Beach Bar Blues

Part of our new plans for Mojácar, at least, those as decided by the Town Hall, include stretching the beach walkway - rather better sounding in Spanish, the Paseo Marítimo - all the way from the ghastly Hotel Indalo as far as Garrucha.
The Paseo is a stone wall (to defend us from sea serpents and Barbary pirates) topped by a walkway, with flower gardens and wooden benches - not the kind presented to the corporation by successful local merchants, we don't do those things here - and a cycle path - for those too scared to use the road.
All of this beach architecture eats into what is previously there. Scrub... or parking spaces... or, as around the El Patio beach bar and its neighbours, beach bars!
The beach there is a narrow space between the sea itself, continually eating away at the sand and rock, and the narrow road which serves our entire resort (a road which, as another part of the General Plan informs us, will need to support a residential population of triple what it is now).
Alternatives to the Death of the Chiringuitos exist, but are unpopular in Official Circles. We could move them to where the beach is wider, in front of the camping... or we could build small piers to increase the amount of sandy beach itself...
Or we could drop the whole sorry idea.
But no. Work is already starting, bringing the current phase of the beach promenade from the Cruz Roja down to the Maui beach bar - well known in Spain as the home of Mujeres, Mojitos, Mojácar.
What will the beach bars do? Well, they could reinvent themselves like Tito's, which successfully turned itself from a beach bar into a sort of kiosk, with the General Public walking (or cycling) past between the customers and the beach beds. It takes away the atmosphere, but the ice creams are good.
Of course, there just isn't room in the case of Maui, or El Cid or El Patio. The walkway will be about eight or ten metres wide (I say, without checking the plans) and there is little sand there on the beach side as it is. Say they run the thing inwards from about where the tables start.
There might just about be room for a bar and some stools. No sea-view, no tables, no beach beds.
No concerts, of course.
Mind you, and luckily for us, on the other side of the road there are some fine Mojaquero establishments to dine in.
... ...
The Town Hall is sometimes thought to be 'stupid', but it's not.
There is a perfectly fine plan for our municipality. This resolves, essentially, around making wealth for the Mojaqueros themselves. This is now seen to be through 'bucket and spade' tourism, families with kids, rather than non-local residents who are looking in a different direction indeed. These foreign and national residents want a peaceful (yet noisy) Mojácar, rather than the other way round. They don't want neon, traffic jams, queues and seasons. More worryingly still, they (we) are in the majority and could easily wake up and vote against the Five Families.


The new paseo will cut the beach bars in half. El Ideal here.
The 'Save Our  Chiringuitos' Facebook page here.

There will be a plenary session on Wednesday10th May  in the Mojácar Town Hall (opposite the Church) to rubber stamp the PGOU General Plan, starting at 9.00am. The Public is welcome to attend.