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VILLAGES - TORREMOLINOS INFORMATION
Aproach to Torremolinos- easily done via a 30
minutes ride on the electric train from Málaga - is a rather
depressing business. There're half a dozen beaches and stops, but
its a drab, soulless landscape of kitchenette apartments and half-finished
developments. In recent years, local council have been trying to give
the resort a facelift, the main feature of which has been the construction
of a new seafront promenade and the renovation of the old town, the
narrow alleyways of which are not without charm. TORREMOLINOS, to
its enduring credit, is certainly different: a vast, grotesque parody
of a seaside resort, which in its own kitschy way is fascinating.
This bizarre area, lined with sweeping beaches and infinite shooping
arcades, crammed with Irish pubs and real-estate agents, has a large
permanent expatriate population of British, Germans and Scandinavians.
Its a weird mix, which, in additions to thousands of retire people,
has attracted - due to a previous lack of extradition arrangements
between Britain and Spain - an extraordinary concentration of British
crooks and more recently Russian mafia bosses. Torremolinos's social scene is strange,
too, including middle-of-the-road family discos and much more disturbing venues.
All in all it's an intriguing blend of the smart and the squalid, bargains
and rip-offs.
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