We were reminded in this weeks Spanish lesson that not only are there two verbs for 'to be', but also there are two for 'to have'.....aaaah!
We joined the Walking Group to one of our favourite views at the top of El Fuerte (1000m), higher than a 'Munro'. The views of the Med to the south, & rolling hills to the north were breathtaking. Fabulous weather at about 23degC.
A new cycle trip on Thursday to the reservoir at Vinuela. It was the first time we had cycled more than 50 miles in a day for quite a while. At lunchtime we sat above the reservoir, & watched a shepherd walk his flock of 100 or so around the shores. The water level looked about half full - probably not good for this time of year! Our ride took us to the western side of 'Maroma' (2065m), which we usually see from the southeast - from this new aspect it completely dominates the landscape & is extremely steep.
The weather has been so good in Andalucia this week that it has been reported on local TV as 'la primavera en enero' (spring in January). Perhaps this is why the almond blossom is appearing so early, especially around Vinuela where there are so many almond groves. It looks rather like white cherry blossom, & promises to be a good show when in full bloom.
Friday 25 January 2008
Sunday 20 January 2008
The Two Towers...!
Walked to Spanish class in the rain this week! Opened the classroom door onto an enormous puddle (drains for rain not a strong point). Continuing to enjoy our lessons, but we think it would be much easier if they didn't have male & female words (it seems to work ok in English!)
Later in the week the sunshine returned so we enjoyed our usual walks & cycles. Returning past the Caves of Nerja with Sue & Graham E. we stopped to watch 'Black squirrels' chasing up & down trees. We are not sure if they are really Beech Martens, not squirrels, but the photo in Sue E's new wildlife book is inconclusive. All that day we had heard rocket fireworks being let off in Maro as part of their festival.
One evening we watched the September storm damage being repaired on our local Torrecilla Beach. Earthmovers piled sand from below the tide line back higher up the beach. They also carefully reinstated a palm tree & a beach hut which had been knocked over.
At the end on the week we cycled east to Cerro Gordo, locked our bikes & walked out to the headland where there is a completely intact Watch Tower. This is part of a chain of towers built all along the coast as lookouts & safe refuges for the locals from marauding pirates in days gone by. From here we could see at least 3 more towers, wonderful coast views, & snow still visible on the western Sierra Nevada, but clear on the summit of Maroma (2000m). As we left the tower to return to the bikes, two male horned ibex passed close to us on the footpath.
The next day we tried to walk from Maro Pueblo (village) to Maro Torre (tower) thru' the local crops, but got a bit lost so spent several hours sunbathing on Maro beach instead!
Later in the week the sunshine returned so we enjoyed our usual walks & cycles. Returning past the Caves of Nerja with Sue & Graham E. we stopped to watch 'Black squirrels' chasing up & down trees. We are not sure if they are really Beech Martens, not squirrels, but the photo in Sue E's new wildlife book is inconclusive. All that day we had heard rocket fireworks being let off in Maro as part of their festival.
One evening we watched the September storm damage being repaired on our local Torrecilla Beach. Earthmovers piled sand from below the tide line back higher up the beach. They also carefully reinstated a palm tree & a beach hut which had been knocked over.
At the end on the week we cycled east to Cerro Gordo, locked our bikes & walked out to the headland where there is a completely intact Watch Tower. This is part of a chain of towers built all along the coast as lookouts & safe refuges for the locals from marauding pirates in days gone by. From here we could see at least 3 more towers, wonderful coast views, & snow still visible on the western Sierra Nevada, but clear on the summit of Maroma (2000m). As we left the tower to return to the bikes, two male horned ibex passed close to us on the footpath.
The next day we tried to walk from Maro Pueblo (village) to Maro Torre (tower) thru' the local crops, but got a bit lost so spent several hours sunbathing on Maro beach instead!
Thursday 10 January 2008
Friends Reunited...
7-1-08 Sue and Graham returned from wet Wales yesterday. We met up for Paella lunch at Ayos on Burriana beach. They got the bus from Malaga - 3 euros 50 cents for 40 miles, then 7 euros for a taxi the last 250 metres! Their case was so heavy they couldn´t carry it - Graham blames Sue - he had only packed 1 pair of walking socks! Sue admits the luggage did include a bag of spuds!
8-1-08 We cycled West to Velez Malaga to visit the advertised Tourist Office. We have started to plan our onward journey from Nerja, & needed information about campsites. No sign of the Tourist Office, so Sue popped into the local Library, which was brand new & the super-efficient staff gave us lots of useful brochures (& the advice that there is now no Tourist Office in Velez Malaga!!!).
As we sped back along the N340 coast road, Sue remembered the account in Josie Dew's cycling book of her journey along this road 15 years ago. It was then apparently the most dangerous road in Europe! Thankfully the new autoroute A7 has taken away a lot of the traffic. We were held up by one old local pushing his wheelbarrow of vegetables along the carriageway. I expect he & his barrow have been making this journey since it was a donkey dirt track!
We spotted our local oxen tethered at the roadside munching grass on common land. Despite the building boom there are still many patches of common grazing with tethered horses & donkeys & wandering goatherds a common sight.
9-1-08 About 18 of us set out with the Mike & Roz walking group, from Pueblo Acebuchal for a lovely rambla & ridge walk with fantastic valley views & some ibex spotting. We have noticed recently lots of 'nests' of the dreadful Processionary Caterpillars developing in the pines. The spines on the caterpillars are very nasty, & can apparently kill dogs on contact. They will start their 'processions' from their nests sometime in March, so we will have to be careful they don't fall onto us as they can cause a nasty rash to humans. This is a growing Andalucian problem.
10-1-08 First Spanish class of the year, & Graham joined is as his New Year resolution. We did a lot of work on 'Profesiones'. The Spanish have a very loose interpretation of the meaning of Profesiones, as it included cyclists (ciclistas) & assassins (asesinos)!
In an apartment above us, the occupants managed to lock themselves out onto their balcony & called to us for assistance. We eventually tracked down our trusty Caretaker who was able to use his cat-rescuing ladder to climb through their bedroom window & let them back in. We were rewarded with some local beer.
8-1-08 We cycled West to Velez Malaga to visit the advertised Tourist Office. We have started to plan our onward journey from Nerja, & needed information about campsites. No sign of the Tourist Office, so Sue popped into the local Library, which was brand new & the super-efficient staff gave us lots of useful brochures (& the advice that there is now no Tourist Office in Velez Malaga!!!).
As we sped back along the N340 coast road, Sue remembered the account in Josie Dew's cycling book of her journey along this road 15 years ago. It was then apparently the most dangerous road in Europe! Thankfully the new autoroute A7 has taken away a lot of the traffic. We were held up by one old local pushing his wheelbarrow of vegetables along the carriageway. I expect he & his barrow have been making this journey since it was a donkey dirt track!
We spotted our local oxen tethered at the roadside munching grass on common land. Despite the building boom there are still many patches of common grazing with tethered horses & donkeys & wandering goatherds a common sight.
9-1-08 About 18 of us set out with the Mike & Roz walking group, from Pueblo Acebuchal for a lovely rambla & ridge walk with fantastic valley views & some ibex spotting. We have noticed recently lots of 'nests' of the dreadful Processionary Caterpillars developing in the pines. The spines on the caterpillars are very nasty, & can apparently kill dogs on contact. They will start their 'processions' from their nests sometime in March, so we will have to be careful they don't fall onto us as they can cause a nasty rash to humans. This is a growing Andalucian problem.
10-1-08 First Spanish class of the year, & Graham joined is as his New Year resolution. We did a lot of work on 'Profesiones'. The Spanish have a very loose interpretation of the meaning of Profesiones, as it included cyclists (ciclistas) & assassins (asesinos)!
In an apartment above us, the occupants managed to lock themselves out onto their balcony & called to us for assistance. We eventually tracked down our trusty Caretaker who was able to use his cat-rescuing ladder to climb through their bedroom window & let them back in. We were rewarded with some local beer.
Sunday 6 January 2008
Visitors (including Three Kings!)
25/12/07 - Christmas dawned a beautiful sunny day. We were amazed to see many shops & restaurants open for normal trading. We lunched on various fish dishes at Burriana Beach.
26/12 - Mike & Roz led a walk in the rain (it was the "Garage" walk for those who know the area). The locals must have thought us "loco" for walking in the rain.
27/12 - Our last Spanish lesson of the year. Cleo tells us all the names for family members - the various distinct names are more numerous than we have in England, & the same must be true in other countries as the Swiss lady at the front of the class remarked "we don't have this many relatives in Switzerland!"
28 & 29/12 - Chris arrived from Exeter to lovely sunshine here, followed the next day by Janet & Ian from their holiday in the Malaga area, & Jacquie from Glasgow Airport.
30/12 - A day walking wih Janet & Ian whilst Chris & Jacquie lounged on the beach.
31/12 - Another fine walk with J&I (El Fuerte where we saw Ibex & a poss sighting of short-toed eagle). C&J recovering from late night out at Tutti-Frutti Plaza (Nerja night-life!) We cooked dinner together at the apartment,the best course being the Clootey Pudding brought all the way from Peterhead by Jacquie (like Christmas Pudding but lighter & with lots of cinnamon - went well with custard). Saw the New Year in on the Balcon de Europa - masses of fireworks & a band playing everything from flamenco to Elvis for a large jovial mixed-age multi-national family audience! Ensured we all partook of the traditional Spanish New Year Champers & Grapes.
01/01/08 - As we set out on our New Year walk at 10.00am, we met several young couples still in their glad-rags from the all night party. Chris was the only one of us brave enough to take a New Year dip in our shared outdoor pool - brrr!!!
02/01 - Jacquie had an early flight back to Glasgow. S & C cycled to Frigiliana. M, J & I walked the wonderful "Liman" trail, marred only by low cloud early on & rain later.
03/01 - Chris got the 6.30am bus to Malaga for his flight home. The rest of us got a later bus &, after a splendid 2 hour lunch, looked round Malaga sights including the splendid Cathedral. We then said goodbye to J & I who were heading back home to Exeter.
04/01 - Cycled to Torrox Costa in the morning & saw splendid views of Maroma mountain covered with snow. Then spent the rest of the day catching up with our Spanish homework on our terrace in the sun.
05/01 - The "Three Kings" (Magi) toured Nerja (as they do every Spanish town on the eve of the Epiphany - a more important holiday to the Spanish than Christmas). The procession had 7 floats, several groups of dancers, & at least 4 bands (drums a major feature!) Tractors again supplied by the Benitco Bros, from a small old one which had difficulty starting, to a brand spanking new MF6480 (Brian take note).
06/01 - cycled to Cerro Gordo then into the hills climbing to 450metres with great views of serious snow on the western Sierra Nevada. Saw a family group of 11 ibex on the old N340 road near Cerro Gordo.
26/12 - Mike & Roz led a walk in the rain (it was the "Garage" walk for those who know the area). The locals must have thought us "loco" for walking in the rain.
27/12 - Our last Spanish lesson of the year. Cleo tells us all the names for family members - the various distinct names are more numerous than we have in England, & the same must be true in other countries as the Swiss lady at the front of the class remarked "we don't have this many relatives in Switzerland!"
28 & 29/12 - Chris arrived from Exeter to lovely sunshine here, followed the next day by Janet & Ian from their holiday in the Malaga area, & Jacquie from Glasgow Airport.
30/12 - A day walking wih Janet & Ian whilst Chris & Jacquie lounged on the beach.
31/12 - Another fine walk with J&I (El Fuerte where we saw Ibex & a poss sighting of short-toed eagle). C&J recovering from late night out at Tutti-Frutti Plaza (Nerja night-life!) We cooked dinner together at the apartment,the best course being the Clootey Pudding brought all the way from Peterhead by Jacquie (like Christmas Pudding but lighter & with lots of cinnamon - went well with custard). Saw the New Year in on the Balcon de Europa - masses of fireworks & a band playing everything from flamenco to Elvis for a large jovial mixed-age multi-national family audience! Ensured we all partook of the traditional Spanish New Year Champers & Grapes.
01/01/08 - As we set out on our New Year walk at 10.00am, we met several young couples still in their glad-rags from the all night party. Chris was the only one of us brave enough to take a New Year dip in our shared outdoor pool - brrr!!!
02/01 - Jacquie had an early flight back to Glasgow. S & C cycled to Frigiliana. M, J & I walked the wonderful "Liman" trail, marred only by low cloud early on & rain later.
03/01 - Chris got the 6.30am bus to Malaga for his flight home. The rest of us got a later bus &, after a splendid 2 hour lunch, looked round Malaga sights including the splendid Cathedral. We then said goodbye to J & I who were heading back home to Exeter.
04/01 - Cycled to Torrox Costa in the morning & saw splendid views of Maroma mountain covered with snow. Then spent the rest of the day catching up with our Spanish homework on our terrace in the sun.
05/01 - The "Three Kings" (Magi) toured Nerja (as they do every Spanish town on the eve of the Epiphany - a more important holiday to the Spanish than Christmas). The procession had 7 floats, several groups of dancers, & at least 4 bands (drums a major feature!) Tractors again supplied by the Benitco Bros, from a small old one which had difficulty starting, to a brand spanking new MF6480 (Brian take note).
06/01 - cycled to Cerro Gordo then into the hills climbing to 450metres with great views of serious snow on the western Sierra Nevada. Saw a family group of 11 ibex on the old N340 road near Cerro Gordo.
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