January 1st -7th 2007
Written by Geoff Forster
Feliz Año Nuevo.
Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you all had a good time!
We're having a quiet family day and meal in the apartment.
A lovely piece of Benarrabá pork and roast vegetables is in the oven.
While the meat cooked we drove down to the Rio Genal just below Benarrabá.
The track is much improved with a good drainage ditch running alongside a pretty flat surface.
It is easily passable now in a car.
Unfortunately I forgot to charge the camera battery and was disappointed not to get any pics. Sorry.
We enjoyed our walk along the river bank. A children's play area has been built and a few picnic tables have been constructed. It should be a good place to visit in Spring. Fantastic that now we can drive down.
Back home the meal was a big success. A lovely piece of meat. Next year we'll forget the turkey and have pork at Christmas.
A trip to Ronda tomorrow, so the battery is charging.
We're up early and off to Ronda today.
The weather gets better. Sunshine, blue skies and excellent temperatures.
We love Ronda. It is a beautiful place. Dramatic views, historic buildings and a great friendly atmosphere.
We walked down into Ronda and had a coffee in Hotel Macias on Calle Pedro Romero.
A leisurely stroll up Calle Espinel where I leaned patiently against the wall outside every shoe shop. Ronda has lots of shoe shops.
We walked down to the Puente Nuevo to look into the gorge.
Then we went to a Dali Exhibition in a gallery.
Lots of sketches, none of his major works.
There was a nativity scene set up. The scene is a street in Ronda using some models of actual buildings near the Fuente.
We had a pizza in pizzeria Vesubio. Excellent value for good pizzas.
We walked back up to the car.
A lovely drive back through the stunning Genal valley.
We had another pork dinner.
Later we watched a film. Dennis Hopper starred in 'Road Ends'. 5/10.
Another beautiful day.
We're off to Torre Alháquime to meet friends Marilyn, Michael and their son James.
We drove to Ronda then through Arriate and Setenil.
This is the rolling countryside around Olvera.
The countryside is a patchwork of amazing colours and shadows.
Olvera and Torre Alháquime.
We drove on to Marilyn and Michael's house.
James kindly squeezed us a few kilos of fresh oranges which took the poor lad ages.
We sat down to a beautiful meal. Michael's chicken breast with a black olive paste was a taste sensation.
After a wonderful meal and a chat we went for a walk around Torre Alháquime.
Here are a few shots of the pueblo and the countryside.
We also timed it right and were invited to see the inside of the church.
There was a nativity scene under the altar.
Lots of wonderful carvings and statues.
This is a statue of San Roque. San Roque has a special connection with the pueblo. There's a tiled plaque of San Roque further down in the village.
We walked around the village just as the sun set.
Just after sunset the sky turned a lovely blue with pink streaked clouds.
Here's Michael, Marilyn and James.
The clock face lights up at night.
Just as we were leaving. A lot of excitement as a neighbours chimney caught alight. The chap was up on the roof with a hosepipe, putting out the fire. I guess the house was a bit of a mess with soot and water coming into the living room.
We thanked Marilyn, Michael and James for a great day and meal. Looking forward to seeing them again in February.
We drove through Setenil.
Setenil at night.
Then we drove through Ronda to see the lights. I took these from the moving car.
We called into a lovely venta just outside Benadalid. Venta Los Labraos. The first time that we'd been in. A lovely friendly atmosphere. We'll call in again as we pass. The owner Andrés made us very welcome.
For those in Andalucia who can get Canal Sur. We think that the special performance of the Three Kings, that was filmed the other day in Benarraba, is being broadcast on Saturday 6th January at 2pm.
Another really warm sunny day.
We spent the day around the house. We looked after the animals as usual and I worked on the PC.
Jane and Val walked to the market and did some last minute Three Kings shopping. Presents are given tonight and tomorrow in Spain and not on Christmas Day.
In the evening we walked down to Café Bar Guayacán for tapas.
At 22:00h we left Guayacán and headed to the plaza. We met friends John and Chris Young on the way.
The enactment of the Christmas story is Benarrabá's big night. The story is told in full at different places around the village.
It starts in the plaza with Joseph and Mary trying to find room at the inn.
Quite a good crowd were assembling. Here's a small part.
John is next to Jane. Chris is on the step above them with the video recorder and the extra head growing out of her shoulder ...
The Innkeeper.
Our neighbour's son Juan Diego is playing Joseph.
There is a musical accompaniment.
The fountain in the plaza.
The Ermita.
The Virgin Mary.
The next scene takes us to the court of Melchior one of the Three Kings. The other two come to tell him about the star of the East. They persuade him that the star symbolises the birth of a new king and to join them on their journey.
The Star of the East.
The next scene is the shepherds. Sitting around a real fire guarding their flock the village children each have a line with the Kings.
Jane and Val Forster enjoying the mild evening and the special atmosphere.
The star of the East again.
On to the court of King Herod.
The crowds went down to stable to the nativity scene.
We went to Bar Andrés Sanchez for refreshment.
Next on to the church where the Kings give out presents to the children.
Adrian our neighbour's son was at home changing out of his Roman soldiers outfit.
His name was called so Carmen had to collect his gift for him.
A great night. We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez after the church and chatted with our neighbours.
Then we went to Disco Bar Embrujo to see Pepa. Usually fatal, but we were good and were home by 03:00h. We said goodbye to John and Chris, we're meeting up later in the week if not before.
A late start after last nights Three Kings procession.
It's a beautiful day.
Here's Benarrabá bathed in sunshine.
There are quite a lot of Almond trees in the area.
They are just beginning to blossom. Most trees have only one or two flowers on them.
Here's the beautifully camouflaged Mota de Oro.
I listened to the FA Cup third round games. Newcastle United drew 2-2 at Birmingham City.
A money making replay at St James' Park hopefully to be screened on BBC1.
Later Jane and I watched 'Eye of the Tiger' starring Gary Busey. Strange casting of a wimp in a Rambo type movie.
The sun is shining, the sky is blue, temperatures are rising.
We're off to the coast.
It's the big Sunday market in San Luis de Sabinillas.
We'd been walking around for a while. when we met Chris and Carol Scotford from Gaucín.
Chris is wearing a lovely poncho which he'd just bought.
He kindly let me take a photograph of him for the blog.
Here's Jane and Val.
We bought 5 kilos of oranges for 2 euros. and 5 kilos of excellent clean potatoes for 4.80 euros.
We went to Delfines for a coffee and tostada but it was closed. So we had a burger at BK.
Val and Jane Forster.
A Black Headed Gull was hovering over the beach (like a Kestrel) looking for scraps.
We left San Luis de Sabinillas and headed inland. We stopped to watch a large group of Griffon Vultures (30+) circling above the Sierra de Crestellina.
This Stonechat was a sitting on a wire a good distance from us. Sorry that it's not better quality.
Back home I cooked a paella marisco.
Not bad for my first attempt at this traditional Spanish dish. It tasted really good.
Later we watched 'Kill Bill Volume 1' starring Uma Thurman.