Editorial:
I bought my first car from a dealer in Almería. I was eighteen and had recently (that morning, probably) passed the driving test in Huercal Overa. The car was a kind of old Renault van called a 4F with the push-pull gears but fitted with an Ondine engine rather than the usual 4L couchez-avec egg-beater. This meant that the old girl could thunder along at a rather better speed than suggested by the body and was just the ticket for me. The passenger seat was removable; it merely hooked in at the front, so it offered a rather nasty surprise to anyone sat next to me when I stepped on the brake, but with the seat parked on the tarmac, I had room to stretch out full length on a thin mattress for a snooze. That’s right: my first vehicle was a camper.
I remember belting one day down the wiggly line on the map laughably called a road which connected Mojácar with Murcia and all points north. In those far-off times, roads went through towns, rather than round them, which meant you could stop for a libation every hour or two. Trucks would work their winkers to let you pass. There were no discernible speed-limit, and no one took any notice of the signs anyway. There were drain-channels across the road which, if hit with sufficient speed, would cause you to leave a dent in your roof as the car dipped and you didn’t. On this occasion I was approaching Murcia at somewhere over a hundred kph when I saw two cops on the side of the road, just at the point where the road itself dropped about six inches and turned into a rutted track. No warning signs, of course. Spoil the fun. There wasn’t time to slow down nor was I inclined to, as the two grinning policemen waved me past, like fans at the track. I think I broke a kind of automotive long-jump record that day.
The car took me to England in about 1974 on an early adventure in my life, the only time I have ever driven from here-to-there, all the way through to Calais and across the channel. Crossing into France caused me some embarrassment as I stopped at the frontier and whipped out my passport at the desk with a merry ‘Bong-jour’ only to see a small package arc across my line of vision. It was a single and rather elderly prophylactic that I had kept in an inner pocket ‘for emergencies’. To my horror, monsieur le flic saw it as well. ‘Is ze engleesh gentleman goin to defloweur one of our fine French beautees?’ he asked kindly, picking it up and returning it to me. Sadly not.
The front axle of my passion-wagon fell off in Norfolk and a mechanic friend of the family told me that it would cost 50 pounds to repair and that the car wasn’t worth it. Yea, right. So, once fixed, and driving back home, again through France and into Spain, the old Renault van proved him wrong. It lasted another couple of years before I sold it on to the Bédar town hall.
A few years later, a Spanish friend with an odd sense of humour told our family of how he had just bought a strange foreign car: a brand he couldn’t remember (you could only buy Simcas, Renaults, Citroens and Seats in Spain in those days, peppered vaguely with a few enormous American Dodges and a strange kind of Austin making sure that the British car industry would remain a world power forever). He had left this car, he continued, in Almería, parked on some side-street and the problem was, as he explained to the police, he couldn’t remember where he had left it and, as they attempted to take down some details, he admitted that he had no idea what sort of car it was. Despite this unforgivable lack of crossing one’s tees and dotting one’s ayes, the car was eventually located and returned to its concerned owner… who promptly sold it to my father. It soon became mine. It was a two-tone Karmann Ghia 1500 Special and easily the worst car ever made. It had a rear engine hidden under a false boot and a large and empty space in the front, empty, that is, except for some rust and a sack of cement. Without this aid, the front wheels would lose all contact with the road once you got up to about sixty, which may have helped improve my reaction time and general driving skills but must nevertheless be seen as a major design flaw. Sometime along the way, a school-friend came to stay and asked to borrow the car. He seemed a decent sort, and he played a lot of polo. He wanted to go down to Marbella for some amorous reason. I gave him the keys. I have never heard from him or the car since. I hope he’s all right.
I met my fastest and most terrifying car for the first time when wandering around in Madrid and suddenly saw her sat in the window of a second-hand car studio. This was a red Italian super-car, a 1967 Iso Rivolta with a gigantic American Corvette V8 engine in it, making the car capable of breaking the sound barrier. I was about 30 and in the mood for some muscle and so I bought it from the suspiciously grateful dealer for a million pesetas. The car brought me down to Mojácar in a personal record time, helped by not having any brakes at all. It was quite splendid. It turned out that the car had belonged to a political nutter who had shot some left-wing lawyers dead in a famous attack in Madrid in 1977. He obviously wouldn’t be using it for a while. To give you some idea of how fast this luxury four-seater was, the speedo – while unfortunately broken – went up to 300kph.
But that was then, before they invented airbags, satellite navigation and eight-track. Today I drive an old diesel Mercedes lovingly made in 1984 which, at a top speed of around 100, is a bit slower than I’ve been used to, but it does mean that the traffic cops and those ugly speed trap gizmos on the motorway will leave me alone as I chug effortlessly past.
These days, that’s enough for anyone.
Housing:
From El Periódico here: ‘71% of illegal tourist apartments detected in Barcelona are hidden under seasonal rental ads. The city council, which discovers more than 350 unlicensed apartments each month so Airbnb can remove them from the market, has deactivated 16,011 since 2018’.
‘The province of Alicante has established itself in recent years as the main destination for foreigners looking to buy a home in Spain, whether out of necessity, as is the case with economic migrants who come to the country in search of a better life, or with the intention of having a second home. Last year alone, up to 31,010 citizens from other countries visited Alicante notaries to formalize the purchase of a property—representing more than 20% of all those registered nationwide’. Foreigners now account for more than 70% of home sales in five Alicante municipalities: with Teulada at 87%, Orihuela at 84%, then Calpe, Torrevieja and Guardamar del Segura. Información has the details.
"Gross profit per month is about 10,000 euros": this is the business of renting apartments and then subletting out the rooms. Meet Juan Carlos Minaya y Roberto Moraga at LaSexta.
Well, here ya go: The Telegraph here has: ‘I’m 26, and don’t need a pension. My Spanish property empire will fund my retirement’ (says a British woman).
Tourism:
Spanish tourists are complaining about the rise in prices at the resorts. Hotels are up, the restaurants are charging more and even a gin & tonic has gone up (I paid twenty euros for two G&Ts in a bar the other day). Mind you, the locals don’t think much of the Madrileños either. From MSN here: ‘"The people from Madrid are here" is a phrase you've probably heard on more than one occasion, especially in the coastal areas of the different autonomous communities of Spain. "This doesn't happen in Madrid" or "there's no better water than Madrid's" are two other phrases you may have heard a Madrileño say when visiting another city in the country. And if you put it all together, you have a concept dubbed "Madrileñofobia," derived from the widespread term "turismofobia"’. The article says: ‘…At 35.5%, Madrid is considered the worst-performing place of origin for tourists visiting other parts of Spain in the summer, followed by Catalonia (21.3%). This means that more than 3 out of 10 Spaniards surveyed have a negative perception of Madrid residents during summer vacations, although 40% have a neutral perception…’ In Galicia, they refer to the Madrid tourists as fodechinchos (check with Google as to the meaning). All in good fun!
From The Corner here: ‘Spanish hotels’ revenue up 6.9% during first half of 2025. Hotel revenues continue to rise, driven by positive tourism data—which continues to break records—and by charging higher rates’.
Two new destinations (the País Vasco and the City of Toledo) have taken up the tourist tax in Spain: the full list of those that already apply the tax and their cost is at 20Minutos here.
Finance:
From Público: ‘Spanish banks earn €17,000 million in the first half of the year, 11.7% more than in 2024. Despite the interest rate cuts, accounts through June have held up thanks to the dynamism of commercial activity and the focus on businesses that generate higher fees’.
El País reports that ‘Spanish listed companies earned €33,433 million in the first half of the year, up 4.45%. The pace of profit growth slowed during a period of significant trade uncertainty. The banking sector was the driving force behind the results despite lower interest rates. We read: ‘…optimists emphasize that despite the fact that the economic and geopolitical environment is riddled with mines, corporate profits are still showing resilience. The more pessimistic, however, also have reason to claim their space: profits are beginning to show signs of fatigue…’ (Thanks to Jake for this one).
El HuffPost has: ‘The American banking institution Goldman Sachs has published an analysis of growth forecasts and the economic situation in Spain, and it's sure to ruin the holidays for more than a few people (a nod at the opposition PP and Vox with its perennially gloomy forecasts). "How Spain became Europe's fastest-growing economy," it says within its headline. In the article, it asserted that the southern European countries have become the economic engine of the eurozone since the end of the pandemic.
Politics:
From elDiario.es here: ‘Sánchez is preparing social and anti-corruption measures for the new term that will force the PP to take a stand. Parliament is closed until August 26, leaving budget negotiations and possible cabinet changes up in the air until then, but we know that Pedro Sánchez intends to resume the debate on the abolition of prostitution in Spain and to accelerate the proposals he designed with the OECD to combat fraud’. More importantly, the Government must attempt to find enough support for the budget for 2026.
From the ABC here: ‘A group of US senators accuses Sánchez of caring "more about the siesta" than helping with the 5% defence budget. A resolution promoted by influential Republican senators demands that allies earmark 5% of GDP for defence, and they accuse Spain of weakening the Alliance's credibility amid tensions with Russia’.
La Vanguardia reports that ‘The government succeeds in halting the cayucos thanks to Mauritania's iron fist. Nouakchott, showered with EU and Spanish funds, tightens migrant control’.
From Onda Cero here: ‘Feijóo to the victims of the Dana: "This situation of inefficiency would not occur under a PP government" (sic). The PP leader met with two victims' associations in Madrid and expressed his support for the reconstruction efforts in the affected municipalities’. No doubt they came away relieved. elDiario.es is less sanguine: ‘The president of the Generalitat (Carlos Mazón) disappeared for hours in the greatest act of institutional irresponsibility in memory of a democracy. He lied, manipulated evidence, withheld information, and ignored and insulted the victims of the tragedy. And Feijóo's attack on the Spanish government and his silence regarding the unworthiness of its baron speaks—and not well—of the authenticity he defends and the morality he practices’.
As PSOE offices get the graffiti treatment here and there, ‘The PSOE blames the PP and Vox for "fuelling the tension" behind the more than 180 attacks on its offices so far this term. In Vera (Almería) their office has just been vandalized for the third time’. El Mundo has the story here.
No, I don’t like Vox. Here’s the poster of theirs that went up in El Ejido (Almería) in an effort to divide opinion (two thirds of the foreigners living in that city are Moroccan).
I may be in the minority sooner or later. Here’s a puff from El Mundo: ‘Vox, the alternative to the two-party system’. Right now, ‘…Vox is at its peak. It has been on a rapid rise for three months and has already taken almost a million votes from the PP. If it continues to advance, it will approach the most powerful radical right parties in Europe, such as the German AfD (20% of the vote), Chega! in Portugal (22%), and Wilders' party in the Netherlands (23.5%)’.
Europe:
Xataca says: ‘The bad news is that the EU loses out in the tariff pact with the US. The good news is that Spain emerges relatively unscathed’. We read: ‘As the Governor of the Bank of Spain José Luis Escrivá pointed out, our exports to the United States are 4.7%, which is one of the lowest figures in Europe’. elDiario.es says that if the EU attempts to shortchange the Americans (which seems likely), Trump will increase los aranceles (tariffs) to 35%.
From Público here: ‘The international far-right network Hazte Oír registers as a lobby with the EU and declares a budget of over five million euros. As CitizenGO, the group submitted its registration to the European Union Transparency Register on July 18. In its financial section, it states that its income comes solely from donations and membership fees’. Wiki says here: ‘CitizenGO is an ultra-conservative advocacy group founded in Madrid in 2013 by the ultra-Catholic and far-right HazteOir organization, a similar Spanish platform that has been dedicated to the fight against "gender ideology" since 2001…’
Corruption: (sorry, lots of it this week)
There are many obstacles appearing to attempt to tone down the Caso Montoro. From elDiario.es, we read: ‘The 'miracle' of the Montoro case: the hindrances to investigating the all-powerful Finance Minister under the Partido Popular. The prosecutor in charge of the case attempted to open a separate investigation to expand the case with the help of the Tax Agency and the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), but the opposition of the chief anti-corruption prosecutor and the passivity of the UCO (Guardia Civil judicial department) made it impossible’. The article says: ‘The judicial investigation into the consulting firm Equipo Económico, which has indicted Cristóbal Montoro and nine of his collaborators at the Ministry of Finance, enters a new phase after seven years with the recent lifting of secrecy. Judge Rubén Rus must take statements from the 28 suspects unless any of the appeals filed against the investigation, which has lasted more than seven years, are unsuccessful…’
El País says that much of the Montoro material has been sealed by investigators.
Montoro’s most famous remark (from back in 2010) was: "Let Spain fall and we will build it up again". It often shows up in political articles.
Keeping up the pressure. From 20Minutos here: ‘Judges and prosecutors call for García Ortiz's resignation: "It's unnecessary to put the Prosecutor's Office through this ordeal"’. As the case against Ayuso’s boyfriend stumbles along (the court asking for a little under four years for corruption), the main victim of this story is the PSOE-appointed Attorney General). Maldita has ‘questions and answers about the Attorney General’s imputation’.
More on the trumped-up case against the Attorney General: ‘A prosecutor in the dock without evidence: justice in Spain in free fall’. At Spanish Revolution, we are bitterly told of ‘When the robe weighs more than the truth and the Supreme Court turns the presumption of innocence into a bad joke’.
The website says: ‘The Supreme Court has decided to prosecute the Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz, for the alleged crime of revealing secrets in the case of Ayuso's boyfriend. There is no solid evidence. There are no witnesses pointing the finger at him. Only weak clues and a narrative so flimsy that it would collapse in any court that respected basic rights. Meanwhile, the dissenting opinion of Judge Andrés Palomo del Arco exposes the botched job: he places the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the dock with a string of conjectures, denying the value of the testimony of journalists who saw the famous email before the prosecutor himself, demanding that they waive the constitutional protection of their sources, and signing an order that seems more like a political order than a legal decision…’ elDiario.es also has an opinion: ‘The incredible case of the explosive email – They want to try and imprison the Attorney General because the Supreme Court Justice Hurtado believes whatever he wants to believe and has turned an email—debunking a hoax—into a cluster bomb, which could also bring down the government.
In short, it’s a mess designed – as usual – to weaken the socialist government.
The Boyfriend of Ayuso’s Case has stumbled once again. From El País here: ‘The judge in the Alberto González Amador case withdraws mid-proceedings: So now what?’ The judge had been investigating the boyfriend for the past sixteen months, but she’s now 65 and has promptly retired. Another judge is suggested (he’s a year older than the last one, but shows no sign of slowing down…)
There’s also a fuss about Judge Peinado’s country-house and swimming pool in the municipality of La Adrada (Ávila) which was listed as a warehouse many years ago. It appears that the judge got away with it after the paperwork was shelved in the townhall until the property was deemed ‘legal’. The judge is now suing some social media accuser for 25,000 euros. The story at El Plural here and here.
A spate of resignations has followed the Noelia Núñez (the PP spokesperson for two days) event. These include politicians and various officials who appear to have (no doubt inadvertently) amplified their academic achievements. 20Minutos has ‘The resumé crisis: The Partido Popular asserts that "inflating resumés is not the same as falsifying qualifications"’. Quite! It must be quite common in political circles to claim titles one doesn’t have. The joke is that all these políticos are suffering from ‘titulitis’.
Just in Valencia, we read: ‘Twenty senior Mazón officials are breaking the law by not registering the university degrees they claim to possess’. Worse still, the president of the Senado has also been obliged to adjust his qualifications. On Tuesday, another one: ‘The Madrid PP admits that its number 3, Ana Millán, does not have a degree in politics as she had claimed’ says 20Minutos here. The Guardian has the larger picture here.
A word that came into the Spanish language back in 2003: ‘Tamayazo’. Wiki tells us that during the vote to construct the new Madrid Government of 30th June, 2003, ‘Two elected parliamentarians from the PSOE, Eduardo Tamayo and María Teresa Sáez Laguna, prevented the election of Rafael Simancas as the new president of the Community of Madrid by abstaining from the second investiture vote. This case of defection ultimately forced a repeat election in October of that same year, after which Esperanza Aguirre (PP) became the new regional president…’ While unproven, the suspicion is that they were ‘bought off’, and thus un tamayazo means a politician (aka un tránsfuga) changing his support when by doing so, his erstwhile team would lose an important vote.
Courts:
From Público here: ‘The networks rule against the Attorney General's "evidence-free" prosecution: "This is complete nonsense"’.
From Politico here: ‘Spain’s top court rules that Sánchez was not responsible for the Valencia floods. The European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera was also cleared by the Supreme Court’. It says: ‘…The centre-right opposition People’s Party, which governs in Valencia, has sought to shield Carlos Mazón and other officials from criticism by attempting to shift blame onto Sánchez and other national figures’.
The Media
The Economist reckons that ‘Spain’s scandal-plagued prime minister should step down. Pedro Sánchez needs to let his country’s democracy renew itself’.
El HuffPost brings this one: 'The Economist says Sánchez should resign and (the antique pop singer) Ramoncín gives the most resounding reply to date’. After defending the Government’s actions over the past eight years, the singer says: ‘…Let's see if Cinco Días tells Keir Starmer he must resign too and see what happens’.
El HuffPost reports that ‘The Wall Street Journal has dedicated an article to the Spanish economy titled "Europe's Star Economy Gains Momentum Amid Imminent Tariff Hikes". In the article, they explain that Spain's economy accelerated in June and emphasize that it is "a sign of resilience for a eurozone facing a slowdown due to rising US tariffs"’.
Ecology:
‘22 Spanish cities have seen their mean temperatures rise by more than 2°C since 2020. A recent report analyses the evolution of temperatures at hundreds of Spanish weather-stations over recent decades’. Girona is the most serious, followed by Barcelona. Almería, Pontevedra and Oviedo suffered the smallest rise. El Tiempo has the story. The current high temperatures should ‘continue until mid-August’ says the weather-forecaster.
Various:
‘The government has shelved the purchase of US F-35 fighters and is now seeking European alternatives’. The story comes from El País here. One reason given is that the US imposes severe restrictions on the access to the aircraft's critical technologies, which have a sealed system to the users; and their use in a potential conflict could suddenly be vetoed by Washington.
It’s getting a lot like Christmas. The Christmas lottery is on sale since July 10th, and the City of Vigo, famous for its Christmas lights, have lit up already. El Español says: ‘At 31 degrees, Vigo welcomes Christmas: "It will be the best in the history of humanity". This year, there will be 12 million LED lights, half a million more than in 2024’.
From Energías Renovables here: ‘The Red Eléctrica de España reaffirms that the blackout was caused by unjustified operations from the power companies’.
‘Official silence, a letter from the cardinal, and a 'secret' Mass: Madrid prepares for the global gathering of LGBTI Catholics. Cardinal José Cobo met with representatives of Crismhom (‘Global Network of Rainbow Catholics’ here), as the temple where the ceremony will be held remains hidden for security reasons’. elDiario.es has the story.
‘The former king Juan Carlos marks his five-year anniversary in self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi’. The Olive Press has more.
In 1960, the Catholic Church created the Plan Marta. This consisted of gathering young single women from villages in the north of Spain – in all, 815 of them says El País – and sending them to Australia as domestic staff. The problem was that none of them could later raise the money for a flight home. Australia at that time was keen to receive (white) immigrants and welcomed the women. Previously, La Operación Canguro (1958-1963) had provided a number of Spanish men to work the sugarcane fields. The book called El Plan Marta 1960 – 1963 is here.
Espacio Andaluz has ‘A migrant farmworker's viral barb at Santiago Abascal, Vox, and their hate speech: "Abascal, where are you now? We're here working, in 40 degrees"’.
A documentary from the Arte Channel on YouTube that analyses the rise of radical right-wing ideas on social media. ‘The politics of hatred’, as a commentator has it.
El Diario de Mallorca says: ‘Private parties in Ibiza are nothing new, and although they're an exclusive phenomenon, they're increasingly generating controversy. They're generally held in mansions, villas, or on yachts, outside the official club circuit. They're invitation-only events attended by celebrities, businesspeople, athletes, influencers, and billionaires.
They're not usually publicly announced. They're organized by promoters or intermediaries who select attendees. It's important to understand that these are events where privacy, extreme luxury, and secrecy are key…’. To make them more fun, some amenable young women are hired to join the party (one woman featured in the report was offered 10,000€ for a week’s work).
For one reason or another, we now have several kebab restaurants in our area. Tasty and cheap! 20Minutos however has a warning: ‘Doctor Manuel Viso cautions against kebabs: "They contain something similar to meat, bad fats, enough salt to stop a train and insane sauces that could preserve a mammoth"’. There’s a video on Instagram prepared by the good doctor here.
‘Have you ever wondered if water can flow uphill? In this video, we dive into the incredible engineering of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Join us as we explore the history, architecture, and groundbreaking technology behind one of the world’s most stunning architectural masterpieces’. A short and interesting video on YouTube here.
See Spain:
‘Cuenca: Hanging Houses & Roman Ruins’ with GuiriGuru here. Pix and video.
From Fascinating Spain here, ‘Almería: its most beautiful villages. The province of Almería is one of the regions that can surprise anyone who visits it. It amazes with more than 200 km of beaches, the great desert of Europe, one of the most fertile orchards of the continent and villages with a lot of charm and history’.
Letters:
Sticky cakes: Thank you for your thoughts. Made me chuckle. When we first arrived here many years ago the cakes looked gorgeous but yes, they were awful. I don’t think Spain is known for its cakes although I may be wrong.
Frances
Finally:
Musikalia interviews the highly eccentric troubadour Tonino Carotone here. His latest effort, Mondo Divino (in praise of wine), can be found on YouTube here.
Si (
No(
