Agua y gas

With no trips out planned this week, we are just pottering around and about Olvera doing our normal chores and routines.

This morning, in warm sunshine and blue skies, we drove out to the "cortijo" on the outskirts of town to top up the water containers.

So just a few pictures of the farm buildings and surrounding fields.

The view from the farm looking down upon a solar panel energy collection point. Renewable energy resources like this and also wind turbine farms, more of which seem to be popping up everywhere, account for about 40% of Spain's energy needs

The old ruined Arab fort that sits above the farm.

Olvera in the distance.

Returning to Olvera, I dropped Anne off and picked up a friend who needed to replace his gas bottles. Usually a delivery van tours Olvera twice a week replacing empty bottles for those who need it.

However, in recent times, the service has been a little sporadic and infrequent, requiring in emergencies a visit to the stockist just outside of Pruna, a short drive from Olvera.
The view of Olvera from the petrol station where the gas bottles are kept.

Don't know how prices compare in the UK but today's price for unleaded is 0,90 cents per litre (approx 84p).

Strolling about

A grey, overcast day with temperatures between 8 and 10°C (dependant upon which temperature monitor you look at), so a short stroll around town this morning while Anne pottered around the house.The Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

The view through the arch of Calle Portugal.














Calle Suiza.















Calle Belgica.















Calle Garduñera.
















Looking up Calle Arcos.

A wander around...

This morning, prior to heading for the market, we walked up to the Barrio to give a birthday present to our lovely friend Maricarmen.

The weather was cloudy although still quite warm after a little rain overnight.

Just a few pics taken on our stroll.

Outside of the castle walls.

Looking up at the castle from near the market place.

Se rompe tu corazón

It breaks your heart!!. No matter how long we are in Spain and how much we love it here, we will never get used to the stray dogs that roam about.

This morning, we wandered to the market and stopped off near to a shoe shop and this Boxer dog, we're pretty sure he's a stray, came around the corner. It's not the first time we have seen him around but those of you that know me know that I have a soft spot for this type of dog, so it was a little poignant.

To think that in the UK you would probably have to pay upwards of £350 for a dog like this and here they are free to the first person to claim it.

And yes, that is Socks standing by the car. You may recall a previous posting, where Anne got really attached to this lovely little dog before she and her pups were found a home in the campo. We think however, that due to the arrival of another litter, she has once again been discarded.

However, there is hope for her on the horizon. A new home in Ronda apparently, according to a lady who looks after her each day with food and drink.

So, fingers crossed.

Linked posts:

Socks

Socks has a home !!

Limpiar el coche

I know. Life doesn't get more exciting than this but we can't always avoid the chores in life and Nellie was way overdue for a clean. So this morning we took her down to the car wash on the outskirts of town to do the deed.

But we have to take the rough with the smooth and this blog is not only about our travels around and about but also our regular lives here, so our apologies if this post is a little mundane. Normal service out and about in Olvera and its surrounds will be resumed shortly.

Back to the job in hand and as you can see while I am trusted to do the splashy water bits, Anne prefers to do a more thorough job, ensuring that the interior is spotless we can have clear visibility inside and out.

A job well done but we have no doubt that with the heat, dust and occasional "sandy" rain we have here, it will be back to the same pre-wash condition next week.

Un cambio en el tiempo

A change in the weather today. It had been our intention to take Nellie (our car) to the car wash for a long overdue clean, inside and out.

However, this morning we awoke to light showers although the temperature was still around 16°C, still quite warm.

The view up Calle Llana.

Deciding that we'd let the rain do the car cleaning chore, we walked down town to the bank and also to get a birthday gift and card for one of our dearest friends here in the village.

The view down Calle Calvario.

The Cafe La Jarrita overlooking the Plaza de la Concordia, where we stopped off for shelter and coffee's.







Looking across the Plaza de la Concordia from the cafe.









Looking down Calle de Pruna.










A slightly rain splattered image of the "Estación de Autobuses" (bus station).












And finally, the view of a wet Calle de Bellavista on the way home.

Sierra de Lijar re-visited

It's unbelievable but looking back on the blog, a year has gone by since our last visit to the Sierra de Lijar, a mountain just over a 1000 metres high, about 20 minutes drive west of Olvera.

The mountain is one of the premier jump off points in Europe for hang gliders so we thought we'd take a drive out in the hope of catching some taking off.

The drive up the mountain starts on a turn off a short distance before the village of La Muela and winds up a dirt track, passable with care, to the top of the mountain.

On the way up we passed this climber attempting a sheer rock face. This is before.....

....and after losing his handhold, falling about 15 metres, thankfully secured by his rope.












We continued upwards stopping off at several miradors (viewpoints) on the way up. This one looking over to the village of La Muela.

After about an hours slow drive, we reached the top. Unfortunately, there were no hang gliders around but the views were still worth the trip.

Looking down over Alogodonales.

The day was warm but a little hazy. The view towards Zahara de la Sierra and the reservoir below the village.

In a short time we will witness the spectacle of the "processionary caterpillars", when long lines of caterpillars leave their webs which are spun into the pine tree's and join up in a long line to head out into the big, wide world.

Despite the lack of hang gliders, we were joined by quite a few cyclists from the Olvera club winding their way to the top.

Much easier coming down though!.

Looking down upon the the Peñón de Zaframagón, one of the premier breeding sites for Griffon vultures in Spain and home to several types of predatory birds.










Within the park area are several footpaths for those with more energy than us. This path leads off from one of the miradors. advising that is is 6.5 kms in length, of medium difficulty and will take on average about three hours to reach the top.

Linked posts:

Sierra de Lijar
Hang gliding