ll about
Manilva, Sabinillas and Duquesa
The booming coastal hotspot for of Manilva has delights all but retains its Spanish flavour, writes Walter Finch
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DRAW: Manilva’s St Anne’s
around a whitewashed village. will meet a kaWHIRLWIND tour of MaAnd on your journey you all walks of nilva will take you far and leidoscope of people from tell. wide in just a few square life, each with a story to the highest has kilometres. out Manilva officially on the padron in You might start by gazing of Brits at luscious percentage between a third and a quary a c h t s Spain, with 16,000-strong municipality bobbing by ter of the Blighty. a ten. “I think declares - nowhere gets the glitzy hailing from just Brits - foreign, settled very often halting Span- it’s the cinnamon. They get it just right.” not port, or the But it’s many from northern Europe- Spanish - and the castle glish. Castillo gets its name from glistening sea residents, make up 42% of Manil- “We come here for the sangria,” Lon- El guards its sea walls. Built in 1767 along a peace- an countries, and Press in the that va’s population. doner Richie tells the Olive engineer Miguel del Castillo ful beach trail. by high numbers, Manilbar near El Castillo, by Vargas, it was financed then In spite of these an expat colony - not shade of a Spanish And Paulibuzzing with builder Jose simply a tiny fishing settlement Sevilla businessman Francisco minutes lat- va is not Spaniards and foreigners. no. er you could at all. has a strong and thriving “We go around to all the towns along The fortification was planned with that find yourself The district culture and community very the Costa del Sol,” his friend SiobhanI war against the English in mind, with among roll- Spanish as Algeciras. the newharmoniously and adds. “We even go as far place a score Gibraltar having fallen to green lives extremely ing just half a in each with their foreign guests. ly-formed United Kingdom hills popu- cordially and the foreigners mix and give the sangrias restau- out of ten.” lated by lux- The locals Continues on Page 2 in the same bars and conver- And how much did she give the sangria ury villas, or mingle this is a nine,” she the pitter patter of and in El Castillo? “Oh, burgeoning rants and dances between English v i n e y a r d s sation and the nearby view
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AFTER 10 months being unable to legally drive, UK driving licence holders can now get back behind the wheel. The Spanish cabinet has approved a deal between Spain and the United Kingdom covering driving licence exchange, as well as the exchange of driver information relating to traffic offences.
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See Back behind the wheel page 6
Vol. 17 Issue 415 www.theolivepress.es March 22nd - April 4th 2023
TO THE RESCUE
A QUICK-thinking expat has saved the life of a middle aged man from his burning home on the Costa del Sol. Brit Thomas Barnes heroically risked his life to enter the burning building in Fuengirola and pull out the Spanish occupant. Barnes, 31, had been working at his farther’s jewellers shop, Anthony’s Diamonds, when he heard shouting outside and saw smoke coming out of a nearby apartment. He ran out and immediately climbed up a ladder other neighbours had placed there, taking a fire extinguisher with him. Over the course of the next 10 minutes he was handed another four extinguishers, which he used to battle the blaze alone. Eventually he emerged to help the man out of the back exit.
Hero Brit pulls man from apartment fire on Costa del Sol EXCLUSIVE By Walter Finch
“Thomas saved the life of a man who didn’t know what was happening,” his father Anthony told the Olive Press. “The old fella was just sitting there in the smoke. He must've been in shock,” he continued. “Thomas brought him out and then went back in for the woman in the bedroom but he couldn’t get through. “Black smoke was billowing down the corridor, dangerous jet black smoke. “Two times he went in to bring her out, shouting and calling for her. It was really brave, but sadly he couldn’t
somehow reach her.” The dramatic scenes were caught on video showing Thomas on the balcony of the first floor apartment talking to people in the street as smoke pours out around him.
Flames
The fire, which broke out on Calle Ramon y Cajal around midday, was quickly put out once the emergency services arrived. According to police, two men, aged 45 and 52, were taken to hospital in an ambulance for emergency treatment. Meanwhile, one woman in her seventies died, leading to the town hall to call a day of mourning on Friday. Thomas, a former cage fighter and jujitsu fan who grew up in Spain, insists his actions were anyShe added that Mamadou - who it later thing but heroic. emerged had survived a 10-day sea crossing “I don’t feel like to the Canaries two years ago - was not even a I saved anyone’s strong swimmer. life,” he said. “It’s After getting the Spanish victim, 45, nearer simple. No one the shore he had to be helped by a Canaelse was doing dian and a Dutch tourist, who dived in to anything and so assist. I went up the ladBoth Mamadou and the victim were taken to der. hospital suffering from hypothermia. “What I did was His asylum application has still yet to be apput the fire out proved, although it is hoped his heroics will in case it spread be recognised. upstairs.” He added: “It
A HEROIC looky looky man has been dubbed a ‘hero’ by Olive Press readers, who saw him save a drowning man off a Malaga beach. Senegalese beach salesman Mamadou, 19, who is applying for asylum, swam out from Malagueta beach when he heard the man’s screams. “No one else was paying any attention until this hero stripped off, did the sign of the cross and went in to rescue him,” English tourist Susan Haghegh, 68, told the Olive Press.
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DRAMA: Thomas (inset) got through five fire extinguishers as he tackled the blaze didn’t really feel dangerous - I was holding my breath most of the time. I enjoy putting out fires.” Tragically, despite going back into the corridor multiple times, he was unable to bring the flames down enough to enter the bedroom where the woman was trapped. “It feels horrible. I feel
I should’ve been able to go into the room but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t put the flames out. I got them down a bit but I couldn’t get in the room.” The cause of the fire remains unknown but it is suspected that it might have originated in the oven. Opinion Page 6
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