East of Málaga: Old men on benches

Old men sitting on a bench - Competa, Spain

Old men on bench - Torrox Costa, Spain

Sometimes they will be wearing cardigans.   Often they have on their hats.

Sometimes they sit in the shade and other times in the sun (depending on the time of year).

One thing´s for sure – if there´s a bench in one of the white villages of Andalucíathere will be some old men sitting on it!

Bless ´em!

Related posts:

Travel Theme: Benches

At the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea

Entrance to the Mediterranean Sea

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.

Standing at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar it’s magical to look across the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea towards Morocco in North Africa – only nine miles away!

I hope you´ve enjoyed this spectacular entrance, which is my contribution to this week´s Sunday Post.

Other posts you may be interested in:

CBBH Photo Challenge:  Multi-Coloured

Venturing further afield: San Sebastián in the heart of Basque country

The Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Life

CBBH Photo Challenge: MULTI-COLOURED

According to this website: “Colour is a meaningful constant for sighted people and it’s a powerful psychological tool.  By using colour psychology, you can send a positive or negative message, encourage sales, calm a crowd, or make an athlete pump iron harder.”

Talking of sales, Henry Ford famously declared that the Model-T buyer could choose “any colour, so long as it’s black.”   Thank goodness that these days, consumers are more discerning!

Green  Black  Red  Orange  Yellow  Pink  Blue  Brown  Purple

This month I’m going to take you on a multi-coloured journey around the world.

Ready?

Rainbow on the road to Doubtful Sound, New ZealandWe start off in Fiordland, on the South Island of New Zealand where we had an early start for our journey to Doubtful Sound.  A storm had been lashing the area overnight and, as I am a strictly fair-weather sailor, I was feeling rather nervous at this point.  However, my fears were soon calmed, because almost as soon as we were picked up from our hotel, the skies began to clear, the sun came out and we were rewarded with this most spectacular rainbow!

Multi coloured wishesYou can buy these multi-coloured ribbons in the main Prayer Hall at the Buddhist Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang, Malaysia.   All you have to do is write your prayers onto the ribbon and hang it on the prayer tree.

Cao Dai temple near Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamSixty miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is the Great Temple,  the centre of the intriguing Cao Dai sect. Cao Dai is a Vietnamese religious movement that incorporates aspect of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and even Catholicism. The three principal colours of Cao Dai are yellow (for Buddhism), blue (for Taoism), and red (for Christianity), and these were evident during the noon ceremony, which I was fortunate enough to witness –  along with hundreds of tourists and worshippers alike.

Red Bridge, HanoiWe stayed in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, close to Lake Hoan Kiem, where we visited the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngoc Son Temple) by walking over the wooden red-painted Huc Bridge with its colourful banners.

Flinders Street Station, MelbourneOn White Night (Saturday 23rd February 2013) the entrance to Flinders Street Railway Station, Melbourne, Australia was transformed into a concert stage, with the whole facade of the building bathed in glorious multi-coloured light.  It was magical!

Umbrella of many coloursFinally, back home to the Axarquía region of Spain, east of Málaga, and during our evening stroll along the promenade at Torre del Mar I spotted this delightful coloured sunshade.

This month´s CBBH Featured Blogs:

**  I always enjoy visiting Madhu at The Urge to Wander because like me, she has a passion for travel.  She posts the most exquisite photographs and tells us of places most of us can only dream about.  Her recent posts, The Frozen Smile of the Bayon and The Captivating Children of Cambodia were particular favourites of mine because only twelve months ago, I had the opportunity to see those enigmatic, smiling faces for myself – both the stone ones at Bayon and the enchanting children, nearby.  I’m sure you would enjoy reading all about her adventures.

 

** Cathy is A Nomad in the Land of Nizwa and describes herself as a pilgrim, a vagabond, and a wanderer who has discovered the art of living and working abroad, and is now hopelessly addicted.  As well as teaching English at the University of Nizwa in Oman, she is a prolific blogger – outlining previous travels in China, Korea, Turkey and Egypt as well as many other places.  I particularly enjoyed reading Cathy’s recent post about the tree-climbing goats she encountered on a walk she took with a friend. I’d love you to pop over and say hello.


CBBH Blog Hop

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for APRIL, folks!

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month, tag your entry ‘CBBH Photo Challenge’,  link back to this blog and, most importantlydon´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look.  Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month´s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

I hope everyone taking part enjoys the exposure the CBBH Photo Challenge offers to featured blogs and, who knows, you may end up finding a new favourite!  I´m looking forward to seeing your interpretations.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]

Related posts – WordPress Photo Challenge: Colour

I’m on my way home!

flyinghome

Ailsa’s Travel Theme and the Weekly Photo Challenge have come together beautifully for me this week with their respective themes of Time and Future Tense.

I’m flying home later today, after an exciting long weekend in Melbourne, Australia, watching the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

It’s a long way back to Spain – with a couple of connecting flights, an overnight stay in Madrid and, finally, the high-speed AVE train back to Málaga.

Normal service will be resumed ASAP!

 

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

AVE: Taking the Fast Track from Málaga to Madrid

When life gives you curves, flaunt them!

Roadside Advertising: Not just a Load of Bull

 

English Language Publications for FREE!

Whilst you are visiting any town or village throughout the Axarquía region, a selection of English language newspapers and magazines is available for you to collect, free of charge.

These publications, including Spanish Insight, SolTalk, Streetwise, Marketplace, Grapevine, Sentinella and Euro Weekly are useful for both tourists and residents alike.  Each contains information about ‘what’s on’ in the local area as well as some well-written articles on a wide range of topics, recipes and items for sale – including properties.  (You can CLICK on the links to be taken to the online versions of the publications).

Sadly, in order to make-ends-meet with their budgets, these magazines contain more advertisements and fewer articles as time goes by, but I guess that happens round the world.

You will find these free magazines in many estate agents, bars, cafes and other such popular places.

How do you like to discover what’s happening in your local area?

You might also like to have a look at:

Spanish football: Estadio La Roselada, home of Málaga CF

Flowering snapshot of a January day around the garden

The Buddhist Stupa of the Eastern Costa del Sol