Chairman's Blog

Chairman's Blog – Edition Nine, February 2023

• A very warm welcome to February’s blog and the 9^th so far.

• Well, what can I say? The region of Murcia continues to have very favourable sunny weather for the start of 2023 with above average temperatures.

• How are your New Year’s resolutions going?? Stuck to them or broken them yet?

• I hope one of your resolutions is to visit La Quinta more.

• February is another quieter month here in Spain but we at LQC have remained reasonably busy with rentals and members using their accrued weeks. Indeed we re-opened La Solana on the 16^th of January.

• So don’t forget to support the club and enjoy breakfasts and lunches at La Solana during your stay. Do spread the word that non-members are welcome too.

• I am currently working on an article about our great bar and restaurant - La Solana, which will be featured in the upcoming spring edition of the La Manga Life magazine. I will let you know when this has been published.

• Like January, the month of February is a really good month to visit for those who enjoy sports as the climate is very mild.

• After a 2-month hiatus, the 'meet the staff' feature resumes this month.

• Lastly, one last reminder of our forthcoming 'Spring Getaway', week commencing 25^th March 2023. Don’t delay, book today.

• So if you are ready here goes with February’s blog, providing updates & information for the month about the people, activities, events & happenings in and around La Quinta, La Manga Club and the Cartagena/Murcia regions. As always this is sent directly to your email inbox but it is also accessible on our website www.laquintaclub.com  

Meet the staff is back featuring two more members of our La Quinta family. So for February, I would like to introduce Carmen and Paco.

Carmen Abraham Urrea

• Carmen has been with the Club since August 1986, when it first opened and was initially employed as a waitress. Her first task was to unpack crockery and cutlery and to clean all the restaurant windows!

• After a year she moved to a role in reception then in 2000 joined the reservations department where she has been until now.

• Carmen lives in Cartagena and is married to Andres who she met at La Quinta, has one son Alberto aged 24 and who worked temporarily on reception during the summer of 2022.

• Her vocation is teaching and she has home tutored many students to successfully pass exams in English.

• Carmen has multiple hobbies which include; trekking, mountain biking, swimming, yoga and reading.

Paco Nieto Gonzalez

• Paco works in the maintenance department and has been an employee at La Quinta since 1993.

• Originally working at the hotel in La Manga Club as a painter, he was recruited by Domingo to work for us where he has remained.

• He is divorced but has one son called Ruben (aged 31), and three grandchildren.

• Born and raised in a village near Cartagena he now lives in the city itself.

• A keen footballer when he was younger, Paco is still very passionate about the sport and is an avid supporter of Real Madrid.

• His other great love is travelling around Spain.

A Recap of January Events

• The mild & warm weather continued throughout January with guests enjoying a myriad of sunny days throughout the month with daily average temperatures of between 17°-20°C although temperatures cool off quite a bit towards the end of the month.

• Starting from 1^st January, the Spanish Prime Minister abolished the 4% VAT on all basic food items for a period of 6-months and reduced the tax on milk, pasta and cooking oil by 5%.

• However although he giveth with one hand, he taketh away with the other, as the 20-cent per litre discount on fuel ceases on 1^st January.

• The General Community President AGM meeting was held on the 18^th January, again in La Solana. We are becoming the go-to venue for these meetings.

• At a virtual EGM held in December the presidents voted in favour of implementing work to prevent the increasing risk of fire in and around La Manga Club. This although delayed will hopefully be initiated and completed before the summer season begins. Details will be published on our website in due course.

Discovering Cabo de Palos: Gateway to the Mar Menor

• Cape Palos or Cabo de Palos in Spanish, is a town at the start, or the end of La Manga del Mar Menor (depending how you look at it). Cabo is part of a small range of volcanic mounts in the area that form the peninsula. The Mediterranean islands of Grosa and Hormigas are also part of this range, as well as other islands in the Mar Menor (or Little Sea). The name Palos is derived from the Latin word palus, meaning ‘lagoon’, a reference to the Mar Menor.

• Although there is evidence of Neanderthal occupation, history in the area doesn’t really start until pre-Roman times (around 250BC), when according to the Carthaginians; Pliny the Elder and Rufus Festus Avienus, a temple was constructed (dedicated to the worship of the Phoenician god, Baal Hammon), on the promontory of the cape, although no trace of it exists today.

• Historically there is little further recorded about Cabo until the 16^th century, when during the reign of Philip II of Spain, the area became ravaged by Barbary pirates. To counter this, a watchtower (Torre de San Antonio), was built on the promontory as a defensive measure. The tower was eventually completed in 1578. These days on the site, the local lighthouse towers high above the area. Standing 81 meters tall it affords impressive views. Its construction began in 1862 and some three years later on 31^st January 1865 it shone for the first time with a light that can be seen for some 40kms.

• A number of historical battles have taken place in Cabo de Palos; in 1591, during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), in 1758 during the Spanish-Barbary conflict (1694–1792), in 1815 during the Second Barbary War and in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War.

• There have been a number of marine accidents and ships sunk off the coast of Cabo de Palos throughout history with many wrecks in the waters. In 1906, the Sirio, which was on its way to the USA from Spain, broke in half and sank when the captain ignored the lighthouse and tried to take a shortcut resulting in over 500 souls perishing. In 1938, the Baleares (a Nationalist heavy cruiser), was sunk in the largest naval battle of the Spanish Civil War, with the loss of some 765 sailors.

• Today these and many other wrecks can be explored by divers with the area being designated as an integral marine reserve and considered as one of the best dive sites in Spain.

• In recent times, Cabo has developed a fishing tradition and the village has expanded into a town. It has an all year round community and as such has become a popular tourist destination with good beaches, costal walks and diving opportunities.

• A must visit is the famous and vibrant Cabo de Palos street market, held every Sunday. There are also many excellent fish restaurants located in and around the harbour area.

• STOP PRESS......recently plans have been submitted by Cartagena town hall for a €320,000 upgrade and redevelopment of the harbour area at Cabo de Palos. This will create an open space, viewing area and concert venue overlooking the Mediterranean sea. Watch this space for further updates!

Upcoming Events and Activities - February 2023

Weather in Murcia

• Its official, the region of Murcia has been ranked the 3rd sunniest in Europe! In a survey conducted by World Weather Online, Murcia was designated as the 3rd sunniest with an average of 346 hours of sunshine per month.

• Not surprisingly, no less than six Spanish cities featured in the top 10.

• First was Alicante with 349 hours per month, 3rd Murcia with 346, 5th was Valencia (343), 7th Las Palmas (341), 8th Granada (341) and 10th Seville (340). 

• So now you know that when you visit us at La Quinta, you are more or less guaranteed lovely weather!

 Visit ARQUA The National Museum of Underwater Archaeology

• Located in nearby Cartagena is a museum dedicated to all things found underwater during archaeological excavations.

• For more information visit: https://www.spain.info/en/places-of-interest/national-museum-underwater-archaeology

• A visit provides a journey through the history of Spanish maritime activities, trading and transportation, with particular emphasis on Phoenician and Roman times, including a unique collection of elephants' tusks with Phoenician inscriptions.

• See an extensive collection of Amphorae, lead ingots, anchors, scale models of ancient vessels and even a life-size model of a Roman merchant ship.

The Racquets Club

• Not strictly La Quinta Club related, but the Racquets Club was featured in an article in the Sunday Times on 8^th January.

• The feature focused on how the tennis centre has been refurbished and on the growing popularity of padel tennis. It is good to see the profile of La Manga Club being highlighted in the UK national press.

• Hopefully prospective visitors seeing this may seek to use La Quinta for their accommodation needs.

Please be vigilant!

• Pine Processionary Caterpillars (from the moth of the same name), have been seen in and around the resort. These caterpillars are covered with tiny hairs that may cause eye irritation or allergic reactions. They are particularly harmful to pets.

• They are common in Spain in February & March and you may see them head to toe in a line on the roads, footpaths or tree-trunks or in candyfloss like nests in pine trees. So please be mindful when walking around. Do not touch them or allow your children to do so.

• For more information see: https://andaluciahiking.com/pine-processionary-caterpillars-in-spain/

An England senior team play AFCT, an amateur team from Cartagena on Friday 3rd February at 8pm on football pitch A at La Manga Club. Entrance is FREE!

 

I am highlighting our new sales/rentals poster once again. We will be emailing a PDF to you all and would ask you share with friends, family and colleagues.

Please print off and put up on notice boards at your workplace, gym, shops etc.

Members Photographs

• Please continue to send us photos from your visits to La Quinta.

• Just email them to webmaster@laquintaclub.com and he will publish them for you in the gallery on our website.

• We look forward to seeing them and sharing your memories.

• So here we are in February and already counting down to spring and then summer.

• And I guess it’s the month that we can officially stop wishing people happy New Year!

• We are already looking forward to welcoming you back to the club for 2023 and are working hard to ensure your stay is as good if not better than the last one.

• I hope you are still enjoying my blogs and are still finding them informative. Its good to keep up with what’s going on at the club or in the region of Murcia.

• I still check the validity of activities and events at the time of publication but please don't blame me if they are cancelled or rescheduled.

• As always don't forget to a) visit our website where we publish lots of useful information in the info+ section (see +Info (laquintaclub.com) and b) use the members forum where you can swap, exchange, rent or sell weeks and share information, ideas, suggestion or just ask questions. If you haven't signed up yet, please visit: La Quinta at La Manga Club - Official Forum - Index (laquintaclub.com) to register.

Thanks for continuing to support the club, I look forward to catching up with you during the year.

See you soon....Mark.