¡San Juan!

Although it was John the Baptist's "official day" on Tuesday 24th, it was celebrated here on Saturday in order to enable people to get to the village for the celebration from the cities. There was the customary service in the ermita de San Juan, (opposite our house), at midday during which Margaret read a short prayer, in Spanish, along with 5 other congregants.

Click left on any picture to see it full size.

After the service it was back to our house with friends from the peña we belong to for a meal in the bodega...

...and it was my favourite dish of paella.

In the evening the "group" arrived and we had dancing in the street in front of our house - not quite Glastonbury but it was a perfect evening and there were free drinks, Cava and soft drinks, and cakes and pastries being served. Can you spot Margaret in this photo?


The "group" used electricity from our house and positioned themselves just in front of the heap of pebbles which hadn't found their way onto the garden around the trees yet - more on that topic soon. Watch this space!


As the sun got lower in the west, the ermita became a lovely golden colour. (Margaret is on the right hand edge of this photo.)


After the dancing it was back to our bodega for ham, carved here by Pablo, and bread with tomatoes rubbed on along with cheeses, olives and crisps as well as plenty to drink until the early hours.

Well at least they seem to be enjoying it!

It's quiet here, but...

It's quiet here, (apart from during the summer when everyone visits,) but this last weekend we have had a wedding on the Saturday, and on Sunday, a baptism, a funeral and a recital by 3 local "brass bands". The wedding and baptism were both held in the ermita directly opposite our house which is only used normally about twice during the year.

Click left on any picture for the full size view.

The tradition with the wedding party is for everyone, including the bride and groom, to walk up from the village to the ermita which is a steady incline on a rather uneven rough road - not easy in high heels so I am told. It's rather like Christ's last outing to be crucified only all the bride has to carry here is a bunch of roses.



On Sunday evening we had "brass bands" from 3 local villages to play in the Plaza Mayor.


The young flautist above is Lilian, the 11 year old son of our good friends Georges and Annie who are French and live in the village.

There was a most appreciative audience of a few hundred and the young musicians gave the performance all they'd got which made the 3 conductors feel deservedly proud. Lilian is in the centre of this photo too!

It's holiday time again!

This year we decided to take 2 overnight stops on the way down and another 2 on the the way back from our timeshare week on the Costa del Sol at Calahonda. So, on Thursday morning we set off with our 2 cats and dog plus suitcases to drop the pets off at their kennels / cattery near Tortosa and made our way down the coast to our first overnight hotel which I had booked in Benidorm.

Click left on any photo for the full size image.

As you can see from the photo Benidorm is still being built but it has a very good selection of hotels.

The next day, Friday, we had an easy drive to the Parador at Puerto de Lumbreras. Despite being called "Puerto" it is 33 kms from the sea. So we have crossed yet another Parador off the list, hardly one of the best we have visited but the food was good.


Saturday, and we arrived at our apartment for the week. The weather was generally fine, it was quite warm but not as hot as it has been on previous visits due mainly to a strong wind blowing along the coast. However, quite a few brave Brits managed to sunbathe around the pool.

Below is the traditional photo of "Margaret in the window". I have taken this photo each time we have visited over the last 20 years - must put them together for comparison one day!



Having said that, I have sorted out 2 photos - the one on the left from May 1990 and the one on the right from May 1991. Although we bought our "week" in 1987 and we went there the following year, we stayed in a larger apartment as we took my mother - that was a week to remember! The following year, 1989, we exchanged and had a week in the Algarve, so the first time we stayed in "our" apartment was 1990 and we have been back several times since. You can see from the photos how the fig tree has grown. Say no more.

The gardens are always well tended. I bought this hat from the market in Fuengirola last year, it's Australian. This year the same guy was there selling them and I bought another style and yes, it is made from kangaroo leather.


On Wednesday we visited the village of Mijas where there is a flamenco display at noon.


After our week we stayed on the Saturday night at an hotel near Cordoba which had great views of the typical Andalucian countryside.


Our last night was in the small town of Almansa which had it's 4th century castle open for tourists on Sunday afternoon.


On Monday it was an easy drive up the coast to collect the pets from their holiday and then home after a thoroughy enjoyable break