Live News From Spain As It Happens

A THIRD rail company has begun operations in Spain, intensifying competition for the State transport firm RENFE - which held a monopoly until early 2021.

Since train services were opened up to outside providers just under two years ago, the no-frills express Ouigo line, owned by French rail board SNCF, has begun expanding, forcing RENFE ticket prices down.

Already, travelling by train between Spain's main cities and along its most heavily-frequented medium-distance commuter lines averages 43% cheaper than prior to 2021 – and now a third operator is likely to see even greater price wars.

RENFE's express AVE service, which covers distances of 350 kilometres in 90 minutes, is a comfortable and convenient way to travel, but for those who are not concerned about extras such as on-board Wi-Fi or additional luggage allowance, its AVLO is a more basic, cheaper alternative.

Ouigo launched in 2021 on Spain's busiest commuter route, between Barcelona and Madrid, and has recently opened another service between Valencia and Madrid – in both cases, tickets start from €7 or €9.

The firm plans to expand, offering connections between Alicante and Madrid via Albacete, between Sevilla and Madrid and Málaga and Madrid, with stops in Córdoba.

Since Friday, the latest service provider, Iryo, has been operating on the Barcelona-Madrid route, with five return journeys a day, covering the distance in a maximum of two hours and 45 minutes.

The first Iryo train left Madrid's Atocha station at 06.45 on Friday, arriving in Barcelona at 09.15.

With the AVE, AVLO, Ouigo and Iryo links, this line is now very well served by express trains – a total of 35 per day in each direction, leaving at different times, with an aggregate daily capacity of 13,500 passengers.

If demand increases, seat numbers may rise accordingly.

Iryo's next inter-city link will start on Friday, December 16 between Valencia and Madrid, and from March 31, 2023, will branch out to Sevilla, Málaga, Antequera (Málaga province) and Córdoba, connecting all of these with Spain's capital.

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AN OLIVE oil produced in Spain has been nominated the joint best extra-virgin in the world, along with another from Italy – and the two countries take up most of the top 10.

The annual EVOOLEUM guide is produced by tasting and analysing over 800 samples of oil from around 20 countries worldwide, with a panel of expert judges rating them according to a long list of criteria.

Each entry in the top 100 – those which make it into the EVOOLEUM guide -.are described in detail, including their exact location of production, olive variety, type of olive tree, dishes it is designed to complement, tourism-related activities linked to production, whether they are certified as organic, Halal or Kosher, and their flavour and appearance.

For the first time, the top scorer in the 100 entries goes equally to two different olive oils from two different countries.

From Spain, the Rincón de la Subbética Altitude, made by Almazaras de la Subbética, earns 97 points out of a possible 100.

Described as a 'very intense green' and 'fruity and citric' in flavour with 'herby notes', including thyme and spearmint, a 500ml (half-litre, or three-quarter pint) bottle comes in at just €19.95, making it an ideal Christmas gift for anyone with a passion for cooking or eating – a classy present at a very affordable price.

The Rincón de la Subbética Altitude shares the number one slot with Italy's Monini Monocultivar Coratina Bio, an organic variety produced in Perugia, also with 97 points, and costing €24.

Spain has two in a top five largely dominated by Italy; the latter country takes the number three slot (Don Giocchino, from the Puglia region, with 96 points and costing €25 for 500ml) and number four (Monini Monocultivar Frantoio Bio, also from Perugia using a different olive variety to its number one Coratina version, costing €17.40).

Number five goes to Spain with the Parqueoliva Serie Oro, earning 95 points and made in Córdoba using the olive varieties Hojiblanca and Picuda – an oil with over 400 international awards and costing €13.59 for 500ml.

After Italy's number six – La Patràun, made in the Puglia region with Peranzana olives and costing €16 for 500ml – it's back to Spain for number seven, the Puerta de las Villas Picual Temprano, again with 95 points.

This oil is made using an early-harvested Picual olive variety, in the Sierra de las Villas y la Vega del Guadalquivir mountain range in the inland Andalucía province of Jaén, and costs €12.20 for 500ml.

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WHEN SEEKING out the ideal restaurant for that extra-special celebration, one where the higher price you pay is worth every cent, and where the dishes you're served are so unique you won't find anything else like them on earth – often, so visually-attractive you feel the need to photograph them before tucking in – the annual Michelin guide can be your greatest ally.

Originally launched in France, but now with different editions for individual countries or small groups of countries, any restaurateur who makes it into the guide is instantly placed on the world dining map and will henceforth be catering for customers who have travelled considerable distances just to taste their wares.

Having one Michelin star is proof of a restaurant's excellence, so you don't have to feel apprehensive about whether the food and service will be up to scratch before you book.

And having the maximum of three Michelin stars means your eatery is officially among the best on earth.

This year's star-awarding ceremony for the 2023 Spain, Andorra and Portugal Michelin guide took place in the historic Castilla-La Mancha city of Toledo for the first time, introducing 1,401 restaurants across the three countries, and upgrading 33 establishments in Spain.

Of these, 28 Spanish restaurants gained their first star, another three earned their second, and two of them were awarded a third.

Once you've reached for the stars and grabbed three, there's no higher you can go – but hanging onto this prestigious kitemark is a goal in itself, since you will have to maintain those world-beating standards every day of your professional life to enable you to remain at the summit of culinary splendour.

Top budget: Spain's eateries with three Michelin stars, including two newcomers

With 13 restaurants holding the highest-possible Michelin status – three stars – Spain is the ideal élite dining destination, and at least one of its haute cuisine establishments has been ranked as the world's best in the recent past.

This is the case with El Celler de Can Roca, run by the Roca family in Girona city and giving a touch of ultra-sophistication to a trip to the Costa Brava.

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SHOPPERS in Spain are planning on making a head-start on their Christmas gift-buying on 'Black Friday', according to research, and will spend an average of more than €200 each on global 'discount day'.

Although some physical stores and online retailers have started their cut-price campaigns early, 'Black Friday' is on November 25, and is likely to see high shopping traffic in person and over the internet.

A survey conducted by Aladinia, which sells 'experiences' packages – such as mini-breaks, spa days and adventures – as gifts, showed 80% of respondents will use the reduced price campaign day to buy as many Christmas presents as possible.

But those interviewed have high expectations: Most will only make purchases, for themselves or as festive presents, if the price tag carries a hefty reduction.

In total, three in 10 will only buy anything at all on 'Black Friday' if they get at least 30% off the usual retail price, whilst 4% say they would only consider parting with their cash if discounts were as high as 70%.

Only 13% would be willing to spend for discounts starting at 10%, and nobody is prepared to shop on 'Black Friday' for prices reduced by any less than this figure.

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SPAIN'S population has increased for the first time since the beginning of 2019, which followed several years of decline, and is now comfortably above the 47 million milestone, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

For many years leading up to the start of the 2020s, the headcount was in freefall and sat at around 46 to 46.5 million, but by 2019 it was returning to levels considered 'normal' – closer to numbers seen in the first five or 10 years of the 21st century.

In total, 47,615,034 people live permanently in Spain, as at July 1, 2022, but the increase is due to inward migration rather than more children being born – in fact, the national birth rate, which continues to fall, was at its lowest ever in 2021.

At any one time, more deaths than births have been recorded in Spain, and 2022 has been no exception – a negative balance of 75,409 was reported.

This means 75,409 babies would need to have been born in the first half of the year to 'fill the place' of people who died.

As is usually the case, therefore, Spain's population increase is the result of inward migration, with a positive balance of 258,547.

This means that once the number of residents leaving the country has been deducted from the number of new arrivals, the total headcount rise is 258,547.

The net population increase from January to June 2022 was 182,141, the INE says.

It predicts Spain's population will rise by around five million in the next 50 years through immigration.

Ukrainian nationals helping keep population up

Based upon the first six months of 2021, immigration in the same period of 2022 is 137.9% - back then, a total of 478,990 people moved to Spain, whilst 220,443 left.

Foreign resident numbers in 2021 reduced in Spain, but not entirely due to them moving away – a total of 105,639 inhabitants who were born abroad acquired Spanish citizenship that year, meaning they count as a reduction in 'migrant' statistics and are now recorded as being Spaniards.

The second-largest increase by national group is Ukraine, due to the conflict in the eastern European country and other nations welcoming refugees.

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RESIDENTS in Spain can breathe a huge sigh of relief this weekend – electricity costs will drop from Saturday to their lowest since June 2021.

At a wholesale price of €56 per megawatt per hour (mWh), this is around a quarter of the costs seen in recent months, where figures of over €200 were becoming commonplace.

Prices are around half of those seen in September (€102.56 per mWh) and a third of those of August (€153.34 per mWh).

Whilst Spain's government has worked to cap bills for households and industry – through tax cuts and windfall taxes on energy companies – the cost of electricity generated in the country has never yet fallen to the €53 per mWh seen on June 20, 2021.

Back then, utility bills had been relatively stable for some years, with only minor rises or falls according to the wholesale cost at bi-monthly auctions.

It was in summer 2021, or just under a year and a half ago, that the retail price of electricity at source began to soar.

The price for Saturday, the result of the latest wholesale 'energy auction', is the lowest it has been since then.

In Spain's case, although the conflict in Ukraine has had an impact on fuel prices worldwide, mains electricity and gas are far less dependant upon the Russian pipeline, meaning the efforts requested by the European Union of member States to cut their consumption by at least 15% this winter are somewhat more relaxed on Spanish soil.

Part of the reason for this is that Spain's gas ports supply 35% of Portugal's electricity and between 4% and 5% of that of France, meaning the country generates more than enough of its own not to have to worry about a potential shortage if the Russian supply is affected.

Why have prices fallen?

Some of the reason for the reduction in prices, which will reflect in householders' and business owners' bills, is due to the increasing generation of renewable energy for the mains supply.

Wind power is now a particularly strong element, with over 50% of national electricity production coming from wind farms as at this week.

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For most people residing anywhere else in the world, merely living in Spain itself is payment enough. But in recent years, a number of municipalities have been offering everything from cut-priced rent or building plots on sale for three-figure sums through to guaranteed jobs - and even non-means-tested cash grants to people moving in, as well as lump sums for children born there.

You won't find schemes like this in major beach holiday hotspots, on the Costas, or in big cities, though. The idea of financial incentives for people to move to the municipalities in question is to prevent their population from declining, and to justify keeping or acquiring facilities that may otherwise be considered non-cost effective.

Around 53% of Spain's municipalities are considered to be in danger of rural exodus or 'depopulation', being very small and remote, largely occupied only by retirees and with no children being born in them, frequently because they are too far to commute from. Many of these 'shrinking villages' are trying to sell themselves as peaceful and pleasant bases for remote workers, who do not need to worry about living conveniently close to the office, but even this is not easy: Where a population 20 kilometres or more from the nearest decent-sized town has barely 100 or 200 residents, many of them retired, mobile phone and internet operators are reluctant to set up networks in them, as the cost of installation would never be recovered – demand is not high enough – and without internet, you cannot feasibly

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IF YOU'RE planning on relocating to Spain, or buying a holiday home and spending a considerable chunk of your life there, you can't avoid learning the language. Even if you're going to be based in a very cosmopolitan or touristy area where multi-lingual shop and bar staff are frequently found, it can be costly having to pay a translator whenever you have a medical issue, or need to resolve complicated issues with utility boards, authorities or other service providers.

And even if you're quite happy to hand over your cash to someone else to do the less-simple stuff, it can be isolating living somewhere where you can't even swap small talk with retail workers, bartenders, or total strangers at a bus stop. Especially in Spain, where striking up conversations or even just engaging in brief exchanges with total strangers is completely normal and everyday.

It takes many years before you can chat easily in another language in the way you would in your own, but classes in your area – sometimes free ones run by town halls or expat social groups – will guide you through it, so you only need to focus on practising what they tell you to practise, not on figuring out how to even begin. And if the pace of the class is too fast, speak out – it could be everyone there thinks so and is embarrassed to say so. There's no shame in having to go back and repeat the same exercises again and again, even if everyone else has grasped them; many foreign residents in Spain who now speak like natives were in exactly the same position themselves at one time. 

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NAMES have been released for the richest residents in Spain, including Spaniards living abroad but with assets in the country, with long-running 'winner' Amancio Ortega still outstripping his compatriots by a considerable margin.

The nation's greatest fortunes are largely concentrated within just a few families, and are almost entirely the result of being a company owner or chair, or as a shareholder in some of Spain's biggest businesses.

Inherited wealth does not figure greatly, but inherited companies do – family firms starting off as humble trading posts with spouses, children and siblings working the shop floor and just one small premises, but which expand over decades until they become national or even global household names, feature heavily in the ranking. In some cases, it's the original founder who has amassed the billions, although in others, it may be the second or third generation who is behind the far-reaching growth.

More distant family becoming involved, such as cousins, second cousins, nieces and nephews, also seem to play a key rôle in turning a corner shop or a modest sewing studio into an international empire.

And neither royalty nor politicians are found within this year's Forbes top 100 fortunes in Spain – after all, the reigning monarch, King Felipe VI, has just €2.57 million to his name, does not own property, and keeps nearly 88% of it in bank deposits and investment accounts.

The top five remain unchanged from previous years, and four of them have lost sizeable sums in the past year through factors affecting the global economy, although they all still own in excess of €3bn.

Women make up just 41 of the 100, although some entire families, or groups of brothers and sisters, appear as one entry.

For the first time ever, Forbes Spain has named the 75 richest women in the country, of whom 34 do not make the top 100.

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WINNING a Nobel Prize might be the highest form of prestige on earth and the ultimate goal of every artist, scientist or public figurehead – but the next best thing has to be earning Spain's national version, a Princess of Asturias Award.

Chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall, novelists Margaret Atwood (most famous for the televised The Handmaid's Tale among her numerous bestsellers) Paul Auster (The New York Trilogy and others) and the latter's wife Siri Hustvedt (What I loved, The Sorrows of an American) have been some of the Royal 'chosen ones' over the years – but only those who have been granted the prestigious prize in the last eight years will have had one with 'Princess' on it.

Until October 2014, the Princess of Asturias Awards did not exist – because there was no such thing as a 'Princess of Asturias'. In Spain, only the immediate heir to the throne holds the title of 'Prince' or 'Princess', with the second, third and subsequent successors being an Infante or Infanta.

Prince Felipe of Asturias, only son of King Juan Carlos I, was the first heir to the throne of Spain since the monarchy was overthrown at the beginning of the 20th century and the last King, Alfonso XIII, forced into exile; he presented the Prince of Asturias Awards every autumn from the ages of 13 to 45 inclusive.

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SPANISH petroleum giant CEPSA has struck a deal with Etihad airlines to work on carbon-free flights in the near future, and will be undertaking extensive research on how to produce aircraft fuel from clean and renewable sources.

During the ADIPEC exhibition currently taking place in Abu Dhabi, the nationwide service station chain company led by Maarten Wetselaar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Emirates-based carrier in a bid to achieve one of the key United Nations Agenda 2030 objectives.

Air travel as a major culprit in the climate change crisis has been highlighted in the past few years – largely thanks to young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, whose high-profile boycott of planes is well documented – but in addition to being a huge industry that provides essential employment in itself and through tourism all over the world, it is impractical for the majority of travellers to avoid.

This is especially true of, for example, foreign nationals living or owning holiday homes in Spain, who need access to regular and affordable flights to be able to continue seeing their family of origin.

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DESPERATE Housewife Eva Longoria is now a Dame – thanks to a prestigious distinction conferred on her in Oviedo, northern Spain.

The largest city in the single-province coastal region of Asturias was aflame with fans, reporters and photographers when the Texas-born actress, 47, graced its streets this week, taking in the Campoamor Theatre and the San Juan Basilica during her trip.

Best known for her long-running rôle of Gabrielle Solís in the cult USA series starring Teri Hatcher, Nicollette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross, Eva had been invited to Asturias to receive the Royal Noble Corps medal, which automatically makes her 'Dame Longoria'.

She posed, thrilled, for a picture that she has since uploaded on Instagram (below left), brandishing the award presented to her by Francisco de Paula Enrique de Borbón, Duke of Sevilla.

Olivia de Borbón declared herself Eva's honorary godmother, and she took a VIP tour of Oviedo with her husband José Antonio Bastón, her son Santiago Enrique, and her best friend María Bravo.

“I'm so happy to receive this honour, really proud,” Eva told reporters shortly before a party in her name at Oviedo's La Reconquista Hotel, where she was staying.

The actress, born in Corpus Christi, Texas, is one of four daughters of Mexican immigrants, but did not start learning Spanish until she was 34, in 2009.

Her parents had spoken to her exclusively in English throughout her childhood, and deliberately brought her up as a US citizen.

Only after learning her parents' native tongue did Eva develop a huge fascination for her Mexican roots, and began to trace her family tree.

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Nature's colours are calling us! This is possibly the best time of year to dust off those hiking boots and get outside to enjoy the idyllic landscapes on offer. For the little ones, a carpet of freshly fallen, crisp autumn leaves that crunch underfoot adds another dimension of enjoyment.

CAMINO DE LAS RAÍCES - (SALAMANCA)

In the historic centre of La Alberca, one of the prettiest villages in the Sierra de Francia in the province of Castilla y León, and where this 8km circular trail through the Parque Natural de las Batuecas begins, the houses are huddled so closely together that their eaves practically touch one another. The trail takes us through a forest of oak and chestnut trees, past the Montón de Cantos cross, right to the door of the Majadas Viejas hermitage. It then continues towards a picturesque lagoon and on to the San Marcos hermitage, before heading across the Fuente Castaño recreation area back to our starting point. More information at www.laalberca.com

LAS BARRANCAS DE SANTALLA (LEÓN)

Known by many as the 'clay cathedrals', the main attraction on this trail are the enormous outcrops of clay-rich earth, similar to Las Médulas in Ponferrada, El Bierzo, although these have been formed by natural erosion. This 10km circular trail starts and ends in Santalla del Bierzo and can be completed in around four hours, although if hiking with young children, there is an option to shorten the trail by turning back on arrival at the hanging bridge over the river Sil at Villaverde de la Abadía. Along the trail there are viewpoints, century-old oak and chestnut trees, water mills, hermitages and even a castle (Cornatel). More inforation at www.priaranzadelbierzo.org

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