SPAIN: Travel Warnings & more – 17th April 2025

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 17th of April twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

On Tuesday the 15th, the government approved the first one billion euros in funds to support businesses already affected by the US tariffs. This is part of a five billion euro package to support companies facing liquidation due to the US’ tariff announcements. 750 million euros will boost business liquidity to cover immediate costs like salaries and bills, while 250 million will fund new investments to support long-term recovery and growth.

On a related note, Carlos Cuerpo, the Economy Minister, visited Washington this week to meet the US Treasury Secretary and discuss Spain’s future economic relationship with the States.

Since setting sweeping tariffs, Trump has backtracked on many of his measures, but the latest financial damage has tarnished many US trade relationships across the world, including Spain. On Tuesday the 15th, new outlet El País confirmed that Cuerpo said the door was open to negotiations, though what this means exactly hasn’t been determined.

In travel news, there are a few need-to-know changes for those travelling between Spain and the US.

Spain has updated its travel guidance, joining several European nations in response to recent US policies. The updated guidance, issued on Thursday the 10th, states that travelers must declare their biological sex at birth on visa and US ESTA forms.

Countries like the UK, Germany, Finland, and Denmark have issued similar guidance. Canada has also revised its rules, requiring those staying over thirty days to register with US authorities.

Let’s talk about fossil fuel disasters, as on Saturday the 12th, torrential rain caused severe flooding across the Canary island of Lanzarote, southwest of the mainland, prompting the local government to declare a state of emergency.

In just two hours, over two inches of rain fell, flooding homes and roads, particularly in the towns of Arrecife, Teguise, Costa Teguise, and San Bartolomé. Over 300 emergency calls were made, with more than 220 incidents attended to overnight.

Even though no injuries were reported, floodwaters left significant damage. The state of emergency was lifted Sunday morning. The flooding followed Storm Olivier, which impacted all the Canary Islands, parts of mainland Spain, and Portugal.

Over to Catalunya, as the Barcelona City Council has taken a key step toward developing a new neighborhood around the future La Sagrera station.

On Tuesday the 15th, the Council approved the first land reallocation plan which will start in the Sant Martí district of the city, enabling the construction of more than three thousand homes, with two-thirds being public housing.

The enormous land plot, currently occupied by parking lots and industrial buildings, will be transformed into housing and public facilities for over eight thousand residents.

The development is set to begin in twenty twenty-nine.

In Madrid, the future of one of Spain’s most controversial monuments is making headlines again.

On Wednesday the 9th, the Catholic News Agency said that the Valley of the Fallen, or El Valle de los Caídos, will keep its towering 400-foot cross. Originally built under dictator Francisco Franco as a Civil War memorial, the site has long been a subject of debate — especially as the government plans to reshape the area to honor those affected by Franco’s dictatorship rather than commemorate him and his comrades.

So, while change may be coming, the cross — and the controversy — remain.

Turning back to rainfall, this time about water levels.

Just six months ago, Spain faced a severe drought. Now, thanks to heavy rainfall in late twenty twenty-four and early twenty twenty-five, reservoirs have rebounded to over 70% capacity — an increase of 30% compared to twenty twenty-three.

Regions like Catalunya have seen dramatic recovery, but experts warn the relief may be temporary, as summer approaches, water levels could dip again.

Experts say that agriculture remains the biggest water consumer and have stressed the need to upgrade irrigation systems and rethink water use to prevent future droughts.

Up next - big cats.

According to a BBC article published on Tuesday the 14th, the Spanish police arrested a couple in Mallorca, off the eastern coast, for illegally breeding and selling exotic cats, including protected species like white tigers, pumas, and clouded leopards.

Local police rescued nineteen animals in total, uncovering ties to a global wildlife trafficking network. The operation revealed that the network had been smuggling animals from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine into the EU using false documents.

The BBC also revealed that the couple used social media to actively market the animals, with some priced as high as 60,000 dollars. The felines have been placed at a zoo and may eventually be relocated to a rescue center.

What’s the best city to live in across the country? Well, news outlet Euro Weekly News leveraged OpenAI’s ChatGPT to find out this week.

AI ranked Valencia as the top city to live in Spain in twenty twenty-five, based on its quality of life, cost of living, healthcare, safety, public services, culture, and expat friendliness. 2nd spot was San Sebastian in the north and Barcelona nabbed third.

Want to know more? Link in the show notes!

April is only halfway there, so you might only have two weeks left of eating good fish! Did you know that there’s a traditional belief in Spain about whether good seafood can be eaten in months without R’s.

April is traditionally considered the last good month to eat quality seafood in Spain until September. According to fishing experts, this is because colder waters between September and April provide more nutrients, making crustaceans like spider crabs and velvet crabs tastier.

However, climate change and improved refrigeration have blurred these lines, calling into question this age-old belief. While winter might be the peak season, some seafood like shrimp and mussels are available all year round.

In your country, do you have any beliefs that just don’t seem true anymore?

Speaking of spring, according to the Spanish meteorological agency, during Holy Week or Semana Santa, which is celebrated from Sunday the 13th to Sunday the 20th, it will be mostly rainy and cooler than in previous weeks. So there might not be many Happy Easters or Felices Pascuas going around.

An Atlantic weather front will bring rain across much of the country, with strong winds and possible snowfall in mountain areas.

Even though it cleared up towards the end of this week, rain is expected to return on Good Friday (the 18th) and Saturday. Easter Sunday (the 20th) and Monday remain uncertain, but forecasts suggest continued rain in the north and possible snow in higher elevations.

Even though Semana Santa might not be the nicest on the weather front, there’s still some delicious traditional foods to enjoy!

In Spain’s Semana Santa, food plays a major role, alongside religious processions. Traditional Easter dishes include sweet treats like torrijas (that is Spanish-style French toast), roscos fritos (fried doughnuts), and delicious snacks like panquemado, pestiños, and buñuelos.

And if you’re looking to cook or do important tasks over Semana Santa, be aware that many shops, supermarkets and businesses close over the period because of national or regional vacation days. For instance, in many regions, businesses will be closed on Monday the 21st. On Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th, some will be closed but others might open with reduced hours.

To find out more about the opening times of supermarket chains across the peninsula, check out the link in the show notes.

Finally, what’s the smallest roundabout you’ve ever seen? Well, Spain has around 80,000 roundabouts, but the smallest, and one of its most bizarre, is in Guisando, Central Spain.

The tiny roundabout is just over three feet in diameter, which is about the size of an SUV tyre but despite its size, it’s properly marked with multiple road signs and serves a real purpose as it provides access to a parking area for the Carril de los Galayos hiking route in the Sierra de Gredos mountains in central Spain. Weird but wonderful fact to end this week’s episode!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Did you know that the Rorshok Spain Update is just one of many? We’ve got country updates, and non-county updates, including the Arctic Update, about the area north of the Arctic Circle, the Multilateral Update, about the world’s major multilateral institutions, and the Ocean Update, about the 70% of the world covered in salt water.

To check out the full list of updates, follow the link in the show notes!

¡Hasta la próxima!