Anyway...

As I was saying..Smart phones have a lot to answer for!

For example, I was leaving work the other evening and as I walked down to my car, I had the most sensational view of the castle, here in Alcala la Real. And so I took out my phone and took a photo of it. And it was up on Facebook before I got home. Pretty impressive, really.

(Here it is, if you missed it on Facebook!) Isn't that inky sky just glorious?

And having almost a week's holiday in the UK with my sister and my parents was made to feel less of a distance from my own family when my daughter sent me this (completely unrecognisable) photo of herself, out on Halloween.

I guess it must be her,,, there aren't too many Romys around.






It was also good to be able to ask her which jumper she liked best by sending her an immediate Whatsapp message to avoid making a dreadful fashion mistake...


This one...

or this one...

(She answered but I bought both anyway and she was happy.)

I had a lovely time in the UK but before I get on to that, which I probably will, let me just share a little lesser known corner of Spain that Mateo and I discovered recently.

Ruy had an Archery competition near La Carolina, which is about an hour and a half's drive north of here, heading to the mountains that delineate the beginning or the end of Andalucia (depending on which way you're travelling.) These mountains, or rather one of the main passes that takes you through the Sierra Morena, is called Despeñaperros - translated quite literally as 'dogs tumble or fall from a high cliff' or (as I rather cynically think as it's not a reflexive verb, ie. the dogs don't do it to themselves)... 'dogs are tumbled or made to fall'. It is a spectacular place with national park status, incredible flora and fauna and an impressive number of soaring vultures usually on display. We almost always stop there on our journeys to the north of Spain. But is it awful of me to think that a place with a this great gorge and such a name might well have earned that name at some point in the past?  Was it not the place people threw away their dogs? I wish them all well, the dogs,whenever we go and we never, ever let ours out at this point unless he's safely on a lead!

Anyway...(I had a feeling this would be a rambly one right from the start!)..after a very early start, Ruy, Mateo and I had a lovely drive up to La Carolina in my smart and sassy little new car. Having reached the town without incident, we then had a rather traumatic 3kms to the archery site where I was convinced I had scraped something vital off the bottom of the car as we navigated, at a snail's pace, the rough and potholed track to the hosting finca. I was almost in tears but we did manage to keep going and nothing seemed to be leaking out or falling off, so after seeing the archers off on their first round, Mateo and I headed off for our own little adventure deep in the mountains of the Sierra Morena.

It took us an hour or so to go the next 30kms - which is slow going, believe me - but we firstly turned off the motorway at Despeñaperros and turned right, instead of the usual left, heading for the strangely named village of Aldeaquemada - Burnt Village. It was 'only' 23 kms....of hairpin bends going up, up, up and ever upwards. Obviously, we eventually started the same process only this time going down. Before we left, I had seen that there were some waterfalls near the village that were supposedly worth a turn of the head and I thought Mateo would like to visit them with me - and I was suitably impressed that he agreed, even though it meant getting out of bed before midday on a Sunday...7 hours before midday. He did say, 'where are you taking me?' at one point but I had lost the plot myself and was just wildly changing gear between 1st and 2nd and hoping that we would arrive somewhere...anywhere..soon! Which of course, we eventually did...Aldeaquemada. It didn't look burnt but heaven knows how the population survived there. I half suspected that there was a backway from another town that probably only took 8 minutes and where you would be able to find shops and bars and possibly even a petrol station....However, it's not. I took the following from its website (translated with the help of Google as I couldn't really believe what I was reading!) and it doesn't do much to encourage a visit..

• Its climate is humid, prone to inertia, quartan fever, dropsy and soreness of the ribs. The prevailing winds are from the west and north and the population has 60 houses of common construction, 6 short streets leading to a square; a granary, a church, a cemetery, served by a priest; a primary school, equipped by parents of students, and an insignificant amount of 'their own; (Google couldn't help me with this but it made me shudder a little); a town hall, a jail, a butchers, an abattoir and an inn at the entrance of the village, built by the government. 
• There are 357 inhabitants... which by my reckoning means almost 6 people per house! 

Anyway, after our first wrong turn as we entered the village, we saw the lot and before we were spotted by any locals and encouraged to stay and experience any dropsy and quantan fever-filled hospitality, we sped off down an unmade track, grinding my poor new car's bottom along as we went, towards my intended destination.

The waterfalls of Cimbarra. 

We had mentally prepared ourselves for slight disappointment as we were coming to the end of a long, very hot and very dry summer. We knew that cascades of water were not just unlikely but out of the question. But we were blown away by the place, even without a dribble.

It was silent. It was vast. It was just mindblowingly beautiful. I posted these on Facebook, but I share them again here on the basis that you just can't get too much of a good thing!

Look at the amazing rock formations in the distance!

And close up!

We couldn't be sure but it looked as though at one time, there had been some sort of mill here. 

Which would explain the millstones...but we were miles from anywhere....most strange.

Fascinating rock strata

And then, the pool of unfathomable depth where, in spring, the waterfall splashes down.

You can see where the water will travel and that we very nearly had a trickle as it had rained earlier in the week.

There is a little water in those top hollows...

A zoom in to the cave behind where the water falls

 And a clip that I filmed as we first arrived and enjoyed the silence and the landscape.

Anyway...we eventually tore ourselves away, hairpinned our way back to civilisation for a leisurely sandwich and coffee - not in Aldeaquemada, I hasten to add - before heading back in good time to wait for Ruy. As always, I hoped he might beat his rival, national champion, Alberto just this once...but as we arrived, I got a phone call from Ruy asking me to come and get him as soon as possible as he'd sliced his finger open with a broken arrow and couldn't continue. So I did...but I didn't drive the last 300m in my poor battered old car. This was on the basis that if I needed to get him to hospital, then I needed the car in one piece. As it happened, the wound was clean, if deep, and not bleeding too much and we decided that a mad dash to A&E wasn't necessary. And it's now healed completely.

And whilst I was in the UK, as well as new pens for tanglin, I picked up a most horrendous cold which only really emerged when I got home. I ended up in bed the last three days and even now, the desk is littered with snotty tissues. Aren't colds just the pits!

When my sister picked me up from the airport, she whisked me immediately off to see a chiropractor that she has started to visit. He specialises in neurology and brain function and has done amazing things to help my sister's foot problems. I don't have time here to explain it all but I am going to do a post on my experience with Anthony soon. I need to keep practising my exercises first though. It's all very unusual!

Just before we went in to see Anthony, my sister warned me that my dad had had a very nasty fit two days earlier and she had thought he wouldn't survive. But he has and I found him remarkably well under the circumstances. I am not entirely sure he is ever absolutely sure that it's me that's visiting. I arrived about 10 minutes before my mum's friend usually comes to play dominoes and he assumed I was her. The idea of dominoes was obviously rather more exciting than my presence because he sounded a bit disappointed....but unfortunately, that is how his life is now. My mother is quite incredible and manages as much as she can with sometimes wicked good humour and acceptance as long as my dad is also good humoured and easy-going. But when he occasionally has bouts of anger or depression, I know she finds it all very difficult. Not being nearer, it is too simple for me to forget how complex it is for my sister....

Anyway, whilst I was in the UK, I met up with Janice! Yes, she was in the UK at the same time - which is very nearly a first for about four years when I saw her in Huddersfield after her treatment and we had a really special hug that I will never forget. We met for lunch in a cool new dining place in Knutsford, where we indulged in sausage and mash but never took a single photo. Not of ourselves, each other, the place, our food...not on our erratic drive back to my sister's, not when we were there, not in the rain or the sun...Janice! We didn't take a photo!! But it was so good to have a few hours to chat and enjoy your company. And you were, as always, looking super chic! I did love that jacket!

I went out again that evening and ate really well in a very lovely pub in the unlikely-named village of Grappenhall. I say unlikely-named but I have checked it out and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is also the birthplace of Tim Curry and is where pianist Stephen Hough grew up.  The carving in the church there is said to be the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat... all of which is slightly more interesting than Aldeaquemada had to say for itself. (I still don't know why it's called that either!)

Anyway, I have rabbited on far too long and far too much and avoided doing any housework this morning. I will be out teaching all afternoon and need to go and prepare for this. I will leave you with the threat that there may be more to follow. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed just blathering on! I never even mentioned the Anderton Boat Lift, musical fireworks, Scrabble, Chester, sculpture, what got packed and what was left behind ...plus what was taken away, vis....there's lots more!

(Proofreading....sorry, no time!)

Axxx

Summer coming to an end...

(Bit of a timelapse from starting to finishing this post - with a change of focus part way through too. )


A couple of hours weeks ago, I rather tearfully waved my lot off to Valladolid. The tears were a bit of a surprise. I usually look forward to a little bit of 'just me' time as I get precious little of it and there are always so many things that I want to do....if only I had some 'me time'!

Anyway, they've gone and the plan was that FR would return in a couple of days, leaving the children with their grandparents for a week or so. We've been planning this all summer, but the weather throughout Spain has been so incredibly hot since the end of June that they were better here where at least we have a pool and a relatively cool house (though even the house has soaked up so much sun and heat that we don't feel that lovely sense of chill when we walk in now.) It has been the most draining summer we've had so far - the early heat waves of June and July have passed, but now we're in the heat of August. Today is the first day the temperatures haven't been in the high 30s (C) and I think we're in for a little respite during the next few days.

I paused a while after the last sentence - dog to walk, chickens to check, feed and water, pool to clean and so on - and got the call to say everyone had safely arrived but that Yayo (Grandfather) has been taken into hospital and not likely to be out for several days. Bladder and kidney problems that sound quite severe....not what we hoped to hear. So, the interim plan changed, and FR would stay a day or so longer to see how things go and then probably return with Ruy and Romy. Mateo will probably stay a bit to help, see his cousin and have a bit of freedom, returning on the bus to Granada, which is a bit of an adventure in itself! Fingers crossed for a good recovery.

And in the meantime, I was rather withdrawn, declining invites to flamenco and fireworks parties...just feeling the need to have a bit of time alone. I am usually outgoing and sociable but I do quite like my own company, sometimes in preference to bigger groups. I've been pottering, walking, sewing and drawing.

I had five days of this rather welcome solitude and made several lovely cushions for my sofas in the lounge, did lots of painting and drawing and tidied the house from top to bottom. Glad to see them back of course - and a strange week we had without Mateo too! How the dynamics of a family change when one of us is missing. Ruy and Romy seemed to squabble and laugh and play and had their moments pretty much as usual but Ruy missed having Mateo around and the house was definitely quieter and lacked its often manic edge. I now know exactly where that comes from!

Mateo had a good week with his cousin, Marco and grandmother, Amelia, and managed to arrived back safely on the bus on Tuesday evening. The rest of us had had a beautiful afternoon on the beach at our new favourite spot near Calahonda in Granada and stopped at the bus station on our way home to meet Mateo. He seemed somehow to have grown and relaxed after a week on his own but said he had only really missed Pippin....

But the news has not been good from the hospital. Yayo, my father-in-law and my godfather, continued to have lots of tests and we now know that he has a cancer. And it's an aggressive one in his oesophagus. His kidneys are not functioning properly still but he has been sent home. FR has just returned to his parents' home on the bus and tomorrow, he will go with them and his brother to speak to the doctors to find out what, if any treatment, is recommended and what decision FR's father will take.

It's a lot to take in and brings the summer holidays to an end in a very sad way. I leave this post with a beautiful photo that Romy took as the sun went down at the beach earlier this week.
Because I don't really know what else to say.

The brave and the good - Part Two. El Torcal...in the rain!

After the fascinating visit to the Dolmens in Antequera, we reboarded our bus and set off up into the hills and mountains to the south.
As we began to climb the winding road, it was rather like being in the north of Spain - Asturias - where the weather is often damp, the countryside very green, the hills very steep and the roads exceedingly bendy.

And as often happens in Asturias, we drove into a cloud. A thick, wet, dense cloud. This wasn't what we'd ordered for the day but Juan Carlos kept us in a cheery mood by telling us what we couldn't see to our left...and here is a photo I found on the web to share with you.

El Tornillo de Torcal



This is one of the more extreme examples of the rocks in the area. Originally under the sea, the landscape is now visible as layer upon layer of rock - some of which have worn away over the millenia into these strange shapes. The meaning of this rock's name is the 'Screw' of El Torcal - and you can see why it has this name. However, we couldn't see it.

We drove up to the Visitor Centre and the car park and were quite amazed to see it busy despite the weather. It's a very exposed place and I can imagine that not many people will visit in the height of the summer when the sun is very fierce but there was a bigger turnout than expected for such a foul day!

The good news was that there was a bar at the Visitor Centre so we were assured of a coffee after the walk...I hadn't had time to have one before we set off and was a bit worried about where I might get my fix. I am, I confess, addicted to coffee. Especially that first one in the morning.

A few not so brave souls decided to give the walk a miss...the stones were unbelievably slippery and the mud in between was both slippy and sticky. (FR gave it a miss and settled down with an Edward Bond script and a coffee in the bar area.) Another young couple had decided to buy themselves matching rain jackets in the visitor's shop and this delayed them for so long (can't understand why - there was only one type and it was blue....that's what they bought in the end) that they missed our party's departure. FR witness the argument that ensued between them afterwards but I'm glad to say they were friends again by the time we returned.

SO, the brave and the good from Alcala la Real set off on the 'Easy Route' around El Torcal.

Big broody rocks..

One of the brave and the good

Muddy paths and grey skies

Love this matching couple, not the two who were left behind, but a retired couple
who were definitely very brave and who stuck together and avoided any accidents on the
treacherous stones, literally sticking to the mud - and with mud sticking to them!

Brave AND good - and you can't see the amount of mud that covered the back of
her legs and trainers...

These were just the rocks we could see...I have no idea how far this landscape extended!

Our noble guide, sense of humour intact, informing us of what lay behind the screen of fog...

Mateo named these 'The Cliffs of Insanity' ..if you know
'The Princess Bride', you'll get the reference.

 

I love this picture because it adds a brightness to the landscape. My camera was definitely pleased to be able to pick out some cheer - it seems to have really emphasised what colour there was!

The brave, huddling beneath more looming rocks.

I have absolutely no idea how long the 'Easy Route' took us but I remember seeing a signpost that said that the Visitor Centre was 600 metres away and I did feel rather relieved. But that last 600m seemed an incredibly long way!!

But we all made it back safely and without incident or accident and there was quite a sense of elation to it all.

And then I had my well-deserved cup of coffee. I'd been brave and it was good.

There's more to follow! Part Three sees us setting off again, in search of flamingoes and paella...

The brave and the good set forth...Part one. The Dolmens of Antequera.

This will be a blog post in three parts. I have lots of photos and want to share the whole adventure with you but there's a lot to take in in one go!

A friend of ours runs an eco-tourism business. He's incredibly knowledgeable about nature, wildlife and birds and his guided tours combine education and information with photography, walking and birds. (Do check out the website - all the photos are by Juan Carlos - he's an incredible wildlife photographer!)
He often takes the school children on local rambles and they return with plants and notes and full of enthusiasm. Romy is really good friends with his son - they love playing together and Romy often spends weekends with the family even though she's now at another school.

I got a message last week from his wife to say that there would be a day trip to El Torcal near Antequera, which is inland Malaga. This is a natural park, formed by incredible rocks which rose up from the seabed many millions of years ago and which have eroded into weird and wonderful shapes, and showing the many distinct layers that went into creating them. Mateo went on a school trip there a few years ago and was deeply impressed, so we decided we should take the opportunity for a guided tour and go all together.

I booked our 5 seats and we made sure all homework and tasks were completed on Saturday and the packed lunches were made and ready to take - we had an early start on Sunday morning.

The weather forecast was poor...without doubt we were going to get some rain, but we were prepared for that and the trip set off in good spirits (- but without our guide's children and wife...by the time Tere had told everyone about the trip, she discovered all the seats were booked and there was no space left for her and the children! However, they'd been many times before so it wasn't the end of the world.)

Our first stop was to view some Dolmens, which were located just outside Antequera...next to an industrial estate, actually. Apparently, until around 10 years ago, these incredible relics were just part of the landscape, unmanaged or monitored and people could access them however and whenever they wanted. Now, there's a car park, the area is fenced and kept natural and there's a good visitor centre where you can see an informative video about how the Dolmens were possibly built. And then, you can actually go into them!
Despite being open to all and sundry all this time, there was no graffiti or obvious vandalism anywhere at all - apart from a few crosses carved into the entrance of one of them - but these had possibly been there for a good thousand years or so...

The first, discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, around 4000 years after its creation, faces east as is customary for dolmens. It's a long corridor-shaped dolmen with a small chamber at one end. Twice a year, at the Summer and Winter Solstice, the sun shines directly along this corridor to reach the chamber at the end. The stones, despite their huge size, fit carefully together...goodness knows how this was achieved.

Surrounded by wild flowers.

The second dolmen we visited, known as the Dolmen of Menga, is actually considered to be the largest structure of its type in Europe and is definitely impressive.

When it was discovered in the 19th century, many hundreds of skeletons were discovered inside.



What makes this more interesting is that instead of facing east, as dolmens usually do, it faces directly towards a most fascinating geological feature of the landscape. Check out the photo below and then look at the closer version that I managed to get..as the clouds and the rain began to close in on us!

Observe the large mountain in the middle of the photo - then look at it again in the next photo....

Does it not look rather like someone's profile? Mother Earth asleep, perhaps?

Well, this is probably what the ancient people thought - I could be convinced myself. It is incredible, although the more common name is 'El Indio' nowadays, as it does look rather like some American Indian Chief on the horizon.

Entrance to the Dolmen...big stones!

Inside - 25 metres long.

More big stones....

The well was discovered some years ago and although it's not know whether the prehistoric people knew about it, it was clearly used, as there are footholds carved into the sides. The well is the same depth as the dolmen is long....is this a coincidence??

View of Mother Earth rock from the entrance. 

 And as we emerged from the tomb, it began to rain....

The flowers smelt amazing

Umbrellas went up - the skies darkened.

And were delightful to look at.

 And we climbed back onto our bus.......more in Part Two!!

Sierra Nevada Sunday.

The children have had two days off school - Friday and Monday - so an extra-long weekend has been enjoyed. Because the summer holiday is so long, there are no half-terms to break up the school year - it can make each trimester seem quite exhausting, so we were all glad of a few days without the early rise and the demands of school life.

Friday was a wallowy sort of day - I don't think Mateo got up until lunch was ready (and considering we eat around 3pm, that's LATE!) - although I was busy making chocolates for Saturday's stall. Ruy and Romy reverted to children who play together, which always makes me happy, even though it happens a little less as they grow up. Saturday was Christmas Market day and a return home to a delicious lunch made by FR whilst we were away. And then we all sat down in the afternoon to watch a movie together - Ruy's choice - Men in Black 4. Daft, funny and about right for how we all felt.

Sunday, we had decided to go sledging in the Sierra Nevada. About three weeks ago, my beloved mountains had turned white again with the first snowfall of the new season. However, for the subsequent three weeks, we've had nothing but bright sunshine every day and I did think the white of the peaks looked a little less white as we were returning from the market on Saturday - surely there'd be snow still?

Sunny, sunny day

The day dawned very frosty but the sun soon came out - as usual - and it seemed strange to be packing sledges into the back of the car, along with extra clothing, boots and hot chocolate, rather than beach gear!

We had to leave an ever-hopeful Darwin behind this year. We don't yet have a seat belt for him and it's law that dogs are restrained in cars or that they travel in cages....he did so want to come!

Bright, bright blue skies at home - would we find snow?

(We had a Plan B...no snow, we'd head for the coast! Win, win.)

Poor Darwin...bye Darwin....

As we climbed up and up the road to Pradollano, the main ski resort in Granada, there was a distinct lack of the white stuff.....

And then we got a little glimpse ...

Enough to get out and have a mini snowball fight....














Although even at 2500m high there was not that much snow to get very excited about....

But where there's a will, there's a way

And we weren't alone in enjoying the smattering of snow that was on the mountain sides...

Romy and Mateo making a joint descent

Can't decide whether it's an optical illusion, but Mateo looks to have his hands in his pockets...

All three trekking back for yet another run. Yes, I did have a go - no one thought to capture it on camera (thank goodness!)

Romy took this photo of the moon, which had been steadily rising as the afternoon went on....

And she took this great shot of the sun and the snow....

FR and his apres-sledge sandwich - enjoying the spectacular views

After we'd eaten our sandwiches and indulged in some more of my rather good hot chocolate - perfect setting to drink it - we decided to take the scenic route home via Guejar Sierra, which was on the north side of the valley, facing the Sierra Nevada. It was a very narrow road and felt very different to the south side of the mountain - obviously much colder due to the lack of sunshine, but different trees, including lots of apple orchards. The children kept saying it smelt like England - I think it was the dampness....

Reaching Guejar Sierra, we found this lovely family shop, run by a sweet old lady and her very cantankerous husband. I'd asked if it was OK to take some photos and she'd said yes, but the old man was very cross to hear my clicking and shouted at her! Oops....glad I asked her and not him!

We bought some delicious apples, which I guess came from some of the orchards we'd seen.

There were also lots of walnuts that sent FR into ecstasy - so we bought some of those too.

I was delighted to find such a lovely place - they had a bit of all sorts on offer, much of it from their own land. It wasn't cheap but you could taste the goodness.

I had some big onions too - I love onions!!

View of the not very snowy Sierra from where we stopped to take a nice hot coffee before heading off home as the sun set.

It was dark, but not late when we arrived home, still glowing from the sun and the snow. Darwin was delighted to see us again. I had a moment's reflection on how nice it was to be out altogether for the first time in a while - I do hope we do it again sometime soon.  It's a fine balance as to when to go again - if it snows a lot, then we will need chains on the car to be allowed to go up the mountain, which we don't have - and if it doesn't snow again soon, there'll be no snow to sledge on! 

I wonder if we'll have much snow in Villalobos? We have some nice slopes nearby that we could enjoy very easily if we do...