one of Almunecar's oldest and most scenic streets Remains of the Roman aqueduct are encased in glass beside the fountain The fountain's design features a traditional Andalusian style with ornate stonework showcasing the intricate craftsmanship typical of the period The fountain served as a communal gathering spot where locals would collect water and socialize This historic fountain is a functional piece of urban infrastructure and an artistic and cultural treasure The surrounding area is filled with narrow offering a glimpse into the quintessential Andalusian way of life The fountain and surrounding streets are pedestrian-friendly but the narrow and sometimes uneven cobblestone paths might be challenging for those with mobility issues Known as "The Spewer," this bizarre fountain has an even stranger urban legend behind it This bunny-eared Moses represents an attempted compromise between two biblical interpretations This saucy statue once caused outrage among locals this is the world's first tribute to the hardworking newspaper delivery boy This elegant structure at the heart of a Finger Lakes town was originally a drinking fountain Paisley's oldest open green space contains a rather ostentatious fountain at its center A striking bronze sculpture of a Roman goddess with two hound dogs for company This monumental fountain has moved around the city multiple times You should consider Almuñécar for retirement Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain It is often said that knowledge is power, and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country, like Spain. Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture, rules, events, and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time. An Almuñecar residential home has extended an invitation to three senior citizens who would otherwise be alone over Christmas. The Residencia Maria Auxiliadora and the town hall’s Social Services department have between them come up with the idea of inviting three people to spend the afternoon and evening of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at the care home, sharing dinner and the celebrations with the residents. Social Services councillor Maria Carmen Reinosa, explained that the offer was part of the town hall’s “No senior alone at Christmas” programme, complemented by this year’s slogan “Let this Christmas shine with special moments.” The initiative is aimed at elderly persons who live alone, are non-disabled and would like company on the two most important days of Spain’s festive season. The Maria Auxiliadora residence would arrange transport, Reinosa, said, adding that lots would be drawn should more than three people respond to the invitation. Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox! Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE! Covering the Almeria, Axarquia, Costa Blanca North, Costa Blanca South, Costa del Sol , Costa Calida, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home. With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. 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Volume 10 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.884685 This article is part of the Research TopicCrustose Coralline Red Algae Frameworks and Rhodoliths: Past and PresentView all 10 articles Shallow-water rhodolith beds are rare in the Mediterranean Sea and generally poorly known The Punta de la Mona rhodolith bed extends for 16,000 square meters in shallow and oligotrophic waters at the southern coast of Spain off Almuñecar in the Alborán Sea We present a detailed analysis of the structure (rhodolith cover and density sediment granulometry) and morphospecies composition of the bed along a depth gradient A stratified sampling was carried out at six depths (9 estimating rhodolith cover and abundance; rhodoliths were collected from one 30 by 30 cm quadrat for each transect resulting in 18 samples and a total of 656 rhodoliths The collected rhodoliths were measured and the coralline algal components identified morphoanatomically through a stereomicroscope and SEM Sediment on the seafloor mainly consisted of pebbles and cobbles; the highest rhodolith cover occurred between 15 and 18 m and the lowest at the shallowest and deepest transects (9 and 24 m) Mean Rhodolith size was similar throughout the depth range (23–35 mm) with a slight increase at 24 m although the largest rhodoliths occurred at 21 m size depended more on the forming species than on depth We found 25 non-geniculate coralline morphospecies nearly all rhodolith-forming morphospecies reported in the Mediterranean Sea in recent accounts The highest morphospecies richness (18–19) and proportional abundance were found at intermediate depths (15–18 m) Lithophyllum incrustans and Lithophyllum dentatum dominated at shallow depths (9–12 m) whereas Lithothamnion valens was the dominant species at intermediate and greater depths the latter species was the most common in the rhodolith bed The shallow-water rhodolith bed in Punta de la Mona is probably the most diverse in the Mediterranean Sea This highlights the importance of the conservation of this habitat and emphasizes the role of the Alborán Sea as a diversity center of coralline algae The Punta de la Mona example contradicts the common assumption in the geological literature that rhodolith beds are indicative of oligophotic environments with high nutrients levels This work aims to describe a shallow-water rhodolith bed located off the Punta de la Mona (southern Spain) in the northern shelf of the Alborán Sea morphospecies composition and diversity along a depth range from 9 to 24 m and relate the observed patterns to environmental variables We stress the uniqueness and originality of this bed and the need for conservation of marine biodiversity reserves Study area east of Punta de la Mona in southern Spain According to the wave modeling SIMAR for the Punta de la Mona (site 2039080), during the period January 1958-July 2021, dominant wave directions were from E-ESE (41.8%) and W-WSW (30.3%). Waves had heights above 2 m only 4.5% of the time, and calms and waves <0.5 m occurred 55% of the time (Puertos del Estado, 2021a) The levels of chlorophyll A from 2000 to 2020 obtained from the AQUA MODIS satellite indicate an oligotrophic environment, with mean values of 1–1.5 mg/cm3, peaking in spring (1.5–2 mg/cm3) and dropping in autumn-winter (>0.01 mg/cm3) (REDIAM, 2021) New temperature measurements were carried out for this study (see below) Water temperature at 16 m in the Punta de la Mona between February 2010 and December 2011 Both unattached coralline growths and pebbles coated by corallines (independently of coating proportion) were collected and air dried for at least 2 days (A) Line transect and quadrat (50 × 50-cm) for living-rhodolith cover estimation (B) Quadrat (30 × 30-cm) for rhodolith collection Six dataloggers (HOBO Pendant® MX, Temp/Light, www.onsensetcomp.com) were installed for data acquisition of temperature (°C) and illumination (lux) at each sampling depth, using the maximum daily illuminance by depth from measurements taken every 10 min (Otero-Ferrer et al., 2020) Two 50-ml samples of sediment smaller than pebbles were collected in each sampling depth to estimate granulometry The samples were dried and then sieved in >1 Identification of coralline algae forming the rhodoliths was performed with a stereomicroscope and ESEM (FEG-ESEM QuemScan650F). The morphospecies identification followed the available literature on Atlantic and Mediterranean coralline algae and the taxonomy proposed by Cormaci et al. (2017) and AlgaeBase (Guiry and Guiry, 2022) Once the component species in each rhodolith were identified a visual estimation of their relative proportions on the rhodolith surface was performed Vouchers of the rhodoliths will be deposited at the University of Granada Herbarium (GDA) where pi is the proportion of cover or frequency of the ith species in each depth Statistical comparisons between groups were performed on R Studio 2021.09.1+372 (RStudio Team, 2020) running R 4.1.2 (R Core Team, 2021). Data manipulation was facilitated by the dplyr 2.1.1, tidyverse 1.3.1, and broom 0.7.10 packages. Plots and graphs were generated by the ggplot2 3.3.5 package and finalized in Inkscape 1.1.1 (http://inkscape.org) All other statistical tests were from the base package of R The non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test was used to compare the differences among groups since the data did not fulfill the assumptions of ANOVA Dunn’s test with Holm’s correction was used as the post-hoc test when a significant difference resulted from Kruskal–Wallis tests Comparisons across the sampled depths were made for the benthic cover of 1) living-rhodoliths and 4) species of the monospecific rhodoliths excluding encrusting species (Lithophyllum incrustans) and those with <5 samples 5) Size differences among species of selected monospecific rhodoliths were also compared Data on temperature and illumination were obtained from 21 February to 21 March 2021 at 15 and from 15 to 31 January 2022 at 15 The average temperature at the end of the winter in 2021 ranged from 15.8°C at 15 m to 15.7°C at 24 m, whereas in December 2021 they were slightly lower ranging between 15.6°C at 12 m and 15.5°C at 24 m, with no significant differences among depths. In January 2022, the temperature was 15.1°C between the depths of 15–21 m (Supplementary Table S1) Daily maximum illuminance from (A) 21 February to 21 March2021 and (B) 4 to 20 December 2021 (C) 15 to 31 January 2022 and (D) variation of mean maximum illuminances by depth A weak current was perceived at this depth while sampling (A) Proportion of rhodoliths and grain-size classes (% cover) at different depths (B) Proportion of sand-sized fractions (<2 mm) at different depths (A) Rhodolith cover (mean and SD) and (B) boxplots of rhodolith cover illustrating significant differences detected across depths SEM images of selected examples of identified morphospecies: (A) Sporangial conceptacle of Lithophyllum hibernicum Black lines mark the contour of funnel-like depression on top of conceptacle pore filled by overgrowing filaments; (B) Bisporangial conceptacle of Lithophyllum orbiculatum Arrowheads point to bispores; (C) Tetrasporangial conceptacle of Lithophyllum nitorum Arrowheads point to elongated cells at the base of conceptacle roof; (D) Tetrasporangial conceptacle of Phymatolithon calcareum; (E) Tetrasporangial conceptacle of Lithothamnion corallioides; (F) Tetrasporangial conceptacle of Lithothamnion valens (A) Relative abundance of the identified taxa at the sampling depths (B) Shannon-Wiener index diversity measures (based on species frequency or cover) at the sampling depths Counts of monospecific rhodoliths by depth (A) Rhodolith sizes and (B) boxplots illustrating significant differences detected across depths Rhodolith cover (%) and size (mm) by depth Monospecific rhodoliths: (A) Lithophyllum dentatum; (B) Lithopyllum racemus; (C) Lithothamnion minervae; (D) Lithothamnion valens (A) Boxplots of sizes of monospecific rhodoliths illustrating significant differences detected across species and (B) their mean size at different depths FIGURE 12. (A) Triangular diagrams of rhodolith shape classes at each sampling depth (Sneed and Folk, 1958; Bosence, 1983; Graham and Midgley, 2000) and (B) relative proportions of rhodolith morphotypes at each sampling depth Other includes coatings on lithoclasts and bioclasts and compact rhodoliths of encrusting coralline algae The diversity of rhodoliths (Shannon-Wiener index, H′), both based on species frequency and cover, was highest at medium depths (15 and 18 m). The maximum rhodolith diversity was 2.51 for species frequency and 2.16 for species cover at 15 m, and the minimum rhodolith diversity was 1.74 for species frequency and 1.33 for species cover at 9 m (Figure 8B) Rhodolith sizes within individual species do not show significant differences among depths suggesting that genetic signatures control the sizes of monospecific rhodoliths rather than environmental conditions at least at the small scale of the Punta de la Mona bed Phymatolithon calcareum and Neogoniolithon brassica-florida are the rhodolith-forming species characteristic of the Mediterranean the identified morphospecies show patterns of depth distribution probably related to illuminance gradients Lithophyllum dentatum is rare below 15 m and the abundance of Lithophyllum incrustans markedly decreases with depth Mesophyllum macroblastum does not occur at shallow depths (9–12 m) and has higher relative abundance at 24 m where the maximum illuminance is only 21% of that at 12 m Among the small and rare species identified in the multispecific rhodoliths, Lithophyllum orbiculatum (Foslie) Foslie, Lithothamnion crispatum Hauck, and Lithothamnion sonderi Hauck have not been reported in the Alborán Sea so far (Gallardo et al., 2016) the Punta de la Mona bed develops in oligotrophic waters that rhodolith beds are indicative of oligophotic the occurrence of many rhodoliths settled by Rugulopterix okamurae makes the future of the rhodolith bed uncertain and needs to be monitored in the following years This exemplifies that it is necessary to be cautious and incorporate the knowledge of these communities into the spatial planning framework of Punta de la Mona and other marine protected areas The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author writing the manuscript; DR: Taxonomic identification editing the manuscript; JB: Taxonomic identification This work was partly funded by the Junta de Andalucía Research Group RNM 190 The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher DAR work was funded by EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No We would like to thank Isabel Sánchez for facilitating the SEM imaging remotely We are grateful to two reviewers whose comments helped to improve the article The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.884685/full#supplementary-material Aguado-Giménez Influence of an Experimental 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close to the case have reported that the body was taken by a Guardia Civil patrol boat to a beach near Marina del Este harbour before being transferred to the institute of legal medicine in Granada for an autopsy The autopsy will determine whether injuries the man sustained to his face were caused by the rocks in the area where he was found told Europa Press that the body of a 67-year-old Swedish man was found at 8.30am and he was carrying identity documentation He had not been reported as missing and nobody else is connected with the incident Police are currently treating the death as an accident The area where the body was found is being searched for personal objects that may help in the investigation Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks produced 45,000 tons of cherimoya this year slightly exceeding the production volumes of previous seasons The cultivated area and annual production have been remarkably stable with an average yield of 15,000 kilos per hectare between August and June This is the longest season we've had so far In a press release issued by the City of Almuñécar Ferrón highlighted the relevance of this tropical fruit for the local economy and congratulated the farmers for their achievements in a campaign marked by climate challenges president of the Chirimoya de la Costa Tropical de Granada-Málaga PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) said marketing abroad had increased by 10 to 18 percent and Italy were the main markets and there's a growing interest from the Arabian Peninsula Distributing production in different commercial windows has been key to this season's success 72% of production was concentrated in winter and the remaining 28% in spring a period in which prices are better and stand at nearly one euro per kilo Cherimoya is a very exclusive fruit grown on the coast of Granada 99% of the cherimoya marketed is of the Fino de Jete variety Ferrón and Rodríguez stressed the importance of having an adequate irrigation infrastructure and the need to overcome climate uncertainty to ensure the future of this unique product which is an economic engine for Andalusia and brings a unique landscape richness to the Tropical Coast of Granada Source: europapress.es Frontpage photo: © Barmalini | Dreamstime FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 FreshPlaza.com Chef José Pizarro has teamed up with the Almuñécar La Herradura Tourism Board to bring a taste of Andalusia to the UK The partnership will be celebrated with a special dinner on Tuesday 25th June at Pizarro Restaurant where Pizarro and esteemed chefs Carlos Martin and Sergio González from Almuñécar La Herradura will prepare an exclusive seven-course menu The event will not only showcase the flavours of the Andalusian region but also kick off a month-long competition offering a chance to win a five-night gastronomic getaway to Almuñécar La Herradura nestled between mountains and a fertile valley Almuñécar La Herradura’s climate and geographical conditions have made it a hub for tropical crops like mangoes The region’s proximity to the sea also significantly influences its cuisine The dinner menu aims to highlight this produce presenting dishes like Buttery Toasted Pan Brioche with avocado and white wild prawn Bluefin Tuna and Monkfish Rose with almonds and mango and Octopus Rice with langoustine carpaccio among others including the seven-course meal and a glass of Jerez upon arrival The competition, open to attendees throughout June, encourages guests to capture their experience of the bluefin tuna and monkfish rose dish on Instagram, tagging @josepizarrorestaurants, @visitalmunecarlaherradura meals at some of the region’s finest restaurants and activities such as a subtropical fruit farm visit kayaking to the Cerro Gordo Cliffs Natural Park The dinner event will be held at Pizarro Restaurant For further information on the competition, visit the dedicated page on José Pizzarro’s website here. For the dinner’s reservations, visit the webpage here.  The Junta de Andalucía is to hold a meeting with farmers in Almuñécar on Granada province's Costa Tropical on Monday 25 February to inform them about the Ambrosia beetle affecting avocados The meeting will take place on 25 February at 5.30pm at the town's Casa de la Cultura Although there are no known cases in Almuñécar the beetle is already affecting crops in Motril has said that "it is very important to control the pest" He went on to say that "although no avocado trees in Almuñécar or La Herradura have been affected farmers must have all the information on how to combat it so that they are prepared" The talk will be given by agriculture experts from the Junta de Andalucía who are monitoring the situation closely in the region Its presence was detected for the first time in three farms in Motril in 2023 which led the Junta de Andalucía's department for agriculture to officially declare the presence of this small insect and the fungus associated with it as a pest announced on Wednesday 12 February that the Andalusian government is finalising the procedures prior to the publication of the order that will regulate compensation for the destruction of avocado crops affected by the beetle During his speech at the Junta de Andalucía in Seville Fernández-Pacheco stated that the regional government is working to ensure that "the procedure established for the application and granting of compensation is carried out as quickly as possible" as the presence of the ambrosia beetle is an issue that "occupies and worries" the regional government The spokesperson explained this activity is an example of the "constant and coordinated work that has been carried out in Andalucía from the outset" Fernández-Pacheco explained that in December 2023 after the first suspicion of the presence of the beetle in three ornamental trees in Motril The Junta de Andalucia is continuing to monitor the region by means of new traps installed in December and January in Granada province and in municipalities in Malaga and Huelva provinces Phytosanitary measures to be applied at agricultural holdings affected by the ambrosia beetle include sampling to detect its presence They must also carry out phytosanitary treatments with authorised products and other control measures prune trees or shrubs completely or partially and immediately destroy plant remains of affected trees and shrubs limitations are also established for sharing vehicles boxes and containers of other elements of the agricultural activity; and the correct disinfection of tools and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain THE Almuñécar Town Hall is cracking down on people reserving beach space with unattended items and other belongings left on the sand without their owners present Images have surfaced on social media showing the town hall placing warning stickers on unattended belongings indicating that they will be removed in the future This initiative is designed to ensure that everyone can enjoy the beaches of Almuñécar and La Herradura fairly By discouraging the practice of saving spots with unattended items the town hall aims to promote a more equitable use of beach space Beachgoers are encouraged to keep their belongings with them and use the beaches considerately. This effort will help make the beach experience more pleasant and accessible for all. Remember to follow these guidelines and enjoy the beautiful beaches of Almuñécar responsibly Similar measures have been implemented in other popular Spanish beach destinations to combat the so-called ‘beach bed wars,’ where early risers claim prime spots by leaving their belongings These rules aim to foster a more respectful and enjoyable environment for everyone be mindful of your fellow beachgoers and help keep the beaches fair and enjoyable for all For more Axarquia and Costa Tropical news and events Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain by delivering news with a social conscience we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP) Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall) All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE Download our media pack in either English or Spanish tough fur has been used for millennia to produce high-quality clothes and while they trace their roots back to the wild Andes of Peru they are now a domesticated cousin of the llama bred all around the globe they are highly instinctive animals who are extremely protective of their herd – a perfect symbol for a multinational seventh-tier Spanish football club You are very unlikely to have heard of CD Almuñécar City but their unique story is the embodiment of a dream most fans can only imagine entering the Tercera Andaluza (Granada) División and are already on the verge of securing promotion with plenty of room to spare but their instant success is not the real headline Founded by a then-29-year-old UEFA A license-holding coach with playing experience spanning the globe CDAC are tearing through the Spanish system their own way they have already been represented by Japanese A steady stream of new talent is secured by their link-up with the FC Malaga City Pro Season Academy whereby academy graduates are offered a route directly into competitive league football match programs and a global membership scheme are just some of the elements that set them apart convincing himself that the fans will get on board with a plan to make the players celebrate every goal with the new mascot ‘like a pride of lions’ colourful and close-knit herd you will be hard-pressed to find especially on the lower league pitches of southern Spain but sometimes the group has to part with members What is different about CDAC is that they actively encourage this process rather than struggle to keep every single player – and herein lies the motivation for the very formation of the club in the first place “We had a super talented group of last year under-19 players and I was upset they hadn’t been signed to a club in the previous season,” explained FC Malaga City and CDAC founder George Jermy “I believe in them and know they just need more time This got me thinking that there must be something I can do so put together with my passion to run a football club properly I started to research establishing my own football club Here we are following just under two years of work paperwork and politics with the birth of CD Almuñécar City The aim is for the academy to be a direct feeder and the two work in unison.” There have been previous examples of loosely similar setups most notably the Glenn Hoddle Academy that was established a decade ago less than 200 miles away in Jerez the former England manager realised a long-held dream of giving scholars rejected by top clubs a second chance to develop at their own pace by drafting in former professionals as coaches and effectively buying out struggling fourth-tier side Jerez Industrial CF as a reverse feeder club young players that would otherwise have been lost from the game had a direct pathway laid out for them to use as a springboard to return to the upper echelons of professional football the combination of academy and club worked giving the likes of Ikechi Anya and Sam Clucas – both of whom have played Premier League football in recent seasons – renewed hope who allegedly reneged on a six-figure repayment due to Hoddle personally led to the project upping sticks and moving entirely to an academy-only structure at Bisham Abbey While the intentions were unquestionably sound the immediate pathway differed somewhat from FC Malaga City Academy “They went and bought a club and did it that way; we’re starting from the very bottom but trying to make our way up as a high as possible as quickly as possible People have likened it to the Nike football academy [with players] getting a place in the football league The sheer weight of Nike’s global appeal, not to mention their financial clout or luxurious facilities within the FA’s St. George’s Park, means there are still some obvious differences, but the ethos of pastoral care is every bit as strong. While the Nike Academy offers first-class training and preparation the one element that even they lack is the guaranteed re-entry into professional football A regular turnover of graduates means that there is still the intense pressure of earning an offer of a professional contract or being rejected from the academy itself so while the second chance mantra rings true there are still many who fall through the cracks in face of such stiff competition the chance to impress against high-profile opposition is a critical aspect of their work; Barcelona and Internazionale have both fallen to the academy side while the worldwide reach of the recruitment program has unearthed the likes of Celtic’s Tom Rogic FC Malaga City Academy is at a bizarre advantage Although it may lack the seemingly bottomless pit of money and resources available to the American sportswear giant the partnership with CD Almuñécar City offers a more structured path directly into the professional game with a group of staff who are effectively pulling towards exactly the same goal Jermy is the obvious tangible link between the two entities and his driving ethos since setting up FC Malaga City Academy four years ago dictates the direction of both One gets the sense that this is what drives him as much as anything when he describes his thinking which is helping young people be better footballer players and most importantly better young men We run the academy as a non-profit organisation as opposed to a commercial enterprise Being a private academy this is extremely unique and this shows in all levels not just from costs to the player to come for a full season but from the level of care given to the players from the coaching team “We take players to trials no matter where I can remember driving eight hours to Portugal to take two players to train for a week with a pro club there Last season a player needed his appendix out and was in hospital for four nights We made sure a coach slept in the hospital with him every night to ensure he was comfortable and had any help with language.” Regular midweek showcase matches against LaLiga and Segunda División academy sides offer a real chance to impress there were seven players either on trial or attending training with clubs in the top four tiers of Spanish football Saurav Gopalkrishan recently went on trial with Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League while Ellis Hare-Reid earned a call-up to the New Zealand under-20 squad and was offered a full contract at Ayr United after his time with the academy Not all opportunities result in a guaranteed full-time career in the game but to judge the success of the academy and the club in those specific metrics would be to miss the entire point: it is the volume and quality of the opportunities that set them apart Youngsters who drop out of top-level clubs will at best restart in the lower reaches of their respective country’s league system where facilities may be lacking or staffing may be stretched they may be lost to the game for good as they lose all focus and motivation The fact that a number of academies aimed at giving a second chance have begun to appear suggests there are gaps in the system that needs filling Jamie Vardy’s experience of working his way up from humble beginnings to become an England international is one that has inspired his V9 academy aimed at giving non-league players a shot at the big-time but it doesn’t offer nearly the same year-round contact that Almuñécar City and FC Malaga City do “Having had the cotton wool for almost a decade of the Premier League academy system and now finding it a daunting task of the frantic style of League One I would say it was a tough transition period to say the least,” he said “At the time I could not understand why all the changing rooms didn’t have underfloor heating why the training ground didn’t have 10 pitches all cut with scissors and why the stadium was called the Fitness First Stadium but the first team didn’t have a gym this led to a lot of frustration and really left me disillusioned with English football.” A return to the Costa Blanca came when a change in academy personnel made it clear his path to the first team was closing but then the global financial crisis struck until an opportunity arose out of the blue to play in Australia he suffered a serious injury that would prevent him from playing a single minute as he underwent rehabilitation It was during this low period that the idea occurred to him to set up an academy Seeing such limited to non-existent pathways to professional football for talented youngsters By that stage he has already earned his Level 2 FA coaching badge but had no outlet to develop his skills off the pitch Upon returning to the UK he was told his injury would prevent him from ever reaching an elite level but all this did was fuel his desire to prove himself even more Eventually he fought back to playing condition while working for the FA and once again a call from Down Under threw up a tempting offer; Wairarapa United of New Zealand wanted him to spearhead a campaign to win the national knockout cup competition Read  |  The story of David Accam and the Nike Academy he finally he settled into something resembling normality as he began to enjoy playing and scoring goals As if a cruel pattern was beginning to emerge the relief at having managed an injury-free period of his career was soon tempered somewhat The visas the club had got for him and two other overseas players hadn’t been arranged as planned and after six months he was forced to hit the road once more One of the other unfortunate two was a Fijian who was returning home to play in a qualifying tournament for the Oceana Champions League “The most interesting aspect was life experience for the eight-week camp plus tournament On the field it was a blast; the level was great physically but very different tactically … every game was a packed house with these fantastic stadium housing 15-20,000 football-crazy locals I left the country not just with 20,000 new friends but as a completely new person and with a new outlook on life the industry encourages you to be very self-centred self-image conscious; Fiji taught me how wrong that is and that football is so much more than the players and how much it can help so many people.” Although his playing career was far from over – spells in the United States Gibraltar and Spain followed – the seeds had been well and truly sown he had built up an extensive body of knowledge experience and contacts that leant him the ideal tools to secure the technical side of the academy All that remained was to find the necessary investment to take the project off the ground Running a club like Almuñécar City at this level will cost a minimum of €15,000 and with the academy to run as well it has been no mean feat to maintain both as not just sustainable Sponsorship and personal investment have so far supported operations a whole other level of finance will be required “We kind of split our journey into two sections really,” said Darwen of Almuñécar’s targets “The first is to get up to Tercera as quickly as possible I’ve seen Real Oviedo play Eibar in the Segunda B playoff semi-final about four years ago which Eibar won if you get to Segunda B you really can make it to LaLiga.” Almuñécar itself is a small town of about 35,000 people that had a professional club until a few years ago leaving behind a 4,000-capacity stadium that CDAC now occupy What makes the town ideal to host a club if such disparate origins is the international makeup of the locality itself; around a third of the residents are foreign-born When the club were approaching their opening fixture there was a genuine surprise to see a healthy crowd of over 200 people attending – a number “that would put a few Tercera clubs to shame” Communications had been conducted entirely in English initially in anticipation of a largely English-speaking expat community support What was more unexpected was the reception that the town’s new club received from Spanish locals Now it is easier to see how a well-run club would garner a widespread following but before the true nature of CDAC had even revealed itself to the administrators themselves the club’s early popularity is harder to fathom Aggravation towards the foreign upstarts across the division’s region became clear Read  |  La Masia: dilemmas from inside the world’s most famous academy we have a big target on our backs when we go and play opposition It can become a different game; the opposition can be terrible but we’ve got to overcome that and overcome these challenges We get a bit of resistance when we’re playing away from home because the team is predominantly non-Spanish so it can be a bit challenging in that way.” One instant promotion later and the dreams are starting to take a more real shape The quality of new signings is increasing too; Kasper Mikkelsen is a former FC Midtjylland youth team product who was on the books of UD Los Barrios in the Tercera División last season but has dropped down three tiers in the hope of finding better long-term opportunities USA international beach soccer player Alessandro Canale joined this week after having played in the American league system and debuted in a 9-0 annihilation of Orgiva As for the long-term plans of the future of the whole club it entirely depends on how far they can work their way up the system “I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re expecting to go from the seventh tier to LaLiga “You’ve got to aim for it; the facts do tell you that it is possible were playing Tercera football in the last decade it is possible to make your way through the leagues The advantage we’ve got is that we are a well-run club.” With interest in investment coming from all around the world social media accounts that number followers in the thousands an extensive network of contacts and a thoroughly original academy linked to the club it would take a very bold man to bet against CD Almuñécar City making far bigger and brighter headlines before long amidst the sheer determination to do things his own way off the pitch the temptation to get back on it rears its head Jermy has played a minimal part in the team itself despite being registered as a player although he maintains that he would still be the fittest member of the squad “The transition from playing to coaching is the hardest thing a footballer will ever go through,” he said “I defy any player capable of playing to disagree preparation of the team and running of the club “I go through lots of emotions at different periods often still having a huge itch to play as high as I can However I am honest with myself and I cannot play as high as I previously have or as high as I would want to so my focus is becoming the best coach I can.” Let’s indulge in a touch of fantasy a moment and imagine CD Almuñécar City have reached the stated first target of promotion to Tercera Division The academy and club founder has admitted himself that the whole model would have to be revisited both from an investment and personnel point of view as the leap up to Segunda B would suddenly throw a different challenge of being genuine bona fide competitors with the very clubs they currently help players find trials with Jermy’s vision is simpler: “The ethos will remain the same That is to help as many young people as we can whilst getting promotions along the way as top talented young footballers come for a stepping stone in their career.” Perhaps the ultimate fantasy is to turn the tables; for other clubs to be stepping stones towards CDAC By Andrew Flint   A new case of a male mountain goat being killed and decapitated as a ‘trophy’ in the natural area of the Maro-Cerro Gordo cliffs between Nerja in Malaga province and Almuñécar in Granada province Hikers who were walking in the area around the El Nogal residential area in Almuñécar in Granada province found the goat partially buried by stones in an attempt to hide it Sources have said that the animal had been killed by poachers in the last three or four days as the body and limbs were beginning to putrefy The hikers who came across the animal immediately alerted the Guardia Civil the force’s nature and environmental protection unit This type of poaching has been a problem in recent years three mountain goats were found decapitated in the same area and photography enthusiasts warned at the time that the situation “is not new” THE Euro Weekly News recently reported that Almuñécar would be introducing a VADO card This new parking system has now come into effect allowing garage owners to park in public areas directly in front of their driveways or assign the ‘Tarjeta Vado'(Vado Card) to a friend or family member for use This initiative in Almuñécar and La Herradura provides an additional 950 parking spaces on public streets hailed it as an innovative solution fulfilling an electoral promise to alleviate summer parking woes and enhance overall parking availability Interested garage owners can apply through the town hall’s electronic platform or in person ensuring compliance with local regulations and ownership verification before issuance The card must be prominently displayed in the parked vehicle and can be used by the owner or a designated user carries no financial burden aside from a nominal issuance fee This initiative is widely regarded as a great idea offering hope that similar solutions will be rolled out across the country For more Axarquia and Costa Tropical news and events click here Officers from Almuñécar's fire brigade on Granada province's Costa Tropical have rescued a dog that had fallen into a muddy well in the Barranco de Ítrabo area of the town on Friday 17 January According to a video of the operation posted on social media by the mayor of Almuñécar the animal had been trapped in the hole for four days has been found safe and sound thanks to the incredible work of our professionals," said the mayor The images show one of the firefighters at the bottom of the well A harness was placed on the dog and itwas carefully lifted from the outside The dog was apparently frightened but unharmed The mayor thanked the firefighters "for their dedication their humanity and for reminding us that in Almuñécar and La Herradura we take care of everyone" "Not only do they make our municipality safer but they also inspire us with their dedication and bravery This rescue is more proof that when we work together calls for " a round of applause for our heroes and a hug for this little boy who is now home" A recent study has revealed that Nerja and Almuñécar top the list of best areas in Spain for retirees Nerja attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world each year This former fishing village is increasingly chosen by Central European families as a second home or retirement destination numbers confirm that along with neighbouring Almuñécar a portal that advises potential residents on moving to Spain awarded both Nerja and Almuñécar a score of 7.5 out of 10 Factors considered included average annual temperature Following Nerja and Almuñécar Cádiz capital ranks eighth with 6.2 points followed by Cartagena (6) and Las Palmas (5.8) Nerja’s favourable tax rates, mild climate, and high percentage of retired residents (25.84 per cent) contribute to its top ranking. Rental prices in Nerja are competitive, though slightly higher than in some other areas. The study highlights the appeal of Nerja and Almuñécar as ideal retirement destinations in Spain Retiring on the Mediterranean coast offers a combination of natural beauty making it an excellent choice for those looking to enjoy their retirement to the fullest For more Axarquia articles, news and events click here Almuñécar's SkateSurf sports club on Granada's Costa Tropical held a masterclass on Tuesday 4 February which was run by Yoni Cadenas and his family's company DST which brought together around thirty participants from Almuñécar took place at the El Pozuelo-Pepe Matías skate park and pump track in Almuñécar The day offered training at different levels with classes for beginner and advanced skaters The event was such a success that the Almuñécar SkateSurf club has already announced that they are preparing a second date which was attended by the representatives from Almuñécar town hall concluded with the presentation of certificates to the participants to reward their effort and enthusiasm during the day Almuñécar continues to support the expansion of urban sports offering quality infrastructures and promoting events that encourage teamwork and the growth of new disciplines in our town and surrounding areas." Once again jet skis are causing problems for the authorities along Granada province's Costa Tropical in the south of Spain This year the incidents have moved from Almuñécar-La Herradura to Motril where several incidents have already been reported due to the misuse of these watercraft on San Cristóbal beach in Almuñécar the Guardia Civil had to intervene from the air with a helicopter and fined three individuals for the inappropriate use of jet skis as they were also close to other bathers in unauthorised areas The Guardia Civil together with the Local Police are launching a prevention campaign aimed at all jet ski users with the aim of providing clear information on correct and incorrect uses This initiative aims to reduce accidents and promote a responsible and safe use of jet skis during the summer season checks will be carried out on the various companies offering jet ski rental services to ensure compliance with the regulations in force Measures will also be implemented to control the access of these jet skis to the beaches thus guaranteeing the safety of swimmers in the area Almuñécar-La Herradura town hall will continue to monitor beaches with drones that can report incidents to the Guardia Civil "This action has been brought forward from last year and will continue until September," explained Lucía González informative signs will be installed on the beaches for users of these boats work is being carried out to mark the beaches so that there are no further incidents municipal authorities have limited powers to "curb" inappropriate use of these vehicles They have shown their opposition to nuisance jet skis that are not affiliated with companies that operate legally in the area The companies responsible for renting jet skis play a crucial role in mitigating the problems These companies strive to educate users to comply with the rules so that there are no incidents a leading water sport company in Almuñécar The profile of those who demand these services generally includes groups of friends and couples This company offers both guided tours and free rental of jet skis provided that users have the corresponding watercraft licence owner of the Deportivo chiringuito (beach bar) in Almuñécar on Granada province's Costa Tropical is grateful for the show of love support and the offer of help he has received from his neighbours friends and customers after the establishment caught fire on Sunday 23 June The fire broke out at around 6am and the first call to the fire brigade was made by a passer-by who spotted smoke coming out of the bar It took the fire brigade less than 20 minutes to arrive at the scene The main hypothesis is that the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit The owner has explained how friends have offered to help with cleaning and repairing the restaurant and at times like this you realise how much friendship is worth and how much people value the work we do at the chiringuito everyone has been very sympathetic towards us Even from something so bad you can get something good out of it," he explains The chiringuito opened at the end of the 1980s on Almuñécar's Velilla beach and has remained in the same family The first owners were Rubén Jerónimo's parents who at the ages of 84 and 81 are retired and the family business has passed down to the next generation La Velilla beach in Almuñécar on Granada's Costa Tropical has witnessed a rare natural spectacle: bioluminescence The phenomenon is caused by microscopic marine algae known as 'noctiluca scintillans' are responsible for lighting up the coastline from time to time The 'noctiluca scintillans' appear as red spots in the water a natural defensive response that gives the coast this glow and it has been possible to see it on La Velilla beach since Friday 5 July Almuñécar town hall has explained that it is not dirt but red stains that have no negative effects on people or sea life Locals and tourists alike have mistaken it for red fish roe The orange colour of these spots is due to the lipids or fats consumed by noctilucas They move with the tides and accumulate on the shore It is a common sight along Granada's coastline and have been seen in recent years on Cantarriján The best time to see the bioluminescence is in summer and autumn thanks to warmer temperatures and higher levels of plankton The popular Aquatropic water park in Almuñécar on the Costa Tropical in Granada province opens its doors for the summer season on Thursday 13 June it is the only salt water park in Andalucía according to a statement from Almuñécar town hall there are also eating places and shaded areas to escape the sun This year the attraction park promises "a varied calendar of events so there will be plenty of entertainment every day" Balinese-style beds and a chill out area "with spectacular views of the Mediterranean" Until the end of June there will be 60 people working at the attraction For tickets, opening hours and further information click here After years of demands and requests to the central government's coastal department to repair a breakwater on Velilla beach in Almuñécar on Granada's Costa Tropical Mayor of Almuñécar-La Herradura Juanjo Ruiz Joya signed off the project on Tuesday 14 May after the town hall decided to rebuild the defence on its own has not been without controversy due to the tension between the town and the government to work out who was responsible for the work On Tuesday morning local business owners started repairing the damage caused by the waves to their properties due to neglect but also for the workers of the restaurant behind me who had seen how the livelihood of five families had been cut short by the Spanish government's failure to assume its responsibilities in the repair of the Punta Velilla breakwater," said the mayor Ruiz Joya recalled that for the last 12 years it has not been possible to walk along the footpath and a after a storm in 2019 the hotel and restaurant to be sealed and closed In April this year when the town hall started the works pointed out that the repair of this beach and the breakwater was a municipal competence because the town hall was responsible for the service road "The maintenance of the service road is the responsibility of Almuñécar town hall but the breakwater is a direct responsibility of the government of Spain And the road could not be repaired over the breakwater if the breakwater had not been repaired." perhaps it is because he has only been in office for a few days but I am prepared to send him the reports of his own heads of services and inspectors from the provincial coastal department who say the opposite of what he says assuring him that coastal protection is his responsibility and not ours." The town hall has explained that the cost of repairing the breakwater was around 47,000 euros which the mayor considered an insignificant amount for the central government An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 was recorded early this morning at 2.40am (Spanish mainland time) to the south of the Alboran Sea (the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea) and off the coast of Melilla according to Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) The earthquake was felt with varying degrees of intensity in coastal towns in the Andalusian provinces of Malaga and Granada the tremor was felt at different intensities along the coast of the province of Malaga It was also felt in the towns of Motril and Almuñécar in the province of Granada The earthquake occurred at a depth of 19 kilometres it seems that no damage or injuries have been reported of which neighbouring La Herradura also forms a part is on the Costa Tropical in Granada province and is home to 26,514 people (2019) 4,729 are foreign residents from 80 different countries festivals and traditions are important; for example the patron saint of the Virgen de la Antigua has been celebrated since 1569 The town’s modern name comes from the Muslim period; al-Munakkar its history and previous names go back to Phoencian times ships arrived at the coast of Almuñécar from Tyre a Phoenician city located at the other end of the Mediterranean Sea They established a colony and minted coins on which they wrote the name of the city in the Phoenician alphabet which is why we know that Almuñécar in Phoenician times was called Sks The Phoenician alphabet has no vowels and the writing starts from right to left." Another important activity in the town was the salting of fish and producing the famous ‘garum’ fish paste which was used to flavour foods and was so important that the coins that they minted feature two fish placed horizontally leaving a free space between them in the centre On the other side they placed the image of the god Melkar Sks was the name of Almuñecar in Phoenician times the coins were minted using the Latin alphabet and Sks became Sexi The coins now bore the image of the Roman god Hercules on the other side This is why even now it is sometimes referred to as ‘Sexi’ and there are a number of places named Sexi like the Loro Sexi bird park or the Antigua Sexi secondary school The inhabitants called themselves Sexitans which is still in use today; Sexitano for men and Sexitana for women The Romans called the town Sexi Firmum Iulium which means that Sexi was loyal to the Julio- Claudio dynasty to which the first Roman emperors belonged and whose lineage they linked to Aeneas hero of Troy and ancestor of Romulus and Remus a professor of Ancient History and Latin from Almuñécar "The Sks coins explain the Phoenician name for Almuñécar "the interpretation of the name has given rise to some controversy between linguists and epigraphers" "the most widely accepted works on the Sks legend are those of J Solá-Solé who interprets the graphics as S K S In his work he goes on to explain that the interpretation of the phonetics of Sks is "controversial" "It is a question of interpretation of alphabetic terminology" It wasn’t until the Islamic period of Al-Andalus that the name changed to a much closer version of Almuñécar When the Christians returned to the town at the end of the fifteenth century the explanation is much simpler; herradura means horseshoe in Spanish and anyone who looks at the town’s bay will see that it is indeed shaped like a horseshoe light up the façade of the town hall building on Plaza de la Constitución in the colours of the rainbow flag to celebrate International Pride Day That's your superpower" and 'Llove who you love the manifesto of the local LGBT community will also be read out In a statement the town hall said that it wanted to show its “support for all gender identities and orientations” as well as to demonstrate its work to make the presence of the LGBT community more visible has been elected new mayor of Almuñécar (Granada province) with the support of Más Almuñécar Ruiz Joya has taken up the position after the resignation of Trinidad Herrera who was elected to the Andalusian parliament following the regional elections on 19 June Other candidates were Juan Carlos Benavides (CA) and Rocío Palacios (PSOE) who only received the votes of their own parties with seven and three votes respectively The vote took place in the auditorium of the Casa de la Cultura de Almuñécar and Ruiz Joya was declared the winner shortly after 10pm on Tuesday evening Ruiz Joya is Almuñécar’s seventh mayor since the beginning of the democracy in Spain Ruiz Joya’s first meeting as mayor took place on Wednesday morning to demand urgent measures for farmers in Almuñécar who are facing severe restrictions because of the ongoing drought THE ‘International Day of Flamenco’ will be celebrated in Almuñécar this Thursday As announced in a statement by the Town Hall this Wednesday 15 the event is prepared by the ‘Alma Marinera’ Cultural Association of Dance and will feature a performance in the Plaza de la Constitución the event will also serve to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the declaration by UNESCO of the municipality as a ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ Flamenco is a unique and multi-cultural artform a symbol of Andalucia’s identity that represents it artistically throughout the world the world’s largest cultural institution which ensures the maintenance of culture and traditional values ‘Almuñécar is the cradle of great artists and a promoter of great flamenco shows throughout the year we will have several shows on our agenda’ Fresh water is a resource as limited as it is essential; that is why its correct and efficient management is fundamental given the magnitude of the current drought where a new mango campaign is about to start there are major concerns regarding the Guadalquivir basin which according to the latest data is at a disturbing 23.2% of its capacity while nothing points to the situation changing in the short term While not everyone in the region is suffering this pressing shortage of water they are all having similar difficulties to get it and this is taking a toll on the mango producers of the Costa Tropical de Granada And with dams such as those of Béznar-Rules which are close to 80% and 70% of their capacity the lack of infrastructure and government inaction are causing the salinization of the aquifers that supply the producers of this area in which subtropical agriculture is an important source of wealth and employment which is causing sea water to enter and the salinity levels of the water with which we irrigate to rise The results of the laboratory analyses carried out on the irrigation water coming from the aquifer are alarming On August 3 the amount of chlorides was 426 mg/l and on August 18 it had already risen to 660 mg/l and not only for those that are already planted Their accumulation in the soil will prevent others from being able to grow later on." the Béznar-Rules reservoirs are almost at 80% of their capacity and have even been draining some of the fresh water that we so desperately need directly into the sea," says Francisco we already sent a letter to the Council of Agriculture of the Andalusian Government Total mineral salt levels in mineral water the regional government has the power for "the management of groundwater and aquifer recharge" but the ability to set up special plans of action in situations of alert and possible drought of the Andalusian hydrographic demarcations "It is true that a tertiary has been enabled in the Almuñécar treatment plant for the use of reclaimed water for agriculture but only two irrigation communities currently have the concession The process to obtain it can take 2 years and we do not have that much time because every day that passes is one day less for the trees to survive The only solution at the moment would be to recharge the aquifer through the underwater pipeline." "It is really impossible to understand how having such an amount of water in the reservoirs because we would be making the problem worse In this year's campaign we are no longer concerned about the harvest volume or the fruit sizes; our biggest concern is whether we'll manage to save the plantations Given the lack of irrigation and the high salinity the trees are dropping the mangoes to the ground in order to survive." "We are talking about 3,000 to 4,000 hectares of subtropical crops and 6,000 to 7,000 jobs that are highly threatened plus all the indirect jobs generated by the production of subtropical crops in this area of the Tropical Coast of Granada the Army was mobilized to prevent the loss of 3,000 hectares of banana plantations and portable desalination plants were made available to producers so that they could have access to fresh water and the area's main economic activity was protected." The Costa Tropical of Granada is very important for the Spanish sector In addition to delivering a considerable production of mangoes and avocados it is home to almost all of Spain's cherimoya acreage and it is the world's largest production area of this fruit where the Spanish tropical sector was born worked in the first mango plantation in Andalusia "Since we warned the Council almost a year and a half ago in a letter requesting the recharge of the aquifer due to the imminent risk of salinization we may consider them responsible for the damages and we will file a formal complaint to the Administration if necessary." For more information:Francisco García[email protected] Imagine a vibrant splash of art that spans across three towering 12-story buildings creating a stunning tapestry of colours and images That’s the magic of “Les Rivages de Almunecar,” a masterpiece that now graces the Velilla area And, amazingly, it was completed in an astonishingly quick three months, thanks to the talents of the incredible artist Jose Rios Spread over a whopping 6,000 square meters it’s a marvel that brings a sense of openness to the landscape while cleverly concealing the massive size of these buildings you’ll discover delightful scenes like a carefree dog strolling along the beach “Les Rivages de Almunecar” isn’t just about aesthetics It’s a part of a much grander vision one that embraces sustainability and our precious environment It’s a star attraction within “Le Grand Large,” a luxurious housing development that takes eco-friendliness to a whole new level Well: Le Grand Large is leading the charge against climate change by harnessing the power of the sun With a whopping 1,200 square meters of solar panels these villas are set to embrace 100 per cent solar electricity waving goodbye to those pesky CO2 emissions and energy-efficient LED lighting are all part of this green dream Not a single whiff of CO2 will escape into the air thanks to their nifty self-consumption solar park But it’s not just about being green. Le Grand Large is a haven of serenity and lush tropical gardens that transport you to paradise Whether you’re all about modern elegance or you lean toward a more traditional vibe the resort has got you covered with its six villa models can’t contain his excitement about this stunning mural he marvels at how this artwork isn’t just a visual feast; it’s a living testament to their commitment to sustainability and crafting unforgettable experiences for villa owners He proudly notes that this artistic masterpiece is also nurturing Almunecar’s cultural and eco-friendly identity Anil—the construction company—is tirelessly working to unveil these remarkable villas by spring 2024 a colossal mural that’s both a testament to artistry and a beacon of sustainability Almunecar very proudly paid tribute to local cyclist for his spectacular performance in the Tour de France 2023 The cyclist finished fifth overall in his debut in this event at just 22 years old Major celebrations took place in the municipality on August 3 for its most outstanding cyclist after having completed another milestone in his brilliant sporting career showed promise from a young age when he joined the local BMX and Cycling Clubs where he was repeatedly proclaimed champion of Andalucia and Spain The cyclist continued to accumulate sporting successes that have hooked cycling to the people of Almunecar and fans from all over Spain confirmed: “I had the honour of receiving cyclist Carlos Rodriguez Cano in our beloved city His arrival at the Town Hall balcony was a moment filled with joy and pride for all of us.” “I handed the cyclist the city’s gold medal which is a symbol of our gratitude for so many glorious afternoons that he has given us in world cycling Carlos is an example of constancy and overcoming and his humility left a mark on all present.” The mayor added: “On behalf of the entire government team and the citizens of Almunecar I want to express my sincere congratulations to Carlos Rodriguez Cano for his sporting achievements and for carrying the name of our city with so much pride.” “He has given us wonderful moments and has demonstrated that with effort and dedication “I want to encourage all the children and young people of Almunecar to follow the example of Carlos to be strong and constant in the pursuit of their goals he has shown that he can go very far and take the name of our beloved people to the highest.” for being an Almunecar ambassador and for inspiring us with your passion for cycling!” “We are sure that your triumphs will not stop here and that you will continue to reap successes in your career.” Almuñécar town hall has announced that the town’s Sunday flea market will not take place on Palm Sunday (2 April) or Easter Sunday (9 April) The Friday street market will not go ahead on Friday 7 April either so that the Blas Infante car park can be used for visitors to the town's Easter week processions in order to enable parking in the Blas Infante area located between Calle Larache and Carretera Nacional 340 (Travesía del Barrio La Paloma) in Almuñécar," said the councillor for the area Robin Meredith is from Ballinteer in Dublin. After living in Australia for two years, he moved to Granada in Spain, where he has lived for more than six years. He worked as an English teacher until last year, when he moved to Almuñécar, a small town on the coast of Granada, to start a fitness holiday company (tropicalcoastbootcamp.com) I like that a line of six cars on the road is considered traffic and that the pace of life is relaxed yet energetic I love that most of the locals don’t speak English so picking up a few words in Spanish is essential to get by We are an outdoorsy couple so living next to the beach and mountains is ideal for us Living in a place where a free tapa comes with every drink it’s not too difficult a place to settle in a large rock which separates the town’s two main beaches At the top of the rock are great views of the town When you come back down the steps there is a nice chiringuito (beach bar) close by the perfect place for a relaxing chat over a coffee or beer To walk the old fisherman’s path to Marina Del Este It’s a stunning hillside coastal walk with magnificent sea views What’s great is that not many people walk the path as they’re unaware it exists a walk through the old part of town is a must bars and town hall are and then take a turn up one of the narrow steep streets until you find your way to the castle at the top It’s your typical Spanish outdoor market selling anything from clothes to washing machines is to visit the flea market on Sunday morning It’s full of weird and wonderful things such as antiques art and old electrical items you thought you’d never see again There’s a very small beach called Playa Cabria (you’ll need a map to find it) on which you’ll find a lovely chiringuito (beach bar) called Tito Yayo It’s normally filled with locals on the weekends My favourite dish is the king prawn salad with goats cheese and vinaigrette A word of warning if you want to blend in with the locals: Only order paella for lunch It dates back to 800 BC when the Phoenicians established a colony which later developed into a town called Sexi In 218 BC the Romans arrived and left some spectacular structures which are still intact today such as five incredible aqueducts which amazingly four are still in use There are also ruins of a Roman fish salting factory in the botanical gardens which is certainly worth a look You can't go wrong with a bottle of the local red or white You can find some very good wines for under €10 so a bottle of the local olive oil is certainly something worth making space for If you'd like to share your little black book of places to visit where you live overseas, please email your answers to the five questions above to abroad@irishtimes.com, including a brief description of what you do there and a photograph of yourself. We would love to hear from you Facebook pageTwitter feed© 2025 The Irish Times DAC The Maria Auxiliadora Cotobro Playa Residence for the elderly is expected to open its doors in Almuñécar in the last quarter of this year according to the councillor for social services and equality The councillor visited the centre in order to see the progress of the renovation work on the facilities last week and said that it would open once the work currently being carried out has been completed The representative of the Granada company that has taken over the complex said that the renovation of all the facilities has been underway for some weeks now The building work started a fortnight ago but had to stop due to the hauliers' strike when the rubble could not be removed." He added: "The duration of the work is expected to last about four months; then we will have the building open but without residents for a month to test everything with a view to it being inaugurated in the last quarter of this year." Martín explained that the project will be carried out in two phases "In the first phase we have 48 places and five nursing places and in the second phase we will reach the 95 that we have planned." He went on to explain that the first phase includes all the common areas including two lounges physiotherapy and occupational therapy rooms During the second phase the bedrooms will be built The Residencia de Mayores María Auxiliadora Cotobro Playa was acquired from the German company Evangelisches Johanneswerk España Residencia Costa Tropical after it was closed more than a decade ago will create some 60 direct jobs and an estimated 15 indirect jobs "I think we will end up being the company with the highest number of employees in Almuñécar throughout the year because this is a sector that employs people 24 hours a day We believe that we will be a very important source of income and care for Almuñécar," Martín emphasised The Granada-based company Maria Auxiliadora Cotobro which forms part of the Alfaguara group manages twelve centres in Granada with 450 people in its charge and 200 employees After nearly a decade of squatters occupying houses in the Almuñécar Hills residential are above El Tesorillo on Granada province's Costa Tropical the Guardia Civil has started evictions in a total of 36 luxury homes The illegal tenants have a maximum of ten days to leave the properties of their own accord Nine of them are already empty after two days of action by the police who have a court order to carry out the evictions According to sources close to the operation a total of 27 houses are still occupied in the Almuñécar Hills area including Calles Citalsol and Citalmar These properties were left unfinished and abandoned after the bankruptcy of the construction company during Spain's 2008 financial crisis Families and individuals in apparently vulnerable situations took advantage of unfinished buildings and moved in The eviction operation started on Wednesday 8 May by informing the illegal tenants of the ten-day deadline for them to leave the property by their own means while others have begun to move their belongings Almuñécar Hills is just a few steps away from Fuentes de Almuñécar another residential area which is home to around 1,000 people The announcement of the eviction order has relieved the homeowners "We have problems with squatters because they don't respect anything They have broken into our communal swimming pools several times They have no right to go in there and we have had to change the entry system When they leave we will be more relaxed," a resident of Fuentes de Almuñécar told Ideal "The residents drive through the entrance to Alhambra Hills to go down to the town centre of Almuñécar We often have to brake because they drive around with scooters or cars without respecting the speed limits We go with children and are afraid of getting into trouble Especially as pedestrians and at certain times when it is safer not to pass," she said The over 80s in Almuñécar and La Herradura can now make an appointment for flu vaccinations and Covid-19 boosters at the Almuñécar and La Herradura health centres In Almuñécar appointments can be made from Monday to Friday appointments can be made from Monday to Friday Once vaccination of the over 80s is complete Almuñécar-La Herradura has been twinned to Khan Younis a city in the south-western part of the Gaza Strip which lies four kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea is now overcome with uncertainty due to the Israeli offensive following the Hamas bombing and surprise attack a week ago Khan Younis has several Palestinian refugee camps home to thousands of refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war To find out why Almuñécar is twinned a city 3,530 kilometres away former councillor for culture at Almuñécar Town Hall between 1983 and 1987 the council commissioned the Granada sculptor Miguel Moreno to create a statue of Abd al-Rahman I a statue which can be found on the lower part of the San Cristóbal rock The unveiling of the statue coincided with a series of Hispano-Arabic meetings organised in collaboration with the provincial Diputación government usually proposed by the League of Arab States Almuñécar-La Herradura was twinned with an Arab town Almuñécar has forged closer ties with Kelibia (Tunisia) Chinguetti (Mauritania) and Larache (Morocco) thanks to this a humanitarian movement promoted by the Red Cross worldwide based on support for international conventions a member of the Arab League and former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was Arab president of the Red Cross at the time the Arab League's initial objectives were to ensure that the other Arab states still colonised by European countries became independent and that the Jewish minority in the British Mandate of Palestine did not establish an independent state (Israel) Hence the Arab League proposed the alliance with Almuñécar The twinning between Almuñécar and Khan Yunis came into effect on 8 October 1986 with its confirmation in the full council session a procedure during which the Town Hall secretary had to ask for help - they did not know how to write the town's name in the minutes of the session is a concept whereby towns or cities in different geographical and political areas are paired together to promote human contact and cultural links Almuñécar United for the People has called for "solidarity" with Khan Younis "Our municipality must stand in solidarity with our neighbours in our sister town of Khan Younis" and "we ask that the town council publicly condemn the war crimes committed against the defenceless civilian population in our sister town." Francisco Fernández also wanted to point out " that people under occupation have the right to resist as has been the case for the Palestinian people for seventy-five years" "Israel has launched massive air strikes on civilians and in these attacks on the weekend the Israeli army killed dozens of civilians "the Israeli occupation has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007 Gaza is a small territory in which 2.4 million people are crammed together and has already been declared uninhabitable by the United Nations due to the lack of access to basic resources to survive." Sources close to the government have stated that they will not comment on this conflict and that they do not maintain relations with the Palestinian city Almuñécar town hall has banned the parking and camping of motorhomes on the town’s roads Mayor Trinidad Herrera has issued a statement to remind visitors of these regulations and to stop the collapse of the town's promenades and beaches at weekends The measures come following a series of complaints from beach businesses who called on the council to take urgent measures to regulate the problem According to the opposition socialist PSOE party in Almuñécar there were about 47 motorhomes parked in La Herradura last weekend as well as dozens of vans and caravans in Cotobro Calabajío and in the area adjacent to the Mediterranean Park "There is no local police to monitor this type of vehicle and the worst thing is that there is no will to do so on the part of the municipal government They allow them to camp on the main roads and promenades with total impunity their occupants set up with tables and hammocks on the beach or in the area near the vehicle on the promenades wash and wash the dishes in the public showers," said Rocío Palacios "We demand an end to this permissiveness that damages our tourist image and has a high environmental cost Motorhome tourism should be welcome in La Herradura and Almuñécar but they should be installed on campsites and in public areas," Palacios added “We are seeing a proliferation of caravans on La Herradura promenade We have had a meeting with the head of Almuñécar’s local police and have issued an order prohibiting camping and overnight stays “We have nothing against this kind of tourism but we must regulate it so that it is not a nuisance for other residents." Ruiz Joya pointed out that there are two campsites in La Herradura The town hall will install new signs this week to warn tourists and remind them of the prohibitions following a request from a private individual the council will look into the proposal to create an overnight stay area for motorhomes in La Herradura Almuñécar town hall in Granada province has created 20 smoke-free public spaces following an agreement signed with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) in an effort to continue raising awareness about the dangers of smoking and to create towns that are free of tobacco smoke In Almuñécar the smoke-free zones are the Casa de la Juventud Los Marinos La Carrera and Torrecuevas nursery schools the sports facilities of the Francisco Bonet football stadium the municipal swimming pool and the José María García sports pavilion they have been installed at the health centre and castle three playgrounds and La Herradura nursery school Although smoking is allowed in open air spaces by Spanish State law the places in Almuñécar and La Herradura are owned by the town hall and are also used by children As such the town hall said in a statement that "there shouldn’t be spaces where young people and minors see smoking as a normal and everyday activity.” Almuñécar town hall is recognising the contribution of women and women’s collectives at a gala for equality taking place today Wednesday 8 March on International Women’s Day The gala will start at 7.30pm at the Casa de la Cultura and will be followed by a musical show ‘Va de mujer’ which is a free event we will work for equality and non-violence," said the town’s councillor for Social Services and Equality Maria del Carmen Reinoso when presenting the programme of events Reinosio went on to say that the event will “honour different women women's associations and the educational community for their work on equality” The exhibition ‘In female’ in which 18 women belonging to the Association Culture Art South are participating is also on at the Casa de la Cultura 10 March and the winners will be announced on Friday Tuesday 7 March primary and secondary school pupils read took part in an ‘equality makes us move forward’ event during which they read out statements they had prepared and then held a ‘march for equality and non-violence’ under the slogan ‘take the step!’ Residents of Almuñécar and La Herradura who are over 65 years of age can since from yesterday (Wednesday 27 April) apply for a 'M65 Card' for free travel on local buses said on Tuesday that the town hall had signed an agreement with the transport company Roalfa Transporte Urbanos SL (Grupo Fajardo) for the implementation of the ‘M65 Card’ to promote and facilitate access to free public transport for people over 65 years of age Caballero said that the card "will have an indefinite validity and duration so long as the user can prove they are eligible” Evidence must be presented annually between 1 January and 31 March which demonstrates that the requirements continue to be me.; “Otherwise the council will cancel the card," he explained Applications can be made at Almuñécar town hall and the civic centre in La Herradura The cards can then be collected at the bus company’s office which is located at Almuñécar bus station Parking fees on the seafront promenades of Almuñécar and La Herradura are now back in force for the summer season with the 'blue zone' operative until 31 August "The service will have the following timetable with a maximum of three hours per vehicle per day," councillor Luis Aragón said at the end of last week Parking in Almuñécar and La Herradura's "blue zone" can be paid by mobile phone using the free application called "parkinglibre" as is used in other Spanish towns and cities "This makes it easier for users to pay without having to go to the parking meter," said the councillor The parking fees affect the following promenades: Puerta del Mar and Velilla The zone also includes Avenida Mar de Plata Calle Pirámide and Avenida Amelia Sánchez de Alcázar in the section from the junction of Mar de Plata to the junction with Calle Pirámide the parking restrictions affect the Andrés Segovia promenade from the municipal market to the access junction to Calle Alhambra street and Calle Gonzalo Barbero the concessionary company has a customer service office at Avenida de Europa 26 (opposite Hotel Carmen) Parking fees range from 0.20 euros (15 minutes) to 1.20 or 1.65 euros depending on whether it is for two or three hours either in the shopping area or on the seafront Vehicle owners without a ticket will be fined seven euros and if they have a ticket and exceed the time limit There are also annual passes for residents and workers according to the local bylaw that has been in force for the last few years Parking meters were introduced in the municipality in 2006 to facilitate the rotation of vehicles on the main roads of the town throughout the year in areas of the city centre and extended at Easter and in summer on the promenades Residents and interested parties are able to consult Almuñécar's draft new general urban plan (PGOU) The document has been available since 3 April and will be "available for 45 days" from that date It can be accessed at the offices of the Town Planning department (Urbanismo) from Monday to Friday from 9am to 2pm The new General Plan was approved by the town hall on 10 March García stated that the new plan includes the capacity to build around 4,000 homes a new fair ground and in La Herradura a new bus stop will be built meaning that users will no longer have to cross the national road AFTER a quarter-century of anticipation, residents of Almuñécar – La Herradura are celebrating as the long-awaited Béznar-Rules water project finally springs into action The town has faced water scarcity challenges for decades hope has increased with the commencement of works on a crucial phase of the project promising a vital supply of potable water to homes and fields the journey to water security is far from over To extend this relief to agricultural lands urgent action is needed from the Central Government to greenlight and execute the rest of the project as water is not just a commodity but a lifeline for the region’s future and its farmers Collaboration remains key as local authorities including the Junta de Andalucía and the Coastal Municipalities Consortium work hand in hand to transform this dream into reality Almuñécar – La Herradura moves closer to a future where water scarcity is but a distant memory and prosperity flows abundantly For more Axarquia news click here La Dorada de Plata opened in 1966 and is famous for its 'espetos' (sardine skewers grilled over an open fire Now the bar has installed a pergola equipped with an extractor hood which Mingorance describes as "unique" on the Spanish coast covering the three metres of boat so that normal service can resume A complaint about the smoke from the espetos in October 2023 led Almuñécar town hall to force the chiringuito owner to stop grilling the sardines and to require him to install an extractor hood It is unusual for this type of cooking method which is traditional on beaches along the Andalusian coast In 2019 the town hall sent notices to several chiringuitos because of smoke and odours coming from the outdoor fires The bars in questions used small fires and most of them were able to install a smoke vent quite easily did not want to lose this culinary art or his traditional espeto boat The chiringuiteros on Granada's Costa Tropical have always fought for the dish not to be identified exclusively with Malaga province and Mingorance was clear that he was not going to give up his boat easily The work has cost around 36,000 euros and Mingorance explained that the structure is made of pine wood similar to that used by Malaga's 'espeteros' (the people who grill the sardines) to provide shelter from the sun La Dorada de Plata's pergola is covered with fireproof material Mingorance stressed that as it is outdoors the hood will not completely reduce smoke emissions but he is confident that it will be enough to continue the business which employs 18 local families La Dorada de Plata reopened during a spell of bad weather with storms putting people going to the beach and eating in chiringuitos with Easter signalling the start of the high season and the summer the owners are hoping to get back on track after the investment in building work and the months of closure "The embers are a fundamental part of our menu and we don't want to lose the tradition in Almuñécar Almuñécar's 'Trópico Express' tourist train starts a new summer season on Saturday 1 July is scheduled to start at 6.45pm from Paseo del Altillo and will continue its journey along the San Cristóbal - Chinasol promenade up Calle Guadix towards Avenida Costa del Sol Carrera de la Concepción and Avenida Rey Juan Carlos I down Paseo Puerta del Mar and continue along Paseo de Reina Sofía and Paseo Velilla and back to Chinasol with the last pick up at Paseo Velilla at 11.30pm Tickets for the tourist train can be purchased on the train itself and cost four euros for children and five euros for adults Paseo del Altillo: 18:45 / 19:45 / 20:45 / 21:45 / 22:45 Paseo San Cristóbal - Chinasol : 19:00 / 20:00 / 21:00 / 22:00 / 22:00 / 23:00 Plaza Acuario (Kuwait): 19:10 / 20:10 / 21:10 / 22:10 / 23:10 Paseo Velilla: 19:30 / 20:30 / 21:30 / 22:30 / 23:30 which is located on the town’s beach front opened last Thursday (16 June) Opening the visitor’s attraction on the Costa Tropical in Granada province manager Vicente Barbero announced that families would be entitled to a discount of up to 25 per cent There will also be special discounts for groups The park has an indoor area for the younger children mats and an area for birthday parties as well as children’s entertainment The park is open from 11am to 7pm every day Among the 60 staff employed at the park there will be 24 lifeguards on duty ALMUÑECAR’S town market project is gaining momentum as the metal framework reaches above-ground level along with Urbanism and Public Works councillors Javier García and Francisco Rodríguez expressing satisfaction with the swift progress followed by insulation and eventual enclosure Mayor Ruiz Joya acknowledged challenges due to economic factors affecting material prices but assured residents that the project is ongoing He apologised for delays caused by inflation Councillor García projected completion by year-end highlighting ongoing efforts to facilitate the return of former market concessionaires The new market will have comprehensive amenities like parking integral to the market’s operation once completed Almost a hundred Swedish tourists took part in the traditional New Year's Day swim at the San Cristóbal beach in Almuñécar on 1 January The event which has been held for almost 30 years has returned after a three-year break due to the pandemic according to the town's Helios hotel where the group have been staying who always choose Almuñécar as their destination for two weeks to celebrate Christmas and the New Year enjoyed a temperature of around 20 degrees Dressed in Father Christmas hats or Christmas ribbons the group waded into the Mediterranean to celebrate the New Year "These conditions can only be enjoyed in Sweden on some days in summer but the atmosphere and Christmas activities that Almuñécar has at this time," said the head of the agency that coordinates the group Blue zone parking along promenades of Almuñécar and La Herradura in Granada province started last Friday to coincide with the start of the holiday season according to Francisco Robles Rivas head of the Traffic Department at Almuñécar town hall “The paid parking will operate from 11am until 3pm and then from 7pm to 10pm with a maximum of 3 hours per vehicle per day," explained the councillor Anyone using the service will now be required to register their vehicle’s number plate similar to the systems already used in Malaga and Granada cities The summer time zone has been signposted with an orange sign next to the horizontal blue sign so that users are clear about the difference as the commercial zone is only open in the morning the parking metres or by using the free application called ‘parkinglibre’ “This makes it easier for users to pay without having to go to the parking meter," said said Robles The blue zones are in place along the following promenades: Puerta del Mar and Velilla In La Herradura it affects Paseo Andrés Segovia from the municipal market to the junction with Calle Alhambra and Calle Gonzalo Barbero There is an office at 26 Avenida de Europa (opposite the Hotel Carmen) and a website: www.oralmunecar.com for more information There are also two email addresses for any problems: info@iberpark.es and oralmunecar@gmail.com as well as telephone numbers from 9am to 2pm: 610449545 and after hours 697591293 Leaflets are available explaining how to use the ‘parkinglibre’ App Parking fees range from 20 cents (15 minutes) to 1.20 or 1.65 euros Fines of seven euros will be issued to vehicles without a ticket and a 3.50 euro fine will be given to people who exceed the trime limit More hotels are to remain open than close in autumn and winter 2023-24 on Granada’s Costa Tropical Just 30 per cent of hotels in Almuñécar-La Herradura have already closed or are planning to do so over the winter months and some of those that are closing are doing so to carry out reforms or modernisation According to tourism sources in the coastal resort 2022 saw the return of international visitors and in 2023 tourist establishments have returned to normality with some places increasing the number of visitors compared with pre-pandemic numbers 90 per cent of the 7,000 beds in the two towns were not open for reservations and more than 800 jobs directly linked to the tourism sector were affected In 2022 around half of the beds were open for reservations This year the scenario is different and only holiday resorts such as the Albayzín del Mar Best Alcázar and On Aleta Room have closed their doors the hotel Ibersol Almuñécar Beach and Spa has closed its doors for three months for renovations president of the hoteliers and director of the Albayzín del Mar the town maintains a high occupancy rate with more than 60 per cent from Sunday to Thursday and many are close to full at weekends the average occupancy rate has been around 80 per cent at weekends and some have even achieved 100 per cent occupancy over public holidays and long weekends hotels remain strong with occupancy rates of over 50 per cent thanks to the combination of international and national tourism although in winter national tourism will drop off The first tourists from the Nordic countries have already arrived in Almuñécar the groups of Spanish pensioners who enjoy the government's ‘Imserso’ social holiday programme have allowed Almuñécar’s hotels to remain open in autumn Belgium or Sweden to spend long periods of time in the area during the winter months Almuñécar also attracts international tourism during the summer months and this year it has also achieved 26 per cent foreigners In 2023 the average annual occupancy rate in the area’s hotels has been 70 per cent "The tourist board's international promotion campaigns are beginning to bear small fruit in terms of increasing the percentage of international tourists We understand that this is the right way to go and we will continue in this direction More and more companies and services are operating all year round," said councillor for tourism Daniel Barbero The recovery of the tourism sector since the pandemic has also been noticeable in other coastal towns in Granada province At the Salobreña Suites hotel owner Manolo Martín they will remain open except for a period during which reforms will be undertaken at the three-star hotel Martín explained that the volume of bookings has improved compared to the previous year has raised concerns over the ‘regrettable’ condition of the Aquatrópic sea wall in Velilla He demands that the Spanish Government ‘take responsibility and finally solve this problem which has persisted for over 6 years.’ Accompanied by the councillor for Environment and Beaches Mayor Ruiz Joya inspected the deteriorating state of the breakwater near the Aquatrópic water park He denounced ‘the deplorable situation it’s in which has led to the collapse and disappearance of the path bordering the park on its southern side.’ Moreover ‘It’s even more serious as it has forced a business where over 5 families from Almuñécar were employed to close and evacuate due to the danger posed by its facilities.’ Ruiz Joya emphasised that they’ve been dealing with this issue for many years urging action from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Directorate General of Coast and Marine Environment Mayor Ruiz Joya urged the Socialist government to intervene He concluded by highlighting that repairing the sea wall and path would allow affected families to return to work and restore the beauty of this corner of Almuñécar