Exploring Locally

The Moorish Castle of Alora

We returned to Alora's welcome climate after our Christmas break and settled back in  for a few days before we explored a nearby whitewashed village (Pueblo Blanco),

Not really wheelchair friendly

which is "a typical" with steep narrow, often cobbled, streets, prolific use of tiles on walls & paths, stray dogs, laden orange trees lining public spaces, difficult parking,
and friendly locals always ready to return a smile
and greeting. So different from home in so many ways.

Trees laden with oranges
line the Plazas

 The villages here since time immemorial, before cars, wheel chairs, electricity ,covered sewers, before old age was normal, life isn't a pampered existent as we can expect in NZ. We would not choose to live here!!
Ardales was the village, and its interest was it's proximity to lakes & reservoirs forming a water control project to protect downstream areas historically prone to flooding, and to supply good constant water to Malaga. It includes a gorge that I hope to walk soon, El Chorro, which will feature in the blog soon as we are able to gain

El Chorro walkway

access via a very difficult ticketing system controlling numbers. We drove home from Ardales through this area to return to Casa Bliss and I was excited to see the gorge disappearing into the cliff side. Sheryl didn't share my excitement on this occasion!!!
We had a light meal at a restorante in Ardales by the lake as it was a sunny cool day and we were both treated to a meal not enjoyed, and as you have heard me say on rare occasions ...."Disappointing" with a capital D! The dishes may well have been a local delicacy but were definitely"not to our liking". Uuuuuggghhhhh!! Country Soup - how can that be made so bad, think it was warm lard with green peppers best returned to the compost, sea food soup from the local harbour & shipyard and followed with bread garlic and bacon vitamised and doused in oil to form something akin to quicksand that nearly sucked us down down down..........all saved only by an engaging red wine.

New friends Mel & Bev at Mirador

At Casa Bliss we welcomed English clients staying a month, Mel, Bev & Frank the Tibetan Terrier. Our host Rosie is still in the UK with her family so we assumed the mantle of  locals and were able to guide our "guests", introducing them to some of the spots we deemed worth a second look, also taking the initiative to explore new areas in the company of fast evolving friends.
M,B&F are similar to us in many respects (age, like of walking & drinking a wine or two) so it proved a welcome interruption to our labours here and an excuse to do some excursions whilst swapping tales of far flung adventure. They resigned from their jobs last year to work at motor camps in the UK and this is a serious vocation with hundreds of camps and many hundreds of staff employed to cater to a large camping fraternity. Generally they are employed on a 9 month contract then have 3 months off, or can elect to work back to back contracts, but with one day off a week they look forward to their holidays.

View out over Alora from top of  El Hacho

Our first outing was a pleasant walk to El Mirador  (as previously featured in these chronicles) to spend a convivial afternoon eating and drinking with only a hint of a stagger, walking the 3kms home in the early evening, soaking up the character of the small streets of our local Peublo Blanco, its stray dogs, and its views of Alora & the Castle.
A more energetic foray followed 2 days later as we walked up the hill which stands over Alora, this was a scenic gentle ascent up, often on formed roads providing many photo opportunities of the expansive panoramic valley we reside in.

Toxic caterpillars on the track

Interestingly and concerning for M&B were thousands of hatching caterpillars from the trees and forming files to cross the roads and tracks, (did they think they were chickens ??) but apparently are a real hazard to dogs, they could be fatal if ingested with no known cure!! However as befitting the Tibetan Terrier, Frank was neither "boffered" nor interested in their slow march, causing little concern to Frank's guardians.
My Spanish dentist was again on the list for a visit (7th) and our friends also came for the outing to Fuengirola, introducing them to the great train service and all that the seaside resort has to offer, even if Frank was banned from the Plaza Mayor shopping precinct on the return journey, never mind, another beer was had whilst waiting for the girls to return from their shopping jaunt between trains. Private security is

Bill & Frank, his Tibetan friend
Minding each other 

employed by all shops and public places. The train company also has many security staff constantly and randomly travelling on trains and at stations. One doesn't see much trouble so one assumes this is why!!. They all carry batons or night sticks, hand cuffs, are wired, and are generally helpful and friendly enough though you see the occasional hyped neanderthal the uniform struggles to contain. The police are low profile and there is a culture of  ''don't attract their attention'', however with the EU striving to lift standards there are glimmers of hope, the police we see not looking so much like the "local dealer" these days.

Ronda from the Old Town 

Next on our list was the town of Ronda. This is a must do if you get over this way, it is interesting on many levels the least not being its stunning position in relation to the small river running  at its feet. Of course it was strategic to all and sundry who have ever occupied this ancient town dating back into prehistory.  It was made virtually impregnable by the Romans to hordes or armies, but was none the less, over run by all challengers  (as "virtually impregnable" doesn't mean "impregnable") and  occupied till the next conquerors came by. Ronda has a rich history of Neolithic's, Celts, Phoenicians,

The walls giving a base to Ronda

Romans, Moors, & now in contemporary times, intrinsically RC Christian if we can say that about present day Espanol and its inhabitants and its politics. Catholic Spain wrested control of the country back from the Moors in the 14th Cent. We are continually enlightened in how Europe was in the grips of the the RC church and the wars waged over two millennia to hold, convert, to acquire any one and everything, in the name of God. The Moors also with their intractable Muslim ideology proving a real flash point in Spain. Has anything really changed in the world today!

Ronda - looking out over the gorge

Ronda is inland and stands at a height of 2500ft, so is cool, but we had a stunning day walking the streets and taking a zillion photos. Went for a horse & buggy ride around

the "Old Town". Enjoyed a nice meal where we weren't disappointed. This town has

Animals still have the run of
parts of Ronda   

been oft visited by a long list of notables over the years, including Orson Wells and Hemingway being attracted to its romantic allure.
Mean while back in Alora we have been enjoying some local fare and walks with our new friends and looking forward to more fun and adventure as the month unfolds.

A comfortable way to travel around Ronda

A Perfect Swiss Christmas, but no snow.

Christmas celebrations start at church with a
 Nativity Play and Mass 

Sursee for Christmas was a lovely international affair  with lots of family made up of Kiwi's / Swiss & Italian.

Delicious Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas Eve was the Swiss Christmas celebrations at Amanda & Rico's, with their two children (Luna & Caio), Rico's Mum & sister, and three of Rico's Italian cousins. We attended a church service before our dinner, where Luna was involved in the Christmas Nativity. Luckily Bill and I already new the story as it was all conducted in Swiss-German, including the Christmas Hymn's. We could at least hum to them as we knew the tunes.
On returning to the house, Christmas presents had been delivered by "Christchlindli" (Christ-Child is the traditional gift-bringer in Switzerland & other European countries on Christmas Eve encouraged by Martin Luther in the 16th century to discourage the figure of Saint Nicholas - Santa Claus) while we were out! So lots of excitement with presents being opened, we all did well. Then we had a delicious evening of various fish courses, deserts and of course wonderful wines. A perfect start to Christmas.
With the Petrillo household being Kiwi as well as Swiss, Santa made an appearance sometime through the night delivering more presents! How wonderful for Luna and Caio to enjoy both cultures festivities and still young enough to accept them without query. Makes it all the more fun for us adults.

Bill & Rico with manual for Lego
Note: not a child in sight!

Christmas day started with a champagne breakfast, moved onto Rico's parents home to celebrate Christmas the Swiss-German way with a lot more Swiss families of Uncle, Aunts, Cousins and friends. Sadly Rico's father, Beniamino, had passed away at the beginning of November, so this first Christmas without him was felt by all family & friends. At 69 far too young. All the more reason to make the most of life, and get out there and enjoy!
There was more eating of traditional Christmas fare. Great to experience another cultures celebration of Christmas when we were so far from our own children and families. We were made very welcome and part of the extended family.

Lovely walk in the woods
Luna almost looking me in the eye

Thankfully Bill & I could walk the hour home afterwards to work off some of the festive food.

We found a little Fairy Grotto

Unfortunately the snow never eventuated for Christmas, or at all while we were in Switzerland, but we had beautiful, mostly clear frosty days, temperatures down as low as 1 or 2 degrees, below on a couple of days. Truly beautiful! And as you dress for the weather there and the homes are so well insulated and heated, you don't mind the cold when the days are so perfect. Except you do need an extra ten minutes to get ready to get all the gear on :)

Break time on a walk in the woods

We had lots of lovely walks through the woods near Amanda & Rico's. The surrounding hills are farm land where the villages  exist, and with no fences, the land is very picturesque as you can see in the photo's. Pity NZ wasn't more like this, but we didn't see a lot of live stock so quite different to NZ in that aspect, and a reason they can exist like this. One of our walks was to Rico's Grandmother in the nearby village of Nebikon that should have taken two hours, but took us three with two children "whingeing" as Luna told us her & Caio sometimes did. She told Bill & I the story of another walk they did "that took six hours, with whingeing more"

View from Klewenalp inside cable car

We had a perfect day up on Klewenalp, approx 1200m above Lake Lucerne. Only problem of the day was that Cable Cars were the only mode of transport to get up and back down the Alp. Cable Cars are so numerous on the Alps which make up

Switzerland so no one thinks anything of them except me! We got into the large cage/carriage to go up and they just kept squeezing more and more into it before it departed. I was wedged right in the middle with my eyes shut all the way, not that I could have seen a thing if I had opened them. As I am writing this blog, you will now be aware we did make it and back quite safely!
Once at the top, it was very picturesque (one can't over use that word in Switzerland),

A little bit of Hop Federation on the Alp

and although the majority of people in our group were disappointed in the lack of

snow, there was sufficient for children & adults to have fun on the sledges we had taken up with us.
Once back down, we called into some Irish friends of A&R who now live there and celebrated Christmas in the Irish/English/Swiss way with a drink or two before returning back to Sursee where we stopped in at Rico's Mum's for a Raclette Cheese evening. This was a new experience for us and quite different to a Fondue evening, in that meat is cooked on

the top plate of a small cooker you put in the middle of the table, and grill "Raclette" cheese under the grill below the hot plate. You then pour the melted yummy cheese over tasty new potatoes (previously cooked) and the meat.
Delicious! God knows what Bill's cholesterol level will be by the time we return to NZ!
We had an afternoon in the woods cooking sausages, Bill in his element over the smoky fire. It is traditional in Switzerland that all Swiss kids get given pocket knives (Swiss knives of course) at some point, and having just had

Bill happy with smokey sausages

Christmas, all four children with us were whittling all afternoon. And I'm pleased to say no one lost a finger or were injured in anyway :) Our sausages in bread were accompanied with a cup of hot Gluhwein (mulled wine). Perfect!

Luna & Caio whittling away

A&R managed to get a day's pampering at a Day Spa while Bill & I looked after the kids - no one got hurt or cried, so I think we did well :) Our kids, should you ever get around to reading our blog, that is not an encouragement to have grandchildren just yet. But we did enjoy our time with Luna & Caio and seeing the world through their eyes.

View out over the fields on our walk to Nebikon

We saw the New Year in with A&R, Rico's mum, and a lovely Swiss/South African couple (Daniel & Jenny) with their young sons Olli & Thomas. The game of pictionary kept us all awake till midnight, just sad the men lost! Oops did I write that!
New Years day was a nice relaxed one, with a forest walk in the morning, and then a walk into town in the afternoon to have a lovely meal with Swiss couple Chris & Sabina & their two boys Noah & Jan, in their new home. Best lamb we have ever eaten& it wasn't NZ lamb !!!. Cooked to absolute  perfection, thankyou  Chris & Sabina.
Their home was being built when we were there back in June, so it was nice to see the finished home. Bill is very impressed with the building materials and designs that

Perfect shelter to keep firewood dry

the Swiss put into their homes. The high density buildings that have to be built in order to accommodate large populations in small villages are amazing in design. This home was one of four units, three floors high. A common basement takes all the

Another perfect frosty day in Sursee

vehicles, bikes, gear that most have in garages, plus more storage. And then you head up into each separate home which are built up over this basement area, giving large lawn areas out the front of each home. They end up quite separate to each other, great design, huge homes on less land that would be required back in NZ.
The next day it was time to return to Spain, only a 2.5hr flight from Zurich. We had a wonderful stay Amanda & Rico, thank you for so many new experiences of other cultures.

Green - Flight Malaga to Copenhagen
Blue - Nightmare overnight train to Sursee
Pink - Flight Zurich to Malaga, back in Spain

4 Days in Copenhagen

Faux Ice in Copenhagen

Overcast but one couldn't say gloomy.The Xmas rush is upon the city, and the shopping areas being festooned with magical Xmas lighting it looks like a scene from the movies or post cards. Well this is the land of Christmas or more correctly Santa Claus.

Canals in Christianshavn

It gets light at 8.30 with the dark spreading in again by 3.30. We were here for the shortest day, what with the overcast skies it seems to be in perpetual half light, the street lighting and decoration looking good all day and truly coming to life in the dark of evening.
The city centre was very busy with queues forming in all the popular shops that you would expect, such as Lego and toy outlets. The pedestrianised shopping streets (formed in the early 50s) make for a memorable amble through a smorgasbord of shopping opportunity.

Christmas Market. One of many.

The Krona is the currency here though Denmark is in the EU & enjoys a high standard of living, thus though we highly recommend this as a place to visit, you need to have deep pockets to enjoy your stay here. The hospitality industry performs above par and you won't be disappointed with your meals,drinks and service, but it costs. This does facilitate the claim that Danish people are the most contented nation and though we see a place continually shrouded in a darkened northern winter this is a claim well earned.

Canal & Cafe Area

We met an English expat who has been here for 30 years apart from 2 years in Nelson (small world eh) and tho visits old Blighty regularly have no intention of ever retiring back to GB. The couple have fully embraced DK and though initially struggling with the language are now fully immersed in their new home land. Language is key in any successful migration.
 
The city is truly bike friendly and a larger assortment of bikes I have never seen.

Most bikes are up right with only a very few mountain bikes for the obvious reason that aren't many mountains to be seen.
The bike lanes are fully integrated with the traffic system as a whole with its own lights etc and generally the rules are followed as with the cars and pedestrians it was a chancy business at some intersections if you tried to wing it through on coming flows.

Shopping Area

The girls and guys on their bikes dressed in their winter finery is no impediment to glamour, and the long legged Nordic beauties on their tall bikes have put the ass back into class.:):)


Restaurants too often had a line waiting to be seated but were assured by our friend Grethe that after New Year things would become very quiet.

Royal  Palace Courtyard

We were able to catch up with Grethe & Max, though Max is in a wheel chair, but Grethe guided us to a small homely eatery that they were familiar with, where we enjoyed their company and food before taking Max back to his nursing home.
The meeting was poignant as Max had a nasty fall in Nelson on their last trip out and we never got to say goodbye before he was medically evacuated back to Denmark for ongoing treatment, and he has not really recovered. Max and Grethe loved Nelson and very generously made a $20,000 donation to the Queens Gardens for ongoing planting.

Rosenborg Castle

We took the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg (5 hrs) and much to our surprise during the trip we slowed and stopped, after an incomprehensible announcement, then started slowly into a port area where we then entered the bowels of a large roll on ferry. This was unexpected, but a short chat to a fellow traveller assured us this was normal and we were in for a 40 min ferry ride to cut some time off the land only rail route. This way shaves about 2 hrs of the alternative. We left our seats and were able to spend some time in the duty free shops and lovely buffet areas. It was grey & misty outside so not conducive to a promenade on the deck or photos.

Castle Gardens

The first leg of this trip took us to Hamburg which at 3;30 pm on a wet cold afternoon held none of the magic of Copenhagen. We quickly found a small pub by the rail station and spent a relaxing 3 hours drinking wine, ale and having a typical meal of pickled cabbage, potato and sausage, which in hindsight was not actually a good idea as we were soon to embark on a another confined train trip which turned into a nightmare.
We had sleepers which share bunks with up to 6 and left at 9ish (30 mins late with interconnection problems with other arrivals). We initially got along for 2 or so hours albeit a bumpy and noisy ride at times. Then we seemed to stop and got shunted around and left over another few hrs with little communication from the guards then at 05.30 we were required to disembark and make our way to another train for another 4 hours to finally complete our journey to Amanda & Rico in sunny, pretty but cold Sursee, happy to be in familiar territory for our Xmas sojourn.

Casa Bliss weeks 7&8 - Two months here

Valle Dabdalajis - a mecca for hang gliders etc

Well settled in Alora at Casa Bliss having been here  2 months now. Doesn't time fly when you're busy!
We're probably working too hard and not getting out enough, however we're happily occupied and its a nice place to stop and assess directions.

Last weekend was a holiday weekend with Mon & Tues being public hols . Tuesday being the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, and these holidays are taken seriously, not just viewed as we (I) do, as a  day off, though we ourselves carried on working. However it is serious stuff with different activities to mark the feast days, quite religious, needless to say apart from restaurants all else shuts as we learnt on the Sunday having dropped Rosy at the Airport (she has returned to London to be with her family for Christmas). We moved on to the large format hardware (similar to Mega Mitre10), which was locked up on

Lunch time

Saturday evening for the next 3 days, Go figure!!! I would've thought it would be a huge trading opportunity.
When we got back to the store on the Thursday after the Dentist it was trading well, I must say that building materials, hardware, tools etc through out our travels seem to be very reasonably priced not to mention the types of gear available, IE prehung doors and premade windows complete with roll down shutters (the norm) all sizes and colours straight from the showroom floor. The bathroom display areas also stunning with huge arrays of lovely vanities and showers etc. Amazing from my point of view. I enjoy looking through these stores and thinking what I could do were these products available in NZ!!

Antiquera with the sleeping giant in the background

We are catching the local trains to get to the Dentist, it is easily the best option for time and money, good to see an effective service running well, I also get to look around which is good as it does take slightly more concentration to drive here ,what with every one (except me on occasion) on the wrong side of the road, Have recently heard from our friend Mark who has just completed a bike trip in India and seems we should be grateful that the traffic here at least is consistent.

Entrance into the Dolmen

Last weekend we also took advantage of our staff car (Jeep Cherokee) and went to Antiquera, a town about 40 mins from here which has the 3 Neolithic Dolmens in the immediate vicinity. These are ancient burial mounds using megalithic rocks to form a simple corridor structure, then buried, the oldest and biggest being 5000 years old. All at the precise angles to catch the winter solstice rising over a distant mountain peak. This is all amazing stuff and when you see how they were built (at the interpretive visitor centre), the biggest rock at over 180 tons, you are left in awe as to how they organised the work and why?? This raises so many imponderable questions that will never be answered as there is no record apart from the structures.

The size of these slabs - the biggest over 180T
Bigger rocks than Stonehenge

These people the "Neos" were the first of settled civilisation IE as opposed to nomadic people and to think, they just got settled then they built these Dolmens is a curiosity to say the least.
Spain also is a curiosity (for us anyway), the country indeed Europe is old and very close to the start of civilisation, yet in many instances you feel that modernity has bypassed large parts of the country. The cities are fairly normal but with failings such as like.... wheel chair friendly is not a goer here. You can hardly walk round some footpaths let alone consider a disabled walker or wheelchair.

On top of the Dolmen with the
entrance facing the mythical giant

The towns still have very old, very humble dwellings and in the country side very, very humble dwellings, one suspects with little plumbing or other mod cons. This is not to say there aren't very nice homes also scattered amongst the country side as well. Spain has a very high proportion of second home owners and we suspect its rural dwellers getting work and apartments in the cities and retaining land and dwellings in the country.

Lovely autumn tints reminding us of
Central Otago 

At the weekend the hills come alive with olive harvesting on otherwise vacant holdings, we watch as the trees are vigorously shaken to dislodge the fruit often with a mechanical branch shaker similar in appearance to a scrub cutter. The harvest is obviously worthwhile still as the vacant houses fill up with family over the weekend and spend the time shaking the trees then trailering away their hard earned spoils.
The country has greened as mentioned in previous blogs and looks like spring to our eyes, the dazzling array of flowers the wild bougainvillea is stunning. As the shortest day approaches we are finally seeing autumn tints in the trees, reminding us in some ways of central Otago with the rocky arid scapes dotted with old stone buildings.

Goats foraging amongst the olives

Next door to us is a goat farm....This is a real goat farm in the sense a goat herder possibly in his late sixties tends them all day every day.They all have bells round their necks and you can always locate them simply by listening carefully, they come back to the pens late in the afternoon creating a cacophony of bells and the herder yelling and heckling them. He really yells at them often for extended periods for who knows what misdemeanours They walk the district amongst the olives and road verges foraging for feed. About 60 goats with many kids for the purpose of milking. A  milk tanker calls daily to collect the milk. When the other couple were here Dawn went to him and purchased a litre of fresh milk which tasted much as cows milk and a round of fresh goats feta. This was not as we have at home, think because the cheese at home is normally cured in brine, however it was nice texture but bland. I ended up lightly frying it and having it cold with salad or as a filler in a sandwich. The restaurant down the road has a speciality dish Roast Suckling Kid which Sheryl is keen to try before we move on..... goat is often on the menus here.

Another project completed

As in Italy there is little sign of livestock, apart from the local goats, on the train we saw a small herd of sheep on a small dirt run being fed waste citrus and undoubtedly they wander with a herder during the day amongst the olives and citrus while the grass is flush. This area is known as a pork raising area but yet to spot a pig so assume they're all pen raised. Don't know....Certainly in the shops there is no shortage of cured pork in any form you desire. The large legs are always on display with their special stands and carving gear to slice wafer thin cuts to order, and as for salamis and cured meats, truly  vast array of gnarly grotesque but somewhat alluring sausage.

From this

The Kitchen we renovated is largely finished bar the final dust out and must say am reasonably happy with the outcome, is great what can be achieved with a hacksaw blade, hammer, Swiss Army Knife and some kiwi cunning. In truth its not a sophisticated kitchen, being a rustic cottage food prep area but in keeping with the tenure of the place. Again fun to be able to do at our own pace ,like wise the paving areas now largely done an dusted.

To this!
Kitchen in Rose Cottage

Thinking in the new year once we have finished sprucing our cottage up we'll look for some thing else possibly in Portugal.
We fly to Copenhagen Thursday, to have 4 days with a lovely Danish couple that used to come out to Nelson for our summers, Max & Grethe. The cold temperatures will be a bit of a shock for us. Then onto Switzerland (Sursee) to Amanda & Rico's for Christmas with their two children Luna & Caio. Maybe a white one!