The mountains of Andalucia

On Thursday morning when we walked the dog. there was a thick frost and ice on the roads, which made us think we would need to wait for the sun to thaw the frost before we began our decent towing down the hairpin bends, back to Alhama and  the A7 the next day.  So on Friday we were very happy to wake up to temperatures of 7 degrees and sunshine, which meant no frost!

We took it very slowly, as before with lots of prayer and playing our Tim Hughes CDs very loud!  After an hour we finally made it down through all the hairpin bends from Sierra Espuna to the A7 to continue our journey west to Granada.  The scenery along the way was fantastic but we did keep wondering whether we would eventually have to drive through snow as we seemed to be constantly gaining altitiude and heading straight for the snow-covered montains.  The snow was banked up either side of the road where the snow ploughs and gritters had done their job but thankfully the road itself was clear.  The scenery along this stretch of motorway is quite astounding and the rock formations are a wonder to behold.  If any of you get the chance to travel from Murcia to Granada you'll not be disappointed.

We are now staying on a site on the outskirts of Granada, about 4 Km from the Alhambra.  We'll be here until Tuesday and plan to do a couple of touristy things while we're here.  Tonight it's a guided tour of the Albayzin, the oldest part of the city which also provides stunning views of the Alhambra at night, followed by a Flamenco Show in the Sacromonte Caves.  On Monday we plan to visit the Alhambra itself - it's supposed to be amazing and it's always been on our "must see" list while we are visitng this region.

Hairpin bends!

Having chosen a site to stop at to break up our journey to Granada I had one last look in the book to see how to get there.  As I read the last sentence my heart missed a beat, and I asked Peter if we should choose another site.....it read......'if necessary help is available at the last incline, just call!'.......

Peter said 'let's just go, it can't be too bad.'

As we drove off the slip road of the A7 the town beyond, Alhama De Murcia, looked quite accessible with nice wide streets.  As we went through the town and out the other side we hit the hairpin bends.

Now, I'm not a good passenger at the best of times, but to cut it short, I spent most of 20km with my eyes shut and praying like mad.

Dave Cooper- you would love it here!  Your 4x4 would have a field day!  Our Tucson managed very well, it's just as well we had the tyres changed before leaving Alicante!

All of the other tourers on site are small motorhomes.  We did make it, and without help, and I must admit it is more than worth the missed heart beats to get here.  The scenery is beautiful and the actual village the camp site is in--El Berro--have their houses all built into the rocks.  (Very biblical!)

Being so high up we are experiencing the coldest weather yet.....only getting up to 4.5c today, with snow just above us.  The packet soups I bought with us are very warming!  Benji needs his coat on nearly 24/7.

The peace and quiet is only interupted by bird song and the site has a chalet with a big roaring log fire and beer on draught.

We were only going to stay 2 nights here, but as it's so lovely we've decided to stay 5, (or is it that I can't face towing back!!)

The area itself is full of almond trees and the blossom is just beginning to show, another month and it will be fully out.  Speaking to the owner this morning she has been receiving phone calls from Spanish families to find out if we are snowed in as they all want to come and experience snow....it's a rarity here!!!

Below are some of the photos we took on our walk this morning.

East Coast Sunrise

It was great having the beach on our doorstep at our last site and before we left I was determined to get up early enough one morning to see the sun rise.  Being an East-facing coast the sunrises look very similar to a West coast sunset.  I took loads of photos but this one came out the best.

Up Sticks

Well, after 3 months on the same site we are moving on tomorrow, next stop a small site in the mountains south-west of Murcia for two nights, then on to Granada.

We've enjoyed our stay here and we've met lots of lovely people - it's going to be difficult saying goodbye to them all tomorrow - but we are also looking forward to moving on and embarking on the next stage of our adventure.  We've learnt a lot while we've been here - Spanish lessons, art classes, swimming lessons - we both feel we've had the chance (and the time) to develop new skills and abilities.

It may be a while before our next post as we don't know what Internet access will be like at the next few sites but we will leave you with one anecdote from our last week here.

Julie took Benji to have a trim at the same place we had taken him to when we first arrived here, mainly because they did such a good job first time round.  However they had employed a new groomer and when Julie arrived they insisted on taking Benji away and wouldn't let Julie stay and watch as she had done the first time.

When Julie went back to get Benji she found that they had given hin the full poodle cut treatment - pom-pom wrists, ankles, thighs, head and tail.  Julie was furious and managed to persuade them to remove the worst of the fluffy bits.  But they had also shaved the rest of him down to his skin and there was nothing they could do to rectify that.

We have to put a coat on him if it gets a bit cold and he shivers at the slightest breeze.

At the moment he doesn't look like our Benji but we know it will grow back soon enough.

We decided not to to take any photos as we really don't want to remember him in this state.  But from now on, Julie will take back her responsibility as chief Benji groomer!

Elche

Elche is one of the larger towns 15 km from where we are staying and it is the 'home of the palm tree'.  The existance of date palm trees in Elche goes back 2,500-3,000 years.  They were brought over by the Phoenicians.  Now, in their municipal park, which is only one of many parks there, they estimate there are 200,000-300,000 palm trees.........that's an awful lot of trees folks!

Today we decided to have a day exploring the parks there, (which is only fitting as today is our last Sunday in this part of Spain, and we spent our first Sunday here in October in Elche).

We had a lovely day.  The weather excelled itself, we started off in trousers and shirts and ended in shorts and t-shirts. 

Apart from the beautiful gardens what really amazed me was the amount of Spanish families out together enjoying the sunshine and their environment.  All the children were dressed like children (girls in pretty dresses and socks, and the boys in shorts and jumpers/cardigans) and everyone seemed to have their Sunday best on.  It was like going back into the 50's in England (so I'm told as I'm too young to remember!)

Below are some of the photos I took of the gardens.  They really were enchanting, and a gardeners delight.

Swimming Lessons

I have always been someone who enjoys splashing about in the water but who can't really swim - I mean I can lift my feet off the bottom and thrash about a bit and make some sort of progress but it's not pretty to watch and because of that I've never been happy to go out of my depth either in the sea or in a pool.

Until that is I happened to mention this to one of our neighbours, Wolfgang.  Turns out that he was a coach to the German Olympic Team many years ago and is currently writing a book that recommends a radically different approach to teaching people how to swim. 

He absolutely loves taking on a challenge and he has taught a whole range of people using this technique, from very young children to 90+ year olds.  To begin with I was a bit reticent about being his next challenge but three one hour lessons later I have to say that his tutoring has produced amazing results. 

I can now swim a length of the pool using either breast-stroke or crawl and - now this is the most amazing bit  because this has always been a "bete noire" for me - I can float and swim on my back!

We've only got another week at this site and I'm hoping to get in a couple more lessons before we go, but even if we don't I now feel confident to take what he has taught me and continue to develop and improve on my own.

He keeps telling me during the lessons that "the water is your friend" and I'm beginning to believe him and it might sound over the top to say this but I think for me this could be one of the most life-changing episodes of our trip away so far - so thanks Wolfgang,
Peter.

Going Dutch

We've talked a fair bit about the different Spanish traditions over Christmas and New Year but on New Year's Day we took part in an annual event which has nothing to do with Spain. We don't know if this is something that the Dutch do wherever they happen to be on New Year's Day or whether it is something they only do when they are in a warmer climate but notices went up around the site in mid-December advertising a mass "run into the sea" at midday on New Year's Day.

The basic idea is that all those brave or mad enough to take part line up in one penned-off area of the beach and then, after a countdown, everyone runs into the sea together. How long you spend out there is up to you but on return to the beach there are steaming hot cups of Gluhwein to resuscitate you.

Having already had a swim on Christmas Day I thought I'd give it a try. It was sunny but a lot colder with a strong North wind blowing across the beach so the worst part was standing around waiting for it to start.

When the countdown reached zero we all made a mad dash into the sea. It was cold but the biggest problem was trying not to get crushed in the rush - there was no allowance for the more tentative like me who'd prefer to get wet slowly!


But it was great fun and after some warming Gluhvein we continued the day with a BBQ on the beach.

Absolute bonkers!

We've tried not to write too much about how cheap it is to eat and drink here but we just have to relate the tale of our meal today.

We had a day in Guardamar with some friends and visited a Chinese restaurant for a late lunch. Like most restaurants they do a "Menu del dia" but whereas most restaurants offer a very limited menu for a fixed price, with this one you could choose from about 40 different main courses varying from €5.75 to €7.95. But that price didn't just buy you the main course, it bought you:

• A glass of Sangria
• A plate of prawn crackers
• A starter (choice of spring roll, salad or two different soups)
• Rice, noodles or chips to accompany your main course
• Half a bottle of wine
• A dessert or coffee
• A liqueur

The food and the service were excellent, the portions were very generous and at the end we were presented with a bill for the four us which came to €28 - that's about £6.50 a head.

To cap it all, just before we left they asked if we wanted wine or points. Apparently, if you spent more than €12 you were entitled to either a bottle of wine or a point towards some gifts that they had on show in a display cupboard. We opted for wine and were presented with another two bottles of wine to take away.

Hence the title of this blog entry - absolute bonkers! (but I think we might have to go back just to check it wasn't a dream)

Traditions

We are really enjoying finding out about the traditions which the Spanish culture enjoy at this time of year.
There are certain foods which are also mainly eaten around the Christmas/ New Year period as well, just like at home. As food is a very important part of our experience here we fully participate in everything we can!
We knew before we got here that Epiphany or Three Kings (6th January) was the day that the Spanish children receive their presents, but we now understand why.......
....The three kings brought Jesus their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, so thats the day 3 people dress as kings in each village/town/community etc and parade through the streets collecting the children to give them their presents in the local square/town hall/meeting place. Some towns use horses to parade the kings, others use flat bed vans or lorries, one for the kings and another for the presents.
If the children have been naughty they get charcoal. There is also a special cake which is eaten on 6th January called 'Roscon de Reyes'. It is shaped like a very large donut with a hole in the middle where a crown is placed and somewhere in the cake (which is filled with cream) is a miniature model of the three kings. If you receive this in your portion you are supposed to have good luck throughout the year.









Buildings and apartments have models of the Kings' Pages climbing up the outside with sacks on their backs to deliver presents to the people inside.


They look very lifelike as the Pages are all made from black material and the sacks are in bright red.





Uvas......another tradition on Nochevieja-New Year's eve is to eat a grape at every toll of the bell. They actually sell tins of 12 grapes which have been de-pipped and skinned......of course we bought some!
Polvorones are a sweet biscuit which explodes in your mouth, polvo means dust, (and that's what they taste like) why these are eaten at this time of year we haven't found out yet, but it's not worth it. It's like having a mouthful of sand!

Resaca is the spanish word for hangover.....I wonder how I found that out!!!!!
Traditionally many people suffer from a resaca on New Years day as I did this year. It's the worst I've had in a long time and I've decided that it was all because of the grapes I ate at midnight!



We saw the New Year in with the rest of our street. Having had a BBQ in the street at lunch time we continued to drink moderately through to 1.30 the next morning. We celebrated Spanish New Year at 12 (and ate our grapes) and then sang Auld Lang Syne at 1.00 as Big Ben tolled midnight in the UK. The grapes put me over the limit. Here is a picture taken of Peter and myself just after midnight.