IV Rally of Ugijar/Eastern Alpujarras

At the beginning of November I planted out lots of seeds,  salad leaves, lettuce, kohlrabi and a variety of seeds we either bought in Japan in 2012 or have been given since then.  As they are Japanese we don't really know when to plant or how out of date they are....so it was a case of put them in and see what happens.  The pak choi,  2 types of round white radish and 1 type of long white radish have appeared already.  Looking in the diary I planted them on the 10th and noticed them growing a couple of days ago.  So not too out of date then!  Just waiting now for the broccoli,  what look like peas on the packet but the seeds were far bigger than local ones, okra and another long radish.  Will they or won't they?

One of the reasons for going out yesterday was to buy a new watering can - we do have 2 but 1 has sprung a leak and neither of them has the sprinkling end anymore.  (Why is the sprinkling end called a rose??)  The seeds desperately need a good gentle drink - although rain is forecast tonight if we don't water it won't rain, and if we do water then it's bound to rain,  that's the way things work!!   

Got home yesterday,  unpacked,  got out the receipts and shopping list and there in big writing it said WATERING CAN.  And what didn't we have?  Yup,  and that was the main reason for going up to the bazaar.  No pressing engagements this morning so I decided to go back and  get one.  Walking up through Ugijar in the sun,  I could hear engines.  Loud engines.  More than one as well,  and there on the car park opposite the Guardia headquarters  were rally cars and their support teams.  34 of them apparently. 

A bit more petrol needed for this Audi Quattro!

 They do say if in doubt ask a policeman, so I did,  as I had no idea where the cars were going or for how long and whether it was worth waiting around for them to come back.  It is an all day event so I watched some go and then  - yes!  we have a watering can.

This is the "IV Rally Cuidad de Ugíjar - Alpujarra Oriental"  They set off at 4 to 5 minute intervals having first gone down through town, turned round and come back - warming the tyres?  I didn't see any posters anywhere in town advertising it,  but on the Ayuntamiento facebook page is a picture of an information  poster, plus info about road closures and the route etc.

There is also a facebook page about the Alpujarras run by Rafael who lives in Yátor.  He has 145 pictures of last years rally!!

The links are here - firstly the   Ayuntamiento de Ugijar

and also    La Alpujarra"llena de vida"    (the Alpujarra, full of life)

Anything that goes on in the Alpujarra is likely to be on Rafael's facebook, plus loads and loads of photos of food and traditions, some videos - just found a short clip of Yátor on there,  so have a look and enjoy.

John has just come indoors from the garden and said he can still hear the rally cars out there enjoying these wonderful curvy roads, blue skies and sunshine.

Tapas in the sunshine.

Making the most of the sunshine at the moment as the forecast has temperatures dropping tomorrow and Sunday - there is even a snowflake on the forecast but as the snow line is about a 1000 metres above us I think that's unlikely - but watch this space!

We went into Ugijar this morning to the supermarket,  walked round the market, and up to a new Chinese bazaar  that has recently opened  - how does a shop get so much stock into one place!  Then we stopped at La Vidaña for a bite to eat.  Instead of a full meal we decided on a beer and tapas - actually 2 beers and tapas each.

Carne con champinones - pork with mushrooms.

Bacon and cheese in this bun.

Bacalao con tomate -cod with tomato- plus ensalada rusa - russian salad.

And as seems the norm for our area,  each beer with tapas was 2 euros.  At todays rate that is £1.40.

The Christmas decorations are beginning to appear too,  this 'tree' is opposite the church.

A bit autumny this morning.

Yesterday morning when I was out shopping,  the weather was described to me as  'summer from 10am till 5pm then back to winter'.   12 degrees first thing,  up to 19 or 20,  and back down very quickly when the sun sets.

The mulberry tree decided to drop loads of leaves yesterday so after putting away the shopping which included some of this wonderful  'keep you warm when winter comes' drink....

(Not the whole barrel of course!  Just a litre bottle - should be enough for this winter!)

Back to the leaves.....3 sack fulls yesterday.  Luckily there was no breeze as the leaves were so dry they would have blown away at any hint of wind.

This morning when we  got up there was a long low cloud in the valley below us,  stretching as far as we could see.

From the lounge window..

8.06am

Up the road a little way there was a good clear view of the clouds..

looking further to the right...

and looking South. 

A second Spring.

We seem to be having a second Spring,  although it's about 12 or 13 degrees first thing in the morning,  the sun is out and the sky is totally clear and blue, not a cloud in sight.  In fact I haven't needed anything warmer than a cardigan for the morning walk at about 8am. During the afternoon we've had temperatures of just over 20,  so I'm back into my summer shorts and t-shirts for most of the day.

The seeds for the salad leaves that I put in on the 1st of the month appeared a few days ago,  so today I've  put in different lettuce seeds,  some kohlrabi seeds and transplanted 15 baby rocket plants.  Those are easy to come by as they grow wild at the side of the pista on our walk up to Yegen.  There is already a dark green carpet of baby plants.

The leaves are hanging on tight to the trees but looking glorious especially with the blue sky behind.

There are some trees that grow in towns,  Almeria Berja and Granada to name a few,  we don't know what the tree is but they have very glossy dark green  leaves with a smoothish slightly silvery bark.  They are cut into a donut shape - flat on the top and bottom with round edges and hollow.

In Almeria last Friday some were obviously waiting for their (annual?)  haircut,  not neat and tidy and with what appeared to be aerial roots dangling.  And across the road on  Paseo de Almeria we saw the pruning gang in action...

Then through a side street and onto Avenido Federico Garcia Lorca  where there is a lovely wide walk with fountains in between the roads.  It  reminded us of La Rambla in Barcelona and there is one like it in Granada behind El Corte Ingles and probably in lots more big cities as well.   The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was "the only street in the world which I wish would never end."

Autumn is here.

Autumn has come now,  the temperatures are dropping overnight although keeping busy in the day time sunshine means a t-shirt is warm enough.  The leaves are turning colour and when the wind blows the trees rustle as the leaves are drying - and dropping fast!  A sack of leaves went up to the compost heap this morning and I'm sure there will be another one tomorrow,  and the day after,  and the day after,  so long as the wind doesn't blow too hard in which case they will end up a long way off! 

We've been pruning and digging and cutting back plants recently,  I moved a herb bed to a more sheltered space and added some seeds - quick growing salad leaves and coriander too.  One of the compost heaps gave us almost 3 wheelbarrow loads of good rich compost which has been dug into a raised bed.  The next compost heap has been turned over into the empty one and should be done in about 6 months.

A couple of mornings the clouds were down very low,  it almost felt like there was drizzle in the air.  No blue sky! 

Colourful toadstools seen on our morning walks, they are growing out of the drystone walls.

Found this picture amongst this months photos... my favourite shop!

We also buy some of our white wine from the bodega,  it's a grape called Vigiriego round these parts but in other parts of Spain it's known as Chelva.  No picture though as that barrel is in a cooler part of the building.