Day 2 Day Spain

No – not real dinosaurs! Mijas Town Hall have recently announced that they have been looking at creating a large Jurassic Park tourist attraction somewhere in the area. There was talk about it being at the Mijas Hipodromo, but it now appears that the site will be the ‘Finca El Ahogaero’ on the Camino de Coin road.

The 200,000 square metre park, to be called ‘Jurapark Mijas’, will have workshops, exhibition halls, open air arenas and leisure areas. They have called upon the expertise of several international institutions to make sure the park is as authentic as possible, recreating the different species of dinosaurs.

Investing in the area 

Here is a great example of people having faith in the return of the tourism industry to the Costa del Sol. The council of Mijas are looking to invest some 12 million euros in the project which they think will take around 18/24 months to complete. They anticipate the creation of around 190 jobs both directly with the park and indirectly. It’s great to know that the various authorities are trying to attract the tourists back to the area. 

We’ve all seen the empty bars and restaurants, and I don’t just mean those that have closed down! The owners must be ready to pull their hair out, the continual bad weather this year can’t be helping and they must all be praying for a good summer season.

Let’s hope that they can hold on long enough to benefit from the initiatives talked about in my previous blogs – tourist pathways leading into the mountains from Marbella, the newly improved promenade (or maritimo as John keeps reminding me) in Marbella, the improved chiringuitos in all areas, the improvements being made to the beaches along the coast – and the list goes on.

Keeping the faith

Keeping our heads down and working hard over the next few years may hopefully be rewarded with brighter times ahead. So as Leapy Lee says in his brilliant column ‘Keep the faith’!

The Costa del Sol has been very badly hit in recent years by the slump in the housing market. Many developers have had to shut their businesses, whilst others have stopped developments mid build.

The unfortunate scandal of illegally built properties has only helped to escalate the problem, with thousands of new properties left empty and going into disrepair because they haven’t been given the official paperwork.

A good time to buy

The Junta de Andalucia have just launched a new website called (only in Spanish I’m afraid)  www.tuviviendaenandalucia.es They hope that by bringing a huge amount of  unsold properties onto one site, and by attracting buyers with special mortgage deals through the various banks and other financial institutions, that things will start to move again.

This initiative is only for 2010, so if you’re thinking of buying, now’s your chance. There are some 700 properties listed for the Malaga region so far by developers, and more than 2800 properties available through the links to financial institutions.

For a property to be eligible for the site it has to meet certain criteria. It must be newly built and ready to move into, or be completed before the end of the year. It must also be up for sale at the mortgage value which must not exceed 245,000 euros plus tax.

How it works

The Junta de Andalucia and the 19 financial institutions who are participating in this have come to an agreement. For those properties included in this scheme the mortgages available will be for 100% of the price, with no deposit needed and no commission charged.

Each loan will be for between 9,000 and 15,000 euros, depending on the applicant, and will help to reduce the monthly mortgage payments over the first eight years.

For the first three years you would pay only the interest on the loan, then from the fourth to the eighth year the loan would help to reduce the payments by around 150/250 euros a month.

Have a look at the website, we have, it’s amazing. We struggled to find 2/3 bedroom properties over 120,000 euros. There’s a special simulator on the site which allows you to work out how much of a loan you’d be entitled to and an estimate of how much the mortgage would be over the years.

Don’t leave it too late

As I said earlier, this scheme is only available in 2010. With tax deductions for the purchase of properties no longer applicable after the end of the year and IVA going up in July, now really is a great time to look at getting on the property ladder!

Here is this weeks update from currency expert Keith Spitalnick.

Those hoping 2010 would signal a return to global growth have been in for a rude awakening. We are still in the first quarter of the year and the currency markets are clearly worried by what they see. The US$ has been the winning currency so far this year appreciating nearly 10 % against a basket of currencies. Despite the fact that the US economy is still on extremely shaky ground and President Obama has even managed to increase the US debt by at least a trillion dollars since coming to office, the US dollar has rebounded as the rest of the world fret about problems in the Euro Zone and the increasing debt burden the UK has to service.

2010 was always going to present problems to the 16 members of the euro zone as the European central bank(ECB) signalled in late 2009 that they would no longer be able to borrow unlimited funds at historical lows rates of interest, basically free money, and they would have to balance the books in their own respective economies. Well it didn’t take a genius to realize that some of the more indebted euro zone members would struggle and the first but certainly not the last to emerge on the critical list is Greece.

Ultra low interest rates

The problem is that for the previous 10 years euro zone members had enjoyed ultra low interest rates and very little regulation from other member states .The domestic populations have been supercharged with debt and now they cannot afford to repay it. Now here’s where the European dream starts to fall apart, as other member states are reluctant to bail out each other as the political pressure mounts from their own populations who cannot see why their taxes have to go to pay other nations’ debts. Therefore the only choice Greece has is to bring in austerity measures that so far have resulted in violent protests on the streets of Athens. Greece will not be the last country to go through this struggle but while it goes on the Euro will continue to fall especially against the US$ and Japanese yen.

The UK has so far managed to convince the markets that its debt burden is manageable but time could be running out and here’s why. Between 1997 -2007 the UK borrowed £30 billion a year. In 2009 they borrowed £150 billion, 2010 was £200 billion and for the years 2011 out to 2015 £150 billion per year. Now even the most basic maths student can see that if the currency markets lose faith in the UK’s ability to repay this debt then the pound will fall. Even more worrying is the UK will have a fiercely contested election in 2010 something that could add fuel to the fire and see even more pressure put on the pound.

For the coming months

If the UK can manage both its debt and the election then perhaps the pound could enjoy a decent second half to 2010, however I would add a word of caution… it seems highly unlikely this will happen.

The overriding problem the global economy faces is the stimulus that was pumped into every economy in 2009 has been withdrawn. Yes, interest rates will stay ultra low but taxes will go up and public services will be cut. You can expect ongoing strikes and disputes as the blame continues to be passed round and round. Currency markets will not stand for politicians bluff and posture, they will punish them severely. The quote that seems to sum up the atmosphere is “keep an eye on risk or it will set its eye on you”.

You have been warned!

Kind Regards,

Keith Spitalnick

For more information on currency exchange you can click here.

According to the head of the Department for Health, statistics recently released show that the Malaga region are lagging behind when it comes to medical waiting lists. So unless you’re an emergency, be prepared! 

For operations whose maximum waiting time is 120 days – Malaga’s waiting time is 54 days, and the Andalusian average is 50 days.

For first appointments to see a specialist – Malaga’s waiting time is 50 days, and the Andalusian average is 48 days. At the end of 2009 that equated to a massive 41,588 patients who were still waiting to see a specialist.

For diagnostic tests – Malaga’s waiting time is around 23 days, similar to that of the Andalusian average.

What’s the official word

The Department of Health says that they’re addressing the waiting list issues and have already instigated the afternoon opening hours for operating theatres.

They say that they’re also investigating the increase in demand shown in recent years. One theory is that the population in the area is growing quicker than they are able to cope with. Another theory is that the population is becoming predominantly older.

This second theory may in fact prove to be correct as it seems that the majority of operations are for age related problems, such as the removal of cataracts and bunions.

Are there ways around the problem?   

The answer to that one is yes. You can’t jump the queues within the national health service but you can go privately which would cut waiting times.

I know it all means extra money to pay out monthly for private health care, or pay a lump sum to the private hospitals, but if you don’t have your health – what do you have?

By the way, if you’re one of the unfortunate people waiting on one of these lists, you can check what position you’re at. Go to the official Andalusian Health Service website which is www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud

Here is a fantastic, quick recipe from a friend and fellow blogger who actually lives over in Lanzarote. Mike has a passion for food and has been kind enough to send us this great suggestion for some delicious cheese!….Thanks Mike

This is a guest post from Mike Cliffe-Jones

Manchego Cheese is a staple of most tapas offerings, but there’s a secret to how it should be served, that will really bring the flavour out!

You’ll find Manchego in most good delicatessens. It’s a hard, dry cheese and comes from the La Mancha region. It’s made from whole sheep’s milk, and is aged for between three and six months in caves. It has a much stronger flavour than most sheep’s milk cheeses, and is tangy and slightly salty.

As with all Spanish cheeses it can be bought Fresco (fresh) but is very bland at that stage, Curado (3 to 6 months) which is perfect, or Viejo (1 year) which I find too dry.

Here’s how to serve it:

Slice the cheese into triangles about 3MM thick, and place them on a plate.

Dredge the slices in best quality olive oil and leave to soak in the oil while you do the rest

Finely chop half an onion, a clove of garlic, a deseeded chilli (optional) and two tomatoes. You should skin the tomatoes, but I never bother! Mix those ingredients thoroughly, with a squeeze of lemon juice and you’ve produced an instant salsa!

Now get a clean plate and pile the salsa in the middle, arranging the cheese slices over it. Slew some more oil over the top, a little crunchy sea salt, and some finely chopped coriander. Finally add a few olives.

Serve with a glass of chilled dry white and enjoy!

Mike Cliffe-Jones is a writer based in The Canary Islands. You can find him at www.mikecliffejones.com He’s the author of the books Living in Lanzarote and Beyond Blogging.

Frigiliana is a beautiful village not far from the coast in the Costa del Sol. If  you’re in the region of Nerja then it’s well worth a visit to see this fantastic little village.

It has won several prizes in recent years for best-preserved village and the National and Andalusian Prize for Beauty. With it’s pristine white washed houses and steep narrow streets lined with trees and displays of plants and flowers, it’s a great place to spend a leisurely day wandering around.

Recognition wanted by the villagers

Frigiliana hasn’t actually received it’s official categorisation as a ‘Cultural and Historic Preservation Site’ yet. The people of the village have been requesting some kind of recognition from the Junta de Andalucia, who award these categories, for quite a while now and feel it only fair to be given this status.

If you go and have a look around yourself I’m sure you’ll agree, this village is something special and definitely deserves the recognition it seeks.

I don’t know what’s caused this continual ‘freeky’ weather, but it just doesn’t seem to want to stop! It started raining here in the Marbella region around the 16th December 2009, and apart from a hand full of days it’s pretty much been none stop ever since.

I’m sure some scientist will eventually tell us why the world seems to be going through these nightmare weather conditions, but even when we know why we’ll still have to just grin and bare them.

If you want to be completely freaked out watch the film ‘2012′ on DVD. It’s all about the end of the world (the special effects leave a bit to be desired though) and I’ve got to say it did leave me a little unsettled after watching  it last week!

Floods in the Guadalhorce Valley

Anyway back to reality. Last Monday and Tuesday saw more flooding in the area with many homes and businesses suffering as the Guadalhorce river burst it’s banks. Crops, livestock and property were caught up in the deluge of water with many having to be rescued by the authorities.

Helicopters and boats had to be called in to rescue people from properties stranded in the middle of a lake of water. Police had warned people in the area that flooding may occur but unfortunately many chose not to heed their warnings, causing the emergency teams to then have to go to their aid.

Alhurin de la Torre saw a third of it’s total annual rainfall drop in just 24hours. That’s around 215 litres per square metre! They now say that six out of seven reservoirs in the Malaga region are so full that they are having to release water into the sea.

Beaches are looking a mess

Unfortunately many of the beaches along the Costa del Sol coast are now starting to look a mess. A lot of debris is being carried down from the mountains including rubbish, scrap metal, dead animals and the usual vegetation.

With the start of the busy Easter season only a few weeks away in April, the authorities are having to turn their attention to clearing the beaches and replacing lost sand where necessary. The Coast Department has said that emergency plans are in place and that as soon as the weather improves these plans will be started so that the areas will be ready for the tourist invasion.

Weather forecast

I’m afraid the weather forecasters are predicting another 2 weeks of rain. So keep your wellies and brollies handy, and save your flip-flop buying till next month!

Getting the right answers.

Understanding the law in Spain is never straight forward and I have always found it difficult to get reliable free advice. Of course there are the ‘bar stool experts’, people that do a normal job during the day but by night inexplicably turn into Spanish legal experts.  I am amazed by how many people turn to the ‘bar stool expert’ for answers to very important questions, after all the answers probably come from the ‘bar stool expert’ before them or maybe even the one before that! Would we ask the plumber or electrician for their advice in having heart surgery? And I certainly wouldn’t ask the heart specialist to mend my leaking pipes if I wanted the job done properly!

Lawyers giving free legal guides.

Recently I was searching the web for an answer to a specific problem and yes, as usual, I found conflicting answers on different sites.  Then quite by accident I came across a site by a group of Spanish lawyers offering free legal guides on many different topics, and the site was in English. I spent some time looking around the site and the information is quite comprehensive.  The most important thing is the site is compiled by Spanish legal professionals so the information is sure to be accurate. No more rental contract

The site is called iAbogado, why not take a look around. I now have it saved in my favorites and I’m sure it will become a regular reference tool in the future.