You may have noticed, as you came screaming down towards the traffic lights next to the Guardia Civil post, that there is a building missing on the right. The missing building - which has left a gap as noticeable as the one between Ken Dodd's front teeth - is the old Piccadilly. What, you ask, is going to takes its place? A small park? A swimming pool? A nice little bungalow? Perhaps, another restaurant? Wrong! We're going to have a 3-star hotel! What is it with these damned hotels? The answer to all the town's problems is hotels and more hotels. What is the point of having a 4-star hotel, for example, on a 1-star beach? Never mind, I'll get on with the article and tell you about the new hotel. The hotel in question is the child of Rincón Sexitano S.L. It is going to be called Hotel Sexi (oh dear) with reference to the old Phoenician name of the town. There used to be a hotel with the same name in the 60's right opposite the cross on the rocks - the curved building. The building, which will have a ground floor, 4 upper storeys and a penthouse, will offer 45 rooms... Help! My brain's imploding from enthusiasm starvation! I'll finish the article when the damned thing's been built. I'm off to bed!

Watch out, the tax inspectors are about! The Agencia Tributaria confirmed that they would be down on the coast again this year, sniffing around for the 'submerged economy,' or in other words, all those cash in hand jobs that they normally don't get to hear about. Their prime target is the real estate business - non declared rental contracts and inflated purchase prices on properties. But we're not only talking about the summer letting of flats etc, we're also talking about those summer business premises that are around for a couple of months and close before anybody asks to many questions (summer bars, for instance).

On the same note, the Junta de Andalucia is also going to double the number of inspectors available to crack down on illegal rental contracts, with the object of protecting the real estate business and the rights of tenants. They're also on the look out for clandestine tourist offers in the shape of excursions, etc. The Tourist Board inspectors are not only sweeping the coast, but will also be looking into rural tourism, for example, the letting of country cottages. Going back to the coast, in Almuñécar there are 20,000 flats in existence only 2,000 of which are legally declared for letting. This does not imply that all the other 18,000 are illegally rented out, but that a good percentage of them are. Despite the fact that it is common knowledge, official rental agencies are very happy with this crack down and fully welcome it. Most of these black market summer lets are handled by block concierges and it's impossible to 'inspect' a concierge. The manager of Alkisol suggests that the inspectors should pass for interested tenants, pay a deposit and ask for a receipt, "then you'll have them by the short and curlies!" he helpfully suggests.

For those of you who haven't spent a summer yet, don't fall into the trap of 'winter parking' during the summer months. Whereas in the winter people park in all sorts of bloody silly places and get away with it, on zebra crossings, for example, in the summer your car will be hitched to the municipal tow truck within minutes. Be warned!

At last, the road improvements to the section between Jete and Otívar are all but finished, leaving us with a wider and straighter Carretera de la Cabra. The truth is that the company that carried out the road improvements should have finished it by the 15th of June, every day over is costing them 3,000 euros. The result is that you get the impression that a few figurative corners were cut, as well as the ones along the road. Never mind - it is much better. The only snag is that the Otiveños, who always drove like lunatics along the old twisting road, will drive even faster now. The other bit of good news is that the Ítrabo-Jete track is now a fully-fledged metalled road. In fact, it is a better road than the normal one between Jete and the coast. This country road takes you over the hills and down into the Guadalfeo valley (Motril/Salobreña) and offers some splendid elevated views. Although it took 10 years to finish, it has been passable, as a good quality track, for at least 6. The new Ítrabo-Jete road connects with the Almuñécar-Otívar road right on the limit between Jete and Otívar. You can't miss it because it begins at the only fly-over along the Otívar road.

As a foretaste to a coming article, the Gazette is investigating what looks to be the illegal demolition of a protected building. But it doesn't stop there. Tied in with the same names behind this, there is also the case of the illegal demolition of one of the original gates in the town's medieval walls, which for many years formed part of an old house. Somebody knowingly gave permission for its demolition in Calle Vélez. It is, as the Spanish say, 'un secreto a voces' in other words, an open secret.

The Almuñécar elections were anything but predictable. It all started when it came to light that the PA had been encouraging voters to vote for them on the 'Day of Reflection', in other words the day before voting. It is completely illegal to campaign on the Saturday before voting day. The results of the election were PA, 10 seats, PP 7 seats and the PSOE 4 seats. The IU-Verdes, PILH and PSA did not obtain any seats at all. Juan Carlos Benavides, then, was the most voted candidate and as such should have been the mayor. However, a similar result during the last elections resulted in a pact between PSOE and PP, which denied Sr. Benavides his mayoralty. The Regional and provincial chiefs of the PSOE were furious and expelled the Almuñécar socialists who had signed the pact. Four years later there is a chance that a similar pact could be struck. Enter Motril: for the last 24 years the PSOE has ruled our neighbouring town - mostly with a majority government but lately through pacts. For the provincial leaders of all three major parties, Motril is more important than Almuñécar - sad but true. Motril, after all, is the second largest city of the province, second only to the Granada City, itself. There, the PP made a Quattro-partite alliance with the PA and two independent parties to wrestle the mayoralty from the socialists. The price was that Juan Luis González Montoro, the PP mayor of Almuñécar, should stop making waves with his lawsuit against the PA for their illegal election campaign, and let the PA govern with their minority government. Sr. González bowed to the pressure from his superiors and withdrew his suit. However, Juan Mora, the PIHL candidate who lost his seat in the town council persevered with a similar lawsuit. The Regional Supreme Court found that although the actions of the PSOE were illegal, they had not had any effect on the voting tendency of the population. In the meantime the PSOE candidate, Rosa Palacios toyed with making a pact with the dreaded PA, which would not have been a very popular decision amongst the town's socialist party members or voters. In fact, she decided to put it to a vote at a party meeting and was informed by her party that if she were to go ahead and make an alliance with Benavides, then they would tear up their party membership cards en masse. The point is that Rosa Palacios is a career politician who has studied political science at university and who was not going to sully her future by going against her party superiors by making a coalition with the PP again - although that is precisely what her Almuñécar colleagues were demanding. When the pact in Motril was signed and the ink dry, the Provincial Socialist Delegate decided that the PA had to be taught a lesson for their stab in the back. The result is that, although they haven't openly given permission for the Almuñécar PSOE to go ahead and sign an alliance with the PP again, (how could they after expelling members for doing precisely that four years ago?), they have tacitly let it be known that they will not punish anybody for doing it. The swearing in of the new mayor has been postponed until the 4th July because of the electoral upheaval. At the time of going to print it is still not certain whether the PP (Juan Luis González Montoro) will be able to form a government with the backing of the PSOE (Rosa Palacios) or whether the PA (Juan Carlos Benavides) will be sworn in as the new mayor with a minority government.

House prices in Almuñécar are rocketing. The average price for a flat with 100mtrs floor space is 135,000 euros and it is foreseen that the price could easily reach 180,000. In the first six months of this year the price per square metre has gone up by 200 euros. 200 euros doesn't sound much but in the case of a 100sqm flat, that puts the price up by 20,000 euros. But the whole country is the same. Politicians are in the pockets of the gigantic building constructors. The recent scandal in the Province of Madrid, (La Comunidad de Madrid), where two socialists councillors were bribed by a large building company to skip a voting in session and thereby sabotage their party leaders right to occupy the post of Regional President. Why? Because the ruling party (the PP) obviously has been making juicy building concessions to the construction barons, which they would face losing should there be a change of government. To give you an idea of the amazing amount of building going on in the country, in a recent report it was mentioned that there is more building development here than in France, Germany and a third smaller country together - a figure completely out of step with the country's population needs. The Director of the Bank of Spain was forced to deny the existence of a possible 'Construction Bubble.'

The Almuñecan members of the Guardia Civil have always been well known for popping up where you least expect them, but on top of Mt Everest is a new one. Juan Castillo, upon reaching the summit, like all good civil guardsmen, took his three-cornered hat from his rucksack and stood to attention. The French mountaineer who accompanied him took a photo of this immortal moment, on the 22nd May 2003 and for that favour, perhaps, Juan didn't fine him for loitering on the spot. Up there at 8.848 meters and -20ºC, he probably toyed with the idea of being at 0 metres on one of Almuñécar's beaches and at a nice +30ºC. Juan, who is 45, has always been a sportsman - before joining the Guardia Civil he had been a Legionnaire, and you have to be fit to be in that elite military unit. He is also a Marathon runner and a member of the Guardia Civil Mountain Rescue Team. The rest of the Guardia Civil team remained at the 8,000m point. "You don't decide who among you is going to attempt the summit - the mountain does," he said, modestly. "It doesn't matter which team member reaches the top - the whole team takes the credit, because without the team it is impossible for the individual," he added. They came across the frozen bodies of mountaineers, one of whom, was frozen in a squatting position, as if preparing to climb into a sleeping bag - as if Death itself had taken a 3D photo of the moment. They also passed groups of 'Sunday Climbers' who had the money and time but little experience to carry out such an endeavour. After savouring the moment, he repacked his three-cornered hat and braced himself for the decent, knowing that it was as dangerous as the ascent. On the way down he came across a climber in difficulties and stopped to help him, losing an hour-and-a-half of precious daylight. Almost with the night upon him he found another climber in distress, at which point he recalls, he 'saw the wolf's ears', as the Spanish say, meaning, 'recognised the proximity of peril.' Two Sherpas, however, came out in search of him and when they found him, they embraced him and offered to carry him. He declined and slogged on towards the lights and his anxious team-mates. When he reached them, he recalls the feeling of relief and joy was almost as intense as that of reaching the summit. With his memories he brought back frostbite on both hands. His three-cornered hat, however, is still in Kathmandu, but only until it is sent back by post to join other exhibits in the Guardia Civil Museum.

A bloodless revolution occurred up in Lentejí - the socialist mayor got the boot and for the first time in Spain's recent democratic history, another party has shouldered its way into the Valley of the Reds. The previous mayor was an unpretentious man who preferred to be behind the bar, which he runs with his wife, than behind the desk in the town hall. The Ed remembers once being witness to the following conversation between a tourist and a local who was on the point of entering the bar: "Where's the town hall, please," asked the outsider? "He's inside serving drinks," said the local pushing through the door without pausing." Well, now we've got a new mayor, so the old one can concentrate on pulling beers instead of pushing papers. What could have happened to Lentejí to break the socialist tradition of the valley? The new mayor's called Antonio Fajardo Franco. Well, the last surname's a give away, that's for sure. 'Fajardo' is a valley name, though, along with 'Aneas', and 'Mira'. But he can't be that local because just about everybody in Lentejí is called 'Mingorance'. The kids from the village are known as 'Mingotes from Mingolandia' further down the valley. Never mind. Otívar is still staunchly Red, as is Jete, so the valley can sleep reasonably soundly, with one eye open towards 'Mutating Mingolandia' - it must be the altitude!

After being in brief decorating exile Bar Chupitos emerged with a subtle decorative lift and flung open the doors to the first inkling of summer. The mellow buzz about town is developing as excitement mounts for the anticipated hot 'verano'. To boost the momentum the International Pram Race injected a huge splurge of comical fun. This was a wonderful excuse for the silly to be ridiculous to raise invaluable money for the local Cancer and children's charities. The aim for each team was to complete a pub crawl route fully clad in fancy dress and pushing one fortunate team member in a pram. There were water pistol fights - the WIB (Women In Black) were most impressive on this count. Some had doollally steering or in some cases, no pram steering at all. I definitely witnessed a few Magic Roundabout visions, spinning across the Chupitos terrace. Sixties wigs and fishnet stockings all proved a winner in the adventurous and 'loss of street-cred' stakes. A momentous occasion and good fun had by all so many thanks to Tim (Maxine's Bar) for organising the event and Naranja and Oasis for their support and of course to all participants…a giggle I won't forget.

With the change in season the chameleon effect on the local community is apparent. Danish Thomas with the infamous red striped hair has escaped from the imminent heat back to his native land. Our own Santa Claus Malcolm has finished his local wine-tasting expedition and returned to the English pastures and lovely Sam will have escaped us by July too.

However, I'm sure some of you will have noticed a new American mad about paragliding in town…this is Jim. If you bump into him say 'Howdy' he's a scream and now his fiancé Andrea has joined him so there's an incentive for some MORE partying! Talking of festive partying Gerard and Jakob have returned from their English escapade just in the nick of time for Jakob's Birthday…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

July will see the return of The Oil Crew…Adam will be on the scene for the long awaited arrival of Carol's bro and Scotty will experience the entire 'Almunecar verano' but whether he'll be converted to the curly black wig and cutie dress of the pram race will remain to be seen…

Finally, a face already briefly fluttered around town will return in full style to be initiated into Chupitos scene. Our new chica guapa Penila, Henrik's (Bar Naranja) girlfriend is moving here to join us and yes we hastily stole her from Naranja… welcome little butterfly!

As the summer days envelop us, pop in for a cool drink and you may be lucky to chill out to some local jammin' offered by the new kebab shop guys who'll spontaneously provide a late lounge on the Chupitos terrace. And of course there will be some copas surprises to preserve the sunshine smiles of our Almuñécar friends.

Until next month…Hasta la Vista!

Friends of Baracoa, Almuñécar and La Herradura' has sent another load of aid to the town of that name in the district of Guantánamo, Cuba. The chairman of this association, Joaquín Barbero, (El Chambao de Joaquín, La Herradura) tells us that the object of this latest trip is to hand over 20,000 euros to the government of the province, to which the town belongs, to do up 26 butcher's shops/stalls in the town. For those of you who have just arrived, Joaquín has been organising collections of old clothes, household items and non-perishable food for this little town in Cuba. Each year, through the Asociacion Solidaria, Amigos de Baracoa, he collects, transports and delivers all sort of material and financial help for this twin town. A worthy cause and commendable effort.

A big wig in the Health Ministry has promised that La Herradura will finally be getting a paediatrician after many years of requests, on the side of the villagers and mumbled promises on the side of the health authorities. The regional health minister pointed out that they have made great efforts to better medical coverage along the coast, (Motril hospital, for instance). We shall believe it when we see it because when a politician says 'Soon you shall have' means 'We're still not going to do anything about it yet, but we admit that we should.'

At last the La Herradura-Taramay stretch of the new motorway is under way. The first excavations along this 9.5kms section have begun in the Cantalobos area, which is above Torrecuevas. This part will be linked to the Nerja-La Herradura section, which is also under construction, via a 2kms tunnel. The budget is 157m euros and should be completed in 37 months time, (a little over three years). The section will included three tunnels: Cantalobos, 2.030mtrs, Calaceife, 278mtrs and El Gato, 200mtrs. It will also have 4 viaducts: over Rio Jate 350mts, over Rio Seco and Verde, each of 580mtrs and over Barranco de la Cuesta, 630mtrs.

One of the first jobs of the new Almuñécar/La Herradura town council will be to improve the law enforcement sector of La Herradura, which has already had 14 months without a Guardia Civil post or its own municipal police station. All of the different political groups included these requirements in their electoral campaigns, so it shouldn't matter who got in - they promised and must deliver. Cries for policing have become more vociferous because break-ins and thefts have rocketed in the village and on Punta de la Mona. One of the electoral promises was a fixed municipal police post, at least. Yet to be frank, everybody knows that they're bloody useless, anyway. Everyone would be much happier with more Guardia Civil policemen, who instil a little respect and who don't just shrug when confronted by the victim of a theft. The Guardia Civil who had their post in the old fort were made homeless a little over a year ago when it was confirmed that the place was in danger of falling down. Since then nothing has been done to repair it or provide alternative arrangements. The five GC policemen who were quartered there were transferred to Almuñécar and have subsequently been integrated into the Almuñécar garrison.

The ex-manager of La Caja Rural de la Herradura has been sentenced to five years imprisonment after being found guilty of expropiating 4m euros. He has also been ordered to return what he has stolen. A.F.Q., the man in question, carried out over 20 bank operations, using funds from the accounts of his clients without their knowledge or consent between 1990 and 1994. Here is a man, Ladies and Gentlemen, who might find a job frying hamburgers at MacDonald's, if he's lucky, but well away from the till.

You all must have noticed that they have been pulling down the wooden paseo from the middle of last month, so perhaps there is little point in mentioning it. But as people who don't live in the village read these pages, we shall. At first they were going to leave the vertical supports to mount benches on but that idea was torn down as well. The only parts of the original wooden structures that will stay are the pier - which some consider emblematic of the village and La Plaza de Las Palmeras and the part next to the secondary school. The rest will be shipped off to The Sierra Nevada National Park and the Doñana National Park in the province of Cádiz. Juan Mora is pretty chuffed that the whole thing will be tidied up before the summer season begins. Wait a minute though! Wasn't Juan Mora one of those responsible for the erection of the monstrosity in the first place? Never mind. For all those who have the naive hope that the vacated space will eventually be allocated for parking - forget it! Coastal regulations apparently won't permit it. There eventually will be another paseo in its place. This summer, mind, no doubt, the police (what police?) will turn a blind eye to parking there.

A 27-year-old diver lost his life on the eve of San Juan in La Herradura Bay. His companion, a 19-year-old girl, was still recovering in Motril Hospital, at the time of going to press. The couple had been diving at a depth of 15 metres when they began to have problems, for reasons that are still not clear. One of the diving group of six brought the two distressed divers to the surface and raised the alarm. He also carried out first aid procedure. Within 8 minutes the first aid team from Almuñécar were on the scene but they could only save the girl. Both divers already possessed their diver's certificate. At the time of the accident the diving group from Marazul diving school was submerged just off Peña Parda. The diving area in question is known as Las Calaizas and has a depth of 17 metres with good visibility. Both divers already had 20 hours diving experience under the belts. The diving equipment, both rented and privately owned, was in perfect working condition. Two sisters of the deceased were members of the same diving group and were logically devastated. Their parents immediately flew down from Madrid to join them. There appears to be no logical reason for the accident because all safety measures were observed at all times. Since the year 2000, three divers have lost their lives off the coast of Almuñécar and Motril.

At last we are witnessing the demolition of that monstrosity of a "Paseo". It seems that at last common sense has prevailed and lets hope that we are going to look forward to a summer of cars being able to park nose in to the beach, and a winter where the water will be able to drain away from the road. Mind you, what are we going to find to amuse ourselves now whilst sitting in Realengo, if there is no Paseo to trip up on and no cars playing dodgems trying to park?

Chiringuito Marina Playa has come up with an excellent idea. The Gazette was invited to an inauguration party at the chiringuito and enjoyed some excellent food. Basically, the idea is now that the hot weather is with us and appetites are low, they will offer fondue and platters every evening from eight o'clock onwards. The quality of the cheese, meat & fish fondue and salads was finger licking supreme. The eight different sauces were devastatingly delicious. The setting couldn't be better. Marina playa is one of the most elegant chiringuitos on the Costa Granadina. As we sat there chatting, relaxing and eating, the great wooden roof and numerous plants gave it an ambience of something between the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and a Saxon feasting-hall, but without the smoke and severed limbs. Quite apart from the excellent food, it was such a pleasure just to sit there and drink in the atmosphere as well as the wine. Ali was the food engineer behind the banquet with the help of Luis Alberto. MariVi gave out what evidently comes natural to her: charm. She explained to the Ed the details and made sure that we were not shy with the fondues and wine. But we haven't mentioned half of it. There will also be chocolate fondues, crêpes and cocktails. The concept is to 'picotear,' or in other words, pick and nibble. With the heat upon us who wants to sit down to a full meal. Much better to share a platter with friends, sit back and be reminded of why you chose to live here.

Probably one of the most impressive façades in the village is taking form on the sea front. En Primera Linea will be La Herradura's new international restaurant with an Italian touch and will be opening later on in the month. Having spoken with Jose María from Pub Califa, who is the owner of this new enterprise, we are keen to see the interior decoration, as well. It is Jose María's idea to produce a restaurante-pizzeria with a difference and judging by the way it is going, it looks like he is going to acheive it! As soon as he's open for business, we shall get a closer look - watch this space.

Maharaja Indian Restaurant in Las Palomas Urb., just above the village, is now offering a ten percent discount on take-away food. Shindy, thanks to the growning popularity of the restaurant, is now looking round for a second chef. Spread the word, folks!

Can't help noticing that the Acera de Pilar continues to looks like a roller-coaster. Now that the elections have passed, we had better get used to it!

The "Hideaway" at the back of the municipal market is under new management! Jean and her son and daughter, Tristan and Katie (both of whom are chefs) along with Katie's boyfriend Jonathan, are making a cracking effort revamping the menu, bringing back tapas and providing a cheery atmosphere. It is still going to be the prime location for all the major English sporting events just this time you can sit down to a very good meal as well. Strawberries and cream will be available throughout Wimbledon! So there is no excuse, pop round and have a pint and experience the ambience for yourselves.

Chambao de Vicente is spreading its wings for the summer and opening a late night drinks bar for the summer. The bar is located on the roof terrace of the restaurant, providing a wonderful viewpoint of the bay at night and of course a good star watching opportunity. We understand that the flamenco is also coming back for the summer, so after a meal watching the show, why not go up to the roof terrace to finish off the evening.

Within the same family, the ferreteria Vicente was witness to a minor accident. A loose screw caused the shelving racks where all the nails, screws etc are homed, to collapse. Much to the amusement of passers-by since each one was meticulously picked back up again and put into its place. It may be the best hardware shop in town, but best not to ask them to put up any shelving for you!

This month also saw the celebration of San Juan. The beaches in Playa Velilla, the Marina and La Herradura, were full of revellers enjoying the moonlight, sitting round the barbeque burning sausages and doing the obligatory dash into the sea at midnight and again at six in the morning. One unlucky soul must have found the only submerged rock on the entire coastline of La Herradura to dive onto. After seven stitches and a few hours in casualty he returned and was most upset to be denied access back to the party!

And finally, we must say congratulations to Willemijn and David who were married in the small chapel "La Ermita", in the campo behind La Herradura. Gaynor, our local hairdresser, was kind enough to do their hair for the event. Thanks to Rafa in the Clipper and a broken finger that is the last time Gaynor will be hairdressing for a while! No appointments until the middle of July please.

A man was arrested, thanks to a group of young children, for stealing a collection tin in a roast chicken shop in Nerja. They had spotted him trying to open the collection box with a pair of scissors in one of Nerja's squares, so they jumped on their bicycles and rode off to tell the police. It sounds like something out of the Verano Azul television series, admittedly! 23-year-old B.D.G. was finally tracked down in Avenida de Pescia, between a supermarket and the petrol station. The collection tin, which contained 78 euros at the time that it was stolen, belonged to a well-known shop called Palacio de Pollo Asado. The owner of the shop said that the thief had been hanging around outside and must have taken advantage of the fact that he had had to leave the front of the shop to get something out of the storeroom. The collection tin was in aid of Antonio Muñoz Padial, a young man of 20, who is suffering from Leukaemia and is at Carlos Haya de Málaga Hospital. The money was for the mother and smaller brothers and sisters of Antonio because he was the only bread earner in the house.

The rebuilding of the Chucho and Pozo beaches with dredged sand was halted at the beginning of last month because it was of such bad quality. The sand in questioned was dredged from the seabed just off the mouth of the river Benamargosa. The dredging company, the coastal authorities and the municipal representative got together and agreed that the beach restoration would stay on hold until better quality sand was found.

The Guardia Civil arrested a man of Moroccan origin for snatching handbags. The victim of the theft, a foreign female resident reported the incident to the local Guardia Civil post. It didn't take long to track down 18-year-old M.M. The handbag contained 300 euros and her personal documents. M.M. had also been arrested for illegal residence. M.M had obviously come to the conclusion that it was more profitable stealing handbags than selling them off a blanket at a street corner.

Nerja Estate Agent's Held up. Three men held up Multigesa Estate Agent's and got away with of over 7,000 euros. Silvia was in the office by herself after having just opened the office, when the first 'client' of the day arrived. He asked for a ticket for Morocco. Silvia began to explain that it was an estate agent's and not a travel agent's, when he drew a gun. He pointed it at her head and said, "Give me the money or I'll shoot you in the head." At this point two other men, who were clearly accomplices, came into the office. All three had South American accents and were, short, dark and thin. They immediately tied her hands behind her back and locked her in the toilet and then set about rifling the drawers and filing cupboards, but to no avail. According to the owner of Multigesa, Fernando Gómez, when they found nothing of real value, the man with the pistol who was keeping an eye on Silvia pointed the gun at her again and demanded to know where the money was kept. Fearing for her life, she told them that it was in various envelopes in different drawers. The thieves soon found 7,000 euros in cash, £100 sterling and £100 in travellers' cheques. Silvia waited in the toilet another 10 minutes without hearing a sound from the office area then began shouting for help. A neighbour heard her muffled cries for help and came in to see what was up. In all, Silvia had spent 20 minutes locked in the toilet in a state of semi-hysteria and panic. She later said that she had never been so frightened in her life. The politicians can say what they like but the fact is that 10 years ago, an armed robbery carried out against a small business in Nerja was totally unheard of. The days of 'Verano Azul' seem distant as South American and Eastern European Gangs pillage seemingly at will.

Stop Press: Thanks to the description given by Silvia, the police have arrested three Equatorian Citizens: D.S.P. 22-years old, M.C.R. 18-years old & S.S.C. 42-years old. They had been living in a cortijo in the Imaroga area, Nerja. They were arrested at a bus-stop on the N-340 in Nerja.

Nerja had its first Festival of Short Films by directors and producers Malagueños. The Festival opened with a cartoon called 'Steam Car' by Juan Ramón Carneros Pardo. Juan Ramon also participated in the full length cartoon 'Time Door,' which was nominated for a Goya (Spanish film award equivalent to the American Oscar). Other films to be included are: 'The Doors' by Yaumate Films, which is formed by a group of youngsters from Nerja; 'Mingote by David Navas Cañedo, a fourth-year student in an audiovisual-communications university course.

Nerja has been chosen by Spanish state television, 'Televisión Española, for the site of a new series that will transmitted live everyday at half past one in the afternoon. Nuria Fergó, the Nerja born singer, who jumped to fame on the national television programme 'Operación Triunfo,' will be making several appearances. One of the games within the programme will be 'find the tv presenter' who will be transmitting from various unlikely places within town. Anybody can phone in with the answer and win a prize. The programme covered the San Juan Festival on Burriana beach. Local well-known faces like Ayo - the man who discovered the Nerja Caves - will making appearances, as well. The programme will also be transmitted on Canal International de Televisión Española with an estimated 20 million spectators all over the world.

Just about every town along the coast of Axarquía has a paseo that runs parallel to the beach but only Nerja has one that runs out to sea - El Balcón de Europa. Nerja grew from this point in the XV century. El Salvador Church was built back in 1697, so it recently had its 300th anniversary. Within the church the mural of the Annunciation and the bronze Christ are both worth a visit. On the spot where the Balcón now stands, there used to be a castle that was built in the time of the Moorish Kingdoms. It became known as the Torre de las Guardas in the reign of Juana la Loca (Mad Jane). Finally, the British, true to maritime tradition, bombarded it into oblivion back in 1810 as a favour to the Spaniards - Spain was occupied by Napoleon's troops at the time. The Royal Navy Maritime Demolition Company, pleased with this piece of handiwork, decided to do a repeat performance along the coast in 1812 but only managed to topple one of the main towers of Almuñécar's San Miguel Castle. The sculpture of King Alfonso XII is another attraction on the Balcón. Alfonso appears to have been a popular name in the Spanish Bourbon family. Perhaps because it was the first one on an alphabetical list of possible names and nobody could be bothered to read it. Alfonso XII had the honour of being the most photographed Spanish king before Franco, which is hardly surprising because there wasn't much chance of the medieval ones getting in on the ranking, was there?