Skirting the Penon de los Castillejos

2010 has been a poor year for walking. The weather has been truly awful. However, with the skies clear of rain we headed up the Rio de la Miel to have a walk around the Penon. The weather wasn't a problem today. But it had been up to mischieve earlier on.

Just above the small hamlet of el nacimiento the road has been swept away by the storms. We ditched the car and continued on foot. This only added an extra 30 minutes to the walk.


No way past


View from the track

It is an easy walk with some spectacular views. The only downside is that it ends abbruptly at an old power generator site and you have to double back on yourself. Maybe next time we return we will feel energetic enough to actually scale the Penon. Apparently it's an arduous task but do-able.



Panaorama shot


Sierra Nevada in background.


End of the track.

Ronaldo v Messi – A tale of two pens

Tonight is the eagerly anticipated “el clasico”. Real Madrid v Barcelona at the Bernaneu. First v Second. Ronaldo v Messi. They are both undoubtedly world class players, but still poles apart. A simple tale of two penalties tells you all you need to know about the two.

Real Madrid v Villareal. Madrid winning by a country mile. Ronaldo jinks into the box and is brought down. Penalty. Ronaldo dusts himself down and takes the ball. As he prepares to take the penalty, Xabi Alonso walks across to have a chat.

“Cris, Cris. Dejame”

Alonso wants to take the Penalty. Ronaldo, Real’s penalty taker isn’t having any of it. Alonso is insistent. He is the only Real Madrid outfield player yet to score in la liga this season.

“Dejeme que mete uno” Alonso asks again.

This time he his more forceful and take the ball from Ronaldo. Ronaldo walks away with a face like a slapped arse. Alonso steps up and scores. Everyone in the Madrid team celebrates. Except one. Guess who?

Zaragosa v Barcelona. A comfortable night for Barca as Messi steals the show yet again. 3-0 up and they relax. Zaragosa make a fight of it and pull back two goals. Messi responds with another stroke of genius. He skins the Zaragosa defence and their only resort is to wrestle him to the ground. Penalty. Messi dusts himself down and takes the ball. Rather than take the penalty himself he passes the ball to Ibrahimovic. He later stated it was his gift to him because he deserved it.

Ibrahimovic had been on a poor run of form. He had fluffed chance after chance.
Ibrahimovic scored the penalty. That seemed to spark something as he went on to score in his next five games. That is why Barcelona will win tonight. They have the best player in the world, but he plays for the team, the best team in the world. Real Madrid are a collection of individuals. They may be “Los Galaticos”, but the sum of the parts is nowhere near what it should be.

Day 7 – Village life starts early

It was the most uncomfortable night’s sleep I have ever had. I couldn’t find a good position on the thin mattress. I was twisting and turning every twenty minutes. The floor creaked and I was sure it would give way before daylight. For anybody that lives in the city and yearns for the peace and quiet of the countryside, you would be in for a shock. For all the noise I was making trying to get comfortable, it was completely drowned out by the noise of the jungle. They must be gigantic crickets that enjoy partying all night long.

The first crack of dawn and the animals a little closer to home started to join in. The sound of the cockerels crowing underneath our room is worse than any alarm clock that I‘ve thrown out of the window. The incessant noise made the pigs stir. Any attempts at sleep now were accompanied with visions of pigs eating at my flesh as the floor finally caved in.


Our home for the night.

Any complaints I might have had were short lived. After giving up trying to sleep, we went out on to the terrace. The golden rays of sunlight increased the beauty of the views. It was incredible. Village life starts early. The children were already up and playing. The adults were busy at work. Napar was feeding the pigs. It must have been good stuff as the chickens decided to tuck in. What a bizarre sight!


Tuck in!

At some point during the night the herd of buffalos had decided to bed down outside the hut. Thank god I didn’t need a visit to the toilet during the night. I would have walked right into them. I waited for Monica before negotiating the animals to get to the bathroom. Safety in numbers and all.


On the terrace.

After breakfast on the terrace we received another visit from the village women. This time they wanted to sell us their handicrafts. They laid out a colourful assortment of bags, hats, bracelets and other goodies. It’s a shame that we were so early into the trip. We could have done all our shopping here. We bought a few things and the women seemed really pleased with their mornings work.


Shopping time.

It was time to say goodbye to our hosts. Another day’s walking to come. I felt surprisingly refreshed despite the lack of sleep. We were all set to go but Richard had some unfinished business. He finally managed to get a photo of the camera shy Naboo. We waved goodbye to the kids as they set off for school. New villages to discover on our travels.


Naboo.

Easter Sunday – Birdie Cup

After a 5 month exile from the golf courses of the Costa del Sol, Easter Sunday way a great time to get back into the swing of things. As well as the traditional “Easter” competition, a stableford with a bonus hole selected from the bag of crème eggs, it was the Biride Cup. You had to record a birdie in the qualifying events the year before, which I managed on the last occasion.

The Birdie cup was a medal format. Not exactly the best way to ease back into golf. An early night was needed. An early night was never really going to happen. A night out with the girls plus Maria and Jaco meant I didn’t roll in until 2:30am. Just over 5 hours sleep then!


"Time to go home?", not a chance Dino!

I had a quick warm up on the practice range that seemed to pay off. A great second shot on the first set up a decent birdie chance but I settled for par. That was about as good as it got for the front 9. I was playing with the captain who was scoring steadily. By the ninth hole I was beaten. I thought I hit a decent tee shot but it drifted dangerously to the right. Too dangerously as it turned out as I couldn’t find my ball, resulting in the dreaded NR.

Still, plenty of pluses to take from the day. The return of the beautiful weather. The proof being my tomato red face at the end that Monica would laugh at all week. The crowning moment was a birdie on the 14th. A beauty of a nine-iron shot over the lake to land within a couple of feet of the pin, leaving a nice uphill putt.


Aproach to the 14th Green.


Always nice to be inside the shadow of the flag.

The end result was that the captain maintained his good scoring throughout the round and won the inaugural birdie cup by a shot. I ended up with 25 stableford points. Not too bad after a long break. Grounds for optimism for the rest of the season.


View from the Club house.


The Captain with the trophy.

Semana Santa 2010 – Frigiliana

Frigiliana is a stunning setting. A picturesque “Pueblo Blanco” that has won a string of awards from various tourist boards. A perfect, atmospheric place to see a few Easter processions.

Before seeing the first procession, I wondered how they would carry a trono along the steep, narrow streets of Frigiliana. I knew the route was a relative short one. It starts from the San Antonio church on calle Real. It then goes uphill to calle Alta before descending to rejoin calle Real and then back to the church.

So after seeing the processions in Malaga, we headed to Frigiliana for the Viernes Santo parade. The procession starts at 10pm. We arrived a little later at 10:15pm. It was too late to see the procession leave the church. It would have been impossible to get through the crowd. So we headed up Calle Alta until we bumped into the beginning of the procession.


The front of the procession.

There are not many places on Calle Alta where you can view the procession. The street is too narrow. We got lucky and managed to stand on a raised walkway to one of the houses. The atmosphere is sombre. Near silence descends as the children at the lead of the procession walk by. The smell of incense in the night air and the warm glow of the candles make it a special occasion.

The tronos are not as grand as in Malaga or down the road in Nerja, but they still look impressive and the costaleros have a tough task navigating the steep, narrow streets. The first trono is of the wooden cross. This is followed by the body of Jesus Christ, with the apostles following in single file behind.


The trono of Jesus.


The disciples follow Jesus one last time.

The largest trono is reserved for Mary. This takes the most effort to carry and to navigate through the sharp twists and turns in the street. This trono would also make an appearance for the last procession of the evening, the walk of the singing women.


The women have their picturetaken before the walk.

Just after Midnight it is the turn of the women of Frigiliana to march. They are all dressed in black. Some of the ladies wear the traditional Mantilla, the black lace scarf worn in the hair with a Peineta, an ornamental comb to hold it up.
Just before they leave the church the street lights are switched off and the whole square is in complete darkness. The ladies come out carrying a candle and begin to sing. As they make their way to the front of the church, the trono of Mary is carried out of the front entrance and watches the procession pass before joining at the back.


The Virgin watches as the women sing for her to save them.

They march along the same route as before. We watched as the trono made its way slowly up to Calle Alta. Then we followed most of the crowd along Calle real to get to the other side of town before the women beat us to it. It was just after 1am and time to go home.

Semana Santa 2010 – Malaga

To witness the passion of Easter, a visit to Malaga during Semana Santa is a must. Processions take place all over the city at all times of the day from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday. All of the processions pass through the main streets of Malaga at some point. These are Alameda Principal, Larios and Granada.

We went to Malaga on Viernes Santo, Good Friday. Our first procession was from the Church of San Juan. Large crowds were already waiting in front of the church. A quiet hush descended as the doors opened and the procession slowly started to take to the streets.


The Procession leaving San Juan.

After all the procession had filed out of the church, we made our way to the theatre area of the city. We went to find another procession that ran along Calle Cruz Verde. We managed to get there just in time to see the Madonna trono being carried past.


The Costaleros carry Mary down Calle Cruz Verde.

The third procession we saw was from the Plaza de La Victoria in the North East sector of the city. This was by far the largest procession we saw. We arrived at the square before the procession had made its way down Calle Victoria. The crowds lined the road. We had a perfect vantage point stood in the middle of the busy intersection.


Close to the action.

The great thing about being outside the centre is you get really close to the procession. The kids enjoy it too. They shake as many hands as possible or try to collect wax droppings to see who can make the biggest ball.


Meeting the crowds.

You also get an appreciation of how much effort is required to move the great tronos. Rows of men, known as “Costaleros”, take the weight on their shoulders. They march in unison making the images sway. One of the many hooded men is responsible for stopping and starting the trono. He strikes the bell at the front of the trono. This sparks a chain event of other bell signals that move down the line to stop the whole procession.


Stopping the Trono.

It took just under an hour for the whole procession to march by. We then headed back the way we came and had a bite to eat at one of the cafe bars at the Plaza de La Merced. It’s about a 10 minute walk from where we were. As we sat down to order we could see the front of the procession turning the corner onto Calle Alamos. It would take them hours to finish the route. It was scheduled to take an amazing 8 hours, finishing at the early hour of 2:45am. That's the passion of christ.

Semana Santa 2010 – Nerja

We saw two processions in Nerja this year. The first was on “Miercoles Santo”. Instead of watching the parade, we planned (OK I planned) to see the Arsenal v Barcelona match in Meson de Julio. However, the girls could only stand that until half time. Then we went to La Piqueta on Calle Pintada so that the girls could watch the parade, and I could keep up with the footy.


A Saeta being sung from the Balcony.

The best place to see the Wednesday procession is from Plaza Ermita. This is where the Tronos of Mary and Jesus meet up and traditional saetas are sung from the balcony on Calle San Miguel.

This year we bumped into Maria and Jaco who had returned to Quorum to continue their studies in Spanish. Monica had spotted them walking down Calle Pinatda after the procession. It's a local legend that if you drink water from the fountain on Calle de Pescia, at the top of Pintada, you are destined to return. It worked for Maria. When will it bring Magdalena back?


Monica, Fabi, Jaco and Maria in Tapikas.


Jesus carries his cross past la Piqueta.

Jueves Santo is our traditional Parades and Rock night. We settle in at La Piqueta with our tapas and watch the procession march by. Then it’s off to find live music and party. This year we headed to Rey Alfonso on the Balcon. The “Flying Dolphins” were playing, an English duo that are popular in Nerja.


The "Flying Dolphins" at El Rey Alfonso.

At around 2ish it’s time to watch the procession make its way back to the church at the Balcon. It’s an impressive sight and well worth staying out to see.


The Church at the Balcon.

Day 6 – Village life

Exhausted from the long day’s trekking and a little shocked from the reality of our sleeping quarters, we sat down on the terrace and contemplated our surroundings. It was a fascinating look at village life amongst the hill tribe people of Northern Thailand.

Napar was busy preparing the food for our evening meal, as well as the feed for the menagerie of animals on the doorstep. Pigs, chickens and dogs all living in harmony. She was also managing the laundry and finding time to sweep and look after their young daughter, Naboo. She would shyly come over to see what the farang were doing in her house, before running off to play with the other children before Richard could take her photo. That proved a difficult task but one that Richard wasn’t going to give up on.


Feeding time.


The shy Naboo.

Watching the children playing was a fascinating, if humbling experience. They had no gameboys, PS3’s or other modern luxury toys that the kids in the west take for granted. They seemed happy chasing each other around the village. All of them with an ear to ear grin. I have never seen a group of children as happy and content as the Lahu kids. Richard and Monica were amused by the smallest child in the group. He couldn’t have been more than three years old. He was scrutinising a small sachet in his hand that one of the other kids had given him. He put his hand inside and pulled out a large amount of powder.

“No Way! He isn’t” exclaimed Richard.

Yes, the little child was going to put the spicy chilli powder in his mouth. This is Thailand so it must have been really spicy. The kid soon spat it out. The other children were laughing hysterically. Incredibly the child wasn’t finished. He put a little more in his mouth and ate the lot. No way!


Kids at play.

The other fascinating insight into village life was the work effort. Chlaa was busy constructing something with bamboo. Ame told us that he was building a roof for his new house. He was helped by an old man who must have been long past retirement age. He was slitting the bamboo to make long drainpipe shapes. The light was virtually gone now. We could barely pick out his features in the dusk. He showed no intention of packing in for the night. He continued in the dark, ignoring the shouts of Napar to go home. In the end she went to him, paid him his wage and pointed to his hut. The old man smiled, content with his pay, picked up his knife and cut another couple of bamboo trunks before finally heading home.

It was time to scrub up for dinner. We washed ourselves from the tap that was perched over the balcony of the terrace. In fact it was an attachment to the terrace, you could see the pigs underneath from the gaping holes through the bamboo. The freezing cold water snapping you out of visions of crashing through the bamboo and being eaten by the pigs.


Scrubbing up for Dinner.

The evening meal was the fish and crabs we had caught earlier in the day. Ok, what Ame, Richard and Monica had caught. I’m a lousy fisherman. The highlight for me though was the delicious sweet potato soup with rice and pumpkin stew.

After dinner we settled down on the rug with our beer. A number of elderly neighbours came over to see us. Monica thought that this was what the women of the village do in the evening. Chatting on the terrace beats Eastenders hands down I suppose. The women soon turned their attention to us. Apparently they had come over to offer us a traditional Lahu massage. Richard and I were content to stay on the terrace with our beer. Monica decided on the massage. She was attended to by three of the women for the bargain price of 100 Baht.

Meanwhile, Ame entertained us with his bamboo puzzles. He set various challenges with the sticks. The first was a matchstick pig. We had to make many pigs by moving only two sticks. Impossible we replied. Only two sticks? How many pigs do you want Ame?

“Many pigs, all same size. It’s easy” Ame replied with his infectious grin.

Defeated, he tweaked two sticks to reveal a pregnant pig.

“See. Many pigs. Same Same!”.

We took more care over the next few puzzles. Overall we managed a 50% success rate. Meanwhile our host Chlaa was making an interesting contraption with huge hooks at either end of a bamboo tube. It turns out he was making a trap for Bamboo rats. Apparently they are really tasty treats. Maybe next time.

Day 6 – Huai pu Pattana

After lunch we left the river behind and began our steep climb out of the valley. Lunch had shown the remarkable array of talents our guide Ame possessed. These skills had been passed down by generations of Akha tribes. Ame has a passion for continuing this tradition and spoke of his plans to build a museum in the village. Partly for tourists, but also to educate the young children of the area. Sadly, more and more people are leaving the hills and trying to earn a living in the city.

Ame’s next lesson was with the sling shot. He had carved a couple of slings and we practised shooting at banana leaves. The aim was to hit the stem and watch the leaf tumble down. After a few practice shots to find my range, I soon had my first success. Ame was not easy to impress.
“It’s easy. It’s not moving!”.
Ame was more interested in shooting things that moved. It’s not only the fish that are scared of Ame. The bird’s have reason to be fearfull too.


Ame goes hunting.

Ame is not only a game hunter. He knows a thing or two about the fruits in the jungle. The golden rule was that virtually everything is edible in the jungle. Just make sure that Ame eats it first! We tried passion fruit, lychee and sweet figs. There were nuts that seemed similar to chestnuts and miniature apples with a extremely bitter taste. It turns out that Ame uses these more for entertaining the children. They make nice spinning tops.

We continued our trek through the jungle. The views from the top of the ridge were spectacular. From every view point all you could see was the green of the trees. We were in the middle of nowhere. We hadn’t seen anyone since we started off in the morning. With the daylight fading we noticed the first signs of human life. An abandoned hut. Then we came across a fence to keep the buffalo from straying into the jungle. The sound of a distant engine could be heard over the jungle chatter of the crickets and birds.


First signs of civilization.

We came to a clearing where the buffalo grazed lazily. The huge male gave us a curious look and shuffled a bit closer to us. Monica’s hand tightened on her machete. Richard was armed with the sling. I was wondering what good the walking stick would be against a 500 pound beast. Ame just laughed at us and went to say hello to the bull. Well, more like he went to kiss it.

We had reached the village of Huai pu pattana, where we would be staying the night. It is a “Lahu” village. We realised how much the base camp of the Akha Hill village had been modernised to deal with tourists. That was a “dipping your toe in” place. The real deal was here. The village consisted of a number of wooden huts built on stilts. There were no cars, no roads. No signs of running water, electricity or any form of communication with the outside world. We walked across the dusty earth that was the village square. The local children were playing in the mud at the side of the huts.


View from our home.

Our home stay was the home of Chlaa and his wife Napar. They lived in the hut at the corner of the village. We sat down on the large terrace area and admired the views. The terrace was multi functional. It was the dining room, the laundry room and food preparation area. The inside consisted of three rooms. The first room had an area set aside for the fire. The room on the left was a store room that doubled up as the guest bedroom. The room at the back was the master bedroom. Our bed for the evening was a mat on the floor under a large mosquito net. Not exactly five star. I’d worry about the sleeping arrangements later.


On the terrace with Richard.

Day 6 – Bamboo Cooking

Ame found a nice spot by the river and set about making camp for lunch. Next we needed to find bamboo. Further up the river bank there were a bunch of bamboo trees of the right size. Ame showed us the art of logging. He skilfully chopped away a deep “V” section in the side of the trunk. He felled it with one blow from the reverse. The trunk fell to the side, remaining upright. He continued the process until he had the trunk cut into the required lengths.

He made it look so easy I had a go myself. Admittedly, I needed more hacks at the trunk before I had my “V” section. The next couple of blows from the reverse would be the key. The skill of landing the falling trunk so it stays upright is a secret unknown to me. The large trunk lurched to the opposite side that I was expecting. The side that Richard was standing, who was busily felling his own tree, oblivious to the imminent danger behind.


Never turn your back on me when armed with a Machete!

My screams of terror made Richard turn to see the bamboo trunk hurtling towards him. He never stood a chance. Luckily, the trees descent was stopped by the neighbouring bamboo trees. The relief was sudden and brief as gravity was determined to bring the tree crashing down to earth. It gave Richard enough time to dodge the falling tree. Danger averted. I had learned my lesson. The machete was placed back in its sheath and remained there for the remainder of the trip.


Ame gets to work.

Back at the base camp and Ame gave us a master class with the machete. He cast an eye over the large trunks of bamboo for the fire and selected a few to turn into long cooking tubes. The bamboo trunk is hollow. The visible cross sections on the trunk provide the base for the cooking pot. Then it is placed directly in the fire. Amazingly, it doesn’t burn. I was quickly learning that bamboo is a remarkable raw material.


Bamboo Cooking.

Ame’s crafting skills were used to fashion bowls, mugs and chopsticks from bamboo. He made a large pan and spoon from banana leafs. His talent wasn’t confined to making things. Ame is also the master of “Bamboo Cooking”. He sliced vegetables into the pan, added instant noodles and a couple of eggs. The mix was then added to his bamboo cooking pot and placed on the fire. Voila stir fry bamboo style!


A tasty treat by the river.

We sat down by the river and tucked into our lunch. It was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. All washed down with jungle tea. There were to be many magical moments on this trip. For me, the bamboo cooking was the highlight.


Best meal in Thailand.