We went to a 60th birthday party on the Saturday for a new-found acquaintance who coincidentally shares the same birth date as myself and the party was the night before Michael's 65th! When it came to the birthday cake 'ceremony' they also sang Happy Birthday (Feliz Cumpleanos) to Michael and me and we presented with a birthday cake too! Trying to find the location of the house set us a challenge - we just couldn't find it! At one point we seemed to be following another car being driven in such a way we decided they were lost too and also decided they looked English. When we ended up parked behind them in a dead-end street I got out to ask if they were going to the same place as us - they were Spanish and weren't going our way at all!! But we all laughed at the mistake - we couldn't help them.... they couldn't help us...... Good thing we hadn't followed them so very far! We decided to try once more and found the little turning we'd missed on 2 previous occasions - though it meandered down, up, around and around for so long we did begin to wonder if we were right then we stumbled across it - a house in the middle of no-where and cars strewn everywhere along the track, parked every and anywhere and much 'party' noise. You know that sensation of feeling very, very silly - how did they all manage to find it??? We didn't own up to our mystery trip! But it was a great party with many Spanish guests so another 'try our Spanish' opportunity - pity the folks! We even had Happy Birthday (Feliz Cumpleanos) sung to us both and were presented with a birthday cake! The views across the distant mountains from their living room were breathtaking and even more so as the sun set and cast a pink glow right across the mountain range - stunning. Though I don't think I'd care to navigate that track every time I needed to fetch a loaf of bread.
On the Sunday, we had a village coach outing - a community event arranged on a fairly frequent basis during the summer months and funded by the local municipality. Amazing value at 7 euros per head which just about covered the cost of the coach!! First call was to the nearby picturesque white washed hilltop town of Iznajar, perched on the top of a rocky outcrop some 540 metres above sea level
and almost entirely surrounded by a reservoir some 30 Kms long and the views from the mirador at the top are simply wonderful (see pics on posting ' Good Friends Visit for the Weekend' - April). I was staggered to see most of the elderly folk, without a second thought, tackle the long steep climb up many steps to the top - guess they get lots of practise living in this village!
It's a small but fascinating town which includes the ruins of a 1200 year old castle (currently under refurbishment) and a 15th century church with a beautiful baroque altar. However, this visit, with our guide, we were able to gain access to places we've previously found closed: The church bell tower which involved climbing up too many little tight stairs to count them but well worth it for the view to be enjoyed from the top! Then the library where I found amongst the more modern books a section on very aged, well worn and yellowed books including an early edition of Lassie with the black and white drawn illustrations I remember so will - really took me back a few years!! We visited the museum which is housed in what was the original Council Chambers - the Mayor's seat still in situ but the remainder of the room now displaying everyday artefacts used in day-to-day living and working through the years. One of our Spanish neighbours shared a saucy story with us: he was showing us the simple 'bed' (just lengths of rope tied across a wooden frame, no mattress) used by the shepherds in their little huts. Apparently the story goes that a young shepherd, newly married and with no way of providing a bed for them, brought such a 'bed' inside their cottage. She would sleep on the top and he underneath. If he wanted her he would reach through the rope slats and tickle her - if the response was negative his luck was out but if she said yes - his luck was in!
The best chuckle of the morning was the visit to the newly opened sports and leisure centre which included a visit to the gymnasium - it reminded me of opening the best sweetie shop in the world and letting children loose inside - the elderly folk (of which there were lots on this trip) were all over the equipment - lifting weights - then finding them too heavy so just literally letting them drop to the ground with a thunderous crash; the rowing machine; cycling machine; treadmill. The funniest was a little guy who reached up to pull down a weighted pulley and before he knew it he was whipped up off his feet!! Then dear Marie from next-door-but-one was persuaded to give the swizzle board a go ...
Powers of persuasion in action
Michael showing Julio (one of our neighbours) how it's done!
I don't know who enjoyed that experience the most - those having the absolute time of their lives or us watching them! Can you imagine anything like it ever being allowed back home??! On a more serious note the intention was a PR exercise to show the local folks the amenities they can use but I have a little doubt in my mind as to whether most of these would actually seriously consider using a gym! From there we were taken to the newly refurbished hotel by the lake for a swim and 4 course lunch with as much sangria as we could drink - the jugs were never empty! Then late afternoon we were off to a little place called Rio Frio where there are fish farms, a little market and the opportunity of a leisurely walk along the stream under the shade of the trees. It was a full day out, great fun, a fantastic opportunity to get to know some of the local village folk even better and the cheapest day out I've ever had! Roll on the next day trip.............
On their last evening with us we sat on the lakeside restaurant terrace enjoying a few drinks over supper in the warm night air until gone midnight. It was a special week of re-visiting and sharing some of our favourite places and of rekindling our cousin-to-cousin relationship which has been pretty non-existent since we were teenagers. It was also a wonderful opportunity to have fun reminiscing over family times/antics when we were young!
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