Live News From Spain As It Happens

BENIDORM Fest winner Chanel Terrero will represent Spain at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Torino, northern Italy, after gaining the public's and judges' votes in an extremely closely-fought final.

The competition staged in the Costa Blanca (Alicante province coast) town by national television and radio broadcasting company RTVE was this year's route to selecting the artist who would be singing and performing for the country at the cult international pop show where Spain, historically, comes home with very disappointing scores.

Around 60 years since Spain's only Eurovision win – not counting the Eurovision Junior, which it won in 2004 and where every Spanish candidate has ended in the top four – the highest-placed entry for the country this century was Pastora Soler in 2012.

The already-established Sevilla-born flamenco-pop artist came 10th, and was present at the Benidorm Fest, performing live twice whilst the public was waiting for the vote count.

Half the points would come from the judges' votes, and the other half from the public, split between those given during a straw-poll among a stratified sample, and those received by text message.

The favourites ahead of the final were Rigoberta Bandini and Tanxugueiras, but Chanel Terrero, 30, was considered a complete outsider.

She finished comfortably ahead of her nearest rival, Elche-born Blanca Paloma with her flamenco-style number, who just squeezed in front of Rayden, in third place.

Tanxugueiras was fourth in the judges' votes, followed by Xeinn, Varry Brava, and finally Gonzalo Hermida – currently in forced isolation in a Benidorm hotel, but joining in the final via Zoom – and Rigoberta Bandini.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

'SOUVENIRS' of the La Palma volcanic eruption are now being sold, with all proceeds going towards helping those affected rebuild their lives and homes.

Chairwoman of the non-profit Geólogos del Mundo ('Geologists of the World'), Cristina Sapalski, says small pots or jars of lava, ash and other elements from the Cumbre Vieja eruption will be made up at the old JTI cigarette factory building, which was used as a coordination centre during the 85-day crisis which started on September 19.

She says the aim is that 'a remnant of the volcano finds its way to every home in Spain, and perhaps beyond', and for the lava and ash that caused the damage to the island's residents to compensate them for its own destruction by being turned into a source of donations.

Much of the funds will go to the Valle de Aridane PTA, supporting school children and their parents.

The charity will start sending out jars of volcanic material – different sizes are available, and each one comes with a slip to certify its origin – next week, although already, Geo-Solidarios La Palma has received donations totalling €20,252.

Environmental department boss from the island council, or Cabildo, of La Palma, María Rodríguez, says the authority has helped get the initiative off the ground with logistical and admin support and by generally lending a hand where it can.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A DOUBLE transplant of a heart and liver in the same operation has been carried out successfully in Spain, saving the life of a woman who was terminally ill, according to the team at Madrid's Gregorio Marañón Hospital.

The 12-hour procedure, involving 30 professionals, was conducted after the patient had undergone surgery known as 'Fontan', which involves separating the blood circulation in the body from that of the lungs.

It is typically performed on people who, like the woman in question, are born with just one ventricle, or 'heart chamber', instead of two.

Healthy humans and animals have two ventricles – one to pump 'new' blood around the system, and the other to collect up 'old' blood once it has finished pumping.

'Fontan' surgery is life-saving where it works, but can cause liver damage over time – and, if it does not work, both organs will fail.

The woman operated on was in this situation, and her only hope of even short-term survival was a liver and heart transplant.

Both needed to be performed at once, as one transplant followed by another would result in certain death – but only a small handful of hospitals in the world have the experience required to carry out such a delicate and complex procedure.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SHOWING a 'Covid passport' to enter bars and restaurants may soon cease to be a requirement in the vast majority of Spain's regions, although it will still be needed for travel within the European Union and for certain third countries.

From November, a total of 13 of the nation's 17 autonomously-governed regions made it compulsory for hospitality premises to scan customers' QR codes at the entrance, either on a physical, paper document or on a phone or laptop, issued by their regional health authority.

These are proof that the holder has been double-jabbed – or single-jabbed with the one-dose Janssen formula - has had and recovered from Covid within the past six months, or has either taken a PCR or antigen test with a negative result, 72 or 24 hours prior, respectively.

The move was controversial from the start, even though all residents aged 12 and over would have been given the option to take up the vaccine by November, and where they decided to do so, would have had both doses.

Over the next few weeks, though, showing a 'Covid passport' to get into a restaurant or bar is likely to fizzle out in much of the country.

Regions set to axe the compulsory QR code soon 

Cantabria and Asturias on the northern coast have already announced they will eliminate the requirement, and the land-locked north-eastern region of Aragón is not permitted to continue to use the system beyond January 31 after applying to the court to do so and its request being denied.

Four other regions - Andalucía, La Rioja, Navarra and Galicia - had extended 'Covid passport' use up to and including January 31, but have decided not to do so beyond this date.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SNOW is nearly as common as sweltering summer sunshine in Spain, thanks to the huge expanse of high-altitude areas inland in what is the second-most mountainous country in Europe after Switzerland – so sending candidates for the Winter Olympics is not as unusual as occasional tourists might think: Some of the continent's best, and comparatively cheapest, ski resorts are based in Spain, and northern and landlocked provinces regularly see minus figures on the thermometer in winter.

So it's not quite as bizarre-sounding as a Jamaican bobsleigh team, whose real-life Olympic début in 1988 inspired the Disney film Cool Runnings; and who got the last laugh in the end as the Caribbean island has fielded a two-man entry in six games since 1992, with a women's squad starting at the most recent one in 2018.

They'll be back this year, too, with a mixed team of 10, and hopefully won't have to crowdfund their entry like they did for Sochi, which the Dogecoin cryptocurrency community started by amassing three-quarters of the cash for them in two days flat.

Spain's snowy track record

Although Spain is a regular at these icy games, the nation went a whole 26 years without bringing home a single medal until the Pyeongchang (South Korea) Olympics in 2018.

Back then, 'super-skater' Javier Fernández, who had already netted six consecutive European Championships, two world titles and an Olympic diploma from Sochi 2014, was only missing a medal from the most-televised global sporting event and was tipped for a gold.

He earned a bronze, and 'boardercross' snow-boarder Regino Hernández joined Javier in making history with another bronze, but both have now retired from their sports, meaning those remaining of their generation of winter whizzkids, and the freshest faces on the block, will be feeling the pressure more than ever at Peking 2022.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

UNTIL it's warm enough to make full use of your garden, terrace or balcony, indoor plants are an option for adding greenery to your life and, indeed, introducing flora to your interior world is an oft-made – and broken – New Year's resolution.

That's because the non-gardeners among us tend to find they can't even keep a plastic one alive.

Most of the time, inability to keep plants flourishing, indoors or outdoors, is purely lack of knowledge about what they need; how much sunlight or shade, how much water, whether they should be in a colder environment or whether they thrive better with the heating on full.

Spanish news and online shopping website 20deCompras, in association with Colvin garden centres, has offered some advice as to what to do if you're not exactly green-fingered, but want to bring a bit of nature into your abode.

For beginners, or those who do not spend much time in their property, it's best to opt for robust varieties that can 'look after themselves', cope with adverse conditions, and do not need too much human intervention, says 20deCompras.

The authors recommend three specific types to start you off, and the bonus is that they are very elegant in the right pot and can add a touch of class to any room.

That said, keep them out of pets' reach. Some plants are poisonous to cats, dogs or both, and cats have a tendency to chew plants to help themselves throw up...and to use the soil as a litter tray.

Bowstring Hemp

The Sansevieria Zeylanica is known in Spanish as the Savannah or, amusingly, Lengua de Suegra, which translates as 'Mother-in-Law's Tongue'. If you have a mother-in-law and are on good terms with her, she'll probably see the funny side and might even be flattered – her 'tongue' might be long and sharp, but it certainly looks good as home décor.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRENDING holiday destinations voted 'Best of the Best' in the 2022 Travellers' Choice Awards include two in Spain – one of which comes out top of the crop.

TripAdvisor, one of the biggest and most-consulted travel review sites on earth, compiles its various lists of the hottest holiday venues based entirely on user votes and recommendations.

Travellers' Choice Award categories include 'popular destinations', 'trending destinations', 'destinations for outdoor enthusiasts', 'destinations for food-lovers', 'destinations for city-lovers', 'destinations for sunseekers' and 'destinations for skiers'.

Those listed as 'trending' are described as 'up and coming, even though many of them are, in fact, long-established, mature holiday magnets.

Of the 22 in total, the island of Mallorca (pictured above) comes in right at the top.

Cairo, Egypt comes next, followed by the Greek island of Rhodes, Tulúm on the eastern Mexican coast, and Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Next, at number six, Spain makes another appearance – this time with the island of Ibiza.

These two lively, heavily-populated islands in the Balearics beat a long string of much-loved global locations, on and off the coast, such as the north-eastern Brazilian beach city of Natal; Arush in Tanzania; Göreme in Turkey – the region where the eerily-fascinating rock-chimney desert of Kapadokya, or Cappadocia is based – the famously blue-domed white houses of the Greek island of Santorini; Paraty on the Brazilian coast; and even the idyllic Caribbean paradise island of Aruba.

Read more at thnkSPAIN.com

A SPANISH passport is now jointly in the third slot for the 'strongest' in the world, more so than many others in the European Union, allowing visa-free entry to 189 countries.

According to the latest Henley Passport index, for the forthcoming year, Spanish citizens can get into 41 countries just with their DNI, or national ID card, and can now enter three more without a visa than they could this time last year.

Passports issued to citizens of Japan and Singapore are the most 'powerful' on the planet, allowing visa-free access to 192 countries, followed by those from Germany and South Korea, with 190 nations allowing entry to their holders purely by showing the document.

Spain is level-pegging with Finland, Italy and Luxembourg, the third rung from the top at 189 countries.

Fourth, with 188 countries, are Austria, Denmark, France, The Netherlands and Sweden, whilst Ireland and Portugal are fifth with 187.

The UK joins New Zealand, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the USA in the sixth slot, with visa-free access to 186 countries, ahead of Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Greece and Malta, at number seven, with 185.

As for the least 'versatile' passports, citizens of Afghanistan can currently only get into 26 countries without a visa; those of Iraq, 28; Syria, 29; Pakistan, 31 and Yemen, 33.

The others that provide access to 40 or fewer countries are Bangladesh, Kosovo and Libya (40); North Korea (39); Nepal and Palestine (37), and Somalia (34).

For Spanish nationals, though, there are still 38 countries they need a visa to get into.

Most of these – 23 – are on the continent of Africa, being Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chat, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Côte d'Ivoire (formerly known, in English, as the Ivory Coast, but which now only goes by its official name in French), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan.

Curiously, one of the 23 nations in Africa for which a Spanish passport alone is not enough for entry is Equatorial Guinea, the only sub-Saharan country which was once a colony of Spain and where Spanish is one of the official national languages.

The same is the case with Cuba, a former Spanish colony and Spanish-speaking country which requires a visa from citizens of the 'mother nation' wanting to enter.

In Oceania, only Nauru requires a visa, whilst most of the others where a passport is not sufficient on its own for Spaniards are in Asia – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Syria, and Yemen.

THE WORLD'S oldest man has died just three weeks before his 113th birthday, leaving 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, his family has confirmed.

Saturnino de la Fuente García, from León city's Puente Castro neighbourhood, earned his place in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living man on earth on September 10 last year, aged 112 and 211 days, shortly after the death of Puerto Rico's Emilio Flores at the same age.

Although the Caribbean islander said he was born a few months before Saturnino, he was unable to show a birth certificate or registry entry, since at the time – late 1908 – this was not common practice in his home country.

In fact, despite Saturnino's ID card showing his date of birth as February 12, 1909, he was actually born on February 8 – but parents in the early 20th century did not normally bother to register their children's births for several days.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PROBABLY the largest haul of Roman coins ever unearthed in Spain, the finder of an Ancient treasure trove in Asturias was not even human, historians say.

Studies have just concluded on a collection of 209 coins which are thought to have come from at least three different countries and their use spanning over 200 years.

Discovered in the La Cuesta cave in Berció, near Grado, in the northern coastal region in April last year, they date back to between the third and fifth centuries CE (AD).

Archaeologists who were called out when local resident Roberto García stumbled upon this historic gem in the open air whilst out walking have said some bear the mark of a mint in London and in Antioch, to the south of central Turkey in the Hatay province, which was under Greek rule.

It was not unusual for Spain's Roman inhabitants to bury large stashes of money and valuables when the Germanic Suebi tribes invaded the country from around the year 409 AD, in order to keep it safe from being plundered – but, given that such coin and treasure deposits are now being dug up in the 21st century, clearly their owners never went back for them.

This is thought to be the case with the La Cuesta cave hoard, and as the grotto is located deep in the banks of the river Nalón, it would have been a safe hiding place.

Except if badgers were on the prowl, searching for elusive food sources.

This time last year, Spain was buried in blankets and quilts as 'Storm' Filomena turned large swathes of the mainland into a tundra, motorways were only accessible on foot – with sturdy shoes, ski poles and spades – and even on the Mediterranean and south coasts, daytime temperatures were dropping into low single figures.

Badgers live on berries, worms and other creepy-crawlies, which would have been hard to find in one of the coldest parts of the country during the coldest part of 2021, so avoiding starvation would have involved some serious and deep digging.

As for how the archaeologists know it was a badger who excavated the coins, they were apparently right next to a sett, with scrape-marks and disturbed earth, and some of them were actually inside the burrow itself.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SECOND low-cost, high-speed direct rail link is set to go live – the AVLO will now run between Valencia and Madrid.

A no-frills version of the express AVE line, aimed at those who simply want to get from A to B as quickly as possible but are not concerned about creature comforts, the AVLO launched last year on the heavily-frequented commuter route between Madrid and Barcelona.

This line stops at Zaragoza and some go onto Girona and Figueres just to the north of the latter.

Now, rail board RENFE has announced the AVLO will be linking up the capital with Spain's third-largest city on the east coast from February 21.

Tickets are about to go on sale, starting at €7, or €5 for children under 14, from January 20.

They can be obtained via Renfe.com, by phone, or from ticket booths in AVE stations.

For the Valencia-Madrid line, the AVLO will run three times daily in either direction, two of which stop at the Fernando Zóbel station in Cuenca, halfway between the two cities and in Castilla-La Mancha, and at Requena-Utiel station, which serves both these towns in the far western outer limits of the province of Valencia.

Around 2,200 seats a day will be available.

The ticket-selling system automatically offers travellers the lowest price for the journey requested, and on top of the basic fee, they can then add on extras if required.

These extras include additional luggage, choice of seats, and the option to change times and dates or get a full refund for cancellation.

On the basic fare, each passenger is permitted one cabin case and one small personal bag or handbag.

The €5 child fare is for under-14s accompanied by an adult, with up to two of these reduced-price tickets per adult fee.

Large families get discounts depending upon whether they fall into the 'general' or 'special' categories, being 20% and 50% respectively.

Trains leave Valencia at 09.28, 16.15 and 21.10, from the Joaquín Sorolla AVE station – not the central Estació Nord, which is connected to the AVE terminus via a shuttle-bus – and depart from Madrid at 06.30, 12.40 and 18.40.

Meanwhile, RENFE has also announced its new Talgo trains, the AVRIL, will be on track later in 2022 – more modern and faster, they reduce journey times by an average of 20 minutes.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SANTA Claus or the Three Kings? Now the festive season is finally over – Spain celebrates all 12 days – and the post-Christmas sales are into their second week, researchers into shopping habits, family traditions and other features of household economics have released some fascinating findings, some of which come as quite a surprise.

One unique aspect of the winter holidays in Spain – found elsewhere in the world, but still uncommon – is that gifts to adults and children alike have long been opened on the night of the Magi's arrival in Bethlehem, or January 5, following a colourful parade through towns and with the next day as a bank holiday.

The Three Wise Men are Kings in Spanish folklore, or Reyes, and the notion of their bringing the presents is a little more in keeping with the original biblical tale than the northern European Saint Nicholas custom – in The Netherlands, for example, the mythical Sinterklaas delivers the gifts much earlier in December, and Christmas Day itself is merely a family meal, so the Dutch effectively have two Christmases with the first of them being the main event.

Santa Claus has increased dramatically in presence in Spain in the past decade or so – in the early 2000s, he was practically unheard of and considered a foreign concept – but for practical reasons, Father Christmas' visit on the night of December 24 has become more widespread among families with young children: If you get your new toys within three or five days of breaking up from school, you have a whole fortnight to play with them and keep you occupied and out from under your parents' feet, rather than just one day or, at most, three, if January 6 falls on a Friday.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A HOUSING market 'boom' at a most unlikely time and one that's not expected to turn to 'bust' means the immediate future seems bright for those in the property trade or planning to rent or sell their home – and experts in the field have revealed what's been happening in the past couple of months, and what they think the New Year will bring.

Figures for the very end of 2021 have not yet been released – when they do, a full analysis of the past year can be conducted – but from what we know so far from National Statistics Institute (INE) data, over 530,000 sales in the previous 12 months, despite the pandemic, are known to have been closed.

This is the highest ever seen since the year 2008 when the early-Millennium property 'bubble' burst spectacularly, and number-crunchers specialising in the property market believe this industry has entered a new 'Golden Age'.

Lessons were learned last time, though, so there seems to be far less danger of a subsequent implosion; home value rises are more gradual and realistic, and banks more cautious about lending money to buy them, whilst the 'building fever' of the first five years of the century looks unlikely to return. Back at the time of the 'crash' which began in 2008, inflated residential property prices, excess of supply and a subsequent downturn in jobs in the construction industry were what turned the tables, but greater prudence has been exercised since then, along with an historically-low Euribor, or Eurozone interest rate, keeping mortgages much more affordable than 14 years ago.

Apartments versus houses: Sale volume and value rises

The last full month for which the INE has figure available is November 2021, when a year-on-year increase in sales and purchase transactions of 25.9% was reported – a total of 63,080 homes changed hands, of which two-thirds were flats or apartments.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SQUARE in a Madrid suburb has captivated writers at The Financial Times and been named one of their favourite places for enjoying the fresh air once the pandemic is under control and the public can go back to a restriction-free life.

In its article Many happy returns: The city spaces that bring joy to our correspondents and writers, the British daily ranks the Plaza de Olavide in the capital's Chamberí neighbourhood along with London's Dulwich Park and Hong Kong's Hoi Ha Wan Bay as one of the 22 top places to chill out.

Each of the FT's correspondents have chosen their go-to outdoor relaxation hotspot, and the Plaza Olavide, with its famous ornamental fountain, is described by Spain-based journalist Simon Kuper as being flanked by 'beautiful bourgeois apartments and pedestrianised side-streets'.

Kuper points out to readers that although mornings in Madrid at the time of writing – autumn – can be cold, the bright lunchtime sunshine feels closer to 20ºC.

He writes how he is 'sitting on a terrace' at one of the Plaza's pleasant but 'unremarkable' restaurants, which serves up a full lunchtime menu 'at the ridiculous price of €13' for the standard three-course menú del día with drink included, with a glass of Albariño white wine.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO key national supermarkets have reviewed their pay-scales in light of the sharp rise in retail prices inflation across Europe in the past few months.

Supply and transport issues throughout the wider continent, not just the European Union itself, have seen groceries, fuel and energy bills soar – and Spain is not exempt.

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), consumer prices rose by 6.7% in December alone, which automatically means salaries are worth less, spending power has shrunk, and debates have begun at State level.

Major national unions, including the Labourers' Commissions (CCOO) and General Workers' Union (UGT) are putting pressure on the business community to speed up collective bargaining on working conditions agreements and give employees in their sectors a pay increase.

Supermarket chains Mercadona and SuperCor, part of the Corte Inglés department store group, have already gone a step ahead and announced wage increases for 2022.

Mercadona staff will receive approximately 5% more in their monthly pay packets, making it the first national company to reach this decision.

Entry-level employees at Mercadona have been earning a gross monthly salary of €1,338, giving a take-home pay of around €1,132, until this year, and a 5% rise will give them a before-tax wage of €1,404 a month, or €1,179 after tax.

Staff automatically get a rise after each year of service in any case, up to a maximum of four years; those who have been on the payroll for two years earn a gross monthly wage of €1,470, or about €1,226 after tax, which – with a 5% increase – would now go up to €1,543.50 before tax, giving a take-home pay of €1,278 per month.

Gross pay after three years' service is €1,631 a month, or about €1,341 net, which would in theory now have risen to a before-tax monthly pay of €1,712.55, or a take-home monthly income of €1,398.80.

By four years and thereafter, Mercadona pays a gross monthly salary of €1,811, or approximately €1,468 take-home, and with an extra 5%, would now be €1,901.55 before tax, or a net monthly pay packet of €1,533.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

POLAR winds hitting Spain mean thermals are being dug out and dusted off as snow lies thick on major highways in the north and inland – and on the Mediterranean and south coast, residents are now sometimes even having to wear a coat when they go out.

Freezing temperatures and snow are nothing unusual in a Spanish winter – after all, nearly everyone lives within less than half a day's drive from a ski resort or several, and it's the most mountainous country in the EU and second-most in Europe after Switzerland – and even in the warmest parts of the mainland, cold snaps between mid-December and late February can mean gloves and scarves, and an extra quilt on the bed.

Homes in typically chilly parts of Spain are normally built with central heating as standard, although on the Mediterranean, the islands and in the south, you're more likely to buy a property with air-con units that double up as heating, since the amount of use you'd get out of a walled-in piped system is not enough to justify the investment and upheaval of installing it.

And a much cheaper and more efficient way of keeping warm at home in winter in a sub-tropical climate is to buy a plug-in heated blanket and wear it over your shoulders; it's summer when body-temperature solutions become more difficult to find, and anyone with the skills to invent a 'cold' version of an electric blanket or 'reverse-thermal' underwear would probably become an instant millionaire.

In fact, some parts of Spain, when it comes to record cold temperatures, are fairly extreme – year-round, not just in winter – you might want to bookmark this page and refer back to it when July burns and sweats its way across the coasts, so you know where to take a road-trip for some instant respite.

That's because we're about to tell you where to find the towns in Spain for which you'll need to pack a thick coat and some woolly jumpers to visit, including in the usually-sweltering June-to-September period.

Spain's hottest town (and warmest winter cities)

If the mere mention of the adjective 'cold' is already giving you joint pains and throbbing nerve-endings, and your idea of paradise is California's Death Valley, the hottest town in Spain and the one you should seriously consider setting up home in is Montoro, in the land-locked Andalucía province of Córdoba.

Here, the highest-ever temperature in Spain's reliably-documented weather history was measured on July 13, 2017, at 47.3ºC in the shade – add on another 5ºC or 10ºC for the direct-sunlight effect, and those on the wrong side of the pavement or a few steps from the nearest tree would have discovered what 52.3ºC to 57.3ºC felt like.

That said, and although Montoro typically boasts annual record summer highs, as its weather station is on the 'secondary network', its figures have never counted for official purposes.

As a result, the actual, concrete, set-in-stone, undisputed mercury champion is 46.9ºC in the shade (again, from 51.9ºC to 56.9ºC in the sun), on the very same day in 2017, in the grounds of Córdoba airport.

Generally, those who would be in their element basking in temperatures about halfway between freezing and boiling point should look to settle in the cities of Jaén, Sevilla or Córdoba, or just outside of these in the wider provinces, but at the lowest-possible altitude – although sunburn when thermometers dip below zero is frequent at high-up points, the 'real feel' is normally colder the farther up the hill you head; this is why snow is fairly common in the Greater Madrid region and even on the streets of the city in winter, given that at 657 metres above sea-level, it's the highest-altitude capital in the EU and the second-highest in Europe after Andorra la Vella.

Coastal cities that regularly register some of the warmest temperatures in Spain in summer and winter alike include Alicante, Almería and Murcia, in the south-east and bordered by the Mediterranean; the first two of these have, officially, the hottest daytimes during the country's coldest weeks of the year, in mid-January, at around 16.4ºC.

The 'Ice Triangle' and other chilly parts of Spain

Residents in the centre-northern region of Castilla y León would find a UK winter pleasant and springlike compared with their own – in the provinces of Palencia, Burgos and Ávila, especially, average mid-winter temperatures are similar to those of Reykjavík, Iceland, at around -2ºC at night and 6ºC in the 'hottest' part of the day.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A GLOBAL television channel based in the USA has recommended 21 international destinations for travel in 2022, including a Spanish city which it claims is 'better than Barcelona'.

CNN advises those planning holidays across the pond to 'give the thronging streets' of Spain's second-largest metropolis a 'rest', and head a few hours' further south along the coast to 'the port city of Valencia', which the channel recalls has been nominated World Design Capital 2022.

In practice, despite what CNN says, it does not have to be a straight choice between the two – about four hours apart by car, two hours by fast train or three by slow train, a trip to Spain's east coast could easily involve taking in Barcelona and Valencia together.

The former, as lively, fun and colourful as a European capital – even though it is not, in fact, a capital – includes must-see attractions that resemble nothing else on earth, such as the wonderfully-weird Sagrada Família 'unfinished' cathedral, the psychedelic Parc Güell, both designed by Antoni Gaudí, the hectic 'tourist boulevard' known as the Ramblas, the Montjuïc mountain and cable-car up to the old Olympic stadium, and street upon street of excellent shopping and an eclectic array of restaurants and cafés.

'Futuristic' museum complex: So beautiful you'll forget to visit the inside parts

Valencia, the third-largest city in Spain with around 775,000 inhabitants, attractive and cosmopolitan with classical architecture and a very compact centre that makes sightseeing comfortable and simple, is flagged up by CNN in Where to travel in 2022: The best destinations to visit for its plans to become an 'emission-neutral destination by 2025', and reveals that its name in Roman times was Valentia Edetanorum.

The first of its visitor sites mentioned is the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, or City of Arts and Sciences (CAC).

“Designed by Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava, [it's] a vast, futuristic complex featuring a planetarium, science museum and Europe's largest aquarium,” the article reads.

These are, in order, the Hemisfèric – which shows half-hour documentary films on fascinating phenomena on planet earth and beyond, costing just a few euros per showing – the Prince Felipe Science Museum, which was used to house the international Harry Potter exhibition when it reached Spain, and the Oceanogràfic, home to over 45,000 living sea species from all the world's oceans.

The Oceanogràfic is humanely and carefully designed to reflect the natural habitats of all its creatures, so they are unaware they are in 'captivity', and is the east coast's key marine veterinary hospital, attending to lost, sick and injured sharks, whales and dolphins who get close to the region's shores, and taking in rescued turtles to nurse them back to health before releasing them back into the wild.

These are the main visitor magnets of the CAC, although the complex also includes the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, an asymmetric 'ball' serving as an élite operatic and classical music concert venue, the Umbracle semi-covered 'garden tunnel', the Ágora sports stadium, and what looks like a massive outdoor swimming pool but is in fact a boating lake, where you can hire a craft and row yourself around the grounds.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S second-most popular festive lottery after the pre-Christmas El Gordo has dished out over €700 million in prize money, with the jackpot worth €2m.

The El Niño ('the child') draw is on January 6 and, like the El Gordo, a full ticket costs €200, meaning most players buy a tenth of a ticket, or a décimo, at €20.

Per décimo, the top prize is €200,000, the second prize is €75,000 and the third, €25,000.

For a full ticket, these figures are multiplied by 10.

The €200,000 jackpot, or €2m for a full ticket, went to those with the number 41665, whilst the €75,000 windfall is payable to holders of a décimo with the number 44469 - €750,000 for a full ticket – and the €25,000 décimo or €250,000 full ticket bears the combination 19467.

Smaller payouts go to those with numbers ending in 0512 or 8387, being €350 for a décimo or €3,500 for a full ticket, and at €100 a décimo or €1,000 a full ticket to combinations ending in 435, 842, 822, 851, 709, 740, 025, 300, 665, 632, 721, 239, 186, and 641.

Those who bought a décimo with two matching numbers will get their money back twice over - €40 in total, or €400 for a full ticket.

Number pairs earning this token win are 50, 98, 80, 48 and 41.

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SALES have started in earnest all over Spain and the ministry for consumer affairs has once again reminded customers of their rights and what they should expect from retailers.

Focus is now being placed to a greater degree on online shopping, given the sharp increase in these channels since the start of the pandemic, with over 20 million purchases having been made via the internet in the past three months.

Consumers are also reminded that, from the first day of 2022, all electrical and electronic goods come with a standard three-year guarantee, rather than the previous two.

These, along with cosmetics, clothing and accessories, and packaging and delivery companies have created 176,000 jobs to cover the sales period, some of which may become permanent or long-term if demand remains in place.

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THAT British nationals have long been making a beeline for Menorca is nothing newsworthy. The easternmost of the Balearic Islands is a magnet for expatriates, retired and of working age, and holidaymakers of all types, especially those seeking a quiet, relaxing haven with small fishing villages and secluded, rugged coves rather than nightclubs and theme parks. 

Yet once upon a time, a summer beach break in Menorca would, for a UK resident, have been a 'staycation': The most sparsely-inhabited of the region's four islands was, in fact, an integral part of the north-western European country.

If you were born and bred in Menorca, you would have been a British citizen, but unlike any other UK county, the legal and official language was catalán.

Nowadays, the island's tongue is recognised as a language in its own right, menorquín, rather than being considered a catalán dialect, as the two are far enough apart in linguistic terms for menorquín to stand alone.

In practice, menorquín is part of the wider family of languages known as balear, which includes mallorquín and ibicuenco, both of which are very close to Menorca's co-official tongue, and Castilian Spanish is spoken at least as much as each islands' own language and understood by almost 100% of natives.

English has never been an official language in Menorca, making it probably the only known British territory where the governing nation's main tongue was not in use.

Britain gets Menorca and Gibraltar in Treaty of Utrecht deal

Although not continuously, Menorca was under British rule for the best part of a century – an Anglo-Dutch squadron conquered it during the Spanish War of Succession in 1708, and the island was not returned to Spain until 1802.

Britain's sovereignty over Menorca was signed and sealed five years after the country colonised it, via the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 – the exact same document which made Gibraltar, on mainland Spain's southernmost tip, a UK territory.

The difference is that Gibraltar remains British, its natives are UK citizens and the official language is English - although most inhabitants speak Spanish due to the geographical proximity and often hop between the two in conversation - and this looks unlikely to change for another few generations, at least, given that the Rock's residents have always overwhelmingly spoken out in favour of remaining a part of Britain.

Perhaps this is because Gibraltar has been in UK hands for 309 years non-stop, whereas Menorca briefly became French after the two countries' neighbour seized it during the Seven Year War, between 1756 and 1763, and Spain also grabbed it back for 16 years between 1782 and 1798.

Britain would only hold onto the island for another four years after this, when the Treaty of Amiens passed it to Spain once again.

For a grand total of 71 years, though, the Union Jack was flown on the island – and the British decision to switch its capital from Ciutadella in the west to Mahón (Maó in menorquín) in the far east has never been reversed.

Menorca's Brit bits

Did the British leave their stamp on Menorca? Of course they did, but not in the form of fish and chip shops, supermarkets selling Marmite and Branston pickle, or Marks & Spencer or Boots or WHSmith stores.

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DESPITE the vast majority of the public owning a mobile phone, Spain still has nearly 15,000 telephone boxes in the streets – but their days are numbered.

National telecommunications company Telefónica says it plans to dismantle them all starting this year.

It's now 93 years since the first telephone cabins went up on the streets, and they went on to become legally protected, considered under national law to be an 'essential and universal public service'.

Now, though, Telefónica says each remaining phone box has only been used for an average of just one call a week in the past year.

A total of 14,824 are still in operation, but they are not expected to still be in place by the time they would have reached their 100th 'birthday'.

This would have been in 2028, a whole century after the first cabin was erected in what was then known as Viena Park and is now called Florida Park, a section of central Madrid's huge green Retiro Park, and inside a kiosk which had to be opened up for the public to use the phone.

Telefónica has always been the sole company responsible for maintaining the service and keeping phone boxes in working order – although the job is regularly put out to tender by the ministry for the economy, the national communications giant has always been the only bidder.

The last time the contract was up for bid was in December 2019, for two years, meaning it expired two days ago.

According to Telefónica, as at the end of 2020, the average phone box was used to make 0.17 calls a day – 1.2 calls a week, or roughly one every six days.

Around the end of 2017 to the close of 2018, each cabin was used to make 0.37 daily calls – 2.6 calls a week, or just over one call every three days.

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