SPAIN Drive for an hour north-west along a new dual-carriageway from Alicante airport and eventually you'll wind up in the town of Alcoy.
It is a pretty place, plugged firmly into a rocky hillside and to get around you'll have to walk across bridges spanning a number of gorges which are - or at least used to be - the lifeblood of the area.
Torrents of water cascading down from the mountains powered paper mills and other industry, keeping the 60,000-odd souls of Alcoy happily supplied with tapas and Cruzcampo beer, while the rest of this region of sunny Spain was busy mixing cement and waiting for the package tourist boom.
Even when that arrived in the 50s and 60s and the paper mills began to close, Alcoy was not impressed. It had one trick up its sleeve which made it the envy of the rest of Spain - the annual Moors and Christians Festival.
BATTLEFIELD
Which is why I found myself this week squeezed into Alcoy's higgledy-piggledy streets with 80,000 other people, battling photographers to get the best pictures and fending off Spanish TV crews who thought I was worth an interview because I was the only Brit in town.
This is a very Spanish affair which celebrates - or rather commemorates - the defeat of the Arabs (the Moors) by the Christian King of Spain in the 13th century. Though routed on the battlefield, the Arabs never entirely went away, of course.
They left behind some of the most stunning architecture in Europe - the Alhambra in Granada, the Alcazar in Seville - and countless buildings and fortresses in towns and cities throughout Spain that generally have the letters "AL" in them. Think ALicante, ALmeria, MALaga, ALbacete and, rather neatly, ALcoy.
There's not much of the Arab influence left standing here, but on a fine yet chilly San Jordi's Day morning (St George's Day to you and me), I found men dressed as Moors in pantaloons and fezzes sipping cafe solo with their mates in chain mail and Crusader-like helmets before going out ... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
SPAIN Think of a nature area with evocative landscapes. Sounds appealing? Concentrate on the thought of millions of beach and oak trees, glacial lakes, river valleys... You are now in Somiedo Nature Reserve, Region of Asturias, which has the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation and is one of Spain's most beautiful settings. What can you do here? Discover traditional cabins, visit an eco-museum, go hiking, skiing... and, above all, feel free. Take note:
If you come to Asturias, in northern Spain, some 300 square kilometres of beautiful landscapes await you at the Somiedo Nature Reserve.... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
Aside from the six Plan Azur coastal resorts, the Moroccan Government has various other Action Plans on the go throughout the country, Tamuda Bay being one of them. This stretch of Tetouanaise coastline between the city of Fnideq just outside the Spanish enclave of Ceuta down to the fishing town and beach resort of M’diq is earmarked for 3.3bn Dirhams-worth of investment (over 200 million GBP) to include 5,000 hotel beds, two new 18-hole golf courses and upgrades to the existing three marinas. Pockets of residential property are springing up along Tamuda Bay and offering some tough... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
MARBELLA - The municipality of Marbella, through the delegation of Tourism, reports that the hotel occupancy forecast during the next May holidays, from Wednesday until Sunday, is 80%, resulting from the poll conducted by the delegation, with peaks of 100% occupancy in a number of hotels consulted. These figures will undoubtedly increase with last-minute reservations.
Jose Luis Hernandez,Tourism council, believes that these figures are "very positive" , especially bearing in mind that this percentage is indicative of the tourist high season. Besides adding that forecasts for this year... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
IBIZA There's going to be a new look on many of Ibiza's beaches this year courtesy of San Jose council. They've just introduced new rules which will apply during the bathing season which runs from May 1st until October 31st.All staff working on the beaches – hiring sun-loungers, parasols and so on - will now have to wear a uniform. A pair of shorts, a yellow t-shirt and baseball cap will have the words 'Serveis Platja-Beach Services' emblazoned across them in big black capital letters.
Even better news for those who like to do a bit of sunbathing in peace and quiet is that the... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
MALAGA (Fuengirola) - The Beaches Department , who heads Isabel Moreno, reported that the beaches of Fuengirola are in perfect condition to receive neighbours and tourists who want to enjoy them during the May holidays wich begin tomorrow. Thus, the council has organized a special device of work to maintain them. Specifically, 7 workers will be employed as a reinforcement in the work of removal of litter bins, smoothing sand with machinery and all that necessary activity to review over the next 4 days. This special device will be running from 6:00 until 10:00 am, as for not to disturb people... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
SPAIN The Andalusia coasts will be a major destination chosen by travellers to be on vacation these May holidays, along the coast of Catalonia and Levante, hoarding 'sun and sand'tourism, 40 per cent of these displacements,as the Bureau of Tourism noted today.
So, with temperatures close to 25 degrees centigrade, the preferred locations for these holidays will be the coast of Andalusia, Catalonia and Levante (40 percent), cities in interior and Northern Spain and Spanish Islands (20 per percent),origins places(30 percent) and finally foreign destinations (10 percent).
For... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
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