This was the general consensus of the crowd gathered outside the Almuñécar court house, as Antonio Costas - the man accused of murdering La Herradura businessman Daniel Barbero back in May 1998 - was escorted to the waiting police van.

Antonio Costas had fled Spain shortly after the killing and made his way to Santa Margarita, Venezuela, where he was arrested by Interpol on the 14th of last month. The case was very nearly shelved in March 2001 but Daniel's family appealed against it with the result that the case was left open.

For those who do not remember the tragic events of May 1998, Daniel Barbero was found shot dead in his car on La Herradura sea front. The whole of the village was profoundly shocked and angered by the slaying of this well-liked son of La Herradura. In fact, feeling ran so high that one month after the murder three hundred people protested through the village against the lack of results in the police investigations.

Daniel left a young widow and four daughters.

It was mentioned in last month's Gazette that Nerja had at last done away with 'traffic light alley', with the completion of the access roundabouts. It used to be a nightmare because the traffic lights were not synchronised; it would have still been a pain, even if they had. Nerja was able to do this because the N340 is no longer the main coastal road, thanks to the new motorway. Almuñécar, on the other hand, will have have to wait for the completion of the motorway to be able to put roundabouts on its stretch of the N340. Even with the benefit of Nerja's traffic light experience, a Partido Andalucista Member of Parliament, on behalf of the Almuñécan PA, has had a good whinge to the Minister of Public Works in Madrid, saying that Almuñécar needs batteries of traffic lights at its main road access points. The first batch is at the Taramay turn off for Velilla. The second set, a mere one hundred yards further on at the Portichuelo crossroads (2nd access to Velilla) and the third set at the new junction that gives access to the P4 estate. Unfortunately, in the South of Spain, traffic lights cause accidents because they give a false sense of right-of-way. Drivers approaching a light that is about to turn red make a dash through and drivers waiting to pull out, seeing the lights are about to change, move out. If there were no lights, then the driver waiting to pull out does not rely on the false hope that the oncoming car will stop; he sees a psychopath enclosed in 2 tons of hurtling metal and waits for him to go by. This is not always the case, for there will always be accidents, as long as transport is directed by emotion plagued guidance systems - Man. The problem is not a lack of traffic lights but badly designed junctions. The case of the Portichuelo junction that is accident beset is a clear case of a badly designed junction. Traffic lights, besides being impractical, will not solve the problem. How can you put traffic lights on an over-taking lane, for example? Almuñécar had the space and time to put flyovers, as is the case in Salobreña and Motril, but decided that putting fruit storehouses next to a junction and allowing articulated lorries to use it as a loading bay, was a better idea. There is still time and space to put a flyover in between the Guardia Civil junction and the petrol station junction. The main road at Portichuelo was built up over a natural dip, so why can't the junction go under it because there is space for a bleed-in lane on the San Juan side? As for Taramay - who gave planning permission for that bloody hideous housing estate between the tunnel and the junction? Let me guess... Traffic comes from the tunnel down a blind alley, thanks to the housing estate, and spills down into an improvised junction with no visibility. Traffic lights are not the answer; foresight is. Amen.

Vacancy: Socialist candidates for the post of mayor in Almuñécar. Applicants need be of good appearance and not be overly friendly with the opposition, even if it means a good salary for a couple of years. Well, that rules out Sr. Rebollo, whether or not he would make a good mayor. According to a recent poll, he is the most popular candidate, yet his dealings with the enemy are hardly going to favour his case in the eyes of the provincial party chiefs. The local general secretary for the socialists, Jesus Palacios, has publicly stated that he will not be running for the post but they all say that until the last moment. Jesus is the brother of the conservative big knob, Andrés Palacios meaning that the Palacios are well in at the Palacio (palace). Anyway, the socialists had until the 26th January to get their act sorted out - let's see.

For once, it seems, the unions and management are of accord: the Costa del Sol cannot continue to increase its number of hotel beds without a corresponding rise in demand. According to a recent report a further 30,000 hotel beds are planned in the next few years, however, hotel occupation descended last year. Surprisingly enough, it was the AEHCOS (Association of Hoteliers, Costa del Sol) who sounded the alarm. "Of course we would like to expand; it's natural but only as long as there is an increase in demand." Comisiones Obreras, Spain's second biggest trade union, carried out a study on tourist activity from 1995 to 2002 and they came up with the same conclusion - demand was dropping, not rising. In Almuñécar there is at least one hotel under construction at the moment with several more approved. Gonzalo Fuentes, chairman of the AEHCOS said, "We must break with the maxim, 'the more the merrier' and concentrate on bettering public transport and beach care." The common complaints made by tourists are: building-sprawl, noise and dirtiness.

Twenty-four percent of the avocados exported from Spain come from the Costa Granadina, principally Almuñécar. Málaga provided the majority of avocado exports, 36,000m/tons, mainly from the Axarquia area. The Costa Granadina provided 12,000m/tons and the Canary Islands 57 tons (1%). The vast majority was bought by France (63%), followed by the UK (11%). Some even went as far afield as Singapore. Granada beats Málaga in the chirimoyo stakes - unfortunately, because it is a finicky product that travels badly and appeals to few.

The Almuñécar Tourist Board has fixed its budget for 2003 at 300,000 euro - now, isn't that mind-bogglingly interesting? Where does it get its reddies from? Firstly, 25% of all the town hall makes from building licences for hotels and their opening licences. It also counts on Tourist board membership fees. For example, a two-star hotel pays 6 euro per room, whereas a B&B pays 4 euro. What does it do with its money? It spends it on promotional acts such as international and national tourist fairs, 'fam trips', whatever they are; on staff, 110,000 euro and annual prizes for promotional events such as the 'Golden Avocado' etc.

The town council (PP) and the opposition party (PA) are at each other's throats still. The Mayor says that Sr. Benavides is out to paralyse the town's progress in urban expansion, while Sr. Benavides of the PA says that the town hall is only bothered about collecting taxes rather than doing anything constructive. Of course, politicians and lawyers tend to make more noise when election or billing time comes around, but even so, something has got to give. The Mayor rejects claims by the opposition that they have formed a pelotazo urbanístico (urban cock-up) by allowing the construction of a 7-storey block on the Avenida Costa del Sol. He says that this urban planning compromise was signed by none other than Sr. Benavides in 1987, when he was mayor. He also points out that the PA is trying to lay the blame for the problems of the Marina del Este and other projects at the present town hall council's door, yet they were all included in the annual building plan of 1987. The mayor calls for the town's citizens to reflect on the negative 'blocking' attitude employed by the opposition when the local elections come round. Sr. Benavides, on the other hand, criticises the town hall for selling off at a public auction plot 4 of the P12 building zone and the P13 building zone (Citasol, Taramay), at a time when young people are crying out for cheap housing; namely state built council houses. The PSOE (socialist), erstwhile allies of the PP, are keeping out of it, happy to let the political attrition pass them by.

Progress is progress, but not when it's not progressing! The work on the Velilla road just before the Rio Verde bridge is in the name of progress because once the sewage collection nexus and pump is installed, then sewage can be pumped up to the sewage treatment plant near the Barranco de Ítrabo. The problem is that it seemingly is not progressing. In fact, the only noticible change is in the patience of the locals. For over two months the crater has stubbonly squatted there sprouting fences, curious on-lookers and self important signs telling motorists to sod off. People who wish to use the road have to make a detour around Las Gondolas, which isn't the end of the world - just near it. This traffic interruption could well last until Semana Santa. One thing is for sure, the patience of the locals won't. Business is wilting since it has been denied traffic irrigation. Get the damn thing finished, for God's sake!

Ever since the water park promontory was built, Vellila Beach has suffered the consequences of accelerated erosion. The local fishermen will tell you, lo que robas del Mar, el Mar robará de otro lado. (Whatever you steal from the sea, the sea will take back somewhere else). It's hardly surprising, for them at least, that each spring huge amounts of 'sand' disappear from Velilla Beach, which runs from the water park to the Tesorillo Beach. For this reason the administrative department in charge of the coastline, La Dirección General de Costas has told Almuñécar town hall that it is considering a project in which a breakwater will be built. The positive effects of breakwaters can be seen on the growing beaches in front of the Paseo.

There is a wonderful Spanish phrase to express political back peddling. Donde dije 'digo', digo 'Diego'. Quite literally it means, 'Where I said "I say", I say, "David", but it would be better interpreted as, 'Where I said, "I saw", I meant, "Eyesore". Sr Benavides has accused the present mayor of building hotels in less than adequate building land. The Mayor replied, "Wait a moment! It was you who signed the approval of those projects." No doubt his reply was, "Yes, but that's not the point."

Everything is big in America, but things grow bigger here. Last month we spoke about a huge pumpkin big enough to contain 50 litres of wine... fortunately. Now it's Manuel Martínez and his amazing mega-lemons! One of them weighs just over 3 kilos and the same tree produced two more juicy juggernauts of 2.6k and 1.95k. Manuel can't explain why this particular tree has produced such boulders because he treats it just like any other lemon tree that he has on his farm. But it doesn't stop there folks, on a trip up into the mountains, we stopped at the bar Los Prados, which is on the way to Granada along the Cabra Montés road. Antonio has on display a crazy cauliflower of God knows how many kilos. Judge for yourselves from the photo on the previous page.

The Kasbah is Almuñécar's first bookshop where you can buy the latest titles. I say this because I can't remember any such shop in the twenty odd years that I have been here and there certainly wasn't one here before. If you wanted to buy a new book in English you had to go to Nerja or ask someone to bring it out for you. Of course, there were secondhand books available - one of the first secondhand shops was John & Anne's. The Kasbah sells a lot more than books, though. There is the jewellery and artisan ornaments side to it, as well.

Irene and Hammish Cambell are from Edinburgh and handle the books side of the twin business. Irene has worked in the publishing trade before coming out to Spain, as well as in arts administration. Hammish, on the other hand, was an engineer. If they don't have the book that you are looking for in stock, then they will order it for you with no fuss. Irene and Hammish Cambell moved over to Spain back in 2000 when they bought a house in La Herradura. The jewellery and artisan side of things occupies the other half of these very spacious and well-lit premises, situated on Avenida Juan Carlos I near the beach (next to Mapfre and in front of Kings). Paul and Gary Read are two brothers who had the good fortune of meeting and marrying Cherry and Debbie. The result is two Mr and Mrs Read's and very original artisan ornaments business that produces all kinds of pieces, principally made from recycled material. The wives handle the jewellery side. Our editor went to the shop in search of an interview and came out with a good book for himself and a belated 3 kings' present for his girlfriend, for which he will be eternally grateful, because dark clouds had been gathering at home. So, wander around there for yourselves and have a look!

You would never have noticed it, if they hadn't knocked it down. The old building across the river from Radiovisión provided some entertainment for the locals, during its final moments. I asked one of the older members of the crowd how long the building had been there. She thought it was about thirty years but her husband told us both that she was a 'lunatic' because the place was built just over fifty years ago. Not offended by his observation on her state of mental health, she nodded and said, "Yes, I remember now. I used to do the washing in the river there and one day a man said that I would have to do it elsewhere because they were going to build a big modern house there." It made me think of how much times had changed in the life of one building - that she used to wash her clothes there! Nowadays the river is somewhere you would take your clothes, if you wanted to get them dirty. Anyway, the whole demolition scene was like the atmosphere of a Roman arena; bloodthirsty plebeians grinning and pointing as the mechanical beast ripped huge chunks of concrete flesh from the stoic mastodon with its impressive claw. The building even bled obligingly. They had obviously forgotten to shut the water off and a pipe that ran to a roof water tank was ripped free, spurting its 'blood' to the approval of the crowds. The owner of the JCB asked me why I was taking pictures of his machine. I replied that I was taking pictures of a house being knocked down. Had he not noticed? The owner, who was obviously doing something that the tax dept would not know about insisted, "If you want to take pictures of my machine you should ask my permission!" I had lost the grin off my face by then. I pointed out that this was a street scene and as such, public. "Do I need permission from the owners of every parked car and flats that appear in the background as well?" He was feeling important and logic was not going to get in his way. "I don't care about them; I'm talking about my machine." I was seriously angry by then but even so I resisted the temptation of telling him 'to fornicate into the distance' because I didn't want the boss's camera snatched off me and fed to his omnivore pet - the JCB. So, I apologised for not asking his permission and before he could say anymore, wished him a good day, got on my bike, took a photo of him and sodded off.

Back from Argentina, Ricardo and Patricia at Gracias Maradona - the Argentinian BBQ and roasts bar/restaurant in Taramay, Almuñécar - have come up with a good offer for all of us inveterate carnivores. A free grill every day - the Menú Criollo! Hold your hooves! When I say 'free', I mean 'free' in the sense, 'free buffet', for example, so all the Scots and Catalans can drop their car keys and relax. It is, however, a very good deal at 15 euro (Children under 8 only 7 euro). There are five dishes, all of which you can repeat as many times as you wish. Drinks, of course, are not included. Nobody knows more about grilling or roasting meat than the Argentineans. In fact, rumour has it that Noah was from Buenos Aires and that there had originally been at least three bulls as well as the cow on board - or is that just a load of bull? Anyway, this offer is limited to February. He also does a very good menu del día for only 8 euro, from Tuesday to Friday. The main dish is Bife de Chorizo, which has nothing to do with the Spanish Chorizo - this one is an entrecôte steak. It comes with chips or mash. Finally, for those who have no idea what Argentinean food is like and are lost when looking at the menu, the Menu Argentino gives you a good cross-section.

Around the middle of the month the American Club held a dinner event in the Mar de Plata Restaurant on Playa de San Cristóbal, Almuñécar. Axel Thieke, author of our Gazette medical column, was invited to speak there about the Evangelisches Johanneswerk España residential complex, of which he is the resident doctor. The residential complex has been open since November 2002 and is situated very near the Mirador on the main road just before entering Almuñécar from the Malaga side. It has 55 units of 32 to 70m2, all of which have their own terraces or balconies. The residency prides itself with always maintaining a humane profile, which distinguishes its Christian entity.

This year La Herradura held the XIX edition of the International Andrés Segovia Competition. It was won by the Norwegian guitarist Anders Clemens Oien from Oslo who won the first prize consisting of 8,000 euro and a guitar made by Paco Santiago Marín, which in itself is valued at 6,000 euro. The second prize of 4,000 euro was won by the Spaniard, Ramón Carnota Méndez from Coruña. The third prize of 2,000 euro was won by the Ukrainian, Roman Viazovskiy from Donezk, who also won a special prize of 700 euro for the best interpretation of 'Westwart Voyage' by the American composer, James Lentini. This competition, held in the church of the small village of La Herradura, already has an international reputation: of the 31 young guitarists, all under the age of 35 who entered the competition, 25 were selected from 16 different countries. The competition, which is sponsored by The National Institute of Art and Music of the Ministry of Culture, amongst others, paid homage to Bach (1685-1750) and the Cuban musician, Leo Brouwer (1939)

The Scottish community was being mildly scandalous at the beginning of the year, showing to all Hogmanay is a time to let your kilt down. The ancient custom of 'sitting on a Scotsman' was practised on the beach, just outside the Cochera beach bar, provoking spontaneous admiration from the passing Spaniards.

You will probably have noticed that the local post office is being renovated. This is to, 'take better advantage of space available and to provide services that were lacking'. While all this is going on, the postal facilities have been transfered to 26, Calle Gonzalo Barbero. The new post office will have around fifty long awaited 'apartados' (individual post boxes). This is excellent news, of course, for all those who were forced to use the poste-restante system. It's also good news for other post office users because the small office was always crammed with people waiting to pick up their mail. The post office, however, will still count on only three postal workers - insufficient in the eyes of the union and many residents.

The battlefront widens in the run up to the local elections. In the Almuñécan political struggle, the fight has swung over to La Herradura - the satellite town with a decisive vote in the Almuñécar town council. The PA has accused Juan Mora, the PILH councillor (Partido para la Independencia de La Herradura) of having economic activities that are incompatible with his civil post and therefore must resign. The author of the 'denuncia' is Joaquín Cabrera. Juan Mora is a partner/share holder and administrator of La Cañada de La Herradura SL., which according to the PA transgresses Ley (Law) 53/84 because he is at present the vice-mayor and councillor for La Herradura. According to the PA on the 25th of July 2000 Sr. Mora was made the administrator of a company with a capital of 120,000 euro. On the 1st of March the capital was increased to 360,000 euro. Any member of a municipal corporation must declare any changes to his financial status in the space of a month - allegedly this was not done. Sr. Mora only declared some of his new activities, thereby hiding the full extent, claims the PA. Sr. Mora has chosen not to say anything in response to this accusation for the moment. The Mayor, Juan Luis González, however, has defended the legality of Sr. Mora's position. He also says that JoaquÌn's actions are motivated by the fact that Juan Mora instigated the disciplinary legal proceedings against a green house built by Sr. Cabrera without a licence. Again, according to the Mayor, on the day that Sr. Cabrera was informed of the legal proceedings against him, he said, "I'm going to get Mora." Finally, the Mayor says that on the day that the council approved building permission for Juan Mora's company, Sr. Mora did not attend the meeting so as not to influence the voting. Let's see what happens.

You expect the occasional bump or dip in a road but there are limits. The return flow street for the one-way beach road conjures up images of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' because you have obstacles to the right and obstacles to the left and a nasty surprise at the end of it. That, in itself, is fine but the least you can expect is a surface that doesn't resemble a sheet of corrugated iron! If you're on a bike, you suddenly get sent off at a right angle. If you're driving a car, you're in danger of losing your exhaust pipe, if you're unluckly. Apparently, it's been like that for a couple of years, so it's about time that it was sorted out. Is there anybody out there listening?

From our Herradura Insiders:
This is written to give our readers an insight into life in La Herradura. Informing you of forthcoming and past events, the people of La Herradura and of course any gossip we can pick up on our travels.

Let's start with our good friend Carlos, of El Bar de Carlos fame, who has moved on. After building his thriving business in Avda. Prieto Moreno from humble beginnings in Bar Canada next to the petrol station, he has sold up to Filo, who is ably assisted by Juan and daughter Laura. The new owners are beginning to wonder how the human dynamo Carlos managed to do it almost single handedly.

Many heads are being turned at the sight of a black cab (London taxi) cruising the streets of La Herradura. Fear not, it is our host Rafa at the Clipper bar on the beach, who claims that anyone coming to the Clipper for a meal can be collected and returned safely home in the taxi free of charge, (the transport that is).

The annual invasion of camper vans arrived in mid Jan. More than a dozen were seen at times parked on the beach near restaurant Tito Pepe. The only local business that appeared to benefit from their visit was the supermarket that they chose to surround.

Good news about our friend Davor, husband of Serena, who has returned home following his accident in Granada and is making good progress. Best wishes from all.

Our merry band of revellers chose El Tinao Del Mar as the venue for our Meal of the Month issue. The menu caters for most tastes and has a good choice of both starters and main courses all reasonably priced. Not everyone opted for a starter although those who did were impressed. The main courses were beautifully presented, although the general opinion was that a few more chips and veg. would have been welcomed. This apart, everyone enjoyed their meal and had a wonderful evening in very nice surroundings. Our party of 7 paid just under 150 euro, which included a couple of bottles of house red and a few customary beers, excellent value and good service. We will endeavor to check out another local establishment next month and pass on our thoughts and opinions to readers.

Two workmen were spotted on the site of the new town hall in Jan. It is believed they were looking for a lunchbox one of them had left behind on their last visit in June.

Hope you enjoyed our introductory column and we look forward to passing on more info next month.

The Mayor of Frigiliana has said that he will get the water supply sorted out - at last. At the moment the village's water supply comes via a concrete agricultural water channel, as it has done for the last 50 years, which is not the healthiest arrangement. The town hall intends to provide electricity for the area between Pinarillo Espeso next to the river Higuerón and the point where the water supply is obtained at Alcáncar. At present water goes from the source to the gravity-fed municipal water deposits at Lizar at a pressure of 16 litres p/sec. Javier López Ruiz, the mayor, says that the first step will be to sanitise the water supply because of its clouded state and to add chlorine.

Drug traffickers, who were too busy looking through the rear window at the pursuing Guardia Civil patrol car, drove off the road and shot off down a steep ravine. The guardia men, who were keen to catch them, but not that keen, screeched to a halt. By the time that they had worked their way down to the car on foot, there was no sign of the driver or other occupants. The police had seen a boat approach the Cantarijan beach with no lights. They had gleefully observed the smugglers load the 720 kilos of hash into a stolen car with false plates and then shouted, "Boo! Coming ready or not." The driver of the stolen car was thought to be a Moroccan, but one thing is for sure - he's a lucky git!

Twenty-six Moroccan tourists, cleverly disguised as illegal immigrants, were invited aboard a Guardia Civil Coast Guard patrol boat, just off the coast of Nerja. They were shipped off to Málaga port, fed, clothed and 21 of them were then bid a fond farewell and packed off to Morocco via Ceuta using a reliable maritime service - the Spanish Navy.

There are more than a few 'skeletons in the cupboard' as far as the Spanish Civil War goes, and there were even some in a cave up in the mountains. The 'Gente de la Sierra' or the 'Maquis' were the defeated Republican Forces turned mountain bandits back in the forties up to the mid-fifties. Although the Republic had gone under beneath the Nationalist Forces of Franco in 1939, many Republican soldiers or left-wing sympathisers had no option other than to take to the hills. And there they remained all through the Second World War, kept going by the hope of an Allied victory. They were so sure that the Allies would invade Spain to rid Europe of the last of the hated Fascist Dictators. The winters in the high sierras were unbearably cold and hunger often forced them down to lonely cortijos in search of food. In May 1945 the European war ended with the total victory over Nazi Germany. The Maquis were promised arms and encouraged by the Allies but the USSR was going to change everything. The Cooling of relations between the erstwhile allies led to such distrust that Eisenhower's Government began to look with different eyes at Fascist Spain - better a Fascist Spain than a red one. The final crunch came with the offer of Marshall aid in 1953 in exchange for American bases. There was never to be a liberation by the Allies and slowly, in desperation they either gave up, starved to death, or were hunted down and shot. So now, sixty years later, the bones of these forgotten resistance fighters were found in a cave, 40 metres down, at the top of a mountain above Nerja. A group of pot holers had found them and had contacted the Guardia Civil, who sent a team to retrieve them. The Guardia Civil is looking into the possibility that amongst the many bones there are the remains of Francisco Sanchez Martin's brother. The bones have been sent to the Instituto de Antrolopolgia in Madrid for a complete analysis.

The old N340 between Nerja and Chilches has claimed its 13th life in only 18 months. This time the head-on collision occurred at kilometre 276 near Mezquita. A whole family was wiped out; the mother, father and their two children, a daughter of five and a baby of only 6 months. The reason for this increase in accidents appears to be because, as there is less traffic along the road, drivers tend to drive faster. The Nerja town hall, along with other coastal towns along the old N340, has repeatedly asked the Ministry of Public Works that the old road be given 'urban' status so that radar and speed bumps can be installed. The family that died in the accident were from Torrox and consequently Torrox town hall declared three days mourning. A neighbour of the family told how she had that same morning held the baby in her arms. "The little one had a fever so his mother took him to the town medical centre. But this did no good, so she waited for her husband to come home to take them to the paediatrician in Torre del Mar. It was on the way home, that the accident occurred," she said. The driver of the car that had crossed the line into their lane, thereby causing the accident, survived the accident.

I.E.S. Sierra Almijara in Nerja made our day here at the Seaside Gazette, when we received eleven correct answers to last month's Spanish Word Soup competition. Unfortunately, we received them after the winner had already been drawn. But don't worry Antonio Jesus, Antonio Javier, Rocio, Cecilia, Noelia, Rafael, Jorge, Loli, Francisco, David and Ma. Jesus - all of class ESO4E. You all get a special mention here and your teacher will receive a cheque for 20 euro for your school trip, for example, since we can't send you to a bar with a voucher! Funnily enough, it was from Nerja and Maro where English predominates that we received most interest for our Spanish quiz! Anyway keep it up and we hope you enjoy this month's one too. By the way, could the English teacher concerned get in contact with us (958 881750 or 958 631210) with instructions where to send the cheque to.

NADFAS in February. There will be a lecture at the Nerja Cultural Centre on the 8th at 17.30. It is entitled, 'Trojan Gold - The Straight Forward Story of a Controversial Treasure' by Rev. Donald Easton MA, PhD. The entrance fee is 9 euro at the door.

Caves might have been cheap to run in prehistoric times but your modern-day variety costs around 3.2m euro. We are, of course, talking about the Caves of Nerja and their budget for 2003. The caves receive around a half a million visitors each year, leaving just over two million euro in entrance fees. The cave also makes money on the photographic concession - you know, the gits that blind you as you walk down the last flight of stairs. They also make money from the shops and restaurant. 31 staff work for the Caves of Nerja costing just over a million euro in salaries.

Nerja has finally passed the 18,000 inhabitants mark. According to official figures, there are 9,048 males and 9,238 females. The foreign population has a registered figure of 1,970 but there are a lot more, of course, lurking around town, frightening small dogs and children with their Hawaiian shirts and pink faces.

There's a good stretch of History along the Maro coast. It is also the only remaining unspoilt length of coast left on the Costa del Sol, which in itself makes it worth visiting. From Maro village, where the dual-carriageway ends, to the border with Granada, there are eight kilometres of very Mediterranean rugged coast line studded with beaches and coves - some without access for cars; thank God - and hunched cliffs. Nearest to Maro, you can find Rio de la Miel (River of Honey). The ruins of the old paper mill still stand there. The mill, which was built by Manuel Centurion Guerrero de Torres, who was later to become the Governor of Guyana, had its heyday around 1800. From the same point, you can strike inland along the mountain road which follows the river until you come to Los Castillejos - a rocky summit where you can still see the remains of the cisterns of the old Moorish fortress belonging to the 10th century. If instead you decide to follow the coast, you will pass the beaches of Las Alberquillas, Torres del pino (no access for vehicles) and El Cañuelo. There is evidence of the past; Moorish coastal look-out towers (atalayas) and evidence of the present; a solitary beach bar but above all, there are no blocks of flats, hotels or floodlit supermarket car parks. On a winter's day, when most people are snug at home, you can walk along these beaches and with little imagination be transported back to a Spain of the fifties - before the tourist invasion. The most Easterly beaches are those of El Barranco de Cantarrijan (The Ravine of Cantarrijan), which borders on Granada just before Cerro Gordo. One of the coves there is La Mariquilla, which is a nudist beach. Fortunately for us, this stretch of coast was declared a natural park, which excludes it from urban intrusion. If you have the time and the petrol, pop along and chill out.