-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
It’s not the first time we’ve had a guest post from Charlotte, who lives in the US. She loves the Alpujarras as much as we do. Her previous stories – A Quiet Escape on the Ruta Olivos Centenarios and On the buses – an American in Paradise are a joy to read. So it’s a … Continue reading
While perusing a local shop aimed at healthy people – hikers, trekkers, climbers etc – we came across a cute book all about our local mountain range – mainland Spain’s highest, second only to the Alps in western Europe: the Sierra Nevada. We never cease to marvel at its beauty as we drive to Granada, … Continue reading
Late July and it’s been a cruel, cruel summer…so far. Enough sweat has already been expelled from our bodies to fill an English village pond (we’ve written about the heat before). Unable to simply hang up their fur coats like Zsa Zsa Gabor in a Bel Air restaurant, the cats have found their favourite spots which … Continue reading
If you visit La Alpujarra, you’d be foolish to ignore the fantastic Museo Casa Alpujarreña, next to Bubión’s church. It’s a typical house of this area, barely altered since its previous – and final – occupier lived here. A time-capsule of a former home, it’s as if someone entered one day and asked for the … Continue reading
Life is – in the countryside here in Andalucía – never having to say you’re sorry…for killing things. Huge ants build empires under the lawn, wild boar trash the place, processionary caterpillars cause a risk to animals; they need a tough talking to now and again, lest they take over one’s entire house and garden. The muffled … Continue reading
Regular readers may be aware of our past attempts at building a grave-shaped herb garden, growing ‘special’ seeds from Órgiva’s very-own seed bank/exchange – and generally planting, pickling and preserving stuff. We’ve taken a step forward and built two large vegetable beds (20 sqm total) so we can become Tom and Barbara, only not as attractive. … Continue reading
We recently noticed white ‘clouds’ in our pine trees – like blobs of candy floss abandoned high up in the branches. We discovered they were the silk nests of processionary caterpillars. Should you touch one – or a dog or cat step on one – it can be very unpleasant and even fatal to animals, … Continue reading
A small piece of the Generalife in the Alhambra was seemingly plucked from Granada and gently placed in this sleepy town, a short distance inland from the Costa Tropical. But the Jardin Nazari, tucked away in the backstreets of Vélez de Benaudalla, is no Johnny-come-lately – it´s been here, in one form or another, since … Continue reading
The strips of sunlight shrink as dark spreads like black ink over the blotting paper slopes of the Sierra de Lújar. After sunset (officially around 7.15pm at the moment) there’s still a chill in the air. We put the littl’uns to bed each night; seedlings, that is. The huddled trays and pots form a plastic jigsaw in our … Continue reading
As we enter the last week of February, devoid of a leap day (the next is 2016), we awake to light and not dark. For several days the air has been warm, the daily ritual of building a fire will soon be gone. Away from the roads and bustle of Órgiva, the rocky, mainly dry riverbed of … Continue reading
We stumbled upon this brilliantly-edited, beautiful time lapse film of the ever-changing skies above the town of Pitres, a 40 minute drive from Órgiva. The photographer – Francisco J Perez Herrera – states that ‘it’s the result of 4 months of work taking over 18,000 photographs, through more than 30 hours of editing and countless hours … Continue reading
It’s sometimes starless here, sometimes bible black; and on those still nights you could hear an olive drop. At the new moon – as it is today, 20 January 2015 – the valley’s dogs will know it’s time to settle down on this dark night. Our knowledge of ‘country life’ – in Ireland, England and … Continue reading
We awoke early and headed to a friend’s olive grove, the oxalis – yet to show its yellow flowers – was crisp underfoot in the cold air. Two gigantic nets were laid beneath the first tree and off we went, agitating each branch with bamboo sticks to remove the olives. Hitting and shaking the branches resulted … Continue reading
We do like Mondays, and especially today. High pressure has slunk in from the west, smoke from burning olive logs rises vertically with no buffeting breeze, and there’s barely a sound. The low sun means sunglasses are needed as much now as in the scorching summer months; it’s a special time of year. On a … Continue reading
As the sun beats down and we lie on our bench we can always hear them squawk; the sound of chainsaws. Like strimmers they’re a part of countryside living in Spain. A few of our almond trees have bitten the dust and stand, nestled among healthy fig and olive trees, gnarled and broken with their coating of … Continue reading
con jamón spain 