Andalucia Part 2 - Jan/Feb 2019

The city of Granada as seen from the highest point of Alhambra

The best thing about the start 2019 for us was a visit by James's sister, Louise.  Fortunately, Lou is an animal lover too (having a number of her own at a small holding in the UK) because these guys weren't holding anything back ....

We spent a large amount of the week relaxing in the sun by the pool ... Louise even went for a couple of swims at a rather cool 12degrees C!!!!

Titus even has his own poolside chair.  We joke about him being up early to put his towel on it :-)

We walked on the beach, of course.  Tiffany was extra pleased about this, as always.

From the pool deck we have been seeing a village perched on the very top of a mountain in the distance.  We finally found out the name of if from an Australian woman we met in the dog park and decided to take a trip to it.  What a treat Comares turned out to be.  Parking is at the entranceway to the village, no vehicle access.

We walked to the top of the village to enjoy the views.

And the artwork in the square

Then found a fabulous cafe back at the bottom to enjoy coffee in the courtyard.

Rose between two thorns .... !!!

A view of the mountains on the way up

Not long after Lou went home, our home owners returned for a few days, leaving again for the UK in their campervan .... taking 'our' Lily and Tiffany with them. It was a really strange time.  Usually it is us that leaves a sit and we miss the pets for a few days.  So staying behind while we waved the doggies off was extra sad.  Fortunately we were left with our four kitties to keep us company for the rest of the sit.

So, to turn lemons in lemonade, so to speak, we took the opportunity to do some fishing.  We had already identified that Tiffany was not the sort of dog to enjoy sitting on the beach for a few hours so had saved this particular activity for after her departure.  Lily would have coped well with it though, realising every opportunity to welcome fellow beach goers with her trademark enthusiasm.

James in his happy place

One evening, we were entertained by the guys flying over head on their motor propelled paragliders.
The other interesting story behind this picture, is that in the background you can see a baby grand piano on the waters edge.  A Swedish film crew had carried it down and was filming an elegant young woman in an evening dress sitting at it.  Rather cool temperature that this kind of carry on!

We also found the port at Velez de Caleta where we spent a few evenings lure fishing .... with more success than our beach fishing.

Octopus

Cuttlefish

Disclaimer: no sea creature was harmed on the performance of these activities.  They all went back to live another day (or more).

Another activity we left for our dog free time, because we would need to be away for a whole day, was a journey to Granada to visit the Alhambra.  We have spoken before about our aversion to tourist destinations, but this is another of those famous sites that we couldn't be so close to and not visit.  It was quite thought provoking to be standing in a collection of buildings around 700 years old.

And what a view from the highest tower ....

Snow capped mountains

One of the most intriguing sights was this Bathing House

And this little cutie wishing he wasn't so averse to water ;-)

Here are the rest of the photos .....

We came home from Granada via the back roads so that we could drive through the Zafarraya Pass, another Andalucian landmark that we can see from our house here.  We love any opportunity to drive through the middle of the country rather than the motorways, and although it took us twice as long to get home, the journey did not disappoint. Driving through the pass itself (more a gap really) was less spectacular than the roads leading to and from it.

One of the most charming things about the approaching spring in Andalusia were the almond trees coming into blossom.

And the abundance of citrus available.

Making fresh orange juice

Both properties we were caring for were on the market so we spent some time keeping them clean and tidy for showings.

Clearing the steps down to the poolroom

There was always plenty of time for playing hide and seek with Maribel

Enjoying the view with/of Titus

 And two at a time tummy tickles with Cleo and Delilah at Bambu

We have only a couple of weeks more to enjoy this fabulous area.  As usual we will leave with a of sadness at leaving the furbies we have come to love so tinged with the excitement for our next adventure.  Portugal, are you ready for us?!?!?!

A warm winter in Andalucia, Spain Nov/Dec, 2018

The cute we village of Iznate, as seen from our road
(Lily in frame)

We were excited to be starting a four month sit in the south of Spain.  We needed to be in Europe so at least this was going to be a relatively warm place to be.  We don't have room for winter clothes in our rucksacks .....!

We arrived to be greeted by our four of our six charges.

Maribel & Lily (wearing the jersey Clare knitted for her)

Tiffany and Titus

Maribel and Titus are a brother and sister combo of Norwegian Forest Cat X Maine Coon.  They liked to come on our  doggy poop walks down the road, providing another layer of entertainment to the adventure.  Tiffany, the standard poodle, is the same age as the cats (7yrs).  Lily was shoved under the gate as a tiny puppy when the others were only four months old.  Boy, did she fall on her feet ;-) We have not often had the pleasure of caring for cats and dogs that get on so well together.  There is usually some kind of power play going on with pets who live together, especially between cats and dogs.  But not this very amenable quartet.  What a joy they are!

We were also caring for the holiday resort owned by our homeowners a 20min drive from the house.  The resort, closed for the winter, had actually sold by the time we got there but we were required to pop over every second day to feed the two cats and take care of the pool until take over mid December.

Sister act ... Cleo and Delilah

Flexibility is a key part of our lifestyle, so when hand over date came and went without confirmation of the sale, we simply continued our visits.  The cats were a delight and there were plenty of quiet lanes to walk the dogs.  Not to mention the fact that avocado season was in full swing and we were surrounded by orchards.  Yum, yum!! Oh, and mangoes .... did we mention the mangoes?!!  The hills in which we were staying were traditionally planted in olives and almonds.  These are slowly being replaced by avocados and mangoes.  It seems that with the advancement in irrigation systems it is now more lucrative to grow these alternate crops.  We don't mind at all.

Mangoes and pomegranates

There is an abundance of orange and lemon trees locally also.  In fact they even grow them on the sides of the roads in all the villages.  Unfortunately, the ones we tried from the roadside were not very nice.  But they do make a pretty picture.

We were lucky enough to be only a 15 minute drive to the coast, the Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean.  This was fortunate as Tiffany, especially, loved nothing more than fetching her ball at the beach.

A frequent trip to the dog park in Velez-Malaga, our nearest shopping centre, was also part of our weekly routine for socialisation and ball fetching.

On a Thursday after the dog park we would walk down to the weekly market to buy our fruit and veg.  The local green beans, cherimoya, pomegranates, clementines (small oranges), olives, salted almonds, fennel, aubergines and peppers were always fresh, cheap and plentiful.

James was most delighted with his purchase of a serrano ham .....

Titus was equally as delighted!

We made a regular trip up to Lake Vinuela for a romp around too.  Both the girls loved to get their feet wet.

Thirsty work all this rushing about the place

Other days we just wandered around the quiet roads in and out of the very pretty village of Iznate.

Tiffany likes to drink from the tap at the top
of our road

After our 'walk of the day' we were all delighted to retreat to the pool deck to soak up the sunny days.

 

Keeping a lookout

Always up for a bit more water play

When the sun went down, there was always the comfort of family time on the sofa before bed.

 

Did someone say bedtime?

Room for one more?!?!

Thus we came to the end of 2018 amoung all this domestic bliss.  Funny how easy it is to slot into someone else's house and responsibilities so happily.  Just one of the things we love about our (unusual) lifestyle.

A reflection on 2018 ..... 8 countries, 13 house sits, 16 dogs, 13 cats, a bunch of cows and sheep and a few chickens. Phew!  It's been a busy one. We have also travelled by plane, train, automobile, many buses, quad bike, many tuk tuks, a couple of cable cars, and a few boats of varying sizes and capabilities .... by air, sea, river, lake and land.

[cue Contented sigh]