Every year and always on 23rd June is held the Festival of San Juan. This is a traditional festival which starts in the late evening of the 23rd and goes on into the early hours of the 24th.
At the centre of the celebrations is a huge bonfire and this year a huge replica of an Egyptian temple was built on the Sabinillas beach a few days before and at around midnight it was set alight. A terrific fireworks display followed accompanied by music which built to a stunning finale.
It is customary to walk into the sea and walk out again leaving any bad luck behind you. This year was no exeception and the sea was filled with hundreds of people.
There followed live music and dancing which carried on into the early hours.
If you missed it this time make sure you put a note on your calendar for 2009 as it should not be missed.
Friday, 27 June 2008
Monday, 23 June 2008
The ITV test
The ITV is the Spanish equivalent of the MOT test in UK. All cars are tested on a regular basis and even UK plated cars can now be covered. Once a car is over four years old, a test must be undertaken, and, depending on the age of the car the certificate has a validity of up to 2 years.
Claire´s car was tested successfully last week and the procedure is quite impressive.
It all started when a reminder was sent to us by post prior to expiry of the last certificate. I telephoned for an appointment and the earliest date was 19 June..14 days after expiry of the old certificate but that didn´t seem important. The appointment system has been introduced to eliminate the very long queues that used to form outside the testing station previously.
Our local testing centre is in the poligono at Estepona and I arrived just before the appointed hour to register and to pay the fee (39 euros)
I drove the car through the test which started with an under bonnet inspection followed by brakes, tyres, lights, emissions. all in all very thorough.
The Certificate is now valid for two years to 2010.
Claire´s car was tested successfully last week and the procedure is quite impressive.
It all started when a reminder was sent to us by post prior to expiry of the last certificate. I telephoned for an appointment and the earliest date was 19 June..14 days after expiry of the old certificate but that didn´t seem important. The appointment system has been introduced to eliminate the very long queues that used to form outside the testing station previously.
Our local testing centre is in the poligono at Estepona and I arrived just before the appointed hour to register and to pay the fee (39 euros)
I drove the car through the test which started with an under bonnet inspection followed by brakes, tyres, lights, emissions. all in all very thorough.
The Certificate is now valid for two years to 2010.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Some like it hot..(with apologies to Messrs Curtis and Lemmon)
Temperatures of 30+, warm breezes, cool in the evenings.
June has finally arrived and the weather has been fantastic. The beaches at Sabinillas, Chullera. Torreguadiaro etc have all been full of colourful beach umbrellas where people have been taking refuge from the hot sun, sometimes spending all day a la familiar.
Holiday makers still underestimate the strength of the ultra violet rays at this part of the year and believe that sun block is not an essential..they are easy to spot..they are the people coloured bright red walking stiff legged to the pharmacia!
The weekend was pretty much wall to wall golf. We spent most of late Saturday evening watching the US Open from Torrey Pines in California. Sunday was our day to play and we tee'd off at 1.30pm...talk about Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I stayed up late on Sunday to watch the conclusion of the US Open. Four days of play and the result was a tie..Tiger Woods,of course, along with Rocco Mediate doing it for the 'oldies' at 45 years of age. Play off on Monday and of course Woods won.
More golf on Monday for us and for me today again..in these temps we must be completely mad.
Claire off to UK tomorrow (Wednesday) to visit family.
Watch this space for a report about Easyjet et al!
June has finally arrived and the weather has been fantastic. The beaches at Sabinillas, Chullera. Torreguadiaro etc have all been full of colourful beach umbrellas where people have been taking refuge from the hot sun, sometimes spending all day a la familiar.
Holiday makers still underestimate the strength of the ultra violet rays at this part of the year and believe that sun block is not an essential..they are easy to spot..they are the people coloured bright red walking stiff legged to the pharmacia!
The weekend was pretty much wall to wall golf. We spent most of late Saturday evening watching the US Open from Torrey Pines in California. Sunday was our day to play and we tee'd off at 1.30pm...talk about Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I stayed up late on Sunday to watch the conclusion of the US Open. Four days of play and the result was a tie..Tiger Woods,of course, along with Rocco Mediate doing it for the 'oldies' at 45 years of age. Play off on Monday and of course Woods won.
More golf on Monday for us and for me today again..in these temps we must be completely mad.
Claire off to UK tomorrow (Wednesday) to visit family.
Watch this space for a report about Easyjet et al!
Friday, 13 June 2008
Back to normal (whatever that is)..
So we wake up for the first time in ten days with no prospect of seeing the grandchildren today.Hey ho.
Friday the 13th today,what else can go wrong? See the last posting about the truck drivers' strike. This morning's news says that it's set to continue so things will only get worse. The reduction in traffic is becoming noticeable and there are hardly any stocks on the supermarket shelves.
What does the weekend hold in store?
A BBQ tonight at the Schooners Inn, maybe some golf Saturday or Sunday, and generally re-charge our batteries after a busy few days.
Friday the 13th today,what else can go wrong? See the last posting about the truck drivers' strike. This morning's news says that it's set to continue so things will only get worse. The reduction in traffic is becoming noticeable and there are hardly any stocks on the supermarket shelves.
What does the weekend hold in store?
A BBQ tonight at the Schooners Inn, maybe some golf Saturday or Sunday, and generally re-charge our batteries after a busy few days.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
And so we wave goodbye..
Katy, Andy, and the children depart via Jerez this evening ( fuel permitting..see sep.blog)
We have had THE most fantastic time and finished it all off with a meal out last night at La Pergola. This is a family run restaurant with our friend and neighbour, Aaron ,and Mum and Dad, Dale and Brian, providing some of the best hospitality around.
Lucky old Claire will see them again next week..Lily will be having a birthday tea to celebrate her 3rd birthday and Claire will already be in UK visiting family and friends.
No more visitors for a while...I guess we will just have to play more golf !!
We have had THE most fantastic time and finished it all off with a meal out last night at La Pergola. This is a family run restaurant with our friend and neighbour, Aaron ,and Mum and Dad, Dale and Brian, providing some of the best hospitality around.
Lucky old Claire will see them again next week..Lily will be having a birthday tea to celebrate her 3rd birthday and Claire will already be in UK visiting family and friends.
No more visitors for a while...I guess we will just have to play more golf !!
Batten down the hatches..!
As if we don't have enough to contend with.
The pound/euro exchange rate almost 20% worse than 12m ago, property values falling and the building industry slowing right down..now we have a truck drivers' strike which is causing food and petrol shortages throughout Spain.
Katy, Andy, and the children are due to fly out of Jerez this evening so I hope the plane has plenty of fuel.
The drivers' strike started at the weekend and yesterday the first "sold out" signs appeared at the pumps. Foodstuffs were also running out and today the situation is worse.
There has obviously been some panic buying of essentials which, here, includes bottled water.There doesn't seem to be much happening in the way of negotiations with the drivers and their Union and so I guess the problems will continue over the weekend.
The pound/euro exchange rate almost 20% worse than 12m ago, property values falling and the building industry slowing right down..now we have a truck drivers' strike which is causing food and petrol shortages throughout Spain.
Katy, Andy, and the children are due to fly out of Jerez this evening so I hope the plane has plenty of fuel.
The drivers' strike started at the weekend and yesterday the first "sold out" signs appeared at the pumps. Foodstuffs were also running out and today the situation is worse.
There has obviously been some panic buying of essentials which, here, includes bottled water.There doesn't seem to be much happening in the way of negotiations with the drivers and their Union and so I guess the problems will continue over the weekend.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
What a week with the Grandchildren (and Mum and Dad of course!)..
Wow!..where has the time gone?
Since their arrival the pace has quickened somewhat. This is the first time I have been able to get to the blog to provide an update.
First of all, thankyou to Brunos Car Hire in La Duquesa for providing the car. The cost is very reasonable and we have two child car seats at no extra charge. Go to http://www.brunoscar.com/ to see how they can help you.
We have visited the beach at Sabinillas twice. This year it has been awarded a blue flag again. It is always kept clean and there are a number of bars and kiosks available for cold drinks etc.
We have been ten pin bowling..at Los Barrios and La Canada. At La Canada we also did some shopping. The Centre offers some of the very best shops to cater for everyone. There is also a very good supermarket, Alcampo.
Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at the Parque Aquatico (water park) in Fuengirola and had a fabulous time. Pools, water slides etc to suit all ages. We will definitely go again next year.
We have eaten out a few times. Patisserie Miel in Sabinillas and the Golden Hong Kong Chinese in Duquesa Port are particular favourites and very child friendly. The food is excellent.
Sadly, not many days of the holiday left..they will all be flying out of Jerez on Thursday.
Footnote: Claire is off to the UK on Monday, Gibraltar to London Gatwick, via Easyjet. This is a fairly new service so will let you know how she gets on. She will be getting her Amy Louise fix (our third grandchild born in April)
Since their arrival the pace has quickened somewhat. This is the first time I have been able to get to the blog to provide an update.
First of all, thankyou to Brunos Car Hire in La Duquesa for providing the car. The cost is very reasonable and we have two child car seats at no extra charge. Go to http://www.brunoscar.com/ to see how they can help you.
We have visited the beach at Sabinillas twice. This year it has been awarded a blue flag again. It is always kept clean and there are a number of bars and kiosks available for cold drinks etc.
We have been ten pin bowling..at Los Barrios and La Canada. At La Canada we also did some shopping. The Centre offers some of the very best shops to cater for everyone. There is also a very good supermarket, Alcampo.
Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at the Parque Aquatico (water park) in Fuengirola and had a fabulous time. Pools, water slides etc to suit all ages. We will definitely go again next year.
We have eaten out a few times. Patisserie Miel in Sabinillas and the Golden Hong Kong Chinese in Duquesa Port are particular favourites and very child friendly. The food is excellent.
Sadly, not many days of the holiday left..they will all be flying out of Jerez on Thursday.
Footnote: Claire is off to the UK on Monday, Gibraltar to London Gatwick, via Easyjet. This is a fairly new service so will let you know how she gets on. She will be getting her Amy Louise fix (our third grandchild born in April)
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Katy,Andy,Lily and Finn arrive..
At last,they have arrived.
I drove over to pick them up from Jerez Airport last evening. The Ryanair flight landed 10 minutes early and they were soon through customs and baggage collection and we were on our way.
The road from Los Barrios/Jerez/Los Barrios is fairly new (about 3 years)and replaces the old road which twisted and turned for kilometre after kilometre.The old road still exists in places.
The driving time from Manilva to Jerez (and return) is about 1 hour 15 minutes,and the journey takes you past the new wind turbines constructed in 2007.
Lily especially is very excited about her holiday and wants to swim,paddle,make sand castles,play games etc...all in the first day!
Today (Tues 3/6)after a morning at the beach we shall be shopping for supplies at either Eroski in the Los Hidalgos Retail Centre or Carrefour in Estepona.This evening we shall eat at Patisserie Miel on the paseo in Sabinillas.
I drove over to pick them up from Jerez Airport last evening. The Ryanair flight landed 10 minutes early and they were soon through customs and baggage collection and we were on our way.
The road from Los Barrios/Jerez/Los Barrios is fairly new (about 3 years)and replaces the old road which twisted and turned for kilometre after kilometre.The old road still exists in places.
The driving time from Manilva to Jerez (and return) is about 1 hour 15 minutes,and the journey takes you past the new wind turbines constructed in 2007.
Lily especially is very excited about her holiday and wants to swim,paddle,make sand castles,play games etc...all in the first day!
Today (Tues 3/6)after a morning at the beach we shall be shopping for supplies at either Eroski in the Los Hidalgos Retail Centre or Carrefour in Estepona.This evening we shall eat at Patisserie Miel on the paseo in Sabinillas.
Monday, 2 June 2008
An interview with..
Most people considering a move to Spain are interested to read about how others have made a new life for themselves..the advantages (any disadvantages), their likes and dislikes, what to do and what not to do.
A series of interviews with people living in the Manilva area will be appearing at www.seguros-ibex.com and the first interview took place this morning.
Read what Janette Mitchell has to say at www.seguros-ibex.com/interviews.
A series of interviews with people living in the Manilva area will be appearing at www.seguros-ibex.com and the first interview took place this morning.
Read what Janette Mitchell has to say at www.seguros-ibex.com/interviews.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
More sunshine golf..
Another enjoyable afternoon at La Canada golf.
Today it was like millionaires golf with, seemingly, no one else on the Course. It could well be that it was too hot for the locals, 30 degrees..mad dogs and Englishmen and all that.
The best two balls I hit all afternoon was when I stood on a sand rake in a bunker !!
Not really..Claire and I both played pretty well, with a few pars here and there and very few blobs.
Today it was like millionaires golf with, seemingly, no one else on the Course. It could well be that it was too hot for the locals, 30 degrees..mad dogs and Englishmen and all that.
The best two balls I hit all afternoon was when I stood on a sand rake in a bunker !!
Not really..Claire and I both played pretty well, with a few pars here and there and very few blobs.
Shopping in Gibraltar..
We drove over to Gibraltar yesterday to stock up on supplies prior to the arrival of daughter Katy and Andy along with our two grandchildren, Lily and Finn..they arrive into Jerez at 8.30 pm tomorrow, 02/06.
The Morrison's store sells everything English and so we were guaranteed of getting those special items especially for the children. We tend to do one 'big shop' a month there..with the rate of exchange so poor at the moment we are better off spending our pounds there instead of converting to euros.
One other big advantage is the ability to fill up with petrol at a much reduced price,something like 87 p per litre..even cheaper than in Spain.
The Morrison's store sells everything English and so we were guaranteed of getting those special items especially for the children. We tend to do one 'big shop' a month there..with the rate of exchange so poor at the moment we are better off spending our pounds there instead of converting to euros.
One other big advantage is the ability to fill up with petrol at a much reduced price,something like 87 p per litre..even cheaper than in Spain.
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