Viña Cristina near Grazalema
To Judith (if you read this): everything is fine here
in your house; the roses are pretty, the grass is green, there is
still water in the creek, and the Electricity guy was here today (16/7)
to note the use of electricity. The figs on the big fig tree are ready
(and very good), and the neighbouring shepherd has made friends with
the dogs:-)
24.07.2010
Begging for toasted bread WITH butter
Todays biking: 48,1 km and 1375 vertical metres
Todays climb to Puerto del Boyar from the El Bosque
side:
Pia and Gabor 1.00.46 avg. 14.4 km/h (Pias best this year, so far
:-)
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Todays bike ride was up and down El Boyar from both sides.
There is ONLY up and down on this course, nothing level. At
the turning point in El Bosque there is a spring where we drink
and fill the bottles. There were lots of cyclists out this morning,
because it is Saturday. On weekdays we almost never see any
athletes of any kind.
It went OK, I made personal best this year, but there is still
room for improvement!
To the right you will see me biking up El Boyar wearing my
Andalucia-CajaSur outfit. It is an Andalusian bike team, sponsored
by the autonomy. It gives me lots of credit out on the roads,
and a lot of peolpe cheer at me! Team Mermaid is not nearly
as popular here in this region:-) - but what the h..., it is
the same in Denmark! :-)
Team Mermaid is the Danish bike team that we are members of;
and their popularity is not sky high, mainly due to the fact
that it is a very strong and dominant team, that win too many
races.
In the evening Gabor took an extra loop of 30 km before dinner.
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Todays second bikeride: 30,6 km and 654 vertical
metres
Todays climb to Puerto de Montejaque from the Zahara side:
Gabor 21.13 avg. 18.1 km/h on MTB (Best on MTB)
23.07.2010
Todays biking: 98,8 km and 2516 vertical metres
Today is Friday and Friday means horse day for me and
no biking. I have been biking paramedic for Gabor the whole week,
but decided that he would be able to take care of himself today.
So I had made an appointment with Cartucho and Ana,
and they were waiting for me at 10 am in El Bosque. We had a lovely
trip on horseback; and these trips are not only horseback riding,
they are also Spanish lessons for me. On horseback we have the time
to talk and understand each other and it is lovely.
We have a lot to talk about; Ana is a sweet girl about
my own age.
Meanwhile Gabor went for a nasty bike ride; including
both Palomas, Boyar and El Chico. He was SO tired when he returned;
so it is a good thing that I had nothing planned for him besides gardening:-)
Friday is our gardening day, we cut the grass, trim the plants and
trees, collect fruits that have fallen down, collect dead leaves,
remowe weeds etc; so now the garden looks very trimmed.
After gardening Gabor made us a lovely dinner with iberian
ham, green peppers, cava, rice etc, while I was in the bath tub:-)
On Sunday we are expecting guests, Miklos and Magda,
our good friends from Denmark, have a house in Mijas near Fuengirola,
and they will come visit us from Sunday to Monday, so we are preparing
a lovely horseback ride for Magda and a nasty bike ride for Miklos!
:-)
Diario De Cadiz today
22.07.2010
Morning pool for Kutya. It seems to wake him up and give him some
appetite, if he comes in the plunge pool before breakfast. If we did
not have access to all this water, the dogs would really suffer from
the heat, but now they manage just fine.
Across our garden is the small river and the dogs have
free access to this, this water is also used for watering the garden,
and also fills up our deposit for water inside the house. Drinking
water is collected from the nearby Roman pond.
Todays biking: 71,4 km and 1688 vertical metres
Todays climb to Puerto de la Palomas from the Zahara
side:
Gabor 47.27 avg. 15.7 km/h on MTB (Best on MTB)
Pia 55.39 (best this year, so far :-)
Todays bike ride was a tough one, first climbing up
the Palomas, then after riding through Grazalema we took the same
course as yesterday evening; which gives us about 30 km extra, and
a 6,5 km extra climb.
After a rest at home we decided to do the Benamahoma-El
Bosque walk along Majaceite River and back.
The sign at the start of the path. The trek descends
slightly from Benamahoma to El Bosque
Beautiful Kutya posing on a cliff side
Crossing one of numerous bridges on the way
Machico cooling down in Rio Bravo:-)
It was a good walk to do with dogs because of the shadow
provided from the rich vegetation that grows around the river. Besides
there is a constant and easy access to the river so we could all cool
down if necessary. It is an easy walk, but keeping control of these
two predators really gives you hard work. We have to keep them on
a leash since we occasionally meet people.
Before our romantic dinner (440 g steak for each;-)
)
21.07.2010
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We decided to visit Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Equestre
today. It is situated in Jerez de la Frontera; and we have been
there before and loved it so much that we wanted to see it again.
Not just because of the beautiful horses that are being trained
there, but also because of the unique atmosphere. There are
stables, a wonderful indoor arena, outdoor arenas, a small palace,
saddlery, museum and a wonderful park.
And to Gabors excitement it is located right next to Sandeman...
Beside the Andalusian horses there are two Przwalski horses
- from which the domesticated horse descends from.
We watched the morning training session and walked around a
little before going back home.
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Me in front of the magnificent indoor arena. |
Todays biking: 30,1 km and 665 vertical metres
In the afternoon we went biking, just the small course
because our legs were tired.
For dinner we had a barbecue at home and enjoyed another
lovely warm evening:-)
20.07.2010
Alone at El Palmar beach near Vejer.
Today we got up at 3.40 (yes that's right), had breakfast
and then went to Vejer de la Frontera, or more precisely to El Palmar
beach nearby. We wanted to have the dogs to experience these endless
sandy beaches, that we know so well from previous years. It was fantastic,
no people here in the early morning, and the dogs had great fun for
a couple of hours.
Gabor waiting for his coffee at Bar Bejines
We went up to Vejer and took a stroll around town; before
heading towards our usual café for a coffee. It was lovely
to be here again, in Vejer, where we have spent some wonderful holidays
previously.
After that we went to El Colorado to see some of our
favourite antique shops and found some nice Moroccan lamps.
On the way back home to Grazalema we stopped at Presa
de Barbate, where I have done a lot of swimming the last years. Me
and the dogs went swimming, and we started the long and winding road
back, where we now have dinner in the garden, pretty tired are we,
after a short night's sleep.
We will just have a cup of coffee and some homemade
cinnamon bread before bedtime.
>> Pictures from today
19.07.2010
Filling up the tank with water just before the El
Boyar climb
After breakfast we went biking, took the route we were supposed to
have taken on Saturday...but we never got that far then. But today
we made it; I was very tired after yesterdays two bike training sessions,
so nothing impressive from my side. But impressive that Gabor could
climb El Boyar today, 14,5 km and it is a h... of a long way up, up,
up....
We had a long siesta afterwards before going to Grazalema;
it is Lunes del Toro, Bull running day...3 bulls is being chased round
town; to great joy of the spectators; but it makes us nauseaus! We
find it disgusting, to mistreat an animal like that just for the fun
of people!
We went there for a short while at 19, immediately felt
sick when we saw it, and decided to go to the supermarket in Ubrique
instead, and then home to bed.
Almost up after 14,5 km of very tough biking
Todays biking: 65,6 km and 1561 vertical metres
Todays climb to Puerto del Boyar from El Bosque 51.46
avg. 16.9 km/h on MTB
Siesta in the patio
Horror in Grazalema
18.07.2010
Today we went out for our bike ride after breakfast.
Gabors injuries are not so bad that he cannot bike. He is a bit sore
but better than the other times he had a broken collar bone! Must
be due to my perfect care!
We went down to the lake and the up the Puerto de las
Palomas; for me it went quite well, I made personal best this year,
57.13. And Gabor went all the way up with me with only one hand on
the handle bar.
Todays first biking: 39,1 km and 960 vertical metres
Now we are in Grazalema; there are many people here
this weekend due to the Fiestas del Carmen.
Todays second bike ride: 31,4 km and 696 vertical
metres
After siesta we decided to go for another bike ride,
since the first one was a short one! It was a hot round; at 19 it
was 42 degrees and we suffered in the beginning.
When we got back we had a well-deserved dinner!
17.07.2010
Todays biking: 30,5 km and 529 vertical metres
Our plan was to bike the following the route: VC-Graz-Villaluenga
del Rosario-Ubrique-El Bosque-El Boyar-Graz-VC; but we never got that
far.
In Villaluenga, we decided to ride through the village
to see how it loked like, it was very pretty; and on the way out of
the village, we were biking very slowly, Gabor turned his head to
look at a sign by the road; and overlooked a hole in the road, which
immediately made him make a double forward salto; and sent him to
the ground with his head and shoulder first. The bike landed 8 metres
away. So he sat there in the middle of the road for a while, while
I tried to get an overview of the injuries, which fortunately looked
superficial. But then he said that it felt like his collar bone was
fractured, and I could see that from the swelling that appeared on
the left shoulder.
A few old men came by; they wanted to help and suggested
to take Gabor to the bar while I went home and got the car. Gabor
thought it was a fantastic idea, but I said NO, you have to come with
me so we can get you treated. When I crash, Gabor always tells me
to take a sip of water and then up on the bike and go on. Now he could
taste his own medicine! Up on the bike, and because I was nice, I
said that we could ride home directly instead of going the long way
round!
AAARRRGGHH a broken collar bone after a dramatic
crash in Villaluenga del Rosario. The bike is in the back, and it
was more or less intact.
Kutya is providing first aid for Gabor
After I had once again used my medical knowledge to
treat Gabor, we spent the afternoon gardening, cutting grass, trimming
the plants that are growing like crazy, trimming the roses, etc.etc.
The garden looks very lovely.
Dogs having fun in the mini-plunge pool
People having fun in the large plunge pool (much work for me now Gabor
is minusvalido)
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In the evening we went to Grazalema, to celebrate he Fiesta
del Carmen (from today until Monday), and as usual King Kong
is in place!
We had a lovely dinner at El Simancon, and after Gabor started
saying weard things, and forgetting elementary things, I thought
it would be best to put him to bed. Morphine and Cruzcampo and
concussion is a dangerous cocktail.
Seriously, Gabor is OK, he has some scratches and a broken
collar bone, but he says that he will be on the bike tomorrow
again, so you (Katalin!) don't need to worry about him!
We talked to the waiter at El Simancon, and he was a triathlete
and had done the Triatlon Titan 3 times, it is the race I would
very much like to do. It is more or less as ugly as Embrunman,
but it is just a half Ironman. Unfortunately it is in the weekend
where we are going to Florence!
But the waiter could provide us with useful information about
the race. One day I will do that race!
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16.07.2010
Pias horseride
It is Friday and Friday is horseriding day!
I had made an appointment with my Andalusian horse,
Cartucho, about a 2 hour ride; and it was lovely. We were three riders;
Ana on Macarena, Mario on Piripo and me.
Todays biking: 101,5 km and 2553 vertical metres
(Vina Christina-Embalse-Zahara-Puerto de las Palomas-Puerto del Boyar-El
Bosque, and return)
Instead of horse riding, Gabor tried something else,
he went bike riding! For a change! He did a nasty tour today, uha,
glad I was not participating in it!
Kutya in favorite position, surrounded by water. He could sit there
for hours.
He shoul have been a Portuguese Water dog instead of a German Shepherds;
they are not supposed to be THAT fond of water.
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The celebrations of Virgen del Carmen has started, which means
that we (and everyone else) will be busy until at least Monday,
celebrating, celebrating and celebrating. Precisely what we
celebrate we don't know...but we are good at it and it includes
eating, drinking and dancing...just like Christmas in Northern
Europe.
It seems as if they have something to celebrate all the time
here.
After the fiestas have ended in Montecorto (a little village
10-15 km from here), the fiestas in Grazalema will take over;
ending in the big Lunes del Toro, where there will be bull running
in Grazalema at 8, 12 and 19.
And in Vejer de la Frontera, where we usually spend the summer,
this weekend is also the great Chefchauen weekend. We have absolutely
no idea about the nature of Chefchauen, but usually it is a
great attraction for people from all around the area, and the
town is full of all kinds of people wearing Arabian costumes
etc.
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Fiesta in Montecorto. Montecorto is a very small village; but
very pretty. There is a stream crossing the village, sometimes
visible and sometimes below the ground. It gives the village
a special kind of "life" and makes all the plants
and trees extra pretty.
Today everything here was extra neat (no cars in town), the
village was decorated with flags and guirlandes with lights,
and all the people were dressed up. We got there at about 21,
and by then the activities had not yet started! We could not
get dinner yet, so we had a quick drink and then strolled around
in the village for a while. Suddenly we met the parade, where
Virgen del Carmen is carried around in the village starting
and ending in the church.
Some of the inhabitants (mostly women) chose to follow the
procession, while some (mostly men) chose to watch the scenario
from the bars!
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Finally we found a place to eat; it was at the big square,
where a stage has been put up for the live band which was going
to play later on. They cooked different local dishes, of which
we only knew a few. The waiter/bartender more or less decided
that we wanted brochetas de gambas after our initial pimientos
fritos.
It was a good choice, it was large prawns on speer, fried with
garlic.
At that time the crowd was increasing, and we had passed our
bed time, so after another stroll around town we went home to
bed after 3 hours of fiesta.
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Prominent people from the village ahead of the procession
The procession with Virgen del Carmen, carried by
at least 20 men and orchestered by a leader
15.07.2010
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Got up before 8 today, because we would go for a longer bike
ride, around 100 km. The course was as follows: VC-Graz-Villaluenga
del Rosario-Ubrique-Cortes de la Frontera-Benaoján-Montejaque-Los
Alamillos-Graz-VC.
It was supposed to ne a flat route, but at the end of the day
we got 2036 vertical metres on the 98,8 km. Not flat at all,
but the "flattest" route we can find. Most of the
day had passed when we finished, so we did not do much else....
Oh yes, I went swimming in El Tajo, and we went to the butcher's
to get Gabor's, Kutya's and Machico's favorite dish...secreto
iberico. And it really is a secret, we don't know from which
part of the iberian pig it comes. It looks strange...but according
to Gabor tastes wonderful. It will mean certain death for me
if I eat it, because it contains a lot of fat; and I have no
capability of digesting fat.
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Todays biking: 98,8 km and 2036 vertical metres
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When we came home from biking, instead of lying flat on the
ground, as I would normally do, I was forced into my profession
as a vet, because Gabor discovered a wooden stick in Machico's
mouth, and we could not get it out without sedating her.
So I had to find some sedatives and get her calmed down. I
could then remove the branch that was wedged in between the
molars of the upper jaw. It was a smelly affair, it had obviously
been there for a few days; amazingly she did not seem very bothered
by it despite the fact that it had made several minor wounds
in her mouth. I cleaned it and we used her calm temper to cut
her nails and make a service check of her.
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>>
Video of Kutya in the pool
NB The videos are maybe not uploaded at the moment due
to a rather slow conection, but they will be uploaded one of these
days
Gabor and Machico with grilled secreto iberico
14.07.2010
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Today we decided to go trekking before training. We drove to
Benaoján and walked the 3,4 km to Cueva de la Pileta
(Camino de la Cueva de la Pileta). It was a fine walk along
a track, and after a few kilometres there was a rather steep
climb up to the cave.
Unfortunately (as is always the case for us!) we got to the
cave too late for the hourly guided tour. But we watched another
group coming out! Must go there another day. It is a peculiar
story with the cave; it was discovered by coincidence in 1905
by the owner (still privately owned) who was out collecting
guano to use as fertilizer. The cave contains ancient wall paintings,
and is one of the most important findings of its kind in the
world.
We returned the same way, and went home, and after a little
while Gabor went out on the bike. I stayed home with the dogs,
who had been alone for some hours.We had late dinner (chicken
Chinese/Spanish/Gabor style) before going to bed and watching
a episode of the Swedish "Wallander".
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Entrance to Cueva de la Pileta
Todays walk: 6,7 km and 309 vertical metres
Todays biking: 60,8 km and 1434 vertical metres
Todays climb to Puerto del Boyar from El Bosque 50.23
avg. 17.4 km/h on MTB (Best on MTB)
13.07.2010
Arcos de la Frontera
Very steep streets
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After our training (bike, run, swim) Gabor invented a pool
cleaning device, made of a piece of 50mm flexible tube found
in the garden shed. The plunge pool's water is very unclear
despite our cleaning efforts and some pool cleaning chemical.
But now we can suck up dirt from the bottom of the pool, very
effectively! So we hope it will become cleaner. But Kutya loves
it anyway and I also use it for cooling down after bike training.
Later we decided to drive to Arcos (round 50 km from here).
It is a very old city; and we strolled around for a while looking
at the old town. It is, like Ronda, situated on a cliff with
steep descents to one of the sides. Around 29000 people live
there, so it is a bil smaller than Ronda.
It has white houses and narrow old streets.
It was very quiet when we were there, probably due to the heat!
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| Gabor not completely satisfied. He got the wrong ice cream and
a non-alcoholic beer:-) |
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Semi-arches on the back of one of the churches.
After a while we fond a big Carrefour supermarket and we filled
the car, mostly with various drinks. We buy a lot more to drink
than to eat here, it seems!
We went home and had a nice barbecue in the garden!
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60,9 km and 1419 vertical metres
Todays climb to Puerto del Boyar from El Bosque 55.09
avg. 15.9 km/h
12.07.2010
Today we were a bit slow in the morning due to last
night's fiesta:-), but after the bike training most of the day has
passed.
Even the dogs are tired even though they did not participate
in the fiesta last night. The last 3-4 days we have been a bit worried
about them, because Kutya started getting multiple bloody papules
on his extremities, ie. legs and ears. First I thought it was reaction
after tick bites (they do get preventative treatment for fleas, ticks,
parasites etc) but I realized it did not have anything to do with
ticks. He developed more and more of these swellings, and started
licking them. Apparently it is not very itchy. Since I do not know
exactly what it is (we have discussed amany options) I have treated
them with antiparasitics, antibiotics and antiinflammatory drugs.
It is apparently contagious (could be a bacterial skin infection -
have not seen these lesions in Denmark during 10 years of practising
veterinary medicine) since Machico also developed same lesions 1-2
days after Kutya. Now it looks like the lesions are regressing, and
the skin is healing. The veterinary first aid kit is considerably
more advanced than the human counterpart; I can even do minor surgery
if necessary.
We did our training, we both went biking, Gabor somewhat
longer than me. After that we went shopping in Graz. and made dinner
here in the garden.
77,3 km and 1721 vertical metres
11.07.2010
España campeone - again! Now the Spanish team
is both European as well as World Champions!
And we were there both times!
Grazalema's usually very quiet Plaza de España
was already at 1 pm transferred to a bar, and a large TV screen was
placed in the end of the square.
We started the day as usual; Gabor on his bike and I
went running for 1 hour. Before that I went to Graz. to buy equipment
for us; we would like to show our support by wearing red and yellow
clothing.
In the afternoon we took the dogs swimming in the lake;
and for the first time here this year, Gabor took a dip as well! That
is always a day to remember when he does that!
At 8 pm we went to Graz. to take part in the fiesta
that we expected. The square was by then filled with people wearing
red and yellow clothes and lots of Spanish flags were present.
The match started at 8.30; and the first 45 min the
atmosphere was quite low due to the rather poor performance of the
Spanish heroes. The big screen was of no use at the time due to the
sunlight, so we all watched the game on a normal TV, that was carried
out from a bar. Well, we are in Spain:-)
After the break it seemed as both the players and the
big screen started working, and the atmosphere was raised considerably...but
after the 90 min the score was still 0-0...so we had to endure another
30 minutes...and Cruzcampo drinking, and noise...
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Video from Plaza España
Well we all know how it went; Spain's Inesta scored
the goal that made Spain become World Champions for the first time
ever. What a performance.
We will let the video speak for itself regarding the
level of Fiesta afterwards:-)
Local señor drinking |
Local señorita waiting for the football
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Kutya and Machico relaxing
at the lake
The Montejaque climb. 6,40 km and 320 vertical metres
(Avg. 4,9%)
Todays biking: 69,3 km and 1578 vertical metres
10.07.2010
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Since we got to bed quite late last night we got
up accordingly late (9.30)...by that time the heat is really
on. I was going biking today, and Gabor planned a 60 km ride,
including the 14,7 long climb from El Bosque to El Boyar.
I am starting to find some of my previous tendencies
regarding biking skills; I am starting to feel my legs working
again and find my old momentum, which is really good. Not much
fun biking here when you are not able to work hard.
So it went OK actually, but I was really marked
by the heat, several times on the more than 1-hour long climb,
I felt like a heat stroke was coming up, which it probably also
was. Gabor was sweet to pour his water over me so I could cool
a bit. Finally home I suddenly found myself in a classical position,
lying flat horizontally with no energy left. That's how I like
my training to be, it must be that hard in order to be effective.
Well I recovered after a dip in the pool with Kutya, and after
a coke and some yoghurt.
Pia about 1.5 km from the top
of the long and hot climb
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The road back to Grazalema
Well done Pia
The rest of the afternoon was REALLY hot, it is the
hottest day so far, and we could only sit in the shade of the wine,
reading etc. Gabor and Kutya have much fun figuring out how the watering
accessory we have bought for the lawn is working. We do not always
have water pressure enough (maybe a snake in the tubes as we experienced
in the Philippines this winter???) for it to work, but then they can
always play the water game:-)
Now we are off to participate in the tapas competition
and to do some research for the big night tomorrow, where Spain is
going to beat Holanda in the finals in the worlds. We have heard rumours
that there will be a big screen at plaza de España tomorrow.
We will see about that.
60,3 km and 1378 vertical metres
"Biking is tough in my age - why can't i just
sit in a bar drinking sherry?"
Dinner at "El Torreon", one of the best restaurants
in town. Menu: gambas al ajillo, secreto iberico (Gabor) and entrecote
(Pia), coffee and dessert. Uhhhmmm
09.07.2010
At 10 am I had an appointment at Centro Hipico El Imperio; where I
was going out on a 2 hour trail on this beautiful Andalusian horse.
Gabor took the bike to El Bosque, where the centre is, and he sent
me off on my ride before biking a few hours.
We were six riders going out; two of them and a guide
returned after 1 hour, but me and Javier(elderly man working at the
finca (horse farm) and a young boy on his Arab horse continued onwards.
We rode on tracks leading to different farms and we saw no traffic
or anything else. The landscape here is mainly olive trees and very
dry grasses where sheep and goats are grazing. It was hilly so from
time to time, the horses really had to work, getting up these steep
parts. We had a wonderful trip, and the horses (at least mine) was
well-behaved, and after the first ½ hour getting used to each
other we had a great communication. It was a very sensitive horse,
not like my former horse back home, Grith, who is a very muscular
and solid Oldenburger, with a strong will of her own!
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Cartouche; my 7-year-old Andalusian gelding. We used traditional
Spanish tacking, which was interesting to try, being used to
traditional English equipment.
The saddle is very comfortable, and feels very secure. The
bit here consists of one piece, which enables the rider to control
he horse with a little finger. I am used to using a two- or
three-parted bit, which is much softer to the mouth. So in this
case the rider has to be very sensitive and have calm hands.
None of the guides spoke any English, and my Spanish leaves
much to be wished for, so communication was simple, but we understood
each other and had a great time.
I was excited to see how the horses were treated here, and
if their condition was good. And I saw no signs of mistreatment
or underfeeding; the horses were well-fed and had confidence
in the people working there, their shoes were good, and they
had no wounds etc. So I can only recommend this place, and I'm
certainly going riding again of of those days.
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The first rounds were in the pen, just warming up a bit before
going out.
Since I'm not carrying any of my riding equipment here, I borrowed
leggings etc. from the place.
Gabor met me again at the end of the ride, and then we agreed
to met in Benamahoma, on the way up to Grazalema, to have a
cold drink. It has been a very hot morning!
So we met in Benamahoma and had some cold water, before Gabor
continued his climb to El Boyar; and I drove back to take the
dogs out.
In the afternoon we did some gardening, and the garden is really
benefiting from Gabors continued watering. we had to cut the
grass again, it is growing really fast as are the flowers.
For dinner we had chorizo on the barbecue, with rice and fried
peppers and onions, and the evening was spent under the wine.
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85,7 km and 2100 vertical metres
08.07.2010
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1-0 Spain - Germany, Spain is in the finals in the worlds for
the first time ever!!! So now we have the chance for the second
time to experience a final here. The last time was at the European
Championships 2 years ago, where Spain won (we think it was
against Germany; we saw it but remember the following Fiesta
better than the match). At that time we lived in Vejer de la
Frontera; and we watched the match in our local bar near the
church. This years final we are planning to watch here in Graz.
But then we have to do some research first to find the right
place. Too bad Gabor...!
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Today's plan was actually to get up very early in the morning and
drive to the coast south of Cadiz, because we wanted to give the dogs
the possibility to play in these huge sandy beaches, but the last
couple of years the beach police has been more restrictive towards
people disobeying rules, such as surfing the wrong places, bringing
dog to the beach etc.
Well-camouflaged donkeys
So we would like to arrive early in the morning in order
to avoid the police. But after the arrival of the levante (strong
eastern wind) we decided not to go today, because we know from experience
that staying at the beach in levante times is not much fun.
Typical part of the path
Instead we decided to make a trek here in the natural
park, and we wanted to bring Kutya and Machico. We chose the Salto
de Cabrero, starting at Puerto del Boyar, ang going along a mountain
all the way to Benaocaz. However, we planned to go only some of the
trek, because it is 8,3 km each way, which would be too much for the
dogs in this heat.
Christmas-way of living:-)
After 1 hour of effective movement (we stopped a few
times to water the dogs) along this very beautiful track/path, overlooking
the valley and strecthing through rocky woodlands of oak, we returned
the same way. In the end the dogs were extremely hot, and were constantly
seeking shady places, and Machico lying down every other minute (despite
us bringing 3,5 l of water for them).
Some of the ever present goats, they are very sweet
The last km Gabor had to carry poor little Machico on
his neck, she willingly allowed him to (she wagged her tail when she
found out how pleasant that was) , and finally we got to the car.
Kutya tolerated the heat better than Machico.
Re-cooling area
We poured 20 l of water over them in order to cool them
down and prevent heat stroke. Gave them 15 minutes of rest and hurried
home and threw both of them in the plunge pool to cool further down.
Then they had some yoghurt (in order to restore blood sugar) and after
a short rest they were playing again.
Kutya has the biggest mouth, but who has the biggest
tongue?
At 6 pm Gabor took his bike out for 60 km; the course
can be seen below.
I went to Grazalema to the outdoor shop and to local
supermarket Tandy and went home again. Dinner today was gambas al
ajillo, rice and spinach. You must think that we have a huge spending
of spinach, and yes, we do. We almot eat it every day and in many
variations. You should try it;-)
Mingling with the local population
Todays walk
>>
Video from todays hot walk
 |
We have joined a competition; a very tough one; eat tapas and
drink a beer in 5 out of 6 bars in Grazalema and get a chance
to win a huge prize :-)
I am used to ironman, adventure race, ultra races, and I can
feel that this will be a killer!
|
59,9 k and 1376 vertical metres
Puerto del Boyar (1103m): 14,7k with 825 vertical metres
(avg. 5,6%)
Todays climb to Puerto del Boyar from El Bosque 56.56
avg. 15.4 k/h
