Ginny's visit

Ginny, our lovely sister in law, came to see us from Bristol. It was smashing to see her and quite poignant really as she was the last person to see us depart the UK and the first to visit us in Spain.

Her visit coincided with her forty something birthday whilst here, so it was especially nice.

Having only come for a few days we visited Zahara and Ronda, which hopefully gave a feel of the beautiful area of Spain that we live in.













Relaxing at a cafe overlooking the gorge in Ronda.

Our house

At the request of some of our regular viewers, we are pleased to show some views of our small but perfectly formed house. The house is on three levels with a roof terrace on top. The kitchen is at the bottom as shown above and below.






















You enter the "casa" straight from the street into the front room as shown below, guarded by a ferocious dog called "Peppie".

Just for you Shirley, Ethel and Jodie watch over us from the brown cabinet below.

























The stairs above lead from the front room to the first floor bedroom.

























To get to the bathroom you have to scale yet another set of stairs to the second floor which also leads out onto the roof terrace......we'll climb that mountain yet!!!






























That's it folks....our place in the sun.
Linked posts:House - before and after

Rain in Olvera

No trips out this week as we have been busy decorating the house but just for all friends and family back in the UK to show that it is not all sun and sangria here in Spain.......it does rain occasionally.

We have also noticed that when it does rain, pot plants normally kept indoors are placed out on the street to take advantage of the moisture.

Zahara de la Sierra

Zahara is a small "white" village approximately 25kms south west of Olvera or about 20 minutes drive. It overlooks a reservoir and is one of the tourist attractions in the area.

We had last visited Zahara in February 2007 on a grey and overcast day (picture above) and resolved one day to return and get to the castle at the top of the village. Today was that day and gladly the weather was far better.

We parked at the bottom of the village and looked up at the climb before us. But determined we were in our resolve to conquer.

Our first encounter was with this lovely little dog who was tied up outside its owners house. He was so pleased to see someone, particularly if you stopped and made a fuss.

Vultures again. On the climb through the village we noticed fifty plus vultures circling overhead. They are fascinating to watch and on occasion appear to be quite close but it is very difficult to actually gauge their size. A friend has suggested we visit a feeding station in the Sierra Grazalama National Park where you can get up close and personal while the keepers feed the vultures on dead animals. We'll save that one for another day.

After winding our way up through the village we arrived at the Town Hall square.























Onwards and upwards toward our goal, the tower of the castle which was the only part still standing.


























The picture right looks toward Olvera in the far distance.
























As always, the pain was worth it. More detailed information on Zahara can be found in the following link http://www.andalucia.com/province/cadiz/zaharadelasierra/home.htm

Linked posts:
Restaurante Al Largo

Arcos de la Frontera

Today was a public holiday in Spain so we took

a trip to Arcos de la Frontera, a town of about

28000 people 50kms west of Olvera, midway between Olvera and Cadiz. The picture right shows the town perched on the edge of a cliff that drops down to the river below.

We parked the car at the bottom of the old town

and slowly wound our way to the top of town and

to the castle, which unfortunately was not open. Fortunately along the way were several pottery and art shops, which broke the trek and pleased Anne no end.

We entered the old town through an old gateway, protected by what appeared to be a religious icon above it.






















































The courtyard of the pensioners club.........places the like of which we worryingly seem to spend a lot of time around!!!

We walked around the cobbled streets eventually reaching the Plaza de Cabildo with the church of Santa Maria at one end, currently under restoration, and the mirador (viewpoint) at the other. Needless to say, the views were terrific.

The castle in the plaza.

While we were in the plaza, we were lucky enough to see a wedding party arrive and the bride looking very beautiful as she entered the church.

Whilst winding our way back to the car we noticed an open door off the street. So being nosey we went through and entered a little courtyard, off of which were three houses or apartments. The view was the same as from the viewpoint pictured above.
Linked post:

Arcos de la Frontera
More detailed information on Arcos can be found in this link http://www.andalucia.com/province/cadiz/arcos/home.htm

Algodonales

Not too far to drive today as we decided to go to a town called Algodonales, about 20kms from Olvera.

We parked a little way from the centre of town and walked up and down a few side streets, making our way eventually to what appeared to be the main centre.

For a Sunday lunchtime it was a very busy place, full of family's out for a walk and all the elder statesmen of the town congregating for a chat and a gossip. One often wonders where all their wives are as this is a site common in most places we have visited.

So we joined them and sat down at a bar for a couple of cokes. On the next table was a group of three boys accompanied by a lady with one of the lads throwing us regular glances. At an opportune moment he moved his chair around and started chatting. He turned out to be a german lad who lived in a "Finca" or small farmhouse just outside town, whose name he said was "Filis". He had heard us talking in english and wanted to practice his english on us, which of course was very good. He was enthusiastic to know where we lived in the UK and why we were in Spain. It never ceases to amaze us how friendly people are here. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of him but hopefully we may go back and meet up with him again.

While wandering around the back streets we came upon this flower, which I had never seen before. It felt like velvet when touched but no scent. Must find out it's name!