Benidorm Town Hall

The Mayor of Benidorm is at last making attempts to clean up the image of the town - for as we all know, the resort is reliant on tourism and so important to make it as appealing and safe as possible to everyone.

Street hawkers, by way of the "looky looky men" selling counterfeit goods are commonplace and have been around for years, but a new trend has been emerging - selling goods and services on the beach. The most prolific is the selling of cold drinks from a cool box... generally a man will weave in and out of the sunbathers mumbling fanta, coca cola, water, beer etc. I witnessed this on Sunday on Villa Joyosa beach too. On Poniente beach they are even selling fruit and mojito cocktails!

"Coca Cola" man carrying his coolbox

But policing this activity is very hard as the sellers often dress as tourists and blend in. They are also quite cunning in that they only tend to carry one tin of each drink incase they are apprehended by the police - with a supply probably nearby guarded by someone else. This makes it extremely difficult for the police as they are not caught with enough goods actually on them to prove that they are "traders" and so the fine is very small. Despite there being many of these sellers they tend to have their own "territory" or patch...

Levante beach...

But another service on offer is that of a massage on the sand - this becomes slightly more worrying as there is no knowing if they are qualified or trained, my bet is no and they could actually cause untold damage to your back. This really is more of a health & safety issue and I certainly wouldn´t recommend  having one done - if you do want a proper massage head to one of the spa´s in many of the hotels such as at the Melia in the Rincon.

Councillor for safety, Pepe Marcet yesterday acknowledged that there are insufficient police to deal with the problem, mainly due to funding but that by next summer this will hopefully be addressed following requests to central government and numbers will be increased.

Gang at work on Avd Mediterraneo

However, the most notorious illegal practice that occurs here in Benidorm is that of the "pea men" - which is carried out by gangs of scammers. You will undoubtably have seen them on your travels, either near to the market or along the beach promenade - especially on a Wednesday when it´s market day and so full of tourists. They set up a cardboard box (normally the packaging from cigarette cartons) and shuffle about three potato halves with a pea under one. You are then encouraged to place a bet to guess which one the pea is under, having just witnessed "someone" win 10 or 20 euros.... they are all part of the gang so DO NOT under any circumstances take part. In fact the only advice I can give is to walk on by and ignore them. You are also quite likely to be pick pocketed whilst engrossed in watching by a light fingered accomplice.

Pea men at work....

Travel forums are constantly warning holiday makers of the scam and criticising the police for not taking action and arresting these known gangs. But up until now their hands have been tied because it was not classified as a criminal activity... until now that is. Yesterday, the Upper House of the Senate passed a motion to classify the practice as a criminal activity and so making it an imprisonable offence... and not a moment too soon either. That is the first stage of the process which now needs to become legislation, which will hopefully be rushed through - but no timescale was given. Augustine Almodobar, the PP Senator which proposed the changes did note that "in order for Spain to present itself as a safe tourist destination these changes need to be passed" which was supported unanimously by members of all the political parties.

Mobility conga - common scene on the streets here!

The last issue to be addressed is that of the "Madge Mobile"... a source of annoyance and irritation to many, in particular those that are fit and healthy and just hire them out of sheer laziness! Since the Benidorm series began,  the popularity of the electric scooter has hit record levels. But in recent years it has got completely out of hand and it is not unusual to see groups of stag and hens hire them out for fun.

Causes mayhem recharging in the hotel reception

The Department of Mobilty in Benidorm have decided that enough is enough - they are seeking a change of regulation from the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT). It is not completely clear what the proposed changes are , but speed is certainly on the list. Some models can reach speeds of 8 km per hour and if hit by one at that speed you will certainly know about it. Many times I have been unable to pass on the pavement as they are parked up one behind the other, whilst the owners are in the cafe or at the bar.  I, like most others no doubt, have no issue at all for those that genuinely need them but more often than not they are hired out just for fun and used most irresponsibly.

If all the above changes actually happen it will certainly make a huge difference to the image of the resort... lets keeps our fingers crossed!

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