The arrival of our first guests.

18th June 2010 


Ian and Diane arrived on Wednesday night (or I should say Thursday morning). Their flight which was due to arrive around 10.45 was delayed by 50 mins. By the time they got their luggage and cleared customs it was past midnight.

They have had a great holiday so far. Ian was absolutely wrapped about the bike races in the Isle of Man. They spent that week camping. Diane thoroughly enjoyed both the races and the camping because the campsite was so good... Then they flew to Ireland stayed in the Independent Hostels. They enjoyed the pubs and the craic. When they got to Madrid though, we got a text message from Ian saying that they were at the tapas bar at the airport and he was already loving Spain because the beer was half the price it had been in Ireland!

We had a typical Spanish tourist day yesterday. Got up late – around 10.00 am. And after doing some chores took them out to see some of the Alhama sites. The tourist guide was just opening the Convent of St Carmen Church when we got there, so they were able to go in. Then to the square for coffee and biscuits at one of the many bars; some shopping for essentials like beer and wine, back to the house for a change of shoes, and then we did the walk through the Gorge to the restaurant for a great lunch of grilled lamb, fried rabbit and salad plus a bottle of red wine.

Diane was enthusiastic about the fact that we didn’t start eating until about 3.00 and were just heading back around 6.00 and it was still broad daylight. Spain is on double daylight saving time, so getting up at 10.00 is really like getting up at 8.00 am, and so our lunch was close to when we would usually have it, but the double daylight saving means that about 20 of the 24 hours are mostly light, and the siesta is still timed to cover the hottest part of the day.

Today we started out with tea toast and fruit for breakfast on the back terrace, then down to the market where Diane bought her first pair of shoes (every girl must buy shoes in Spain) and some other bits and pieces. I saw just the thing for Therese as well. Then up to the best supermarket in town, followed by drinks in the new part of Alhama – we had two each, so had two lots of tapas which were enough to do us for lunch. Enjoyed a siesta after that and then happy hour on the roof terrace followed by dinner at home – a delicious spit roast chicken and salad, then up to the square around 10.00 for more tapas some Sangria for Diane and me, beer for Ian and a rum and coke for Brian. They have decided they really like this life and are bemoaning the fact that it will not be too long before they have to go back to work.

We are taking them to Granada on Tuesday morning where they have booked into see the Alhambra. We have booked into the same hotel, and will take them to the airport on Wednesday when they fly back to London, where they will be staying for a while before heading up to Southport for Ian’s conference...

A Drive to a Pass with a View

Last Thursday (10 June) we took a short drive to La Boqueta de Zafarraya (Zafarraya Pass) and enjoyed the view across to the Sierra Tejeda and down to the coast. We have placed some pictures in the Gallery but here is a sample of the view.

We decided that we should take a trip to the coast via this route so the next day we booked in at the Hotel Sol Los Fenicios at La Herradura for a couple of days. We drove down on Sunday and the traffic was light and apart from the windy road down to Velez Malaga the roads were excellent - much of the way being on the A7 Autovia. The hotel was very comfortable and only 44 rooms on just three levels. Some pics of the centre of the hotel are in the gallery and the rooms are built around this garden.We had lunch and then took a walk looking for the Marina del Este but succeeded in finding only heaps of luxury houses and gated estates. I suppose the word 'Marina" should have alerted us.

That evening we found a charming little bar/restaurant called  Mesón El Tinao. We dined at the bar and on the TV viewed the demize of Australia in their first group match against Germany going down 4-0. My pre dinner drink was a beer but Mary had a Sangria in a wine glass that must have held half a litre. We shared a skewer of lamb with French fries and chatted in Spanglish to the two barmen.

La Herradura is a lovely bay, with a grey sand/pebble beach so it not particularly appealing, but the Germans and the Brits seem to love it.  The hotel was full of Germans all lapping up the sun, and most of the Brits seem to be expats living there.   The only English station at the hotel was Fox News but there were at least four German stations.  We decided that the Hotel owners must have done a deal with German Travel Agents who promoted the hotel as the place to stay.

Having spent I don't know how many years travelling in buses and trains, I was having withdrawal symptoms, so suggested to Brian that we should go by bus to Almuñécar - the much larger coastal town on the Costa Tropical.  It was really a case of deje vu because as usual we could not find out anything about the bus services.  All along the front there are bus stops with the same route marked on them.  The timetable stated that it ran from Almuñécar, but there was no timetable for the opposite direction, and on the other side of the road, there were no bus stops. 

As usual nearly everyone we asked never travelled by bus even the man at tourist information office knew nothing about it.  We did a couple of circuits, and finally asked at the petrol station and the lady on the desk there as well as an expat put us in the right direction.  We decided that the lady we had seen sitting there was not just having a rest, especially when several others started hanging around in the general vicinity.  When it arrived, it was a very large bus which would not have been able to get through the narrow streets to where the other bus stops are, so we decided that the others must be a special holiday run during the holidays - like the park and ride service run at Noosa.

Almuñécar is another beach resort with lots of high rise and hotels and another grey sandy/pebble beach.  When we arrived we decided to have a coffee at a cafe that had lots of people sitting at it.  The waitress greeted us with "Hi Guys" so our attempts at Spanish disguise are definitely not working!  Then spent a bit of time trying to find the monument to Laurie Lee which had been erected by the Mayor of  Almuñécar as a tribute to the Englishman who put his town on the map! 

                                                                        

We asked  Hi Guys and she found out that it was close by.  But of course we didn't find it first off, so again we went to the tourist information office and asked where it was, but she had never heard of it.  She was helpful though and gave us a map and as we were leaving Brian discovered that it was on the map - so  we went back and showed it to her.  I got the distinct impression that she was not very happy with us for pointing out to her something that she should have known.  

We eventually found it and took a photo.

Returned to the bus station and back to La Herradura for siesta, and then back to the same restaurant for dinner.  Our two Spanish waiters from the night before told us that there would be music by a Dutch guitar player and when we arrived it turned out to be a Dutchman and two Englishmen, one on drums, and the other on the electric guitar.  We enjoyed both the food and the music.