May 1st -15th 2006
Written by Geoff Forster
It's May Day. A holiday in Spain.
It is also a beautiful sunny day so we're off to the coast.
We drove down to San Luis de Sabinillas. We enjoyed a coffee and tostada in a sea front cafe. We saw Otto, his wife Reyes and their son Naim from Benarrabá.
We all had a paddle in the Med. Here's Val and Jane.
It was a perfect temperature. We walked along to the Marina at Duquesa.
We drove to Torre-Guadiaro. This Ox-eye daisy was growing in massive drifts.
A pair of Lesser Kestrels were nesting alongside a few pigeons in the beacon.
We walked around the lagoon. It was very quiet. Only a few Little Egrets.
I got quite close to this Crested Lark before it flew off.
From Torre-Guadiaro we drove to Castellar. Where we saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker unusually on a wall at the entrance to Castellar zoo.
We drove to a venta for refreshment. We've been there before and seen a pylon full of Spanish Sparrow nests. There are even more nests now in this 'Sparrow High Rise'.
Here's one.
Here's a lot more!
We saw a Short-toed Eagle flying quite low above the car.
A Woodchat Shrike sitting on a post near San Pablo de Buceite.
White Storks were also flying around in this area.
Back in Benarrabá. We went to Bar Andrés Sánchez, Bar Barroso for tapas. A quick visit to see Dami and then up to Guayacán for coffee.
On the way down this goat kid ran out of Pepa's house to see us.
They are really cute.
We had a great night out eating some lovely tapas.
A bright day. The sun is out although the weather forecast is for showers later.
We were going to go to Sevilla but have postponed the trip until later in the week. We want to go on a day with blue skies if possible.
We called in Café Bar Guayacán for coffee before driving to Algatocín to buy some vegetables.
Flora wanted some yogurts so we dropped them off for her.
An English couple from Danby North Yorkshire were in the bar.
Michael and Ann have a holiday home in Gaucín. They read the blog and recognised us. We had a couple of beers and a good chat.
Here are Michael and Ann. This photograph is for Steve, a friend of Michael's who also reads the blog.
We went to take some photographs of Bernardo's ferretería and builders yard, for a new website. We were surprised by the large stock that they hold.
If you are doing renovations or need any electrical, plumbing, painting equipment etc, They have a far better selection than Algatocín an Gaucín. It is in the yard opposite Guayacán.
We went home and cooked a steak, onion, mushroom, carrot and bean stew.
A short thunderstorm during the night has watered the campo. This should extend the wildflower display by a week or two. Which is good news for visitors planning to come here in May and early June.
We drove to Gaucín to have lunch in the Restaurante next to the Petrol station. The aptly named Bar Restaurante Gasolinera.
We had a great first course but made a mistake when we ordered our main course. We thought that we had ordered a succulent piece of white fish that we've eaten there before. Instead we got four fried sardines complete with heads and tails. Jane wasn't happy. We all ate what we could. I bravely tried a head and got a strong fish oil taste in my mouth, not nice.
They do serve good food there, we just got it wrong today.
We drove home, then we decided to go to the Alcornocales for some pine cones. So back in the car with the sacks and we're off to Cortes de la Frontera. In the forest we soon saw a group of calves feeding by the roadside. This one was just about to get up.
Here he is upright.
We got some cones. Saw a deer, goats and a horse. The forest is always beautiful but lots of glades are now covered in young green bracken which looks fantastic.
In El Colmenar we saw this donkey by a verge covered in flowers.
Across the bridge and on our way up to Gaucín we saw an Egyptian Vulture circling across the valley. Only the second we've seen in this area. A very striking bird. Unfortunately it was flying away from us.
Jane spotted a female Woodchat Shrike on a post. It flew off but the male was nearby.
A little further on we saw a Corn Bunting.
Just as it flew off.
A good afternoon out. We always enjoy the Alcornocales.
The weather has improved and it is a pleasant day with good sunny intervals.
We decided to drive to Jubrique. We stopped at the bridge over the Genal at San Juan. The river was brown and fast flowing.
We drove up to Jubrique. Parked on the hill opposite the Bar Iris.
This sheep and her lambs were lying in the sun.
We walked to the plaza passing this crucifix shrine on the way.
We had coffee and tapas in the Bar la Plaza. They served us tinned Albóndigas (meatballs) in tomato salsa. We're being spoiled by Flora's homemade tapas!
Jubrique is very steep so we didn't venture too far.
Back to the car we made an impulsive decision to try and find the old badly repaired road to Faraján. We had tried and failed once before not believing it was passable in a Clio.
We asked advice from an old couple who described the road as 'malo'.
The views across the Genal Valley were amazing.
We passed a few Cherry trees overhanging the road. The cherries were nearly ripe. We tried a few!
The road was really bad. Jane did well driving across the broken and rutted surface. At one point we had a choice up or down. We chose up which turned out to be wrong. We found ourselves on a track just above the terraced area on the photograph below.
Every cloud has a silver lining ... we wouldn't have seen these horses and the newly born foal if we'd taken the right road.
Another stroke of good fortune. Faced by a very large and deep rut. We had just decided that we were on the wrong track. Jane was just about to turn the car around, when along comes Gerard to pick his daughter up from school in Jubrique. He very kindly waited for us and directed us back on to the right road. A white asphalt surfaced road that swept downhill in a long series of switch backs. We passed this shrine in the middle of nowhere.
The countryside was beautiful. Deep wooded hillsides, banks of wild flowers. An eagle flew passed with either a snake or a long twig in its talons.
Finally the tortuous road reached the river.
Here I am with my mother, Val Forster.
Our driver had an stinky attitude problema. You can see what is left of the road(?) behind Jane. I think the raspberry is for the road and not for the photographer who suggested coming this way?
The road surface on the Faraján side of the Rio was excellent, we soon sped up to the pueblo. We had a much needed beer in the Bar Restaurante Remedios.
We drove around the corner to show Val the plaza. This is the Iglesia (church). I managed to get a flying House Sparrow in the shot.
We headed to Alpandeire. At points, five white pueblos could be seen across the valley. Atajate, Benadalid, Benalauría, Algatocín and in the distance, beautiful Benarrabá.
Above Alpandeire is a statue of Frey Leopoldo. He was born in the pueblo and is well known throughout the region for his acts of kindness to the poor.
Here is the bonito pueblo of Alpandeire taken from just below the statue.
The streets are steep and pretty.
There was a funeral in the huge church. We waited until they were inside before taking these photo's.
Great views right down the Genal Valley to Benarrabá and beyond.
This is Alpandeire from the MA505 road that rises above the pueblo.
We drove to the A369 Ronda - Algeciras road. Drove passed all the pueblos that we'd seen from across the valley and then home to Benarrabá. A great day out. Quite an adventure.
We called in to see Yolanda and Flora. We told Flora about the meatballs in thick tomato. She gave us some of her Carne con tomate salsa and Albóndigas. She is the best! The Queen of tapas.
Later Jane and I went to the Restaurante Kábilas for a beer.
Pub Bar Dami for one of his excellent Montaditos'.
Then to Bar Andrés Sánchez, where we met up with Mercedes. It was her birthday. Feliz Cumpleaños, Mercedes.
Here she is with Andrés Sánchez. This is for Andrés' novia Verónica in Peru.
We called in to Café Bar Guayacán on the way home. Another very late night!
A late start. It's sunny outside. We're not going far today after a long days driving yesterday.
Jane did some juicing. A fruit drink with pineapple, apples, oranges and a lime. Another based on gazpacho with red peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and garlic.
We went for a walk up the track with Val, the dogs and our cat 'Mota de Oro'.
The hillside was covered in this pink flower, it is very common but not in the book we have. The large yellow globe is Giant Thapsia (Thapsia Garganica) the Spanish call it Asa dulce.
This is a climber called Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolchia Baetica) the Spanish call it Candiles. I thought it may be carnivorous but it isn't.
Next we drove into the campo along the camino de puente.
We drove slowly admiring the wildflowers and the views across the Genal Valley.
We parked near some Cork oak trees this bank was covered in thousands of daisies.
Our neighbour Cristóbal's horse is at the bottom of the bank.
We filled our water containers from the spring and drove home.
We cooked a chicken curry and watched some TV.
We've been to Gaucín to fill the car up with petrol for tomorrows Sevilla trip.
We went to the animal feed store to buy cat food. They also sell some clothing, shoes and hats. I got a straw hat for the summer.
Val bought us a young Philadelphus (Cilindro) which we'll plant near the apartment.
We bumped into Chris Scotford a friend we haven't seen for a while.
We had a drink in a bar near the shop. It was full of friends from Benarrabá including Salvador and Fran.
We drove back to Benarrabá. I'm going to dig a hole and plant the Philadelphus.
Well it seems that I may need to borrow a pneumatic drill to plant the Philadelphus. Mañana!
I did water the plants before we decided to take advantage of a beautiful afternoon and go for a walk to the Restaurante Kábilas for a drink on the terrace.
Here's Val looking cool in her new hat. They are wearing something similar in Paris this year ...?
This beautiful butterfly landed on a hedge near to us.
We walked to the plaza. The roses around the village are beautiful this year.
We went to Café Bar Guayacán for tapas.
Suddenly there was a lot of noise outside. Juan Antonio the brother of Yolanda's father, Bernardo had arrived in his brand new truck.
It was showered with champagne.
Here are Flora, Cristina and Juan Antonio in the cab.
We watched as people had test drives in the new lorry.
Jane wanted a go. Yolanda asked her brother Jesús to take us for a drive.
Val, Jane and myself were driven halfway up the hill out of Benarrabá.
It was good fun. We hope to have a longer trip sometime soon in Jesús' huge aggregates truck.
We enjoyed our tapas and got home early to prepare for our trip to Sevilla tomorrow.
We're up early and off to Sevilla.
It takes around two hours on really good roads.
We went via Ronda, turning off to Sevilla just before Villamartin.
We saw a Flamingo flying over the road and a Little Owl on a pole.
We parked behind the Plaza de España. Traffic had been light all the way and parking was easy.
We walked towards the large semi circular building with two large towers.
It was very impressive. There were tiled plaques all over representing all of the provinces of Spain.
Next we walked across the road into the beautiful shady Parque de Maria Luisa. Val spotted a white Peacock up a tree which Jane filmed with her video camera.
I spotted something a little wilder and rarer. A Night Heron.
I'm happy now. All we need is a Newcastle United win against Chelsea in a match I'm going to miss .. but Sevilla is worth the sacrifice.
We walked around the park and headed for the Tour por Sevilla bus stop. It is 15 euros each for the tour. The ticket is valid all day, you can get on and off at a number of stops and then get back on the next open top bus.
It was a good way to see the city.
It is not a good way to photograph the city.
I got a few reasonable photo's of bridges but the bus moved too fast to photograph many of the buildings.
The tour passed most of the cities major buildings.
It crossed the River Guadalquivir via Puente de San Telmo.
This took us into Triana the name of the city on the opposite riverbank.
We passed lots of apartments and churches.
Expo 92 was held in this area and the site is still there. Lots of the exhibits were temporary and it is a bit scruffy and disappointing.
We crossed back into Sevilla via the Puente de la Barqueta. (below)
This is the unique and famous Puente del Alamillo.
Next we went through district called La Macarena. It has some quite impressive buildings. This included hospitals and government buildings.
We got off the bus near the Torre del Oro. (below)
We walked in the direction of the Cathedral.
We called into the Maestranza de Artillería.
The inside had vaulted ceilings and sand floors.
It was atmospheric.
We wondered what the security guards were protecting in this vast empty space? Also why were there fire extinguishers every ten metres when there was nothing combustible in the whole building?
We went for a coffee in the Meson de la Infanta. The owner/barman was rude, to the point of being ignorant. We had a coffee and left wishing that we'd taken refeshments somewhere else.
We got to the beautiful Gothic Cathedral. The largest in the world.
We did go inside but there was a service on. Part of the church was open so we got a feel of this huge space. It is amazing. We will spend more time here on our next visit.
This tower was also magnificent, it is called the Giralda.
Near the Cathedral is an area called Santa Cruz.
It is the old Jewish quarter.
The houses are very stylish. typically Spanish but perhaps they are more ornate than usual.
We ate some beautiful tapas in this bar.
We can recommend it if you are planning a visit.
Excellent quality and quite cheap for a big city.
Santa Cruz Calle's.
We enjoyed our walk around Santa Cruz.
We walked through some more parks back to the Parque Maria Luisa.
Here's the white Peacock.
They both flew down out of the trees. The white Peacock displayed but I only got a side on shot.
We got in the car and headed out of Sevilla towards the SE30 ring road.
We passed the Real Betis football stadium. It was match day and there were large crowds in green and white stripes.
We missed our turn off. Drove through Dos Hermanas (Two Sisters) it looks a very new satellite town of Sevilla. We soon got onto the A376 and headed home.
We stopped in a bar restaurante in Cortes de la Frontera for a drink.
The football was on the TV. The Real Betis fans were invading the pitch in celebration at the end of the game.
Back in Benarrabá a fan in Black and White stripes danced around the living room. We'd beaten Chelsea 1-0 and qualified for the Inter Toto cup.
We'd had a really good day out. We will certainly be going back to Sevilla. I will do a Sevilla page when time allows.
A beautiful sunny day.
I'm doing parts of yesterday's blog as I get chance.
We've been out for a final walk around the pueblo with Val.
We're taking her back to Málaga airport tonight.
Busy busy busy ...
A knock on the door.
It was Monica and her sister Claudia from Canada.
Monica lives in Benarrabá and Claudia enjoys the website.
Here are Claudia and Monica.
Claudia, Monica and Jane.
It was good to meet Claudia. We hope she enjoys the last days of her holiday and has a safe journey home.
We put Val's bags in the car and drove to Café Bar Guayacán to say goodbye to Yolanda, Caty, toni and Macarena.
We had a few "Montadito's" before we left. Montadito's are a slice of pork fillet cooked on a plancha (hot plate). They are served in a small white bread roll. They vary from bar to bar. In Guayacán the roll is toasted and a garnish of garlic and parsley is drizzled onto the pork. It is also served with a seasoned slice of tomato and a few olives.
They are great value at 75 cents / 50p.
We headed off to Málaga airport. The journey was uneventful, traffic was heavy close to the airport but we got there with lots of time to spare.
Parking is a problem until the huge new parking area is built. So we had to quickly drop off Val and say goodbye, before jumping into the car and heading home.
We called into Café Bar Guayacán to let Yolanda know we were back safely. (No surprise there then!)
Michael and Anne who are on holiday at their Gaucín residence were in there. We sat and relaxed with a cool beer and had a good chat.
Michael was on his third Montadito! Word of this fantastic tapas is spreading to the surrounding villages.
Yolanda borrowed our camera.
This is Macarena. She is quickly learning how to work behind the bar.
.
Lola the terrapin.
Here's one of me.
Another late night. Great fun as usual.
Jane and Caty are going to teach each other English/Spanish.
Also a trading night is planned. (Jane's idea). If anyone in the area wishes to sell items or sell livestock. They can come to the bar on the first Monday of each month after 6pm. Equally if you are looking for something you can come and spread the word.
A really hot day. The sun is beating down. What a wonderful place this is.
I've been for the bread.
We have new guests arriving this evening so the day will be spent cleaning and preparing the apartment for them.
The apartment cleaned and ready for Sharon, Robin and Luke.
We sat outside the 'Entrada' in the hot May sunshine and had a well deserved cool beer.
We watched this Hummingbird like bug feeding on nectar with a really long proboscis.
We've seen Hummingbird Hawk moths before, but never this clever little bug. It was a brilliant flier and checked each flower in turn.
We have no idea what it is called.
I also watched a male Booted Eagle being harassed by a group of Swifts. It was low near the apartment, the Swifts made it climb and climb until it disappeared from view.
Our guests have arrived safely.
We went for a walk. Tapas in Guayacán.
Yolanda and Caty had cooked an Albóndigas (meatballs) and potato stew. They kindly gave me a plateful.
We're addicted to their Montadito's.
We had a walk to the Restaurante Kábilas for a coffee.
We sat on the terrace in the late afternoon sun. Beautiful.
We walked through the village and sat with Salvador's mother for a while.
We are staying in tonight, hopefully there will be a good film on TV.
We've been out for a long walk with the dogs.
Just as we were leaving Carmen and Cristóbal gave us a plateful of fruits that look like yellow plums but taste like green apples and have three or four medium sized brown stones.
We took the dogs out into the campo.
This is the flower of the Prickly Pear cactus. A lot of Cacti and Succulents have striking vibrant flowers.
Jake our youngest Border Collie likes rolling on his back kicking his legs. He often does this on walks. He's a happy good natured dog.
We stopped at the rock. This pink Cystus Rock Rose was flowering nearby.
On the way home Jane spotted a Nuthatch nesting in a hole in this Cork Oak. There must be young inside as both parents were making feeding trips.
We'll go back without the dogs to get a better photograph.
Back home, we fed and watered the dogs. We decided to do the same down at Bar Barroso. We had palomitas and I also had a pigs cheek. Tasty tapas.
We called in to see Andrés Sánchez. Then walked to see Dami and Susanna.
Back home again. I had a chat with Sharon, Robin and Luke.
They are planning a trip to Gibraltar, I gave them a few tips.
We made a sausage, potato and mushroom stew cooked in white wine seasoned with lots of oregano and black pepper.
I watched Middlesbrough lose to Sevilla in the UEFA Cup Final.
A grey start to the day. The weather forecast said there was a 15% chance of rain and we've had a few drops. The clouds look strange with the strong sun lighting them from behind.
Jane's cleaning downstairs today.
I've been busy all afternoon on the laptop doing a Sevilla page.
There are a lot of photographs. Sorry if you have Dial-up.
Sevilla
I'm looking forward to tonight's testimonial match for Alan Shearer, it is on ITV4.
The clouds cleared and we had a beautiful afternoon.
We went for a walk. We met Richard, Trudi and Olive. Strangely for the second time, although none of us immediately realised that we'd met briefly before, about eighteen months ago.
Richard was carrying a copy of the 'Rough Guide to Andalucía' in which Bar Barroso gets a mention. They'd called into the bar about eighteen months ago and shown Antonia the entry in the book. Her daughter Toñi had briefly borrowed the book to photocopy the page. When Richard told us the story, we remembered that we'd been in the bar and witnessed all this.
Richard, Trudi and Olive love visiting Benarrabá and no doubt we'll meet again.
This is a photograph taken from just in front of the apartment at around 19:00h.
There was a bank of cloud o the coast side of the Sierra Bermeja. It was just spilling over the top.
We called into Café Bar Guayacán to see Yolanda and eat some tapas.
We didn't stay too long I wanted to watch the match.
Shearer's Testimonial match was a wonderful celebration. The capacity crowd gave him a fantastic reception.
We won the game 3-2. Shearer sealed the victory by coming on to score an injury time penalty. A perfect finish to the game, it couldn't have been more exciting and fitting if it had been scripted. Jane said that it had been ... sometimes she's so naive ...
A lovely warm sunny day.
We're going to go for a walk.
We were going to go for a walk but I got some amazing aerial photographs of Benarrabá sent to me by Auxi of Grupo Mangle.
So I've been working ... I've done a new aerial photo gallery on our Spanish website www.benarraba.com.
Aerial Photographs of Benarrabá
We went for a walk. This is the Sierra de Crestellina which to the South of Benarrabá down the Genal Valley.
This goat came to see us.
Later we walked to the Restaurante Kábilas.
Our friends Luis and Simon were playing Flamenco for a group of artists.
After the artists left for an early night. Luis and Simon gave an extra performance for Onno, Marion, Jane and myself as we sat at the bar having a drink together.
Here's Luis, he's a great guitar player.
At one point Simon, who usually only sings. Turned the guitar over and gave us a brilliant rhythmical drumming demonstration. Flicking and tapping with his fingers in fast Flamenco rhythms.
It was a good night. Later Simon joined us in Guayacán for a few vino tintos.
We've been living in Benarrabá for exactly two years today!
We celebrated by taking the dogs out for a long walk into the campo.
The weather was beautiful.
Here's Jane ... say no more!
We were out in the campo for around two and a half hours. It was quite warm.
We did get some good shots of the Nuthatch.
There are still lots of flowers everywhere.
Some are beginning to go to seed. Other are just starting to appear. Like this beautiful purple flower. I have no idea what it is called.
There are also a lot of butterflies. Not quite as easy to photograph as flowers but I managed to snap this one before it moved on.
Back home, we changed and went to Bar Barroso for tapas.
We also called in to Bar Andrés Sánchez and Pub Bar Dami.
We walked up through the pueblo to Café Bar Guayacán.
We had Paella and Russian salad.
Back home we watched the FA Cup Final. An excellent game for a neutral supporter. 3-3 with Liverpool winning the penalty shoot out.
I hate penalty shoot outs. There should be at least one replay.
Especially in the World Cup or European Championships.
Our guest's son Luke (9) put a note under the door asking if he could come with us if we were going to walk the dogs.
We took Luke and the dogs up the track by the side of the apartment into the campo.
He made friends with Jake.
I got an e-mail from Carol in Gibraltar who often writes.
The fruit I mentioned on Wednesday given to us by Carmen and Cristóbal are 'Loquat Fruit' and in Spanish 'Nisperos'.
They don't look very appetising but they taste really good.
You have to peel them and cut the bruised bits out. They seem to bruise easily.
They are organic, free and probably packed full of vitamin C so we're not complaining.
Carol also sent some advice to our guests who are planning a trip to Gibraltar.
"The weather is really horrible at the moment. We have a very strong levanter lingering over the Rock and it is damp and blustery. It is so much more worth a visit when the weather is nice and bright and sunny."
Thanks once again to Carol on Gibraltar. Hopefully on Monday the weather on the rock will have improved so Luke can see the apes.
We were planning to go to the Romería at Salitre. However it's a grey day and we've decided to stay in and get some work done.
Jane's cleaning and washing. I'm on the PC. We have to print and laminate some new business cards for property-in-the-sun.com and benarraba.com.
I'm hoping to watch the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona.
Big celebrations here in Spain for Alonso winning the Spanish GP.
We went to Café Bar Guayacán for tapas.
We met this family from Gibraltar.
We enjoyed our afternoon out.
In the evening we called into Bar Barroso.
There was a bullfight on the TV. We sat with Andrés Sánchez. Andrés tried to explain what was happening. Jane didn't watch.
This is Francisco Barroso. He's getting married on 1st July. He and his fiancee Almudena have given us an invitation to their wedding and the celebrations after.
We had an enjoyable evening.
Back home we started to watch a DVD 'There's something about Mary' starring Cameron Diaz but fell asleep before the end.
I'm up quite early. A mist rolled in during the night. Visibility isn't good.
The sun should soon burn it away.
Our guests Sharon, Robin and Luke are off to Gibraltar today.
The sun did indeed quickly burn through the mist but it stayed quite hot and sticky which is unusual for the mountains.
We went for a walk with the dogs. We saw a few Foxgloves. They seem to be later this year.
The dogs love a long walk.
Even after a few miles in the hot sun, they still have the energy to chase and fetch sticks.
This unusual flower has just appeared. We'll try to find out it's name.
Back from our walk we went to see Seraphim to buy some cork oak planters.
Cristóbal was looking for us to go out into the campo to see a Robin's nest he'd found. We went for a long drive down to the Rio Genal just before dusk.
These fields near the Rio were very spectacular. Along the trails the yellow flowers are being replaced by blues, purples and reds.
Not here down in the bottom of the Valle de Genal.
We were taken down a bank near an old Olive mill (molino) and there was indeed a Robin's nest. Unfortunately there was only one chick left from the four Cristóbal had told us about.
You can make out a wing. The beak is yellow towards the left of the photo.
We watched a while to see the parents return to the nest.
We hope we didn't disturb them too much.
