Reason for being quiet…

Yes, I know I haven’t actually been posting lately but I do have a good excuse!  Actually one of our boys has started an amazing adventure.  He has driven from UK to the Costa Del Sol in Spain to do a dive master’s course.  He has his own blog about how he began this journey after leaving Continental Airways after 14 years!  Just follow this link http://davesscubasaga.blogspot.com/ where at the moment he is writing about his adventure but he hopes to add pictures as soon as he has his internet working.

The blog might be of special interest to those of you who are interested in diving the Padi way.  Certainly, if you are not interested in diving I am sure you will find the blog amusing and informative.

So, you see I have been experiencing very mixed emotions of excitement, apprehension and a mother’s worry! Now that we have actually spoken during his journey through the marvels of Skype and by following the blog and, of course, his wife, minds are more restful and can again concentrate on a sort of normality!!!

A Spanish Folk Museum

I told you I would ramble on about our Spanish holiday! Well, one day as we were walking round the delightful village of Mijas on the Costa del Sol we came upon a door opening near the centre of the village where we discovered a Spanish folk museum. First of all we gingerly entered looking for the ticket seller but entry was absolutely free and so we started on our exploration of a typical old Spanish home and how village inhabitants lived in some of these remote areas.

Each room that you came into had been laid out with original, authentic pieces of furniture to show how families would live. Here you can see the corner of the room which has been set aside for sewing - well I had to include that didn't I?

One of the bedrooms had the main bed made up whilst a wooden crib lay alongside.

Although the main family room had a dining table and chairs there was still space for another sewing machine! Note the family pictures that adorned the white washed walls of the house.

Walking round the house we were stepping upstairs to find this bedroom. Very cleverly presented since the viewer is actually looking through a pane of glass mounted in the back of a wardrobe. So, you can't really enter the room but feel part of it!

Summers are incredibly hot in this part of Spain but as you climb the external steps to another part of the house you look down into the internal courtyard onto which all the rooms open. Note the wonderful plants which give you a sense of coolness.

In another area of the house there was a display showing how bees were kept. You can see in the picture below the tools and equipment used to protect from and manage the bees. Pictures hung around showing all the different crafts that the women and men were involved in such as this lady who was basket weaving. As we entered another area of the building we came upon the part of the museum which held a display of 3D pictures made of clay depicting life in and around the village such as the blindfolded donkey walking round and round as the flour was being milled.

See the olive gatherers in this 3D image. The area had a profusion of olive trees with looked wonderful with their old, dark knarled tree trunks which were a sure indication of their age.

In this picture someone is depicted doing the mending which in past days would have been an ongoing job, every day!

In a way it was a shame that everything had Spanish labels making it difficult for the visitor (there were many from different countries) to fully understand the descriptions. However, it did make the museum feel that more authentic and less commercialised.

You'll be pleased to know I am nearly, not quite, done with my Spanish ramblings so watch this space!!!!

Gibraltar

Whilst on our visit to Spain recently we thought we ought to make the effort to travel that little bit further.  In fact, to visit Gibraltar which turned out to be just an hour's drive from where we were staying in Mijas on the Costa del Sol.

The Rock of Gibraltar is located at the entrance to the Mediterranean.  It has a solid economy and because of its history and location has always remained prominent in the world's press and media.  Gibraltar has been a British Territory since 1704. Ceded forever to Britain by Spain in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Gibraltar joined the EU in 1973, under the British Treaty of Accession.  When General Franco closed the border for a while ,in the 1950's, with "the Rock" at the nearby La Linea (meaning 'boundary line' in Spanish), it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers who used to be employed in the British naval dockyards and in order to break the area's dependence on Gibraltar.  Gibraltar has always relied on La Línea for the supply of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish as well as many other products. There is also an important Spanish military presence in La Línea.   

First of all I have to tell you that both Hubby and I visited Gib, as it is affectionately known, about 40 years ago!  SSShhsshh!  Where has the time flown?  Anyway, Hubby went there with friends on a holiday and stayed with them on Gib itself.  However, I flew into Gib (always did have to be different!) on my very first familiarisation flight on joining the Royal Air Force.  Gib was and still is a stragetic spot with a small airforce base keeping its presence. The airport serves as a military base as well as a civilian airport.  There aren't many air movements as you can see from the state of the runway!

I see no aircraft this way.......

 

 

 

Or here!   These pictures were taken as we walked across from La Línea , Spain.  You actually walk along a pathway alongside the road for cars.  It is a strange experience and you keep watching out each way in case of aircraft!!  One of the strangest sights to see is that of English policemen around the town.  Here is one on duty outside the Departure lounge at the airport. 

Once we arrived in Gib, we had decided to leave the car in Spain and walk. we headed for the town centre.  Gib is a mixture of historical buildings and modern.  My biggest disappoint was that it was so geared up for the tourist, or rather the English bucket and spade mob as well as the large cruise liners.  Did I really want to choose between a full English breakfast (cholesterol on a plate), a medium sized breakfast or a huge one!!  Other than that you could have bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potato), meat pie etc etc.  When I think of the wonderful fresh fish that should have been available.  Also, because the traffic tended to be a very transient one which meant that visitors would literally spend only a few hours on a day visit, the customer service in many establishments left much to be desired.  Shops along the High Street were all those you would find in any English town.  Such a shame when I felt they could have exploited Gib to far better effect other than appearing to try to fleece the unwary and push so many Duty Free goods that were often cheaper back home!

Still, we did walk around although we did not feel up to going on a tour of the Rock.  Again, the tours that were on offer were so expensive.

Historically, Gib has much to offer from its Garrison days.  This link http://www.gibnet.com/data/facts.htm is very useful and interesting in its recount of the how's and when's of Gib in explaining its long and checkered history.

However, we did walk around and explored many of the side streets which gave the feeling of the real Gibraltar.    Here are remains of the original fort with various plaques such as these of the King's Bastion describing different events. Whilst in complete contrast I managed to capture a picture of a typical old residential building making sure I did not have any tourists or cars in the shot!

Both Hubby I would not have missed this visit for the world but came away feeling somewhat disappointed that such an important and unique place could be so exploited.

Another Ramble in Spain!

I shall be continuing for a while so do join me in my rambles about our Spanish holiday.  We spent 2 weeks in a place called Mijas in Andalucia, between the Costa bit and the Pueblo on the Costa del Sol.

Whilst up the mountain in the pretty Pueblo bit we encountered amazing views down the mountain to the coast. This view took in the town of Fuengirola which is about 25 kilometers from Malaga airport.  We were not overly impressed with that town.  Very commercialised for the English tourist, bless them!  There are times I cringe when I think of what our country neighbours must think of us.  Do we really need to stick to our English diet of English breakfasts (cholesterol on a plate), burgers, fish and chips, pies etc?  When I go abroad I want to sample some of the local fare.  Since we were near the coast we ate fish nearly every day.  It was wonderful and ranged from huge prawns cooked in garlic to hake/dover sole lightly fried/whitebait and whatever else was to hand.  The fish was landed every morning so you really were able to enjoy fresh fish wherever you went.

A typical set menu would be comprised of a choice of 3 starters (Gazpacho soup, which was served cold and made from tomatoes and red peppers, avocado served with prawns, pate) followed by a main course which again had a choice of 3 (fish of the day, pork chops or lamb) after which a dessert was offered and you could choose one of the three (creme caramel, ice cream, apple tart).  All that for 8.90 Euros or roughly $9.  Of course you had to have a drink with that!  I usually had a glass of a crisp, cool white wine and then wondered why I always wanted a siesta in the afternoon!!  Of course you could always eat a la carte but even then the dishes where not expensive.  One day, we had a mixed Paella which included rabbit, chicken, mussels, prawns, calamari along with various vegetables such as peas and carrots thrown in.  When ordering this dish it will invariably be for two people and is always cooked fresh so the waiters warn you there will be a wait of around 20 minutes or so.  It is well worth the wait!

Often on our visits to Mijas Pueblo we used to take a stroll in the beautifully kept public gardens which encompassed the remains of fortress walls and allowed the viewer to sample breathtaking views of the surrounding area.   Such a selection of pretty wild flowers were abundant wherever we walked.

In the picture to the right I have tried to show you an area that looked like a series of caves but more importantly, the pigeons that roosted there were amazing!

You could imagine during the very hot summers the birds would need to be able to shelter and stay cool.  After being used to seeing the birds on the ledges of high buildings it did seem strange to see them flying in and out of these caves.

In this picture you can see a couple on the right side nestling up to each other.

As we walked on we saw other sights but I will describe these in my next posts.

Meanwhile I leave you with a couple more views that we so enjoyed.

From these pictures you can see how this village is famous for its white washed houses.  In my next post I will show you some lovely houses in the older part of the village.

The first of my ramblings about our recent Spanish holiday!

Hubby and I just returned from a wonderfully, relaxing holiday in Spain.  We wanted a break and could not, at first, decide where we would go.  I had never been to Portugal or Greece whilst DH had but we had both visited Spain before on several occasions so decided on an area with which we were not familiar.  This area was to be in the Costa del Sol district.  Primarily for a little sunshine since the weather has been pretty dreary in UK of late!

After scouring the internet (what on earth did we do before?) we found some accommodation that looked like it might suit.  Due to the nature of our business it is imperative that we have internet so this was a major requirement.  Anyway, we found a self catering apartment which was built alongside the owner's house.  This was to be a couple of miles down from a very pretty village called Mijas (pronounce Mee-Has) Pueblo.  There is another Mijas but this has the word Costa add to imply it is nearer the sea.

Mijas Pueblo or just plain Mijas is famous for its white washed houses which cling to the hillside.  Many tourists visit, especially Japanese women who enjoy coach excursions to the area whilst their husbands play golf at the many golf clubs nearby.  One of the attractions of the town would be the donkeys or burros who gave rides around the town.  Personally, I thought them a sorry site, smelly and not something I fancied doing.

There is no 'nightlife' as such which means you will not get the average bucket and spade mob here.  What you will find are many restaurants and cafes which spill out on to the pavements.  Sitting in the warm sunshine enjoying a glass of cool wine/beer and a wonderful meal is something to look forward to!  You did notice that those restaurants whose tables and chairs were not in the sun were not utilised as much as those that were!

Here we looked down onto one of the many squares which showed a lack of clientele due to the tables being situated in the shade.  However, I am sure that in the summer months when temperatures reach the high 90s many people will be glad of the welcome shade.

Over the next few days I will 'ramble' on about our stay in this lovely town so do come back and see more pictures!!!