Easter Sunday Procession, & Dolphins at last

The procession was at midday in brilliant sunshine, more uplifting than the sober evening ceremonies last week. We sneaked in to San Salvador Church through a side door, to watch the frantic preparation of the 4 'tronos' (thrones, which is what they call the floats). Once out into the plaza in front of the Church, they posed for photos in their long red & white robes, & then proceeded to carry the heavy tronos on their shoulders over the rosemary-strewn streets. The ubiquitous local band accompanied the procession, beating the march-time in the hot sun. (Photo: Procession)

Gill & Andrew had joined us in the crowd, so we four then strolled to Antonios on the beach for our Sunday paella. We walked our lunch off with a circuit of the local fields, putting up dozens of little egrets which had gathered round the grazing oxen. The avocados have now been replaced by the lemon & apricot crop. (Photo: Antonio's enormous paella - 1 metre diameter dish).




The following day on our usual cycle to Cerro Gordo, we stopped at a midway viewpoint where at last we spotted a school of dolphins just off the cliffs (we have been looking out for these for months)! Our luck continued as on the return journey we had views of a hoopoe & a black squirrel. It must be dolphin season, as we walked to Maro Tower today & saw 2 dolphins even closer in to shore off Maro Beach. Also saw another hoopoe & some Short-Toed eagles.

Santa Semana

Refreshingly, Easter here does not mean supermarket aisles stacked full of easter eggs, as it remains the most important religious festival of the year. Good Friday evening we joined the crowds in front of the Church of San Salvador. When the doors opened a cloud of incense emerged, & so many processioners that it was difficult to see how they had all fitted inside. The two effigies of Mary & Jesus, each mounted on very heavy gilded platforms, were borne on the shoulders of parishioners. Beautifully decorated, with hundreds of blue irises & tall altar candles, they paused in the square under a balcony where Antonio Cortes (handsome local flamenco singer) sang a passionate religious prayer. The processioners ranged from tiny tots to Nerja grannies, mainly in flowing silk robes, carrying crucifixes & candles. They proceeded around the streets of the town behind the smartly uniformed youngsters local brass band, drums beating out the funereal pace. (Photo: Statue of Mary)

Orange Blossom & Ostriches

Sue & Graham E. flew back to sunny Ruithin on Tuesday & were greatly missed by the Walking Group on Wednesday. A strong turnout of 18 left from Competa taking olive-strewn mule paths around the valleys in wonderful weather. The return leg crossed a Roman bridge & skirted an ancient hilltop church with arab origins. At various small Cortijos, Katy pointed out the sloping south-facing areas where grapes are sun-dried to raisins. Less traditional were a pair of stabled Ostriches adjacent to the path! A day of mixed odours - heady wafts of orange blossom tempered by very smelly mounds of goat dung & the pong from the malfunctioning sewage outfall at the otherwise charming village of Canillas de Albaida. (Photos: Noddy House in Olive Grove; Canillas De Albaida with Mt Maroma behind).

Some rain forecast this week, let's hope not much, as Nerja's elaborate preparations are in place for Santa Semana (Easter Week) parades every day from Wednesday to Sunday.

Dust up

A truly memorable first trip to the Alpajurras valleys, tucked away in the mountains south of Granada. Ancient white villages of Arab origins on steep slopes, & ruins of Arab Baths & ancient water mills. We walked on cobbled mule paths in an area thankfully not scarred by tourism. (Photo: Sierra Nevada snows from the Alpujarras)

Another trip organised by Gill & Andrew L. up the valley towards Peña Escrita. The weather is really hotting up now so we took it easy up the steep country roads, picking up plenty of windfall avocados. We saw a mule with basket panniers being used to transport fruit from the fields.

We had our first bike ride for 2 weeks, up the Miel valley, terribly hot! The smell of herbs wafted all around. No traffic at all. The track on the return journey was very steep & slippery in places. We spotted lots of wild cerise orchids. (Photo: Head of the Miel Valley)

Gill & Andrew's friends have arrived to take their car back, so Gill generously took the last opportunity with her wheels to lead us up another local valley. Graham, following in his car to the start point, was taken off guard by the road's sudden change from tarmac to cart track surface. He hadn't time to temper his 'Jeremy Clarkson' motoring technique, so a passing little old Spanish lady was completely enveloped in a cloud of dust from his spinning wheels! Thankfully she emerged eventually unscathed, shaking several pounds of stone dust from her shawl. The walk was up a dry river bed & incorporated a disused quarry, to Mike's delight. The valley was dotted with derelict small farms & lots of active beehives. (Photo: a Compo & Cleggy moment - l to r Mike, Graham, Banny & Andrew).

We were taken to Ronda (northeast of Malaga) by our kind Danish neighbour, Nils (& his miniature Dachshund, whose name is unpronouncible to non-Danes!). Fantastic winding mountain roads. The journey was slightly marred by Saturday motorcyclists racing this challenging route. Ronda is in a stunning location straddling a very deep gorge. There are dramatic vertiginous views from the town walls & bridges, picturesque plazas, & beautifully preserved Arab influenced architecture in the church in the centre. On the cross-country return we saw many eagles & vultures wheeling around the cliff tops. (Photo: Nuevo Puente {new bridge}, Ronda).

Summiting

A week of glorious sunny weather for Janet & Ian's visit so we spent most of the daylight hours walking. The highlight was achieving our ambition of getting to the summit of 'El Cielo' (1503 metres). This was thanks to Ros H. & Mike T., who made sure we did not get lost, & Sue & Graham E., who also risked the undercarriage of their car to get us to the start on the very un-made up track. The views were incredible, including snow on the Sierra Nevada, & only a slight haze on the horizon which meant we couldn't quite claim to have seen the north coast of Africa. We had the mountain virtually to ourselves, apart from some young ibex & eagles. As we brushed passed pine trees, clouds of orange pollen floated off.

It was difficult to beat this high, but we also greatly enjoyed 'Pinto' the following day, & the walk led by Jean of the Walking Group, up the Miel (Honey) Valley. We passed little farms with incredibly steep terraces of vines, olives & avocados on our way to snow-capped Sierra views. Strings of Processionary Caterpillars crossed the tarmac in front of us, & we came across beautiful cerise orchids. This valley had not escaped the damaging September 07 rainstorm, with road edges washed away in many places, & a riverside house almost totally destroyed.

Up early on Thursday for Janet & Ian to catch the 6.30am bus to Malaga & their flight home. We think we'll spend the remainder of the day resting our feet!

On the hoof

On our local walk through the fields, we were met by a very large herd of goats, being driven down the river bed to new grazing. Nearby a Spaniard was calling through the gate of an avocado orchard. On approach we could see he was addressing 'Pepe', a very large pig, white with black spots. He also called it 'Guapo' (handsome boy)!

A fascinating lecture in English (by a Swede) about post-Franco Spain has inspired us to read more. A visit to the wonderful Nerja second-hand bookshop provided us with a book to be getting on with.

A surprise bank-holiday on Thursday, not mentioned on any calendars, turned out to be 'Andalucia Day'. The locals celebrated with a 'Dia De Pedal' Bike Ride around Nerja town. Every one of the 1,500 plus participants was provided with a yellow t-shirt & a event number. They ranged from tiny toddlers to a novelty bike with 7 saddles, & everything in between.

Janet & Ian arrived from Exeter on Friday. The plane was late as it had to have ice removed from its wings before take-off! A wonderful river & ridge walk with them on Saturday gave us several great views of eagles. We rounded of the day with a visit to 'Irish Annies', where Mike T (Walking Group Guide) & his musical mates were playing to a busy bar.

Really great to speak to Mum in Dorset by phone today (Mothering Sunday) - she is obviously in good form, & enjoying the spring Dorset weather & flowers. We are all hoping for good weather here for an attempt on the summit of 'Cielo' (1508 metres) tomorrow. Off now for Paella at Ayo's with Sue & Graham E., & the newly returned Gill & Andrew L - great to have them back.