All at sea with the Virgen del Carmen

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Marianne under Fiestas and Festivals, Laws and Customs, Slice of Life

In a festival that dates back several hundred years, many coastal towns and fishing villages in Spain celebrate the Fiesta del Día de Virgen del Carmen as the protector of mariners and fishermen.

Every year on 16^th July, spectacular maritime processions of decorated fishing boats known as jabegas head out to sea carrying their precious cargo, an effigy of the Virgen del Carmen, to bless their fishing grounds.

The vessels, many decorated with brightly coloured flags and bunting, each crowded with people, gather under the late dusk sky patiently waiting for the official party of sailors, fishermen, clergy and authorities to bring the Statue of the Virgin on board the boat that will lead the procession.

But before that, the Virgen del Carmen is paraded through the streets for all to see. There is an air of excitement with people surging forward for the best views as the parade passes by, before making its way to the water´s edge.

Celebrations vary slightly from town to town along the coast, east of Málaga. My photographs show last night´s celebrations in La Caleta de Vélez, situated at the mid-coastal point of La Axarquía.

The video below shows the celebrations held last year in the town of Torre del Mar, just along the coast from La Caleta de Vélez.

Which is your favourite Spanish festival or fiesta?

Whilst you´re here, why not have a look at the following articles too?

The heart of Cómpeta: El Paseo de las Tradiciones

Patatas a lo pobre: Poor man´s potatoes

Let’s talk about tapas!

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Marianne under Recipes, Slice of Life

First of all, what are tapas?

It is thought that originally in the wine-making regions of Andalucia una tapa (the word “tapar” in Spanish means“to cover”), in the form of a small plate or lid was placed over glasses of wine to keep fruit flies away. Titbits of food were then placed on the dish to be eaten with the wine. How I so love the Spanish that it is unacceptable that a fly ends up in your drink, but it´s fine if it lands on the accompanying snack!

Other stories suggest that tapas were invented by a bar owner in Seville, who decided to put a cover (tapa) over his guests´ glasses of wine, using a slice of bread to keep out flies. He later put a piece of ham or cheese on top, so that his customers could have a bite to eat with their drink.

Either way, the idea spread, so that nowadays the types of food served as tapas are limitless. Most Spaniards don´t drink alcohol without a tapa and many bars provide them free of charge.

The Spanish equivalent of “fast food” is usually displayed in refrigerated glass units on the bar and served in small terracotta glazed dishes. Some examples of the type of tapas normally available include gambas (whole cooked prawns in their shells), boquerones (fresh anchovies in olive oil, vinegar and garlic), chorizo (spicy Spanish sausage), albondigas (meatball…often in a creamy almond sauce), queso (cheese…often manchego), habas con jamon (broad beans with ham), ensalada rusa (Russian salad) or just a few olives.

Your choice of tapas is usually accompanied by a small piece of crusty bread which helps to counteract the adverse effects of the alcohol through drinking on an empty stomach.

In many establishments, if you stand at the bar along with the locals you will be given one tapa free with each drink you buy. That’s right …. free food!

Should you choose to sit away from the bar, you can pay for a tapas or two (usually for one euro or less in this part of Spain), or opt for a larger serving known as a ración (ration) or medio ración (half ration). This is a great way to eat a variety of dishes, and a pretty sociable activity as groups generally tend to share their dishes.

The food is generally very good, even in remote villages around the Axarquia.

Where is your favourite tapas bar? Which tapa do you choose, time and time again?

All at sea with the Virgen del Carmen

La Noche de San Juan: Families, fires and football!

Bus Services: East of Málaga

The heart of Cómpeta: El Paseo de las Tradiciones

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Marianne under Axarquía, Places

You can find El Paseo de las Tradiciones (The Walk of the Traditions) in the main square, Plaza Almijara, of the white, mountain village of Cómpeta. Completed in 2009 on the site of the old municipal market, El Paseo de las Tradiciones is annexed to the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción).

As you stroll from the busy square, through the archway into the Paseo de las Tradiciones you will discover an oasis of calm. The floor is decorated with an intricate Moorish pattern of terracotta and white tiles, alongside a series of ceramic murals celebrating the lives of generations of the ordinary working people of the village.

One wall of the Paseo de las Tradiciones pays testament to the trades and deeply rooted traditions of the people of Cómpeta through the ages. The beautifully modern, brightly coloured tiling in each of the alcoves was developed in the workshop of potter and sculptor, José Antonio Rivas.

The nine alcoves, each 3 metres high and 2 metres wide, not only depict the history of the collecting of the local vines, the muleteers and village smithy, old olive oil factory and the public laundry, but also recognize the contribution made by the Moors, who for 800 years did so much to improve the cultivation of the summer-dry, winter-wet sierras, bringing the first prosperity to the village.

The past 500 years since the building of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption have not been easy for the people of Cómpeta. The expulsion of the Moors, two great earthquakes followed shortly by a cholera epidemic, and the vine disease phylloxera,which devastated crops all over Europe in the mid-19th century, have all taken their toll, but the spirit of the villagers continues to thrive, as epitomized throughout the Paseo de las Tradiciones.

Where is your “oasis of calm”?

Whilst you´re here, why not have a look at:

The elegant, main shopping street of Málaga

I can see Africa from my terrace!

All at sea with the Virgen del Carmen

Venturing further afield: A day trip to Gibraltar

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Marianne under Places

We love to travel not only locally, but throughout Spain, so I will also include information, from time to time, about where we have visited. Usually these places can either be driven to within a few hours of our home, east of Málaga, or we will have flown there from Málaga (AGP) airport.

This week we have family from England staying with us. As they are very familiar with the area east of Málaga, we took the opportunity to venture out of the Axarquía.

Driving west from Málaga along the E15/A7, not a single road-sign mentions the British territory of Gibraltar. You just have to figure out when to exit the highway (at La Linea de la Concepción, the Spanish town close to the foot of the Rock). By the time you see a sign for Gibraltar, you are within walking distance!

Photographs cannot prepare you for the physical reality of Gibraltar. The scale of the 430 metre high boulder – sheer on one side, a city of 30,000 people clinging to the bottom third of the other – still causes a jolt when you come over the last ridge to find it looming in front of you.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. The Rock of Gibraltar, one of the Pillars of Hercules in Greek mythology, has a strategic location on the Strait of Gibraltar where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, with Europe to the north and the continent of Africa to the south.

Both famous and enigmatic, Gibraltar contains some of the most extensive military fortifications in Europe, spanning over 1200 years of Moorish, Spanish and British history. The territory covers just over 6.5 square kilometers and shares a 1.2 kilometre land border with Spain.

Of course, what traditionally attracts the tourist to Gibraltar doesn´t disappoint either: stunning views of the entrance to the Mediterranean and the mountains of Morocco (including Jebel Musa, the other Pillar of Hercules), St Michael’s Cave, tunnels from the Great Siege of 1779-83 and, of course, the famous Barbary apes – Europe’s only wild monkeys. Local legend has it that as long as the Barbary Macaque population exists on Gibraltar, the territory will remain under British rule.

Being so close to Spain, Gibraltar shares the best of both cultures. You can see Spanish-style houses adorned with Victorian cast-iron balconies from England. The labyrinthine streets and alleys of the old town, reminiscent of nearby Spanish cities such as Cadiz, are dotted with iconic English phone booths, red Royal Mail boxes, bars with names like Lord Nelson and The Angry Friar as well as good old Marks and Spencer!

The old Gibraltar Airport building is shortly to be replaced with a new glitzy glass-fronted one, but the runway, the shortest in the world, will remain the same. The landing strip crosses the main road into the city, with traffic and passengers being halted to allow aircraft to take off and land.

One of the main reasons we travel the three hours to Gibraltar is to visit Morrison´s, the British supermarket, to buy groceries we can´t find in our local Spanish stores. We can also pay in Sterling, saving the need to change our money into Euros, as we have to do for our everyday living here in Spain. Our visitors meanwhile, took advantage of the cheap duty free cigarettes available at a fraction of the cost in the UK.

A good day was had by all!

What do you think about Gibraltar being a British territory?