LOLA LET LOOSE IN LOS PUEBLOS BLANCOS!

Welcome to PART 2 of our trip, dear readers - this
time inland to Andalucia’s White Towns or Pueblos
Blancos - a series of towns and villages in the
northern part of Malaga province, mostly within
the Sierra de Grazalema and Bermeja Natural Parks.

All the villages are characterised by whitewashed
walls and terracotta roofs.The area has been
settled since prehistoric times, some of the local
caves having ancient rock paintings. Numerous
cultures have left their mark (including the
Romans) but the most influential was that of the
Moors. The narrow, winding streets have a
distinct Arabic feel, though each village has at
least one Roman Catholic Church. The
surrounding countryside is green and pleasant
and tourist activities include hiking, rock-climbing,
pot-holing, horseback riding, bird watching
and just, well, doing nothing! Viva manana!

Let’s begin by driving away from Malaga Airport
where you flew in over Puerto Banus (see sidebar pic!)
and along the coast to our first pueblo blanco, Casares...

and the view from the other side of town...

Let’s wander through its attractive streets...

and here's another...

Then on to pretty Gaucin...

what a great view of its castle, Castillo del Aguila!

Hang on! Let’s stop to do some shopping...

But it’s so hot! What would you prefer: a
coffee, a long cold drink or an apéritif?

Before we drive on to famous Ronda, let’s
pass through pretty Algatocin...

watch out for those goats!

and have a closer look at Bermeja Natural Park:

and even further afield to Gibraltar (in the hazy distance!)

before we finally arrive at Ronda and... lunch!
But first, let’s look at Ronda’s famous Puente Nueve!

and the houses clinging so precariously to the side...

Now let’s go up this street to our restaurant...

Phew! Let’s walk off lunch by hitting
the shops again ... Fancy some ham, anyone?!

Oh, look! A bullfight ad for Marbella! Ugh!

But here’s the real thing:Ronda’s own bull ring!Ugh!Ugh!

Ah! But it’s getting late and you’ve got a plane to catch!
So, let’s return to Malaga via one last pueblo blanco,
Villanueva del Trabuco, situated to the north of the city.

And have a farewell drink in this bar... That was some
joke one of you cracked!! Almost brought the roof down!

But quick! Here’s Daniel with your private plane!

Now, where dear reader, would you like HIM to fly YOU?

xxLOL LOLA:)

PAW NOTE: Some outrageous pics for you this Saturday! xx

LOLA'S DELICIOUS DAY IN MARVELLOUS MARBELLA!

For dear blogpals in the UK with its rather wet

summer and those in the southern hemisphere

winter, I thought you might like to spend the

day in HOT HOT Marbella! First we’ll drive into

town (the cops in the sidebar are our chauffeurs

for the day! Clive’s got the day off - said he’s

tired from all that hanging around in the sidebar

below),have a stroll around the old town before

lunch, then on to Puerto Banus for some serious

retail therapy! Above is the map for the route we’ll take...
But first, hop aboard our Rolls Royce Silver Spirit!

or the just unveiled Bentley Mulsanne!

Or there’s this Harley D for those who’d prefer
more thrills & spills (especially if my PA’s driving!)

Let’s first drive through the famous Marbella Arch

stop for coffee in busy Plaza de los Naranjos

and wander around the streets of the old town
before lunch in our private room at Novelli’s

And here’s Jean-Christophe to prepare lunch!

Bon appétit!

And now on to Puerto Banus!

Quick, let’s make for the marina

and our own private yacht for coffee, liqueurs and, er,
people watching!

Phew! Let’s work off lunch by hitting the shops!
Psst! There’s a shedload of expensive designer

shops here! And that means only one thing: we and

our debit cards will be best friends once again :)
But wait, let’s get our bearings...

and have a look first at Loewe...
Is that someone you know outside?

and over there at Lanvin too?!!

Fine, let’s go next to Bulgari...

and then on to Vuitton! Wow!

Next up Hermès! What shall we choose?

and at Jimmy Choo’s?

But it’s getting late, we’re all exhausted and our

chauffeurs over there are looking so impatient!
But, hey, here’s Valentino waving us goodbye!
Well, we did flash the cash, didn’t we!!

Grrrh! Grrrh! Grrh! Agh! Agh! Agh!
Grrh! Grrh! Grrh! Agh! Agh! Agh! Grrh!

What a great day; great sunset too, eh?!

And you’ve all been such wonderfully witty

company! But where did YOU splash the cash (real or

imaginary)?! Hope you can join me again next

Thursday for a drive up into the hills to some

of Andalucia’s famous white villages...
See you then!

And this Saturday too for some of Lola’s

last-minute vacation wear ideas!! xx

xxxLOL LOLA:)

BEAUTY & THE BEAST (OR: A MASTER CLASS IN CORRUPTION)

In a comment about the previous post where I mentioned Spain’s serious economic difficulties, Charley Circus, author of the great blog, So Lovely, observed how one-sided a country’s news reporting can be. And this got me thinking. About all the stories here in Andalucia, for instance, that would hardly make it into the Spanish national press, let alone The LA Times or The Times (of London).

One recent local story stands out in particular since it highlights Marbella’s recent murky past. (A sunny place for shady people perhaps, to quote Somerset Maugham.) A litter bin (no, a skip) filled to overflowing with corruption scandals which the authorities, to be fair, are doing their best to eradicate. Though not enough in the opinion of a good friend of mine, Isabella, an English lawyer who’s been here over fifteen years and still deals with instances of corruption and bribery. In her view, it will take another generation for corruption to be the exception rather than the norm. When today’s youth comes of age in an environment when bribes and backhanders are no longer seen as the sine qua non of the Harvard Business School (Spain) model.

‘Spanish customs and practices’ is an oft used axiom - could equally well describe the operation of the UK’s ‘gentlemen’s club’ parliamentary expenses system - and here in Andalucia we are reminded of it every time we hear that a former mayor/councillor is remanded in custody/ released on bail/ comes to trial/comes to the public’s notice in some form or other.

And I was immediately reminded of it again when I heard that the former Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz (above), who is not only currently serving a prison sentence, with day release privileges, for town planning crimes but still faces another 50 court cases on various counts including the so-called 'Malaya' case, is to give a guest appearance at a Madrid University Summer Course to talk about… Yes, you guessed right - "Corruption"…

It was the ‘Malaya’ case, in fact, that brought Muñoz, my chosen beast, to universal notice amid allegations of money laundering, property development offences, including building on land protected from development, manipulation of public tenders, the acceptance of bribes as well as schemes to alter the price of municipal services. Police seized, incidentally, more than €45,000 in CASH from the home of Muñoz's girlfriend, the singer Isabel Pantoja, which she claimed were for "household expenses". Which by comparison makes moats and duck islands seem pretty small fry… Hmm

So, let’s just imagine Muñoz - former waiter and chauffeur - sitting down and putting together some of the main bullet points for his inaugural lecture entitled:

The Muñoz Master Class in Corruption:

• Fings wot I done (and got away with)



• Fings wot I didnt get done (but would ave if I hadnt got nicked)



• Fings wot worked (and made me shedloads of dosh)



• Fings wot didnt work (couldnt make enough dosh out of 'em)



• Fings wot I saw (and should have turned a blind eye to)



• Fings wot I didn’t see (and wish now I had)



• Fings wot I said (and were lies)



• Fings wot I didnt say (but were lies anyway)



• Fings wot I wish Id said (and might’ve kept me out of all this ****)



• Fings wot I wish I hadnt said (but landed me in all this **** anyway)



• Fings wot I would do again (now I knows not what to do)



• Fings wot I wouldnt do again (now I knows they ******* won’t ******* work)
  

Signed X (Julián Muñoz), Marbella, 22 May 2009

The course director, Juan Luis Galiacho, who approved the proposal put forward by one of the lecturers, pointed out that the course is an "open forum" and "Muñoz can say what he likes ...Besides, he is not being paid to come".

And what about Muñoz himself? Asked about the course, he neither confirmed nor denied his intentions but remarked - ironically - that he never gets paid. (This from a self-made multi-millionaire. Millions made by himself - from corruption.)

Interestingly other speakers on the same subject of corruption include Spain’s Ombudsman, the Attorney General, a Cardinal, several politicians and the very judge who jailed the late, former mayor, Jesús Gil, the tip of Marbella’s corruption iceberg.

And what, you ask, is the beauty of the title? Here in Andalucia, mid-May is the season of one of the most beautiful flowering trees I know. The jacaranda. The gorgeous flowers only last for a week or so but what beauty! And what a contrast to the dirty, devious, disgusting dealings of my beast, Muñoz.

NB. Julián Muñoz wants it to be known that he offers his services as Guest Speaker (Specialist Subject: "Corruption or How To Con All The Punters All The Time") on the world business leaders’ circuit following in the footsteps of Blair and Clinton. For further details of other services available from 3 M (Muñoz MoneyMaking Machine Inc), apply directly to Julián himself to whom all moneys from whatever source (no questions asked) should be sent and by whom no reasonable offers (except from Nigeria) will be refused.
　

THE ELEPHANT AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM: PRIME SUSPECT 2

Marbella has long since lost the cachet it once enjoyed when favoured by Europe's elite, by luminaries such as Bismarck, Rothschild, Metternich and Thyssen. Habitués such as Roger Moore and Sean Connery moved out when Marbella became a catchphrase for vulgarity and sleaze during Gil's megalomaniac regime, and crass property developments sprouting up everywhere blocked their sea views.

That was also the era when less discreet jet-setters moved in. The late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia regularly had in tow a 3,000-strong entourage at his Marbella palace, the arms dealer Adnan Kashoggi's gold-encrusted yacht resided in the harbour, and the Syrian arms trafficker, Monzer al-Kassar, arranged deals from his mansion, until he was arrested last June on an international arrest warrant issued by the US, accused of supplying rocket launchers and machine guns to Colombia's Farc guerrillas.

There remain countless Russian and Italian drug-trafficking mafias who settle turf wars with wild west-style running gunbattles. Last year police detained five members of the Mazzarella family, suspected of leading roles in the Neapolitan Camorra. The family had long used Marbella as a transit point for trafficking drugs from Morocco.

Gil resigned in 2002, immersed in financial scandals, and died in 2004, whereupon Roca became the "epicentre of a vast coruption network" according to investigators. Indeed, Roca essentially bought his successors as mayor, Julian Muñoz and Marisol Yague, both of whom were also arrested. Police seized more than €45,000 in cash from the home of Muñoz's girlfriend, the singer Isabel Pantoja, which she claimed were for household expenses.

"Some of Marbella's councillors were on Roca's payroll. They were rewarded for their loyalty and submission rather than for each building licence they issued," Judge Torres noted, adding that Roca manipulated the councillors, charged property developers for licences and permits in urban green zones, and laundered the dirty money through numerous shell companies. Assets confiscated and seized by the authorities amount to some €2.4bn.

Furthermore, Roca amassed two huge Andalusian estates, including an orange grove, a stud farm with fighting bulls and 103 thoroughbred horses, luxury hotels, three palaces in Madrid, beachside property developments, a heliport, a private plane, and artworks valued at €30m. When police raided his homes in April 2006, they impounded 275 paintings, including works by Picasso, and stuffed animals, including a polar bear, a rhinoceros and in one dark corner… an elephant.

And for Marbella too, Roca, like his stuffed animal, remains the elephant at the back of the room.