June 16th - 30th 2005
Written by Geoff Forster
A beautiful day. Clear skies and the sun is beating down.
Bob was up early to get the bread and said it was in the high 80's at 8:30.
Jane and Esther have gone to Gaucín to buy things that we don't need.
Bob's sorting the labels for their suitcases, they leave tomorrow evening but he likes to be organised.
Jane and Esther are back, Esther's suitcase is going to be full of clothes and sponges for cleaning kitchens!
"Cor Blimey Bob, you don't get 'em like this in England"
We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez for a last tapas and cerveza. We had a lovely lunch of Montaditos and Pinchos. Montaditos are pork lomo fillets fried in olive oil. Sometimes with lemon juice over the top but today with garlic. They are sold in 'minis' which are very small bread rolls (bread buns to us northerners).
Pinchos are small pieces of marinated and spiced meat on a skewer. Very tasty!
We walked up the hill, home. It is a little steep and more than a little warm but Esther and Bob who are both 75+, cope with the slopes and the heat very well.
It's just after 5pm and it is a glorious day, the heat haze has gone so it's a great day for photographing the landscape.
Gibraltar seems so close on days like this.
I'm going to walk the dogs into the campo above the house. I should get a few good shots up the Genal valley and across Benarrabá.
Then there's the 'you never know your luck' school of photography which is always a good bet in Andalucía. Goats, sheep, dogs, frogs, donkeys, butterflies, flowers, people and houses ... in any combination.
Here are a few recent examples ...
"Ronda Husky". (Click photo to enlarge)
A house in Genalguacil.
A window in a house in Genalguacil.
A cat in a window of a house in Genalguacil.
Blue, blue skies ... up early, I'm taking the dogs for a walk up the track. We have a busy day ahead of us. Bob and Esther fly home today so we're off to Málaga airport at 3pm.
It was very windy on the coast, we got to the Airport in good time and said our farewells to Bob and Esther. A few tears but we hope that they'll be back for Christmas.
We stopped of at a venta near the Crestellina, for a ice cold St Miguel.
Next we went to Algatocín to buy some vegetables.
We had quite a late night talking and watching TV.
A late start, but another beautiful day.
We sat in the sun watching the Booted Eagles flying around the valley.
They have started to hunt on the hillside close to the house. We've had some really views of them in the last week. Unfortunately by the time I get my camera they aren't quite as close.
Booted Eagle.
Here's Jane enjoying the sun.
The dogs had a few short walks into the campo. They love it.
Here's the youngest, Jake. He's the son of our other two Border Collies, Ferdy and Sally. Jake is very good looking and has a very kind nature. If either of us sneezes he comes to see if we're okay.
We had a good day. There was a lovely breeze that kept temperatures about perfect.
Our neighbour Juan has bought another goat. Now he has three.
He also has seven young turkeys and a rabbit. They are in a small stable hopefully it is now fox proof.
Later in the evening we walked through the village.
This is Benarrabá with Jubrique (left) and Genalguacil (right).
Here's a fantastic example of Spanish fencing.
Palettes, bits of hardboard, wire, string, an old bedstead, fences like this are really common in Spain. We have neighbours who are builders but they all use this sort of 'free' fencing.
We sat outside the Restaurante Kábilas and enjoyed a very nice bottle of Málaga tinto as the sun set behind Mount Porón.
A very relaxing day.
I'm running out of things to say about the weather. It's just perfect again. We're up and about, Jane's cleaning and tidying, I'm on the computer answering e-mails and blogging.
Friends John and Chris from Bradford, sent me information about a donkey sanctuary in Estepona. These donkeys are special. They are the endangered Andaluz giant donkeys.
You can sponsor a donkey, John and Chris have sponsored 'Serrato'.
----> Giant Donkey Project
Jane did a lot of tidying around and I've been working on the computer nearly all day.
A couple of walks up the track for five minutes with the dogs and I watered the plants, its a hot day.
I've had Radio Five Live Extra on all day, listening to the cricket. Later it's the US Grand Prix.
A great result in the cricket. I miss the cricket, but there's too much happening here in Spain to spend five uninterrupted days watching a test match, which I used to do in the UK.
I didn't watch the shambles in the USA GP, only six cars on the track. It should have been cancelled and spectators money refunded.
I sometimes wonder why we got the satellite put in, it is good for the news and for films in the winter. Guests like Jane's mother, Esther, can watch their soaps!
We watched a DVD 'Red Corner' with Richard Gere.
It's beautiful again ... a lovely breeze and blue skies.
Jane's been cleaning the Apartment and we're off out for a walk in the midday sun! Poco Loco!
It was a lovely afternoon, we walked around the pueblo and later we went along to the Restaurante Kábilas for a meal.
We watched the moon rising and walked through the orange tree lined plaza. Very romantic ...
The first day of summer! A few clouds dared to appear to the North but we've had unbroken sunshine all day in Benarrabá.
I went for a couple of walks around the village with the camera.
This house is down a small street, lots of pretty pots and a grapevine.
Benarrabá rooftops.
I took stroll out of the village down one of the tracks and photographed Genalguacil across the valley.
Later in the evening I cleaned the 'Entrada', watered all the plants.
Cleaned our kitchen.
Jane's looking after a baby field mouse that the cats had found. I heard something squeaking up the track and managed to get the mouse before any harm was done. It is just about ready to open its eyes and is very cute. We're feeding it tiny pieces of bran flakes and giving it water. I'm not sure what its chances are ... there'll be tears.
We watched a film '15 minutes' starring Robert de Nero.
Up early, there is a little bit of very high thin cloud, that is already burning off.
I have to clean the terrace, we have new guests today.
We leave the outside until last to clean, because of dust and 'dirty rain'
Winds and rain clouds coming from North Africa carry dust and sand particles, then dump it all over newly polished cars, sun terraces, swimming pools etc. throughout Spain.
Our new guests arrived. They loved the apartment and said that the photo's don't do it justice!
It clouded over but was still very hot.
We had a quiet night in.
A little cloudy but still very warm although there is a lovely breeze.
We're off to Carrefours in Los Barrios at some point today.
I did fancy going to the beach at San Luis de Sabinillas for a paddle but if its going to be cloudy ...
Jane's mouse is still alive, it does seem to eat small quantities of bran flakes soaked in milk, so perhaps it will survive.
We did go to San Luis de Sabinillas. There was a little high cloud but nothing to spoil the day.
On the way we stopped to watch some (Lesser?) Kestrels hunting.
Sabinillas was preparing for a fiesta tonight. La Noche de San Juan. A large stage was being constructed for the entertainment.
We sat outside a Café and watched the workers.
We then walked along the beach and had our usual paddle in the Med.
This large pile of books and characters such as Gollum was being erected. A JCB was shoveling cardboard boxes and wood underneath which we thought at the time was a bit strange.
Now we've looked at the photograph we think it is going to be a huge bonfire. Burning books???
Then we drove to Carrefours in Los Barrios.
We did some shopping, drove passed the White Storks.
The youngster on the left was practicing lift off.
We stopped near a railway bridge, near the turn off for St Martin de Tesorillo and watched some as yet unidentified birds of prey hunting insects and taking them to their young nesting in holes in the masonry of the bridge.
We got a good look at the birds but they don't fit the description of any insect eating birds of prey in our books.
They have a distinctive black tail bar, dark wing tips, light speckled undersides, brown/rufous back, head and upper wing.
There were about twelve birds in the colony, no particular noticeable differences between male and female.
We spent a few hours cleaning the house.
We bought the mouse some sawdust and a water bottle while we were out.
Its eyes are opening and it is moving around more.
Up early, just after sunrise. The valleys were filled with light mist, as the sun rises it quickly burns away, it is very beautiful.
Jane and I waked to get the bread, and then to the plaza. It is market day. The stalls were just setting up.
We are going to go out in the car exploring.
We drove along the A369 to Ronda. The Atajate bypass is now open, which saves a couple of minutes and is a lot easier.
I saw my first ever Woodchat Shrike sitting on the wall at the side of the road as we sped past.
We bypassed Ronda and took the turn off for Campillos. We then took a quick left to Arriate the last pueblo of the Serranía which we hadn't visited.
We both really liked the town.
It had a quite a few shops, lots of bars full of old men playing dominoes and we mean lots!
A lovely little tree lined plaza, again full of old men sat on benches talking.
It has a stylish quite modern church.
We got there around 11am. The clock is wrong.
All towns and villages are building up to fiestas for San Juan.
We had a good walk around the streets and it is a lovely town, well worth visiting.
We did go in the church it is very, very beautiful.
Next we drove the short distance to Setenil de las Bodegas.
Setenil is a dramatic town set on the sides of a gorge.
We had to park at the top and walk down.
By chance Friday is market day in Setenil. A bonus for Jane!
If you are wondering what the brown lump is at the top of the photograph that is rock!
Erosion at the base of the gorge means a lot of houses and bars have used the rock as a roof and back wall. Incredible.
Well worth a visit, especially on Fridays.
A tough climb back up to the car in the heat of the early afternoon.
I made a couple of huge sandwiches, cutting the bread and tomatoes with my penknife Spanish style. Jane prefers little triangles with no crusts so she's doing them next time ...
Ice cold fruit juice from the cool box went down well, refreshed we set of along a fairly bumpy back road to join the main Seville - Ronda road.
We then took the Cortes road for a change.
We stopped for another juice not far from Benaoján
We stopped in a bar in Cortes de la Frontera for a Coke. Then we drove across the Guadiaro valley to Benarrabá.
A good day out.
Two really beautiful towns and only a few minutes drive from Ronda.
Look out for Arriate and Setenil pages coming soon.
Later we cooked a curry, which isn't the cleverest thing to do when the temperature is 30C+. We enjoyed eating it, but an hour and a half in the kitchen with boiling pans is no fun.
We watched a DVD 'Corina Corina' starring Whoopi Goldberg, not my sort of film. No aliens or machine guns.
Another lovely day, we're both up fairly early. Jane went for the bread at the pandería, I walked the dogs.
Later in the morning we went for a walk around the village.
We were heading to the Restaurante Kábilas for a Coke when we saw a couple of guys re-shoeing a horse. We stopped to watch. They kindly let me photograph the process.
First you remove the old shoe. The guy in the stripes has wrapped the horses tail around the horses leg ... very clever.
A quick pedicure.
Trim off the old hoof. Then more filing and cleaning.
Measure the new plate for size.
A few adjustments on the mobile anvil.
A perfect fit.
Now nail the shoe in place.
The nails are bent over, clipped off, the ends filed, the hoof given a final filing and the jobs a good 'n.
The beautifully coloured horse stands patiently while all this is happening.
We went to the Restaurante Kábilas and sat at the bar to drink our Coke. Jimmy a man from the pueblo came in, he was being followed by a goat. The goat didn't realise he wasn't welcome and took some getting outside, much to our amusement.
We then walked down into the pueblo.
We called in to see Maria who made our curtains. Then we went to Bar Andrés Sánchez for another Coke.
Later we went to Algatocín to buy vegetables for the weekend and for a batch of Gazpacho.
Sad news, Jane's mouse has died. It has gone to the big cheese factory in the sky. We had been trying to give it food and milk for four days but it didn't make it.
We went for a walk with the dogs into the campo, 'mucho calor'.
Back home and we had a siesta for an hour.
Lots of great e-mails about the website and it is really good to hear from Dave and Carole Beetham again. They are big birdwatching enthusiasts whom we met last year. They think my unidentified raptors from Thursday June 23rd may be a colony of Lesser Kestrels.
Dave kindly did a report of his sightings from his visit to Benarrabá in September 2004 for our birdwatching section.
----> Dave and Carole Beetham's field trip report 2004
Around 9:30pm and I've just walked the dogs up the track. The sun is shining on the mountains opposite with an orange light, it looks like the tops are glowing hot.
We might have a salad, a knee jerk reaction after last nights heat.
Although you definitely eat a lot less here in the summer .
Watched a film on TV.
A glorious day already, we're up quite early for a Sunday. The sun is shining and the sky is so blue you wouldn't believe it.
Jane's cleaning and I've been working on the Arriate webpage all morning.
----> Arriate
Quite a boring day, sat listening to the one day cricket international.
Went for a walk with the dogs through the village and then watched TV.
It's overcast today!
We set off to the Post Office in Gaucín to post some letters and a parcel.
On the road out of Benarrabá to the main A369 road there were two loose horses. They were heading up towards the main road.
We slowly overtook them and I got out and managed to get them to head back down the hill.
I got them onto a piece of land where this Spanish man was working. He promptly chased them back up the road!
I got them to turn back again and go back down past the unhelpful hombre, towards the pueblo.
We went to Gaucín, posted our letters etc.
We bought a wedding card for Antonia, who is getting married on Sunday.
Before the wedding we have to go to Málaga airport to pick up Michelle and Kevin, who are renting the apartment for a fortnight. Then we have to change and dash down to the church. If the flight is on time and the road is clear we should just make it.
2:45pm.
We've just had a couple of hundred giant drops of rain ... just enough to mess the car up, followed by a huge rumble of thunder, and then the sun came out!
We've just made a large batch of Gazpacho, it is perfect for really hot summer days.
The clouds came back, and we had a dull evening, temperatures are in the low 80'sF with a lovely breeze.
We took the dogs up the track for a walk, Mota de Oro (Motty) our little Spanish cat came with us, as she often does.
Later we watched Morse on TV.
It's cloudy again, it rained a few more drops during the night, again nothing too much. I'm not sure what we're going to do today, perhaps more cleaning ...
Jane's gone for the bread and to post a letter.
I've just walked the dogs up the track, we have about 60% cloud cover of big fluffy cumulus, so the sun is getting through, and it's quite a pleasant day.
We've decided that the cleaning can wait until it is cooler tonight.
So we're going to go exploring again. This time to Zahara de la Sierra and then possibly Algodonales.
We got back just after 6pm after a lovely but tiring day out.
We did visit both Zahara de la Sierra and Algodonales plus we also walked around Montecorto. Then we went to Ronda and did some shopping.
The weather was fantastic, the clouds stayed on the horizon and we had unbroken sunshine all day.
This is Zahara de la Sierra. it winds up the side of this wonderful rock.
We parked at the bottom, not risking the narrow streets.
The climb was very steep but Zahara is a lovely pueblo.
Getting up to the church is quite a climb, the castle is a little higher!
It is 1pm, the sun is beating down, and we're climbing up to the top of a castle.
If they hadn't guessed we were English from the shorts and camera, they'll know now.
We got to the top and went inside. Climbing some stairs we got some great views of the surrounding Sierras. The castle has a sealed roof so no turrets or battlements to walk around.
The lake behind me is manmade and quite recently. Ghostly dead trees can still be seen, sticking their upper limbs through the surface of the water.
Jane thinks that this part of the shoreline resembles an elephant. The lake is a strange blue colour, I guess this is caused by algae.
A pink algal bloom can also be seen along the edge of the lake.
This is Zahara photographed from behind the dam which is at the bottom left.
We spent two hours walking around Zahara de la Sierra, it is a lovely pueblo, well worth a visit.
This pretty cat was sitting on a shady patio not far from the church in Zahara.
This is the pueblo of Algonodales taken from the castle in Zahara de la Sierra.
We drove across to Algonodales, of course we like to visit pretty places with stunning views.
Algonodales no doubt has some great views, but it is not pretty.
This church is the only building of note that we found.
It is very striking, with red patterned tiling and a sandy yellow wash, it definitely has a Moroccan feel to it. The tower looks very much like a minaret.
We drove next to Montecorto a pueblo just off the Ronda to Seville road. Montecorto is a very pleasant place. Lots of quite new houses at the edge and bottom of the pueblo, but the heart of the pueblo still felt very Spanish. There is a lovely little plaza with two bars opposite each other. We had a Coke in Bar Lobata.
We headed to Ronda, replenished supplies in the Plus Supermarket and then set off back along the A369 to Benarrabá.
We got home and our cat Lucy isn't well again. Her back legs stop working sometimes, tablets seem to work but for how long we don't know.
It's 11pm and we're about to cook our evening meal, our neighbours always eat at 11:30pm in the summer, it's too warm any earlier to be eating hot food. We'll probably watch a late film.
I've just walked the dogs up the track.
I picked and ate a fresh fig from a tree near the house for breakfast.
Jane's doing some washing and I've been working on the Setenil de las Bodegas webpage. Which you can now find by clicking on the link below.
----> Setenil de las Bodegas
I've just realised Stuart and Christine from Stoke are staying in Montejaque this week. Apologies for missing them, it completely slipped my mind. What is even more annoying is that we were really close to Montejaque yesterday.
The Cicadas have finally reached Benarrabá. We heard them South of Gaucín almost a fortnight ago, and we have been hearing them as we drive around. Today we can hear them ch ch ch-ing on the hillside opposite. They are around 3-4cm in length and very well disguised as you can see.
They spend most of their lives underground as nymphs (2-17 years) but emerge in summer as a flying insect.
Males make a shrill, buzzing call by vibrating two drum-like membranes (called tymbals) covering hollow chambers on the abdomen using muscles. This is to attract females. Female cicadas must be deaf as the males can make a noise often up to 100 decibels at fifty metres!
A day spent at home.
Jane has been writing letters, I've been on the computer most of the day.
A few walks out with the dogs into the campo ... I think we're both tired after yesterdays adventures.
Hopefully there's a good film on TV to watch.
We watched Road House starring Patrick Swayze ...
June has flown over. It's been a good month, we've had great weather and some interesting experiences. We've also been to lots of new places.
We're trying to decide where to go today. It is a beautiful day and we need to get out of the house.
We headed to Ronda then took the A367 Campillos road. We passed Serrato a lovely looking pueblo and Cuevas del Becerro which is a little bigger but both are marked for future visits.
We had decided to go to El Chorro which is near Ardales and the lakes of Guadalhorce.
We took the MA444 just before Ardales and drove through some open farmland. A combine harvester was being followed by three Kestrels, hundreds of Swifts were buzzing the fields as well as a number of Bee Eaters.
We stopped for a sandwich near one of the lakes.
We passed this lovely Ermita which is currently For Sale! It must have been converted into a house? A bit isolated but very pretty. Anyone interested is going to have to pay for our petrol to get the phone number from the sign!
We drove through some wonderful rocky outcrops. At times the eroded rocks formed a roof over the road a little like the bars built into the gorge in Setenil.
Fantastic eroded rocks some jagged others smoothed with huge rounded hollows.
A waterfall coming out of the left hand cliff and a bridge spanning the gap. This location has been used in movies.
If we'd been driven straight to El Chorro from Málaga airport we'd have been stunned by the outcrops, cliffs, gorge, waterfall, bridges, lakes but we're getting hard to please ... at the time we were disappointed by El Chorro, but with reflection it is quite spectacular.
After a short time there, and there is not a lot there except the view. There is an ugly hydro electric power substation in the gorge.
The dam is perhaps responsible for the lakes higher upstream. The dam is not new and there are numerous camping sites and recreational facilities built by the lakes. The area is very beautiful.
We saw few raptors but Golden and Bonelli's Eagles are breeding here as well as Griffon and Egyptian vultures. I didn't see any! I did however see two more Woodchat Shrikes! Red rumped swallows, Alpine Swifts, Crested Larks ... lots of Bee Eaters which is always great ...
We turned around and drove back along the MA444. At one point a Bee Eater flew across the road in front of the car and vanished into a tunnel in a sandy bank at the side of the road. Brilliant!
This was repeated a little further down the road by another Bee Eater.
We went to Ardales and had a short walk around the pueblo.
It was 2:30pm, very very hot and we parked quite close to the rock with the ruined castle on the top.
The castle ruins don't look too old, but fortunately it hasn't been badly renovated unlike Olvera's, Casares and Zahara's, I think it is better to see a ruin than a concrete/brick monstrosity.
The other day when we were in Zaharra there was a Roman ruin, which really had been ruined by a modern day builder and a few buckets of concrete.
The streets of Ardales were plain but beautifully Spanish.
The church has a lovely steeple and an impressive doorway.
We both got very hot walking up and down the streets of Ardales. When we got back to the car we're both in desperate need of a drink.
Fortunately our cool box works very well! We now know to pack it with more bottles of chilled water and fruit juice than two people could possibly consume in one day.
Ardales was a pleasant pueblo, clean and tidy , still very Spanish with a good feel to it as you walked around. It was very steep in places.
New developments of housing are underway and a Poligono Industrial Estate is being promised by the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall). There were a few new / unfinished urbanisation style terraces at the edge of town.
We checked out a local estate agents website when we got back. Prices seem a lot higher than in the Serranía de Ronda. However Ardales claims to be only one hour from Málaga Airport ...