I hope we get bumped!

Saturday should be a busy day.

Saturday is market day. I love our street market. I love the bustling crowds, the colours and smells. I love rummaging through the stalls looking for things I didn't know I needed until I see them.

I love the challenge of finding something I know I do need, at a good price.

This Saturday is our Carnival Day. So much work and preparation has been done ready for the parade on Saturday night by so many people.

Saturday is forecast for snow. It could be 'snowed in' amount of snow.

If the snow comes, the market will be cancelled.

If the snow comes, the Carnival parade will be cancelled.

If the snow comes - Saturday will be cancelled!

Sometimes the forecast gets bumped forward by 24 hours. If that happens Saturday can happen and Sunday will be cancelled.

That would be better.

I hope we get bumped!

The photo I wished I'd had the guts to take!

Tonight, the 6 of us sat around a rough, wooden table in a small, local bar with a bottle of the house red and the smallest wine glasses you've ever seen. There were a couple of elderly gentleman sat at the bar, nursing cold beers and at another table were a group of young women, catching up on all the news from the last few days over a few drinks, surrounded by a cloud of cigarette smoke, as smoking is still allowed in bars here.

Nothing untowards about any of this. A normal Saturday night in a small, Spanish town.

Except this wasn't a normal night. This was Carnival night.

So at the far end of the bar, served a couple of beers by the barman, sat 2 clowns. Full, brightly coloured costumes, funny wigs & hats and more make-up than you would find at the Revlon counter in any branch of 'Boots'.

I wish I'd had the nerve to ask them for a photo - it looked so bizarre and yet no-one even took a second glance. Beer glasses drained, they once more attached their bright, red noses and went out to join the rest of the parade.

We followed them outside the bar as we could hear music playing and the street was filled with chefs with rather large, fake stomachs protruding from rather short jackets.

There was a whole crowd of kids dresed in 'hippy' clothes from the 60's

And they had the most brilliant car that about a dozen of them were carrying around.

There were people in medieval costumes and and group of ladies with red feather boa's and fishnet tights - I think they were all supposed to be Charlston Girls, but the fact they all had big, outdoor, winter coats on rather spoilt the effect.

Velez Blanco is a small town and there were not many people standing on the street corners to watch as the parade passed by as most of them were in it, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, and we certainly enjoyed watching them in all their finery. It was a short parade, it only took a few minutes to pass us by. No where near the scale of the Carnival Parades that will take place in Aguilas in the next couple of weeks, but it was fun.

But, how I wished I'd taken a photo of the clowns sat drinking in the bar!

Hey, Ho. Maybe next year!

Rubio's carnival starts next week and, we're told, has a much bigger parade - so, that's one for us to look forward to.

Carnival Season has started.

Every year in Spain, each town has their own Carnival week where there are lots of parades, lots of partying, lots of food and lots of drink. This usually happens a week or two before the beginning of lent as is where people indulge before they fast for lent.

Tonight we are off to Velez Blanco for the parade. It's an early parade, starts about 7pm (ish) but we're going through a little earlier as it will be really busy and parking could be a problem as Velez Blanco has such narrow streets.

All being well, I'll have some stories and some photos to post tomorrow. Now, I'm off to dress very warmly as the nights are still very cold and we'll be stood about outside for quite some time.

Our own Carnival starts next week, so more partying and more eating & drinking. Life can be really tough at times!

Finally, I remembered my camera!

For a number of weeks I have been trying to remember to take my camera when I go into town, and finally - this morning, I remembered!

Velez-Rubio is surounded by mountains and can be seen well before we get there on the motorway, it takes about 15 minutes from our house, 10 minutes on the mountain road and 5 minutes on the motorway.


There is a lovely new roundabout and archway as you enter the town, and you can't see it from this photo - but there are fountains in the roundabout as well.

Where ever you walk around town, the mountains are always present.

This is actually the main street through the town. It is just wide enough for one car and when we first drove onto it we really felt that we shouldn't be there - but it really is the main road through town.

There are little squares and pedestrian areas all over, I love this one because of the fountains that come out of the floor, run down and then re-cycle the water through a series of grates. It isn't always working so I was pleased to see that we timed it right this morning.

All over town, there are lovely, quaint, cobbled streets:

And not all of them are wide enough for traffic:

But some are wide enough for 2-way traffic:

The Town Hall is in a lovely, big square which also has bars around where you can chill out with a coffee and watch the world go by:

And next to the Town Hall is the big church, which dominates the sky-line as you drive towards Velez.

The domes of the church can be seen from all over the town:

Tonight is the parade of the 3 Kings, a big celebration in Spain, and we are going back into town to watch it. It's going to be cold this evening so I dare say we will be popping into one or two of the bars for a drink and a warm through. Hopefully, I'll remember my camera again.

We just love walking around town, hopefully, you've enjoyed seeing a taste of were we now live.

What's on this Summer in Terreros.

Terreros may be a quiet place outside the holiday season but there is certainly lots to do during July & August. The first thing to do when you are visiting is to go to our information kiosk near to La Venta (it's a wooden hut near the roundabout).

Here they have lots of information booklets on the area but the key booklet to get is this one.

It lists all the events that are taking place in Terreros during July & August. If we look at the page for today, there is a dancing exhibition on the Paseo Marítimo at 22.00 (yes, a lot takes place late at night because of the heat during the day), there's Yoga at 18.00 in the Cultural Centre and children's basketball in the court on the Paseo.

There's a few concerts up at the Castle during the summer, including one this Sunday and this Saturday there is the Romería Virgen del Carmen, who is the patron saint of fishermen (romería = picnic & procession) starting at 21.00.

Last year during August there was also a large notice board on the Paseo listing all the events for the month - and there was a lot to do.

Keep an eye open for noticed by the Supermarkets and in the bars as these will give you additional information on events that are taking place.

And enjoy summer in Terreros.

Festival of San Juan - 23rd/24th June 2009

A reminder for anyone visiting San Juan in June, the main midnight Festival takes place on the shortest night, with picnics and bonfires on the beach here in Terreros. Last year there was music and dancing on the beach and the village was partying until the early hours. If you can have your visit coincide with this Festival, it is well worth preparing for a late night.

The main night time festival will fall on the night of 23/24 June, in general in Spain they have the Festivals on the relevant days rather than move them to a weekend.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

23rd / 24th June - Night of San Juan. Certain festivals seem to summarize life in Spain, with its love of having a good time in the company of friends and loved ones. The Night of San Juan is one such of these events. It is a celebration that is usually held on the beach with roaring bonfires, drink, food, and friends. It can be a memorable, almost surrealistic scene and one that needs to be experienced.

June 24th. The date remains a magical night in much of the northern hemisphere. Mythology states that strange occurrences can occur on this shortest night of the year. Certain pagan gods, for instance, make themselves visible during this night and we mere humans also give thanks and realise that the seasons of harder times are about to come.

So welcome to the magical night of San Juan. San Juan is about changes. It is about night to day; it is about fire to water. Fire purifies and water recuperates, refreshes, and rejuvenates
In Andalucia, San Juan is celebrated on the night of June 23rd with some towns, allowing the beaches to be used as campsites for a single night. On the beaches it’s common to see people jumping over fires which, according to legend, cleanse the body and the soul. Jumping in the sea at midnight is supposed to be a way to wash away evil spirits.

Orange is not my colour!

Today in Holland is Queen's Day. Yes, I did say Holland - not Spain.

One of the women at the ladies is group is from Holland and she says that as much as she loves living in Spain, she does miss the celebrations in Holland on Queen's Day. So, today she and her husband threw a party and invited us all to help them celebrate. We were asked to wear something orange.

Now, I have to say orange is not a colour for everyone, and it certainly isn't a colour for me BUT in the true spirit of friendship I dug out an orange T-shirt which lives at the back of the drawer and wore it for today (I did cheat a little though, I wore a shirt over the top!) Come on now, you didn't really expect to see a photo did you?

When we got to the party the whole area was decorated with orange bunting and balloons and everyone had made an effort to wear something orange from a scarf, jewellry or a hat to full orange outfits which in some people with dark hair and dark tans actually look good, I would just look as if I'd been Tango'd!

We all had a great time eating, drinking, dancing and playing some rather silly games in the warm Spanish sunshine. One thing you can do in Spain is plan an outside event and just about rely on the weather to be good. You are unlucky if you end up cancelling due to the weather, so different from the UK.

History of Queen's Day

The Dutch have been observing Queen's Day on April 30 since 1949, when the new Queen Juliana ascended the throne. Before then, the holiday fell on August 31, the birthday of Juliana's mother, former Queen Wilhelmina.

When the current Queen Beatrix succeeded Juliana in 1980, she chose to keep Queen's Day on April 30, as Beatrix's own birthday is January 31, a date when Dutch weather isn't conducive to the many outdoor activities associated with the holiday.

Every year Queen Beatrix visits one or two Dutch towns to greet her country's people and visitors, who receive her with fitting celebrations. What began as a commemoration of the Dutch Royal Family has evolved into a nationwide day of creative, carefree springtime revelry.

Semana Santa - NOT Santa Semana

Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain is a massively important week, especially in Almeria. It runs from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday.



Even if you are not religious, it is difficult not to be moved, the atmosphere is so vital and poignant. For some it is a fun filled fiesta time, for others a week of ritual and reflection. Without a doubt, Holy Week in Andalucia is a tradition that is an integral part of the culture and appropriately reflects the spirit of the people.


Year after year, each and every village proudly enjoys the beauty and mystery of "Semana Santa" although there are variances and some towns for instance, will preserve certain traditions more than others. The villages and hamlets generally hold their parades on Thursdays and Fridays, while the large capital cities have week long celebrations and attract thousands of people from far and wide.

http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/fiestas/semana-santa.asp

Lorca, nearby, has huge parades, they can last upto 4 hours and are very well known for it's spectacular floats and horse parade with standards. The main parades were last night and tonight.

It is noticable how many Spanish families have come down to Terreros this week on holiday, how many of the shops were closed yesterday and almost all are closed today but will be open tomorrow.

Easter is very important here

Día de la Vieja - Old Lady Day!

Today is a local public holiday. Anyone who has given up something they enjoy for lent will understand that by now it is getting tough. So, locally there is an old tradition going back to the 17th century to help make the sacrifices of lent more bearable. Families picnic on the beach or in the woods having local food and they make a model of an old woman out of paper with a dress, apron and scarf and which is mounted on a cane. Very often the head is filled with sweets or treats. Locally they filled the head with firecrackers so that at the end of the day, it is set on fire and all the firecrackers go off. In other areas, the model is stoned until the sweets fall out of the head for the children to pick up and enjoy.

So, Pulpi council had decided to hold a pensionista day for all the pensioners of Pulpi and Terreros where they cooked a large paella and held a large party at the local Community Centre. The mayor and other officials came down to welcome us all to the 'picnic' and they stayed to eat with us. There must have been over 200 people there, and although it's known as Old Lady Day - it isn't just for old ladies it's for everyone. Amelia, one of the ladies from our Ladies Group kindly organised the tickets for the event, as it was entry by ticket only. I understand that this is because last year people came from nearby towns that were not actually under Pulpi Council and therefore should not have been there.

We arrived about 1.30pm and the paella was already in progress, the meat, peppers and tomatoes were already cooking. It was a sizeable pan of paella and the chef was having to work hard to keep it all cooking evenly but he seemed very adept at his job.

Then they seemed to turn up the heat (I think they threw some more logs on the fire) and added the stock which needed to be brought to the boil before addng the rice.

The rice was added with incredible flourish - I suppose to spread it evenly through the pan but it also looked very spectacular.

Finally the prawns were added and before long we were all seated and our paella and bread was served up and brought to our tables by a team of helpers.

Pulpi had provided water and soft drinks but a lot of people had taken beer or wine to enjoy with their meal and it was actually a very nice paella and we all had a good plate full.

Afterward, we were all given an orange for dessert - locally grown of course - and delicious.

Then suddenly there was 6 loud bangs from flares that had been sent up into the clear blue skies. This was to signify that they were getting ready to 'burn the old ladies' and it was time for us all to move through to the other side of the community centre.

I understand the burning of the old ladies signifies the burning away of bad omens.

We were all given either a scarf or a hat to wear and many people went down to have their photos taken by the 'old ladies'. Then they set fire to them and, being made of paper, they were soon burning fiercely. A few moments later the fire reached the firecrackers and the arena erupted into a mass of smoke accompanied by a lot of loud bangs.

The whole thing took about 10 minutes until all that was left was a very sad looking burned out old lady.

It was a really enjoyable afternoon held in wonderful warm sunshine. As we drove away we could see many families on the beach making the most of a holiday day from school and work.

It really feels like the start of summer.

Burying the Sardine!

Shrove Tuesday is well known as the eve of lent and in the UK we traditionally have pancakes - but do you know why? Well, the BBC website says.....

According to Christian beliefs, Lent commemorates Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, and observant Christians mark this period by fasting. So Shrove Tuesday was cleverly invented to use up the ingredients that were given up for Lent - milk, butter and, particularly, eggs - which may not be eaten again until Easter. (Presumably that's why we gorge ourselves silly on Easter Eggs)


Pasted from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_events/events_pancakes.shtml>



So, in keeping with tradition we have had pancakes tonight - and we even made a smaller pancake for the pups - and boy, did they enjoy the treat!



I decided I should have a look at what is traditional in Spain on the eve of lent. There are Carnivals all over Spain in the run up to lent, as the Spanish enjoy a good party and if they are going to be giving up for lent, they have several days of partying ending on Shrove Tuesday. It was then I came across the ceremony of Burying the Sardine! or to give it it's correct title
El Entierro de la Sardina.

There are 2 different stories as to the origin of this tradition, yet no one seems to know for sure when one is true. The first story dates back to the XVII century, when Charles III, King of Spain, who wanted to celebrate the end of the festival with the commoners, ordered sardines and wine to be served at the countryside picnic. The weather that day was hot, very typical at the time of year, and the sardines began to smell foul due to the heat. The people wanted to get rid of the bad smell and realized the only way to achieve that was to bury them. The king consented to this. The people wept at the thought of no longer getting free food and having to begin the observant period of abstinence.

The other story goes that in past years when Cuaresma was dutifully observed by all, a breed of pig called “sardine” was buried on the first day of this Saintly period, in representation of the meat they would have to forfeit eating during the religious observation period. This pig’s breed name sardine became popular.

What follows next depends on the city celebrating the burial. Cities that are not near water do not bury the sardine, they burn it in a symbolic cremation, similar to Valencia’s cremá de las Fallas. In cities nearer the sea or rivers, the sardine is buried or it may also be burned. Its “ashes” are scattered into the sea, or it is taken out to the open ocean on a boat symbolizing the sardine’s return “home” and the close of the carnival festivities.
Pasted from <http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/fiestas/entierrodelasardina.asp>

I think I'll stick with the pancakes.

February is Carnival time in our nearest town, Águilas

Spain is big on festivals and every town has it's own festival week. Our nearest town is Águilas, about 10 minutes away. This weekend see's the regatta at the harbour/marina - so we may see some of that tomorrow when we take a trip in after the market.

Then from the 18th February, Carnival week starts. Now, the only drawback to the Spanish festivals is some of them start so late at night - very often not until 11pm, so we are all going to need our siesta's in the afternoon in order to stay awake long enough to enjoy the parades. However, there will still be plenty to see if we decide to drive in.

One's to make an effort to see are:

FRIDAY 27TH: EXHIBITION OF CARNIVAL MAKE UP AND DRAG QUEEN CONTEST. 23.00 H. - Apparently this is a real scene to see.

SATURDAY 28TH: FOURTH CARNIVAL PROCESSION THROUGH THE TOWN AND IX NATIONAL COMPETITION OF CARNIVAL GROUPS

SEIZURE OF DON CARNAL IN THE PLAZA DE ESPANA FROM WHERE HE IS LED TO THE PONIENTE BEACH WERE HE IS EXECUTED BY FIRE. FOLLOWED BY A MAGNIFICENT FIREWORKS DISPLAY MARKING THE END OF THE CARNIVAL.

Time to get the camera batteries on charge I think!

Full list of events:

CARNIVAL FEBRUARY 2009


SUNDAY 15TH: “XV DUATHLON CARNIVAL OF AGUILAS” SPORT HARBOUR. 11.00 H. BOAT RACE. “VIII COMPETITION OF PAPER SUITS” FEDERATION OF PENAS

THURSDAY 19TH: “MUSSONA” PROCESSION FROM THE CASTLE TO PLAZA DE ESPANA 23.45 FIREWORKS 24.00 H.

FRIDAY 20TH: BATTLE BETWEEN CHILDREN SUPPORTERS OF DON CARNAL, DONA CUARESMA USING CONFETTI FILLED EGGSHELLS. INAUGURATION AND WELCOME SPEECHES BY A CELEBRITY, MUSA 2008 AND THE MAYOR. PLACE: PLAZA DE ESPANA. 21.30 H.
SALSA MUSIC FESTIVAL. PLAZA DE ESPANA 24.00 H.

SATURDAY 21ST: BATTLE BETWEEN ADULTS SUPPORTERS OF DON CARNAL, DONA CUAREMA USING CONFETTI FILLED EGGSHELLS. INAUGURATION AND WELCOME SPEECHES BY A CELEBRITY, MUSA 2008 AND THE MAYOR. PLACE: PLAZA DE ESPANA. 22.00 H.
SALSA MUSIC FESTIVAL. PLAZA DE ESPANA 24.00 H.

SUNDAY 22ND: FIRST CARNIVAL PROCESSION THROUGH THE MAIN STREETS OF THE TOWN BEGINNING AT 18.00 H.

MONDAY 23RD: SECOND CARNIVAL PROCESSION THROUGH THE TOWN. CARNIVAL CHOREOGRAPHY/DANCING COMPETITION. 17.00 H. NIGHTLY CARNIVAL COMPETITION

TUESDAY 24TH: THIRD CARNIVAL PROCESSION THROUGH THE TOWN 18.00 H.

FRIDAY 27TH: EXHIBITION OF CARNIVAL MAKE UP AND DRAG QUEEN CONTEST. 23.00 H.

SATURDAY 28TH: FOURTH CARNIVAL PROCESSION THROUGH THE TOWN AND IX NATIONAL COMPETITION OF CARNIVAL GROUPS

SEIZURE OF DON CARNAL IN THE PLAZA DE ESPANA FROM WHERE HE IS LED TO THE PONIENTE BEACH WERE HE IS EXECUTED BY FIRE. FOLLOWED BY A MAGNIFICENT FIREWORKS DISPLAY MARKING THE END OF THE CARNIVAL.

The run up to Christmas is getting busy.

I have my first Christmas dinner this week, the ladies group Christmas lunch is on Thursday. We've all bought our 'secret Santa' gifts and we are having a traditional christmas meal, well as traditional as you can get prepared by a Belgian in Spain - I'm really looking forward to it.

Sometime soon we will see the christmas lights turned on in the local villages and in the nearest town, Aguilas - no, the lights are not on yet - it's still too early here. We are going into Aguilas on Friday evening so we will see whether they are on then.

There will be local christmas markets over the next couple of weekends. The ladies group will be having a stall at the market in Pulpi on the 20th December when we have lots of different foods from the countries where the various lady members are from including England, Wales and Scotland along with Belgium and Holland.This is to give the locals a taste of our foods that they don't normaly have such as short bread, english sausages etc. It will be my first trip to the christmas market so I am really looking forward to seeing what it's like.

Next Wednesday there is a carol concert in the Montesol Bar and any funds raised will be donated to a local charity.

And then, on the 21st December - my brother arrives!

Christmas will be here soon.

Another festival in Terreros

This weekend see the 9th 'Experiencia Espantapitas' taking place in Terreros. My understanding of this is a music, arts and discussion festival for indie music. On the south end of the town (out past the Calypso) an area has been made for all the campers and there are hundreds of tents there with more dreadlocks on show than I've ever seen before. I think this is a festival that moves around Spain, I don't think it's here every year.

The arena has been built at the other end of the beach next door to Pepa's and the festival is running tonight and tomorrow, yesterday being a rehearsal day. We can hear the music up at the villa so anyone living on Calas del Pinar (where we are buying) will be getting a rousing free rendition as they are very close to the action, and it's currently 1.30am and still going on.

Throughout August there have been several events taking place, a few weeks ago there was to be a free concert by Malu, a female best selling singer in Spain. The stage was set up next to Pepa's bar but for some reason Malu cancelled on the day she was supposed to appear due to ill health.

During the 1st two weeks of August, which seems to be the main Spanish holiday weeks there were activities on the beach and the square every day with a large board erected in the main square detailing what was happening and when, from School Band competitions to Basket Ball games and much much more. It has really been good to see so much activity in the town and on the beach and although the population has increased 10 fold during August, we haven't found it to be as much of a problem as many of the local residents had told us it would be when we first arrived. OK, so there are more cars parked in the car parks at the bars at night and there are definitely more people in the local hyper-market but overall it has been now where near as bad as we were expecting.

With so many people and so many events, we have been really impressed with how smoothly the organisation of them is, how quickly they build the stages, seating tiers etc and then how quickly they take them down again and how, after every event, the whole place is cleaned ready for the next day.

It will be interesting to see whether this weekend really does so a mass evacuation of the beaches and streams of cars heading away from the coastline back inland - not to be seen until next summer.

After this weekend we should all be able to return to our normal peaceful lives living in a quiet sleepy little Spanish town.

Festival of San Juan - 23rd June

When we got down to the centre of San Juan at 11.30pm there were more people on the streets and in the bars than we have seen on the busiest Sunday so far. We aprked up and walked towards the beach along with hundreds of others all heading in the same direction, Most had bags with picnics in and all were in a good mood. There were all ages from kiddies in pushchairs to elderly couples sat along the promenade taking in the atmosphere.

At the start of the beach was a disco unit with flashing lights and a massive crowd around it. Most of the crowd were up dancing and we could see a few bonfires between the different groups.

As we walked along the promenade to the main beach we could see dozens and dozens of small bonfires. When we had driven past the beach at 9ish there had been no signs of any bonfires so it's obviously bring your own picnic and bonfire.

Unfortunately my camera and I struggled to get really clear photos but hopefully the 2 above will give you a flavour of the night.

At precisely midnight, there was a short firework display from the disco to signify it was time to start jumping over bonfires and running into the sea.

I have to say we didn't see anyone doing either, but that's not to say that among the crowds there weren't some that were following the age old traditions in the hope of getting rid of a bad year and wishing in a good one.

Some of them will be partying all night, others were heading for home along with us.

The Spanish certainly throw a good celebration, I wonder when the next one is?

San Juan Festival

Well, it's 10.30pm and we are just about to go out and check out the celebrations on the beach in for San Juan day, always on the shortest night of the year, 23rd June.

We drove along the front about 9ish and the beach was already filling up with several large groups, some with tents ready to stay the night.

The one cloud on the horizon, so to speak, was - the cloud on the horizon. the mountain tops surrounding San Juan were already covered in clouds, which looked very much like rain clouds, so we are hoping the clouds stay on the mountains and don't spoil the festival. The winds had been increasing since early afternoon and the temperature had dropped significantly from the low 30's of the day to a current 26.

Hopefully, I'll be back later with an update.

Festival of St John - 23rd June

Spain is famous for it's festivals and we have one coming soon - June 23rd sees the festival of San Juan which is held on the shortest night of the year and involves bonfires on the beaches and setting off fireworks.

Have a look at the following link for further info
http://www.andalucia.com/festival/sanjuan.htm

We're really looking forward to seeing this but I'm not so sure about jumping over a bonfire! I'll tell you all about it when it happens, including any bonfire jumping that may take place! Apparently, there is also a dash for the sea at midnight to wash away the evil spirits and be granted eternal beauty - well, we can always try.