Searching for Sunflowers

Sunflowers are starting to bloom north of Jerez
on the backroads to Sevilla.

We made our first film! Check it out....

Searching for Sunflowers

Los Canos de Meca

(May 3) Another warm and sunny weekend, another great hike.
 This time we started at Los Canos
de Meca, about an hour south on the Atlantic. 

We've discovered a network of hiking trails in southern
Spain linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic. This area is just northwest
of the Strait of Gibraltar. While you can't see it in these photos, northern
Africa can be seen over the horizon.

Today's walk was a relatively short one along the coast from Los Canos to 
Zahora, about 45 minutes down the beach. 
The sand was hardpacked, so walking the beach was no problem.
Even though the scenery didn't change much,
we wanted to share a few photos because this area is so beautiful.

First stop, just outside of town, was the Lighthouse of Trafalgar. Had you been
standing here in 1805, you would have seen the historic naval battle, in which the
Royal Navy destroyed Napolean's combined Spanish and French fleet.
(Traveling with a history teacher has its benefits!)

With hardly a soul in sight, this area is a secret. Just long stretches of
sand, sky, and water. It's hard to believe that two hours east is the Costa del Sol,
bulging with high rises and sunbathers.

We had to laugh. The Spanish love graffiti, and in a place so desolate as this,
they still found a few places to decorate.

Any solid surface would do.

Before we knew it, we were in Zahora.

 La Kalima, a chiringuito conveniently located
right on the beach, was a perfect spot for rest and refreshment before we
headed home.

That's all for now! Hasta luego from Jim

...and Deb!

Jerez Feria "Fashion Show"

Every spring, towns in Andalucia celebrate Feria.
Families, friends, hermandades (brotherhoods) and tourists gather
together in casetas to laugh, talk, eat, drink and dance.  It's a fun
festival that goes into the wee hours of the morning for about a week.
 After the celebration,
locals get a day off of work to recuperate and rest!

The Jerez Feria is famous for its horses and carriages, which were spectacular.

But for this post, we're focusing on fashion.

Half way through the afternoon, we realized that people
loved to pose for pictures. This was such a delightful
change from Morocco where people vehemently disliked
getting their photos taken. 

Of course, in all fairness, Moroccans are just being themselves,
wearing what they normally wear.
They don't like being treated like odd specimen in a zoo.
But at Feria in Spain, people wear costumes to be on display. All the photographer
 has to do is smile, motion to the camera, and say
"por favor?"  Parents loved their kids being
 photographed. Ladies and gents were flattered. 

Children were adorable in their dresses.

(Laura and Molly, had you grown up here, there's no doubt you would
have wanted a new dress every year!)

Many of the casetas are private and only open to members and their guests. If you
have a local friend with a caseta, you could be lucky enough to receive a much
coveted invite.

Feria usually takes place on the outskirts of town.
 In El Puerto, casetas are temporary tents constructed every May.
 But in Jerez, there is an entire area of the city devoted to Feria
with permanent casetas, like this one.
Public and private casetas are used just once a year.

More locals, happy to pose.

Love the pink dress.

Men riding horses had their own costumes of fitted pants and a
Zorro-like wide-brimmed hat. 

Men also wore the short-cut jacket and sash for a belt.

Music plays inside casetas and dancing the "Sevillana" is encouraged.
It's beautiful to watch, and there are plenty of Americans
who take lessons, dress up and look forward to dancing
at Feria every year.

The traditional Feria
drink is Rebujito--fino or manzanilla sherry,
mixed with lemonade and served with a lot of ice in a tall glass. Even in mid-May
it's hot. These drinks are thirst-quenching and surprisingly good!

It was a great day to wander around and take in the sights.
(Polka dots were popular!)

Another year, another Feria.
Our friends Amanda and Alejandro and baby Daniel are moving
 Stateside this summer. They've been our Feria buddies these past few years,
and we'll miss them! Adios!

Sunday Hike in Costa de la Luz

Hola, friends! Sunday was a gorgeous April day. We had a leisurely
morning and then drove an hour south to hike in
 the Parque Natural del Acantilado y Pinar de Barbate.

This 7.2 kilometer route starts out just west of Barbate and takes you
along the ocean cliffs, through pine groves, and deposits you in the little town of
Los Canos de Meca. Here's what we saw along the way....

Wildflowers were in full bloom.

Large Pimpernel.

Thistle.

 Gigantic pink, orange, and yellow shrubs of Lantana (or Verbena)
lined the paths.

The trail was relatively flat and often sandy and it snaked through umbrella pines
that spread back from the cliffs, with the blue ocean below. 

We encountered only one small problem.

The hazard of hiking on sandy paths results in
sandy shoes. The flip side of this inconvenience, however,
is that it justifies taking breaks, which we did!

Along the route we came upon this watchtower or
"Torre del Tajo."
In the 16th century, Spaniards could look out over the ocean
to see if Moors from North Africa were advancing and
determine if "the coast was clear."

About two hours later, we came through a pine grove and saw this sight before us.
The white mansion on the right was probably once a private residence but is now
a hostel. We had arrived at the bohemian town of Los Canos de Meca.

Tourism is encroaching, but the guidebook says "camping is
still the preferred lodging and nude swimmers routinely cavort
in the surf." (We saw neither.) The village definitely had a laid-back, hippie
feel. We could have been back in the '70s. We loved it.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the ocean.
 Deb had her first bowl of gazpacho for the season. Delicious.

Jim had tuna and onions. Barbate is one of the largest tuna fishing
ports in Spain, so the fish was fresh and tasty. We washed our
food down with plenty of agua and a cerveza.

An hour later, with food and rest,
we were ready to return to Barbate on the very same trail. 

Starting back at 5:30 in the evening, we still had plenty of daylight
ahead of us because sunset isn't until 9:00 these days.
The roundtrip hike and lunch took five hours.
What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Hasta luego, Deb and Jim

Pastoral Portugal

Last weekend, we drove to Portugal. 

It was hard to believe that we were only three hours from home.
Everything was so green and pastoral. 

Portugal? or Ireland?

Signs of early spring: woolly sheep ready for shearing and lambs everywhere.

Old wind power facing new. Look carefully!

We spent the night in a funky little town called Mertola--

---located on a hill by the Guadiana River.

Like most little towns, Mertola had its fair share of colorful doors, interesting door
knockers, and cobblestone streets.

This fanciful church was originally a mosque, built in the second half of the
12th century by the Moors. We're surprised Disney
 hasn't tried to replicate this!

At the highest point of the town was this very cool castle, which visitors could freely explore.

The second day we went on a 5.5 mile hike down into a gorge, which included a lot of rock scrambling (hands and feet), bushwhacking, and a final upward climb. Most of the way we followed the river, and half way through the hike we arrived at this waterfall. We didn't get lost---a great feat for us! It was a lot of fun and a beautiful area to explore.

Friendly faces along the way.

Curious faces.

And funny faces, too. It was Jim's birthday.
 He's aging well, don't you think?