We have lots of extras that are not found in the average B and B, with our very own all weather tennis court, a large swimming pool and our very own gym. All this is included in the very competitive price.  We can also offer you lunches and dinners should you wish to stay in and relax.  We can cater for all dietary requirements.

So no matter if you want a few days away or a longer holiday, are house hunting, or out to celebrate a special occasion we will help to ensure that your visit to southern Spain is unforgettably good, leaving you wanting to return as soon as an opportunity arises.

The towns of Mojacar, Garrucha and Turre are all nearby as are the beautiful beaches,  only 10 minutes away and are just calling to those of you who are beach lovers.   There are plenty of shops and restaurants and things to do all around the area.

We are only 45 minutes away from Almeria airport and 2 hours from Alicante so wherever you arrive from we are easy to find, just off of the E15 motorway.

Both projects were overseen by the Junta’s delegate for town-planning, Luis Caparros, and the newly appointed mayor of Arboleas, Angel Garcia.

Fifty-two local families received permission to renovate homes where 50 per cent of the cost is paid for by the Junta, up to a maximum of 9,000 euros, with work having to be completed within the year.

Most properties are old farmhouses or dilapidated ‘cortijos’, mostly owned by retired locals who have lived all their lives in the area.

The initiative pledges to provide a financial leg-up over an agreed four-year period from 2008 to 2012 throughout the province. However, all applicants will have to be means-tested first.

Houses will be ‘checked’ first by officials and owners will have to find their own builders - although architects and technicians are available at no cost.

The regional government is also aiming to create employment for local trades people as plumbers, carpenters, roofers and other necessary skilled workers.

A British expat, Nora Insley, who has lived in the area for 10 years, was one of the “lucky” grant recipients. She purchased her house in Arboleas seven years ago, when it was “a shell”.

She said everyone at the town hall had been very helpful. She said: “Although I have managed to renovate some of the house inside, to repair the roof will cost a fortune and I can’t afford that.

“Now the Junta is going to pay half towards it. I felt very lucky to have been accepted for the grant. I think the council wants to ensure that old houses and methods of building are not lost and that Arboleas does not lose its ancestral and rural buildings.”

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The building, known as a ‘high-resolution specialist centre’ (CARE), will cost 5.65 million euros to build.

Regional health minister María Jesús Montero was in charge of laying the symbolic first stone for the CARE this week.Sra Montero revealed that the centre will feature the most up-to-date technology available for the diagnosis and treatment of patients referred to surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, throat and ear medicine, traumatology, gynaecology and obstetrics, as well as a general health centre.

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The announcement was made last week by the head of the public health department in Almería, Pilar Barroso, to coincide with World Cancer Day. The register will list the types and incidence of cancerous tumours in the province and is being drawn up with the intention helping doctors battle the disease.

Speaking exclusively with this newspaper, Sra Barroso said the project was still in its initial phase and she was therefore unable to predict how long it would take to complete.

She said: “At the moment we are still looking at the various sources of data we can use to compile the register, which will be drawn from the province’s hospitals and health centres.”

Exactly how the register was used would be decided once finished, though Sra Barroso confirmed the information contained would only be accessible to doctors and other health service professionals.

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FOUR youths were arrested in Almería last week for allegedly torturing and killing livestock stolen from a farm in the Rambla de Belén area of Almería city.

Two 19-year-olds, one 28-year-old, and one minor were arrested after police found a sickening trail of dead animals butchered at an abandoned farmhouse.

The men were arrested following a National Police investigation launched after a farmer reported a burglary and the theft of livestock. He also reported the discovery of injured animals on his property as well as two decapitated chickens.

Police on patrol witnessed four young people on motorcycles coming off the motorway near the Rambla de Belén carrying various packets, who quickly hid in a nearby abandoned farmhouse upon seeing the officers.

A search of the property revealed a bloodstained axe, and in one of the rooms the officers discovered three dead billy goats with severe injuries. One of the suspects was found at the scene and arrested on the spot.

Meanwhile, the other three suspects were stopped by plain-clothed policemen when they attempted to escape from a nearby police roadblock.

In addition to the incriminating evidence seized by police were two large knives.

The youths have been handed over to the authorities for trial on charges of burglary and cruelty to animals.

The law on animal cruelty charges

Animal protection laws in Spain differ from region to region - a situation that is the source of much controversy among animal rights groups.

The dispute was further fanned by a recent decision by Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to backtrack on an election promise to create a national umbrella law ensuring tougher penalties throughout the country for the mistreatment of animals.

The aim of the proposed bill would have been to ‘even out’ the differences between the regions, as fines for mistreatment and abandonment currently vary from 3,000 to 150,000 euros depending on where the aggressor lives.

However, the national Penal Code establishes prison sentences of between three months and one year for severe violence towards animals, causing them death or serious long-lasting injuries, although according to animal rights groups these sentences are rarely carried out due to the difficulty of proving “excessive and intentional force” in an attack.

In Andalucía, the law passed in 2003 establishes three degrees of animal cruelty, ranging from minor to serious and very serious.

Very serious crimes include killing or maiming animals, abandoning pets, setting poisoned traps, organising events such as dog or cockfights, and various other offences punishable with fines of between 2,000 and 30,000 euros.

Serious crimes include mistreatment and causing non-disabling injuries, failing to carry out the required vaccinations and medical treatments, keeping animals in unhygienic and inadequate conditions, forcing animals to work beyond their capabilities or while incapacitated, the public sale of animals outside authorised establishments, and a long list of other crimes penalised with fines of 500 to 2,000 euros.

Minor offences feature failure to maintain the required up-to-date medical history for domestic animals, allowing pets to disturb neighbours, or failing to collect their excrements, with fines of between 75 to 500 euros.

As reported last week in CAN 180, the new monthly billing system has resulted in sharp rises in some customers’ bills and seen consumer rights organisations flooded with queries.

The change in the system was introduced as a result of the Real Decreto 1578/2008 of September 26 which established that billing for domestic use of electricity up to 10 kilowatts must be done monthly from November 1 of last year, part of a government energy saving scheme to make home owners more aware of the amount of electricity being used.

Salvador Salazar of Sevillana Endesa said the billing procedure affected 89 per cent of the 4.7 million customers the company had in Andalucía and the province of Badajoz in Extremadura. He claimed customers were not being forced to pay more.

He explained the first bill of each two-monthly period would be for an estimated amount calculated using the customer’s average consumption from the year before, claiming the second bill would be based on an actual meter reading and any amounts overcharged in the first bill would be subtracted from the second month’s.

Costa Almería News asked him why the problem could not be solved by conducting monthly meter readings. He said: “At the moment Endesa are not making more declarations on this subject as we have observed that the fuss made in the media is creating the impression that this is a problem caused by Sevillana Endesa when we are only trying to obey Spanish law.”

Despite Endesa’s promises to rectify over charging with deductions from the second month’s bills, criticism has centred on the effect the artificially high bills in the first month will have on people living on a tight budget.

Nigel Rogers, who lives in Arboleas, said his bill had risen from 49 euros in December to 298 euros in January. He said: “Pensioners have already lost enough through the fall in value of the pound. We don’t need companies overcharging us, even if they do promise to pay it back.”

Christine Stalham from Serón said she and her husband both worked but disagreed with the billing procedure. “Our bill leapt from 94 euros to 471. When we went to complain the Endesa office was packed with people, all with similar gripes.”

The Popular Party this week demanded that Minister of Industry Miguel Sebastián explain to the Spanish parliament how the supposed irregularities in electricity bills had occurred.

Under penal code revisions passed in December 2007, drivers who refuse to submit to an alcohol test can be sentenced to six months to a year in prison.

But the Pamplona judge ruled that refusal to take the alcohol test can only be considered a criminal offence if law enforcement officers observe clear signs that the driver is under the influence of alcohol, or the driver has been involved in an accident. Refusing at a random alcohol checkpoint, when neither of the above conditions applies, is merely a traffic infraction, not a criminal offence, found the judge.

He based his ruling on a Supreme Court decision in 1999 regarding Article 380 in the penal code, in which the court ruled that refusing to submit to a random alcohol test when officers do not detect clear signs of inebriation “does not pass the level of administrative sanction” and enter into criminal territory. That case involved a member of congress who had refused to take an alcohol test at a random checkpoint.

The Pamplona ruling, which is subject to appeal, came in the case of a man who was pulled over on his motorbike and, when given an alcohol test, “consciously performed it defectively in order to avoid a valid result.”

It is not the first time a Pamplona court has made a ruling challenging the criminality of drink-driving related offences. In February 2008, just months after the penal code revision made alcohol levels exceeding 0.60 mg/l of expired air a crime punishable by prison sentences, a Pamplona court let off a driver who had blown at 0.63 mg/l. In that case, the ruling was based on a potential margin of error of 7.5 per cent in the testing device, based on guidelines established by the Ministry of Industry.

Situated in the province of Almeria and easily accessible from an excellent motorway network, Garrucha is a delightful traditional Spanish fishing town. Justifiably famous for its fabulous sea food restaurants and in particular the quantity and quality of its large red prawns. Every evening you can watch the boats come in and barter alongside the restaurant owners in the atmospheric quayside market for the catch of the day.

The wonderful golden sandy beaches that stretch into the distance as far as the eye can see, offer a picture perfect spot to sunbathe, enjoy a range of water sports or take a leisurely walk. Indeed the beach opposite the town centre is the only blue flag town beach in Europe. For the sailing enthusiasts Garrucha boasts a 220 berth yacht marina.

Garrucha was founded in the 16th Century by a group of fishermen, who banded together and fearing attack from pirates constructed a tower the Torre de la Garrucha, as a means of warning and protection. Other buildings of interest include the parish church of San Joaquin and the hermitage de la virgin Carmen, the patron saint of Garrucha.

Evenings and Sundays see the local residents taking the air along the beautiful landscaped promenade, a peaceful oasis that is dotted with childrens play areas and benches under the palm trees to relax and watch the world stroll by. It runs the length of the town for some 2km and takes in all three of Garrucha ports, the sports port, fishing and commercial ports.

Every Friday sees Garrucha come alive with vibrant noise and colour as large sections of the town centre are taken over by the weekly market. Garrucha also has numerous captivating fiestas and holidays , la Noche de San Juan on the 23rd of June where the Spanish wait on the beaches until midnight before they take the first swim of the year at the stroke of twelve. Or the Three Kings on the 6th of January where the Three Wise Men arrive by boat to great crowds of cheering children and lead a wonderful procession through the streets.

The charm of Garrucha lies in its atmosphere of having been unspoilt by tourism. This is a largely Spanish speaking town, a fact in its self unusual these days along the Spanish coast. With its strong fishing traditions and natural beauty Garrucha presents an opportunity for those wishing to re locate and experience a more traditional Spanish culture.

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Directions from Murcia or Alicante Airport;-

Find your way to the E15 motorway towards Almeria.

Continue on this motorway until you reach the junction for Los Gallardos, Antas, Turre, Garrucha, Mojacar.

Turn left off of the slip road, shortly reaching a ninety degree bend to the right, follow this road untilyou come to Los Gallardos.

Take the first left turn towards Garrucha.

Follow this road past a white restaurant on your right, ‘Loma Blanca’ until you see the right turn to Turre.

Take this turn but immediately double back on yourself and turn left back the way you have just come.

You will see metal road safety barriers along the side of the road, at the end of this on your right there is a gravel road (you will have passed some properties sitting back from the road on your right).

Take this gravel road, drive past two properties on your right and at the third turn right (opposite Casa Benedict).

Casa 4U is a short distance along on your right along the white walls and through the black gates.

Directions from Almeria Airport;-

Take the E15 motorway towards Murcia.  Follow this until you see the sign for Los Gallardos, Turre and Garrucha.

Take this turn.  Come up to the roundabout and take the second exit towards Los Gallardos (NOT Turre).

Follow this road passing a petrol station on the left and take the first right turn towards Garrucha.

Follow this road past a white restaurant on your right, ‘Loma Blanca’ until you see the right turn to Turre.

Take this turn but immediately double back on yourself and turn left back the way you have just come.

You will see metal road safety barriers along the side of the road, at the end of this on your right there is a gravel road (you will have passed some properties sitting back from the road on your right).

Take this gravel road, drive past two properties on your right and at the third turn right (opposite Casa Benedict).

Casa4U is a short distance along on your right along the white walls and through the black gates.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries.

Marion & Ivan D’Moirah

0034 950 069 439

or

0034 667 624 380
www.abnb4u.com

abnb4u@gmail.com

Whether it is anniversaries, weddings, birthdays or murder mystery for hen parties or stags let us help make it special for you. Pass your headache on to us and leave us to manage things to your requirements. Here are a few examples of what we can do for you.

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Pampering weekends;- we call in the local experts in to give massages and other beauty treatments, whilst enjoying the tranquil setting and appetizing food and drinks. An ideal treat for all age groups, couples or just groups of friends.

Weddings or Blessings;- Wedding breakfast round the pool or in the dining room or even in a marquee giving a beautiful and private setting to always remember.

Hen and Stag breaks;- we can arrange a limo to take you to the highlife and bring you back again where you can enjoy the on-site facilities and relax before the big day.

Lunch or Evening celebrations;- whether it is a 100^th birthday for all the family and friends or a more intimate small celebration, the whole place can be reserved and a choice of menu can be selected to suit all tastes.

A weekend as part of your stay of murder and intrigue with a variety of themes to suit your requirements or special occasion.

Typical Menu