Olive Press Mallorca issue 182

Stack of shame

TWO British tourists have been kicked off their sunbeds after entering a hotel pool area before it officially opened.

Video footage recorded by the Olive Press shows a security guard waving his finger and shouting ‘no, no, no!’ at the men as he frantically made hand gestures towards his watch.

The pair were then escorted away from the area at the Melia Hotel in Benidorm and told to get to the back of a queue, which had been forming at the pool area’s entrance.

We watched as holidaymakers tried to reserve beds at 8.40am, going against the policy of the hotel, which is laying down the law this year. It can get so heated, a dedicated security guard is posted each morning.

At 9am, the guard releases the rope cordon, unleashing a flock of British tourists who scurry to secure their preferred spots by the pool. It comes as hotels are bracing for the dreaded sunbed wars this year, which are starting earlier than ever.

Last week two elderly tourists were branded ‘selfish’ for laying on stacks of sunbeds, also in Benidorm.

See both stories in full on our website

SIMPLY THE BEST

The Olive Press visits the study centre votest the EU’s top new building

Fight them on the beaches!

Historic antitourism march sees 10,000 take to the streets demanding change to ‘destructive’ industry

By Yzabelle Bostyn

A HISTORIC anti-tourism march has alarmed holiday firms as the main summer season begins.

An incredible 10,000 people took to the streets in Mallorca this weekend to de mand change to the ‘destructive’ effects of tourism.

Chanting ‘They will not force us out of Mallorca’, they goaded hol idaymakers with signs including ‘Guiri go home!’ and caused may hem on a busy Saturday. It comes after lo cal protests also took place in Se villa, Malaga and the Canary Islands.

Tourists told the Olive Press

how they felt ‘intimidated’ and even ‘scared’ when the hordes of angry protesters marched through Palma, on Saturday. Under the slogan

‘Mallorca isn’t for sale’ the principal complaint is the lack of affordable housing caused by a surplus of Airbnbs, hotels and tourist lets.

Posters read: ‘Our ancestors land is for sale’ and ‘It’s not tourism-phobia, it’s Mallorca-cide’, while protestors chanted: “No, no, they will not force us out of Mallorca.”

One local told the Ol-

ive Press: “The general public has had to take a stand as our politicians just don’t want to get involved.”

For young people, the situation is particularly dire.

Locals relate how they are ‘stuck’ living with their parents due to high rent prices.

Grip

A spokesman for the organisers, a local collective called Sencelles Time Bank said ‘enough was enough’ as tourism took a grip across every part of the island.

“Foreign investors are honing in on the interior of the island because it's the only charming bit left to buy,” he said.

The group is demanding immediate ‘emergency measures’ to solve the issue.

These include: declaring Mallorca a ‘stressed’ real estate

CLOSURE POWERS

A PLANNED change in the Balearic government’s decree on tourist regulations gives more powers to individual councils to act against illegal holiday rentals. That includes inspectors having the right to seal off properties. The government also wants the police to act in backing up inspections and shutting down illegal lets. The socialist PSIB party has warned that enforced closures can only be approved by a judge.

The decree changes also include classifying Palma's Paseo Maritimo and Cala Major as 'mature' areas which will allow renovation work to take place with significant investments similar to those in Magaluf.

zone, the approval of a vital moratorium on tourist lets and standard of living guarantees for locals.

“People are really suffering and we don’t trust this government to change the tourism model,” added the spokesman. It follows action in the Canary Islands last month, where some 57,000 residents gathered to protest against mass tourism.

A German tourist boss, who owns a string of holiday rentals in Sevilla and Marbella, told the Olive Press: “I am genuinely worried about it and don’t tell anyone I meet anymore what my job is.”

Asking to remain anonymous, she added: “It is clearly becoming a major problem.”

Beach invasion

ANTI-tourism activists in Mallorca are planning to ‘fill up’ popular beaches with a mass demonstration designed to disrupt holidaymakers.

A protest group known as Mallorca Platja Tour is behind the calls for local residents to occupy beaches. The stand against mass tourism is planned for June 16. Mallorca Platja Tour will also meet tomorrow, June 1 in Cala Galiota (Colonia de Sant Jordi) to organise the protest.

“We are calling on all residents who live near a beach to come and swim, to recover them and use them like we used to,” the group said in a statement on X The proposal has been met with positive responses from locals, who responded ‘great idea. Please, come to Arenal and don’t leave a centimetre for the guiris.’

EMOTIONAL: But also partly xenophobic march in Palma on Saturday

EAGER:

Brit tourist takes a pile of towels to reserve sunbeds

Tragic fall

A 21-year-old German tourist who was found dead outside his Playa de Palma hotel is thought to have fallen asleep while sitting on the balcony following a drinking session and plunged to his death.

Bad Brits

EIGHT Brits have been arrested after violence erupted when an Illetes restaurant manager told them to tone down their bad behaviour. A waiter and two police officers were hurt.

Baby death

A TODDLER aged one drowned in a Palma swimming pool when he wandered off while being cared for by his grandmother after his parents had to go to hospital.

No licence

THE Medusa Beach Club restaurant in Palma that suddenly collapsed, killing four people and injuring 14, did not have a licence for the terrace that gave way, according to Mayor Jaime Martinez.

A CORREOS Express warehouse manager in Palma has been accused of swindling thousands of euros out of the company. The man, who had worked for the company for several years, made money

PARCEL SCAM

out of parcels that he classified as lost but then delivered personally before pocketing the ‘pay on delivery’ charge.

Hell hole

Man ‘kept his stepdaughter as a sex slave in a cellar under his desk for five years’

A MAN has been arrested in Mallorca after allegedly keeping a 12-year-old girl as a sex slave in his cellar for five years.

The 49-year-old is accused of holding his stepdaughter hostage since 2019, locking her in a ‘cellar hole’ underneath his desk.

According to Antena3, the man travelled to an ‘African country’ in 2015 posing as a philanthropist, where he ‘lured’ the child’s mother to

By Yzabelle Bostyn

Spain by promising her a better life.

Once he had married her mother and moved to Mallorca, the man insisted the little girl live alone with him while the mother lived in another flat.

TeleMadrid claims his justification for this setup was that it would ‘make it easier to bring the rest of her daughters over

The Policia Nacional says that he always went for fees between €150 and €200 and chose packages in the warehouse that attracted the direct customer payment. Correos Express launched an internal

investigation after a high number of packages were noted as lost.

The suspect was arrested in front of his colleagues on Tuesday and an allegedly stolen parcel was found during a search of his home.

EVIL: Stepdad arrested and the hidden cellar in which the girl was abused for five years before she raised the alarm

from Africa.’

This enabled him to take advantage of his stepdaughter, frequently sexually

PROSTITUTION RACKET

ILLEGAL money made from prostitution in the Balearic Islands in 2023 topped €70 million, according to a report looking at people working either voluntarily or forcibly in the sex trade. Some €41 million of income was in the Palma area alone, with 1,390 victims attended to in the city last year.

Palma City Council said that exploited female victims averaged 36 years of age and came from Latin America - mainly from Colombia. Women from Brazil, Nigeria, and Eastern Europe also stood out, with just 6% of sex workers reported as being Spanish.

abusing her. The man reportedly threatened to send the girl and her mother back to Africa so that the youngster would keep quiet. According to Guardia Civil, the girl obeyed out of fear of disappointing her family and not being able to give her sisters a better future in Spain. However, when she discovered her stepfather had begun the process of bringing her sisters to Mallorca, she reached out to Hermanas Oblatas, a nun’s order known for their work helping vulnerable women. They then alerted police, leading to the man’s arrest.

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Police attacked in Palma riot

Officers

found three young men sitting on a bench having been beaten with baseball bats and other blunt objects. They said they were assaulted for no obvious reason.

The Policia Nacional and Palma Policia Local initially managed to calm things down, but a group of rioters blocked a street with containers and threw objects at officers. Police then fired a warning volley of rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

Once the incident was over, a fourth man was taken to hospital with injuries to his leg.

The two arrests were made late on Tuesday night, with police patrols maintaining a presence in Son Gotleu to ensure there is not a repeat of Monday’s clashes.

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THE Policia Nacional have arrested two Spaniards following a riot involving around 50 men on Monday night in Palma’s Son Gotleu district. Four people were injured in clashes involving Spanish, Moroccan and other nationalities ganging up against young Algerians.

arriving at the scene

Golden princess

THE heir to the Spanish throne - Princess Leonor - has been awarded the highest honour in the Aragon region.

The Princess of Asturias, 18, began her first year of military training last August at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza.

Wearing her second-year cadet uniform, she was greeted at the parliament building by Aragon president, Jorge Azcon. In a brief ceremony, Leonor was awarded the Gold Medal of the Aragon parliament by the speaker, Marta Fernandez.

The first Gold Medal was awarded to her father, King Felipe, in 1986, when he held the title of Prince of Asturias.

Back of the net!

Brazilian superstars lined up to take management positions in fourth

tier of Spanish football

A LOWLY fourth-tier football club is calling on a trio of Brazilian supersubs in an effort to catapult it up the Spanish leagues.

CD Estepona, which plays in the Segunda Federacionsome 80 places below Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid - has lined up none other than Ronaldo Nazario as its new sporting director.

The original - and some maintain the best - Ronaldo re cently announced his intention to sell his ma jority stake in Real Valladolid with the club poised for promotion to La Liga. His next move is likely to be Estepona, according to media reports, where he would

By Walter Finch

spearhead the club's sporting direction. And not only would he bring a sprinkling of star-dust but also fellow Brazilian football legends Roberto Carlos and Julio Baptista.

Juan Jose Hidalgo, chairman and CEO of Globalia, which owns AirEuropa, who bought CD Estepona two seasons ago, is reportedly close friends with 'El Fenomeno' from his first season at Real Madrid in the Galacticos era back in 2002. He is not scared of putting his hands in his pockets either. He reportedly paid €500,000

A RESTAURANT napkin used to secure Lionel Messi's first deal with FC Barcelona in December 2000 has been sold at auction for an incredible €881,000.

Auction house Bonhams handled the sale which had a starting bid of over €310,000. It's not known who the bidder was, but he or she has a waxy-papered napkin with a piece of football history scrawled over. Messi (right) was

to short-circuit the football promotion pyramid system and jump directly to the Segunda Federacion by buying the league spot of defunct team Extremadura.

Despite having one of the highest paid squads in the league, Estepona could only finish sixth, although it did secure a spot in next season’s

Messi napkin

just 13 when Barcelona direc tor Carles Rexach met with him and his father for lunch at the restaurant of Barcelo na’s Pompeia Tennis Club.

Rexach wrote and signed the ad hoc 'contract' in a bid to secure someone viewed at the time as a footballing prodigy.

SPANISH pop-star Rosalia has been revealed as a Dior global ambassador after advertising images of her wearing a vintage purse ‘created for Princess Di’ were leaked.

Copa del Rey. Bringing in Ronaldo would be an incredible coup for Estepona to secure the technical services of the only player to line up for both Real Madrid and Barcelona and still be revered by both clubs’ fans. Reported to be joining Ronaldo are Julio Baptista, who will serve as coach, and Roberto Carlos, who will be Baptista's assistant.

Baptista, a former Real Madrid, Arsenal, Roma, and Malaga player, is a close friend of Ronaldo and has expressed his confidence in Roberto Carlos as his second-in-command.

Legendary left-back Carlos has so far enjoyed a brief but promising coaching career.

He worked as assistant coach at the now-defunct Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala and has also held head coaching positions at Sivasspor, Akhisar Belediye, and Delhi Dynamos.

Before the recent Met gala, Vogue revealed the Spanish songstress would be Dior’s latest international ambassador. Shortly after, numerous promotional images were leaked, showing the Malamente singer holding an iconic Lady Di number.

The bag was designed for the ‘People’s Princess’ to celebrate her 1995 visit to Paris.

It was created by Gianfranco Ferre after the wife of French president, Jacques Chirac, asked the fashion house to create an exclusive design for Diana. Today, it is produced in many colours and versions and is has a price tag of €3,100.

THE numbers of Iberian Lynx are starting to boom, with the population nearly doubling in just three years. There are now 2,000 of the wild cats in Spain and Portugal according to official statistics.

Around 20 years ago, there were fewer than 100 specimens, with the animal on the brink of extinction.

Numbers have gradually increased, with 1,111 lynxes detected in 2020, and 900 new specimens added to the Iberian population in the subsequent three years to a total of 2,021 by the end of last year.

Andalucia has the most, with 755, while in Castilla-La Mancha there are 715.

ESTEPONA BOUND: Ronaldo, Carlos and Baptista?

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

Uncle expects

RAFA Nadal’s uncle says he expected the former world number one tennis player to quit the sport after his French Open first round exit. Toni Nadal made the comments two days after the Manacor star, 37, lost to Germany's Alexander Zverev in straight sets. It’s widely expected to have been his last match at a Grand Slam event

he’s won 14 times. Uncle Toni, who had a long stint coaching his nephew, said: “I expected a retirement announcement but he didn't do it because it is so hard to leave something that you've done for so many years.”

Rafa Nadal has battled back to the courts after being out for most of last year with injury and had already strongly hinted that this will be his last top-flight season. His uncle said he doesn’t talk much to him about retirement but added that if he is not physically fit and doesn’t get results over the next few months, ‘then the decision will be clear'.

NOT WELCOME

PALMA has joined mainland cities like Barcelona and Valencia in announcing plans to fight tourist saturation.

The City Council will not allow any extra holiday rental properties, under a proposed change to its General Urban Development Plan.

It means up to 4,000 new rentals will be banned, which would have been allowed when the current moratorium on expansion expires.

Palma has 50,000 properties available for tourist accommodation.

Mayor, Jaime Martinez, says that saturation experienced by the city, especially in the high season, is not acceptable.

He says it is not just tourism to blame, but Palma has expe-

No new holiday lets in Palma, as cruise ships also face restrictions

By Alex Trelinski

rienced a big population rise over the past 20 years. Martinez said the council is starting to make changes to its urban plan.

“We will have zero newly-created (holiday home) places,” he explained, as well as stressing that existing and legalised properties will be unaffected.

The authority will also propose a limit on the number of cruise ships that use Palma. It will either be a restriction on ship sizes or a simple flat quota of vessels allowed each year.

The council will also review

5 Item left out (8) 8 Dominion (4) 9 Stirrers (13)

Sound reasoning (5) 12 Lens cover? (6) 14 Sin (3)

15 Presented (6) 16 Bogus offers (5)

18 True comedians sort out programmes (13) 21 “Both Sides Now” songwriter Mitchell (4) 22 String of pearls (8)

1 Excessively forward, Uma signs off (8) 2 Industrial plants (5)

Long, hard trip (4)

Humanitarian practice (8)

Impair (3)

Quantity (6)

Strait-laced (8) 13 Completely surround (8)

Sharp side first (4-2)

Adhere (5)

Cohesive group (4) 20 And so on (3)

fees paid by cruise and large yacht passengers, with 1.9 million visitors docking at the port each year.

Another proposal is to limit the number of guided tours of the centre of Palma and to reduce the influx of rental cars, which cause problems when bad weather creates major bottlenecks in the main streets. It is hoped to introduce the restrictions in time for next year’s high season. More immediately, the council wants a cleaner city with an order that could start this summer which obliges takeaway food businesses to clean their outdoor surroundings within a 50 metre radius.

Celeb next door

A FINCA next to Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ S’Estaca home has gone up for sale.

The Can Calo property has been listed by Charles Marlow estate agents for an eye watering €13,750,000.

Both buildings once formed part of a bigger finca owned by the Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria in the 1880s.

The property is described as a ‘spacious oasis of peace and tranquility, with impressive views to the majestic and idyllic coast.’

It is complete with a library, study, various sitting rooms and music areas, all with expansive sea views.

The main house has six bedrooms, each with its very own ensuite.

There is also a separate guest

house with two bedrooms, an independent kitchen and dining room.

The garden complex is perfectly manicured, with a pool and other leisure activities.

Michael Douglas bought the neighbouring s’Estaca property in 1990 for €3.5 million.

He has tried to sell it on multiple occasions, in 2014 and 2019 but never found a buyer.

Ultimately, he took it off the market and now he and Zeta-Jones spend long periods at the house.

A historic property, the Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria was one of the island’s first conservationists and had land from Valldemossa to Deia, restoring fincas in Miramar and Son Marroig along the way.

CASH CAMERAS

PERMANENT speed cameras have caught out three times as many motorists over the first four months of 2024, compared to last year.

Some 13,965 vehicles were clocked breaking the speed limit at the 14 cameras - a rate of 116 per day.

The busiest road for infractions was the MA13 motorway between Alcudia and Palma with 2,223 fines issued via camera at the 16 kilometre point. That’s followed by the camera on the MA-5120 highway linking Campos and Felanix which has accumulated 1,172 transgressions.

The most lucrative Balaerics camera is the one on Ibiza’s Sant Antoni road with 4,387 penalties - down from the 5,680 fines imposed last year.

A GERMAN man was rescued in the Torrent d’Almadra in Manacor on Wednesday after a hike went badly wrong. He suffered a broken leg and multiple bruising, leaving him unable to walk - even with the aid of his partner. Firefighters and Guardia Civil officers were scrambled to the scene and carried him through difficult terrain down the Tossals Verd path to an ambulance. Hiker injured

THE CEO of TUI, Sebastian Ebel, says that the company has reached its ‘capacity’ on the Balearic Islands.

TUI is now looking into other, less crowded, Mediterranean destinations to expand into, including Egypt, Turkey and Algeria.

Ebel said there was ‘no room to grow’ in terms of the number of holidaymakers to the Balearics.

This year, the second largest tour operator in Britain will bring around

TA-RAH TO TUI

two millions tourists to the islands, 5% more than last year.

He also recognised the complaints from locals regarding overcrowding and mass tourism.

Ebel attributed these to the growth in holiday-lets, saying they cause ‘great challenges’.

“Putting it bluntly, the main targets

of the complaints are Airbnb and similar platforms,” he said.

“These are not protests against tourism, but rather protests calling for responsible tourism that is also economically successful for local people.”

He claimed ‘tour packages are not the problem’, attributing the rising house prices to ‘foreigners’ who have bought properties in the area to rent them out to tourists.

Eye on the Rock!

Gibraltar ‘will be attacked’ if UK weapons used on Russian territory by Ukraine

RUSSIA has warned it ‘will not hesitate’ to attack Gibraltar if Ukraine uses British weapons in its territory. The threat came from Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She told reporters that British enclaves would find themselves in the firing line, both ‘within Ukraine and beyond its borders’, if UK weaponry is found to have been used on Russian soil.

Zakharova specified that such enclaves include military bases inside the war zone, as well as military installations in Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Africa.

It comes after Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Camer-

By Laurence Dollimore

on said Ukraine's military had the right to use UK-supplied weapons to attack targets in its interior.

The comment infuriated Putin (right) and his government cited it as one of the reasons why he chose to conduct exercises simulating the launch of tactical nuclear missiles this month.

Putin and his cronies believe London is becoming increasingly involved in the conflict.

But any attack by the dictator on British targets could trigger a direct military response from the UK and its NATO allies, including Spain. It would drag much of Europe

and the US into a complex, region-wide conflict.

In a military report last year, the UK said Gibraltar was one of its five most important strategic outposts. It said the territory can ‘act as a springboard’ for Britain to project its power throughout the world, branding

it ‘essential’ in combating ‘current and future threats.’

The Ministry of Defense employs 952 people on the Rock of whom 528 are local, the rest are military and civilians based in the UK.

Royal Navy ships, RAF aircraft and other units temporarily deployed there for training routinely visit Gibraltar.

In addition, the destroyer HMS Diamond is regularly rearmed at GIB’s naval base with Sea Viper missiles between combat missions against the Houthis in the Red Sea

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OPINION

Guiris should NOT go home!

AS Spain enters the summer months, a wave of anti-tourism protests are popping up across the country. (Fight them on the beaches, p1).

Some 10,000 locals took to the streets of Palma holding up signs reading ‘guiris go home’ and other offensive messages.

Their gripe, essentially, is that too many tourists are visiting the Balearic Islands, placing a strain on local resources and causing more traffic and other environmental problems.

They add ‘excessive’ tourism is inspiring an ‘uncontrollable’ surge in tourist flats, which make renting or buying a home increasingly impossible.

And there’s no doubt they are right: the property crisis is worsening. Just look at Ibiza, where lifeguards and police have been forced to live in their cars because they cannot afford rent.

Meanwhile Malaga city has the highest number of tourist rentals per capita in Spain - and fed-up locals will also now take to the streets (on June 29) in protest.

We get it. It is entirely understandable to call for changes to the tourism model.

No one wants these picturesque areas to be overrun and their environments damaged by overcrowding. It is also incredibly frustrating for young people who cannot get on the property ladder or even afford to rent.

The Airbnb and Booking.com craze must be addressed immediately, with limits put in place nationwide.

Too many homes are being turned into holiday lets, creating festering resentment between locals and innocent tourists who simply want to enjoy their holidays.

But this is a question of policy and law, which must be enacted by the ruling government.

Telling ‘guiris’ to ‘go home’ is unlikely to achieve that, and comes as a disgusting slap in the face to the thousands of European expats who have every right to live and work here.

The majority of us - from young workers to wealthy business owners - all pay their taxes and have the utmost respect for Spain.

Aside from creating tens of thousands of jobs and bringing billions to the economy, we mostly support the locals’ point of view on excessive tourism! It’s time for the government to act, before this gets nasty.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

Yzabelle Bostyn yzabelle@theolivepress.es

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Ben Pawlowski ben@theolivepress.es

DEMAND AND

After various Olive Press staff fall victim to scams and lawbreakers, Yzabelle Bostyn

looks at the ‘perfect storm’ in Spain’s rental market

By Yzabelle Bostyn

EXACTLY a year ago, the Spanish government introduced its much heralded Ley de Vivienda

The new Homes Law aimed to tackle a myriad of problems in the rental market, in particular to increase the amount of affordable homes for the young and vulnerable.

The main measures included a 3% cap on rent rises, additional rent caps in ‘stressed’ areas, and the right to renew contracts for up to five years.

However, despite their good intentions, many of the proposed changes have simply been

NEW research has shed light on the espionage activities of thousands of Nazi collaborators and informers who lived double lives in Spain during World War II.

In the Dictionary of Spies, Catalan historian Xavier Juncosa has painstakingly examined over 25,000 documents to produce a 400page insight into the shadowy lives of over 1,000 Nazi agents, informers, Francoists, Fascists and French collaborationists who spied on behalf of Adolf Hitler.

Extracts from the new book have been serialised by La Vanguardia, Catalunya’s leading daily newspaper, bringing to light the vast network of agents who spied in Spain, France, Italy and Germany throughout the Second

ignored around the country.

With the 17 autonomous regions allowed to adapt or dilute the law as they saw fit, it has led to chaos and outright opposition.

The Junta de Andalucia, for example, even took its anger to the Constitutional Court, which has since declared parts of the law ‘unconstitutional’.

The pushback around the country has left the rental market under even higher pressure than before, with rents 30% above targets set by regulatory bodies, and social housing on its knees.

According to leading property portal Fotocasa, tenants spent 43% of their salary on rents last year, a five year high (see Rental nightmare, page 18).

It’s no surprise that a ‘new class divide’ has developed between renters and landlords, according to a study by the Critical Urban Study Group.

The anger is all too palpable looking at the recent protests against tourism and AirB-

nB style holiday rentals in cities around the country, including Malaga, Barcelona and Palma over the weekend.

There has been an angry backlash that has even led to some local protest groups (such as the one in Girona) that are demanding to know where foreigners have lived or bought. Derogatory stickers have gone up criticising tourists and key locks for AirBnBs have been vandalised.

So where did it all go wrong?

In an attempt to protect tenants, the Ley de Vivienda simply went too far. The law lacked subtlety and gave too

Web of spies

The thousands of Nazi collaborators in Spain who used businesses as fronts for top secret espionage

By Ben Pawlowski

World War.

In particular, the compilation of ‘mini-biographies’ reveals how Nazi spies used businesses and modest apartments as fronts for top-secret espionage activities. Number 240 Carrer Consell de Cent (pictured far left), located in the L’Eixample neighbourhood of Barcelona, was officially recorded as being rented by Albertina Cottrell Ullmer, a retired Danish widow in her 80s - but the situation is not what it seems. In reality, the flat was a front - Ullmer lived with Maria Betty Mayerhofer, a Munich-born woman in her 50s who was wife to Ludwig highlights that this flat served as the base of operations for the network of Nazi informers in Barcelona - the flat’s interior was littered with all manner of espionage paraphernalia, including encryption devices and top-secret codes.

Kopp, a Nazi intelligence officer and right-hand-man to Paul Taboschat, the head of the Nazi espionage service in Spain’s second largest city.

Juncosa’s research

Elsewhere, a glass and porcelain gift shop on Passeig de Gracia (left), owned by Frenchman Hugo Vincon, was used as a de-facto mailbox for the network of agents who slipped around the city.

Often, a man would enter the shop, heading to the backroom and leaving an envelope which would later be picked up by a lady.

The business also acted as a discreet meeting point for Nazi collaborators, although this was soon discovered by the French intelligence services.

On Carrer de Valencia, a jeweller’s store served a dual purpose as a liaison point for Nazi informers who discussed operations in

DESPERATION

much protection to tenants, including the right to automatically renew long term contracts for up to five years. It also insisted all agency commission fees fell on the landlord, meaning the tenant no longer needed to pay anything extra to the agency.

“There is so much red tape now that it is counter productive,” explained Olive Press property expert, Adam Neale (left), of agency Terra Meridiana in Estepona.

“It has had the opposite effect to what was intended. Landlords simply have no incentive to rent or play

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where another network of agents operated.

But why would the shop owner, Rudolf Bauer, agree to such a dangerous double role?

The shop received a significant intake of diamonds from Antwerp which had been plundered by Nazi forces early in the war.

A female clothing store on La Rambla de Catalunya also acted as a front for informers, whilst the Ritz Hotel (above left) was a hotbed of espionage activity thanks to its head, Spaniard Ubaldo de la Fuente Ramos, working for Nazi intelligence services.

The majority of spies operating in Spain at the time - some 60% - were German, but Hungarians, Italians, Belgians and, of course, Spaniards spied on behalf of Hitler’s brutal Nazi regime. Reflecting on his work, historian Juncosa said: “With the information and addresses I provide, a tourist route through Nazi Germany in Barcelona could soon be organised.”

by the book due to the risk of bad tenants and squatters.”

He continues: “Landlords would rather sell or develop tourist flats. And there is clearly now an oversupply of tourist lets and an undersupply of living spaces to rent,” he adds. This high demand and unen forced laws intended to protect tenants leaves them ‘vulnerable to landlords who think they can get away with skirting the law’.

Astronomical prices, scams, dodgy contracts and ‘under the radar’ rentals are rife across the country.

In the last decade, rent has increased 2.3 times more than average incomes (77% vs. 33%), making it increasingly difficult to afford to rent.

“The current prices are ridiculous,” says Christina Ford, an agent at Paraiso Casas in Alhaurin de la Torre, with 15 years experience on the Costa del Sol.

“Although it’s true that costs have gone up for landlords, they are greedy and are still asking too much.”

Many landlords however argue they see renting as a ‘risk’, meaning they try to ‘try to twist and turn’ the law to protect their interests.

Incredibly, it is still legal to operate as an agent without a licence in many parts of Spain, meaning many landlords and agents are ‘unaware’ of the current law.

According to Christina: “Many landlords come to me, but when I ask if they know about the new law I have to show them it.

“Even if they know the law, they will go to multiple agents until they find one willing to break it.”

One of the most common scams landlords and agents take part in is charging tenants agency commission fees.

Once a 50/50 split between landlords and tenants, the Ley de Vivienda made it illegal for tenants to pay agency commission.

However, an Olive Press investigation has revealed it is still common practice to charge tenants the fee.

Half a dozen tenants we interviewed for this article claimed they were asked to pay a commission of a month on top of an advance of two, often many more months, rent.

Damon Schur (below), a student from Pennsylvania, USA, was charged a €975 ‘agency fee’. He ‘knew it wasn’t legal’ but claims the system of ‘oneing up other tenants’ by agreeing to pay extra fees forced his hand.

“It’s just something you have to do,” he said. Even still, the 32-year-old had to ‘convince’ the agent

PROTESTS: Have been held on the streets of Palma (top) in Madrid (above) and many other Spanish cities

to let the property to him, paying six months rent upfront plus a two month deposit, both illegal practices.

Overall, this set him back an advance payment of an eye-watering sum of €8,775.

“I had to play the game or I’d be homeless,” he confessed. “Most people know it isn’t right but it’s how it is. It’s a messed up system but I can’t fight it alone. We need to come together.”

According to Ford, it is a Catch 22 as if the agents don’t ask the tenants for a commision, they ‘risk not getting paid’ as many landlords simply ‘re fuse’ to pay the agency fee.

Some agents will even try to charge a fee each year a tenant is in the property.

Oliver Reynolds (left), 32, was told he would need to pay an extra €900 to stay in his Marbella flat for another year.

“They told me it was just to change the date on the contract,” he told the Olive Press

When he pointed out that this was illegal, the agent told him it was ‘just how they do business’. The maths teacher at an international school said: “It’s harsh and not a very nice way to treat normal working people.”

Now, he is looking for another flat but ‘keeps coming up against’ other common practices such as being offered an 11-month contract to circumvent the new laws.

WELCOME: Franco allowed Nazi spies to operate with relative freedom in Spain

THE International Monetary Fund has called on Spain to build more homes in order to ease the housing crisis that is ‘affecting the vulnerable.’

Much of Spain, especially in the big cities and along the costas, has seen a frenzy of demand - both from renters as well as buyers - pushing up prices to sky high levels.

The IMF has now urged the government to tackle the crisis by increasing the housing stock.

“To improve housing affordability, authorities should prioritise increasing supply rather than distorting support for demand,” ruled IMF spokesperson Kristalina Georgieva.

Such a measure would lead landlords to lower prices in

their attempt to find tenants, the report suggests.

The recommendation came a day after the government announced its intentions to boost house building to tackle sky-high prices.

The IMF also criticised the 2023 Housing Law’s price cap measures in congested urban zones, which has so far only been implemented in parts of Catalunya.

“Past experiences suggest that such price controls can diminish the rental housing supply,” the IMF notes.

Landlords might take their homes off the market if they cannot freely set rental prices, it warned.

The knock on of this could be a one-two effect of a reduction in rental properties and more expensive rents.

“This has happened in other countries when such limits were introduced,” explained Romain Duval, (above) head of the IMF mission in Spain.

Property

Good time to buy

VERY high demand and low supply. That’s the current situation in Spain’s property market, according to experts, and as such a good time to buy.

In coastal regions, particularly in Andalucia, prices continue to soar. And there is no sign of them stopping.

‘If it fits with your plans right now, it’s the time to buy,’ the group concluded in a round table discussion with property portal Idealista. Their thinking is that, given the low supply in the market

ExpertstellAmericanpropertyportalthatdespite serioussupplyshortages,if youseeabargain‘grabit’

By Alex Trelinski

right now, if an opportunity appears, buyers should not let it slip through their fingers.

“We are seeing high levels of buying activity in the first quarter of this year, and at the same time, the launch of new residential projects on

a national level,” Carlos de Almeida, sales director at leading property firm CBRE explained.

“All of this means that demand continues to be very high.”

In terms of demand, a key figure at leading UK agency Savills, pointed out exactly how high it remains.

“We are surprised by the strength of demand, it is above

Expansionapproved

BENIDORM council has green-lit one its biggest-ever urban plans which will see up to 20 hotels and over 2,300 homes built along with three shopping centres.

The development will cover over 570,000 m2 in the last significant pocket of undeveloped land in the city under the Ensanche Levante urban plan.

“This is the most important urban sector in the municipality in terms of surface area that was included in the 1990 General Plan,” said Benidorm mayor, Toni Perez. It is now down to developers to produce plans for the area which has suffered years of degradation in a long wait for a plan to become reality.

what we initially expected,” insisted Pelayo Barroso, national manager at Savills Research. Meanwhile, Lawyer at the API estate agents, Carles Sala, pointed to prices as well.

“Prices are not growing with the intensity that they have done in recent years,” he said.

“So a fall in prices is not going to happen, meaning that while it is not the best moment, there is nothing to indicate that over the next year prices will be any better,” he added.

As for mortgage interest rates, these are not likely to fall anytime soon.

“Any reduction will likely be gradual,” said Ricardo Sousa, from US giant Century 21 Spain.

The forecast is that mortgage rates will hover around 2.5% for some time.

“As such, if a buyer finds a property that meets their requirements and it is within their budget, it would be prudent to buy now rather than wait for the market conditions to improve,” added Sousa.

AHEAD: Given by Mayor Perez

PAY TO STAY?

ANDALUCIA’S inland cities are at loggerheads with their coastal neighbours over introducing a tourist tax.

The mayors of Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba support the levy to fight ‘overtourism’, while resorts, including Marbella and Estepona, fear it could scare away business.

Meanwhile, dozens of smaller towns have complained they feel sidelined in a debate predominantly focusing on how to increase revenue.

Tourist tax legislation which proposes a levy of between €1 and €5 a night depending on the stars of a hotel has been stalled since December.

Discussions on the proposal continue between the Junta, local business groups and the Andalucian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FAMP).

A Junta spokesman insisted the plan was ‘not about frying people with taxes’, adding it is better to reach a ‘good solution than a quick one.’

Despite previous opposition to the tax, the Junta now sees it as a viable option.

The discussion aims to balance the economic benefits brought by tourism with the strain it puts on local infrastructure and services.

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

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In come the big spenders!

SPAIN’S capital is now among the world’s top hotspots for the super-rich.

Madrid has emerged as the fourth most popular destination for high net-worth individuals to purchase a home, according to leading French agency Barnes International.

The agency, which has 1,300 staff worldwide, also puts Barcelona and Malaga in its top 50 locations but well below Madrid.

According to the company’s Global Property Handbook, which breaks down where the rich are seeking to invest, Dubai came top last year.

The country knocked Paris off the number-one spot, with the French capital now in fifth place, while Miami and New York come in second and third.

Barcelona scrapes into the top 20 at 19th, while Malaga comes in at 47.

The report draws on a number of

factors, including climate, safety and infrastructure.

It predicts that Madrid will stay in the top five for the coming years, given a spike in interest among Europeans to invest there Thousands of Latin Americans, who already live and rent in the city, are also looking to buy. The report also points to the ‘excellent investment opportunities’ in Barcelona and Malaga, as well as their ‘Mediterranean lifestyle’. It claims the Spanish coastline holds a lot of allure for clients from the US and, in particular, those from California.

JOINING THE CLUB

SHE’S been moseying down to Marbella every summer for years. So it seems appropriate that Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria should finally move into the resort.

She is set to move into a luxury villa after upping sticks and abandoning her Hollywood lifestyle. LA-based Longoria, 49, and her husband, Mexican businessman Jose Baston, 56, are moving in

Inside Eva Longoria’sluxury villa in Marbella

By Ben Pawlowski

with their five-year-old son, Santiago. The couple revealed they are moving to avoid their child from get-

“Finally, in early 2023, this house came on the market. It needed refurbishing, but it had just the size and location I was after”.

Longoria is well-acquainted with the area, having hosted the glamorous galas of the Global Gift Foundation of which she is an honorary president, for ting ‘sucked into the Hollywood cycle’.

The lavish pad, which they bought last year, counts on six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a swimming pool, a cinema, sauna and gym.

“I have been looking for a place in Marbella for the past five years,” she told Hello magazine. “I visited a few places but nothing was quite what I wanted.

years.

“I don’t have a schedule. My days are full of activities - padel tennis, the beach, lunch, drinks, socialising…in fact, they’re full to the brim, but with things I really enjoy”.

In terms of essentials, Eva said she ‘wanted a garden for my son to play in, and a swimming pool because he is always swimming’, ‘lots of bedrooms’ and ‘of course, a big kitchen’.

She added that she also loves her ‘amazing’ dressing room which is home to ‘loads of space’.

The popular and award-winning actress is best known for appear-

ing on our screens in Desperate Housewives as Gabrielle Solis, a wealthy Latina living on exclusive Wisteria Lane.

She also has Spanish citizenship and, in 2022, was given the honorary title ‘Dame’ due to her family roots which trace back to Oviedo.

DESPERATE TO ESCAPE: Eva and Jose want their son to avoid ‘getting sucked into Hollywood’

SHOWING OFF: Video Eva posted on social media

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

STUDYING and reading are the winning themes in this year’s prestigious architecture awards.

The two main prizes in the EU Mies award (formerly the Mies van der Rohe award) went to a university study facility in Germany and a city library in Spain.

The Study Pavilion at the Technical University of Braunschweig is ‘joyous’ as the Olive Press discovered on a visit this month (see overleaf).

Featuring slender steel beams, wooden ribbed decks and glass facades, it emphasises sustainability and reusability.

The clever use of materials allows for

By Dilip Kuner

different configurations, which can be changed for various student activities and events.

Designed by Gustav Düsing, 30 and Max Hacke, 28, the judges praised how it ‘promotes social exchange and interdisciplinary knowledge between students and teachers alike’.

The building was chosen from a list of 40 finalists around Europe with the judges also liking the rigour and precision of the project, which came in under its budget of €5.2 million.

Awarding the €60,000 prize they added the building had ‘a clear architectural idea, scrutinised it and pushed it to the limit’.

The Emerging Architecture Prize (also part of the EU Mies award, the EU’s biennial prize for contemporary architecture) meanwhile, was handed to the Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona.

Designed by Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano of SUMA Arquitectura, the library was planned as a cultural hub for the community.

Its design features a full-height atrium and a series of stacked, perforated spaces, symbolising the form of books.

The library’s structure integrates laminated

and cross-laminated timber with steel, and the interior spaces are organised around a central triangular courtyard.

This design not only provides a welcoming environment for library users but also pays homage to the architectural traditions of Barcelona’s Eixample district.

Judges said that both projects reflect the principles of the ‘New European Bauhaus’, emphasising the integration of green transition concepts into everyday living spaces.

The award ceremony took place at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, which was designed by Geman arichitecture legend Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona.

Originally dismantled after the exposition, it was rebuilt according to the original plans in 1986 and inspired the creation of the biennial awards ceremony two years later.

STUDIOUS WINNERS

STUDY

WINNER: Study House promotes ‘social exchange’ and has a clear purpose, coming in under budget Continue to page 16 for the review

PHOTOS BY IWAN BAAN

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

IT SAYS IT ON THE TIN!

IT’S rare to come across a building that feels so completely right.

In terms of functionality and form, the Study House, at Braunschweig’s Technical University, ticked so many boxes for me.

Set alongside the city’s river, it emerges suddenly from a copse of trees, which almost mask its ingenious intentions.

Fundamentally a large glass box, as you look closer you realise its two floors are being brilliant ly

By Jon Clarke in Braunschweig

commissioners couldn’t have dreamed of seeing their building being better used…on both levels and from every available space.

BY

“It is a really inspiring space to work and hopefully I’ll do well enough to get in to study here in September,” she explained. Now that’s an accolade.

tects their

It was as if they had paid the 100 or more students to set up their laptops and throw their books, notepads and water bottles onto desks, knowing a journalist was making a visit.

Inhabiting every available space of this wonderful building, some on their own, some in groups, they were clearly finding it of use.

A few chatted quietly, while most were deep in thought getting on with their studies, with a quiet hubbub in the background.

Those that needed total silence climbed out onto the dozen or so balconies, or at desks on the ground level, outside.

The overall feeling was one of peace and sustainability, particularly with nature enveloping the building at every opportunity.

The German design double act of Dusing and Hacke, who trained in London, were inspired by toy sets from Meccano (Marklin in Germany).

Everything is bolted or screwed together, rather than welded or glued and the frame is made of 10cm wide hollow steel sections which contain all the

Staircases inside and out create drama and interesting lines. “It’s a bit like nesting,” explained Dusing

I spoke to a few of the students and discovered them extremely happy with the pavilion, which has also won prizes locally in Germany.

One girl, just 18, told me she was not even attending the university and had her final school exams coming up in the next few weeks.

wiring, lighting and sockets, as well as rainwater guttering.

The first floor is designed to be a ‘series of islands’ connected by bridges, creating separate study zones, some open plan overlooking the action below, while others are withdrawn and more intimate.

The desks around the edge feel almost suspended in the trees and are inspirational in the extreme.

The staircases inside and out create drama and interesting lines. “It’s a bit like nesting,” explained Dusing. “Stu-

dents can come in and find their spot.”

There is no front or back, but nine equal entrances around the 1,000 square metre structure, making it

feel like an open hub, accessible from all directions, even from the footpath along the nearby river, from where I entered.

It is also more than welcoming to members of the public, too, as long as they are quiet, while some students have adapted the structure in certain ways, with one stringing up a hammock.

“It should feel like an extension of the living room,” explains Hacke, clearly delighted. “They come here to eat and play cards, as well as work.”

The judges ruled the Study House was ‘more than a building’, a ‘versatile system, merging technological inventions with flexible and reusable principles’. I wouldn’t change a thing if this is how the end users feel about it. A real joy!

JOYOUS: Every available space is being used, while one youngster (above) isn’t even studying at the university yet!

Mallorca

PHOTO

IWAN BAAN

PROPERTY sales in Spain dropped by almost 20% in March compared to a year earlier.

There were 44,878 sales, which is a 19.3% drop on 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). It comes after 5.8% growth in February, which ended a run of 12 consecutive months of year-to-year falls.

Dwindling numbers

On a month-to-month basis from February to March, sales fell by 15%, while in the first three months of 2024, the reduction was down 5.6%. There has however been a 3% increase

in new properties.

“The sharp drop in March has been surprising for its intensity, although it is consistent with the dwindling supply of properties available,” said Francisco

Dilemmas and drama

Exclusive: Meet one of the stars of Netflix’s hot new reality TV property show in Spain

By Yzabelle Bostyn

A FROTHY reality TV show on the excitement and drama of selling homes to the super rich in Marbella is set to launch this summer.

The Netflix series follows the staff and lives of the team at Scandinavian agency, Homerun Brokers.

Called Making It In Marbella, the 25 staff work across sales, rentals and developments.

“We’re all really unique, funny characters, we move fast, sometimes we have dilemmas or dramas but I think we have what it takes to make a cool and interesting series,” agent Matias Concha, told the Olive Press.

The 44-year-old partner continued: “What is a TV series without a little bit of drama.

“I’ve seen other real estate programmes and I think ours will be just as good.”

Filming at the Swedish firm -

which laun -

ched on the Costa del Sol four years ago - took place in the Autumn for six weeks.

“We got to show nearly every corner of Marbella,” explained Matias.

Much was filmed at the company HQ at Los Naranjos Golf, as well as on the Golden Mile and in the exclusive enclave of La Zagaleta.

The series follows the professional and personal lives of the team as they sell luxury properties to Marbella’s rich and famous.

It is ‘completely authentic’, insists Matias, adding: “They never told us what to do or say.

“We just went about our day to day jobs but with huge cameras.

“It was very different but fun and exciting too.”

Born in Sweden to a Chilean

dad, Matias moved to Marbella six years ago, where he began his career in real estate.

He previously played professional football in Sweden, as well as managing teams and working as a TV pundit.

“Real estate always interested me so when the opportunity came up I took it,” he continues.

“I love it. Everyday is a surprise. No day is like any other.”

Despite the glitz and glamour of Marbella, he never expected to reignite his celebrity status.

“The worldwide publicity we will get from the show will be invaluable. Netflix is one of the biggest platforms in the world.

“I was in professional sports for a long time so I’m interested to see if getting known from Netflix will be different.”

Iñareta, from property portal Idealista.

“The seasonal factor of Easter, which this year was in late March compared to April last year, could have increased the year-on-year drop,” he added.

“It will be very interesting to closely monitor future numbers to see if the extent of this drop is maintained or if it is just a blip.”

By region, Andalucia generally bucked the trend in March with 8,805 sales, followed by the Valencian Community (7,423), Catalunya (6,802) and Madrid (5,944).

The biggest annual falls were led by the Balearic Islands (-39%), Castilla y Leon (-30%), Extremadura (-28.9%) and the Basque Country (-25.9%).

1998

Managing risk

Pharaoh knew best

GLOBAL health experts have revealed an ancient Egyptian ‘super cereal’ that is ‘best’ at reducing cholesterol.

In Europe, oats have traditionally been seen as the best cereal for reducing cholesterol. However, they now have strong competition in the form of a little-known grain with roots in Ancient Egypt. Kamut has been recommended by the World Health Organisation for its numerous health benefits.

Much like oats, kamut helps to lower blood sugar and control cholesterol. So, it makes the perfect addition to any diet if you have hypertension or diabetes, claims WHO. The only downside? It has very high levels of gluten, so it isn’t recommended for celiacs.

SPAIN has launched its annual plan to alert vulnerable people about heatwaves during the summer.

The initiative from the Health Ministry has run for 20 years and active until September 30 - with an option to extend it to October 15 if needed.

A new feature will be meteoalert zones kicking in from June 3, which will be a reference map for extreme heat warnings.

The 182 meteohealth zones are designated areas of the country that, according to previous years’ records, vary in temperature between each other.

The plan’s main objective is to prevent and

reduce the impact of high temperatures on the elderly, pregnant women, children and the chronically ill. Another important category takes in workers who are employed for ‘open air’ tasks.

One of the priorities is to alert regional health authorities and the public, of possible risk situations with ‘sufficient advance notice’ so that preventive measures can be taken.

It will done via forecasts provided by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) with the Health Ministry passing on risk levels daily to the country’s 17 regions.

Level 0 or green, means there is no risk; level 1 or yellow, donates a low risk; level 2 or orange, marks medium risk; and level 3 or red, is a high risk category.

A series of general recommendations to prevent the

effects of high tempera tures has been published which include drinking water and liquids fre quently and avoiding caffeinated, alcoholic or highly sugary drinks that could cause dehydration. They also recommend wearing ‘light, loose-fitting clothing’ and to never leaving anyone in a parked car, especially if they are children, the elderly or people chronic diseases.

If any heat-related symptoms last more than an hour, the Ministry recommends going to see a doctor.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

AN expat who spent four days in hospital after suffering a reaction to Nolotil was horrified when he was prescribed the drug a second time. It came despite the British 60-year-old telling doctors about his specific allergy to the painkiller. Pete Packer, an English teacher in Marbella, had already had a near-fatal reaction to the killer drug after a motorbike accident in 2017. Despite breaking numerous bones in the 110kph accident, the father-of-one was let out of Hospital Universitario, in Malaga, the same day with a prescription for Nolotil. Little did he know, his nightmare was just beginning. The next day, he awoke to a terrible fever and ‘couldn’t

‘Nolotil almost killed me, then doctors told me they gave it to me AGAIN without thinking’

KILL THE DRUG

stop shaking’ with frequent ‘convulsions’.

“I thought I was dying, I was sick, shaking and sweating all over,” he told the Olive Press.

“As a single parent it was scary that I couldn’t look after my daughter who goes to school here.”

After fainting while shopping for food, he decided enough was enough and went to

EXCLUSIVE

By Yzabelle Bostyn

After several blood tests, he was informed he had ‘no white blood cells’ and had an ‘AIDS-like’ illness.

Pus was soon streaming out of his eyes and nose, as doctors informed him that an ‘atom bomb’ of bacteria was ‘having a party in his body.’

“No one could figure out what was going on,” explained the expat, who has lived in Spain for 15 years.

“It wasn’t until one of the doctors mentioned in passing that he'd read about Nolotil killing ‘guiris’ that they decided to take me off it,” he continued.

It was only then, after four days drifting in and out of consciousness, that his immune system finally began to recover.

Badly shaken, he made sure the hospital listed his strong allergy to Nolotil on his medical records.

So he was more than shocked when after another recent motorbike accident he was again hospitalised and given the dangerous drug.

And it even came despite wearing a ‘No Nolotil’ wristband when he was admitted to the Hospital de Alta Resolucion in search of pain relief.

Despite also telling triage

nurses and a doctor he was allergic to the drug, he was STILL prescribed it.

When he demanded to know why, the doctor apologised and told him he ‘automatically’ prescribed it ‘out of habit’. It comes six years after the 2018 decree demanding medical professionals do a thorough background check to make sure no one of northern European descent is given the drug.

“People are routinely being given this drug that kills thousands,” he said.

“It is appalling that doctors are ignoring the advice that is seeing people die.”

Nolotil is known to induce ‘agranulocytosis’ in some northern Europeans, reducing the amount of white blood cells to dangerous levels and depleting the immune system.

It is currently under investigation in the Spanish National court, after tireless campaigning by the Association for Drug Affected Patients (ADAF) and the Olive Press. “I’m actually lucky,” said Pete, this week. “I’m fluent in Spanish so I could tell them not to give me Nolotil. But if I was just on holiday, I wouldn’t stand a chance.” Our campaign against the drug has been signed by nearly 800 people.

You can sign it on our website www.theolivepress.es.

Fishy alert

A HEALTH warning has been issued after anisakis has been detected in a fish imported from Morocco for sale in Spain.

The hake roe containing the parasite was analysed at a Spanish border control point. Anisakis is a parasite that attaches itself to the digestive tract of fish and cephalopods and can cause an allergic reaction if eaten.

Among the most frequent symptoms in case of infection within 12 hours after consumption includes strong abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever.

In addition, skin rashes, difficulty breathing, hives or conjunctivitis may also occur.

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (Rasff) says they don't know where the hake roe was infected and what the final destination was. It is not known either whether other batches that may have anisakis have gone on sale in Spain.

Hospital de Alta Resolucion, Benalmadena.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

FLOWER POWER

Every year you want to visit Cordoba’s Festival of Patios but are they worth it?

Yzabelle Bostyn

Cfinds out…

OMING from Esteponadubbed as the Costa’s ‘Garden City’ , I wasn’t sure Cordoba could beat my flower-laden hometown.

But the city overwhelmed me with its beautiful patios, rich history and delicious food - and yes, the fragrant displays of flowers more than matched Estepona’s floral attractions.

This is hardly surprising as the Cordoba Patio Festival was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity site by UNESCO in 2012. For just one week every year, Cordoban families open up their homes to share their patios with the world.

Thousands of tourists flock to the city, eager to explore courtyards battling it out to be crowned the most beautiful in the historic city.

Some 52 took part in this year’s competition, alongside 12 non competitive entries.

Safe havens amongst the hustle of the city, these patios offer a quiet, green oasis for local residents for the other 51 weeks of the year, once the gawping visitors have gone back home.

Each has its own distinctive look and feel, with different prizes awarded for best patio, modern architecture and traditional architecture.

Here I give my impressions on this year’s winning patios.

By Yzabelle Bostyn

BEST PATIO: MARROQUIES, 6

What better place to pop the question than in Cordoba’s prettiest patio?

For one prospective groom, the hordes of people streaming through the winning locale did not matter, as he got down one knee amongst the bougainvillea and overflowing flower pots.

Such a beautiful moment was befitting of the patio, a complex of multiple houses and workshops brought together by their cobbled paths, floral arches and bright blue doors. Every corner, alleyway and porch was filled to the brim with plants, water features and ceramic arts, lending the patio a typically Andalucian charm.

Marroquies, 6 was also home to many tiny workshops selling ceramics, soap and magnets, showing the tiny barrio’s entrepreneurship.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE: PASTORA, 2

Although much smaller than the overall winner, Pastora, 2 was just as full of charm.

Each wall was covered in Cordoba’s typical blue pots, with unique touches such as the Andalucian plates, a fountain decorated with the Virgin Mary and other religious imagery.

But what really stood out in this patio were the flowers.

The perfectly curated blooms and the huge orchids particularly caught my eye.

And as I left the patio, I made sure to tell the owner how wonder-

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 6 Writ, 7 At large, 9 Adoption, 10 Find, 11 Inuit, 12 Medical, 14 Beggars, 16 Plush, 18 Trot, 20 Fair game, 21 Linseed, 22 Tall.

Down: 1 Credence, 2 Stepping stone, 3 Vapid, 4 Traffic lights, 5 Jean, 8 Lunge, 12 Mrs, 13 Assemble, 15 Rifle, 17 Wilde, 19 Roll.

TINTE, 9

TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE: TINTE, 9

Even smaller still was Tinte, 9. Depending on the size of the pa tio, only a select number of peo ple are allowed in at one time and this was by far the longest queue I waited in all weekend. However, it was definitely worth the wait.

ful his flowers were, provoking a huge smile, beaming with pride.

I also dropped a euro or two in the donation box as I left as it is customary to support your favourites.

MARROQUIES, 6

As soon as you enter the patio, you are greeted with an explosion of colour, from the hundreds of plant pots lining the walls to the lemon tree nestled in a corner.

With various levels, stairs and balconies, each nook and cranny seemed to fit a sprawling plant, making the tiny house feel like a jungle hideaway.

Aside from the three winners, there are dozens of secret gardens tucked away throughout the city.

PASTORA, 2

I spent two days in Cordoba discovering the patios and still only managed to see half. This is partly due to just how tiring it is to run from patio to patio, but also because they open between 11am to 2pm and then from 6pm to 10pm.

Needless to say, I was enchanted and will happily return again next year to tick off all 52.

Millennial saint

A BRIT born to Spanish parents in Manchester could become the first British saint of the 21st century after his diocese sent the pope a request for canonisation following his death from cancer.

Swift to anger

TAYLOR Swift created some Bad Blood with locals in Madrid after 100 mammoth trailers for her concert caused a series of roads to be cut off, disrupting people’s morning and afternoon work commutes.

Cruz win

THE Sun caused a few raised eyebrows in Spain after it ranked the country’s 10 best beers and announced the cheap Cruzcampo from Andalucia as the best.

BOARD PATROL

THE unusual sight of surfing dogs greeted Cantabria beach-goers this month when pooches of all shapes and sizes showed off their prowess in Bay of Biscay waters.

La Concha beach at Suances hosted the 3rd European DingoNatura Dog Surf Championships over two days. The pooches didn't go solo but had their adult partners to guide them through the

Pooches take to the waves in unique surfing championship

By Alex Trelinski

waves as dozens of spectators looked on.

The overall winners were Koa and Juan Manuel Santiago (below).

The Cantabrian Surfing Fed-

eration divided the furry competitors into different categories based on their size and experience, ensuring a fair and exciting competition. Dogs were judged on various criteria, including their ability to balance on the surfboard, their confidence on

dogs is spreading.

“It is a celebration of the special bond between dogs and their owners. Many participants highlighted how training for the event had strengthened their relationship with their pets.” Spectators enjoyed a festive atmosphere with various activities, including pet-friendly stalls, educational workshops on dog training and surfing, and interactive games. the water, and the style of their surfing maneuvers. This year's championship saw a record number of participants, with over 50 dogs taking part, ranging from seasoned surfing dogs to enthusiastic newcomers.

Organiser, Michael Calvo, said: “It is great to see more people taking part in this beautiful sport. Little by little, surfing with

Bootleg

TWO Galician farmers admitted making 10,000 litres of bogus hand gel out of brandy on their chicken farm, which was sold to hospitals and pharmacies in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Prosecutors wanted the men from A Coruña jailed for nine years, but they took a plea deal where they each were

Beaky blinder

AN American expat made a friend during her afternoon coffee after a parrot took up residence on her head.

Michele Jordan and her husband were enjoying an afternoon coffee in Estepona when a parrot flew up to their table. The ‘friendly’ bird ‘stayed quite a while’ with the couple, even hopping on Michele’s head. Even when the pair set off on a walk around town, the small grey parrot continued to follow them.

She posted the incident on social media, in hopes of finding the owner.

Luckily, the owner, a local Spanish lady, swooped in and claimed the bird.

According to the owner’s Facebook page, she had reported the parrot missing over a week earlier.

She said: “I’m begging whoever finds him to return him to me, it would be very noble.”

hand gel

fined €17,520 and given twoyear suspended sentences. They started making the fake gel in April 2020 with the important alcohol component being brandy. The con was exposed after pharmacies complained about labels without an expiration date, barcode, lot number or even the name of a manufacturer.