Life in Arcos

International Yoga Day is celebrated on 8th February each year. Unfortunately this year, due to inclement weather, we postponed our session until 8th March.

We set off from Arcos at 12 noon and arrived approximately 40 minutes later at our usual picnic spot in the Grazalema mountains. Since it was a beautiful day there were already quite a few families gathering in little clusters around the brick built barbeques. We were a large group of about 20 people and chose a nice quiet spot with some shade and rocks.

While the men set about preparing the barbeques, the ladies joined me for an invigorating yoga session under the trees. (pictured). I was delighted with the turn out and raised over 50 euros for the people of Zimbabwee. A BIG thank you to everybody who participated and contributed.

After the yoga practise we all enjoyed a glass of wine (!) and delicious food served in nature.

A bonus to the yoga day was a football match, which the young and well… the not so young enjoyed alike!! Those still standing also took part in a short walk. Well done everybody, let’s do it all again next year!

If you would like to make a donation, please go directly now to the World Yoga Day site www.worldyogaday.com

Emma

Oddy enough, it was cloudy last weekend. So the planned trip to the beach was cancelled in favour of something completely different: cave paintings near Benalup. The paintings are to be found inside ‘Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras’.

The cave (cueva) is poorly signposted and there’s nowhere to park. In fact we drove past the tiny visitors’ entrance three times before we found a small driveway leading to a finca. There we could tuck the car away.

We found out about the cave via an article in LaLuz magazine. Look out for this informative free publication if you pay a visit to Cádiz province. You’ll find copies in tourist information offices, hotel lobbies, bars and cafes. LaLuz comes out bi-monthly.

To the cave! It was a leisurely climb up, though our footwear (mainly sandals) was fairly inadequate. We followed some signs saying entrada (entrance) and after twenty minutes or so we were confronted with the sight of a near vertical metal ladder leading into the cave. In the picture, you can see Emma and Maggie on their way up.

Vertigo sufferers beware. A steeper ladder would be hard to find.

The cave itself was very small and very smooth. It contained several beautiful paintings, mostly of deer, birds and people. As to their age, the lonely park warden (’No-one visits in Winter’) told us the paintings dated back 7,000 years. Or perhaps 18,000. Either way, it was a real pleasure to be able to see them. Special.

Take a look at the paintings in detail here.

The cave was discovered by a shepherd in 1913. The photograph above was taken in that year. You can see a wooden ladder leading up to the cave. I found this pìcture on www.arte-sur.com, which details a lot of historical sites in Cádiz province.

Jim

Every year, over the course of about four days, the city of Jerez (just 20 minutes from Arcos) goes mad for motorbikes. Actually, the province of Cádiz goes mad for motorbikes, not just Jerez.

This weekend an estimated 140,000 bike fans descended on the province, making their pilgrimage from far and wide to come and see a race. I only saw bikers from Western Europe, but for all I know they came from further afield - such is the passion for the Jerez Grand Prix, or ‘MotoGP’ as it’s called. It may have been the first race of the season, but year after year, wherever the race falls in the calendar, there’s the same massive influx of people to this part of Southern Spain. Arcos, like Jerez, has been buzzing with bike fever.

Sunday was the big day. And the race itself saw a surprise early on. Valentino Rossi, an Italian who has won the Championship for the last five years, fell off his bike. The Spaniards in the crowd loved that. Though Rossi did actually finish the race, he came a miserable fourteenth. Up-and-coming Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa came second in his debut at this level, but the race was won by Italy’s Loris Capirossi - so the Italians in the crowd had something to cheer about after all.

Our guests here in Casa Campana came back from the race red faced. Not because they were ashamed that Britain’s James Ellison finished 16th. No, Summer’s arrived, and the hot sun caught them out!

A longstanding tradition in Spain is the Sunday trip to the countryside (el campo). Many families have their own finca, and usually it’s been in the family for generations.

On Sunday we were invited to the campo by Emma’s dance teacher Maria Jose. It is rare for a finca to lie very far away from town, and her slice of Spanish countryside is about 15 minutes away from Arcos. We followed her car down a pot holed track for a few kilometres and arrived to find members of Maria Jose’s family (she doesn’t lack relatives!) already busying away with lunch preparations.

The finca has a few acres of land and a small house with a makeshift kitchen, a main room (which had a roaring fire on the go when we arrived) and another room at the back. Nobody lives there and it’s just used for these weekend family get togethers.

What a feast of a barbecue it was. While a sumptuous paella was being readied - the previous Sunday it had been meat on the menu - a delicious offering of prawns, olives, cheese, sardines and more was laid out as tapas.

The atmosphere was extremely friendly and relaxed. You can see in the picture that one of Maria Jose’s relatives is holding Maggie. It’s a real pleasure to observe how the different generations of a Spanish family interact with each other. Children, parents and grandparents all treating each other with respect and fondness. Delightful!

We get a nice view of the Sierra de Grazalema from our roof terrace. Just 20 minutes from Arcos by car, it’s a mountain range of spectacular beauty, very green at this time of year, with a rich variety of flora and fauna. It is well known in Spain for its excellent walking and birdwatching. The town of Grazalema itself, meanwhile, is famous for being Spain’s wettest place. Today its rooftops were dusted in snow.

Spain has been under the influence of a severe coldsnap over the last few days, and even here in south west Andalucia we have not been spared. The chances of it snowing in Arcos are low indeed - there’s only been one fall of snow here in living memory (February 1954) - but we’ve all been commenting on the strong northerly wind and temperatures well below average.

Yesterday, I could see from the roof terrace that a few inches of snow had fallen overnight in the Sierra de Grazalema, and by my reckoning that would be ample for making a snowman!

So as a family we set off this Tuesday afternoon in glorious sunshine and eventually found the snow. Here’s a photo of the snowman Joe and I made, with Joe alongside him. As you can see, we neglected to give him a mouth. If he had been able to speak he might have said: ‘You guys are really enjoying living in Spain!’