Round Town: Local News Benidorm, Alfaz, Altea.

WOW - Iceland in Benidorm!" Ok Ok, so if you’re here on holiday you probably won’t get quite as excited about this HUGE news as us locals...and that’s because you’re surrounded by dozens of supermarkets at home whose shelves are packed with all your favourite British flavours. But to us locals this is fantastic news!

Fiesta is a party! To the outsider a fiesta just looks like a reason for a party – but in actual fact there is a reason behind each and every one – and it’s usually religious. Most of us are familiar with Benidorm’s annual fiestas in November and many book their holiday’s especially to coincide, but inland, the village fiestas are every bit as spectacular and each honours a different saint.

The Spanish government recently unveiled a plan to invest 17 billion euros over the next two years to improve Spain’s transportation system and provide much-needed jobs in a country suffering from high unemployment. The vast majority of this huge amount is to be spent on two major projects; the motorway system and the RENFE high speed rail system. It is hoped that Spain will overtake France as the country with more high speed rail lines than any other.

Benidorm skyline? Think that strips of high-rise hotels are an eyesore and an environmental crime? They may not be as bad as you think. According to a study in Spain, concentrated tourist towns can make more efficient use of local water resources than the more discreet villas.