The Online newspaper for Portbou, Colera, Llançà, Port de la Selva, Cadaqués, Roses, Sta. Margarida, Empuriabrava, L'Escala, Figueres and the local area

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News from the Baix Empordà

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As the meteorologists predicted, the Whitsun holiday was wet. As a result, the plants in the gardens, already looking rather dried up because of the drought, raised their heads again. Tourists, however, who had looked forward to the beach, were disappointed. The water level in the region's reservoirs rose, and they filled 0.64% more. Though pleasing, this change is insignificant. Still, the reservoir of Sau (Baix Empordà) was filled by heavy rainfall on Sunday night and rose by about 4%. The Alt Empordà however, one of the regions of Catalonia most affected by the drought, registered relatively weak precipitation. The water level in the reservoir of Boadella thus remains critical.

The taxi drivers in Figueres will make sure that this summer a taxi is always available for handicapped passengers.

Because of the bad weather, the "Triumvirat Mediterrani" was rather badly attended in l'Escala. Nevertheless all planned meetings will take place.

The l'Escala area was the shooting location for one week for the feature film "7 pasos y medio". The main reason for the shooting was to use the area around the ruins of Empúries. The film, which stars actors Ernesto Alterio, Pere Arquillué and Íngrid Rubio, who are well-known here,  will reach cinema screens next year..

The businessmen of Figueres have opted to keep the existing railway station in Figueres with the rails shifted underground. Only the high-speed train TAV use the planned station at Vilafant on the edge of Figueres. This solution is probably more economical. Furthermore, the shopkeepers would not have to fear business losses because of fewer buyers coming into the city centre by train.

The La Caixa building in l'Escala is being refurbished and will provide more space for the town library on the first floor. The work is costing around 500,000 euros.

	The museums of Figueres are organising an "open door" day on the occasion of International Museum Day on 18 May, as is the new Museum of Exile in La Jonquera (from 10.00 to 14.00).
Dalí museum, Figueres

About 400 property owners from Santa Margarida, most of whom are foreign, attended the hearing on 8 May regarding the plans to establish a six-metre public service access strip between the channels and private properties. The mayor of Roses, Magda Casamitjana, placed herself fully on the side of the owners and pledged to do everything in her power so that those affected do not lose their property as stated in a document. The present owners expressed themselves extremely dissatisfied with the conduct of the affair. Most of them had travelled specifically to attend the event. They also claimed that the date of the hearing had been specially set to be outside the tourist season, so that few owners could participate.

A badly-decayed body has been found at the "de la Marquesa" beach in the Deltebre. The police believe that it is the second crew member of the yacht "White Angel", which had an accident on the way to l'Escala. The deceased was carrying identification documents.

The council of Castelló d'Empúries has produced a new development plan (POUM). It differs clearly from that of the previous administration. Urban growth has been cut back, and the recovery of green zones keeps priority over new building. The plan will be presented to the public in June.

Roses is replacing some of its hired mooring buoys with a floating platform to which small boats can tie up. This is a pilot for a full-scale project which is to be put to into effect in July, with moorings for 46 boats.

Peralada has given the dates of its music festival. It begins on 17 July with Latin jazz of "Cucho i Bebo Valdés" and ends on 17 August with the Kremlin Ballet performing "Romeo and Juliet".

The façades of the local establishments in the "Els Arcs" night club zone of Empuriabrava have been redecorated with a new, uniform colour scheme.

On 11 May in the town theatre, Roses is presenting the book "La Gent Gran de Roses II", an homage to its citizens born between 1918 and 1923.

Roses town council has also arranged an information meeting in the city theatre on 7 May at 20.30 for the owners of properties by the channels of Santa Margarida. The issue affects 400 properties and relates to a new administrative procedure that the government in Madrid is implementing on 8 May. The town council has objected to this procedure; in its opinion the channels of Santa Margarida have the nature of a sports port, which means that the proper authority is the "Departament de Ports i Costes" of the Catalan government.

On 11 May the hermitage of Sant Baldiri (Port de la Selva) is reviving some ceremonies. These begin at 9.45 in Port de la Selva with a procession on foot to the hermitage. Guided tours and sardanas follow. Anyone who wishes to join in the common lunch starting at 14.15 must bring their own plates and cutlery and buy a ticket. The cost is 12 euros for adults and 8 euros for children.

In Figueres, parking in the city centre can now also be paid for by credit card.

At the end of May, the Mercadona supermarket chain is opening a new branch in Mas Nou (Castello d'Empúries).

La Jonquera is organising its ninth photo competition. The subject is the Albera mountains, and the closing date is 23 August. Entrants can submit up to 3 photos in the format 30cm  x 20 cm.

Port de la Selva is celebrating its Fiesta Mayor from 17 until 20 May, for the enjoyment of its inhabitants and visitors and in honour of its patron saint, Sant Baldirí.

On 11 May the hermitage Sant Silvestre (Llançà) is the scene of the "XXIXè Aplec de Sant Silvestre".  Breakfast is provided free at 10.00; sardanas with the Cobla Baix Empordà follow, then a mass with the choir Palandriu, lunch at the price of 5 euros, as well as a raffle and music for dancing. Tickets are available for the lunch at the tourist office and also in some shops. On the same day, the dance group Terpsichore will be performing on the Plaça major starting at 17.00.

Also on 11 May, the organ of the basilica of Castello d'Empúries is subject of the television culture program "Nydia" (Televisió de Catalunya).

The Museum of Exile in La Jonquera has been showing since 4 May the exhibition "Un llarg camí. Bòsnia, la vergonya d'Europa" featuring the work of the photo journalist Miquel Ruiz.

The fireworks that formed the concluding act of the “Fires de la Santa Creu” in Figueres caused a fire close to the walls of the "Castell de Sant Ferran". Several fire appliances were needed until the fire was extinguished after 90 minutes.

On 9 May, the winery "Celler Espelt" in Vilajuïga is opening  the exhibition "Or i Blau" by the artist Monse Pla. The inauguration will involve the well-known caricaturist José Antonio Fernández (FER). Monse Pla has lived for some years in Llançà. The exhibition lasts until 28 May.

In Port de la Selva a 41-year-old man fell so heavily down from a rock that he had to be transported by helicopter to Girona hospital.

The renowned magazine “Restaurant” has elected “El Bulli” in Roses as the best restaurant in the world for the third year in succession. The runners-up are “The Fat Duck”,  in Berkshire (near London) and “Pierre Gagnaire”, in Paris.

The butcher's shop Valls in Llançà has received an acknowledgment from the Catalan government to mark the centenary of its business. This is awarded annually by the government, this year to 24 enterprises in Catalonia.

Cadaqués is planning to create subsidised low-rent housing in the former barracks of the Guardia Civil. At present only the ground floor of the building is used by the local police. However,  the  "Guardia Civil" is opposed to these plans

Plans for what to do with the Castell de Sant Ferran in Figueres are taking shape. At present the former military fort is still owned by the Ministry of Defence in Madrid. However, the city council is aiming to take over administration of the Castell and use it for the city archives and an art centre, and to make it available to interested companies from the hotel trade.

Castelló d'Empúries has signed an agreement with the Red Cross, which includes among other things that the Red Cross take over lifeguard duties on the beaches.

The small market, which is held each Sunday on the green area "Trabuc" in Empuriabrava, is moving to a new location in Castelló Nou.

Lodgings for up to 15 persons will be installed in the old vestry building of the Sant Pere de Rodes (Port de la Selva) monastery after the summer, for the use of walkers on the St James Pilgrim Route, signposts for which will soon be installed.

The "Teatre Art i Joia" in Cadaqués, once the Dalí museum and town theatre, is to get a full renovation. In the first phase the electrical system will brought up to date, along with  audiovisual mechanisms and air conditioning will be installed.

Roses is planning to  repair the picturesque quarter "dels Pescadors". The town council is therefore conducting a survey of the inhabitants, to find out their wishes and get their suggestions.

The mayor of Castelló d'Empúries, Salvi Güell, and other city councillors visited the German city Ettenheim, which has been a partnership city since 2001. During the absence of the mayor, the deputy Pere Iglesias assumes the mayor’s responsibilities.

The city hall of Roses entered into an agreement with the “Prefectura central de Trànsit” which permits it to issue some vehicle traffic papers. Among the tasks assumed are logging out vehicles, the renewal of driving licenses for persons over 70 years, as well as duplicate operating permit for vehicles if the driver changes address. For new applications however the responsibility remains with Girona.

The city hall of Figueres plans a pilot project for the summer 2009 to encourage the use of bicycles in the city centre. Bicycles will be available to be rented at multiple points. The city hall assumes that this offer might be particularly attractive to tourists.

In Santa Margarida the crew on a boat is adding markings to private property. The president of the citizen association, Federico Macau, calls this an illegal act, since the boat’s passengers must enter private property without announcement and without the permission of the owners. They are primarily marking real estate properties with absent owners, who are often foreigners. The citizen association has tried to complain about this trespass to the police, but the police will only respond to complaints by the property owner, directly.

The city hall of La Jonquera assigned four new policemen, who are to guard excluding the roads of Le Perthus and to prevent illegal street vending.

A worker found a garnet in Port de la Selva; it probably originates from the Spanish civil war.

The police arrested two Russians who are suspected of the murder of a building contractor in a restaurant in Portbou.

Figueres is now officially the Catalan culture capital for the year 2009. The appropriate agreements were signed during the Fires i Festes de la Santa Creu.

In L’Escala the first action within the province of Girona was taken against a citizen because of abuse of drinking water. According the police he had continuously, day and night, watered his garden with a sprinkler.

From 26 May to 1 June the two churches of Llançà will be the centres of the flower show XIVa Mostra Floral 2008.

In Castelló d'Empúries the regulations for saving drinking water have had their first results. In the first quarter of the year about10,5% less water was used.

The city hall of Roses bought a 3369 square meter former olive orchard, close to the Gran via Pau Casals. The area will remains a green area and is to be prepared for walkers.

On 15 February in Port de la Selva the nets of a fishing boat brought up a puzzling substance. The first assumptions, that it was military material turned out to be not correct.  It is white phosphorus, which had been used for a Bengali maritime signal. White phosphorus is a high-poisonous substance.

Figueres starts a campaign to encourage citizens to use bicycle on the roads of the city under the slogan “we provide 100 bicycles.”  The 100 bicycles will be distributed by means of a lottery.

The city hall of Roses is reviewing the house numbers in the city centre, in order to correct any numbering mistakes.

The 25 members of the restaurant police of L’Escala will be temporarily using the police station of the Mossos d'Esquadra, until its own building is ready for use.

	The port authority “Ports de la Generalitat” has contracted for the construction work to completely renovate the three fish auction halls of Roses, Llançà and Blanes.
Llançà

The cause of the mysterious boat misfortune between Roses and L'Escala, which cost the life of its two crewmembers, seems to be understood. The likelihood of any use of force has been excluded; it is assumed that the two sailors were thrown overboard by rough seas.

Santa Margarida is the hot topic.
The city hall of Roses has written an explanatory document describing the intention of the Department of the Environment to define the channels of Santa Margarida as public area. The city hall holds the point of view that the channels are analogous to a sports port and that they therefore fall under the authority of the Catalan federal state government’s department for port and coasts. 
The Department of the Environment of Madrid intends on 8 May to have technicians of the Ministry survey the area and to delineate the line between private property and the water area, so that the central administration can administer the latter. This would mean that owners would have their moorings expropriated, even though the anchorages are documented as being their property in the “Escritura publica”. The intention of this action is to treat the channels similar to roads so that these can be controlled and maintained because of their bad condition.
The city hall of Roses believes that the channels are not a part of the public area, but that they are considered by the “Ley de Puertos de Cataluña” of 1998 as a sports port and are subject to the regulation of inland ports of 1995.  This is the main argument of the briefing presented to dispute the existing plans, which the city hall of Roses sent this week to the Department of the Environment in Madrid. The briefing also calls for the transition of the ports from the authority from the Department of the Environment of Madrid to the Catalan federal state government.
The Spanish state is, they say, therefore not the responsible administrative agent for the maritime areas of the Urbanisation of Santa Margarida, which is an area administered by the Catalan federal state government and the city hall of Roses. In the same sense the briefing states that the Catalan federal state government, and not the department for coasts in Madrid, is responsible for determining which areas at the channels should be reserved for service points. In each case the city hall insists on the fact that these may only be installed where there is a distance of at least 6 meters from private property.
The city administration of Roses believes that the Department of the Environment will approve the transition of the authority to the Catalan federal state government, so that the two administrations concerned – the federal state government and the city administration - can begin together to restore the Marina.
The mayoress of Roses, Magda Casamitjana, promises the owners that the city hall will work to protect their interests at all time, so that the restoration of the Marina can take place with the smallest possible damage to all the involved parties.

The music festival Doctor Loft in Castelló d'Empúries will take place on 6 July. The gates will be open beginning at 5 o'clock in the morning.

Castelló d'Empúries wants to recondition the quarter of Delta Muga in Empuriabrava, at a cost of 7 million euro. One-half of the cost will come as subsidy by the program “Pla de barris”.

In the entrance of the city hall of Roses a sculpture by the young artist Laia Segura symbolizes the fight of Sant Jordi with the dragon.

The city hall of L’Escala will spend 18.000 euro in renovation work of the church Sant Pere.

The Can Laporta in La Jonquera shows until 3 May an exhibition by Fermí Quintana, with photos and pictures related to exile.

If the water scarceness continues, L’Escala wants to install the fresh water showers at the beaches, but to limit their use to only foot washing.

Colera tackles the improvement of the infrastructure of the Urbanisation “Eixemple Sant Miquel.” So far the potable water supply has been installed, the next phase will concern wastewater and the last phase will involve the roads.

In the court of Girona a father and his daughter are accused of real estate fraud in Llançà. They had taken pre-payments for two dwellings, without ever beginning to build. The court demands in each case six years imprisonment and 6490 euro fine.

In Catalonia a new association was created, “Micropobles de Catalunya.”  This group will seek to protect the interests of very small localities, specifically villages of about 500 inhabitants. One of the association founders is the mayor of Boadella, Emili Santos.

The sea-rescue corps terminated their search for the second crewmember of the yacht accident near Roses. The yacht started from Port Leucate (France) with the goal being L’Escala, but failed to arrive on time and the boat was later found near Menorca without the two crewmembers. The circumstances of the misfortune are still unclear. It may have been an accident, or maybe a hold-up.

Cadaqués must limit the use of drinking water. Under the new order no one is allowed to sprinkle the gardens, to clean streets, to fill swimming pools or to wash cars with city water.

Also Portbou must save water, urgently.

The town hall of Castelló d' Empúries acquired a XVIII century document through the Internet. It is about the confirmation of the refunding of a debt between a citizen and a citizen of Castelló.  The document, from 1753, is written in Latin, with only one small portion in Catalan.

The mayors of Llançà, Colera and Portbou agreed to collaborate for “Diary 21.”  This joint project will help to plan and realise the individual needs of the towns.

The theatre of Roses is now also a concert hall with good acoustics. A new acoustic construction has been installed.  The feature can be easily dismantled if it is not needed.

The architects Alfredo Peñafiel, Katrin Baumgarden and Eduard Miralles won the competition, established by Llançà, for new ideas for the construction of an arts centre at the end of the av Europe (between the village and the port). The new facility must include a library, the archives of city and a general-purpose room.

In the street Pare Claret in Roses one can park only in one direction, towards the mountains. Until now the direction of parking alternated every 15 days.

The original statue of Aesculapius can be visited, again, in the museum of the excavations of Empúries (MAC). A video presents detailed information.

The street between Port de la Selva and Selva de Mar is often used by cyclists. To facilitate a safe route the two towns will add a lane, during the general repair of the street to provide a separate parallel bicycle track. If all goes as planned, the bicycle lane will be ready for use this summer.

Cadaqués distributed to his citizens 1500 copies of a news bulletin, which explains the important decisions made by the town hall.

The foundation Gala- Salvador Dalí acquired from a private collection in Figueres two works by Salvador Dalí from his early period, indeed, from his childhood: the copy of a Dutch painting and a portrait of his grandmother Anna which was created in Cadaqués.

Friday, a yacht of 16 metres left Port Leucate (France), was expected to arrive at the port of L’Escala. When it had not arrived late that evening, the families of the two members of the crew contacted the rescue authorities.  Initially, they found no trace of the yacht. Then on Sunday, it was discovered by a helicopter approximately 40 marine miles north of Menorca (Balearic Islands). The yacht was un-manned. On Sunday evening, 11 marine miles from Roses, the body of owner of the yacht, a 60-year-old Belgian, was found.  A search for the second member of the crew was unsuccessful, so far.

On the Manor house of Sant Ferran in Figueres the repair work on all 16 maisonettes of signs started, at an expenditure of about 876 thousand euros. If work progresses as planned they can be open to visitors in August of this year.

The festival of music “Doctor Loft” in Castelló d' Empúries expects between 20 and 30 thousand visitors at the beginning of July. The town hall negotiated certain conditions with the organizers to prevent problem. Among other stipulations, informal campsites around the festival grounds are prohibited. Advance tickets for the festival are already available for 55 euros.

On the C-260 between Roses and Figueres, a vehicle caught fire. The road was blocked in both directions for approximately one half hour.

So far, the old Club Med near Cadaqués has been relieved of 40 tons of mobile material. According to each piece’s quality, it was either transferred to the dump at Pedret I Marzà or was brought to a recycling facility for re-use. The buildings themselves will be dismantled after the summer.

Figueres would like to bore three new wells to guaranty the water supply this summer. Thus, the town hall has submitted requests to the ACA (Agència Catalana d'Aigua) and awaits authorisation.

American Airlines begins daily service between Barcelona and New York on April 25. The airline expects approximately 40.000 passengers per year.

The supplier of electrical power, Fesca Endesa moved a line underground in the Urbanization Mora in Port de la Selva. The project was not necessarily for aesthetic reasons, but was needed to improve the electricity supply to the households of Port de la Selva.

The bilingual school (Catalan and French) in Le Perthus, at the Spanish-French border was threatened with closing. However, after massive protests by parents and pupils, the closing was cancelled for the moment.

The town hall of Roses wants to request that inhabitants of the urbanizations pay a special tax. With the receipts firebreak corridors will be developed, without flammable ground cover, to decrease the summer fire threat.

The public may not collect red coral in our waters. The red coral is off-limits for all private individuals and there are considerable restrictions for professional fishermen. From L’Escala to Begur, no coral can be captured and around Cap de Creus, only ten licences were given to fishermen. These restrictions are to help conserve the coral.

Burglars broke into the town hall of Vilajuïga and took approximately 300 euro in currency.

Portbou reforms the beach promenade. The pavement, 6 metres wide, will run the entire length of the “Passeig” and stores must accommodate to the new format.  Corresponding work must be completed by summer 2009.

Portbou begins the partial renovation of the old city hall, which will be seat of the Walter Benjamin foundation.

Llançà wants to relieve the shortage of parking spaces, during the summer, with a new parking lot for 400 vehicles at the port, at the left end of the port beach at the river mouth. The opposition parties represented in the city hall, PSC and IVC, oppose this plan.

In the former club Med in Cadaqués the mobile elements are being removed. The actual dismantling of the buildings will not occur before autumn.

Palau-saverdera plans to build a generously dimensioned centre for sports activities. First estimates of the costs are around 2 million euro.

The Ecomuseu Farinera in Castelló d'Empúries was added to the official list of Catalan museums. As a consequence the museum will be more likely to receive institutional assistance.

In Roses the lawns at the sidewalks of the roads Joan Carles I and Marinada are being replaced with sandstone. Since this does not have to be maintained, as a lawn must, there will be a savings of water.

Colera re-activates a poetry competition which was last held 12 years ago: the Concurs de Poesia Miquel Martí i Pol. The namesake of the competition, Miquel Martí i Pol (1929-2004) was one of the most important authors of Catalonia.  A whole generation of songwriters were inspired by his texts, among them Lluís Llach, with whom he wrote the album “Un pont de mar blava” (a bridge of blue sea). The competition wishes to attract both inhabitants of Colera and to others who feel a connection to the place. The winners of the four categories will be announced during a Fiesta of poetry in September.

Miquel Martí i Pol

Figueres has closed the fairground to prevent trucks from parking there.

Llançà intensifies their emphasis on traffic controls. Their focus will be to prevent noisy vehicles, particularly two-wheel vehicles.

On a routine vehicle control the police in Figueres found 20 kilograms of heroin. The passengers of the vehicle, two Moroccans, were handed over to the law.

The Italian circus Il Circo di Venezia accepted an invitation to perform in Figueres. During the Festes de Santa Creu the circus troupe will entertain a tent filled with an audience of up to 1300 persons. After Figueres performances will be held in Vic, Olot, Terrassa, Badalona and Tàrrega. Tickets are already available for advance booking available at prices from 8 to 30 euro.

The plans to build a covered swimming pool in La Jonquera have been stopped, since the federal state government will not provide subsidies to municipalities with fewer than 10.000 inhabitants.

An urban cleaning machine of L’Escala broke through on the “Passeig del Mar” in such a manner that it had to be removed with a crane.  The Passeig del Mar, between the Port Perris and Riells has experienced similar damage during the last few years, probably because of unstable ground. Therefore, the weekly Sunday market will be shifted to another location.

“Defensem el Tren” submitted a petition with 5,822 signatures to the city hall of Figueres, which urged a plebiscite on the transfer of the railway station from the centre of town to the outskirts.

What follows is not a joke, even if this newspaper was written on April 1.

We have received a significant number of inquiries from inhabitants of Santa Margarida who are concerning of the rumour that public access must be added between the canals and the houses alongside the canals. That would have major consequences to owners of houses with moorings at the canal if they lost ownership of 6 Metres of land. We are currently unable to sort out the reality from the fiction. In theory, the problem is based upon the law of the coasts “ley of costas” which goes back to 1988 and whether it also applies to channels/canals and rivers. This law said inter alia, that between the sea and private property a public access corridor must be made available to the public. The law has resulted in many places with the creation of the round ways (cami de ronda) paths along the coast. Residents and visitors, alike, enjoy the opportunity to walk along the coast. However, the interpretation has given much less delight to the owners of real estate directly at the first line of sea. Interpreting even more broadly to include the channels of Marinas such as Santa Margarida or Empuriabrava is not comparable and upsets the balance between public interest and private ownership. The Marinas would thus undoubtedly lose their value and such a decision by the administration is not obviously in anyone’s best interest. It is quite obvious that that would cause many to flee our area, such as the tourists who regularly spend a lot of money in Catalonia. One should not forget either that the owners of the properties at the channel paid for all of the ground, and that for the majority, their property deed specifically mentions: “villa (or flat) with mooring.” However, we can certify that last weekend, a boat with two individuals travelled into the Ponent channel, close to Estella. They disembarked on several private quays, without the owner’s permission, and measured off 6 metres starting from the edge of the channel and placed reference marks on the private terraces. It should be noted that some properties would have this line run right through the swimming pool.  Here are two photographs taken this Tuesday April 1 where you can clearly sees the red marks which would delimit the grounds of the residents, while cutting through private terraces and pools.  It is obvious that one should not panic, but one should not ignore the threat and fail to react.  Two years ago an association of residents of the “canales Sta Margarida” (http://www.stamargarita.net/ ) had been organized. The Spanish representative was, until last year, a member of the opposition in the town hall of Roses.  Now, since the last elections, he is in the majority party. A petition is already being circulated, but it is important for everyone to sign to have maximum impact. The town hall believes that it had got rid of this problem by entrusting the management of the channels to the company “Port de Roses.”
Thus people of this company will enter without authorisation onto properties that border the channels. Though it occurs, there should be recourse, thousands of people are concerned, and for such an important problem it will be necessary to have a coordinated response, with legal support, to defend the property rights and to prevent such an arbitrary loss of property from the property owners, citizens from all over Europe, who believed that they invested their money for clear title to their property. A briefing is organised for 8 May (10 h 00, av. de la Bocana, 1 and 2), however few owners were informed.  This may be the plan, to have few attend and thus to indicate little interest in this dangerous development.

Over 100 children from Llançà participated in the fiesta of the tree, which was organised for the first time. The children planted his or her own tree, either oak or cork oak, on 30 March at the hermitage of Sant Silvestre. The children accepted their responsibility to provide for the long-term well being of the trees.

PORT DE ROSES, SA, manager of the port of Roses, received European and international authentication (ISO 14001) for their environmentally friendly harbour facilities.

Castelló d'Empúries and Sant Pere Pescador committed themselves to jointly pursue the goals of the “agenda 21.” This plan sets initiatives for the ecological well being of the municipalities.

The association Comerç Figueres sees an optimistic future for the shops of Figueres, despite the current weak economic environment. There is a long tradition of serving French tourists, mostly from areas close to the border, who benefit from the price differential between Spain and France. Comerç Figueres does acknowledge that this year’s winter sale had not met expectations.

Sant Pere Pescador still finds itself missing the legal authority to administer the area of the former Fluvià Marina. The area was changed from “cultivating bar” to “agricultural,” but so far the owners have not yet been compensated.  Without a decision on the proper remunerations the hands of the city hall are tied.

Concerning the high voltage transmission line between France and Spain, there are new suggestions on how to resolve the issue. The line over the Pyrenees, sharply criticised by the organisation “NO a la Mat” could be realised via a sea route, so says the French Department of the Environment. Another option is to put the line underground over the Pyrenees. The latter would raise the price by about three times. Last weekend 18,000 demonstrators met in Girona to voice their opposition to The MAT. They came from both from the Spanish and the French part of Catalonia.

The city hall of Port de la Selva will have, because of reduced building activity, a smaller budget. As the first economy measure the local police force was reduced.

Also the city hall of L’Escala believes that it will earn smaller income from building permits.

The rainfalls of the last weekend failed to do much to improve the water level of the reservoirs; Boadella, for example is only filled to 24% of its capacity.

Roses population is now 19960 inhabitants. With the rapid population growth of Roses is it only a short time before it passes the 20000 inhabitants mark and thus become officially a city (ciutat).  After Figueres, Roses will be second city of the Alt Empordà. This change of status carries consequences. Among other things Roses receives more rights to national subsidies, but also gains more obligations on social services.

In Figueres the construction work on the avinguda Salvador Dalí will cause delays for approximately 10 days. The goal is to place electrical cables underground.

The hopes of the Hoteliers on the Costa Brava for a good occupancy level over the Easter holidays were not fulfilled. Authorities had courageously prognosticated, despite the unusually early holiday date, a high occupancy rate of 85%.  But these expectations did not pan out, and the preliminary numbers were around 60%. Very bad weather, i.e. rain and wind caused many holidays guests to head for home early on Monday morning to avoid the expected traffic congestion.  In the Pyrenees, however, snow provided for the appropriate tourist lift; hotel beds were a scarce commodity and the homebound wave of traffic on Monday evening was horrendous. Because of the snow four mountain routes had to be completely closed to traffic, twelve other roads were only passable with tire chains. South of the mountains the Hoteliers of the region declared Easter 2008 a catastrophe.

Plans to make the Sport port of Roses accessible for large ships are going to become a reality. At present the maximum depth of water is 6 metres and this permits the anchoring of ships that are no longer than 60 metres. In the near future it will be possible to attract cruise ships of over 100 metres which need at least 10 metres depth of water to anchor.  This will require a partial transformation of the port.

Over the 9 days of the used boat fair in Empuriabrava 75 boats changed ownership.   In all, 500 boats priced up to 650,000 euro were offered for sale. The organizers call the sales revenue satisfying, although they conceded that the sales results were lower than last year by approximately 15%.

Because of extreme wind between six and eight Easter holiday events had to be called off for safety reasons. In Sant Climent Sescebes the show of the passion plays were cancelled on Saturday evening and on the Easter Sunday only few dealers braved the weather to install their stands for the Jewish market.

The businessmen of the sector Sant Mori in Empuriabrava are trying to negotiate with the city hall for structural improvements of their area. They insist however on being able to offer their goods in the space in front of their shops.

The bad weather experienced during the Easter holidays will continue. The Meteorologists predict next weekend will again experience moderate temperatures.

In the zone Trabuc of Empuriabrava a luxury hotel with 75 rooms will be built, with an extensive Wellness centre as well as a conference centre for 300 persons. The hotel is expected to open in 2010. The necessary construction work will cost 8 million euro.

Empuriabrava is now only able to rent anchorages for boats up to 15 m. This will soon change and by summer there will be ten anchorages available for boats up to 20 metres.

Of the 4500 anchorages in Empuriabrava, only 700 owners, so far, have registered with the manager of the channels (Port Empuriabrava S.A.). The company will begin an in formation campaign to start at the beginning of the tourism season, top encourage the owners to register.

Cadaqués sees itself confronted with a new phenomenon, called wedding tourism. More and more non-resident couples are choosing Cadaqués as the “in” place to exchange wedding vows at a civilian wedding. The city hall has reacted, so that two Fridays per month will be available for weddings.  Last year 150 marriages were performed in Cadaqués, mostly linking non-residents.

L'Escala prepares for the Fiesta Triumvirat Mediterrani.  From the 1st to 11 May a series of cultural meetings are planned, under the slogan of the Aesculapius.

Despite a tourist disappointing Holy Week Sant Pere Pescador attracted a crowd at the re-opening of the tourism office. 212 persons took advantage of its services, mostly Catalans.

Llançà opened a new information office for tourists in the Roman tower at the Plaça major, in the local centre. The tower had been made accessible to the public in August, last year.

Empuriabrava will build a new purification plant. For the citizens the project expense will be covered through a special tax. The city hall invited its French-speaking citizens to an information meeting on the topic, which attracted more than 80 citizens.

It remains unclear what will happen with the new (or old) railway stations in Figueres. The city hall opts, at present, to build both the new station for the high-speed train TAV and to retain the existing station for traditional trains, but the latter will have underground rails.

At the Aiguamolls nature reserve, the track south from the El Cortalet information office to the old rice silos has been closed indefinitely to bicycles but will remain open for walkers. However, the track north-east from El Cortalet towards Empuriabrava, the one from Pau to Palau-Saverdera and the one alongside the river Fluvià at Sant Pere Pescador can all still be explored by cycle.

In Roses over 1000 new dwellings will be built behind the Citadel beside the Mas Oliva urbanisation. Half of the properties will be advertised nationally and reserved for sale or rent to young people and older citizens, while the rest will be offered for sale on the open market.

After three years’ delay, Cadaqués Council has published its its draft special plan for the redevelopment of the old part of town. The plan covers new and existing buildings together with their use or conversion. The delay happened because a considerable number of inputs had to be taken into account following the public announcement of the plan.

For Easter, Castelló d’Empúries has installed a statue of Christ by the artist Natalie Stamford at the Castelló Nou roundabout. Castelló will play host to a number of gatherings during the holidays, amongst them the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession with live participants.

Cadaqués will decide definitely only after the summer what is going to happen to the buildings of the former Club Med at Cap de Creus.

Cadaqués has agreed with the coastal administration on the installation of a point for fuelling boats and disposing of their waste water. Although the associated work will begin soon, it is unlikely that these services will be ready this summer.

Roses has taken over two wells between the Mas Mates and Mas Boscà urbanisations. They previously supplied water to the Pení military base until June 2007, at which time the base was connected to the water supply of Cadaqués. The two wells produce 800 cubic metres of water per day and can satisfy 17%  of the water demand out of season and 6% in the summer.

During its first weekend, 25 items were sold at the fair for used boats in Empuriabrava: 23 boats and two jet skis. The boats mostly belonged to the very popular 8-9m class.

Near Sant Miquel de Fluvià, the police captured four men who were running large scale tobacco smuggling from Spain to France. The smugglers, although well organised and equipped, were caught with 50,000 packets of cigarettes. The origin of the merchandise is not yet known.

On Easter Saturday Garriguella is holding its very popular “Fira de la garnatxa”. Not only will lovers of this sweet wine be pleased, but there will also be a plentiful supply of baking to sample all day long.

	Darnius is offering a rich program to its guests and residents for the Easter holidays. It begins on Friday with sardanas, garnatxa and cakes. High points will surely be the ball starting at 11.30 in the evening and the cavalcade from the town hall to the church starting at 12.15 on Sunday afternoon.
Darnius

100 actors and 60 technicians are organising this year’s passion play in the “horta d'en Cusí” of Sant Climent Sescebes. The widely-renowned  passion play will have five performances. The program ends with the Jewish market on Sunday in San Climent.

Llançà played host recently to two Dutch journalists from the newspaper “Op Lemen Voeten”which specialises in hiking tours. The journalists are writing a report for the May edition about the footpaths around Llançà.

Llançà opened its new youth hostel in the Carrer Setcases, No. 9, beside the train station.  The hostel offers 10 dormitories for 49 young people and a well-equipped kitchen. The youth hostel will remain open throughout the year. During March, April and May it offers overnight accommodations, including lunch, for the price of 15 euro. The lodging is operated by the private enterprise Tot Lleure, a company with experience running similar holiday camps.

In Roses the new roundabout at the intersection of the Avinguda de Rhode with the Ronda Miquel Oliva Prat was recently inaugurated.

Colera opened a new children's playground.

The government approved work for the improvement of the round way along the coast in Cadaqués. The new road will pass between the Cala Nens and the beach Sa Conca.

In Portbou the private and public water consumption was limited because of the drought.

Defensem el Tren de L’Empordà (we defend the trains of the Empordà) collected 3600 signatures at 12 stands in Figueres during Election Day. This petition asks the city hall to seek citizen input as to whether the train station should remain where it is now,with the rails underground, or shifted, as planned to Vilafant. The city hall has not yet reacted to the petition.

The city hall of Castelló d'Empúries plans the renovation of the zone Sant Mori in Empuriabrava.

At the art fair SWAB in Barcelona (15 to 18 May) is a gallery from Cadaqués, the Galeria Cadaqués Dos “as one of 9 national galleries. Altogether 38 galleries from 11 countries will participate in the fair.

Llançà await extensive road repairs. The N-260 will get two metres of sidewalks, which will facilitate the way from the station to the beach. Likewise on the program is a new roundabout to facilitate traffic to Port de la Selva. The resulting costs will be a bit less than 4 million euro.

	The round way along the sea between the Cala Fornells and the Cala Tamariu in Port de la Selva has been repaired at an expenditure of 288 thousand euro.
Cala Tamariu

La Jonquera is concerned about the traffic volume along the N II. During the weekends innumerable trucks are parked at roadside and obstruct the flow of traffic.  The police have been unsuccessful in encouraging the truck drivers to use the many truck parking lots in the area.

The winery Espelt in Vilajuïga now also sells olive oil that comes from their own 30,000 olive trees growing on 30 hectares.

A boundary stone between Castelló d'Empúries and Fortia, dating from 1771 is now owned by the municipality of Castelló. The stone had been found by Vicens Llovet in the year 2001 while he worked with a tractor on his field.

In the Avinguda the Salvador Dalí in Figueres work will begin this week on the electrical system. Therefore expect serious traffic delays.

The nightclub zone of Empuriabrava will have monitoring cameras.

The Sommelier Rafael Sabadí from the restaurant Roser 2 in L’Escala won 12000 Euro in the “Premi Vila Viniteca de Cata” along with David Martínez (El Velero, Sitges) in the Casa Llotja Mar v in Barcelona. 168 Sommeliers from Spain’s leading restaurants participated in the competition.

The CiU, in the city hall of Roses in the opposition, shows up few enthusiastically of the plans to establish around the citadel a nightclub zone. This, so the CiU, is an inadmissible mixture of culture and spare time.

200 wines and cavas from Catalonia were presented for tasting at the “Girovi '08” as candidates for the coveted best product awards. In the particularly prestigious “negres reserva” category,  the red “Moll de Alba 2001” wine from the Castillo de Capmany winery won the Gold Medal of Catalonia.

Empuriabrava council took part in the recent “Navartur" tourist trade fair  in Pamplona (Navarra).

In Empuriabrava, the municipal gardening workforce is now pruning about 700 oleanders in the Muga, Noguera, Llobregat, Platja Petita, Falconera and Marinada roads. These oleanders are of the kind that need to be cut before they bloom in April.

Catalan ice-cream is on its way to China. The “Gelats Dino” company, founded in 1979 as small ice-cream parlour in Empuriabrava, received a delegation from China, which is interested in its products, as a first step towards the internationalisation of the brand.

The last medium tension electricity supply line for the city centre of Roses will soon be installed underground. It will run parallel to the Gran Via Pau Casals. The work will begin on 25 March and will take about three weeks. During this period, however, no significant power cuts are to be feared.

“Escot l'Escala”, the oldest windsurfing equipment business in the Alt Empordà (since 1991), is celebrating its new web site, http://www.escot-lescala.com, which is in Catalan, French, English and Spanish. It has a very interesting photography gallery of l'Escala and its surroundings, likewise a webcam view of the “Port d'en Perris”, which is updated every five minutes and is kindly made available to CapCreus online.

CapCreus online http://cbrava.com  

Impressum: Ernst Witzel, Paul A. Hoffstein, Manuel Fernández Vila, Christel Arnold, Geraldine Steffler, . Article contributions, even when being seriously serious please to cconline@cbrava.com.    CapCreus online, every day a little more
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Cips Diving centre, Costa Brava / Port de la Selva