I found jewel-blue waters, blush-pink beaches and crystalline caves on a treasure island — less than a three-hour flight from Toronto
I'm first struck by the profusion of colour. Homes are painted in shades of cantaloupe and lemon yellows as bright as a Bermudian kiskadee's chest feathers, and voluminously draped in pink oleander. Bermuda cedar trees, which look like giant mascara brushes, stand poised next to hedges aflame with red hibiscus. Meanwhile, everything is surrounded by an ever-glittering cerulean sea. Bermuda is only about 1.5 kilometres wide, so you're never far from an endless and impossible blueness.
When my husband, son and I check into the historic Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa — where 85 coral-pink cottages are set on a lush 23-acre peninsula in the quiet northwest — I spot a coffee-table book, 'Treasure! A Diver's Life,' by Teddy Tucker, the Bermudian marine explorer. Tucker recalls his magical childhood by (and mostly in) the sea, nursed on tall tales of piracy and hurricanes and ocean storms, of ships and Spanish galleons, wrecked on Bermuda's perilous coral reefs, with their cargoes of gold and emeralds and ambergris.
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Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spanish government says housing market is not a ‘free for all' after recent crackdown on Airbnb
MADRID (AP) — Spain's government wanted to send a message last month with its crackdown on Airbnb: that the Spanish economy and its housing market, in particular, are not a 'free for all' that value profits over the rule of law, a minister said on Tuesday. The Spanish government ordered Airbnb to remove almost 66,000 holiday rentals from the platform which it said had violated local rules by failing to list license numbers, listing the wrong license number or not specifying who the apartment's owner was. Airbnb is appealing the move. Spain is one of the world's most visited countries. Last year, the Southern European nation of 49 million received a record 94 million international visitors. Tourism has surged to unprecedented levels in recent years. But a housing affordability problem in Spain that is particularly acute in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona has led to growing antagonism against short-term holiday rentals, of which Airbnb is perhaps the best-known and most visible actor. The Spanish government says the two are related: the rise of Airbnb and other short-term rental companies, and rising rents and housing costs. 'Obviously there is a correlation between these two facts,' Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press. 'It's not a linear relation, it's not the only factor affecting it, there are many others, but it is obviously one of the elements that is contributing.' A recent Bank of Spain report said the country has a shortfall of 450,000 homes. In the tourist hot spots of the Canary and Balearic Islands, half the housing stock is tourist accommodations or are properties owned by nonresidents, the report said. 'Tourism is for sure a vital part of the Spanish economy. It's a strategic and very important sector. But as in every other economic activity, it must be conducted in a sustainable way,' Bustinduy said. 'It cannot jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people. Their right to housing, but also their right to well-being.' The country has seen several large protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people to demand more government action on housing. Homemade signs including one that read 'Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods' at a recent march in Madrid point to the growing ire against short-term online rental platforms. Airbnb said that while its appeal goes through the courts, no holiday rentals would be immediately taken down from the site. 'A balance must be found between the constitutional rights of the Spanish people and economic activities in general,' Bustinduy said. Regional governments in Spain are also tackling the issue. Last year, Barcelona announced a plan to close down all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028 to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. In response to Spain's recent order, Airbnb has said that the platform connects property owners with renters, but that it doesn't have oversight obligations, even though it requires hosts to show that they are compliant with local laws. Bustinduy said that Spain's recent action reflects a desire in Spain, but also elsewhere, to hold tech companies like Airbnb to account. 'There is a battle going on about accountability and about responsibility,' Bustinduy said. 'The digital nature of these extraordinarily powerful multinational corporations must not be an excuse to fail to comply with democratically established regulations.' Bustinduy, who belongs to the governing coalition's left-wing Sumar party, also took a shot at low-cost airlines. Spain has pushed against allowing low-cost airlines to charge passengers for hand baggage. Last year, it fined five budget airlines, including RyanAir and easyJet, a total of $179 million for charging for hand luggage. 'The principle behind these actions is always the same: preserving consumer rights,' Bustinduy said. 'Powerful corporations, no matter how large, have to adapt their business models to existing regulations.' Bustinduy dismissed the idea that the Spanish government's action toward Airbnb could discourage some tourists from visiting. 'It will encourage longer stays, it will encourage responsible tourism and it will preserve everything that we have in this wonderful country which is the reason why so many people want to come here,' he said. ___ Joseph Wilson contributed to this report from Barcelona, Spain.
Toronto Star
22-05-2025
- Toronto Star
I found jewel-blue waters, blush-pink beaches and crystalline caves on a treasure island — less than a three-hour flight from Toronto
I'm first struck by the profusion of colour. Homes are painted in shades of cantaloupe and lemon yellows as bright as a Bermudian kiskadee's chest feathers, and voluminously draped in pink oleander. Bermuda cedar trees, which look like giant mascara brushes, stand poised next to hedges aflame with red hibiscus. Meanwhile, everything is surrounded by an ever-glittering cerulean sea. Bermuda is only about 1.5 kilometres wide, so you're never far from an endless and impossible blueness. When my husband, son and I check into the historic Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa — where 85 coral-pink cottages are set on a lush 23-acre peninsula in the quiet northwest — I spot a coffee-table book, 'Treasure! A Diver's Life,' by Teddy Tucker, the Bermudian marine explorer. Tucker recalls his magical childhood by (and mostly in) the sea, nursed on tall tales of piracy and hurricanes and ocean storms, of ships and Spanish galleons, wrecked on Bermuda's perilous coral reefs, with their cargoes of gold and emeralds and ambergris.
Winnipeg Free Press
17-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
In Spain, a homelessness crisis unfolds in Madrid's airport
MADRID (AP) — Every morning at 6 a.m., Teresa sets out in search of work, a shower and a bit of exercise before she returns home. For around six months, that has been Terminal 4 of Madrid's international airport. Teresa, 54, who didn't want her full name to be used because of safety concerns, is one of the estimated hundreds of homeless people sleeping in the Spanish capital's airport amid a growing housing crisis in Spain, where rental costs have risen especially fast in cities like Madrid, the country's capital, and Barcelona. She and others sleeping at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport — the third-busiest airport in Europe in 2023, according to Eurostat — described a situation where for months, authorities have neither helped them find other living arrangements nor have they kicked them out from the corners of the airport that they have occupied with sleeping bags unfurled on the floor as well as blankets, shopping carts and bags. Soon, things could change. Limits on entry Spain's airport operator AENA this week said that it would start limiting who can enter Madrid's airport during low-travel hours by asking visitors to show their boarding passes. AENA said that the policy would take effect in the next few days, but didn't specify exactly when. It said that exceptions would be made for airport workers and anyone accompanying a traveler. Teresa, a Spanish-Ecuadorian who said she has lived in Spain for a quarter-century, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she hadn't heard of the new policy. She and her husband would be forced to sleep outside on park benches and other public spaces if they aren't allowed back in. 'We can't make demands. We're squatters,' Teresa said, using a controversial term common in Spain. 'Squatters in what is private property. We are aware of that. We want help from authorities, but not a single one has come here.' Political blame game For months, a political blame game between officials at different levels of government has meant that the homeless encampments in the airport have largely gone unaddressed. In recent weeks, videos on social media and news reports of the airport's homeless population put a spotlight on the issue. Madrid's city council on Thursday said that it had asked Spain's national government to take charge and come up with a plan to rehabilitate every homeless individual sleeping in the airport. Spanish airports are overseen by AENA, a state-owned publicly listed company. A city council spokesperson said that Madrid's city government had recently called for a meeting with officials from AENA, the regional government of Madrid and several national ministries that declined. 'Without them, there is no possible solution,' said Lucía Martín, a spokesperson for Madrid's city council division of social policies, family and equality. She said that the national ministries of transport, interior, inclusion, social rights and health declined to participate in a working group. A day earlier, AENA accused Madrid's city authorities of providing inadequate help and said that the city government's statements about the unfolding situation confirmed its 'dereliction of duty' and abandonment of the airport's homeless individuals. 'It's like a dog chasing its tail,' said Marta Cecilia Cárdenas of the long list of authorities she was told could help her. Cárdenas, a 58-year-old homeless woman originally from Colombia, said that she had spent several months sleeping in Madrid's airport. Exact numbers are unknown It's not known how many people are sleeping in Madrid's airport, through which 66 million travelers transited last year. Spain's El País newspaper reported that a recent count taken by a charity group identified roughly 400 homeless people in the airport, many of whom, like Teresa, had previously lived in Madrid and were employed in some capacity. AP wasn't able to confirm that number. Madrid city council officials, meanwhile, said that the Spanish capital's social service teams had helped 94 individuals in April with ties to the city, 12 of whom were rehabilitated into municipal shelters, addiction treatment centers or independent living. Word of mouth Teresa said she had heard about sleeping in the airport by word of mouth. Before she lost her job, she said she lived in an apartment in Madrid's Leganés neighborhood, earning a living taking care of older people. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. She currently earns 400 euros ($450) per month, working under the table caring for an older woman. With the earnings, Teresa said she maintains a storage unit in the neighborhood that she used to live in. Though the work is sporadic, she said it was still enough to also cover fees for the gym in which she showers daily, pay for transportation, and purchase food. Over the last decade, the average rent in Spain has almost doubled, according to real estate website Idealista, with steeper increases in Madrid and Barcelona. Spain also has a smaller public housing stock than many other European Union countries. Hope for the future Teresa said that she hopes to find a job soon and leave the airport, whatever authorities may force her to do in the coming days and weeks. She and her husband keep to themselves, avoiding others sleeping in the brightly-lit hallway dotted with sleeping bags who were battling mental health problems, addiction and other issues, she said. 'You end up adjusting to it a bit, accepting it even, but never getting used to it,' Teresa said over the constant din of airline announcements. 'I hope to God that it gets better, because this is not life.'
