Carnaval 2008

This is a picture of the brochure (apologies for the quality) for the Olvera Carnaval which takes place between the 3rd and 10th of February.

There are various events scheduled throughout the town during the week including another appearance of the world famous "Joker Band" who we last saw in town at the Feria in August last year. They are not on stage until midnight next Friday so I feel a siesta coming on.

More pics next week as events develop.

Antequera

Antequera - a largish town just over one hours drive east of Olvera.

The main reason for our visit was to buy Peppie, our lovely old dog, a new bed. Her old one of the beanbag type was getting a bit flat and we were finding it impossible to buy the replacement polystyrene type beads to refill it.........those of you that are dog lovers will understand. As long as your dogs happy then we're happy.

So off we went early and arrived about 9.30am, parked up and started to walk around to find the pet shops, previously researched on the internet.

Unbelievably, by 10am we had found what we wanted, returned it to the car and then proceeded to explore the town.

The first place of interest we came upon was the

cinema pictured above, decorated in what looked like "Art Deco" style and which appeared to be still in use.

The pics below are of the street scenes on our wanders. By the way, the temperature was recorded today at 22 degree's.

Walking towards the top of town brought us to the 14th century church of "Real Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor".

Unusually, there was no objection to the taking of pictures so the following are a few pics of the views from the surrounding walls and the of the inside. As always inside the churches we have been in, it was beautifully kept and ornate with paintings and icons.

The picture right is looking from the church back through the "Arch of the Giants" towards the town. The arch was built in 1585.



















The picture below is of the "Tarasco", sometimes half snake or dragon and half lady. It has seven heads depicting the seven deadly sins, governed by Faith (the lady) and the one below is a recreation of the Tarasco that was part of the Granada Corpus procession in 1760.
































A nice day out. More information on Antequera can be found at: http://http//www.andalucia.com/antequera/home.htm

Canete la Real....again!

I know....another village, another castle. But I don't know how we missed this one on our previous visit to Canete in August last year. Anyway, after visiting the convent we arrived back here with the intention of having a couple of tapas and a beer. Anne had fish in tomato sauce and mine was chicken liver......delicious.
The picture is of the walk from the Town Hall square up the street leading to the castle.

Views of the village.



















The castle was quite impressive, parts of which had been restored and the rest still undergoing restoration.
View's below looking from the ramparts and towards the restored tower, which unfortunately was locked up, possibly as it was a weekend.








Linked posts:
Canete La Real Part 1

Canete La Real Part 2






More information on Canete can be found in the link below. Definitely worth a visit.

http://servicios.diariosur.es/fijas/pueblos/ingles/canetei.htm

Convento de Caños Santos

This building is visible high up on a hill off the main Olvera - Campillos road and has always intrigued me as there was no obvious road to access it. From a distance it looked like a monastery but a quick look on Google Earth revealed the access road and identified it as a convent. So off we went on another trek of exploration.

We found the access road, which as usual was not signposted, parked the car and walked around.

Unfortunately, the convent was closed for restoration but still worth a look. The picture's above are of the view's from the convent.

In the grounds were two gates, one of which was open, so I poked my head inside and it was the entry to a cave. I ventured in about five metres before it got too dark to see but hopefully we will return again when the convent is open and with a torch to get a better look.



















Linked posts:
Convent re-visited

Wanderin' & ponderin'

Just thought this morning we would take a wander down town with the camera and see what we came across. The sun was shining so why not. Picture of me right is in the "Plaza de la Concordia" which I guess you would say was the centre of town.

The fountain is the centrepiece of the Plaza and the building behind is where we go for our spanish lessons.





This is our local "Centre de Salud" or Health Centre.

Walking along the high street, we came across this lovely puppy.

The pic below is of Bill and Gerry, a lovely couple who we met about a week ago. They are from Northumberland and have lived in Olvera at the bottom of our street for about 18 months now. They live right on the edge of the village and recounted when they found a snake winding its way down through the corrugated roof of their kitchen but which fortunately got stuck. After a mild panic and a rapid consultation with their spanish neighbour, the best advice given was to chop it's head off with a pair of loaned garden shears...........doesn't bear thinking about does it? Turned out to be a viper.

They've invited us round for a drink and also to see the massive scorpion that they've caught as well.....we can't wait!!

We were ambling down the high street just nosing into the gardens and stopped to view a couple tending to their plants. We commented on how nice it looked and next thing we know we have been invited in to have a closer look. They were both ever so friendly and so typical of the people we have met here. We explained that we were living in Olvera permanently and were promptly invited in for a coffee or drink next time we were passing.

We are so lucky, so lucky to have the opportunity to be where we are now!!.

A pic below of Calle Azuaca, leading down from the Plaza de la Ayuntamiento towards our house at the bottom of the picture.

A view upwards from Calle Maestro Amado looking up to the castle.

Linked post here:Just wanderin' in Olvera

The Pensioner's Club

We have mentioned the Pensioner's Club in previous blogs where we go once or twice a week for a "desayuno" or a breakfast of toasted rolls and coffee, so we thought today we would give you a few pics.

The location is in the Plaza de la Ayuntamiento or Town Hall Square which has a lovely view to the church above.

The picture below is of Carmen, who is usually on duty when we go in and always with a friendly smile. To our shame we only found out her name today when we asked to take her picture, after several months of going in to the club, so at least in future we can greet her with a more friendly "Hola Carmen, buenos dias. Como estas" (Hello Carmen, good morning. How are you).

Now, for those of you who are snooker or billard buffs, spot the uniqueness of this table in the club.

Yes, you've got it............no pockets!!. We've seen the members playing but cannot work out how the game is played or scored. Answers via email please to enlighten me.

Moron de la Frontera

Moron - a town about 40kms north of Olvera, 25 minutes drive and best described as industrial rather than pretty.

The temperature today is quite warm as shown on the sign at the Farmacia, so quite pleasant for a stroll around.

Oranges on the tree's in January, though we are informed they are not suitable for eating unless made into a marmalade.

















Sitting out enjoying the sunshine in the town square.

The castle at the top of town was not worth the trek. It was not well cared for, strewn with litter, broken glass and graffiti, not to be recommended unfortunately. The best thing about it were the views over Moron and beyond.