Olive Press Mallorca Issue 122

t o h t Ge ! t o r t to

OLIVE PRESS

The

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Vol. 5 Issue 122

Your expat

voice in Spain

www.theolivepress.es January 14th - January 27th 2022

A dozen dream escapes for 2022.

See our Spanish travel special inside

Doomed beaches A NEW study claims that 66% of Balearic beaches could be lost to the sea by the end of the century in a worst case climate change scenario.

Researchers at the Balearic Islands Oceanographic Centre have developed a model to observe sea level changes under current climate change projections.

It is the first study to show the impact specifically on popular tourist sites in the Balearics.

One of the study’s authors, Miguel Agulles, said: “We show that climate change will lead to the permanent loss of more than 50% of the beach area, increasing to more than 80% during stormy conditions.”

The predictions are based on a worst-case climate change scenario, Continues on Page 4

My precious!

British couple offer reward for engagement ring stolen from car in Ibiza ahead of romantic proposal A YOUNG man’s dreams of getting down on one knee to the love of his life were dashed when a thief stole the engagement ring just an hour before his planned romantic proposal.

Laith Amini, 34, had gone to great lengths to prepare for the moment he would ask for his girlfriend’s hand in marriage while they were on holiday with friends on Ibiza.

He had consulted with his girlfriend’s family and designed a ring using antique diamonds from a family heirloom w h i c h he hid a m o n g luggage in the car until he was ready to pop the

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question on January 4.

But unfortunately, his romantic plans were scuppered when he and girlfriend Anita Kaushik, 29, returned to their rental car to discover it had been broken in and their belongings stolen.

“I had planned to get down on one knee and pop the question at Ibiza Stonehenge and then take her to a nearby restaurant where a group of our friends were waiting,” Amini told the Olive Press.

Heartbreaking

“I had carried around the ring in its box in my pocket all week but was constantly on edge that Anita would find it, so instead I hid it in a bag in the car and was going to retrieve it when I saw the car had been broken into.”

Kaushik found out about the proposal plan when she was told what had been stolen.

“It was heartbreaking having her

find out that way, and spending the night in the police station rather than celebrating our engagement. I had to tell her that the ring had incorporated diamonds from earrings belonging to her late grandmother.

“The good news is that I still popped the question and we See page 16 are engaged, a €20 ring did the trick, but I would love to replace it with the one I had planned and designed for

Tel: 952 147 834 TM

IN LOVE: Anita and Laith did get engaged, but with a €20 ring

months,” admitted Amini.

The couple, from Clapham in London, have made an appeal for the return of the unique piece of jewelry and are offering a €1,000 reward for its return with ‘no questions asked’.

If you have information about the ring get in touch with newsdesk@theolivepress.es or direct with the couple on 0044 7738264095 or email laithamini1@gmail.com

2

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF Angry son AN Ecuadorian man aged 21 has been jailed in Palma after breaking a restraining order to stay away from his parents multiple times.

On this occasion, the man threw stones at the windows of the family home.

Too young POLICE called by witnesses who had seen a car in Palma bumping into several vehicles were surprised to find a 15-year-old boy behind the wheel.

Xmas thieves TWO Romanians, aged 22 and 21, and a minor have been arrested accused of being behind several break-ins from stalls at a Christmas market in Palma between December 11 and 28.

Sad find THE decomposing body of a 40-year-old Spanish woman has been found in Manacor with police believing that she may have been dead for 20 days. Violence has been ruled out.

RESIDENTS of a town in Galicia have joined Guardia Civil patrols to seek out an escaped prisoner who is living in a nearby forest.

Convicted murderer Alfredo Sanchez Chacon has been dubbed ‘the Galician Rambo’ after living wild in woodland near Pontedeume for over nine months while on the run.

He got the nickname for the survival techniques he learned while serving in the Spanish foreign legion.

POLICE have tracked down one of Italy’s most notorious mobsters via Google Maps.

Gioacchino Gammino, who has been on Europol’s wanted list for 20 years, was spotted on an online image outside a shop he owned in Spain.

Gammino, 61, who was jailed for murder and drug trafficking, escaped from an Italian prison two decades ago and fled to Barcelona where he changed his name to Manuel.

But several years ago the mafia chief relocated to Galapa-

January 14th - January 27th 2022

Kidnap mystery

On the hunt for ‘Galician Rambo’ Residents have been reporting sightings for months, as well as the theft of supplies and food from their homes.

One neighbour told police he found a man fitting his description standing at his open fridge helping himself to leftovers in the middle of the night.

At least 14 petty thefts of items ranging from packets of biscuits to tins of beans

and cans of beer have been reported.

Now villagers have rounded up their own patrols to take it in turns to guard the area and look out for the escaped prisoner.

It is the second time that Chacon had escaped from prison. The first time was in 1999 when he used knotted sheets to climb from a window.

YOU’VE BEEN GOOGLED!

Italian mobster nabbed after 20 years gar, near Madrid, where he ran several stores, including a pizzeria, a hairdresser and a

greengrocer.

It was here, standing outside the shop, El Huerto de Manu,

Bounced

Store brawl

A NIGHTCLUB doorman of Cala d'Or (Mallorca) faces a fouryear prison sentence for beating up two brothers.

The incident took place in October 2018, when one of the victims left the club with a drink in hand, the defendant asked him not to and an argument began.

FIVE men have been arrested after a fight spilled over into a Paseo Maritimo shop in Palma.

One man was pelted with cans and bottles from the store and was held down so that members of the group could punch him in the face.

Police arrested two of the group of Spaniards almost immediately and detained the rest recently, nearly two months after the incident.

One of those brought in was the victim who had ignited the violence in a bar by hitting one of his subsequent attackers in the head and injuring him. He fled the premises and tried to take refuge in the shop but the group cornered him there to get revenge for the initial assault.

Friends.

overseeing a delivery of fruit and vegetables, that he was captured by Google Street View.

The image was spotted by an Italian detective who for years had been on the lookout for him.

Arrest

He alerted his Spanish counterparts who moved in to arrest him.

Clearly stunned, the first thing he asked the police was: “How did you find me? I haven’t even phoned my family for the last 10 years.”

Incredibly he hadn’t even been rumbled despite being accused of attacking the local mayor Angel Camacho in 2018.

AN elderly man who claimed to be kidnapped on New Year’s Eve had to be cut free from his car after hunters heard his cries for help.

They discovered him trapped in his car at the bottom of a 10 metre deep ditch in Mancor de la Vall.

The 70-year-old Spanish resident of Pollenca had to be freed by firefighters, with medics and Guardia Civil on hand.

He had become trapped with half his body still inside his SUV.

Wife

The man claimed that after dropping his wife outside their home he went to park the car but was approached by two young men who kidnapped him.

He claimed that the men sped off with him still in the car, swerved around a corner after crashing, then ran off, leaving him inside the car.

Police say that the man does not have any mental health problems and scored 0.0 in a breathalyzer test.

There were many alcohol bottles in the back of the car and witnesses confirmed that there were people drinking in the area the night before.

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NEWS

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January 14th - January 27th 2022

3

All about my Mother-tongue SPANISH movie legend Pedro Almodovar will make his first feature film in English with Cate Blanchett in the lead role.

The Oscar-winning director confirmed the adaptation of Lucia Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women is already in the early stages of development.

The original book features 43 stories that navigate the lives of several women who work in low-paid, demanding jobs.

Sad farewell AN expat film-maker, who worked with The Beatles on their debut movie A Hard Day’s Night, has died at his Almeria home.

Brit Denis O’ Dell had a long association with the Beatles and Cabo de Gata where he had a property.

In 2013, he was given the Almeria Short Film Festival’s highest honour, the Almeria Land of Cinema award.

His Beatles connection started as an associate producer of A Hard Day’s Night in 1964 and he took the same role three years later on How I Won the War. The World War II satire saw John Lennon appear as a supporting actor.

O’Dell persuaded Lennon to take part and the whole movie was shot on location in Almeria.

His visit inspired the Beatle to compose the legendary hit Strawberry Fields Forever.

It came after taking regular trips past farms full of the popular red fruit.

O’Dell also produced the 1967 Beatles TV film Magical Mystery Tour as well as The Magic Christian, which had Ringo Starr in the cast.

PALS: Denis with George Harrison

Millionaire footballers feature on Spain’s €29.6 billion tax defaulters list

By Dilip Kuner

SPAIN has published its annual list of tax shame and footballers continue to be targeted by the tax man.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and Barcelona stars Dani Alves and Samuel Eto’o owe Hacienda (Inland Revenue) a total of more than €3 million.

Many of those on the list of those that owe more than €600,000 and football stars.

Superstar

Almodovar, who won an Oscar for his 2002 film Talk to Her, Her told Variety magazine that he is writing the new script in Spanish, which will then be translated into English.

He has previously made a short film in English - the acclaimed The Human Voice starring Tilda Swinton.

TAX SHAME

Leo loses Titanic auction battle A PAINTING of Mona Lisa as a bullfighter has sold at auction for nearly one million euros.

The painting by Mallorcan Domingo Zapata was snapped up for €906,000 with all the money going to charity.

Among those bidding was Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio (right), already a Zapata collector, although he lost out to the anonymous American collector.

The sale makes New York-based Zapata, one of Spain’s most successful living artists.

“A new auction record for my career!

This fills my heart,” he wrote on Instagram.

“100% will be donated to help children in need,” he added.

Zapata has sold to billionaire philanthropist George Soros as well as Johnny Depp and Diana Picasso - granddaughter of Pablo.

Brazilian superstar Neymar was said to owe an COUGH UP: Alves and (top right) Ancelotti eye-watering €34 million million.

Ancelotti is said to owe in unpaid taxes, last year.

It is not the first time he €1.4 million while former Cristiano Ronaldo and Li- has appeared on the list Barca star Eto’o - now onel Messi have both been - in 2016 he was featured president of Cameroon’s heavily fined, given sus- with a tax debt of more football federation - owes pended jail sentences and than €1.2 million. €1 million. ordered to pay tens MANY readers will remember their of millions early laughable attempts at speakover unpaid ing Spanish on arrival in Spain. tax.

A new TV show The Language of explained former Big Brother preThis year’s Love takes this to a new level, hop- senter McCall. list includes ing a group of Brits and Spaniards It certainly didn’t matter for Brit7,277 taxcan find love while living together. ish supermodel Naomi Campbell payers, who In the show, hosted by Davina Mc- when she fell in love with Spanish owe a total Call, a dozen girls and boys were flamenco singer Joaquin of €29.6 deposited at a dreamy Andalu- Cortes a decade ago (see billion. cian finca to see if they could find right).

Brazilian love… despite not speaking each On the differences beAlvez, 38, other’s language. tween the nations, Mcwho recent“The idea of the show poses the Call added: “We’re quite question: is it possible to find love self-conscious as a nation, ly returned just through body language and we Brits… Spanish people SWOONING: McCall with to Barceinstinct and a vibe off someone?” are very liberated physicalMerino lona, owes around €2

Tongue tied

ly. They’re not embarrassed.”

She also noted the importance of learning a language: “I think we are universally known for not making an effort in other people’s languages because so many people speak ours.”

Spanish actor Ricky Merino co-presents the show alongside McCall.

You can watch the contestants soul gaze, angrily search dictionaries and meet each other's families at 10pm every Tuesday on Channel4.

4

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es From front

Washed away but efforts to reduce carbon emissions could see a significant reduction in sea level rises, the research team said.

However, it is not just sea levels that will affect beaches. Flood levels depend on tides and waves, and are a more important indicator of the future shape of beaches then simply sea levels, explained the team.

Model

They came up with a new model that considered the shape and slope of each beach, how grainy the sand is and the extent of seagrass meadows to predict coastal flooding.

They applied their new model to 869 beaches in the Balearic Islands and analysed what is most likely to happen in the coming decades. In the most pessimistic climate change scenario, 66% of current beaches will be flooded and lost to the sea by the end of this century. This is under average conditions, but under the most extreme conditions it will increase to an 86% loss of beaches during a storm.

In total, 72 of the islands’ 869 beaches would disappear permanently, while 314 would be completely flooded during storm events.

AN Indian mogul has splashed €105,000 on two Spanish olive trees.

Mukesh Ambani bought and shipped the pair to his estate in Jamnagara.

But not before a team of six gardeners helped the 200-year-old trees to get acclimated at a nursery 1,800kms away.

The team monitored soil health and

Branching out! growth targets for two years, as well as ensuring the carefully chosen trees maintained the desired shape.

The ‘lucky’ specimens were finally loaded up on a truck that drove at just 30kph for the five day journey to his home.

January 14th - January 27th 2022 The extravagant tycoon, who also owns a 27-storey €2.3 billion home in Mumbai, is known for splashing the cash.

The Reliance Industries boss hired pop star Beyonce (right) for his daughter’s 2018 wedding.

He flies by private jet and includes Prince Charles and Camilla among his friends.

In the dark Shocking result shows Manacor as most secretive council in Mallorca MANACOR is one of the most secretive councils in Mallorca according to a nationwide survey of hundreds of local authorities.

The list names and shames the local authorities which are the least transparent and keep their taxpayers in the dark when it comes to spending their hard earned cash.

Manacor scored just 23.5% in analyst firm Dyntra’s national transparency survey, coming in 352rd place out of 491 councils.

Out of 162 key indices, the local town hall only makes 38 publicly available.

This means that most infor-

By Tallulah Taylor

mation about budgets, salaries and spending is impossible to gauge.

It scores a shocking 0% in financial transparency meaning its spending, income, debt and taxes are not published.

2 GOOD 2 BAD

Ethics

It doesn’t even publish a code of ethics.

The payroll of the Mayor and of each counselor is also kept secret.

It does marginally better in urban planning and pub-

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FIRE-PIT

TABLES

FREE DELIVERY

MAYORS: (Clockwise from top left) Calvia’s Badal, Palma’s Hila, Manacor’s Gomila and Pollenca’s Cifre

lic works, scoring 35% and 18.75% in services hiring.

Pollensa matches Manacor’s shameful score of 23.5% but does slightly better in terms of financial transparency with 11.11%. It does not publish its debt but it does at least reveal its budget.

Marratxi council scores 24.5% on transparency, but

still languishes in 339th place.

The council has 40 indicators out of 162. It has 14.81% financial transparency marking it as less financially secretive than Manacor.

At the other end of the table, Palma de Mallorca council has a good score of 63% to be the 78th least opaque local authority in Spain. Calvia Town Hallalso does reasonably s tor ica ind the Some of well with 55% to come in 116th. measured included: Despite the disand r mayo the of ry histo er ; Past care mal figures it s cillor his coun could be worse. ials offic all by ived ; Income rece Three quarall offi; Travel expenses incurred by ters of the least cials ess transparent ; The town hall staff selection proc les councils are in ; The number or value of vehic Andalucia, with owned or leased rts repo , unts acco Sanlucar de ; Annual budgets, and audits Barrameda in and ng racti cont t ; Information abou Cadiz scoring a subcontracting procedures dismal 2.47% to con; Real estate agents owned or be rock bottom. nected to the council rical Most trans; The amount of current and histo parent was, by municipal debt ent contrast Fuen; Overall council spending per resid gitrola on the ; A municipality ‘Code of Ethics’ docuic publ Costa del Sol ; Policy for disposal of ments and records with a score of 92.59%.

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Make a date.., with a vaccine HEALTH authorities in Catalunya are using dating app Tinder to encourage unvaccinated youngsters to make a date for a COVID vaccine.

The regional health department has created an advertisement that resembles a profile encouraging those who haven’t yet been jabbed to ‘swipe right’.

The slogan of the campaign is 'If we haven't met yet, ask me on a date’.

It directs people to a health page to make an appointment.

The messages are targeted at the 20 to 49 age group which is the least likely to have been vaccinated.

Around 15% of those in their 40s haven’t been vaccinated, rising to 20% of those in their 20s and 25% of those in their early 30s have yet to get a jab.

Ghostly warming THE practice of airlines flying empty planes to keep coveted flight slots has been slammed by a Mallorcan politician.

The deputy for MES in Mallorca, Josep Ferra, is calling for the end of so-called ‘ghost flights’, calling them an ‘environmental outrage’ - and has put the blame on the EU. The term ghost flights refers to the slots given to airlines, which are renewed as long as they meet 50 to 80% of their commitments, in the EU’s ‘use it or lose it’ policy.

As many flights have a low demand, especially during the pandemic, this means that companies fly planes without passengers to ensure they keep the routes.

Now he has presented an initiative in parliament to urge the European Union to modify the regulations.

He said “How is it possible that it is a European law that causes flights without passengers with the environmental cost that this causes?

“The economic and environmental cost will be enormous.

Lufthansa alone has announced 18,000 ghost flights for the next few months,” said Ferra.

Lucky escape A TEENAGE girl is lucky to be alive after the roof of her Palma home collapsed.

The 13-year-old was taken to hospital on Wednesday after being hurt in the incident.

Three people were in their first floor home when the roof caved in. The teenager and her father were treated for minor injuries at Son Llatzer Hospital. A neighbour said that the girl was ‘lucky to be alive’ as roof beams crashed down around her.

Palma Policia Local and fire crews cleared several people out of their ground floor and first floor properties. The building was sealed off ahead of a safety inspection.

NEWS

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Time for a change SUPERMAN will have to find somewhere new to change on his trips to Spain now that the nation’s phone boxes have been shut down.

The remaining 16,000 public booths have been inoperative since January 1, after the government shut the public service.

Although their use has been dwindling year on year since the invention of mobile phones, it is still possible to find the odd cabina on street corners across Spain.

However, their fate is now sealed after Telefonica refused to keep supplying a service that cost the telecommunications company an estimated €4.5 million a year to maintain with zero earnings.

While most regions are removing the boxes, some areas are being more imaginative.

In Malaga, some have already been transformed into tiny tourist information points, while in Burgos the booths have been converted into mini art galleries.

THE number of children hospitalised with mental health problems in the Balearic Islands has risen by almost 60% during the past year, shocking new figures reveal.

According to new data there were 30,000 more children between the ages of seven and 18 admitted with a psychiatric problem in 2021, with issues ranging from eating disorders to anxiety and depression.

This comes as new figures also reveal the number of children arriving at hospital with neurological problems has also risen by 20% over the last 12

January 14th - January 27th 2022

Mind matters

months.

The regional coordinator of Mental Health of the Balearic Islands, Oriol Lafau, called the latest figure ‘scandalous’ and said it was children ‘who had suffered the most mentally’ as a result of the pandemic.

Last year doctors saw an increase in mental illness directly linked to the loneliness and uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, with 16% of psychiatric cases deriving from pandem-

ic stresses.

The delays and pressures on mental health services, which Lafau said were at an ‘all time high’ have added to demand seen in pediatric departments.

“We had to send many of our patients to paediatric wards simply because the psychiatric wards were full,” Mr Lafau said.

Some 17,000 more children on the Islands who are taking antidepressants than there were in 2019 and 2020 meanwhile the number of children admitted to hospital with disordered eating has risen 20% in the last year.

NO PORKIES

Furious backlash after minister takes to UK media to slam quality and environmental problems of Spanish meat from ‘mega farms’ A FURIOUS row has broken out after a government minister blamed the growth of ‘mega farms’ as a disaster for Spain.

Alberto Garzon came under calls to resign after he told the Guardian newspaper that their rapid expansion in depopulated areas was causing a ‘very serious problem’.

The Minister of Consumer Affairs said the poor practices of the livestock industry was causing a triple crisis of biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change.

“It would be the end for a country like Spain,” he said.

“Desertification is a very serious problem for our country, not least because it depends so much on tourism.

“Visiting a desert isn’t quite as attractive as visiting the Costa del Sol,” he added.

In particular, he slammed the meat production giants that were buying up large tracts of land in rural Spain in areas dying out as people move to the cities.

Who you going to call?

A FARMER was left scratching his head wondering how to rescue his donkey when it stumbled into a three-metredeep well..

He had only recently taken over the farm in Son Servera and the donkey was nosing around the property when it missed its footing.

At a loss for what to do, he called in firefighters to help out. They swung into action, with one fireman climbing down a ladder to reach the trapped beast.

After slipping a sling under the animal’s belly, they then hoisted it out using a crane the farmer had on the back of his truck.

The donkey was unharmed and released into a field to graze - well away from the dry well.

Resignation

The president of the Basque Country’s veterinary association called for his immediate resignation.

IU party boss Garzon refused to resign however, and even added to his criticism in local Spanish interviews, insisting people should eat less meat.

His comments came as Spain shot into the world’s top five exporters of meat products between 2016 and 2020.

Pork was the biggest export seeing growth of 21% in those four years, with the largest buyer being China (37%).

It translates to a whopping €4.6 billion in pork sales each year coming from around 32 million pigs, with around 93% of them living in megafarms, according to Greenpeace.

What is more alarming is that some 66% of Spain’s entire cultivated areas are used for the production of food to feed the livestock industry.

And worst of all is the large

NEWS IN BRIEF Price capped THE Government has fixed the price of antigen tests in Spain, where they will cost a maximum of €2.94. The change will take effect from January 15.

Tasty skills FOUR Baleares chefs - Nicolas Galindo, Bryan Hernany, Alberto Pujol and Adria Olives - have been selected as semifinalists for the 10th edition of the Haute Cuisine Promises Award, organised by Le Cordon Bleu Madrid.

Vegan butcher THE first vegan ‘butcher and charcuterie’ in Palma, called Pasen & Vegan and specialists in ‘cold cuts’ and artisan vegan cheeses has opened in the meat and deli section of the Mercat de l'Olivar.

By Joshua Parfitt

Describing the mega farms as ‘unsustainable’ he said: “They pollute the soil, they pollute the water and then they export this poor quality meat from these ill-treated animals.”

However, his comments sparked anger from PP party leader Pablo Casado, who called the remarks ‘unacceptable’ and ‘untrue’, while Ciudadanos insisted Garzon had caused ‘irremediable damage’ to the Spanish livestock industry and export market.

5

Working out DISGRACE: Dead fish at the Mar Menor levels of nitrate pollution that is being allegedly caused by slurry from the farms entering the water table.

It is one of the reasons the Mar Menor, in Murcia, has become polluted, according to local activists and scientists.

It led to the EU commission to start taking Spain to court over ‘poor application’ of directives on nitrate pollution, last month.

Warnings first arrived back in 2018 over Spain’s failure to control nitrate pollution in waterways and marine environments, where eutrophication can cause algal blooms and mass fish die offs.

Nitrate pollution, often from livestock farms, can affect drinking water which has also been linked to cyanosis in humans as well as gastric cancer.

Part of the EU’s urgency to take Spain to court follows the mass death of fish in the Mar Menor, last year.

Slurry

While the Murcia government immediately banned the use of fertilisers within 1.5km of the lagoon, central government studies have found around 450 pig farms in the catchment area.

Some 10% of these farms break regulations on allowing pig faeces to decompose

YouTube rapper in sex sting POLICE in Spain have arrested 37 people, including a YouTube rapper, over suspected involvement in a ring that targeted underage girls for child prostitution and pornography.

Among those facing charges is a Dominican, known as Saymol Fyly, who has more than 150,000 subscribers and allegedly used his fame to groom young girls.

Police claim at least ten victims, aged between 14 and 16, were forced into drug taking and prostitution after being targeted by the gang.

in open slurry pits, which are not ‘waterproof’ and leach nitrates into waterways.

Opinion Page 6

UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen in Palma by 11,994 people or 34.79%, compared to December 2020.

The city now has 220,647 people officially registered as employed.

6

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 Slurry bad news A LEGION of politicians piled fury on Alberto Garzon’s comments about the quality of Spanish meat because he criticised their two most important loves: gammon and patriotism.

But no-one should ignore his claims that mega-farms ruin the environment.

His own government ordered an inspection into Spain’s pig farms just last month.

Why? Because the EU is taking Spain to court over failure to protect the environment from their slurry.

For years the EU has been demanding Spain meets its environmental obligations. In many cases the country has been cleaning up its act.

But all too often, despite the platitudes mouthed by politicians, a blind eye is turned at a local level to what should be described as - and prosecuted as - environmental crimes.

Across Spain, dubious industrial and agricultural methods have continued to pollute the ground and water of this beautiful nation.

Ever more intensive farming is taking a heavy toll on the countryside - witness the vast swathes of land covered in plastic in the ‘market garden’ region of Almeria.

When it comes to water pollution the grimmest case is that of the Mar Menor, Europe’s biggest salt water lagoon.

Time after time mass death events leave thousands of fish and other sea creatures dead as the oxygen they need is sucked up by algae.

This algae thrives because of the nitrates polluting the water. And where do these nitrates come from? In large part, slurry is allowed to escape and leach into water supplies from the mega meat farms referred to by Garzon.

He does have a point.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

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

Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es

Kirsty McKenzie kirsty@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Simon Wade simon@theolivepress.es

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LEGAL ODDITIES Weird laws that could leave you steamed up

SPANISH law says new rules By affecting business can only Joshua Parfitt come into effect in January or July – which makes a lot of sense, right?

But as it’s January, we’re thinking of all the laws that don’t make a lot of sense.

Like France’s bizarre ban on calling your pig ‘Napoleon’, Samoa’s ban on forgetting your wife’s birthday or the Milanese legal requirement to smile at all times (except at funerals or hospitals) Spain also has some strange laws.

Here are eight that will make you say ¿qué?

No Spanish Castle Magic The Canary Islands are well known for their tropical temperatures and shimmering seas – perfect for a day at the beach.

Except in Tenerife, where it’s illegal to build sand castles.

Similar laws exist on the Costa Blanca in the Valencian Community, where you’re allowed to build sand castles, but only if you use sand from the spot where you’re building and you destroy your structure before you leave.

It sounds like a killjoy law, but stems from local conflicts, like someone who staked out a huge area to build a 1:12 reproduction of the Alcazar de Segovia medieval fortress.

In this case, it was one of us who ruined it for the rest.

1

Name of the game

2

It would appear that the state should keep out of how you name your baby. Your baby is yours, after all.

Except in countries like Denmark, where you must choose a baby name from a pre-approved list.

Spain doesn’t go so far as prescribing a list to name your child, but bans you from naming your child Cain, Judas or Lenin (above).

No mops allowed

3

In the town of Villanueva de la Torre, in Castilla–La Mancha, residents are prohibited from keeping a mop on the balcony.

They are also also banned from hanging out their clothes on balconies, windows or terraces situated above public roads or in sight of public areas.

The draconian laws even call for a fine up to €750 upon the parents of children playing in the street.

NO YEAR’S EVE BAH HUMBUG: Spanish town that hasn’t celebrated the New Year in 25 years

G

OOD luck is the reason why tain village came out to protest the faulmillions of Spaniards eat ty electricity supply, exacerbated by a storm, which ruined their their 12 grapes hopes of eating the 12 on New Year’s uvas de la suerte (grapes Eve – but a stroke of bad More than of luck) and begin 1995 in luck has seen one Spanish town refuse to celebrate 10,000 people good spirits.

New Year’s Eve in Berchuthe new year at all in 25 have visited les, on the slopes of the years - at least not on New Sierra Nevada, has not Year’s Eve. each year for been the same since with It was the last night of 1994 when a power cut the summer fun villagers turning their back on traditional celebrabrought New Year’s Eve tions. celebrations to a halt in But perhaps the village is the living the village of Berchules in Granada.

Nearly all 800 inhabitants of the moun- embodiment of the Spanish phrase no hay mal que por bien no venga (there’s no bad that doesn’t bring good).

If it wasn’t for the bright idea of the village’s nightclub owner, Berchules wouldn’t be known across Spain as the village that celebrates New Year’s Eve smack in the middle of summer.

In 1995, the inhabitants of Berchules decided to hold their New Year’s Eve celeFELIZ FIESTA: But in the summer not winter brations on the date

HOT KINGS: The Three Wise Men arrive in the

least likely to see a powercut: the first weekend in August.

By 1997, the Berchulean Association of New Year’s Eve in August (ABNEA) was founded to oversee the festival – complete with Three Wise Men, nativity scenes and the 12 grapes at midnight – and it's become one of the most popular festivals of the entire Alpujarras mountain region.

In the last four years, more than 10,000 people have visited Berchules each year to take part in the summer fun.

“We get called by the media from all corners of the world, and visitors come in their cars to eat the grapes of luck with us,” one inhabitant said.

So popular is the festival that the An-

January 14th - January 27th 2022

www.theolivepress.es

7

WHO’S BEHIND THE HEADLINES

T Absolutely barking Villanueva de la Torre has a rather strange ban on dogs – no barking at night or during siesta hours (2pm to 4pm).

How disgruntled neighbours should go about fining the offending dog is unclear.

The absurdity doesn’t stop there, however, as the rules also dictate rules of behaviour in lakes, lagoons, hospitals and museums.

4

This is despite the municipality having none of these spaces.

Residents are also prohibited from disposing of their radioactive waste in the town’s garbage bins.

The rules are something the town’s opposition party, the leftwing PSOE, has been fighting since at least 2012.

No dominoes please The game of dominoes is extremely popular in Spain – except for the city of Sevilla in Andalucia, that is.

A local law against acoustic contamination, noise and vibrations puts a ban on anyone playing dominoes on the terraces outside bars in case the noise offends residents in the area.

The same ordenanza also bans anyone from rolling barrels of beer around the street, and prohibits you from eating or drinking next to bar or restaurant terraces.

5

Get a room

e summer heat

dalucian government declared New Year’s Eve in August an official festival of cultural interest.

Though they wouldn’t have known it that dark evening of December 31 in 1994, Berchules’ worst luck has turned out to be the village’s biggest blessing.

And now that power has returned in adequate supplies over the festive period, it means that Berchules is probably the only village in the world that gets to see in the New Year twice, even if it is in the privacy of their own home on December 31.

No tap dancing please

6

Keeping the peace is huge business in Spain – the country leads the E U ’ s ranking for shared living spaces with 66.5% of the population living in apartments and urbanisations.

Neighbourly disputes have no doubt caused a slew of ordenanzas regulating what you can and can’t do, especially in the capital of Madrid.

Madrid joins the cities of Mojacar in Andalucia and Ciudad Real in Castilla–La Mancha in banning anyone from running, jumping, skating or tap dancing inside apartment blocks and urbanisations.

7

A quick roadside romp in the car seems like a harmless affair, provided there's consent of course.

But in the cities of Granada and Malaga it is a crime to have sex in your car in accordance with laws that also ban sexual acts in public places.

A man was fined €750 in the Costa del Sol capital of Malaga after police caught him having sex in his car near to a public road – on appeal, the man pleaded the fine be reversed as ‘vegetation’ blocked the illicit act from public view.

Generally in Spain, it is also a crime to perform sexual acts while driving, as a man in Valencia found out after receiving a €200 fine for masturbating at the wheel.

He also lost three points for ‘distraction’ while driving, probably along with his pride.

Get a room in Bilbao, seriously While less benign, it is still a crime to sleep in your car in the northern city of Bilbao.

The rule that regulates public spaces extends the ban to caravans, motorhomes and tents, adding that you can't sleep in them within the city's boundaries during night or day.

The ban goes further still, banning anyone from sleeping on benches, bathing or washing clothes

8

HE media, more than any other, is a people business.

It’s all about communication and that can not be done by robots. At least not yet.

So aside from the Olive Press’ A-team of full time journalists, who work around the clock to provide the best English news service in Spain, we can rely on a big squad of additional talent.

Over the last decade and a half, the Olive Press has assembled a skilled group of writers, who look behind the headlines to bring you in-depth and original features from around the country.

We have also acquired an impressive team of experts and specialists who are ahead in their fields and who always have a finger on the pulse.

These include our property insider Adam Neale, our legal eagle Antonio Flores, our mortgage man Tancrede de Pola and our insurance guru Jennifer Cunningham.

Each of them comes up with regular incisive analysis… and a few of them have done so for well over a decade.

The same could be said for columnist Giles Brown, one of the funniest expat writers around, while Bill Anderson, Martin Tye and Sue Wilson MBE more than know their onions in the world of politics and the environment.

And then there are our history and culture writers like Jack Gaioni, David Baird and Heather Galloway, who always file original - and often quirky - features on a regular basis.

But sadly many of our brilliant writers’ articles don’t quite make the paper.

Take Jo Chipchase’s colourful look at the alternative scene around the Alpujarras region, published on the website this week. Or Joshua Parfitt’s insightful view on Spain’s important skiing industry…sadly, neither of them have made the printed paper.

So yes, there is so much more going on behind the scenes in our engine room, the website.

With over 20 stories and features a day, it more than justifies its cost of just under €6 a month… or under €60 for the whole year.

What are you waiting for?

Visit www.theolivepress.es now.

OLIVE PRESS ONLINE: FULL ACCESS:

● Per month - €5.99 ● Per week - €1.50 ● Per day - €0.14 ● Per story - €0.007

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

in municipal fountains, or cooking in public places.

As a caravan user in one forum suggested, if you want to sleep in your motorhome in Bilbao, bring a book to pretend you’re just reading.

measures and restrictions to re1- COVID-19 turn to Spain’s Andalucia in the New Year Holidays in Spain 2021: full list of 2- Bank dates for every autonomous community restrictions in place in Spain’s 3- COVID-19 Andalucia ahead of New Years Eve

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

8

GREEN

www.theolivepress.es

Spain has its first road made from non-recyclable plastic waste A NEW road surface has been unveiled in Barcelona using non-recyclable plastic waste in the first project of its kind in Spain.

The environmental pilot project in the Bon Pastor neighbourhood is one of many experimental and radical innovations to address plastic waste that comes amid warnings that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish.

The new material is said to be more resistant than traditional road surfaces to heavy traffic, as well as helping cut greenhouse gas emissions during the manufacturing process and the subsequent handling process.

If widely adopted it could help tackle the problem of the huge amount of plastic ending up in landfills, illegal dumps, waterways or burnt in open pits.

Spain produces over two million tons of plastic waste every year, with only 43% being recycled.

Estimates indicate that using

Electric start SEAT has opened a new €7 million battery research and development centre for electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

The centre (known as TCE) at the carmaker’s Technical Centre in Martorell, is part of the Volkswagen Group’s global R&D network and is the group’s first such centre in Europe outside Germany, alongside those already running in China and the United States.

The TCE is intended to become a key element of SEAT’s project to lead the electrification of the Spanish car industry and is part of the €5 billion investment plan announced by the company to electrify not just its vehicles but also its factories.

PLASTIC HIGHWAY

non-recyclable plastic to build roads uses less than 17 tons of CO2, far less than traditional techniques.

This particular stretch of road surface along the Paseo de la Verneda used a total of 4,500 kg of plastic, equivalent to 3,000 household garbage bags full of plastic, which would have otherwise not been recycled.

If the pilot project is successful, the type of road surface will be used in other parts of the city.

SOLUTION: Plastic road in Barcelona

January 14th - January 27th 2022

Strong arming CAMPAIGNERS are calling for the world’s first octopus farm to be closed down.

To keep up with the world’s growing appetite for Octopus, Spain’s biggest seafood producer Pescanova has invested €65 million to build the farm at Las Palmas on Gran Canaria.

But activists are opposing the facility because of the ‘serious environmental and animal welfare impact’. They claim that the octopus´ carnivorous diet will put pressure on local fish populations to feed them, and the intelligent animals tend to eat each other in captivity.

Prices of Galicia’s Atlantic Octopus have escalated dramatically in recent years from €12 to €50 a kilo, meaning it makes up only 3.5% of all octopus consumed in Spain.

Most octopus sold in Spain comes from Morocco, which has agreements with Spain to allow Spanish boats to fish the waters.

Insane Sun Tax caused untold damage

T

HE government of Mariano Rajoy (The People’s Party) last decade was condemned for corruption. Fact.

In 2018 Spain’s High Court convicted 29 people, including senior officials of the PP, sentencing them to a total of 351 years in prison.

Public contracts were awarded at inflated prices, ‘kick backs’ were rife.

In this environment the former state owned monopolies Endesa and Iberdrola were able to influence the introduction of the completely insane Sun Tax, effectively preventing homeowners and businesses from installing solar panels.

Put simply…….if you produce your own electricity you are not buying from them.

The end result was that when this ludicrous law was repealed in October 2018 less than 1,000 rooftops in Spain had solar panels installed.

Compare that to Germany with more than 1 million installations at that point.

By now Spain should not still be reliant on fossil fuels to generate electricity.

This absurdity is now costing us all.

Inflation is back , largely fuelled by soaring electricity and gas prices: ● Inflation last year in Spain was 5.5%.it’s impossible for salaries and pensions to keep pace.

A WASTED DECADE Green

● The outlook for this year doesn’t look much better. ● Interest rates will rise (European Central Bank) ● In December Spanish consumers had to pay 6.7% higher costs than they did in December 2020. ● Eurozone inflation reached 5% in December. The highest ever on record. ● On Christmas Day electricity costs were 14 times higher than last year.

All this could have been mitigated if Spain’s progress in installing renewable energy had not been corruptly diverted.

Everywhere else in Europe citizens had the right to generate, consume, store and sell electricity without facing punitive taxes and fees.

The former legislation was muscled in by the PP who had a parliamentary majority at the time.

As always, corruption has cost us all.

Since the abolition of the Sun Tax, Spain has pushed forward in taking advantage of the two key free natural resources it has in abundance – sun and wind.

It’s criminal that so much time was lost. We can’t rewind the clock, but we can act quickly now.

No country in Europe is better located to take advantage of renewable energy technologies: ● We have over 300 days of sunshine a year. ● We have huge land mass.

● We have extensive coastal areas. ● We have wind.

By becoming independent we remove ourselves from the political shenanigans that surround energy supply such as the devious and questionable practices of Putin. (Russia supplies over one quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union).

Another threat is Algeria closing pipelines because of its dispute with Morocco.

In 2021 natural gas prices in the EU have risen as high as 800% from the beginning of the year.

Time to be independent and accelerate the use of renewable energy.

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

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LA CULTURA PEOPLE wanting to enjoy Sa Pobla’s traditional San Antoni Festival are going to have to wait another year.

The popular event has been cancelled in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19.

Sa Pobla council had originally decided to run a reduced programme of activities, but in the end has decided that is not possible.

So the modified programme has been scrapped as it would not have been worth it for the smaller crowds.

The Saint Anthony Festival, which celebrates the patron saint of animals, draws upon the island’s agricultural roots.

The ‘departure of the demons’ usually kicks off the event, know as Revetlla de Sant Antoni, which is accompanied by traditional dancing and singing.

The flour and the glory IT was an opportunity to let off steam after the stress and depradations of the COVID pandemic - and the townsfolk of Ibi took full advantage.

In a 200-year-old tradition participants dress up in military outfits and stage a mock 'revolution' outside the town hall.

They pelt each other with flour and eggs - often by the tray load

No fun

Researchers may have found the longlost Temple of Hercules SEVILLA University has found ruins of a temple in the Bay of Cadiz that could have housed the most famous sanctuary in ancient Spain.

Researchers used terrain modelling software to find a submerged rectangular structure between San Fernando and Chiclana de la Frontera in

THE third edition of the Jazz Palma festival is set to start.

Due to run from February 4 to 13, it will feature a host of concerts to entertain music lovers.

The 10 main concerts feature big names from the Spanish scene, including Eli Degibri, pianists Moises P. Sanchez and Marco Mezquida and drummer Gonzalo del Val. However, there is much more to the event than simply the chance to hear some top

9 Thorny issue

January 14th - January 27th 2022

- and let off firecrackers in the annual Fests dels Enfarinats battle.

Last year the event, which is part of the Day of the Holy Innocents celebrations, a time in Spain for pulling pranks similar to the UK's April Fools Day, was canceled.

This time round participants were determined to have a messily good time while COVID restrictions still permitted them.

Ancient discovery Cadiz.

The location fits with history and myth as the site of the Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, the 9th century BC sanctuary linked to all major

JAZZ IT UP

musicians play their favourite genre.

Artistic director Ferran Pereyra said the aim of the event is to open up the world of jazz to audiences, so a parade, an open talk on the relationship between jazz and the ‘noir’ novel genre and a cycle dedicated to women in the world of jazz have also been arranged.

figures until destruction in the 12th century AD. The temple is believed to house the actual tomb of Hercules, the belt of warrior god Teukros, as well as Pygmalion’s miraculous olive branch that fruited emeralds.

Oracles also received some of the most famous men of ancient history here, like Hannibal before he crossed the Alps and conquered Italy.

“We researchers are very reluctant to turn archaeology into a spectacle, but in this case, we are faced with some spectacular findings. They are of great significance,” said Francisco Jose Garcia, the di-

rector of the department of Prehistory and Archaeology at Sevilla University.

The region around the Bay of Cadiz and the castle of Sancti Petri have for more than two centuries yielded marble and bronze sculptures of Roman emperors and deities, now on display at the Museum of Cadiz.

The team from Sevilla traced sea bed variations and erosion, before discovering a seemingly ‘large manmade building’ with an inner harbour.

The structure measures 300 by 150 metres and lies up to five metres underwater.

SPAIN has granted protected status to a small oil painting worth €50m, that was on the verge of being sold for a mere €1,500.

An expert has stepped in with the suspicion that it could be a long-lost masterpiece by Caravaggio.

The protected status means it can no longer be sold to the highest bidder but must be kept in Spain and the government has the option, to buy it for the nation.

The Culture Ministry imposed a last minute export ban on the artwork after it was offered for sale by the Madrid auction house Ansorena.

The painting identified as The Crown of Thorns had been attributed to an unnamed artist within the studio of 17th century Spanish painter Jose de Ribera, but there was hope it could turn out to be an original Caravaggio and therefore worth upwards of €50 million.

The regional government of Madrid declared the work an item of cultural interest.

10

BUSINESS

January 14th January 27th 2022

Telefonica cuts

SPANISH telecoms giant Telefonica will cut 15% of its workforce this year.

The reduction will be achieved through an estimated 2,700 voluntary redundancies. Offers for pay-off packages will be made soon with Telefonica expected to make an annual wage bill saving of over €230 million from 2023.

Redundancies

The pay-off will nevertheless cost Telefonica €1.5 billion. Workers who are 55 years or older in 2022 with 15 years service behind them will qualify for the redundancy package.

Telefonica is mainly branded in Spain

as Movistar. It is Europe’s third-largest telecoms firm and has 18,500 Spanish staff. The redundancies follow similar moves by rivals Vodafone and Orange in recent months.

Telefonica and its domestic rivals have been fighting to slash costs in a competitive Spanish telecoms market as well as investing in 5G expansion. The company reported a net profit of €706 million for the third-quarter of 2021 taking in all of its worldwide operations.

OFF THE ROLL

Jobless figure plunges but is still 3.1 million

OP QUICK CROSSWORD Across 5 Switzerland doesn’t have one (3,5) 8 To an archaeologist, three stones in a row make one (4) 9 As well (2,4) 10 Maidenhair tree (6) 11 National anthem? (7,5) 13 Ruthless way to prepare land for cultivation? (5-34) 16 Without (4,2) 18 Music award (6) 19 Volcanic outflow (4) 20 Rolled into a ball (6,2)

OP SUDOKU

Down 1 Move us on in a panic, like an adder (8) 2 Old coach driver perhaps, operating behind the scenes (5,7) 3 Often seen with roundabouts (6) 4 Online diary (4) 6 Yorick or Coco, for example (5) 7 Time for an accessory?

(5,3,4) 12 Essential ingredient of stainless steel (8) 14 Gladiators’ workplaces (6) 15 Prepare for a crash (5) 17 Sheltered stretch of water where ships may safely anchor (4)

All solutions are on page 12

SPAIN’s labour market has recovered to pre-pandemic levels as unemployment fell faster than ever before.

But the jobless figure still stands at more than 3.1 million people or 13.5% of the country’s workforce.

In 2021, around 776,500 people entered the work-

By Dilip Kuner

force and another 782,000 left the unemployment roll, according to the Ministry of Labour.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the figures, saying: “Once

Golden goose SOCIAL security contributions for self-employed workers in Spain (autonomos) will rise by €8 a month.

This means a monthly increase from €286 to €293.76 for self-employed workers paying the full social contribution rate – meaning autonomos will pay around €96 more per year.

First-time autonomos will still pay the reduced €60 for their first year of activity, rising to €150 monthly in their second year of activity.

New laws have also reduced corporate tax from 15% to 10% for newly-created entities.

There is a minimum rate of 15% corporate tax on companies invoicing over €20 million annually or those in the banking and hydrocarbon industries.

FILM ACTION SOME of Spain’s beleaguered hotels are to get a TV production boost with a Hollywood production company booking 10,000 nights accommodation.

Soho Boutique Hotels have hit the jackpot after Global Television Operations decided to move into Spain in a big way.

As part of a year-long project to make seven TV dramas in and around Andalucia, the rooms have been booked exclusively with the group.

Cast members and produc-

tion crew will also work from a new 300m2 office complex on the prestigious Calle Larios in Malaga from this month.

Some scenes will even be filmed in the new Soho Equitativa Hotel, considered to be the most trendy hotel in the area.

The hotel chain operates a number of hotels across Europe, with seven in Malaga.

All their sites are renovated old buildings combining traditional features with modern and functional decor.

again, the data reflects the progress of Spain’s recovery.

“We will not stop. We will continue working to keep creating quality employment,” added Sanchez.

There were 10 straight months of net job creation for the first time in Spain as businesses recovered from a miserable 2020 that was severely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions.

The jobless figure was down 20% over December 2020, which might be expected after the pandemic shock, but the more encouraging news is that the number of unemployed people is at the lowest level since 2007 before the financial crisis hit.

The biggest gains were made in the service and hospitality sectors as tourism recovered, while the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors also saw small gains last year.

Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz highlighted that jobless figures for young people and women also fell. Historically Spain has had some of the worst levels of youth unemployment in Europe.

Rise

The pandemic saw unemployment rise by about 725,000 people in 2020.

But even that was considerably better than 2008 when the financial crisis saw the construction industry in Spain grind to a halt.

The jobless figure soared by a million and it took five years before the labour market began to recover.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Don’t w(h)ine!

January 14th - January 27th 2022

11

Budget launch

BRITISH Airways will start operating low-cost flights to eight Spanish destinations this spring out of Gatwick.

The airports served will be Alicante-Elche, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Madrid, Mahon, Palma, Sevilla and Tenerife.

BA is relaunching its budget short-haul division which was mothballed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The services will be BA-branded initially before regulatory approval is granted to spin them off into a new standalone subsidiary company called BA Euroflyer.

Premium

BA chief executive, Sean Doyle, said: “The creation of a new short-haul BA organisation means Gatwick customers will benefit from access to a premium service from the UK’s flag carrier at competitive prices.”

Fares start from €45 each way but do include BA’s regular full luggage allowance and basic onboard snacks. Services will start in late March with three Airbus short-haul planes beginning the operation, increasing to an 18 by the end of May. Another 23 European locations including the Greek Islands and Italy also feature in the new flight schedule.

Spain beats France in battle of the wine giants (but still only comes third) SPAIN has beaten France as a wine tourism destination.

Despite its Gallic neighbour’s reputation - much of it selfdubbed - as being the centre of the wine world, when it comes to the whole wine experience, Spain is a better place to visit, according to a new report.

With its 12 main wine regions and 968,000 hectares dedicated to viticulture, Spain is certainly at the forefront when it comes to quantity.

The research by Bounce luggage storage company takes into account the amount of

land for vineyards, production of wine, exports, wine tours, price of a bottle of wine as well as the amount of wine consumed by each country to decide the rankings.

Although Spain beat France, it was not top of the list. That honour went to Italy, with Portugal in second spot. New Zealand followed Spain and France to come in fifth.

Cody Candee, CEO and Founder of Bounce said: “Spain often doesn’t receive

FOREIGN tourist levels in Spain recovered to 70% of what they were in the same month 2019 ahead of the coronavirus pandemic.

Figures released by the National Institute of Statistics showed 3.3 million people visited Spain in November 2021 - 633% more than the same month a year earlier.

The encouraging recovery will have been severely tempered by last month's identification of the Omicron variant and new restrictions imposed by countries like the UK. For the second month in a row, British

U

K Nationals wishing to move to Spain in 2023 need to apply for a visa as non-Europeans unless you got residency rights prior to January 1, 2021, under the European Union Withdrawal Act. Together with the immigration requirements it is important to consider the tax implications of the move, as despite the existence of Double Tax Treaty agreements, there will be tax obligations to comply with in both countries.

Britain and Spain mutually agreed that their citizens can stay living in each other’s countries post-Brexit, and the Double Tax Treaty between the two countries remains enforceable.

However, it is important that the correct application process is undertaken to obtain legal permission.

Rules for British expats wanting to live, retire or work in Spain Like any other non-EU overseas citizens, visits under 90 days within any 180-day period are permitted and there could be a requirement to show a return ticket and demonstrate that you have sufficient money for your stay. Your passport will also need to have more than six months remaining before it is due for renewal.

The time limit applies to the Schengen zone, comprising most EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

This means that time spent in any of these other countries will also count towards the 90 days limit.

An overstay is likely to be automatically recorded and could result in a fine, deportation or a possible temporary ban on entering the Schengen zone, to include Spain.

For those wishing to spend more than 90 days in Spain, a visa is necessary. There are a variety available, depending on the purpose of the visit, including a golden visa, non-lucrative visa, entrepreneur visa and a student or work visa.

No test needed

By Tallulah Taylor

RANKING: All great destinations the recognition it deserves when it comes to wine, often being overshadowed by the likes of Tuscany, Napa Valley and Champagne. However,

On the up travellers accounted for nearly 20% of foreign visitors at 600,000. They were followed by French tourists at 496,579 and German arrivals at 479,403.

In the first 10 months of 2021, foreign arrivals to Spain reached 28.2 million- 64% less than over the same pre-pandemic period of 2019. The fall in spending is in the same proportion, namely €31.2 billion compared to €86.9 billion in 2019.

for travelers wishing to spend their well-earned vacation sipping wine and exploring vast vineyards in the sun, our research shows Spain is an exceptional choice of destination.”

He added: “Spain is home to the largest surface area of vineyards in the world, with a total of 968,000 hectares of land covered by vineyards offering limitless possibilities to explore the wine regions of the country, including a total of 548 wine tours to explore.”

“We recommend visiting Haro in the famous La Rioja region.

Here you’ll find deep red wines full of fruity flavour, from just €4 a bottle.

FULLY vaccinated travellers no longer have to take pre-departure COVID tests before arriving in England.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it would apply to all arrivals to England from last Friday.

He also said that those who were fully jabbed would also not be required to self-isolate while awaiting test results after arriving.

Instead they will be able to take a lateral flow test on day two and only need a PCR if the result is positive.

He removed the strict rules brought in with the threat of the Omicron variant that meant all travellers over the age of 12 had to show proof of a negative test lateral flow or PCR test taken within two days of setting off for the UK. The prime minister said the pre-departure test ‘discouraged many from travelling for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense’.

MAKE THE MOVE!

Del Canto Chambers offers advice on moving to Spain from the United Kingdom Golden visa A golden visa grants temporary residency to those whose financial position meets set criteria. It is intended to allow investors or those of substantial means to settle in the country.

There are a number of investments that qualify an individual for a golden visa, as follows: ● Buy property in Spain worth a minimum of €500,000. This can be spread over more than one property; ● Invest at least €1 million in shares in a Spanish business ● Invest at least €2 million in Spanish treasury bonds; ● Deposit €1 million in a Spanish bank account, which must stay there for a minimum of five years; ● Invest at least €1 million in investment funds; ● Invest in a new business that will offer employment opportunities, contribute to scientific and/or technological innovation or have a relevant socio-economic impact in the area where the business will be undertaken.

In addition, the applicant must be aged at least 18, have no criminal record, have Spanish health insurance in place and never have been refused a Schengen-area visa in the past.

An application can be made to the Spanish Embassy or Consulate and can be made via a solicitor.

A golden visa is valid for one year, during which time it can be exchanged for a Spanish residence

Julia Moreno is a Spanish Abogada and the expatriate services director at Del Canto Chambers, the only London-based set of chambers specialising in Spanish tax and legal residence. permit, with an application made from within Spain. This will last two years but can be renewed provided the investment is maintained.

The golden visa also entitles the holder to travel visa-free throughout other Schengen member states for 90 days within any 180-day period.

It will also cover residency for any spouse, child aged up to 18 or dependent parents and allows everyone included to access publicly provided services.

Spanish non-lucrative visa For those wishing to live in Spain and who can provide evidence that they are able to support themselves, a non-lucrative visa is available. This is the visa that is often used by people who wish to retire to Spain as well as those wishing to study there.

It has financial minimums which must be met and does not permit working in Spain or carrying out any type of economic activity, although some visa holders do sometimes work remotely in Spain for a business located in another country. While the

authorities often accept this, it may be grounds for refusal of a non-lucrative visa.

The initial application must be made from outside Spain. The visa allows the holder to live in Spain for one year. To renew it, the individual must have spent a minimum of 183 days in the country. This means that they will be resident in Spain for tax purposes and will be required to pay Spanish tax on all income, subject to allowances in respect of double tax treaties.

The visa grants temporary residence for a period of one year with the option to renew it twice for up to two years. If the visa is renewed a third time, then the holder is granted long-term or permanent residency.

An individual must have a passport with at least one year remaining, no criminal record, valid private health care coverage, evidence of their ability to support themselves and evidence of their legal UK citizen status.

Spouses, parents and children can be included and the visa also grants Schengen area travel rights to the holder.

Tax Considerations There is a special expats tax regime that enables foreigners who have moved to Spain the option of paying tax as non-residents, so that their Spanish employment income is taxed at a fixed rate of 24% up to €600,000 rather than the progressive tax rates applicable to Spanish residents. Taxed as a resident, the expat would be subject to a progressive tax scale up to 43% depending on their level of their worldwide incomes.

Del Canto Chambers has an in-depth understanding of international tax, legal affairs, property law and residence issues.

We offer a Tax and Legal Residence Opinion service that will clearly set out your options with regard to living and paying tax overseas.

To make a no-obligation enquiry, please either call us now on: +44 2070 430648 or Make An Online Enquiry at delcantochambers.com.

We will come back to you within 24 hours and we will be delighted to help you.

12

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

January 14th - January 27th 2022

THE BIG SPLURGE la Donaira, El Gastor, Cadiz

A N DA L UC I A

L

OOKING for somewhere out of this world for the perfect escape in Spain this year?

Want a place to really luxuriate and properly treat a loved one? Already know

CA S T I L L A Y L E O N

I AN eco-retreat of only nine suites (and two yurts), La Donaira’s medicinal garden alone is home to around 200 varieties of herbs and flowers, many going into its homemade soaps and lotions, as well as dishes in its kitchens.

Exclusive in the extreme, guests must leave their cars at a main gate and get brought up by 4x4s past its vineyards and olive groves. That is unless you heli-

This Andalucian institution was opened for the Sevilla Expo of 1928 and nothing much has changed, especially its unrelenting luxury.

One of Spain’s grandest hotels, its corridors gleam with Moorish tiles and its lifts with gold trimming, while its grounds still hold a

copter in, as a few guests do.

A restored cortijo with a glorious central space and an open plan kitchen, guests watch the chefs’ culinary magic using local ingredients, almost all of it sourced from the farm.

Each suite is impeccably private with picture windows offering amazing vistas towards the Grazalema Natural Park.

You hike from the door, with

The Alfonso XIII, sevilla strong allure.

A perfect central location between the cathedral and Plaza Espana, its celebrated guests have included everyone from Audrey Hepburn to Rita Hayworth (whose father was from the city) and Jackie Kennedy

vultures and eagles soaring overhead, and for those who love horses, it has its very own studfarm with a 90-strong herd of Lusitanos and an Irish horse whisper Seamus to take you on a hack. Wine tasting sessions are offered by the resident sommelier, while you can relax in the sybaritic spa, complete with sauna and hammam. www.ladonaira.com

A delightful dozen exciting grand and aspirational places to luxuriate around Spain this year

f you are looking to combine a spot of wine tasting with a complete chill out, this stunning spa hotel in classic Ribera del Duero vineyard territory is the perfect option.

The 900-year-old former abbey is one of the most luxurious hotels in Spain and is priced accordingly.

Founded by monks in 1146, much of its original structure has been respected, although the former cells are anything but monastic and are now wonderfully smart rooms, while their former refectory is now the domain of celebrated chef Marc Se-

to Princess Diana. The 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here.

Many of the rooms have balconies and private terraces and the swimming pool area is the perfect place to relax after a day’s sightseeing in Andalucia’s most evocative city. www.marriot.com

the Costas and the capital city?

Well here is the Olive Press’ hand-picked guide to 12 tempting places to check out in 2022…an amazing mix of mountain escapes, city palaces and wine estates.

Abadia Retuerta LeDomaine, Sardon de Duero, Valladolid

garra Saune.

Meanwhile its ‘spa sommelier’ appropriately offers guests a glass of wine before advising on suitable

Castilla Termal Valbuena

vinotherapy treatments, before running a wine bath, looking out on the nearby hills.

www.abadia-retuerta.com

Santa Maria de Valbuena is one of the best-preserved 12th century Cistercian monasteries in Europe.

Now converted into a beautiful 79-room hotel, it stretches over 18,000 square metres, counting its own vineyards, a thermal spa built into the monastery’s arches as well as an outdoor pool.

The Cistercian monks who occupied the monastery are the fathers of the Duero wines, which are still served alongside the hotel’s carefully selected a la carte menu. The gastronomy is based on traditional and modern dishes, made with high-quality products from the region. www.castillatermal.com

VA L E NC I A

OP Puzzle solutions

H o t e l Pa l ac i o Vallier, Valencia

Across: 5 Sea coast, 8 Wall, 9 To boot, 10 Ginkgo, 11 Country music, 13 Slash-and-burn, 16 Free of, 18 Grammy, 19 Lava, 20 Curled up.

Down: 1 Venomous, 2 Stage manager, 3 Swings, 4 Blog, 6 Clown, 7 After the fact, 12 Chromium, 14 Arenas, 15 Brace, 17 Road.

SUDOKU

Quick Crossword

T

his luxury five-star hotel in the centre of Valencia has been designed with a chic, elegant and minimalist theme.

It has long been a favoured spot - going back to Roman times and later became a perfume factory dating back to the third

century.

Marble walled bathrooms and a mirrored restaurant create an elegant atmosphere in which to luxuriate and live life to the full. www.hotelpalaciovallier.com

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL HAVE you ever wondered what it would be like to holiday like billionaire Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson? Now you can!

The Virgin boss’s own private estate of Son Bunyola, in Mallorca has three luxurious historic buildings, each sleeping eight to 10 people and offering all the expected Branson benefits such as your personal Michelin star chef, private jet and crewed yacht.

The cost of a week's rental runs into the tens of thousands but includes all drinks and meals tailored to the client’s requirements. After all, quality costs! www.virginlimitededition.com

Son Bunyola, Banyalbufar

W

hy not explore Menorca this year, basing yourself in the traditional and rustic charm of this 21 room converted medieval mansion.The outdoor swimming pool is located within tranquil gardens.

The nearby village of Alcaufar is an easy stroll and you can also hike along the woodland coastal trails, as well as having the option to swim at its nearby beach.

For those who want to travel further afield, bike rental is available and you have the option of staff packing you a picnic to take with you.

January 14th - January 27th 2022

Balearics

13

Six Senses Ibiza, Sant Joan de Labritja

Alcaufar Vell, Alcaufar

THIS was one of the most exciting openings in the Balearics of recent times.

Finally launched last year, the hip Six Senses brand has chosen the perfect spot, near Cala Xarraca beach.

Nestled into the amazing surroundings, this was once an olive estate with a 400-year-old mill.

Most of the 100 suites have amazing sea views, while much of the restaurant’s food is grown on the estate. www.sixsenses.com

www.alcaufarvell.com

Marques de Riscal, Alava

CA T A L UN YA

PA I S VA S CO

Hostal Empuries, Costa Brava Set by the Roman ruins of Empuries, this idyllic hotel is an iconic space set near rolling hills by the coastline of Catalunya.

First built in 1907 to house the archeologists digging at the nearby site, its location right next to the beach, couldn’t be better.

Known for its sustainability it was the first hotel

I

t is fast becoming one of Spain’s most emblematic buildings, thanks to the design by globally recognised architect Frank Gehry, the man behind Bilbao’s Guggenheim.

Avant-garde, neoclassical style, this is a work of art, with tilted walls, zigzag win-

A R A GON

dows and high ceilings peppered throughout its 43 rooms and suites.

Sitting in a famous vineyard that dates back to 1858 - the oldest in the region - it also counts a vinotherapy spa and fittingly a Michelin starred restaurant. www.marquesderiscal.com Torre del Visco, Teruel

THIS is easily one of the most remote hotels in Europe… and you can understand why if you make it this far.

A stunning spot set in 220 acres, its nearest village is nearly 20 minutes away and the drive from the main gate takes five minutes alone.

Run by British owners, who know Spain like the back of their hands, it counts on luxurious accommodation, amazing views and landscape.

Set in the Mataranya hills, it is great for trekking, hiking and bird watching, while guests are spoilt with the most perfect swimming spot in an ice cool river that runs through the grounds.

Food-wise the restaurant is a delight with most of its produce coming from the grounds or extremely near. www.torredelvisco.com

in Europe to win the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) award in 2010.

Full of linens, wicker rocking chairs and Spanish pottery you can make yourself completely at home and enjoy a taste of rustic Spain, right by the sea.

www.hostalempuries.com

Terra Dominicata, Tarragona

This is Priorat territory. Spain’s biggest hitting red wine region, with its vinos reaching, famously, strengths of 16 degrees.

Needing a breathtaking hotel to match, the 12th century Terra Dominicata doesn’t disappoint.

As pretty as a picture, the Serra de Montsant mountains soar over the historic hostelry and its wide expanses of vines.

Cypress trees flank the terracotta coloured hotel, which was originally set up

by Carthusian monks, who were known to enjoy a tipple and only wanted the finest - making sure they got it by developing their wine-making skills.

You can, of course, explore the working vineyard, before sampling its wines at supper in the fine-dining restaurant. www.terradominicata.com

14

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

January 14th - January 27th 2022

Where bandits once trod Jon Clarke heads on a riding adventure into the Andalucian outback of the Sierra Morena near Sevilla

NATURAL: Jon looks happy in the saddle

F

OR many people a trip to brave enough to take the jourMadrid or a week on the ney south from Madrid.

Algarve is an adventure So it felt exciting to be riding now the pandemic is, out from a 16th century trading hopefully, starting to ease. post, to test out part of an overAnd then there are those who land journey that can be exwant to stretch themselves and tended all the way to Portugal. do something really out of the Guided by expat equestrian ordinary.

George Scott, guests can opt Well saddle up and head for for anything up to a five-day a riding escape in the Sierra wilderness escape, following Morena, a rolling 450-km long ancient bridleways and staying wilderness that straddles the in rambling cortijos and even border of Andalucia and Ex- tents. tremadura.

My stay began at There are green George’s famidestinations…

3,000-acre It has billeted ly’s and then there Trasierra estate, are really green everyone from near charming destinations, Cazalla de la Siroyalty to with the Sierra erra, which has Norte de Sevilla billeted everypop stars and natural park, in one from royalty particular, about to pop stars and supermodels as wild as it gets supermodels to in Spain. politicians over This is a largely the last few deunknown expanse of rural Eu- cades. rope where wolves, Golden Ea- A great place to relax after a gles and the Iberian Lynx - the year of corona-stress, the highworld’s rarest wildcat - are ac- walled palace is more than tually in the ascendance.

1,000-metres square in size, Named after its distinctive with over a dozen distinct spots black rocks, the Sierra Morena to luxuriate and only the same was once known for a different number of rooms. sort of wildlife: its fabled ban- The very definition of Andaludits who preyed on travellers cian vernacular architecture, its jigsaw puzzle of pantile roofs drop down to arched entrances and wisteria-laden pergolas. The all-pervading smell of jasmine and azahar follows you around the grounds.

So relaxing you’ll never want to leave, I jumped with a start when George’s mother Charlotte suddenly appeared as I was settling into my third cafe con leche, with a decent biography on the go.

“Your steed awaits,” she trilled joyfully, handing me some gaiters and leading me to the grand front gate, where my ride - a mixture of Spanish Arabian and Anglo-Arabian - was literally chomping at the bit. We were PARADISE: For George’s horses soon heading off on a mix-

PRETTY: Cazalla de la Sierra where dictator Franco’s granddaughter and fashion designers Victorio & Lucchino live

Stunning Trasierra counts Bryan Ferry and Kate Moss as regular guests, while photographer Bruce Weber has been helping owner George Scott and his sister, chef Gioconda, produce a film series about the region. Another brother Jackson, a flamenco guitarist, who once dated actress Sadie Frost, is appropriately writing the soundtrack ture of ancient drovers paths - known as vias pecuarias, cordeles and caminos reales depending on their importance - which George knows like the back of his hand, having grown up in the sierra.

A keen advocate of keeping the

countryside open, he is also a fan of ‘rewilding’ and bans all use of pesticides from his estate. “The locals call our land sucio (or dirty) as we don’t clean it up and plough beneath the olive trees,” he explains.

“The birds and animals certain-

ENTRANCE: Grand front door and (above) Giaconda’s feast

VISTAS: George Scott looks across the wild Sierra Morena ly don’t mind.” is glamping with a capital ‘G’.

It took a full 30 minutes before These are Rajasthani safari we were even clear of Trasi- tents, in fact, with proper beds erra, riding along windy dirt and linen, as well as dressing tracks through woodland that’s tables, sinks, soaps and fresh as wild as it is beautiful. cologne.

When we did finally emerge To top it off there are hot wafrom the forest, the landscape ter bottles and a well stocked was gentle and rolling, not dra- bar and you get tea and coffee matic like the Sierra Nevada or delivered to your bedside table the mountains around Ronda, every morning. where I live.

I, however, have been invited But you certainly have to keep to spend my last night back at your wits about you with lots the ranch, where I am to be the of low-lying branches and the guest of the Scott family, who sudden startling of an escap- are getting together for the first ing partridge or the swoosh of time since the pandemic bea snake. gan.

My only real conI am delighted cern - apart from to be trying out A minion my aching thighs a ‘fire cooking’ profferred and a sore bum show by George’s - came from a sister Gioconme an ice pair of delinda, who has a quent foals runroaring outdoor cold glass of ning loose and bbq on the go by refreshing fino the time we get inquisitive in the back. extreme.

A true gourmet, My horse was, quite simply, not amused and Gioconda has long been an adspent the next ten minutes vocate of slow food and sourctrying to send them packing, es her ingredients as close to before rearing up and almost the ‘Km0’ ethos as possible knocking me into a tree. and we eat amazing belly of Thankfully, we were just a few free range pork from the nearminutes to lunch and suddenly by hills, as well as local lamb emerged into a clearing with a and much, much more. ruined farmhouse and the won- It is a wonderful night, which derful sight of a shady picnic rumbles on well into the small table brimming with goodies hours, a never-ending supply of from around the region. local wine and plenty of banter One of George’s minions prof- to boot. I almost forget that my fered me a glass of ice cold thighs have been bounced into fino, while a separate ice buck- oblivion and I can hardly feel et held lager and cava. my backside.

From here, we only had an Thank the lords there is a really hour or so to the tented camp, proper bed waiting for me when where most guests normally I finally flop. spend their first night.

It’s a remarkable place, care- For more information visit fully sited in a shady glade sur- www.georgescottrides.com rounded by oak woodland. or www.trasierra.com And forget the usual tents, this

OLIVE PRESS

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We use recycled paper

A CANADIAN tourist has been charged with illegally flying a drone over Sevilla’s Cathedral, and World Heritage site the Alcazar as well as a military airfield and the local airport.

expat

voice in Spain

Dig it!

www.theolivepress.es January 14th - January 27th 2022

KNOW THE LINGO Furry friends can tell the difference between languages

DOGS can tell the difference between Spanish and Hungarian.

A study by researchers from Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary has demonstrated for the first time that a non-human brain can differentiate between two languages.

First author of the study Lau-

Sell out ALL 7,000 tickets for a concert by French DJ David Guetta in Cadiz have sold in just three hours. The world’s number one DJ, according to DJ Mag, will play in el Puerto de Santa Maria on July 24.

By Dilip Kuner

ra Cuaya was intrigued as to whether her Spanish ‘speaking’ dog would be able to tell the difference between Spanish and Hungarian when she moved to take up a job at the university from Mexico.

She explained: “Before, I had only talked to my dog Kun-kun in Spanish. So I was wondering whether Kun-kun noticed that people in Budapest spoke a different language, Hungarian.

“So we designed a brain imag-

Poached Parrot POLICE have rescued two Aratinga parrots, which were apparently about to be cooked in an Asian restaurant in the Usera district of Madrid.

The birds were seized by officers during a routine inspection.

The parakeets, native to South America, were found in the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant, crammed into a plastic container, without food or water and

next to the cooker where there were two cauldrons with boiling water and sauce. Police allege that they were going to be cooked alive.

The birds have been transferred to the Wild Animal Recovery Centre (CRAS).

3 AL S IM KER AN AC CR

FINAL WORDS

Flying high

Your

2 AL S IM KER AN AC CR

CROWDS who gathered to watch the Three Kings arrive by boat at Oropesa (Castellon) got more entertainment than they expected when a wave capsized the dinghy and deposited the soaking wet Wise Men on the beach.

Vol. 5 Issue 122

1 AL RS IM KE AN AC CR

REuse REduce REcycle Not so Wise

MALLORCA

ing study to find this out.”

She added: “Kun-kun and 17 other dogs were trained to lay motionless in a brain scanner, where we played them speech excerpts of The Little Prince in Spanish and Hungarian.

All dogs had heard only one of the two languages from their owners, so this way we could compare a highly familiar language to a completely unfamiliar one.”

When comparing brain responses to Spanish and Hungarian speech, two distinct brain activity patterns could be seen, showing the animals could tell the difference.

AN exceptional treasure trove of Roman coins buried for centuries in a cave in northern Spain has been unearthed thanks to a hungry badger.

The hoard of coins dating from between the third and fifth centuries were discovered in a cave outside Grado in Asturias just feet away from a badger’s den.

Experts believe that the badger dug up the ‘largest treasure trove of Roman coins found in northern Spain’ as it foraged deeper for food.

Visigoths

The coins were made in destinations across the Roman Empire and the largest coin, weighing more than eight grams and made from 4% silver, is believed to have been cast in London.

Researchers believe the coins may have been hidden during a time of political instability when the Roman hold on Iberia was crumbling as the Visigoths gained ground.

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