Spain

Doggy-do in spain is something you really have to watch out for as you wander around and Andalucian village or town. In Ronda in particular a lot of people who live in apartments also have dogs which get taken for a once a day walk specifically so that they can relieve themselves.

Now without being too disgusting, there are some streets where you literally have to play hopscotch to avoid the numerous little (and not so little) piles of doggy-do.

Well finally our city leaders have decided enough is enough and new signs have appeared around certain parts of the city, like the grassy area in front of the railway station and other local parks. Read More

Having been brought up outside of Southern Europe I can honestly say I don't really ever remember shops, hotels, private homes, even street signs being made of of painted tile frescos, but here in Andalucia they are very common.

Take most bakeries or butchers around the pueblos blancos, they have no need for gaudy signs or flashing lights, after all everybody in the village already knows where the shop is and who the people behind the counter are.

So in keeping with the white village look and feel, many of the shops use the same style of tiled fresco that you see adorning the entrances to local churches, and the idea has caught on, a fair proportion of houses have a tiled fresco giving the name of the house or depicting Mary or one of the local saints.

Looking at a lot of the tiled frescos you'd be forgiven for thinking a student of the great painters or map-makers of olden times had drawn them, most are really quite impressive given they are hand painted onto regular wall tiles just like the type we decorate our bathrooms with.

When we first moved to Spain I needed particular subject to form the cornerstone of my photographic interest and I was going to choose these tiled frescos before realising that every second building or street corner includes one. This is why I settled for taking pictures of manhole covers. At least most towns don't have more than a handful of unique designs.

Now, for those of you interested in a bit more to do with walking the streets of one of the pueblos blanco, let me tell you that starting your walk you are only likely to see house after house after house. Entire streets are made up of buildings joined together in a continuous line that may stretch several hundred meters or more.

Most of these will look quite unremarkable and you'd be forgiven for thinking there are no shops. In fact, quite the opposite is true, a fair number will have a front living room converted into a small supermarket, butcher, bakery, or hardware store.

The only thing that gives a hint to difference between a home or a shop is the tiled fresco next to the door, because let me assure once the door is closed you can't tell.

Over the last week I've been making an effort to get out every day, either for a walk or a bike ride. Walking is easy, I've been doing it most of my life, and I'm reasonably adept at putting one foot in front of the other. Really steep hills like we have around here in Ronda cause the odd issue and often require stopping for a breath of air but overall I'm happy with my walking

Cycling is different. The last time I actively rode a bike was in my teenage years. Flat bits of road I'm happy to say aren't a challenge, downhill cycling isn't a problem either, in fact it's a bit of a buzz going faster than I would have down if I was driving. Disk brakes on a bike make a huge difference to your confidence.

Cycling uphill around the Serrania de Ronda though is a major challenge, did I mention we live in a very hilly environment? I've been noticing that my stomach muscles have been getting very sore, almost like cramps, and this is in addition to the legs muscles, and back muscles, and arm muscles being sore. The stomach muscles being sore concerned me the most. Read More

I mentioned in another post that we've sold our car with the plan being to use battery operated electric bicycles as our primary source of transport, well, other than public transport as well.

Anyway, my bike has arrived, it's a shiny red beast of a machine with a huge battery, powerful motor on the back wheel, disk brakes front and back, and the most annoying horn sound you've ever heard.

Friends have been warning me that riding a bike after many years of barely being able to balance on two wheels might be a mistake, but I'm sure dear reader you know by now that I never allow other people's logic to dissuade me from my mission.

The reality is that I can't drive anymore, well, I can, but my peripheral vision has shrunk considerably and I often drive too close to the edge of the road or the center line. So, rather than persevere and run the risk of causing an accident we made the decision to sell the car and get bikes. Read More

The Ronda Tourist Office is located in Plaza de Blas Infante, which is also where the bullring is, so for the benefit of tourists who arrive by bus and who often get confused walking around Ronda, follow these instructions.

Now, most tourists who arrive at the tourist office pass the bullring to reach it, but getting here from the bus station is something that often seems to confuse people, mostly because the central bus station is at least 600m or more away. So, for the benefit of anyone who happens to visit, when you exit the bus station you'll be facing a traffic troundabout with very few meaningful signs to anywhere.

Here's what you need to do to get your bearings. First, stand directly outside the main entrance to the bus station and you'll see the aforementioned traffic roundabout ahead of you. To your left you'll see a small kiosk selling lotto tickets, and to your right you'll see a street with a pedestrian crossing, and over the crossing, a cafe with street seating. Read More

The Church of Our Lady of Mercy in Ronda, known locally as Iglesia de la Merced, and located at the top end of Calle Virgen de la Paz on Plaza de la Merced. This church is most well known for containing the Holy Relic, the Incorrupt Left Hand of St Teresa of Ávila.

For some time I've been meaning to take a photograph of the hanging jamon legs in a supermarket or delicatessen but every time I take my camera with me I get frustrated by there being too many people in the way, or the shop is closed, or I get the very distinct impression it wouldn't be welcome.

Anyway, the other day we were in Mercadona, one of Ronda's local supermarkets, and miracle upon miracle, the jamon was all nicely arranged on the shelf, the guys who normally cut the ham weren't at the counter, and I was almost alone standing in front of it.

Quick as a flash I whipped out my trusty pink camera, clicked the on switch and surreptitiously aimed the lens at the jamon on the back wall. I thought being in a large supermarket with staff and customers all around that I'd be less obvious.

Didn't work! The first photo was all off, out of focus and to top it off the angle was all wrong, it almost looked like the floor was the wall. In a panic because folk were starting to walk towards me I stood straight, held the camera up and steady, snapped my shot, and without looking at a soul switched it off, put it back in it's little case, then looking studiously down into the trolley went off to find the other half. Read More

I just read this over at the Independent, about a major development on the part of the Spanish government to really get behind efforts to save the environment. New environmental legislation is intended to reduce Spain's dependence on oil and gas imports by cutting 10% off imports per annum.

Here's how it works, motorway speeds are going to be cut to 100kph instead of 130kph, other main roads will be cut to 80kph, and all traffic in town will be reduced to 40kph. The hope is that this will reduce the quantity of petrol used by each motorist.

Government buildings will have the air conditioning and heating limited to 26° and 21° respectively, street lighting will be reduced by 50%, and 50 million energy efficient lightbulbs will be distributed to homes and businesses throughout Spain in an effort to force the old bulbs out of the market.

As a dedicated environmentalist I completely support this initiative and wish them luck, however the press and motorists here in Spain are lampooning the government as idiots trying to push Spain back into the dark ages.

Spain's Industry Minister, Miguel Sebastian has been quoted as saying the "era of cheap energy has passed", and again, I agree. With crude oil prices as high as they are and projected to hit $200 a barrel in the next 24 months you have to take these things seriously.

It will be interesting to see how well the new rules will be implemented, Spaniards have a habit of ignoring speed limits anyway, although there is a lot more advertising on TV about the dangers of speeding and driving under the influence and the traffic police have a zero tolerance policy now, again still being haphazardly enforced but everything takes time to change in Spain.

Now despite these major environmental developments, it is not all rosy on the environment front just yet, in fact my home town here, Ronda, has just been listed as one of the most corrupt towns in Spain because of illegal approvals for a large scale golf, hotel, and residential complex situated a few kilometers down the road from Ronda.

Essentially the Ministry of Environment has come out against the development due to damage to a precious eco-system filled with endemic species, and lack of water, although the Ronda Town Hall disagrees in the face of large sums of money it stands to earn from approvals and permissions.

Sadly, the area in question is home to one of Spain's largest nesting areas for Bonelli's eagle which is now threatened, and worse yet, the vast majority of new housing in the Ronda district remains empty due to the housing market crash in Spain.

On a personal note, if I get to the stage of speaking nearly fluent Spanish I'm seriously tempted to consider entering politics just to make it even harder for these people to get away with this kind of reckless damage to a very precious eco-system.