Malaga

Wildfires in the interior of Malaga province: How to help

The wildfires in the interior of Malaga province are the worst disaster that struck the Costa del Sol in 20 years. Ironically, the news spread around the globe like a wildfire; yet, living and working just a few kilometres and updating every half an hour about the evolution of the incident, we now sadly know how devastatingly fast can move a wildfire.

malaga fire Many things happened during these 48 hours of fire inferno of 10 to 15 meter high flames fanned by a strong wind and devouring everything in its wake; many things the world will not know because they might not be mere information. More than 8.000 hectares (80.000000m²) burned land are a vast space for many sad stories and a large human response which arose mainly in the accounts of social networking, where people called for help, organized volunteers, the victims relate the event, where you can see heartbreaking photos, people offer accommodation for homeless families, others call for clothes collections or for afforestation in the affected area.

There are as well several very affected animal shelters in the Mijas area which urgently need material supply and financial help (English www.kimsanimalrescue.com German www.katzenhilfe-ohne-grenzen.de and Spanish www.malagafelina.com

We can turn our head the other way, not to see .. because it is uncomfortable and painful, or we can reach out and ease the pain of others. Maybe tomorrow is our turn …

Firefighters bring Spanish wildfires under control (telegraph.co.uk)
Fire devastates Malaga province (lujos.wordpress.com)

Costa del sol – Where sun and beach come together

Harbor in Puerto Banus, Costa del Sol, Spain, Dec 2004 3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, the Costa del Sol includes over 150 kilometres of coastline in the province of Malaga, south of the Iberian Peninsula. Its name is no accident; more than 325 days of sunshine per year coupled with the mild climate gives us the key to this paradise with beaches to suit all tastes. Today’s route takes a tour of the region considered as the main tourist area in Andalusia.

The western Costa del Sol consists of nine municipalities: Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, Benahavis, Estepona, Casares and Manilva. Its great attraction is the binomial of sun and beach, the real
conqueror of foreign tourism. Along with the wide range of hotels, restaurants and entertainment, the Costa del Sol is a key point of the peninsula to enjoy.

Torremolinos underwent a major change in the mid-twentieth century thanks to its tourist potential. The beaches, the friendliness towards tourists and visiting celebrities of the time made of this former fishing village the
cradle of tourism. La Carihuela is the most popular district mainly for its cuisine and its signature dish: the fried fish.

The town of Benalmadena consists of three districts: Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmadena Pueblo and Costa. The town has first class beaches, as well as hotels. The coastal area is a very popular tourist resort with an awarded marina; meanwhile in the close by hills is situated the historic village.

Fuengirola is rest and entertainment. The choice is up to the visitor. The resort has beaches for relaxation and endless possibilities to enjoy day and night. Regarding culture, is outstanding the castle Sohail, a small Moorish
fortress of the Middle Ages.

Mijas is a large municipality where mix urban coastal resorts, golf courses and traditional rural areas: Mijas Pueblo, Mijas Costa and Las Lagunas, where each area allows enjoying the holidays in a different way.

Marbella, situated between the sea and the mountains of the Sierra Blanca, is the birthplace of upscale tourism in the Mediterranean; an elegant resort with the most exclusive offers of beaches, beach clubs, restaurants, hotels,
leisure and golf courses of the Costa del Sol.

The privileged location of Benahavis in the foothills of the Sierra de las Nieves makes the municipality a real treasure. The town is a haven for rest and to play golf as it has a great offer of first class golf courses. But if there is anything that characterizes Benahavis, is its cuisine. Hence derived the name with which Benahavis is popularly defined: The cuisine of
the Costa del Sol.

Estepona offers great beaches, golf courses and five star hotels, while maintaining an air of traditional fishing village with a charming old town.

The White Village of Casares is situated on a steep limestone massif, and on top we find the castle. In addition, the resort has the natural landscape of Sierra Bermeja, whose peculiarity is its volcanic origin.

Manilva can boast of being bathed by the Mediterranean and own vineyards producing a wine of great quality.

As you can see, there is plenty to discover along the 100 kilometres of coastline of the western Costa del Sol between Malaga city and Manilva. Book now your car rental at Malaga airport to ensure full freedom in your holidays on the Costa del Sol.

Malaga City And Costa Del Sol in Spain (malagaweb.wordpress.com)

Muelle Uno shopping centre at Malaga port held its first Sunday market

Malaga port overview

The Muelle Uno (Dock One) shopping centre, situated by Malaga port on Paseo de la Farola, held its first open-air market yesterday, that from now on will be held on the second Sunday of every month, from ten o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon.

Hundreds of people visited over ninety stands of food products, craftsmanship, decoration, fashion, etc. that were exposed along the whole pier, under the awnings of the Muelle Uno’s shops to protect the clients from the heat.

Vintage furniture, kids clothes and personalised baskets were a few of the articles you could find there. In July and August, this Sunday market will change its hours from 6pm to 11pm.

Volotea lands in Asturias on Friday with a plane coming in from Malaga

View of the main apron at Malaga Airport, showing various aircraft parked up at the stands, including Transavia and Air Europa Boeing 737s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Volotea airline, presented as a low cost for the small and medium cities in Europe, will be initiating their operations in Asturias this coming Friday with the arrival of an airplane from Malaga airport.

With this route, Volotea announce the beginning of their activities at the Asturias airport, that will include direct connections with other cities.

Alfons Claver, the airline’s Institutional Relations manager, will be presenting the content of the offer of flights, one hour before the first flight arrives, which will be landing on the Asturias airport runway on Friday at 12:00h.

After a 25-minute stopover, the same plane will be departing towards Ibiza, as announced today by the company themselves, that are now part of the list of other companies that regularly operate at the Asturias airport.

Cultural activities received 6.800 cruisers last Saturday in Malaga

The streets in the centre were yet again filled with jazz exhibitions, flamenco shows and classical music concerts in a new day of maximum tourist influx

After the success of April the 27th, the Tourist Board once again organised a new program of cultural activities in several streets of the city’s historical centre receiving over 6.800 cruisers and 2.000 crew members that arrived at the city on three cruise ships.

The aim of these organised events is that the visitors find their stroll through our city even more attractive and so that they can discover Malaga as a lively city, with shows specially designed for all the profiles of tourists. Saturday’s program took place between 10:00 and 12:30 in the Plaza de la Constitución, where a flamenco fusion show was carried out by the group Flamenkura; on Cister street, an exhibition of traditional jazz with guitar and piano; and on Caldereria street, the Murillo Quartet offered a concert of classical concert.

As the Culture, Tourism and Sport councillor, already explained at the time, these activities were carried out during the days of most influx of cruisers. With this, the Tourist Board hoped to achieve that the visitors fall in love with the city and consider organising a longer stay in the destination in the near future.

“The tourists don’t want to just settle for discovering the city’s patrimony, they need to live unforgettable experiences in the destination, knowing that the city that they’ll be arriving at is culturally alive and can offer all kinds of activities, which is why we organised this wide range of shows and events, to value the richness of our culture”, pointed out the councillor.

These activities also contributed to the promotion of the city’s culture. In fact, the events (dance shows, music, performances or wine and olive oil tastings) were carried out by local professional groups or students of these disciplines.

The Orange Festival in Coín

Last Sunday the 13th of may, the village of Coín held the XVI edition of the Orange Festival. Quite an attraction for the locals and the tourists that visit this town located in the province of Malaga

Municipio de Coín (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

, that yet another year participated in masses. Over five thousand people had a great time and participated in the tastings, different activities and samples of the festival, battling against the suffocating heat by grabbing plenty of drinks and searching for a shady spot in the park where the event took place.

The star product of the festival was obviously the orange, that was shared out amongst the participants in many different ways. In the morning, from very early, many people made their way to the San Agustin park to visit the many different food exhibitors that had almonds, cheese, bread or sweets, as well as traditional ceramic of the area or flowers. The participants were presented with refreshing orange juice which was very much appreciated due to the heat.

A total of 4.000 kilos of freshly squeezed oranges were served throughout the morning whilst enjoying several musical shows carried out by Pepi Fernandez’ dance academy and the ‘Old Rondalla Orchard’. Other activities took place throughout the day like the ‘solidarity shopping’ of the flea market organised as a fundraiser or the petition with signatures to oppose to the courthouse’s abolition. The 2012 Orange Award was also given out, that this year went to the artist Carmen Escalona for promoting the traditions of the area, as she has spent years making ceramics that gather the best traditional spirit of the village’s culture. Other awards went to the desserts elaborated with oranges. This festival is declared as Touristic interest and is traditionally attended by thousands of people.

Malagacar.com will release soon new discount voucher codes for the summer season

Our contact in Malagacar.com has told us they will soon release new discount code vouchers for car hire in Malaga during the summer season. Those waiting for the best deals should pay attention during this month of May.

How to get the new car rental discounts?

Just follow Malagacar.com in Facebook, Google+ , Twitter or subscribe to their newsletters and you are done.

What about car rental availability?

Malagacar.com has a fleet of more than 2000 vehicles and about discount voucher codes, it depends…sometimes are until end of existences and sometimes they release a voucher for the whole year.

What is the fuel policy for car hire in Malaga?

While other companies bill for a full tank of fuel, Malagacar.com offers half tank of fuel, enough for most of us.

Do I need my credit card for booking online?

No, under no circumstance malagacar.com will ask you for your credit card details online.

What about cancellation fees?

If you don’t have to pay in advance, that means…there are no cancellation fees! What if your holiday start a few days later, a new volcano erupts, or lollipops start falling from sky and planes can’t fly? it is good to know you will not have to pay any penalty.

Do I really need to hire a car in Malaga?

Well…you are not obligated!, but it is a good idea because in Malaga most popular destinations are not close to each other. Let’s say you are in Marbella, and want to visit Ronda (a must), or just visiting Malaga centre…distance is a bit large if not using a car.

Where can I subscribe to the car rental newsletters or check prices?

http://www.malagacar.com/mail-list/

Updates (9-July-2012):

Malagacar just released a Press Release the last week:
http://www.travpr.com/pr-16651-malagacarcom-launch-summer-discount-code.html

The magazine that Ryanair hand out on their 96 routes will dedicate June to Malaga’s tourist offer

Vista de Málaga (Photo credit: Figuelo)

A journalist and a photographer of this magazine will be staying in Malaga from today until next Sunday with the aim to discover the main monumental sites of this destination

A journalist and a photographer from the ‘Let’s go magazine’, Ryanair’s monthly publication, will be staying in Malaga as from today, right through till next Sunday with the objective of writing a six-page article in the issue of the following month of June.

This magazine is given out regularly on the 96 routes that the company currently operate, so it’s estimated that it reaches more than six million passengers every month. Amongst its content, ‘Let’s go magazine’ dedicates a large space to the main tourist destinations all over the world, as well as other articles on fashion and lifestyle.

For this occasion, the Tourist Board of Malaga’s Town Hall has organised a wide program of activities so that both the journalist and the photographer can thoroughly explore the city’s wide tourist offer and its main cultural resources.

This way, this familiarisation trip includes a visit to the Botanical Garden of ‘La Concepción’, the monumental complex of the Alcazaba, the Roman Theatre and the Gibralfaro Castle, the Cathedral, the Picasso Museum and the painter’s house of birth, the Carmen Thyssen Museum, the Glass Museum or the Motor Museum. On the other hand, the program also includes a bicycle route from the historical centre of Malaga to the beaches of Pedregalejo.

The Culture, Tourism & Sport councillor, Damian Caneda, has emphasised the importance of this type of reports so that Malaga’s tourist offer gets the chance to be seen in the main markets all around the world. “These press and familiarisation trips are proving an enormous efficiency to promote our destination, so we want to keep on investing in these type of publications that have a great outcome for us”, he pointed out.

According to the journalist in charge of the report, the magazine is particularly interested in highlighting Malaga’s potential as one of the most important destinations for cultural and gastronomic tourism in the Mediterranean. Consequently, apart from the visits to the main monuments of the city, the Tourist Board’s promotional experts have also scheduled a visit to three of the main gastronomic areas of our destination.

This way, in ‘Muelle 1’, the port’s new shopping and leisure centre, the journalist will have the chance to interview the well-known chef Jose Carlos Garcia. They will also get to discover some of the most popular restaurants in Malaga’s historical centre and will be able to taste our famous ‘pescaito’ (typical and traditional fish dish) in one of Pedregalejo’s ‘chiringuitos’ (beach bars).

Finally, the program also includes a work meeting with Gloria Noblezas, manager of the hotel Husa Guadalmedina, establishment that will be collaborating with this visit and where the invited journalists will be staying; and a visit to the Room Mate Larios hotel.

This familiarisation trip, included in this year’s action plan of the Tourist Board, also coincides with the celebration of the Malaga Spanish Film Festival, so the journalists will also be able to enjoy one of the cultural activities with more touristic and cultural projection in the city of Malaga.

Royal Caribbean operates the only transatlantic cruise with boarding in Malaga

Liberty Of The Seas docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From Malaga to San Juan, in Puerto Rico. This is the itinerary of the only transatlantic cruise that will allow the boarding of passengers at Malaga port this year, according to the Malaga port’s managing director, Sebastian Camps. The ship company Royal Caribbean has been the one in charge of programing this fifteen-day trip, that will departing Malaga on the following 3rd of November, and that’s successfully selling tickets from 750 euros.

“It’s the first time we strongly focus commercially on this product, although last year a transoceanic cruise also departed from Malaga port”, the ship company pointed out. The ship chosen for this trip is the ‘Adventure of the Seas’, that as from next Saturday and until the 3rd of November will be initiating at Malaga port a one-week cruise around the Mediterranean.

The trip to the Caribbean will be marking the end of the operation as the base port of the Royal Caribbean in Malaga, given that the ship, with a capacity for 3.800 passengers and 311.1 metres long, will carry on touring the American coasts during the winter.

Itinerary

The passengers of this transatlantic cruise departing from Malaga will be able to discover, over these fifteen days of the trip, the Funchal islands (Madeira), Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria and Tenerife before beginning five days of sailing. After these, the cruisers will enjoy the Caribbean islands of St. John’s, Antigua; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas until the end of the cruise in the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. “It’s a very attractive itinerary that’s very demanded in the national market with many foreign clients. In fact, it’s expected that the vast majority of passengers are from several different countries, highlighting the UK. In Spain’s case, they have sold many tickets to groups in Malaga that have come all the way from Canarias”, explained the ship company, that also pointed out that some of the passengers plan to extend their stay in Puerto Rico, from where they’ll be returning by plane.

This ship company will be playing the star role in the cruising activity in Malaga today with the arrival at the port of the biggest ship to sail around the Mediterranean, the ‘Liberty of the Seas’, with a capacity for 4.328 passengers. This ship will be sharing the dock with Pullmantur, that will be bringing around two thousand tourists to Malaga. In total, over 6.000 cruisers will be visiting the city.

Malaga Blog – Costa del Sol, Spain