OLIVE PRESS ANDALUCIA ISSUE 448

Whitewash claims as former leaders who oversaw Spain’s biggest corruption scandal could avoid prison

REPTILE RELEASE

THEY oversaw the biggest public money fraud in Spanish history, syphoning €680 million into a pot of cash known as the ‘reptile fund’. Yet former Andalucia leaders Jose Antonio Griñan and Manuel Chaves could now see their convictions overturned.

In an extraordinary judgement, the Constitutional Court has significantly reduced the sentences of 15 politicians who were convicted in the infamous ERE scandal.

Embezzled

The socialist politicians, who ran Andalucia for 23 years, famously embezzled the money into hidden accounts, which were used by friends, families and to pay off enemies.

The slush fund - which was meant to help struggling businesses, create new ones or to help pay redundanciescame from Brussels and Madrid.

The most celebrated case saw the for-

mer Employment Minister and his driver set up two bogus companies, which were handed €350,000 each in grants.

Javier Guerrero and his so-called ‘Cocaine chauffeur’ infamously spent much of the money on prostitutes, cocktails and drugs, after knocking off work at 2pm.

“We Andalucians knew exactly what those funds were used for, and it was certainly not for the general interest or progress,” said PP minister Ana Mestre this week.

“If they governed today, the PSOE would just do it all over again.”

But this hasn’t stopped Madrid’s Constitutional court from significantly reducing the sentences of 12 of the convicted 15 politicians.

Former ministers Antonio Fernandez, Francisco Vallejo and Jesus Rodríguez

And, incredibly, the six year sentence handed to Griñan for his involvement in the 2000 to 2009 corruption scheme is to be overturned as well.

A draft ruling, expected to be approved next week, will mean Griñan never sees the inside of a prison cell, as up to now he has been suffering from ill health.

The same court could also allow fellow ex-president, Chaves, to see his nineyear disqualification from public office quashed.

The rulings, which were confirmed by seven votes to four, were opposed by the four conservative judges, who accused the court of granting ‘immunity’ to former PSOE officials.

Antonio Sanz, a PP minister in the Junta, declared they would ‘still do everything possible to recover all the stolen money.’

“No matter how much the PSOE tries to erase its past of corruption, it will not be able to cover up the biggest case of corruption in the history of Spanish democracy,” he added.

By Walter Finch

will all walk free, while Carmen Martinez and Miguel Serrano will also be released.

PARDONED: Chaves and Griñan oversaw €680m corruption scandal

Killer photos

A SPANISH man aged 43 was killed by an elephant when he got out of his car to take photos of a herd of the animals in South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park & Game Reserve.

First blood

SIX people were injured on the first day of Pamplona’s running of the bulls festival, with one man sustaining a serious head injury.

Blood hands

A MAN has been arrested in Malaga for trafficking ‘blood diamonds’ and ‘laundering’ the illicit jewels, mined by slaves in Sierra Leone, through a business he ran.

Derelict dad

A BRITISH man, 38, locked his two daughters, 1 and 7, in a car while he went to ‘get a haircut’ in Tenerife. When police caught up with him, he denied being their father and is now on the run.

Coke labs closed

A FAMILY-LED gang that allegedly processed cocaine imported from Colombia at clandestine laboratories in Fuengirola and Ciudad Real has been brought down by authorities

Nine people have been arrested following a year-long joint operation between the Guardia Civil and

GOTCHA

Wanted Scottish

‘rapist’ is arrested while working out on a Malaga beach

A BRITISH fugitive wanted for sex crimes in the UK has been arrested while exercising on Nerja beach. Scotsman James Clacher, 55, was dramatically cuffed by plain-clothed cops and has since been extradited to the UK to face justice.

By Laurence Dollimore

Video footage shows the muscular and tattooed suspect using a beach gym before being pulled to the ground by multiple agents. He is accused of sexually as-

the Policia Nacional.

Seven simultaneous raids were carried out in the Madrid, Malaga, and Ciudad Real areas.

The crew are accused of importing large quantities of cocaine into Spain - hidden in products such as coffee, cocoa, fruit or charcoal shipped in from Colombia.

The goods were transferred to the laboratories with ‘cooks’ travelling from Madrid to extract the cocaine and process it for distribution with the help of sophisticated machines. The gang include two business owners in the Ciudad Real area who sold the final product and laundered the profits.

BAD FLEX: Clacher was tackled while working out on beach bars

saulting two women after meeting them on a dating app.

According to police, he fled

KIDS’ SEX ALERT

A SHOCKING three out of four children in Spain have suffered exposure to unwanted online sexual content. The conclusion comes after research carried out by the Guardia Civil and the Mutua foundation. The study spoke to 2,000 children and 1,000 parents, with two-thirds of youngsters saying they’ve received unwanted sexual harass -

ment or content. This included insistent messaging to meet up for an intimate relationship; being a victim of unwanted sexual comments; and being sent pornographic content.

The most vulnerable age group is youngsters aged between 13 and 15 years, with 30% of victims needing to see a psychologist.

the UK in 2022 after faking being abducted.

The gym boss was last seen in Airdrie with his car found at the Loch Long car park in Argyll, the fol-

lowing day.

The Brit was traced to Nerja by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), who received a tip off that he was hiding among the expat community.

The force, often dubbed Britain's FBI, contacted the Guardia Civil who launched an operation to track down the fugitive, who was known to love sports. He was well integrated and matched the descriptionalthough using a different name.

They began surveillance and sent back images to the UK authorities, who confirmed his identity and that he was ‘dangerous’.

Away day thieving

PROFESSIONAL

pickpockets are going on awaydays from Sevilla to Cadiz to target tourists.

According to police sources, the arrival of cruise ships, big events, and even anti-tourism protests have attracted the groups.

Police recommend people take care of their belongings at all times and be wary of people offering ‘help’ for such things as imaginary ice cream stains.

Bum deal

A MAN has been shot in the buttocks in the latest Costa del Sol shooting.

The victim, a man of Moroccan descent, was rushed to hospital after the Mijas attack.

He claimed he was the victim of mistaken identity, however cops are probing all possibilities.

It was the second shooting in Mijas in a week, following on from over half a dozen in Marbella this year so far.

Bright and talented

HE may be one of the breakout stars of Euro 2024, but Lamine Yamal’s prodigious footballing talent can’t excuse him from the rigour and pressure of school exams. Thankfully for the 16-year old,

who became the youngest ever player at a European Championship, has passed his fourth ESO exam - the equivalent of GCSEs - whilst in Germany with the Spain squad.

The Barcelona-born starlet had taken to revision classes in between training sessions and matches in order to prepare for the tests, and it seems the hard work paid off after it was revealed that Yamal passed the assessments with flying colours.

BENICASSIM BECKONS

It’s time to party at Spain’ biggest music festival

By Alex Trelinski

biggest partythe Festival Internacional de Benicassim - kicks off four days of top musical entertainment on July 18. Located in the east coast resort 100 kms north of Valencia, the weekend festival brings in visitors from around Spain and Europe and is regarded as one of the best on the planet! The event is also very popular with UK music fans due to its seaside location and the guarantee of good weather. This year's International acts include regular visitors to the country, the Black Eyed Peas, as well as the Libertines, Jess Glynne, and UK Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder, The festival focuses mainly on pop, rock, and electronica artists, as well as featuring short films, fashion shows, and art.

ELLE

of a night

EVA Longoria sizzled at the 2024 ELLE Gourmet Awards in Madrid.

The Desperate Housewives star stole the show with her stunning look and infectious charm.

It also attracts celebrity visitors like Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and his wife Begoña Gomez, who attended in 2018 to see The Killers.

The first event was staged in 1995 and is notable for having live music running well

Past performers at Spain's answer to Glastonbury have included The Killers, Blur, Oasis, The Pet Shop Boys, Lou Reed, The Stone Roses, Madness and Bastille.

FORMER Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he’s enjoying life and retirement in Mallorca, when he spoke to reporters at a pre-Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Klopp - donning a German football shirt - said he’s been playing a lot of padel tennis since moving to the island with wife Ulla.

He revealed to ESPN reporter Agos Larocca that he has been working on an 'ecological' revamp of his €4m Santa Ponsa villa with a total

Klopp happy

Empowering Independent Living

rebuild covering 5,000 m2. When asked what he liked about the island he said: “Where can I start? I like everything about it, to be honest, but I'm not long enough here yet. We try to figure out what we like the most.'

They are staying in 'temporary' accommodation, courtesy of the five-star Kimpton Aysla Hotel in the same area.

We offer a flexible approach to 24hr Live In Care, Hourly Visits, Respite and Palliative Care to Clients living on the Costa del Sol and some inland areas. Our services include help with personal care, dressing, washing & grooming. Medication prompting, light housework, shopping & meal preparation. Accompanying to

& medical appointments.

into the night with a schedule running between 5pm and 5am!

It has three main stages, Las Palmas, Visa, and South Beach Dance, with capacities of approximately 30,000, 15,000 and 8,000, respectively.

A typical attendance for the festival clocks up around 180,000 visitors.

Festival goers who have purchased multi-day passes can camp for up to nine days starting the Monday before and ending the Tuesday after the festival finishes two days earlier.

It's famous for attracting a young, party-oriented crowd and plenty of fun is promised for people of all ages.

Longoria arrived at the event, held at the Italian Embassy, in a black gown that left little to the imagination.

The figure-hugging dress accentuated her curves, while the plunging neckline added a touch of Hollywood glamour.

As always, Longoria's beaming smile was her best accessory.

PLAN HATCHED

TWO chicks fathered by lockdown star Louis the osprey will be flown from Scotland to Spain after fears for his well being.

The Woodland Trust has made the ‘tough’ decision to remove the chicks from their Loch Arkaig Pine Forest nest after realising ‘something was wrong’ with their father, who appears to be struggling to provide food.

According to the wildlife charity, Louis has not been fishing frequently enough to give the chicks a good chance of survival.

It is thought this could be due to difficult fishing conditions in the area. Now, alongside 10 other chicks, they will be moved to Spain to give them the ‘best chance’ in the Pego-Oliva Marsh Natural Park, near Alicante. Louis became a lockdown star after a live nest camera clocked 400,000 views.

Ospreys were extinct in Spain until they were reintroduced in 2003 using Scottish birds.

SPAIN'S

Oh scoot!

SPAIN'S DGT traffic authority will clamp down on electric scooter users with a ban on riders aged under 16. The rules will also enforce the mandatory wearing of a helmet at all times.

All scooter owners will also have to submit their details to a vehicle registry before being allowed on any public roads.

The measures are included in the DGT’s draft reform of the General Traffic Regulations.

Other proposed regulations would restrict scooters to urban areas; the need to have a luminous back reflector: and riders to wear reflective vests.

ABOUT TIME: Scooters have hundreds of serious accidents

YANKS ON ALERT Lined

THE US naval base at Rota in Cadiz province has ramped up its terror alert level amid fears it could be targeted in a jihadist attack.

Internet chatter intercepted by the Pentagon including encrypted messages about RotaAmerica's biggest base in Spain - where several ships are based.

At war seasons

By Laurence Dollimore

CONSTRUCTION of a luxury five star hotel in Marbella is being delayed by a 60-strong group of squatters.

The group of men, women and children are living at an abandoned campsite, where the Canadian Four Seasons group are planning to build a €650 resort.

The site, just 30 metres from the shoreline, is one of the last undeveloped, pristine stretches of coastline on the Costa del Sol.

Rats

Malaga native Angel Fernandez, who acts as a spokesman, vowed to fight the matter in the courts, setting up a potentially years-long battle for the developers.

The so-called 'okupas' - many of whom have legal jobs in the tourist trade - claim they have transformed the site, which

Dozens of squatters delay €650m hotel after taking over beachfront site

was left abandoned since the late 1990s.

Some are Uber drivers while many are cooks, cleaners and receptionists, who claim buying or renting on the coast is ‘very very hard due to cost’.

Mohamed Said, 51, from Tangier, said when he arrived with a few friends six months ago there was ‘nothing but weeds and rats bigger than dogs’.

That group has now ballooned to 60, including a number of young mothers with babies.

“What you see here looked like a jungle,” explained Fernandez. “We have filled 20 bins with rubbish and cleaned it up.

“It is not fair that they want to throw us out.”

Makeshift

The squatters live in nearly two dozen makeshift homes created on the site.

The land they are occupying is destined for a hotel - which could become the most expensive in Andalucia, boasting

UNDER THREAT: The Four Seasons site

130 rooms, 180 private residences and 50 premium villas. Developers claim it will create 4,000 jobs, 750 of them permanent.

The plot is owned by Malaga businessman Ricardo Arranz, who owns the Villa Padierna hotel, in Benahavis.

The Olive Press understands current plans have been put on hold due to the squatter issue, while legal matters are being pursued.

After squatters were ordered to appear in court on June 24, no one showed up.

NEW life has been breathed into the campaign for a Costa del Sol train line.

Minister for Transport Oscar Puente will meet with local leaders to discuss the project, despite previously putting the brakes on it.

He will attend the ‘Working Group for Mobility in Malaga’ meeting, next week, which intends to explore the viability of the Costa del Sol route.

According to the Diputacion de Malaga, it would cost around €2.7 billion and take at least eight years to construct.

On the

SPAIN'S population will rise by five million over the next 15 years to reach nearly 54 million people - mainly down to immigration.

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) projects the rise will then dramatically slow down to a population of 54.6 million by 2074. Estimates suggest that over the next five years, the rise in population of migrant origin will be about 3.5 million.

INE calculations show that Spanish residents born abroad will account for 39% of the total population within 50 years. That is double the number of immigrants who currently make up around 18% of the population - some 8.5 million residents.

Scapegoats

TOURIST apartment owners have hit back at being ‘unfairly scapegoated’ for a wider housing problem.

Malaga, Sevilla and Barcelona have all recently promised to crack down on Airbnbs and tourist accommodation in their cities after a series of protests.

However, the Andalucian Tourist Housing Association (AVVA-Pro) insisted that holiday rentals only represent 2% of Malaga’s property stock.

Meanwhile around the province this only rises to 4.1%, well below the national average, and pouring cold water on protests.

The association points out that tourist rentals contribute €1.9 billion to Malaga province alone. This rises to €4.2 billion for Andalucia as a whole, aside from the greater contribution the tourists make to other sectors of the economy.

Airbn-battle

CADIZ has become the latest city to announce a ban on new Airbnbs

The city will allow no new tourist apartments in the historical centre.

The town hall has already delisted 300 flats that were not officially registered.

Marbella meanwhile, has also announced, it is launching an investigation into the impact tourist rentals have on the economy.

WASH THEM AWAY!

Controversial antitourist protests see foreigners targeted with angry chants and water pistols

protesters have targeted tourists with water pistols during a controversial Spanish demo.

Demonstrators barricaded hotels and restaurants along their route in Barcelona, while others chanted ‘Tourists, go home’, while carrying placards with similar messages.

But a small number wielded water pistols and squirted tourists while they were sitting at terraces along the famous Las Ramblas central

By Walter Finch artery.

Video footage showed tourists in shorts and flip-flops scurrying away from their tables while a group of girls sprayed them with water and shouted at them to ‘go home’.

Other placards read ‘Barcelona is not for sale’ and ‘decrease tourism now’.

The protesters were demanding action to curb the number

of tourists to remedy high rental prices, overcrowding and antisocial behaviour in the centre.

“We want the city’s economic model to be fairer to us,” said Marti Cuso, a spokesperson for the Gothic Quarter’s residents association.

“And for that we have to decrease tourism,” he added. The aggressive actions were met with disapproval by many Spaniards however.

“These protests are stupid, especially considering that 99% of the those protesting have travelled low cost around Europe,” one told the Olive Press.

“Throwing water on people who are eating, or by barricading them into the restaurant, it’s lucky no one got punched.”

The protest came as reports show the cost of housing has increased by 68% over the past 10 years, while wages haven’t increased.

Radical

According to website Idealista, Barcelona and Madrid rents are 18% up this June compared to last year.

A radical move by Barcelona mayor, Jaume Collboni, last month, will see all short-term tourist lets phased out by 2028.

Similar protests have taken place in Malaga, Sevilla, Palma and the Canary Islands, over the last month, each highlighting discontent at mass tourism.

See letters page 46

MALAGA will need two new reservoirs and two more desalination plants in order to stop taps running dry.

The province will also need an expansion of the La Conception reservoir in Marbella to remedy global warming and a general fall in rainfall.

This was the conclusion of the Metropolitan Mayors’ Forum which wants to create new reservoirs at Gibralmedina on the Guadiaro river and Cerro Blanco on the Rio Grande river. Additionally, the forum recommended building desalination plants in Velez Malaga and Mijas to supplement freshwater supplies.

Meanwhile, Malaga's mayor, Francisco de la Torre, highlighted the importance of recycled water and leak control. He also underlined the potential of using treated wastewater for irrigation purposes. Experts proposed further water connections, such as linking the Axarquia coast with Granada’s Beznar and Rules reservoirs, as well as Antequera with Iznajar, in Cordoba.

WATER ATTACK: Tourists were soaked in Barcelona

MORE NEEDED: Call for new reservoirs

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

Sea Change!

THE tone of this year’s Black Flag report (right) is a sea change in the right direction. With the ravages of Spain’s coastline due to incompetence and inaction, Spain’s leading green group Ecologistas en Accion is pulling no punches. The hard-hitting report details how time and time again local politicians and even regional bodies are blatantly violating environmental laws. Developments are being approved and blind eyes are being paid to barbarities and abuses. In clear infringements of Spanish and European laws, the Canary Islands are allowing four new mega resorts.

This from a political class which flaunts its multi-billion dollar profits while more than 35% of the Canaries population is ‘at risk of poverty’ and the unemployment rate sits at 20%.

It’s little different in Andalucia, where the Junta has sanctioned a beach bar in Fuengirola that grossly violates regulations and threatens the integrity of the coast.

Meanwhile, in Tarifa and Vejer, the battlelines are being drawn in the sand as a phalanx of wealthy developers continue to sniff around for coastal land to raze.

In Valencia the situation is worse, while the Balearics fare no better.

The politicians are committing harakiri on what is left of this country’s coastline.

Already being strangled by a collar of concrete, they continue to court the deep pockets of, mostly, foreign investors, who won’t think twice about carving up what’s left before jumping on their private planes elsewhere.

The majority of developments are not in the interests of the Spanish population and it’s hard not to believe that plenty of backhanders are kicking around.

Madrid must get a grip on the unhealthy relationship between business and politics which has been flourishing in plain sight at the municipal level for years.

Spain’s coasts have a limit. Saving what’s left is vital for the future of the country.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

Yzabelle Bostyn yzabelle@theolivepress.es

(+34) 951 154 841 admin@theolivepress.es

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Ben Pawlowski ben@theolivepress.es

Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

‘SUICIDAL RACE’

THE latest Blue Flag report offered a dazzling verdict on Spain’s beaches. The global organisation created a map that blanketed the country’s coastlines in blue dots, indicating beautiful clean beaches with excellent water quality, compliance with coastal laws, and services such as lifeguards and toilets.

Out of the 694 beaches that applied for the cherished blue flag, the group merrily handed them to 638 – an approval rate of 91%.

However, an alternative report from local environmental group Ecologists in Action offers a dark er vision of the health of Spain’s beaches.

By Walter Finch

flag,” Ecologists in Action coordinator Rafael Yus-Ramos (below left) told the Olive Press

“But we can’t give a black flag to every beach that deserved one because otherwise we would have ended up with too many to count.”

The group’s Black Flags report, re leased in June, gave out 48 black flags around the country, including 10 in Andalucia, six in Valencia, two in the Balearics and four in the Canary Islands.

But in reality the num ber should have been even higher.

“Many of the beach es that received a blue flag actually should get a black

The report comes in a year when anti-tourism protests have broken out in hotspots across Spain, ‘excessive’ seafront developments have been approved in the Canary Islands and Malaga, and 26 tonnes of plastic pellets were washed overboard a container ship into the sea off the coast of Cantabria.

The trend causing the most harm to Spain’s beaches, however, is ‘the touristification and urbanisation of our coastlines’, according to the environmental group.

The Canary Islands come in for keen criticism for leaving an ecological footprint 27 times larger than their landmass.

Yet the villains are not the tourists occupying the hotels and Airbnbs but the political class,

Snowflakes!

theolivepress.es

Google and Facebook censor Olive Press stories about rape and crucifixes for fear of ‘offending’ users

IT’S a sad day for the news industry when one cannot even report on serious crimes without being reported for ‘offensive’ content.

That is what has happened to the Olive Press over the past for months, with Google warning that some of our stories are too risque to appear on the search engine. These included the conviction of a rapist in Gibraltar, a respected Spanish urologist warning of the effects of smoking on men’s penises and - incredibly - a story about crucifixes being stolen from cemeteries in Spain.

But it’s not just Google trying to censor the news landscape, with Face-

book also barraging us with warnings over the most basic of stories. These included all of the above plus plans by Spain to bring in restrictions on accessing online porn.

Unfortunately, Facebook and especially Google still have a stranglehold over the news industry.

who ‘flaunt multi-billion dollar profits while more than 35% of the population is at risk of poverty and a 20% unemployment rate.’

In Tenerife, development has restarted on two hotels, Hotel La Tejita and Hotel Cuna del Alma, which were stopped for environmental violations.

And in Fuerteventura a golf course and a wellness centre with more than 2,000 beds each have both been approved.

“These are just a few examples, among many,” the report states, “that demonstrate the suicidal race that our leaders are betting on which exclusively benefits business interests.”

But the Black Flags report saves some of its strongest criticism for the Costa del Sol, which receives two of the unwanted awards.

A number of beach bars have been approved despite receiving negative reports for environmental law violations, the report claims.

Ecologists in Action have pointed the finger at the Junta for ignoring the damning reports and ploughing ahead with development regardless.

In the most shocking case, it gave out a licence to build Bikini Beach Club at the foot of the Fuengirola castle.

Every newspaper in the world remains dependent on their articles being served to the billions of people

who use the tech giants daily.

Google, in particular, can make or break a news site, as placing its articles on its ‘discovery’ page or its ‘news’ section can bring in millions of hits.

But what does it say about the future of journalism if important stories about sex crimes and intimate health issues are essentially being blocked?

It runs the risk of newspapers reporting less and less on such topics for fear of losing favour with Google and Meta (the owner of Facebook).

This will reduce the quality of news reporting and it is the reader who loses out in the end.

Google’s power over the media is one

HOLY CHRIST: Was ‘banned’ by Google for showing nudity

of the reasons many sites - including the Olive Press - have introduced subscription paywalls.

With a guaranteed monthly or annual income from loyal readers, websites can continue to report the news without having to adhere to arbitrary rules that seem to change daily.

Plus, they will eventually steer away from the disliked ‘clickbait’ articles once they are no longer so reliant on advertising income generated by clicks.

If you’re an avid reader of news sites and believe that proper journalism is worth safeguarding, support your favourite newspapers either via a donation or subscription.

The annual Black Flag report is in and it isn’t pretty reading as ‘touristification’ and a greedy political class are blamed for destroying Spain’s coastline

The 440-metre behemoth is being built directly on the sand – with basement included – not far from an archeological site, in plain violation of coastal regulations.

“It all comes down to the country’s laws which regulate coastal developments,”

Yus-Ramos said.

“There are things you can do and things you can’t, and the Junta just ignores it.

“The town halls submit plans for beach developments but it's the Junta which has to approve them.

“The ultimate responsibility for these black flags lies with the Junta.”

The report also pulled Malaga up for the massive plastic waste generated by the San Juan festivities on June 23.

“The night of San Juan left the beaches covered in plastic,” Yus-Ramos said. “In the end, much of that plastic waste goes in the sea.”

The group estimates that between 20 and 40 tonnes of litter was left on beaches come the morning.

MILLION MILESTONE

The Olive Press website is soaring to new heights - so join the conversation!

ceiving four black flags, with said dunes on the Trafalgar coast between Tarifa and Vejer being a particular concern.

“The current urban development between Zahara and Atlanterra is dismantling the natural barrier that has protected the region’s dune systems,” the report states.

It adds that there are nearly three kilometres of formerly pristine beach that are now occupied by illegally-built homes that ‘lack basic infrastructure for water supply and wastewater treatment’.

Incredibly, plans are already underway to expand the illegal sites with two waterhungry golf courses

Ecologists in Action has called for more bins to be placed on the beach for the event and signs warning of the harm caused by litter.

It added: “Ideally, these massive festivities should gradually decline until they disappear.”

Yus-Ramos added that constant construction and development all along the Costa del Sol has led to the disappearance of many beaches, which now have to be regularly replenished with artificial sand.

“In Cadiz there are sandy natural beaches that still have dunes,” he continued. “But these have almost completely disappeared in Malaga.

Cadiz, however, does not escape lightly, re-

Incredibly, plans are already underway to expand the illegal developments with two water-hungry golf courses.

Meanwhile, sewage waste has been seeping into Playa Talamanca in Ibiza and both Playa Granada and Playa Poniente in

Granada.

This has been killing off the seagrass meadows that grow just off the coast, with over half of the fields in Talamanca Bay now dead. And do not even ask what is escaping onto the Alicante beach of El Barranco del Amerador (see right).

Ok we’ll tell you: “So far this year, there have been two faecal discharges at the Amerador beach from the pumping station located in the ravine, due to overflow and lack of maintenance.

It’s a similar story at Alicante beach, where the population

has doubled in the last 40 years without a similar investment in local infrastructure.

“The risk of new discharges could produce not only visible items like wet wipes, plastic bags, or cotton buds but also less visible pollutants such as heavy metals, hydrocarbon residues, and other toxins,” the report says.

“Beaches could be closed if tests reveal high levels of E.coli, as happened last summer at San Gabriel and Urbanova beaches.”

The report does try to offer solutions to each of the environmental or management issues it raises, which often involves upgrading infrastructure such as treatment plants.

But for Yus-Ramos, the ultimate cause of the issues on Spain’s beaches are the commercialisation and poor environmental management of the coastline, the blame for which he plants squarely at the feet of politicians.

Opinion Page 6

TThe start of July saw more than 800,000 people visit www.theolivepress.es over a seven-day period, blowing our competitors out of the water.

It came after an urgent update of our server, which was being overloaded by the rapid surge in visitors trying to access the site.

It makes the Olive Press, definitively, the most popular - as well as trusted - English news site in Spain.

Our visitors are a healthy balance of British, Irish, American, Dutch, German and other Europeans. We even had 49,000 Aussies visit the site in June.

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SEWAGE: Has blighted the popular and beautiful Playa Talamanca in Ibiza (above)

PLASTIC : Tonnes of beads were washed overboard in Galicia, while (below) the aftermath of the San Juan festivities

Feeling fuelish

GERMAN airline group

Lufthansa has announced it is adding an environmental charge to its ticket prices, in a bid to offset the cost of sustainable aviation fuels.

The company is the first of its kind in Europe to introduce such a fee, but other airlines are likely to follow suit.

The charge will come into force in 2025 and will add between €1 and €72 to fares.

Lufthansa, needs the extra money, to comply with EU regulations on bringing down emissions.

The extra cost of using sustainable aviation fuels has prompted airlines to warn for years now that ticket prices would have to go up.

Green move

GERMAN polymer material

maker Covestro has signed a 10-year renewable energy purchase agreement with BP.

The multinational will supply the manufacturer with green energy from a solar farm in Teruel in the Aragon region.

The deal will significantly increase the use of renewable energy in Covestro’s Spanish operations, as it tries to become carbon neutral by 2035.

The partnership is set to increase its renewable energy consumption in Spain from under 10% to 30%.

WHERE THERE’S MUCK….

Farms get power boost from buried batteries that harness bacteria in the soil

FARMS could soon be powered by dirt thanks to a revolutionary new battery. UK startup Bactery has developed a soil-powered battery that utilises natural bacteria to generate clean electricity.

These ‘install and forget’ batteries are buried underground and harness the

By Dilip Kuner

electrons produced by soil microbes.

This eco-friendly approach offers a cheap and sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources for farms.

The long-lasting batteries, expected to last over 25 years, eliminate the need for expensive infrastructure like solar panels or power lines.

Additionally, the low cost of €30 per unit makes them a highly attractive option for farmers.

This innovation has the potential to transform data-driven agriculture. By powering sensors and internet-connected devices, Bactery’s batteries will allow farmers to collect real-time data

CLIMATE BEACH BLOW

CLIMATE change has been blamed after winter storms blew away a fifth of Barcelona’s golden sands.

From July 2023 to April 2024, beaches in the Barcelona metropolitan area lost 60 acres of surface area, with experts blaming windy storms, driven by climate change, for the coastal erosion.

Pipelines, used to supply water and electricity to businesses on the seafront, have even been unearthed as sand levels dwindle.

on their crops and land, ultimately improving yields and resource management. Dr Jakub Dziegielowski was part of the research team that developed the technology in 2019 at the University of Bath in the UK.

Since then it has been tested on a water filtration system in Brazil and for the last four years he has been taking the concept a step further by developing ways to scale up electricity generation.

He said: “We’ve learned a

whole lot more about the different bioelectrochemical processes, and grasped a better understanding of the roles both bacteria and the soil play in this complex equation.”

The company is currently refining prototypes and expects to launch commercial production in 2026.

Challenge

In some areas on Barcelona’s long coastline, which measures 26 miles, beaches have lost over 50 metres of width, representing a growing challenge for local authorities and tourism boards. The worst affected stretch of beaches is between Badalona, an industrial heartland just north of Barcelona, and Montgat, considered the epicentre of sand loss where over 36% of its beaches have been eroded away by storms and the sea.

SOIL BATTERIES: are being developed for farmers by Bactery in the UK

LA CULTURA

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

MURCIA will be home to one of Europe's biggest film and tv studio complexes at a cost of around €100 million. It will be set up by UK company Stage Fifty in association with Universal Productions Services.

The facility- covering 100,000 m2 - will be called the Murcia Film Studios and is expected to create 1,000 jobs.

It will be built 20 kms north of Murcia City at the Los Carmenes industrial estate in Las Torres de Cotillas.

Last November, Stage Fifty said it was committed to coming to the Murcia region and was looking for a suitable location after being wooed by the regional government.

Murcia president, Fernando Lopez Miras, signed a deal for the project in London with Stage Fifty CEO, James Enright. The company provides production facilities for international companies like Disney, Amazon, Netflix, HBO, and Apple

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

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Down discovery

First ever Neanderthal with Down syndrome is discovered in Spain

THE discovery of the remains of a Neanderthal girl near Valencia has allowed scientists to conclude that she had Down syndrome and was looked after by her prehistoric community.

Researchers have identified ear bone abnormalities from a tiny piece of skull, which are consistent with someone who had Down syndrome, the first Neanderthal with the condition ever found.

“This child would have required care for at least six years, likely necessitating other group members to

By Simon Hunter

help the mother in childcare,” the researchers write in Science Advances magazine.

The Cova Negra cave site in Xativa has been excavated several times between 1929 and 2017, and has yielded human fossil remains dating from between 273,000 and 146,000 years ago, as well as materials from the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic.

The remains of ‘Tina’, as the

Concerts by candlelight

CARING: The discovery of the Down Syndrome child is the first evidence of altruism found

subject was dubbed, were found in 1989 among other bone remains of Neander-

EVENTS platform, Fever, is bringing its Candlelight Concerts to Spain.

Talented musicians give popular songs from the likes of ABBA, the Beatles and Queen the classical treatment.

If you’re more traditional, they also play classical music like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Ludovico Einaudi

Hosted in beautiful venues across Spainl, the concerts are a treat for the eye as well as the ears.

Surrounded by hundreds of candles, they make for the perfect romantic evening.

To find out where concerts local to you are, visit candlelightexperience.com.

thals, many of them children.

The new study concludes that she survived for more than six years thanks to the care and support from her community group. Her condition would likely have included severe hearing loss as well as incapacitating vertigo.

“What was not known until now was any case of an individual who had received help, even if they could not return the favour. This proves the existence of true altruism among Neanderthals,” Mercedes Conde, researcher of the Chair of Evolutionary Otoacoustics and Paleoanthropology at HM Hospitales and the University of Alcala, explained.

Enrich your life at RozaRossa Family Country Club

SERVING UP LUXURY

NESTLED in the picturesque Costa del Sol, RozaRossa Family Country Club offers an unparalleled blend of luxury, leisure, and lifestyle. This exclusive retreat is designed to cater to every member of the family, providing a range of activities and amenities that ensure unforgettable experiences. At RozaRossa, enjoy a stay at our luxurious Sports Residence, where comfort meets elegance.

Delight your taste buds at our exquisite restaurant, or engage in some friendly competition at our stateof-the-art tennis and padel courts.

Join us daily from 9am to 10pm and experience a full range of activities designed to enrich your life. Whether it’s a family outing, a special event, or a relaxing day, RozaRossa Family Country Club promises moments of joy and togetherness.

VISIT US AT CALLE VIOLETA, NUM. 106 URBANIZACION PARAISO 29680 ESTEPONA, MALAGA, OR CONTACT US AT +34 651 3 777 51 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

ROZAROSSA FAMILY COUNTRY CLUB – WHERE EVERY DAY IS A NEW ADVENTURE

BRINGING HOME THE

By Ben Pawlowski

fervent Francophile, Bacon had a passionate fling with Spain in his later years.

FRAIL and ill, Francis Bacon spent his final days in the heart of Madrid, charming the nuns who were treating him with his characteristic wit and newly-learnt Spanish skills.

It was a low-key end to a remarkable life, 82 years which had taken the Irish-born maestro from an affluent Dublin household, was unceremoniously booted out from, after his father discovered him wearing his mother’s underwear, to the Spanish capital. While he was well known as a

Famed for the raw, powerful imagery that inhabited his works, Bacon took inspiration from two colossuses of Spanish art whom he regarded as his greatest influences - Pablo Picasso and Diego Velazquez.

Indeed, Bacon’s trademark representations of papal figures mimicked Velazquez’s famous paintings.

The Prado Museum, the marvellous maze holding the entire Spanish royal collection, soon became Bacon’s favourite stomping ground as he sought

ARTISTS: Francis Bacon as a young man and pictured above with Lucien Freud

LIGHT YEARS AWAY!

The Olive Press takes a tour of some of the Costa de la Luz’s under-the-radar spots, as the largely unheralded coastal gem girds itself for discovery by British tourists

PERCHED upon the highest point in Chiclana de la Frontera sits the round cupola of the Ermita de Santa Ana.

The church is located on one of the fabled ‘seven magical spots’ in the sprawling town, lodged among salty marshlands just south of Cadiz.

In the 9th century, long before the chapel was built in 1733, it was an old watch tower from where the town’s defenders scanned the horizon. They were looking for the telltale sight of the dreaded Viking longboat.

Now, over a thousand years later, Chiclana is no longer a frontier town – but the coast it used to guard is preparing itself for another invasion from the north… from tourists!

The Costa de la Luz stretches from Tarifa in Spain’s most southern point, through the sparkling coastal fortress city of Cadiz, and up into

By Walter Finch Huelva.

It is a beautiful coastline dotted with stunning towns, like Vejer de la Frontera and Zahara de los Atunes, largely unscathed from the ill effects of mass tourism.

By flying under the international tourism radar, the Costa de la Luz has managed to dodge the fate of neighbours Sevilla and Malaga, where huge tourist demand has sent the cost of living spiralling.

So the recent announcement by airline Jet2 to open a raft of new routes to nearby Jerez has

Continues on next page

ALLURE: A Chiclana beach welcome (above) and the chapel of Santa Ana

THE HIDDEN COSTA

been met with some trepidation.

The new routes, from Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham, could see 30,000 Brits arrive each week from next summer. This for a region that has - until now - barely registered on the British tourist’s holiday itinerary.

Yes, of course, a few savvy travellers know of the charms of Vejer, Conil and, of course, Tarifa, particularly the ones who like watersports and wind, but most expats who live on the nearby Costa del Sol haven’t even ventured this way.

Which means that this stunning stretch of coastline has an extraordinary number of largely unspoilt gems to discover.

Tasked with exploring a less visited part of the coastline and finding some new hidden spots, I was delighted that in late June, the sight of a foreigner was vanishingly rare.

Chiclana’s eight kilometres of pristine beaches, for example, were populated almost exclusively by Spaniards enjoying the serene Atlantic swells. While the winery and salt mine tours were similarly taken up by their fellow compatriots, mostly

AFRICAN VISTA: Morocco looms large behind Tarifa and (right) an Arabic archway into Tarifa

BEST BEACH: Tarifa’s Valdevaqueros and (right) Vejer’s beautiful centre

From front page

tourists from Sevilla and other inland regions.

In the town itself, the narrow streets of the historic centre are full of interesting remnants of the Moorish era, such as the Arco Torre del Reloj, and littered with terraces offering cañas and tapas.

In Taperia La Flamenca, the beaming waitresses were all local lasses who live nearby. When asked what was the best thing about town, the three girls all laughed and said: us!

“I love the people here, the atmosphere of Chiclana,” said one. “All my friends and family are here – why would I want to move to Sevilla or Madrid?” It’s a refreshingly different reality from, say, the Costa del Sol, where the locals are increasingly pushed out of their own towns by Airbnb apartments and the influx of wealthy foreigners.

Just a 15 minute drive north is interesting San Fernando, an old naval shipyard in the hazy shadow of Cadiz’s bridges and container cranes.

It is another exquisite Spanish pueblo, populated with trendy bars that were active even before the buzz of the nightlife came out to play.

The walkable, slug-shaped town is well-connected to Cadiz and Jerez by a commendable tram system.

In its glory days, it served an important role in Spanish history, being the site of the first Spanish parliament, known as the Cortes de Cadiz.

The early 19th century was a period when Spain

flirted with democracy - even before the traditional European democracies of Britain and France.

San Fernando is also strategically located on the Isla de Leon, being connected to the mainland only by a parade of bridges.

It’s this island that lent its name to San Fernando’s most famous son - flamenco

HERE LIES HERCULES!

The tiny island of Sancti-Petri, off Chiclana, has a 17th century castle, which Romans believed was built on top of Hercules’ burial site.

The mythical hero is believed to have founded nearby Cadiz city and the Phonecians built a temple to their god Melqart on the island.

The Romans later replaced the structure with a temple dedicated to Hercules, who they believed

singer Camaron de la Isla (above), which translates as ‘Shrimp from the Island’.

Camaron was born into a poor neighbourhood, where he shared a single room with his entire family who in turn shared one bathroom with another six families.

Today his house has been transformed into a shrine to the man who put San Fernando on the map, and his outsized influence on bringing flamenco music into the mainstream.

While some fans were clearly mesmerised, renovations have turned the old abode into a lifeless white adobe box, completely robbing it of what it must have been like in Camaron’s childhood in the 1950s.

On the other side of Cadiz but still within its gravitational pull lies another naval town, but this one very much active.

Rota is home to several kilometres of white sandy beaches, chiringuitos and restaurants – and an enormous American naval base larger than the town itself.

was buried there.

Deemed strategically significant, the castle became a military fortress until its decommission in 1918.

The historic site can be reached by ferry from Sancti-Petri marina or by kayak if you’re feeling adventurous and once there you will find a bar with panoramic sea views.

46, told the Olive Press. “They behave very wellthey are even politer and more respectful than the Spanish.”

Maria, who runs the Great Day Coffee Diner offering American breakfasts, milkshakes and waffles, left Rota for the US when she was 19.

After nearly 20 years driving an 18-wheeler truck around the American continent, she is back to help care for her elderly mother.

I soon found myself talking to a young American ensign, who identified himself as ‘Garcia’, and told me his destroyer had just returned from a tour of the Middle East and Israel - ‘nothing happened

It served an important role, being first Spanish parliament site

Somewhat incongruous on the tranquil ‘coast of light’, Naval Station Rota – as the US military refers to it – is home to some seriously impressive firepower belonging to the US 6th Fleet.

Four American Aegis destroyers are permanently stationed at the base, tasked with protecting south-western Europe from missile attacks.

And the Americans are certainly not seen locally as an unwelcome occupying force, but a valued part of the community, which at times feels like Costa Americana.

Among a coast almost devoid of foreigners in the summer, the twang of American-accented English stands out almost as much as the American-style diners and Irish bars.

“We love the Americans here,” Maria Almagro,

though.’

“When the big ships come in to restock, like the aircraft carriers, all the Americans hit the town to go out and party,” explained Maria.

“And sometimes they send an Uber to pick up a huge order for 40 people in the base.”

And she continued:

“There’s literally never any trouble. They’re good people. And us Spanish, we love Americans. Because they come with money.”

A short hop away lies Chipiona, a charming workday beach town, that would find itself completely under water should a tsunami hit.

This was graphically illustrated by the curious ‘What to do in case of a tsunami signs’ that littered the beachfront.

The seemingly fanciful signs – and evacuation plan they laid out – were erected in preparation for last November’s tsunami drill, which crowned Chipiona as Spain’s first ‘tsunami-ready community’.

And while the last major mega wave to hit Spain came nearly 300 years ago during the 1755 earthquake which wiped out Lisbon, the region is not so far from the boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. Some might even say it’s due another one.

While no tsunamis struck as the Olive Press enjoyed the town’s hospitality, a series of freak rain squalls – almost unheard of in late June – caused their own aquatic chaos.

The unseasonal watering caused the town’s chefs to dash out into the marshes to hunt for something that would never usually be on the menu in summer.

So at night, it was peculiar to see hasty handmade signs declaring ‘WE HAVE SNAILS’.

The Olive Press could not turn down the opportunity to try such a rare delicacy at the Pide Y Come restaurant. It was a charming eatery run by local couple Paco, 32, and Caridad, 29, who met one day while out walking their dogs.

Paco explained that the sauce was not made from garlic, but from basil,

cumin, and – as he took a breath to list the rest of the ingredients, he suddenly closed his mouth and took on a sly smile.

He was not about to reveal the secret family recipe to a nosy journalist.

The menu was full of such unique offerings, the ingredients of which the couple would sooner die than give up, including ‘Aurora’s meatballs’ – Aurora being Caridad’s grandmother.

When told that they could perhaps expect a lot more British and foreign tourists in future summers, the pair shrugged and said it could ‘only be a good thing’.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

THE Costa de la Luz’s celi- brated culinary prowess is down to the local surround- ings, which produce some of the best quality ingredients in the world.

The obvious examples are sherry, fish and the won- derful beef from the classic brown ‘retinto’ cows, which you often see wandering around in the hills and even on the beaches.

Of course the amazing ‘almadraba’ bluefin tuna (top), caught nearby (above), is spec- tacularly good and the vegetables avail- able are also of a high quality, particularly from Conil.

Another reason is the type of tourists who visit the coast, which has seen a distinctly more refined crowd than its nearby rivals on the Costa del Sol. They demand quality and are prepared to spend to get it.

CHARMS: History in Chiclana and grandeur of the town hall in San Fernando, once Spain’s first parliament

IDYLLIC: Sunseekers sit on Rota beach overlooking Cadiz

•

UNDERWATER WORLD

Discover the teeming aquatic wildlife of Tarifa with Jon Clarke

UNDER the sun-kissed sea there lies an alien world, teeming with colourful life that makes the coast’s crowded beaches and bars seem a million miles away.

Scuba diving, a thrilling yet serene sport, abounds all around the Straits, and in particular near Tarifa.

Whether you are an experienced diver or a novice, you will be struck by two underwa-

ter wow factors: the clarity of the water and the infinite variety of fish. A number of companies operate out of Tarifa harbour taking punters of all experience levels on dives and offer official PADI courses.

After a thorough land-based briefing on safety, science and equipment from my dive manager, at Yellow Sub, one of the longest running firms in busi-

ness, we kitted up and made our way to the boat.

Given that my previous introduction to scuba diving was a university swimming pool, I was blown away by the vivid underwater landscape and clear visibility. The sheer number of aquatic species of all sizes and colours of the spectrum is astounding.

We chugged around Tarifa’s mini island, Isla de la Palomas, investigating every nook and cranny, marvelling at the magnificent orange anemones clinging to the rocks.

Sassy sea cucumbers, evil-looking moray eels with their malevolent mouths agape, fish that camouflage themselves in the sand… even Sir David Attenborough would wax lyrical!

At one point we came upon a pair of octopuses entwined in a passionate embrace, and, feeling like a third wheel, I edged away, but soon realised they were fighting over the best hiding place under the rocks. It was fascinating to watch and, as the victor took up residence, the loser powered off to regroup.

Whether you’re a rookie or an expert seeking fresh challenges, Yellow Sub, or other companies such as León Marino will show you a breathtaking underwater world you’d never imagine existed.

PIC

Leon Marino

Whale of a time

WE are about equidis-

tance between Spain and Morocco in the deepest part of the Straits of Gibraltar.

Flying fish, turtles and two types of whale are basking around, feeding and luxuriating in this food-rich marine paradise, some 15 minutes offshore from Tarifa. And that’s not to mention the dolphins, including a pair of Bottlenose, who are shepherding their calf, that is

apparently no more than a week old.

Soon we have found a school of dolphins swimming around the boat and, being so calm, we can see them clearly under the water.

It’s an almost religious experience for the boat-load of tourists, as the stunning mammals clearly swim over to take a closer look at us.

Flying fish, dolphins and giant turtles pay a visit on a trip into the Straits, writes Jon Clarke

“These two are particularly inquisitive,” pipes up a voice from the cockpit above, as one particular pair come sniffing up to the boat, then swim underneath at an amazing speed.

The words come from Dr Katharina Heyer, a remarkable woman of 75 years of age, who has become, without a doubt, one of the world’s authorities on sea life off the tip of southern Spain.

It’s her 20th year working with

her foundation Firmm, which was set up after she was guided to Tarifa to see whales and dolphins by a ‘spiritual man’ in 1998.

“I arrived on a really rainy, awful day to find no whale boats, just fishermen, and had to rent a diving boat to take me out,” she explains.

last year she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel.

Then running her own fashion company in Switzerland, she visited the area to find nobody organising trips to see the mammals and almost no research on them.

It may not have been perfect weather conditions, but what she saw completely changed her for good.

While she had long enjoyed diving holidays with her teenage sons in the Caribbean and the Maldives, seeing a group of Pilot whales and Bottlenose dolphins had a strong and immediate impact on her.

So moved was she by these large and graceful mammals that she quickly moved out to set up her ‘respectful whale watching’ foundation in Tarifa and has never looked back.

Indeed, so respected has been her research into the mammals over the last two decades - in particular her sensitization work for them - that

There are now a handful of companies taking visitors out to see the mammals from Tarifa, and on most days they can expect to see Sperm whales, Pilot whales and even Orcas, not to mention various types of dolphins and many other fish.

It is one of the best places in the world to see them, with the currents bringing a lot of food from both directions, explains Katharina.

However, this brings in itself severe risks, as they are entering one of the busiest waterways in the world with more than 300 freighters and other sea traffic passing every day.

Indeed, as you look out into the Straits you are witnessing a battle for survival.

“The lives of dolphins and whales are at risk from ferries getting faster and faster, the noise from shipping traffic and more,” she explains.

“We are trying our best to monitor their numbers and do our best to minimise the issues they face.”

CONNECT WITH NATURE

A sustainable and unforgettable journey in the Strait of Gibraltar

THE Strait of Gibraltar acts as a unique passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Here, a complex current system brings nutrients to the surface, creating a rich ecosystem teeming with cetacean life. We can help you experience the Strait of Gibraltar with minimal noise and emissions, fostering a deeper connection with nature.

At Turmares, our passion for wildlife and the environment drives us to offer responsible and respectful whale watching experiences. Over the years, we've encountered a diverse array of marine fauna, birds, and of course, cetaceans. We share a deep respect and connection with these incredible creatures.

In our commitment to continuous improvement, we've designed a new hybrid scientific boat. This vessel prioritises minimal environmental impact, ensuring a peaceful experience for the magnificent mammals we encounter.

The electric engine allows for near-silent operation, enabling us to hear the cetaceans in their natural state. Curiosity often draws them closer to our quiet vessel. For an even more immersive experience, the boat is equipped with hydrophones and cameras.

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● Scientific Research: Provide a platform for valuable research activities.

Huelva

VEJER de la Frontera is Andalu-

cia’s definitive frontier of food.

The small hillside town has more good restaurants per capita than perhaps San Sebastian, and is easily up there with nearer rivals Marbella, Ronda and Sevilla.

Its amazing mix of culinary talent coupled with its variety of quality ingredients, makes for a genuine culinary melting pot.

Anyone planning to open a restaurant here would need their head’s testing unless they had years of experience at a Michelin star level.

So when the most recent arrivals Jaime and Alejandra set up their new joint, Narea, it was comforting to know they had met at three Michelin star Celler de Can Roca, in Catalunya, while counting on further experience at Madrid’s top restaurant Diverxo, recently voted 4th best in the world.

“We knew the bar was set incredibly high here,” explains Jaime.

How Vejer de la Frontera - the food capital of Cadiz - began to entice foodies in from around the world, writes Jon Clarke

So that would be taking one pinch of seafood savvy, one grating of mountain fare and a giant wave of local vegetables onto the chopping board.

It’s an important mix that has left the white town bubbling over with excellent places to eat, whether you’re after a full sit down or just a bunch of tasty tapas.

“They should be doing university studies on the success of Vejer’s food revolution,” explains Alberto Reyes (above), who opened his restaurant 4 Estaciones in the town in 2017.

“Just when you think it might peak it picks up again and we have to constantly work on upping our game to survive.”

Fellow restaurateur Javier Duenas, from Madrid - whose hotspot Garimba is the place for people watching while dining well - adds: “We all pride ourselves on working incredibly hard, never standing still and keeping the prices down. And we all work hard to keep the bar set high.”

Forget its amazing beauty, its extraordinary location and its remarkable views.

“But because I come from nearby Cadiz and Alejandra grew up in Malaga, we know the coastline well and how to make things work.”

for within a ten mile radius you’ll find so many other hidden quality gems.

I spent a long time travelling around the nearby area for my book Dining Secrets of Andalucia a decade ago and was shocked to discover so many amazing places to eat.

Indeed, I still await my regular journey up to Patria, a ten minute drive from Vejer, with trepidation every Spring.

The Danish couple who have run this place for over a decade, Ase and Thomas, are my favourite restaurateurs in Andalucia. They not only have the most amazing eye, but their choice of dishes and continual changes is awe-inspiring.

“I’m forever experimenting and trying new things,” explains chef Thomas, who also runs a natural juice business. “And we realise the only sure way to survive here is to guarantee quality.”

For me, Vejer’s main draw is its competitive chefs and the freshness of its ingredients.

And don’t just look in the town,

It was during a holiday in Vejer two decades ago that I first stumbled over the seminal local restaurant Trafalgar, named after the nearby naval battle. It, appropriately, stood out like a lighthouse in what was then a true culinary desert and served up a fabulous mix of local and national dishes, all with some great twists. Even better, right across the square was Califa, a charming hotel with a hidden restaurant in its courtyard garden, focusing on dishes from across the Straits.

Opening in 2002, it was clear that its British owner James Stuart, was really working hard to compete and even, improve on the quality of his close neighbour.

“Apart from Trafalgar the food was so boring back then,” he explains. “There was nothing new, no Chinese, no Indian, no Japanese, and so we hoped to do something different.

“It didn’t take long to work out that we had to open a Moroccan restaurant, particularly as all the ingredients were literally on our doorstep, with the exception perhaps of couscous.” He continues: “The two restaurants ended up setting the standard for the future.

STUNNING: The view from Teteria, a dish at Califa and Garimba (below)

SELLING THEIR WARES: From local children to Alberto at 4 Estaciones and Jaime and Alejandra at Narea

“We knew we had to match Trafalgar for service and we tried to create our own niche,” continues the father-of-two, who landed in Vejer three decades ago to open a cycling business.

“From then on anyone who opened a restaurant in Vejer had to be at our level…and from about 2010 as the recession ended things started to take off,” Within the next few years the town could count on perhaps a dozen new places to eat, including el Muro, Las Delicias, Judería and Casa Varo, while outside town in the nearby hills and on the coast you had Castilleria, Venta Pinto, Campero, Antonio and La Duquesa.

My favourite country places, aside from Patria,

were up in the tiny hamlet of Santa Maria.

It was here you have the amazing meat joint Castilleria, which has continually got better and better, and the most charming spot in Andalucia, Venta el Toro. Authentic and unpretentious it is no wonder that American/Spanish celebrity chef Jose Andres, brought his daughters here for a recent food programme.

Little changed in decades, it is one of the last genuine redoubts of quintessential Andalucia, and the food, while simple, is absolutely delicious.

Another historical joint is the roadside Venta Pinto, which has been a stopping off point for travellers and tradesmen for centuries.

It was actually around in the 17th century, when known as Posada de la Barca, it put up and watered people visiting these parts.

Today, it is still doing the same, with some people taking a coffee, others a tapa and a cana and those-in-the-know a wonderful lunch in one of two wood-beamed dining rooms.

All in all it has been a remarkable turnaround for a town that two decades ago few people stopped at apart from to take a pee or grab a quick bowl of gazpacho en route to Tarifa, Cadiz or Jerez.

EVOCATIVE: Charms of Vejer old town and (top) dining at Califa Tapas on the famous Corredera street

Vejer’s Arabic history is brilliantly reimagined with its incredible hammam

IT is the perfect way to experience the centuries old hammam experience.

With a trio of pools; a Tepidarium of warm water, a Caldarium of boiling water and a Frigidarium of freezing water, you really do take a trip back to the days of the Moors.

Add in a steam and sauna room and a chill out space to take mint tea and you could be sitting in the Vejer in the 12th century. During the days of Al-Andalus travellers would arrive on foot or by horseback and head straight to a hammam.

Worn out and filthy they would head there to relax and get cleaned up before getting on with their trip.

All Arabic settlements had at least one and the ritual of cleanliness meant being closer to holiness and everyone used them. Vejer’s exciting new hammam can be found in the casco historico between the

VERY MOORISH

ancient Moorish Alcazaba castle and the former Mesquita (now the Church of Divino Salvador). Installed in an ancient merchant’s house,

it was created by local UK businessman James Stuart, who came up with the idea with his business partner Regli, while on a trip to Morocco in 2010. “We wanted to do something really special, something completely different for Vejer,” he explains. “And the hammam is not just great on a touristic level, but

also on a cultural level, helping people to understand and appreciate our rich Andalucian history.”

A wonderful experience, the cavernous space comes as a real surprise after entering via a simple front door off narrow Calle Eduardo Shelly.

After putting on Moroccan slippers, you pass heavy velvet curtains into a dark interior, designed by James’ wife Ellie Cormie.

As your eyes start to adapt to the dark, the rich red ochre walls gradually segway into lighter blues for the colder water areas. Dozens of candles light each corner, while the classical ceiling lets in limited light through a grid of small star openings. The circuit, which you are meant to undertake three or four times, is excellent for health and at the end you take your pot of fresh mint tea.

www.hammamvejer.com

HUELVA

The end of the Coast de la Luz has golden beaches and is just a hop into Portugal

THE Costa de la Luz is famous for its wide, golden beaches.

Indeed, Bolonia, near Tarifa, was named the best beach in Spain by Conde Nast Traveler last year, while the shores at Valdevaqueros, Playa Alemanes, in Atlanterra, and the quirkiness at Canos de Meca take some beating.

But they are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the region’s beaches.

Head further west and you find the province of Huelva. On the border with Portugal, it is Spain’s last chance to tempt visitors to stay,

and it certainly makes it difficult to leave.

It is home to the impressive Doñana National Park and stunning River Guadiana as well as 120km of mostly stunning coastline; all part of the Costa de la Luz. So, with so much to explore, which are the best beaches in Huelva?

MATALASCAÑAS

Perhaps the most famous of Huelva’s beaches, Matalascañas has long been a favourite spot for Sevillanos to visit in the summer. They are quite literally following in

HEAVENS

the footsteps of Neanderthals - in 2021 the fossilised footprints of a family of 15 Neanderthals from 150,000 years ago were found here.

An enormous ‘rock’ on the beach is in fact the remains of the 16th century Torre de la Higuera, built to guard against pirates and destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Bordering on Doñana, it is a family beach with lifeguards and plenty of beach bars.

PUNTA UMBRIA

Punta Umbria is a vast sandy beach where the sand is golden, the sea perfect for a dip and the conditions great for windsurfing.

While it is an urban location, it is found in the Paraje Natural de las Marismas del Odiel, a UNESCO reserve which hosts hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, making it ideal for birdwatchers as well as sun worshippers.

Along the nearby Avenida del Oceano, check out the laid-back beach bars and live music venues, such as the Mosquito Club.

PUNTA DEL CAIMAN

Perfect for kids, the shallow, calm waters are great for playing.

This protected area is picturesque and clean, right next to the mouth of the Carreras River.

It is also close to the town of Isla Cristina so is convenient for a quick dip.

PLAYA DE MAZAGON

Despite its ideal location between Moguer and Palos de la Frontera, Mazagon beach is a natural paradise. Dunes, impressive rock formations and pine trees dot the 9km coastline, the longest in the area, and a sneak preview of the equally spectacular cliffs and beaches of Portugal’s Algarve, just across the border.

PLAYA DE CUESTA MANELI

If you’re looking for peace and quiet, this slice of the Playa de Mazagon is for you. The natural, wild landscape is broken

only by a singular beach bar. It is also LGBT, pet and nudist friendly.

PLAYA DE ISLA CANELA

The last beach before Spain’s natural border with Portugal, the River Guadiana, this is one the prettiest beaches on the Costa de la Luz.

The marshes and channels surrounding the beach make it not just a place to relax but to

appreciate nature. It is a far cry from the packed beaches of the Costa del Sol’s

IDYLLIC BEACHES: Matalascañas (left) and Isla Canela (above) are always popular but have plenty of space

LIGHT FANTASTIC: at Matalascañas (above), while (below) the Punta del Caiman has great views if the Isla Cristina

NATURAL BEAUTY: The Playa de Cuesta Maneli (main picture and inset) , while (above) the urban beach at Punta Umbria

packed tourist beaches.

Dreamtime

A pair of Iconic Tarifa hotels have become the true grande dames of the Costa de la Luz, writes Jon Clarke

SITTING by the Serpentine-size swimming pool of the Punta Sur hotel you mostly hear the trickle of water, the occasional squeal of happy children and the rhythmic strains of a tennis rally from the nearby court.

What I cannot hear is the famous Tarifa wind, which is brilliantly kept at bay by the clever planting at this wonderful beachside hostelry.

The sister hotel of the more famous Hurricane, just up the road, the Punta Sur has managed to carve its own furrow as a place better-serving families and those looking for space.

Sited on a verdant slope close to Valdevaqueros beach, it counts on hectares of grounds, hiding tennis courts, fountains, duck ponds and a peacock colony, including one ivory white mother guiding around her litter of three peachicks here, there and everywhere.

There are expansive lawns, a massage centre and gym and also a pool table in the big reception area, where dozens of amazing photos and paintings are always on display.

But what is gaining most plaudits these days is the incredible El Jardin restaurant, which is the classic hidden escape for a long, languid lunch or a romantic evening under candlelight.

The menu is local and seasonal with plenty of special touches.

The local tomatoes, with fresh basil and mozzarella are excellent, while the tuna sashimi is the perfect starter.

I was guided towards a fish of the day, which was Pargo, a rock fish from the area and it couldn’t have been better cooked.

Meanwhile the steaks and burgers looked amazing, as did the tuna steaks.

My suite at the top of the garden looked out over the grounds towards the sea, with Africa in the distance

I watched huge tankers steaming by and the occasional bob

of a kitesurf.

From here it is the most amazing walk or jog up the coast to the Hurricane hotel.

You simply hop over the main road and walk through scrub and sand dunes until you hit the beach, then take a left.

One of the most hauntingly beautiful stretches of coastline in Spain, you will likely meet nobody and the only buildings are the odd shack and a few demolished military pill boxes installed during dictator Franco’s reign.

After around ten to 15 minutes walk you will come to the Hurricane, a true oasis of calm that keeps getting better

by the year.

One of the most evocative hotels in Spain, this seminal enclave is where those-in-the-know come to kick back year after year. Said to have even included Queen Camilla, this hidden paradise is sited right by the sea and counts on two pools, one strictly adults-only.

comforting about the buffet in the beach bar at lunch, which is entirely earthy and local, cooked here on the premises and focusing heavily on vegetables.

In the evening you eat on the terrace nearby, where the guests dress up and glamour is the order of the day and the menu is a wonderful trawl of the very best ingredients of Cadiz.

There is a serious gym, plus a spa with sauna and yoga classes, plus just about any other sort of exercise can be arranged for you here, including cycling, horse riding and sightseeing. Little has changed here in decades and there is something undeniably

As the final rays of sun catch my wine glass, it feels like I could be in a film set, where the beautiful people dine before a night in say, St Tropez.

But this is glorious Tarifa, just an hour’s drive from the Costa del Sol. behind.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

The Hurricane Group is the life’s work of a trio of English brothers, the Whaleys, who bought the land back in 1985.

All three with different skills and different social circles, they formed a vision to turn a scruffy beachside hostel into one of southern Spain’s most emblematic places to stay.

“We each had our own strengths, but above all a love for the area,” explains Peter Whaley, 77, who divides his time between Ibiza and Tarifa, where he can still be seen out kitesurfing, surfing or increasingly windfoiling, almost every day.

Peter - whose son Liam is among the world’s best professional kitesurfers - had first landed in Tarifa in 1984 en route to Morocco, where his younger brother James owned an achingly hip hotel in Essaouira.

A keen windsurfer, he was amazed to discover that the winds continued to blow for almost 80% of the year and saw an opening to set up a rental firm for tourists.

Alongside Australian boardmaker Barry Pussell they opened a shack called 100% Fun that sold and rented windsurfs, plus his Dutch wife Terese’s clothes, from fashion label Graffiti Ibiza. With careful marketing and planning they had soon ushered in the celebrated Tarifa wind revolu- tion, an industry now worth tens of millions of euros every year. Back then, though, there was nowhere decent to stay so they bought a small ruined 12-room hostel across the road and started to renovate it.

This was where his brother Michael, 72, a talented builder and landscaper came in for his con- struction skills, as well as third brother James, who died in 2019.

The manager of 80s band Adam & the Ants and the producer of seminal films, Sebastiane and Jubilee, he was a genuine style guru, with an uncanny knack for the latest fashions. Under his watchful eye the place slowly turned into one of Andalucia’s hippest places to stay. While the gardens and vegetation have matured each year, full of ponds and during the pandemic the team, including Michael’s son George, a DJ, have worked hard to improve the chill out areas and drive the quality of the food upwards. The signing of a talented new hotel manager Greetja and a new executive chef, who has worked around South America, has really improved the menus and quality of food. Visit www.hotelhurricane.com or www.hotelpuntasur.com

TALENT: And not just Liam

FLYING HIGH

IT was perhaps only a matter of time that Liam Whaley would open his own kite school.

Having traversed the world competing on the international circuit and a former global champion, he has finally taken over the centre at Valdevaqueros beach, by Tumbao. Sponsored by Porsche and after a big investment, the school is one of the best to offer the latest in kite technology, as well as windsurfs and windfoils.

His team of talented instructors offer classes by the week, day or hour and a handful of half day sessions is enough to give you a good basis of all three watersports. While Liam is not always about, talented Mateo has been working on the coast for nearly a decade and has great knowledge and advice.

www.liamwhaleyprocenter. com

COSTA DE LA

‘HOOF’

LOOKING for a great horseback adven ture on the Costa de la Luz?

Tarifa’s Hurricane Hipica, run by world-class equestrian Klaartje Muijser from Holland, offers breath-tak ing beach and mountain rides. The horses are well looked-after, living shoe-free in the open fields at night.

A brilliant teacher and guide Klaart je is a genuine horse-whisperer who can often be found herding half a dozen horses around the area on her own.

In particular, a fan of the moun tain rides, she recommends a half day out, with a ‘secret’ stop ping off place where she and her team will set up a picnic table for lunch.

“The views up on the Penon are amazing, perhaps some of the best in Europe,” she insists.

For information, check out www.tarifahip.com

TARIFA is famous for its wind, which draws in many visitors looking to participate in the kite surfing scene.

But its beaches are more than just a place to practise tricks in the water: the ankle-deep white sand and, thankfully even, some sheltered spots, ensure there’s something for everyone along the 35-km coastline. Of course, it’s useful to have a car. But can you enjoy a beach holiday here without one? Regina Roberts investigates on foot.

Costa de la luz

Stung into action

IT’S gusting 45 knots and my lines have just got tangled with the only other kitesurfer within half a kilometre.

We’re two metres deep in the briny and with the waves crashing over our heads it is impossible to hear the urgent instructions our teacher is barking from the beach.

Could it get any worse?

Well for starters I am caught up with the only other student on my course – Stefan, a German, based in Zurich – and he is just as clueless as me. And second, just as I finally unhook the last of my four lines from his kite, I am jolted stiff from an electric shock from below.

Quite unsure what the hell is going on, in my panic I pull the red emergency cord, as I have been instructed to do. The problem is it is not the emergency cord I have pulled, but the emergency-emergency cord, (the one you are not meant to pull) – and next thing we are watching my kite go shooting off towards Africa. It’s like Apollo One as within seconds the 3.5m comet is almost out of sight as it tumbles and somersaults its way south at a rate of knots - 45 to be exact.

PLAYA CHICA

Located right next to Tarifa old town, Playa Chica (right) separates the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Just 10 minutes walk to get there from the heart of the old town, it is small and can get a bit crowded at certain times of day, not to mention noisy.

But on the plus side there was no strong wind, which meant it was perfect for swimming and the water was calm and clear with no kitesurfers.

The only beachfront restaurant is El Chiringuito Lounge Beach, and due to its location, it’s a little pricier than other places in town.

Playa Chica is ideal for those wanting to relax on the beach with friends but still feel the lively atmosphere of Tarifa.

PLAYA DE LOS LANCES

Playa de los Lances (left) spans more than seven kilometres and is separated by the Rio Jara, making it an expansive beach that never feels too crowded.

While also close to the old town, the beach was a lot emptier and less overwhelming with a nice change of pace and seagulls in the sky.

It’s more windy, but was not too exposed and during the middle of the day, the wind is actually advantageous as the breeze offers reprieve from the heat.

The water at this end is not as busy with

The sport of kitesurfing leaves Jon Clarke in a tangle, after the first morning started with a nasty ‘shock’

When we finally clamber out of the sea, our Slovakian instructor is completely beside herself. She has been screaming blue murder from the beach and is only marginally consoled that nobody has drowned.

Luckily it is only a €250 beginner’s kite and, luckier still, one of only a dozen brave souls daring enough to risk this particularly crazy Tarifa morning (one of the windiest for months, I am told) zooms off after it.

A 10-minute walk down the beach later and he has fished it out, rolled it up and delivered it to us on the shore, before calling us a complete bunch of losers and shaking his bloodied little finger - cut by one of my lines - as proof of his endeavour.

Not a happy bunny, our instructor Veronica is at least cheered up when I tell her about the sudden electric shock that had led to my disgrace. It turns out I had stepped on a lenguado (or sole), a flat fish that lurks on the rocks. Now it

all makes perfect sense, she tells me.

I feel marginally better about the whole fiasco and somehow pluck up enough courage to get back in the water later that afternoon, when the wind has dropped just a little bit.

I had volunteered to undertake a three-day kitesurfing course with the team at Valdevaqueros beach, in Tarifa.

While some insisted it must be the start of my mid-life crisis, others just felt sorry for me. I, quite frankly, was terrified. Everyone knows how windy it gets in Tarifa. The wind turbines along the coast are going full tilt on my drive from Algeciras, and even my walk through the centre of the charming town got a little gusty.

But nothing compares to the sensation you feel when you first walk onto the beach with the kite in one hand and your board in the other.

I was practically knocked off my feet as I stood on the sand, half of which had quickly got into ev-

ery nook and cranny of my wetsuit, not to mention eyes, ears and nose.

According to locals, this is the windiest spot in Europe and has the best conditions for kite and windsurfing. So strong is the wind my instructor told me how a friend’s nine-year-old boy had

kite surfers, making it perfect for those just looking to go for a swim.

Father up on the northern part is characteristic of Tarifa’s windsurfing scene, full of brightly coloured kites filling the sky and with the continual sounds of surfers making splashes in the water.

The northern side of this beach is more difficult to get to although there’s a lot of parking for those driving their own cars.

Walking is hard and it may be best to get a taxi from the old town.

There are just as many kitesurfing schools along the northern part as chiringuitos.

This may not be the best place for those looking to simply lounge as on windy days you’re going to feel that sand in your face.

PLAYA VALDEVAQUEROS

By far the windiest beach is Playa Valdevaqueros, making it popular

Life’s a beach, for Regina Roberts, on a trip to check out Tarifa’s famous sandy

among those wanting to participate in water sports.

A picturesque beach with large sand dunes (below) along its four kilometres, it is backed by various restaurants offering an array of food options.

There’s a lot going on and plenty of places with music playing through speakers, with Tumbao a top pick, while on the sand, you’ll see loads of people preparing their boards for the water.

Others jump in and out of the sea or play football with friends.

Getting here if you are staying in the old town involves taking a taxi as it is even farther along the coast. However, this section of the main coast road is lined with hotels for surfers. As a result, this beach draws in visitors from around the globe, but you’ll have to take a taxi to get here most likely, as while there are the occasional buses, it’s not easy to find out when they come or leave.

been literally blown across their street earlier this year from one particularly enthusiastic gust. It seemed somehow inconceivable that I was opting for this intense sport, instead of quietly practising my golf swing. But there are some challenges in life worth undertaking and by the second day I had finally found some rhythm. Going through the discipline of rigging up your kite is all part of the learning process and the team at Valdevaqueros insist the safety side of the sport is carefully explained. You certainly feel more confident going out with a fully qualified instructor, even if our Eastern European belle had a bark on her worse than a London fishmonger.

confidence and by the third day when the board was introduced I was raring to go.

Sadly though, it is not just jumping onboard. With the wind still howling around the 35/40 mark and plenty of waves, it is anything but easy getting the board attached to your feet while lying in the water and trying not to sink, while still flying the kite.

Our European belle had a bark on her like a London fishmonger

After two days of learning to effectively fly the kite, we were slowly introduced to the water, first getting dragged one way (out to sea) and then dragged back in by the wind. It instilled

That said, by the afternoon I was finally floating with the board on my feet and actually standing up (albeit for a brief few seconds) when I got the ‘figure of eight’ motion right.

But as experienced kitesurfer and Tarifa stalwart Tony Cassidy tells me, I’m not a million miles off. “Once you’ve done your three days and you can finally stand up on the board, do another three lessons and get your confidence up,” he advised me.

“You really need to get the lessons to get the confidence.” And as we all know, it’s all about

confidence. So apparently I’ll just need a few more hours of lessons and I’ll be skimming across the waves with the best.

I can hardly call myself a kitesurfer, but one thing’s for certain, I’ll be back for another go.

Gin Tunics, tuna lollipops and tuna yachts... despite Belinda Beckett not eating fish, Zahara’s legendary Ruta de Atún festival had her hooked!

FISH lovers travel from far and wide to the Costa de la Luz in Springtime to taste the first succulent almadraba tuna - caught by an ancient method dating back to Phoenecian times, just as these Leviathans leave the cold Atlantic for their warmer Mediterranean spawning grounds.

During festival week in May there are as many fish fanciers on land as there are tuna in the sea, when the population of this pretty maritime pueblo of 1,300 residents fills up with another 15,000 hungry souls.

In total, they munched their way through 65,000 tapas made from 200 tuna weighing some 200 kilos apiece, netting restaurateurs an impressive €400,000 over one weekend– not bad in an economic crisis!

And tuna isn’t the only temptation. There are some enticing prizes for eating it too, which only steeled my resolve. Eat 12 tapas for the chance to win a smart LGD TV, a Samsung tablet or a Nintendo Wii. Eat all 36 and a weekend for two at the posh Hotel Atlanterra could be yours. It was all so well organised (something of a surprise, in Spain). Everyone gets a menu map detailing the location of each restaurant and its speciality tapa, divided into six colour-coded zones, plus a sheet of paper drawn up with boxes that you have to get stamped as you eat.

The man responsible for this shining example of entrepre-

Costa de la luz

neurialism is local restaurateur Gaspar Castro, President of local traders association ACOZA.

“For most towns May is the month for communions and weddings but we don’t cater for those events in a big way as we’re only a small fishing village,” he says. “At the same time, it’s one of the best months to eat fresh red tuna, caught in our unique way. We’ve been making a party of it since 2009 and it’s really paying off.” If high drama is you’re bag, there’s plenty of it with music, dancing, street parades and a demonstration of tuna filleting that’s pure theatre, complete

Immature tuna can wriggle out through the mesh and live to spawn

with buckets of blood! It’s called a ‘ronqueo’ after the ‘grunting’ noise the knife makes when separating flesh from bone. It takes experts with cleavers and sharp knives under tenminutes to reduce one silvery 200-kilo tuna to 17 choice cuts the colour and texture of prime beef (which is why bluefin tuna is confusingly called atún rojo in Spain) “Hardly any goes to waste which is why we call the tuna ‘el cerdo del mar’,” Gaspar told me.

(That explains the float I saw go by, bearing a bunch of cheering children dressed as Peppa Pigs.)

A 200-kilo almadraba tuna will fetch €3,800 on the open market in Spain and the ventresca (stomach, best for tuna steaks) sells for €40 per kilo but some cuts are particular delicacies: the morillo (a kind of muscle in the head) costs circa €55 per kilo and the female eggs, €80 per kilo. Huevos de leche are also relished, though aren’t for the faint-hearted (being tuna sperm) but Gaspar swears they’re ‘very tasty’. Although, as his restaurant was responsible for the Mandarin Deception, I’m not so sure I believe him!

The most fascinating aspect of the local tuna industry is the almadraba – the large structure you can glimpse one kilometre out to sea. It’s a complex labyrinth of nets several kilometres long and more than 30 meters deep, designed to guide the tuna

PURVEYORS: Amazing tuna at Antonio and (above) at Mezcla

ZAHARA

into a central trap (el copo) from which there’s no escape. Ecologically sound, immature tuna can wriggle out through the mesh and live to spawn another day. The thrilling part is the Levantá. Several will be held be-

tween April and June, dependent on wind, tides and sea conditions and decided by the almadraba’s ‘captain’.

Then, the fishermen encircle this seething cauldron of captive tuna in their boats and hoist the nets

out of the water. They will have no more than six hours to raise thousands of kilos of frenzied fish. ‘Almadraba’ is Arabic for ‘place of fighting’ and the name’s well-justified.

Zahara boasts one of the ‘big

four’ Atlantic almadrabas in Spain, along with those of Tarifa, Conil and Barbate which also hold their own rutas de atún during May and June. In 2010, Barbate welcomed 50 celebrity chefs to its festival including Fer-

Quotas are strictly controlled to preserve declining stocks of this endangered fish and today, Japanese ships queue up in the bay to buy tuna directly from the almadrabas. Atún rojo is a highly prized ingredient of sushi and sashimi and sells in Japan for four or five times its price in Spain. The current record for a

If you can time it

you can book a boat trip to see the

from a distance but

chance of taking part, unless you’re well-connected or prepared to bribe your way onto a boat (a figure of €200 a head has been mentioned). Gaspar is disapproving . “It’s illegal and dangerous –one tourist lost three fingers.”

Considered by many as one of the best hotels on the Cadiz coast of Zahara de los Atunes. An excellent choice for the summer season.

rán Adriá, Juan María Arzak and Dani García.

278 kilo bluefin sold at auction in Tokyo is a cool €2.7 million!

right,

levantá

there’s little

HIDDEN GEMS

N a small hamlet full of potholed roads, teenagers on motos and bright brown cows you’ll find the best dining secret on the Costa de la Luz. Called Patria (www.restaurantepatria.com), it’s here that zen-like Danish couple Ase and Thomas Donso weave magic in a charming cottage, surrounded by leafy grounds and a terrace to die for. This is soul food and some of the prettiest you’ll eat in Andalucia. It sits in La Muela, some ten minutes inland from Vejer, and it ticks just about every box,

You need the local knowledge to winkle out the best places to eat on the Costa de la Luz, writes Jon Clarke

with a cracking wine list, a varied and regularly changing menu and locally sourced ingredients, pulled together by a young and talented team. There is also plenty of theatre, particularly on the candle-lit flagstone terrace, which gives a feel of the Pyrenees or the south of France with its vineclad veranda and expanses of oleander.

Thomas knows where to track down the best local wares, be they baby fennels from nearby Conil, fresh fish from Barbate or chives and coriander from his garden.

dolin’ and carefully baked, then finally deep fried and served with fresh tomato and aioli and chives. The comforting crunch gave way to a softy, succulent inside.

There were loads of specials, including appropriately a tarantela of bluefin tuna that really got the neighbours’ cats going. Served with a big mix of sides, that included a type of deep fried scotch egg, as well as leeks, asparagus and a lovely ratatouille.

The comforting crunch gave way to a softy, succulent inside

One month you might eat a pan brioche with beef steak marinated overnight, with gherkins, chives and dill and served on a baby lettuce. Or the artistic rolls of smoked beef with cabbage, tarragon, mustard and goat’s cheese foam, as stunning as the Mona Lisa and wit the flavour of Picasso.

And then there’s the bravas, which are sliced with a ‘man-

A carpaccio of local Barbate prawns were carefully sliced and served with salicornia and a kimchi sauce, with some cherry tomatoes.

The wild strawberry pudding with chocolate biscuit and nuts was legendary, coming as they do from the nearby fields, care of one of the waitresses’ husbands.

“We not just source our ingredients locally, but our staff are all too, literally from the nearby hamlet,” explains father-of-two Thomas, a keen surfer, proudly.

Journey

It was nearly two decades ago when I first visited the Costa de la Luz for a travel article for the British press. Obviously heading to the centre of Tarifa and the main square in Vejer, it took a serious bit of local knowledge to help root out a string of other local chestnuts.

I was pointed off into the nearby hills, to places like Zahora, where you will find La Traina, or to Santa Lucia and its legendary steak joint, Castilleria And then there was the coast, up in Barbate, with its incredible tuna temple of El Campero, or the amazing restaurant with rooms, Antonio, in Zahara de los Atunes.

I was soon coming back five or six times a year, to kick back and enjoy the distinct style of dining in Cadiz, that’s quite different from the nearby Costa del Sol or inland in Ronda or Sevilla.

While Vejer is nowadays the definitive Dining Capital of Cadiz, indeed one of the best spots in southern Spain (see Frontier of Food, page 16), I’ve found some incredible new places to eat this year in Barbate. Once the fried fish centre of the Costa de la Luz and where you’d more likely get robbed than eat well, today it is really upping its game.

FOOD PORN: Smoked beef and cabbage rolls and the amazing bravas created by the team at Patria

HIDEOUT: The true dining secret of La Traina and a tuna toast tapa

CREATIVITY: A tuna dish at Jarana (left) and (below and right) Variopinto and chef Jose Luis

Looking for a couple of variants on tuna joint El Campero, the two most obvious restaurants are Variopinto and Jarana. At Variopinto (www.variopintobarbate.com), I was particularly excited by the smartly dressed young team who served up a spread of delicious dishes with top quality tuna

The smoked semi mojama red tuna tapa comes with a delicious melted Payoyo goats cheese with a spicy red butter, while bluefin tuna toast comes with truffle mayonnaise and is as good as it gets. Jarana (www.grupomacarena. com/jarana) was even more upscale, very stylish, sitting in pole position with views over the lovely beach and to Africa!

The menu is interesting and unusual and includes such joys

as pigs ears with bravas and potato truffle mash and Cordoba aubergines with honey and salmorejo.

But being here for the tuna you must try the pena de atún taco - a surf and turf number - while the interesting brioche with local retinto beef and a prawn tartare is delicious. I was also led to the tortillita Macarena in a white prawn ceviche and guacamole. It looked amazing..and tasted great too!

There was a big bluefin tuna section with some interesting dishes such as the dados or chunks which was basically tuna tartare with ajo blanco, the delicious white almond gazpacho typical from nearby Malaga. A real dish for the summer!

Hidden Zahora

La Traina (www.latraiadezahora.com), in the hamlet of Zahora, is one of those places you pass in the blink of an eye, but you miss at your peril. Set in a leafy garden behind a high wall, the only real giveaway is the amount of vehicles fighting for a hueco in its car park across the road. Even on a Tuesday lunchtime in June the place is packed and it is easily one of the coolest on the coast… and that’s not just from its deep shade and clever channeling of the area’s famous local breeze. La Traina is the brainchild of house DJ, Antonio, and his brother Alex, a chef, who both have an intimate knowledge and passion for the local sea-

TRAILBLAZER: Antonio has been wowing diners for decades

food, hence naming the place after a type of trawler.

Want to try the famous blue fin tuna? This is one of the best places on the coast, in particular as its supplier of the world’s most prized fish is Spain’s most respected, based up the road in Barbate. The tartare is unbelievably good although I also love the sashimi of ventresca and, in particular, the tartaki, which comes with no less than 12 generous slices of delicious tuna belly, served with various garnishes and edible flowers.

A for Antonio

In Zahara de los Atunes, a town named after its famous fish, the best place by far is Antonio (www.restaurante-

antoniozahara.com), a hotel and restaurant I first found two decades ago. Its boss Alejandro runs the place like a sergeant major and this place has the swagger of a top class joint you’d find in San Sebastian or Madrid. It’s very hard to get a table and helps if you’ve booked a room in the hotel next door, but otherwise just jump on the waiting list and keep your fingers crossed. Snare a table and I promise you won’t forget it, although if you push the boat out, as you should, your wallet may feel a little light.

The tuna dishes are the best in Spain and they are served with real panache, while the ham (above) from nearby Jabugo is spectacular.

Roadside legend

Looking for a little slice of history, Venta Pinto (www.ventapinto.com) has been serving up travellers (in particular its loin in lard roll) since 1910. Served warm, normally with a snifter of sherry, it’s still on offer today and literally oozes with the feel-good factor, if not exactly a road to good health. Thankfully, the menu at this family-owned restaurant is as light or rich as you want it to be, with plenty of salads and gallons of seafood to boot. No surprise the tuna is good and my morillo cut is one of the best, but if it’s on offer definitely go for the creative tuna ‘tostada’ served on wafer-thin

Continues on page 32

DINING CAPITAL

toast, spread with mayo, wasabi, black salt and onion. A surefire winner.

Melting pot

Up in Vejer itself you are completely spoilt for choice with highlights including 4 Estaciones (www.4estacionesvejer. com), where owner Alberto is constantly refining and changing his menu, as others ‘keep copying it’.

I loved a Saam with a tail of King Prawn, guacamole, trout roe, spring onion and kimchi, a variation on the dish made famous at three Michelin star Diverxo, in Madrid.

The range of ‘fresh summer dishes’ is brilliant and Alberto’s gazpacho sorbet with olive oil ice cream, prawns, ham and free range egg and black pepper is a surefire winner

A big supporter of local Cadiz wines, he has seven whites and nine reds coming from the province.

Next up is the grandfather of restaurants, the Jardin de Califa (www.califavejer.com), which has become a genuine foodie pilgrimage over the last decade.

Reached through the labyrinthine corridors of the 16th century Califa hotel, its romantic palm courtyard is enclosed by ancient walls and is lit with Moroccan lamps after dark.

If you aren’t hypnotized by the

scent of frangipani, jasmine and incense, the heavenly menu is crammed full of flavours from the Middle East and north Africa.

Created by a multicultural kitchen, the freshest dishes imaginable include pastela filled with chicken, almonds and cinnamon, baba ganoush and shish taouk.

Service is always second to none, and the ambience is very much part of the set up.

If you can’t get a table here, try the excellent Garimba (www. garimbasur.com) across the square.

One of the most charming places to eat in southern Spain, Plaza de Espana is always a hive of activity, so you might expect the food to be a little flat.

Not at all, the excellent range of dishes including prawn pil pil and partridge salad, are fresh and excellent plates to share.

Run by father and daughter team of Javier and Claudia, both from Madrid, the place is organised, friendly and usually busy.

is another good spot to eat with some of the best views in

The menu is also good with a special mix of dishes.

For more Moroccan flavour you might want to check out Fez, which sits in the heart of the old town. A simple joint with an easy philosophy, it combines a clear love of the country.

The most exciting new place by far is Narea, which sits in an amazing spot overlooking the best views in Vejer.

But you are not here for the views you are here for the amazing cooking of Jaime and Alejandra, who have trained in two of Spain’s highest ranked restaurants Celler de Can Roca and Diverxo.

They certainly know how to cook and given they’ve only been open for a few months it is going to take them a little while.

But the croquettes looked amazing and had a major kick, while the bao with bulls cheek and

Califa Tapas, just up the road on Calle Corredera,

Cadiz.

From previous page

tuna below is spectacular. I will definitely be coming back for a more detailed separate review.

Tasty Tarifa

Perhaps the most disappointing place to eat on the Costa de la Luz is Tarifa, which really should have a better mix of places to dine.

There has been improvement though, with the addition of places like Merkado 27, MicMoc and Almacen %, where Georgina leads her kitchen team with an iron fist, pushing out some of the freshest dishes in the town.

Easily the best place for a pizza on the whole coast though is La Trattoria (www.latrattoriatarifa. com), which gets better by the year.

Run by foodie, Luciano Fabricio, from Naples, his joint serves up thousands of pizzas a week and has won awards from the Verace Pizza Napoletana quality mark as well as the Best Independent Pizza group, based in Italy.

No surprises, he brought in a team from Napoli to build his pizza oven and he only uses soft homemade dough with slow fermentation (see sidebar below)

Nearby, always keep your eye out for Lima, which has a wonderful leafy terrace and describes its food as ‘multicultural comida’, that’s to say a mix of everything good.

“We’ve got dishes from all around Europe and South America,” explains Xavi, a former snowboard champion, who's

been cooking in Tarifa for years.

On the way out of Tarifa up the coast road, look out for Pacha Mama (www.pachamamatarifa.com), which is an institution that can feed up to 1000 people a day in the heart of summer.

And not just churning it out.

Owner Luciano (who also owns Trattoria) is a big fan of Italy’s Slow Food Movement and he insists on the best free range meats, from top breeds, including Simental, Holstein and Galician Blonde.

“All our steaks come from cows at least five years old and fed naturally with grass from the field,” he tells me. “This is the only way to impregnate the fat with that characteristic aroma of

COMING from Naples you would hope Luciano Fabricio would know how to make the best pizza.

And, of course, he does going by the amount of prizes he’s won, the latest the Best Independent Pizza award, which has only been handed to three places in Spain.

Half of the skill is employing the right pizza chefs and the other half is the ingredients.

“To become the best pizza chef takes years and years. It is a real art form.

tel: 698 94 5951

Edificio Trafalgar, Paseo Marítimo de Barbate

grass and milk.”

The restaurant sits in a wonderful sheltered garden, with plenty of shade and an excellent pool for the kids to play in.

Duchess delight

If you find yourself en route to Medina Sidonia by any chance make sure you drop by the fantastic well established Venta La Duquesa

This amazing historic place is the best inland joint by far.

IT’S A REAL ARTFORM

“In Italy the trainees start at 14 or 15 years old and they won’t even touch the dough for 2 years.”

He continues: “If you want to make a really good Napolitana pizza, it has to be very hydrated.

“You use very little yeast and allow the dough to ferment over 24 hours.”

Given he has up to 500 clients a day and makes 20,000 pizzas in a summer he has got the recipe about right.

“Great ingredients, great tomatoes and the mozzarella I buy costs €10 a kilo, when most people spent €3. I think most people can taste the difference.”

His gourmet pizza section is very impressive - with a Black Angus number at 18 euros and a fascinating one called Li Mortazzi Tua which had pistachios, basil, mortadella and a whole buffolo mozzarella.

WHERE TO STAY

Sweet dreams

The Costa de la Luz boasts a lovely range of great

places to stay, writes Jon Clarke (below)

IAM sitting next to a plunge pool of a stunning new boutique hotel EntreArcos (www.casaentrearcos.com) in the heart of Vejer de la Frontera.

As perches go it is right up there with the nests of the rare Bald Ibis that inhabit the cliff face just below the town.

A wonderful rooftop with views across the Janda region and up to the town’s church tower, this is the place to sit as the sun rises or sets. Describing itself as an ‘eco hotel’ it counts on eight charming rooms, each with state-of-the-art mod cons, some with deep baths and others with drop-down cinema screens.

Using 100% natural textiles, recycled furniture and lime putty, leadfree paints, you feel the cool and calming ambience from the second you arrive.

The brainchild of Sevilla couple Sinisa and Pilar, it puts sustainability at the fore in both its design and materials.

An admirable ethos, energy is renewable with low-energy lighting, motion sensors and a special system for hot water based on recirculation.

All cleaning materials are natu-

ral and all produce is bought and sourced as locally as possible, with style and simplicity very much at the fore.

I particularly liked the intelligent entry system and the healthy breakfasts, with bread from the town’s best bakery and home made jams.

Another equally stylish place to stay in Vejer is Plaza 18 (www. plaza18vejer.com), which features half a dozen sumptuous suites as rooms, many with views to die for.

The best have roof terraces facing the wonderful white town, while the downstairs communal terrace is comfort personified.

Designed by British interior designer Nicky Dobree, it has been created out of a charming 19th. century manor house.

The sitting room downstairs offers

the grandeur of an English country estate with the colours and light so classical of the Cadiz region.

Next door is the seminal market leader in Vejer, La Casa de Califa (www.califavejer.com), which is over a quarter of a century labour of love by its British owner James Stuart.

A beautiful Moorish townhouse it is a warren of comfortable rooms and suites set around a charming central patio, where guests take breakfast and dine under candlelight by night (but don’t forget to book - this is the town’s most popular restaurant).

Over the last two years its rooms have gone through a luxury upgrade c/o James’ super-talented wife, designer Ellie Cormie (see below).

Meanwhile, around the corner, Las

winner if you are looking for a pool to cool off after a day of sightseeing.

Down on the nearby coast, at Canos de Meca, Madreselva (www. califavejer.com/madre-selva) is right next to one of Cadiz’ most famous beaches.

It is a classic low-key unfussy boutique hotel that counts on the loveliest sleepy courtyard, a small pool and the best breakfast on the coast. Nearby, a bit closer to the famous Trafalgar lighthouse and the amazing next door beaches is Casas Karen ( www.casaskaren.com).

An emblematic place to stay, one of the first eco-hotels, in Andalucia, this is laid back charm at its very best best.

Palmeras, also part of the Califa group, is the

Spreading over a big estate of wild pinewoods and scrub, its mixture of chozas (straw huts) and traditional farmhouses, blends perfectly into the landscape.

HAVING learnt her trade at Central St Martins in London, alongside the likes of Paul Smith, John Galliano and Stella McCartney, Ellie Cormie has more than a decent eye for interiors. So husband and owner of the Califa hotel, James Stuart, was incredibly lucky when the interiorist found a window to upgrade the 20 rooms in his emblematic hotel in Vejer. The results are nothing short of amazing as she has carefully worked with the ancient building’s historical quirks and imperfections.

Massages and yoga can be arranged, or guests can simply relax in a Mexican hammock and chill out. British expat Karen herself promises you’ll ‘get back to basics’ here and she and her team try their best to nurture and protect the beautiful local environment.

In the heart of Zahara, you must definitely check out Hotel Pozo del Duque ( www.pozodelduque. com), which sits close to the centre on the best part of the beach. This historic and brilliant-value spot gets better and better each year and counts on two pools, one of them to die for on the roof with some of the best views in Cadiz. A family-run joint, manager Eduardo could not be more amenable and his talents count on setting up and helping to run the town’s annual tuna dining route.

In Zahara, you also have the excel-

Each room has its own specific feel and look, with its own signature pieces, be it furniture, material or antique.

One thing each room has is personality and a sense of place… and guests are made to feel at home and able to quickly relax.

“What James wanted was to make each room a little bit more luxurious and so I

from Scotland. “I hope the results speak for themselves.” www.elliecormie.com

UPGRADE: All Califa’s rooms have been overhauled

used his incredible family collection of items from Lebanon, Syria and Botswana and mixed them with my own love of rich textiles,” explains Ellie, who heralds

POLE POSITION: EntreArcos in the heart of Vejer, while (below) leafy Madreselva

BEACHSIDE LUXURY: Pozo del Duque, while (below) connecting

lent Hotel Antonio ( www. antoniohoteles.com), sitting on one of Andalucia’s top beaches and with one of the best restaurants on the coast.

Getting a room, which are simple but comfortable, may be your best bet to get a booking in the restaurant, which is all but full until September.

Up in Tarifa, few places come better sited than Tarifa’s Hurricane Hotel and its sister Punta Sur.

Set up in the 1980s, the Hurricane ( www.hotelhurricane.com) has counted on celebrities and royals among its guests, no surprise given its location in stunning gardens, at the end of celebrat-

ed Los Lances beach. Its sister Punta Sur ( www. hotelpuntasur.com) sits in an amazing leafy enclave, protected from the famous

Tarifa winds, with well appointed rooms and the best pool on the coast. Oh and a tennis court and great restaurant to boot.

with nature at Casas Karen

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

As police recover a rare €5m stolen painting by the Irish master, Ben Pawlowski delves into Francis Bacon’s love affair with Spain

seeds of creativity from masters old and new.

Workers recall Bacon insisting he be allowed in on Mondays when the museum was traditionally closed to visitors, so he could peruse the thousands of works displayed without distraction, learning from the baroque methods of Velazquez and the cubist imagination of Picasso.

It wasn’t just Spanish art with which Bacon fell deeply in love - at a party hosted by Sir Frederick Ashton, the acclaimed British ballet star, Bacon met a

dashing, young, rich Spanish banker by the name of Jose Capelo.

Earlier this year, the Policia Nacional recovered the fourth of five paintings, personally gifted by Bacon, which were stolen by a gang from Capelo’s homea portrait of Capelo (above), the fourth painting to be recovered, is estimated to be valued at €5 million.

While Capelo has always insisted their relationship was not romantic, leaked recordings after Bacon’s death suggest the opposite, with their flechazo regard-

ed as the artist’s ‘final, passionate affair’. He fell in love with a Spaniard, indeed, but also with Spain, with the warmth, the food, the drink, the culture, making many friends along the way. Madrid became the final, great destination of a life

which had toured cities including Berlin, Paris and Tangier. He was enamoured, too, with the bullfighting tradition which he described as ‘death in the sun light’ and a ‘marvellous aperitif of sex’. He often visited Las Ven tas bullring. A favoured drinking spot was Bar Cock, an el egant setting off the magnificent Gran Via, where Bacon and his Spanish partner would have a martini or, if feeling fancy, a bottle of champagne at ‘their’ spot of table nine.

INSPIRATION: Velasquez’s Pope Innocent X with Bacon’s ‘screaming Pope’ and , right, the stolen portrait of Capelo

Afterwards, the pair would tend to stroll down to La Trainera, an upmarket seafood restaurant in equally swanky Salamanca, where they would wind away hours.

Principe Alfonso de Hohenlohe, local bajo no.5, 29602, Marbella

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IF men don’t want their penis to get smaller the secret is to not get old!

A Spanish urologist has released a new book called Everything you need to know about the penis and never dared to ask (Todo lo que necesitas saber sobre el pene y nunca te atreviste a preguntar) that contains a few uncomfortable home truths for men. Blanca Madurga, a doctor from Hos -

Rock solid advice

pital del Mar in Cadiz, has claimed that men’s penises shrink as they get older due to their decreasing testosterone levels.

In further bad news for smokers, Madurga claims that the habit causes the blood vessels in the penis to shrink. This can weaken a man’s erection by as much as 25%.

THRICE BITTEN

Fears

over

venomous violin spider after first victim is recorded in the Basque Country

THE venomous violin spider has bitten its first recorded victim in Spain.

A 42-year-old resident of the northern Pais Vasco region was the unlucky recipient, being bitten at least three times between May and September in his own home.

The man was later diagnosed with a cutaneous necrotizing condition, prompting doctors to drain the wound and put him on a course of antibiotics.

The health authorities said

Call me, Fijaz Mughal, in confidence. I’m fully-accredited and professionally-trained in London and recently moved to Spain.

I understand the issues many expats feel in Spain. Change through relocation abroad can really add to mental health pressures and these life changes are never easy. Counselling and therapy has changed the lives of many. Getting in touch is the first step. Recognising that there is an issue is the first step on the road to recovery.

The urologist emphasises the importance of addressing taboos about sexual organs, offering men advice on when and how to seek professional help for sexual dysfunctions, which are often more treatable than they believe.

By Simon Hunter

that it was important to recognise this kind of bite so that it can be properly treated in this way.

The violin spider is one of three venomous varieties out of 1,400 documented species that inhabit the Iberian Peninsula.

The spiders measure between one and three centimetres, have six eyes in the shape of a half moon, are a reddish brown colour, and have very thin legs.

“Its popular name derives from the violin-shaped pattern it has on the front of its body called prosoma,” biologist Claudia Isabel Navarro Rodriguez told the magazine Unam Global.

“Beyond its physical characteristics, it can be said that the violinist is shy, so it avoids contact with humans and, if necessary, can self-injure to escape human presence,” she added.

Meanwhile, zoologist Aitor Albaina said that peo -

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

ple shouldn’t be alarmed about this first case of a violin spider bite.

“Most bites have only mild consequences,” he said, adding that there was no need for ‘social alarm’.

“The venom of this spider is quite toxic, it generates allergic reactions,” he said.

“Normally they are mild, but it’s possible, as in this case, given that it was a third bite and continuous exposure, that the body reacts in a more exaggerated way and in the end it creates this necrosis.”

FEAR: The venomous Violin Spider has had its first victim in Spaim

TICK WATCH

SPAIN is increasing monitoring of two potentially fatal diseases transmitted by ticks, but states that it is good practice, rather than a response to a medical crisis.

Health authorities have introduced tick monitoring into the National Plan for Surveillance and Control of Vector-borne Diseases. This focuses on measuring instances of Lyme disease

and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

Ticks are carriers of viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, which they transmit to humans when they pierce the skin to draw blood.

Top killer revealed

Cancer biggest cause of death in Spain for first time

CANCER has become the biggest killer in Spain for the first time, according to 2023 mortality figures compiled by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Last year, 115,013 people died from some kind of tumour - representing 26.55% of all deaths.

Until then, it had been diseases of the circulatory system that had the highest mortality rate, but those fell by 5.3%.

Lung cancers were the most prominent with 22,717 deaths, followed by colon cancer, with

By Alex Trelinski

10,891 fatalities - 2.3% fewer than in 2022.

There were a total of 433,163 deaths in Spain in 2023, some 31,254 (6.7%) fewer than the previous year.

Among men, ischemic heart disease was a leading cause of death (17,038), while among women it was dementia (12,817).

The INE says the diseases that increased the most were respiratory diseases.

SUN WARNING

THE Spanish Medicines Agency (AEMPS) has warned that just using suncream is not enough to protect children from the harmful effects of sun exposure. It comes as it launched a campaign in partnership with the Spanish Dermatology

Deaths from pneumonia went up by 17.1% and chronic lower respiratory diseases by 2.6%.

Academy. Titled Advice for adequate sun protection for kids, the campaign aims to avoid burns, sun allergies, eye injuries, visible ageing and, most importantly, skin cancer.

A spokesman said: “Just applying sun cream without other physical sun protection methods like glasses and hats is not enough to protect against sun radiation.”

Strokes accounted for 23,173 deaths - 6.1% lower than in 2022.

The figures show that 95.9% of the deaths registered last year were down to natural causes. Another change compared to previous years is that accidental falls appear as the main cause of external death, surpassing suicides for the first time. Nevertheless, suicides average nearly 11 per day in Spain with 2,962 cases last year and a larger prominence among males.

ESTEPONA HYPERBARIC MEDICAL CLINIC CELEBRATES A DECADE OF SUCCESS

The Estepona Hyperbaric Medical Clinic is celebrating 10 years of helping patients recover and achieve peak performance They’ve treated over 2,000 patients, including elite athletes like tennis star Novak Djokovic and cyclist Natalia Fischer. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Accelerating Recovery and Enhancing Performance

The clinic specializes in hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This involves breathing 100% pure oxygen in a pressurized hyperbaric chamber. It’s a safe and non-invasive treatment that has shown effectiveness for various medical conditions.

HBOT is popular among elite athletes because it speeds up recovery from injuries and improves performance

Athletes like Djokovic and Fischer have used HBOT at the Estepona clinic to maintain peak physical condition and recover faster after competitions. The clinic’s personalized treatments have helped numerous athletes overcome overtraining and injuries, ultimately enhancing their endurance and athletic potential.

Experienced Medical Team Ensures Safe and Effective Treatments

The clinic’s team includes specialists in hyperbaric medicine and hyperbaric chamber technicians. They work together to ensure each HBOT session is safe and effective. HBOT increases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the blood plasma, leading to several benefits. These include reduced inflammation, accelerated healing, tissue regeneration, improved immune function and pain relief.

Helping Patients with Diverse Conditions

HBOT has also been successful in treating patients with conditions like sudden hearing loss, diabetic ulcers, and diabetic neuropathy. The clinic utilizes state-of-the-art hyperbaric chambers from Perry Baromedical. These chambers provide a safe and comfortable environment for patients to receive treatment while maintaining clear communication with healthcare professionals. Transforming Lives Through Innovation HBOT at the Estepona Hyperbaric Medical Clinic has significantly improved the lives of patients with various medical conditions. The clinic is committed to innovation and excellence, constantly striving to improve and expand their services. They offer cutting-edge, high-quality hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments in Estepona.

the transformative potential of hyperbaric

at: Avenida España, 242, Estepona (Málaga) For further updates, visit our website: https://centrohiperbarico.com/ To learn more about the benefits of pure oxygen therapy, schedule an appointment by contacting us on: 952 806 796 / 663 418 023 or send a message via WhatsApp

FAST TRACK TO RUIN

Spain to complain to EU about low-cost rail rivals

By Alex Trelinski

SPAIN’S public rail company Renfe will complain to the European Commission about French-owned rival Ouigo, calling its low price for high-speed services unfair competition.

Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, confirmed the state operator will be making a submission to Brussels. He accused Ouigo of price dumping and operating at a loss, propped up by France’s

state-owned parent company SNCF.

Despite Ouigo and also Iryo entering the battle for highspeed rail customers, Renfe is still the dominant company in the market.

Three operators and four brands have been competing since 2021, which led to a big fall in prices - ending Renfe's monopoly - and attracting more passengers.

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Ouigo was the first competitor that Renfe had to deal with.

The newcomer began an aggressive price strategy with tickets available from €9 which forced the Spanish company to respond with the launch of AVLO - its own low-cost brand.

Despite a big increase in demand, Ouigo’s moves raised shackles in the corridors of Renfe bosses.

The Spanish government believes that double standards are at play with barriers being put up to stop Renfe running services in France.

It tried for over two years to offer connections on the Lyon-Paris line this month to coincide with the Olympic Games in Paris.

The line is regarded as one of the most profitable in Europe but Renfe says it has encountered constant obstacles from France which has made it impossible to launch the service.

Idealista move

THE hugely popular Spanish property portal Idealista has been purchased by British fund Cinven for €2.9 billion. The platform is the leading real estate site in not just Spain, but also Italy and Portugal. The deal, which is still subject to approval by market regulators, will see Cinven buy 70% of the company. Its founder and chairman, Jesus Encinar, will continue in his role as leader of the company, as he did in 2015 after the portal was sold to other funds managed by Apax and in 2020 when it was sold to the until-now main stakeholder, Swiss fund EQT.

SPAIN has reported the lowest unemployment figure for June since 2008, with 2,561,067 people registered as being out of work.

Registrations with social security grew by 71,000 since May to reach 21,392,889 - the highest total since records began. The hospitality sector is largely behind the improvements, with last month heralding the start of the main tourist season. Unemployment amongst the under 25s fell by almost 4,000. All 17 regions saw jobless falls with the biggest in Andalucia (-8,746 people), Catalunya (-5,816) and the Valencian Community (-4,929).

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

A SACKED ex-employee has been accused of being behind an incident in which 60,000 litres of wine were literally poured down the drain.

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

COSTLY MOORING

PUERTO Banus is the most expensive port in Europe for mooring a yacht. The up-market port came top of the Engel & Volkers Yacht Rankings, which list the basic day

rates of moorings for a 55-metre craft during the high season.

If you fancy mooring your yacht for a day, then you will need to pay €4,289 for the privilege - considerably higher than for

marinas in exclusive parts of the Balearic Islands.

Charges at Puerto Banus easily exceed second-placed Porto Cervo in Italy, which is a mere snip at just €2,900 per day. It’s closely followed by another Italian location, Marina Grande at €2,880.

Vintage crime GOLDEN GEESE

Bodega

Grainy CCTV footage showed how, back in February, a hooded figure opened the taps of stainless steel tanks at the Cepa 21 winery in Valladolid, flooding the bodega with €2 million worth of plonk. Now the Guardia Civil has arrested a female ex-employee of the winery, who had been fired two days before.

A BAR WITH A VIEW

You’re welcome!

BRITISH tourists continue to be the most important foreign visitors to Spain in terms of volume and value, new figures have revealed.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), tourists who flew into Spain in May spent a total of €11.68 billion - up 19.7% on the same period last year.

It means the average tourist is now spending €1,263 during their stay, a year-on-year in-

British tourists have injected €7.3bn into the Spanish economy so far this year crease of 7.3%.

When expanding the data to cover the first five months of 2024, the INE puts foreign tourist spending at a whopping €43.2 billion. That represents a 21.8% increase compared to the same period in 2023. And despite a surge in an-

TWO rooftop bars and terrace gardens in Spain have been included in Forbes magazine top 10 in Europe.

The SkyBar (left) on the roof terrace of Madrid’s Hotel Picalagartos gets a recommendation for excellent views of the capital's Gran Via.

It’s said to be the perfect location to enjoy the skyline along with the cuisine of chef Manuel Berganza and cocktails prepared by mixologist Luca Anastasio.

The other Forbes entry for Spain is the Eleven BCN terrace at NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderon.

The review says it ‘is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the exclusive Barcelona sunsets’.

Located on the 11th floor in a central position on the Rambla de Catalunya, the terrace offers 360-degree views of the city and a creative cocktail menu, designed by bartender Marlon Ruocco.

ti-tourism protests, the number of holidaymakers flocking to Spain is continuing to surge.

Between January and May, some 33 million people from abroad visited the country, up 13.6% on last year.

Leading the way in terms of spending were the Brits, who accounted for 18.8%

of all foreign tourist expenditure in May, bringing in more than €2bn to Spain's coffers. In fact the amount of money spent by Brits surged by 16.2% compared to last year.

In a distant second were the Germans, accounting for 12.1% of spending followed by the French, on 8.5%.

When analysing January to May this year, Brits accounted for 17.1% of all foreign tour-

ist spending, or more than €7.3bn.

The regions making the most money from foreign tourists so far this year are the Canary Islands (22.3% of total expenditure), followed by Catalunya (18%) and Andalucia (15.1%).

In May alone, however, the biggest earners were Catalunya (19.9%), the Balearic Islands (19%) and the Community of Madrid (15.1%).

TOURISTS visiting Barcelona are set to be hit by a rise in charges after the city council agreed to increase visitor levies by over 20%.

The Catalan capital, which receives almost 10 million visitors annually, will increase its tourist tax from €3.25 to €4 a night on tourist accommodation in a move that is expected to generate an additional €20 million in revenues. When introduced just three years ago it was €0.75 a night.

Security

Currently, Barcelona collects €95 million annually from the tax, but spends €142 million on tourist expenses, including additional transport, security and cleaning.

The Deputy Mayor for Economy, Tax and Tourism, Jordi Valls, expects the new surcharge to come into force in October.

The proposal is supported by all parties present in the city council bar the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox.

City lifebut not as you know it

Nestled in the heart of the Castilla y Leon region, this charming settlement holds the title of Spain's smallest city, boasting a population of just under 300. But what Frias lacks in size, it more than makes up for in character. It may not have a cathedral, but it was

granted city status by King Juan II of Castile in 1435 by royal charter and these days it is a popular tourist spot. Taking a stroll through cobbled streets time seems to be frozen in a bygone age.

Quaint houses precariously perch

By Alex Trelinski

on the edge of a crag, two historic churches, and a convent all contribute to Frias' medieval atmosphere. As you wander, it's easy to forget you're in the 21st century. Frias’ location is no accident. Perched atop a hill overlooking the Ebro River, the town served as a crucial crossing point on ancient routes leading to the Cantabrian Sea.

The imposing Velasco Castle, dating back to the 12th-15th centuries, dominates the river crossing and would have protected the surrounding region from raiders during the uncertain and war-torn days of the medieval age.

flows from the mountainous peaks draining into the Tobalina Valley.

To explore the narrow, winding streets leave your car behind - the charming alleyways are far too narrow for vehicles. As you climb to the summit of the escarpment you can take in breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Step outside the city walls and discover a picture-perfect landscape. Rolling fields, fertile farmlands, and the majestic Obarenes Mountains paint a breathtaking backdrop to this unique city.

This tiny city offers a glimpse into a bygone era

Frias is aptly named in homage to the cold temperature of the water that

Spain is a country brimming with vibrant cities and sun-drenched beaches. But for those seeking a unique and unforgettable experience, Frias beckons. This tiny city offers a glimpse into a bygone era, breathtaking natural beauty, and a chance to slow down and truly appreciate the charm of a simpler time.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 4 Astonishment, 8 Uh-uh, 9 Imagines, 10 Alphas, 12 Tarzan, 13 Tremor, 14 Nieces, 15 Phoneins, 16 H T T P, 17 Prime suspect.

Down: 1 Gogh, 2 Civil Service, 3 Pedigree, 5 Scholarship, 6 Heart and soul, 7 Therapeutic, 11 Humanoid, 16 Hops.

Málaga

SMALLEST ‘CITY’: Frias’ population of just 300 live in houses perching on a hill and with a castle at the top

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

ON THE HORSE WALK

High heels and hooves at So Sotogrande’s unique fashion show fusing the best of Andalucian design and breathtaking equestrianism

IF you love fashion and horses then you should head over to the SO/ Sotogrande Spa & Golf Resort.

This five star retreat is about to host the second edition of the fashion show, Cabalgando Entre Costuras (Riding Between Seams), which brings together the cream of Andalucian fashion with the best of the Cadiz region’s famed equestrian culture.

On July 20, the resort’s Rocío Garden will transform into a magical runway where you can experience the latest creations of a string of re-

nowned local designers. Fashion gurus Santiago Carrasco, Gema Valero, and Lola Laumar will showcase their collections, each piece influenced by the region’s rich heritage and vibrant spirit.

What sets the show apart is its innovative fusion of fashion and equestrian art.

Andalucian purebred horses, known for their grace and power, will take to the runway alongside the equally elegant models.

Artistic interplay between the models and thoroughbred horses will add a touch of drama and move-

ment to the fashion show, creating a captivating spectacle.

by leading chef Leandro Caballero. SO/ Sotogrande SPA & Golf Resort is more than just a venue for this spectacular event. It’s a luxurious haven offering world-class hospitality, championship golf courses, and a variety of activities to rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul.

The option is there to extend your stay and explore the beauty of Sotogrande and its surrounding areas, which is particularly fun as the season kicks in this month.

Doors open for the July 20 event at

9pm, with the show starting at 10pm. Tickets start at €45 with VIP boxes for eight or 12 costing €1,200 and €1,800 respectively.

For ticket sales and information, scan the QR code here

For an even more immersive experience, consider opting for a VIP box. These exclusive spaces offer prime viewing of the show, along with a selection of tapas and drinks prepared Rocío Garden, SO/ SOTOGRANDE. Av. Almenara, s/n, 11360 Sotogrande, Cádiz

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No sex please, we’re Spanish!

THE proposal for a porn passport (see Olive Press online and back page Come again?) must be one of the most ridiculous and anti libertarian measures to be recently proposed by any democratic country.

It is typical of a left wing government which adopts the worst sort of woke social mores.

The only strange thing is that it comes from a Spanish source, albeit one which has adopted most of the other badges of the international woke club such as the recent obsessive and one sided support for the Palestinians or demonisation of the so called far right, most recently in France.

The idea that you are going to have to submit to porn rationing smacks so much of the nanny state that I am left wondering who has proposed such a step to this Socialist government. There must be some malign Anglo Saxon influence here. Puritanical peddlers of prohibitions are rarely Latins.

There might be some justification for trying to enforce a ban on under 16s looking at pornography by mandating age verification although, I rather doubt that anything is going to thwart

Strange porn proposal from latin lovers - it must be Anglo Saxons to blame…

the appetite or ingenuity of the curious teenage boy

However, what is the possible justification in imposing this rationing on adults? And why is there a limit of once a day or even more inexplicably on repeated visits to the same site. As an adult you can drink or smoke yourself to death with little impediment. Really, what a ludicrous proposal.

Name supplied, via Olive Press online

READERS should beware. I have just received a text message on my phone purporting to be from the DGT, traffic department saying I have a parking fine of €35 due immediately.

No details have been given regarding the date or place of the ‘offence’ or the vehicle registration number.

HYPOCRITES

Dear Olive Press,

WITH regards to the protestors against tourism in Barcelona (Olive Press online and page 5), Spain is part of Schengen, with free move- ment of people, so it’s difficult to stop people going on vacation in popular areas around the Med.

Have the protestors ever been on a vacation outside of Barcelona? If they have, they are being hypocrites. Squirting water at the food of people in restaurants is really out of order from a food hygiene and health safe- ty point of view. It’s an easy way to spread disease.

The focus should be with the local and regional governments rather than the tourists themselves. Bar- celona should stop issuing planning permission for tourist apartments, and reduce licences for homeowners to offer tourist lets.

Charlie W, via Olive Press online

Text offence

I have ignored it, assuming it to be a scam.

Tony Lemm, via OP online Editor’s note: I think that is a safe assumption to make.

We win again

Brits with homes in Spain could be owed tens of thousands of euros over ‘floor clause’ scandal

DIEGO has done it again.

His firm Fairway Lawyers has won a British couple, Patrick and Mary McMullin, over €25,000 after a bank wrongly inserted an abusive ‘floor clause’ in their mortgage.

The pair contacted Diego after reading about his

Bskills in the Olive Press in 2021.

The couple took out their mortgage with Caja Granada when they bought their property in La Herradura in 2007.

The bank was forced to pay €6,000 in legal fees.

“It was great to win this case as they had been forced to sign a contract denying there was ever a floor clause in their mortgage. This was illegal.”

RITISH homeowners are winning up to €48,500 in compensation after major banks in Spain were exposed for putting a hidden clause in their mortgages.

In the early 2000s a string of lenders secretly wrote in their contracts that their clients’ payable interest rate could not drop below 3.5%in what is now known as a ‘floor clause’.

But for 10 years, between 2011 and 2021, the interest rate in Spain sat between zero and 1%.

It means countless homeowners spent years paying hundreds of euros more per month than necessary.

Fairway Lawyers, based in Marbella, has been at the forefront of winning back money for affected homeowners - and on a no win, no fee basis.

CEO Diego Echavarria told the Olive Press that one of his latest clients, the Brighouses, were

WHAT BANKS WERE INVOLVED IN FLOOR CLAUSES?

Most Spanish banks, but especially Banco Popular (now merged with Santander), Caja Duero, Caja España (merged with Unicaja), La Caixa, Solbank and many other savings banks which have since been taken over by major banks.

He continued: “Anyone who has signed a dodgy agreement with a bank when renegotiating over a floor clause can also claim.”

recently awarded a total of €48,359 - plus legal costs.

The couple had bought an off-plan apartment in Mirador de Costalita, in Cancelada, in 2004. They took over the mortgage from the developer, which contained the hidden clause and they ended up paying an extra €250 per month than required.

If you feel you might have been affected by a floor clause, then there are two tell tale characteristics; Your mortgage was signed off between 2001 and 2010 and your payments were the same amount for a large number of years and never lowered.

Diego added: “Even if you have sold the property and paid off the mortgage, you can still claim.

“There is no deadline since the latest ruling from TJUE (Tribunal de Justicia de La Union Europea).

“There are around 100,000 mis-sold mortgages that have yet to be resolved in Spain.”

Fairway LAWYERS

If you want to claim for a mis-sold mortgage or feel you may have been affected, contact diego@fairwaylawyers.com or send a message via Whatsapp to +34 606 307 885.

From Marbella to Mollina

CEO: Diego Echavarria

STOP PRESS

REuse

O P LIVE RESS ANDALUCÍA

Crucifix thieves

POLICE recovered over a tonne of bronze crucifixes stolen from cars and homes in Toledo province that thieves were going to melt down and sell for cash.

Flip-flopped

THE Guardia Civil has issued a reminder to drivers in Spain that although wearing flipflops is not strictly illegal, you can be charged if you crash because of them.

Hero search

THE hunt is on for a lone ‘hero’ Spanish football fan who was filmed celebrating manically in a sea of Germany supporters after Spain scored a last minute winner in their Euro 2024 quarter final.

Come again?

Government wants to limit people to 30 porn sessions a month in order to combat children being exposed

THE Spanish government is seeking to introduce a ‘digital card’ that will give users ‘tokens’ in order to view porn websites. The online card, set to arrive in late summer, will require users to identify themselves and verify their age when they top their cards up.

By Walter Finch

It will give them 30 tokens to visit porn websites over a period of 30 days before needing to identify themselves again. But the user can renew their set of tokens as many times as

FURIOUS locals are demanding action over 200 rogue goats, which have taken over the picturesque mountain towns of Cox in the Sierra de Callosa mountain range in Alicante. The brazen baa-stards are munching through gardens and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

For years residents have en dured the hoofed hooligans,

they want, so in effect there will not be limitations on how much porn a person can watch.

Heavy users of online porn will even receive alerts reminding them to renew their tokens if they max out their sessions before the 30-day period.

The idea of the tokens is to

Baa-stards!

but a recent drought has made things even worse.

The feral goats are now descending on the town in ever larger numbers in search of food and drinking water from the town’s fountains.

As a temporary measure, the town council has created areas with supplies of water and food in the hills out of town.

avoid the need for identity checks every time someone wants to watch porn, which would in turn create privacy issues for the government’s policy planners. The stated purpose of the new ‘digital card’ is to stop children under 18 from accessing porn. “The data we

see on minors’ access to adult content and its possible consequences are what have led us to develop this tool as quickly as possible,” said Jose Luis Escriva, Spain’s digital transformation minister, A report published by Spain’s Ministry of Justice in January found that seven out of ten young people between the ages of 13 and 17 regularly watch porn, with 30% saying it is their only source of sexual education.

The tokens will be issued by a ‘trusted government entity’ which ‘will not generate a trace of the request’, according to sources from the Ministry of Digital Transformation. The National Cryptologic Centre will ‘ensure there is no record’ of users’ porn habits’.

O.A.Prix

RACING legend Johnny Herbert is swapping the high-octane world of Formula 1 for the thrilling world of...Benidorm's mobility scooters.

Apparently, British holidaymakers have earned a reputation for being a tad too enthusiastic with their electric steeds, leaving the local council clutching their pearls. That's where Herbert comes in. Forget champagne showers and podium finishes, this summer he'll be facing a different kind of g-force: Granny power.

The 1991 Le Mans champion is being enlisted by package holiday company, On the Beach, to teach the over-55s the finer points of mobility scooter etiquette.

The good news for Brits (and their possibly terrified ankles) is that these lessons will come with a free scooter rental. Herbert himself, now a sprightly 60, sees the humor in the situation. “I never thought I’d be teaching Brits how to drive scooters in Benidorm,” he chuckled (hopefully not while trying to outrun a particularly feisty octogenarian on a mission for discounted marmalade).