in Marbella. In contrast to predictions in 2020 that a quarter of the hotels along the Costa del Sol would shut down for good, most have survived and plenty more are set to be reborn. They include Hotel Byblos, in Mijas, where the Rolling Stones and Princess Diana stayed

Spain’s hotel sector is charging back stronger and fitter post-pandemic, discovers Sorrell Downer

MODERN: inside Med Magna Marbella’s restaurant and a typical bedroom in the 1980s, soon to reopen as a Hyatt hotel called La Zambra. Then there’s the vibrant, adults only Hard Rock Marbella, which will offer visitors 385 rooms and a good time from June, as well as the five-star METT Hotel opening west of Marbella for summer. Further west look out for the newly-opened Ikos in Estepona, as well as the Silken Maravilla Palace which launches after a two-year delay nearby. Oh and Lionel Messi recently opened his sixth hotel, the MIM, in Sotogrande. By 2025 the Costa del Sol will also include the W and Four Seasons brands in Marbella. “The coast has changed enormously for the better,” believes Javier Hernandez of the AEHCOS hotel association. “International tourists will definitely notice a change for the better – not only will their perception of resorts such as Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Marbella change, but they’ll be surprised by the new level of professionalism.” His counterpart on the Costa Blanca, Toni

Sir James Goldsmith JUST as famous for his personal life than his business dealings, Goldsmith’s antics and extramarital affairs filled many column inches of the British tabloid press. The business tycoon died at a farmhouse he owned in Benahavis in July 1997 at the age of 64, with speculation his family hastily flew him to Spain to avoid paying a larger death tax. STATUS Quo were indeed rockin’ all over the world – and for almost half a century. Rhythm guitarist Parfitt was key to the band’s success, which included a record 60 UK chart hits. A drug and alcohol-fuelled lifestyle led to a triple heart bypass in 1997, but he cleaned up his act and lived until December 2016, eventually dying of sepsis in hospital in Marbella.

Mayor, from HOSBEC, feels much the same way about Benidorm: “So many hotels changed hands like the Fenicia, Rosamar and Primavera Park but they are all reopening, upgraded,” he explained. In particular, the grand old Benelux is due to reopen as Hotel Mercure Benidorm on June 1, while Pierre & Vacances is stepping in to spruce up Hotel Palm Beach. “Luckily, we had five strong years before the pandemic; not one hotel has suffered. Easter saw occupancy similar to 2019, mainly British, so we are all happy. “There’s a lot of faith in the resurrection of tourism, in the industry’s resilience.” And it’s not just beach resorts that have benefitted from multi-million investments. The rapid transformation of Madrid’s hotel

Never forgotten

Following Dennis Waterman’s death near La Manga, George Mathias remembers eight other foreign celebs who ended their days in Spain

PAIN is the retirement destination of choice for many rich and famous – and a few infamous. Inev-

itably, over the years, those big names pass on (and not always from old age). Here are 8 long gone but not forgotten:

Freddie Starr FOREVER known for the British tabloid headline ‘Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster’, the stand-up comedian and actor started out as a singer in the early 1960s before finding fame on Opportunity Knocks (winning it six times) and the Royal Variety Performance. He was found dead at his home in Mijas, Costa del Sol, in May 2019, aged 76.

Rick Parfitt

Denholm Elliott WELL-KNOWN for roles in Alfie, A Private Function, A Room with a View and the Indiana Jones films, English character actor Elliott died of Aids-related tuberculosis at his Ibiza home in Santa Eularia des Riu in October 1992, aged 70.

Bing Crosby POPULAR and prolific, Crosby made over 70 films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. The American crooner collapsed and died instantly from a massive heart attack just after finishing 18 holes of golf with Spanish golf champ Manuel Piñero at La Moraleja Golf Course in Madrid in October 1977.

Willie Thorne FAMED for his break-building, the former snooker pro and BBC commentator died aged 66 at Torrevieja Hospital on Spain’s Costa Blanca in June 2020, following a battle with leukemia.

May 19th - June 1st 2022

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BOOM

HIP: The stunning reform of Aragon’s new Canfranc hotel landscape is breathtaking. In August 2020, 70% of hotels (including all but four of the five-star properties) were closed, with doomsayers predicting many might not make it through the crisis. That Four Seasons Madrid chose to launch one month later showed enormous faith in the bounce back ability of Spanish tourism. “Completely true,” agrees PR boss Marta Centeno. “The decision was made considering the situation of the pandemic and with all safety measures in place. It was a way to bring a ray of sunshine following the strict lockdown, some positivity to the market and to Madrid.” And while business was understandably slow for two years, this year bookings are strong. “Madrid is becoming an international hotspot and we are attracting visitors that would have never considered the city in their travel plans,” she adds.

Cilla Black CHAMPIONED by The Beatles, fellow-Liverpudlian Cilla shot to the top of the UK charts with Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re My World in 1964. Following a long, successful singing career she became a gameshow supremo, hosting TV classics Blind Date and Surprise Surprise. The iconic star died at the age of 72, after falling at her house in Estepona on the Costa del Sol in August 2015 Roy Kinnear A FAMILIAR face on British TV, Kinnear was also a film actor, with roles in The Three Musketeers and the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. While filming The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo in September 1988, he fell off a horse, broke his pelvis and suffered internal bleeding. He was taken to hospital in Madrid but died of a heart attack the following day, aged 54.

KEEPING THE WORLD INFORMED

T was a full 12 hours before the world’s media caught up with our exclusive that police had found traces of missing toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal. Revealed by an Olive Press source, we ran it having checked first with the German prosecutor leading an investigation against prime suspect Christian Brueckner. Not only the Mail, Sun and Mirror followed it up but over the next two days, international outfits including El Pais, the Telegraph and the New Zealand Herald took up the story. But more was to follow when our story, last issue, about Brueckner being probed over five sex attacks, including one on a beach just 19 days before Maddie vanished in 2007, ended up on the Sun’s front page this Sunday (right). CHASE : In a further two-page spe- MYSTAR SEX ULT cial inside (below), our ed- ASSA ORDEAL Klopp’s kings clinch cup itor Jon Clarke was joined BRUECKNER BID TO HIDE I.D. by German investigative journalist Jutta Rabe to pen a 1,500-word piece on the state of the case. As Clarke pointed out in our last issue, Brueckner is set to be charged with at least three sex crimes in the coming weeks. The German drifter, who spent a lot of time in southern Spain and Portugal, will face the music ‘by mid-June’. Two further cases and charges over Maddie - who was abductEXCLUSIVE ed while on holiday in Praia da By JON CLARKE & Luz, age 3 - will come by the end JUTTA RABE of the year. Whether it’s crime, the enviPROSECUTORS are confident Madeleine McCann ronment or prime suspect Christian Brueckner will be charged politics, the CKNER BRUE INTO E P PROB N ON this year over her disapS CLAIM BOMBSHELL Olive Press pearance and a sex attack on another little girl. has its finIt comes after we supplied German police with a dossier ger on the of some of the evidence from our own probes into the 45-year-old monster. pulse. We have exposed gaping holes in Brueckner’s claims of innocence. Its young Our investigations found the GerPROBE man worked for a firm doing jobs at the Portugal holiday apartments team of where Madeleine went missing — and knew the place “inside out”. journalists And the convicted paedophile and rapist had dental surgery on potentially incriminating buck are probteeth just months after she disappeared from the Ocean Club in ing over a Praia da Luz in 2007. That revelation is hugely importantCUTORS as he ARE has repeatedly tried to dozen big lPROSE distance himself from a nearby MOVE ‘CONFIDENT’ OF child sex attack 19 days before ON TO ATTACK stories a lLINK Madeleine vanished aged three. DAYS BEFORE GIRL 19 On April 9, 2007, a ten-year-old German girl was playing on the month. beach at Salema — just seven SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE

Sunday, May 15, 2022

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MADDIE MONSTER IN SECRET FACE OP Hunt . . youngster

18,000 establishments around Spain would have gone bust if it hadn’t been for the ERTE, Hotspot is an understatement. The capital is the government job retention and furlow a showcase for white-hot brands and design- plan. The rise of the Spanish Staycation really helped too, he adds. ers – and they just keep coming. group that really focussed on this sector The Madrid EDITION opened in March, nearSunday, One May 15, 2022 4 ............... Puerto del Sol, with interiors by John Pawson was the Califa group with three hotels around and Ian Schrager, while Philippe Starck is Vejer, Cadiz. creating the look for Brach Madrid, to open Its boss, expat James Stewart believes the next year. And let’s not forget the Ritz just pandemic was an ideal opportunity to attract reopened looking fabulous, as Olive Press domestic tourists. “As a year round average 45% of our clients editor Jon Clarke reported this Spring. Among other upcoming attractions are the come from outside Spain, but during the panThompson Madrid and JW Marriott and plen- demic 98% of our business was from national ty more visits by Hollywood star Robert de tourism,” he explains. Niro (below) who opens a Nobu Hotel here “At first, with the municipal lockdown, the only potential clients lived locally, which was pretty next year. Meanwhile, OKU Ibiza delayed its opening by useless. But both 2020 and 2021 summers a year, but thanks to ‘bold plans’ it opened were very strong – in fact we had our busiest last year and has surpassed all expectations, summer ever last year, and that’s with no international tourism at all. despite Covid. “It was the right decision,” explains brand “We got so many new clients. The Spaniards manager Claire Morrissey. “Our first year’s who previously didn’t come are now booking s u c c e s s ahead and the Brits can’t get a room. surpassed “We had losses, but on reflection, we’ve all expecta- come out of it very well.” Another expat hotelier based in inland Cadiz tions.” But how was very pleased with the Spanish clientele was it for levels, but is most worried now about finding hoteliers try- staff. ing to work “When we reopened, it was scary,” says through the Mona Arain Crites of Hotel al Lago, in Zahara de la Sierra. “Now we are fully booked, but pandemic? Jesus Me- struggling to find the staff because people nendez, of are used to being at home. Covid is still an evHotel Mys- er-evolving problem, and it’s just hard to know tery Guest, what’s coming next.” b e l i e v e s Spain’s hotel association boss Manuel Vegas 5,000 of is feeling more hopeful, but agrees. a r o u n d “The pandemic isn’t over, but it has subsided, thank God, and, using common sense, we can move forward. “Tourism has recovered at a very significant speed, thanks to the internal drive and European tourists. We are almost at 2019 figures. “But you never know what’s next and we are always dependent on external elements that cannot be manipulated, such as the fuel crisis or Ukraine. SPLENDOUR: One of Califa group’s pools and (above) De Niro at “All that said, I remain optimistic.” the Ritz

Hotspot

APRIL 2007

Suspect Brueckner had protruding teeth at time

EXCLUSIVE By TOM WELLS

SEPTEMBER 2007 He had them straightened in dental op soon after

MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner had a facechanging op four months after she vanished, a TV investigation has found. The paedo’s jaw was reset and four distinctive “rabbit” teeth straightened in a secret visit to Continued on Page Five

BOMBSHELL CLAIMS ON N

Monster will face Maddie charges this year

Sunday, May 15, 2022 ...............

PROBE P

4 ............... Sunday, May 15, 2022

lPROSECUTORS ARE ‘CONFIDENT’ OF MOVE lLINK TO ATTACK ON GIRL 19 DAYS BEFORE

APRIL 2007

Monster will face Maddie charges this year

E-fit of buck-toothed suspect lurking near McCann pad, and Brueckner then

EXCLUSIVE

SEPTEMBER 2007 Brueckner after dental reconstruction surgery months later back in Germany

JON CLARKE & JUTTA RABE

PROSECUTORS are confident Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner will be charged this year over her disappearance and a sex attack on another little girl.

It comes after we supplied German police with a dossier of some of the evidence from the our own probes into 45-year-old monster.

in We have exposed gaping holes Brueckner’s claims of innocence. GerOur investigations found the jobs man worked for a firm doing at the Portugal holiday apartments — where Madeleine went missing out”. and knew the place “inside And the convicted paedophile on and rapist had dental surgerybuck incriminating potentially disapteeth just months after sheClub in peared from the Ocean Praia da Luz in 2007. That revelation is hugely importried to tant as he has repeatedly nearby distance himself from a before child sex attack 19 days Madeleine vanished aged three. ten-year-old a 2007, On April 9, on the German girl was playing seven beach at Salema — just man miles away — when a naked approached her. Speaking in German, the pervert pergrabbed her arm and began himself forming a sex act on parents before the girl’s horrified direcarrived and he fled in thedo Rio tion of Brueckner’s Boca beach haunt. of They gave cops a description with a young, tanned white manon his short blond hair, a bandage — and, arm, marks on his body teeth crucially, four protruding from his upper jaw. idenThe girl, now 25, has since near tified Brueckner, who lived as Praia da Luz for seven years, police — the suspect to German rabbit”. saying he looked “like a Germany Brueckner, in jail in for raping a 72-year-old American fiercely tourist in Portugal, has perv. denied he was the beach stems But perhaps his confidence from knowing he had drastically after. changed his appearance soon For we can reveal he secretly Lisbon flew back to Germany from denin September 2007 for major surgery. tal reconstruction his His teeth were repaired and in jaw reset at a private clinic typiWuerzburg, Bavaria — an op euros. cally costing around 9,000 this The German police have now evidence and prosecutors are over confident he will be charged the Salema case — and Madeleine’s. The Sun has previously reported an FBIan e-fit drawn up by 2008 also trained artist in January showed a suspect with prominent “sticking out” teeth. the He was seen lurking neartimes McCanns’ apartment three Police on the night she vanished. down later claimed to have tracked and ruled out the suspect. ChrisGerman prosecutor Hans he tian Wolters told us last week to proshas “everything he needs” referring was He ecute Brueckner. girl but to the case of the German also to Madeleine. that We can also today disclose will he prosecutors have told us charges “definitely” face further and early “between the end of May

Brueckner knew each and every apartment at Ocean Club — FRIEND WHO WORKED AT HOLIDAY COMPLEX

We have everything we need to prosecute Brueckner — WHAT PROSECUTOR TOLD INVESTIGATORS

Scene . . . holiday complex where Madeleine vanished

Hunt goes on . . . Madeleine was three when she went missing in Portugal in 2007

serfiend worked for a technical jobs vice company that often did at the holiday complex. apart“He knew each and every inside ment. He knew the locationtold us. June”. out, he knew the locks,” he tools They also include the alleged tour “He was very good with as abduction and rape of Irish and machines and had trained rep Hazel Behan and indecent at an a car mechanic. He often mounted veranexposure to four children canopies on balconies and Algarve play park in 2017. at the Ocean Club.” have Meanwhile, other sourcesto the das But the former office administrada Luz linked Brueckner further tor, who lived near Praia Ocean Club. for 25 years, had “no suspicions had One old friend, whose identity him in about him.” He added: “He we we are protecting, first met the this lovely girlfriend Silke and Portugal in 1995. He revealed

miles away — when a naked man approached her. Speaking in German, the pervert grabbed her arm and began performing a sex act on himself before the girl’s horrified parents arrived and he fled in the direction of Brueckner’s Boca do Rio beach haunt. They gave cops a description of a young, tanned white man with short blond hair, a bandage on his arm, marks on his body — and, crucially, four protruding teeth from his upper jaw. The girl, now 25, has since identified Brueckner, who lived near Praia da Luz for seven years, as the suspect to German police — saying he looked “like a rabbit”. Brueckner, in jail in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal, has fiercely denied he was the beach perv. But perhaps his confidence stems from knowing he had drastically changed his appearance soon after. For we can reveal he secretly flew back to Germany from Lisbon in September 2007 for major dental reconstruction surgery. His teeth were repaired and his jaw reset at a private clinic in Wuerzburg, Bavaria — an op typically costing around 9,000 euros. The German police have this evidence and prosecutors are now confident he will be charged over the Salema case — and Madeleine’s. The Sun has previously reported an e-fit drawn up by an FBItrained artist in January 2008 also showed a suspect with prominent “sticking out” teeth. He was seen lurking near the McCanns’ apartment three times on the night she vanished. Police later claimed to have tracked down and ruled out the suspect. German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told us last week he has “everything he needs” to prosecute Brueckner. He was referring to the case of the German girl but also to Madeleine. We can also today disclose that prosecutors have told us he will “definitely” face further charges “between the end of May and early June”. They also include the alleged abduction and rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan and indecent exposure to four children at an Algarve play park in 2017. Meanwhile, other sources have linked Brueckner further to the Ocean Club. One old friend, whose identity we are protecting, first met him in Portugal in 1995. He revealed the

the enquiry is closed.” 2007 — the night moment, they pursued the evidence, twice. Mr ning of May 3, vanished — telling her Had discovered find it viewed her at length have would police are still in touch. I still done so Wolters told us last week: “She Madeleine perfectly he was “on a long journey”. had Brueckner, then 30, almost hard to believe that he has doesn’t trouble us at all.” investigaAppalling police blunders many bad things.” potentially matched the description. During our painstaking in or television British that prevented him from bars before At the time, he often stayed week, Last tions, we have established being behind Boca do Rio in his VW investigator Mark Williams-Thomas prosecutors have checked every one already from Rothley, Leics, around girlfriends. the McCanns, Westfalia camper van. said he was convinced Brueckner and case. of Brueckner’s former in Portugal 15 years ago. Instead, no action was taken had an alibi in the Madeleineclaims “None could give a clear testi- arrived days after the sickening Five disappeared soon after. Mr Wolters dismissed his agree. police captain Madeleine mony,” one source told us. lived indecent exposure, a Brueckner was not questioned within 24 hours — and we One ex, Nicole Fehlinger,over a dismissed pursuing the suspect. is a incident. Brueckner’s supposed alibi have about eitherand with him on and off forprison in Jon Clarke are working on a In his report, which we l JUTTA Rabe of into 17-year-old German holidaymaker looking documentary in a year after he got out 2006 follow- exclusively obtained, he writes: “As television and Madeleine’s disappearance. Jon’s book, My whom he claims to have been Portugal in December there is nothing more to report relationship with at the time. of carrying Search For Madeleine, is available on Amazon ing a sentence for theft. had there is no possibility We can today reveal German the and as an audio book. She told German police he exisany due diligence at police have known about her inter- actually called her during the eve- out have and tence for years

Continued from Page One a private dental clinic in Germany. He flew from Portugal, where he was living close to the scene of Madeleine’s May 2007 disappearance, to his homeland for the op that September with the global hunt for the three-year-old at its peak. Soon after, a sketch by an FBI-trained artist showed a man with protruding teeth who had been seen lurking near the McCanns’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. And a girl subjected to a sickening indecent exposure nearby — 19 days before Madeleine went missing — also told cops of the culprit’s “sticking out teeth”. Sources said he later renewed his German passport before flying back to Portugal after the estimated £7,500 op In another twist, a new witness revealed Brueckner knew the hols complex where Madeleine vanished “inside out” after working there as an odd-job man. The bombshell evidence was uncovered by two investigative TV film-makers now liaising closely with prosecutors. dismantle they Today Brueckner’s defence — and set out why prosecutors are convinced he is their man. The fiend, 45, is currently languishing in a German jail for another sex crime. Journalists Jon Clarke and Jutta Rabe, who has worked for German channel SAT1, today write in The Sun on Sunday he is likely to face charges for the vile exposure incident — and in relation to Madeleine’s case German “The said: They prosecutor told us he has everything he needs to prosecute Brueckner.”

Please get in touch if you have a story at newsdesk@theolivepress.es

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

dies after cliff dive on Spain’s Mallor1-caTourist takes tragic twist with girlfriend recording it on phone Calima Sahara sand: Calima 2- Carry onreturns to Spain’s Andalucia EXCLUSIVE: €10.000 a year expat school 3-forced to close doors after stinging inspection These four seaside towns are officially the 4-sunniest in Spain and they’re not on the Costa del Sol Hunt goes on . . . Madeleine was three when she went missing in Portugal in 2007

fiend worked for a technical service company that often did jobs at the holiday complex. “He knew each and every apartment. He knew the location inside out, he knew the locks,” he told us. “He was very good with tools and machines and had trained as a car mechanic. He often mounted canopies on balconies and verandas at the Ocean Club.” But the former office administrator, who lived near Praia da Luz for 25 years, had “no suspicions about him.” He added: “He had this lovely girlfriend Silke and we

are still in touch. I still find it hard to believe that he has done so many bad things.” Last week, British television investigator Mark Williams-Thomas said he was convinced Brueckner had an alibi in the Madeleine case. Mr Wolters dismissed his claims within 24 hours — and we agree. Brueckner’s supposed alibi is a 17-year-old German holidaymaker whom he claims to have been in a relationship with at the time. We can today reveal German police have known about her existence for years and have inter-

Dennis Waterman dies 5- Legendary TVatactor home in Spain

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viewed her Wolters told doesn’t troub During our tions, we h prosecutors h of Brueckne “None could mony,” one s One ex, N with him on year after he Portugal in D ing a senten She told G actually calle

GREEN

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May 19th - June 1st 2022

Breath of air By Kimberley Mannion

MADRID’S Royal Botanic Gardens have been given a makeover with investment from Chanel. The design house restored the Botanic Gardens’ rose garden in 2021, which is home to 140 different types of roses, and this year will fund the introduction of nine new species of rose as well as pay for new courses for students. The gardens are viewed as a key ‘green lung’ for the capital, helping improve air quality and the lives of local residents.

Train

Thanks to Chanel, courses on the ‘Installation and maintenance of gardens and green areas’ and the ‘management and maintenance of trees and ornamental plants’ will train people between the ages of 18 to 24 for careers in the field. Another two courses will be funded on medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as a perfume workshop in the gardens’ Quercus school. The Royal Botanic Gardens have recently fully reopened after several of the gardens’ points of interest were restored including the gates, arbours and 30 decorative fountains.

Cultural

Work began almost a year ago after areas classified as Assets of Cultural Interest (BICs), such as the Puerta del Rey and sections of Paseo del Prado were found to be deteriorating. Funding to repair the green site came from the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda’s program for Historical Heritage Conservation and the government’s Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).

Chanel helps to restore Madrid’s ‘green lung’

The Gardens have been a feature of UNESCO’s World Heritage List since July 2021, and those involved in its management emphasise its significance to science and botany in Spain.

KITTY KILLERS

SPANISH scientists have labelled cats as killers and are opposing a new Bill that would protect feral moggies. A letter signed by Spanish scientists from several universities and institutions calls cats ‘the most damaging invasive predator for biodiversity’. Based on their research, predation by cats beats hunting and cars as a killer of small animals and birds, particularly on the Balearic and Canary Islands. The scientists have criticised a government Bill intended to grant protection to groups of feral cats, replacing slaughter, which has eradicated populations, with fertility control. The group fear this could lead to even larger groups of cats roaming Spain and having a negative effect on biodiversity.

The many excuses for inaction are putting us in trouble

PROMISES LIE IN TATTERS

‘

THE bottom line is we’re in trouble’. This was the harrowing statement by US climate envoy John Kerry. Just six months on from COP-26 in Glasgow, promises and commitments made by the world’s leaders lie in tatters. Regular readers of this column are familiar with the need to restrict global warming to less than 1.5C by the end of this century. That’s 78 years away. According to a UN report, the world is on track to warm by 3.2C this century.

footballer in the 1970s). In 1973 a waiter was delivering champagne and caviar to a hotel room. He opens the door to see George Best lying on the bed with his girlfriend (the then Miss World), surrounded by piles of cash he had won in the casino the previous night. The newspapers of the time were focusing on his drop in form on the pitch. The waiter, seeing his idol surrounded by empty champagne bottles, cash and Miss World asked... “So, Bestie, where did it all go wrong?”

BIG TROUBLE FOR PLANET EARTH The consequences of our collective inaction will result in unprecedented heatwaves, widespread water shortages, terrifying storms, death and destruction of human life and nature. When COP-26 President Alok Sharma closed the gathering in Glasgow, he claimed the conference was a ‘fragile win’ for the world. Fragile means easily breakable. The agreed target was to keep warming to a maximum of 1.5C by 2100. The United Kingdom’s Met Office researchers say that it is a 50/50 chance that the world will warm by more than 1.5C in the next five years!

The reasons for government inaction are many. Vladimir Putin’s insane invasion of Ukraine has led to disruption in global fossil fuel supplies. This is good news long term for the world, as it has accelerated plans to deploy more renewable energy - wind , solar etc, much faster than originally planned. But it is bad news in the short term as we return to increased use of coal and gas to fuel our energy-hungry way of life. It’s sad to see some countries placing higher importance on securing alternatives to Russian oil and gas supplies than reducing carbon emissions.

Let me lighten the mood for a moment. ‘WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?’ A famous and humorous quotation popularised by an incident involving George Best (the most famous

Sadly the reasons for our climate’s destruction are not funny.

NOT ENOUGH FINANCIAL SUPPORT In 2021, developed countries committed to $100 billion of annual aid to help fight carbon emissions. Apart from my own view that this is nowhere near enough (too little, too late), the UK government recently stated that this will not be achieved in 2022 but it was confident the target would be hit by 2023. Talk about kicking the problem down the road… Developing countries, without necessary investment, continue to harm the world’s environment.

Green

WARNING: John Kerry says we are in trouble India is a prime example. Desperate to grow its economy, demand continues to surge. Coal India, the world’s largest coal miner, has increased production by more than 15% and it’s still not enough to supply local demand. Power outages are regular. Earlier than expected, searing heatwaves in April (global warming….no surprise) pushed up demand for electricity to record levels. How is the electricity produced? COAL. What does burning coal do? DESTROYS THE ENVIRONMENT. (India’s coal is high in ash - 35% more, which makes it highly polluting.) Some100,000 Indians die every year through coal emissions according to Greenpeace. GOVERNMENTS FINANCIAL PRIORITIES HAVE CHANGED Sad but true. As the world faces the absurd actions of the lunatic Putin, finances have had to be diverted to funding an unnecessary war effort. This avoidable, futile and needless war results in killing not only human life, but also the environment.

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

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Moraira MARVELLOUS

May 2022

Close to Benidorm yet a world apart - discover the Spanish charmer with expat appeal

UST half an hour from builtup Benidorm, you’ll find one of the most relaxed seaside towns in Spain. Oozing with charm, Moraira is one of the Costa Blanca’s clas-

By Kimberley Mannion sic old fishing villages, and it remains full of history and tradition, and largely unspoiled to-

We also have delicious pies and Scotch eggs. We have gluten free and Keto diet options as well. Contact us for any special requests. Call for details about delivery.

Open 7 days a week, early til late.

day. You won’t find signs for English breakfasts or lager at one euro a pint here, this is an upmarket resort as popular with refined Spaniards as it is with upmarket

foreign tourists-in-the-know. This is not to say Moraira is undiscovered by holidaymakers – far from it. Continues on next page

ll about

May 2022

Moraira

BEAUTY: Much of Moraira’s charm comes from the stunning coves

From front

CHARM AND CALM The demographics confirm its status as a popular tourist destination. Moraira’s population of around 10,000, more than triples to 36,000 in summer. And more than half the people who live here are expats. “It is such a beautiful place to live. Every morning I have the privilege of a commute to the office via the stunning coast road, and every day it puts a smile on my face, even in the winter weather,” explains Helen Tye, of Coast and Country Properties. “I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather be. It’s a wonderful place for children to grow up, it has a great community, and it is unbelievably pretty. It is close enough to the airport for people to visit, but small and friendly with lovely beaches and lots of restaurants.” Restaurateur Honorato Ibanez, 60, agrees. “The peace here is the main thing. It’s just cortijos and campo. There is almost no stress and there are not even

traffic lights.” It is 35 years since he moved here from his native Granada and he has seen some changes. In particular in the demographics of the types of foreigners who came to settle here. “Originally there were loads of among the top attractions. Germans alongside the British, Dating back to the 18th century, but the Brits, by far our preferred the structure served as a defencustomers, really started to do- ce against attacks from Berber pirates, and was one in a chain minate. “Today there are plenty, but now of watchtowers working together we also have many Dutch and to warn each other of incoming Belgians and generally a nice all offensives. Today, the tower is more comround mix.” It’s this international commu- monly used for enjoying the nity that really appealed to bu- stunning views it offers of the sinesswoman Amanda Bourne, Moraira coastline than looking 58, who moved here six years out for pirates. From the top, you can see the ago to take over Poharbour, beaches, lly’s bookshop. and Penyal d’Ifac “I love the multiculNatural Park, as Moraira’s tural mix. This morwell as the gorgeous ning alone I had a Mediterranean shades of blue of the Hungarian, a FrenMediterranean. coast is ideal chman, a Dutch The watchtower can couple and a Scoufor lovers of be accessed by a ser, enter the shop” fairly easy hike from explains the former watersports Portet beach, one teacher. of the most popular “But best of all I like playas. You will find it here because it is NOT Javea. a marked footpath leading up to It is so different in character and it from the end of Calle Puerto much less focused on tourism. “On top of that it feels really re- de Alcudia. laxed and safe. It shuts Another place to enjoy the area’s down at 3pm and only nature up close is at the Marjar slowly comes back to del Senillar nature reserve, located next to l’Ampolla beach. life in the evening.” While this changes a The site was given nature reserve bit in the summer status in 2004 and its several lawhen the hordes goons are home to many species do at times des- of plants and animals, some of cend, the town which are in danger of extincalways maintains tion. its old school Spa- Slightly outside Moraira and only nish charm and accessible by boat, though well picture perfect tra- worth the trip, are the Caves of Les Rates, a site which was also ditional feel. And while a great declared a protected reserve in choice for a fami- 2004. ly beach holiday, The caves are home to historic there is still plen- artefacts from the Bronze Age, ty to see beyond along with several species of its beautiful bea- bats. Visits are not encouraged between the months of April and ches. For most tourists, August when the bats are brethe Cap D’Or eding. Every good coastal watchtower is town needs a

VIGIL: Ancient watchtower guarded against Berber pirates

good marina and Moraira is no exception. With a yacht club in addition to a fishing port, Moraira accommodates all seafarers, whether weighing anchor for work or pleasure. Fishing continues to be one of the most important sectors in the region’s economy, and the Fishermen’s Guild of Moraira, founded in 1929, is still going strong. Unsurprisingly, restaurants in the vicinity boast excellent fresh seafood, courtesy of the local fishermen.

Being located on the Mediterranean coast also makes Moraira an ideal retreat for lovers of watersports. It’s possible to rent kayaks and paddleboards at the most popular beaches, and at the marina. Best of all is the area’s snorkelling and thanks to clear water, you’ll see plenty of fish and starfish and beautiful rock formations without having to plunge in too deeply. Moraira’s busiest beach is Playa de l’Ampolla, thanks to its location next to the town centre. The next most popular is Playa el Portet, a blue flag beach and considered one of Costa Blanca’s very best. At the other end of the scale, if you are looking for a more secluded spot, try Llebeig Cove, one of many small coves carved into the cliffs along the Costa Blanca’s breathtaking coastline. If all that is not enough to keep you entertained, its prime location makes it an ideal base for day trips to nearby Javea and the inland Xalon valley, as well as the bigger cities of Alicante and Valencia. And there are always the fleshpots of Benidorm if you’re looking for that one off wild night out! But probably you’ll be happy just hanging out in Moraira.

List

Selling Your Property? ith us... w it

sell Avd. de la Paz 3 • 03724 Moraira +34 965 270 636 +34 693 554 967 @coastandcountry.properties info@ www.coastandcountry.properties

SIMPLY THE BEST Established in 2006 Select Villas has grown year on year and offers a multilingual team for an international market

HETHER you want to buy or sell a home then Select Villas is the answer for you. With 16 years of experience in Moraira, they now have a team of eight professional, multilingual staff, between them speaking English, Spanish, French and Dutch, as well as German, Italian and Valenciano. Covering the coastline from Denia to Altea, and inland to the Jalon Valley, they offer a wide range of new and resale properties catering for all budgets, as well as a professional and efficient service for both buyers and vendors. Perhaps you are thinking of selling your property but have no idea where to start. This is where Select Villas can help you out. The expert staff can advise you on listing and selling, or buying a home. They can give you the inside take on the current market, the selling procedure, documentation needed and the costs involved. Not only that, but they offer a free valuation service, with no obligation for you to list with them. The professional team offers a package including a 20% reduction on the standard commission rate, free floor and site plans, a free 3D video tour and a free Energy Performance Certificate (ready at notary) to vendors who list with them exclusively.

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May 2022

FEELING BEACHY T HERE is much more to see in and around Moraira than sea and sand, but it is still the perfect place for a beach holiday. From busy beaches with watersports and tourist activities, toilets and lifeguards, and easy access to bars and restaurants, to private and peaceful little

Llebeig Cove TUCKED away, and off the regular tourist trail is Llebeig Cove. Much harder to reach than Moraira’s two central beaches, you’ll need to hike a trail from neighbouring coves, or arrive by sea in a boat or kayak. The hassle of getting there is well worth it to see the hidden gem. The small idyllic cove feels like a private slice of paradise. Aside from a few old fishermen’s houses, there is nothing here but nature, so take what you need, including shade and water.

Contact them for further information on +34 616002993 (Telephone and WhatsApp) or email: enquiries@select-villas.es Go to www.select-villas.es for more information

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We visit your property to discuss with you the most appropriate marketing and pricing strategy.

We work with an extensive network of local and foreign agents who can provide your property a greater visibility in the international market.

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We advertise your property in our office windows, located in a high-profile corner position.

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of Moraira

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Area covered: La Marina Alta - Denia to Calpe Avenida de Madrid 5, 03724 Moraira

t: +34 616 002 993

Tough work but someone has to do it: Kimberley Mannion checks out all the many coves and beaches in Moraira and picks seven of the best

coves tucked into enclaves along the towering cliffs outside the centre, Moraira really does offer the full range of beach experiences. If you are driving or, especially, hiking to one of the more remote hidden gems, do remember to take everything you need with you and leave nothing behind.

Combined with full property descriptions, up to 40 professional photographs, worldwide advertising - international buyers ready and waiting to purchase - and an extensive network of collaborating agents, this gives you the very best chance of finding your buyer. They also give you 24-hour access to your own private vendor area, showing the property performance information so you can keep track of interest shown in your property. The team at Select Villas of Moraira passionately believes your buying and selling experience should be an enjoyable, risk-free, and stress-free experience.

We mediate between buyer and seller with fluent communication.

Morai

www.select-villas.es

e: enquiries@select-villas.es

ira

5 May 2022

Playa el Portet

MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE

Avd. de la Paz 3 • 03724 Moraira +34 965 270 636 +34 693 554 967 info@ @coastandcountry.properties www.coastandcountry.properties

Those wanting to sell their property should make Coast and Country their first stop

C 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.

Cala del Moraig

Platgetes Beach

If you need any help sorting out your paperwork, getting a valuation or would like tips on making the process as easy as possible, pop in and see the team at Coast and Country in Moraira or give them a call on 965 270 636 or contact info@coastandcountry.properties

A COMBINATION of both rocks and sand, Platgetes beach is a sandy bay sandwiched between blocks of rock, with rock pools where it is possible to swim. Or if you prefer, you can stick to the shallow waters of the sandy bay. Slightly out from Moraira centre, Platgetes is a popular spot amongst locals for a quick dip.

Experience and knowledge Mark Petrie offers the best possible insurance for you

Andrago Beach ANOTHER quieter spot, this cove is similar to Llebeig, and carved out from the rocky cliffs of this amazing coastline. The beach is gravelly, but that means crystal clear waters and some of the best snorkelling in the area. Swimmers can explore a series of small natural caves called Cova del Arcs, adding a bit of adventure to a beach day as well as a great photo opportunity.

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. Playa L´Andrago restaurant on the beach serves traditional Spanish tapas and paella.

Playa de l’Ampolla

BRILLIANT for keen swimmers, Cap Blanc’s secluded location ensures that it remains something of a secret treasure. There is a diving jetty, and a ladder to use to get in and out of the sea, a rocky beach, incredibly clear water, and stunning views across to Calpe what more could you need? The beach is accessed from the coastal road, through pine forests. If you are driving, you’ll be able to park at the top of the bay and take the steps down the cliff.

Cap Blanc Bay

HOOSING the right property professionals to help you with your real estate transaction is perhaps the most important decision you will make when selling property. With Moraira being such a popular destination for so many different nationalities, a multi-lingual team is essential if they are to effectively market your property. And they need an in-depth knowledge of the local market so they can guide purchasers effectively and help them make a decision quickly. After all, they will not bring potential buyers to view your home if its location does not meet their requirements. For sellers, this is a key requirement – as anyone who has had to suffer a seemingly endless stream of viewers who are not even interested because the area is not right for them. This is where the efficient and knowledgeable team at Coast and Country comes in. They personalise and research properties for every individual client to make sure they understand exactly what they are looking for and to guarantee that they will show properties that meet the client’s criteria. Helen Tye explained: “People who are listing with us know that not only do we offer our own property portfolio but we also offer a personal property finding service. “This means that we can often sell their home before it has even been officially marketed. We have more buyers than sellers at the moment, so if someone lists with us we may well have a purchaser ready and waiting!” They have a database of clients from Holland, Belgium, France and the UK currently looking for properties - so Coast and Country Properties should be your first stop when putting your home up for sale.

GIVEN its location next to the town centre and close to the castle, Ampolla is inevitably Moraira’s busiest beach. But the fact that it’s a good beach – gently shelving, family friendly and with a coveted blue flag and full services – is another reason people choose it. This beach really has something for everyone, from sun loungers available for hire for those who want to do nothing, to volleyball nets and a children’s playground for the more energetic.

ARK Petrie Insurance Brokers brings over 50 years of experience offering clients the best-available policies tailored to their individual needs. With offices in Javea and Denia, his experienced team offers a wide range of insurance services from car, home, health and pet insurance to legal assistance policies. Mark Petrie came to Spain when he was just 11-years-old and opened his first business here in 1977. Today he counts on hundreds of loyal clients from all over the country and was awarded an MBE for his professional services to expats. Because the brokerage is not affiliated with any one company, it can crucially offer the most appropriate policies on the market to suit individual needs at the most competitive prices. His team of five works with all the leading companies such as Liberty Seguros, Allianz, Plus Ultra, DKV, Salus and many more to offer a personalised service from day one. “Each policy is tailored to what the customer needs and wants and we are very expat-orientated,” explains Mark, from his office on the paseo in Javea port. “While we have many clients here, we have others from as far away as Galicia, Madrid, Sevilla, and Malaga,” he adds. “By reducing response times and with an insurance programme run by professionals, our clients get the most out of any policy that they take out.”

Visit www.mark-petrie.com, call 965 793 712 or e-mail: brokers@mark-petrie.com

Making the difference Casa Ambiente - if you really want to sell

HEN listing your property, there is an endless choice of estate agents to choose from. It can be a daunting experience, raising the question of how to make it more enjoyable. It all comes down to the different ways your agent approaches you as a vendor. And choosing Casas Ambiente in Moraira will show you a different experience. We’re a family-run business established in Moraira since 1995, run by mother and son, Mirjam and Rouben Brösen, supported by a team of five. Between us, we have decades of experience. Our Dutch heritage means we have an eye for detail, a caring attitude when dealing with people and, of course, a head for negotiations. Our international team can speak English, German, Av. de la Paz 10b • 03724 Moraira www.casas-ambiente.com Dutch, French and Spanish fluently. contact@casas-ambiente.com When you list your property with Casas Ambiente, you’re (+34) 966 498 595 left with the feeling that not only will we do our very best to sell your property, but we’ll also stay in touch, keep you informed with updates and offer friendly yet incisive advice. However, we don’t rest on our laurels. Professionalism is about staying up to date. We undertake regular training, and we are one of only a few agents who are CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) certified by the Real Estate Council and affiliated with the International Association of Realtors.

If you’d like to ‘experience the difference’, pop in for a chat and find out for yourself. our office is in the heart of Moraira on Avenida La Paz 10B (the street with the Palm Trees leading down to the castle). The team can be contacted on 966 498 595 or info@casas-ambiente.com We look forward to meeting you.

Moraira Something to write home about 6

May 2022

SELL WITH THE AGENT THAT SELLS

• Established in Moraira since 1995.

ITH its stunning views of the Costa Blanca to inspire • Ask about our ‘advantage for the package’ imagination, exclusive listings. it’s not hard to see why Moraira is a great literary town. North American writer Chester Bomar Himes died in Moraira of Parkinson's disease in 1984 and was buried in nearby Benissa cemetery. He was one of the celebrated authors who called Moraira home. • A thoughtful, friendly and professional multi-lingual team.

• Our sole aim is to sell your property in a stress-free manner.

ll about

Literary traditions of a tiny Costa Blanca village

He was attracted to the town after reading adverts in the Sunday Times for land in a development called Pla del Mar. An African American, Himes did complain of experiencing discrimination on account of his colour in Moraira. But his home eventually came to life, in the name of Villa Griot, where he enjoyed walks down to the beach passing the famous Cap d’Or watchtower. Another great mind to have chosen to settle in Moraira was Martha Gellhorn, the American novelist, travel writer and widely considered one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th c e n t u r y, including

SCRIBES: Karina, Chester and (below) Martha with Hemingway

reporting on the Spanish Civil War. Aside from her own work, Gellhorn is also famous for being the third wife of novelist Ernest Hemingway. In addition to Moraira, the journalist spent time living in Cuba, Rome and Wales. Her Moraira property, situated slightly inland at Benissa with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, is up for sale for the price of €650,000. More recently Venezuela writer Karina Sainz Borgo explained said: “Moraira is the ideal destination for anyone who wants to read, write or simply relax.” In fact she seems to manage all three at the same time: She wrote 50 pages of her book El tercer pais on Ampolla beach

Speaking to teluadamorairadigital.es she explained: “It is a novel that required me to sit down to work without anyone bothering me, without anyone talking to me, with long hours of concentration. “As I like the sun, what I did was write on the beach and despite having people around me, there was nothing to bother me. I felt very comfortable. “I came to Moraira looking for peace to write, looking for blue sea, clear skies, tranquillity and I got it... in fact, I noticed that, on the breakwater, there was a small sculpture of a writer and that confirmed to me that I was in a town for writers.” That sculpture was a memorial to Himes, who continues to be an inspiration to many.

SELL WITH THE AGENT THAT SELLS • Established in Moraira since 1995.

• A thoughtful, friendly and professional multi-lingual team.

• Our sole aim is to sell your property in a stress-free manner. • Ask about our ‘advantage package’ for exclusive listings. Av. de la Paz 10b • 03724 Moraira www.casas-ambiente.com contact@casas-ambiente.com

(+34) 966 498 595

Mark Petrie

CORREDURIA DE SEGUROS • INSURANCE BROKERS

DÉNIA – Avda. Marquesado 22, 03700 DÉNIA (ALICANTE) – 965 781 815 – 965 780 757 – 658 919 777 JÁVEA – Avda. Marina Española, 24, 03730 JÁVEA (ALICANTE) – 965 793 712

brokers@mark-petrie.com www.mark-petrie.com

LA CULTURA A PHOTO exhibition showing the plight of Ukrainian refugees has opened with pictures from a photographer who has just returned from the war zone. The exhibition, entitled From the shadows of a war to the light of the Mediterranean was inaugurated by its author, 48-year-old Manuel Lorenzo at the CASA Mediterraneo museum in Alicante. He has selected 16 images which detail refugees’ journeys from the Polish border until their arrival to the safety of Spain.

Human

Lorenzo’s aim is to convey the ‘human drama’ and civilians as the ‘main victims’, rather than including sensational images of bombs and explosions. “The great loser is the civilian population, the innocent, who are the ones who have had to leave their lives, their belongings,” said the photojournalist. The exhibition also hopes to portray a ‘Spanish connection’ given that many Ukrainian refugees are coming to Spain where family and national ties already exist. Director of Casa Mediterraneo, Andres Perello, stated that the exhibition ‘tries to reflect in images the pain that war produces and also the solidarity that it awakens in other parts of the world’.

VALENCIAN coffers have been swollen by €1.6 million from a collection of Nazi and fascist memorabilia. A German woman who lived in Denia died without leaving a will and with no heirs, so the regional government will ‘inherit’ her collection of Nazi and Francoist medals and 31 gold coins, which will be auc-

Final sale tioned off. Gertrudis Ficher had three properties in Denia. After she died intestate in 2005, they were sold off by the Valencian government who used the proceeds for social projects.

Warhol pic of Marilyn Monroe pricier than Picasso’s most expensive work PABLO Picasso has lost his place as creator of the 20th Century’s most expensive work of art. Andy Warhol’s iconic picture of Marilyn Monroe has been sold at auction for $195 million (€184.7 million) in New York. This was not only a record price for an American artist’s work but also beat the $179.5 million (€170 million at today’s exchange rate) paid for Picasso’s Women of Algiers (1955) in 2015. This had made it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art – until Marilyn was put under the hammer. Despite the whopping amount paid, it did not quite meet the €200 million estimate Christies had put on it. The enormous price tag is good news for several charities. Cash from the sale of the silk-screen

By Dilip Kuner

painting will fund several projects to help children. Titled Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964), it is one of four made by Warhol featuring Marilyn and was completed two years after her death. Picasso’s Women of Algiers focused on his second wife Jacqueline Roque and was created as an homage to his friend and rival, Henri Matisse. The work was part of a series that Picasso began in 1954, shortly after the Nationalist uprising in Algeria against French rule. It had prev i o u s l y fetched ‘just’ €31.9 million (€30.25 million) when auctioned in 1997.

Queening it up

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Ficher kept herself to herself and very little was known about her. She had €350,000 in her bank accounts and a share portfolio worth €480,000, which were also appropriated by Valencian authorities. Now 17 years after her death, the last piece of estate business is set to be concluded with the auction.

MOVE OVER PICASSO

A ONE million euro mural inspired by Puerto Banus and designed by British luxury designer Debbie Wingham has been unveiled in the marina for the summer of 2022. The maritime-themed mural adds to her portfolio, which includes a €50m wedding cake, €17m Muslim abaya mantal, and an €11.9m Christmas tree, and has earned her the reputation of being the ‘queen of the most expensive’. Wingham claims that Puerto Banus’s rich history and her appreciation of nautical life came together to Start your journey as a inspire the project. live-in carer today! The work will remain in place all summer to Earn up to £750 per week be admired by tourists attracted to MarFlexible work patterns. bella’s sense of luxury Perfect work/life balance and prestige, with an estimated 2 million visitors expected To find out more, please email spanishrecruitment@helpinghands.co.uk during the mural’s period of display.

Playing to the gallery SPAIN is home to three of Europe’s most highly rated free art galleries, a new survey has found. The findings, published by Online learning centre The Knowledge Academy, ranked the Museo de Malaga as the 4th best in the world. The gallery has works from Francisco de Goya, Pablo Picasso, and Luis de Morales all on show for free as part of the museum’s 2,000 strong collection of fine art.

Best

The Cathedral de Santa Maria in Murcia was 12th best on the list. The 13th century building is comprised of three portals awash with sculptures. The central one is a homage to the Virgin Mary, the left one dedicated to San Gil and the right one to the Final Judgement and Saint James. The Museum of Cadiz came in at number 27, with work by Francisco de Zurbaran, Bartolome Esteban Murillo and Peter Paul Rubens. Top of the list was London’s the Wallace Collection, which features fine art from the 15th to 19th centuries.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD 1

OP SUDOKU

Ukraine perspective

May 19th - June 1st 2022

Across 1 Change phases for circles and squares, for example (6) 5 What the ladies of the harem of the court of King Caractacus do (4,2) 8 Extirpated (8) 9 Immense (4) 10 Journey (4) 11 Withdraws (5,3) 12 Bounder (3) 13 Film format (1,1,1) 14 “Can’t Help Lovin’ --Man” (Kern/Hammerstein song) (3) 15 One or the other (6,2) 18 Royal house of Riyadh (4) 19 Right to keep possession until a debt is paid (4) 20 Looks up (8) 21 Words for numbers? (6) 22 Set sail (6) Down 2 Excessive restlessness (13) 3 Shored (7) 4 Suddenly took notice (3,2) 5 Went canoeing (7) 6 Goalie’s achievements (5) 7 Mixed suet, but critic runs amok in the kitchen (7,6) 13 Oversees productions (7) 14 Unsettle (7) 16 --- Matisse (5) 17 Continuous stretch of building (5)

All solutions are on page 18

BUSINESS

SPAIN’S government has said it might reduce speed limits in order to save energy as Russian oil and gas exports are cut. Teresa Ribera, the minister of Ecological Transition has also said it will urge people to drive less, turn down heating and use public transport if the situation has not improved by winter. In an interview with RTVE, Rivera insisted that there was a high probability of a reduction in the maximum speed for cars, in line with a recommendation from the International Agency of Energy. In 2011 the maximum speed on motorways was cut from 120kph to 110kph for four months in response to fuel shortages during the Arab Spring.

King-size factory THE King of Spain was on hand to oversee the opening of a new hydrogen plant by Spanish utility company Iberdrola. The new plant will generate up to 3,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The facilities at the site also include a state-of-the-art solar farm and will cost over €150 million. It is the largest facility of its kind in Europe.

A NEW initiative to convince media giants to create film and TV productions in Spain has been launched by Queen Letizia. She chaired a meeting between representatives of Spain’s film and TV sector and around 40 companies and producers from the US in an attempt to schmooze and promote Spain as the ideal place to make content. The meeting follows a wider aim by the government to boost Spain’s media sector, which has been given a €2 billion cash injection to try and increase audiovisual productions by 30% by 2025. In addition, members of the American Society of Cinematographers visited the Canary Islands, and Sevilla, which has previously been used as a set for Game of Thrones and Star Wars. During the meeting industry professionals pitched Spain as

May 19th - June 1st 2022

ACTION! FEEL THE FORCE: Sevilla was a film set for Attack of the Clones

By George Mathias

the ideal filming location, owing to its weather and low tax incentives.

Alongside the Queen, Reyes Maroto, the minister for industry, trade and tourism and the United States Ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reyno-

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 1 Shapes, 5 Pass by, 8 Uprooted, 9 Vast, 10 Trip, 11 Pulls out, 12 Cad, 13 D V D, 14 Dat, 15 Either or, 18 Saud, 19 Lien, 20 Consults, 21 Lyrics, 22 Embark. Down: 2 Hyperactivity, 3 Propped, 4 Sat up, 5 Paddled, 6 Saves, 7 Biscuit cutter, 13 Directs, 14 Disturb, 16 Henri, 17 Range.

VOLATILE TIMES T

GBP/EUR exchange rates plunges after bleak BoE predictions, writes FX specialist Peter Loveday

HE pound to euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate tumbled through the first half of May as the UK’s economic outlook darkened, causing markets to pare back Bank of England (BoE) rate hike expectations. GBP/EUR plunged three cents from over €1.19 to €1.16, before rebounding to around €1.17.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? During the first week of May, the BoE’s interest rate decision triggered a sharp sell-off in the pound, causing GBP/EUR to tumble to a five-month low. Although the bank raised rates by 25 bps, with three policymakers voting for a steeper rise, it also said it expects inflation to peak at over 10% in autumn and warned that there is a risk of recession. In response, traders pared back their bets for further rate rises. It now seems as though the BoE is close to pausing its rate hike cycle. In the wake of hawkish rhetoric from some European Central Bank (ECB) officials, this helped the euro rise. Investors now expect the gap between ECB and BoE policy to narrow through the second part of 2022. The pound euro pair then wavered. Energy fears weighed on EUR after Ukraine cut some Russian gas supplies to Europe due to ‘interference’, while the UK’s cost-of-living crisis kept Sterling subdued. Brexit tensions flared up as the UK threatened to scrap the Northern Ireland protocol, causing the pound euro pair to briefly slip to a seven-month low. However, GBP/EUR quickly rebounded, despite a contraction in UK GDP in March. With Finland and Sweden formally requesting to join Nato, Russia warned of retaliation. This reminder that the Russia-Ukraine war could quickly escalate weighed heavily on the euro. What do you need to look out for? A number of high-impact data releases are due out over the coming fortnight. In particular, the UK CPI on Wednesday could have a big effect on the pound. Economists expect UK inflation to jump from 7% to 8.9%. With the BoE

Bogus brokers

Queen Letizia launches bid to make Spain a cinema superpower

SUDOKU

18 Cuts ahead

so were also in full woo mode. The royal is known to have a keen interest in film and is often spotted at film premieres and festivals. Following the events she had separate meetings with the World Red Cross as well as a visit to the town of Pinofranqueado with husband King Felipe. Spanish TV and film have exploded in popularity in recent years, with series’ such as Money Heist among the most widely streamed in the world.

A GANG of 21 swindlers offering big returns on stock market investments has been arrested. They made €6 million out of a bogus brokerage which was advertised via the internet. Police said they had got over 130 complaints about the gang. Investigations started 18 months ago when a victim reported that he had been scammed out of nearly €700,000. Investors were reeled in via a brokerage website offering the chance to get quick returns on the stock market. The fraudsters even offered real-time information to clients suggesting that the value of their investments had plunged dramatically to cover up what they were really up to. Most of the cash was converted to cryptocurrency and then distributed among the gang members. Arrests were made in Madrid, Barcelona, Guadalajara and Toledo.

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likely to resist aggressive rate hikes in the face of an economic recession, this high reading could hurt Sterling. The latest flash PMIs for the eurozone and the UK are also potentially market-moving releases, as investors will use these business-activity snapshots to gauge the health of the relative economies. Aside from economic data, fears around the UK’s cost-of-living crisis may continue creating headwinds for the pound, as could any big Brexit developments. For the euro, news around the Ukraine crisis may drive some movement. Any negative developments, such as an escalation of violence, would likely weigh on the single currency. PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY This kind of volatility can cause some nasty surprises if you need to transfer money overseas. On a £200,000 transfer, that three-cent gap between €1.19 and €1.16 translates to a €6000 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.

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FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL SPAIN has kept its position at the top as the nation with the highest number of blue flag beaches in the world. Valencia is again the region with the most award winning playas in Spain while Andalucia has seen the largest increase in beaches recognised. Blue flags have been awarded to 4831 beautiful beaches around the world which comply with a series of environmental, accessibility

Flags are flying and safety criteria. The Spanish coasts are home to 621 blue flagged beaches, which is six more than last year, located across 250 municipalities, which is an increase of seven than last

Renfe offers the chance to see Spain’s history in style on new luxury trains RENFE is offering four new luxury train routes transporting passengers across historic locations of Spain in the height of style. The experience of using Renfe trains to get from A to B as quickly as possible is a world away from the rail company’s new luxury travel experiences. The new Al Andalus train will transport passengers through the historic heartlands of Andalucia, visiting the cities of Ronda, Jerez, Cadiz, Granada, Baeza, Ubeda, Cordoba and Sevilla. But the service doesn’t come cheap. The luxury train trip will cost passengers an eye-watering €3,895 per person, and an extra €1,000 to upgrade to a deluxe suite.

May 19th June 1st 2022

year. Valencia took the lead with 139 award winning beaches. Three Valencian beaches have been recognised for the first time: Cala Baladrar in Benissa, Escollera y Marenyet-L’Illa in Cullera, and Auir in Gandia. Breaking it down by province, Alicante wins, holding 91 of Spain’s recognised beaches, ahead of Pontevedra in Galicia with 63 and Andalucia’s Malaga which has 44.

Arrive in style By Kimberley Mannion

The passengers receive a high class experience on board in terms of accomodation and cuisine, guided tours at each stop, and the train stopping in stations on the route each night to ensure a good night's sleep for the price. This route will operate over the months of May, June, September and October. During

July and August, Al Andalus will also run a four day tour leaving from Sevilla and travelling through Merida and Lisbon before arrival in Porto. Renfe is also rolling out similar new routes called the Transcantabrico, which travels northern Spain’s Cantabrian coast, the Expreso de la Robla between Leon and Bil-

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bao which offers travellers the chance to walk parts of the famous pilgrimage Camino de Santiago. The final luxury route is the Costa Verde Express, going between Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela.

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

DAYS OUT 10 weird tourist attractions across Spain: food fights to Smurf towns

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:

Lucena’s chair, Cordoba

May 19th - June 1st 2022

Lovers of Teruel, Aragon 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

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.

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.

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.

La Tomatina, Valencia

Pot museum, Castilla y Leon YES, the Museo del Orinal is exactly that: a collection of piss pots. The museum in Ciudad Rodrigo is dedicated to the history of the chamber pot. The fact that most exhibits come from the private collection of one town resident, Jose Maria del Arco, makes it even stranger. Niche.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL 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.

May 19th - June 1st 2022

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.

PROPERTY

May 19th - June 1st 2022

RENTS UP

Brexit blamed

HOLIDAY home sales in the Murcia region have fallen from 72% of all real estate deals in 2015 to 47% last year, according to the Registrars Association. A regional real estate developer has put the fall down to fewer UK buyers due to Brexit. The percentage of foreigners buying homes in Murcia stood at 17% last year

THE average rental price in Spain increased by 1.2% in April. This rise puts the average price of rent per metre squared per month in Spain at €10.90. Rent increases were even higher in the two largest cities in Spain, with renters in Madrid seeing prices go up by 1.5% and in Barcelona by 2% respectively. Malaga also increased higher than the national average, by 1.3%. Barcelona remains the most expensive place to rent in Spain at an average price of €16.50 per metre squared per month, followed by Madrid and San Sebastian.

compared to 20% in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Out of that 17% figure, 26% were UK

buyers, closely followed by Moroccan purchasers at 24.73%. Belgians came a distant third at 7% of foreign buyers. President of the Murcia Real Estate Developers Association, Jose Ramon Blazquez, said: “The fall in demand from British buyers has caused the fall in holiday home sales, mainly down to Brexit.”

Virgin hotel

LUXURY: An artist’s impression of the finished hotel

Sir Richard Branson to open new resort in Mallorca BRITISH entrepreneur Richard Branson is to restore a 15th century finca into a luxury hotel resort in Mallorca. His Son Bunyola Estate is being redeveloped into a 28 room hotel nestled in the most beautiful valley in the Serra de Tramuntana region, a Unesco World Heritage site on Mallorca's north-western coast. The hotel, which is due to be ready to welcome the first guests in summer 2023, converts an historic building into one of the most exclusive hotels in Spain boasting ‘incredible views of the surrounding countryside’.

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“One of the most wonderful things about Virgin Limited Edition properties is being able to protect beautiful pieces of land, empower local communities, and breathe new life into historic places,” Branson said after a recent visit to the resort. “Everything is being so carefully considered and you can see how traditional and local materials are central to the hotel’s design. There's a clever combination of new design with beautiful historic elements such as wood, stone arches, wrought ironwork and traditional rendering,” explained Sir

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Richard who has been a regular visitor to the island over the last three decades. The 28 rooms and suites will include two 'showcase' Tower Suites – one of which was originally a medieval

defence tower built in the 15th century. It also pledges to be an eco-resort with hot water pre-heated using energy collected from the air conditioning and refrigeration cooling systems and using a biomass boiler powered by recycled wood chippings.

SALES of hotels in Spain have reached their highest number in 10 years. Over the first three months of 2022, €995 million was spent on hotels in the Spanish property market, according to new figures from Cbre Data. The sum is more than triple of that during the same period last year as well as being the highest figure in a decade. Data shows that 37 hotels and 5,042 rooms were purchased during this period, compared to 11 hotels and 643 rooms over the same period of 2021. Of the hotels bought this year, 19 were four star establishments and six were five star. The areas where most investments were made was Baleares at 24% of the total, followed by Madrid at 22%, and both the Canarias and Barcelona tying in third with 15%. Director of hotels at Cbre Data, Jorge Ruiz, said: “Two years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hotel sector is taking off again thanks to the return of tourism and the consequent increase in demand.”

QUESTION TIME

NEW – Finance Seminars from Chorus Financial

HIS column has been a great way for people to get their questions answered, and I have hopefully helped many expats make some wise financial decisions over the years! When I take time to reflect about all the questions we get asked, it really is astonishing just how complex life can be when it comes to your finances in Spain. This has then made me sit back and really think about how we can continue to educate people in the right way, to make sure they make the right decisions when it comes to their savings, investments, and pensions. For that reason, we have decided to introduce Investment Seminars from our office in Benijofar. The seminars will be held every other

Thursday, starting from 26th May. They will be a great opportunity to come along and hear from our expert team where you will be able to ask questions or talk to an adviser on a 1-2-1 basis. So along with my Money Matters column, where you can send me your questions, you will now have the opportunity to come along to one of our seminars, where you can meet the team and get a better understanding about how best to structure your finances in Spain. By Tracy Storer, Senior Director If you would like to send me a question, feel free to email t.storer@chorusfinancial.com or if you’d like to attend our next seminar, give us a call on 965 641 163

Investment Seminar Investments – Pensions – Platforms – Tax planning

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Quick Crossword Across: 1 Shapes, 5 Pass by, 8 Uprooted, 9 Vast, 10 Trip, 11 Pulls out, 12 Cad, 13 D V D, 14 Dat, 15 Either or, 18 Saud, 19 Lien, 20 Consults, 21 Lyrics, 22 Embark.

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25/1/22 16:49

The

OLIVE PRESS

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Sausage dog party

FINAL WORDS

SOME 100 sausage dogs and gathered for a day of socialising in a Valencia park. A WhatsApp group for owners planned the gathering, with plans for a future event involving food trucks and music.

False claim A Cartagena man, 24, who turned up at a police station with his mum and claimed he had been sexually abused in an alley and suffered memory loss as an excuse for missing an exam, has been charged with reporting a fake crime.

Jaws HOLIDAY makers have been panicked by the sight of two sharks swimming just metres from beaches on Mallorca and Ibiza.

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Vol. 3 Issue 65 www.theolivepress.es May 19th - June 1st 2022

CHEAP DAY OUT

Sunderland football fan flies to London via Menorca to save cash A SUNDERLAND football fan has decided to fly to London via Menorca as it’s cheaper than getting public transport to the capital. James Jelly, 33, bought the connecting flight tickets for £51, far cheaper than the £161.99 cost of a direct flight from Newcastle. The flight to Menorca on its own was a snip at £12.50.

By George Mathias

Jelly (pictured far left with friends) said: “There’s some out there that have been ridiculously priced. I looked up flights from Newcastle to Heathrow and it was £161.99 return and I thought ‘I’m not paying that’.” But while a cheap flight to

Spain has been his saviour, it is a different story for Scottish fans. As Glasgow Rangers take on Frankfurt in Sevilla tonight, a number of people

have expressed their dismay at local price gouging. Campbell Ferguson told the Olive Press: “A friend of my son has paid £2,000 for a ticket. He’s talking of paying €800 for a taxi from Malaga to Sevilla.” With up to 100,000 Scots set to descend, direct flights to Sevilla from anywhere in the UK on Tuesday or Wednesday had all been booked. Meanwhile, authorities in Sevilla have confirmed that fans without a ticket to the game can watch it at the nearby 57,000 capacity Estadio La Cartuja - the same stadium Celtic played against Porto in the Uefa Cup final in 2003.

Nou-gat to be joking IT might seem a long way away, but Spain’s favourite Christmas treat is in danger after Spring storms. The coldest April since records began has devastated the Costa Blanca almond harvest, threatening nougat production. Farming organisations have already reported a drop in profits, which puts direct pressure on the nougat production ahead of the

festive season. Those factors, combined with frosts in March, have destroyed some 70% of almond crops, according to farmers. As well as an immediate shortage of the popular nut, nougat prices will increase as producers will have to import almonds from other markets if they are to keep the nation supplied with its favourite Christmas treat.

A MAN impersonating Donald Duck suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries after getting run over by a children's train ride at a Valencia area fair. The Disney character decided to cheer on children travelling on the 'Tren de la Bruja' on the Alaquas fairground. He waddled gleefully alongside the moving wagons but then he waded in front of the small locomotive that was pulling the carriages, and was run over. The man suffered a broken arm, a head wound and various chest injuries. The train carriages carrying the children did not overturn.

The kid is alright A BABY mountain goat just over a week old has been rescued by a local police officer and two park rangers after it took refuge on the roof of a dog kennel in the Sierras de Tejeda (Malaga) national park. The kid, only a week old and emaciated, and dehydrated, had been cornered by a mastiff.

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