Málaga city, gateway to the Costa del Sol, southern Spain

Málaga is one of those cities that you fly into, and of course, out of, when arriving for a vacation and flying off home again.  However, the city is so much more than an airport!  Take the time to visit before setting off on your beach or rural Spanish holiday.

The second largest city in Andalucia, southern Spain has a lot to offer.  A cosmopolitan and attractive city, with its contrasts of ancient and modern, there is something for everyone to explore.

The city is the birth place of a couple of famous people including the artist Pablo Picasso and another son of Málaga, a certain Antonio Banderas, still "treads the boards" there from time to time.

In the newer section of the city, you will find modern department stores, like El Corte Inglés, and shopping malls full of temptations. 

You can stroll Calle Larios and view the best of fashion along the way, plus enjoy the human statues (street artists), reminiscent of Las Ramblas in Barcelona.



However, for many people, the older, narrow and winding streets are far more interesting, with little seafood restaurants and tapas bars dotted here and there, and fascinating little shops hiding just around the corner. 

If you follow Calle Larios you can find these fascinating little streets as side-shoots of the main "drag", sometimes even finding an artist at work.



In the older area, you will also find the Cathedral of Málaga - a beautiful Renaissance building with a baroque and very lovely façade. However, when visiting, beware of the gypsies haunting the entrance to the cathedral, who will try their best to take a few Euros from you.



The interior is fascinating with its curves and high ceilings.



Close by is the Plaza de la Merced, a huge town square surrounded by restaurants and bars and a great place to take a rest on your tour.  Here you will also find the house in which Pablo Picasso was born. Worth a visit, although there is a little to see except the clothing worn by Picasso when he was christened!  Also you are not allowed to take photos inside the house - if you try, your camera will be confiscated and locked away until you leave - I speak from experience and was surprised I didn't get my knuckles rapped too!



More interesting in the Museo Picasso (or Picasso Museum), where you can view many of the fine works of the artist as well as other famous artists:



Around the corner is La Alcazaba, a Moorish creation from the mid fifteenth century.  The architecture is fascinating and if you have a bit of energy, you can climb right to the top where the Gibralfaro Castle is located, with amazing views across the bay and countryside. 



A note of interest is that there is a well-preserved Roman amphitheatre in the grounds of La Alcazaba.  However, this is undergoing renovation at present and can only be seen through the fence.

Right next door to the castle is the amazing Parador de Málaga Gibralfaro, one of the famous Paradores of Spain - a range of luxury hotels, most of which are in converted castles, palaces and convents.  Luxury with great food, and amazing views!  The photo below was taken from the writer's balcony at the hotel, showing the bull ring and port.



Back down the hill, we find Calle Alameda and the Botanical Gardens, which run through the centre of the city.  A beautiful, restful and leafy place to relax and catch your breath.
Getting back to Antonio Banderas, if you enjoy theatre, Teatro Cervantes is worth a visit, and Antonio still appears there from time to time.



Wherever you go in the city, you will find a range of excellent restaurants, cafés and tapas bars.  Enjoy a range of both local and international food, but especially try the Andalucian specialities including “pescaito frito”, a selection of small fried fish including sardines and red mullet.  Enjoy the catch of the day and wash it down with a fine Spanish wine.

Lest we forget!  Yes, Málaga also has sandy and beautiful beaches to catch a tan, and you can also visit the Port of Málaga to see the incoming cruise ships and ferries from around the world.



If you don't have the time to stay in Málaga longer, try and make a plan to tag a day on to the beginning or end of your holiday to explore this fascinating city.  Jump into a horse-drawn carriage and enjoy the ride - you will not regret it!

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Spain: Locksmiths in Pamplona boycott evictions

In 2012, more than 50,000 families were evicted from their homes in Spain for nonpayment of their rent or mortgage. Then the suicides began. Now locksmiths in Pamplona say, no more - they will not assist with evictions.

Evictions are becoming commonplace in crisis-torn Spain with so many people losing first their jobs, and then their homes.

When an eviction is made, the normal scheme of things is that locksmiths are employed to change the lock on the home, hand over the keys to the prosecutor, who then delivers them to the bank that is claiming the housing.

The locksmith is chosen on a random basis by the attorneys representing the financial institutions. 15 locksmith companies in the urban area of Pamplona have seen an increase from an eviction each month, up to an average of three per week.

However, now, according to Iker de Carlos, the Assembly Speaker of the Professional Locksmiths of Pamplona, in Spain's Navarre region, "they will have to call locksmiths outside Navarre."

De Carlos, who works in his family's locksmith business, said, "What you see on television is different from when you go there. You know you're helping to kick people out of their home, to stay on top of a perpetual debt that you will have to keep paying."

"We know that we will not start a revolution, but we want to serve as a example to Navarre society on how to fix an unfair situation," he added.

Referring to a suicide of an eviction victim, 53-year-old Amaia Egana, in autumn 2012 outside of Pamplona, de Carlos said, “We’re people, and as people we can’t continue carrying out evictions when people are killing themselves.”

The Union of Security Locksmiths has 300 member companies, with more than 2,000 professionals, who are now working against the evictions. Among the evictions they are boycotting, are situations where entire families, the elderly and children would be on the street once their home has been taken from them.

PRI reports that this is actually a very ingenuous plan, because if no one changes the locks on the apartment or house, the bank can’t repossess it, and the evictees can get back in. Apparently the legal proceedings to get them out again would take months, or even years.

The decision was taken three weeks ago at the first meeting of the Assembly of Professional Locksmiths of Pamplona. This was the only item on the agenda and it was approved unanimously.

The president of the federation, David Ormaechea said, "As professionals and people with a conscience, we cannot participate in these events."

Ormaechae went on to tell the experience of one of the locksmiths in the group, in Barcelona, who acted according to his conscience. The eviction involved a father with four children, one of whom is mentally ill. "It was a situation where he thought he should not act and he refused to change the locks." says Ormaechea.

Other evictions involved elderly people, struggling to get into their clothes as they are evicted, or a family crying on a bench outside what was once their home. There are also times when the locksmith's work goes beyond just changing the locks once the house has been vacated. On occasion, they are requested to open the doors, with the occupants still inside, to allow the eviction to take place.

According to de Carlos, most locksmith businesses in Pamplona are small and family-run, and they understand what is affecting the people around them. According to data provided by the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages in Navarre (PAHN), 2012 closed with over 700 evictions in the area. This means that in recent years, this type of work has become 10% of turnover for a locksmith.

While it is a fair percentage of their income, and is better paid than most jobs, the locksmiths have still made the decision to boycott the evictions. De Carlos says he is "curious to see how the banks react" to their decision. "Or will they have to call someone from outside Navarre," said one of the young locksmiths.

According to PAHN, with the public holidays over the festive season, there has been no opportunity as yet to test the reaction of banks. As it turns out there was an agreement between the banks to temporarily halt evictions during the holidays.

While Spain has passed a Royal decree to curb evictions in certain circumstances, this is not enough, and according to the locksmiths, the new decree does not help those that really need it, as the scheme would exclude retirees and single mothers with a child over 3 years old.

Guillermo Knob, another spokesman for the federation, reported that the step taken by the locksmiths in Navarre is "very noble" and he trusts that this will extend to the rest of Spain.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340401