The Pueblo Blanco of Ronda

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Trudy

Friday, November 13

It is our grandson’s seventh birthday today! I do miss not being home to celebrate it with him.

I forgot to mention the surprise we had yesterday morning. We were still in bed, with our balcony door open to enjoy the ocean breezes and the view, when we were shocked to see workmen standing on our balcony! Remember, we are in a penthouse apartment on the seventh floor! Turns out they are painting the building. There was a bit of paint smell yesterday but we thought they would be finished and we could put up with it for one day. Well, today we discover they are putting up more scaffolding, for more painting….

We contact the owner to see what is going on and plan a day trip to Ronda. The apartment is very nice otherwise.Ronda is one of the Pueblos Blanco, or White Villages that is located about an hour from our Airbnb apartment in Algeciras. The white villages are fortified hilltop towns and villages that are whitewashed in the Moorish tradition. Ronda sits on a massive rocky cliff and it straddles a deep limestone gorge. Because it was so heavily fortified and difficult to attack it was one of the last Moorish towns to fall to the Christians in 1485. It is still hard to realize that all this was happening before Columbus even set sail to discover the Americas! There is just so much history here.Ronda’s bullring is one of the oldest and most important bullrings in Spain, built in 1785. The dream of every matador is to fight here at Ronda.

We sit and have our lunch near the bullring, overlooking this valley below the town.

Then we wander along the cliff top and stop at a view point to take a few photos.
A bit further along at another viewpoint I am a bit horrified to realize we were standing on a balcony like affair hanging out over the gorge. Look closely and you will see this liitle balcony. It doesn’t look very sturdy to me!The Puente Neuvo, or the New Bridge, was built in the 18th Century, and connects the newer part of town to the oldest area of town. We walk across it, and of course stop for even more photos. It is an amazing bridge, 120 meters above the river below.

There is a stone staircase of 231 steps down to the river in the Gorge. I was trying to convince Bob that we should walk down but once we saw this sign we changed our minds.Instead we walk through the old town, popping in and out of the shops to see what we might discover and then head out to find the Puente Viego, or the Old Bridge which was built in 1616. Today it is a pedestrian bridge and I stop to sit on “The Moor’s Armchair” right in the crook of the hairpin turn on the road to the bridge.

This Old Bridge spans the same gorge as the New Bridge, just in a different place. After crossing the bridge we head up a path towards some terraced viewing platforms and garden areas.Another view of the Old Bridge and the country side beyond the town, and the terraced gardens.This is the New Bridge from the terraced gardens below. Notice the white houses tucked into the cliffs in the shadow of the bridge.We wander through more of the Old Town, and I marvel at some of the places we find cars parked.On the drive home the air is very misty and there is this great example of arial perspective. Check out this link if you aren’t sure what arial perspective is all about. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_perspective
My camera has been giving me problems this entire trip. There is dust inside it that causes the spot visible in the sky in this picture and sometimes the settings just start jumping around and changing all on their own! One time it started taking every picture in triplicate! I am hoping it will keep working until the end of this trip. Any suggestions for a good camera? I think I will need to buy myself one for Christmas when I get home.

Seville to Algeciras

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Trudy

Wednesday, November 11

On our way to Algeciras in Southern Spain we stop for a visit to Cadiz. Our faithful iPad GPS has bit of a panic attack as it thinks we are trying to drive into the ocean! Seems it doesn’t know about this big new bridge yet!Cadiz juts out into the Bay of Cadiz and is almost entirely surrounded by water. It also claims to be Europes’s oldest city. Legend says Hercules was its founder but historians credit the Phoenicians with establishing the town in 1100 BC! Cadiz is also where Christopher Columbus first sailed from to discover America. We once more find a parking lot almost by accident. Parking near the old town part of Spanish cities is always difficult because the streets are so narrow that there just isn’t much room for cars. This abandoned building in the center of town right next to well kept occupied buildings is something we have seen everywhere in Spain.
Here is an interesting link to abandoned villages in Spain that are for sale.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2576711/Buy-ghost-village-50-000-Thousands-abandoned-Spanish-hamlets-sale-price-London-garage.html

The 2008 economic crash was a major factor in so many buildings being empty and/or abandoned in Spain.

We visit an old fortress that now houses several art studios and exhibit spaces.I quite liked this fellow.It was a lovely day and we wanted to enjoy the sunshine so we wandered the streets instead of visiting another cathedral or museum. This gull kindly posed for me with the Cadiz Cathedral in the background.The fish market is always an interesting place to visit. Being born and raised in Alberta far from the ocean, I have no idea how one cooks, or eats most of the fish we see, but I think more fish is eaten here than beef, chicken or pork.

We stop for tea at a little Pastelaria and sit with a view of this lovely pink building with this balcony and its pink flowers. I love just watching people as we sit and relax for a bit.

The streets in the old town are very narrow, and we manage to get a bit lost looking for the Torre Tavira which was the city’s watchtower in the 18th century. It has been converted into a camera obscura and I wanted to see that. By the time we found it we realized we as didn’t have time to see it as the next tour was in an hour, and lasted forty five minutes. We need to be on the road again before then, so reluctantly I leave without getting to see the camera obscura I was so curious about. If you are curious too, check out the information here. http://bhamobscura.com/2014/12/inspirational-obscura-torre-de-tavira-torre-tavira/

We walk out towards the fortress on this long causeway but don’t have time to visit it either. It is time to head back to the car and continue on to Algeciras and our next apartment.

Thursday, November 12 Algeciras

We have a quiet day today, do some laundry and relax in our new apartment. We have a penthouse on the seventh floor, with views of the mountains from the balcony on the west side and we can see Gibraltar from the balcony on the East side of the apartment! It is pretty spectacular.

The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Trudy

Tuesday, November 10

Jerez de la Frontera is the capital of Sherry production and it is also famous for its Andalusian Equestrian School. It is just a bit farther south than Doñana Park, which we visited yesterday. We purchased our tickets online and we leave early so we will arrive in lots of time for the 12:00 show.

We arrived early, and found parking which is always a challenge in Spanish cities, thanks to the wonderful GPS capabilities of our iPad. It has paid for itself many times over this trip. I have no idea how we managed to travel in Australia and New Zealand without it, only relying on maps. Never again!

We watch a very good short movie about the history of the Andalusian horse and then we have time to watch some of the training in the outside riding ring while we have our lunch.

We have great seats, right in the first row. I can almost reach out and touch the horses as they pass. The show is “How the Andalusian Horses Dance”, and it is an equestrian ballet based on traditional and cowboy methods of taming wild horses, accompanied by Spanish music and full eighteenth century costumes. I decide to behave and not sneak any photos, but I almost wish I hadn’t. These photos are from the internet . If you would like to see more check out http://andalusian horse show Jerez

We were sitting in the front row on the right side, almost in line with the dark grey horse in the photo below. Fantastic seats! Well worth the extra 6€ For preferential seating.

I found this short video which shows parts of the same show we saw and it is on location at the school arena in Jerez. The show was wonderful and it had enough variety for Bob, who doesn’t love all things horses quite as much as I do.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bd_nYE4c790

I did try to draw a bit during the show, but it was hard to concentrate on drawing and what was going on, and of course the horses never stood still! Here is my page of horse life drawings.

The young lady sitting next to me was from Germany. She owned a three year old Andalusian mare and she was hoping to be able to come to this school for riding lessons. A ten day course is 2500€ and room and board is not included. Expensive, but how fantastic would that be, to ride these beautiful well trained Andalusian horses, the same ones that take part in the shows! The lessons run for six hours a day, so you would certainly have to be fit.

After the show we walked over to one of the many wineries in Jerez, the Sandeman Bodega, for a tour and tasting. They have several resident storks, and we were lucky enough to see this fine fellow.

Our guide in costume walking past some of the barrels full of Sherry. After three ‘very generous’ samples of sherry we played Sandeman!

Finding washrooms is always a bit of a challenge when travelling, so we stopped at a nearby Ikea to use theirs before the trip back to Seville. It was rather strange to find that it laid out exactly like the one back home. We felt like we were back in Edmonton!

Doñana National Park

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Trudy

Monday, November 9th

We tried to book a guided tour to visit Parque Nacional de Doñana, along the coast south of Seville, which is one of Europe’s greatest wetlands. It includes 50,000 hectares of marshes and sand dunes, which are home to thousands of migratory birds in the winter months. The tour company does not operate without a minimum of four passengers, and we are the only two, so we decided to visit the park on our own. This turned out very well and we had a relaxing day, even though we didn’t see many birds.

Along the road to the park we pass acre after acre of these domed greenhouses. We aren’t sure what they are growing but they cover field after field sometimes as far as we can see in all directions!

We also see lots of these coniferous trees. They have been planted in rows and the bottom branches have been pruned as they grow, yet they don’t seem to be a tree that would provide lots of lumber. I was not sure about these either, but I love the rounded shape of the top of them. After a little research I now know these are Stone Pines, they are grown for their pine nuts and in some areas they have become naturalized. For more information see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_pine

First stop is the Palacio Del Acebrón which was built in the 1960’s. The land around the Palacio was cleared, planted with Eucalyptus trees, gardens, paths and trails were built and a huge pond was dredged and lined so that plants would not fill it in.The building is now an interpretation centre, and we get there in time for a visit before it closes at two. These long Spanish lunch hours make it difficult to plan our day. Seems things are always closed when we are out and about and then opening again when we are ready to head home! Bob is checking out one of the displays.

We go for a hike through along a little river and through some of the grounds. What would a holiday be without at least one tree hugging picture?We hiked along another trail to some bird blinds but only saw a few ducks in the distance. We decide that the migratory birds either have not arrived yet, or it is too early in the day for viewing so we head for the ocean and the sand dunes. We walk a long ways down this beach, and I gather a few sea shells as souvenirs.

We also see this victim of a discarded fishing line. If you look closely you may make it out wrapped around this bird’s neck. We saw quite a lot of plastic debris washed up this beach.These are sand dune cliffs that line the length of the beach, as far as we can see, and our version of a ‘selfie’.

All too soon the sun begins to set so we head back to the car along this boardwalk through yet more sand dunes. We get to our car just as the sun sets. We didn’t see many of the birds that this park is famous for, but it was still a very enjoyable day.

Parque Maria Louisa, Seville

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Trudy

Sunday, November 8

There are several parks in Seville and one of the biggest is the Parque María Louisa, which is where we spend the afternoon today. We saw a lot of people dressed in T shirts, coloured tutus and tights covered in what looked like powdered paint. These two young ladies posed for me. Everyone looked like they were having a great time but we had no idea what it was all about.

I did some internet searching later and find out what the Colour Run is all about. Check out this link. https://ca.thecolorrun.com/about/ Basically it is a 5 km fun race whose objective is to have fun and get doused with coloured powder and party with a lot of other people! Eleven thousand people took part in Seville’s Color Run this year. I have included a link to a short youtube video that gives a pretty good idea of what it is all about. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y8bboQxGp9E

We had lots of fun just watching all the brightly coloured people walking by us after they finished the race and the after race party. Wish we had known about it in time to go watch the fun. It is an interesting day. We watch a bit of a dog show in Plaza de Espána. The very big and very small dog in the photo below were very interested in getting to know one another.The Plaza de Espána was built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. It is a huge curved building complete with a semi circular canal. We caught a glimpse of Cinderella and the Prince who is running after her!The railings all along this building are blue and white ceramic with colourful ceramic posts.There are towers at each end of the building, which I read was used as a set in one of the Star Wars movies. We walked along the exact same route as Luke Skywalker in this short clip from the movie! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mVQyW1n5ECY

This sculpture, The Glorieta de Bécquer, depicts the three phases of love and someone had placed a fresh bouquet of white flowers in the arms of the woman depicting love passing. I thought it was very lovely and poignant.One of the many water features in the park. This one had very well fed ducks, who refused to eat yet another piece of bread, much to the disappointment of some cute little girls with their bags of food for the ducks.We watched people rowing on the canal, who had waited in a very long line up for the opportunity to circumnavigate the canal. Can you spot Bob?

One of the many wide paths through the park, which has a wide variety of very large trees. It was a lovely place to while away an afternoon.

The Real Alcázar, aka The Water Gardens of Dorne

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Trudy

Saturday, November 7

We had a great day visiting Seville’s Real Alcázar. It is a magical place in its own right but it was also the setting for the Water Gardens of Dorne for part of Season Five of The Game of Thrones. I am going to post my pictures without too many explanatory comments as I have included two links that have more information about the Game of Thrones settings and they also explain very nicely about the Alcázar.

Game of Thrones set for Alcazar in Seville, Spain

Game of Thrones Season 5: the Water Gardens of Dorne, aka the Alcazar of Seville

We climbed to the walkway you can just see in this photo. It is behind the arches in the wall past the pool. We had great views of some of the gardens from here.We spent four and a half hours wandering through the palace and gardens, and we still didn’t see all of the gardens.In the background you can see one of the many bridal couples we saw today who are here taking pictures. Interestingly, there was always just the bride and groom and one or two photographers, there were no bridesmaids or groomsmen. Can you figure out how the goldfish are flying through the sky? I love the intricacy of the carvings and details on the walls and ceilings.

This was a popular spot for a bride and groom to stand and get their photo taken with their reflection in the pool. Bob tried to take a photo of my reflection but there were too many people around.We did find a quiet spot in the garden to sit for a few minutes. Remember, we walked in the Alcázar for 4 1/2 hours!

We asked a bride and groom if we could just take one picture before they started taking their own photos in the Queen’s Baths.

The sun was low in the sky when we left near five o’clock and I liked the way this fountain was silhouetted against the wall.After we left the Alcázar we followed a walking tour map that Bob had picked up at the tourist office, through many of the old narrow streets of Seville.

I peeked inside one doorway and spotted this beautiful garden courtyard.

I couldn’t resist having my picture taken with this beauty! One more photo of the bell tower we climbed yesterday. Can you spot another bride and groom? We probably saw a dozen brides today!

We stopped for yummy ice cream and sorbet, walked the streets, watched some crazy amazing break dancers, and finally caught our bus home around eight.

Seville Cathedral and La Giralda

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Trudy

Friday November 6

The Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, the third largest Church in the world and has the largest, richest alter in the world! The sculpture in the courtyard is the bronze weathervane (giraldillo) portraying Faith that used to be on top of the tower, and from which the tower gets its name. A replica replaces it on top of the tower.Just inside the door is an arial picture of the Cathedral which gives an idea of its immense size, and we are going to visit all of it!

This link has some great pictures and easy to read information on the Cathedral. Take a look, I think it is quite interesting (and it saves me lots of writing!) http://www.sacred-destinations.com/spain/seville-cathedral

We enter the Cathedral and simply stand in awe. It is hard to describe the feeling we have being in such a place. The light is wonderful as there are three rows of stained glass windows, and the sun streams in casting jewels of colour over the immense stone columns. Interestingly I think that black and white photos capture the feeling of being in the Cathedral better than coloured photos.

The organ here is enormous, perhaps the biggest we have seen and there are two parts to it, across from each other in the choir. These two pictures show the organ from the left and the right, this set up means that the pipes are visible on the front and back of each part of the organ.

Here is one of the many beautiful stained glass windows. I believe this one was from 1479.

The Chapter House dome is elliptical and was built in the 1500’s. It is perhaps the first elliptical dome ever built and I thought it was particularly beautiful.I read that the cathedral has 80 chapels, in which 500 masses were said daily in 1896. The altar is quite unbelievable. It is carved in wood, covered in gold, and is 20 meters tall with 45 carved, polychromed biblical scenes.

Christopher Columbus has a tomb here although other places also claim to have his remains. DNA testing is being carried out to determine if it is indeed Christopher Columbus who is interred here.

Next we climb La Giralda, the belltower, which has 35 ramps which are wide enough so that two guards on horseback were able to climb to the top of the tower. This link has more info on the Tower if you are interested

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/spain/seville-giralda

The views from the belltower make the climb very worthwhile. I have decided I like Belltowers very much. After our visit we make our way back to the tram to take us home. The ice cream is displayed very attractively, we decide we will have to try some tomorrow. I found a place that has sorbet, all natural ingredients, and no milk!One last view of the tower. The top level with the bells is where we stood.

Good Bye Portugal, Hello Spain

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Trudy

Wednesday November 4

We are on the road by 9:30 for Seville, Spain. We didn’t manage to see or do as much as we thought we would in Portugal; the rainy weather and catching a cold put a bit of a damper, no pun intended, on our visit here. Too bad, but it is what it is.We stop in Tavira, Portugal for lunch and find this lovely little garden behind an old monastery. There are trees here from all over the world with identifying tags, including this poinsettia tree.

We walk around after our picnic lunch and discover this old castle with a park in its center. We climb the steps to the top of the old walls, very narrow steps without any railings. We have noticed that Spain and Portugal expect visitors to take care of themselves. There are often no safety rails or fences in quite dangerous places. Back home this would not be the case. Can you see Bob at the very top of the stairs, where he stumbled? The view from the top of the castle walls over the roof tops. Two pictures of the same tree. Can you spot who is hiding in each one?

Tavira has lots of tourist attractions but we notice that there are many empty store fronts and houses for sale. This is something that we have seen repeatedly throughout Spain and Portugal. Their economies are suffering with high unemployment and the villages and towns are losing young people to the bigger cities. We have also noticed how often there are abandoned derelict houses, businesses and factories right beside nicely well maintained buildings.Notice the tree growing out of the window on the second floor of one of the building in this picture for an example. There are lots of ‘fixer uppers’ in Portugal and Spain!Soon we are approaching Seville and our next apartment.
Thursday, November 5

Travel days are kind of hard on me, so I stay home today and rest and Bob goes to check out the tourist sights and figure out the bus system for our outing tomorrow. I spend an hour or so watching a worker climb up inside the leaves of a palm tree and then trim it. It looked like a very difficult, dirty job, but it was very interesting to watch.

Exploring Near Lagos, Portugal

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Trudy

First thing on the agenda this morning is a trip to Lagos to visit an Osteopath. When we arrived there, we realized that we had left our red bag sitting on the road in front of the car back at our apartment. We sent an email to our AIrbnb host who kindly called the cleaning lady at the apartment and located the bag for us. I was very happy, most of the stuff in the bag could have been replaced, but not my travel journal.

Bob waited for me near the beach which had streets with more great cobblestone designs. We both really liked this one.

Next stop is Farol da Ponta da Piedade. This is an area near Lagos that has a lighthouse, which didn’t seem all that special, but it is situated in a pretty spectacular area. We decide we need to climb down this staircase to see what is down there. There are 191 steps down and of course, 191 steps back up!

Here is what we found. A short drive along the road takes us to Camilo Beach, with a view of Portimáo in the distance.

Of course, to get to the beach there are more steps, another 225!

This beach has brightly coloured rock cliffs on all sides, and the really red sand you can see in this picture at the base of the stairs was very slippery and stuck to my shoes like glue! I have no idea why, other than it was washed down from the cliffs and was different than the rest of the sand on the beach. I wonder if it is some sort of clay.Bob notices a tunnel that goes right through the base of one of the cliffs so we walk through it and discover another beach area.

We sit for a while enjoying the view, then we head back through the tunnel, up the 225 stairs, and we are on our way back to Portimáo, which is only about a half hour drive from here.

On the way home I manage to snap a couple photos of some street art. I’ve seen some really interesting stuff, but most of the time we have pased it before I can get a photo. Traffic was a bit backed up so I managed to get these two pictures.

We leave for Seville, Spain in the morning, so we tidy up the apartment and pack most of our stuff tonight. We are hoping for an earlier start tomorrow.

Quiet Times in Portomáo, Portugal

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Trudy

Saturday, October 31, Halloween

Halloween isn’t a big event in Portugal. We see a few kids in costume on their way into a party but that is about it. I am missing my grandkids today but we do manage to connect for a great FaceTime visit and then they send us these great pictures.I am fighting a cold and not feeling very perky at all so I have a pyjama day and Bob goes for a walk along the river in Portimáo. This boat is actually a restaurant.

Sunday, November 1

The quiet day yesterday was nice but it hasn’t helped my cold very much so I decide to stay put again today. I’m taking lots of vitamins, Echinacea and drinking lots of fluids, doing everything I can to get better quickly, but so far no luck. Bob went for a walk again today, he forgot his map and the cell phone but he managed to find his way around and get back to the apartment.

Monday, November 2

Our Airbnb hosts are so nice and they have asked us to go to a local market with them this morning.

We get some fresh fruits and veggies and then we go for coffee and pastries. We have a nice visit and learn a bit more about what it is like to live in Portugal. They are a lovely young couple with two children fairly close in age to our own two grandchildren. I have been using this down time to catch up on our blog and I am very happy to finally be caught up! Now, if I could just get my journal caught up And get rid of this cold all would be well.

trudymason.com

Travel, Art, Drawing, PaperArts

The Pueblo Blanco of Ronda

Seville to Algeciras

The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art

Doñana National Park

Parque Maria Louisa, Seville

The Real Alcázar, aka The Water Gardens of Dorne

Seville Cathedral and La Giralda

Good Bye Portugal, Hello Spain

Exploring Near Lagos, Portugal

Quiet Times in Portomáo, Portugal

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