Crafting in Spain

It is strange but I often find that having mentioned something on the blog I then see its being done or in the pipeline. I was only saying this area has so much to offer and then I find a neighbour has been thinking along the same lines! Whats more along with all the natural assets of the area they have talents galore to share. So if you are looking for a nice break with lots of interesting ways to pass the time look no further. Do give Yvonne a call, she can organize your stay for you. We can almost certainly  throw in some sunshine too!

Crafting In The Ricote Valley, Murcia Spain

Card Crafting - 10 euros 1st hour (6e per hour thereafter) take what you make.

Jewellery Classes - *from 10 euros per hour take what you make.

All inclusive 2 day craft course

All materials, light lunch & refreshments both days, 3 course evening meal with wine or beer. 1 night stay at my bungalow with breakfast 110e per person for card crafting or130e jewellery making. Crafting from 10.30 am -1 pm and 4 pm – 6.30pm both days or 1 morning seeing the sights, its up to you.

* (additional fee charged to work with semi-precious stones or Swarovski Crystal. To be specified when booking)

Take a day or two away from the crowds at the beach. Blanca is a typical Spanish town surrounded by mountains and lemon trees. You can walk along the meandering river into town(perhaps stopping for a drink at the riverside bar) where you will often see people picnicking, fishing, swimming and canoeing, carry on out of town to the lake or take the mountain walking trails with fabulous views. There is a municipal park where the townsfolk play bowls, tennis courts, basketball and football courts. Indoor & outdoor swimming pools. Canoeing (water rafting can be arranged).

Spanish cafe bars offering tapas, an Al A Carte Restaurant, shops, supermarkets and banks. The Theatre has occasional Spanish dancing & orchestral music. We must not forget the now famous Pedro Cano Foundation Art Centre and the Light & Water Museum. Local market on Thursdays. All this is a two minute drive or 10 minute walk of the bungalow. Sunday Artisan craft markets, restaurants, architectural and cultural interests can be found in towns within a 15 minute drive. Just a twenty minute drive to the Spa hotels and pools of Archena.

Blanca is just 1 hour drive from Alicante Airport and Murcia (San Javier) Airport and the coast.

Menu of the day can be arranged (to be specified when booking).

Call me, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised

Yvonne 625997049

"Easy like Sunday morning"

Sunday again, they keep coming around. The day here started overcast and indeed so black was the sky at one point we thought it might actually rain, sadly not so the garden gets grey water again. The olive tree will get fresh water and my how big the olives are this year. We did harvest a crop last year, you can read all about this in an earlier blog. Because of the pruning and extra watering the olives this year are looking bigger and fatter so we eagerly anticipate a better yield of oil.

As I say it was cloudy first thing but still warm enough for our pre breakfast swim.  The pool gives us a good all around view of the sky and hills and its not uncommon for us to spot something interesting whilst swimming. We have a routine going for if one of us is outside and spots something worth sharing. Not wanting to shouting or run around and scare off whatever we have spied we whistle to get attention. Today was a cracker as John noticed an eagle flying quite close by. We never cease to be astounded by the variety of bird life here. Whilst watching the eagle we could hear Golden orioles nearby as  well as Bee eaters. What I cannot understand is why the Ricote area is not inundated with twitchers from all around the world.

We now have our river view and John is clearly going to enjoy living here even more. Fishing on the door step without needing to get the car out. It seems that new trees will be planted along side the river too. We do wonder how the reeds will be keep down though as they have already started to sprout only days after being cut back to the ground.

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.