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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 18, 2019 12:26:06 GMT 2
Our neighbour who is of Greek origin has wished us Kalo taxidi.
We are off now.
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 20, 2019 16:47:01 GMT 2
Kalo Taxidi!
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 20, 2019 21:04:25 GMT 2
The good news is that we had a calm crossing over the Bay of Biscay. The bad news is that I developed a bad cough that kept me awake for hours. However I am now over the worst and can look forward to the rest of our adventure. Yesterday evening in Santander was a bit of a nightmare. Our sat nav (Tom Tom, which is Dutch) totally failed in Santander. I think it cannot cope with Spanish cities as we had a similar problem in San Sebastian. It took us round and round and when we recognised buildings for the third time we realised that poor Tom Tom was in meltdown. We put the car in a carpark, got out an overnight bag and walked. Several people gave advice on where we should go (often conflicting). Eventually police came to our rescue and showed us where our hotel was on a map (and gave us the map). It wasn't really a hotel but a hospedaje (rooms in a building but no other facilities). It had all we wanted - a clean warm room, hot water and a comfortable bed. There were restaurants nearby and food and some Rioja wine restored our good humour. This morning we had churros for breakfast which we loved. Now we are in Olite. I think in summer this must be over run by tourists but now it is so empty that we were offered an excellent price for a mini suite. Tomorrow we will look at the sights which are principally this: www.google.com/search?q=olite+castillo&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB771GB771&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1sdvRg_3fAhV75-AKHdTjAckQ_AUIDigB&biw=1080&bih=494&dpr=1.25#imgrc=5YXVaBf1CsYs3M:And after that go to a natural park famous for birds. I wonder what dinner tonight will be like.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 20, 2019 21:38:01 GMT 2
I really must spend more time in the north.
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 20, 2019 23:02:45 GMT 2
sounds good, apart from your cough. eat well, keep well hydrated and wishing you safe journeys.
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Post by Netsuke on Jan 21, 2019 0:59:27 GMT 2
Your trip sounds very interesting. Have a lot of fun and enjoy the sights and sounds and smells. Good health and safe journey.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 22, 2019 16:42:18 GMT 2
We are taking the trip down Spain in easy stages of about 300 kilometres. We have arrived in La Puebla de Valverde, a very small town with a delightful little hotel that doubles as the local restaurant. It was past 3 pm but lunch was still in full swing. We'll have dinner here tonight. It costs 13 euros for 3 courses, wine included. This is what rural Spain used to be like.
The drive today took us above 1000 metres, some snowflakes fell and the temperature was down to 2C. Senora at our hotel assures us there will be no snow tomorrow.
Time for a little siesta then off to explore the small town (more of a large village) and find the disused railway line for a walk.
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Post by shrjeff on Jan 22, 2019 17:06:15 GMT 2
we will see how much meals in barcelona are in march... when we were in porto a couple of years ago a full meal was about €8!
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 22, 2019 18:42:46 GMT 2
I don't think senora is a good weather forecaster. It is snowing now. Will we be able to get out of this village tomorrow?
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 22, 2019 18:54:24 GMT 2
Baz, in case you didn't know, many old railway lines in Spain have been converted to walking/cycling paths. They are called Via Verdes. The one you are on is part of two that stretch to near Valencia, Ojos Negros and Ojos Negros II. I've had my eye on this walk as it is mainly downhill all the way to the coast and I've even plotted out places to stay each night, one being the village you are in now. I shall do it one day. There is one of the other ones just near our house and goes on for about 125km - www.viasverdes.com/en/itineraries/principal.asp
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 22, 2019 19:12:43 GMT 2
Mark, we had a similar walk when we lived in France. I remember we had family staying and it was my birthday so Mrs Faz and I left the family to look after themselves and walked for some hours in a heatwave to a small town with a nice hotel. We vaguely knew the French owners and when they found out it was my birthday they gave us champagne. We got the family to drive down and collect us the next morning.
The arrival of snow showers has put us off walking along this via verde. And tomorrow we shall be (weather permitting) in Cartagena where we are staying a couple of nights in a small yacht (moored).
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 23, 2019 10:54:05 GMT 2
We had a problematic night. Our room has underfloor heating. This makes a visit to the bathroom with bare feet very comfortable. However the room is too hot, particularly at night when we want to sleep. I know in Bangkok we would sleep in a room that is 29 but we are not in Bangkok. Turning the thermostat down had no effect. Switching the control panel to Off had no effect. In the end we had the window wide open all night - and remember it is freezing outside with a dusting of snow. This succeeded in getting the bedroom temperature down to 22C.
The bar at the hotel is busy this morning with the usual locals coming in for their wake-up coffee and brandy. We wimped out - just toast and butter and jam and coffee with milk.
We are driving down to Cartagena now. Accuweather promises us 20C and sun.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 26, 2019 0:43:13 GMT 2
We had a lucky escape. We saw on TV last night that there had been horrendous floods in the area we drove through on Wednesday. We had nothing but a few snowflakes and they gave way to blue skies and sun.
We spent 2 nights in Cartagena. This is a great place to visit (or it is when not overwhelmed by tourists). I did an eccentric thing and booked us in for 2 nights on a yacht in the leisure harbour. I looked at the hotels on the internet and was not enthused. But then I found this yacht and the harbour is perfectly placed for everything you want to visit (for instance the Roman Theatre is 10 minutes walk). And staying on your own yacht rather than in a hotel is different - isn't that what a holiday is about? OK the internet didn't really work (the wifi came from the Yacht Club and we were moored just a bit too far away). But the yacht rocked gently, there was no traffic noise and we had a lovely view.
Oh, talking of the view, we could just see a superyacht that was moored not far off. It belonged to one of those Russian crook oligarchs. Apparently he comes in the summer and sails off to Nice. Our informant said the yacht had cost 350 million euros, thought I think that figure is a bit inflated.
Today we drove to La Herradura, our base for a month. This is on the Costa Tropical, which no one has heard of. It is a stretch of coastline (maybe 60 kilometres) directly south of Granada. It is protected from cold coming from the north by the Sierra Nevada. It has a microclimate - the only place in Europe with a subtropical temperature. The local avocados we had tonight were delicious. The mangoes, however, weren't ripe. Hmm, do I have to make a Thai meal?
Our apartment is set back one black from the sea. It is perfect because it is on the second floor and the building in front is single story with a flat roof so we have a perfect view of the sea, the beach, the palms that grow actually in the sand - but don't hear any passing traffic. We have settled in, unpacked, shopped and had a lovely meal. We haven't had time to explore but first impressions are great. The local council, in its wisdom, has decreed there should be no big hotels. It just looks great.
When we arrived at 4 pm it was totally sunny and the temperature was 19C. Jeff probably has that all winter but for Europe it is exceptional.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 26, 2019 8:59:30 GMT 2
Glad you are there and settled in. On the off chance you want to go for a drive and a day out, you can do a clockwise loop around the Sierra de Tejeda, inland behind you, along the coast to Velez Malaga (not such a nice drive though for that bit) but then turn north down the country lanes through Zafarraya to Alhama de Granada. Nice place. Return past a big reservoir, the Embalse de Bermejales (nice swimming in the summer), Jayena and Otivar back home. Small, windy roads, good scenery, plenty of places to stretch you legs. Just a thought if you were stuck for something to do.
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Post by Netsuke on Jan 26, 2019 9:30:32 GMT 2
I am enjoying your trip through your eyes Baz. A whole month of looking at the sea each day, how wonderful.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 26, 2019 12:36:00 GMT 2
Thanks Mark. Maybe when Mrs Faz gets itchy feet we'll do that.
Today the weather is perfect. We opened the bedroom curtains and gazed happily at blue sky and blue sea - so different from Chipping Sodbury. We had breakfast on our balcony (it is a good sized balcony which we access from the sitting room; one floor up there is a roof terrace which gives 360 degree views; its drawbacks are that there is no shade and there is nothing to sit on so we would have to carry up chairs). Our apartment has a good view to the sea. We are actually one block back from the beach but our immense good fortune is that the building between us and the sea is single storey with a flat roof; this means our view is uninterrupted. This morning is very clear and we can see Africa. We can watch all the comings and goings on the beach. Yesterday afternoon there were a couple of families whose young children were happily playing in the sand. The water is too cold for swimming though Mrs Faz has brought her swimsuit and you can be sure that before we leave she'll go in.
Today we must explore the town. There is a supermarket just round the corner from our apartment which I used yesterday afternoon while Mrs Faz unpacked. But we need to find where we can buy fresh fish and a lot of small shops which will tax my meagre Spanish. One of my peculiarities is that when I am confronted by something I don't know I don't shout it loudly in English nor do I use French but I search for the Greek. I doubt that will be any use here.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 26, 2019 13:31:00 GMT 2
"Donde esta el pescado fresco".
I'm sure you'll find some. Have a good time.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 26, 2019 17:32:16 GMT 2
El pescado fresca esta en el mar.
We walked one way along the seaside promenade this morning. Nada. We'll walk the other way shortly. The sun is so hot we have retreated indoors.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 26, 2019 17:44:21 GMT 2
Good answer. It is in the sea. We have a DIA supermarket near us that sells fresh fish, but I think the one near you is too small. You'll find somewhere in the back streets, somewhere small I bet. Let us know, I'm waiting with bated breath.
Funnily enough, trying to find something is what I really enjoy in a new place. For me it is really just an excuse for a wander round, but with a purpose. Doesn't really matter what it is, as long as I'm looking for something.
"The sun is so hot we have retreated indoors." Oh dear. What a pity. Life is hard.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 26, 2019 19:39:21 GMT 2
So we had a walk in the other direction along the promenade. This is where all the action is. I wondered this morning why we saw no restaurants and only a couple of cafés. We have found the centre of the little town, the tourist office (closed at the weekend), places to eat and the market (closed - we should have found it earlier). There is a mural showing what they sell and fish is definitely there. For tonight I have bought some frozen swordfish.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 26, 2019 22:46:35 GMT 2
Pez espada, merluza, bacalao and one called rosada (don't really know what the English is of that) are my usual fish dishes as I don't eat seafood. Hope it's a good meal though I've not had much luck with frozen fish in Spain. Maybe it's down to my cooking skills but the fresh seems to easily taste twice as good. I'll leave you with it.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 27, 2019 12:08:35 GMT 2
Another gorgeous day. Sun, blue sky and a high of 20C predicted. There are crashing waves this morning though there is no wind. Herradura means Horseshoe in Spanish, which describes the bay on which this small town is built. We are eyeing the cape to our right Normally you can pick out where a path goes. Even when the path is not visible you can follow the line where the vegetation changes. We can't see any trace of a path but there must be one. Do we have the energy to investigate this morning? Or will it be manana?
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 28, 2019 11:26:12 GMT 2
Another gorgeous day. Sun, blue... Oh, I said that yesterday but it is the same today. Yesterday we had crashing waves. That was something of a mystery as there was no wind. The waves are dying down this morning so maybe there was a storm elsewhere and we just got the high seas.
The bummer about our apartment is the poor internet. Sometimes (like late in the evening) it works perfectly. Other times there is no connection at all. Today it took a good 5 minutes before I got online.
Last night we had our first restaurant meal in La Herradura and it was a sad event. The waitress was appalling. We got no friendly greeting just a grumpy What do you want to drink (in Spanish). Do you have the menu of the day? Yes. We want wine. She produced a bottle and we picked up the menu. It was for a la carte (so everything would be twice the price). Where is the menu del dia? There isn't one, she lied, having 2 minutes before said there was. Mrs Faz put her hand on the corkscrew as she was about to uncork the bottle. This changed the waitress's mind and she fetched the menu del dia. We chose. The first course came. She got it wrong. The main course was correct. The dessert she got wrong and was sent back. When it came to the bill she refused a credit card (almost unheard of in a Spanish restaurant). I paid by cash and waited for my change. She was really sticking two fingers up at me because she gave the change all in 10 cent coins. Did she think I was going to get fed up and leave them all as a tip? Bad mistake. She stood over me while I counted out the twenty coins. No tip for you, lady. My Spanish is not up to telling her how awful she was so I told her in English. "This restaurant is terrible. You are rude. We are never coming back." "Gracias," she replied.
It all sounds petty. But she obviously despises foreigners. If she can't cheat them then she'll make their experience a bad one.
On a positive note we think this is a wonderful place. I am going to the market in a few moments and then we'll go to the tourist office to see what help they can give.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jan 28, 2019 13:45:17 GMT 2
The fish stalls at the market were not open today. I guess the fishermen haven't been out yesterday or overnight. Tomorrow. But it was a good experience. I think I have made friends with two of the stallholders. I was given cheeses to sample at one stall. At the stall next door I bought a local papaya (the season is just starting, I understood). I also bought a custard apple. She said it would be ripe tomorrow. This may mean in a few days though I know custard apples have a short life of ripeness before they go over.
On my return Magdalena (the mother-in-law of our landlord) stopped me. She handed over a bag with 9 avocados from her trees. We are well supplied!
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Post by OnlyMark on Jan 28, 2019 14:30:35 GMT 2
Hah! Well done. One pissed off waitress down and I bet one or two more to follow. I have experienced that but rarely. I nearly fall on the floor laughing when I'm doing the one who is ordering and asking, but then when it gets obstructive, Mrs M, bless 'er, rattles of a load of fluent Spanish and pisses them off even more for trying to rip us off in the first place. Glad the rest of the natives you've encountered are friendly.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 2, 2019 17:59:24 GMT 2
We went for a walk up into the hills with a picnic. It was just a narrow country road we were on, sometimes a dirt track. There were oranges, avocados and grapefruit lying on the ground just asking to be picked up.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 2, 2019 21:38:46 GMT 2
Did you oblige them?
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 2, 2019 23:23:30 GMT 2
Yes indeed.
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Post by shrjeff on Feb 3, 2019 7:13:25 GMT 2
about half a century ago we would horseback ride through apple orchards - and the rule was we could take those which had fallen...
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 3, 2019 10:37:53 GMT 2
Where we lived in France (the Dordogne, the Lot) the etiquette was that you didn't pick up fallen walnuts under the trees, but you could pick them up if they were on the road or the verge.
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