Thursday, August 30, 2007

Black and white kitten - update


Well, the kitten spent a comfortable night, ate and drank a lot but is very wild, so it went to the vet, who says that it is in quite good health. The vet wormed it, de mitted it, deflea-ed it and gave it injections, It has one paw missing which is perfectly healed and furred over, the vet says the mother may have done this when the kitten was tiny. So Bec and Damien have adopted it, they have called the kitten, who is a boy, Leo.
Leo will have to stay in the apartment for at least a month so that it does not revert to the wild again. In the meantime Suzie - the resident cat, is inquisitive but is quite tolerant so hopefully will not be too put out.
The vet at the centro comercial at Benijofar is brilliant and only charged a minimal fee for his services.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The tale of the black and white kitten

Sitting in the apartment this afternoon and we could hear a loud miaowing in the road, when we looked out there was a white cat with a black and white kitten following it down the road, the kitten was making all the noise, we thought it was in pain because it only had three legs, anyway went out to see what we could do and the white cat had gone and rattled on my daughters patio door, Bec and Damien then came out to see what was happening, meanwhile the kitten had disappeared so we got a cat carrier and looked for it. Damien caught the kitten and has put it in the apartment with food and water and will take it to the vets tomorrow. The white cat watched these proceedings from under a car and it appears she went to Bec and Damiens for help, as they are well known by the cat community for liking cats. I dont know what Suzie (the resident cat) is going to make of this but there will be a further update tomorrow.

Friday, August 24, 2007

The Love birds are here


I woke this morning to hear an unusual bird sound, rather like a budgie, only louder, so i crept on to the solarium to see a small parrot type bird walking along the roof, green with red beak and yellow head, chattering away to itself, it wandered round for several minutes when another one appeared on the ridge tile, they looked at each other and flew off, after checking them out on the internet i identified them as Fischers Love birds common in Central Africa and think they must be escapees or they are way out of their territory. I shall be looking again in the morning to see if they reappear.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Heavy Rain

Very early this morning we awoke in our solarium bed to the sound of rain,- yes, at this time of year, once the white flashes of lightning started we decided to evacuate and retire inside the apartment, so a quick change of location and back to sleep again. There was torrential rain for about one and a half hours and we awoke this morning to beautifull clear air with all the dust and humidity laid down. Everything looks clean and fresh as it all has had a really good wash down.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Jacarilla Palace and Gardens


We visited Jacarilla today, signposted from the main street through the town are the palace and gardens of Jacarilla, parking is easy, as you enter the main gate of the gardens there is a Policia Local Station, which must be in one of the most pleasant settings possible. The garden is full of neoclassic, arab and renaissance elements and has lots of unique garden areas each with its own attraction of fountains, statues and arbours, also there is the grotto of the Amudena virgen.
At the far end of the gardens is a small animal area where there are goats, pigs, hens and other animals.
The palace itself is not open at the moment as it is being restored, The outside walls have ornate tiles framing the windows, doors, pillars and edges of the building, and hopefully work will proceed to restore it to its former glory.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Fishing The River Segura


Even though it is hot and we are in the month of August it is still possible to find some nice fishing in the River near the Millpool at Formentera del Segura, There are carp, goldfish and Koi carp of all sizes and they feed well on sweet corn, with some ground bait to start them up. Last year the river dried out in places and a lot of fish perished but it is certainly healthy now, with a lot of fry in the margins. The river has abundant wildlife with many different species of birds, dragonfly and i occasionally i see water snakes.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Rock at the Rojales cave bar


Every Friday the Rojales cave bar has live entertainment, last week they had a blues, rock quartet, who played a variety of music including Stones, Led Zeppelin and Beatles, well attended by a very mixed audience who sang along, danced and were able to partake in an ice cold beer or a wine served at the bar, A very pleasant setting with great acoustics on the terraces of the caves overlooking the old town of Rojales. The caves are the original town and many are still used as homes and places of work. The spot where they are situated commands an impressive view over the whole Veja Baja.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Tapas lunchtime


We seem to have really gotten into the local way of eating at lunch, and the local time as lunch is often sometime between 2 and 4 in the afternoon for us. Tapas is very often the order of the day. In Spain they say "eat when you drink, drink when you eat" tapas is an ideal way to do this. Lovely tasty bits of finger food, eat as much or as little as you like. Olives of course dressed with virgin olive oil and our own fresh herbs or chillies. Manchego cheese, you can put olive oil with this to, almonds and sunflower seeds. The wonderful spicy sausages chorizo and of course the air dried Serrano ham. No butter or sunflower spread on our bread these days but you've guessed it more olive oil which we often have mixed with fresh crushed garlic.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

A Cool Beer


Its a hot night, so when Bec and Damien finish work there is nothing better than a large cold beer, and to socialise, and have a chat before lights out.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Mar Menor Mud


My daughter and boyfriend went to the Mar Menor yesterday and enjoyed a mudbath, Bec tells me it was very stimulating, but quite smelly. The Mar Menor has the largest therapautic open air mudbath in Europe. The mud is well-known for its many minerals that stimulate healing. A mudbath is good for skin problems, rheumatism and arthritis,
The waters of the Mar Menor are rich in minerals such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, iodine, bromide and fluoride. This water in combination with the mudbath is very effective against arthritis and rheumatism.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

The Chinese bazaar


I am sure that in every town in Spain there must be at least one Chinese bazaar, there is certainly one in Rojales. They are always handy to find unusual and useful things that you need on the spur of the moment or for a small gift that you forgot when you were in Torrevieja, some of the things are so cheaply made that they are going to have a short life. But the things cost so little. To illustrate the variety here are some of the items i have bought recently, a wireless security door alarm - 90 cents, a cycle puncture repair kit - 60 cents, pictorial beach towels €4, wire pan scrubs -60 cents, and a pack of fishing hooks, - 60cents.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Living in a holiday camp?


Living here, we have many neighbours who are resident, people who get up in the morning and go to work, or who carry on a normal everyday life, we also have neighbours who rent out their property for holidays, or who visit a couple of times a year themselves, some of these visitors think they are at a holiday camp, where everybody in the neighbourhood wants to stay awake into the early hours with their young children, shouting, screaming, listening to loud music and partying every night. Maybe they think living in Spain is one big party so it does not matter, but it would be nice for us residents to get a little bit of consideration and a full nights sleep without having to wait for the end of the holiday season.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Meet that Flight.

These days whenever you fly, you never know if there are flight delays owing to security measures and other problems. I have heard of aircraft being diverted to Alicante from Murcia, because planes are not allowed to land at Murcia after a certain time in Murcia, the passengers were then transported by coach to Murcia. If you are about to meet someone of a flight you can check its status with Flightstats, the statistics are available for any airport.