A View from the Mountains

Not the great wartime film thriller starring Steve McQueen, but the day when the Spanish "break up" for Christmas and head off somewhere for the whole Yuletide season.

    "The Great Escape" [Netflix]

Today is the day when the Christmas holidays begin for many Spaniards. Many workers will finish work early, rush home, pick up the family and the luggage and head off to the coast, the mountains, the airport to start what could be nearly three weeks holiday.

Traffic jams start later today [La Vanguardia]    

The DGT predicts 22.5 million traffic movements during this holiday period.

Strictly speaking schools break up on Monday,  22nd December, the same day as the winning lottery tickets in "El Gordo" are drawn, but in reality, this year, today is the last day of term.

What implications does this have for normal life?

Well, if you have bureaucratic matters to deal with, you can forget them until the New Year.

Lots of offices and companies will also shut down.

Productivity will plummet, although spending in shops and online should rocket.

[Instagram]    

Spaniards who are have fulltime jobs will have money to spend. Many receive 14 monthly payments in a year - they get two months salary in August for their summer holidays, and two in December to pay for presents, meals out, trips, etc, over the Christmas/New Year/Epiphany period.

So, what's on?

22nd December - "El Gordo"

24th December - Noche Buena (Christmas Eve)

25th December - Dia de Navidad (Christmas Day)

26th December - normal working day in Spain

28th December - Dia de Los Inocentes - recalls Herod's murdering of all new-born male babies in an attempt to kill the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Curiously this day is a day for tricks and messing about - a bit like April Fool's Day in the UK and the USA.

[Vivir Experiencias]    

31st December - Noche Vieja (New Year's Eve).

The tradition of eating twelve grapes while the clock chimes midnight, making secret wishes for the following year.

This is followed by fireworks and sometimes bonfires.

People stay up late on this day.

1st January - Año Nuevo (New Year's Day)

[Spain.info]    

6th January - Dia de Reyes (Epiphany)

Commemorates the Three Wise Men bearing gifts coming to visit Baby Jesus.

This is the day when Spanish children receive their main, and most expensive, presents.

    [Instagram]

7th January - Schools re-open and adults go back to work.

***

In many villages, towns and cities there are other activities also: Christmas markets, pantomimes, children's activities, adult theatre, musical events, art exhibitions, food stalls and parades.

***

Final comment

The Spanish love their fiestas and this is one of the biggest, along with Easter. The difference in attitude to life between the British and the Spanish can be summed up by the saying:

"El ingles vive para trabajar, mientras el español trabaja para vivir." ("The English live in order to work; the Spanish work in order to live.")

© Paul Whitelock

Images:

Instagram, La  Vanguardia, Netflix, Spain.info, Vivir Experiencias, YouTube 

Thanks:

Paul Whitelock, Wikipedia, 

Tags:

Año Nuevo, April Fool's Day, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Dia de Los Inocentes, Dia de Navidad, Dia de Reyes, DGT, "El Gordo", Epiphany, Herod, Instagram, Jesus Christ, La Vanguardia, Messiah, Netflix, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Noche Buena, Noche Vieja, Paul Whitelock, Spain.info, Steve McQueen, "The Great Escape", Three Wise Men, twelve grapes, Vivir Experiencias, Wikipedia, YouTube 

The Ronda Valley Hotel (known to us locals as the Hotel Don Benito) shut suddenly the other day without notice. Nobody seemed to know why. We knew it was going to close on January 15th for reasons which weren't quite clear, but why all of a sudden in early December? Something must be afoot …..

[Atrapalo]    

What's going on?

Rumours abounded:

• the current tenants' lease had been cancelled unilaterally;
• the lease was up for grabs;
• the hotel was for sale;
• the kitchen had failed its hygiene check;
• the building had been condemned and it was to be demolished.

[OTYPO]    
 

For many locals, Spanish and foreign alike, this was a disaster. We had been spending time and money there for years, and now ….. ? What would we do? Where would we go?

Other hostelries nearby don't currently fit the bill.

• Hotel Molino del Puente is shut for three months.
• Hotel Perla Blanca - we don't even know if it's functioning at the moment.
• Venta El Puente only opens half the week.
• Venta La Vega only does breakfast and lunch and shuts on Thursdays.
• Venta El Polvorilla only serves breakfast and lunch.
• Venta El Pelistre isn't always open either. 
• Hotel Molino del Arco is only  open for residents.

    El  Polvorilla [www.sluurpy.es]     

And next?

If my informant is telling the truth (I think he is - he's the new owner!)

Anyway, I know what's happening, from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

The new owner, DG, has already been to the notary and the hotel is his from December 15th.

He wants to do some work, but hopes to open before Christmas, in order to benefit from hotel room bookings, bar takings, tapas and meals, etc.

    Mural in the public bar [Expedia]

DG intends to visit local homes and businesses to introduce himself and to invite the locals to the grand re-opening night to enjoy free drinks and tapas.

I look forward to that.

Action Plan for the Don Benito

I had a few ideas about what could be done to improve the "offer", which I discussed with DG. He agrees.

• give the bedrooms a makeover. They are a bit dated, basic and shabby. Once the renovation is  completed the hotel could "up" its prices. 30 € a night for a double room off-season is way too cheap.

[Central de Reservas]    

• adjust the horario of the restaurant. 7.00 - 10.30 would be welcomed by the very many hotel guests from Northern Europe, USA and Canada.
• introduce tapas at the bar.
• hold a monthly live music event on the terrace or in the function room.

[Instagram]    

In the meantime ..... ?

On Thursday night Rita and I tried out the new Las Maravillas in Ronda.

Just as good, if not better than the larger and original version on Calle La Bola.

The original Las Maravillas [Trip Advisor]    

The next couple of nights I went to Venta El Puente. 

On Friday night, the whole crowd from the Ronda Valley Hotel was there.

Last night I sat with Liz and Rob and their two-year-old little girl. Hadn't seen them for a while, so we had a good catch-up.

    [Photo by Karl Smallman]

Tonight, Sunday,  I'm going to stay in.

As for the RVH, or the Don Benito, or whatever it will be called in the future, I await its re-opening with bated breath .....

Links:

Another - new – Ronda Valley

"HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY" - Help me, Ronda

Only Joe King

Ronda, Happiest Town in Spain - Help me, Ronda

Ronda Valley Hotel to close? F**k! - Help me, Ronda

©  Paul Whitelock

Pictures:

Atrapalo, Central de Reservas, Expedia, Instagram, Karl Smallman, OTYPO, Secret Serrania, Trip Advisor, www.sluurpy.es

Thanks:

David Garcia, Las Maravillas, Paul Whitelock, Venta El Puente

Tags:

Atrapalo, bar takings, Central de Reservas, Expedia, Hotel Don Benito, Hotel Molino del Arco, Hotel Molino del Puente, Hotel Perla Blanca, Instagram, Karl Smallman, meals, Only Joe King, open before Christmas, OTYPO, Paul Whitelock, Ronda Valley Hotel, room bookings, Secret Serrania, tapas, Trip Advisor, Venta El Pelistre, Venta El Polvorilla, Venta El Puente, Venta La Vega, www.sluurpy.es

The presidente del gobierno (the Spanish prime minister) Pedro Sánchez Pérez - Castejón has been under fire recently from all sides - Feijóo (PP); Abascal (VOX); Noguera (Junts); the predominantly right-wing Press - and he is "riding low" in the opinion polls.

He has been accused of corruption, of nepotism and of other dodgy practices.

    [Facebook]

So, arguably the best prime minister Spain has had since democracy was restored in 1978, decided to submit himself to a live interview/interrogation by TVE, the national TV broadcaster.

That was yesterday and this story has dominated the airwaves in Spain ever since.

Entrevista con el Presidente del Gobierno, Tuesday November 2nd, 2025

I watched the whole thing live and found it gripping. The interviewer, Gemma Nierga, in her programme "Cafè d'Idees", "pulled no punches" and was persistent and probing. Sánchez looked every inch the statesman that he is. Young, handsome, clean-cut (no ear-ring, no tattoos, and no pony tail), articulate and totally believable.

He remained calm throughout and projected an image of quiet authority.

The topics covered in this 30-minute interview, which took place in a private salón at the Moncloa Palace, the official residence of the Spanish prime minister (think Number 10 Downing Street in the UK) were predictable:

    [RTVE.es]

the Cataluña problem, Puigdemont and Junts; the "dana" in Valencia and the Carlos Mazón situation; the publication of a memoir by the former king, Juan Carlos I, and a subsequent interview broadcast on Spanish TV;  the accusations about his wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Sánchez; alleged corrupt practices by Sánchez  and the calls for his resignation; el Franquismo and the youth vote.

    Puigdemont [EL PAIS]                                   Feijoo [Cadena SER]                                               

    Abascal [Democrata]                                 Mazon [elDiario.es]

He dealt with each in turn in a calm and logical manner. He confirmed for me that he is the best and most effective prime minister Spain has had since the end of Franco's dictatorship, the restoration of the monarchy and the reintroduction of a parliamentary democracy.

Reaction

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the conservative People's Party (PP), was predictable in his reaction. Attack, attack, attack! No alternative policies offered, just negativity. Feijóo will never be prime minister of Spain. He's far too dull and ineffective.

Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right VOX, had nothing of value to say. Just a "nazi-style" rant.

A day later, today Wednesday November 3rd, Miriam Nogueras, the spokesperson for Junts per Catalunya, the separatist group in the north-east region, called a Roda de Premsa (press conference) in Barcelona.

Speaking in Catalan, with a simultaneous translation into Spanish, she presented the Junts reaction to Sánchez's interview the day before.

[ABC]    

Speaking in Catalan (Why? She knew that most of the reporters present and the TV audience don't speak Catalan. What point was she trying to make? All she does is alienate the rest of Spain) she declared that all the fault for the breach with Madrid lies with Sánchez. Nothing really new.

The exiled leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, is the "elephant in the room", the cause of the standstill.

Theirs is clearly a lost cause. According to opinion polls, the Catalans have no great wish to secede from Spain. The party only has seven seats, although these are crucial to Sánchez's coalition.

Later, Nogueras was interviewed by the political discussion programme "La Hora" (TVE) and guess what? She speaks fluent castellano!

She kept banging on about broken promises by the Madrid government. And she re-iterated that in Cataluña, Junts decides.

    [ABC]

Conclusion

What a fascinating couple of days for keen followers of the political situation in Spain. People like me.

A slightly left-of-centre person by instinct (I was a Liberal voter, later Lib-Dem, and ultimately, the Labour Party of Tony Blair) until I moved to Spain.

Here I am disenfranchised and may only vote in local elections. If I could vote in regional and national elections, my votes would go to PSOE, a centre-left socialist party.

I am more than happy with Pedro Sánchez. He has presided over Spain's recent economic success, the erasing of Franco from the torrid history of this country and Spain being a leading member state of the European Union.

Tony Blair's election victory in 1997 [The Guardian]    

With his fluent English Pedro Sánchez is front and centre in Brussels, something no previous Spanish prime minister managed, largely because none of the rest could speak English. 

If Spain can address and solve the problem of young people turning en masse towards el franquismo, and possibly voting for VOX, the future of the country is assured.

Links:

DIRECTO | PEDRO SÁNCHEZ ENTREVISTADO POR GEMMA NIERGA | RTVE

Feijóo, sobre la entrevista de Sánchez: "Es el presidente menos creíble de la democracia"

DIRECTO: MIRIAM NOGUERAS, portavoz de JUNTS responde a SÁNCHEZ | RTVE

RECONCILIACIÓN | Juan Carlos I | Casa del Libro - Editorial Planeta  ISBN 9788408296225

© Paul Whitelock

Pictures:

ABC, Cadena SER, Democrata, elDiario.es, EL PAIS, Facebook, RTVE.es, The Guardian, 

Thanks:

ABC, elDiario.es, Facebook, MSN, RNE, RTVE, Wikipedia

Tags: 

10 Downing Street, 1975, 1978, 1997, 7 seats, ABC, Abascal, Cadena SER, "Cafè d'Idees", Democrata, Editorial Planeta, elDiario.es, EL PAIS, European Union, Facebook, Feijoo, Franco, Gemma Nierga, Juan Carlos I, Junts, Junts per Catalunya, Mazon, MSN, Miriam Nogueras, Moncloa, PSOE, Paul Whitelock, Pedro Sanchez, presidente del gobierno, prime minister, Puigdemont, RNE, RTVE, RTVE.es, "RECONCILIACION",  Rey Emerito, Roda de Premsa, The Guardian, Tony Blair, VOX