Life's a beach..!

Now that the hot weather is here to stay we have spent a couple of afternoons on the beach at Sabinillas.

The beach there has been awarded a blue flag which signifies it's cleanliness and suitability for swimming etc.

There are a number of beach bars (chiringuitos) all along the beach..just as well as cold beer is an integral part of being there. The sea is cool and sometmes not the cleanest..I guess the litter comes from passing boats or else is blown into the water somewhere..best not to think too much about it!

The recent temperatures have been in the mid 30's and so the beach is a welcome alternative to the golf course.

There is always plenty of room on the sand although the locals do like to set up just a few yards away, something to do with the herding instinct I suppose.

Polo anyone..?

Each July heralds the start of the polo season in the Sotogrande area and already we have attended on two occasions.

Sotogrande is situated only 15 minutes drive from Sabinillas and Manilva and so getting to the polo grounds is no problem. Entrance is usually free and watching the matches is a wonderful way of spending a couple of hours in the late afternoon sunshine.

There are three polo grounds in close proximity..Rio Sotogrande, Los Pinos, and Puente Hierrero. We have been to the latter and have had a wonderful time.

Matches comprise 5 or 6 chukkas each of 7 minutes with intervals of 3 minutes inbetween, and so each match is of about 50 minutes duration.

If you want to know more about the matches and competitions for the remainder of 2008 go to http://www.santamariapoloclub.com/