The article here on the Ideal site has details of a new shopping and leisure centre that is supposed to be ready to open in 2021. It is going to be built on some empty ground close to the tennis club in El Ejido.
With Mercadona, Decathlon, Brico Depot and other businesses to set up there.
Read More for a Google translation of the article.
A while ago I spotted a notice on the Almerimar Local Information Facebook page saying Mercadona was going to close for a while for refurbishment. It said they are going to close from 25 February to approximately 10 March.
While I was in Mercadona I asked about this at the checkout as there were no signs up in the shop. The lady serving me said they were closing from 23 February for around 2 weeks.
So it looks like they are definitely closing in late February and early March. However, as yet, I am not sure of the exact dates.
From time to time Almerimar, like many other places in the world, has a spate of burglaries.
I understand that there have been some burglaries taken place here recently. I have been told that some of the burglars are coming in at night through patio doors.
So I guess that owners here should make sure that there place is secure before going to bed.
Last year the opening round of the Andalucia Seniors Circuit amateur golf competition was held in January at Almerimar. There were so many people wanting to take part the organisers had to close the entry list early.
This year the organisers have adopted a different approach. They have organised the competition to be played simultaneously at two courses, Almerimar and Playa Serena.
There are 6 categories of players taking part. Low, medium and higher handicap men, low and higher handicap ladies plus super seniors. These different categories of players will be split between the two courses. With the split being announced later this week (scheduled date is 16 January).
The closing date for entry into the competition is 21 January 2019. So far over 130 people have entered the competition. This is more than can play at the same time with a shotgun start on a single 18 hole course. So the decision to split the competition over two courses seems like a good one.
We still have a week left until the entry list closes so I guess we will see even more people taking part.
If you want to know more about the competition you can see information here on the Nextcaddy website.
The photos above are the strange sight we saw yesterday morning at around 08:30. The top photo is the 10th fairway. The bottom photo is near the 9th green. As you can see the golf course was covered in frost.
The frost burned off quite quickly as the sun got higher in the sky. We then had a lovely bright morning. However it got cold again towards the end of our round. Early in the afternoon the breeze got stronger and it was a very cold breeze.
So I recommend that you bring some cold weather clothes if you are visiting Almerimar soon.
Today I am thinking a lot about our past times in Almerimar.
Sadly, earlier this week, one of the 6 people who are the reason that Jacqui and I are living in Almerimar passed away. Doug's wife Marjorie is no longer with us.
Doug & Marjorie, Idris & Shirley and Joan & Peter welcomed us into the golfing world at Almerimar in the late 90s or early 2000s. We were staying at the golf hotel for a golfing holiday. At that time we were looking around Spain and Portugal with the idea of eventually buying a holiday home.
We spotted that there was an official competition due to take place. It was a competition organised by Bahía San Miguel. At that time Doug was on the committee of Bahía San Miguel.
We were told we could take part for fun but could not win a main prize as we did not have an official Spanish handicap.
There was a big meal in a marquee on the lawn of the golf hotel after the competition. We wandered in to the marquee knowing nobody apart from the people we had played with earlier. Doug & Marjorie, Peter & Joan and Idris & Shirley invited us to sit with them at their table.
Straight away we found that the people here had an attitude unlike anywhere else we had played golf. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The friendliness shown to us then was the reason we have ended up living here.
This is my way of offering my condolences to Doug and his family at this sad time.
The article here on the Almería 360 website has the results of the recent major windsurfing competition held in Almerimar a few days ago.
Read More for a Google translation of the article.
I think there will be a lot of fleeces and puffa jackets on show here today. The maximum temperature is only expected to be 16 degrees with a minimum of 12 degrees.
At least the sun should be out.
