The latest news in brief from Almeria

The magic of history

The town of Cuevas del Almanzora presents ‘The magic of history’ and the Desert Springs Resort complex at FITUR 2024

On Thursday, January 25 at 11:30am the new promotional video ‘The magic of history’ will be shown to Spain for the first time.

Cuevas del Almanzora will arrive at the Madrid International Tourism Fair ‘FITUR 2024’ on January 24 and stay until January 28, showing attendees their unique presentations. 

The presentation of the promotional video ‘The Magic of History’ will take place on the second day of the fair, and will show a very special tour of the cultural and museum offerings of Cuevas del Almanzora, guided by the  rider of the prison graffiti of the Torre del Homenaje as a symbol of Cueva culture and historical heritage.

In addition, the offer and news of the Desert Springs tourist and golf complex, the only desert course in Europe, which offers much more sports, will be presented.

Three vehicle collision 

A traffic accident occurred on Monday, January 22 and resulted in a multiple collision between three vehicles at kilometre 791 of the A-7 in Almeria. 

Although the scene looked extremely dramatic, luckily nobody was seriously injured, although a woman is said to have sustained minor injuries in the form of a ‘blow to the chest’. Reports have stated that she was treated at a medical centre and is now recovering at home. 

The incident caused nine kilometres of traffic jams in the direction of the capital. 

A spokesperson for the 112 Andalucia emergency service stated that the accident took place at 7.40am in the morning near La Garrofa, towards Murcia, due to a rear-end collision between the vehicles. 

Man wins millions! 

A man from Almeria has won a massive €1.6 million on the Bonoloto Lottery. 

In the Almeria neighborhood of La Cañada, one certain gentleman is definitely having a good start to 2024. 

After buying his ticket at the office located in Plaza Antonio Torres, he then found out on Sunday, January 21 that he had won the grand prize of €1.6 million. 

The winning combination was formed by the numbers 4, 34, 44, 10, 41 and 22, with 46 as a complementary number and 2 as a refund. 

Elderly residence 

Regional minister, Loles Lopez, opens Mojacar’s first residence for the elderly. 

The Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality regional minister, Loles Lopez, has opened the Jardín de Mojacar residence for the elderly, the first of its kind in the region of Almeria. 

Accompanied by the local Mayor of Mojacar, Francisco Garcia, they visited the new residential home. She stated: “The Jardin de Mojacar residence shares with the regional ministry the backing for a care model centred on the person, and as its motto goes, ‘Warmth plus care equals quality.” Lopez then congratulated the Local Council for making this centre a reality. 

She added that: “For our government team, our elderly are one of the most important priorities and for whom we always work to obtain the best facilities and the best services.”

Last November, in 2023, the Regional Ministry for Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality gave accreditation for 60 places, subsidising the first eight. This centre, which is completely new, has individual and shared rooms and features which include a therapy garden.

Mojacar at the International Tourism Fair

Mojacar will be at the FITUR International Tourism Fair, which will be held in Madrid between the days of January 24 and 28. 

The Mojacar Delegation will be headed by the Mayor, Francisco García Cerda, who will be accompanied by the Tourism Councillor Maria Gracia Alarcon as well as experts from the Municipal Tourism Office.

Regarding the new Mojacar 2024 tourism campaign, the promotion of sports tourism as a line of work in the fight against seasonality stands out. It will focus on sports tourism, which combines the practice of a physical activity in an environment that one intends to visit and discover. This kind of tourism is currently on the rise within the sports and travel sector.

Gone is the gang

A criminal gang that has robbed many rural homes in the Almeria region during 2023 has finally fallen, thanks to police efforts. 

The Guardia Civil and the National Police have arrested 12 people who belonged to a “very active criminal group” dedicated to theft inside homes in rural areas of six different provinces: Almeria, Albacete, Alicante, Ciudad Real, Murcia and Valencia.

In August 2023, the province of Almeria and its surrounding areas experienced a ‘significant increase in robberies committed inside homes located in remote areas.’

The total amount stolen, which includes vehicles and jewellery, amounts to around €400,000. 

The Command and Headquarters of The Investigative Court reported in a statement that eight of these, including the main perpetrators will be immediately imprisoned as of January 2024. 

Fireball captured 

The Calar Alto Astronomical Observatory, located in the Sierra de Los Filabres, captured an image of an incredible fireball that flew through the night sky.

The impressive cometary fireball illuminated the skies on the night of January 21, with a direction that was heading towards the southern coasts.

This phenomenon was captured by the Smart Project detectors, which are deployed in strategic observatories such as Calar Alto (Almeria), La Hita (Toledo), Huelva, Sierra Nevada, La Sagra (Granada), Seville and Aljarafe (Seville). 

“Professor José Maria Madiedo, principal investigator of the Smart Project at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), confirmed that this phenomenal fireball was the result of a meteor impacting our atmosphere at an incredible speed of 89,000 kilometres per hour. 

Unnamed airport

Many residents of Almeria continue to ask an important question. Why does the region’s airport still not have a name?

People all around Almeria celebrated almost four years ago when the airport, which was inaugurated in 1968, was said to be named after the guitar player Antonio de Torres. 

However, since that was agreed and announced, having been approved by the Provincial Council and the Junta of Andalucia, no further action has been taken, and the airport continues to be nameless to this day. 

According to reports, Aena has not received a mandate from the Ministry of Transport to incorporate the new name to the rental terminal. This may be a result of the council not processing the plenary agreement, or perhaps it did but it has somehow been lost by the Ministry of Transportation and so it has not been sent through. 

Whatever the reason, the fact stands that in 2024 the Almeria airport still has no official title, and the previously agreed name of Antonio de Torres does not shine yet on its façade.