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

   

Snorkeling!

We bought snorkels! We found a local beach near our house that had pretty clear water. There are a few small schools of fish but mainly urchins and anenames growing in the rocks.

Please click the picture to see it larger.

morning view

 

Some days are so clear and you can see the mountains in Africa.

-What's Strange In Spain II-

I thought that after a few months I should do an update to a previous post. 

Hospitals are new and modern.

Blood tests with results are done in under a minute

Without Insurance there is a flat rate of 140€ for the hospital visit. (It may be more if you are required to stay the night... but we aren't sure)

At the hospital, the doctor stays in the office and the patients move between the waiting room, which has huge TVs, the office and treatment rooms.

Spanish are passive and informative, which may be concidered rude but it's just a cultural thing.

Even restaurants close the kitchen during siesta.

Only time we see Spanish get really loud or riled up is at festivals, weddings and while driving.

'staying on your side of the road' is subjective.

Spanish have different drivers licenses for 125cc and higher for moto-bikes. Under 125cc qualifies under a car drivers license.

They have many different types of licenses for different types of cars and trailers.

Getting a license is expensive because it includes a medical test, eye test, written test that includes the mechanics of ATVs, trucks and motos and the drivers a test is through the local driving school.

Many appointments start at least 30 minutes after the appointment time.

Dentist and doctor appointments tend to be prompt.

If above appointment is at your home, not at their office, it may be a few days later.

The animal control is local charities that work with the local/regional police.

Spain recognizes same sex marriages.

Because there are same sex marriages, the LGBT community focuses on spreading tolerance locally and internationally.

One must 'apply' to get married in Spain, it takes 30-45 days to know if it was approved.

Gibraltar's a Crown Colony and the EU/UK tax laws do not apply. Many English go there just for the cheap stuff.

Snorkeling in the Malaga area is not recommended, Nerja and Tarifa are recommended.

Internet is mainly through antennas. 10 up 5 down max.

In some of the mountian areas, electricity goes out about once a month, the electricity company will spend all day the next day fixing it.

Experience with the water company has not been the same as the electric...

In Costa Del Sol there is a love/hate relationship with expats. This may be for the whole country, but I don't know.

Taxes for entrepreneurs is paid monthly despite making an income. This leads people to have multiple jobs/ trades and and underground economy much like other countries.


The "re-zoning" and demolishing of houses in this region is becoming or already is a concern in the EU.

The bleeding heart liberal in US standards is a conservative in EU standards.

Spanish tapas ROCK! -that's not strange, but I thought I'd add it in.

When people say, "oh, it's too hot" they aren't exaggerating.

Plumbing is in the walls, which are solid plaster, not all are pressure tested before the house has completed construction.

I can still spot an American a mile away. They aren't "Strange in Spain" they are just rare.


The dust that was mentioned in the earlier post is from the query that is near by. Sometimes you can hear explosions and the wind at night will kick up the wind and blow it all around town!

Wind can be fierce and quite annoying/painful if it has sand in it.

Can anyone explain to me the cultural thing of Japanese photographing themselves at the same location? I should add that the Japanese tourists I have met, have been super friendly!

morning company

This morning I woke up surprisingly early and took Jeni for a walk.  During the day,  it's too hot to take her on a walk, even if the heat doesn't bother her the hot pavement does.   

I found many people out on their morning walk. Many people were with dogs, and a few with out.  I noticed, people were friendlier on the street in the early morning. During the day, their isn't much of the 'holas' or 'buenos'. 

It is not uncommon for people not to walk their dogs. The dogs walk themselves. I've mentioned the packs of dogs hanging out in earlier posts. In the packs, some are obviously stray and others are not stray, in general, I try to keep Jeni away from them.

This dog is one of our local dogs. He is shy and friendly and has a nice new collar.  He just wanted to say 'hi.' I just wanted him to go.  Short of throwing a rock at him, he wouldn't go home.  He was sweet, and I didn't have the heart to throw a rock, pine cone or anything at him.

 

I accepted our escort home.  I was relieved that he danced around the cars in the road and didn't get hit. He also didn't cross the road to follow us to our door, but I'm not so unsure he wouldn't, even if only for a quick hello. Self-walking dogs know not to go inside.

milk chocolate covered bacon

milk chocolate covered bacon, originally uploaded by The Bleeding Heart Bakery.

I woke up very early this morning. seeing as though nothing is open and the pool is still considered closed, this is one thing I found this morning.

This may sound horrible to many, but when I was in SF I was treated to a designer chocolate from one of the Organic shops which was bacon and chocolate. It was surprisingly good. Thank you kelly for sharing your chocolate with bacon with me and thank you thisiswhyyourefat.com for the mindless entertainment.

Happy day!

There weren't any fireworks here for the 4th but there wasn't a lack of color in the sky!

Jump Up to the Sky!

Who can pass up an opportunity to jump on a giant trampoline? I mean, I have passed it up in the past, and I thought- never again... hehe. For 5€ I got to jump on the trampoline for as long as I wanted!! no timers! They buckled me in and let me jump unil I was tired and asked to get down.  It was great. There was a sign that said up and down only, I'm not sure if they were trying to avoid people doing flips or trying to jump side to side! Once I was jumping he said I could do flips... which is also a Spanish tendancey- you say the rules but expect that they will be broken. This is especially true when driving, but those stories are for a different day.

I found back flips were easier than forward flips! 

Thank you Alan for photographing these.

Aroma in Mijas

 

 

This is a 'famous' little road here in Mijas. It's in almost every tour book, which also means that every Japanese tour bus comes into town, everyone one it gets their picture taken on the road.

On this same road, is "Aroma" a lovely restaurant inn Mijas. We had lunch there today and tapas last night. Today's lunch was excellent. The worst bit of it was only good. I got three tapas, Alan got pizza, and his parents got crepes. All of it was really good and at a great price. Unlike most of the other restaurants in the area, Aroma doesn't have a huge menu and does what it serves really well! The café con leche was 'strong and creamy' and the star reminded me of always putting sprinkles on my coffee in SF. The difference is this lovely star was made out of really good chocolate!

sand castles.

Some people spend all day working on sand castles on the beach. This woman had a few small fountains flowing into the pool. I saw people treating it like a wishing pool. It was sweet.

mountians

A place to live...

See that lone crane? A few years ago, that crane would have had dozens of crane friends near it. there was construction everywhere.

We went to the castle at the bottom of the frame....

Near Home

This is the Church near our house. It's in many of the pictures that I took when we first moved here.  This part of the church isn't in use any more, I don't think, but the building behind it is. When I went exploring around it, it looked like people lived in the other building but now there is a sign saying a Christian center is coming soon. I thought there was a Christian school down the road a bit.

Occationally on Sunday, people sing from the parking lot. This may not seem like much, but the parking lot over looks the BP and the round-abouts that go into town, this creates a natural stage. It's a lovely way to wake up on Sunday, hearing the people singing and playing guitar as the sound resonates off the mountians. 

It's never more than a song or two. Once you realize what's going on, they are done. I always tend to enjoy it.

More Mijas Festival