tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38793841488000841572024-02-19T18:16:18.544-08:00In Nijar Country: Landscape, Seascape, Inscape, EscapeMiriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-62032342994804711002018-03-12T06:52:00.000-07:002018-03-12T06:52:05.222-07:00One more storm!After a couple of beautiful days, one last storm arrived over the weekend to see us off! This time it was Storm Felix which has caused floods in Cordoba, a supermarket collapsed in Jaen, another metre of snow on the Sierra Nevada, but only inflicted a couple of days and nights of strong gales here on the Cabo. <br />Now on our last day here, Felix has gone on his way and the weather is glorious again. I wish we could relax and enjoy it but we are busy cleaning and packing.<br />
<br />
But here is a photo taken in the sunshine.<br />
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We have said goodbye to various friends, including Clements, a sweet, young homeless German man who lives in an abandoned shepherd's hut in the hills outside San Jose, along with Dave who plays the guitar, and Richard who heroically organises the walking group S joined during our stay.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow we head north, back to la Cabrera, then on to Bilbao. Finally we will arrive (I hope!) back in the UK on Friday.Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-54863582089002411762018-03-10T04:22:00.001-08:002018-03-11T07:02:07.597-07:00When a boy goes missing . . . A Song for GabrielThe weather is improving now but a dark cloud still hangs over the area: this is a post I was hoping not to have to write, or to be able to give it a happy ending, but that seems more and more unlikely as it is eleven days now since 8-year-old Gabriel Cruz Ramirez went missing in the hamlet of Hortichuelas.<br />
<br />
It feels rather too close to home because that same morning, on 27th February, my partner S. was out with a walking group. They walked through Hortichuelas, cheerfully singing comic songs, and so it was a horrible shock to learn the next day that, barely an hour after they passed through the tiny village, Gabriel had left his grandmother's house to go to a friend's to play and hadn't been seen since.<br />
<br />
There has been a massive search of the surrounding area - a mammoth task in a terrain so rough, full of deep abandoned wells, some of them dating back to the time of the Moors, and hills honeycombed with mine workings, many of them two or three centuries old.<br />
<br />
Entrance to one of the old mines up in the hills:<br />
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<br />
The torrential rain we had in the days following Gabriel's disappearance hasn't helped either.<br />
The local shepherds are helping the police as they know better than anyone else where to find the old wells. <br />
<br />
More than 8,000 people gathered in the city of Almeria yesterday to show support and sympathy for Gabriel's family, but as day after day passes hope is fading.<br />
<br />
I wish it were possible to rewind time like a film to the moment before he left his grandmother's house.<br />
<br />
We dread going home in a few days, possibly never to know what has happened to the little boy. <br />
<br />
<br />
A Song for Gabriel.<br />
<br />
Walking along the coast,<br />
we see a police boat<br />
speeding passed, <br />
and on the dirt roads their landrovers<br />
patrol, searching for you.<br />
Where are you, Gabriel? <br />
<br />
Day by day goes by, <br />
drones fly through the steep ravines<br />
inaccessible to man, <br />
helicopters patrol the skies<br />
hovering above our heads,<br />
looking for you.<br />
<br />
One hundred volunteers, heads bowed<br />
go scouring the ground, but even Elton, <br />
most famous<br />
sniffer dog in Spain,<br />
brought from the north just for you,<br />
has failed to track you down.<br />
<br />
Day by day goes by, your story<br />
is on the news<br />
but there's no news of you.<br />
They dredge the wells and search<br />
the honeycomb of mines<br />
within these hills.<br />
<br />
You could be anywhere<br />
in a hole so deep, so old.<br />
Lost, alone in the dark.<br />
Where are you, Gabriel?<br />
Where are you?<br />
<br />
<br />
Since I wrote the above post, Gabriel's body has been found. A young life snuffed out so tragically.Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-1068325747695625792018-03-05T03:17:00.001-08:002018-03-06T08:48:26.259-08:00Storms in a Desert!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
As well as the ruins of the goldmine at Rodalquilar, there are the remains
of other striking industrial buildings and structures on the Cabo de Gata.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Human beings have made their mark on the area
for centuries.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Many of these buildings
are connected to the need for water - the old aljibes or water cisterns first
designed and built by the Moors can be found everywhere. The ones in these
photos are at Cortijo del Frailes, the grand farmhouse (now ruined) where a dramatic murder took place in 1928 which
provided the inspiration for Carmen de Burgos's novel, <i>Carnation Dagger</i>, and Lorca’s play, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood
Wedding.</i><br />
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<br />
<br />
One day we drove up passed the small town of Nijar towards Lucainena de las
Torres, to the haunting site of the deserted dam and the Isabel II reservoir, built
in 1848.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an ambitious project in
its time, designed to bring water and fertility to the fields of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nijar, but it was a complete failure - in
only twenty years the dam had silted up and after fifty years there was no sign
of any water at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been
abandoned ever since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
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<br />
It is a strange eerie place, totally silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é, we’re used to hearing the incessant sound of birds singing but
here there was not a single bird to be heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were no houses, no people, nothing stirred - not even the wind.</span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Another
day we stopped to look at the impressive, if crumbling, aqueduct at </span><a href="http://c7.alamy.com/comp/FBWBBW/fernn-prezaqueduct-cabo-de-gata-nijar-natural-park-biosphere-reserve-FBWBBW.jpg"><span class="caption-text-content"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Fernán Pérez</span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, also designed to improve irrigation
in the region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was built at the
beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup> century to redirect a stream in order to
extend farming.</span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
an area that is officially designated as desert (hard to believe as I watch the
rain through my window) the need for water is a constant preoccupation and
concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Commercial agriculture in the
huge plastic-covered greenhouses of Murcia and Almeria is increasing this
preoccupation, consuming more and more water and so lowering the watertable of
the region to an alarming extent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As
I said, it’s hard to believe I’m in a desert, having spent three months here
during one of the worst winters Spain - and indeed, the whole of Europe - has known
in modern times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The province of Almeria
has been tormented by constant storms, beginning with Storm Ana soon after we
arrived and continuing through the alphabet to Storm Emma which has been raging
for nearly a week now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It has been a
miserable and depressing winter but at least we've had no snow here, unlike the UK and most of Spain! However, we will be glad to return home next week.</span><br />
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<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-387423152508164732018-02-27T03:53:00.002-08:002018-02-27T03:53:31.781-08:00The Creative Cabo.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
The Cabo to Gata seems to attract a lot of highly talented graffiti artists and
there are many striking images to be found in the strangest places. This is
especially true of Rodalquilar with its large number of ruined miner’s cottages
and the strange deserted buildings of the old goldmine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDSjyODs-4dKmxp-fWn-Nb_5JfSoaNkJzrW0n3LDY9HnmvsMgyKG_1u3hfstkwtN9cdaaDU9e83C4r9sxWsiALYy2LrvRZhvEwB4GTVj2G3XCX1mjB4ZO4if4FYDh4i27VxOGKlbnVvw/s1600/The+goldmine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDSjyODs-4dKmxp-fWn-Nb_5JfSoaNkJzrW0n3LDY9HnmvsMgyKG_1u3hfstkwtN9cdaaDU9e83C4r9sxWsiALYy2LrvRZhvEwB4GTVj2G3XCX1mjB4ZO4if4FYDh4i27VxOGKlbnVvw/s320/The+goldmine.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBcRAETwFdkXLogwVkOTlgdyn19Bbj9CU6XIIXaWWJcP1GatRP6yn58qHtXOt6vWpuPrEqc3JXN8MX7KfjA31KZEf5qy3Nc87VeoLxxRT0HjEQa2Nj5fHg5Ynrecom1BjIE7nQ1bROsQ/s1600/Goldmine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBcRAETwFdkXLogwVkOTlgdyn19Bbj9CU6XIIXaWWJcP1GatRP6yn58qHtXOt6vWpuPrEqc3JXN8MX7KfjA31KZEf5qy3Nc87VeoLxxRT0HjEQa2Nj5fHg5Ynrecom1BjIE7nQ1bROsQ/s320/Goldmine.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiee2mtaWcqQHf89xYnQjXjFcbnrScDJkciAUcVwcZPAmvOydENzqHYcSa5KXrtcb19fLijzwnoVW_-Ty7TtkXm8Y6P6LZZB5cnpOypH6ZmQaDYcEa5efeU3j3saZO7Tk1LLRB6UeBwCYA/s1600/Graffiti%252C+faces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiee2mtaWcqQHf89xYnQjXjFcbnrScDJkciAUcVwcZPAmvOydENzqHYcSa5KXrtcb19fLijzwnoVW_-Ty7TtkXm8Y6P6LZZB5cnpOypH6ZmQaDYcEa5efeU3j3saZO7Tk1LLRB6UeBwCYA/s320/Graffiti%252C+faces.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I’m often puzzled as to how the artists managed to decorate some of the harder
to reach parts of the goldmine!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMt4NmitnysMmkEQZ5JqDmVFApnabJ6aeEJMxl1hF14vb1FClLTp2ocqENL0oWqdyfWKXX1aTVylIaqs9bLBn7KpxsN8kG88vjA5zj-2zh_tGSNHZP5wzOu4daiPAIzUnGQuucwqFAVs/s1600/Graffiti%252C+Biffo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMt4NmitnysMmkEQZ5JqDmVFApnabJ6aeEJMxl1hF14vb1FClLTp2ocqENL0oWqdyfWKXX1aTVylIaqs9bLBn7KpxsN8kG88vjA5zj-2zh_tGSNHZP5wzOu4daiPAIzUnGQuucwqFAVs/s320/Graffiti%252C+Biffo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsN4F3vUMaOEmc9A5tYaumQYxP6mUbPCi2u3ABBQgX8BD95D-JRzz_9-LRHSlkn8OfB5PFZDkslnnSQ-PGFkyi7TC5GIsVgAcQhNHf4Vzg9dGWx3kktu2y0I6-4I2EZgS5TpMnqB5mLo/s1600/Graffiti+at+mine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsN4F3vUMaOEmc9A5tYaumQYxP6mUbPCi2u3ABBQgX8BD95D-JRzz_9-LRHSlkn8OfB5PFZDkslnnSQ-PGFkyi7TC5GIsVgAcQhNHf4Vzg9dGWx3kktu2y0I6-4I2EZgS5TpMnqB5mLo/s320/Graffiti+at+mine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This area has inspired creativity for a long time. A great many films have
been made around here, e.g. Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones, as well as many westerns.
Film buffs can follow the “rutas del cine” and see the places where various
scenes were shot. <br />
In Almeria city there is a statue to John Lennon who wrote his song “Strawberry
Fields” while staying there when taking part in the making of the film, How
I Won the War.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-67826319202551881152018-02-23T08:45:00.000-08:002018-02-24T03:15:46.632-08:00Sounds of the Cabo.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
One of the most distinctive sounds of the Cabo de Gata is the ringing of
goat bells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a haunting sound that carries a long way
across the quiet valleys and hills and it always fills me with a strange, achingly painful happiness.<br />
<br />
There are three herds of goats and sheep in this area so we come across them
almost every day grazing by the roadsides, in the fields or on the hillsides, on
the cliffs and the dunes by the seashore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once it was terrifying when we were out on the cliffs and we saw two young
billygoats headbutting each other on the edge of a sheer drop down on to the
rocks below!<br />
<br />
In this short video clip you can hear both goat bells and the blustery wind
that is another common sound of the Cabo:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxi7Z-Vx6eHeiGmZQj5-ONR37OPHmsDpToBbkknn-F7v_ntp6lYszRUY9DmwbNesZlxgGkiRyKK5QUlLU0eVQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="tab-stops: 259.15pt;">
They are always accompanied by their shepherd and at least one dog - often
two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shepherds live closely with
their animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Rodalquilar, there are
two shabby old houses on smallholdings, both with a goat shed standing right beside them where
the goats and sheep are penned at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The animals are kept for their milk which is turned into cheese – the land here
is too poor for dairy cattle so all the cheese comes from goats or sheep.</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjY_OPkY4-uXZ34qbb5T5TdihOZ4WP7EtKouS4y9Rg5CsI0GaEF-a8Ki1ddXwG74Rb8CjjKOA_bVb9q3mc23O8Hxfb1VDJWrQm3PE0BUFLatItT_8osd13iAbC8mBitaV6VZ_WyOlaRw/s1600/Goats+and+herder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjY_OPkY4-uXZ34qbb5T5TdihOZ4WP7EtKouS4y9Rg5CsI0GaEF-a8Ki1ddXwG74Rb8CjjKOA_bVb9q3mc23O8Hxfb1VDJWrQm3PE0BUFLatItT_8osd13iAbC8mBitaV6VZ_WyOlaRw/s320/Goats+and+herder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gARKCDbVRHLdI4YiCmdv65HvIBC_U6CDTLOQeSa-YhF-1I3bXLxIGQBVaJLvS7tNDIsdq_X57Ik2Nxm7gJr5RFyszD6nVv3gTSvZ-FzX0-AeX4Ipbq0vDBW3zy_8oWFNhrEZCEfyZag/s1600/IMG_20180208_122713864%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gARKCDbVRHLdI4YiCmdv65HvIBC_U6CDTLOQeSa-YhF-1I3bXLxIGQBVaJLvS7tNDIsdq_X57Ik2Nxm7gJr5RFyszD6nVv3gTSvZ-FzX0-AeX4Ipbq0vDBW3zy_8oWFNhrEZCEfyZag/s320/IMG_20180208_122713864%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Other common sounds of the Cabo are the calling of the crested larks that we see
everywhere in the countryside, the constant cooing of the collared doves flying about San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é (I have seen as many as ten at a time roosting together on a rooftop), and </span>the hypnotic sound of the sea<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span>Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-62026322265267227012018-02-13T02:25:00.000-08:002018-02-13T02:33:30.074-08:00ART IN THE EVERYDAY<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Besides the professional artists, creativity can be found
everywhere in less formal ways, such as these painted gates in Rodalquilar:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAl2KfSTGguQBVO6Vs-pw2GLdQ1qcsyIaMOQrFM1XWDsN-SOnmgfpI4yA-YhQU05_balQEEeGqVuV3jBB4hxPI2UiAebIoJ2VHQjcJNu_KIYeCfZzc-FGYK4FyCQZl60mXWl5vJuyuWc/s1600/IMG_20180130_145308286_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAl2KfSTGguQBVO6Vs-pw2GLdQ1qcsyIaMOQrFM1XWDsN-SOnmgfpI4yA-YhQU05_balQEEeGqVuV3jBB4hxPI2UiAebIoJ2VHQjcJNu_KIYeCfZzc-FGYK4FyCQZl60mXWl5vJuyuWc/s320/IMG_20180130_145308286_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">And painted agave stalks:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRfSkU61bLxhz1ytWGbGCO4HfthbL78x1sp6Dy5q5GTDfShoNPwQt1OrTnVDNJOURDT7BK9gLKyTcj6_BOkrqsS4awSvJ5CxUT7i_naV8NI-e3-2mP1OL_SrGBRbHoD7MnIn2a_3jGSE/s1600/IMG_20180130_145101237_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRfSkU61bLxhz1ytWGbGCO4HfthbL78x1sp6Dy5q5GTDfShoNPwQt1OrTnVDNJOURDT7BK9gLKyTcj6_BOkrqsS4awSvJ5CxUT7i_naV8NI-e3-2mP1OL_SrGBRbHoD7MnIn2a_3jGSE/s320/IMG_20180130_145101237_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ephemeral art is constructed on the beaches, at Playa el Playazo:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuNXA-Vv2iIcU2pUm8UejQtekv4DtrKvPibm3F49PrVolgwrAHo9dX1EW9RhrVIDUzX8n3myoQJXtG8_Q3tRK0k8IF40-5QLNCxhvqnCDeqfO9zl0tyIPnL4evZcVl1YoFQydbvQGAW0/s1600/IMG_20180105_163645631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuNXA-Vv2iIcU2pUm8UejQtekv4DtrKvPibm3F49PrVolgwrAHo9dX1EW9RhrVIDUzX8n3myoQJXtG8_Q3tRK0k8IF40-5QLNCxhvqnCDeqfO9zl0tyIPnL4evZcVl1YoFQydbvQGAW0/s320/IMG_20180105_163645631.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX1GjNJnGIz9Eju9CvAoKQZGDfeIbHmc82AfGMmWkB7IvEsn56sBBXDHs8uXXu8epTM23syfkm9XrepPza_4SjcBvbTDgmyUTkHEDhRspBYglNmaJHntk3zhmCP2uf5KXPE0KJa7xQbc/s1600/IMG_20180105_163654321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX1GjNJnGIz9Eju9CvAoKQZGDfeIbHmc82AfGMmWkB7IvEsn56sBBXDHs8uXXu8epTM23syfkm9XrepPza_4SjcBvbTDgmyUTkHEDhRspBYglNmaJHntk3zhmCP2uf5KXPE0KJa7xQbc/s320/IMG_20180105_163654321.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgualkqB15V8P5PF2MjgclREBkq5gPbeK8Ghr4_ykn1-YeG603Rnawckd5gzjS2XhuPL_x1LgXVfJ4qIRRpEZByttUmxDl-smFvhlZ6ryzJbZsoD5mC7vAnlYbrJyuGNYR-Ds1Q6vrCR-M/s1600/IMG_20180105_163708990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgualkqB15V8P5PF2MjgclREBkq5gPbeK8Ghr4_ykn1-YeG603Rnawckd5gzjS2XhuPL_x1LgXVfJ4qIRRpEZByttUmxDl-smFvhlZ6ryzJbZsoD5mC7vAnlYbrJyuGNYR-Ds1Q6vrCR-M/s320/IMG_20180105_163708990.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">And at Cala del Carnaje:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2ksRpCGFbXOXLgcowdU-cd1LB6OEeHPFr_gdPNpqIY-yIBRuAsZD_5eW6WukDXK81C3-ULAw3AARTJIZ7UZaXr1rqx3RtHlwD-L7ftGSxipKoR3mvnUMk0ZABb5mjhADQPQVjmEnGUU/s1600/IMG_20180117_150659726_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2ksRpCGFbXOXLgcowdU-cd1LB6OEeHPFr_gdPNpqIY-yIBRuAsZD_5eW6WukDXK81C3-ULAw3AARTJIZ7UZaXr1rqx3RtHlwD-L7ftGSxipKoR3mvnUMk0ZABb5mjhADQPQVjmEnGUU/s320/IMG_20180117_150659726_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<br />
While there is the general run-of-the-mill graffiti about, there are some really striking images to be found, such as this face:<br />
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Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-32377001912447171412018-02-07T09:40:00.003-08:002018-02-27T03:54:21.901-08:00Art on the Cabo<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]-->The Cabo de Gata attracts a wide number of artists; painters, sculptors,
writers. The constantly changing light on both the land and the sea
provides never ending inspiration; the dazzling sunlight and vibrant colours
can change in an hour to an eery mist that turns the hills into the magical
landscape of a fairytale.<br />
<br />
Here in San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é </span>our resident artist is Laura Quintana who has a studio
near the port as well as one in Almeria. Originally from Madrid, she fell
in love with the ever-changing light and colour of the Cabo and has lived and
worked in the area for nine years.<br />
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Her work beautifully recreates the vivid seascape and landscape of the Cabo.<br />
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The village of Rodalquilar, where we stayed last year, has a number of
resident artists and writers, and has transformed itself into a living art
gallery, <i>Rodalquilarte.</i> This year a number of new works of art
have been displayed on the walls of the houses and shops. This gorgeous
cat is by Lola Monterreal.<br />
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The names of all the artists involved in <i>Rodalquilarte:</i><br />
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Here are some more of my favourites:<br />
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Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-9409997006381294632018-02-02T02:58:00.001-08:002018-02-02T03:02:52.429-08:00BLACK REDSTART<br />
<br />
One of the most common birds here is the black redstart, with a black head, dark grey back and wings, enlivened by a white stripe on the wings and a bright red tail. We see them everywhere in the countryside and there is one who visits the garden outside our house every morning. Here are some photos I took through the kitchen window:<br />
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I don't have any poetry for this bird in my booklet by Juan Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é
Trujillo Reyes so I've written a couple of lines myself:</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">"in flight you flaunt your bright red petticoat with its white lace edging</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">that peeks beneath the black skirt of your wings as you pose upon the stone"</span>Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-76045888191732815992018-01-22T06:04:00.001-08:002018-02-27T03:54:56.021-08:00Bird Poetry and Beach Flowers.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
Flamingos in the lagoon at Las Salinas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The photo is taken from one of the bird hides
with a mobile phone so you may need to use your imagination to make out the
birds!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAy9QTavIlq-gLJBMABefVjXXdc-5hJB7SLfUqK48ZFAwylGFLsmCGPMWmh5s5U3f8LsUM0s4O6NT9WR2Gd_YBWyDuFCiMx6bl4ogEf79PsSc2K60qpvvBeJag8EFB54F0dOoC7YOHQ0g/s1600/IMG_20171226_131303065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAy9QTavIlq-gLJBMABefVjXXdc-5hJB7SLfUqK48ZFAwylGFLsmCGPMWmh5s5U3f8LsUM0s4O6NT9WR2Gd_YBWyDuFCiMx6bl4ogEf79PsSc2K60qpvvBeJag8EFB54F0dOoC7YOHQ0g/s320/IMG_20171226_131303065.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are hundreds of birds here; it seems strange in the
middle of winter to hear bird song all around you. In the tourist information
office in San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span> I found a mini guide to the birds of the Cabo de Gata. It
is in Spanish which is excellent practice for my language skills! The
description of the birds are accompanied by lines of poetry, both written by
Juan Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é
Trujillo Reyes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In strict translation they rarely work as poetry, but I have
tried translating some of the lines about the more common birds around here in
a way that I hope is reasonably successful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
We see Crested Larks everywhere, making their
curving flight across the land, and Alpine Swifts circle around the rocks
above, hunting insects.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Of the crested larks, Juan Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é Trujillo
Reyes says:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Con su moño y grácil movimiento...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">...alegria del campo árido”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(With his topknot and graceful flight...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">...he brings joy to the arid land)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx9Sij2Hu3V6aLMXtNvkPoLqDrX-ziLvKMxnT_Vzbp_9RU73twBVMI0Qo7D_iW6eFQsU5aPizUFY5f39G1XdCHW8A28vcvUhcAm_mzde75GgO_DoAC30rp5J93J9fEHrbI-8TdIwjQF4/s1600/crested+lark+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx9Sij2Hu3V6aLMXtNvkPoLqDrX-ziLvKMxnT_Vzbp_9RU73twBVMI0Qo7D_iW6eFQsU5aPizUFY5f39G1XdCHW8A28vcvUhcAm_mzde75GgO_DoAC30rp5J93J9fEHrbI-8TdIwjQF4/s320/crested+lark+%25282%2529.JPG" width="323" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
We have seen Little Terns diving like arrows
straight from the sky, dropping into the sea then rising again to swoop above
the waves, searching for fish with their bright observant eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Juan Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é Trujillo Reyes describes them:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“A la playa no le llaméis exilio... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">...no es campo de refugiados, es refugio”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(To you, the shore is no exile ...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">...it’s not a refugee camp, it’s a refuge)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
In the village, white wagtails hop about the roads
and collared doves whirr about the house with their hypnotic cooing cry.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Juan Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span> describes the wagtails:</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
“Su reflejo en el agua ...l<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">í</span>mite de su sue<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ñ</span>o”</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
(His reflection in the water ...his dreams go no
further)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Everywhere, it appears, in the countryside around
San José there are Stonechats, Black Redstarts and Wheatears, as well as Eagles
hunting in the valleys and hills of the National Park.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The Stonechat:</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
“Desteca en el horizonte ...</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
...su silueta de centinela”</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
(Against the horizon ...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
...his silhouette stands sentinel)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Flamingos pick their way through the salt marshes
at Las Salinas, lifting their knees high, their beaks trained on the water
beneath. Juan José says of them: </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
“L<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">í</span>neas rosas que vuelan...</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
...leyenda del F<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>nix flameando los cielos”</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
(Flying crimson streamers...</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
...legend of the Phoenix flaming the skies)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week we had some miserable weather, a couple of very
grey chilly days and rain all one night and the best part of the next
day. But now the weather has turned glorious once again! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The advantage of
the rain is that all the wildflowers have suddenly burst into bloom, almost
overnight. I found these Bermuda buttercups actually growing among the pebbles
on the beach at Cala del Carnaje.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5QIlmR1YeTDKo8Kxxto59MC-4mWdBZlBTF3ajUQQ6fyPg9g__Dz-qYukDaiRlj3iNZA6U-VLt6PBHIyT8eSSyXPlsLL1wdKxzpnCBpUfr3wvh7voJOSbQGSosw8wdDdj8IG0Hu_0sUg/s1600/IMG_20180117_150444983_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5QIlmR1YeTDKo8Kxxto59MC-4mWdBZlBTF3ajUQQ6fyPg9g__Dz-qYukDaiRlj3iNZA6U-VLt6PBHIyT8eSSyXPlsLL1wdKxzpnCBpUfr3wvh7voJOSbQGSosw8wdDdj8IG0Hu_0sUg/s320/IMG_20180117_150444983_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UdGSjYTVU-T9ETVWH9imcVuJl62cz80zTQ71b8yliBJbiZRl6bIGg_1545-pfIuEAgtMF1GTWZsC4_KDB6mrxq4hcOOhlnHVle-iq20d_tZ5FZRWe7JO7l8nAWG8qGYqIcEC_WkF1N8/s1600/IMG_20180117_150458160_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UdGSjYTVU-T9ETVWH9imcVuJl62cz80zTQ71b8yliBJbiZRl6bIGg_1545-pfIuEAgtMF1GTWZsC4_KDB6mrxq4hcOOhlnHVle-iq20d_tZ5FZRWe7JO7l8nAWG8qGYqIcEC_WkF1N8/s320/IMG_20180117_150458160_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And these exquisite sand crocuses were growing on the edge
of the beach at Playa de los Genoveses where they stud the sand dunes like stars.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtIeMrOmF5c7wNhk7w0zwgqQUTbAgFzv2whK606FRAxi2zu2Lj42Ieu52UZDumo63wvohMnaIbxONuRWjKeoljPAreLGL9mBiHNDNOBulAliTVfI8ZQctt1cB9U8ROrKs_AECjaF8AfE/s1600/IMG_20180110_161727146_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtIeMrOmF5c7wNhk7w0zwgqQUTbAgFzv2whK606FRAxi2zu2Lj42Ieu52UZDumo63wvohMnaIbxONuRWjKeoljPAreLGL9mBiHNDNOBulAliTVfI8ZQctt1cB9U8ROrKs_AECjaF8AfE/s320/IMG_20180110_161727146_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-47712270089268731332018-01-13T08:49:00.000-08:002018-03-10T04:24:30.582-08:00A City of Contrasts and Andalucian Rap!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Almeria is one of my favourite cities but there is nothing obvious about it - to many people, it
would seem a bit of a dump but that is precisely why I love it. It is an
earthy, real city where people live and work and struggle to survive, as they
have done for hundreds of years. Ever
since the Moors were driven out and the Christians took over, the region has been one
of the poorest and most neglected corners of Spain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">There is a lot of poverty and ugliness in Almeria but there are stunningly beautiful corners waiting to be discovered.</span></div>
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ANDALUCIAN RAP AND FLAMENCO</div>
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The other night we watched a documentary about rap poetry in Andalucia which
gave a very different picture of the region to the one the tourist centres try
to create.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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These rap artists are performing on the streets of the
poorest neighbourhoods of the cities of the south.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They have names like "Gordo Master" (we debated how to translate this; I suggested "Fat Controller" but S. thought "Big Daddy" was better!)</span><br />
Their rap poetry is unique to Andalucia, for
the rhythm and beat of flamenco are clearly recognisable within it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, as one young man performed on the
street and a crowd of local residents gathered round, two older women
spontaneously started clapping and dancing flamenco-style to the singing of the young rapper.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two art forms are born out of the
same cultural tradition - the same vitality, poverty, alienation and pride.</div>
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Even where we live in East London, an area so diverse and
multicultural, I can’t imagine women my age dancing in the street like that.</div>
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There is no doubt that Andalucians are a lot less
self-conscious than we Northern Europeans, possibly because of the climate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it can get so hot, everyone strips off
no matter what their body size or shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They have a far more healthy attitude to the body - a far less
sexualised one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more a culture hides
the body, the more hung-up they seem to become about it and the more they
fetishize it in a harmful, damaging way.</div>
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<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-66133182697172302392018-01-07T05:49:00.002-08:002018-02-27T03:56:08.210-08:00CABALGATA CONTROVERSIES! Drag Queens, Kings or Buddhist monks?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->The 6<sup>th</sup> January, the feast of Epiphany when the
three Magi arrived bearing gifts for the infant Jesus, has special significance
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the day when children
traditionally receive their presents - from the Magi instead of Santa Claus –
and every city, town, and even many villages stage a Cabalgata, a carnival
procession with colourful decorated floats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<br /></div>
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In the cities and large towns the parades are stunning, full
of noise and drama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be bands
and dancers, trapeze artists, jugglers and acrobats, as well as a large number
of floats – one for each of the Magi (Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior) and their
pages or attendants, as well as floats representing all manner of things, often
weird and wonderful with little relevance to the Christmas story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the floats go by, their occupants throw
handfuls of sweets to the watching crowds.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This winter Spain has been buffeted by storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Eleanor” is the latest to sweep through
bringing snow and freezing conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In an effort to avoid the worst of the weather, most places staged their
Cabalgata on the 5<sup>th</sup> instead of the 6<sup>th</sup> January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rodalquilar, although it’s such a tiny
village, once again had its own Cabalgata on the 5<sup>th</sup> – just one
float with all three wise men squeezed in together.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This year the Cabalgata has also been troubled with
controversy as well as the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
began with the news that a float in Madrid intended to have a drag queen as one
of its Magi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was declared
irreligious by the political right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was pointed out in return that many floats and parades have bizarre fictional
characters, e.g. a robot from Star Wars, who have no connection whatsoever
to Christianity or to the Christmas story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, most “Balthazars” across Spain are white men blacked-up, surely far
more offensive and false!</div>
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<br /></div>
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As for me, I have never come across any place in the Bible
where we are told who the Magi were; what they looked like, what their names
were, or where they came from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as
I can remember, all we read is that “wise men from the East” came bearing
gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they could have been Chinese astronomers,
or Tibetan monks looking for the new Dalai Lama!</div>
Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-73836530794682680382018-01-06T06:30:00.002-08:002018-03-10T04:26:06.109-08:00In a Land of Light<br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]-->The Cabo de Gata has a light so unique it has attracted a large
number of artists to live and work here. It's a light made up of
dazzling sun and a glittering sea that can be such a vivid blue it shocks you
with its intensity.<br />
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There are dunes made up of tiny broken fossils, black
volcanic hills with voluptuous curves and sharper volcanic cones; vast volcanic
craters full of wildflowers that bloom in spite of the poor soil, nourished by
the heavy dews at night and the glorious sunshine by day.<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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After days of radiant sunshine, dark clouds hide the hills
or an eerie sea mist blows in, as if the land were being invaded by wraiths. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, although the wind can be cold here in
winter, the sun is never gone for long and the extraordinary light makes the most
ordinary objects seem beautiful. The light changes at different times of day,
my favourite time is just before sunset when the light becomes softer and
turns everything a golden honey colour.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTJusbnJmqxh9F8wKZMwTHQvn5hOOzCqlcULDGNfKGiEmtmiOU3_M0vKvjRb1jdU4uAEINTRJIhp83xftujUfLsCVr50RYkMF6nYu4_07jUhIz47A4j0zdYVwJTwO0ApDx1v5k5Vnaxw/s1600/honey+colour+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTJusbnJmqxh9F8wKZMwTHQvn5hOOzCqlcULDGNfKGiEmtmiOU3_M0vKvjRb1jdU4uAEINTRJIhp83xftujUfLsCVr50RYkMF6nYu4_07jUhIz47A4j0zdYVwJTwO0ApDx1v5k5Vnaxw/s320/honey+colour+beach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The way people live here varies as much as the light. The fishermen and the artists both struggle to make a living, heavily relying on the brief tourist season.<br />
<br />
The shepherds and goatherds both live in a way that hasn't changed for hundreds of years, wandering the hillsides and the dunes with their dogs and their herds, just like the shepherd portrayed in the Christmas Belen in Almeria, leading his sheep beneath the walls of the Alcazabar.<br />
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<br />
The Alcazabar still dominates the city, it's the largest Arabic fort in Andalucia. Here are photos of Almeria taken from the Alcazabar, looking towards the port where ferries sail to and from North Africa, just as the Moors did when Andalucia was an important part of the Moorish Empire:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0fUaXt054UdFtIh9MxRPStDZaWuGh9TFFtAvwkUATZntKQzq-z4shofXUp62F91f614Zqj31sPXNNxL7QiuNHAyOKmYNZA_2fmZb_4jmxYbpIPfBVgJxnQwyWjFSMoN6yMnfkVvTxvQ/s1600/Alcazabar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0fUaXt054UdFtIh9MxRPStDZaWuGh9TFFtAvwkUATZntKQzq-z4shofXUp62F91f614Zqj31sPXNNxL7QiuNHAyOKmYNZA_2fmZb_4jmxYbpIPfBVgJxnQwyWjFSMoN6yMnfkVvTxvQ/s320/Alcazabar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yQWE3BAOipdEKaspWpgXqzUDEPJvLpDDYLTGJ0wXsI0pEWq8z46aKF55py83Jcy4Ztbi2-xN_Ranwp1xpDxXPrj3JOJsLQXeOb_EN2Gi_8NbWAnbuyHpP2v1MyLTsCfakOmMxjTBd7Y/s1600/Almeria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yQWE3BAOipdEKaspWpgXqzUDEPJvLpDDYLTGJ0wXsI0pEWq8z46aKF55py83Jcy4Ztbi2-xN_Ranwp1xpDxXPrj3JOJsLQXeOb_EN2Gi_8NbWAnbuyHpP2v1MyLTsCfakOmMxjTBd7Y/s320/Almeria.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
As with almost anywhere you go on the Cabo, there are a multitude of cats wandering the Alcazabar. This one adopted us, determined to sit on us and pin us down! <br />
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Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-64890063958777228792017-12-28T03:29:00.001-08:002017-12-28T04:02:48.391-08:00FELIZ NAVIDAD!<br />
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Christmas lights in the little village of Pozo de los Frailes:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">It is traditional here for each parish and each local municipality to create a </span><span style="font-size: small;">nativity scene called a Bel</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">é</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">n</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span>However, these are not nativity scenes such as we have
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday we visited Almeria, my favourite city. I love its shabby charm and its atmosphere full of a lost elegance of past years. And it has some of the best graffiti I've ever seen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Its municipal Bel</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">é</span></span></span></span>n was vast, filling a hall in the Museo de la Guitarra. In it we found buildings from Almeria and its surrounding area, such as the Alcazabar (the old Moorish fort), the Cathedral, and the iconic church from the salt works near the salinas (salt marshes) on the Cabo de Gata. Here are some photos, first of a market scene just as you can find in any village here on market day:</span><br />
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I loved this little cat curled up asleep! <br />
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The church at the salinas with a pile of salt next to it:<br />
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Finally, a shepherd with the Alcazabar up above him:<br />
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We visited the Alcazabar yesterday but more on that in my next post!Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-35651930149755146282017-12-17T06:39:00.000-08:002017-12-17T06:39:39.681-08:00San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é in December.</span><br />
<br />
We have been here in San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é </span>for a week now although it doesn't seem like it. It's taken me a long while to recover from the journey, longer than I would have expected. I suppose it's inevitable given the worrying acceleration of my degenerative problems and nerve damage over the last couple of years.<br /><br />The house we're staying in is a real home. Last year, the place in Rodalquilar, although lovely, felt much more like a rental property. It's true it is a little strange being in someone else's home, with their family photos and personal possessions around us, but it feels welcoming, and it's so easy to get to the sea, to the shops, and anywhere else without any difficulty. Given that San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span> is built up the hillsides surrounding the bay, this is a real boon.<br />
<br />
I have a space where I can work, with a terrace on either side giving me views of the hills and the Eucalyptus trees that surround the house - their smell is wonderful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtYpal191ImFGQ0fzgGswoA_b6dR5x0efy5_MkMpMQm1cIr9xkKR2XGZ9JD1lrASiSt-Iijor3bWWXV-9f_RpKS1AOVY27mSqflIcMKTrMjjMAuTolNVKHNcNqxraMFv89HkjbsL_QVE/s1600/Hills+from+terrace%252C+San+Jose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtYpal191ImFGQ0fzgGswoA_b6dR5x0efy5_MkMpMQm1cIr9xkKR2XGZ9JD1lrASiSt-Iijor3bWWXV-9f_RpKS1AOVY27mSqflIcMKTrMjjMAuTolNVKHNcNqxraMFv89HkjbsL_QVE/s320/Hills+from+terrace%252C+San+Jose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />We had a couple of minor teething problems when we arrived, such as the fridge not working, and the house being terribly cold as it hadn't been heated for some time. L & L, our kind and generous landlords, sorted everything out - even driving all the way from Granada to buy a new fridge!<br />
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San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span> has that special atmosphere of an out-of-season seaside town. Today, being Sunday, the market was set up in the Rambla and we bought our week's vegetables and fruit, also an impressive Poinsetta to decorate the house for Christmas. My sister will be visiting us for the holiday, so S is battling with the old and uncooperative vacuum cleaner and swearing and cursing in a manner that would make a sailor blush - even a seasoned fisherman from the Cabo!<br />
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<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-25998226877790921092017-12-12T02:56:00.002-08:002018-03-10T04:25:19.928-08:00Landscape, Inscape<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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After several days travelling, and a couple more days to
recover from travelling, we are settled at last in San Jos<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>,
the Cabo de Gata.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The journey seemed more of an ordeal this year, although I don’t
know why since the ferry crossing was painless and we took a two night break in
La Cabrera, just north of Madrid.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Crossing the Bay of Biscay, I couldn’t help feeling a little
sad, even if it was contrary of me, that in this world of satellite and instant
communication, we are always in touch - through Facebook, email, WhatsApp. The
world has become so much smaller and lost some of its mystery. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have this romantic idea of travelling as being neither here nor there, totally
inaccessible, somewhere imbetween, outside the world we
know and the world to come. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a place of infinite possibilities because we
could always change our minds, go to another destination, never arrive, leaving
those expecting us puzzled and bewildered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We could disappear through a portal to somewhere beyond, like death
itself, destination unknown.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
La Cabrera was beautiful, the jagged Pico de Miel hills are like
peaks from a folktale, the creation of someone’s vivid imagination.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Zyv69q2up7_bL_9fwzt4YzXB7ffOC2H-OMAvm0QrHny0uzcJmk0temCx1o4UP4x1JCMic7j2vBEz5-vUWXNHmYWnWkAuOpwrP-mAaI8VTfK0QzgNMOk_FL_MnUp4wtJ-6xjPVZ-yi7A/s1600/Pico+de+Miel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Zyv69q2up7_bL_9fwzt4YzXB7ffOC2H-OMAvm0QrHny0uzcJmk0temCx1o4UP4x1JCMic7j2vBEz5-vUWXNHmYWnWkAuOpwrP-mAaI8VTfK0QzgNMOk_FL_MnUp4wtJ-6xjPVZ-yi7A/s320/Pico+de+Miel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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We have been lucky as we left London only just in time, now
it is covered in snow! We left La Cabrera and northern Spain only just in time
as well, as they have been lashed with torrential rain and gale-force winds.
Even here we had strong winds and some rain yesterday, but today the sky is
a cloudless blue once more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-72993297384013095312017-11-21T07:46:00.003-08:002017-11-21T07:46:48.588-08:00Another year, a new project!We will be returning to the Cabo de Gata in December and I'm planning another adventure this winter so I'll be keeping this
blog again. I'm not sure what the theme will be this time - last year I was
following in the footsteps of the socialist writer Juan Goytisolo in his
book, Nijar Country. I shall do something different this year. Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-5700194764875330802017-03-07T04:29:00.004-08:002017-03-07T04:43:38.668-08:00Some final reflections. <br />
<br />
Now we're back in the UK, I have a chance to reflect on the experience of living for a short while in the province of Almeria.<br />
<br />
One of the things that struck me most was just how much has changed on the Cabo de Gata, and particularly in Rodalquilar, within living memory. It's only 50 years since the gold mine closed in the village, and there are still people whose fathers and grandfathers worked in the mine. <br />
Reading Juan Goytisolo, I am shocked by the conditions under which they lived and worked such a short time ago. Many of the miners died from emphysema, and many more had accidents since health and safety in the mine was minimal, and following those accidents they had to wait months or even years before they received any sort of compensation.<br />
<br />
In the 1950s, when Goytisolo visited Rodalquilar, we already had a National Health Service in the UK, although it was recently established. Reading 'Campos de Nijar', brings it home to me what a difference it makes when you don't have to pay for basic health care. Not just from the story of the woman dying from gangrene in her leg, but because of a blind baby Goytisolo tells us about when he reaches the small town of Nijar after leaving Rodalquilar. One of the miners he has travelled with, invites him into his home where he meets the man's wife, Modesta, and their children. <br />
The miner takes his 18-month-old baby on his knee and "kisses him all over his face.<br />
'Lovely, ain't he?'<br />
The baby does seem to be sturdier than his brothers, but I look at his squinting, apparently lifeless eyes, and Modesta anticipates my question:<br />
'It's a pity he's blind.'<br />
'He don't see a thing,' the man adds. 'Bin like that ever since he was born.'<br />
I ask them if a doctor's ever looked at him.<br />
'They took him to Almeria once. They said they'd have to operate on him.'<br />
'There?'<br />
'No. In Barcelona.'<br />
'They say there's a very good doctor in Barcelona.'<br />
'It's all the same to us, whether he's good or bad.'<br />
'I don' know why you say that,' his wife complains.<br />
'Because it's true. We won't find a soul to pay the fare…'<br />
The father cradles the baby in a strange, loving way."<br />
It's shocking to think that this little boy will grown up blind when he could be cured if his parents could afford the fare to Barcelona and the fee for the operation. <br />
<br />
Goytisolo points out that Almeria province has been neglected ever since the Moors were expelled from Spain. Under the Moorish Empire, the city of Almeria was of great importance but no government since has cared about it or invested the much-needed money into it.<br />
Even today, when the "plasti-culture" produces vegetables that are exported all over Europe, there is a great deal of poverty in this area. Tourism is on the increase in the Cabo de Gata, particularly ecotourism owing to the National Park and the Marine reserve around the coast. This, perhaps more than anything, offers a real future and a way forward for the area.<br />
<br />
There are other things that have struck both S and I about Spain; striking differences between that country and the UK. I think at least some of these differences are owing to the legacy of Franco. The Spanish people, as we have experienced them, are noticeably less materialistic than British people. Society in Spain is far less consumer-driven. The priorities there are first and foremost the family, then the immediate community, then society as a whole.<br />
The Spanish seem to have a far better attitude towards life, maybe because they still seem rooted in the land. Spain doesn't seem to have experienced the kind of industrial revolution and consequent uprooting of the workforce that Britain went through in the 19th century. People still have a strong identity with particular area, even a particular village.<br />
<br />
Sadly, I have to say that they seem far kinder and more compassionate on the whole. The UK seems to have lost much of its humanity by comparison. Just two examples of this: first, we were surprised by the reporting in the news on national television of the disappearance of a young woman from a northern village six months earlier. In the UK, unless the woman was a "celebrity", after months had gone by, her disappearance would not be considered newsworthy. Second, when the body of a refugee child was washed up on a beach in southern Spain the whole country was appalled and horrified, and it wasn't just a nine-day wonder, people all over the country demanded that the government take more refugees into Spain. In Barcelona there was even a huge demonstration.<br />
I feel very sad and ashamed to acknowledge it, but I can't imagine British people turning out in their thousands to demand that the government take more refugees into the UK.<br />
<br />
On a personal level, we were deeply moved by the kindness and helpfulness shown to us by the Spanish we met everywhere; in Almeria, on the Cabo, and on our journey home through Spain to Santander on the north coast.Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-65942586297755877542017-02-26T05:01:00.001-08:002017-03-07T04:42:24.048-08:00<span data-offset-key="2pb7k-0-0"><span data-text="true">Leaving the Cabo. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="2pb7k-0-0"><span data-text="true">I can't believe our stay here is nearly over! We leave Rodalquilar tomorrow, Monday 27th February, arriving home on Thursday. I hope the Bay of Biscay is as calm as it was coming - the sea was like a sheet of glass - but unfortunately there have been a lot of storms recently!</span></span><span data-offset-key="2pb7k-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="596ij-0-0"><span data-text="true">We're both feeling very sad to be going. It's been a really interesting experience, especially comparing life on the Cabo de Gata now with life in the 1950s, as Goytisolo describes it in 'Campos de Nijar'. It's striking both how much and how little has changed. At the end of his visit here, Juan talks of his endless "anger and despair" over the relentless poverty and suffering he has witnessed. Things have improved vastly in the last 50 years since then, yet some things are oddly unchanged. More on this later as I'm very busy now packing up and getting ready to travel. </span></span>Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-89164790421116003962017-02-25T10:23:00.001-08:002017-02-25T10:23:59.865-08:00Rodalquilar - colour and light.<br />
<br />
<i>Rodalquilarte</i> is having a facelift! The old art works that have grown rather shabby from being displayed on the walls for months are being replaced by fresh new ones. Our friend in the panaderia says there will be another festival in the summer too. Sadly, we won't be here to enjoy it - well, I doubt it.<br />
<br />
Here are some of my favourites among the new pictures that have been put up around the village:<br />
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But the whole village is like an artwork! An eye-catching cacti garden:<br />
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A colourful corner:<br />
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We went down to El Playazo yesterday. The wildflowers blooming everywhere grow more and more stunning; just when we think they can't get any better, something new comes into flower. The clifftops look like giant rock gardens:<br />
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Flowers bloom on the very edge of the beaches, in the sand.<br />
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I liked this gorgeously painted camper van in the car park at the beach:<br />
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This morning in El Abardinal botanic garden, there was a sunflower out - the first time I've ever seen a sunflower in February!<br />
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Only one more day here and then we have to go home to grey, colourless London.<br />
<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-2475069058580140462017-02-23T05:47:00.003-08:002017-02-24T02:48:18.009-08:00Water in a dry land. <br />
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We get a lot of our basic shopping in San Jose since it has a supermarket, if a small one, unlike Rodalquilar. One day on our way there, we stopped off in Pozo de los Frailes ('Monks' Well') and looked at the well in the centre of the village. It has been restored and provides an interesting example of the kind of communal amenities that used to be widely used here, right up until recently.<br />
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It worked by a donkey pulling a wheel round and round to hoist up pots of water.<br />
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When Juan Goytisolo came through the village in the 1950s, also on his way to San Jose, he watched the well being used:<br />
"After a fifteen-minute descent, a new settlement appears . . . It is Pozo de los Frailes, which has a school and looks bigger than the last one. By the side of the road a blindfolded ass is pulling on the axle of the draw-well. The wheel turns slowly, hoisting bucketfuls of water from the well which are then poured into the trough.<br />
"The children crowd around to see me, and some run-off to tell their mothers. 'A foreigner, a foreigner,' they shout. Women appear out of their hallways; there is an atmosphere of expectation. Rather intimidated, I pretend I'm looking at the cloudlets gathering over the mountains"<br />
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The trough Juan mentions, into which the water is channeled: <br />
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By chance, we discovered there was another beautifully restored well in the Rodalquilar valley down near El Playazo beach. In this case, it's a double well with an impressive reservoir tank in between the two wheels.<br />
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Why it's so far from Rodalquilar village seems a mystery. Maybe it dates back to the alum mining settlement built by Francisco de Vasco at the beginning of the 17th century?<br />
It's right over on the far side of the large bay, there is no obvious path leading to it and no sign to tell you that it's there, which seems strange since the restoration cost nearly a quarter of €1 million! But this is typical of the Cabo!<br />
After the Moors were driven out of Almeria, the people continued to use the aljibes (the Moorish wells and reservoirs) which centuries on can still be seen dotted about the landscape, but De Vasco's settlement was built after the Moors had left and so it would have needed a new water system.Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-49475822006184036472017-02-20T09:22:00.000-08:002017-02-20T09:22:03.544-08:00Where wild boar roam . . .<br />
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In many of the valleys and steep ravines leading down to isolated coves, such as Cala del Carnaje and Cala de los Toros, we've seen wild boar tracks and the characteristic signs of their rootling.<br />
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The valley of Cala del Carnaje:<br />
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A steep ravine leads to Cala de los Toros:<br />
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But it was up above Rodalquilar, in the valleys among the volcanic hills, that we found the freshest tracks.<br />
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"Here be wild boar"! <br />
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At the cove, Cala de los Toros - I don't look much like a hunter!<br />
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Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-20838670452769587372017-02-16T09:59:00.003-08:002017-02-19T07:05:04.717-08:00A Recipe for Lizard!<br />
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Flowers aren't the only wildlife here in abundance; we've seen (and heard!) many bullfrogs croaking to attract a mate; a small black snake slithered at speed in front of us, across the dirt road to El Playazo; and a lizard was basking in the sun in a sheltered ravine leading down to one of the isolated coves. He's lucky he is small and alive today - in the 1950s, when Juan Goytisolo was here, large lizards were eaten.<br />
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While Juan is travelling away from Rodalquilar, in the truck taking the workers home from the mine, they see a lizard half a metre long. One of the miners comments that if the truck stopped, they would catch the lizard: "'We cook them with tomato and a spot of garlic and parsley. They're very tasty.'"<br />
Juan tells him that in Catalonia "the farmworkers like them roasted."<br />
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I doubt anyone eats lizards here now, although the locals do often go foraging for food on the hillsides. Besides the multitude of herbs, at this time of year wild asparagus grows everywhere and we've seen many people gathering it. Our favourite bar in Rodalquilar, Casa Pintau, serves a wonderful soup with wild asparagus from the "campo."<br />
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In the ravines leading down to the hidden coves, and in the valleys among the volcanic hills above Rodalquilar, we have seen the tracks of wild boar, usually near great patches of churned up earth where they have been rooting:<br />
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I'm thankful we haven't met one - although judging from the freshness of the tracks, we have come close - as the wild boar in Spain can be large!<br />
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Then there are great numbers of birds here. Hundreds of swallows, come south like the camper vans in search of warmth, swoop about the village after insects; also, to my surprise, they fly about the clifftops. I've never associated swallows with the seashore. In fact, I always thought swallows migrated to Africa, but I suppose these must be tough northern swallows, from Scandinavia or the far north of Scotland! And we aren't very far from North Africa here - the Cabo de Gata only lies about 350kms across the Alboran sea from Melilla and the Moroccan coast.<br />
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Flocks of crested larks hop about the hillsides, and the fields and scrub, taking off into the air when we approach with their characteristic fluty song.<br />
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We've seen siskins on the hills and by the side of footpaths. Here is a male siskin in his bright plumage for the mating season:<br />
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There are hoopoes in Rodalquilar but although I've seen them at least four times, they have evaded my attempts to photograph them so far, and the eagles and buzzards that soar above the valleys, riding the thermal air currents, have proved equally as difficult to capture!<br />
Most exotic of all are the flamingos on the salt lake at Las Salinas, near Cabo de Gata village, picking their way on long, delicate legs through the saline water. <br />
<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-62333139033755082322017-02-13T05:07:00.000-08:002017-02-13T09:38:48.093-08:00Cats, flowers, and camper vans!<br />
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There are three things you find everywhere on the Cabo de Gata at the moment: the first are cats, the second wildflowers, and the third are camper vans. Cats, of course, you will find here all year round, whereas January and February seem to be the best time of year for wildflowers - also, almond blossom which has fully opened now. As for camper vans, in the summer I think they are more closely controlled and kept to the campsites, but now they are everywhere; on any piece of waste ground they can find, filling the village car parks, and even parking down at El Playazo and other beaches.<br />
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The majority of cats on the Cabo are among the most well-fed and sleek I have seen anywhere, possibly because of the amount of fresh fish here! In Rodalquilar, which is set 3 kms inland, they seem to live in a separate, if parallel, universe to the humans. They are friendly on the whole but not interested in people, going about their lives in relation to each other, occasionally agreeing to a stroke or a cuddle but seeming mostly rather bored by the human desire to make contact with them.<br />
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There are exceptions - twice we have seen cats going for a walk with their humans; one walking around the olive grove with a man and a woman, and another walking down the main street with an elderly man. On our road there are just two (among many) who are sociable and enjoy it when we make a fuss of them.<br />
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In the fishing villages, Las Negras, La Isleta del Moro, San Jose, the cats are a lot friendlier and the bars and cafes (especially, but not only, those on the seafront) all have an attendant cat or two going from table to table to share titbits with the customers.<br />
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We hadn't expected there to be so many wildflowers out, but they are everywhere in masses of stunning colour, along the side of the roads, all over the hillsides, the clifftops, even the beaches - on Monsul beach we found sand crocuses in vast numbers:<br />
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By the sides of the road and in the meadows there are poppies, bermuda buttercups, daisies, and on the hills and the cliffs there are flowering thyme and rosemary, lavender, broom, asphodels - both common and white, bermuda buttercups, many kinds of daisies, succulents and cacti. Here are just a few:<br />
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Bermuda buttercups:<br />
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Spectacular "common" asphodels which are certainly common here, coming up everywhere on the cliffs and the seashore:<br />
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Flowering broom:<br />
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One of the most iconic plants of Almeria province are the agaves, whose flower stalks can be as tall as trees! <br />
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Finally, the almond blossom is spectacular at the moment:<br />
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The incursion of camper vans is another unexpected thing to find at this time of year. There are campsites where they're supposed to stay, but as they have to pay for these many of them try to avoid it and park for free instead! I think there are more camper vans than usual this year because it has been such a terrible winter throughout Europe. While it has been colder here than I would have liked, it is still warmer and drier than anywhere else. Many of the camper vans carry plates from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, as well as Britain and Ireland. A few are Spanish but not many. They divide into two groups; the old shabby vans owned by young travellers (who we have christened the "alties") and the smart big comfortable ones owned mainly by the retired. It seems rather mean of them to invade the car parks of these small villages, paying nothing for doing so and leaving the local townhall to pay for disposing of their rubbish, especially since this is such a poverty-stricken area. I hope they contribute to the poor communities here by spending money in the village shops and bars!<br />
One day we counted at least 20 parked in the car park at San Jose:<br />
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<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-67409701362541716392017-02-07T11:32:00.003-08:002017-03-07T04:36:00.052-08:00There are many things I love about the Spanish, and particularly about the people here in Almeria Province (the 'Almerienses'). The obvious reasons are their friendliness and kindness, but another quality I love is their disregard of any attempts to turn the landscape and the seashore into private property. The right to roam is accepted and widely practiced - although no one would trample a small farmer's crops (not that it's possible to grown much on this thin, stony, barren soil). <br />
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The castle, San Ramon, on the shore at Playa del Playazo, changed hands a couple of years ago and the new owners have put up fences and warning signs in a vain attempt to stop anyone having access to the tiny cove behind the castle (accepted as the local 'nudist' cove because it can only be accessed by scrambling across some steep, almost vertical rocks), or to the headland and clifftop around the castle. The Spanish ignore the signs and simply step over or around the fences; where necessary, they knock the fence down.<br />
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They don't damage the landscape but they disdain anyone who tries to claim it for themselves at the expense of others! The landscape and the sea belong to all, especially in the Natural Park.<br />
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Juan Goytisolo was from Catalonia but he, too, loved this region - first and foremost because of its people:<br />
"Almeria is a unique, half peninsular, half African city. I fell in love with it, before ever going there, through the men and women who came to Catalonia in search of work and were given the most backbreaking jobs, I hasten to add. One is free to choose one's homeland: after my very first visit, I have traveled every year hundreds of kilometers to pay my respects."<br />
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In <i>Campos de Nijar</i>, Goytisolo offers a bitter, if implicit, criticism of selfish landowners in his portrait of the wealthy Don Ambrosio, who has bought the entire village of La Isleta del Moro and who shows nothing but contempt for his poor tenants.<br />
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Don Ambrosio passes Goytisolo on the road and, when Juan waves his arms, he gives him a lift in his chauffer-driven sedan car. He is described as "A lean, rather aloof, middle-aged man ... wearing a bottle green suit, striped shirt, and black tie." He takes to Juan when he hears he's Catalonian, not Andalusian, and talks of the local people with savage contempt, boasting that he has some Castilian blood. He wants to make money out of the area, telling Juan:<br />
"'If there was a decent road, tourists would flock here. This is a better coast than Malaga and life's much cheaper than it is there. You can buy a fisherman's cottage here for three thousand pesetas. People are emigrating and selling up for next to nothing.' . . . 'In less than ten years I've bought a whole village. You'll soon see. It's the one past Los Escuyos [Los Escullos].'"<br />
When they pass a little shepherd boy "barely a meter tall and already earning his living", Don Ambrosio declares that it's right the children of the region don't go to school, "'Hunger's the best teacher.'" He goes on to tell Juan "about the backwardness in the province and rails against Andalusians" saying they don't "'recognise the value of things ... When they've got money, they spend and spend, as if it were burning their fingers. The poorer they are, they more spendthrift they become.'"<br />
It is no surprise when he reveals that he was on Franco's side in the Civil War, complaining of the atrocities commited by the socialists, "'You young people can't imagine what it was like. The prisons were full of property owners, priests, and pillars of society.'"<br />
They drive through Los Escullos, a poverty-stricken, neglected little village of "grey hovels," as Juan describes it, "there are no streets, or even paths that merit a name", Don Ambrosio shows no concern for the grim lives of the inhabitants, only for the rundown state of the castle, San Felipe, owned by a family he knows, "'I remember the day Dona Julia got married as if it were yesterday'" he tells Juan. They climb up to admire the view from the castle ramparts and the local civil guard comes puffing up to pay his respects.<br />
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When they reach La Isleta del Moro, "a small fishing village at the foot of the crag consisting of around twenty tumbledown houses", it becomes all too clear that Don Ambrosio only wants to exploit it - to force out the local population, renovate the cottages, and rent them to tourists. He shows no sympathy or compassion for his tenants when they complain of overcrowding and ask for his help.<br />
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"People move aside to let us pass and we walk on in silence. The houses are built right by the seashore. The Cape protects the cove from the gales and the waves don't lash the beach as they did in Los Escullos. Half a dozen trawlers sway to and fro, anchored opposite the rocks."<br />
Juan Goytisolo's description isn't so very different to La Isleta today, although, of course, there are a lot of new buildings, the road Don Ambrosio wanted so much has come and many of the houses are holiday cottages, but there are still fishing boats swaying to and fro. What Don Ambrosio would have found unthinkable is the fact that tourists only come today in order to see the fishing boats and because building here in the Natural Park is strictly controlled!<br />
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Before they leave the village, they visit the home of a woman dying
from an injured leg that has turned gangrenous. The woman lies in a
coma while her family and friends watch on, powerless to help her.
Juan is struck dumb by the horror of this appalling scene but Don
Ambrosio mouths a few platitudes, clearly unmoved; as soon as they are back in the
car, he continues to pour scorn upon the Almerian people, talking of them as feckless, irresponsible, having "'a real slave mentality'". We don't need Juan to tell us what he thinks of this as we already know the Almerians he met in Catalonia always did the "most backbreaking jobs", and here on the Cabo he's seen them struggling to survive and look after their families as Don Ambrosio never has and probably never will.<br />
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<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3879384148800084157.post-15441615606498834882017-02-04T04:36:00.001-08:002017-02-04T05:09:31.811-08:00More about castles!<br />
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The ruins of Torre de los Alumbres stand beside the dirt road leading passed the hamlet of La Ermita, from Rodalquilar village to the beach, Playa el Playazo. This tower is the oldest historic monument on the Cabo de Gata but while the region seems proud of it, they don't seem to make much effort to stop it crumbling away!<br />
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Rodalquilar lies in a vast valley, the crater of an extinct volcano formed over 1 million years ago. The rich volcanic rocks have given the area an abundance of minerals, precious metals and semiprecious stones (alum, silver, gold, amathyst, agate, and more) that have all been exploited on and off for centuries by men - in the 2nd century A.D. the Romans had a settlement here, mining silver. Ancient wrecks along the rugged coast of the Cabo de Gata have left amphoras and other Roman goods upon the seabed.<br />
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The Valle de Rodalquilar:<br />
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After the Moors were expelled from Almeria by Ferdinand and Isabella, deposits of alum were discovered in Rodalquilar. An ambitious politician in their court, Francisco de Vargas, was quick to take advantage and he persuaded the king to give him the monopoly to mine all the alum in the whole of Almeria.<br />
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De Vargas had the Torre de los Alumbres built in about 1509, he housed a garrison of soldiers in the tower to protect a fortified settlement he founded, where La Ermita now stands, in order to have the alum mined safely, secure from invaders or pirates.<br />
De Vargas brought in cutting edge technology for his enterprise! He contracted Italian technicians, knowing they were the most advanced in the world at that time, and he invested huge amounts of money, wanting to create an industry which would be the most successful and important throughout Europe. He took over the whole valley of Rodalquilar, but it all proved a waste of time.<br />
After the deaths of Ferdinand and Isabella, a Civil War broke out in 1520 - and, of course, the ambitious Francisco de Vargas wanted to take advantage of the conflict for his own advancement.<br />
So he withdrew the garrison he had housed in the tower, leaving the valley of Rodalquilar unprotected.<br />
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Soon North African pirates landed there, they captured the village and enslaved the people. As a result, there was no more mining in the area for over 50 years.<br />
El Playazo, the beautiful bay near Rodalquilar where the pirates would have landed:<br />
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It is comforting to consider how wild and beautiful the landscape here at Rodalquilar is today, in spite of all this mining and industry over the centuries. It gives me some hope - if only a little - that the damage humanity is doing to the planet in our greed and ruthlessness, may not be as lasting as I fear.<br />
<br />Miriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935853683973954528noreply@blogger.com0