Two Go Back to Spain

[WSandME]

We are surrounded by house sparrows at the moment and the males are constantly displaying and calling to attract mates.

At three thirty AM?

 

[DBK]

We left Camping Cabo de Gata this morning. It's not a bad site but a bit far from anywhere unless you have bikes or a car. It also doesn't have a proper MH service point with fresh water you can connect a hose to. The nearest tap is a push button thing you would be hard pressed to connect a hose to and the water pressure itself is very low.

But a good place for a bit of bird watching.

Gull Billed Tern.

These might be Kentish Plover but I'm only 50% sure, if that.

Now these I'm reasonably sure are flamingoes. Two males on the left, two females on the right I think - males are larger and pinker - are they British?

After shopping in Almería (avoid the Carrefour - very limited MH parking) we are spending a couple of nights straddling the public holiday tomorrow at Pedro's Parking in Almerimar (CC60252). €15 for two nights, electric an extra €3.50 a day but we haven't taken it as the sun is shining and the solar is doing its thing.

 

[DBK]

Very breezy yesterday - but the kite surfers made good use of it.



Much gentler breeze today so we walked into Almerimar to the harbour. There is an official aire right next to where the boats are moored. €10 a night apparently and water and electric available. It is very convenient for the town but the reports in CamperContact are mixed - one mentions the noise from a nearby disco going on until seven in the morning!

But given today is a public holiday I expected the town to be much busier than it was.

There were a few birds on the quayside which attracted my interest. They are Turnstones and probably now migrating north as they breed in Scandinavia. As usual I was a bit unsure of the identification but they have orange legs and the leftmost flying bird shows the white bar across the tail.

We are going to stay another night here, if only to let the weather improve a bit. It might also give me time to identify this thing. They are growing out of the sand behind the beach. Some sort of fungus I think.

 

[DBK]

I revisited the scrub behind the beach today...

...to take a few photos of the flowers. An activity I suggest you approach with caution. While snapping away I surprised a young lady doing her own bit for the flowers. She was watering them - very cleverly too as shecwas sitting down at the same time.

They aren't rarities (I hope ) so I may not get around to identifying them. But the mystery deepened on this thing.

I thought yesterday it was a fungus but the photograph above shows it as some sort of flower. I'm still stumped.

The scrub has boggy bits and within the aire is a small pond. This morning I saw what I took to be a Little Egret fly into it. The bird looked white andcwas the right size. But it wasn't an egret.

Can you tell what it is yet? (Head poking up above the boulder I was trying to use as cover)

The boulder was no use and the bird took flight.

Out of focus shot but it shows all that is necessary for identification. Later, I got another chance.

The bird is a Squacco Heron and the white wings are the giveaway. When sitting it blends into the reeds very well.

Another notable bird seen today were several Reed Warblers. The Collin's Bird Guide app on my phone was brilliant for identifying them. I assumed the bird I watched through binoculars was a reed warbler but I couldn't be sure. However, the Collin's app has recorded bird song and when I played the Reed Warbler's song it exactly matches what I was hearing from the reeds in front of me.

And it isn't all flowers and birds here. This is a mullet in the marina.

 

[2657]

A Grey Mullet, the wife calls them 'turd fish' as they seem to like congregating around the sewage works outlet on the cycle route into Tavira. Lots of locals fish from the riverbank next to the outlet

I have bought them in France, they are cheap, but they need some form of sauce to help the taste buds.

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[DBK]

A Grey Mullet, the wife calls them 'turd fish' as they seem to like congregating around the sewage works outlet on the cycle route into Tavira. Lots of locals fish from the riverbank next to the outlet

I have bought them in France, they are cheap, but they need some form of sauce to help the taste buds.

I've tried to catch them in the past - and failed. Possibly for the best.

 

[intokenny]

I'm led to believe Mullet are really hard to catch, something about having very soft mouths!!!!

 

[DBK]

I'm led to believe Mullet are really hard to catch, something about having very soft mouths!!!!

I've heard that too. In the UK there are at least two species, the thin-lipped and the thick-lipped. No doubt there are other species in the Med. They usually survive on minute particles, such as algae they suck off sea weed or the less mentionable particles found in sewer outflows! But they can be tempted by bread apparently.

 

[Teuchter]

A Grey Mullet, the wife calls them 'turd fish' as they seem to like congregating around the sewage works outlet on the cycle route into Tavira. Lots of locals fish from the riverbank next to the outlet

I have bought them in France, they are cheap, but they need some form of sauce to help the taste buds.

We used to occasionally catch one or two in the nets when I was a nipper - well out to sea though and "not bad" eating.

I had a fillet of one in a restaurant in Sagres last year - again I was assured that it was caught out at sea - it was served in some sort of home made sauce and was very good.

In the marina in puerto De La Duquesa near Estepona (in common with many other marinas) there are shoals of them and I asked some local fishermen if they ever fished for them - they looked at me as if I were mad and told me in no uncertain terms that they never fish for them in harbours or close to human habitation but do like to catch them out at sea as they are a good eating fish!

 

[DBK]

Found it!

Cynomorium coccineum a "rare and local species" according to my flower book. I hadn't looked in my book as I didn't think it was a flower initially!

It has historically been used in medicine, for example staunching wounds during the Crusades.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynomorium

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[Deleted member 43219]

Apparently Cynomorium is good to eat when fresh. Have you tried it?

 

[Teuchter]

MMmmmmmhhhhhh - I never knew that!!


Cynomorium benefits & uses

Essential functions are invigorating the kidney, strengthening Yang, and relaxing bowel. Main cynomorium uses and indications include impotence due to kidney deficiency, nocturnal emission?????, premature ejaculation, weak lower limbs, and deficiency-type constipation.

Wow

 

[2657]

and relaxing bowel.

Don't fancy that one, mine is quite relaxed enough

 

[DBK]

Apparently Cynomorium is good to eat when fresh. Have you tried it?

Tastes of apples apparently but they were growing close to a regular dog walking path so I'll leave the culinary research to others.

 

[DBK]

MMmmmmmhhhhhh - I never knew that!!


Cynomorium benefits & uses

Essential functions are invigorating the kidney, strengthening Yang, and relaxing bowel. Main cynomorium uses and indications include impotence due to kidney deficiency, nocturnal emission?????, premature ejaculation, weak lower limbs, and deficiency-type constipation.

Wow

Designer medicine for me by the sound of it.

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[monzer]

Well put together blog you have running here. I am enjoying it. We differ in our tastes of interests and hobbies but following your travels none the less. I feel you would be good in a pub quiz.

 

[DBK]

Well put together blog you have running here. I am enjoying it. We differ in our tastes of interests and hobbies but following your travels none the less. I feel you would be good in a pub quiz.

Only if it was a quiz about obscure subjects! I'm a few days behind on reports but will try and update things tomorrow.

 

[DBK]

We left Pedro's at Almerimar a couple of days ago and on reflection we should have stayed longer - not too far to walk into the town and a handy Mercadona supermarket to buy supplies from.

But onward and westward we pushed, following the coast as far as Nerja. I once wrote there is nothing worth visiting on the coast between Motril until you reach Tarifa but I am happy to correct this to "Nothing between Malaga and Tarifa.

There are some nice bits west of Motril and I think my memory has been influenced by the rain falling when we were last down here.

We stayed one night at a somewhat eccentric site a couple of miles west of Nerja - Aula de la Naturaleza Cortijo San Miguel (CC 62174). The site is in an old avocado plantation and is quite busy with only a few pitches spare. There are a lot of long term residents but they are different to the normal sort - think more retired hippie.

The beach was being resculpted with the aide of a digger and tipper trucks. These were taking sand from the beach near the site and dumping it on the beach nearer the town where winter storms had removed much of the original beach.

An interesting place for one night but at a hefty €26 it isn't anything special. The centre of the town is a good two kilometres away and the whole area was busy with people. The site is next to a garden centre, no problem there but in addition to plants they kept PEACOCKS and a HORSE. The nag must have been in training for an audition for an episode of Champion the Wonder Horse. Things would be quiet then suddenly the horse would emit a loud whinnying sound which would start the peacocks off with their raucous cries. Then after a lull the peacocks would start, waking the horse up and away they would go. Sadly we only have a small oven in the van and a peacock wouldn't fit but perhaps Tesco might be interested in the horse...

When we were checking out the next morning a Englishman we had spoken to earlier and had been kept awake by these noises was trying to change pitch to get as far away from them as possible. There was also no usuable grey waste dump so we had to use buckets.

If the above sounds negative this would be unjust. It is a popular site and had been full over the winter. I mustn't let my dislike of PEACOCKS cloud my judgement. Give it a try but it isn't a place for a big MH - the avocados are numerous! and €2.50 a kg if you want to buy any - all the ones within reach had been harvested .

Leaving Nerja we drove north for about 5km with the intention of visiting the village of Frigiliana which has a pedestrianised old quarter with narrow streets and lots of flowers growing in plant pots. Considered the "prettiest village in Andalusia" it attracts tourists like wasps to strawberry jam. It was busy - so we turned around at a roundabout they have conveniently placed for this purpose and headed back to coast to continue westward.

Frigiliana is worth visiting but from the photographs I've seen it is just "pretty" without any significant historical connection. Perhaps the PEACOCKS had put me in a grumpy mood.

We were approaching Malaga and Torremolinos so I put in a swerve to the north west, heading inland for a few kilometres to Camping Presa la Viñuela beside the Embalse dear Viñuela lake. CC 53367 and ACSI.

Pretty views across the lake to the Sierras de Tejeda from our pitch.

There are paths and tracked around the lake easily reached from the site. On our first walk we were joined by a delightful but initially very timid dog. It was nervous of Charlie but responded to my "Buenos Dias" by rolling on its back at my feet.

A piece of frayed string served as a collar and it had not seen a brush or bath for some months but clearly belonged to someone as it turned around eventually and trotted off home.

The path around the lake had been almost washed away at one point but I was able to pick away through.

An interesting bird was singing on a rock.

It just might be a Thekla Lark. The location is about right - arid and a bit mountainous but short of shooting and skinning it (normal 19th C ornithological practice) I will have to see if I can catch a glimpse of it tomorrow and hopefully see it flying, which might help although they are very close in appearance to the Crested Lark.

I am on safer grounds with this one - female Woodchat Shrike.

By the path was a discarded snake skin. It was in several bits but the total length was about three feet. There were no discernible markings on it so I'm not sure of the species.

Charlie found all this too much hard work so he went on strike and lay down on some soft grass.

So I took him for a swim in the lake.

Flower photos tomorrow - this is thistle central!

And I have been lazy posting "we are here" maps - so to make amends here we are - under the blue blob.

 

[DBK]

Flowers this morning. And there were a lot of them.

This one wasn't even out but I'm reasonably sure it is Echinops sphaerocephalus, one of the globe thistles.

This is a relative of the globe artichoke, Cynara cardunculus or Cardoon which is grown as a vegetable occasionally and even less occasionally eaten as one.

The Spanish Broom is well known but there are several other related species. This is Lygos or Raetema sphaerocarpa.

This might be the Cut Leaved Lavender Lavendula multifida but the flower spikes show a distinct spiral which none of the images I could find had, but otherwise it is a good match with the right leaves and faint scent.

There was a lot of this Convolvulus tricolour the Dwarf or Annual Convolvulus.

This is Noidea haventascoobies.

We found quite a few others in the same family as well this morning but otherwise it was an enjoyable ramble.

But the mystery lark from yesterday did not ascend or otherwise put in an appearance.

 

[DBK]

We drove for an hour north west this morning to Antequera, which is for the moment partly obliterated under the blue blob below.

We came here to do some shopping. We were in urgent as we had almost run out of wine the previous evening.

We then drove steeply uphill for a few kilometres to El Torcal de Antequera a unique area of weathered limestone karst. You can find more information about here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Torcal_de_Antequera

And this is worth reading as I'm not in much of a position to tell you much about the place as you will find out.

It was Monday and as we have discovered anywhere notable in Spain is closed on Mondays.

Ha! Closed? It was HEAVING!

The car park at the visitors' centre was completely full and there were hordes of children everywhere. Is this half-term?

We escaped after only running over a couple of children (joke ) and found a spot on the approach road where we could park up to have lunch.

These were our surroundings.

It vaguely reminded me of the Burren in Ireland. Vaguely because I last saw the Burren nearly sixty years ago. But it had the same limestone pavements and interesting plants.

Ornithogalum collinum and a member of the Stars of Bethlehem family.
Then two from the Noidea notascoobies family. If we ever changed our van the next one must have room for a library. Failing that Mrs DBK's knitting may have to go. . But if I'd brought the right books I might have been able to tell you their names, though obviously the first one below is an iris of some sort. I just don't know about the "sort" bit.

The next I thought was some sort of buttercup when I first saw it from a distance. It wasn't.

My first ever yellow orchid. Ophrys lutea the Yellow Lutea or Yellow Bee Orchid. A bit of a surprise as most of the Ophrys orchids around the Mediterranean flower earlier in the year.

You can stay overnight in the car park at the Visitors' Centre (CC 54401) and this was our plan. I suspect next week it will be quiet otherwise I suggest you arrive in the early evening when hopefully most of the coaches and cars would have left. There are marked walks of one to three hours duration and fossil ammonites to see in the park. A place to return too.

So we headed back to Antequera and the aire near the bullring, CC 26374.

It is about a kilometre walk from the aire to the castle.

The photograph above was taken from outside the town but just below the walls you might see a track where this photograph was taken.

We didn't go into the castle as we had Charlie with us but you can walk around it and even have a beer at one of these tables, as we did.

Antequera is knee deep in churches and convents.

Antequera is worth visiting; clean, prosperous and full of interest.

We are moving on a short distance tomorrow, hopefully via some flamingoes.

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[jumartoo]

We tried to get to El Torcal on Easter Friday

We went back on the Monday after Easter and it was almost deserted. We did one of the walks and were halfway round when the heavens opened. The narrow paths between the rocks suddenly became rivers . The German motorhome parked in the car park was an island in a lake. The faces of the owners on their return were a picture

 

[simsy56]

Did you miss out Estepona? That is a lovely town, with an orchid house, beautifully painted buildings, and something I have never seen before, a dog park. Fully enclosed with double gates, pond, shower, see saw, tunnels, a dogs heaven. We also joined the swimming pool complex for a month, and used the facilities almost daily. A real lovely town, with nice restaurants, cafe's, and bars.
Here are a couple of the painted buildings. And yes, the plants are painted.

Craig

 

[DBK]

Did you miss out Estepona? That is a lovely town, with an orchid house, beautifully painted buildings, and something I have never seen before, a dog park. Fully enclosed with double gates, pond, shower, see saw, tunnels, a dogs heaven. We also joined the swimming pool complex for a month, and used the facilities almost daily. A real lovely town, with nice restaurants, cafe's, and bars.
Here are a couple of the painted buildings. And yes, the plants are painted.
View attachment 230079 View attachment 230080

Craig

Estepona is on the coast and we are avoiding the coast west of Malaga due to our own baseless predjudices. . IIam sure there are some lovely spots but we are going to stay inland and head west until we hit the coast somewhere north of Tarifa.

 

[DBK]

We left Antequera this morning and drove about 15km north west to the Laguna de la Fuentes de Piedra. This is a shallow endorheic lake, meaning it has no outflow river and all the water which flows into it can only escape by evaporation. Spain has a few of these and the salty water encourages a lot of life which in turn attracts birds in large numbers.

The book I read about the lake in said hundreds of flamingoes gather here. The book must be out of date, not hundreds but thousands!

The above is only a tiny bit of the lake and I estimated there might have been up to ten thousand birds out there. The lake is very shallow - the birds are standing on the bottom while they feed.

It is difficult to get close to the main lake but there are smaller lagoons around the edges where you can approach them.

Not the best shot as the sun was in the wrong position.

This video taken with my patented "WobbleCam" shows how they stir up the bottom with their feet as they feed. The clip includes a bonus shot of a flamingo having a poo.



There were other birds. This is an avocet.

The avocets didn't seem to be breeding yet but they were all feeding voraciously.



But the Black Winged Stilts were breeding.

And it wasn't all birds. These are European Pond Turtles having a communal snooze in the sun.

There were a few smaller wading birds I photographed and if I can identify them I'll post their pictures.

The fertility of the lake is well illustrated by the number of flies around the margins.

 

[DBK]

I might have the little waders now - but a health warning is advisable. These are just my best guesses and you will need to zoom in to see them.

Little Ringed Plover. These are residents in these parts.

And Dunlin in summer plumage (we only ever see them in winter in Devon). These must be on migration north.

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[DBK]

Charlie went for a river swim this afternoon.

 

[Teuchter]

Estepona is on the coast and we are avoiding the coast west of Malaga due to our own baseless predjudices. . IIam sure there are some lovely spots but we are going to stay inland and head west until we hit the coast somewhere north of Tarifa.

North of Tarifa near Cape (Trafalgar which is worth a visit) is a campsite Camping Pinar San José nice site ACSI rates good facilities and direct access to walk in the woods

 

[Lenny HB]

Only John could make a video of flies.

 

[DBK]

North of Tarifa near Cape (Trafalgar which is worth a visit) is a campsite Camping Pinar San José nice site ACSI rates good facilities and direct access to walk in the woods

Thank you, we have that one on the radar.

Only John could make a video of flies.

The contribution of flies is underestimated.

 

[DBK]

We stayed last night at a Dutch owned aire (CC 22441) a little north of the town of Alora. A curious place, the owners Adrie and Monica speak excellent English and are mostly focused on their B&B business, which seems to be doing well. But they have built a small aire which in theory can take 11 MHs but I suspect only if they weren't very big MHs. The site has all the necessary facilities with one exception - there is no drinking water! It isn't cheap either, €11 per night and another €2.50 to empty a cassette but they did throw in the thunder and lightening for free last night and it was a good display.

This morning, while emptying the grey waste, a large bird flew low overhead. It didn't hang around but from its pale underside and bars on the top of its tail it might have been a Short-Toed Eagle. They feed on reptiles and I'd seen several lizards around the aire. The surrounding country was also their typical habitat. One day I'll remember to carry my binoculars with me all the time.

Driving south past Alora we noticed a font beside the road where someone was filling a water container so if you did need drinking water this could be an option.

Tonight we are staying at a free aire (CC 64117) at Algodonales, north west of Ronda. It even has free electricity for every pitch although we haven't used it.

It isn't a particularly historic town but the town square has plenty of bars which we might have visited if it wasn't overcast and a bit breezy. In front of the Church...

...was an interesting memorial.

And set in the ground in the town square was another reference.

The reference to "independence" is from what the Spanish call the War of Independence although fans of the Sharpe novels and TV programs will know this period as the Peninsular War.

France and Spain joined forces to invade Portugal in 1807 but the alliance didn't last and France, under Napoleon, turned on Spain in 1808. The people of Madrid rose up against the occupying French troops on the 2nd of May 1808 in what is known as the Dos de Mayo Uprising. It didn't end well for the Spaniards who were crushed by the overwhelming numbers of French but this kicked off the Peninsular War which was eventually sorted out by Sean Bean with a little help from the Duke of Boots.

But the date on the carving is 2 May 1810 not 1808 and refers I believe to a local uprising here in Algodonales and one of many sporadic acts of resistance carried out by the Spanish against the occupying French which is why they call this period the War of Independence (from the French). However, the reasons for the uprisings were varied and some were acts by poor Spaniards against those they owed money too. A rebellion in nearby Ronda in 1810 was carried out for this reason.

But every 2 May the locals here in Algodonales dress up and reinact the event and no doubt a good time is had by all and much wine is consumed.

On the way back to the van I noticied this interesting plant. (Yup, another plant photo )

It is a member of the Birthwort family, used traditionally to induce labour and for other medicinal uses. This particular one is Aristolochia baetica. Aristolochia means "noble birth" and its medicinal properties were first described in 300BC but it was used by the Eygyptians before that. It is believed the link with birth may be due to the shape of the flower - like a uterus. According to the "Doctrine of Signatures" the resemblance of a plant to a specific organ links it to treatment of the organ. We now think the presence of a powerful toxin in the plant is a more likely reason for its medicinal use. The doctrine of signatures also explains why the phallus shape of Cynomorium (above) led to it being used to treat problems with the said organ.

But if you don't want help giving birth you might still want to come here to buy a guitar.

He's quite famous I think in strumming circles. His workshop is above the shop where he whittles guitars from €900 up to several thousand according to his website. https://www.guitarrasvalerianobernal.com/

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