Bet that had you guessing, eh? The cryptic headline means that the sales on entrance tickets for the 53rd Festival de la Cueva de Nerja were 55% up on last year.

There’s no doubt about it that the new manager for the Nerja Caves, Ángel Ruiz, is earning his keep, because thanks to his efforts in promoting the caves, 2,612 entrance tickets were sold for this festival, despite the downturn in the economic health of the country.

Sr Ruiz puts a large amount of the success behind this increment of around 1,000 tickets on last year, down to the tickets being available on the Internet. Another winning arrangement was to change the 50-euro entrance price to 40, 30 and 25 euros, depending on where you sit. This allowed people on a more modest budget to attend, even if it meant being strapped to a distant stalagmite… Seriously, though, one thing is being able to afford 100 euros for both you and your partner, and another is coughing up 50 for the two of you.

These reductions to the entrance fees have been thanks to cutting back on protocol, a better husbanding of resources and foundation staff taking on the tasks that normally outside contractors would perform.

You can find out more about what the Cave Foundation are up to at www.cuevadenerja.es

(News: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)