Serrania de Ronda
The
All about
November 2024
THE HIGH LIFE
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takes readers on a personal Olive Press editor Jon Clarke town of Ronda, which he first hand tour of the magical decades has called home for two
AFRICAN ROOTS The British flamenco dancer reexamining the art form’s influences SEE PAGE 14
I
underF you were looking to stand how architects planned the construction of Ronda’s Nuevo record-breaking Puente ways bridge there are few better to find out. brave-atA new route takes the the faheart 100m down into touch mous Tajo gorge to almost its very foundations. as it’s The Desfiladero del Tajo, as the known, has been billed version Malaga mountain town’s del of the death-defying Caminito Rey near Ardales. near the While it’s really nowhere intersame scale, it’s far more by esting for anyone fascinated history. social architecture and takes The attraction not only new tourists down into a brand part of Ronda but it transports
GETTING HIGH! All you need to know about the two hottest new attractions in Ronda
Photos by Jon Clarke
Continues overleaf
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SEE PAGE 7
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November 29th - December 19th 2024
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BRITISH expats have sounded the alarm following the arrival of a sophisticated QR code ‘malware scam’ in Spain. Cars have had paper slips placed on their windshields notifying owners they have received a parking fine. One told the Olive Press: “These scammers are placing them on cars everywhere. People need to be careful and made aware.” The slip reads in Spanish: “Vehicle infraction… you have parked badly.” It then shows a QR code with writing next to it that says: “To pay the fine, scan this code.” Beware, as the code will take you to a fake website that has been created solely to steal personal and banking data. The Olive Press has since discovered the scam has gone nationwide, with slips so far being spotted on the Costa del Sol, Bilbao, Madrid, Tenerife and Valencia. Apparently, when scanning it, the browser takes the user to a website where there is a ‘malware’ (similar to a virus) that is downloaded and infects the phone. This virus, known as a ‘trojan’, collects personal data that is sent to the thieves for their use. It is not known who is behind the operation but it is large in scale, spanning across the mainland and both the Canary and Balearic Islands.
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES British expat moves into his picture postcard home only to discover he has to share his kitchen with his neighbours
FROM the moment Steven Nadja received an evocative postcard of emblematic Arcos de la Frontera, he was enamoured. A friend had invited him to visit the stunning inland town (above) for a holiday in 2019. It was during the five-day break that he stumbled across the very same historic home - the Casa del Conde del Aguila on which the postcard featured. To his surprise, there was a sale sign on the door and thinking it was fate, the Yorkshireman jumped at the opportunity to snap up half of the ground floor of the listed 19th century property. Seemingly a bargain at €135,000, he quickly began to turn it into his dream home. It wasn’t long however, before the 67-year-old realised he had made a grave mistake when after a couple of days strangers began to appear in his
EXCLUSIVE
By Yzabelle Bostyn kitchen. Unbeknown to Nadja, a pharmaceutical boss, his kitchen was shared by two neighbours who had the right to enter at any time. “It started one morning when a random stranger appeared with her dog,” he told the Olive Press. “When I asked her what the bloody hell she was doing, that’s how I learnt there were two doors that led directly from other homes into my kitchen,” he added. “I obviously immediately queried it with my lawyer and it turned out she was right.” Nadja, who currently lives in France, continued: “It was completely devastating: I bought it thinking it would be
the basis for a new life in Spain, but now I hardly come over because I don’t want to live under the threat of random people sitting down in my kitchen.” The irony is that Nadja insists he specifically asked the seller, plus his lawyer, and even the town notary to check the deeds to ensure the kitchen was his. They all confirmed that while the kitchen was once shared with two other homes, ownership ‘would be transferred’ once the purchase was complete. The problem is both neighbours have ‘access rights’ and keys to get in. Despite both of them having their own kitchens, neither of them have ceded their rights. And worse was still to come, when a few months later he discovered that one of the neighbours had stolen his coffee machine worth over €1,000. He also ‘lost’ all the plants and an irrigation system he had put in the communal courtyard. And then a neighbour illegally connected a pipe
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to his water, siphoning off his supply. “I was just recovering from a stroke when this all happened,” he continued. “It’s taken a big toll on me both financially and mentally. “I’ve spent about €20,000 on all the work, including paying for a neighbour’s house to be repainted and for new beams in the kitchen to save my neighbour’s house from collapsing,” added Nadja, from Huddersfield. “It is my understanding that these costs should be shared but my lawyer is useless and can’t get the residents together. “Ironically, my kids told me I would regret buying a house in Spain and unfortunately they were right.” Opinion Page 6
952 147 834
952 147 834See page 13
*Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and brea
- Craig Dickson
www.mallorca-windows.com
*Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services.
We are located opposite the road leading to SP Country Club
BLAME THE POSTIE: Steven (top) bought his ‘dream home’ after seeing it on a postcard from Cadiz
*Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. TheOlivePress-256x170-Multi2404.indd 1
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