Friday, September 25, 2009

Biodiesel Provides Third of Andalucias Diesel Consumption

By the end of the year Andalucia will become Spain’s biggest biodiesel producing area. Biodesiel is a substitute fuel for diesel engines, produced from vegetable oils, or animal fats, six plants are already operating in the area. A total of eighteen plants will be in operation by 2010 and these plants will provide 33% of the fuel used in Anderlucia. There are currently 88 bio-fuel filling stations open to the public in the Andalucia area with more due to open. Andalucia already leads Spain in the production of electricity produced from wind and solar energy.

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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Ronda's Pedro Romero Fair

Ronda’s Pedro Romero Fair

Last week my wife and I attended the Pedro Romero Fair held at the historic and beautiful inland town of Ronda. The fair started last Wednesday and attracts 200,000 people to the town over five days. The fair’s traditional events include three bull fights and a bullfighting on horseback show held on the Saturday and Sunday. We personally do not like bullfighting and give the shows a miss. Visitors are invited to the Wine Museum at midday on the Friday to watch the crushing of the grapes, which coincides with the start of the grape harvest. The town centre and the fair ground have many events and actives day and night throughout the fair and the atmosphere as to be experienced to be believed.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

After the Fiesta

Following the Fiesta life as just about returned to normal. We are still hoping to sell our present house within the next few weeks and then start to look for a smaller new home in the area.

I spend a lot of my time on the Internet writing my blogs and trying to promote various on line programmes. I also spend time feeding the chickens and keeping our land in order. Our three dogs Pepe, Becky and Maggi take us for a regular walk into the national park and are great company.

Tomorrow we are going to do our monthly shop in Coin and collect our mail. (no bills I hope) followed by a meal at a nice little restaurant called the Monticello in Alora run by some friendly Belgium people. They do a three course menu del dia for five Euros a head!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

El Burgo St. Augustines Fiesta

St Augustine’s Fiesta

St Augustine is the patron saint of our local village of El Burgo and a fiesta is held at the end of August each year, usually 2 weeks after the one day Romeria (Gipsy Festival) and lasts for 5 days from Wednesday to Sunday. (or early the Monday morning) The Fiesta is a local event and everyone in the village takes the five days off as a local holiday whilst the rest of the world outside the village goes on as normal.

The Spanish really know how to enjoy themselves. Most nights the fiesta goes on to 4 or 5 in the morning. It is very unusual to see any bad behavior, men, women, old, young, children and babies in prams are in the streets all enjoying the events together. It is quite a sight to see a coach arrive from the neighboring villages at 2 in the morning and see a crowd of pensioners getting off. (Imaging a similar sight in the UK!)

St Augustine’s day, held on the Friday is the big religious day. After the church service there is a parade where religious effigies and icons are carried round the village to the accompaniments of the village band and firework rockets exploding all day. A large crowd turns out for the parade.

On the Saturday evening the village puts on a free meal for pensioners and invites pensioners from the three nearby villages to attend. About 700 people are wined and dinned and entertained for free. A presentation is help at the end of the evening where representative from each of the villages receive presents and local dignitaries make speakers thanking those attending for what they have done for the generations who have followed them.

On Sunday, the last evening of the fiesta the Bull Run is organized. In the old days bulls did actually run up and down the main street. Now the Bull Run is run by men dressed as bulls with fireworks packed on their backs who run up and down the street with fireworks exploding in all directions. Most people get into the bars and keep out of the way. A few young mainly men stay in the streets to show off their bravery.

After the event the 1000s of people who attended the evening went home around 6 in the morning without any trouble. Fiestas in Andalucia are great fun with each city, town and village organizing their own fiestas in their own traditional way. You never get bored with them because they are all so different, friendly and exiting.

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Thursday, September 3, 2009

Old Spanish Proverb

"What was hard to bear is sweet to remember." -- Spanish proverb