It's a Werner

Right off the motorway N340 in Mijas, passing el corte ingles, there is a big Supermarket called the Euromarket. Its very popular amongst the foreign community of Mijas and Fuengirola for its wide selections of imported goods from all over Europe.

Right in front of ots doors there are Ellen and Werner, a German couple running a , well what is it actually? It’s a snack bar, a wagon selling sausages literally, but to many of the locals its much more then that. It’s a meeting point where lot’s of fun has been had, friends have been made, drama has been experienced lots of gossip has been exchange and lots of beer has been drunk.

A snack bar? Yes! An ordinary snack bar? certainly not. Come, see yourself and have a beer and a laugh with us.

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Flight bookings
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Money Exchange and Western Union
Every day fixed rates and usually between 4 and 7points over the bank rates for selling pounds.

Regional Excursions

Here some examples

Granada

Departure from your hotel towards Rio Frio, short stop. Afterwards we proceed to Granada to visit the Alhambra, famous fortress and supreme monument of Arabic architecture and the gorgeous Gardens of the Generalife, enjoying the suggestive panoramic view of the city and the gipsy gardens of the Albaicin. Lunch,free time and return to your hotel by the same route. Granada without lunch is the same programme with some free time for lunch.

Price: 51.90 plus 16.00 Euro for lunch in Andalucian Restaurant

Cordoba

Starting from your hotel we’ll go to Cordoba via Antequera.On arrival a local Guide will take you across its historical centre know all over the world for its Arab and Jewish monuments, such as the famous mosque, the Jewish district, the synagogue and the roman bridge.Lunch is  in a local restaurant, followed by a sightseeing tour of the typical ‘Patios’ and gardens of Cordoba. Finally we take the same road back to the hotel. Cordoba without lunch: Same program. Free time for lunch.

Price: 40.50 Euro plus 16 Euro for lunch.

Gibraltar

Departure from your hotel, drive along the coastal road to Gibraltar, frontier crossing and tour of the city, tunnel and Punta Europa by minibus. Minibus tour of the rock, San Miguel caves and Monkey reserve. Free time for shopping during your stay in Gibraltar.

Prices

Gibraltar shopping: 13 Euro
Gibraltar trip with cuevas and monkeys: 32.90 Euro
Gibraltar Shopping Express: 14.90 Euro
Gibraltar shopping express with cuevas and monkeys: 34.50 Euro

Nerja y Frigiliana

From your hotel we drive along the attractive east coast road,bordering the sea and crossing several white villages.After a short stop at Frigiliana we continue to the picturesque town of Nerja at 36 mls from Malaga.Visit of the prehistoric caves of impressive dimensions where various halls and galleries can be admired. Free time to enjoy the beautiful views from the terrace ‘Balcon de Europa’. Return by the same road to your hotel.

Price: 19.50 plus 7 Euro entrance to the cuevas.

Ronda

Journe along the Costa del Sol and drive through the magnificent Ronda mountain range. On arrival sightseeing tour of this beautiful Andalusian town of Celtic origin., with its cathedrals (roman, Gothic and Arabic styles), the old town, the oldest bullring in Spain and the Tajo gorge 660 feed deep. Lunch at a local restaurant, free time and return to the coast along the same road.

Prices:
Ronda trip: 27.95 Euro
Lunch in Andalusian Restaurant: 16.00 Euro
Ronad plus ceneic train and the lakes with lunch: 35.00  Euro

Tanger

From your hotel we drive along the coast to Algeciras, where we embark to cross the Straits of Gibraltar.On arrival in Tanger an extensive visit of this typical Moroccan town, including the Kasbah, full of narrow, busy streets and Islamic monuments. After lunch in an Arab restaurant we embark again for Spain and wqe continue our return voyage to the hotels. Option for two days with stay in a 4 star hotel is also available.

Price for one day: 59.90 Euro (includes tickets and lunch)
Price for two days: 114.00 Euro (includes half board)

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Adress and contact Details

Viajes Marcla
Avenida Ramon y Cajal 52
Edificio Sol, Bajo
29640 Fuengirola

Tel.: +(34) 952 466 618
Mobil: +(34) 670 981 674
Email: franciscofernandez@viajesmarcla.es

How to find us:

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Restaurant El Mar Negro in Fuengirola

All right, so you think you are a true cosmopolitan gourmet?

You have done it all: from the Chinese at every corner, to Sushi for lunch and you started pronouncing your own name with an Italian accent for all the pasta and pizza you had in the last 20 years. You  are even familiar with German sausages, Swiss Fondue and Hungarian Goulash – home made of course.

But let me tell you one thing: You haven’t made it yet to deserve the title “cosmopolitan gourmet” unless you tried “ El Mar Negro” in Fuengirola.

The restaurant “El Mar Negro” has a strong Romanian influence. Now let me ask you: Do you know what that really is? No, you probably don’t, but that’s nothing to be embarrassed about.  I didn’t know either, until I started writing this very article.

Romanian cuisine is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character. It has been greatly influenced by Ottoman cuisine while it also includes influences from the cuisines of other neighbours, such as Germans, Serbians, and Hungarians.

Quite different types of dishes are sometimes included under a generic term ; for example, the category ciorbă includes a wide range of soups with a characteristic sour taste.

These may be meat and vegetable soups, tripe and calf foot soups (shkembe chorba or iskembe), or fish soups, all of which are soured by lemon juice, sauerkraut juice, vinegar, or traditionally borş (fermented wheat bran). The category ţuică is a generic name for a strong alcoholic spirit in Romania, while in other countries every flavor has a different name.

Romanian recipes bear the same influences as the rest of Romanian culture. The Turks have brought meatballs (perişoare in a meatball soup), from the Greeks there is musaca, from the Bulgarians there are a wide variety of vegetable dishes like ghiveci and zacuscă, from the Austrians there is the şniţel and the list could continue.

This actually makes the “El Mar Negro” (which means the black sea) an unique attraction right in the center of Fuengirola just few steps away from the port and the beach (see map below for exact location).

The plates are simply not available at any other establishment in town.

I had a chat with the owner Christian, and ask him what would he does most recommend of what is offered on the menu. When he explained me the different dishes and variations of Romanian food, it became obvious to me that the man is truly dedicated to his job. You could actually see in his face the excitement and passion when he was explaining why his “marinated lamp” is so special and different from Mediterranean lamp dishes or when telling me what is a “black sea meat plate”.

Christian is especially proud on his desserts. The home made apple tort or home made donuts with  jam of forest fruits and cream, only to be topped by the Sundays only, home made cheese cake.

I couldn’t resist looking to the right side.

You know what I mean, the place where the prices are. To my utmost surprise most main plates are below 10 Euro and even the a bottle of red wine is available for as little as 11.00 Euro.

Needless to say, I will try the place myself tonight together with the most critical and  picky gourmets in town: my wife.

Watch this space….to be continued!

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Restaurant El Mar Negro
Calle Dr. Galvez Ginachero 4
29640 Fuengirola – Malaga

A romantic dinner for two or a celebration for one hundred or more people, our professional team of waiters and cooks with more than 20 years experience in the gastronomic services, is looking forward to seeing you and will convince you with excellent service.

Take advantage of the parking in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant and enjoy your stay at the Ku-Damm Berlin.

For information and examples of what is on the menu, please visit our website:

Ku-Damm Berlin  – German Restaurant in Fuengirola Spain

Contact Details:

KU-DAMM Berlin
Puerto Deportivo
Fuengirola
Tel.: (+34) 952 47 28 64
E-mail: info@kudamm-fuengirola.com

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This restaurant is for sale, see details here: Restaurant for sale in Port of Fuengirola Spain.

Somewhat difficult to find is Fuengirolas best hidden gastronomical highlight:

The restaurant “Kufsteiner” in the Marina of Fuengirola.  Named after a popular Austrian town on the bavarian border, its an easy guess what specialities are on offer. A mix of Austrian, Hungarian and Bavarian specialities home made and unmatched in quality.

The concept of the restaurant is to provide high quality food and service at crisis prices. Hence the reason you can get an original “Wiener Schnitzel”, made of fresh veal for less then 10 Euro.

Other “must try” specialities on the menu include, “Schweinsbraten mit Sauerkraut”, “Rindsgulasch mit Spaetzle”, “Kaesespaetzle” and of course the famous Austrian “Apfelstrudel”.

Tina and Laszlo, originally from Hungaria, have 30 years experience in the hospitality business. They previously worked at a sophisticated restaurant in the town Kufstein. Because of health issues a doctor advise them to live in a better climate, preferably mediterranean hence the move to Spain, which always had sparked their interest anyway.

Special Events at the Kufsteiner

Plans for special events are parties every Friday evening. The next one being a “Kesselgulasch” – party, followed by a Gruenkohl – party. A great way of tasting an Hungarian speciality and at the same time mix and mingle with other ex-pats in town.

Join them its gonna be fun.

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A “must” are the Spare Ribs ( the best of Spain ! ) and Chicken “PIRI-PIRI”.
All our products are reasonably priced.

You can find us opposite to HOTEL FLORIDA SPA and the “Caroussel ” in Fuengirola.
c/ Hernan Cortez 3.

For a reservation or information:
Tel. : +(34) 952 478 644
Mob: +(34) 677 678 219

Open: 13.00 u – 16.00 u
19.00 u – 24.00 u
Closed on Monday

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How to find us:

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=el+candil+fuengirola&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.90509,67.763672&ie=UTF8&ll=36.553017,-4.615288&spn=0.016927,0.033088&z=14&iwloc=A&cid=13591790825324047931&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

If you don’t want to go out we bring some of our dishes right to your door with our

TELERIBS SERVICE
Every day from 18.00 u – 23.00 u
Saturday and Sunday from 13.00 u – 23.00 u

Dishes as: Spare Ribs, Chicken “PIRI-PIRI” , ½ Spare Ribs – ½ “PIRI-PIRI” , Chicken Satay or grilled Salmon menu. Check our website for further information: www.teleribs.es

Contact:
Tel.: +(34) 952 468 331

The Swedish owned place is also called the “Rumpan Bar” which is some kind of Swedish play with words: It means “the naked ass” . Swedish humor does my head in, and no, it is not a gay bar, if you thought that’s what it implies, naughty you!

The customer base consists largely of local Residents from different nationalities, all-though the Swedish hold a strong majority. However a lot of regulars are English, Irish, Norwegian and German, including myself.

Local gossip and politics are predominant topics of discussions and because of the “size” of the bar one can hardly avoid not to be part of the discussion.

Its busy at night time , closed on Mondays.

The ideal place to go, when you are new in Fuengirola and want to get to know local Residents. So don’t be shy and join us for a beer and a laugh at the naked ass. Dressing yours is optional but highly recommended.

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Our lemma is to offer an excellent meal and a professional & polite service. We offer authentically Swiss dishes and also international dishes like:

Crêpes SuzetteDuring the hunting season we offer some dishes like Deer loin or deer scallops with cognac cream sauce, spätzli (home made pasta), red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, pineapple, grapes, peach, apple & special chestnuts.Wild boar scallops with cognac cream sauce, spätzli, red cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Private Dinning
Business, social, or whatever the occasion, Old Swiss House is the place for your next event.
Our dining is available anytime of the day – Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.
Professional service provided by experienced staff ensures your event will be enjoyed.

Hotel / Rooms
Our rooms are of alpine style. Located 50 meters from the beach and just 5 minutes to the town center and ideal place for holidays and business stay overs alike.

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We are open : Lunch 13:00 – 15:30 Dinner 19.00 – 23:00. Tuesdays day off.

Address and contact
Old Swiss House
Marina Nacional 28
29640 Fuengirola

Tel : +(34) 952 472 606
Web.: http://www.oldswisshouse.com/english/

How to find us

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Unfortunately that is not the case. Most places are made just for the quick buck of the tourists. So-called international kitchen restaurants you can find one after the other, just walking down the beach front promenade.

But what about these really special places? You know, the ones you get excited about when you start telling zour friends.

If you know such restaurant share it with us, here on the blog.

Regards

Wolfgang Brand

In my case its simple.

When I first moved to the Costa del Sol in 2002, i came for a specific job interview at the Marriott’s Marbella Beach Resort. I had a flight booked from Munich to stay three days. I did get the job in the end and had two days left to organise an apartment before flying back and organise the move with my family to Spain.

In such a hurry, and on limited budget you don’t think where would you prefer to live, you just take what you can get. In that year finding accommodation was far more difficult then it is today, so I took a small two bedroom apartment in Las Lagunas de Mijas Costa.

I moved apartment recently, but still decided to stay within Las Lagunas. Why? Well the kids go to school in Las Lagunas and we did not want them having to change.

Also my wife made quite some friends in the local Gym and so on. We ended up by chance in Mijas Costa and settled in nicely. Now we feel at home here and don’t want to live elsewhere on the Costa del Sol.

A good argument for choosing Las Lagunas is the fact that prices to rent an apartment are much better then in Fuengirola center and the quality of the accomodation is usually better. We pay 700 Euro for a very comfortable 3 bedroom , 2 bathroom apartment.

I am not working at the Marriott’s Resorts anymore. In actually only stayed there for two months . I did found my own business afterwards offering online marketing services to companies in Spain and other countries. My main expertise is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and I became to specialise to offer such services to real estate agents and developer in Spain.

Well that’s how I did end up in Mijas Costa, and whats your story? Would you mind sharing?

Wolfgang Brand

Brits in Spain

Regards

Wolfgang Brand

The Interior Ministry say more arrests could be made in a joint National Police and Customs operation which has seized almost a ton of cannabis resin in Mijas and so far taken seven people into custody. Most were resident in Fuengirola.

Officers discovered that the organisation used a yacht based in Marbella to transport drugs for Moroccan suppliers of cannabis and set up a surveillance operation when the yacht set sail on its latest drugs trip. It was located a mile off the coast of Mijas with both engines broken down, just as the two crew were preparing to escape in a small boat and dump the cannabis overboard. Police seized 38 packages of the drug, totalling 920 kilos.

The organisation’s leader and deputy were amongst those taken into custody on land. The Interior Ministry has not released any information on the nationalities of the suspects.

The entrance is around the corner. The bar is at night time very busy, mainly frequented by Spanish people of all ages. Popular Spanish music and a fun atmospheare makes this a must see place. Despite of the fact that it is a relatively small pub, they manage to hold live eventsand concerts on most week ends.

We appreciate comments from anyone who has been there recently. Did you like the place?

There may be some real concerns in your mind as a new investor in Fuengirola, we hope that by reading this we are able to put your minds to rest.

These items are listed in no particular order, with the “myth” in bold type and the actual facts underneath.

Myth: The police/local authority can close foreign owned businesses down at any time .

Fact: The local authorities, including the police, treat both Spanish and foreign businesses in exactly the same manner. They will close a business only as an absolutely last resort, and only after a business owner persistently fails to comply with local licensing and by-laws. In our many years of trading in Spain we have never known of ANY example of closing a business that has complied with the local laws.

Myth: Lease ( Traspasso) holders can be made to give up the business premises at any time .

Fact: Lease (commercial rental) law is very well defined in Spain and is strictly enforced by the judiciary. Once a contract is signed, it can only be terminated by the landlord under instruction by the local court. This will only be granted in the case of gross breach of the contract by the tenant, for example persistent non payment of rent etc.

Myth: You have to have a “Music Licence” to play music in your bar/restaurant.

Fact: Most venues can play music at reasonable levels, including on their terraces with no special licenses provide no nuisance is caused. If you wish to play loud live music, karaoke disco etc, you will have to bring the premises up to the local authority sound insulation specifications. It is only in the case of night clubs and discothèques that a specific music licence is needed, and this will be dependant upon many issues including location, sound proofing, fire doors etc.

Myth: Spanish people will not use a foreign business.

Fact: it would not be surprising if a bar or café had a sign that said in English only something like “Sams Chip Café” and all the menus were in English, that not many Spanish clients came in. Ask yourself if you would ever have gone into your local Indian Takeaway if the menus were only in Urdu. By simply making the effort to have your signs and menus printed in dual language you will quickly attract a lot of local Spanish business. If you do not speak Spanish, this will not hold you back, as the locals will consider it great fun to teach you Spanish as well as practicing their English.

Myth: In Fuengirola, the bars and businesses are controlled by “mafia” gangs and you have to pay “insurance”

Fact: This is one of the most popular urban myth, probably because some people like the idea of telling their friends back home what its like to be involved in “the new wild west” The facts however are much more “ordinary”. Over the past few years the local authorities have worked very hard to isolate any general criminal groups, and respond very quickly to any hint of problems, whether that comes from Spanish, English or Eastern European groups. Unless you purposely involve yourselves in any major criminal activity i.e. drugs, prostitution etc, the chance of you ever experiencing any problem of this type is practically zero. This brings us to another myth..

Myth: The Spanish police are not interested in helping foreigners.

Fact: During a local authority meeting in 2001, the then mayor of Fuengirola stated that the local Spanish population should not forget the financial advantage of having such a large influx of foreign, mostly British people coming to live in their town. For this reason she said, the local council was going to employ 8 English speaking police officers, and encouraged all of the others to learn English. Since then most other major towns have followed suite. Due to this positive attitude, we have noted a great change in the way that the police respond to the problems of foreigners, especially local business owners. If for any reason a business owner of any nationality were to contact the police, they would find a rapid and sympathetic response.

Written by
David Ballard
http://www.ballard-consulting.com/

Well, you can see that in Fuengirola, which is at the mercy of Doña Esperanza Oña since the early nineties, I believe.

It comes as no surprises that the council of the city is predominantly female. I wonder if the amount of flowers, in and around public buildings, greenery, easy obtainable opening licences for shoe shops and the heavy restrictions on night clubs and late night venues are in direct relation with the female dominance in our town hall.

Might well be, but maybe not

However I found particularly odd at first , that Fuengirola has, believe it or not, an official “department of equality for women”. (Concejalía para la Igualdad).

They even operate since the early nineties a ” Centro Municipal de Información a la Mujer del Ayuntamiento de Fuengirola” , which means municipal information centre of the town hall of Fuengirola for women.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do believe that men and woman are equal…ish.

Men discriminated?

But where comes the equal factor into play here? Men do not have any of that. Isn’t equality having the same rights as the opposite sex? In Fuengirola it seams that women get more attention then men. Under the label of “equality” they discriminate the other sex:. us men?

This centre is giving any women in town:

- free information services, for example about courses, travelling and activities with a special sensibility to gender, whatever the heck that is.

- free legal services. About? Surprise, surprise: Divorces, separations, custody and everything else that helps a woman empty the pockets of a man.

- free advice and services on finding employment, really an urgent need in a city where the unemployment rate almost hits 1%, just almost.

Now here comes the best one: The same centre actually offers a “department of sexual orientation”. I start understanding now the enormous amount of transsexuals in the streets of Fuengirola. Is there some kind of pro-feminist gender-change-propaganda under way? Or is being a woman just so much better in Fuengirola?

Unfortunately not. If that would be the case it would be funny at least.

Reality teaches a markedly different lesson: Many Spanish men are simply violent chauvinistic pigs. Their male pride, or what they think is male pride, makes any kind of rejection impossible to accept, never mind to understand and result all too often in brutal attacks on women, sometimes even murder.

The amount of violence against women in Spain, especially in Andalucia leaves any civilized person in a state of shock or at least with some terrified amazement. In the year 2008 , 2500 men had to be arrested for violent attacks on women, in most cases their own wife , partner or ex-partner. This number is only the arrests inthe province of Malaga!!

The centre is not a luxury, its actually a need.

Their focus is actually helping women who found themselves in these unfortunate circumstances.

In addition to the above, they provide

- Psycholocial treatment and assistance for victims of violence

- Legal help and advise how to get state protection

This is what its really about, ….well done Doña Esperanza!

Wolfgang Brand

Contact details for the centre:

Much has been said and written about corruption in Marbella. We know the city had three consecutive mayors arrested for corruption related to constructions of property developments and money laundering for Russian criminal gangs.

This is so incredible it bears repeating:

Three mayors of the same town arrested for corruption!

If you think about it, this alone is quite scandalous. How many cities do you know in your home country that had THREE mayors arrested and sentenced to prison for illegal activity.

Note, that I am not talking about the little charming attempts of bribery like a 50 Euro note in the passport whilst in a traffic control after having had a beer or two. Nor am I talking about this dinner with the consejal to speed up the processing of your “licencia de apertura”.

No, I am talking about multi-million Euro theft . I am talking about a politician of Marbella, namely Antonio Roca, becoming one of the richest men in Spain by “doing little favours” in return for “financial support”.

Now, I thought that is already to much to be true. But apparently this seams to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Imagine this scene (turn up the music): A phone shop in Spain. The cabins are empty some guys lurking around not having much to do it seams. A client enters asking for a phone cabin, he wants to phone home. He sits down in the cabin and suddenly the whole place drives mad.

Police cars stop in front of door, officers with machine guns in the entrance, the lurking guys suddenly have guns in their hands, one pointing at that clients head, whilst another man is saying something down the lines : You have the right to shut up and you better do.

Fantasy? No, not at all. Something like that, must have been the scene when Paolo Pesce a member of the Naples mafia, the camorra, and on the run since 17 years was arrested in a phone shop in Fuengirola this week.

Paolo Pesce arrested

To top it all up: An Italian newspaper. La Rupubblica, claims to have information about the Italian mafia having major interests in constructions of property developments on the Costa del Sol

Mafia interests on the Costa del Sol

I think its time that the Spanish authorities get their act together and clean this mess up. Why have they been so lazy about it? Turning a blind eye in favour of an ever booming real estate business?

Too busy celebrating Marbella as the European Beverly Hills? Well, the party is over, who cleans up after?

Regards

Wolfgang Brand

P.S: You can turn the music down now.

Thousands of tourists come every year on a timeshare holiday and thousands of our neighbours work at timeshare resorts or timeshare marketing companies. Therefore an article about the subject appears appropriate for this blog.

Just to avoid miss understandings:

I am pro-timeshare!

Timeshare provides a family the comfort of a home from home, without having to buy a property. In addition most timeshare resorts offer community facilities and services just like a hotel does. I had the pleasure to work at some of the most outstanding timeshare resorts in the past and did, and still do, believe in the product as such. There is nothing wrong with timeshare.

If you go regularly on vacation with your family and you can afford it, go for it. Its a product like any other leisure product and was originally created to satisfy the needs of a specific market: middle-class families.

You know which families I mean. Those conservative families living in these posh residential areas, two cars in the garage, him owning a medium size business, she a house wife and the kids going to private schools.

Yeah, those ones: The ones “Joe Bloke” , the average guy, envies, calls them snobs and refuses to accept them as normal part of our society. Joe Bloke sees them more as exception to the rule, or as some kind of aliens even, simply because he knows he will never be part of that class. He even refuses to call them mid-class, as that would imply, him being low class, and who wants to be called low-whatever?

What this has to do with timeshare? You will see later in this article , just keep reading.

What has given the timeshare industry a bad name, especially here in Spain, was the utter incompetence and total lack of professional ethics of the industry’s marketing bosses.

Instead of using a marketing approach, that it suitable to target the appropriate markets ( the middle class family), a whole industry went after Joe Bloke, the average guy. Why?

Very simple: Joe Bloke has dreams.

Joe is dreaming to give his family good times. He loves his family and he feels sad sometimes, when the kids are trying to persuade him to book Disney World instead of Fuengirola. He knows well his wifes impression on the face, when she sees TV adverts about the Seychelles.

But Joe got a normal job, a mortgage to pay, gets nasty letters from Visa and American Express refused him. Hence the reason we see him in Fuengirola and not on the Seychelles.

The approach to Joe Bloke is basically: buy a timeshare and you can fulfill your families dreams and go on vacation like the rich guys do ( that’s how Joe calls the middle class). Buy a timeshare and at least for those two weeks you are somebody special, somebody adored, spoiled, a good father drawing a smile on his children’s faces every time they remember their last vacation.

Easy victim, if it wasnt for the money.

Now, the unscrupulous bullshit pitch comes on the table. “They” (“they”, means the whole timeshare industry), gives Joe Bloke a “financial logic”, which on Wolfgang’s (me) bullshit scale reaches a solid 9 out of possible ten. “They” make Joe believe, that he actually saves money with timeshare.

They make him believe, that he can have the vacation he and his family always dreamed of, for the same amount of money he is spending on vacation anyway year after year.

Apart from the initial Investment.

At this point it gets almost criminal. They make him believe, that the purchase price is actually an investment and not an expenditure. In some cases they even promise an INCREASE of value and that he can RESALE it anytime, if he one day needs the money back. An outright lie.

Joe is sold, and can only say yes to the all important, a million times repeated question:

” If we can find a way to make this affordable to you, would you become a member today”?

Joe goes home, owning a timeshare, got a even higher mortgage then before and a commitment to pay maintenance fees every year. Not knowing yet, that timeshare has one thing in common with AIDS: once you have it…..

That’s how a good product was sold to the wrong market, over and over again.

The above was not the exeption, or the behaviour of some black sheeps of the industry. No, it was the marketing strategie of the whole European timeshare industry. Proper marketing and targeting the right market is actually the exception.

Today we face a multitude of timeshare resale scams. If you think about it: the timeshare industry which so firmly condemns such resale scams is actually responsible for their existence.

Wolfgang Brand

The report coincides with a call for tenders issued by regional water authority Acuamed for the second desalination plant on the western Costa del Sol at Mijas, near the Fuengirola river. Mijas will produce 55,000 m³/d.

The Andalusian agency’s report lists the following plants in addition to Mijas: Águilas para Pulpí, del Bajo Almanzora y del Campo de Dalías, Palomares, Adra, Balsa del Sapo and Costa del Sol/Málaga. Mijas is budgeted to cost � 70+ million (US$ 92+ million) and will be operational in 2010.

In addition, the report says that currently 30 million m³/y of reused water for irrigation is to the added to the 75 million m³/y Andelusia already uses, through projects at western Costa del Sol and Campo de Dalías. Future reuse projects are planned for the eastern Costa del Sol, Malaga city, the province of Almeria, Atlantic Basin and the river Guadalquivir, which will add another 80 million m³/y.

Meanwhile, in the same part of Spain, work has just begun on the 56,000 m³/d Balanegra desalination plant, and Acuamed has received official permission to connect the 240,000 m³/d Torrevieja desalination plant to the Mediterranean sea.