SENT TO IBERIA

A few random pics from my recent walking tour of Andalusia.
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547548@N04/sets/72157636580185944/

There are a few more pics of Cordoba and Granada in the Moorish Trail set.

Here's a typical night shot of Seville.  This was taken about 8pm, but the street looked pretty much the same until at least midnight.

 

A courtyard inside the Alcazar.

 

 

A courtyard inside a nice restaurant.

 

One of my favourite views in Granada.

AVAST

Aye, it be that time of year again.  I return from desert climes, after I be spendin me doubloons and pieces of eight like rum down the scuppers, and, blow me down, I be shiverin me timbers like a lassie caught by the buckos below decks.  You could cleave me to the brisket with me own cutlass!  Anyways, for ye landlubbers out there, here's a taste of me travels over the seven seas.

COUP SEVILLE

I am off tomorrow for a couple of weeks in Andalusia. I shall be taking a group on a walking tour of Moorish and Mujedar architecture in Seville, Cordoba and Granada. I walked in Cordoba and Granada last year, but never made it to Seville. I shall also try to get the group out into the mountains a couple of times. So I'm fluctuating between pleasant excitement and abject terror at the moment.

I'll try to stay in touch, but may have to catch up when I return. There will no doubt be a pic or three to post too. Take care. Meanwhile, here's my current earworm for you to keep dancing to while I'm away. Some of you may recognise this as the Bose ad music. Well done Bose for promoting it! I just think it sounds so South African.   How do they do that?!

MOORISH TRAIL

I recently returned from a walking holiday in Morocco and Spain.  That's a slight misnomer, since we travelled between cities by train, bus or boat.  But we did some walking whenever we had our feet on the ground.

The idea was to follow the journey of the Moors from Marrakech to Madrid.  The origin of the Moors was among the Berber tribesmen of the Atlas Mountains.  We therefore began our journey by walking through Berber villages in the mountains and visiting a Berber market.  In the early part of the 8th century, the Berbers amassed their troops from various parts of the northern African continent in Marrakech and advanced northwards (as did we) through Rabat and Tanger.

It seems incredible now, but an army of around 30,000 men crossed over into Iberia and, within 8 years, occupied most of Spain, Portugal, the South of France and southern Italy, naming it Al Andalus.  They stayed for nearly 700 years, tolerating Christianity and Judaism, and changing the architecture and food of Spain forever.

We were able to see prime examples of the architecture, notably in Cordoba and Granada, both of which survived almost unscathed from the reclaiming of the lands by the Christian Kings in the 13th and 14th centuries.  We also sampled the food!

I have posted pics from our trip here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547548@N04/sets/72157633565125782/

STATUES

I have never taken part in Images and Words before, but this week's theme comes as I relook at the pics I took recently in Fuerteventura.  I don't post ALL the pics I take when travelling; apart from the fact that there are so many, I often take pics that appeal to me that probably won't move others the same way.  And I also have a collection of pics that might appeal to others, but which I have no vehicle, apart from a random post, to share with you.  This theme gives me the opportunity to post one such from my recent trip.

In the old fishing village of Corralejo, on the northern tip of Fuerteventura, is a memorial to the fishermen of the village.  The beauty of the statue lies not in a heroic representation of the fisherman, nor in an image of the artisan toiling to gather essential food for the village, but in a touching family group.  We so often forget that fishermen are at sea often for days, weeks even, and have to endure tempest and high seas in search of their ever-moving catch, whilst at home wait, patiently and fearfully, a wife and child.  And there are times when the boat doesn't come home.  Here the family are reunited as the boat comes in.  It is not the fish that is important, but the fisherman and his return again to the family home.  This statue is a symbol of all the village's fishermen and the village's thanks to them and wishes for their safe return.

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.

Vincent van Gogh

ETERNAL SUNSHINE ON MY SPOTLESS MIND

I thought I would warm myself up with some shots of Feurteventura.  Think of them as cups of  cortado.

Here is where I usually enjoyed my morning cortado.

 

There are four requirements for a January holiday - sun, sun, sun, and coffee.  Here I could enjoy them all.  Fuerteventura is known as the 'Island of Eternal Spring',with an average temperature of 23 degrees (although it did plummet to 15 degrees once, someone seemed to remember) and a rainfall of about a coffee-cupful a year.  It is the second largest of the Canary Islands, taking almost a whole day to drive from one end to the other and back, visiting every town and village (and taking a break for lunch) (and of course coffee). This cafe is on the marina quay at Puerto de Fuste, a Barcelo dominated resort with a great (imported) beach.  It is in the old lighthouse

 

and also serves fresh grilled fish in the evening.   This is the beach

You get a sense from this picture, both how deserted it was in January, but also how deserted permanently the island is outside of the resorts.  Can you see the mountains?On a couple of days, we walked into the next village.  This is the road.

 

And here's the main road heading north.

 

About an hour's drive out of Puerto de Fuste, you come to these sand dunes.  I assume all this sand has come over from Morocco.

 

And the interior of the island looks like this.

There are actually farms in there.  Here's one

The walk out of town north is very nicely paved, with a cycle track and even street lights.  There's still nothing there, but I was impressed to see that there was probably a vision with this infrastructure already provided.  The main industry on the island of course is now tourism.

 

There are a couple of little villages in the interior which are attractive to see.  This is Betancuria.

 

And this is the old fishing village of Corallejo.

  And nowhere was there any snow!

LOS SIGNOS

A couple of signs that caught my attention in Fuerteventura.

I did find out what this was supposed to mean, but I think it's fabulous! Don't you just love the swimming trunks?!

 

And this is a restaurant I was not persuaded to visit.