News 2004
Natura World Owners face wait for their properties Vera
Playa's biggest development, the 570 unit Natura World, was
supposed to be all finished by October 2004. Now in December 2004
it looks as if the two beachfront apartment blocks are close to completion
and - presumably - handover, but the 25 or so smaller apartment blocks
behind are not nearly so advanced and, in some cases, are not even
started yet. At the front of the development two of the development's
5 open-air swimming pools have been constructed and tiled but are
still surrounded by raw building site. Whilst most developments at
Vera Playa have progressed at an impressive pace, Natura World has
been characterised by its snail's pace. Only one crane has been utilised
on the development and seldom has the site seemed to contain more
than a dozen or so workmen - by contrast Nuevo Vera, a nearby
textile development has used 4 or 5 tower cranes and has buzzed with
workers - even though it is only 196 units against the 570 of Natura
World. The Natura World development has been dogged with problems
and delays - the first development consortium collapsed in 2001/2
when it emerged that it did not own the land and the present consortium
decided to proceed on the basis of a single phase of development as
compared to the multi-phase development used by most of the other
naturist urbanizacions. 
Natura World occupies the key site between the Hotel Vera Playa Club
and Natsun at the heart of the naturist zone.A conservative view of the progress on the site would suggest that the development is unlikely to be completed until at least Autumn 2005 or Spring 2006, so many owners will have a much longer wait to gain occupation of their properties than they originally expected. Properties at Natura World appear to have been sold at low prices compared with the current market prices of similar properties in the locality, so owners can at least comfort themselves with the expectation of an immediate substantial capital gain when they do eventually take possession of their new holiday homes in the sun. 7 December 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 If you are buying a property at Natura World we'd like to hear from you as to what you've been told by the developers about the completion date of your property - e-mail us at "mail" at "veraplaya.info". |
 Foolish
turtle's last return?Long time local resident and well known classical musician, octogenarian Peter Goodman discovered this dead turtle recently on his morning walk along the 3 km naturist beach. Two years ago there was intense media and public interest when a turtle laid its eggs on the naturist beach and there were hopes that the beach would become an established site for these impressive creatures. More October 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 |
|
"Hero" President solves new security
system's teething problems The new system uses special keys which are programmed to be recognised by a computer system and the keys should operate a pedestrian gate at the main gate, five pedestrian gates around the perimeter of the urbanizacion by which people get to the beach and the gates to the swimming pool complex. Unfortunately, the new system seems to have some teething problems and on some days recently none of the gates operated by the new keys have been working and the only way into or out of the urbanizacion has been by the main vehicle gate, which has not yet been converted to computer control. The new keys - which cost over 60 Euros each, are also proving to be delicate physically and liable to be rendered unusable by immersion in water. It is understood that the lock manufacturers have agreed to replace some of the defective locks - but what happens about the others is not known. Fran Clemente, President of the Bahia de Vera urbanizacion, was seen this weekend, even late into the evening, working at the various gates and he has now informed all owners that they are all operational. It is not clear why the President of the Community has had to undertake this work personally - contractors were engaged to install a properly functioning system - but yet again President Fran has proved to be a "hands-on" hero willing personally to solve problems at the urbanizacion - well done - and thanks, Fran!. 4 October 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 |
| Vera Natura covered pool
closed For safety reasons the covered pool at the Vera Natura urbanizacion has been closed. The roof structure is visibly buckling and there is clearly a risk of collapse. It is not known how long the pool will be out of action but with winter approaching, when the outdoor pool will be too cold to be used, it is clearly a problem for owners and visitors who like to swim. Only 3 of the 10 urbanizacions at Vera Playa have covered/indoor pools - the others are Bahia de Vera and Torrema Natura. The indoor pool at Bahia de Vera has had its own problems in the past, first of all with paint peeling from the structure (which was repaired by the developers after negotiations by the Community's President) and, last year, with problems with the heating control system which left the pool cold for about 2 months during December 2003 and January 2004. These problems were remedied and, hopefully, the Bahia de Vera indoor pool will be faultless in operation this coming winter - it is believed to be the only pool at Vera Playa which is heated both by solar panels and by an electrically operated heat pump, so it is warm regardless of weather conditions. 28 September 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 Stop Press: Bahia de Vera's President has announced that the heating system of the urbanizacion's indoor pool has been tested and has already been switched on for the autumn/winter season so that the pool temperature will be maintained. It is currently 31.8 degrees Celsius. The showers are now delivering hot water. 4 October 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 |
| Opposition to Fish Farm An Action Committee has been formed to fight the large (60 hectares/145 acres) Tuna Fish Farm proposed by the Andalucian government to be stationed off the coast at Vera Playa. It is feared that the tuna fish farm would have a detrimental effect on the sea and beach - issues include pollution of the sea from surplus food and excrement and smell from the fish food. It is understood that the fishermen of Garrucha oppose the tuna farm as a threat to their livelihoods. 29 July 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 Update: The Tuna Fish Farm has been established and can just be seen from the beach at Vera Natura, appearing as a number of white buoys to the NNE of the naturist beach. So far, there seem to be no obviously perceptible effects of the fish farm on the naturist beach 8 Dec 2004 - news item www.VeraPlaya.info © 2004 |
Vera Playa gears up for beach
safety
For the second year running there is a line of yellow buoys parallel
to the beach and approximately 200 metres offshore. These safety buoys
are now placed at all beaches in Andalucia and are designed to protect
bathers from death or injury by boats, especially powered craft. No
boats are allowed to be closer to the shore than the line of buoys.
At intervals there is a boat launching channel - also marked by buoys
(red and green ones on the seaward end and white buoys near the beach.
Bathers are prohibited from using the boat launching channels. On
the naturist beach there is only one boat launching channel - opposite
the NatSun development. This summer a wide variety of boats may be
hired by the hour or half-hour on the beach - pedalos, canoes/kayaks
and sailing boats. And, of course, some people bring their own boats.
The next nearest boat launching channels are by the Valle d'Este Beach
Club at Puerto Rey and at the textile beach north of the naturist
beach.
Whilst the system of buoys is an undoubted contribution to public safety, some may feel that there needs to be something similar on the beach - particularly at busy weekends and in the mornings before the beach gets busy and the evenings when many have left the beach - because then the beach sometimes becomes a playground for the owners of 4x4 "All Terrain Vehicles" (ATVs) who zoom down the beach at high speeds - exhilarating no doubt for the riders, but potentially hazardous if you happen to be in the way. The view of the the Tourism department of the Andalucian Government
appears to be that the holiday season doesn't start until July,
so the Services (toilets) Chalets have not been open/staffed in
June and in fact the beach showers, which were (probably accidentally)
working all winter have actually been turned off in June! At least
the board walks were laid in June. |
|
Troublesome Mozzies result
from unsettled Spring Like everywhere else on the Mediterranean, Vera Playa is popular with mosquitoes as well as humans. The local Councils and the various residential urbanizacions, hotels etc have well rehearsed programmes of spraying to keep the mozzies under control and so effective are these that generally speaking visitors rarely see or are bitten by a mozzie at all. However this is very dependent on the weather - whether conditions have been good or bad for mozzie breeding - and whether the anti-mozzie measures have been taken at just the right time. This year (2004) the Spring was quite unsettled, unusual for Vera Playa, and probably perfect for mosquitoes. As a result, in May and June there were significantly more mosquitoes about than usual and many visitors - especially those staying in accommodation without mosquito/fly screens fitted to all windows, were suffering from bites and irritation and the annoyance of the ominous buzzzzz in the darkened bedroom or even out on a terrace.
Whatever time of year you go to Vera Playa, but especially in the Spring, Summer and Autumn, it is prudent to take some effective insect repellent and to use it especially if you will be sitting out at dusk or later. If you've forgotten to take any, the local supermakets and todos all sell it - in spray or roll-on form. Indoors - make sure your apartment has mosquito screens - and invest in a large can of mozzie spray from the local supermarket or todo (cheap general store) and spray around indoors, after you've closed the outer door and closed the windows (this is why mosquito screens are essential - because you can still have ventilation if you have them, if you haven't - you can't!). Some people use the continuous anti-mosquito devices which plug in to a power socket and gently release a chemical - but many people don't like breathing in the same chemical all night, safe though they allegedly are. The alternative is zappers which attract the mosquito to a UV light then zap them with a high voltage charge - these can be bought at prices between about 9 and 30 Euros in local electrical and ironmongers/hardware shops (ferreterias). Finally, did you know that it is the carbon dioxide that you breath
out which is the bee-line the mozzie follows to find you? So, short
of you giving up breathing, if there's a mozzie about - he'll find
you! New species of giant mozzies have been steadily spreading round
the Mediterranean - some carrying various diseases that you seriously
don't want to catch - not just malaria - so avoiding being bitten
is important not just to avoid the unpleasantness and itching. Judging
by the size of some mozzies seen at Vera Playa the giant mozzies
have arrived (as they have almost everywhere else on the Mediterranean
coasts). |
|
Ombudsman supports Naturists
over Beach Shortening Full text of the news release by the Tortuga Boba Naturista Assocn
(in Spanish)- click
here |
|
Teenagers' Prank or Serious
Incident? Police not bothered either way Bearing in mind the potential seriousness of the incident, her
husband immediately reported it to the Police via the national emergency
number (112) only to be referred to another number to speak to the
national police (Guardia Civil), who then said that she would have
to go to the nearest Guardia Civil station to make a report and
that they would have to transfer the call to yet another number
as they did not know which office should deal with it. There was
no interest from the police in coming to the scene to see if they
could find and apprehend the perpetrator(s) before someone else
is injured or worse. It is not clear how severe an incident would
have to be for the police to actually attend the scene. It has since been suggested that as this day was the "Dia
de la Viaje" (Day of the Old) this may have been a prank played
by children or teenagers using firecrackers or some other form of
firework, although the lady concerned says that no-one adult or
children was in view when the incident took place. |
|
Relentless development around
Vera Playa naturist zone |
|
Three down - three up. .
. |
Sometime
over the New Year/Three Kings holiday period someone sawed through
the posts supporting the last remaining "illegal" sign
on the beach. These signs (of which there were originally three
in number) were erected in mid 2002 by Vera Council along with its
infamous "Berlin Wall" as part of its attempt to reclassify
the 3 kilometre naturist beach as 1 kilometre naturist and 2 kilometre
textile. The "Berlin Wall" was fairly quickly removed
by the council but the signs remained. Then the signs were covered
with graffiti and progressively, almost imperceptibly, the signs
have disappeared. Whether Vera Council will attempt to erect new
signs at what it sees as the borderline between naturist and textile
beaches is yet to be seen, but during 2003 new signs appeared at
the edge of the beach, one near to Vera Natura/Playa de Baria 1
another near the parking area adjoining Playa de Baria 2 (i.e. about
1 km further south) and the third adjoining the Vera Mar developments
(which are at the approximate point where the traditional naturist
beach terminates). The signs are practically identical except for
the crucial differences of "Zona Naturista" and "Zona
Textil". The beach fronting the new textile Playa Baria 2 development
and adjoining textile developments is, of course, part of the traditional
3 kms of naturist beach - and is the 2kms which the Vera Council
has been trying to redefine as textile so as to win favour with
the developers of the new textile developments (currently under
construction) which now front the beach. Ironically, at least one
of these developments, in its marketing brochure, makes great play
of the beach being naturist as one of the main selling points for
its properties!
To access our archive of news from Vera Playa for other years, click on
the appropriate year:
2005, 2003,
2002, 2001
|
Home | Top of this page
|