December 1st - 15th 2005
Written by Geoff Forster
Another fantastic day. The Genal Valley looks beautiful bathed in sunshine. The autumn trees are beginning to lose their leaves but the colours are still fantastic.
We've just been shopping to the Super Genal in Algatocín.
We bought 4 kilos of perfect vine tomatoes for 0.79€/kilo 25p/lb.
Mandarins are 1€/2kilos 15p/lb. Red peppers 1€/kilo 30p/lb
It is a very cheap shop for vegetables.
Thanks to Pam in Chiclana for this useful link to a website listing Feria's and Fiestas in Spain. Simply enter the month and province of your choice (Málaga or Cadiz ...) then press Buscar.
Jane has been painting the lounge. She started it on November 2nd (the blog never lies!). She got bored and left the room half painted in a mixture of the original pale primrose yellow and her new colour of English red. The bits that were a bit of both were very scary. A second coat has made it look a lot better. Not my idea of a Mediterranean colour scheme but it looks homely in the winter.
I've been working on the website. I'm doing a new section for the Special ('No Driving') Holidays we're offering next year.
A quiet night in watching TV.
It rained all night which is great news. It's still coming down now but radar forecasts suggest we've got clear air moving in shortly.
The rain is very welcome, we need lots more whilst we haven't got any guests!
We got a roaring fire going, cooked a large pot of beef stew.
We sat in front of the roaring log fire watching DVD's very cozy.
Later we walked down to Café Bar Guayacán for a Café con leche.
In the evening we watched more TV and Jane looked at ebay.
A lovely sunny day. A few big fluffy cumulus floating across a blue sky. It is very mild temperatures in the low 60'sF, 16/17C.
In the afternoon we sat on the sun terrace.
We took up the spotting scope but there were no birds around.
We did see some teenagers playing football in Genalguacil!
This is the view towards Jubrique.
The day was a lot better than it looks.
Here's our Border Collie Ferdy. He loves looking out to see what's happening.
Jane cleaned the kitchen and lounge.
I listened to another dismal performance by Newcastle United who scraped a 1-1 draw at home ... but we should have lost.
We're watching TV. Miss Marple. Exciting stuff. I think the maid did it.
No sun ... but no rain either. An overcast start to the day.
The clouds are quite high, so perhaps sunshine rather than rain is more likely.
We've got a good fire going and are watching football on TV.
Newcastle United got a good draw in the FA Cup Third Round. At home to Mansfield Town.
We're going to have lunch and then we're going to go out for a walk around the village.
It's quite a mild day and the rain has held off.
This is Mota de Oro our Spanish cat. She likes climbing and playing on our clothes dryer.
This is one of our other cats, which we brought to Spain from the UK.
Daisy, she likes sleeping.
We watched 'Pitch Black' starring Vin Diesel and later a Spaghetti western.
Another dry, mild day. A little rain fell during the night. which is the best time to get it.
We Stayed in all day. Jane watched 'My Best Friends Wedding' starring Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz. I worked on the website.
Later we cooked a curry.
We sat on the sun terrace for a while looking at the stars.
Then I watched 'Wild Bill' starring Jeff Bridges. Jane got bored she doesn't like westerns.
A Fiesta day in Spain. Dia Constitución. Thursday is also a Fiesta day Inmaculada Concepción. So one political fiesta, then one religious fiesta. I can't see many people working tomorrow. So one sicky Fiesta day in between.
It is a beautiful day. Hard to believe it is December. Blue skies from horizon to horizon and the sun feels quite strong for this time of year.
I might put my shorts on and go up on the sun terrace for an hour or two to top my tan up.
In fact it was such a fantastic day we decided to go down to the coast.
At the junction of the A369 road I spotted a Griffon Vulture coming our way so we parked.
There were eight in all circling in the Valle del Guadiaro and moving across into the Valle del Genal.
Where we had parked there are three ostriches on a finca near the road.
Today they were near the fence.
They have an inner eyelid that blinks every few seconds, it is an electric blue colour.
They really are good to watch especially when they chase each other around. they can't half run fast!
We think this is the male.
We passed through Gaucín. On the way down to the Rio Genal we stopped to take this photograph looking to the coast and Gibraltar.
We crossed the Rio Genal. The river was wider and faster flowing than we've seen in a year. Great news.
This is the Sierra Crestellina.
We stopped to get some goats cheese from the farm shop.
This is the Venta la Laguna. The farm shop is just behind the venta.
A venta is a roadside bar that sells food, a Pub/restaurant.
We parked in San Luis de Sabinillas.
The Christmas decorations are up!!
So is the temperature. That's 21.5C around 72F.
This tree is in a roundabout on the main road junction into Sabinillas.
We had a coffee and tostada outside a street Café.
We walked a little way along the beach and the promenade.
This cormorant flew along the shoreline.
It was a glorious day. This fishing boat was a few hundred metres off shore.
Near the car I spotted this bird. We'd seen some in the Alcornocales and thought it was a Tree Pipit. I had reservations about the size and beak colour.
Now I have even more doubts as this bird was on a roundabout in a town. Roundabout Pipit?
(Dave Beetham has e-mailed he thinks it is a Meadow Pipit)
Next we drove to Torre Guadiaro. We'd visited here for the first time a few weeks ago. We'd only been to one end of the beach.
Today we parked further along. There is a lake and reed bed with walkways and hides.
The first hide was awful. It had been used as a toilet. Not nice.
There were quite a few Goldfinches feeding off seed heads.
Later we saw a flock of over 5,000! An incredible sight, we thought it was starlings like you see in the UK. It was Goldfinches.
This little bird was happily feeding amongst the Goldfinches.
The books are going to have to come out tonight.
It looks like a finch (a Serin was the closest) but the lack of colour and the white wing bar make me doubtful ...
Dave Beetham has kindly e-mailed he thinks that it is a Siskin.
A big surprise was hearing Parakeets. We had Ring Necked Parakeets in Ramsgate, Kent. These are a different kind. There were over thirty flying around and feeding. A quick search and they are Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus). They are native to South America, so these are a feral colony. They are spreading in the USA and parts of Europe. Where they have been released or escaped into the wild.
The Monk Parakeets have wonderful colours when they fly.
They are very vocal as they fly in quite large groups.
Apparently they can mimic and talk.
As these are Spanish ... ¿Quién es un muchacho bonito?
We saw a few Little Egrets at the edge of the reed bed opposite.
We also saw these strange birds.
They are Purple Gallinules. (Porphyrio porthyrio).
They are very rare in Europe so we're pleased to have seen them.
We walked along the edge of the Mediterranean towards the twin towers of Torre Guadiaro.
The drive back was uneventful except for the huge flock of Goldfinches near Duquesa that I mentioned earlier.
We're home now. We're eating the fresh goats cheese. I'm watching the football and Jane is on ebay.
When we got home Jane's sister, Carol phoned. She is going to come out for a week in the New Year when Esther and Bob are here (Jane's Mum and Dad). She'll be here for the Three Kings celebrations.
Jane is a very happy girl!
Another beautiful day. Temperatures again in the high sixties. A lot higher if you are in the sun.
We went to Gaucín to the Post Office.
This is Cortes de la Frontera taken from Gaucín.
Next we decided to have a drive and went to Benadalid.
This is a photograph of part of the sierra de Benadalid. A magnificent limestone crag which rises at the back of the pueblo.
This is Benadalid with the rest of the Sierra de Benadalid in the background.
We had a lovely time in Benadalid. The sun was shining and the village is very peaceful. Everyone is very friendly.
We drove back to Benarrabá. We sat on the sun terrace for an hour in the afternoon sunshine.
We cooked a potato and bean stew which was really good.
A quiet evening in watching TV.
Another bright and sunny day. It's a fiesta day in Spain.
The village seems more tranquil than usual. We've no plans yet, but it seems too good a day to waste indoors.
We put our walking boots on and headed to the rock.
There are a few flowers out now. Mainly yellow but very pretty.
This is the most common one. There are banks covered in this plant. In a few weeks time they will light up the campo. Now there just one or two early blooms showing.
Our Border Collie Jake loves puddles.
We walked as far as the rock and turned back. We saw twenty plus Griffon Vultures circling high above the Sierra de Algatocín.
We met Sebastián from the village. He'd lost his two mules. We hadn't seen them. He was tracking them, following their hoof prints in the soft earth.
The autumn colours are still beautiful although the Sweet Chestnuts have now lost most of their leaves.
We got home, fed the dogs.
Then decided to go to Pub Bar Dami as it is a fiesta day.
I've noticed that we're spending too many quiet evenings in watching TV!
There was a good atmosphere in the bar and Dami was playing some good music.
Later we went to Bar Andrés Sánchez and Bar Barroso. Both we're busy and we had a good time chatting to our friends and neighbours.
We got home quite late.
Another fantastic day. We're being spoiled with this weather.
I let the dogs up the track at the side of the house. Campo cat Mota de Oro came with us.
I spotted this Praying Mantis. We saw quite a few last year but not so many this year.
We went to the coast to do some bird watching at Torreguadiaro.
We had a picnic lunch in a Pergola on the beach and then walked around to the lagoon side hide.
There were less birds here than the last time we'd visited. No gulls on the water. No noisy Monk Parakeets flying across. The Little Egrets and Purple Gallinules we're here so we got the spotting scope and binoculars out and started watching them.
There were quite a number of Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) around the lagoon. We watched them squabbling for territory. They make a very ugly squawking sound as they change position or fly at a near rival.
They like perching on the top of half submerged reeds and flap for balance.
Here are a few photo's of Little Egrets in different positions.
Hunting for small fish and amphibians.
Trying to balance on a small reed is hard work.
Take off.
Here's one flying. Little Egrets have black legs and bright yellow green feet. You can see this better in the enlarged photograph.
Jane noticed that to the right of the hide about one hundred metres away was a different Heron.
It was the same size as an nearby Little Egret and was constantly grooming itself. As you can see it is well camouflaged.
We're pretty sure it is a first year immature Night Heron (Nyctiorax nyctiorax). We got a good look at it through the spotting scope which has far better magnification than the camera, which was struggling at this range. Sorry.
We also saw lots of other birds. Goldfinches, the Pipit that has been annoying me for some time. Friends and expert bird watchers Dave and Carole Beetham think it is probably a Meadow Pipit. They are very beautiful with their tawny striped heads and thrush like flecks on their chests.
Also we saw this bird. One of the warblers. They all look quite similar and are amongst the hardest birds to identify.
I think it is a Chiff Chaff, because of the straight eyeline and it does winter in the area.
We also saw a Grey Heron and some more Purple Gallinules.
Purple Gallinules (Porphyrio porthyrio) are very beautifully coloured birds. They are quite timid. Their long red legs help them clamber through the reeds and vegetation. As they walk they flick their tail up revealing a white undertail
Their bright red shield looks shiny and plastic.
We spent three hours at the lagoon and really enjoyed the peace and tranquility. It is a lovely way to relax. Just as we were about to leave the noisy Monk Parakeets returned.
We drove to Los Barrios and did some shopping in Carrefours.
We drove back home to Benarrabá as the sun was setting.
We passed through a number of pueblos and saw their Christmas lights across the streets.
We got home and cooked a huge plate of steak, mushrooms, onion, sausage, burger, chips and fried eggs.
We watched the World Cup draw. The commentator on BBC1 annoyed us so much, talking over the draw, that we switched to BBC News which was a little better.
We should easily win this group if we are going to win the competition.
We watched 'Duel' a Steven Spielberg film from 1971, about a car driver and a crazy killer truck driver chasing each other across America.
Their are a few clouds on the horizon but the sky is mainly blue. A wind is making it feel cooler than the previous few days of perfect weather.
Jane is painting and I've been looking at yesterdays photographs from the lagoon.
We've now taken just over 10,000 photographs with this camera in the eighteen months we've lived in Andalucía.
I've just got an e-mail from the Bird Watching Magazine saying they would like to use one of my photographs in their magazine.
I will get paid a small undisclosed fee!
You may be wondering which photograph ...
Griffon Vultures .. White Storks ... Bee eaters ... ???
No, none of these.
They want to print my photograph of the bald Blackbird which I took in a Ronda park.
It is quite good. The lighting and the leaves in the background are nicely out of focus.
The poor bald Blackbird looks so sad.
There are a few other photographs of the Bald Blackbird on the June 1st - 15th Blog page.
Yes! Yes! Yes! We've won a game of football!
Newcastle United 1 Arsenal 0.
Isn't life wonderful.
We went to Pub Bar Dami to celebrate the victory. We had tapas in Bar Barroso and coffee in Bar Andrés Sánchez.
A lovely day, blue skies and some large fluffy cumulus.
Jane has been cleaning the kitchen and I've been working on a new web page. We visited Benamahoma a few weeks ago.
A busy afternoon on the computer.
I've just completed the webpage for the pueblo of Cañete la Real which we really enjoyed visiting.
A quiet night in. We watched a couple of films. "The 'burbs" starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher.
Later we watched an old Spaghetti western "Texas Adios".
Another lovely day. Blue skies, sunshine. Quite fresh, temperatures around 55F/12C.
We've been to Algatocín for vegetables. We're cooking a roast chicken dinner tonight.
We drove to the spring just down the track near the house.
We saw a male Blackcap, a Jay, lots of Blackbirds and a very dark coloured Dartford Warbler whilst we filled up our water containers with Benarrabá water.
We got home and changed the water in our olives. You have to do this without touching the olives with your hands to stop contamination. They look good, they still taste very bitter, so we'll have to soak them for a few more weeks before we can eat them.
We've been in the apartment all afternoon putting up Christmas decorations. The tree looks good, so do the flashing lights. They are quite reserved. Perhaps next year we'll go crazy! So that you can see them in Jubrique or Genalguacil!
The roast chicken dinner was very tasty. We watched a bad horror film on TV.
Another fresh day with blue skies and glorious unbroken sunshine.
I'm working on the website. Jane is cleaning in the kitchen and we're making chicken soup.
I've just completed the webpage for our recent visit to Teba.
We watched TV until the early morning.
We're both up early. we went to the bank and then to Gaucín.
Then we drove slowly down to Estación de Gaucín.
On the way we saw Redstarts, Black Redstarts, Stonechat's, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Sardinian Warblers, Black Caps (which seem to have just arrived in the last few days), Dartford Warblers & Meadow Pipits.
Here are two photographs of Goldfinches.
This is a Thekla Lark.
We noticed the hedgerows were full of what looked like a winter flowering wild Clematis.
It was very beautiful.
It looked very festive growing through this shrub covered in red berries.
We crossed the Rio Guadiaro which looked very brown. It was flowing very quickly.
We passed through El Colmenar and drove into the Alcornocales.
We saw lots of Cows, Goats and Sheep.
This calf must have been only a few hours old.
We saw this beautiful horse. It must have a good life roaming free in the forest.
The skies were blue and it was a lovely day, so we had a walk in amongst the trees. We collected a few bags of pine cones, which we use for fire lighters.
Our favourite part of the forest is the Cork Oak trees. These are the trees which give the forest its name. They are very beautiful and a protected species in this area of Spain.
We drove through Cortes de la Frontera, across the Valle del Guadiaro to Algatocín then home to Benarrabá.
We cooked a chicken curry and had an early night.
I'm up early, the sun is yet to appear over the mountains. I'm going to work on one of our websites.
A long day at the computer. I'm developing a new website, it is still very embryonic.
Jane has been cleaning.
We both needed a walk. We had a stroll around the village. We called into a couple of shops to look for Christmas gifts and into Café Bar Guayacán for a coffee.
We watched TV for a couple of hours.