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

Weather forecast:

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				L'Escala Roses Empuriabrava
MAX: 33° MIN: 20° UV- index: 9	MAX: 28° MIN: 18° UV- index: 9	MAX: 29° MIN: 19° UV- index: 9
wind: N 21km/h |  Barometer:1005mb | R.Humidity:70% | Visibility:10 km.
Web www.cbrava.com

Following a successful season last year our co-worker Christel Arnold will again open her studio in Pau to visitors. At Christel’s studio one will find paintings in oil and gouache as well as collages.  Many pieces of art are exhibited throughout three floors in the romantic village of Pau. The entrance is, naturally, free. The studio will be open each Friday, Saturday and Sunday in July and August from 19 to 22 o'clock. Don’t worry about the heat, the rooms are air-conditioned. Information on how to drive to Pau: Pau is on the road between Vilajuïga and Roses. At the roundabout the road leads to Pau; Christel Arnold’s studio is on the very first road of Pau, to the left, in the C/dels Baladres No. 6, only few meters from the restaurant Garimall.

The holiday resort Les Palmiers in Llançà will organize each Wednesday in August a Flamenco show with the group Canela pura. Beginning at 21 o'clock; the entrance is free. The access to Les Palmiers is well marked on the road from Llançà to Port de la Selva.

The roadways leading to the Costa Brava for the start of the peak holiday season at the beginning of August were relatively free of problems. Last year was different, with visitors from Barcelona queued up for as much as 70 kilometres.  This year the back-ups were few and shorter. Peak period however was evident at the Girona airport where 118,198 passengers passed through during the first few days of August.

“Time and Chance, A Tribute to John Cage and Merce Cunningham” is the title of the next exhibition of the gallery Horizon in Colera.  [Vernissage is on 16 July at 19 h 30.]  The show includes works by John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Edvard Lieber, Enric Ansesa, Yasafumi Yamamoto, Juan Bufill, Romain Finke, Ralph Bernabei, Yves François, Vicenç Viaplana, Josep Manuel Berenguer, Jean Louis Vila, Richard Meier and Yoshiyasu Zenitani.  All of the works were inspired by the work of the American artists John Cage (music) and Merce Cunningham (choreography). After the Vernissage an audiovisual performance will take place at 22 o'clock, “A l'aire” with music and pictures by José Manuel Berenguer and Choreography by Nora Sitges Sarda and Claudi Bombardó (Contrapuntus Danceport)

The mayoress of Roses, Magda Casamitjana, has an important appointment in the middle of August, in Madrid. She wants, with support of the Catalan federal state government, to prevent the channels of Santa Margarida being subject to the Spanish coastal law.  Instead, she wants the “llei de ports Catalana” (law of the Catalan ports) to be the operational regulations.

After the Santa Margarida threats, there are new problems for the owners of moorings in Empuriabrava. The Servei de Costes of the Department of the Environment will call in 2600 owners in September to explain which parts of the channels is now government property.  Four meetings will take place; the first will be on 22 September.

The city hall of Castelló d'Empúries and the concessionaire of the channels of Empuriabrava agreed on the statutes for the new owner community of the owners of moorings. In the budgets of 2009 to 2013 are important issues including the renovation of the footbridges over the channels. Anyone interested should go to the civic centre to learn about the changes.  There is information in several languages telling of owner’s rights and obligations. In the city hall of Castelló all of the political parties agree that the procedures should be as simple as possible. They are disappointed that the Catalan federal state government has been conspicuously absent from the debate. The official policy is that the registration and payment of fees are compulsory and essential if one wishes to continue enjoying the rights to their moorings.  Their website address is: www.marinaempuriabrava.com Tel: +34 972 45 12 39.  Address: Capitania, Av. de la Capitania, s/n, 17487 Empuriabrava.
The fees for 2008 have been established based upon the following calculation. Length x breadth = m2 x 15,00 € = annual amount payable.  An example for a 12m mooring, [for longer or shorter moorings simply change the length of the equation].  It is assumed that each mooring will use a 3m wide portion of canal space.  A 12 meter boat x 3 [assumed] meters wide  = 36 x 15 = 540,00 €.  A 20% discount is being offered for payments prior to 30-09-08.
As is often the case, especially where money and taxes are concerned, and also due to the lack of clarity of the process, there is an opposition group against the new mooring fees.  This group is the “Association of Owners Empuriabrava.”  Their website is: www.ap.empuriabrava.com  Tel: +34 606 659 602.

The park+bus service at the fairground of Figueres finally is finally bearing fruit. On an average day there are 215 cars.  A free bus then drives the passengers to the city centre.

Franz van de Geenen, musician and owner of the “Hotelito” Ave de Paso in Fortia, will perform this summer nearly daily with different groups.  The next few dates are on 8 August in the bar “Xupito” in Empuriabrava (behind the restaurant Pasarella) with Franz & Frenz: Franz van de Geenen (p, voc) Ricard Bennet (g) Oscar Martinez (dr) Leo KLeiner (cb). On 9 (23h Villarobau) and 10 August (19h Vilopriu) plays Franz van de Geenen with the Cobla “La Cervianenca” Sardanas

On 23 August the rock groups of La Jonquera will give a concert on Plaça Nova, beginning at 22 o'clock.

The Italian architect and Gallerist Lanfranco Bombelli Tiravanti died in Cadaqués at the age of 87 years.  He founded the gallery Cadaqués and worked with many artists including Max Bill, Marcel Duchamp and Jasper Johns as the first gallery in Spain showing works by the international avant-garde.

On 8 August the port of Llançà will be the scene of a rock concert: Sardinarock, starting at 22 o'clock 30.  The concert will offer three groups. Prior to the concert, starting at 20 o'clock, grilled sardines will be served.

The club Nàutic of Llançà began offering sailing lessons for handicapped persons.

The music festival of Cadaqués began on 2 August with a new stage. The concerts no longer will take place in the church, but now in the open air on the Olive boscage SA Conca. In the first concert Cris Juanico performed with the original jazz Orquestra, which is an indication of the concerts ability to go in different directions. Tickets are available at the money automats of the ServiCaixa.

From 3 to 14th August Joesp M Carceller will show his work, photos of the underwater world of Portbou, in the centre civic of Portbou, daily from 18 to 20 o’clock.

On 14 August the guitarists Xavier Ballesteros and Josep Manzano will perform in the “Porxos de Can Laporta” of La Jonquera with a concert with Flamenco and Spanish classical music, beginning at 22 o'clock.

The ice-cream producer Gelats Dino from Empuriabrava will open a factory in the north of China in 2009.

Castelló d’Empúries offers until 3 September a special program for young persons with activities such as excursions, Kayak or water ski. The fees for the events have been reduced for young people and are very reasonable priced.

To commemorate the beginning of the excavations in Empúries, one hundred years ago, L’Escala and Empuries will organize between the 9 and 17 August, for the first time, the festival “portal Blau.”  The festival will not only offer music, but also a number of cultural events from the cinema, art, Poetry and gastronomy.

The fish auction halls of Llançà and Roses will be reconditioned after the summer with funds from the federal state government. For Llançà 155 thousand euro will be made available, for Roses 388 thousand euro.

In the context of Nits d'estiu (Summer nights) Joana Ferrer & Gavin Buckley are in concert on 7 August with Bossa Nova starting at 22 o'clock on the Plaça major of Sant Pere Pescador. On 9th August there will be a concert in the parish church with baroque music, also at 22 o'clock.

The youth organization of Portbou presents on 9th August a rock festival, Tramunrock08, with the groups of Burman Flash, Deskizia, Mei, Jean Paul, Fel·la'm, Palabra Cadabra and Stacatto. Beginning at 19 o'clock, it will run until 6 o'clock. During the concert, all night, one can purchase beverages and Bocadillos.

On 30 August the classical fishing boats with the sail Vela Llatina will again meet in Cadaqués. During the morning the boats will be at the beach, and then lunch, followed by the regatta and the awarding of the prize.

Because of the drought the wells of La Vajol and Vilamaniscle cannot provide sufficient water.  In order to supply the population cisterns with water are now being delivered to water depots and fed from there into the water lines.

The Cobla Ciutat de Girona will give a concert in the Casa de Cultura of Llançà on 10th August at 22 o'clock 30.  The entrance fee will be 6 euro.  Tickets are available in the new tourism office at the western entrance of Llançà.

Roses offers beach aerobics free of charge.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 11 and 18 o'clock in Santa Margarida, before the hotel Monterrey; Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at the beach Salatar, beside the hotel Marítim, also around 11 and 18 o'clock.

At the beaches La Farella and Grifeu in Llançà the red danger flag was hoisted because of medusas.  In general the level of the medusas in our waters is within limits, despite the hot weather.

Three parachute gliders landed on the main beach of Port de la Selva, much for the displeasure of the bathers. A child was hurt slightly, and a glider damaged the little house in which the rescue forces are accommodated. The city hall asks the organizers of the jumps to seek alternative landing sites because the beach is very crowded during the summer.

Representatives of various municipalities and club Nautics visited the swimming pontoon in Roses to study the project.  The pontoon was installed recently as pilot project. 46 boats can attach to it.  After the season, when demand is gone, the pontoon can be easily removed.

In Alt Empordà the state of emergency 2, due to the drought, continues. Since the reservoir, lake Boadella, is only filled to 31% of its capacity, the likelihood of a lifting of the ban any time soon is slim.

So far the fire fighters of the Alt Empordà have not been very busy. Statisticians note that this year, so far, has been the best forest fires season in 16 years. Until the end of July only 5 small fires needed to be extinguished.

The Teatre Museu Dalí in Figueres will show from the first to 31 August two works of Salvador Dalí, which have heretofore not been publicly shown.  The paintings are early works from the year 1921 that are now in a private collection. The museum in Figueres is opened late at night during August from 22 to 1 o'clock.

About 500 Chinese experienced, probably for the first time in the Ditan park of Peking, a Sardana with 12 Catalan dancers and a Cobla (Sardana orchestra), presented by the Fundació universal de la Sardana (FUS).

Within a year the sales of dwellings in Catalonia have fallen dramatically.  New construction fell around 21,1%, while previously owned dwellings fell by around 43,6%. This will surely have drastic consequences on the economic life of the region, but should also be a force to energize us toward reorientation. Lately the construction cranes had replacing the pine trees and olive trees as the traditional symbols of the Mediterranean coast.  The well-known French travel guide “Le Routard” has complemented the Costa Brava and noted that it always provided attributes such as “sympathetic fishing villages with a family ambiance.”  In the most recent edition it added a new term “cité beton” or concrete city. This may still be an exaggeration, but we should take it as warning shot to wake up and recognize that our region, while not exclusively relying on tourism, still owes its prosperity to it.

The forest fire risk in the Alt Empordà is estimated by the experts to be particularly high. Dryness, high temperatures and high winds are the ideal conditions to spread a small fire into a large-scale crisis. So far this year our region has been spared.  The few small fires were quickly brought under control and extinguished by the fire brigade.

Llançà organizes on Saturday the 2 August a musical event at the port beach, under the slogan “concert de la posta de sol.”  Starting from 19 to o'clock 30 two alternating DJ's will keep the music flowing.  At 21 o'clock 30 until about 23 o'clock a regional favourite, the well-known group Almadrava will perform.

On 31 July the winery Celler Espelt in Vilajuïga opens the exhibition “De Quermaçó A Sant Ferran”, with the pictures of the finalists of the competition of with the same name.

The habanera group “Mar d'amunt” from Port de la Selva will perform on 1 August, starting from 22 o'clock on the Plaça Nova in La Jonquera.

On 5 August Port de la Selva celebrates its Summer Fiesta Mayor; it begins at 12 o'clock with a holy mass and ends late at the night with fireworks and a ball. Intentionally or not, Port de la Selva is going against the trend. The Fiesta Mayor of a place is traditionally linked to the day of its protection patron, and each date is well known. Many places modify their summer Fiesta Mayor by moving it several days or even weeks from the official date.  Someone should investigate whether this change is really beneficial to the tourist trade.

Castelló d'Empúries' protection patron is the Sant (holy) Llorenç, and he will not have an easy task this year as he supervises the activities of the Fiesta Mayor of Castelló and -- its integrated satellite, the Marina Empuriabrava -- from the First to 15 August.

As one approaches Cadaqués, one is received at the local entrance by a statue, which had been manufactured on the basis of a sketch coming from Salvador Dalí.  As one continues to explore the town one finds many links to Dalí, including the museum of Cadaqués with its current exhibition: Enrique Sabater, secretary of Salvador Dalí between 1972 and 1981, shows Reciprocidades, a small selection of photos and objects from Dali’s daily life. Relevant private archives of Sabater cover over 20.000 elements.

The Hostal L'Arola, at the local entrance of Port de la Selva directly at the beach will drop its objection to the extension of the beach promenade. The owners of the Hotel have been an impediment for many years, but now accepts in principle the necessary expropriations.  The last sticking point is the price. This offered amount, 300,000 euro, is too low.  The owner’s lawyer calls this sum about what you would pay for a single dwelling with sea view, not for a terrain of 2000 square meters, which includes a hotel building.

Vilajuïga celebrates its Fiesta Mayor from 30 July to 3 August. Particularly solemn is 1 August, the day of Sant Feliu, the protection patron of the place.  The day’s major events will begin with a Holy mass at 12 o'clock, followed by an aperitif at the Plaça.  In the afternoon the children are spoiled and at 21 o'clock the village will meet for a common meal in the schoolyard.

Several weeks ago the city hall of Roses requested that citizens register their domestic animals.  Sop far 311 inhabitants have registered their domestic animals, nevertheless less than 80% of the persons contacted have responded.

While in the midst of summer, Roses is already thinking of their carnival 2009 and have announced the competition for the best carnival poster.  Closing date is 8 August, details can be found at the city hall.

The power supplier Fecsa Endesa has added new underground electrical power lines in Cadaqués in the roads Font Vella, Quima Jaume and Unió de Cadaqués.  The protected lines do not only improve the service on these streets, but also to places beyond. This certainly means fewer power failures.

Sant Pere Pescador started a campaign to encourage its inhabitants to compost their organic wastes themselves.

Roses wants to start a design competition after the summer to select sculptures to adorn all the roundabouts of the town. The city hall also plans to replace the lawns with other plants, which need less water.

Renting vacation homes directly at the sea, during the summer months, is an expensive pleasure. San Sebastián in the Basque country is the front-runner in Spain.  Fore a month the cost the rent a dwelling with 65 square meters is around the 5200 euro.  Compared to this are the relatively inexpensive coastal places such as Roses with prices under 4000 euro.

A swimming pontoon for 46 small boats up to six meters has been installed in the bay of Roses, as a pilot project during the summer. So far only one boat has anchored regularly, i.e. is paying for the service, and it was only during one weekend.  This seems to continue a failing in Costa Brava planning – the tendency to offer services, for a high fee, that are not in demand.  Now, sometimes this may mean the public is unaware of the service, and once offered they will flock to it.  But more [expensive] anchorages is not a new idea.  It seems clear – based only on the many empty anchorages – that boat owners do not want to pay.  Or, they do not want to pay very much.  The effect of expensive moorings is likely to be that boat owners are annoyed and decide to leave their boat at home.  Or, worse, that they go for their holidays to places that are more friendly to boaters.

Llançà, La Farella, 22.07.2008

In the Marinas of Empuriabrava or Santa Margarida the displeasure of the administrations and their pricing structures is very evident.  This disdain extends from 46 anchorages on a swimming pontoon to the system of renting buoys in bays.  One can ruefully note that these moorings are not harming the ecology -- since no one is using them.

The sports port of L’Escala received ISO 9001 and 14001 certificates, which certify excellent quality and environmentally friendly facilities.

In Figueres the number of persons who use the public transportation services increased about 12%.  Figueres plans in the near future the offer a bus with electric drive. Unfortunately, the Park+Bus service from the fairground into the city centre is not being used by many visitors.

During the summer 20 boats operate along the Costa Brava to scoop up waste and other materials from the sea.  Fifteen boats are used near the coast, and the other five are further out on the high sea.

The Agència Catalana de l’Aigua has reported that the popular beaches of the Costa Brava are generally in good to best condition.  Medusas were only found sporadically.

Because of strong Tramontana during the last few days the risk of forest fires in the Alt Empordà is rather high.

23 boats participated in Port de la Selva in the regatta “Trofeu far de Sarnella” in the optimist and Obert classes. The winner Marina López comes from the club Nàutic Llançà.

The library “Fages de Climent” in Figueres serves the linguistic minorities of the population and offers books and newspapers in Arabic, Russian, Polish and Bulgarian.

Cadaqués does not place the planned bus station in operation this summer for fear that the loss of space would only intensify the acute lack of parking spaces for private vehicles.

Port de la Selva will again organizes - until 24 August, the 8th music festival Sant Pere de Rodes.  This concert series is held at the monastery Sant Pere de Rodes, one of the most important Roman buildings in Catalonia.  The concerts will take place each Wednesday and Sunday at 20 o'clock. Parallel to the concerts by established artists there are a series of concerts by younger artists.  The junior concerts takes place each Wednesday in July at 19 o'clock. Entrance tickets can be bought at the tourism office of Port de la Selva up to the day before the concert and at the ticket counter of the monastery on the day of the concert, staring at 10 o'clock. The admission fee is 15 euro per concert, or 12 euro per concert for a subscription for 4 concerts. The entrance fee for the younger artist concerts, on the same day is included, as is a guided tour of the monastery.

Sant Pere de Rodes.

In Empuriabrava an association has been formed to represent the interests of the owners of anchorages. The association’s goal is to clarify the legal status and the rights of both the owner and the manager of the channels, Port d'Empuriabrava, S.A. Port d'Empuriabrava has required that owners register with the company, and thus may be required to pay for the maintenance of the canals. Most owners are already registered through the “Registre de la Propietat.”  Many of the owners contest the procedure of Port d'Empuriabrava, S.A., a private company, as being inconsistent with their rights.

For a three euro fee one may visit the medieval prison, the Ecomuseu Farinera, the park Natural dels Aiguamolls and the Parrish museum in Castelló d'Empúries.

La Jonquera opened its new city hall in the former building “Hostal de la Plaça.” The renovation project cost was 1.235.859 euro.

Llançà established a new Wi-Fi zone on the beach promenade in the port. In addition to this site, the town has offered Wi-Fi on the Plaça major in the village, nearest the library.  The latter service is in operation 24/7 but the range is limited to the parking lot behind the library.

The American military base Loran C in L’Estartit and the military installations at the Punta Milà will be transformed to its natural state and integrated with the nature parks.

La Jonquera will again organize a photo competition with the topic of the Albera Mountains. Participate can enter up to three photos in the format 20 x 30 cm.  The closing date for submissions is 23 August.

Under the title “Un desfet de temps” Cadaqués will offer a series of intimate concerts with contemporary music; until 13 September.

The Casa de Cultura of Llançà is now showing 60 designs, until 17 August, as homage to Toulouse Lautrec (1864-1901).

Under the title NITS D'ESTIU '08 Port de la Selva will offer this summer a series of concerts of popular music.

Sant Pere Pescador distributes to its beach guests who smoke, ashtrays free of charge.  They are available in the tourism office.

In Albanyà and Sant Llorenç de la Muga mobile phones on the Movistar service are inoperable.  Seems that the antenna is no longer operational and Movistar’s ability to repair the antenna is blocked by a private person who has blocked access to the antenna.

The Catalan Dependence of Greenpeace strongly criticizes the province of Girona for planning to add 433 new anchorages, even though 23,340 are presently available. A special thorn in the sides of the environmentalists is Roses where the harbour facilities are to be increased to accommodate cruise ships.

	The luxury yacht Atlantis II, owned by the Greek ship owner family Niarchos, is now anchored involuntarily in the bay of Roses because of an engine problem.
Atlantis II

The museum of the exile (MUME) in La Jonquera will show from 19 July to 14 September the exhibition “Israel/Lebanon 2006” with photos by war correspondents Heidi Levine, Stephanie Sinclair, Ziv Koren and Michael Robinson Chavez.

Josep Malats began his summer exhibition in the hotel Gri-Mar in Llançà on 12 July, the exhibition will continue until 20 August daily from 19 to 21 o'clock.

Castelló d'Empúries and Empúriabrava have updated their city maps. The new maps, with an edition of 30.000 copies, are available in the tourist offices.

Figueres has begun an information campaign to persuade the citizens of Castelló and Roses to park their cars at the fair grounds during their visits of Figueres. From there they can reach the city gratis with the bus service Park&Bus. This option is, of course, available to everyone.

The Alt Empordà remains the only region of Catalonia that still has the state of emergency II because of water scarcity. Swimming pools may not be filled with municipal water. Most municipalities allow, however, the topping off of the water level for already filled swimming pools.

The police of Castelló d'Empúries have updated their vehicle fleet. Five new Skoda brand police cars were acquired via lease.

The sport harbour of Llançà was awarded the blue flag. This certifies excellent water quality and environmental compatibility.

Insolvency threatens one of the best-known building contractors of Spain, Francisco Hernando. When the construction business was booming during the past years Hernando ordered a 60 million euro yacht "Clarena II" from the Italian shipyard CRN. Now he cannot pay and the shipyard must search for a new buyer for the luxury ship.

The cultural centre of the citadel of Roses shows the exhibition “La Costa Brava abans de la Costa Brava" (The Costa Brava before the Costa Brava), photos from the years between 1915 and 1936.

With the beginning of the summer season Llançà has initiated a new program LlançÀctivitat `08 that includes a series of events for people of all ages, and most of the activities will be free. Also the Llançà Bus will begin operating again. This bus makes a circuit from the train station to various stops in the old part of town, and in the Port, and to many of Llançà’s beaches.

Until the end of July the Escola Municipal d'Esports Nàutics of L'Escala will offer sailing and rowing courses.

The travelling exhibition “Dalí, Paintings & Films” arrived at the end of its journey at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  The exhibition shows the fruits of the cooperation of Dalí with heroes of the film business, such as Hitchcock, Disney and Lluís Bunuel. The MOMA show will run until 15 September.

 “Roses Escena Musical” (REM) is the title of a new project of the town hall of Roses. It bundles together 30 summer concerts as one unit. The blues festival and the guitar festival are among the big events of the summer.

The chamber orchestra of the Empordà will give a concert on 31 July in the church of Port de la Selva. Beginning is at 22 o’clock; the programme will be Catalan music.

At the 7 July the summer sale season has begun. Up to now, however, the buyers have showed restraint.  The twice-yearly bargain season will run until 31 August.

Parallel to the music festival in Peralada there is also a series of more modest concerts, the XII Cicle Claustre de Sant Deomènenc, beginning on 13 July with Habaneras of the choir Els Pescadors de L’Escala.

The organisers of the festival Doctor Loft in Castelló d'Empúries had to distribute free entry tickets in order to fulfil a contractual condition of the American group REM. The organizers were required to attract at least 5000 spectators. About 3000 spectators who had paid between 70 and 90 euro for their tickets in the advance were not pleased by this action.  Just before the concert the ticket office was selling tickets for only 50 euros.  Judging by the rather disappointing sales figures it is very questionable whether the festival will occur next year.

At the beaches in Llançà and Port de la Selva the first medusas were observed, but there were not many. It is a question of which type of medusa -- some cause red skin wbut do not endanger the victim’s health. There has been little publicity about any medusa trouble this year. The experts believe that this year there would be not be a massive appearance of medusas at the beaches of the Costa Brava – though there will be a spectacular increase of these nettle animals in the open sea, where miles long banks were sighted. This is not a specific phenomenon of the Mediterranean Sea.  Because of the change of climate all seas worldwide are affected.  It is not for nothing the medusa is called the queen of the ocean. Next to the climate changes the other reason for the rapid spreading of the medusas is the worldwide over-fishing which has eliminated many natural enemies.

The concert series Gastromusical in the restaurant El Molí in L’Escala creates a symbiosis for music and gastronomy. The restaurant presents Mònica Green (1 August), Marcelo Mercadante (6 August), Asstrio (13 August), Javier Muguruza (20 August) and Diego Cortés (27 August) in concert. Enjoying the concerts and a special culinary menu will cost 55 euros; the concert alone will cost 15 euros.

The winery Espelt in Vilajuïga organises a music cycle with Cançó de Taverna, every Thursday in July.

During the fourth race of the Catalan league of the rowers the women's team of the Xon's Rem Empuriabrava took third place in Torredembarra near Tarragona.

Meanwhile, Kite surfing is prohibited in most of Catalonia. Only in Sant Pere Pescador can one still Kite Surf because the municipality was granted a licence. The sportsmen are subjected to some restrictions, however. They must be able to show that they have assurance and must pay a flat rate. Many do not comply, so that the future of the Kite in Sant Pere Pescador is also at risk.

	The museum of Cadaquésl opened its new summer exhibition with the title “Salvador Dalí/Enrique Sabater,” which documents the close relationship between Dalí and Sabater, who served Dalí from 1968 to 1980 as his right hand man.  The exhibition includes unpublished photos and souvenirs of their time together.
Cadaqués, Casa Dalí

From 19 July to 3 August the convention Santa Clara of Castelló d'Empúries shows works by the local artist Ramon Garrido Sirvent.

A study of the impact of the building of the planned high voltage transmission line (MAT) over the Pyrenees says that the construction will destroy about one million trees.

	70% of the households of the town centre of Palau-saverdera can be attached to the town gas service. So far 3,505 meters of gas lines are available.
Palau-saverdera, town hall

The city hall of Roses announced that the archaeological excavations in the citadel would continue until the year 2016.

In the historical centre of Castelló d'Empúries there are several roads that are closed due to repair projects. The police have provided detours around the construction.

Figueres offers a free Park&Bus service, beginning on 1 July.  The bus operates from 9 to 21 o'clock every 15 minutes between the parking lot “Clos de Fires,” which is at the fairground, and the Plaça Catalunya, in the city centre.

The planed wind generator park “Tramuntana” in Portbou and Colera may be built, even if the municipalities do not want them. The federal state government characterizes the projects as for the public benefit (utilitat pública), which means that the interests or desires of the municipalities are of less importance. The citizen association “Cívica antimolins” is seeking new ways to stop the building of the wind generators.

The hotel L'Arola at the beach of Port de la Selva is again under discussion. Since the planned new beach promenade of Port de la Selva will reach the “cami de ronda” which continues to Llançà, the site of the hotel, which dates back to the year 1886, is problematic. The project may remain stymied for many years due to legal procedures.

In Empuriabrava an owner of swimming pool was fined 700 euro because he had filled his swimming pool from the water pipeline.

The city hall of Figueres unveiled a poster, which shows Figueres as Catalan culture capital for next year.

The Alt Empordà is the only region of the province of Girona that still is under the state of emergency 2, due to the drought. Therefore private swimming pools may not be filled with drinking water from the water pipeline. In Roses and Castelló d'Empúries (Empuriabrava), there are more than 3000 swimming pools, but these can be filled with seawater. The owners of swimming pool must pay only the transportation costs. Roses, on 1 July, will begin to offer water at the port. In Llançà and Port de la Selva water from the purification plant can be used for filling swimming pools. However these measures do not concern the majority of owners of swimming pools, since they have pools that were already filled.  (Pools may be topped up with city water, if needed.)

The Catalan Nudist club visited the ruins of Empúries, naked naturally. Even the guide adapted to the custom.

The fire brigades of the province Girona strengthened its personnel during the summer by around 25%, to be better prepared for the season’s forest fires.

The two owners of the Catamaran L'Oca from Banyoles began voluntarily a three-year term of imprisonment.  The Oca had sunk on the lake of Banyoles under tragic circumstances, and the misfortune claimed the lives of 22 French tourists.

The gallery Taller Fort in Cadaqués opens on 28 June the 28th annual “mini print” exhibition. The exhibition presents a wide range of miniature engravings.  This year’s art will be by 657 artists from 54 countries and 5 continents.

The men’s crew of the rowing club Xon's rem Empuriabrava won the third race of the Catalan league in Lloret de Mar.

The gallery Horizon in Colera began the summer season on 21 June with an exhibition of works by Lluís Peñaranda -- 15 works, including partial collages and other mixed techniques.

The mountaineer Jordi Pau Caballero began a long journey from Sant Martí d'Empúries (L’Escala).  He will travel by foot across 1389 kilometres to Galicia. His purposes are to physically challenge himself but also to bring attention to the “manifest de l'aigua” (manifesto of the water) to encourage the reasonable handling of the area’s and world’s scarce supply of water.

Figueres organizes up to the middle of September a large number of cultural meetings under the title Gresca a la Fresca  . . .  under free sky.

The building of the largest Wind tunnel in the world for the parachutists in Empuriabrava seems to be in trouble. New power lines have been added to the site.  The work is scheduled to begin this September but the project still lacks the necessary financing.

From 1 July to 31 August Empuriabrava doubles the personnel to 14 workers who are responsible for the security of the bathers at the beaches.

According to estimates about 30% of Figueres’ real estate agencies have closed up shop. Mostly they were small agencies, which had been in business only during the real estate boom of the past few years. In the meantime, the prices for residential property are down, by about 12%, and the number of properties for sale far exceeds the demand.

The management company of the Empuriabrava canals, Port d'Empuriabrava S.A., has announced publicly that all owners of unregistered anchorages are in an illegal situation. In such cases the manager can refuse to supply services, which are under his authority.

L'Escala has an emergency service which will operate until 30 September on the beaches of Empúries as far as Montgó.

All the beaches of Castelló d'Empúries have been rated as Excellent for water cleanliness by the responsible water authority, ACA.

By the entrance to the tourist office in Llançà, bicycles are available for hire from now until the end of the summer; if this enterprise proves a success, it will continue through the winter.

In Roses town hall a council employee is now available to look after the interests of new residents of all nationalities.

In all probability there will be no fresh water showers for bathers in l'Escala because of the water shortage.

The Frenchman Antoine Albeau, the reigning windsurfing world champion at slalom, could win the men's title at the recent “Gran Premi Catalunya - Costa Brava de windsurf” in Sant Pere de Pescador. The Swiss Karin Jaggi won the women's title. The competition was cut short to one day because of strong winds.

Heavy goods vehicles are no longer permitted to run through Cadaqués along the sea front; the local council regards this measure as necessary, because the road surface is in extremely bad condition. The Department of the Environment has already given the green light for its repair, but it is still uncertain when this work will be carried out.

The Belgian author Stan Lauryssens, once Salvador Dali’s neighbour in Cadaqués, presents his book “Dalí y yo” to the public. It has been published in 32 languages, but, so far not in Catalan. The book contains explosive material: Lauryssens calls himself a counterfeiter of Dali’s work, but says that he was merely a member of a world-wide chain of counterfeiters and salesmen, who operated with Salvador Dalí’s knowledge. After he estimated that 75% of the Dali’s works owned by museums are not originals the Fundació Gala - Salvador Dalí threatened legal action against the author and his book. The Foundation’s position is that his scandalous claims are only to sell his book.

In L’Escala the weekly market was held last Sunday for the first time at the “Camí de Ample.” It was shifted there, because at its prior location “passeig Marítim” the underground is in dangerously bad condition. Some neighbours near the new market site are not pleased with the decision of the city hall -- they have already begun to collect signatures of citizens who would like the market relocated to another location.

After the second phase of its restoration the Ecomuseu Farinera of Castelló d'Empúries presents an exhibition about the flour mills of the Alt Empordà.

A new law offers clarity for parking motor homes. Motor homes, in Spain, are legally considered the same as cars and therefore can park wherever cars may park, and their owners need not fear any more problems with local authorities. The law differentiates between parking and camping, but the parking rule is a welcome clarification for the owners of motor homes.  For the localities along the coast there will be new logistical problems. Roses, for example, is preparing for the new situation. The city hall plans to install on the area of the former camping site “Bahia” a large parking lot for motor homes;  similar plans are being considered by Castelló d'Empúries.

The swimming pool of Roses tries is trying a new method for the disinfecting the water in the small pool. Instead of using chlorine the water is cleaned by ultraviolet light. Thus, the rather unpleasant chlorine taste of the water is avoided. If this method works satisfactorily it will also be used in the large pool.

55.4% of the young people of Castelló d'Empúries are foreigners -- the majority live in Empuriabrava. The city hall’s reaction to this circumstance is the “Pla local de joventut” which will help facilitate social integration of the foreign young people.

On the Rambla of Figueres a new bus shelter has been installed. 

With the campaign “Un ciutadà, un arbre” (a citizen, a tree) Figueres plans to plant 4000 trees in the city over the next few years. Usually, the trees should be planted in the spring; Figueres shifted the date this year because of the dryness the past autumn.

L'Escala organizes, during July and August, along with the cruise ship Mare Nostrum, trips which will follow the routes of the former smugglers and pirates. Included with the cruise is a meal on board.

From 15 June to 15 September Cadaqués generally forbids major construction work in the old part of town. Smaller projects may be completed but, if they are noisy can only begin after 11 o'clock.

Roses puts a new system into operation to present tourist information available to mobile phones with camera.  The first installation is around the citadel. By means of the camera a code can be called up, which provides information in five languages to the screen. The system comes from Japan.

Port de la Selva has had a successful dress collection initiative with three clothing containers. In the first three months of the year 844 Kilos of used clothes was deposited.

“Temps de conquesta” is the topic of the “festival Terra de Trobadors” in Castelló d'Empúries on 12, 13 and 14 September.

The beach of Empuriabrava, as well as the sports port, again received the “bandera blava” (blue flag) as acknowledgment of excellent water quality. Also the port of Roses and the main beaches of Llançà, Port de la Selva and L’Escala received the bandera blava.

The nature parks Cap de Creus and Montgrí receive from to the federal state government and the Obra Social de la Caixa subsidies of 250.000 euro for preservation and restoration of their areas.

The association “Defensem el Tren” (we defend the train) requests that the city hall of Figueres retain the station in the centre of Figueres for conventional trains. The association had collected 6327 citizens’ signatures, so far.

Port de la Selva installed a new wood barricade to control the migration of the brook Arola.

Philip D. Rasico, professor for Catalan and Spanish at the Vanderbilt University in Nashville visited Port de la Selva.  Among other things he spoke to the mayor Genís Pinart about a possible sister-city relationship. The professor, one of the most renowned Catalan experts outside of Catalonia, also visited the vineyards of Port de la Selva regarding a possible export of the wines to the USA.

The city hall of Sant Pere Pescador announced that the potable water supply to the camping sites is guaranteed by the town’s own wells.

The local police of La Jonquera destroyed counterfeit branded articles which they had seized, mostly from street vendors, during the past two years.  Among the items to be destroyed are 2000 pairs of sun glasses and 800 watches.

Sant Pere Pescador gets a new coat of arms. The prior image could not be used due to legal restrictions. The new coat of arms is rather similar to the old one.

Roses adjusts 5 new policemen for the summer season.

“La Caixa” shows on the Rambla of Figueres a particularly advanced pavilion to explain about forests.

Port de la Selva is mourning the loss of Josep Mallol i Oriol, who was 86 years old. Pepitu, as he was known to the people, was the self-appointed chronicler of Port de la Selva. From 1974 to 2000 he had published about one book per year, altogether 23 works. The books tell of the traditions and customs of the people of Port de la Selva.

Preparations are underway in Cadaqués for the 37th music festival. The concerts of the oldest music festival of Catalonia will no longer take place in the church Santa Maria, but will be relocated to under the stars at the olive grove Sa Conca, near to the sea. No everyone is pleased with this change.

Roses installs new safety towers at its beaches this summer. The monitoring will replace the Red Cross. There will be a rescue life boat and an outpatient clinic with material for first-aide assistance. The cost for security at the beaches during the summer season will be 242,965 euro.

The Costa Brava expects an inflow of German free divers, who practice underwater fishing. In Germany this sport is generally forbidden. In Spain however is continues to be permitted to harpoon a fish under certain conditions, for example the fisherman must not use diving bottles.

In the nightclub zone Els Arcs of Empuriabrava a private security service firm will be utilized.  Possibly monitoring cameras will be installed, also.

At the airport of Girona construction work has begun for a new multi-storey car park. Six floors with a capacity for 3500 vehicles are planned.

The experts are unanimous in their fear of the extremely high risk for forest fires because of the continuing drought of the summer of 2008.

In the port of Roses boats can be cleaned now with treated water from the purification plant.

Only two companies responded to L’Escala’s request for firms to provide security at the beaches. Both companies were unable to meet all of the requirements set by the city hall. Thus, there will be a special meeting, to resolve the situation.

As much Tuna fish as ever is being caught in the nets of the fishing boats at the Costa Brava. Unfortunately this is not always a cause for joy. Tuna fish is a protected species and there are radical catch quotas. Thus, most of the fish do not reach the auction hall. The reason for the phenomenon is not yet unknown.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

“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