June 16th - 30th 2006
Written by Geoff Forster
When we saw the clear sky last night we thought today would be hot and sunny. It isn't. More clouds and not much blue sky. Having said that, temperatures are pleasant and it isn't raining.
We're both feeling surprisingly fit after last night. Now we're looking forward to the Sweden game on Tuesday.
Jane made some Gazpacho. She really makes it well.
I did a new web page for Castellar which we'd visited earlier this year.
Castellar
I watched Argentina give Serbia and Montenegro a football lesson. 6-0 including probably the best goal of the tournament.
We walked Rosie and Domingo.
We had a quiet night in.
This is Benarrabá at 21:45h.
A similar start to the day. Lots of high cloud cover. The sun occasionally bursts through a gap lighting up part of the Valle de Genal in a spotlight.
We were around the house all morning then I watched Portugal v Iran.
We called on Davina and Martin to see if they wanted to go to see the donkeys. They did, so we drove into the campo. They loved Rosie and Domingo. It's hard not to love donkeys they are wonderful animals.
We spent ten or fifteen minutes feeding them before brushing seeds and dust off them. We then had a little drive along the track, then back up to the top of the village to a vantage point that we know. Here you get a panoramic view of both the Guadiaro and Genal valleys. You can also look South to Gibraltar and Africa. It was a clear evening and visibility was pretty good.
Back to the house. We changed and went out to the Restaurante Kábilas to see Luis and Simon from the village playing and singing authentic Flamenco.
Davina and Martin were already there and had had an excellent meal. After they had finished we sat at the bar and listened to the music.
Here are friends Mercedes and Javier who run the Restaurante Kábilas.
We went to Café Bar Guayacán. Jane and I hadn't eaten so we had some tapas. Flora also gave me some homemade Albóndigas (meatballs) in tomato sauce to try.
This is Susan and Angus from Perthshire. They read the blog and had called into Benarrabá to try some of Flora's tapas to break their journey from Málaga airport to their holiday home in Cortes de la Frontera. We hope to meet up later in the week to show them Rosie and Domingo.
We were at Café Bar Guayacán until quite late.
At one point three huge containers of small snails were brought in.
They were being prepared for cooking in a few days time. You feed them Laurel (Bay leaves) for a few days to cleanse their digestive track. I guess they stuff themselves ... very clever. I have tried a few once before and they taste quite good. Jane won't be trying them ...
We walked home together, another good night.
A lovely day. A few fluffy cumulus floating across the sky but it is a lot hotter than of late.
A beautiful day. Guest's Davina and Martin have been to Ronda. They had a pizza in Da Vinci's. We haven't had a pizza there for a while. We must go to Ronda soon!
I watched Japan v Croatia which was an entertaining but goalless match.
We walked across to see Rosie and Domingo. They enjoyed munching the hedgerows along the camino to Algatocín. We sat with them in the evening sunshine for an hour or more.
Here's burra Rosie.
Domingo and Rosie. Both have their ears forward which is apparently a good sign and means that they are happy little donkeys.
We got back in time to catch the end of the Brazil v Australia game.
Brazil won 2-0 although Australia should have scored at least one if not more. Brazil's defence doesn't look very solid.
Some of our neighbours asked if they could set a small table/altar outside our house for the Corpus Christi procession.
We didn't quite understand what they wanted to do but finally realised it was because of our lovely flowers. We said we'd be happy for them to do this and that we'd move the dogs in case they barked.
Jane went to move the car out of the way, but they'd had a chat and changed their minds and did it outside Antonia's house. We were a little disappointed after all the fuss that had been made about it.
I cooked a beef and red wine stew. I'd marinated the beef overnight in olive oil with a whole bulb of partially crushed garlic. We added some organic potatoes, red and green peppers and a huge onion. Later we added some pulped vine tomatoes and a handful of fresh Oregano which we're growing outside the kitchen window. A bottle of cheap Rioja went in and it smelled as good as it tasted!
Later we watched the French get held to a 1-1 draw by South Korea.
O la la. Mon Dieu. They might not make the group stages.
Carmen and Cristóbal came over with a plateful of anchovies marinated in vinegar. They'd kindly found out the name of a paint shop in Algeciras where you can but the cheapest brand name paints in the area. We plan on painting the front of the house very shortly.
We started to watch a film but were both too tired and had an early night.
We're up at dawn. An early start. Guest's Brian and Davina leave us today. They often come to Spain, usually the Costa del Sol. They've enjoyed the tranquility of the mountains. We hope to see them again.
Our neighbour Juan has just had an operation on his knee.
We hope he recovers quickly, he looks well and is on crutches for a few weeks.
His mare is still keeping everyone waiting.
Cristóbal is also waiting for a similar knee operation, he may get a date soon.
It's a beautiful day. We may go down to Algeciras and then Los Barrios to get the paint and some groceries.
We drove to Algeciras which turned out to be a nightmare.
We drove up and down the dual carriageway that bypasses the city. We couldn't find the paint shop. We followed signs for another shop and ended up in a paint warehouse. The paint was cheap but wasn't a good brand so we didn't buy.
We ended up buying some quite expensive flexible/plastic/acrylic paint from Los Barrios. It was the best quality in the shop and is guaranteed not to flake or crack. It will have to do!
We did some shopping in Lidl's, they do some good bio yogurts really cheap.
We passed the White Storks at Estación de San Roque. Lots of the young are now flying. Some nests had four birds on them. The two parents and two fully grown fledglings.
We called into Venta Manolo in a small hamlet we've driven passed many times but this was the first time we've stopped.
It is at Km 53 on the Algeciras Ronda road. Just as you begin the climb up to Gaucín. The family who run it were very friendly. We'll be calling in again.
We asked what the hamlet was called. It is the Barrida Gibralmedina and is in the Gaucín district.
We got home unloaded the car and drove across to walk Rosie and Domingo. After their walk. We stayed with them for over an hour. Brushing and picking seeds off them.
Back to Benarrabá. We stayed in watching the World Cup.
A scare for Spain losing 0-1 at half time. They turned it round and won easily 3-1 once Tunisia's luck failed.
A lovely morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing ...
Jane's washing and cleaning. I'm working on the computer.
We're meeting Angus and Susan later in Guayacán for tapas.
They want to meet our Border Collies and see the donkeys.
A good afternoon. We met with Angus, Susan and their friend Jenny from Cortes de la Frontera. We had a few drinks and some tapas.
Caracoles (snails) were on the menu. None of us went for that option.
Here's Jane with Susan.
Later we showed them the apartment. Introduced them to the dogs. Then we drove out to see Rosie and Domingo.
Of course they loved little Rosie. Domingo was great he's gaining confidence in us day by day.
Back in Benarrabá we had a farewell drink before heading home to get some food before the important England v Sweden game.
We watched the match. Michael Owen got what looks to be a serious knee injury. Not good news for England or Newcastle United.
Joe Cole scored a beauty. At times we looked good. At times the defence was all over the place.
We drew the match 2-2. Will we ever beat Sweden?
We now play Ecuador in the first knock out round.
We're both up at dawn. Again more high cloud in the morning which has been the pattern for June. It should however be a good sunny day.
Temperatures are rising. We drove to fill up the donkey's water barrel.
This beautiful butterfly was visiting nearby flowers.
We took the donkeys for a walk up the camino.
We let them eat for a while. Sebastian gave us more dried plants to give them.
We met Antonio from the Pandería. He gave us a lock and key to a piece of land near the village where we can graze and/or keep the donkeys. More kindness from our wonderful friends and neighbours.
Back in Benarrabá we walked to the Restaurante Kábilas to sit in the sun on their terrace.
On the way we passed this young lady and her beautiful horse.
Lots of trees are in blossom. This purple tree is very striking.
So is this with small orange flowers.
A nearby Pine tree was full of baby Swallows keeping cool and getting fed by their parents. There were over twenty in the branched just above us. The parents were swooping in low across the road below, then bringing their catch to the tree. Very entertaining.
We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez to watch Portugal v Mexico.
Lots of friends in there so we had a good time.
Jenny was walking passed we haven't manage to get a photograph until now.
Three pretty ladies.
All the lads.
A very kind man. Our good friend Sebastian. He sees we never run out of free organic potatoes!
Andrés Sánchez and myself. I'm not sure who Alan Parsons is?
Later we bought meat from the carnicería and called into Bar Barroso for tapas. We had some of their beautiful Palomitas which are smoked salmon with cream cheese in a warm white roll.
Here's Jane with David. He made Jane a carnation out of about twenty serviettes and a cigarette lighter.
The lighter is used to singe the edge of the paper to give you the carnation look.
David has been working stripping Cork Oak from the trees.
This is hot, hard work. it is also very dangerous on the steep sided slopes. We said that we would try to photograph them working. David gave us directions to the part of the forest they are stripping the trees. We'll see if we can find them tomorrow if we have the time and energy.
On the way home we passed this ladies house in Calle Ronda.
Her flowers are beautiful.
At dusk on the way home there were thousands of Swifts flying over the village. Like the Swallows, the young Swifts must have left their nests. I have never seen as many. A fantastic sight.
I watched Argentina v Holland. Which was a bit of a let down both teams already qualifying so it lacked importance. England avoid playing Argentina in the last eight. Which has to be good.
A beautiful hot day. Donkeys to feed and walk ... back later.
We walked to see Rosie and Domingo. It's getting really hot now.
We both wore our hats for protection against the afternoon sun.
Rosie and Domingo were wisely under a tree in the shade.
Here's Jane, we always carry plenty of spring water with us.
Notice the latest fashion accessory the donkey logo cap.
I chased this butterfly around trying to get a 'Macro' shot of it with its wings open. This is the best shot I got before it flew away completely.
I am pretty clueless about the names of Butterflies and Moths, which is shame. I'll have to find a good book.
Faye from Lincolnshire however has been identifying moths for eight years. She and her partner Tony are regular blog readers. (Thanks!).
Faye has managed to identify the huge moth that was on Davina and Martin's car on June 15th. It is a Oak Hawk Moth (Marumba quercus). Faye has never seen one before. (Come to Benarrabá Faye! Although we've only ever seen one). Thanks for the information.
Here it is again.
I think it may be a male? (Now I'm an expert!)
Check out Faye's link below.
The larva looks a bit like a green Scottie dog! ...?
(As always blog links open in a new window).
We had a good day.
Watched Australia v Croatia which was a great game. A 2-2 draw which sees Australia going on to the knockout stage. A farce at the end with yellow and red cards flying everywhere. Graham Poll the English referee apparently gave three yellows to the same player before he was finally sent off! It was entertaining to say the least.
We cooked a lovely meal with Benarrabá pork tenderloin from Carnicería Antonia. Beautiful meat.
Up quite early. Another hot day ahead.
We saw Peter and Clarissa their new house is nearly ready.
We went to Gaucín. Where we bumped into John and Chris from Bradford who have a holiday home near the village. It was good to see them again. We're going to watch the England game together on Sunday.
We saw Emma from Benarrabá who is know living in Gaucín after the death of her mother. Emma has always been very friendly and it was good to see her again.
We bought painting equipment, scrapers, brushes, polythene sheets etc.
We saw Dominic Dring from Estación Cortes. He and his family are returning to the UK for a few years for his daughters education. We wish them all well.
A morning of renewing old acquaintances.
We were just walking out to see the donkeys, When John Young drove along on the way to his finca.
He gave us a lift and we took him to see Rosie and Domingo.
John used to be a keen rider so likes, horses, donkeys etc.
After John left we stayed for over an hour. We brushed and cleaned both donkeys.
Here's Rosie without her halter.
They follow us along the track to the gate where they get a final pat.
Back in Benarrabá, we got ready for a night out in the village.
We're meeting John and Chris in one of the bars.
We went to Bar Barroso for some of Antonia's excellent tapas and a first beer.
We met John and Chris in Disco Bar Embrujo.
Here they are with Pepa.
On to Bar Andrés Sánchez.
Where we spotted Jenny out with her husband Miguel (Ángel).
We'd been trying to get a photograph of Jenny for while. Now we've done it twice in three days!
On to Café Bar Guayacán.
Nice hat Yoly!
Diego appeared with an out of tune guitar. I tuned it for him.
He looks the part, but his singing and guitar playing were painful on the ear. I wasted my time tuning it. When Diego plays it makes no difference. He was enjoying himself so everyone let him get on with it.
Antonio went for his guitar. Here he is with Jane.
Altogether now.
Jane enjoys organising these group photos when she's had a couple of beers.
Here's one of our friend Salvador.
Peace at last Yolanda takes the guitar from Diego.
We walked through the village. John and Chris headed out into the campo and we head up the hill home.
Another good night out. This village and it's people are fantastic.
A lovely day. Blue skies, hot sun and a mountain breeze.
We watered the plants around the house.
I worked on the PC and wrote some e-mails.
We walked to see Rosie and Domingo.
We took them to feed on camino to Algatocín.
The donkeys were pleased to see us and are now very easy to handle.
Or so we thought ... we were opening the gate when little Rosie decided she wanted to stretch her legs and went for a little trot down the road.
Domingo decided he wasn't going to be left out and followed. We had to chase and catch them. Just what you need when temperatures are in the high eighties. One of us will keep tight hold of little Rosie when we open the gate from now on. Rosie's personality is beginning to come out. She looked dull and sad when we bought her. Now she's starting to shine and definitely has a cheeky mischievous streak.
Back home we had a quiet evening.
We watched both football matches.
The Argentina v Mexico game was a classic. One of the best football matches I've ever seen. 2-1 to Argentina.
Germany v Argentina should be a great game.
A shame to see one of my two favourite teams being knocked out ...
The perfect weather continues.
Feliz Cumpleaños to Jane's father Bob.
We're looking forward to today's big game.
Thanks to Mike for information about Thursdays butterfly.
Mike thinks it may be a Marbled White (Melanargia Galathea).
We went out for a walk around the pueblo.
Jane took some photographs around the church.
Playing with the angles.
We walked around the corner and sat outside Dami's with Macarena, Pepina (Toñi) and Teri.
We saw Pedro, Andrés Sánchez and Sebastián outside Bar Andrés Sánchez.
We sat in the hot afternoon sunshine outside Bar Barroso.
We walked home to meet John and Chris who came round to watch the England v Ecuador game.
We scraped a 1-0 win in another poor game.
We celebrated in the now ritualised style in Guayacán.
After the celebration and as the night was falling we went to see Rosie and Domingo. Christine was keen to meet them for the first time.
As we drove over we met Salvador riding back to Benarrabá on a beautiful white horse.
Back home we watched the Portugal v Holland game.
Lots of red cards and a 1-0 win by Portugal whom we play next.
The red cards mean a couple of their better players miss the match.
More glorious sunshine. No plans today just a trip or two into the campo to see the donkeys.
A beautiful day, here's Jane with Benarrabá on the ridge behind her.
Rosie and Domingo are well. We took them to feed and then brushed them.
Along one of the tracks there is some Clematis growing up through the Olive trees. There are around ten individual plants. I've never seen it anywhere else. It has small white flowers and quite a strong sweet scent. It has to be one of the species Clematis rather than a hybrid. The only one that I can think of is Clematis Forsteri. Which we used to grow in the UK. (Because of the name Forster). This is doing a lot better than the one we had in Ramsgate. I hope it is our clematis!
I'll have to dig our Clematis book out.
Later: A quick check and it isn't Forsteri which is evergreen. It does have similar white scented flowers but the stamens aren't like the one in the photo'. Shame ...
Why a Clematis which usually likes moist soil and cool roots is thriving on a dry, South facing, Spanish hillside, I'm not sure.
Back home we watched Italy v Australia. A late penalty sending Australia home. A very professional dive by the Italian which seems to be acceptable. The Australian defender was on the ground and was there to be intentionally tripped over.
Later we cooked a red wine stew with setas (a fan shaped mushroom) vine tomatoes, fresh basil and lots of red peppers.
I watched Switzerland v Ukraine. A terrible match which neither team wanted to lose and neither deserved to win. 0-0 after extra time. Switzerland couldn't even score a penalty in the shoot out. Ukraine won 3-0. Italy must be rubbing their hands. A guaranteed semi final place.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, flowers blooming ... we're cleaning the apartment.
A new guest is arriving tomorrow.
Later we have to drive over to the donkeys to fill up their water barrel.
We got most of the cleaning done.
We drove to see the donkeys and to get the large water containers.
A quick drive to the Super Genal in Algatocín for supplies.
We bumped into John and Chris there. We're going to meet up with them later for the Spain v France game.
Back to the campo and we went to see José Antonio's finca. He's been trying to show us it for a few months.
José Antonio proudly showed his finca and named all the fruit trees as we walked around.
He has about 2 hectares. There is a water deposit which he was also keen to show us. He's hoping to sell it. There is a building. If it's not on the paperwork as a dwelling, permission to build a house may be hard to get with only 20,000sqm of land. We wish him luck, he's a good man.
José Antonio
Nearby are some goats. They come to the gate for a stroke.. This ginger cat often comes to see us as well. It's unusual for a 'campo cat' to be so friendly.
We fed the donkeys and brushed them clean of seed heads which stick to their coats like velcro. Filled their water barrel and drove home to watch Brazil v Ghana. Which Brazil won 3-0.
Later we went to Bar Andrés Sanchez to watch the Spain v France match.
There was a good atmosphere.
Spain score 1-0. Great stuff!
Christine, myself, John and local character Juan.
Spain supporters. Including Germán (pronounced Herman) in his 'Figo' Portugal shirt. We've told him not to wear it on Saturday!
Onno and Marion are Dutch. I don't think they are big football fans.
Marion was sketching the crowds.
France equalised then disaster as they won 3-1.
Lots of disappointed people including us.
I really did want them to win.
We walked up to Guayacán for a nightcap.
We said goodbye to John and Chris.
They fly back to the UK tomorrow.
A cooler start to the day. Clouds and mists in the valley.
I walked to the Post Office (Vincente's house) to pick up some parcels. He's open half an hour a day 09:10 to 09:40h. Jane's been winning auctions on eBay.
We'll finish off upstairs and then go to see Rosie and Domingo.
The cleaning finished we went off into the campo.
Jane often sees faces and animals in pieces of wood or trees ...
We walked home and then met or new guest Jane.
We went out for a walk it was a beautiful evening.
This was taken near the school in Benarrabá.
We walked to Bar Andrés Sanchez and enjoyed some tapas.
A good night out. Later we watched a Steven Seagal film.
A beautiful day yet again. Lots of sunshine. Temperatures are around 85F.
Friends Marilyn and Michael are here for a holiday in Torre-Alháquime. They are driving over this morning to see us and the donkeys.
It was good to see Marilyn and Michael again.
We chatted in the house for a couple of hours.
Then we went to see Rosie and Domingo. Marilyn and Michael seemed impressed that our red Clio was so dusty from driving along the tracks. A real spanish car.
Here's Marilyn and Michael with Domingo.
Domingo now loves to be fussed over, what a change in such a short space of time.
We went for tapas in Café Bar Guayacán.
As usual the tapas was excellent. The large montaditos cooked in garlic and Perejil are excellent. Michael enjoyed his pinchito de gambas. A prawn kebab cooked in garlic. We followed the tapas with some Häagen Daas ice cream.
A tour around the village to walk off the calories.
Down near Calle Sol a new fountain has been built around a natural spring and a small garden planted on the hillside. A lot of the plants have name plaques. Lots of good work like this is happening in the area which is really great.
Back home we said goodbye to Marilyn and Michael.
We hope to see them again on their next visit in September.
Our neighbour Juan keeps a few pigs on the land near Rosie and Domingo. When the sows are about to give birth he moves them to a small stable. If left in the open the piglets are vulnerable to foxes and other predators for a couple of weeks.
The sow gave birth yesterday. She had seven healthy piglets. One is tucked underneath.
I was amazed how the little piglets could walk so well. Piglets are more fully developed at birth than some other mammals.
Juan's mare is still keeping us all waiting.
We visit her two or three times a day. Each time expecting to see the young foal.
We had a quiet evening in. We enjoyed a tasty meal of beautiful Benarrabá pork tenderloin medals from Carnicería Antonia. Washed down with a Gran Reserva Rioja. A lovely meal and wine.
Another really good day.
The perfect weather continues.
No overnight news on Juan's mare.
We've been to Gaucín to the Post Office.
Then to Algatocín for supplies of vegetables for Gazpacho and beer for the football.
Thankfully the football returns this afternoon with Germany v Argentina.
This evening Italy take on Ukraine.
After fifty six matches in three weeks, the two day break came as a bit of a shock. I'm taking tablets and St Miguel (a local tonic). The shakes are becoming more controllable as we near kick off time.
We walked the donkeys before the match.
It was a fantastic hot afternoon in the campo.
Here are a few photo's of Domingo. We noticed he reacted to the wind blowing across the top of a bottle.
We walked up the camino towards Algatocín. There's plenty of food at the sides of the road. Rosie likes eating oranges.
There's some good views of Benarrabá across the arroyo.
We got back home in time for the Argentina v Germany game.
A competitive game but not a classic. Germany won on penalties.
The match was spoiled by a poor punch up at the end.
One Argentinean substitute was sent off. He didn't even play in the match!
So the Argentineans are going home and Germany play Italy in the semi final after the Italians easily beat Ukraine 3-0.
We had a quiet night in. Our guest Jane came down for some information on places to visit, we had a drink and a good chat for a few hours.