Time for something positive! Almunecar now has a public, bicycle-hiring service – which is the first on the Costa Tropical. The service can be activated by simply sending an SMS.

Here’s how it works: first of all you have to go the Patronato de Deportes, in the municipal sports stadium, where you fill out a form and are given a password, after handing over a 50-euro deposit.

When you want to use one of the bicycles, which are kept outside the Local Police office above the bus station, you send an SMS containing the padlock number and the bike number on the one that you want to use, together with your secret password, which will des-activate the lock. Let’s see if it catches on.

(News: Andalucia, Granada, Almunecar)