The Word on the Street

International Edition - August 2011

 

News and Information from Spain

 

Welcome to the August issue of 'The Word on the Street'. Your monthly news and information from Spain provided by Ábaco Asesores. In a couple of columns we hope to keep you in touch with the news, events and just a little bit of gossip.

Cartagena

Roman theatre in Cartagena, only
recently discovered in October 1988

On the radio

In these days of high music portability you'd perhaps think that the number of radio stations would be depleting. Not on the Costa Blanca. This is a list of radio stations currently available and catering for a range of different tastes.

I haven't tried them all out individually, but believe these to be the current frequencies. You can listen to most of them live from their websites. Take your pick!

Station
Frequency
Website
Bay Radio
89.4 FM
Exite FM
93.1 FM and 89.2 FM
exitefm
.com
Harmony FM /
Dream FM
95.3 FM
dream-fm
.com
Kiss FM
92.2 FM
Spectrum FM
106.3 FM
spectrumfm
.es
Sunshine FM
101.3 FM and 102.8 FM
sunshine-fm
.com
TKO FM
91.9 FM, 89.9 FM and 87.7 FM
tkofm
.com
TKO Gold
96.7 FM 87.5 FM
tkogold
.com
Vibe FM
91.1 FM
vibespain
.com
Xtra FM
103.7 FM
xtra
.fm
Radio Suecia
103.2 FM
radiosuecia
.com

In the news

For lots of lycra and bicycles travelling very, very fast the Vuelta a España cycling race is in full swing. This is a professional cycling race that take place in Spain in daily stages over three weeks. If you were somewhere between La Nucía and Campoamar on the Orihuela Cost on Sunday 21st August you might even have seen them cycling past, if you were quick enough of course.

To check their route go to steephill.tv

O r if you have access you can watch it on ITV4 (UK TV) AngloINFO suggest that Stage 15 (Sunday 4th September) and Stage 17 ( Wednesday 7th September) might be particularly interesting to watch.

More information can be found at costablanca.angloinfo.com

On a bicycle made for…

Speaking of bicycles - they can be a controversial subject. Car drivers complain about them taking up the road, cyclists complain about them not being seen. They're a target for thieves and clutter up your garage (if you've got one). But, they can also be great fun, they're healthy for you (provided you don't fall off) and they are very popular in Spain.

If you are a cyclist and proud to be one, you might like to try one of the routes for cyclists recommended on cyclogicalcostablanca.com

There are 12 interesting route maps with suggestions for stop offs, bites to eat and interesting things to see. Many of the routes start out from Quesada, Rojales in the Costa Blanca region as that is where 'Cyclogical' is based. It's surprising what can be ready to explore just under your nose!

 

 

 

Recorded in English for property owners

It's got to be good news. The Land Registry in Spain are issuing the nota simple in English. This document provides background information about a house you might be planning to buy. You have to request it and pay for the privilege (29€ plus VAT) but at least you can see for yourself if there any tax debts or charges held against the property. Of course, this doesn't remove the need for a good lawyer and there can still be other skeletons in the closet that the nota simple doesn't reveal. For more information read our article.

There is also information about it on typicallyspanish.com

You have your say…

Request for help

I'm delighted that we're getting more and more responses from the newsletters. Your suggestions are always greatly appreciated. We're also happy to try and help out where you've got a query. We've had a request from a client for Salsa/bachata/kizomba lessons and bars in the Torrevieja area. Please let us know if you've any suggestions.

Keeping the ants out Another request

One of our clients has asked us for help with keeping ants out of the house. We've put forward some suggestions - here's what we could find:


- Nippon Ant Killer Liquid
- putting down baby talc around window frames and other entry points
- a borax/ sugar combination (50:50)
- peppermint spray
- vinegar
- cinammon
- black pepper

We're sure that there are lots of other suggestions out there. Can you help us? We'd like to know what's worked for you. Please e-mail us on inf@abaco-asesores.com.

We'll save cockroaches until the next newsletter (I can't wait).

Soft skin and bite free?

We're It seems to be a very popular solution to the mosquito problem - Avon Skin so Soft (green bottle) - several people suggested this as a deterrent following our last newsletter. So it must be good. Another recommendation was Olive Oil - a solution to all insects but particularly mosquitos we're told. Be careful though, covering yourself in Olive Oil might get rid of the mosquitos but could cause a little fry up in the summer sun.

A mine of information

The Orihuela Costa Information Guide covers a large number of topics for residents and non-residents. It includes both the serious side of living on the costas with information about education, business, finance and religion as well as holiday information such as details of the beaches and their facilities, dining out, entertainment and where to go for a day away.

You can access the guide online from their website or there is also a pocket sized guide book in English.

Keeping you busy

We're always looking for ways of keeping you busy when you're out in Spain. Whether you are resident or non-resident there are times when the weather might not be as perfect as usual or you just a fancy a change from the beach. Why not try Lo Rufete in San Miguel de Salinas, Alicante? This multi adventure park is described on the forum: torreviejaforums.com

According to this it includes the opportunity to go:

- Horse riding
- Canoeing
- Mountain biking
- Archery
- Paintballing
- Quad biking
- Hiking

You can also find out more information at lorufete.com

 

Coming over?
What's coming up?

If you are just recovering after lots of visitors or you have just returned for the start of the school term, this is probably the last thing on your mind. However, we're also aware that September is the month when many non-residents choose to visit -. missing the rush and heat of August. So what's on?

Looking for a cabaret? They've been advertising a new one at AREA in the Filton Centre at Los Balcones. It's every Saturday and will feature different acts. More information is included on their website musical-tributes.com

How about a little bit of Michael Jackson? On Sunday 4th September 'The Michael Jackson Story in Music and Dance' is being performed at La Zenia Concert Suite. The tickets are 11 euros and you can find out more on ticketplanner.es

Another marina or just a mirage?

Talking about what's just under your nose, have you been to the international marina at the Torrevieja side of Acequión beach? Some people who should know better (ughh umm) didn't even know it existed until recently. If you haven't been it's well worth a visit to enjoy a number of bars and restaurants only a stones throw from the beach and a rather pleasant little park.

You can reach it by turning left off the N332a (Avenida Desiderio Rodriguez) into Calle Salero. The car park is at the bottom. Alternatively you can walk across from the Acequión beach itself.

More reasons for keeping your pin safe

We have so many passwords and codes these days to access everything that you can be forgiven for writing them all down. I struggle remembering one, so don't even attempt to remember the rest. Be warned, even if you can't grasp them all, don't be tempted to keep your debit/ credit card PIN anywhere near the actual card itself. If you do and they're stolen, your bank will probably not cover you for anything withdrawn from an ATM if the thief enters your code successfully first time.

There is useful information about all aspects of banking on the Angloinfo site costablanca.angloinfo.com

 

A little bit of background

You will understand and enjoy Spain more by knowing something of its history. I recommended this website in the last issue of the newsletter and I continue to find interesting articles amongst its content.The following one seems to summarise the post Franco period very well for those interested in knowing more about the recent history of Spain.

abacomagazine #e22

We invite your
comments,
feedback and
suggestions.
Please e-mail us at...

Cartagena

Detail of Cartagena's modernist period
Murcia

 

Ábaco Asesores: (+34) 96 670 3748
inf@abaco-asesores.com

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