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- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
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Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin May 19
FEATURED ARTICLES: "Complete guide to the 7 rules tourist in Spain have to know this summer" and "New study reveals how to repel mosquitoes"
With little more than a week left until the local municipal elections here in Spain, everyone has ballot box fever. Incumbent politicians are conveniently rolling out big, popular changes just in time for the voting to start on May 28, secure in the belief that voters are fickle and their memories short, while opposition contenders are falling over themselves to make all the most spectacular, wonderful and unfeasible promises imaginable.
In just over a week, we will know which red Ayuntamientos will be turning blue, which blue ones will be turning red, and who will be plumping for the purple, green and orange. It will also give us a good idea of what we can expect from the general election scheduled for this autumn, and thus what direction the country might take as of 2024, including – crucially for us – whether it is more open to and welcoming of foreigners or not.
With that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to remind you of all the main rules that tourists visiting Spain have to know for this summer… whether you’re going out to visit Spain on holiday yourself or you have guests coming out to visit you, here’s what you can and cannot do or risk the wrath of the Spanish!
Plus a handy and kind of disgusting trick for keeping mozzies at bay this summer…
The tourist’s guide to avoiding holiday fines in Spain this summer
The holiday season is almost upon us and, as always, Spain is expected to be one of the most sought-after destinations for British, German, Belgian and Norwegian tourists again this summer.
But many regions are cracking down on so-called drunken tourism and have implemented new rules for summer 2023 that could catch holidaymakers out – and cost them dearly!
Getting into Spain
For Brits, Brexit has had a serious impact on how and when you can travel, so it’s important to check your passport before any trip abroad: British passports must have been issued within 10 years to guarantee entry to Spain, and they must have at least three months validity remaining from the date you leave.
And even when you touch down in Spain, remember that border control officers have the right to demand proof of funds from UK visitors. If asked, Britons must be able to show that they have at least 100 euros per day of their holiday, and should also be able to produce proof of where they are staying and a return flight home.
All this before you even step foot on Spanish soil! Once you’re here, though, there is a series of regulations that could land you in hot water if flouted, whatever nationality you are…
Drink responsibly
Since last year, many popular all-inclusive resorts in the likes of Magaluf, Mallorca and Ibiza have restrictions on the amount of drink that can be consumed. Visitors to certain hotels will be restricted to six free alcoholic beverages per day.
Many areas, particularly the islands, have also banned organised pub crawls, happy hours and booze cruises, while in Madrid, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, drinking alcohol in public places, except licensed bars and restaurants, is strictly forbidden and is punishable with a fine of up to 3,000 euros.
In the ever-popular Costa del Sol, stag and hen dos have been curtailed, so it’s illegal to walk down the street scantily dressed or carrying those rude inflatables shaped like genitals.
Other tourist hotspots like Alicante and Barcelona are introducing noise pollution rules for the first time this year, with hefty fines ranging from 600 to 300,000 euros for such infractions as talking too loudly at night, playing music on the beach and watching football on TV on an outdoor terrace at a high-volume.
Elsewhere, it’s frowned upon for people to stroll around in swimwear anywhere but the beach, and several restaurants in Palma have banned football strips, swimsuits, tank tops without straps and any accessories purchased from street vendors, such as gold chains or glow-in-the-dark hats.
Every summer without fail in Spain, there are tragic accidents when drunken foreign tourists are seriously injured or killed after falling from a hotel balcony, or trying to do a backflip into a shallow swimming pool, or leaping from a 40-foot cliff face into the rough sea.
It’s not a coincidence, it’s not big and it’s not clever. But things can happen to good people, and to ensure it’s not you or anyone you love, please drink responsibly and don’t do anything foolish. You’re not Batman!
Don’t smoke on the beach
Finally, beaches up and down the country have begun banning smoking in an attempt to reduce the number of cigarette butts discarded in the sand. Last year, Barcelona prohibited puffing on every one of its beaches and this summer, the Balearic Islands are following suit on no fewer than 28 coastal spots.
Smoke-free beaches can also be found in Ibiza, Menorca, Mallorca and parts of Alicante, Murcia and Andalucía, but these are all well signposted.
If you fancy a cigarette, just move the few metres back away from the beach to the seafront promenade or to the pavement and pop your butt in the bin when you’re done to avoid being fined.
Buzz off!
With a few wet and windy days on the horizon, we’ll all be looking forward to a return to summer but with the heat comes one unwelcome visitor: the mosquito. The bane of every holidaymaker and resident, mosquito bites are not only itchy and uncomfortable but can be downright dangerous for some.
There are many anecdotes doing the rounds, such as that mosquitoes are attracted to a certain blood type, or that eating pungent foods like garlic will keep them at bay. But in reality, these things have little to do with it.
In fact, research has revealed that it’s actually the chemical compounds on our skin that attract these insects and just this week, a new study claims to have finally found a way to repel mosquitoes. And the best news is that it’s a simple change to make.
Scientists at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the US have studied the unique smell of people’s bodies, and how this interacts with certain soaps. The scientists believe that floral scents draw blood-sucking insects, since they use aromas emitted by plants to find nectar.
On the other hand, “multiple publications show that coconut-derived chemicals tend to have a repellent effect on blood-feeding insects.”
So basically, just stop washing with smelly shower gels this summer and reach for the oconut skin cream instead. Your neighbours and friends will thank you when your sweaty pits are stinky enough to fumigate the whole neighbourhood and keep them safe from annoying mosquito bites. Be sure to let them know they can express their gratitude by buying you a glass of wine whenever suits them.
Murcia
This was the week when the brand-spanking new Grand Hyatt Hotel opened on La Manga Club, with all its refurbed bells and whistles. The old Príncipe Felipe Hotel was closed for nearly two years and has undergone extensive and expensive renovations.
Jordi Ferrer, CEO of the Hesperia Investment Group, which is the driving economic force behind Grand Hyatt’s big opening, said it is “undoubtedly an important step for our company and for the Spanish tourism sector as a whole”.
“We are convinced that with this new hotel, distinguished by the exclusivity of its services and location, we will offer unique experiences to our customers and generate new value for the Region of Murcia,” he commented at the grand reopening this Monday.
More than just PR bluff, he may have a point. It’s estimated that this luxury hotel will not only bring in loads of new visitors to La Manga, but that it will give a welcome boost to the property market, local businesses and the economy of the entire Region of Murcia. At least, that’s the hope and expectation. Only time will tell if it really happens.
On the Region of Murcia’s other big urbanisation of foreign residents, Camposol, there is extremely positive news as Mazarrón Town Hall, whose jurisdiction the urbanisation is in, has signed a contract to finally resolve the discrepancies been the original construction plans and what was actually built.
The company that built the resort in the first place, MASA, did not strictly follow the plans, changing the position of the motorway access point for the urbanisation, neglecting to build certain planned roundabouts and building others that were never in the blueprints, and several other oversights.
All of this led to difficulties when it came to modifying the urbanisation’s infrastructure, and a blanket suspension has been in place on building permits for the last 7 years. It is hoped that the current modification contract in the works will resolve these issues once and for all.
There has also been an update from Corvera Airport, with the announcement that there will soon be flights between Murcia and Spain’s two biggest cities: Madrid and Barcelona.
From November 2023, Spanish airline Volotea will put on two return flights each week to and from both cities. Nice to be connected to more destinations from Murcia’s airport, and from Madrid’s Barajas airport and Barcelona’s El Prat (don’t laugh) you can get onward flights to almost anywhere in the world. But for many it’s still not enough; what’s needed are direct flights from Murcia to more international destinations.
Others still hold out hope of regaining that Shambhala of San Javier Airport. However, that plane has well and truly sailed as the latest plan for San Javier is to turn the old airport into a giant aquarium filled with endangered species from the Mar Menor.
As well as being focused on the conservation of native Mar Menor species, it’s also planned to open up the aquarium to tourists who can enjoy the spectacular wildlife while learning a little something about the local ecosystem.
Scientists have been looking for the ideal place to base their project to study endangered seahorses and shellfish since 2018, and after San Javier airport variously failed to turn into an aviation museum and the home of the Spanish space agency, it seemed like the obvious choice. Do you think this is the definitive plan that will really go ahead for the repurposing of the airport building? Or will this, too, fail to get off the ground?
Finally, on the other popular resorts of Condado de Alhama and the Mar Menor Golf Resort, there are loads live concerts taking place, including rock from Stephen Lafferty and reggae with Kev Moore at the Bokao Bar.
For more events like this coming up soon in the Region of Murcia, check out our EVENTS DIARY:
Spain
Ireland is in the doghouse this week as the European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV), which is run by the Spanish Wine Federation, has lodged a complaint with the European Committee over the warning labels the Irish government puts on alcoholic beverages.
As well as stating the nutritional value of wine, Irish labels also carry a stark warning that consuming too much booze could lead to alcohol abuse, a move the Spanish believe is hampering sales. And they’re not alone in this thinking, since 13 EU Member States have complained about Irish labelling to the EC and another eight non-EU countries have approached the World Trade Organisation about the matter.
Good news for UK travellers this week as Jet2 has announced dozens of new flights from its 11th base in Britain for next summer. Beginning in March 2024, Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport will offer 20 new flights to popular sun destinations, including Spain.
Offering no fewer than 564,000 seats from Liverpool, next year the budget airline will run as many as 54 flights per week, 12 of which will operate between the UK base and the Canary and Balearic Islands.
Other sought-after destinations from Liverpool will include Portugal, Greece and Bulgaria.
Check out the full list of summer 2024 flights between Spain and Liverpool here
We’re approaching that time of year when, unfortunately, tragic stories begin to emerge of holidaymakers running into trouble while visiting Spain. Sadly that was the case this week when a 61-year-old Irish woman died after the off-road buggy she was driving along a scenic route in Lanzarote plunged 20 metres off an embankment.
Her daughter, who travelled to the Canary Islands on a South African passport, suffered severe head injuries and is in a critical condition at the Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital in the island city of Arrecife.
Local reports claim the Irish woman may have lost control of the buggy while driving too fast around a steep bend.
The mother and daughter, understood to be in her mid-40s, were on an excursion organised by the buggy company between the town of Teseguite and the village of Guatiza, an area famous for its volcanic rock formation and popular with tourists from across the globe.
Alicante
A British family has been left devastated after an 18-month-old toddler tragically drowned in a private pool at a villa in La Nucia, 10km from Benidorm this week.
It has since been confirmed the child was a little boy, although it’s still not clear whether the tragic child’s family were on holiday or live at the villa.
The toddler was pulled from the water unconscious and emergency responders including medical staff and police raced to the villa. A helicopter was also sent to the scene but all efforts to resuscitate the little boy proved unsuccessful.
A spokesman for Alicante Guardia Civil said: “This incident is still under investigation but everything so far is pointing to the youngster’s death being a tragic accident.”
Unsurprisingly, the highest number of drownings in swimming pools and on beaches in Spain occur during the summer and spring. And the Valencia Region recorded the highest number of drownings in 2022 with 67. There were a total of 394 drownings in Spain last year, 51% more than in 2021.
In the neighbouring resort of Benidorm, an enormous fire broke out in the Armanello area at around 4pm on Tuesday, sending columns of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles around. Horrified tourists watched from the safety of their balconies as the inferno licked through nearby scrubland.
The fire is believed to have originated in abandoned plots of land where rubbish, mattresses and tonnes of other flammable waste have been dumped. Worryingly, the fire broke out just metres away from the main tourist strip and the Pueblo de Benidorm market.
Firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control, with a helicopter and an AT-55 plane dropping water from above. Several nearby homes had to be evacuated but thankfully no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, police along with friends and family of an 80-year-old Swedish man were given quite a scare when the octogenarian disappeared for more than two hours in rugged terrain in Algorfa, Orihuela district. He was found confused and injured.
The pensioner was attempting to release a pet tortoise close to a nearby river – it’s not clear why.
A 93-year-old friend, who was waiting for him in the car, raised the alarm when the octogenarian had not returned from what should have been a 10-minute task more than two hours later.
The natural area off the CV-920 is particularly overgrown and it transpires the elderly man had intended to release his pet tortoise and got lost.
The Guardia Civil and Benijófar Local Police began searching the area and finally discovered him “disoriented and covered in cuts and bruises...he was also completely dehydrated, as temperatures were very high that day”.
The disheveled and hurt Swedish man was treated at the scene before being transferred to Torrevieja Hospital.
He is now recovering at his home in Torrevieja, and the animal is being cared for at Alicante’s Santa Faz Wildlife Recovery Centre.
If you’re looking for something to do in the Costa Blanca area this stormy weekend, remember it’s not too late to visit the wildly popular Xian Terracotta Army exhibition at the Alicante Provincial Archaeological Museum (MARQ), which is being billed as “one of the main cultural events of the year in Spain”.
You can now join the Costa Blanca What’s On and Where to Go Facebook group to see more events coming up in the area!
Andalucía
“They’ve gone mad.”
These were the words of Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition this week after she found out that the Andalucía regional government, the Junta de Andalucía, has given the greenlight to building a massive residential development with a hotel, 300 villas and golf course right next to the Parque Nacional de Doñana in Huelva and Seville.
The Junta was already up to their necks in hot water over a previous plan to allow more irrigation for water-intensive strawberry farms around the National Park right in the middle of a drought.
What’s more, Doñana is a nature reserve for many protected species of plants and wildlife which the EU is currently considering declaring the area an “endangered World Heritage Site” due to the lack of water.
Quite why the Andalucía government would think it’s a good idea to build 300 villas and a huge, water-sucking golf course there has many people scratching their heads, but equally confusing is the timing. Bernard ‘The Crazy Belgian’ Devos has been trying to get this project off the ground since 2003, so why would the Junta decide to move it to the next step in the middle of a reelection campaign?
An environmental report suggests there is just about enough water for the project, but the decision on whether or not to proceed with the building the resort is in the hands of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (CHG), the water management body for the area which is part of the central government in Madrid.
As yet, they have not given any indication of whether they approve or disapprove of the plan.
Over on the Costa del Sol, meanwhile, an Italian man was arrested this week suspected of stabbing his 28-year-old partner to death.
The 45-year-old man allegedly murdered his partner at around 11.30am on Wednesday May 17 in the area of La Carihuela in Torremolinos. By the time paramedics arrived at the scene, the woman was already dead. The man was located and put in cuffs later that same afternoon.
Both the suspect and the victim had previously been registered in the Viogen domestic abuse reporting system, but both of them with separate partners and not with each other.
Torremolinos Town Hall declared a day of official mourning on Thursday, flying the flags outside all municipal buildings at half mast and holding a minute’s silence for the woman.
In cheerier news, off-duty hero Irish firefighters saved the life of a biker who had had an accident on the road.
Dublin Fire Brigade station manager Dave Connolly had been at a conference in Seville with six colleagues, and the group was just heading back to Malaga Airport when they came across a collision between a car and a motorbike that had occurred less than a minute before.
The team of professional firefighters and paramedics snapped into action, using their rental car to block traffic and instructing another motorist to call an ambulance while they attended to the injured motorcyclist, who was fortunate that Dave and the crew happened upon him so soon after the accident happened. Any later and he would almost certainly have died on the roadside.
“Unless there’s an intervention within one or two minutes, you’re going into respiratory arrest and shortly after that cardiac arrest,” said Dave. “That patient is possibly the luckiest man in the fact we happened to be driving around at that time – because he wouldn’t have survived if they had waited for the ambulance.”
The biker is still in a serious condition but recovering in ICU, while the Irish heroes made it to the airport to catch their flight home “by the skin of their teeth.”
“There must be Irish in that patient's family because he is just so lucky!” quipped Dave.
You may have missed…
- Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch returns to Spain after murder acquittal.
Notorious Irish crime boss Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has reportedly returned to Spain after being acquitted of murder. - Police in Spain launch sea search for missing rugby star Levi Davis.
The Mossos d’Esquadra, the Police force in Barcelona, launched a maritime search of the Barcelona Port on Thursday May 18 for any trace of Levi Davis, a 24-year-old rugby player who went missing on October 29 while on holiday in Spain. - Newly released lynx escapes and wanders into Lorca city playground.
Barely two months after four endangered Iberian lynx were released into their new nature reserve in the foothills of Lorca, one of the animals has traversed a busy motorway and made its way into a city centre playground. - Missing Brit, 44, found dead in Lanzarote.
A 44-year-old British man has been found dead on the Spanish Island of Lanzarote after failing to turn up for his flight back to the UK with a pal on Thursday May 11. - Beer prices skyrocket by 16% in Spain!
A sobering cocktail of rising energy bills and a shortage of cereals in Spain has seen the cost of a caña spiral.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and we’ll be back next week.
’Til then!
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