InfoTurismo Jimena is getting its papers

JIMENA Just got back from a meeting of the new InfoTurismo Jimena association. It is a private enterprise with some support from the Council, that aims at promoting tourism in the municipality. This evening's meeting was to set up the association statutes, set fees and to elect the Board members. So far, our President is Nieves Domínguez Rodríguez (Restaurante La Estación in San Pablo) and on the Board are Melissa González-Morgan (Casa Henrietta, in Jimena), José Quirós (of local development) and Fiona Rayner (Cortijo Román). Other members, such as Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer will be elected at the next meeting. Among other things, the statutes were approved and will be presented to the Registro de Asociaciones, so we can begin to function officially. It was felt that it was important to have the 'office' open as soon as possible, but as there is no finance as yet, Alberto Bullrich volunteered to man the wooden cabin on a regular basis as soon as the association comes into being. Once that happens, the Council has said it will make a proper office available on the ground floor of the 'silo' building (behind the present hut). Watch this space - information as to how to become a member will be available soon.

Tourism organization gets under way

The InfoTurismo Jimena Association is holding a meeting this coming Thursday at the Cámara de Comercio building (by the fire station at the beginning of Estación), at 6pm. This is the bi-lingual organization that is getting together all bars, restaurants, hotels, accommodation and related enterprises in the municipality to create a platform on which to build a properly run tourism information service that has been sadly lacking in Jimena for many years. It started running unofficially (bureaucracy taking its time) over the Easter holidays with a cabin near the entrance to the village. If you run a business that is in any way related to tourism, or would like simply to take part in a project to promote Jimena as a tourism destination, please come along. If you know anyone at all who might be interested, tell them about it. Also, if you have cards, pamphlets or any other bumph for your business, please bring it along so we can have it to hand in the cabin.

Two important meetings are taking place as we write

JIMENA We got wind of these meetings some two weeks ago, and we knew that the Mayor and Council had been approached on the subject, which is none other than creating our own Tourist Information centre. The two women entrepreneurs behind the idea are Melissa González (of Henrietta's) and Nieves Domínguez (of La Estación in SanPablo). The concept is to create an Information Centre, an effective, useful one of which Jimena has been lacking for too many years - to be done as a private . "We need to attract tourism to Jimena," say Nieves and Melissa. This evening's tandem meetings are intended to bring together the hotels and accommodation businesses (at 5pm) and then the bars and restaurants (at 6). We are informed that the Council is backing the idea, not with money (there ain't any!) but with the use of space at the entrance to the village, down by the silo, and pay for water, electricity, phone and broadband there. The Association - for that is what it is intended to become- will do the following: create an Association, hire a qualified person to attend the office, to be financed by a fee from each association member, and bring together as many similar enterprises in the municipality as possible. We will report on the meetings as soon as we can but if you missed them and would like more information, contact Melissa (956 648 130) or Nieves (956 642 244).

Reader's Comment: Now, here's a good idea!

(An idea from Melissa of Hospedería Henrietta) How many times have you seen tourists wandering around the main square looking for information? How much promotion does the Council do for the businesses in the municipality? How well do events get announced in advance? This little building has stood empty since it was completed early last year. While the Council looks for someone willing to take it on as a kiosk, which could take a lot of time, why not use it as an information centre? It doesn't need staff: if it can be locked, then the windows can hold a host of information on the inside, which can be divided into sections like Alojamiento (Accommodation), Eventos, etc. It could even offer those wretched Bandos (Official Notices) that come down from the Council and are only seen in bars (to which not everyone goes nor understands). All it would need is someone to keep it updated every week.

Jimena weekend on YouTube

We caught this on TioJimeno, who came across it on YouTube with the following caption: "My wife and I went to Jimena de la Frontera in Spain for the weekend and here's a 360 degree view of one of the best views in the area." The caption was in English apparently... Nice.

A fairy tale of an excursion

You're minding your own business, checking out the camera from another assignment, you turn the corner into Jimena's main square, and what do you see? A whole lot of little people and their minders, all dressed up and somewhere to go. It turns out these are the Sotogrande International School pre-school lot, on an excursion/visit to Jimena. Their topic is Story Telling, so there they are, all dressed up. But what we liked very much was that their teachers were dressed up, too, and not at all embarrassed about it. They were walking up to the castle after we took the photo. Hope you all had a great day, people! (It wasn't easy to get them all into the photo, so we'll be putting more pics on our WebAlbum as soon as poss.)

Nice group of ramblers, nice

We met this large group of Ramblers from Gibraltar as they were climbing the steps up to the Paseo. They let us take a picture, for which e're grateful. It's just a way of welcoming anyone who takes the trouble to visit Jimena, a village only one of them knew at all. We figure that if you make someone feel welcome, they'll be back. Welcome, people! (In case any of our visitors wonders about the time they were visiting, that is not the right time on the clock behind you!)

Henrietta's painting course closes with exhibition

As we reported here, Hospedería Henrietta began its artistic career as a venue for artists, with a course titled Realism Painting that has been going on all this week under the direction of art historian and painter Fernando Martínez Romero. By all accounts, it has been a resounding success and the students are very pleased with the result, we're told - that is why they will be showing their work at an exhibition tomorrow evening, Saturday 30, from 8.30pm. This venture by Melissa González-Morgan deserves our, and official, support, as it may well turn into a regular feature of the establishment, and a specific tourism resource for Jimena, which badly needs it. See you there tomorrow!

Tourism? What tourism?

We received a press release this morning from the Council's Department of Tourism, headed by Councillor Juan José Rondón, that tells us that the Tourist Information Office is now open again (it's been closed throughout the summer tourist season). It offers a schedule (Wednesday and Thursday: from 11am to 1pm; Friday: from 10.30am to 1.30pm - that's it) and added that it opens in time for a 'season of great demand for information'. The office is at the very top of the village, in the old Misericordia church (photo) just below the castle, the only feature a tourist or two might ask about but will somehow have got there all by themselves. The schedule has the place closed over the weekend: are there no tourists on the weekend? Mind you, with the traffic as it is, and direction/diversion signs non-existant, plus the extremely unhelpful location of the office, we would hate to be tourists arriving in Jimena. Over this long weekend, we have come across innumerable cars and some pedestrians, lost and unable to find the way in or out of the village. They won't be coming back, for sure. The whole tourism issue in Jimena really needs an overhaul and a lot more energy from the Town Hall.

Ignorance is bliss, if only they knew it

SOURCE: TioJimeno Nice little piece by our friend Ricardo Gómez, who tells of a story Juan Lobillo told him: Juan came across a group of 'high standing' (known as pijos in colloquial Spanish - and defined circumspectly as 'upper class') visitors to Jimena. One of the group's mobile rings. "Where are you?" she was asked. Juan heard the answer: "We're in Jimena. In the Sotogrande Mountains." Ignorance is bliss, as we say, though one can`t help feeling sorry for people like that.

Castle restoration to be completed?

On a recent visit to Jimena by the Provincial Delegate for the Junta's Department of Culture, Yolanda Peinado (to present the poster for Estación's Flamenco Festival, photo: second from left), Mayor Pascual Collado took the opportunity to thank that department for its support in several project of importance to the village, including the restoration of the Convento (a.k.a. Santuario), as well as the (partial) rehabilitation of the Castle and its opening to the public, on which the intention is "to implicate the (national) Department of Development" as well. Certainly, our castle needs at least a 'haircut', weeds growing magnificently in a very modern fashion. We have also heard from seeral visiting tourists that the tourist information centre is never open. Does anyone know why?

Air strike looms; talks break down

Talks between Spain's airports authority AENA and air traffic controllers  have broken down, heightening the prospect of a strike this month. The two sides had been expected to reach an agreement by last Friday, after which time AENA said it was hoping to settle the dispute out of court. The head of the state agency, Juan Ignacio Lema Devesa, said at a press conference last week in Madrid that talks would not continue 'under pressure of a strike'. Nevertheless, the deadline has been pushed back and Spain’s air traffic controllers will now decide on Thursday whether to go ahead with their walk out. According to  controllers' union spokesman, Daniel Zamit, (Full story on CampoPulse)

Hotel Henrietta opens in Jimena

What used to be the Hotel Jimena Real has become the Hotel Henrietta thanks to Melissa and Eoin, who are now running the two-star establishment. Yes, it's open! The photo (thank you, Currini) is of the sign that is now on the door, painted by Melissa.  The charming couple are artists; Eoin is an accomplished sculptor, painter, photographer, etc, and Melissa is very modest about her own accomplishments. Watch this space (and a renewed JimenArte) for a lot more on these two - and an answer to the question we all want to know: why Henrietta?

All the way from Australia...

La Tasca was invaded this morning by a very pleasant group of visitors from Australia, who kindly agreed to have their photo taken in the square. They called themselves a 'study group', presumably studying Southern Spain. The group's leader, Dr. John Wreglesworth, of Banbury in Oxfordshire, told us that they had previously visited Granada, Córdoba and were on their way to Sevilla, and after that to spend five days in Barcelona. Comments ranged from 'What a lovely village!' to 'What do you do all day here?' (which has no answer). In one of those coincidences that seems to be the norm in Jimena, one of the group was born and raised near where one of the regulars' son and family now live. Welcome, Ozzies, and bon voyage!

'Los Alcornocales: Nature Park and Future Development'

The future of Los Alcornocales Nature Park is to be discussed in a workshop at the Leopoldo de Luis Cultural Centre in Jimena (across the street from the Town Hall)  on April 22, starting at 9.30am under the title of 'Los Alcornocales: Nature Park and Local Development'. Aimed at businesses related to the park, such as tourism and agriculture, as well as to teachers and students, it is part of a progremme of environmental education that is being carried out over several months at Alcalá de los Gazules, Los Barrios and Jimena de la Frontera, all closely related to the park in various aspects of it development and conservation.

Tourist Information Centre extends opening hours

(Press release) Jimena's Tourist Information Centre, at the Misericordia church just below the castle (photo), has extended its opening hours thanks to the incorporation of three new staff from the MEMTA employment plan. The new schedule is from 10am to 2pm and from 4 to 8pm from Wednesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays).  Initially, the new hours are planned for March, April and May. Until now the office was manned by volunteers of the 'El Regüé' Sustainable Tourism Association of Jimena and was only open on weekends. The association will continue to assist in the centre's operations.

A ray of hope for the Spanish property market?

A recent article in SurInEnglish.com says "The hoped-for green shoots of the economy in the UK were showing their heads in Birmingham last weekend, when thousands of people turned out for the “A Place in the Sun” exhibition held at the NEC International property shows in the UK." Also, figures for tourism this year have the British choosing Spain as their favourite holiday country again, though the overall numbers are down by 9.3% compared to last year. The image shows the distribution of 'emitting countries' for October, according to the Ministry of Tourism's Instituto de Estudios Turísticos.(See more in a sneak preview of CampoPulse.)