It's all getting a bit tense here

With less than a week to go to the local elections it’s all getting a bit tense here!

Well actually it’s not. Except for the ‘politicos’. They are busy distributing leaflets at the markets and vying with each other to place their posters at the best sites.

And it’s amazing really that we aren’t more bothered. Villages of less than 2500 people will have the opportunity to vote for a new council – who’s Mayor (the Alcalde) will have significant powers and very significant funds, to direct investment into the area,  for the next four years, in such programmes as economic development; provision for the elderly; youth facilities; improving the infrastructure and planning

Here in Oria, it looks like a straight fight between the locally incumbent Socialist party of national Government (PSOE) and the main Conservative opposition (PP), though there is the opportunity to vote for a coalition of independents (The Citizens of Oria) and some Greens! The feeling is, that just maybe, this time, the PSOE may get a bit of a ‘kicking’, because of the state of the economy. However, I’ve heard that many people feel that the Alcalde has done a good job under difficult circumstances, so maybe not!

In order to secure the Barranco de Quiles vote, work has started on the renovation of the lower fuenta. It looks as if the ancient water supply and clothes washing area is being totally rebuilt, and word is, that most vecinos (neighbours) of the hamlet are really pleased about this, though they would have liked the ‘pot holed’ camino that links them to the village, to have been resurfaced first! Hey Ho! Politics is the art of the possible!

Down in the Almanzora Valley, where there are many expats, things look a little more confused. The voting situation has been complicated by the emergence of two new independent parties involving expats – concerned about the positive development of their communities, but also very much about the property situation of ‘illegal builds’ of homes. I suspect the new ‘activists’ have had little experience of Politics before, and have been driven to get involved, partly through real concern and maybe desperation. I think, as much as power, what they want is access to accurate information! Next time around, I think they will be better organised, to indentify their true alliances, and to make sure their vote counts! This time though, it will be really interesting to see how the vote is split!  Whatever, surely it is a good thing that people are trying to get involved, to stand up for their rights and better their communities!

Meanwhile the ‘fight’ for the Barranco vote continues! Another smart car, driven by a smartly suited hombre, and with the PA system ‘ablaze’ meanders down the high camino to the hamlet. In between strains of stirring ‘muzac’, we were being invited to yet another party, where the beer would flow freely, to secure our vote (now that is a good thing about Spanish politics)! …. And then, as the loud strains of Mantovani , echoed and attracted attention over the valley, the smartly suited man got out of his car, and had a wee! 

He must have been desperate - it was at least 90 seconds!

Now, that’s what I call a vote catcher!

Good Luck UK

Any previous readers of my blog will know that I love my life in Almeria. However, I pay my taxes here, so feel that I am entitled to make the occasional criticism of the ways things are sometimes done.

Many of you will be familiar with the massive black ‘bulls’, prominently perched on hillsides across Spain. I often wondered how the brandy advertisers got away with it. Could you imagine those huge ‘forms’ being allowed in Snowdonia or the Lake District?  

I've come to realise that it can be explained by the scale of the place – twice the land area of the UK and only two thirds of the population, a significant number of who live in just a few large conurbations. Consequently much of Spain is relatively sparsely habited, so land is plentiful and there is plenty of space, to make and hide mistakes in the landscape.

For instance, quarrying is very important to the economy here, though with the recession, the demand for marble from the Sierra Filabres has really declined. Even so, in my time in Spain, I have seen a whole huge mountain disappear from the landscape, and no one has batted an eyelid. Could you imagine that in the Peak District?

Another example is in my home village of Oria. 
On the hillside, in the centre of the village are the ruins of a
13^th Century Arab Fort. A path way has been made up to the fort, which has been partly restored, and interesting ‘interpretation’ boards have been set up for the enjoyment and information of visitors. Very good! But there is no getting away from the 3 large communication masts that have been erected, right in the middle of the ancient monument!

And speaking of communication masts – our part of Spain is experiencing a rash of them due to provision of the internet to this very rural area; the introduction of digital television and more phone providers. It seems that every available mountain top has been planted with not one, not two but very often three masts. Is there no planning authority to make them mast share, wherever technically possible? I don’t know the answer to that, but even if there is, I don’t suspect the issue of the sprouting of ugly masts has even entered their heads.

There are no railways here and no public transport to speak of. But there are motorways, on which you can travel for miles without seeing another car in either direction!

Travelling along one such motorway you pass the ancient and beautiful town of Velez Rubio, dominated by the magnificent dome and twin squared towers crowned with octagonal belfries, of the Parish Church built in 1753,…….. and the ugly 70’s tower block of flats set right alongside it!

The coast line between the towns of Carbonerras and Mojacar is very beautiful, with many secluded sandy bays. Naturally, it is protected from development – or is it? On one of those beautiful bays has been constructed a huge hotel complex; which through some strong campaigning by environmental groups, has never been allowed to be completed. Some people argue that the hotel would help generate the local economy, and create much needed employment. Others, that it would destroy a most beautiful natural habitat (with traffic, sewage and other pollution) on which much local tourism is built, and that a proper infrastructure for the development has not been created. Whatever the arguments, what is in evidence is a lack of planning.

….and surely the greatest failure to plan properly has resulted in the construction of 12500 ‘illegal’ homes, in the Almanzora valley.

The organisation Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora NO, has been at the forefront of the campaign to achieve justice for the innocent purchasers of these home, who have been deceived by corrupt politicians, developers, lawyers and estate agents, who have systematically taken advantage of a very weak or often non existent planning system, to make a massive financial gain. You can follow the issues at their web site  http://www.almanzora-au.org/  

Meanwhile, I hear that back in the UK, the Government has just about abolished the Planning System, in the interest of driving the economy forward!

Good luck UK

It’s primavera! Indeed sap is rising in the Barranco!

For several weeks the weather has been a little mixed. Even so the season has moved on! The spectacular almond blossom of February has been replaced by the lime green of new foliage and the suede almond husks. The apricot trees and cherries have both bloomed and small fruit are setting.

The last couple of days have been really fine and warm. Honey bees swarm over the flowers of the mint bush, and today I have seen my first poppy of the year. Soon the roadsides will be a riot of spring flowers and I am looking forward to taking a steep hike to the mountain tops to see the alpine meadows in full bloom.

My neighbour Mel arrived this morning with a dozen eggs - his poultry have started to lay again - so we will have omelettes for breakfast, made from bantams and peacock (pavo real) eggs!

Today, two weeks later than last year, I heard my first cuckoo, though the swallows have been around in sparse numbers for a couple of weeks now. I'm looking forward to the nightingales, bee eaters and golden orioles arriving too - but not just yet!

Spring is certainly here, and the sap is rising!

Miguel is around 70 years and lives down the Barranco at the small hamlet of Daimuz. Yesterday, I saw him trip up the camino mounted on his sprightly donkey, following the track around, until he arrived at Sandra's casa, who lives a couple of hundred metres across the valley from us. He jumped down from the donkey and started to examine all around - the vegetable garden; the fruit trees; the new stone wall and the olive grove - examining and inspecting everything. I thought I'd better telephone Sandra to let her know she had a visitor, who hadn't yet presented himself to the front door!

A little later I received a whispered response; - I'm hiding in the loo! Has he gone yet?

A long hour passed before a despondent Miguel trudged back down the camino on his donkey, leaving a box of biscuits fastened to the latch of the gate.

It’s primavera! Indeed sap is rising in the Barranco!

The Rambla

Contrary to what many of you may think it does rain in Spain – and not just on the plain! We are now into our third day of very damp, cold miserable weather. Maybe we are only about 25 kilometres from the sea, but at the moment our weather very definitely isn't Mediterranean. In fact it is more like north Wales on a bad day!

Needless to say, the dogs, cooped up in the house were going ‘stir crazy’, until in the end they ‘mugged’ me into taking them for a walk. So I got myself wrapped up, and set off from our cosy casa.


I figured that I didn’t want to loose sight of the dogs as they chased partridges and rabbits up the mist covered mountains, so I opted to go the low level circuit, around the rambla.

The Rambla de Oria

Now the rambla is actually a river bed, but normally it resembles a dry dusty track used as a convenient route by walkers and the occasional vehicle. Today a small stream of water trickled down the way. Once though, indeed last year, when there had been much more rain than today, I saw the rambla running with water over a metre deep. It was a swift flowing river! The big 4x4 had to turn back, but the tractor successfully negotiated its way up to the tarmac lane.

And once in the 1970’s, there was so much water  in the rambla, from its many tributaries, that it inundated the town of Albox causing such devastation, that it was declared a National Disaster!
Take a look at this old film shot at the time.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3094817875548654660

This video taken of the tragedy in Albox is a such poignant reminder of the power of nature, on this day of such terrible twin disasters, of earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

A trip to the blacksmiths - or the workman's lunch!

One the more difficult things about living high up a mountain in rural Spain is the quality of the water supply – sometimes ok, but often brown sand stained water or even just gurgling pipes!

Heather often stops the ‘Gestagua’ plumber Juan Manuel, who is a frequent visitor to the Barranco, to ask what is going on. The basic problem is that the well supply is inadequate, and so when the farmer near Los Cerricos waters his large lettuce field, there is little good water left for us.

Back in October, Juan Manuel told Heather that “after Merry Christmas”, works would start to bring a much better supply to the Barranco. We were not going to hold our breath. We have learnt that in Spain, “mañana”, doesn’t mean tomorrow, it means not today!

But now a new notice has appeared on the post box up the camino, announcing that work would indeed start soon, to create a better supply.

The situation with the water since we’ve lived here, meant that one of the first things we did, was to install a 'deposito' - an independent water supply for the Casa. Our 'deposito' is a 1500 litre tank that should keep us supplied with water for a week. However, it was sold to us at the price of a 2000 litre tank. I had an interesting time with Oprey, at the builders merchants, explaining to him in Spanish, that the volume of a cylinder is Pi x Radius squared x height, and that I had been overcharged, but we got there in the end!

I built a small casita to house the 'deposito' pump, which needed a hinged metal lid, so I went to go down to Oria to talk to the blacksmith. On the way I saw Pepe, owner of our nearest bar talking to one of his neighbours, at the development of some new 3 storey flats.

 I explained to the blacksmith what I needed, and fully expected a 'mañana' reply - but no - he picked up a sheet of metal -"is this ok?" – he measured it, cut it to size with a giant guillotine, drilled holes and fixed the hinges and hasp.

While all this was going on, some of his friends dropped in, studying the cutting gear; the anvils; the welding equipment and the work in progress - plough shares, railings and almond 'shakers', a priority job because at that time, the harvest was in full flow.

Into the workshop came the lottery seller to make a few sales, and then everyone started to look at the massive lorry, that had created a blockage on the roundabout into the town. He was on his CB radio, with a knowing smile communicating with another 'good buddy'. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, an equally massive marble lorry appeared from the opposite direction of the too narrow streets of Oria. The lorry drivers exchanged greetings and moved on in their respective directions, a queue of cars following!

Then the huge crane from the new flats development swung across two streets to near Pepe's restaurant. A red plastic bucket was suspended from the giant hook. Slowly it was lowered, and at the third attempt Pepe grasped the bucket. Then he waved the paper taken from the bucket, to the cheering men in the scaffolding - the lunch time order has been delivered!

So, how much was my casita top? Complete with hinges and hasp - 7 euros, and entertainment thrown in for free!

The Lift!

We were going the supermarket to do the big weekly shop and needed some cash, so we drove into Oria to go to the bank.

As we drew up to the bank, Heather jumped out to deal with the cash machine, and I went a little further up the road to the Ayuntamiento (town hall) to turn the car around. I carefully reversed around the lottery ticket seller who always sits on his quad bike on the corner there; and I had nearly completed my three point turn, when an elderly man waved me to a stop.  

To be frank he looked just a little rough! Sun beaten leathery skin! Work clothes that had many a day of work in them. Tough boots and a cap set at a jaunty angle. A typical old time Andalucían peasant farmer. In his very gruff accent, he mumbled something at me, and then got into the passenger seat, folded his arms and waited for me to set off!

“You can’t sit there”, I said! “It’s my wife’s seat”. 

So with a huff and a grunt, he got out and seated himself in the back of the car. So what could I do but set off to collect Heather, who I could see was just completing the withdrawal and stashing the cash in her purse.

“WHO IS HE?” She exclaimed when she saw we had gained a passenger from somewhere. She’d only been gone 2 minutes and I’d allowed the car to be hijacked!

“I don’t know”, I replied. I could see her thinking how could this happen?

“What does he want?” she puzzled.

“I think he wants a lift”!

“Where to”?

“I don’t know” – I was pretty bemused myself by now, but I had decided to go with the flow. I don’t like supermarket shopping, and if I was to be kidnapped by a Spanish bandido, well so be it!

Heather was pretty nervous about getting into the car with us, but I told her, “I’m sure it will all work out”.  So off the three of us went!

Down the main street – where were we going?  Bar Oria - No; Third Age Club -No; Coviran supermarket- No and not the butchers either: we went past Nati’s supermarket to the roundabout, and made a right turn to go by the petrol station.

Wherever we were going we hadn’t arrived yet, but apparently we were still going in the right direction!  About 200 metres further on he tapped me on the shoulder.

So I stopped and he got out, and with a “muchas gracias” he set off down a little track.

Such is the trust that people here seem to have in each other, and the respect and assistance the old folk can expect

Chips and tears!

Normally, the Barranco is just so, so tranquil!

Sometimes, you can hear a distant chainsaw lopping almonds or olives. Sometimes, for an hour or so, the mattock gives way to the rotavator. Sometimes the local dogs get excited, over something only they can see, smell or imagine!  Young Christians’ afternoon visit to his ‘abuela’ (grandma), on his small cylinder motorbike; also interrupt the silence for a short while. Normally though, the only sounds, if any, are bird song or the soft tinkle of goat bells!

This morning was different though! Heavy machinery!  A  JCB with large mechanical bucket and ‘bulldozer’, was busy in the field below our Casa, cutting away the sloping bank to create more of a terrace and a much larger field in the process. What could be going on?

During the afternoon, Caterina came past our casa with her dog Tina. I asked her what was going on in the field below. She told me that Juan and Juanna were making a new olive grove. Sure enough, Juanna was busy with her mattock in the field above making sure the acequia was clear for the water necessary, for the olives. Unlike almonds, which can survive very arid conditions, the olive trees need a good soaking, a couple of time a year.

Catti asked me if I wanted some potatoes. They were too heavy for her to carry up from her casa, but if I wanted some, I should come to fetch them. Next morning I went down to her house.  Tina was dozing on a mat outside. I called for Catti and she shouted me in. A wood fire was prepared but she wouldn’t light it till much later. A bowl of shelled almonds were next to the fire – ready for toasting –yum!

She went to fetch me a big sack of potatos. Then she went off again and came back with a litre bottle of her recently pressed olive oil – very green and not very clear – but very delicious! Then she reached up to a shelf and produced an old small foto of her daughter (looking like a young bride) outside the local chapel at her ‘First Communion’. She asked if I could use my computer to copy and enlarge it, because in May she was going to Barcelona for the ‘First Communion’ of her granddaughter, and wanted to be able to give one as a little present!

A couple of days later she called around. This time with a bag of oranges from her tree!  I had the fotos ready for her, but as usual she liked to see the other fotos, I had scanned for her on other occasions.

….and then the tears came, as they always did, when she saw the old foto of her guapo Ramon, who died eleven years ago now.