We packed a lot in over a long weekend built around the race on the Sunday that Michael and Catherine were running in.

I was the first to arrive on the Wednesday, followed on Thursday by Michael, Catherine, Satch, Amara and Layla, and later by my old friend François, who has known the family for years, and finally Anne and Rich on Saturday. All our AirBnBs were in the same area, Traina, on the west bank, which has a lively buzz, and with far fewer tourists than in the main part of the city on the other side of the river:

Friday: Catherine and Michael did the race check-in then we took a gentle boat trip up and down the river, strolled the excellent Triana market, tapas for lunch …

Mega chocolate and churros:

Saturday: Anne and Rich arrived at the end of lunch, then we strolled around the Maria Luisa park, taking it all very easy. For dinner later (kitchen doesn’t open until 8pm) we had a legendary lobster paella (François, Anne and me):

Race day started early for the runners, and the rest of us went to different points on the course to cheer them on. Thanks to their GPS chips we had a rough idea of where they were and Satch plotted our own route so that we could be in position when they passed:

Great results for them both: a Personal Best for Michael in 3:13:47, and a strong time from Catherine in under 4 hours.

13,500, starters, 10,299 finishers …

Back at Catherine and Satch’s we had a celebratory glass of bubbly ( courtesy of François) to celebrate the great occasion (and to wish Layla an early Happy Birthday) :

… then went out to eat:

On Monday, Rich went off early for a long run (22km) and Anne and I ran a river loop down, across a bridge, up the other side, back across and finish.  The city caters very well for runners, cyclists, scooters, not to mention rowers and canoeists, and there were many other people out running on the riverside tracks.

Departure day for Catherine and family, after which we headed into the old town. I found a bookshop, Anne and Rich climbed to the top of the Setas (largest wooden structure in the world, we are told),  lunch (and outdoor siesta!):

We then did the highly recommended tour of the cathedral roof, which turned out to be fascinating – lots of detail on the construction of the building (the largest cathedral in Europe by volume). We met the guide at the appointed place who opened a door at the base of a huge pillar which contained the stairs to the first level and then further:

Fine views on all sides of the city from the top:

Tuesday was leaving day for the rest of us.

So, congratulations again to our heroic runners:

… and thanks to all for making the trip so special.

ps We were all very impressed with Seville: somewhere to eat and drink every 50m (a pharmacy, too), traffic-light in the central areas making it pleasant to walk, a well preserved historical city with loads of character, from the imposing cathedral to the narrow, winding streets in the old town, and the wide and open waterfront – and we had very warm weather …

pps A few pictures which I like but didn’t manage to slot in:

 

Sisters:

We went to an inspiring concert of Flamenco music and danceby Antonio Guerra and his company, in a grogramme called “Flamenco con mayúsculas” or “Flamenco in capital letters”. It turned out to be a total feast of guitar, song, dance and percussion.  They were  7 men (no women), seated most of the time when not dancing: the leader,  2 powerfully emotional singers, a brilliant guitarist producing a flow of melody and rhythm to match the changing pace and mood, and 3 others who provided the clapping rhythmic support. Thundering rhythms, energetic and  inventive dance moves. From such simple ingredients – even using the chairs to mark the beat at one point – they built complex and thrilling numbers, normally ending with a rousing  Olé! from the appreciative audience.

It looked like a contemporary version of the art, for example, they all wore dark suits and waistcoats instead of matador-style outfits.

The show closed with a brilliant encore – they all simply came back on and stood around for a relaxed jam, each – even the singers – taking a turn to dance a short feature; it was  obviously that they really enjoying themselves, and the audience loved it.

ps An oddly dated (and unnecessary) touch was the occasional thin cloud of dry ice pumped in from one side …

pps Did you spot Jeremy Corbyn in the video? Who would have thought he’s such a good dancer!

Apart from that, we did a lot of whiling away the time – reading, music practice, Elaine busy writing, editing and publishing, had lunch at the beach, worked on the tan, collected a few more pebbles …

After much trial and error I fainally managed to get some reasonable flight shots of the Collared Doves that sit on the chimney pots and coo all day:

 

And this Bird On A Wire/Serin sat and sang loud and clear for us:

Early start on the last day to get Elaine to the airport for her flight back, and then I set the controls for Seville …

This is our third visit to Javier’s (AirBnB) place down on the coast as it suits us so well: secluded, large, south-facing terrace, big garden with palms, orange and mandarin trees, close to the beach, short drive/walk to town, beach café/restaurant nearby, fast internet, reasonably well-appointed kitchen … He’s done it up a bit since our last stay 2 years ago – new furniture indoors and on the terrace.

The weather is now mainly warm and sunny, so we have been doing a lot of hanging in the garden during the day.

Did a couple of short morning runs, one along the beach (picking up some of the lovely smooth and sparkling pebbles on the way) and the other up the Rio Seco which must meet the sea underground, as it disappears just short of it:

Paid another visit to the Guadalmar nature reserve next to Malaga airport. Lots of Crag Martins zooming around over the ponds (more used to seeing them in summer in Luz), some distant blue-beaked White-headed Ducks – a local speciality – and lots of noisy Monk Parakeets, and a chirpy Fan-tailed Warbler,  (plus a juicy little octopus for lunch):

 

Órgiva is a town in the Alpujarra range, south of the Sierra Nevada with the imposing Mulhacen (3,478m), and Granada, some 125km east of Malaga. It came to wide attention as the home of Chris Stewart, who briefly preceded Phil Collins as the drummer in Genesis and whose book “Driving Over Lemons” (subtitled “An Optimist In Andalusia”), about moving out and living here in the 1990s, was a big seller.  There is a pleasantly alternative and cosmopolitan vibe in the area provided by the many visitors and ex-pats from further north. The names on the letterboxes of houses on the roads out of town are often English, German or Dutch. It is also on the hippy map, and there is the occasional crusty begging on the street. We know from before that the covered market is a treat, with a general shop for organic fruit, veg, serious bread, a range of hard and soft cheeses … and a stall with amazing salted almonds and the huge Muscatel dried and pippy grapes (must stock up before leaving).  And the people are friendly, in particular, our AirBnB host …

The farm is on the edge of town and our digs are a ground floor apartment of a 2-storey building, with a medium-sized living room and kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. All fairly simple, a bit dingy, but ok.  No heating but a large fireplace and a stack of wood outside. Lots of wood, brick and small window , and tiled floors (no carpets) throughout:

Our AirBnB host, Cecilio, is an organic farmer, growing a range of veg and specialising in blackberries, from which come excellent jam, olive oil  and  vinegar.

The first week was rather dull and cloudy, so we hardly budged.  We did go back the Baraka restaurant – the only place where I was once moved to write a TripAdvisor review. Their beef couscous and chicken tajine are still as tasty as we remembered from 2 years ago. Loads of tender meat with a whole range of veg and fruit: potato, carrot, almonds, prunes …

We both did a run from the farm down the Rio Seco, accompanied by the friendly farm dog, to where the smaller river meets the main one, and back. Easy downhill but – no surprise! – tougher coming up. https://www.strava.com/activities/3033080308

 

 

On a different subject,  Jay’s January newsletter just arrived.

In the second week the weather improved dramatically and we took advantage of the blue sky to drive up to the end of the road at Capileira and do a good walk along the forest trails.

Excitment of the week was the arrival of 150 hungry sheep and goats to strip the left-over foliage from the greenhouse, which they did in spectacularly efficient style. The scene before and after:

 

Arriving and leaving:

 

Some mixed plant/farm/tree shots: