IX Marcha for Caminos

If you go back to the first entry of this blog in April 2007, it was the VII Marcha por Caminos de Torre del Compte. At this time last year, you can see details of the VIII Marcha. This year we have just had a holiday for St George's day, on Thursday, and this was followed by a "puente" or "bridging day", a holiday on Friday, to make it a long weekend.

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The weather has been changeable, sunny and very warm recently but today has been cold, generally overcast and windy, fine for walking but a bit chilly for the meal outside in the Plaza Mayor.


The walk was approximately 16 kms and took in the area to the north and east of the village...

...with some great views over the countryside.

The meal was the traditional fideuá, (similar to paella with seafood and pieces of rabbit and chicken but with pasta instead of rice) and was cooked in the usual way in the Plaza.


It was the only time over 380 people made so little sound!

And so with this weekend with 2 extra days holiday behind us, we now have to wait for the next long weekend until next weekend with Friday, 1st May being a public holiday.

Irises and pansies

We brought the Iris tubers with us from England, they have been in the ground for around 3 years now and this is their best flowering season so far. They are a slightly different colour to the irises which grow around Torre del Compte.

Click left on any picture to see it full size.

The winter pansies in the tubs are still flowering their hearts out - we are seeing how long they can last.

Couldn't resist including this picture of the ermita de San Juan as seen from our garden with almond trees in the foreground and the foliage of an olive tree to the right. This years crop of almonds promises to be a good one.

Easter Monday BBQ

In the morning, 3 of us went into Alcañiz and met 4 others to do the shopping for the BBQ. At 13.30 we all set off to the site for the BBQ, just outside the village of Arnes which is 24 kms away from Torre del Compte. It is the first village you come to in the Tarragona district of Cataluña and at this point the river Algars marks the division between the 2 provinces.

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There was plenty of water in the river as we have had quite a lot of rain recently.



In fact, there is quite a lot of water around Arnes as it is at the foot of the mountain range known as Els Ports which is between us and the Mediterranean.


The garden area, where we were having the BBQ, even had it's own stream which was most useful for washing the cooked peppers. See last years Easter Monday BBQ to see what we had to eat - it's traditional to have the same.


The meat is cooked by the men and this year it was cooked on the purpose built BBQ.

It was a glorious afternoon as we sat down to eat.

One great thing about eating outside at this time of year is that you don't have to compete with flying insects.

The meal took place under a large cherry tree which was in full blossom.

After the meal the traditional walk took in the local ermita...

...and, of course, the river...

...as well as the site of the old laundry for the village...

...the river water was very clean.

Everyone, including Rasky the dog, had a great time.

It's Easter weekend so it must be snowing!

We were into Spring last weekend for Margaret's party but this weekend, it's Easter, therefore, it was no surprise this morning when the rain turned to sleet, (but didn't lie here). However, as you can see, there is snow on the nearby mountains - very picturesque now the sun is out.

It's Margaret's fiesta!

It was a very important birthday for Margaret so we had planned a party for Saturday, 4th April. Around 30 of our friends were able to come for a meal which we held in our bodega. We cooked 2 legs of lamb, which the butcher had boned, filled with Margaret's stuffing, a very large boneless stuffed chicken joint, a speciality of our butcher, and a whole salmon. Everyone brought a dish either to go with the main course or a desert, so there was lots of food, in addition to lovely presents for Margaret.

Click on the photo for a larger image.

Hona looked on from the terrace above. She would love to join in but she is too friendly and wants to jump up.


The meal got underway and at the same time the Grand National was taking place at Aintree so we had organised a sweepstake.


Attention focused on the TV during the race and also later for the DVD of the entertainment at the Santa Agueda celebrations. If you missed "The Doctor's" sketch on YouTube, click HERE.


After the meal it was time for the table tennis, darts and pool tournaments.


I am pleased to report that I reached the final in all 3 games and won the table tennis, just losing to Juan Miguel in a close game of pool and Jasa, who, with the scores virtually even at 56, scored a bullseye and a 6 with his next 2 darts.

The 3 champions!

Photos by Floyd and Raquel.