January 1st - 15th 2005
Written by Geoff Forster
Well a New Year arrived and we stayed in!
We did plan to go out into the village and celebrate outside the church. You are supposed to eat a grape on every strike of the bell. However our plans we're changed by some incredibly loud rocket flares which explode with a tremendous bang. The dogs panicked and were very very scared so we decided to stay in.
We did do the grape thing in the house and we fed them to each other, Jane managed four before giving up in a fit of giggles and grape juice, I managed all twelve but she put them into my mouth too fast and she ran out of grapes on the eleventh stroke. We must practice before doing this in a public place.
We slept in until around eleven, then we got up. I lit a fire in the huge kitchen fireplace to cook our New Years chicken. It was the first time we'd done this and it was a great success.
We were invited to our neighbours Juan and Seba's house for a drink.
We'd just eaten a huge roast chicken meal and they had about ten different dishes on their table which they kept offering us. I tried a few not out of politeness but because they looked so fantastic!
We left and I listened to Newcastle actually win a game of football. This is going to be a great New Year!
We watched the Matrix and Matrix Reloaded.
We are sleeping in the front room while we decorate the two downstairs bedrooms. I'm sick of the sight of paint brushes and rollers.
Another beautiful day, it is really hot in the sun, must be in the 70'sF.
Jane was talking to Carmen our neighbour when her husband Cristóbal
started to load his van with olives he'd beaten off the trees yesterday. They had all been sorted, washed, packed and he was off to have them pressed. We asked if we could go with him. As usual he was more than happy to take us. So we headed off to Algatocín to deliver them to the olive press.
We parked outside what looked like a derelict building and went in. There were bags and boxes of olives everywhere. There was a wonderful fruity smell.
In the corner was the machinery for processing the olives into oil.
The walls were stained with juice, it looked as if there had been an olive pressing accident at some time.
The olives are put into the green mincing machine and well ... minced.
The minced olives are then put into flat round hessian/nylon bags.
About 30 of these bags are stacked on top of each other in a pneumatic press and pressure is gradually applied.
The juice slowly runs out, then a little more pressure is applied. This is not a fast process.
The juice/oil runs out into a large dustbin. It is skimmed and siphoned into containers. You can just see the edge of one o the hessian bags in the photo below.
The pressed skins and pits are then dumped into this wagon.
There was a lot of olives to be pressed before Cristóbal's, his would be ready on Wednesday. I have tasted some from last week and it is incredible, nothing like the stuff you buy in bottles from the supermarket.
Cristóbal had six large plastic boxes, it had taken him and his son ten hours to beat them from the trees, pick them from the ground. Stalks and leaves had been removed then they had been washed and sorted. He expected to get twenty five litres of oil.
We got back in his van, he drove us round Algatocín and we had a beer in a bar. We then got in his van to head home ... or so we thought.
Instead of heading home he took us up a small road to the highest point above Benarrabá and I took this photograph.
We could see six of the Genal valley pueblos. Benarrabá, Genalguacil, Jubrique (the 3 in the photo above), Alpandeire, Faraján and Júzcar.
It was a lovely day in the mountains. The coast was cloudier but we could still see the mountains in Africa.
Next he took us down another dirt track to see our neighbour Juan's finca. He stopped the car and said we could see three big birds. We'd just seen some Griffon Vultures so we thought perhaps he knew of a good site to view them.
We got quite a surprise when we looked down into the valley ...
There in amongst the sheep were three 'free range' ostriches.
We then went to a track near Gaucín where we saw pigs and goats just roaming freely in the countryside. This is the way animals should be farmed.
Just as we were leaving a van pulled up in front of the gates and two men, a woman and a young girl started unloading a pretty white donkey from the back.
They had driven from Málaga to Gaucín with the donkey in the back of the van.
They started to load camping equipment onto its back.
The two men were going to walk back to Málaga over the next week. This is a long walk! The woman and girl were sensibly driving back.
It had been an interesting and surprising few hours.
Life in Spain is never boring, unexpected things seem to happen a lot out here.
We went home had some more roast chicken ... perhaps it will be ostrich next year .. the fireplace is big enough!
Later we watched Matrix Revolutions and went to bed around 2am.
Back to the old routine .. up at 8am to plug the mains lead in for the cement mixer and lights.
The builders have finished the pillars on the sun terrace. They have also done two thirds of the upstairs bedroom, it looks really good. The tiles are rustic terracotta with just under a 1cm gap between each. The 'boss man' came round today and chased up the orders on the remaining tiles and ordered more of some that they had run out of downstairs.
I've been working promoting our website today.
We walked the dogs up the hill behind the house. It was just beginning to get a bit cloudier, now it looks like it could rain.
Good news! We have our first provisional booking of the new apartment!
Three weeks two days! Not a bad start. We are hoping for a good first year.
We went to Estación San Roque today and ordered a dining table, coffee table and eight chairs for the apartment. They are all made from solid wood and should look good for years to come.
We then went to Los Barrios, there is a large Carrefours supermarket, an arcade, a McDonalds and Leroy Merlin's DIY store here. We bought a roof rack for our car to help with airport pickups. We also found the cheapest beer on the planet at 16cents for 330ml, this works out at around £0.11 a can or £0.16 a pint and it's Dutch 4.8% alcohol!
I had 2.5 Big Macs .. Jane only managed 1.5
We bought The Chronicles of Riddick DVD starring Vin Diesel.
We also got the Star wars Trilogy DVD box set, we watched Star Wars 'A New Hope' and I am very impressed with the remastering, the quality is superb.
Jane's listening to Stevie Nicks at Red Rocks DVD, I'm going to walk the dogs. A long and tiring day, I hate shopping. Well the beer and DVD's were okay it's the other three hours of wandering aimlessly from aisle to aisle just to see what they have?? Why do women enjoy this?
The builders have been putting in piping for the extractor fans and they have concreted a walkway up to the apartment.
The lorry with the floor tiles needed to finish the apartment was in an accident in Marbella so no tiles until Tuesday or Wednesday. The driver is okay.
Tonight is the big night in Benarrabá - The Three Kings procession. It is a big night throughout Spain but some villages make a special effort and locally Benarrabá is the place to be on Three Kings night.
We are going to the plaza at around 10pm to witness this event for the first time. I think it involves Three Kings on horseback throwing presents to the children and a nativity scene with Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesús. It should be a good night. I will take my camera and post photo's tomorrow.
Our neighbour Cristóbal has just knocked on the door and given us a wheelbarrow full of firewood. we found a large tree trunk on sunday when we were out with him and he's just chain sawed it up and given us half. His wife Carmen earlier invited us for cena tomorrow which is a special Fiesta evening meal. She is preparing lots of different dishes to torture Jane with! I like the food here. Jane is squeamish about sea food, pork products except the leanest meat and eggs. Should be fun.
I've got to go and cook a curry. Octopus and Black Pudding Vindaloo!
We had a wonderful evening in Benarrabá last night. The Three Kings night lived up to and surpassed all we had heard about this event.
A truly magical evening of community spirit and lots of very excited children having great fun.
The evening started at around 10pm when we and our neighbours Cristóbal, Carmen their children Sara and Adrian walked to the plaza. On the way we met up with Carmen's mother and father, Maria and Sebastián.
The Three Kings event is set at five different locations where scenes of the nativity are acted out.
The first scene was acted out in the plaza Mary and Joseph are told there is no room in the inn.
Next, I think, it was in Spanish! The three kings follow the star and pop in to see King Herod.
The scene was set with torch bearing guards and the crowd following the star was growing as we walked behind him to scene two. (Sorry about the blur - night photography is very tricky without a tripod)
At the head of the following crowd were some women singing nativity songs and playing tambourines.
Next we headed to see the shepherds and the Pastoral scene.
Most of the village children had a role here and they spoke their lines in turn.
The young man in the centre of the photograph is Antonio one of our neighbours son. He spoke his lines so well in such a strong voice for a little boy the whole crowd was smiling and laughing with delight.
The scene moved to the Ayuntamiento (Town hall). Here is where my lack of biblical knowledge is shown up. Here the Kings meet a man in a turban played by Antonio Ramos, who made a strong speech from the balcony to the Three Kings. There was now quite large crowd in the main street.
The crowd moves on up the main street following the Star from the East ... on the mule, to the nativity scene itself.
Jane is on the left. Carmen and her mother Maria far right.
Here we find Mary and Joseph in the stable. There was a real baby passed to Mary later when she spoke her lines.
The young man on the right had a lot of lines and delivered them very well.
The Three Kings each had a large basket filled with multi-coloured sweets. They were specially made for the event as the wrappings had the words a present from the Three Kings Benarrabá on them.
They threw thousands of them to the children of the village.
The event ended after the mules were led away by our neighbour and friend José Maria, with a small but loud fireworks display. Spanish bangers and air bombs are ten times louder than British ones!
The crowd then headed back down the main street, where some of the crowd went to the numerous bars and the remainder went to the church. Here all the children of the village were to be given there pressies by the Three Kings. Our neighbour and good friend Cristóbal is the man facing the camera.
The Three Kings were passed the presents by helpers and they announced the name of the child, who then had to walk to the front to collect their presents. It was wonderful seeing all the excited children.
Adrian got a football, a remote controlled car and a rapid fire action man.
We then went to Bar Andrés Sánchez where there was a wonderful family atmosphere with the children showing each other their presents. This was at 1am, you wouldn't get this in the UK! We left at 2am and called into Maria's house on the way home.
A very magical evening unique to Benarrabá.
The sun is shining in fact we've been up on the newly tiled sun terrace sunbathing, I had shorts and a T-shirt on. We'd been up there about an hour when Antonia, Francisco's wife shouted up inviting us for a beer and something to eat. We dressed and went down.
We were led down to her basement, turning the corner we were met with a scene from Porky's II meets the Texas chainsaw massacre. Two pigs had been killed and butchered they were hanging from the ceiling, bits of pig were in buckets and bowls on the floor. Jane went white, she wanted to leave, but twenty of our neighbours and friends were there so it would have been rude to go. We were made very welcome. There was a huge fireplace in the corner however more smoke was coming into the room than up the chimney. On the fire were some huge metal trays full of pork pieces. We had a few beers, Jane was very quiet and kept saying 'when can we go'? We were given first taste of the pork, it seemed we were guests of honour. It was a little disconcerting eating the pork and being able to look the animal in the eye at the same time!
Next we had freshly picked oranges, expertly peeled by a woman with a very sharp knife.
We were offered coffee but took our chance to leave.
Jane was very upset and cried when she got home. I can see her point of view it wasn't very nice walking into that room, however we are not vegetarians anymore, this is traditional Spanish country life and it is also the stark reality of being meat eaters ...
We had an invitation to Carmen and Cristóbal's house opposite for the special fiesta evening meal. Salmorejo is a specialty of Benarrabá it is pork pieces cooked with garlic and onions, sometimes wine is added or lemon juice is squeezed over the top.
(It is served in the Restaurant Kábilas and as tapas in Bar Andrés Sánchez so visitors can sample this local dish.)
King prawns here known as gambas are a favourite in Spain but not Jane's!
Poor Jane it has not been a good day and she had to put on a brave face and sit down in this large Spanish family gathering.
They are good friends and always make us welcome, Carmen is always laughing and smiling, she is easy to get on with.
There were fifteen of us in total around tables in Carmen's small but always immaculate kitchen.
We started with the pork. After the afternoon in the abattoir eating pork pieces here we were eating more. Carmen's Salmorejo was beautifully cooked. The table was spread with boiled eggs decorated with tuna, mayonnaise, olives and strips of red pepper. Muy bonito.
There were bowls of salad with fish sticks, spiced sausages, cured cheeses. Jane and I had two platefuls of Salmorejo, I tried everything it was a lovely meal. Jane stuck to the cheese despite a little coaxing to try the other dishes. After coffee we all sat round the living room table. There was a bowl of burning charcoal under the specially constructed table and you sit with the blanket/table cloth over your knees, it is very warm. We had an anis and left in the early morning.
Another very enjoyable evening.
A busy day. We went to Ronda, it was sunny and warm.
Here's a photo taken through the railings on the famous bridge, looking out through the gorge to the Sierras of Grazalema.
We were in Ronda shopping for granite, for the kitchen work tops, plus sofas and beds.
We managed to find and order all of them. At one stage we were wandering around looking for stonemason's yards and we thought we would run out of time and end up with nothing done. We stumbled across two yards almost next to each other, got two quotes within 20€ of each other so we knew the prices were right. We picked our favourite granite and arranged for our apartment to be measured.
We got to the furniture store at 1:40pm everywhere closes at 2pm but Muebles Garcia are a family run business. The owners are lovely people, we have been in before and they know us, so they stayed open. We did order a bed/settee, a settee and two beds including metal headboards, so I guess it was worthwhile them being late for lunch.
We also bought lots of different glasses and looked at pots and pans.
We had beer and tapas in Hnos. Macias Hotel, a wonderfully atmospheric place, with antique tiling and jamon hanging from the ceilings. Then we headed home.
We cooked flame grilled steak on the open fire.
We also got our second booking which is very encouraging.
A quiet day in.
We were waiting for Maria to arrive to measure the widows so we know how much curtain material to buy. It was dark when she got here.
I did the Prices page for the apartment.
We went to San Luis de Sabinillas with Cristóbal, Carmen, Sara and Adrian. There is a huge outdoor market there every Sunday.
It was cold and windy on the coast. we were looking for curtain material.
There are hundreds of stalls, you can find most things for sale here.
We bought some lovely material. I bought a dodgy pirate DVD. Adrian got a Playstation game, Sara bought a poncho and jeans, Cristóbal bought a K-TEL type glass cutter, the guy selling them talked non-stop whilst cutting and snapping glass and ceramic tiles into pieces. Great to watch. There was a magician who was very good, a fellow doing Thai massage, hair braiders, artists, food stalls and lots of junk stalls.
If your in the area it is a interesting way to spend Sunday morning.
We stopped off in a venta near Casares and had a beer and tapas.
We bought some fresh and curado goats cheese from the farm shop.
When we got back we went to Cristóbal's for a glass of wine. Carmen was making an Andalucian soup, so we tried that .. very good.
We got back for the last five minutes of the Newcastle FA. Cup match against Yeading, 2-0 so I'm happy. We had a bottle of wine and went to bed early, a busy day is planned for tomorrow.
We went to Estación San Roque to order more furniture from the carpenters there who are making our dining table and chairs. We ordered four bedside cabinets and two stools for the kitchen.
We then went to La Linea parked and walked into Gibraltar.
It was a cold, grey miserable sort of day, we could tell we were back on British soil.
We walked across the airfield and into Gibraltar it is about a ten minute walk. We'd never walked into the town before, we usually get the bus.
There is a good bus service, the number 9 takes you to the bottom of the high street. It costs 60p single and 90p return.
We were here to buy pillows. Jane wants British style pillows. The Spanish variety are like bolsters very long and thin.
BHS didn't have much in stock. M&S nothing. We found a shop called 'The Store' in an arcade. They had a sale of bedding and towels so we bought, lots and lots of their highest quality luxury range. In fact we bought so much we had to go across the border with one lot and return for the rest!
The high street is very British. The Christmas decorations were still up.
It was a lot quieter today than when we were here in the summer.
See our Gibraltar page.
We spent about three hours in Gibraltar running back and forward across the border with our British pillows and bedding.
We then went to Leroy Merlin's near Los Barrios and bought all the curtain poles, fittings etc. Two electric oil radiators for the guests bedrooms and the kitchen sink!
We got back to Benarrabá around 6:30pm a long and very tiring day.
Another hectic day!
We were up early and halfway to Ronda as the sun came up over the Sierra Bermeja. There was some mist in the valley and the road was a little frosty as we headed up the Genal valley. Jane drove carefully and we had no problemas.
We were in Ronda to take Mota de Oro our Spanish kitten who were found on the streets to the vets to be sterilised. There are so many stray cats in Spain, we didn't want her to add anymore to the number.
We met a British couple in the vets from Grazalema. A beautiful town in a National Park we have visited twice. I intend doing a web page when I have time.
We then headed into Ronda for a coffee and tostada. Refreshed we started some serious shopping for blankets so our guests are nice and warm at night. We bought some lovely bedspreads and blankets and headed back to the car.
Next we went to the Hypermarket for knives and cooking equipment.
We also bought some plates, dishes and ovenware.
Over the road next to a huge lighting store, I hate this shop because I have to be bent double as I walk around.
We managed to buy every light fitting we needed except for the kitchen. We will have to bring a tile next time to colour match.
Then back to the vets to pick up a groggy moggy. The op had gone well and she seems fine.
I thought I'd got all the lighting earlier but had to buy a lampshade for the cat!
We are going to have a quiet night in watching films and looking after little Motty.
Jane bought a lovely bedspread from Juani's shop, we went to the bank, then we went to the Pandería and bought some bread, the best bread in the world!
Then we had a tostada with Cristóbal's Benarrabá olive oil, it is very light and fragrant, the best olive oil in the world!
We went to Algatocín to order the water boiler, hob, extractor filter, oven, washing machine and fridge.
We bumped into James Nitchen an artist from Estación de Cortes de la Frontera and his wife, we had couple of beers with them.
Back home via the Super Genal supermarket, a cold and dismal shop but cheap.
We'd been back an hour or so when the 'boss man' unexpectedly showed up with the news the carpenters were on their way to do final measurements.
While the carpenters were here we go them to measure the kitchen, they are going to give us a quote to do the canopy and cupboards.
Then we went to the 'Carniceria' which is the butchers in the village. Antonia the owner also runs the pub opposite so we popped in there for one, however we were led astray by Andrés Sánchez and Sebastián one became four, so we had to get something to eat and went to Andrés bar next door for tapas. Then on to Dami's bar for more tapas and a couple of coffee's.
Jane's not well, she's full of cold. So we are having a quiet day in.
I'm working on the website preparing photo's for the Costa del Sol section which is a little sparse. I've also updated pics on a couple of free directory sites I've found.
Cristóbal knocked on the door at 5:30pm to take me to do some olive picking. I wanted photographs of them knocking them off the trees for a new section on Spanish Life I'm planning, I now have the full process from tree to bottle on film.
It was a pretty tall olive tree and the slope was steep so it wasn't easy.
It took around an hour to beat them all off onto the sheeting.
Another interesting experience.
We went to the ferretería (ironmongers) in Gaucín to order the bathroom suite and taps. Surprisingly this was done on by looking at pictures of the stockist's website on the internet! Another surprise we liked the first one we saw so it didn't take too long.
In the afternoon we went up into the apartment and started putting up the curtain poles. This is so Maria can measure accurately the 'drop'? Sewing jargon apparently.
It was a beautiful day so we had a break and a beer on the sun terrace. It was lovely and warm, the hillside next to the house has an wild olive grove and an almond tree which will blossom soon, it is late this year because we've had so little rain. The trees are jam packed with birds singing their hearts out, hundreds of finches, warblers, the odd woodpecker, we also get nightingales.
We put four poles up in the main room and have two to do in the bedrooms tomorrow.
We cooked a nice pork stir fry, Jane got brave and tried some chorizo (Spanish sausage).
We had an early night .. another busy day coming up.
Up early, we are expecting a man to come from Ronda to measure the kitchen for the granite work tops.
Jane went to Algatocín to get the hob.
I put up one of the curtain rails in the downstairs bedroom.
He arrived about 1pm. We need to change the kitchen sink for another type if we want it below the work top.
So it looks like were heading to Leroy Merlin's at Los Barrios on Monday. We'll probably go to Gibraltar again while we're down that way.
We'll then have to take the sink to Ronda on Tuesday.
I'm listening to the Newcastle v Southampton game on the internet while I type this. We're winning 1-0 Shearer penalty.
Great news .. we won 2-1 so big smiles on the faces of the Spanish Toon Army!
We watched The Chronicles of Riddick with Vin Diesel again, it is a good film, the special effects are excellent.
Another early night ...