May 16th - 31st 2006
Written by Geoff Forster
A lovely day.
We're really busy with a quick changeover.
I'll do yesterdays blog when I manage to sneak away from my cleaning duties!
We've finished cleaning, plus we've watered all the plants around the house.
Sharon, Robin and Luke left this morning around 10:00h.
Luke enjoyed the apes in Gibraltar. He had a cuddly one to take home with him!
Sharon enjoyed sitting on the sun terrace looking at the amazing views of the Genal Valley.
Thanks to the Farnish family for being wonderful guests and for the card and bottle of wine!
We hope that they have a safe drive to Murcia and then a good flight home.
We managed to get a photograph before they left.
We spent the morning and most of the afternoon cleaning.
I was tired and had a siesta.
Jane went to Café Bar Guayacán to see Yolanda and have some of Flora's tapas.
The guy in the hat had had a few too many and stood on Jane's foot.
Yolanda took the photo just as the pain registered.
This is Merluza al Basco? At least I think it is Basco. Merluza is Hake. It is cooked with garlic, onions, red peppers and white wine.
Another of Flora's culinary masterpieces.
I joined the fiesta at around 20:00h. Our new guests Thurza and Graham hadn't arrived. So I left notes on the doors with our mobile number.
Here's a photo of Sebastián. We never thought we'd get a photo of this man. He's not keen on the camera and dislikes the internet.
We've been thinking about buying a donkey. We were talking about going to the Feria in Ronda. It is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We're going to go with Juan. He'll get a better price for us because he's Spanish.
Paco shows me how to train a donkey by climbing on its back and biting its ear. It seemed to amuse everyone, although it's not something I intend trying.
I hope he doesn't do it again ... he smells of sheep.
Here's Antonio, Flora, Yolanda and Bernardo.
We got a missed call message on our mobile. I phoned back it was Thurza and Graham. They'd had caught a later flight and were near Estepona. A little later I watched the road outside Guayacán and saw them arriving in the village.
I took Thurza and Graham to the apartment. They'd arrived in the dark and there was a slight mist. They said that views were beautiful and that they couldn't wait to see it in daylight.
They hit the ground running and despite a long journey they came back down to Café Bar Guayacán for a few beers and tapas.
Here's myself, Irene, Graham and Thurza
The beers and tapas went down well.
Thurza knew lots of names and faces from the blog. Flora was delighted to be recognised and is proud that her tapas is known worldwide.
Here's José. José enjoys his fino/vino. He sings flamenco when he has a few too many. He only knows one verse of one song ...
We got home quite late ... summer in Benarrabá is great.
I'm up early. The mist is still hanging in the valley. As it burns off it rises. It is going to be quite warm today.
I called on Thurza and Graham. We've arranged for Thurza to attend art classes in the village for three days this week.
Friends Marion and Onno Henke run the course. If you are staying in the apartment at the same time Marion & Onno have a course running you can attend for 150 euros/ £110 for five days.
This makes for a very cheap Painting Holiday. They tend to be very pricey.
Here's a list of the this years remaining courses.
The apartment is currently available for all weeks except September 10-17th 2006.
June | Sunday | 4 - 11 | 11 - 18 | 25 - 2 July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
July | Sunday | 2 - 9 | ||
September | Sunday | 3 - 10 | 10 - 17 | 24 - 1 October |
October | Sunday | 1 - 8 | 15 - 22 | 22 - 29 |
November | Sunday | 5 - 12 | 12 - 19 |
A large swimming pool is available for use by our guests in July and August. (A small charge may apply to cover the costs of the lifeguard)
Paint-in-Holidays.com
Whilst Thurza begins to paint a masterpiece, Graham left for a drive around the area. He has a new Canon digital with telescopic lens. He's keen to try it out. I'm keen to see the results.
We've been to see our friend Sebastián. He gave us a couple of large carrier bags full of organic potatoes, also a couple of large onions.
We called into the Restaurante Kábilas for a coffee.
We've also been to Algatocín to get some shopping.
The sun is shining. We saw couple of Booted Eagles flying around Mount Porón. They seem to be resident. Probably the same pair that were here last year. The Common Buzzard seems to have moved on. It's been a while since we saw it.
We took a picnic blanket to a sheltered spot in an Olive grove on the mountainside. We sunbathed for a couple of hours. The dogs sat in the shade under the trees. Mota de Oro, our Spanish cat followed us up and enjoyed climbing the trees.
Tonight we're making a stew with all organic products cooked in white wine with a lot of Oregano.
I'm looking forward to the Champions League final. I hope it's a good game. I should support Arsenal but I can't stand Arsene Wenger so I'll be shouting for Barcelona.
A 2-1 victory to Barcelona in a game marred by some terrible decisions by the referee. Strangely I found it hard to support the Spanish team even against Arsenal. Until the dive which led to the first goal.
I'm up well before dawn.
A couple of loose horses have been clip clopping around the streets of Benarrabá. I heard them outside the house. I remembered that last year a loose mule ate all our Miscanthus (Zebra grass) so I got up to see what plants we had left.
Fortunately the only casualty was a Gazania pulled out of the pot and discarded as being not good fodder.
It does however mean I'm off to an early start.
The visitor counter on the front page of the website was only put on that page. We had no idea that the website would grow to have just under four hundred webpages. The counter was actually only counting a small fraction of our actual visitors. Fortunately the server has a webstat package and counts all the visits so I have been able to update the counter to give a true representation of the actual visits we have received. It looks as if we're heading for another record month with May 16th clocking an amazing 675 visits. 2046 webpages were viewed by visitors to the site on May 3rd.
Jane and I would like to thank you for your continued support.
Thurza has set off for her art course. She had a good day yesterday and enjoyed herself. Graham drove to Ronda. We may meet them later for tapas.
We're cleaning downstairs before going for a drive to Benadalid.
Just back and we went for a walk around the village calling into a couple of bars for tapas.
This is one of the many beautiful streets in the best village in Spain. Benarrabá.
We went out to see a young donkey.
He is four months old and still with his mother.
We really liked him but the 300 euros price tag was putting us off.
We'd been told that 150-200 euros was about the right price.
£200 seems pretty reasonable to me. I paid nearly that for a Border Collie pup the size of a hamster. I guess it's really an ego thing, we don't want to be seen as easy to rip off ...
Here he is ... cute or what!
He stayed close to his mother.
Here his is getting a feed.
He's really strong, healthy and we like him a lot.
We resist buying him because of the price and the fact that we're off to the Feria de Mayo in Ronda tomorrow. We've been told that we'll have more choice and that they'll be cheaper there.
I'm still not sure how we resisted buying him.
Roque and Diego who took us to see the donkey, have pasture nearby and they were moving a mare and young twelve day old potro to new pastures.
The mare took some persuading but the potro was wrestled into the back. Both Roque and Diego are strong men but this twelve day old potro took some moving.
Finally they were loaded up to be taken to new pastures in the the Valle de Genal.
Now they didn't want to come out.
Finally they were persuaded to go to see their new home.
Roque leads them down to the finca.
There were a few more horses down on the finca.
An old male donkey (17) for sale at 2.5 times the price of the young one we'd just seen, was down there.
There was also some pigs and a goat.
Feeding time was a free for all!
I also photographed one of the biggest Foxgloves I've ever seen.
A good afternoon ...
Later we went to Café Bar Guayacán.
Yolanda has bought a blender. She is planning to sell alcoholic and non alcoholic smoothies.
We watched and tried some of the first ones made.
The smoothies were beautiful. I can see them being very popular in the summer. As will this fridge full of Carte D'or ice cream.
The bar was filling up. Everyone was having a great time.
Here's Roque .. nice hat!
We thought it would be a quiet night.
These guys were planning an impromptu fiesta.
We're still not sure what they were celebrating ... Thursday night perhaps.
Our guests Thurza and Graham called in.
Thurza. She knows how to party.
Suddenly the volume cranked up. Yolanda was DJ.
Everyone was dancing. Fiesta ...
Antonio. Well dancing. (It is a real well, the water is about 3 metres below the glass top)
This couple from Madrid arrived just after midnight.
Quite what they thought walking into this fiesta I'm not sure.
They soon joined in and were dancing and drinking faster than the Benarrabá boys.
Arriba, Bajo, Centro, Dentro .... cheers.
This is Bernardo, Yolanda's father. He likes playing the fruit machine.
He never said a word about the 100+ decibel party taking place around him!
Flora, Bernardo, waitress "La Pepina"
You've probably heard of table dancing or lap dancing?
In Guayacán it is well dancing.
We were out until 03:15h. Partying in Guayacán.
I'm writing this at 03:30h. We're off to the Feria in Ronda tomorrow.
Off to Ronda with Juan. Lots of other people from the village have gone in a coach.
It was a lovely hot day, we had a great time.
We arrived a little before noon.
The setting is magical. The Sierras all around Ronda are beautiful.
The animals on the lower field are for sale.
We were hoping to find a cheap young female donkey.
Plenty of ponies.
All of the dealers were Gitanos. Spanish Gypsies.
Hope he doesn't drop the match!
There were a few donkeys but the prices were crazy.
Juan found this one for us. Cheap and doesn't need any feeding.
The horses in the parade area were beautiful. Pure Andalucian.
I'm sure I photographed this one last year.
Miguel, Juan's son feeds this potro.
There weren't many donkeys.
A few were in an exhibition of pure bred Andalucian donkeys.
These are quite large often the size of horses.
We watched some horses being judged in various categories.
In the exhibition tents there were lots of stands. Some selling produce, others equipment or services.
Andrés Ramos was selling pork products. a lot of people from Benarrabá were around the stall lending support.
Here are our neighbours and friends Juan and Seba.
This huge stall sold bread and pastries.
At the other end cakes and gateau
This is the music and beer tent.
We found another tent offering free beer and food.
We had quite a lot of beer and wine in here.
I also had a huge plateful of meat.
This is a huge agricultural fair. Lots of farming equipment was on show or being demonstrated.
This is a wonderfully marked donkey.
They were supposed to be pure race Andalucian. There seemed to be a huge colour difference. Last year they were all grey.
These South American Alpacas. A sort of mini llama.
A mother with youngster was selling for 35,000 euros.
Here's me thinking that donkeys were expensive.
I'm not sure what you do with them. They seem to small to ride or work. I'll have to do a search on Google.
The band was playing.
We went to watch the horses.
Andalucian line dancing to a Spanish 'Birdie Dance'
(Jane got on the stage to take this!)
Outside back on the trading field. More horses and hopefully donkeys were arriving.
This Dalmatian horse was very striking.
You've go to watch where your standing!
Burros!
Quite a few donkeys. We kept a low profile knowing that the price would stay high for English customers.
A deal was going on.
950 euros for a female donkey.
A really interesting negotiation took place with an old man acting as go between. The price fell but not by much.
Antonio from Salitre whom we'd met early and had been drinking with all day. His nephew had bought a donkey. No one seemed to know why.
Here she is getting led away by the go between.
The go between wanted paying for his services. Interestingly both parties paid him. The buyer gave him 20 euros. The greedy little man tried snatching more euros out of his hand. I've never seen a man so desperate to get his hands on a few quid.
Here's Miguel on a very expensive donkey.
Every one said the price on the first day would be high.
Sunday teatime they'll be half price.
We all went for a coffee before driving home
We went straight to bed when we got in.
A lovely day. I'm hoping to get some time later to put the photo's on from Thursday and Friday.
We're off to Benadalid, to water our friends garden.
We've had a couple of really hot days and are busy again tomorrow on the donkey quest. So we'd better give them a good soaking today.
Back from Benadalid. I managed to scrape the inside of my arm sliding down a mountainside cutting back a dead Almond tree.
I did photograph a Common Buzzard high up on a crag above Benarrabá.
Probably a female.
I worked on the laptop selecting, resizing and optimising all the photo's from the last couple of days.
I got most of it done before Jane got bored watching and wanted to go for a walk.
I let the dogs out for a walk. The sky was full of Griffon vultures. There were at least fifty swooping across the valley. Others circled high above.
We watched them for ten minutes.
I did realise later that I hadn't rushed to get the camera.
Two Spanish girls walking up the street didn't even notice them despite us looking skywards.
Just boring old Griffon Vultures with a nine foot wingspan.
We went to the Restaurante Kábilas to sit on their sun terrace.
The village was quiet. A lot of people are away, either at first communions or at the Feria in Ronda.
We watched Swallows doing a circuit that included part of the road near the restaurante, they fly within inches of the tarmac.
A Chaffinch was singing in the pines above us.
A lovely place to relax.
We called in to see Yolanda at Guayacán. We tried a tub of Carte D'or ice cream.
I think I may have to give up beer and start eating ice cream.
I caught up with the blog and completed a Viaje a Ronda page for benarraba.com
This page has some of the photos from the blog but also lots of photo's of the people of Benarrabá who went on the coach. I think I managed to photograph everyone from the village who was there.
Later in the evening we cooked a beef curry.
We had another early night. Lots of sleep to catch up on.
We haven't watched TV in days. Summer in Spain is fantastic.
Up really early 06:00h. It's still dark outside.
I've been working on the website.
A new webpage for Bornos. We visited Bornos on a lovely day in February. It has lovely gardens around an old palace.
The link below as always opens in a new window.
Bornos
The sun has risen and is shining down on beautiful Benarrabá. Temperatures are forecast in the high twenties, so more perfect weather.
We're off out with Juan our neighbour some time today to see a two year old male donkey in Algatocín. Ideally we'd like a female, burra. Although we've been told that a castrated male is the easiest to look after. They tend to be quieter. The young donkey photographed on Thursday is still my favourite. We'll wait and see.
We met Sebastián with his mules outside Bar Barroso.
We went for tapas in Pub Bar Dami.
Then we had a beer in Bar Andrés Sánchez
I was surprised to see this Spanish man from the village in a shirt with Newcastle across the front.
Benarrabá is one of the prettiest villages in Spain with a beautiful church and plaza. The people are rightly proud of their pueblo. Lots of the houses have flowers outside and on the window sills. It makes a huge difference to a village when there are lots of colourful plants along the twisting whitewashed streets.
Here I am outside Bar Barroso. It was beautiful standing in the warm sunshine.
We walked up to Café Bar Guayacán.
A major disappointment. The young donkey has been sold. We're a little annoyed that it has been in a field for four months and nobody bought it. Then as soon as we are interested in it, it is sold. I guess we should have bought it when we first saw it. Live and learn.
Juan took us and a friend Ibrahim to the field to check out the story. Both the rucho and the burra were gone.
We did see this donkey in a nearby field.
It was for sale but very expensive.
We went to Algatocín.
This house was very pretty.
We went to a bar to ask about any burros in the area that are for sale.
After a few beers with Pedro and Miguel we went to see a male donkey at San Juan. He is two years old.
He has beautiful markings. He was a little frightened but eventually I won his trust and managed to stroke him.
We bought him there and then!
Jane has chosen the name. 'Domingo' which is Spanish for Sunday.
I expect Domingo will soon be the most photographed donkey in the world! He is very good looking.
We went to the venta at San Juan to celebrate. We'll collect Domingo tomorrow night.
Here are Ibrahim, Miguel, Jane and Pedro.
Another man called Juan (in the cap) heard we had bought a donkey.
He slipped away without any of us noticing.
Suddenly there was a fuss outside. Juan had come back with a female donkey called Rosi. Here's Pedro riding Rosi.
Rosi is very small and quite fat. I thought she was pregnant nobody seemed sure.
We were told she was six years old.
She took a liking to Jane and wouldn't leave Jane alone. Donkey's are very affectionate animals. Jane did get on her and rode up and down the street. Sorry but the photo' was too dark.
We were all having a great time celebrating buying Domingo.
Jane meanwhile was bonding with Rosi.
Suddenly we were buying another donkey!
Rosi is well trained and gentle. She'll be company for Domingo. It will be easier to train Domingo with Rosi around as he will follow her and watch what she does.
It is better to have two ... am I managing to justify this moment of madness?
We're up and out. We called into Café Bar Guayacán for a coffee and tostada.
We've been to the bank to withdraw more cash to pay for Rosi later today. We've managed to convince each other that it was a good idea to buy her as well as Domingo. I am concerned about her barrel like appearance.
A trip to Gaucín to buy shampoo, a brush and donkey food. Also containers to feed them and for their water. We also need harnesses and tackle at some point. We'll ask Juan if he'll come and help us buy the right ones.
We waited nervously until 17:30 when we set off to collect our donkeys. The afternoon had dragged.
Here's Jane with little Rosi outside the venta at San Juan.
She's very small but her temperament is fantastic. Kids will love little Rosi.
We went to collect the larger male donkey. He was on the hillside just above San Juan on our side of the river.
These rabbits didn't seem bothered about us at all. They were wild it was like Watershipdown.
We got them loaded up. It wasn't too difficult. A bit of pulling and a lot of pushing.
He is good looking.
Here's Rosi. She needs a good shampooing and hosing down she's a dirty little burra. We plan to attempt this tomorrow evening.
We got them back to Benarrabá. They are free to run around some land near the Arroyo on the track to Algatocín. They seemed to be getting on well together. Chasing each other about.
Juan and Ibrahim were both impressed by the male. He is very gentle and seems to like being patted. He doesn't kick or bite. Which is really good news!
Jane's having an early night. We have a busy day tomorrow with a changeover. I'm off to have a farewell drink with Thurza and Graham in Café Bar Guayacán.
We're up before dawn to go and check on Domingo and Rosi.
They looked happy. Rosi trotted across to meet us at the gate.
Domingo was a little more timid and followed five metres behind.
We'll just have to be patient with him and build up the trust.
Our guest Thurza and Graham left this morning. They said they'd had a wonderful time and that they would return possibly in November for the autumn colours. Thurza kindly signed and gave us one of her paintings.
It's a beautiful day. Clear blue skies, temperatures are rising.
We've been cleaning all morning.
Our neighbour Juan said he'd driven over to check on the donkeys. They are fine. We'll go ourselves after our new guests have arrived.
Our new guest Brian and Monica arrived safely.
We showed them the apartment and they have settled in.
They know the area from a previous visit to Gaucín.
We walked out into the campo to see Rosie (Jane's decided to put an e on the end of her name) and Domingo.
Here's Rosie getting a brush. Her coat is in poor condition, dull and full of deep down dirt. After an hour of brushing she looked a lot better. I can't wait to get the hosepipe on her and get her cleaned properly. I don't think she's ever been washed.
Domingo was keeping a few metres out of reach.
He did go to say Hola to the pigs. Jane said they actually touched noses. Cute.
Once you catch him he's very friendly and happy to walk with us.
We walked back as night began to fall.
There was a beautiful pink glow in the sky above the mountains.
Not picked up by the camera in the low light levels.
We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez for tapas. Jane had Montadito's and chips. I had Hibea fried in a thin batter. Although I'm not 100% sure what Hibea is. I think it may be part of a Octopus, although Octopus is called Pulpo in Spain.
We came home around 23:00h. Up early again tomorrow.
Up really early. It's 05:00h. I've written a few e-mails.
Thanks for all the letters about the donkeys!
They are certainly changing our lifestyle.
We're off to see Rosie and Domingo at sunrise.
Then we're going to Gaucín to buy new halters and to get some treatment for a few small cuts, also something to stop the flies buzzing around them if we can.
The early start means I've had time to finish the web page for our recent visit to Arcos de la Frontera.
We went to Gaucín and had coffee and tostada's in the bar next to the petrol station.
We bought new halters, insecticide, rope and clips. The man showed me how to join the clips onto the rope. (I'll never have to buy another dog lead, now I can make my own!).
We also bought some carrots for a treat. Domingo isn't easy to catch we hope this will help.
We walked to see the donkeys, it takes about fifteen minutes to get there, it is quite steep in places. We should get fit if we do this at least once a day.
They both came to meet us at the gate.
We put the new padded halter on Rosie she looks good now.
A lot cleaner and hopefully happier.
The hillside is covered in wildflowers. Domingo is slowly munching his way through them.
The carrot trick didn't work. Rosie munched hers. Domingo had obviously never seen one before so we couldn't entice him close enough.
We've a lot to learn about our donkeys. How to catch them would be a start. We went round and round the trees. At one point I nearly had him. We had a good laugh and it doesn't really matter. We'll just have to let him get used to us. He's not used to seeing humans.
You can spend a hour brushing a donkey then she rolls over and has a dust bath. At least the deep dirt is coming off her.
We were enjoying the morning in the campo.
A male Booted Eagle came swooping down about twenty metres from Jane. It had obviously seen some prey. We both watched it as it flew back up and over the mountainside. It had missed whatever it was trying to catch.
We walked home and had a siesta.
Up refreshed we walked back to the campo until about 20:00h.
We fed the donkeys and enjoyed sitting among the trees listening to the birdsong.
Back home. We met our guest Brian who has been out house hunting in Gaucín.
The apartment is popular with house hunters. If we can help we are happy to answer any questions about any aspect of moving to or living in the area.
An early night after all that walking!
An e-mail from Carol in Gibraltar. Hibea which I ate last night is Cuttlefish. A relation of the Squid. They do taste good. Thanks once again to Carol for passing on this information.
Up around 07:00h. The weather looks set now. It's going to be sun through to September/October at least.
I let the dogs out for a quick run up the track by the apartment.
The sun was just rising over the Sierra Bermeja. There was a really unusual cloud just above the mountain. It looked like waves along the top edge.
Jane has made a packed lunch so we're off to sit in the campo for a few hours.
We're not going to try to catch Domingo. We'll just let him get used to seeing us and hearing our voices.
We had a lovely morning in the campo.
Here 's Rosi. She loves rolling in the dust. We spray an insect repellent onto her, it seems to work.
Domingo likes rolling in dust as well.
We ate our picnic and headed back home.
It's been so hot that we thought we'd better go back to Benadalid to water our friends patio plants.
This is the church in Benadalid.
The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) and Post Office.
The church from the middle of the small but pretty plaza.
The plaza is lined with palms and other lovely trees.
There is a rose garden in front of the church. All the roses are in full bloom.
Back to Benarrabá, we had a siesta.
Out again at 18:30h. to feed the donkeys. We drove up there so we could fill our water bottles and collect the large water drums to fill tomorrow so they have fresh spring water to drink.
Both donkeys have good appetites.
Domingo came close enough to take a piece of bread from my hand, so progress is being made. We may try tomorrow to change his halter and put some insect repellent on him.
Back home we cooked a vegetable stir fry. The price of peppers and tomatoes has fallen dramatically this week. 2 kilos of tomatoes are 1 euro 4.4lb/70p.
We've had no internet connection again most of today, Iberbanda failing to deliver yet again. We never get the connection speed we pay for. Perhaps I should only pay a quarter of my bill.
Another early start is planned for tomorrow. We're both tired from another busy day, so we'll have yet another early night.
A huge contrast in lifestyle from last weeks Thursday night fiesta in Guayacán.
A change of plans today due to a change in the weather. Which is my fault for predicting good weather until September yesterday.
We were going to go to the coast for a paddle in the Mediterranean at our favourite and nearest beach in San Luis de Sabinillas (30mins).
However it is grey and quite windy.
We drove to get bread then to see Rosie and Domingo. They both came to see us and I touched Domingo's nose although he jumped back, he's getting better but still very unsure.
We filled some huge water containers from the natural spring and changed their drinking water.
Back home for fresh bread tostada's. I had local honey, Jane had garlic and fresh tomatoes. Which means I'm a little sweeter than usual and Jane isn't getting kissed for a few hours.
We're off out with the dogs for a walk into the campo.
We passed Cristóbal and Sebastián's huerto (vegetable garden/orchard). Sebastián goes there everyday to water the various seedlings they have planted on the well worked terraces.
Back home after a good walk we had a cup of Manzanilla (camomile). We both like this tea. It is very relaxing and tastes better than most herbal teas.
We went to Carnicería Antonia in Calle Pósito. We bought some of her fantastic organic pork, she kindly gave us some home made chorizo. The people of this pueblo are so kind.
We called into Café Bar Guayacán for an ice cream.
Back home our neighbour Cristóbal had been to see our burros. He was impressed by the male Domingo. He'd managed to get Domingo to take some bread from his hand.
Cristóbal gave us a carrier bag full of organic new potatoes from the huerto. We're going to eat well this weekend.
We went to see the burros. We gave them their food. Domingo is taking bread from our hands but is still keeping at arms length.
Back home we cooked a stir fry of mixed vegetables and seta's (mushrooms).
We're both exhausted so another early night!
Up early. A windy night but its a better day than yesterday.
I saw Brian who's staying in the apartment. He looked very happy!
Good news that they've put in an offer on a finca which has been accepted. We know the finca, the people who are selling and the agent. So we're really please for everyone involved.
I went for the bread from the pandería.
Then we walked into the campo to see the donkeys. Strangely Rosie, who is usually at the gate waiting for us wasn't there. We were a little concerned but they are on about 30,000 sqm of land so could be grazing anywhere. We rattled their food bins ... nothing. We searched high and low. I went to the bottom of the hill, Jane stayed at the top ... not a sign. A fence had been flattened at the bottom of the hill but I wasn't sure they could have got out that way.
We were getting really worried now.
Jane went back to Benarrabá to get the car.
I walked along the bottom track thinking that they would walk downhill rather than up. I was also thinking that I might finally make use of my Cub Scout Pathfinder badge after thirty eight years, I started looking for hoof prints. The wind was blowing dust everywhere so tracking was impossible.
After fifteen minutes Jane arrived with the car. We drove for ten minutes before giving up and turning back to try the upper track.
I checked the fence where I thought they might have got out. It looked okay.
I went for the bread from the pandería.
Then we walked into the campo to see the donkeys. Strangely Rosie, who is usually at the gate waiting for us wasn't there. We were a little concerned but they are on about 30,000 sqm of land so could be grazing anywhere. We rattled their food bins ... nothing. We searched high and low. I went to the bottom of the hill, Jane stayed at the top ... not a sign. A fence had been flattened at the bottom of the hill but I wasn't sure they could have got out that way.
We were getting really worried now.
Jane went back to Benarrabá to get the car.
I walked along the bottom track thinking that they would walk downhill rather than up. I was also thinking that I might finally make use of my Cub Scout Pathfinder badge after thirty eight years, I started looking for hoof prints. The wind was blowing dust everywhere so tracking was impossible.
After fifteen minutes Jane arrived with the car. We drove for ten minutes before giving up and turning back to try the upper track.
I checked the fence where I thought they might have got out. It looked okay.
Juan arrived on his quad bike. We told him they had escaped and that we were searching for them. He drove up to the gate to double check that they were really missing, we followed in the car. We saw him shrug his shoulders and point. There they were! Rosie and Domingo looking down at us. God knows what Juan was thinking. We felt really stupid. Lots of shrugging and explaining how thoroughly we'd searched.
We're still not sure where they had been hiding. Can donkeys climb trees? Anyway we were pleased they were safe.
We managed to get Domingo to follow Rosie into Juan's pig pen. I grabbed hold of his halter and got a rope on him. We led him out and swapped his old halter for his new padded one. We also managed to put some Iodine on his grazed nose.
Juan said we should take them for a walk. We decided to bring them to Benarrabá and up to the house to give them a shampoo.
A little apprehensive about whether they would walk properly we set off.
They were brilliant, no problemas. In fact they were better to walk than the Border Collies.
We put a hose on Rosie and she loved it. We shampooed and scrubbed her.
Next we washed Domingo. He stood and let us wash and shampoo him.
We hosed them down and put conditioner on their manes and tails.
One funny moment, I timed it wrong walking behind Domingo and got dumped on. A fairly large dollop of donkey doo. Jane thought this was great. It's nice to be able to put a smile on your wife's face ...
Here are the burros in their new halters outside the house.
Their coats looked wonderful. Rosie has an unusual purple colour when the light catches her.
The slope doesn't do Rosie any favours. She's small but not that small.
We walked them to Café Bar Guayacán a few people came out to see them.
Juan has said we can keep them in a stable above the village. We took them up to see their new home. We led them in and fed them. It is perfect for them. A lot less flies than in the campo. We'll have to walk them to the campo for exercise and pasture everyday.
We walked back home. Then took the dogs out for a walk and collected the car which we'd left in the campo.
We're back home at 18:00h and we're both tired. We've been out all day, a lot of the time walking.
We're just off out again this time to see if Rosie and Domingo have settled in. Then we'll take them for another walk.
Out again until 21:00h. We walked Rosie and Domingo along the edge of Mount Porón. They munched and crunched there way through lots of different plants.
Back home we cooked a beautiful curry with some organic pork tenderloin from Carnicería Antonia. We marinated another batch for tomorrow evening.
I'm up early 06:30h. It's light outside but the sun hasn't appeared over the mountains yet.
Another busy day ahead.
We brought Rosie and Domingo to the track near the house. There's some excellent green grass growing here plus a myriad of other flowers that they can eat.
Here's Jane with Rosie.
Our guests Brian and Monica left after a successful house buying trip.
We wish Brian and Monica all the best in their New life in Andalucía. A lovely couple.
I'm sure we'll meet again as they will be living less than half an hour from us.
Many people think the area around Ronda is the most beautiful part of Spain. If you are planning to buy in Spain you should pay a trip to the area. We're always happy to help house hunters in any way we can.
I went to see Marion and Onno Henke about their Painting Holidays website. They have their 2007 holiday timetable. I'll publish it here as soon as I have laid it out on the computer.
We made three trips to see the donkeys altogether. We walk them along tracks and along the roadside and they eat the grasses. Domingo is a machine. He's very efficient. Rosie is a little pickier and more lady like.
Here's Rosie in Café Bar Guayacán! I kept Domingo outside.
We walked along through the plaza. All the children came to stroke them and ask their names.
We walked up to the Restaurante Kábilas with them. We introduced them to Mercedes and Cristina.
Jane and I both agree that the last week has been one of the happiest and eventful weeks since arriving in Spain.
We've been very busy and have been tired out every night but it has been so much fun.
Here I am with Domingo.
Rosie the Burra. She loves rolling in dust. Keeping her clean is a constant battle.
Finally we cleaned the stable and put them to bed.
We went for tapas in Café Bar Guayacán.
Back home around 22:00h.
I walked the dogs. We're trying to see that they're not put out too much by the time we spend with the donkeys.
Later I cleaned up the hard drive on the laptop (archiving and backing up to an external hard drive) before defragmenting. Exciting stuff!
Another early night!
A lovely day. I'm up early again. The sun has yet to rise but the pre dawn skies look clear.
An e-mail from Brian and Monica. They arrived home safely.
We're going to walk Rosie and Domingo out into the campo for a few hours. They can run around the field if they want or get shade under the trees.
Later we'll walk the dogs!
The donkeys are in the campo.
We've been to Gaucín to buy a hand scythe for cutting grass and plants to give to the donkeys.
We walked along to Manolo's bar and to Bar Paco Pepe near the fountain. The area was full of English so we had a quick drink and left.
We bumped into Elaine and Theresa from Glasgow who had written to us last week. They both read the blog and we'd said we would like to meet up some time during their stay.. We hadn't planned it to be this soon! They'd just got off the plane and arrived in Gaucín. It was great meeting them both, they want to try Flora's tapas, so it will be good to show them around Benarrabá.
We went to the Super Genal for vegetables.
Back to Benarrabá we're having a snack before heading out into the campo with the dogs.
The campo is beginning to go brown on the higher South facing slopes. This bank is quite shaded and is near a natural spring so it is still looking very beautiful. A fantastic mix of colours.
Other plants are just appearing. There are huge numbers of Scabious, lots of different Thistles. Thistles are usually unwanted in a garden unless specifically planted. There are many varieties and they can be very beautiful. This wild Mallow (Lavateria) is appearing in patches here and there.
It was quite hot, probably the hottest day of the year so far.
Beautiful weather yet it is disappointing that the apartment is free for the next few weeks. Everyone must be enjoying the weather in the UK?
We walked the dogs on the reverse Blue Walk. The walk takes about 1h 30 minutes at a leisurely pace. We stopped to watch birds, look at flowers, play with the dogs ..
We walked down to the Arroyo Infiernillo. Near the Arroyo is the ruin of an old molino (mill). The land around it is still used. It has been terraced and fruit trees planted. Also we were surprised to see several Rose bushes, all the same colour which was very striking.
We walked this way so the dogs could cool down in the stream.
Here's Sally and her son Jake.
It's a good walk for a hot afternoon. Partially shaded and some great views.
We enjoyed the walk, so did the dogs. I hosed them down to get the mud from the arroyo off them.
We drove up to feed the donkeys. Rosie and Domingo are free to roam the hillside. We wondered if we'd have problems getting Domingo to come to us. He trotted over as soon as we appeared. No problemas, we've won his trust.
Back home we cooked a curry and had an early night.
Up early. I let the dogs out then rushed back into the house for my camera. It was one of those mornings when the clouds sit in the valley.
I went up onto the sun terrace of the apartment.
Benarrabá in the clouds.
As the sun rises it should burn off the mists.
We drove to see Rosie and Domingo.
Sebastian was working in his orange grove opposite. He kindly gave us some cut grasses to give to the donkeys.
The sun was beginning to break through.
We decided to go to the coast at San Luis de Sabinillas for a paddle in the Mediterranean.
We arrived in Sabinillas and parked easily as usual.
A tostada and coffee in Delfines a fairly new beach front cafe.
5.50 euros £3.85 for a good coffee and tomato tostada's. Which is reasonable for the coast.
Inland everything is a lot cheaper.
Jane wanted to visit The Trading Post a second hand store a street back from the front. We bought an unusual carved wooden miniature table. I'm not sure what use it'll be perhaps we can put a coffee cup on it?
Finally I got to paddle.
It was a hazy day, with a pleasant cooling breeze. The Mediterranean was still like a pond. After lots of walking the last week our feet needed this. We walked in the edge for twenty minutes up to the marina at Duquesa and then back.
We drove to Los Barrios to do some shopping.
On the way home we passed the White Storks nesting on pylons along the railway line near Estación de San Roque. Lots of the nests had chicks in. One was full with two good sized chicks and the two parents.
We called into a favourite bar on the way home Venta Carrasco an ochre coloured building just before Jimena de la Frontera.
The lady behind the bar said it was going to rain tomorrow. The internet forecast said 55% chance when I checked it later.
Back home we unloaded the shopping and went to see the donkeys.
We spent an hour feeding and brushing them. Domingo is now getting very friendly. Approaching us by himself and touching us with his nose.
I watched England beat Hungary 3-1 in a friendly World Cup warm up match.
Jane has been shopping online ... watching the World Cup could prove to be very expensive.
I'm up at 07:00h. Working on a website. It looks like we'll have a misty start to the day again.
This is the view of Benarrabá from Finca Las Hazuelas. Sebastián kindly gave us some more cut grasses for the donkeys.
We fed Rosie and Domingo. They seem happy together.
We drove to Gaucín. Posted a package to the UK. Then we went to the Vets to get some worming tablets for the donkeys.
Surprisingly it comes in a gel form in a clever syringe with a measuring screw on the plunger. The syringe holds enough for two donkeys and costs around 22 euros.
There's a pretty kitten in the animal feed shop where the vet has his fortnightly surgery.
The Cat in the Hats?
We called into the Bar Gasolinera for refreshment.
Back in Benarrabá we went to Tienda Andreaita to buy some mushrooms. They didn't have the ordinary mushrooms but had seta's. This type of seta is a fan shaped mushroom, it doesn't have a strong taste. We quite like them, the texture is soft and delicate.
We chatted with Silvestre and Mariángelis about the website, and the possibility of getting hold of some old photographs of Benarrabá for www.benarraba.com.
They also gave me some interesting information about the names of the camino we often walk along.
At one point there is an old caravan. This is the Cerrillo de la Cruz.
The large stone we walk to is the LLano del Rey.
A little further on passed the stone is La cueste del Aguilillo.
The old house in the Arroyo Infiernillo which we photographed on Monday is known as El huerto de los Morenos.
It's good to get all this local knowledge.
We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez, Bar Barroso and finally Pub Bar Dami.
In Dami's we had tapas. This is a Mc Dami.
Tapas in Benarrabá generally costs 75 cents / 50p.
As does a bottle of ice cold premium lager.
So you can eat and drink very cheaply in the village.
Today we also had free entertainment.
We went to the campo to worm Domingo and Rosie.
This was easier than I expected. Squirting the gel into the side of their mouths. We gave them a carrot each straight after their medicine in case it didn't taste very nice.
We sat in the late afternoon sunshine with the donkeys for a couple of hours.
Domingo.
Rosie.
Back in Benarrabá. We cooked a steak dinner with setas, chips and eggs. We had a lovely bottle of 1999 Gran Reserva which went down well. Spanish red wines can be excellent.
Our neighbour Juan has moved his mare to a stable about twenty metres behind the apartment. She is about to give birth. Just as night was falling Juan thought the birth was imminent. We'll see tomorrow.