Explosion in San Pedro Alcantara

An explosion took place this morning in el Cortijo Blanco urbanization in San Pedro Alcantara, not far from where we live.

A hot water pipe that was buried in a wall on calle Antonio Mingote, between the hotel Cortijo Blanco and the bar Cheers, burst, projecting pieces of concrete and tiles on to two people walking along the street. The police quickly cordoned off the area and evacuated the two tourists apparently in a critical condition, with wounds on their head and legs.

Typical Marbella: good idea but bad execution.

Marbella has a very long boardwalk along its shore, especially around Puerto Banus and the city center. However there remain many areas not easily accessible for a leisurely walk.

For a long time, Marbella City Hall has had a project to create a continuous boardwalk along the city sea shore, from San Pedro Alcantara to Elviria. This year, it was decided to implement most of it. Great initiative winning applause from all!

A completely new bridge was erected over rio verde to link Puerto Banus on the east side, and construction started to connect San Pedro beach to Puerto Banus on the West side.

Well… We are now in mid-July. The tourists have arrived and the San Pedro boardwalk is far from being finished. Worst of all, it seems that construction is not advancing. It is a major inconvenience and a miserable sight for all living in the area.

I find this shocking. This city needs and lives of tourism. If there was not enough time to complete the work before tourists´ arrival (they always come in July/August by the way – no surprise there), why didn´t City Hall delay the project another year? If they thought they had enough time to complete it on time, why isn´t it finished?

I place the blame for this blatant lack of planning on incompetency combined with a lack of priority for San Pedro. I am willing to listen to any other explanation!

Marbella deserves better! Whether led by the PSOE, GIL or PP, this city needs more professional managers and less political appointees on its payroll. Unfortunately, this type of occurrences will give more feeding grounds for those preaching the separation of San Pedro and Marbella…

Marbella boardwalk in July

Work on San Pedro boardwalk in July

Tourists enjoying San Pedro beach and its construction

Kids´playground closed in July on San Pedro beach.

Just curious: do you need life jackets on boats in Marbella?

Our family took a leisurely walk to the San Pedro beach for the festival of the Virgen del Carmen. A friendly gathering of locals was there with children, orchestra and typical warm atmosphere.

In the sea, numerous boats were waiting for the arrival of the Virgin. Because we are in San Pedro, these were not yachts, but mostly jábegas, the typical fishing row boats of the Malaga province. Looking at all the young locals crowding the boats and having fun, I couldn´t help think: Are there any regulations on boating in San Pedro? Do you need a life jacket for anyone on board?

This was probably a reflex from the overly regulated foreign conditioning I have submitted been to over the years. Luckily, the coast guards controlling the arrival of the Virgin were not as concerned as I was. Time for me to relax more. VIva España!

Jábega in San Pedro Alcantara

Local boat in San Pedro Alcantara

Music video brings hope to Laude

Check out the latest lip dub video made by the students of Laude San Pedro. This is a great initiative from a school which has needed much positive PR in the last few years.

It transmits renewed optimism and should help create a more positive environment around its institution. It will also boost students’ involvement and pride in their school. Hopefully, all this will be accompanied with plans to strengthen academic standards in Secondary.

Too bad that this new impulse is happening under the leadership of headmistress, Mrs. Flaxman, who is scheduled to leave the school at the end of the year. Let’s hope the new headmaster will build up on this emerging platform, and that the school will not revert to its favorite trend: “one step forward, two steps backward”. Credibility is at stake.

For those not familiar with lip dub videos, it is a recent phenomenon that has culminated in various challenges among high schools in the US. One of the best was created by Shorewood High School

Our favorite cafe in marbella

Passion Cafe is certainly the place we go most often. Whether you go there for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you will not be disappointed. The food is great, the staff very friendly, the prices reasonable and parking is easy.

And the best about it: it is open 7 days a week!

Try the pancakes for breakfast at Passion Cafe!