Cheap car hire Malaga Blog
Malaga car hire tips and general advice

Francisco de la Torre has gone on record claiming that the arrival of the high-speed AVE train to Malaga will not have a negative impact on the Malaga airport. There has been conjecture about just this, no doubt some based on the case of Seville’s airfield, which suffered a crisis in 1992 when the AVE arrived there. Their number of passengers stagnated and growth slowed to a crawl compared to other Andalucian airports.

On the contrary, says Mayor de la Torre. He maintains that it may actually strengthen the airport’s traffic, since the new connections in nearby Antequera and Puente Genil (Cordoba) will bring people wanting to catch a flight at the airport. He’s got a point - not all traffic through the airport is national; international flights and hops over to the islands represent a great percentage as well. This seems to be one of those wait-and-see situations: while people get used to using the trains, look for "special deals" on flights within Spain in the upcoming weeks and months.

Wondering how many more lines you’ll have to wait in, just to be told you’re in the wrong government office? Passing the buck or not understanding questions besides in Spanish are common barriers when applying for residency, jobs, or other numerous proceedings that take place in every day life for a foreigner living in Spain. Considering how many foreigners are here, advice should be easier to come by (from Rajoy’s talk on social matters in last night’s debate):

In the year 2007, over 725,000 [foreigners entered Spain], also more than France, the United Kingdom and Germany combined. We are the second nation in the world, only exceeded by the United States, when it comes to entering foreign citizens.

The Malaga Town Hall inaugurated a new telephone service last week (Teléfono del Inmigrante) to hopefully alleviate that helpless feeling, where you can speak with lawyers who specialise in immigration matters in English, French or Spanish. They will provide information related to the type of documents and steps needed for accomplishing what you need to, whether or not you’re a member of the European Community. They can also aid those who conduct business with foreigners, those who want to hire foreign residents and students, and other matters.

Dialling 010 (from outside Malaga – 902.210.250) from 9 am - 7 pm, M-F will connect you to an answering service, which will then connect you with the cell phone of one of the two lawyers. Note that this line is also the general information number for the City of Malaga - find out what else this number provides from malaga.eu.

The need for this was stirred up months ago by immigration associations, and according to the City’s representative Julio Andrade, it is a pioneer service in Andalucía. It will also prompt the opening of a municipal office for aiding immigrants, possibly in March. On a side note, the United Left political party has requested the closing of the Centro de Internamiento de Extranjeros ("Centre for Admission of Foreigners") because it is in "conditions not fit for human occupation." Oh well, one’s going up and the other coming down - is that progress?

At around 10 pm tonight (Spanish time) millions of viewers are expected to tune in to a debate of presidential candidates, and we’re not talking about Clinton, Obama, McCain, Huckabee, or even newcomer Nader. Gearing up for Spain’s presidential elections on March 9, incumbent Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and conservative Popular Party opponent Mariano Rajoy will face off in the first of two televised debates, the following to take place next Monday. Issues tonight will probably center around the slowing economy, terrorism flaming up recently with more ETA attacks and some other topics such as pension funds, marriage and divorce rights, and the environment. This is only the second time Spain has held televised debates since it was established as a democracy, the last time 15 years ago.

Although it has become the norm for Internet interaction in the American election process, it’s only starting to become common in Spain. The Antena 3 Media Group has created a special election portal on YouTube where users can post video questions. However, of the questions posed so far candidates have only answered a select few, steering clear of fringe issues and controversy. It remains to be seen whether they will indeed respond to any during the televised debates, to be carried by a number of major channels including La 1, La 2, Cuatro, laSexta and VEO.

According to Fecoma, Malaga’s commercial federation, the Malaga province will soon be welcoming 7 new large shopping centres and the expansion of 5 existing centres, whose space will be approximately doubled. Among the whistles in the wind for new stores are well-known consumer electronics competitors Media Markt and Fnac. German-based Media Markt is Europe’s largest electronics retailer, and is expected to add an installation in the Vialia mall. Two French companies, Fnac and Jardiland (gardening and do-it-yourself), would possibly be located respectively in Malaga Plaza (or the port) and Plaza Mayor.

How will they expand those establishments located in Malaga’s city centre? Without actually stepping on neighbouring property, the options seem to be building upwards or opening prohibitively small premises. One such centre is Vialia, otherwise known as Estación María Zambrano, the Renfe, or just the train station. This centre has other problems to deal with before opening the door to new business, especially the ongoing fight of the city against Vialia retailers who open illegally on Sundays and holidays. Businesses such as Media Markt will also have to face some city administrators who don’t want to make the traffic situation worse, as would definitely happen in a large-scale expansion project.

Trains, trains… with the new high-speed AVE and Avant links in Barcelona and Sevilla, word about them has been around the mill a lot recently. But this tidbit is about Malaga’s regional train, Cercanías, which currently runs between Malaga centre and Fuengirola. Plans have been unveiled for expansion of this line to reach Estepona, with the new stretch stopping in hotspots like Marbella and 13 others along the Costa del Sol. The project is a joint planning effort between the Andalucian and national government, and has a completion date set at 2011. It will be presented in multiple stages, with several groups performing the engineering studies and construction. Included in the challenges are a 4 km, twin-track underground tunnel between Las Lagunas and La Cala de Mijas (Fuengirola area), and making the existing tracks compatible with high-performance engines reaching top speeds of 200 km/h. This last task has caused a split in logistics and two possible options:

1. Improvement of the existing line, including widening of the track beds and allowing for simultaneous Cercanías and mid- to long-range traffic. This has been the more popular option so far.
2. Construction of a completely new stretch between Malaga and Fuengirola. This would share part of the Cordoba high-speed line, cross through the Malaga airport, and go through Sierra de Mijas to meet with the remainder of the Fuengirola-Estepona track. To this end, Aena has even reserved a tunnel for this hypothetical section under the airport in its expansion plans for the new runway and terminal.

Fidel Castro’s announcement yesterday to resign from his posts of President and Commander in Chief is causing the world to ripple with questions - will this mean change for Cuba and other countries’ economic relations with them? The 81 year-old leader, who has held power in Cuba for almost 50 years, has had increasingly failing health in the past year and a half. As a result, some experts and even the Cuban citizens themselves have said this announcement was expected, and either won’t cause much change or it will be slow to take effect. His brother Raul has been the acting President and the shoo-in candidate to formally accept the position on Sunday.

Raul’s talks of reform and the road to democracy make change sound imminent to Cubans, who desire changes in cumbersome visa requirements and fundamental rights of expression and association. Next-door neighbour America has rejected lifting the trade embargo however, emphasizing their "wait and see" stance for now of whether change will happen and how long it may take. Spanish leaders have voiced optimism, with both presidential candidates Rajoy and Zapatero welcoming the manoeuvre as a potential open door to democracy. We all may have to wait and see, since even Fidel promised in his resignation letter:

This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of ‘Reflections by comrade Fidel.’ It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be careful.

Granma, Feb. 18, 2008

Looking for alternatives to the puddle-jumper plane connections or slower regional trains? Renfe is expanding services offered in and out of Malaga by leaps and bounds, especially in regards to newer high-speed trains. December marked a large milestone with the introduction of the AVE link to Madrid, slashing the trip time and price considerably from previous offerings. This connection was largely due to the completion of the high-speed-approved section between Malaga and Cordoba.

Now, the offering has been expanded to include Barcelona and Sevilla in the high-speed range, service on both to start tomorrow. To give you an idea of the time savings, the Barcelona voyage used to take over half a day (13 ½ hours), and the Sevilla trip about 2 ½ hours. Conventional trains will still run to Sevilla alongside the new alta velocidad Avant service.

It’ll still be a while - between 2009 and 2010 before seeing the end to this project. But drivers in Andalucia will surely appreciate the change provided by this new stretch of toll roadway, construction to begin in a week. The need has shown itself repeatedly for improvement, since this section between Alto de las Pedrizas and Puerto de la Torre becomes congested quickly at peak times, especially during the summer months. For those unfamiliar with the area, it affects about 25 km of the principal route between Malaga and Antequera, with intermediate destinations of Casabermeja and Almogía. The new motorway will have wide curves plus long tunnels and bridges to allay the steep shifts in geography of the present A-45.

The project’s cost, upwards of 360 million euros, is projected to be recovered by the toll over a period of 40 years. Average toll for the entire route will be 1.80€, with some variation depending on the season and vehicle type. Planners hope this price tag will be offset by the convenience offered to motorists, since the 120 km/h limit will allow them to complete the trajectory in about 15 minutes.

Nowadays if you visit Malaga airport you will see a ton of roads being repaired. They are also building new terminals and will soon start the new runway.

We took some photos from the airport: the first pic shows the new parking building and the second one shows the repair works visible from the Renfe train station at Malaga airport.

In case you are returning from your holidays we recommend allowing extra time because there is a lot of traffic every morning at the airport, and this will affect delivering your Malaga car hire. Check so as not to forget anything important in the rental car or place you’re staying.

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas was born 10th August, 1960 in Benalmadena, Malaga.

At first he wanted to be a footballer, but he broke his left leg when he was 14.

Some years later he went to Madrid to make a career in the Spanish film industry, where he started to work as an actor in small theaters.

He has a very large filmography; here’s just a few highlights:

- The Mask of Zorro

- The Mariachi sequels

- Interview with the Vampire

- Assassins

- Evita

- Take the Lead

- The Shrek sequels (Puss in Boots voice)

- Philadelphia