When most people look up at Mulhacén, they see the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula, a towering summit that rises 3,479 metres above sea level and tests even experienced hikers with its steep climbs, thin air and unpredictable conditions. One Murcian man, however, sees something very different: another finish line.

Francisco Pérez, better known as “Superpaco,” will attempt to climb Mulhacén, despite living with cerebral palsy, a condition that affects the movement and coordination of his legs. His challenge is about far more than reaching the summit, it is about proving that determination can carry people further than many believe possible.

A mountain with a message

At 43 years old, Superpaco has become a familiar face in Murcia’s adapted sports community, and his latest challenge will see him tackle the demanding ascent of Mulhacén on foot, supported by a team of companions who will help him maintain his balance across the mountain’s most difficult sections. Volunteers from the association Zancadas sobre Ruedas will also provide logistical support throughout the climb, ensuring he can concentrate on the demanding journey ahead.

For many climbers, reaching Mulhacén’s summit is a personal achievement, but for Superpaco the mountain represents something much bigger. He hopes his ascent will encourage children, young people and adults living with disabilities to believe that barriers are not always as immovable as they first appear. “I’m not climbing Mulhacén to prove I’m different,” he said ahead of the challenge. “I’m climbing it to show that we’re all capable of going much further than we believe.”

No stranger to breaking barriers

This is not the first time Superpaco has refused to let cerebral palsy define what he can achieve. He is the Spanish T71 Frame Running 100-metre champion, competing in a discipline designed for athletes with coordination and mobility impairments, and has already completed numerous sporting challenges, including reaching the summit of Revolcadores, the highest mountain in the Region of Murcia, as well as taking part in the TotalEnergies Maratón Murcia Costa Cálida.

Each challenge has carried the same message: physical limitations do not have to limit ambition. Mulhacén, however, represents his biggest test yet, demanding endurance, resilience and determination over one of mainland Spain’s most demanding mountain routes.

More than a climb

The expedition will also form part of the documentary Superpaco, héroes sin capa (Superpaco, Heroes Without a Cape), which follows his sporting journey and the people supporting him along the way. Photos and videos from the ascent are expected to be shared on social media, allowing supporters to follow his progress from the foothills to the summit of mainland Spain’s highest peak.

The documentary aims to draw attention to not only the physical challenge itself, but also the importance of inclusive sport, determination and the network of volunteers, family and friends who make challenges like this possible.

An inspiration beyond Murcia

Mulhacén has challenged mountaineers for generations, attracting thousands of walkers to the Sierra Nevada every year, but this week many people will be following the mountain for an entirely different reason. They will not be watching to see how quickly someone reaches the top, but to witness the determination it takes simply to begin a challenge that many would dismiss as impossible.

Whatever happens on the climb, Superpaco has already achieved something that cannot be measured in metres climbed or hours spent on the mountain. By choosing to take on one of the Iberian Peninsula’s toughest ascents despite the daily challenges of cerebral palsy, he is reminding people that courage is not depend on physical strength alone, but on the willingness to keep moving forward when every step demands more than most can imagine.

For those following his journey from Murcia and beyond, the most powerful part of this story may not be whether he reaches the summit. It is that he refused to let the mountain, or his disability, decide where his limits should be.

Most people lock the front door before heading out for the day expecting to come home to exactly what they left behind. For one man in Murcia, coming home has become the best part of the day. While he’s out, strangers are swimming in his garden. When he gets back, there’s sometimes €400 more sitting in his bank account. No lottery win, no inheritance. no lucky investment, just a swimming pool.

It might sound like an unusual way to make money, but for Silvestre López, a homeowner in the Region of Murcia area, renting out his private pool has become a profitable summer side business. His experience is also drawn attention to a growing trend that could change the way thousands of swimming pool owners across Spain think about one of their biggest household expenses.

One pool, dozens of guests and an unexpected income

Like many homeowners, Silvestre spent years paying to maintain a swimming pool that often sat empty while he was at work or away from home. Then he discovered, an online platform that allows owners to rent out private swimming pools by the hour. Instead of leaving the pool unused, he began accepting bookings from families, couples and groups of friends looking for somewhere private to cool off during Spain’s hottest months.

Silvestre explained that he can leave home in the morning and, after a busy day of bookings, return to find around €400 paid into his account. His experience has attracted attention because it raises an obvious question. If one Murcian homeowner can turn an ordinary swimming pool into a source of extra income, how many others could do the same?

The Airbnb of swimming pools

The idea is surprisingly simple, rather than renting out an entire property, homeowners rent access only to their swimming pool and, depending on the facilities available, the surrounding garden for a few hours. Bookings are made online, payments are handled through the platform and owners decide when their pool is available, how many guests they will accept and how much they want to charge.

For visitors, it offers something that public pools often cannot, Privacy. Instead of competing for space beside a crowded municipal pool or squeezing onto a packed beach during a heatwave, families can enjoy a private garden, sun loungers and a swimming pool all to themselves for an afternoon. For homeowners, it offers the chance to earn money from something that would otherwise be sitting empty for much of the day.

Could it work for more pool owners?

Spain has one of the highest numbers of private swimming pools in Europe, with well over a million spread across the country, Keeping them in good condition is far from cheap. Water bills, electricity, pumps, chemicals, cleaning equipment and general maintenance can cost owners hundreds or even thousands of euros each year.

For many households, those costs are simply accepted as part of owning a pool. These swimming pool platforms are changing that way of thinking. Instead of seeing a pool purely as an expense, some owners are beginning to view it as an asset capable of covering part, or even all, of its annual running costs. In some cases, it can generate considerably more.

Not as easy as opening the gate

Renting out a swimming pool is not as straightforward as leaving the gate unlocked. Owners remain responsible for maintaining safe water quality, setting clear rules for guests and complying with the conditions laid down by the booking platform. Insurance, occupancy limits and local regulations also need to be considered before accepting reservations.

Most homeowners also choose carefully when to make their pools available, blocking out dates when they want to enjoy them with family and friends. The flexibility is one of the reasons the idea has gained popularity. Owners remain in control, deciding exactly when, and how often, they want to welcome paying guests.

A growing summer business

With temperatures climbing higher each summer, demand for private outdoor spaces continues to grow. Families celebrating birthdays, groups of friends looking for somewhere quieter than the beach and tourists without access to hotel pools are all helping to fuel interest in hourly pool rentals. For homeowners, it has opened up an income stream that barely existed a few years ago. Not everyone will finish the day €400 better off, earnings depend on location, demand, facilities, pricing and the number of bookings received, but Silvestre’s story shows what is possible.  

At a time when the cost of maintaining a private pool continues to rise, an increasing number of homeowners are discovering that the feature once seen purely as a luxury can also help pay its own way. For years, Spain’s private swimming pools have been places where owners escaped the summer heat. Now, for some, they are becoming something else entirely. A business that starts the moment they leave home.

For centuries, people have claimed that animals can sense a solar eclipse long before humans fully understand what is happening. Birds suddenly stop singing. Bats emerge in broad daylight. Nocturnal creatures begin their nightly routines, while daytime animals appear confused as the sky unexpectedly turns dark. In the coming weeks, scientists across Spain hope to discover exactly how much of that is true.

As the country prepares for the total solar eclipse on August 12, two of northern Spain’s best-known wildlife parks, Cabárceno Nature Park and Santillana del Mar Zoo, will become part of one of the largest studies ever carried out in the Iberian Peninsula into how animals react when day suddenly becomes night.

A rare opportunity for science

The eclipse is already expected to attract thousands of visitors, astronomers and photographers eager to witness one of nature’s most spectacular events. It will also mark the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain in more than a century, creating a scientific opportunity that few researchers have experienced during their careers. While millions of people will be watching the sky, researchers inside twelve zoos across Spain and Portugal will have their attention fixed elsewhere.

Their focus will be on the animals.

The project, coordinated by the Asociación Ibérica de Zoos y Acuarios (AIZA), will use high-definition cameras and audio equipment to document behavioural changes before, during and after the eclipse, creating one of the most detailed records ever assembled of wildlife responses to this rare natural phenomenon. Lions, elephants and other species under close observation At Cabárceno, researchers will pay particular attention to lions and elephants.

Lions naturally become more active towards dusk, leading scientists to wonder whether the sudden darkness created by the eclipse will trigger behaviour normally seen later in the day. Elephants are also expected to provide valuable information because their activity patterns often change as daylight fades.

Across the other participating parks, researchers will monitor bears, primates, birds and a variety of other species, looking for changes in movement, vocalisations, feeding behaviour and social interactions. Every reaction, whether dramatic or barely noticeable, could provide new insight into how animals interpret sudden changes in their environment.

What scientists already know

Previous eclipses have produced remarkable observations around the world. Birds have been seen abandoning daytime activity and returning to their nests as though sunset had arrived. Crickets and other insects have begun their evening chorus despite it being the middle of the day, while bats have emerged to forage before quickly retreating once daylight returned.

Some primates have displayed signs of confusion, gathering together or changing their normal routines, while giraffes, flamingos and other zoo animals observed during earlier eclipses have shown unusual behaviour ranging from increased alertness to settling down for the night. Scientists believe many of these reactions are linked to animals relying on changing light levels to regulate their internal body clocks.

However, behaviours in a captive environment detailed scientific evidence remains limited, making the 2026 eclipse an important opportunity to collect data across multiple species under carefully monitored conditions.

Every movement will be recorded

This study goes far beyond simply watching what happens on eclipse day. Researchers are already recording the same animals at exactly the same time each day before the event, creating a baseline that will allow them to compare normal behaviour with reactions during the eclipse itself.

By analysing video, sound recordings and behavioural observations together, scientists hope to determine whether animals genuinely interpret the eclipse as nightfall or whether they respond to other environmental changes, such as falling temperatures or shifts in light intensity. The standardised approach across all participating parks will also allow researchers to compare how different species react under similar conditions.

Looking down while everyone else looks up

On August 12, millions of people across Spain will pause to watch daylight disappear. Astronomers will point telescopes towards the Sun. Families will gather wearing eclipse glasses. Cameras will be aimed at the sky in anticipation of a spectacle that many people will only experience once in their lifetime. At exactly the same moment, scientists inside Cabárceno, Santillana del Mar and ten other wildlife parks will be watching something very different.

They will be listening for birds falling silent, watching whether lions begin their evening routines hours early, and recording every movement that could help answer a question people have asked for generations. When Spain briefly falls into darkness, the eclipse will reveal far more than a breathtaking astronomical event. It could also provide one of the clearest insights yet into how the animal kingdom responds when the familiar rhythm of day and night is suddenly turned upside down.