Spanish beaches get facelift
The weary eyes of Félix Ojeda gaze angrily at the Atlantic Ocean. The storms which have battered the whole of Spain in recent months are the cause of his bitter look. The fury of the waves, the wind and the rain carried away his small beach bar called Tucán in Matalascañas (Huelva) which was the only source of income for his family.
Nature, sometimes so ruthless, destroyed the wooden structure of the bar which was blown away in the wind and wiped away his 100,000 euros of investment. Félix now faces an existing mortgage and an uncertain future and that tons of sand which used to form this lovely beach have now vanished. A catastrophe like this has not occurred in Huelva for more than thirty years according to elderly members of the local population. With just a few days to go before Easter, Félix, exhausted and despairing, is working all hours to rebuild his modest ‘chiringuito’ and a combination of hard work and worry means that this 46 year old barely sleeps a wink. He is not the only one who is working hard to get everything ready for Easter. Sifting and centrifugal machines to clean the sand, lorries bringing recycled sand, tractors operating from sunrise to sunset…the countdown is on to the Easter holiday.
The start of the season is upon us and the coastal regions are immersed in their first test before the summer begins in earnest. With the economic crisis, many hotel and restaurant owners are hoping that Easter will be their salvation. Another owner at Matalascañas, Andres, says that it has been the worst winter for years and hopes that Easter will make all the difference although looking at the beach, it´s a wonder the restaurant is still there.
The negative news coverage raised the alarm. Beaches wiped off the map or littered with rubble and rubbish, drains and pipes uncovered, seafront promenades strewn with bits of cane, stones and mud; all bad news for anyone considering a beach holiday and even worse news for those anxiously awaiting for the Easter to save or resurrect their business. In just one day at Easter, a beach bar like that of Félix could make between 4,000 and 7,000 euros.
On the Malaga coast, 35,000 cubic metres of rubbish have been collected; this is the equivalent of the amount generated in a day in Madrid. The first day of the season for bathers, the beaches have to be in tip top condition For example, the last storms resulted in a drop of 12% of advance bookings at the Parador in Mazagón. With the economic crisis, people wait until just a few days beforehand to make a reservation. Ramón Estalella, the general secretary of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Accommodation comments that eighty per cent of trips are booked just one week beforehand. And, of course, if these people see on television that the beaches are in such a state, they will go elsewhere or decide to stay at home.
Francisco Freire, president of the Association of Beach Businesses of Doñana says that if the beaches are not completely prepared by Easter, they´ll be nearly there. This is one of the areas which, together with Cádiz, has been most affected. The injection of almost 150 million euros to repair the coastline is now bearing fruit; the Minister for the Environment, Elena Espinosa, recently visited Isla Cristina in Huelva and saw this for herself. Nevertheless, some places in Spain will not be as fortunate, as the most popular beaches have been given priority.
The possibility of more storms – the bad weather is not expected to end until May – have left some repair works on stand-by and some beaches, such as those in Rota and Chipiona have been so badly damaged that it´s just not possible to have them ready in such a short timescale. In other places, such as Gandia in Valencia, the repair works haven’t even begun. Elena Espinosa says that they are planning the most necessary repairs with a view to the Easter period but works will continue after that to bring them back to their original state before the summer period begins.
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