Biking & Baking in Las Alpujarras

Oh dear, I'm back in the UK again!  Sadly my brother has died so we have a cremation coming up in 2 days.  It has been a difficult time recently but he was spared some of the pain and distress of old age and illness and that was what he wanted.  So I am enduring some grey and dreary weather in the north-west (but it was snowing yesterday in our village in the mountains...) and will send him off with a blessing, some daffodils and a TS Eliot poem.  Then back to Spain!

Back soon :)

Many thanks to all of you who posted comments recently.  It is great to have support in troubling times and I really appreciate it.  My health is excellent at the moment and Steve has most of his vision back so we are delighted. 

Happy New Year to you all!

Sunday night in front of the fire. Steve has been preparing olives for salting and preserving (we picked them out in the campo and are not sure if they are for eating or making oil) and I have peeled the last lot of chestnuts for freezing. Earlier, I pruned the vine outside the kitchen and made some membrillo (quince) puree, while he sawed up some old chestnut and poplar for firewood.

Now we can relax, sip some anis, nibble slices of jamon and watch a movie (perhaps The Man Who Would Be King or Thelma & Louise). We have tried a season of Prison Break and conclude that it is a load of c**p! The Americans could probably have fed an entire 3^rd world country for 6 months on the budget for such a useless series. Far better is The Wire, which we are spinning out for as long as possible.

It has been a great day in the mountains, still warm enough for t-shirts if you keep moving, and the blossom is just starting to appear on the almond trees. We can see small shepherds’ huts and cortijos that are hidden in the summer by all the foliage, and coils of blue smoke going up where someone is having a small bonfire. A few walkers appear and disappear along goat paths on the opposite side of the valley but we cannot hear any vehicles or traffic whatsoever. Rare bliss indeed.

I expect lots of people saw the Procession (cabalgato) of the Three Kings in their local town or village on the evening of the 5^th. We went up to our nearest town and followed the children, the Kings on their mini-tractor sleighs (a John Deere, a Lamborghini and a red one whose name I forget) and a brass band, as we all circled the town, threw sweeties and took photos. We ended up in the Ayuntamiento, watching the children collect their presents from the Kings, then took ourselves off to the bar for a beer and tapas.

More anon…

That was last week...now we have had our Chisco bonfire in the village square, eaten great BBQ pork and improved our Spanish even more with the aid of some local vino.  We have also spent a day in Granada sorting out the matriculation of 3 motorbikes and found it easier than expected.  Also, as they are oldish bikes, and my small one is import tax-free, our wallets were not too hurt.  We still need to complete the process at the Trafico office, but nothing too painful.  :)