The fiesta at La Pobleta D'Alcolea

Because it was the 1st May, it was a national holiday and that means fiestas taking place in many villages. We had been invited to La Pobleta D'Alcolea which is 45 kms away by our Spanish teacher Beatrice, 7 months pregnant, and her husband Miguel. Miguel is the baker in their village nearby and they were arranging the catering for this fiesta.

Click on any picture for a larger view.

First was the mass in the church in the village at 12.30 pm then a parade up the highest hill for blessings by the priest and a piece of "bread" which had been made by 25 women helpers at Miguel's bakery.


On the top of this hill we were at just over 1000 metres, there is a wind farm nearby - we could see why!


After the service up the hill it's back down to the village hall, the old school, for a snack for about 200 people. There are only 5 people living in the village these days but it is a very popular fiesta.


When all the food has been devoured people depart leaving around 40 or so close friends and family and the "proper" meal is prepared. Chops and cutlets of 2½ lambs are barbequed which are eaten with bread and salads.


This is then followed by fruit and pastries, special hot brandy and coffee.


On the way back we stop to take a photo of our village - people who have visited us will be able to identify our house.

Click on this photo for a full size view.

And if that wasn't enough, the local flock wanders past us next to a field of poppies. I'm glad I had my camera!

VIII Marcha por Caminos

Yes, it's that time of the year again when the hiking boots and walking sticks come out for the village walk. This year Margaret had managed to get out of the walk itself by volunteering to make bocadillos at the 2nd checkpoint. We all assembled in the Plaza Mayor around 8.30am for chocolate and a drink and then set off on the 15 km walk.

Photo from Floyd - click on any image for a bigger view.

Once again, the views along the walk were wonderful. Below is the old railway bridge across the river with the village of La Fresneda in the background. It was around here that I heard the first cuckoo of the year.

Thankfully, this year the going was dry and if anything, the route kept more to the caminos, rough tracks, for most of the time rather than cutting through the undergrowth and up and down steep rock faces.



The route was also very clearly marked, which was just as well as the majority of walkers were behind me and those in front had disappeared into the distance.

Floyd's photo

At the first checkpoint we had water and a bag of almonds and at the 2nd checkpoint, above, we were given a bocadillo with tomato spead, chorizo, sausage, or jamon. At the 3rd checkpoint it was an apple and / or orange and then a 4th checkpoint appeared further along the route for a drink and a chocolate Easter rabbit - obviously someone had a surplus somewhere to get rid of.

Floyd's photo

After a shower and a change back home it was time for lunch in the Plaza.

Floyd's photo

It was the local dish of white bean stew with pig's trotters and black sausage cooked in a very large cauldron on an open wood fire on site.


Everyone sat in their groups and some groups were very prepared with salads before the meal. Our group however, concentrated more on the postres after the meal with plenty of drink to wash it all down which was very typical.


All this, as well as a gift for completing the walk which this year was a hikers waterproof, for €12. Remember, this isn't the U.K. and people didn't do this walk because they were sponsored and were raising money for charity. They did it as a social event.

I can hardly wait for next year!

Easter Monday BBQ

Traditionally, the Easter Monday BBQ is held at Rosi and Pablo's farmhouse which is situated 15 minutes away along the river valley. However, we have been having a strong, cold wind for the last few days, so it was agreed that it would be better in our bodega.

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We all went shopping in the morning for the meat, fish, bread and vegetables and prepared them when we returned. Pablo and Manolo cooked the artichokes, alcachofas, which we ate after the first course of ham, prawns, olives and cheese.


The lamb cutlets and chops, chuletas y costillas, were served with a mixture of roasted red peppers, pimientos rojo, and aubergines, berenjenas...


...followed by a variety of cakes and pastries, delicious!

La Fresneda antiques.

La Fresneda is the nearest village to us and it was full of people from all over on Saturday for the antique market.

Click left on any image to enlarge it.

There was a very wide range range of antiques...



...as well as local tradesmen exhibiting their skills.

Pear blossom and weeds.

Our pear tree has started to blossom. Last year the pears were rather poor so we radically pruned the tree a couple of months ago, which is why it looks a rather strange shape now.

Click on any picture to see it full size.

However, the bees don't mind what shape it is and they were certainly enjoying it this morning when I took these photos.

Also most prolific at the moment is a weed with a white flower which grows anywhere in the fields and along the roadside.


It grows in such abundance that whole areas become white. The gorse is starting to flower as well so the countryside is becoming very colourful and spring-like with these yellow and white flowers.



The bees are certainly being kept busy - there should have been 3 of them in this photo but they must have flown off.

It's holiday time in Tenerife!

Every few years we are drawn back to Tenerife, especially at this time of year when the spring-like weather is so different to that in England and even now, better than the weather we are experiencing in northern Spain. Once again, we were based in Los Cristianos which is even more English than the Costa del Sol. It made a change for us to eat fish and chips, Sunday roasts and full English breakfasts, (served all day).

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At the northernmost part of the island we discovered a fish restaurant many years ago and we make a point of eating there on each visit. Although it is a bit more commercial now, the very narrow roads have been improved with passing places and there is the occasional coach tour, the traditional salad and fried fish served with Canarian potatoes remain the same, there's only these dishes on the menu. Even the bill was calculated in pesetas then the total converted into these new fangled euros!


The scenery is very dramatic and for the journey back we cut across the centre of the island and past Teide, (3,718 metres, the highest mountain in Spain).


As is often the case, you have to pass through the cloud on the way up and then again on the way down. If it's cloudy at sea level, then all you have to do to find the sun is drive upwards through the cloud and you will have a clear blue sky.


Another village we usually visit is Masca which is hidden away in the mountains and is so popular with tourists and coach parties that there is never any space to park.



Another day out to Icod de los Vinos and the "Drago Milenario", a very old tree.


From wherever you are, you can always get different views of Teide.


Another day out, this time to Loro Park at Puerto de la Cruz. But they have much more than just the parrots to see...
...the gardens and plants are also stunning...


...and we managed to see the seal show, dolphin show, the parrot show and the Orca show as well as visiting the crocodiles, jaguars, leopards and gorillas.


The carnival is held on Shrove Tuesday in the capital Santa Cruz and then works it's way down the island so on Sunday afternoon it was in Los Cristianos and started just outside our apartment block.


As usual, there were lots of participants of all ages dressed in very colourful and flambouyant costumes accompanied by drummers or other loud music.


I don't know how far the procession went but they were certainly giving it their all at the start.



We had a sea view from the balcony and saw many brilliant sunsets.



No doubt we'll be back again in a couple of years time.

It's time for almond blossom!

We've had a relatively mild winter here this year, no snow, (we have had a covering for a few days for the last two winters), and only a handful of light frosts. The first tree to blossom is the almond, and we have just finished harvesting the olives! We noticed a couple of trees in full bloom by the roadside as we were going into Alcañiz last Friday and yesterday some blossom on one of our trees.

Click on the image to see it full size.

Because it blossoms so early, the farmers complain that there aren't sufficient insects around to pollinate it and then as there is always the chance of a late frost the blossom can be damaged. Last year this was certainly the case and we had far fewer almonds on our trees than the previous year.

In a few weeks time the young green leaves will emerge making the landscape look very fresh and spring-like. However, as the summer progresses, the trees tend to look very dry and shrivelled and then by the time the almonds are ready for picking in the late autumn, you are never sure if they will be able to come back to life next year as they have lost their leaves and look positively dead. However, nature is a wonderful thing and so the cycle has started again.