Live News From Spain As It Happens

Every year, the Fundación del Español Urgente (FundéuRAE) - Foundation for Urgent Spanish - with the support of the Real Academia Española, votes for its 'word of the year', and the winning word for 2021 is 'vaccine' (vacuna in Spanish) - one of the most commonly-used words across all media since the end of last year.

And the Foundation didn't just choose it for its ubiquitous presence in this year's social, political, scientific and economic discussions, but also for its linguistic interest.

The concept of a "vaccine" emerged in the XVIII century when a doctor in rural England - Edward Jenner - noticed that milkmaids infected with cowpox (a bovine virus) appeared to be immune to the smallpox virus transmitted from human to human. In the Spanish language, the word “vaccina” (derived from the Latín “vaccinus” - literally ‘from the cow') was used for some years, but eventually the word “vacuna”, which appeared for the first time in the RAE's official dictionary of the Spanish language in 1803, became the accepted translation of the English "vaccine", although its current definition was not included in the dictionary until 1914.

The word 'vacuna' and its derivatives like “vacunación” (vaccination) or “vacunado” (vaccinated), have been ever present in the news across the whole Spanish-speaking world this year, whether on their own or as part of compound nouns like “vacuna de refuerzo” (booster vaccine), “punto de vacunación masiva” (mass vaccination centre), “pauta de vacunación” (required vaccination dosage) …

It's a word that has also led to the appearance of neologisms, new concepts like “vacunódromo” - formed with the Greek-derived suffix “-dromo”, which describes a large structure, course or area used for a specific purpose - or “vacuguagua” - an acronym of “vacunación” (vaccination) and “guagua” (bus).

FundéuRAE has dedicated numerous posts and press releases to the word 'vacuna' in 2021, many of them aimed at clearing up the confusion between 'vaccine' and other terms like “serum”, “antidote” or “immunisation”.

Similarly, confusion has arisen when using the word 'vaccine' with certain verbs like “inoculate” which is a generic term for administering a vaccine, whereas “inject” refers to a very specific means of administering it.

Other words relating to the same topic were on the Foundation's radar this year, like, for example “trypanophobia” (an irrational, pathological fear of injections’) or “herd immunity” (relating to the theory that when a large portion of a community - the herd – becomes infected and then immune to a disease, it makes the spread of disease from person to person unlikely).

Just like in 2020, the whole range of vocabulary relating to coronavirus made up a large proportion of the candidatures for this year's ‘word of the year’.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANOTHER year passes at breakneck speed, grape sales in Spanish supermarkets rocket – tradition dictates that you eat one at each of the 12 'bongs' at midnight – and everyone on earth tries to remember a time when celebrations of any nature didn't have Covid hovering in the background like a dark shadow blocking out the fairy lights. Starting at 11.00 mainland Spain time on Friday, December 31 with the Pacific island of Tonga, and finishing a mere 892 kilometres east at noon on Saturday, January 1 in American Samoa on the other side of the date line, every country on earth marks the New Year as we know it, or the end of the final day on the Gregorian calendar.

Except for one village in the province of Granada.

Home to just 712 people, Bérchules, nestling in the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and a stone's throw from the nearest ski station, will be ignoring the chimes again at the dawn of 2022, just as it has for the previous 27 years.

Why no grapes and cava for Bérchules?

Like many towns, villages and cities in Spain, Bérchules used to hold an outdoor New Year's Eve celebration where locals would stand in a square and eat their 12 grapes – representing the 12 months of the year to come – as they listened to the church bells chime the hour.

Nowadays, these celebrations are more likely to involve a large television screen showing the countdown on Spain's mainstream channels, TVE (channel one), La 2, Antena 3, La 4, Telecinco and La Sexta, or homing in live on the Puerta del Sol square in central Madrid.

The Puerta del Sol clock is Spain's equivalent of the UK's Big Ben, insofar as its bongs are considered to mark the official start of the year, and crowds have been hanging out there for decades to munch their grapes in time with the bells every December 31.

Even last year, 10 months into the pandemic, they did so, but socially-distanced.

Since the dawn of television in Spain – a luxury not all homes had until at least the 1970s or even 1980s – those not going out have typically been glued to the screen at the precise moment of the beginning of the year, just like households almost everywhere else on the globe.

Except Baker Island, a US territory, which 'sees in' the New Year at 13.00 mainland Spain time on January 1, but as it's uninhabited, there's nobody to celebrate it.

Read full article at thinkSPAIN.com

Public celebrations of the New Year are being cancelled left, right and centre in the face of the ever-increasing number of people infected with the latest variant of the Covid-19 virus - the highly contagious Omicron. 

Of the ten most populous cities in Spain, only Madrid and Seville are going ahead with their planned New Year's Eve celebrations - the mass public gatherings to eat the traditional 12 grapes as the clock strikes the 12 'bongs' for midnight.

In contrast, nine autonomous communities have rushed through new restrictions like curfews, or the closing of restaurants and bars by midnight to try to stop the spread. For the second year running, it looks like the virus is going to change people's chariots back into pumpkins and have most of us scurrying for home by midnight.

However, if dancing the night away in a club is your favoured way of seeing in the New Year, you will still be able to do that in Madrid, the Valencian Community, Castilla & León, Extremadura or Castilla-La Mancha. Experts agree, however, that this is probably the "riskiest" way of waving goodbye to 2021 in terms of the likelihood of catching Covid from fellow revellers and recommend small get-togethers at home as the "safest" way of bringing in 2022.

Open-air parties are definitely safer than those in enclosed spaces, and if you are getting together with lots of people, if you can keep your mask on as much as possible and open doors and windows you will also give yourself the best chance of not starting the year infected with Covid and in isolation.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Every year, to celebrate Epiphany, people in Spain consume somewhere in the region of 30 million Roscones de Reyes - traditional brioche-style, ring-shaped cakes often baked with a citrus peel and/or orange blossom water, and topped with sugar, almonds and candied fruit. Recipes and formats for this traditional King Cake vary, but almost all conceal a 'fava' bean or a figurine, often said to represent the Christ Child. After the cake is cut, whoever gets the fava is believed to be blessed with good fortune and gets to wear the paper crown.

The origins of the Roscón de Reyes or King Cake date back to France in the Middle Ages. In Western Christian tradition, Epiphany celebrates the visit of the biblical Magi to the Christ Child in the stable in Bethlehem. The Eve of Epiphany, known as Twelfth Night, is the last day of the Christmas season, and Epiphany Day itself (January 6th)is the start of the Epiphany season and the cake is served as a celebration of this season.

In preparation for this annual tradition, Spain's Consumers' Association - la OCU - has been busy tasting and testing some of the most widely available roscones to see which are the best tasting and the best value for money this festive season. The original roscones didn't have fillings, but these days filled roscones are becoming more and more popular. This year, testers compared cream-filled roscones from: Ahorramás, Alcampo, Aldi, Carrefour, Dia, El Corte Inglés, Eroski, Lidl, Mercadona and Hiper Usera to find the best on offer. 

Not only did they take the visual aspect into account - the packaging and the overall look of the product - but also the nutritional value, the amount of fat, sugar and additives they contain, and lastly the quality of the filling and the pastry dough itself.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

From 1st January 2022 there will be changes to the manufacturers' guarantees that come with new electrical goods. The Spanish Consumers' Association (OCU) has confirmed that products sold from the beginning of next year will come with a three-year manufacturer's warranty instead of the current two years, and manufacturers will have to guarantee the availability of spare parts for ten years, rather than the current five.

The new measures come as part of a change to the General Consumers & Users Defence Law which will come into force in January 2022, and which adds these additional guarantees which, according to the OCU, represent "another step towards product sustainability and repairability".

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER 9,000 letters have been sent in barely a week from members of the public to elderly residents in nursing homes as part of the nationwide 'Adopt a Grandparent' scheme.

A campaign run year-round but which cranks up a gear at Christmas, the Adopta un Abuelo scheme has over 600 care homes on its books and support from at least 40 companies.

Anyone can join in from any part of the world via the Una Carta Para Un Abuelo ('A Letter for a Grandparent') website, and missives are printed off for elderly residents to read, or are read to them if they are no longer able to do so.

Within the first week of the festive letter-writing campaign, upwards of 9,000 had been penned and sent, many from children, given that around 500 schools nationwide have been participating as a class activity.

It concluded on Christmas Eve, after three weeks, and although the final 'letter count' has not been revealed as yet, last year saw in excess of 150,000 festive communications sent to senior citizens, and over a million hits on the website Unacartaparaunabuelo.org.

Spokeswoman for the start-up firm, Rebeca López, says the 'Adopt a Grandparent' scheme is about creating contact between different generations and supporting older people who are either lonely or at risk of being so.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

The Christmas lottery in a quintessential part of Spanish festive traditions, just like setting up a nativity scene in your home or, decorating the tree or serving smoked salmon for dinner on Christmas Eve.  Year after year, millions of Spaniards buy lottery tickets from their local lottery outlet, their favourite bar, the village veterans' football club, etc, in the hope of striking it lucky and changing their lives. And they do all that, despite knowing that the chances of having the winning combination on December 22nd are infinitesimal. 

The fact that winning the first, second or third prizes in today's special Christmas lottery draw is highly improbable is no secret. Statistically, the probability of winning the main prize or el Gordo (literally, the fat one) as it is known, is one in 100.000. Unlikely occurrences like being born with an extra finger (between 30 and 360 cases in every 100,000 births around the world), living to over 100 (one in every 2,741 Spaniards), getting pregnant despite using a contraceptive (one in 3,322) or meeting someone in the street with more than 50 million euros in the bank (one in 21,442 Spaniards have this amount or more) are all more likely than winning El Gordo. Nevertheless, we're statistically more likely to win the big Spanish Christmas lottery than the Euromillions or the Primitiva - 1,400 times more likely!

So, if the chances of winning are so slim, why do we play every year?

If we only focus on the probability of winning, buying a lottery ticket seems like a completely crazy notion. But as so often happens in life, it's not just about the numbers. There's a whole series of psychological mechanisms that kick in and make us buy that décimo. 

Sergio García Soriano, clinical psychologist and expert in social intervention claims that the process by which we buy Christmas lottery tickets has a lot to do with the emotional hemisphere of the brain "which decides to buy, knowing full well that the probability of winning is really slim".

Some of the factors that come into play are questions of culture and emotions linked to the age-old tradition. "There's a learning process passed down from generation to generation. Even though you've never won it, el Gordo is an intrinsic part of Spanish culture", he says. García Soriano also mentions well-oiled marketing strategies, which play on our emotions and the tradition surrounding the prize draw and the whole festive season.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

On Christmas Eve face masks will once again become compulsory outdoors as well as in shops, public transport, public buildings, restaurants, bars, etc. 

After holding a virtual meeting with the heads of all of Spain's regional governments, president Pedro Sánchez confirmed that an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers will be held tomorrow to pass the new legislation.

The measure was immediately met with widespread criticism.  The presidents of Aragón and the Community of Madrid, Javier Lambán and Isabel Díaz Ayuso, openly objected to the measure which goes completely against Health Ministry reports that repeatedly insist that the vast majority of infections happen in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation and a high concentration of people, like bars or restaurants, which see no rule changes Sánchez in this latest round of updated legislation.

"Experience has shown us that, together with the vaccine, the use of masks is fundamental to flattening the curve of infection rates", said Sánchez insisting that he had "extensive support" amongst the regional presidents (alleging seven of them had asked him to reintroduce the rule over the past few days).

But the measure has its share of detractors. "We do not agree with making masks obligatory outside if social distancing can be maintained", argued Díaz Ayuso. "In the street, in town squares and out of doors in general the risk of infection without a mask is simply not the same as where there are crowds, or when people are inside, especially in poorly ventilated buildings", insisted Lambán.

Outside of the government, the obligation to wear masks was met with widespread criticism on social media where the hashtag "MascarillasEnLaCalleNo" (NoToMasksOutdoors) is already trending and generating thousands of comments criticising a measure that stops you walking down an empty street without a mask, but allows you to sit drinking, mask free, inside a crowded bar.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

2022 will see six new restaurants in the Comunitat Valenciana boasting a Michelin star, whilst four of the region's restaurants are set to lose the coveted gourmet distinction. The region's overall number of Michelin stars will increase from 21 to 22 for the coming year.

The 2022 stars were announced at a gala evening in Valencia last week, but after the event the Guide's International Director, Gwendal Poullennec, opted to dine in a traditional barraca on the shores of city's Albufera wetlands rather than in one of the region's prize-winning restaurants.

In a clear nod to the worldwide appeal of the region's traditional dishes, Poullennec chose to head to Sueca for a Valencian paella and some all i pebre, a traditional dish containing the garlic and pepper that gives it its name, along with eel or fish, and potato.

The six newly crowned Michelin starred restaurants are: Arrels (Sagunto) by Vicky Sevilla, Atalaya (Alcocebre) by Emanuel Calucci and Alejandra Herrador, Kaido Sushi Bar (València) by Yoshikazu Yanome, Fierro (València) by Germán Carrizo and Carito Lourenço, Lienzo (València) by María José Martínez and Peix i Brases (Dénia) by José Manuel López.

On the other hand, Monastrell (Alicante), Casa Manolo (Daimús), Orobianco (Calpe) and Sents (Ontinyent) have all lost their Michelin star, the latter recently announcing that it would be closing permanently after "12 years of very hard work".

This year's gourmet award winners were quick to express their pleasure at receiving the sought-after gastronomic award:-

Vicky Sevilla, after receiving a flood of congratulatory messages, took to Instagram to thank people: "We have had so many messages and shows of support that we just can't get round to answering all of them. Huge heartfelt thanks to everyone". Arrels also chose Instagram to publish a message of thanks and to say that the Michelin star was the "result of the work and effort of the whole team doing what we love most: cook".

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Two griffin vultures and two eagle-owls, nursed back to health in the Centre for the Recovery of Threatened Species (C.R.E.A.) in Los Villares, Córdoba, were released back into the wild on Friday.

The centre's purpose is to help wild animals and birds that are injured or in danger. Since the beginning of the year, 655 specimens have been taken in to be cared for at the centre, over half of which have recovered well enough to be re-released back into their natural habitat.

One of the griffin vultures released last week was brought into the centre in May with a deep chest wound, but after intensive care, continued treatment and then exercise in the centre's 'flying gym', it managed to regain its lost muscle mass and complete its rehabilitation. The other griffin vulture was brought in in October in a very weak condition and suffering from malnutrition and it too has spent months together with others of its kind in the 'flying gym' recovering and exercising.

The eagle-owls have also recovered well from their injuries. One of them had a fractured carpal-metacarpal joint and the other was brought into the centre with lengths of barbed wire incrusted in its skin and numerous open wounds, which have since healed completely.

Giuseppe Aloisio, the regional minister for Sustainable Development, underlined "the important work carried out by staff at the Environment Agency, who are responsible for collecting, watching over and transporting the injured animals and birds to the recovery centre" adding that "without them, it would be impossible to nurse these species back to health and release them back into the wild."

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Spanish President, Pedro Sánchez, today announced that he has called all the regional leaders to a video conference next Wednesday, December 22nd, in order to discuss the Covid situation, and to coordinate regional responses to the current sharp increase in cases, especially of the Omicron variant of the disease.

 "The virus is not going away,” he reminded us, “and the fight to control its spread needs to remain a priority for every regional government".

The conference, which will take place just two days before Christmas Eve, has been called "to review the pandemic situation and to evaluate new measures that could be implemented over the coming weeks", Sánchez said.

Throughout his speech today, the President talked about “universal measures” and made no mention of any immediate new restrictions, even though the current situation, with the recent spike in the number of cases being reported “suggests a real and present risk”

In view of the recent rapid rise in infection rates, Sánchez urged regional governments to "strengthen" their current measures, but in a coordinated fashion, hence the decision to call Wednesday’s conference.

In his speech, Sánchez warned that even though incidence rates were “lower in Spain than in many of the neighbouring countries, they could not be considered good". According to the latest Health Authorities report, Spain is in the “high risk” category as the cumulative incidence has shot up to 511 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days.

Sánchez also underlined the fact that this latest wave of the pandemic was displaying "different characteristics" and was affecting people "in a different fashion", with much higher infection rates than the same time last year, but much lower rates of hospitalisation, and far fewer people in the ICUs.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Changeable weather will be the order of the day for Christmas week, with rain forecast in various parts of the country. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are likely to be wet in a number of regions, as an intense storm and several cold weather fronts head this way.

The rains are expected to be heavy towards the end of the week in the west of Spain, especially along the south coast of Galicia, in Extremadura and western Andalusia. 

Other parts of Spain are likely to see some showers too, but the snow level remains high for the time being, with only very mountainous regions seeing snowfall instead of rain.

According to the latest data from Aemet (the Spanish state meteorological office), there will be cloud and rain in western Galicia and in the extreme western parts of the Meseta (Spain's central plateau) and in Andalusia, with the heaviest rainfall forecast for northern Extremadura. 

During the week, a storm driven by an atmospheric river of subtropical humid air will move in from the west, affecting western and southern regions of the country, with northern and Mediterranean areas escaping most of the rain. 

The movement of these weather fronts will produce both rises and falls in temperatures, although overall they look set to be slightly higher than normal and there will be fewer frosts due to the warmer western winds.

So, no white Christmas for most of Spain, but many western parts of the country will see rain. 

Tuesday and Wednesday will see the arrival of another weather front, bringing heavy rains in its wake for the whole of the Atlantic region and the gulf of Cadiz. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

If you are on the lookout for the perfect place to hide away from the hordes this Christmas and New Year, you might well be tempted by one of these tiny villages, tucked away in some of Spain's most scenic areas.

In these strange, COVID-blighted times, spending Christmas far from the madding crowds has never so attractive. Not only to be miles from the city mayhem, its bright lights and gaudy Christmas decorations, but to also be miles away from everyone else, just with your loved one, before an open fire and surrounded by peace and tranquility. Any one of these villages could be the perfect place for your enchanted Christmas this year:

Regencós (Girona)

The well-preserved, walled, medieval village of Regencós has the advantage of being up in the mountains, but still close to the sea. It boasts two towers, two gateways and remains of walls dating back to the 14th & 15th centuries. A stroll through the Puigcalent district takes you past country houses built between the16th and 18th centuries, some of which have been converted into hotels and rental cottages - the perfect love nest for a winter getaway.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BEING able to save the world through your own imagination – and getting creatures from a fantasy parallel universe to 'sort out' the bullies who are making your life impossible – could be part of every adult's dream as well as that of children, and if you were one of those children in the early 1980s or the parent or grandparent of one, this scenario will sound familiar.

Michael Ende's kids' novel The Neverending Story, published as Die Unendliche Geschichte in his native German, is now 42 years old, and the screen adaptation 37 years old, but although the little people starring in it are now in or getting close to their 50s, it's still a joy to watch and does not appear to have aged a day when it graces the TV almost every Christmas.

And if you live in Spain, you might have been tempted to pop over to visit the set, unless you didn't know you could find it here; now you do, though, that's your next road trip worked out for you.

Fantasia and its fantastic beasts and humans

For those who never got to read the book or see the film, the parallel universe in question is called Fantasia, the young lad who saves it is Bastian Bux, who finds out it is in danger after 'borrowing' a 'magical' book from a shop where he shelters to escape the school thugs chasing him.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NATIONAL health authorities have approved a third vaccine dose for residents aged 50 to 59 inclusive and for anyone who originally had the AstraZeneca jab, irrespective of how old they are.

Vaccinated in descending order of age, once the 50-year-olds have had their third jab, those aged 49 will be summoned, and everyone aged 40-plus will be offered the booster.

For the moment, though, minister Carolina Darías has ruled out applying any restrictions on movement or gatherings, or shutting down any non-essential industries.

She considers that the best weapons against the spread of Covid are to ensure everyone is vaccinated who can be, to wear masks indoors, wear them outdoors where social distancing is not possible, and to keep enclosed spaces well ventilated.

During a press conference last night (Wednesday), Sra Darías said her team had not discussed measures recommended by the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), believing these to have been aimed more at other parts of the continent.

“I understand that the situation in other European countries in terms of vaccine rates is not the same as in Spain,” said the health minister, referring to the fact that around 90% of residents aged 12 and over have been jabbed, including 100% of those aged 80-plus.

This said, national health authorities have expressed their 'concerns' about the so-called Omicron strain of the virus and the increase in contagion in certain parts of Spain, mainly the north.

The regions of Navarra and Galicia have recommended limiting the number of people who get together at Christmas and for office parties to a maximum of 10, but no plans are afoot as yet to expand this advice to the country as a whole or to make it compulsory.

Spain's average contagion rate at the moment is 473 per 100,000 inhabitants, or 0.473% of the population, rising to 1,314 per 100,000 or 1.314% in Navarra, 966 or 0.966% in the Basque Country, and 772 or 0.772% of Aragón, making these the regions with the greatest incidence.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MINISTER for work and deputy president Yolanda Díaz has just returned from a private audience with the Pope in which she talked about her plans for Spain's equality law development.

Visiting in a professional capacity, Yolanda, from the left-wing independent party Podemos – in coalition with the socialists (PSOE) in national government – was accompanied by Secretary of State for employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey.

They both said the meeting was 'very emotional' and Joaquín said he feels he should be 'respectful' to the Pontiff and 'not reveal the content of the conversation' to reporters outside in Saint Peter's Square.

At the start of the visit, which lasted around 40 minutes, Yolanda presented Pope Francisco with a stole, or papal scarf, made entirely from recycled plastic, and a special edition of Folhas Novas ('New Leaves'), by Galicia poet Rosalía de Castro, the first author, and first female, to use the regional language, gallego, as a medium in literature.

Spain's government said the significance of the gifts was to appeal to Pope Francisco's passions for the environment and for migrant protection, which Yolanda Díaz shares.

The stole was hand-stitched by Carmelite nuns from Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, and the poetry book is the one that many of these nuns took with them as a souvenir of home when they emigrated to Argentina, the Pontiff's native country, in the 1960s.

Yolanda talked with Pope Francisco about the various legislation she and her government are working on to alleviate the crisis and to reframe the concept of work as a social agent that provides dignity and equality.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HOUSEHOLDS in Spain plan to spend on average 20% more on Christmas this year and eight in 10 will be shelling out the same or more than they did in 2020, according to recent figures.

Only 21% expect to spend less than they did they year before, compared with 59% who made this decision in 2020.

A typical resident or family unit will be parting with around €531 for the festive season, the Cetelem Observatory – the trading name for BNP Paribas Personal Finance - reveals in its latest report.

This represents 20% more than last year, and 11% more than in pre-Covid times.

Three in 10 expect Christmas to cost them between €400 and €1,000, compared with about a quarter who planned this level of outlay in 2020, whilst 38% intend to spend under €200, compared with 43% who set themselves this budget limit last year.

And 8% of those questioned will be parting with over €1,000 for the holidays.

A total of 23% plan to spend more on Christmas 2021 than they did for 2020 – only 8% said a year ago they would be spending more on the festive season than they had in 2019.

Surveys using the same methodology found that the number expecting to put more money towards the forthcoming Christmas than they had in the preceding year was 20% in pre-pandemic times, meaning budgets have increased despite Covid.

The Cetelem Observatory found that 56% plan to spend the same on Christmas 2021 as they did on Christmas 2020, whilst a year ago, only a third expected to shell out the same amount as they had for Christmas 2019.

Last year's respondents who intended to reduce their Christmas budget from 2019 totalled 59%, prior to the pandemic, around 28% said their 2019 festive pot was smaller than that of 2018.

Yet for Christmas 2021, only 21% have planned to cut their spending on the festive period – fewer than before Covid.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER 3,000 kilometres on a rowing boat, against 12-metre waves, hurricane-speed winds, and extreme temperatures, a journey of up to a month and a half to reach the coldest part of Planet Earth – a part which, in fact, is so chilly it has never had any native human inhabitants.

That's not something which would appeal to the masses – and, incidentally, has never been done before, by anyone, ever.

But by early 2022, someone is expecting to have done it and, in the process, committed his home nation to the history books.

Antonio de la Rosa will soon be swapping his birthplace of Íscar, Valladolid province, in Castilla y León – a northern-central region in Spain which regularly gets snow at sea-level and is no stranger to sub-zero daytime temperatures, even double figures below – for a watery and icy wilderness that will make the climate in the town he left feel like Death Valley in comparison.

If he makes it, Antonio, 52, will be the first person in history ever to have crossed the Drake Passage – universally considered to be the world's most dangerous sea - from the southernmost tip of the Americas to the Antarctic, solo, and on a hand-powered craft.

And if he makes it and isn't put off rowing for life, next year he wants to sail by yacht from Elephant Island to South Georgia (in the South Shetland Islands), emulating Shackleton's famous feat, before crossing the island from west to east on foot with the aid of snow-shoes or cross-country skis.

White Christmas a certainty for Antonio this year

A keen explorer, experienced sailor, rower and boat-builder with a string of unlikely and terrifying adventures under his belt, Antonio has designed his own craft for what he calls 'the toughest challenge of his career'.

The Ocean Defender will take him on the voyage closest to impossible of all his extreme expeditions to date, but he will still need a 'Titanic mental effort' to complete it, he confesses.

Perhaps 'Titanic' is not the best choice of words in this case.

But icebergs are likely to be part of the scenery anyway over his 30- or 40-day trip, due to start this coming Thursday (December 9).

It means he will be one of the few Spaniards in 2021 to get a white Christmas.

Actually, this is not exactly rare, depending upon where you are in Spain. At altitudes of over 1,000 metres, especially far inland and in the north, snow is very probable in December – and, in fact, the higher up you are, very probable any time from about October to March. 

As Antonio is now living in the Sierra Norte mountain range in the Greater Madrid region, he may well have woken on Christmas morning before now and admired a winter wonderland scene straight off the cover of a Yuletide greeting card – but this year, it's practically guaranteed.

Surfing the circumference of the Arctic, skiing to Lapland...

He may not need our prayers and crossed fingers, though. 'Tough' as this 'challenge' feels to him, Antonio has successfully completed others that mere mortals, however fit and hardy, are unlikely to want to embark upon.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ARMED Forces members who helped evacuated more than 2,200 people from Afghanistan in August to fly them safely to Spain have been given medals in recognition of their excellent humanitarian work in the face of extreme danger.

A reminder to the public that 'the Army' is not just about fighting in wars, but a crucial tool in foreign and home-soil aid work and emergency response, the actions of Spain's military hogged the headlines this summer as they put their own lives on the line to shelter Afghan families from Taliban attacks at Kabul airport, accompanied them in flight, and greeted them on arrival in Madrid to coordinate their transport to safe accommodation, ensuring they had everything they needed for the immediate future, giving them information and interpreting for them.

The highly-dangerous evacuation operation ran until August 27, with Spanish troops leading the 2,200 onto A400M military aircraft in Kabul, heading for Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Once there, they boarded planes chartered by Spanish carrier Air Europa to take them to the military base in Torrejón de Ardoz, in the Greater Madrid region.

Although Spain's foreign and defence ministries were working to ensure all Spanish nationals who wanted to leave Afghanistan were able to do so securely, the vast majority of those evacuated in August are Afghan nationals fleeing a régime which had taken over their country 20 years on.

Many are adults who would have been very young children when international troops moved into their country, and have since grown up with, and developed a life in, a society that has been much safer, more free, wealthier, and with facilities and opportunities closer to those of the west – as well as women being largely considered equal.

To this generation, a life of repression, persecution and constant fear of death and torture is alien, and their existence has been turned totally upside down.

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COVID vaccines will be given to children in Spain aged between five and 11 inclusive starting from the second week in December, health authorities have revealed.

They say their biggest challenge at this point will be convincing adults who refuse to be immunised to go ahead and have their jabs, and that where they are parents or guardians, to persuade them of the need to inoculate their kids.

That said, Dr Ángel Hernández-Merino, an expert from the Spanish Paediatrics Association says those adults who are the most reticent – or the most lax – about having vaccines themselves rarely fail to have their children jabbed.

It is not yet clear whether all regional governments in Spain will follow the same strategy, and whether this will involve GP appointments, mass vaccination in the same way as for adults this year, or whether children will have their injections at school – although as the winter term ends about a week before Christmas, it is likely that only the younger age groups would be vaccinated between classes.

Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón, said the incidence of Covid contagion is highest among the non-vaccinated – adults who have not been immunised have a nine times greater mortality risk if they catch the condition, according to the medical community – and that the main age group currently affected by Covid are those who have children in primary school.

Over nine in 10 adults and children aged 12 and over in Spain have been fully immunised, with the over-70s having had a third injection and the 60-69 age group now starting to be summoned for their own boosters, with a view to completing these before Christmas.

But kids who, until now, have been considered too young for the vaccine until conclusive evidence was obtained to show it would be effective and safe for them, are more likely to pass Covid to their parents if they catch it, and their parents are more likely to be very ill with it, if they themselves are not immunised.

The national incidence of Covid at present is 248 per 100,000 inhabitants (0.248% of the population), rising to 412 (0.412%) among children under 12 – as they have not been vaccinated yet – although the trend seems to be that the very young are less frequently seriously ill with the condition.

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OVER 2.7 million residents in Spain carry out volunteer work of some description, with three in 10 of them aged from 14 to 35 inclusive – in total, 6.4% of teenagers and adults in the country give up some of their time regularly for unpaid charitable, social and humanitarian efforts.

Expatriate pensioners who moved to Spain to spend their retirement in the sun have long been regular volunteers, involved in everything from working in charity shops to helping at animal shelters, and organising fund-raisers for children's shelters, the homeless, the disabled, for cancer research and care, and numerous other causes.

Long-standing charities, mostly based on Spain's coasts, include HELP, which assists people in hospital, provides home care and loan of equipment; MABS and Cancer Care Jávea, which provide support and care for people with cancer and their loved ones; U3A fund-raising groups and independent charity shops which often sponsor a particular local cause, or several, each year, or long term – some of the latter amass up to €40,000 or €50,000 a year for poverty relief, children's homes and homeless shelters in their towns – and a high number of expat-run animal sanctuaries on the Costas and their wider provinces have their own charity shop and run events ranging from fêtes to fashion shows throughout the year to fund pet food and veterinary care.

Anyone moving to Spain after giving up the rat-race and hoping to spend some of their retirement helping people and animals in the community will have plenty of opportunity to do so, and will probably find quite an international mix among their 'colleagues'.

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NEW mortgage applications soared by 57.7% in the last year, showing a returning keenness among would-be homebuyers – and the highest figure in more than a decade.

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of mortgages applied for and accepted in September, the last full month for which figures are available, dramatically exceeded those for the same month in 2020.

With eight home purchase loans in September 2021 for every five in that month last year, the total nationwide of 42,547 is the most ever seen since March 2011, INE data show.

The average mortgage was for €143,831, the highest figure since February 2020 when the pandemic was still thought to be something happening elsewhere in the world – representing a total sum loaned by Spain's banks of just under €6.2 billion.

Two in three were fixed-rate mortgages – 65.7% of the total – continuing a trend which, by September this year, was in its fifth month.

Since the end of April, over 60% of home loans have been fixed-rate versions, possibly over uncertainty as to whether the historic lows in Eurozone interest will continue.

Despite warnings for many years from economists about how the 'Euribor honeymoon' is unlikely to last, the rate has been in negative figures since February 2016 and has tended to drop rather than rise – a deliberate strategy on the part of the European Central Bank (BCE) to try to aid recovery in the common currency zone by making finance cheaper.

Initially, it was aimed at raising inflation, but even though retail price indices across the continent have soared recently due to fuel costs, transport shortages and other supply-chain issues, the BCE said just weeks ago that it did not intend to raise the Euribor while countries still faced economic insecurity due to the pandemic.

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