Olive PressMallorca - Issue 157

IT’S all change at the top after the conservative PP swept the leftist coalitions that have ruled the Balearics since 2015 out of power.

The group did, however, fall short of an absolute majority and is likely to have to depend on far-right Vox in order to form a government.

“People have called for change, and we are the change,” said the PP’s candidate Marga Prohens.

Office

She is almost certain to replace Francina Armengol, the first woman President of the Balerics, who has held office for eight years for the PSOE socialists.

The PP took a total of 25 seats, which is five short of the 30 needed for a majority in the regional assembly.

Vox, meanwhile, took eight, meaning that a coalition deal or a confidence-and-supply arrangement are both on the cards.

The PP took nine more seats on Sunday than at the 2019 elections, while Vox gained five.

The Socialist Party lost one seat, from 19 to 18, while leftist Unidas Podemos suffered even more, going from six seats to just one.

Centre-right Ciudadanos had a disastrous night, and lost all representation in the assembly. Prohens is seeking to form a minority government without having to depend on Vox – the party’s abstention at her investiture ceremony would be enough for this to happen.

Prohens could then seek support for legislation and her budget on an ad hoc basis.

EUROPE’S BEST: After Swiss firm is honoured at London show, we pick their best buildings in Spain

UNINSURED

AN expat who the Olive Press exposed as a holiday rental fraudster also took money for fake insurance policies.

Juliette de Courcy Withey allegedly scammed dozens of expats while working as an agent for one of Spain’s leading insurance companies.

We can reveal how the Malaga-based resident allegedly pocketed thousands of euros she was meant to hand over for insurance policies at Caser Seguros.

De Courcy scammed clients by selling them invalid house and car insurance policies, having befriended them locally.

The expat - who is currently being prosecuted over a bogus rental scheme - has allegedly been up to her antics for the last two decades.

Rental scammer exposed by Olive Press also sold bogus insurance policies

EXCLUSIVE

By Alberto Lejarraga

“It’s about time she paid for her scams,” Susan Platt, from Liverpool, told the Olive Press this week. The 69-year-old revealed she only discovered a villa she rented in Marbella was not insured a year after giving De Courcy €600 in cash.

“She actually cancelled the Liberty policy the very same day she took the money,” she slammed. “I had no idea it wasn’t valid until a Liberty agent told me she was not working for them and said the policy had been cancelled.”

Was this the spot?

Olive Press exclusive reveals the lake camp where police believe suspect Christian Brueckner brought Madeleine McCann See

Another victim from Holland, suffered a similar fate. The mother-of-two and her husband were given ‘official Caser handwritten receipts’ after paying ‘thousands in cash’ for fully comprehensive car insurance over a number of years. They only discovered their fate when they were involved in a car accident in which the other driver was hospitalised. To their horror they later got a call from the court saying they had to pay €3,000 to the affected party as their vehicle was ‘not insured’. “We could not believe it,” she said. “It was only then we realised we had been driving uninsured for

years. And even with two kids in the car!”. Eventually, they took De Courcy to court and, this month, after 10 long years they finally learnt they will be getting their money back.

Under the settlement, De Courcy and husband, David Withey, were found guilty of ‘misappropriation’ and handed prison sentences, according to Olive Press legal sources.

Meanwhile, two other expats Gill and Glyn Williams, from Kent, recently discovered from Caser that their car had been uninsured for the entire period they had paid De Courcy.

“We were very lucky we had no accidents,” said Gill this week.

Tricked

She also believes there are many other victims including a German friend, who had to move home, plus a Swedish couple. De Courcy declined to comment and simply replied ‘goodbye’ and hung up, when called. While Caser failed to comment, Liberty confirmed Withey had indeed tricked customers. A spokesman explained she had got away with it as she was collaborating with one of Liberty’s former agents, who was later sacked for ‘embezzling money’. “It must have been through this collaboration that she had access to our office,” he said.

BEWARE: De Courcy and husband David, while (inset) our tental probe in April

Violent fare

COPS have arrested an Italian tourist who allegedly beat up a taxi driver - who needed hospital treatment - on Formentera when he was asked to pay the fare owed.

Bad mum

A MOTHER aged 34 has been arrested for allegedly trying to kill her two children aged four and 14 by pouring rat poison into their food in Manacor on Sunday.

Clocked

POLICE in Barcelona have arrested two men who mugged tourists and stole two high-end watches - one worth €70,000 - in Ibiza before fleeing to the mainland.

Thrown out

A JUDGE has temporarily banished a 27-yearold man from his hometown of Esporles after he made death threats to neighbours. He can not approach within one kilometre of the municipality.

IT was his secret camp that he called his ‘little paradise’.

Hidden in a copse overlooking Arade lake, this was the Portuguese hideout that Christian Brueckner would come to ‘cleanse himself’ alongside lots of beer and marijuana.

As well as a rudimentary table, hewn out of a log, the Madeleine McCann suspect even sculpted a stone bench down by the water’s edge.

But what most intrigued German detectives, who spent 72-hours scouring the area last week, was a perfect stone circle, now dismantled, that was made beside it.

“This was his exact special spot he liked to come to ‘cleanse himself’,” a former friend told the Olive Press on a visit to the reservoir, last year.

“He came here often, but I don’t know exactly what he did as he was always secretive.”

The Olive Press established he spent long periods by a trio of lakes on the Algarve, as well as Granada’s Alpujarras region, where he sold drugs and stolen items.

The convicted rapist and paedophile particularly liked Arade lake.

“He would drive down to the edge of the lake. He liked to be near the water,” revealed the German mother-of-two, who is a key witness in the case.

“He always camped in the same spot and said he came to ‘cleanse himself’ and he certainly washed himself and his clothes in the lake.

“He drank a lot of beer as when I came down with him to pick up stones for a wall at my house there were loads of empty cans.

“I think he liked the silence and

GROUND ZERO!

Olive Press editor Jon Clarke was the only journalist to visit the ‘secret camp’ of Madeleine McCann suspect last

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke

the fact there was usually noone else around. It now makes me horrified to think what he really might have done down there.”

Talking at her home near Silves, the expat, who has lived on the Algarve for three decades, added: “The most important thing detectives needed to know was exactly when and where he went by the lake. They made me pick it out on maps and aerial shots, which luckily I could do. “I really hope they finally catch him for all the horrible things he has done.”

Located just 30 miles from where Madeleine, then 3, was snatched from her bed in Praia da Luz, Arade lake sits close to where Brueckner was staying at the time in the village of Foral.

A former flatmate, Michael Tatschl, told the Olive Press in 2020 that Brueckner ‘loved’ spending time by the lakes with his friend Christian Post, an IT technician, who now lives in Cambodia.

“He loved the isolation at the lakes… and he was definitely a pervert and more than capable of snatching a child, for sexual kicks or money,” said Tatschl, from his home in Austria.

“He was always bragging about making money. He even talked about selling kids maybe to Morocco, and I think he probably sold Maddie to someone –maybe a sex ring.” When we tracked Post down to Kampot, in Cambodia, last year, he said he believed Brueckner snatched a sleeping Madeleine while on a burglary spree.

“Now I know about his paedophile past. I’m 100% certain it

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was him. I think he found [Madeleine] by chance and took her,” said Post. This is a theory that German detectives have been working on since they unearthed a stash of 8000 photos and

videos, including child abuse, at a Brueckner property, in 2016

The files came with various other items, it can be revealed, some of which ‘directly implicate’ Brueckner in the abduction.

Yet remarkably, while he was twice extradited from Portugal for sex crimes against children, Portuguese detectives never considered he could be involved.

He is currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old in Praia da Luz, in

2005.

German cops discovered his phone was used near Madeleine’s apartment on the same night she went missing.

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told the Olive Press last year he is ‘certain’ Brueckner abducted Madeleine and killed her.

Detectives have found at least one ‘relevant clue’ from the Arade search and taken dozens of samples back to Germany to be analysed over the coming weeks.

year, as three-day lake search finds ‘relevant clues’

JADE Jagger is in the doghouse after being fined for resisting arrest, but could end up in the jailhouse if a police union lawyer has his way.

The 51-year-old daughter of Mick Jagger and his first (and legally speaking only) wife Bianca appeared at a fast-track hearing in an Ibiza court alongside her 31-year-old lover Anthony Hinkson.

Police were called to La Oliva restaurant in Ibiza’s Old Town when Hinkson was being abusive to staff and customers.

He refused to identify himself to officers and Jagger was reported to have intervened to ‘defend her partner’, and in doing so ‘assaulted’ and insulted a female officer.

After two nights in the cells the pair appeared

Princess of Wales

KING Felipe VI and Queen

Letizia were in Wales for their daughter Leonor’s graduation ceremony from Atlantic College in the Vale of Glamorgan. Seventeen-year-old Leonor, who is the Princess of Asturias and the heir to the Spanish throne, began the two-year course at the sixth form college back in 2021. Her parents reportedly paid the £67,000 tuition fees themselves. Also in attendance at the ceremony was the royal couple’s youngest daughter Sofia, aged 16 and known in Spanish as the infanta Leonor will now be starting military training in the autumn, following in the footsteps of her father.

Taking the Mick

in front of a judge who ordered Jagger to pay €800 compensation and fined her a total of €1,400 for resisting arrest and ‘causing personal injury’. Hinkson was jailed for four-months - automatically suspended as it is a first offence - for assault.

But now lawyer Eduardo Luna, hired by Spanish police union SUP to fight the case, wants the judgement annulled. He has called for a retrial with fashion designer Jagger charged with the more serious offence of wounding.

Bridezilla strikes

On-off-on again aristocratic wedding saga claims dress designer casualty

SHE is an aristocrat, half sister to Enrique Iglesias and a TV personality boasting her own Netflix reality series called Lady Tamara And the long-running saga of her on, off and on again wedding is turning into a soap opera all on its own. Tamara Falco - the sixth Marchioness of Griñón and, through her socialite mother Isabel Preysler, sister to Iglesias - has dumped her wedding dress designer and jetted to New York to be fitted by Wes Gordon. The creative director of Car-

By Dilip Kuner

olina Herrera has stepped in at short notice to replace Basque designers Sophie et Voila, with the July 8 wedding date looming.

The story of Falco’s nuptials has kept the social pages of the Spanish press busy from the moment she made the engagement announcement on Instagram last autumn. She declared that she was going to marry businessman Iñigo Onieva (pictured), but within days a video emerged

BEST EVER

THE man considered as the world’s greatest-ever marathon runner - Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge - has run off with the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for sport. It is one of eight €50,000 prizes handed out for outstanding work in fields like the arts, communication, scientific research and literature which will be presented at a ceremony in Oviedo every September. Kipchoge, 38, who won Olympic gold in the marathon in 2016 and 2020 and was the world 5,000 metres champion in 2003 ‘is considered a legend in world athletics and the best marathon runner of all time’, said the Princess of Asturias foundation.

NO GENT

SPANISH singing superstar Rosalia has slammed a fellow artist’s attempts to attract attention after he shared a faked topless photo of her on Instagram Far from apologising for his actions, Reyes instead celebrated becoming a ‘trending topic’ on social media.

Reyes, 26 and from Sevilla, also took the opportunity to plug his next record. “Wait for my upcoming single, it’s called Rosalia ,” he wrote via social media.

Catalan warbler, Rosalia, 30, who shot to international fame thanks to singles such as Saoko and Chicken Teriyaki soon responded to the actions of Reyes.

of him canoodling with a New York model at a music festival in the US. Despite his initial claims the image was from 2019, before he knew 41-year-old Falco, TV sleuths had identified the festival as being held just a few weeks previously. The TV gossip shows went into meltdown and the saga was barely off the screens, with Falco apparently bringing her relationship with Onieva to an end when she removed the engagement post from Instagram But after Onieva apologised, the couple reunited on a Christmas trip to the Arctic, and now a lavish three-day celebration is planned.

“Looking for clout by disrespecting and sexualising someone is a kind of violence and is disgusting but doing it to get… plays [of a record] is pitiful,” she said via Twitter Reyes has since deleted all his posts about Rosalia.

Inspirational run

A 65-year-old man with Parkinson’s has been hailed as ‘an inspiration’ by broadcaster Jeremy Paxman for a 970-mile run from London to Barcelona.

Neil Russell, a former advertising executive from Gloucestershire, began his epic run last week and plans to complete it at the end of June.

He aims to finish in time for the opening of the World Parkinson’s Congress in the Catalan city.

Paxman - younger brother of former UK Ambassador to Spain Giles Paxman - was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2021.

He said: “People like Neil are an inspiration and he shows that having Parkinson’s need not be a barrier in life.”

OVER 30 YEARS IN MALLORCA

WHALE ASHORE

A DEAD sperm whale has been washed ashore between Estellencs and Banyalbufar.

Emergency services informed the Palma Aquarium and Shark Med organisations which sent a team to take measurements, samples and photos.

“We do this to find out more about the species and their general health,” said a Palma Aquarium spokesman.

It confirmed it was a female sperm whale calf that suckle from their mothers for up to three years and can weigh up to 1,000 kilos.

The latest estimates suggest a colony of around 300 sperm whales live near the coast of the Balearics.

Palma Aquarium has reminded people that if they find a whale or dolphin, dead or alive, it is vital to call 112, so that ‘we can proceed to the site as soon as possible’.

In addition, they recommend not touching any of the animals since they can transmit diseases and infections.

BODY CASH DEMAND

Brits who found decomposing

A BRITISH couple who discovered a man’s decomposing body in Menorca are planning to sue the island’s local authorities for not cleaning the beach earlier.

Emma and Lee Brogden, of Northumberland, had their BalearIcs break ‘absolutely spoiled’ after she discovered a decomposing corpse in the surf at Arenal den Castell beach during her morning run.

The couple is now demanding £2,000 compensation, as they believe it was because of the local authority's ‘negligence’ that Emma found the body.

“Emma went for a run around 6.40am but it seems beaches are not cleaned until 7am. They should do this earlier, around 6am, before any tourist arrives,” Lee concluded.

“She first thought it was a giant jellyfish floating in the waves but when she had a closer look, she realised it was

By Alberto Lejarraga & Walter Finch

a dead body,” Lee told the Olive Press. He insisted: “Emma saw that he still had a watch on his arm and was wearing a pair

GRIM FIND: The

of combat shorts. One side of the body was eaten away, probably by fish, you could see the leg bones and his skin was completely blue, so he must have been in the sea for days.”

In shock, Emma ran back to

VETERAN VET

A GREAT party to celebrate Bendinat Veterinary Clinic’s 20th anniversary has taken place.

Located in Calvia, near Palma, it was established in 2003 by British vet Nick Murgatroyd. Over 150 people, including current and former workers, clients and obviously, their pets, attended the event.

“I would like to thank my loyal clients and my fantastic staff as they are the key to our success,” Murgatroyd said.

After qualifying and working for more than 10 years in UK clinics and hospitals, he decided to set up his own one in Mallorca.

Most clients at Bendinat have been coming to the clinic for years, a loyalty that is a result of the ‘trust’ that has been built up.

“We aim to bring a personal and caring touch to pets and their owners through attention to detail and the best up-to-date treatment and advice,” Murgatroyd told the Olive Press.

were horrified

the hotel and woke Lee up. They returned to the beach with hotel staff and placed sticks and rocks under the body to stop it from being swept back out the sea. Guardia Civil arrived to take charge of the investigation,

seeking to confirm the identity of the deceased. The incident took place a couple of days after the British couple had arrived at the island with their son.

“They were very expensive holidays, everything cost around £2,000 and we still had three full days left. But they were ruined as my wife kept having flashbacks and could not stop thinking about it. She is now receiving medical help and has stress-related health and breathing problems.”

Meanwhile, the deceased’s identity remains unknown. “The results of the autopsy will not be available for at least one or two months,” a Guardia Civil spokesman told the Olive Press.

Mallorca

body to sue local authorities as their holidays were ‘ruined’ by the trauma

Brogdens (left)

by the beach find (above)

HELPING HAND

A CHARITY event to raise funds for Son Espases Hospital will take place at 6.30pm today (June 2) at Siso Beach Club in Palma Nova (Mallorca).

Tasty canapes, drinks and a raffle with loads of prices, including luxury items, will be part of the evening.

The soiree’s aim is to raise enough money to buy an ECMO machine for the hospital.

The event is organised by Imperial Properties Santa Ponsa in collaboration with Kimpton Aysla Hotels, Coco Deli and Fit Club. Tickets are €10.

HIKE FALL

A HIKER has been rescued by helicopter after falling three metres (nearly 10 feet) in Deia. The woman tripped and fell while walking in the Na Foradada area, near the sea. She is believed to have hit her head, leaving her dazed. A Guardia Civil patrol, firefighters and emergency services attended the scene. She was transferred to a nearby hospital by helicopter, suffering from facial bruising.

Blue Balearics

Conservative PP gain 92 seats in local elections on the islands

By Alberto Lejarraga

THERE has been a blue surge in the Balearic local elections.

The conservative Partido Popular (PP) was the clear winner with it claiming the majority of votes and seats in most of the municipalities of the island.

Throughout the region it attracted 34.16% of the votes, which translates into 357 seats, 92 more than in the 2019 elections.

Meanwhile, the socialist PSOE, with 23.56% of the

vote, lost two seats compared to four years ago.

Palma will see its current socialist mayor Jose Hila ousted by potentially Jaime Martinez of the PP, which took 11 seats. Martinez intends to form a minority government, but may end up needing to form a coalition with far-right party VOX.

In Campos, PP’s Francisca Porquer held on for another four years, while in Andratx, conservative Estefania Gonzalvo also obtained an overall majority with nine seats.

Meanwhile, in Calvia, although the socialists were the

CAT-TASTIC!

biggest party with 12 seats, the PP and VOX’s combined 13 seats will allow them to take office.

In Llucmajor, PP candidate Xisca Lascolas will become the new mayor if an agreement is reached with VOX

THE LYNX population has risen by over 300 cats in just a year.

There are now 1,668 of them living across Spain and Portugal.

The figures for 2022 are in stark contrast to over two decades ago when there were less than 100 Iberian lynxes alive, with the species facing extinction. Some 563 cubs were born last year helped by captive breeding centres. Most of the species (84%) are found in Spain with the rest in southern Portugal.

They have spread around large parts of mountainous Andalucia, while work was recently begun to reintroduce them to rural districts, near Lorca, inland Murcia. European Union funding, through various Life projects, has played an important part in the running of the programme.

RECORD SALES

Real estate transactions in the Balearics soar to new heights in 2022 with a stunning €7.5 BILLION spent

IT’S no secret the Balearics have emerged as one of the most sought-after destinations to own real estate in the Mediterranean.

After being voted one of the top places to live around the world, it’s no surprise to see property sales soaring through the roof. Real estate transactions rose to an all time high of €7.5 billion in total transactions in 2022, a 14% increase on the €6.6 billion of 2021.

While the majority of buyers are coming from Northern Europe and Scandinavia, drawn to Mallorca and its fantastic flight connections, there has been a noticeable surge in buyers from more distant locations, particu-

Snap election

SPAIN is bracing itself for a general election in July after the country lurched to the right in the local elections.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (pictured) took everyone by surprise by calling a snap national poll for July 23.

It comes after the country - and even shockingly Andaluciamostly turned blue in the May local elections.

Around the country, the right wing Peoples Party (PP) share rose by 9%, snaring 31.5% of the votes, compared to 28.2% for the PSOE socialists.

and local party ASI. Leftists resisted in Inca, where PSOE’s current mayor Virgilio Moreno will likely stay in office with the support of the MES left-wing coalition. The left also kept Manacor, as MES candidate Miquel Oliver will stay as mayor thanks to a new coalition with PSOE.

Meanwhile, in Ibiza, PP has kept all five mayor’s offices in the province, achieving an overall majority in Ibiza Town, Sant Joan de Labritja, Sant Antoni de Portmany and Santa Eularia des Riu. And in Ciutadella de Menorca, the PP obtained the most seats (nine), but a left-wing coalition could result in the SOE candidate Carol Cerda becoming the new mayor. Overall, Balearics saw a voter turnout of 56.71%, an increase of almost 2% compared to the 2019 local elections.

Nationwide, the PP benefited from the collapse of centre-right Ciudadanos, taking seven of the 12 regions, overthrowing PSOE in Aragon, Valencia and Rioja. The PP is likely to need support from Vox to form various regional governments.

It is this alarming rise of the farright Vox party that Sanchez thinks he can counter in a quick election.

“The best thing is for Spaniards to have their say to define the political course of the country,” he said on Monday. Voter turnout was similar to 2019, with a 61.4% turnout.

larly in the luxury sector. This has been thanks to the increase in international flights direct to Palma airport, including a direct flight from New York on United Airlines.

What does this mean for 2023 and beyond?

While sales to foreign buyers have cooled off by 31% in the same period since 2022, prices have continued to rise to the tune of nearly 7%.

Coupled with positive results from the local elections, it’s safe to say we should expect a strong second half to the year in 2023 in the Balearics.

Our clients

Considering the preferences of our

current clientele, while each individual’s search is unique, there are a handful of similarities among them.

A world post-pandemic has underscored the importance of outdoor spaces like never before. Whether this is an open terrace in a city apartment, or a flat garden in the Southwest, the significance of such spaces has become more pronounced. Furthermore, due to the substantial sales volume in recent

years, buyers have expanded their scope when it comes to new developments. Previously, they sought only finished, turnkey properties to avoid the ‘headache’ and complexities of buying during the construction phase. However, heightened demand has compelled buyers to explore properties under construction or with planning permission, in order to build their dream homes with the assistance of local professionals.

For more information on this and many more properties in The Agency’s portfolio, please visit www.theagencyre.com or telephone on +34 871 610 678

Should you own a property in Mallorca which fits the above criteria, please reach out to the team at The Agency Mallorca. Give us a ring or stop by our head office in Portals Nous, we look forward to talking to you.

HAPPY: PP leader Alberto Nuñez (second right) with local candidates

Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

OPINION

Masterstroke

REGIONAL and municipal elections are always fascinating in Spain because it’s not just the Sunday night that’s interesting, but also the deals needing to be struck between unlikely bedfellows over the following days.

And if you don’t think local elections are important, then tell that to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

As the results came in, showing a huge swing to the right, the left-wing PSOE leader made up his mind to bring forward December’s planned general election to July 23.

It is being seen as a way of getting the smaller left-wing parties to get their act together or face a Partido Popular (PP) victory, perhaps with the far-right Vox in a coalition. This is the alarming scenario in the Balearics, as while the PP won the election, president-elect Marga Prohens did not have an overall majority and will now have to govern with at least a basic agreement with Vox.

It’s a similar scenario in Palma City Council, where to the surprise of many pundits, the largely popular socialist mayor Jose Hila was ousted with the PP becoming the top party (but again needs the help of Vox to form a government).

These island results, perhaps more than any other region, may have got Sanchez reaching for a strong brandy on Sunday.

And indeed it is alarming for the Prime Minister, as Spain is very different from the UK or Germany, say, when it comes to voting habits.

The difference being in regional elections, the locals vote on whether they like their mayor and not what party he or she is in.

Unlike say, Brexit, it is not used as a kind of protest vote on the national situation.

Sanchez must therefore be feeling that the PP landslide that some predicted could well run into the general election.

His masterstroke is to call it at the end of July, before the dust settles and the rot really sets in…and when many of the traditionally wealthier PP voters will already be on their holidays on the costas or abroad.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Alberto Lejarraga alberto@theolivepress.es

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John Culatto

ADMIN Victoria Humenyuk Makarova (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

MADDIE COPS

ALAWYER who twice oversaw searches at a reservoir looking for Madeleine McCann in 2008, has slammed the Portuguese police and state over the ‘shameful’ way the case was handled.

Marcos Aragao Correia organised two searches around the Barragem de Arade alongside the Spanish detective agency, Metodo 3, who were hired by the McCann family.

As well as insisting their findings - including bones in a bag weighed down by a stone and a child’s sock - were ‘ignored’ by police, he claims the ‘corrupt’ government of the time orchestrated a cover up.

In a damning interview with the Olive Press, he drew parallels with another missing girl, Joana Cipriano, who vanished at the age of 8, just 10 miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing in May, 2007.

Talking from his home in Madeira, he slammed the way the mother of the girl, Leonor Cipriano, who he represented as a lawyer, had been tortured by police into signing ‘a false confession’ that she had killed her daughter.

And he described it as particularly ‘shameful’ that the same group of detectives, led by Gonzalo Amaral, was later tasked with investigating the case of missing Maddie, who vanished while on holiday in Praia da Luz.

“It is totally shameful that the Portuguese government, led

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke, in Silves

by the corrupt socialist Jose Socrates, allowed Amaral, already accused of torturing Leonor, to again be responsible for an investigation into the disappearance of another child, Madeleine.”

The father-of-four continued: “And soon it was found that the same ‘script’ of the police was always to accuse the parents of the children without any evidence.”

He added: “The Portuguese State is in fact a dictatorship disguised as democracy.”

In the shocking case of Joana, she had vanished in 2004 without trace, as she ran an errand to her local grocery shop, in Figueira, for her mother at dusk.

Incredibly, both her mother and uncle were accused of killing her after police claimed she had walked in on them in bed.

Detective Amaral - who was eventually removed from the Madeleine case - built up the accusation and claimed Joana was killed and her body was ‘fed to pigs’. But it proved to be a total fantasy and Amaral received an 18-month sentence for perjury and covering up his officers’ dirty work, while two of them also received a prison sentence for the attack.

“After months of trial, we were able to prove that Leonor was brutally tortured by the Portuguese Judiciary Police (PJ) forcing her to sign a false confession saying that she had killed her own daughter,” Correia explained. The father-of-four added he was supported by both the Portuguese Bar Association and Amnesty International in the long miscarriage of justice, which only saw the mother exonerated after over a decade in prison.

Lawyer

This came, despite shocking photos showing Leonor with appalling injuries after two days of interrogations in an Algarve police cell.

He added Amaral had overseen the entire 48 hours of beatings and Leonor later picked him out in an ID parade.

And incredibly, Correia added: “The same Portuguese State that admitted the torture but refused to arrest any of the convicted officers, then accused me of defamation for having said what the Courts had already ruled… that is, that Amaral was involved in the torture of Leonor and covered it up.”

He eventually won the case, forcing Ama ral to apologise and pay his costs. Now based in his native Madeira, he has left the legal profession to support his children and set up a museum for his father, a famous writer and poet.

He insists that ‘protection’ of his children is his main concern, after years of battles with the Portuguese judiciary and police.

“We cannot count on the State, especially the Portuguese State, to help us if something bad happens to our children.

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REMARKABLE SIMILARITIES: Joana (left) vanished just 10 miles from Praia da Luz, some three years before Maddie vanished. Her mum, Leonor, sparked a desperate hunt and appeal, but not one clue was ever found

“After 16 years of institutional ne glect, only a miracle could now find Mad eleine McCann’s remains.” His remarkable insight came after police searched the large reservoir and surrounding area of the Arade lake. It comes after a good new tip off about the main suspect, Christian Brueckner, came in to the chief prosecutor leading the search in Braunschweig, in

First made aware of the plans for ‘an action’ on May 7, the Olive Press chose to stay quiet, after requests from German police.

SHOCKING TORTURE:

Rather than consider the probability of a kidnap by a predatory paedophile, Portuguese police instead beat a confession out of mother, Leonor, as well as her brother and uncle over a horrific 48hour period

who pinpointed Portugal lake where cops just searched for Madeleine McCann’s remains, links the case to another missing girl, 8, whose parents’ were ‘also framed’

COVER UP

Coordinated between a female prosecutor in Portimao and her counterpart in Braunschweig, Hans Christian Wolters, around 10 German BKA detectives worked with over 20 Portuguese police and ‘up to five’ detectives from Operation Grange, in London.

During the course of the 72-hour search at least three sacks of materials were sent back to the BKA’s headquarters in Wiesbaden. Sources claimed photos of main suspect Brueckner had appeared of him beside the lake, while police were allegedly

specifically looking for fibres of the pink pyjamas Madeleine was wearing on the night she vanished.

While sources in Germany told the Olive Press the new tip was ‘entire-

ly credible’ and came from a totally different source, it ties in closely with ‘underworld sources’ who had told Correia about the lake in 2007.

The lawyer had first heard the claims that Madeleine had been killed and dumped in the lake within 48 hours of her kidnap, on Sunday, May 6, just three days after she vanished.

He had first visited the lake with Spanish investigators from Metodo 3, based in Barcelona, in December that year and had finally identified the site where he thought she

was dumped on December 10. While he immediately told police investigating the case he claimed they ‘did nothing’. He also claimed (and sued the Portuguese Post Office) that a recorded letter with information on the kidnap which he sent to the McCanns’ home in Rothley, in the UK, had been seized by Portuguese police.

This week, he once again recalled his anguish, revealing: “The clues I received shortly after Madeleine disappeared pointed to her having been kidnapped, raped and murdered and her body thrown into a lake in the Algarve.

“I didn’t know at the time which lake it was, but I soon communicated all this data to the Portuguese Judiciary Police, who completely ignored it, and then to Metodo 3, which did its best to search for Madeleine and discover what had happened to her.

“The work that Metodo 3 was carrying out in the field gathered several clues from different sources that also reinforced that Madeleine had been kidnapped and murdered and she would never have left Portugal.

SHINING A LIGHT: All the hard work and investment by lawyer Marcos Correia into Maddie’s disappearance (which unearthed a bag of bones and a child’s sock, left, in Arade lake), was ‘totally ignored’ by Portu- guese detectives

“After exhaustive research, I therefore hired a private company of divers from the Algarve to carry out searches in the Arade lake, however, as we did not have the support of the Portuguese police (although I had requested this), our means were quite limited and the budget I

had offered quickly ran out, so a few days later we were forced to abandon the search.

“However, very suspicious material was found, such as bags with small bones tied with heavy stones, which was handed over to Method 3.” The searches, that had cost €1,200 per day, took place in February and March, 2008 and included mostly British divers, who lived in the area. Among items found was a child’s sock (left) and a 17-foot long piece of ‘knotted cord’ that Correia believed could have been used to tie up the toddler.

Metodo 3 later said they believed Madeleine had been switched from one vehicle to another at a parking spot nearby on the main road between Arade and nearby Silves.

A truck driver had later come forward to say he had spotted a woman passing what looked like a small child to someone at the time.

Concluding, the length of time it has taken to return to the lake, Correia insisted the Madeleine case had taken ‘far too long’ to solve and was a ‘abandoned at the highest level by the Portuguese State, and her parents, clearly innocent, were persecuted’.

“Thank you very much for your interest in the work I have done over the years,” he added. “Many people directly donated money to Madeleine’s parents. I donated my work, time and also money. After the searches again at Arade dam, I hope you can disclose everything in the name of public interest and bit by bit more of the truth will come out.”

“

After 16 years of institutional neglect, only a miracle could now find Madeleine McCann’s remains

NERVE-CENTRE: The Olive Press visited the Arade lake site, last week, where Marcos Correia searched for Maddie twice in 2008

Pictures by Jon Clarke

LA CULTURA

DRONE RESULT

A TEAM using a drone has found 7,000-year-old Neolithic paintings in two shallow caves in an inaccessible mountain region.

Three archaeologists from Alicante University climbed as far as they could towards the caves in Castellet-Barranc de Salt and Port de Penaguila before setting the drone on its way.

It recorded videos of walls in 18 shallow shelters set in the mountain face and discovered paintings in two of them.

The El Salt discoveries include female figures and archers, as well as deers and goats - some wounded by arrows. The pictures at the second site are yet to be interpreted.

The Penaguila area has produced a series of findings, including some outstanding discoveries back in the 1980’s.

NOBEL TASK

Writer’s Prado stay will collide art with the written word

NOBEL Laureate and twotime Booker prize winner JM Coetzee is moving to Madrid to write about the Prado museum’s collections. The 83-year-old will spend three weeks in the capital as part of a new Prado programme.

New dinosaur species discovered

FOSSILS found in Castellon may have revealed the existence of a previously undiscovered species of dinosaur.

Scientists said they had unearthed a partial skeleton of a species at Cinctorres that helps provide a deeper understanding of a highly successful group of carnivores that hunted on land and in the water.

The discovery suggests the Iberian peninsula may have been a diverse area for medium to large-bodied spinosaurids and sheds light on their origin and evolution.

Living about 126 to 127 million years ago, the bipedal dinosaur, named Protathlitis cinctorrensis , was about 10 to 11 meters long and weighed about two tons.

ROYAL RARITIES

By Simon Hunter

The acclaimed writer will make the Prado his centre of activity and ‘contempla-

PAINTINGS, tapestries, sculptures, decorative art pieces, armour and weapons, and royal furniture collected by Spanish monarchs will be put on show at a new museum. It opens at Madrid’s Royal Palace on June 28 and will feature collections dating back as far as the Middle

The inaugural exhibition will feature 650 of the more than 150,000 pieces managed on behalf of the government by Patrimonio Nacional, including works by Velazquez, Goya, Caravaggio, Titian and Tintoretto.

In a joint venture with the Loewe Foundation, it is inviting internationally renowned writers to engage literarily with the museum’s collections. tion’. This summer. He will write a story related to his time at the Prado, the first of a story collection that the Museum will dedicate to exploring the potential for creative expression at

the crossroads of fiction and the visual arts.

JM Coetzee, born in South Africa in 1940, has published nineteen works.

He is regarded as one of the most acclaimed and decorated English language authors.

Much of his work questions apartheid, under which he grew up, and challenges all forms of racism.

He now lives in Australia, where he is a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide.

He’s also had visiting appointments over a long academic career, at US universities such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford.

The newly discovered dinosaur has been identified from a partial skeleton – the right upper jawbone, one tooth, and five vertebrae.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

Across

1 Obstacle (4)

4 If you’re on the Stump here, you’ve got a good view (6)

8 Buffoons (6)

9 Small purple plum (6)

10 Obliterate his model, reconstructed (8)

11 Central part (4)

12 Runs into (5)

13 Foe (5)

17 Vomit (4)

19 Free from evil spirits (8)

20 Dusky? (6)

21 Line on a weather map (6)

22 Of inferior quality (6)

23 Ultimate (4)

Down

2 Aw! Hustles Owen about in Australia (3,5,5)

3 Idle talk (6)

4 Enlightened one, literally (6)

5 Only half knocked out? (4-9)

6 Scent (5)

7 Swindle (6)

14 Lose (6)

15 Well-bred people (6)

16 Kind of climber (6)

18 Rate of expenditure of energy (5)

All solutions are on page 12

EYE-CATCHING: South African JM Coetzee

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LA CULTURA

Partners in Design

As landmark London exhibition celebrates the 45th anniversary of global architects Herzog & de Meuron, Nadia McDonald takes a look at five mind-blowing Spanish designs

THEY have been working together since 1978 and grafted on a staggering 600 projects in 40 countries around the world.

So it’s perhaps not surprising that a key British institution has chosen to honour the work of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.

In a much anticipated show, London’s Royal Academy will present a detailed exhibition on 45 years of work of Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron.

They’ve reimagined the nature of buildings, from houses to hospitals. And they’ve designed projects that have transformed cities, such as the Tate Modern, in London, Elbphilharmonie, in Hamburg, and M+ in Hong Kong.

The architectural wizards, based out of Basel, are among the most respected design duo of all time and fortunately Spain has been graced with their ‘architectural art’ in no less than five jaw-dropping feats. Here, we present them:

CaixaForum Madrid

MADRID’S CaixaForum is an encounter of historical eras, blending the city’s industrial past with modern clean lines. The Swiss maestros were tasked with the building of a cultural space that would replace an old fire damaged power station.

Given the protected status of the building, its industrial age façades had to be retained.

So the team cleverly gutted the power station and elevated it above ground level, in what can only be described as an optical illusion.

The result is an incredible open air space held up by a central metal structure allowing visitors to enjoy some shade in an open air space next to Madrid’s famous Paseo del Prado.

Above, the historical body is crowned with brick coloured iron panels. Meanwhile, next to the forum, that also descends underground, is a wall of cascading foliage bringing together nature, history and modernism in one seamless sweep.

TEA, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes Burgos Bulevar

Art is at the heart of the firm’s practice and the pair have designed multiple galleries and museums during their impressive tenure, including the Laban and Tate in London.

In Tenerife they headed up the design team for the Espacio de las Artes, a low lying and jagged dark concrete behemoth which from the outside appears windowless and imposing.

Walking through its courtyard, glass façades flood the building with light and on their opposing walls a series of morse code-like slits fragment the light in a scintillating dance as it bounces off the glossy flooring.

NOT limited to buildings, the company was chosen to design Burgos’s boulevard which runs along a disused railroad.

Realising the inevitable expansion of the city, the architects wanted to create a space that was timeless, practical, green and unique.

The winding street gives priority to pedestrians in-

corporating wide footpaths dotted with central-park style benches and accessorised by shrubbery.

Bus stops along the street resemble grounded spaceships while streetlights drop like dew from a crisscross of overhead power lines.

LA CULTURA

Forum 2004 Building and Plaza

A section of Barcelona’s cityscape that was once known as ‘no-man’s land’ was completely revitalised by the construction of the standout Forum of Cultures building.

Its apparent gravity defying,

ding structure is shaped as an equilateral triangle. Deceptively, the colossal building appears to hover some 25 metres above the ground.

The pair opted to use a deep blue rough concrete as the predominant material, an ode to the coastal city, taking inspiration from coral reefs. Breaking up the concrete mass are shard-like windows that cut through the prism.

Underneath, visitors can look up to wavy mirrors that emulate a sunlit sea.

New Headquarters for BBVA

THE headquarters of Spain’s second largest bank, BBVA, was designed by the renowned pair back in 2007 and eventually got dubbed ‘the sail’.

The BBVA City has a plaza in the middle from which the large reflective high rise emerges.

The main attraction is its looming centrepiece which takes the form of a missha-

pen oval and is contrastingly surrounded by the straight lines of three-storey office buildings. Windows have brise-soleils each uniquely positioned to allow light into the buildings while providing shade and privacy, the white panels against the reflective glass resemble a sailing regatta, which juxtaposes the business dealings of its internal workings.

WE – Sandro and Pascal – are two bike lovers from Germany who made their passion a profession. Together with our experienced chief mechanic Ted we believe that biking goes beyond fashion or business. Its a way of life – our way of life!

“If you want it – you can have it”

“If you need it – we can make it”

Dear Jennifer:

FEEL SECURE

Have you protected your family in the correct way?

THE first question should be – have you taken out Life Insurance? You may have a Mortgage Protection policy, which means on your death the mortgage will be paid.

But of course, this has nothing to do with providing your family with some financial security when they really need it, whereas life insurance provides a payment to your family, to cover funeral costs, inheritance taxes, etc. Mortgage Protection is a good policy to have, as it will pay off any mortgage you have on your house, keeping your family secure in their home.

For example, Mortgage Payment protection, up to €100,000 of cover for a 50-year-old, can be as little as €305 per year.

But for fuller coverage you should look into a life policy. You can tailor a policy to your own requirements and create a bespoke life insurance – whether to cover the initial costs incurred on your death or provide your family with a lump sum to provide for their future.

For example, life cover of €50,000 for a 50-year-old, can be as little as €155 a year.

You do need to be resident in Spain for these policies and there will be a simple health/medical questionnaire that you will need to complete online.

These policies are available with monthly direct debit payments, and our policies will be in English.

I understand that when you go to the bank, they will try to sell you life insurance, both for yourself and your mortgage. Be careful as they tend to be more expensive and you are unable to tailor these policies for your own particular needs.

Alongside the life policies, we can provide various Accident Policies to give you protection throughout your life and provide support should you sadly experience a life changing accident.

Balancing the scales

New law will ban all-women boards in the name of equality

A PROPOSED new equality law could see all-woman company boards banned.

The Spanish Cabinet has approved the second stage of a draft law that seeks to boost the presence of women in politics, business and professional associations.

By Simon Hunter

Once it has been approved by the Congress of Deputies, there will have to be a minimum 40% presence of women in government, on the boards

CABIN CREW PAY DEAL

SPANISH airline Air Europa has agreed an 11.9% pay rise over the next three years for cabin crew.

Ibiza growth

THEY’VE already opened four hotels in Mallorca this year… now the Leonardo group has opened a trio of new joints in Ibiza.

The hotels in San Antonio and two in Santa Eulalia means in just seven years the Israeli group has opened 17 joints in Spain.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

of major companies, the governing boards of professional associations and electoral lists. The draft law also states, however, that neither gender can have a presence that is below 40% nor above 60%. This means that in practice boards of directors made up exclusively of women will not be permitted.

The Equal Representation Law was first announced by Socialist Party Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in March, ahead of International Women’s Day. Ministers have now announced further details that had been approved, which will affect panels in the judiciary, such as the Constitutional Court, the Audit Court and the CGPJ legal watchdog. These bodies will also have to ensure that women account for at least 40% of members. Another of the modifications announced include a more flexible timetable to introduce the changes in the workforce. Companies listed on Spain’s Ibex 35 stock exchange, for example, will have to have a minimum of 40% female board members by June 2024.

Over the last year, the chain has bought eight hotels in the country, with six in the Balearic Islands.

The giant €165 million investment included the popular OD hotel, which is now the Leonardo Boutique Hotel Mallorca Port Portals.

The 77-room design hotel - popular with visiting DJs - has maintained its charm, while adding numerous stylish touches.

The company has reached a pre-agreement with the Sitcpla, Aacefsi and CCOO trade unions.

Its approval would mean a 5% wage increase this year, backdated to January 1, followed by rises of 4% and 2.5% in 2024 and 2025.

Although a deal has been reached, the Air Europa conflict with its pilots is still active.

Eight one day strikes have been called, following the four-days stoppage that took place at the start of May.

Lighting up

SMOKERS will soon be able to light up on bar and restaurant terraces.

The current ban on smoking was brought in during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been in force ever since.

However, as the end of the global health emergency was declared over by the WHO last month, all Covid-related restrictions are to be dropped.

The strategy of the Balearics Health Service was to extend the current ban until the entry into force of the new National Anti-Smoking Law, which aimed to ban smoking on bars, restaurants and beach terraces.

However, Pedro Sanchez’s call for an early general election means the new law will not be passed any time soon. This means the Balearics government has no choice but to drop the ban.

Bumper year

WITH COVID-19 restrictions now a distant memory, the tourism sector in Spain is enjoying a bumper 2023.

According to figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE), hotel stays were up 21% on the year before to 80.9 million during the first four months of the year. This exceeded the level seen in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Across: 1 Snag, 4 Boston, 8 Clowns, 9 Damson, 10 Demolish, 11 Core, 12 Meets, 13 Enemy, 17 Spew, 19 Exorcise, 20 Twilit, 21 Isobar, 22 Trashy, 23 Last.

Down: 2 New South Wales, 3 Gossip, 4 Buddha, 5 Semi-conscious, 6 Odour, 7 Fleece, 14 Mislay, 15 Gentry, 16 Social, 18 Power.

The INE figures show that there were 28 million hotel stays in Spain in April, which is an 11.5% rise on the year before.

For January to April of this year, there were a total of 80.9 million hotel stays.

FAIR’S FAIR: More equitable slice of the pie

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Record

arrivals

TOURIST arrivals to the Balearics soared to a record oneand-a-half million in April.

In total, there were 1.48 million visitors during the month - 13% more than April 2022 and comfortably beating the 2019 pre-pandemic figure of 1.31 million. This continues the trend seen so far this year. From the start of January to the end of April the islands have welcomed 2.5 million tourists - beating the previous record for the period of 2.4 million set in 2019.

Socialist Balearic President Francina Armengol had pledged to bring in measures to curb tourism, fearing the sheer numbers were overwhelming services.

But the victory of Marga Prohens, who is expected to be the new conservative PP leader of the regional government, may see a reversal of these policies.

BUSY SUMMER

Prices soar but holiday rentals selling fast

By Alex Trelinski

SPAIN’s tourist rental homes have already reached an average occupancy of 82% for this summer with prices averaging €172 per night - up 13% on last year.

The figures come from a survey conducted by holiday rental portal Holidu which interviewed 2,471 holiday home owners on its books.

Some 52% of owners expected more bookings than last year and 48% planned to increase charges.

The greatest number of reservations have come in Catalunya and the Valencian Commu-

PLANS for a tram link between Palma city and the airport are almost certainly going to be scrapped following Sunday’s council election victory for the Partido Popular.

Incoming Palma mayor Jaime Martinez said he was not against the idea in principle, but believed the project was announced for electoral purposes. He argued that not enough studies had been done to make sure the service

nity at 88%, closely followed by the Madrid region and the Balearic Islands on 87%.

Tourist flats are one of the main accommodation options

TRAM SIDELINED

would be economically viable. Sources close to Martinez suggest that he’d rather use the proposed €240 million budget to totally electrify the EMT Palma bus fleet.

for holidaymakers followed by luxury villas with a swimming pool and small apartments in city centres.

The Canary Islands, Extremadura and Galicia appear to offer the lowest rental prices of between €104 and €105 a night - well below the national average of €172. Other bargains include coastal areas of the Murcia region at €110, while inland mountainous destinations like Asturias and Castilla y Leon, come in at around €114 to €115.

Popular tourist areas like Andalucia and the Valencian Community are reporting av-

Purifying first

A SPANISH start-up company with a mix of scientists and entrepreneurs has created Ozeanic, the world's first drinking bottle that purifies water with ozone..

respectively.

The most expensive summer season prices are €253 per night in the Balearic Islands, followed by Madrid on €180 and the Basque Country with €178.

Domestic

Most of the Holidu holiday home reservations - 66%have been made by domestic travellers, maintaining an upward trend which started during the Covid-19 pandemic Foreign bookings are led by Germany with 12%, France with 8% and the United King-

The reusable bottle makes it possible to ensure sustainable and drinkable water anywhere, since it eliminates 99.9% of viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, as well as neutralising chlorine.

It has a mechanism that generates ozone and automatically injects it into the water, with the help of a high-tech electronic circuit developed entirely in Spain.

The rechargeable lithium battery has an estimated life of two years depending on its use, claims the Ibi (Alicante) company. Ozeanic reduces the use of single-use plastic bottles, with an average person using three bottles of 500ml of water a week. On that basis, the new bottle will save 5.69 kilos of single-use plastic per year.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

GOING UNDERGROUND

EXTREME athlete, Beatriz Flamini (inset right), recently caught Spain’s attention by spending 500 days in a cave in Los Gauchos, near Motril. Her idea was to write about the troglodyte lifestyle and attempt a world record for solo cave-dwelling.

Living 70 metres below earth, unable to differentiate between day from night, Beatriz journalled about living

With Spain facing rising temperatures from global warming, a cave house is a cool option to buy, rent or holiday writes Jo Chipchase

in isolation.

It wasn’t glamorous. There were no mod cons, no bathroom facilities and she emerged on April 14 saying that she ‘needed a shower’. While being confined in a dark

LOOKING TO BUY?

CAVE houses can be a real bargain, and the good news is that there’s an option to suit every buyer’s budget.

Specialist agency, Rusticom, based in Baza, has sold over 1,000 caves to date.

For just €37,000 you can snap up a two bedroom rural cave home located outside the village of Los Laneros. This is furnished and includes a second, four-room cave next door for full renovation. (photo 1)

Increase your budget to €65,000 and you can bag a cosy, mid-range cave house in Galera, Granada. (photo 2).

Getting towards the higher end, €150,000 will buy you a business

opportunity, with a cave to live inside, and another to rent out.

(photo 3)

get

cool in summer and liveable in winter, with a jumper..

In various parts of Andalucia, you can rent your very own cave, to test out the lifestyle. The options range from bijoux dwellings bedecked with traditio-

space isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, everyone can enjoy the benefits of living in caves, in smaller doses… particularly in the heat of summer, or ironically, little known to most people, in the cold of winter. For cave houses maintain an all round annual temperature of between 14C and 19C degrees, which is decidedly nal, Moorish-style soft furnishings to fully serviced ‘demi-caves’ (partially underground), and more luxurious hosted options with swimming pools and hot tubs. Subterranean style might be a trend this summer!

Where are the caves?

You’ll find cave houses, cave hotels, and even cave restaurants in famous towns like Setenil de las Bodegas, in Cadiz, while many areas of Granada province, including Guadix, Orce, Huescar and Baza, also feature them. Meanwhile in the city of Granada, the Sa-

Pros and cons of cave living

PROS

cromonte area is famous for its cave homes, originally inhabited by gypsies. According to National Geographic, cave dwellings were first adopted by inhabitants of southern Spain to shelter from storms and predatory animals and, later, religious and racial persecution. The idea of ‘shelter’ still applies today, with some people deliberately living off-radar in the caves of Sacromonte.

Some people were born in the caves and have remained there all their lives, sometimes cohabiting with animals.

9 Traditional cave areas, such as Sac- romonte, are steeped in history and tradition.

9 Being on the side of mountains, some of the cave neighbourhoods have stunning views.

9 Cool and tranquil.

9 Be a hobbit!

9 Resistant to earthquakes!

CONS

8 Some caves don’t have mobile phone coverage inside, although rental caves will provide WiFi for tourists.

8 Some cave rentals are a long walk from the nearest parking (especially in Sacromonte). This isn’t suitable for people with mobility problems.

Traditionally, cave houses were favoured by the Gitano community, as mentioned. Today people of various nationalities invest in them because of the low impact on the environment and cool (literally) vibe. Many cave-owners report a strong sense of community and heritage, not dissimilar to the houseboat community in the UK, or Amsterdam, say. Some older caves are decked out with flamenco memorabilia and are strongly linked with gypsy culture.

Why would I rent a cave?

8 You might have to walk uphill after vis- iting tourist attractions.

8 Not ideal if you’re claustrophobic.

in a cave house is incredible. The purchase price can be 20-30% less than for a standard build home and they make wonderful places to live.”

While Flamini described her time underground as ‘excellent’, most of us would prefer a few mod-cons in our cave. A subterranean paradise has its own bathroom!

A big advantage of cave houses is that they maintain a cool temperature in the summer.

In winter, this drops to between 14 and 16 degrees, and for the coldest days, some caves are equipped with wood-burners and even central heating or underfloor heating.

With silent and dark bedrooms –traditionally without windows - caves encourage peaceful sleep.

This is certainly a compelling reason to choose a cave over a ‘hostal’ or cheap hotel.

Especially in summer months, the city streets can be noisy. Even if your hotel room has double glazing, some light and noise pollution will creep through. Silence, in your cave, is golden. One incredible cave hotel, in Orce, north Granada, has 12 bedrooms. The amazing retreat, Casas Cueva el

Mirador de Orce (www.andandoporelmundo.com), run by a Frenchman, even has chandeliers in some rooms and provides a mean breakfast. Meanwhile, at Cuevas Al Jatib (www.aljatib.com) , near Baza, you will find the most stylish cave hotel imaginable with an amazing pool, giant, warren-like suites and even with its own restaurant, once selected by the Olive Press in its popular section, Dining Secrets of Andalucia Longer

stays?

The Olive Press spoke to Amelia Michaelson, a British cave-dweller of Sacromonte, who lives there permanently. She enjoys life underground. “It’s a great feeling, being inside the earth,” she explains. “A different kind of silence and a special, intimate space.” She continues: “How much light you have depends on the size of the cave, where the windows and doors are positioned, and the material. The caves are all constructed with domed ceilings and archways, so they don't collapse. They must be ventilated, like any other house.” Her cav is handily located on the doorstep of Granada’s thriving tourist centre, just a 15-minute stroll from Plaza Nueva and the cathedral. There are guided tours of the main attractions in the caves of Sacromonte and tourists come from all areas, and many hikers and cyclists too. Lots of walking trails go from Sacromonte, up the valley, or across to the Alhambra area of Granada.

Nick Wachter of Rusticom advises: “The value-for-money you can

COSY: Cueva al Jatib and (top) Casas Cueva in Orce

Suspected Ebola

A WOMAN is in a special unit of a Basque hospital with Ebola symptoms.

She is currently awaiting test results to confirm whether or not she has the virus.

If confirmed, it would be the second case in Spain after that of Galician nurse Teresa Romero, who contracted and overcame the disease in 2014.

The woman was admitted to the High Biological Security Unit of the Donostia University Hospital in San Sebastian in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The regional health department said she had recently returned from a trip to the Central African Republic and is in a stable condition.

Isolation

The Donostia Hospital is one of seven Spanish hospitals that have a unit with special high security and isolation resources for the treatment of Ebola. The disease is characterised by high fever, severe weakness, muscle and headache pain, as well as internal and external bleeding.

Ebola has a mortality rate of about 50%, but in some outbreaks it has reached as high as 90%.

It is transmitted to humans through wild animals and can then be transmitted between people.

IN a medical first for Spain, a baby has been born to a woman who received a uterus transplant.

The child, Jesus, was born to Tamara Franco in Barcelona, after the organ was donated to her by her sister in 2020 via a complicated operation that lasted more than 20 hours.

“It was a very tough but at the same time very beautiful process, and despite all of the risks it was worth it,”

Franco explained.

Franco, who is from Murcia, suffered from a condition called Rokitansky syndrome, which is when a woman is born with ovaries, but lacks a uterus and fallopian tubes. It is a condition that approximately one in every 5,000 women suffer.

Medical staff at the Clinic Hospital in Barcelona chose Franco as their first case for the pioneering surgery. After the procedure was

SWEET JESUS

Medical miracle, as baby is born to mother who received transplanted uterus

By Simon Hunter

completed, the challenge was for her to become pregnant.

After several attempts to implant embryos and one miscarriage, she finally fell pregnant last September. But the pregnancy was not without its complications,

SUGAR, SUGAR

CHILDREN in Spain scoff more than two times the amount of added sugars recommended by the World Health Organisation.

They consume 55.7 grams of added sugars per day, while the WHO suggests they shouldn’t exceed 25 daily grams.

These figures have been published as part of a study undertaken by Granada University, in which 1,775 adults who have children aged between seven and 12 took part.

Around two thirds of this sugar came from white sugar, sweets, cocoa powder, soft drinks, ice cream, biscuits, industrial cakes, chocolate bars, biscuits and sports drinks.

and Franco suffered preeclampsia – high blood pressure that could have been caused by the medication she has to take to stop her body from rejecting the organ.

At the seven-month point of the pregnancy, the baby was delivered via a caesarian, with no complications.

Strong

The child, Jesus, was kept in a neonatal intensive care unit and was discharged once he weighed 3.2 kilograms and his lungs were sufficiently strong. According to the doctors who oversaw the procedure, it was first carried out in Sweden. So far around 100 uterus transplants have been carried out worldwide,with more than 50 births recorded.

Smoke excuse

A MAN who pocketed €70 to man a voting table in Llaranes (Asturias) wandered off ‘for a cigarette’ and never returned, leaving more civic minded colleagues to count the votes.

Smoking hot

VILLARROYA (La Rioja) has broken its own record by three seconds as the whole village - all seven of them - voted in just 29 seconds in the May 28 elections.

Smokescreen

PSOE candidates in Mojacar (Almeria) called corruption when a PP councillor ‘overspent ‘ €200 on Ferrero Rocher chocolates at his dad’s petrol station using council funds, only to have seven of its members arrested for buying votes.

O P LIVE RESS The

In hot water

Viral tweet sparks fierce debate about how much Spaniards shower

A VIRAL tweet has sparked lively debate about how often Spaniards shower compared to other Europeans. The answer? Less than the Italians but more than the French. But before Brits get too smug they come in even lower. The discussion began when a Twitter user named Xavi Ruiz shared a graphic based on data from The Global Index and Wikipedia with percentages of

By Simon Hunter

inhabitants who shower every day.

For Spain, the figure is 75 to 84%, while in Italy the figure was 95% and above. France and the UK, meanwhile, came in at 65% or below, while neighbouring Portugal was at 85 to 94%.

The tweet had racked up more

IF anyone deserves to reach a century it is Doctor Charles Betty.

The big-hearted British expat hits the landmark birthday tomorrow (Thurs).

Having set up the Costa del Sol’s Age Care Association in 2018, Betty went on to become the oldest person to earn a doctorate in the UK.

Betty, who lives in Benalmadena, landed his PhD from Birmingham University for 48,000word thesis on expats in Spain.

He did this alongside his consulate-backed

than 12 million visits within days, with 2,227 retweets and more than 14,600 ‘likes’. The tweet prompted a shower of responses, with some users questioning the validity of the

HAPPY 100

Support in Spain website, which earned him an MBE last year from Prince William. He received messages of support, from former consul Charmaine Arbouin and his ex-lecturer, Dr Kelly Hall, who said he had ‘done so much to support the British community in Spain’. He took early retirement as a UK schools inspector to move to Malaga to care for his ailing wife in 1986.

data and others arguing that a daily dose of water and soap is unnecessary, according to scientific studies. Others pointed to the need in hotter countries for more regular ablutions. “If it’s hotter, you are going to sweat more,” wrote one user. And of course there were plenty of jokes from Spaniards about the high figure for their own country. “Then you catch the bus and you understand” wrote one user. Another user pointed to their experience at music festivals in the UK. “At the showers in Glastonbury it was just foreigners in the queue,” he wrote. “And the only Europeans were Spaniards!”

A WOMAN had a miraculous escape after a pallet carrying a ton of cement fell from a crane and crushed her car below. The accident happened after a cable snapped, sending the 1,000 kilos of material plummeting toward her Smart car in Granada. Incredibly, the 23-year-old driver was able to exit the car without assistance. She was taken to hospital for minor injuries.

Smash and grabbed

A DRUNK driver who raced off when confronted by a cop was not too hard to find - he crashed his car smack bang into a police station.

The 23-year-old was allegedly driving with an arm in a sling while four times over the legal limit.

An off duty cop identified himself at which point the young driver drove off - but he did not get far. He once more lost control of his car, smashed into the nearby police station in Cerro Amate (Sevilla) and was promptly grabbed by officers.