August 16th - 31st 2005
Written by Geoff Forster
Its a little overcast and muggy. The sun is getting through and its quite hot.
We're off to Ronda to do some shopping in the Plus Supermarket.
We shopped in Plus and Hypersol. Then we drove back to Benarrabá.
We cooked a beautiful roast chicken dinner.
It is hot and very hazy again, we went out at lunchtime for tapas and a stroll through the village.
We've seen lots of Bee Eaters this year, they are so beautiful it is hard to resist taking photographs of them at every opportunity.
We walked to see our neighbours dog. He lives down a track in the campo, he's a lovely dog.
We spotted this beautiful butterfly up a tree.
Around 3pm it rained quite heavily for around twenty seconds, two or three times we heard rumbles of thunder.
We called into Café Pub Guayacán a new bar that has been built in the entrance of Benarrabá.It has been very well fitted. The decor is superb. There is a beautiful water feature in a corner which includes a real well with glass top so you can look down into it.
It should open very soon when the paperwork is sorted out!
We had a quiet night in. Cooked a meal watched a couple of films
We spent the morning in Benarrabá then went to Gaucín to meet friends Chris and Carol Scotford who moved here permanently from the UK earlier this week.
One of the best things about writing this blog has been the people we have met through it. We met Chris and Carol when they started house hunting in this area. It is fantastic to see them living their dreams in their new home, enjoying their new life in Andalucía.
We went to the El Pilar restaurante for a very enjoyable meal.
Then we went back to Chris and Carol's house for a swim in their pool.
Here's Carol and Jane. Notice Jane is practicing her 'pitty pat'.
(She's still really bad)
Here's Chris, Carol and Jane having fun.
It was a little hazy, but today has been a lot clearer than the previous two days.
Chris Scotford with his two Red Setters, William and Harvey.
Here's Jane with Red Setters, William and Harvey.
We had a great afternoon.
We drove back to Benarrabá.
It is the first evening of Benarrabá's Culturales 2005 a series of theatre shows, dancing and singing over the next few nights.
We went to the Mesón Bodega Mirador de la Sierra restaurante. This is an excellent restaurante. It has been closed for reformation of the kitchen area and tonight it reopened.
The restaurante is owned and run by the Alcalde (Mayor) of Benarrabá and his family. It serves some wonderful dishes and has probably the best selection of wine in the area. Tel. 952150272
Here's the Mayor behind his well stocked bar.
There were some people just finishing their meal. It turned out to be the neighbours of Chris and Carol Scotford, Rainer and Aine a Norwegian couple who have lived in Spain for a number of years, they had seen us earlier in the pool. By strange coincidence another couple at the table knew about us and us of them, through mutual friends. It was great to meet them.
This is Ron and Dianne Shotton from Gaucín with myself and Jane.
Next we headed to the plaza where the Teatro was underway.
The grupo RolaBola Circo with their spectacular show 'Casa Paco', it was a fast moving acrobatic, slapstick comedy about a sleepy Café restaurante that gets turned into a fast food outlet. The children loved it it was highly visual and very funny.
They have a website at:-
RolaBola
Dami has a temporary bar in the plaza for the Culturales 2005.
(L-R) Here's Jane with our neighbours son Juan Diego, two friends of Juan, Juan and Seba (right). We all had a great night.
The Group RolaBola finished their play. They then packed their set into and onto a large van. Then enjoyed some of Dami's cuisine. They were good people and they put on a fantastic show. We waved goodbye as they headed off to do a performance tomorrow somewhere near Granada.
We went to Pepa's bar El Porón for a coffee, then we headed home in the early hours of the morning.
I'm up a little later than usual but I'm feeling good after last nights fiesta.
We've now learned to do what the Spanish do, and eat plenty of tapas during the night.
Later today we're going to see Juan's finca in the campo, he's been doing a lot of work on it recently and is going to show it to us.
It is a poor day weatherwise. Grey cloud from horizon to horizon. The sun is finding it very difficult to break through and as a result the temperature are down considerably. This is not usual for August, hopefully today will be the only dull day for the next few months.
We went to Juan and Seba's finca, they took their young son Francisco Jesús. Francisco Jesús is a lovely little boy, very intelligent and well advanced with his vocabulary.
It was spitting with rain as we left. It rained very lightly for an hour or two.
The finca was beautiful, Juan is an excellent builder. It has a rustic finish with Chestnut beams and tiled floors.
Next we looked around the land and had some fruit from the trees. Figs, plums and pears.
Later Seba prepared some lovely tapas of chorizo, goats cheese followed by hot prawns and chicken kebabs. All washed down with a good Spanish tempranillo wine.
We were there for just over five hours, a very enjoyable evening.
The best way to learn Spanish!
We got back to Benarrabá at around 10pm.
We dashed to the plaza to see the Actuación del Coro Rociero de Benarrabá.
Some of the ladies of Benarrabá have formed a choir and they sing traditional spanish and Flamenco songs.
As you can see a lot of people turned out to hear them.
Next there was a poetry reading, which seriously challenged our knowledge of the Spanish language so we left early.
The weather is back to normal! Blue skies and hot sun.
Jane was up quite early she went to the Pandería for some bread.
We cleaned the apartment, we have guests arriving tomorrow.
I listened to the football on the radio.
A poor 0-0 draw at home.
At least Sunderland lost. Nick Eastwood will be happy.
I noticed that Stoke City had a good win so season ticket holder Stuart Nicholls will also be pleased.
We're going to get some sleep this evening before the big Flamenco festival in the plaza tonight.
It is supposed to start at 11pm but we've found that unless there is free food involved, events in Spain usually start a lot later than advertised.
Luis and Simon Nuñez from Benarrabá are playing, as well as a number of other guitarists and singers, plus some Flamenco dancing.
We should get home sometime tomorrow morning ...
We walked down into the pueblo around 9:30pm for a pre fiesta drink.
We were surprised to see Rainer and Aine whom we'd met on Thursday evening in the restaurante. We had a couple of beers and walked up to the plaza.
We timed it just right as the show started within minutes of us sitting down.
A Flamenco dance school from Ronda put on a fantastic performance.
You may need to press F11 on your keyboard to see all the photo.
Benarrabá's Luis and Simon Nuñez were next on stage.
They put on a great performance that was appreciated by the audience.
Next on stage was José Santiago Canela hijo. He is the son of the cantaor Canela de San Roque and descendant of Perico Montoya and los Jarritos a young cantaor he follows the style of Mairena, Talega o Perrate.
We had a fantastic night, the Flamenco festival was a big success.
We got home at 4am.
A late start!
It's a lovely day.
Our new guests have arrived and love the apartment, views and village!
Tonight is the last night of Culturales 2005. There are lots of activities taking place in the plaza.
The events started with face painting and balloon twisting for the kids.
We turned up just in time to get the food and free drink!!
The Asociación de Mujers Banu Rabbah (a sort of WI) provided food and a barrel full of very good sangria. As soon as I saw the barrel and learnt of its contents I knew it was going to be another great night in Benarrabá. These mujers (women) know how to party.
The food was good as was the sangria.
We went down to Bar Andrés Sánchez for a drink and then to Bar Barroso where we met friends Onno and Marion Henke, we had a drink and some wonderful tapas together. Smoked salmon with very soft cheese in a oven warmed bread roll.
We walked together back up to the plaza which was now buzzing.
Here's Simon Nuñez (Flamenco singer) with friend Onno Henke.
Onno and his wife Marion run Painting Holidays in the village.
This is Juani dancing with Marion Henke. Juani owns a small shop in the village that is really hard to find but stocks everything.
Marion is a much acclaimed artist.
Marion Henke Gallery
These lovely ladies are all waitresses at the Restaurante Kábilas.
The lad is just lucky!
Here are Carmen and Cristóbal our good friends and neighbours.
The trophy was won by their son Adrian, we couldn't find out what he'd done to win it, the music was too loud to hear what they were saying!
This is Juan Jesús, he lives a few doors down the street from us.
He provides excellent entertainment at local fiestas.
Tonight was no exception he played from 9:30pm until 4am with very few breaks.
We also had to congratulate him and his wife Annabel they have just had their first child, a daughter who we got to see for the first time tonight.
One of the songs Juan Jesus played, everyone seemed to know the dance routine, a sort of Spanish 'Birdie dance'.
This is the Alcalde (Mayor) and his wife.
Here's a lovely lady we met from Alicante, her family are from Benarrabá and like many others she returns to the pueblo every year for holidays.
Jane gets into the spirit of things and dances Spanish style!
It was four in the morning and people were still dancing. It was a great night. This little lad danced with his mother all night. Children are are always welcome at social events, bars and restaurantes in this part of Spain. It is wonderful to see.
It was nearly 5am and these boys found that the sangria barrel wasn't empty and passed drinks around the plaza to everyone.
We got home after 5am. A fantastic night.
A lovely day, I was up at just before 11am, I'm feeling surprisingly good, I must be getting the hang of these all night fiestas. Jane hasn't surfaced yet.
Our guests Jason and Vicky have just set off for a day out in Seville.
Seville is around two and a half hours drive away on good roads.
Jane got up early afternoon she is not feeling 100%. Too much dancing ??
We spent a quiet day in the house. Then went for a walk through the village.
We'd just got back when we saw Carmen and Cristóbal. Carmen explained Adrian had won the trophy for passing a short spear through some hoops with ribbons on whilst cycling. He got five the next best was one! This is sometimes done on horseback by adults at feria's.
Cristóbal went to get us some Chumbo's he'd picked earlier.
Here he is peeling the fruit of the Prickly Pear cactus. They are very sweet and best after a few hours in the fridge.
We had a quiet evening watching TV.
A beautiful day. The best day for a while. Not a cloud to be seen in a fantastic blue sky.
We took some chumbo's up to Jason and Vicky. They had had a good day in Seville. They showed us their photographs.
They are off to Estepona beach today.
We are also going to the coast but to our favourite beach at San Luis de Sabinillas.
Then we're off to Carrefours at Los Barrios.
Here's one for the folks in the UK, a photograph of the Mediterranean and the wonderful beach at San Luis de Sabinillas.
August is the busiest month at this resort as lots of Spanish people head here on holiday. There is still plenty of room on this long and wide beach.
We had a paddle up and down the bay, temperatures were in the low nineties ... perfect!
Then we drove to the Poligono Industrial near Los Barrios to the large supermarkets there.
We did our shopping and drove into the Alcornocales National Parque near Castellar to have a picnic lunch.
We got safely home around 5pm.
We went for a walk in the campo with the dogs. Our little Spanish cat Mota de Oro (Speck of Gold) often comes with us on our walks. She plays games running passed us and then waiting in trees overhanging the track until we pass then she runs on again.
We had wild salmon and very soft goats cheese in fresh bread rolls. Mmmmm! We've had this as tapas in Bar Barroso it a fantastic if unlikely combination.
Then we watched a couple of films. The first Lake Placid is a really good movie about a giant crocodile attacking people in a lake. It is very funny.
The second film wasn't up to much.
More perfect weather. Blue skies and hot sun.
I've been working on a couple of new websites.
I had a walk through the village around 5pm it was very hot, but I love the sun and like the heat.
Later in the evening I went for a walk into the campo with the dogs for a couple of hours. It was nearly dark when we got back.
Jane had a quiet day in the house.
Cristóbal invited me across to their house, we had some sangria, and tapas of goats cheese in olive oil and a spiced sausage.
Carmen had been very busy preserving tomatoes in jars.
The tomatoes are skinned and then mashed up. She puts them in glass jars and then boils the jars in water for twenty minutes. They can be kept for two or three years.
We talked for half an hour, again great practice for my Spanish.
Cristóbal told me some good news. Yesterday we'd heard a distant rumbling whilst we'd been out walking with the dogs and cat. It sounded like thunder but there were no clouds around. Apparently high up the Genal Valley near Igualeja and Cartajima there had been quite a storm and there is now water in the Genal at Benarrabá. We're not sure if there is any downstream near Gaucín where the river is bone dry.
Bad news in the football Newcastle United lost 2-0 at Bolton.
Later Jane and I watched some films. March in the Windy City starring David Jason and a lot later Scum starring Ray Winstone.
Another scorcher, with temperatures in the nineties. It is beautiful in the Genal valley with visibility very good.
The fourth Ashes Test starts today. Come on England!
A great start to the test.
Rain stopped play so we went for a walk in the campo. It was beautiful, very hot but you can always find some shade in the Genal Valley so walking is possible.
I had another walk later with the dogs.
Jane cooked a lovely meal. We watched a really bad film on the Horror channel.
I was up just before dawn.
Another perfect day in Andalucía not a cloud to be seen.
Jane has been to Gaucín and Algatocín.
She has been shopping for vegetables and has just made a huge batch of Gazpacho.
I sat on the sofa all day watching England take control of the fourth Ashes Test!
I'm just going to take the dogs out for a walk up the track at the side of the house.
Later we went for a coffee in Bar Andrés Sánchez. Then we strolled around the village for an hour. It was a beautiful evening.
I'm up early. I've been out for the bread. It is really hot and we are going to have another cloud free day.
I'm going to watch the cricket.
A great morning at Trent Bridge with the Australians made to follow on.
We've just had a bowl of Jane's iced Gazpacho, fantastic for these hot summer days.
Here's a couple of photographs of me and our spoiled Border Collie Sally.
The Australians fought back which is a little ominous, are we going to blow it?
We went for a long walk.
Later we went to Pub Bar Dami to take Dami a disk of photographs from the recent Culturales 2005. He plays a slide show in his bar so everyone can see them. Next we went to Bar Andrés Sánchez it was a lovely evening we sat outside, Andrés Sánchez joined us at our table. He is a lovely man and very patient with our far from perfect Spanish.
We strolled through the pueblo up to the plaza lined with orange trees.
We went to the Restaurante Kábilas to sit on their terrace under the stars.
Jason and Vicky, our guests, had just finished a meal on the terrace and they invited us to join them at their table. They said the meal was the best they'd had in Andalucía. They also told us of their adventures, they have been very busy with days out to Seville, Estepona, Gibraltar, Tarifa(2) and Ronda. They had enjoyed Tarifa because of the body board surfing you can do there.
We went for a stroll around the pueblo popping into Dami's bar on the way. They were sad about returning to the UK but said they had had a fantastic holiday. We hope they will come back to visit the area again, they are a lovely couple.
Up a little later today. No change in the weather, hot with clear blue skies.
Jason and Vicky leave today. They have been for a swim in the pool before they head to Málaga Airport.
Here they are in front of the apartment.
Jason kindly left me his body board so we'll have to go to Tarifa to try it out.
I listened to Newcastle United get beaten, but minutes later watched a tense ending to the fourth test match. Come on England!!
We went for a walk and had some tapas. It was a warm evening and we sat outside the Restaurante Kábilas. Jane looked really good in her black crocheted skirt and top.
Later we went to Bar Andrés Sánchez.
New guests arrive today so we are going to be upstairs cleaning.
I'm up before the dawn, there is a bit of cloud hanging on the hills.
We got the apartment cleaned well before our guests arrived. They came the scenic route across the Sierra Bermeja on the old Estepona road.
Our neighbour and good friend Cristóbal drove us down to his huerta (a small allotment) in the campo. Adrian, Cristóbal's son rode ahead on his bike. We picked up Adrian's abuelo (grandfather) on the way.
They have a few rows of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, courgette's and melons. All are grown organically.
Here's Sebastián with some of the tomatoes they picked.
We drove home just as it was beginning to get dark. They kindly gave us a large selection of vegetables.
We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez and then Bar Barroso for refreshment.
We met Salvador and Diego. Salvador lives in Sabinillas and Diego is a teacher in Málaga. Ten years ago Diego used to teach in Benarrabá. He was also the pueblos Alcalde (Mayor).
We had a great evening talking to these fantastic people.
(L-R) Juan, Diego, me, Miguel (Juans father), Salvador and Francisco Barroso.
Here's one with Jane in the shot.
Here's Diego with his wife Maria del Carmen. Maria is Juani's sister who we photographed dancing with Marion Henke in the plaza on Sunday August 21st you can see the resemblance. ----> Juani
It was the last day of their vacation. Miguel and Juan were returning to Madrid. Diego and Maria were going back to Málaga for the start of the new school year.
We went back to Bar Andrés Sánchez and sat outside until 3am, it was a great night. These summer nights in Benarrabá are just brilliant.
A late start ...
We've been to Algatocín to buy soft tomatoes for Gazpacho. The tomatoes which Cristóbal gave to us are too good, we'll use them for salads.
Fortunately I took the camera because on the way to Algatocín a Booted Eagle was hovering on the up draught from the mountainside near the road.
We cooked a meal and had a quiet night in watching TV.
There is cloud on the mountains opposite and it is a little overcast.
I expect it will be business as usual by about 11am as the sun climbs higher.
I'm going to go for a walk to the Pandería for some bread.
I worked on a new website most of the day.
Jane made a huge bowl of Gazpacho. She's very good at making this now.
I went to discuss a website and later for a walk.
Exciting times for Newcastle United with Michael Owen signing and a bid in for Nobby Solano. I hope we get him back. He loves Newcastle, one of his children is a Geordie.
We stayed up very late watching Hannibal starring Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore.