Bedrock

Archive for the ‘spain’ Category

Maureen and I have had our cave in Spain for 11 years now and we still keep learning something new. Tonight I learned from my pal Kenneth OE Sundin (founder of SMEBOX and friend who lives in Uppsala in Sweden) all about Pintxos (Pinchos) which are popular in the Basque region. Here’s https://www.euskoguide.com/food-drink-basque-country/pintxos-pinchos/

Bearing a marked resemblance to some of the TAPAS we enjoy here in Southern Spain…. they are a small snack eaten in bars in Northern Spain. Main ingredients sliced bread with a topping. Maybe on our trip to Bilbao at the end of the month? It isn’t that long ago that I learned about NDUJA from my pal Antonio in Italy… does it ever end?

Well, it’s all happening this morning…

We got a call from a non-English-speaking DHL driver this morning (just after the second Alexa alert in 2 days to say we have packages from Amazon on due today – yesterdays’ didn’t turn up) to say “Peter” then something in Spanish then “Posa”. We headed off down to Pizzeria La Posa, intercepted on the way by the DHL van who had decided after all to deliver to the house – thank goodness there is only on way up to our place.

The driver handed over the slightly bashed parcel and off we went to the cafe where we met Bob from the Altiplano photo club who answered some questions I had about supplying club-promotional photos for the forthcoming Galera fair (Sunday August 18, 2019). Looks like I got over-enthusiastic about the photo frames.

Weather in Galera is sunny but calm today, a good time for some writing and a spot of painting… so our next stop was the local ferreteria.

When in doubt, check local stores. After gasping at the price of a 6-way mains extension on Amazon.es (€14, just under £14 – not only that but there’s a good chance of it ending up in the local pub), I was pleased that my neighbour/friend Dave picked me up an extension during his trip to the coast for a mere €9 – then THIS MORNING while looking for a quick paintbrush purchase at the local ferreteria, I noted the same thing at a staggering €4.90 and bought one. Pays not to make assumptions about prices at local stores.

Now, I would tell you the name of this hardware store in Galera, Granada (Spain) but he has to be the last store on the planet to NOT be on Google Maps. He is however on Calle Cervantes, just seconds away from Parque Infantil Sanchez Faba.

I have to do a technical write-up elsewhere about the sockets and an update on a couple of smart bands (watches ) I  just received so that’s about it for this entry.

Like parts of the UK, though FAR more consistently, we’ve been having a heat-wave here in Southern Spain recently. Hardly a day has gone by in the past month without the mid-afternoon temperature topping 38c (maybe 100f) in the shade. Accordingly we’ve not done a lot of travel on foot as it is easier to hide indoors or drive somewhere in the heat.

That’s not stopped several car trips as far off as Gibraltar and to various local pools and it CERTAINLY hasn’t stopped us popping out regularly to cafe-bars like Emilio’s (Los Carriones, near Castillejar) for coffee and Tostada – that’s on the cards for this morning in fact.

The weather hasn’t stopped Spanish workmen either – as you see here, three of them drilling holes in the fountain in Galera town centre – the photo really does not convey the fact that it was stinking hot at the time..

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Here we are, despite recent setbacks – including the (hopefully first and last) epileptic fit I had last week and the washing machine back in Wark on Tyne giving up the ghost (exactly, what can go wrong, machines like that are so simple? – sadly so are the people who deliver new ones, so simple in fact that they could not fit a mains plug – sad doesn’t begin to describe that situation as a result of which we had to get our own guy to organise getting the new washing machine running), despite all that and given some helpful weather, we’re here in Andalusia, making the best of retirement and have joined the local yoga group and I’ve joined the local photographic club. I’m not about to attempt a demo of yoga so here instead are some photos taken over the last few days.

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We just happened to be wandering through the nearby town of Huescar this weekend on our way to the fair and I got a sudden urge to take some snaps at the park on the way. Got to make the best of this weather.

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We took a short drive out yesterday with friends to Orce, mainly to cool off in the spring-fed pool just out of town – and while there I took a few photos… well, you never know, it might rain for the rest of the year (probably not).

Amazing how you can visit a place year after year and not spot its best features….