Well, it has it’s critics, people moaning about she said this, or he said that, but we are very fortunate, and have great FB friends (well if they weren’t nice people why accept friend requests??).
Anyway, a guy I knew and used to work with 20+ years ago saw we were travelling and suggested (via facebook) that we dropped into a beach at Bolonia, which was just 15 minutes from where we had camped.
We are so glad we did. As nice as the place was that we had stayed at for 3 days, we felt it was time to move on and the weather wasn’t as good this morning (but still glorious compared to the UK). The dogs had a good walk on the beach, and we followed Simon’s recommendations for a restaurant and had a fab lunch.
So in my humble opinion, you can’t really blame the social media platform for bad stuff on it. That’s down to people, and if I see stuff I don’t like, it’s bye-bye time to those that posted it – simples :). Used correctly, with lovely people as friends and it can bring major benefits. Thanks again Simon.
Fab beach, restaurants and archaeological sites to visit and Bolonia
Another beach day today, as the weather remains fab, and we want to enjoy it whilst it lasts. It also happens to be a bank holiday in Spain. That coupled with the good weather has resulted in everywhere being very busy, especially the beach where we are (Ensenda de Valdevaqueros).
This is a hot spot for kite & wind surfing, and I was astonished at the number of people participating today. How they didn’t collide, or get kite wires crossed I will never know.
I watched with a little feeling of ‘If I was 30 years younger, and if I lived here – I might just give that a go’, it looked so much fun and the guys and gals were literally flying through the air at points.
Better to have tried and failed than not tried at all – Live live to the full
I was half way through writing my post for today when I needed to stop and call the vet. Velvet, our 10 and a half year old flatcoated retriever was not her normal crazy self. She was wobbly, violently sick and twitchy.
After talking to the vet on the phone it was clear we needed to take her in. The vet kindly stayed open until we got there and came into Dizzy to look at her. She half walked and was then carried the rest of the way into the vets. After a thorough check over and Xray, the vet suspects that she has ingested drugs from our trip to the beach this afternoon.
88 Euro’s worth of hangover cure for the mad mutt, because someone couldn’t dispose of the joint in a responsible way. She is still spaced out and we need to go back tomorrow (A bank holiday in Spain) but at least our minds at ease.
So today’s picture has changed and is now our truly ‘Dopey’ dog, Velvet…..
I came across today’s image on the wonderful beach at Tarifa. (Some might say it’s a Tarifica beach 🙂 ).
Anyway, a certain graffiti artist called Banksy from the UK work sells for an awful lot of money. I’m not sure if he see’s any of the money as no one knows who he is (allegedly). Many years ago Graffiti was frowned upon, but today it seems to be more accepted.
I was particularly struck by the image of the Gorilla, which was skillfully painted. Look closely and you’ll note an ear-ring. (Trendy Gorilla), but I wondered what was going through the artists mind when he painted it? The hand gesture seems to imply ‘stop’?
There also seems to be a human form to the right, maybe with a sword? Was this a statement about saving the habitat of these great creatures, or something else? I’ll never know, but I like the fact that images such as this, in a public place, can make people think about our world.
Once again, Alfie, our 18 month old Large Munsterlander takes centre stage. We had a quiet day today, as the sun was shining and where we camped was quiet, and right next to a great beach, so we chilled and read our books, I even managed some yoga on the beach, but obviously the dogs needed to be exercised.
All 3 of the dogs are ‘obsessed’ with balls, and in the shot today Alfie somehow managed to get hold of 2 of them. Watching him trying to get both of them in his mouth (which he did manage) was hysterical. dropping one to pick up the other to see if it would make any difference.
He showed great tenacity, and tried several different ways of achieving his goal. He wouldn’t be beaten, all traits of a good problem solver. The look of joy and his wagging tail when he achieved his aim was priceless.
He is a complete goon, but we love him. He is a real character and always brings a smile to our faces with his crazy antics.
Nothing to do with guns I hasten to add, but memories. We may be away for a while but the certain things triggers memories of loved ones that have passed, and some folk that are still with us.
Today we had a wander around Estepona, a lovely little town if you ever get chance to visit (and we are not townies). Whilst sat outside in the sun, enjoying our coffee’s and people watching I glanced across to see today’s image.
Geraniums were my mum’s and her dad’s favourite plant, and seeing them on the front brought back happy memories of her, and of my late grandad.
Earlier on in the trip she was in our thoughts as we passed through Murcia (her name was Mercia – spelt differently but close enough). We also had conversations about a late friend of my wife’s called Vera as we passed through that town.
Today’s photo was taken on my phone. We were out walk the 4 legged children on a beach and came across this ‘dude’ wind surfing.
You can’t see from the photo but this guy was travelling fast, harnessing the wind and having a blast. He was alone, at sea, with just the wind to propel him as fast and as far as he wanted to go.
I have never tried this sport, but it looks great fun. What do you do for fun? It is so important for mental well-being to have some ‘me’ time, get the blood pumping, and put 100% focus on what your doing, forgetting the other ‘stuff’ that needs attention in our every demanding lives.
I originally started this blog to get my photography mo-jo back (what ever that is) but has kind of developed as the days / weeks pass, and I find myself reflecting back on snippets of information I have acquired during my life, with a view to pass them on (if anyone wants them).
As the sun set on a beautiful day in Spain, and after a nice barbecue supper by the beach, I headed out with my camera to see what I could find. I took a number of images but this was the one I choose for today’s post.
Why?? Well, originally I was struck by how the setting sun was reflecting on the bars of the fence, but then, as normal the random thoughts crept into my mixed up mind, and I cast my mind back to when I was working, managing corporate clients. One of my favourite sayings was “Strong fences makes good neighbours”.
In the job context, this was quite simply that a well written, clear, un-ambiguous contract meant that the relationship was relatively easy to manage. There were clear boundaries and responsibilities. Could they be changed? Absolutely. A simple change order to amend the contract signed by both parties would ensure the agreement was documented and if there were any changes in the pricing model due to the change, that was included in the Change Order.
It is also ironic that a strong fence (brick wall) resolved an issue with a past ‘neighbour from hell’ a few years ago. He finally moved and our new neighbour (you couldn’t wish for nicer people) only bought the house after the wall was erected.
Anyway – I hope you like today’s image and I hope all of your ‘fences’ are strong.
You may be forgiven to think that the image below is snow covered buildings. It isn’t. It is countless square miles of farmland covered by plastic and netting.
I have always tried to see both sides of an argument, and make objective rather than emotional comments, and today is no exception.
I have worked in the corporate world, where you constantly try to reduce costs, to be the most competitive, and dominate your market share. Farmers are no different. Plastic in this case increases the temperature of the ground and air inside these enclosures, it helps keeps humidity at optimum levels reducing water evaporation, keeps bugs and birds of the crops etc. Bigger farms can use scales of economy to reduce prices.
I get this, and we, the consumers need food, and are constantly pushing for higher standards and lower costs – Everyone loves a bargain, right???
But after the beautiful, un-spoilt landscapes we have seen over the last few days, to be faced with either a concrete or plastic landscape was pretty depressing. I couldn’t help but wonder what this landscape would have looked like 60 years ago prior to the plastic revolution. Yes, there would have been some crop damage by birds, bugs etc, and demand for food was no where near as high.
There was a global market, but surely not for perishable products like peppers, tomatoes etc, but with advances in logistics people can now get unseasonable products from their supermarkets 12 months a year.
Is this progress? The energy used to transport these products around the globe must be massive. I also considered the impact to wildlife which can no longer get access to vast areas of ground, reducing their food, and breeding grounds thanks to humans using more and more of the planets surface, and don’t get me started on what happens to all of this plastic at the end of its life.
One other thought I had. White reflects light (energy), where-as bare earth would reflect less. What happens to the addition reflected energy and what is the impact to our climate? Not sure this is an issue – happy to be corrected if anyone knows.
We really must consider the longer term impacts on the planet, rather than what our corporate share price is doing….
If you can, please try to buy local, from small independent farms that care about the planet that we all share… Yes, the price to you may be a little higher, but if reduce demand for un-seasonal, non native products. Rant over.
So today’s post is kind of a follow on from yesterday’s where I was toying with the idea of checking out a mountain track. Karen, you got your wish.
After a wonderful morning walking the 4 legged children, we got back to Dizzy (the Moho) and Mrs L and the mutleys crashed. I decided to jump on the bike and hit the trail.
I must admit it was tough going, because even though I had a bike with a friend called Mr. Terry (first name Bat), it couldn’t be used due to the lose gravel and stone.
The view from the top was stunning and worth the effort. No people, fab views and peace & quiet. The ride down was equally challenging and I nearly fell off a few times due to the rough terrain but made it back in one piece. I love this part of Spain.
It would have been very easy to sit quietly after the long walk , have a beer and read my book but the views I would have missed and the sense of achievement would have been a great loss. We all have choices in our life, and sometimes a bit of pain gives a lot of gain.
New day - New Photo challenge 