From Summer in Spain

Today I learned, I love summer mornings that are like winter. Jeni and I took a long walk in the mountian today.

Mijas and home.

From Mijas

From Mijas

From Mijas

From Mijas

From Mijas

Burros

From Random Funny Finds

mountians that once were, are now something else...

I'm not all that sure what it is now, as it appeared closed, but they opened this area to the public in 2007. From what we understood of the signs, they worked to bring it back to a more natural state from 2000-2006 by planting native plants and encouraging native animals to be in the mountains.

This was once a query, and now is a park. It looked like there were picnic bentches below and BBQ pits. Although you see a road going around this area, it was closed today. We believe because it is the dry season and any BBQ would catch the whole mountian on fire... and yes, the whole mountian was on fire a few years ago. A spark form a car ignitied the dry plants and burned over 5,000 trees on the mountian near our apartment. Our apartment building was protected because we live near the petrol station but from the pictures I've seen, it got very close to town.

Although, I think this is a picnic area and they have a watering system for the plants, I didn't see a drinking fountain for people or animals.

Each one of the platforms with trees on them is about the width of two cars. They are big enough for those big trucks and machines to be on. 

 

I'm trying to think about how big this is...The trees on top, are near 20 feet tall. What look like shrubs, are mostly trees some are large bushes. (you can click on the images to see them larger.)

The query near our house is suppose to close. After which they'd fill part of it up with water and fish to make a camping and fishing area. That was suppose to happen a few years ago, but the query is still being mined. I also wonder, if they do make a lake, how are they going to minimize evaporation? and were is the water coming from??

Either way, when it is made, it will be a blast to walk around.

Shopping...

Here are a few things I saw last time we went food shopping. I'm still surprised with some of the stuff we find. Here are a few:

 

Nothing like tuna and bacon to make you think twice about a Pizza for dinner!

 

Here is one of the largest selections of Tortillas we found! There are four brands! Woo Hoo! In Spain, tortillas as I know them are called 'gorditas' or 'tortillas mexicana' where Spanish tortillas are omelets.

 

mmmm.... Ben and Jerry's unfortunately, only the Ben and Jerry's in the mall has more flavors.

Also it's really expensive, at both supermarkets and gas stations it is near $7US for a pint (4€).

Day Trip to Tarifa

Animals are frequently grazing in the 'Campos'. The Campos are the public areas of land that are reserved for public use.

We are going to Tarifa which is between Algeciras and Cadiz... I like how the further the city is, the font gets bigger! you know from far away you are far from your destination!

Mijas has regulation that all the buildings in town need to be white, and in the surrounding areas they need to be "light colored." I love leaving town because you can see how other people decorate. This reminded me of Mexico with all the antennas, brick and tile fronts.

Some bits of trip reminded me of California hills and windmills in the distance.

I love the tunnels in Spain. Here in Andalusia, the ground is mainly granite and marble, so you know that they had a lot of drilling to do to get through here!

On some days we can see Morocco from our house too, but not like this...

Almost there!

It reminded me of Marin Headlands but hundreds of years old. From up there ol' armeries could see Africa, Portugal, The Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.

We went snorkeling with hundreds of little fishies. The water was super clear and huge Ferries went by the beach. There were tons of people and tons of sand. Since I wasn't sure what it would be like, I kept the camera in the car.

Note to self: Take the camera next time. We are looking at getting an underwater case for one of the point and shoots. I can't wait to take pictures underwater!!!

Burger King was on our way home, so we treated ourselves. The prices of BK are like at the airport, a bit more expencive then you'd expect but the hamburgers are made with beef, not ham and you know what you are going to get :) BK and TGIF are the only places that make American hamburgers. We also talked to a woman who used to live in Daly City! We noticed it was really clean and we didn't see anyone cleaning it up all the time.

They also serve beer.

More Morning Walks