Almuñécar Town Hall has been ordered to pay a 150,000 euro fine for the illegal demolition of the Casa Revuelto,which was a listed building. Not only that, they will also have to rebuild it to its original specifications in volume, number of floors and façade.

This was the third building of cultural value that has been demolished in the last 2 years. Although this punitive decision by the regional authorities is a very positive step and might put a halt to the shameful destruction of 'old' Almuñécar, those that perpetrated this latest outrage will not be personally punished.

The Casa Revuelto used to stand in front of the main church, just up from the Town Hall Square. It was a beautiful building with a lovely central Andalusian inner patio and fountain.

Casa Revuelto - The Facts

This is an extract from an interview with Juan Luis González, who had just lost the mayoralty and was now the head of the chief opposition party. The interview took place in his office at the end of August for the September issue.

Q: Many people comment, especially amongst the foreign community, that with the demolition of La Casa Revuelto and La Pension Marina the town is losing its architectural heritage. Do you agree?

A: We were very surprised by what happened to La Pension Marina. In the 1999 the PA municipal administration came to an agreement with the owner of La Pension Marina, whereby the building, which was already in a ruinous state, passed into public hands. In exchange that the owner received permission to build a 6-storey hotel in the small garden area adjacent to the existing building. When we came into power and looked into the project the Municipal Architect informed us that the garden was classified as 'of environmental interest' and that the pension was listed as a protected building. Therefore it was illegal to touch the pension or build in its garden area.

Q: And in the case of La Casa Revuelto?

A: There was a technical report that declared the house to be in a state of ruin. La Casa Revuelto also had an inferior grading as a protected building.

Q: But Casa Revuelto was in a better state than La Pension Marina, surely?

A: It appeared to be from the outside but I saw documents and photos of the second floor where you could clearly see that the supporting pillars were leaning inwards.'

The Editor managed to slip into the half-demolished Casa de Revuelto on a Sunday morning whilst work was halted. He managed to take plenty of photos which clearly contradicted Juan Luis' observations on the condition of the house. At the moment the municipal archeologist is conducting a survey of the site on the orders of the Regional Government in search of Muslim tombs dating back to the early middle ages. When questioned on the progress of the dig, he immediately went on the defensive and repeated on several occasions that he didn't expect to find anything. Asked about possible remains under La Pension Marina and the excavation opposite he said he knew that there are remains there, pointing out that you can clearly see remains of the towns medieval walls. "I'm retiring in a little over a year and I'm not about to cause waves. The situation is very political and I am not about to put my retirement at risk. I would certainly like, as would any archeologist, to explore the other sites but I will only do so, if I am requested to by the regional authorities." His words give a clear indication of the level of friction that exists in the town and the strength of the political under currents. What is patently obvious is that the 'good of the town' takes a sad second place to 'personal ambition' among our local politicians.

Editorial Comment

The people who ordered the demolition of the Casa Revuelto will not have to look to their own pockets to put things right. Neither is this huge fine directed at the physical culprit - the fine and rebuilding costs will come out of the Town Hall coffers. In other words, the local taxpayer will pick up the tab. This is the underlying problem and the chief reason that irresponsible and unscrupulous people in public office can continue to carry out, with relative impunity, these barbarities. Would it not be more just if the person concerned - that is to say the person who made the decision and signed the order - should pay the consequences from his personal estate? Why should you or I have to finance the consequences of their actions? Whilst our municipal politicians mutually and publicly point the accusing finger at each other over 'who is responsible,' most probably in private their only concern is how many 'political points' they can score from their opponents. Let the mayors and councillors, who willingly and knowingly authorise such unlawful acts, pay the retribution from their own pockets. Only then will we see more responsible government. Amen.

Ex-Mayor's Defence

Juan Luis González said in his defence over the Casa Revuelto, which was recently demolished to make way for 14 dwellings -that the accusation raised by the PA (Sr. Benavides) was little more than a ruse to hide the Tropical Fruit scandal. "It is little more than a political smoke screen to distract the eye of public opinion," he said, "You can't compare granting a building licence for 14 dwellings to a 200m-peseta fine (1,200,000 euros), plus interest & court costs," he added. He denied the accusation made by the PA that the licence was granted because one of the candidates for the PP during the last elections is the daughter of the boss of the construction company. Finally Juan Luis, who is our ex-mayor, said that he suggests that similar questions are raised over La Pension Marina, which was also a listed building and was demolished to make way for a block of flats, but under orders of the PA.

The Railroad's coming! And so are some of our politicians, by the sound of it. No sooner than it had been announced that they were studying the possibility of laying down a double line from Málaga to Nerja, which is sod-off expense but feasible, then we hear 'Thomas the Engine' noises coming out of the Almuñécar town hall. Juan Carlos Benavides - our mayor and PA candidate for the Andalusian Parliament - points out that there is no coastal railway connection between Málaga and Almería and this deficiency in the communications is detrimental for our province. Hmmm. It would be nice to have a spot of motorway first, of course, before we contemplate railway and space shuttle connections, perhaps. The PA point out that Granada has been left out of the picture whilst places like Catalunya, Valencia and Murcia have lots of nice projects on the board. If our stretch of coast is the last bit along the whole of the Mediterranean coast to have a motorway built, it is because of topological difficulties. The stretch of motorway between Almuñécar and Salobreña is the most expensive to build in the whole of Spain. Imagine the cost of a double-line rail connection - at least cars can run uphill! Sure, the Himalayan Railway and the Canadian Pacific were more difficult but there weren't any aeroplanes and motorways around at the time to distract investors, were there?

Sr. Benavides has also requested of the Provincial Council that it does something about the state of the Suspiro del Moro road, which passes through Jete & Otívar on its way to Granada. Apparently, there are herds of angry potholes lurking around, intent on Linda Lovelace imitations. However, the road surface from Jete northwards is in excellent condition, so he must be referring to only the stretch within the municipal limits of Almuñécar, which is a bit like Baghdad on a bad day, admittedly.

There was a big scandal back in October when hundreds of tons of chemical waste from agricultural origin had been dumped just above Jete in Bódijar. If it hadn't been for the calamitous forest fire in the same area a year ago, perhaps that would have attracted nothing more that a few, 'tut-tuts.' The Forestry Commission shot out and cleaned it up just days after hitting the local press. Well, now it's happened again. Obviously a lorry driver with an inconvenient load must have thought, "Lightning never strikes twice..." and made numerous trips up into the hills to dump God knows how many loads of rotting cauliflower, tomatoes and avocados, as well as one paint can. The fact is there is nowhere official for farmers to dump that sort of thing. They tracked down the last culprit and fined him 6,000 euros.

Talking of fruit, the bad weather dropped the price on chirmoyas by 20%... for the farmers that is. The supermarkets, of course, won't have noticed. The lack of moisture and sunshine during the ripening period reduced the size of the fruit, although the late November rains helped a little. The fruit fly, whose Latin name is Ceratitis Capitata or 'Littleum Bastardicus' hasn't helped either. The price is around 55 cents a kilo at the moment.

Almuñécar's nearest National Police post is in Motril. Right next door to it is the office where you get your 'residencia' and Spanish ID cards. Well, within the next 2 years they will have a nice new building, where both the police station and the administrative office (passports, ID cards & residencias) will be housed. Work will begin in the first six months of this year and will be concluded within 24 months. It will be next to the municipal sports pavilion.

There's no doubt about it with the motorway connections along the coast and down from the capital, la Costa Granadina is going to be a prime attraction for foreign tourists and home searchers. Not only that, commuters from Granada will swamp the coast, as well. "When the motorways are finished, Costa Tropical will have the best communications in Andalucía: 3 airports and a ski resort within an hour of the coast," pointed out José Antonio Pérez, Head of Business practices at Granada University.

Yet another new hotel has opened in Almuñécar. At the beginning of December, Hotel San Carlos opened its doors on the P-4. This 3-star hotel was built by the building firm Orantes and can be found on Calle Larache. The company leased out the hotel for 15 years, with an option to buy when the lease expires, to Gerardo Piñar Escobar. The building company was originally going to run it themselves but finally decided to stick to building them, and not running them. The hotel has 39 rooms.

While 'parking' remains a dirty word and a barely possible physical act around town the Town Council has announced that it will be putting up for bidding the contract for the underground parking of the new medical centre. The regional authorities are responsible for the medical centre and the Town Council is responsible for what is under it... more or less. "We want the work on the underground car park to be carried out at the same time as the building work above it," said the mayor. The car park will have room for 70 parking spaces.

In the end the Almuñecan judge, who illegally put a Moroccan in prison without trial or being formally arrested and then promptly forgot about him, has been sentenced to 6-months suspension. In his own defence it said that he had committed an administrative error yet, as the prosecutor pointed out, not even when he received letters from the prisoner asking what the hell was happening, did he deign to right the situation. So, there you have it: a judge gets 6 months suspension from public office for putting a man in gaol for nearly 2 years. So, why didn't they give the judge a taste of his own medicine - 2 years to contemplate his erring ways in a penal reformatory? Never mind.

Our Marcos Chacón, whom you might have seen in the Hiper as his father owns it, has won the European Mr Universe competition that was held in Germany between the best bodybuilders in the continent. 2 weeks previously he won the Spanish Heavy Weight Championships and went to Germany with the goal of achieving only good results. It all started in 1988 when he was a Bruce Lee fan and wanted muscles like him. Later came Conan and the rest is history. He trains 4 days in the off season, 6 in pre-contest. Marcos, who weighs 123 kilograms off-season and 107 kilograms during competition, has his own gym in Almuñécar. We imagine that everybody pays their membership fees on time and without any quibbling....

Almuñécar has become the first Andalusian town to adopt the United Nations project, 'Agenda XXI' tourist plan. This tourism plan has its criteria based on sustainable development. The mayor signed the deal with the regional Minister for Tourism and Sport in Sevilla at the beginning of last month. Fine!

The Town Council has spent 80,000 out of their own pockets on the revamping of the Peña Escrita Mountain Park complex. As it was Christmas, they decided to have a whip-round amongst them and finance the project from their savings... Oh, COME ON! Don't tell me that you believe that! The only true part was that they have spent 80,000 euros... of town hall funds, of course, and probably organised a slap up lunch to congratulate themselves over it, as well. Anyway, the park's worth a visit, especially for the views of the coast from up there. The complex will now be run by José Manuel Fernández Martin for the next 15 years. The Town Council is obligated to build at least one new mountain cabin per year. At the moment there are five, giving a total accommodation offer of 36 beds. Under the terms of this contract it will be Jose Manuel who will have to deal with the bookings and not the town hall, as was the case before. He is also obliged to stay open 365 days a year, although he only has to keep the swimming pool working from June 15th to September 15th. That is, of course, if they still have one after the autumn rains undermine the installations. Then again, judging by the photo, 'foundations' must have been a mere rumour in the first place.

Fan-borne excreta is causing political fragmentation wounds amongst our honourable local leaders and it's no use ducking if you're standing up to your armpits in it, is it? One of the latest accusations has been made by the governing party, the PA against the previous administration, the PP. The accusation is that they issued a building licence for a building that shouldn't have received one. So, at the end of the day, they are accusing - no doubt rightfully - their opponents of copying them. The building company Argali S.L. received permission to build on the beach front of Velilla a 14-dwelling building, complete with basements and annexes, which has been squeezed into a 480sqm plot when the minimum should have been 1,000sqm... there's a surprise! "Despite these irregularities," the PA point out, "building work has not been halted!" Wait a moment though... has all that hammering and farting around on Marina de Este ground to a halt after the report that was issued by the regional authorities pointed out that every one of the 7 buildings exceed the building specifications permitted. The Town Council, i.e. the PA, was requested to paralyse the construction work, but to the best of our knowledge it's like Santa's workshop on the 23rd of December with the elves on triple caffeine rations!

The coastal motorway between Taramay (Almuñécar) and Salobreña (8kms) is now one step further. 450,000 euros have been set aside and the project published in the BOE (Official State Gazette). It will begin above Taramay where there will be the 550m-long Romeral viaduct (bridge). From there will be a double tunnel of approx. 2kms long, coming out on the southern side of Cerro de Águila (above, more or less, Hotel Salobreña). From there it will descend and cross the Rambla de Molvízar on a 680m-long structure. Well, that's the theory anyway. So how is the jolly motorway going in general? Work on the Nerja-La Herradura stretch (9.5kms) is chewing through hillsides and sprouting pillars, 24 hours a day and should be concluded by October 2004. Work on the La Herradura-Taramay stretch, which commenced back in April 2003, should be concluded by May 2006, by which my GN-250 bike will have long since ceased to function. (sniff!) Never mind.

Important note: if the motorway takes away your access road/track, don't expect that they will automatically remake it - you have to request it. You have been warned!

The Regional Government, or to be more precise, its Heritage Commission for the Delegation for Culture, have decided to have Almuñécar Castle restored. The town hall had asked the School of Arab Studies of Granada to put a restoration project together, which they did. The northern and western wall will be the first parts to receive attention, due to their advanced state of disrepair. Up till now only the old Christian parts of the castle had been restored. The castle as we see it today really began life in the 10th Century under the Muslims. Archaeological finds show that there were previous structures on the site that correspond to Roman occupation, which, like in Britain, ended around the 5th Century. Most of the present-day walls were constructed under the reign of Carlos I, of Spain, when the majority of the Southern Mediterranean coast towns were fortified against the Barbary Pirate incursions from North Africa. Of course, the French during the Peninsular War of 1808-14 occupied the coastal fortifications and the Brits felt obliged to blow them up, which is the case of the fallen tower to the left of the entrance bridge of San Miguel Castle. We are so obliging sometimes.

The end of last month saw the various annual village fiestas up the Rio Verde Valley: Otivar 6th-8th December, Lentejí, 24th and Jete 31st Dec-1st Jan. Of them all, the largest is the Otívar one. One interesting point is that it always - and we mean 'always,' rains over the Otívar Fiestas. Anyway, this year there was a brass band competition, huge paella, Flamenco and the usual Verbena dance band. Another point to mention is the new Mr Otívar, as well as the usual Miss Otìvar competition. God, things have changed there! Who they managed to get to ponce around for the Mr Otívar competition defies the imagination of the timid. Wouldn't have happened under Franco and that's for sure. That's Juanma for you - since he's been at the helm there have been all sorts of strange and innovative happenings up the valley. T'aint na'ural, mind!

The main or parish church of Almuñécar has organised a series of conferences on medicine, genetics and bio-Ethics. The first one dealt with Alzheimer and was given by Fernando Valdivieso, a professor at Madrid University. On the 23rd of this month there will be a conference on genetic illnesses given by Dr. Magdalena Ugarte, who is also a professor from the same university. Later on during next month (13th Feb) Carlos Alonso, who is a scientist member of the Supreme Council for Scientific Investigations, will speak on Bio-Ethics and the Human Genome.

There is an oil-painting exhibition in the Casa de Cultura that is on until the 11th featuring oils by Juan Antonio García López dedicated to the famous & late, Granada born, singer-compositor Carlos Cano. The exhibition is entitled 'Nuestro Carlos Cano y Nuestro Tiempo.' Open mornings & evenings.

The Community Services Centre (next to petrol station) is going to be revamped, which would come in handy as it looks like one of Saddam's military control bunkers after a visit from the Americans, at the moment. A total of 36,879 euros will be spent on structural work and new equipment. The building has worn an abandoned air for at least a couple of years and anybody who has entered the Almuñécar petrol station could be forgiven for thinking that it really was abandoned. What was the main entrance has a great pit before it, exposing a semi-finished basement. The actual entrance is in the health clinic car park, where the casualties entrance is. Amongst other services, you can find the Almuñécar's Women's Association, and Alcoholics Anonymous in the Community Service Centre.

The Mayor announced that the Town Council would be coming down hard on unauthorised 'New Year's parties' this year. Unfortunately, the Seaside Gazette will already be in the streets and therefore will be unable to report on whether anybody has taken a blind bit of notice.

Spring 2005 is the announced date of the inauguration of Almuñécars new medical centre in the P4. This new centre will cater for the Jete, Otívar and Lentejí populations and well as for the Almuñecan & La Herraduran ones. It will also be incorporated into CARE (Centros de Alta Resolution de Especialidades), which, more or less, means that patients won't have to traipse or be whisked off to Motril for a variety of treatments, as has been the case up till now. The IU (Izquierda Unida or United Left) has congratulated the Town Council (the PA) for its efforts concerning the new health centre. "We congratulate them with the same energy that we criticise them for their urban irregularities in the town." They also pointed out that they consider the PP & PSOE as having been 'inefficient' in their dealings with the new health centre when they were in power. The PSOE are socialists, by the way, but it doesn't let them off the hook as far as the socialist/communist IU are concerned, it would appear.

Santa is alive and, by a stretch of the imagination, well, just outside the El Día Supermarket. Rumour has it that this 'stand in' or 'mutant' Santa Clause had been last seen dressed in a Guardia Civil uniform and a Viking helmet in Otívar, as reported in last month's Seaside Gazette. Whoever he was, the only bit of red that he was sporting - other than the Heidi Pigtails' hat - was his eyes, where his blood group was clearly discernible at 20 paces. His dog pretended to be asleep most of the time, so as not to be recognised or to take part in anything unseemly.

Las Laderas de Castelar (just up from Santa Cruz School, San Sebastian) is going to have another 55 houses/flats squeezed in. Supposedly, they will be destined for young first-time home buyers at between 30 & 35% below normal market prices. The plot of land was originally set aside for industrial/commerical use but after a deal signed between the Town Council and the building company, El Cercado, it will now be used for the aforementioned housing estate. The Town Council gets, under the terms of the agreement, social premises and space for public use. According to the Mayor, this complies with his electorial promises with the neighbourhood. The actual area/premises ceded to the town hall is a space of 677sqms and a premises of 100sqms, which will become the neighbourhood civic centre and another one of 150sqms, which will be destined to be an attention centre for mistreated women. The Town Council, on the other hand, reclassified this industrial land (of limited financial benefit for prospective buyers) to prime housing land (of very high value for a prospective buyer). I wonder if the Town Council would do the same for me, if I were to buy some land that needed reclassifying? The point to keep an eye on, is whether if later on, the idea to provide cheap housing for youngsters is conveniently dropped and the houses sold at prime prices - that would be a surprise!

The Town Council (the Mayor) has requested from the Provincial Council for Tourism & Sport (his wife - not joking!) a 2.6m euros investment for the Almuñecan sports facilities. This money is for: the La Herradura sports pavilion; artificial turf for the new football stadium and a cover for the Peña Escrita swimming pool - that is if it hasn't fallen down the mountain with the heavy rainfalls, amongst other things.

You might have noticed that it rained a lot at the end of November and the first half of December. Well, it certainly did - 84 litres per sqm. To have an idea, the previous corresponding period - and that of 2001, as well, only registered around 33 litres per sqm. Things fell in, out & over but the farmers rejoiced because it was a good steady rain that filled the water table. A heavy downfall only penetrates the surface, letting the majority of the water run down the hillsides, into the river and out to sea, which apart from eroding top soil leaves the land as it was.

And the world's Most Dangerous Pavement Award goes to Almuñécar's P-4, where a local genius spent sleepless nights working out what to do with a bit of surplus plumbing from under his sink. Cleverly disguised as something of future utility, this piece of bewildered piping is designed trip up anybody over 6 inches tall - anybody smaller will have to climb over it. It is strategically placed precisely where the footpath narrows down to make way for a pedestrian crossing that ends in a flowerbed, Beautifully set in a splodge of despondent concrete, with a pert hint of upended house brick, this ambitious pipe sports a lateral projection of 'cheeky' valve work. The author of this masterpiece, Pepe 'the Pipework Terrorist,' admitted that the inspiration was the fruit of a sudden & extreme cerebral collapse, stimulated by the merging of 3 completely different paving stone patterns and the proximity of knocking off time. Well done, Pepe... and may your knob drop off, you useless git.

Chupitos Briefs
Ding Dong Merrily on High! O little town of… Almuñecar! The festive season kicked in with a boom and was a catalyst for a whirl of activity. After being immersed in the sparkly glamour of Christmas décor in the UK last month I have to admit I was rather distraught at the prospect of a non-festive season in Spain (or so I thought)…but what a surprise on my return: Palm trees wrapped in twinkling lights and multiple shooting stars shining over the streets are a few of my favourites.

The first fiesta in this month of jolliness was my birthday…the BIG 30! A celebration in exquisite style! A huge thank you to many amigos who popped into Chupitos to clink glasses or more accurately slam shooters Gifts galore and a surprise visit from blighty based Ken was a real treat!

There's been manic who's on and off the scene in town. Our dear Philadelphia doctor whizzed back to the USA clad with his Heineken goodies and left a trail of great poetic inspiration…enough to warrant a Chupitos Christmas poetry contest! To get yourselves delving into the inspiration I would greatly recommend an Indian head massage from Shirley…believe me, you will float all day and Shirley is now selling gift vouchers!

Good ole (not old!) Shirley has finally returned from a series of ops and, I have to say, is looking in fantastic form and radiant to be back into the swing of Almunecar lifestyle…welcome back! Paula has arrived for a bout of festivities and celebrated her arrival in true funky party style - love it ;-) Finally, oil crew Adam surprised us as he escaped the tropical climates of Indonesia to come back for Christmas tidings and behold the fact his wee daughter is racing around on a quad bike. Very cool!

In the meantime Brian jetted back to English pastures and Su and Antonio are also going back to the green pastures with Antonio enduring his first ever flight…rock on guys, you will have a blast! A little bird told me the legendary Sharon may make a guest appearance. Yippee!

So the Chupitos festivities enjoyed live flamenco music and a couple of Christmas themed surprises on Christmas Eve! Carols galore on Christmas Day! Then we wait for the grand fiesta night of New Year's Eve…Party is the goal! Wishing you all a brilliantly Happy New Year, with oodles of fun and keep safe. May all your dreams come true!

The Guardia Civil is investigating the mysterious appearance of a beached zodiac dinghy with powerful outboards, which is thought to belong to drug runners. The craft appeared on the beach in Marina del Este. Witnesses reported that at 7.30 they saw several Moroccan youths running along the streets just above the Marina. There were also tyre marks on the beach.

The TV programme called 'Lucky Village,' which was filmed in the village last summer, was screened around the middle of last month on RTVA. The documentary was made by Brits, Andalusians and Swedes and was recorded in English, German and Spanish.

The V Feria de Artesanía de Navidad (5th Christmas Handicraft Fair) was held at the beginning of last month with 9 stalls showing their wares. The AECC (Asociación Española de lucha Contra el Cancer) organised the event in December, as they have been doing for the last 5 years, to raise funds for their cause to combat cancer. The fair was held in the municipal market and went very well, despite the rain. Whilst not strictly in the village, but still on the subject of the AECC, it is worth pointing out that the mobile unit for mammography & early detection of breast cancer is behind the Almuñécar health clinic and will remain there until the 7th.

The Town Council has given the go ahead for the commencement of the work on the sports facilities in the Barrio de El Espinar. The town hall has just purchased 2.300sqm of land in this part of the village. "At last the sports complex for the villagers of the northern end of the village has come true." Said María Victoria Ruiz, the Councillor for La Herradura.

The Guardia Civil found 2.5 tons of hashish in a motor launch that was moored in the Marina del Este. However, it was the first time that this particular boat had come to the attention of the police. At 15.00, that same afternoon, the Guardia Civil had received an irate phone call from local skin divers who wanted to report that they had narrowly avoided being mown down by 'a fast speedboat,' not far from the Marina. Later on, at 17.00 the a Guardia Civil patrol noticed a powerful speedboat that was so low down in the water that its plimsoll line was underwater - which means it was sinking or heavily overloaded - so they decided to take a look. They called for the assistance of a dog trained in sniffing out hidden drugs. The 2.5 tons is equivalent to of 10m doses with a street value of 3.1m euros. The launch, which measured 15m long, was powered by 2 x 500hp motors and has a value of 240,500 euros. It was registered in Rome and flew the Italian flag. It is now 'registered' in the police compound and is 'flying' nowhere. The Guardia Civil would like to get in contact with the owners.

In fact, it was a mischievous month for local boats in general with a yacht on fire in La Herradura bay, a fishing boat on fire just off San Cristóbal and a small yacht running onto the rocks in rough weather in Torrenueva, Motril. In the case of La Herradura, a 20m-long yacht caught fire for 'unknown reasons,' according to the newspaper, at least. It was 1 nautical mile off the Punta de la Mona at the time of the incident and neither of the 2 people on board - both Brits - was injured. The yacht burned for almost 3 hours before finally sinking. It was registered under the British flag with the name 'Nadima,' which, ironically, is very close to the Spanish words 'Nada más,' meaning 'Nothing more'. According to the police report, the crewmembers took alarm at 11.00 in the morning when they saw thick smoke coming out of the engine room. They tried to put the fire out with the boat's extinguishers but, seeing that it was to no avail, they decided to abandon ship in a zodiac dingy. Soon a plentiful plume of smoke could be seen and a group of Almuñécar-based firemen took a launch out to the yacht to see what they could do and rescue and possible injured persons. On finding that both men were ok, they informed Salvamento Marítimos (the Sea Rescue Service) who arrived on the lifeboat, 'Mirfak.' The 2 Brits, whose initials are T.M. & D.W., refused help from them, as both were in perfect health, and remained close to the stricken yacht. Salvamento Marítimo informed the crew that it was impossible to tow the craft into port whilst it was still on fire and gave orders to the lifeboat to keep a safe distance from the burning craft. In the case of the yacht that ran into the rocks in Torrenueva, those on board managed to jump from the craft onto the rocks without suffering any injuries. By coincidence, the Motril port authorities, just days after the La Herradura incident, announced that they would be financing a course for Motril firemen to learn how to combat ship borne fires. The scheme will cost 18,000 euros.

You don't have to be a mathematician to work out that you can't park up on the pavement of the Acera de Pilar without blocking the traffic - especially if you car is a sod-off 4X4! Finding somewhere is a problem - but that's your problem and where you have chosen to park shouldn't turn into somebody else's one because you can't be bother to walk 150 yards. It's amazing how many people must think that activated hazard warning lights reduces the size of their car - i.e. if I switch them on then I'm not a problem. Then again, if they painted the slanted lines of the parking slots facing the opposite way, then you would be forced to reverse in, which means that you can see what is coming when you pull back out. The way they are painted means that you have to park nose first and back out into the traffic. The only advantage that this 'kamikaze' situation holds is that it stops drivers from crossing over from the opposite lane to park, which is illegal anywhere in Europe, anyway.

You must have noticed that it does matter which way you head on the main road out of the village, you can see above you floodlight cuttings adorning the hillsides. The motorway is almost a reality. There are bridge pillars going up everywhere. The longest tunnel under construction at the moment is the 1.2km-long Marchante. The bridge over the Málaga-Granada border is bathed by the work site light's at night, too, where they are building the Cantarriján Bridge over the valley. The bridge will be 700mts long and will lead into the western end of the Marchante Tunnel. The other end of the tunnel is above San Antonio. In fact, behind Urbanización San Antonio is probably the busiest spot at the moment because this is where the exit junction from the motorway to the coast will be. Many of the construction workers have brought their families with them as the work will last around 4 years - which is one of the many indirect effects that the motorway is having on local economy. There are nearly a thousand people working on the motorway construction: construction workers, technicians, clerks & machine operators. One interesting point to note is that although some workers on the Nerja-La Herradura section are working closer to Nerja than La Herradura, the majority of them prefer to rent a house on the Granada site, according to one of the site foremen.

Juan Mora, after disappearing from public view when he lost the last elections, is back in the papers over the La Cañada Affair. Sr. Mora had to appear before the judge at the Almuñécar law courts on Boxing Day. Quite apt, really, because he might well have got a good biffing from the judge. This hearing is the consequence of a complaint lodged by the PA (Benavides's party), stating that there was a conflict of interest between his private participation in the La Cañada housing estate and his public post of President of the Informative Commission for Urban Planning for Almuñécar. According to the PA, whilst exercising his authority over building in the La Herradura area he was busily building 66 dwellings through the company La Cañada SL, of which he was one of the directors. The accusation states that the houses do not conform to building regulations either in volume or height. The PA is considering extending the accusation to implicate the ex-mayor Juan Luis González in the affair, because as mayor he did not intervene. Sr. González, on the other hand, says that this accusation registered at the law courts is only an attempt to divert public attention from the Tropical Fruit Scandal for which the present mayor, Sr. Benavides has been found guilty and ordered to pay an astronomic fine and court costs from his personal estate. (My computer is telling me that the last sentence is too long - but it can sod off).

Daniel Barbero, the Councillor for Citizen Safety, and the Councillor for La Herradura, María Victoria Ruiz, officially opened the new municipal office in the village on the 19th December. "This new stage in the Governing by the PA Council stands by one of the village's historic demands: to have a permanent police post to cover 2 functions. The first is an administrative one and provides attention to the public from 08.00 to 15.00 every day and is staffed by a police corporal. The second is a street presence, which will be provided by a 2-man patrol from 07.00 to 15.00 (muggers, rapists & hooligans are requested to carry out their professional activities within these hours. Ed). Special attention will be afforded to school opening and closing times," said Sra. Ruiz.

There is something very fishy and probably illegal about the new aparthotel going up next to Urbanización El Gallo on Punta de La Mona. Preparatory excavations went ahead, even though it appears to lack a building licence. The woman in charge of this particular project at the town hall is Carmen Aragón. We would dearly like to ask her about the project but she never seems to be at the town hall or call back if you leave a message for her. Quite apart from the fact that this building is being built in a gully, the announced characteristics of the building do not conform to the building restrictions for that particular area. Therefore a 'convenio urbansitico' has been set up. This is, in effect, an agreement between a town council and the building company that allows them to exceed certain building legal limitations. However, this agreement must be approved by the Junta de Andalucía. To date, we have no news of such a document being presented to these authorities. Then comes the instability of the excavations that due to the rains have collapsed, exposing essential pipes carrying mains water & electricity to the nearby El Gallo. Perhaps, even more worrisome is the road that runs along the edge of the excavations, which appears to be in jeopardy of collapsing into the pit. Why isn't the Town Council controlling this? All projects and permissions should be exhibited for public viewing - in this case, they are not. Why not? Do the specifications of the euphemistically named 'Aparthotel' put it in the same illegal category as the Marina del Este housing projects that have been condemned by the provincial authorities?

The International Andrés Segovia Classical Guitar Competition is here with us again. Almost 30 guitarist from 14 different countries are participating in the prestigious, contest that takes place in La Herradura each year. This year the competitions runs from the 2nd till the 6th of this month. The 1st prize is 8,000 euros and a high-quality guitar valued in itself at 6,500 euros. The 2nd prize is 4,000 euros and the 3rd, 2,000 euros.

La Herradura Insiders
Christmas has been and gone for another year. Many of us had friends and family visiting for the festive period who have been blessed with some wonderful weather, many people returned to their homelands and were not as fortunate as us weatherwise. Let's hope the nice spell we are having continues until the 6th January when it is the Three Kings celebrations which we know the locals and we foreigners enjoy so much.

The new bar underneath Edif. Princessa has opened and is called Bonache. This has been a serious investment and is something different for La Herradura. The bar is extremely well stocked with wines and spirits and has been finished to the highest standards and could well give La Cochera a run for its money during those long summer nights.

Welcome back to Robert and Sonia, who will be with us for three weeks in January. They will no doubt bring with them plenty of their dry humour all the way from the rough end of Stockport.

Business as usual at La Parilla, which re-opened on schedule after its makeover. The popular restaurant now incorporates a separate bar area.

We called into the German run restaurant, Rosa Nautica, over the festive period. It is situated at the Las Palomas end of the beach under the apartment block of the same name. Not being our first visit to this restaurant, we pretty much knew what to expect and once again, we were not disappointed. Excellent, friendly service and good wholesome food served in a friendly environment. We recommend that you give it a try, if you are pondering over where to go for a most enjoyable evening.

Ambiente have completed their relocation to new premises in Edif. Las Maravillas opposite the main Plaza. As well as selling an extensive range of handcrafted furniture, Jonathan offers a complete interior design service and can be contacted at the new premises.

Line painting on the roads continues. The workmen are brightening up all the zebra crossings, which everyone ignores, and highlighting the areas designated as no parking, which everyone ignores, too.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a happy and prosperous New Year.

Various photos of Nerja will be featuring on the Telefónica phone cards. Amongst those featured are: Playa de Calahonda, The cliffs, Sierra de Almijara and the Balcón de Europa. On the back there will be photos of the main town church, the aquaduct and the Balcón de Europa again. The phone cards cost 6 euros each.

The official figure for foreign residents now stands at 3,806, according to Emma Hall, the Councillor for Foreign Residents. The figure is expected to reach the 4,000 mark by the 1st January 2004. The majority of this figure is made up of British residence, with a total of 1,475 registered residents. This is followed by the Germans with 368, the Swedish with 233, the Belgians with 132 and the French with 117. Of the 1,000 Argentineans who live in the town, only 450 are registered. According to the 2002 poll the Brits represented the largest foreign community and the Argentineans hardly existed, which means their population has quadrupled in the last year.

The Tuesday market is beginning to get some people's back up for a variety of reasons: the noise, traffic problems and the blocking up of garages and shops with the stalls and merchant vehicles. It is for this reason that residents from the El Chaparil are demanding that the market be held elsewhere. Most of the people who live in the flats near the market complain that from 07.00 on, the noise is strident and unbearable. And it's not only that, as one resident pointed out, "In the case of an emergency it would be impossible to get the car out of the garage!" she said. She added that on 2 occasions friends had had to take their children to the medical centre in their arms because it was impossible to use the car. One shopkeeper complained that it's impossible to have merchandise delivered on Tuesdays. So where could the Market be transferred to, we ask our readers?

Local sea anglers have captured a 50k wreck fish! Antonio Pozo, Francisco Retamero, Manuel López & Antonio Badía managed to land the brute along with various 15k sharks. The 50k beastie decided to swallow Antonio's hook and he had a devil of a time landing it on the boat without landing himself in the water.

El Capistrano will finally be getting a roundabout as an entrance junction. The Town Council has given the go ahead for the plans to be drawn up. This is welcoming news because 2 months ago a german man was knocked over outside the urbanización El Capistrano - and it wasn't the first accident of its kind to occur there.

Nerja now has a new art gallery in Calle Granada, 42. The gallery has been set up by people who have run a similar one in Linares, Jaen since 1976. The opening exhibition featured the works of Rafael Ortega.

Calles Bronce, Ameríca and Méndez Núñez are being done up, the town authorities forking out 346,776 euros on their renovation. These streets date back to the XVIII & XIX Centuries. As well as these 3 streets, work will begin on Calle Asensio Cabanillas, with a budget of 140,000 euros. The object of the works on the first 3 streets is to repave them and to modify the underground water mains, drains, telephone cables and street lighting. Work should conclude on them before the commencement of the next high season. Calle Asensio Cabanillas, which is situated between Calles Ramón & Cajal and Ruperto Andúez, will receive the same treatment. There is also a new Paseo marítimo on the drawing board which will run through the agricultural land between the N-340 and the Playazo Beach.

The Town Council has finally given the go ahead for the asphalting of the rural tracks in the upper vega, which border on the municipality of Frigiliana. This comes after a petition signed by over 100 farmers in the area. The tracks concerned are commonly known as the Cortijo Moreno & Cortijo Victoria, both of which are in lamentable conditions after the recent rainfalls. The tracks are used by people who have cortijos up the Río Seco Valley, as well as by local farmers. The process will take an investment of 100,000 euros, half of which is being supplied by Junta de Andalucía. Later on, caminos de Castillo Alto & los Almachares will receive a similar treatment.

A full 2 years after the completion of the coastal motorway that presently ends in Maro, the Government still hasn't paid out stipulated compensations for expropriated land. The same situation exists amongst the land owners, who had compulsary purchase orders issued on their land between Rincón de la Victoria and Algarrobo. This last particular stretch was completed in July 1998. The outstanding debt owed by the Government stands at 2.9m euros. It is also estimated that around 300 families are effected. Can't see our illustrious bureaucrats waiting 5 years to get their salaries, can you?

From this month on, if you wish to hold a wedding reception or some other private function at the Palacio de Apero in Frigiliana, it won't be free anymore. The standing fee is 500 euros and the number of attendents shouldn't surpass 200. This fee does not apply to official civil wedding ceremonies, which will continue to be free of charge. Private, money-making events held in the building will also have to pay the fee and the function must not exceed 4 hours and 2 euros entrance charge. To host an exhibiton there will now cost you 100 euros per day. If the exhibition is housed in the inner court yard the fee will 50 euros per day.