Along the camino...

After 4 days of continuous rain we finally have the blue sky with a few clouds and sun back.

However, the trees and land covered in grasses and wild flowers have never been so prolific.

They have really benefited from the bad weather.

And thistles are abundant too!

The XIII Marcha por Caminos

You can't expect good weather every year for this event. It often rains in April; it's good for the trees and other plants and helps them through the long, hot, dry summer months. However, when I looked out of the window this morning at 8.00am it wasn't raining, it was snowing! And the people who did the walk today said that they were walking through snow as well as lots of mud. 

Just walking to the Polideportivo, the new village Sports Hall, we got covered in mud. The Polideportivo is just as unfinished as it was last year by the way.

However, today was not just about the walk. It was also about the meal at the end of the walk even if you didn't do it.

Margaret provided a delicious mozzarella, ham, tomato and cucumber salad which went allong with the...

...fiduea which was provided by the same company who cook for hundreds of people at these occasions every year...

...and which was followed by a trifle from Joy.

Although there weren't actually hundreds of people, there must have been at least one hundred. And everyone enjoyed it despite the weather!

Up the camino.

In the last 2 weeks the fields, once full of the very pretty white flowering weed, have turned into fields full of grasses and poppies.

The main problem with a poppy with its very thin stalk, is that it blows around while you are trying to photograph it.

On the other hand, old doorways stay still.

But the grasses and the poppies make for a good photo.

Friends from the U.K. and the U.S.A.

We have friends from the U.K. and the U.S.A. and the "meal" today is tapas.
 

From patatas bravas through to pulpo en tinto and more, finished off with tarta de almendra, it all went down well.

A wedding - Una boda

Today, at midday, was the wedding of our good friend Maria to Nicholas. 

Maria's friends arrive for the occasion...

...and that includes us.

After the official ceremony, there is the meal at a local restaurant...

...which obviously involves a lot of food and drink and of course the wedding cake.

The couple have very cleverly chosen this weekend, which is an extended weekend, (Friday to Wednesday), so they can celebrate together. Excellent!

Rosi's Rancho

"Rancho" is a traditional dish consisting mainly of animal bones from rabbits and pigs with a little meat on them .
 

Today, we had the added protein of snails.

This is served with rice a la paella,...

...salad...

...and, of course, a few good bottles of wine.

Once again, delicious!

Vinaròs camino

The walk along the seafront camino at Vinaròs is just so different from a walk in the country...

...and at this time of year, there are plenty of colourful spring flowers.

On the other side of the camino is the sea.

It is so calm and peaceful!