Beach and Country

Last weekend again we saw the heat go up and the sunshine beat down on us and going to the beach is now becoming part of the weekend schedule.

This weekend even though the beach was on the agenda there was also a hike with the scouts on Sunday in the Ronda area, but more of that later on. On Saturday we went shopping as it was my little sister’s birthday and like usual Main Street was packed with locals and tourists alike going about their business. We did a bit of shopping and also got supplies for the hike.

After lunch we went to the beach and Nadia wanted to get back to her snorkelling which she started learning last year and also she wanted to try out all of her new kit. But unfortunately the wind was not in our favour so we could not go to best spots for snorkelling on the western side due to the westerly winds.

So we went to Catalan Bay as we were short on time and the sun there leaves at about 18:00 as it hides behind the Rock. We did a bit of snorkelling but it was not very good as there is not much to see in this area and by the time we came back to shore the sun had left.

That evening we went to my sister’s birthday party at Montagu tapas where the food was very nice and also enjoyed the alfresco dinner. After that we went for some drink in Ocean Village and then went home as I had to get up early the next day.

Sunday was a very early start as I was meeting the Scouts at the San Roque train station at 7:00 am which is quite early for anyone. The idea behind it was so we could have the fresh cool morning to do the walking instead of the heat of the afternoon. We got to our starting point and we walked for a few hours until lunch when we reached to our final destination - La Cueva del Gato. 

For those readers who have not been there yet it is a popular place in the summer to - there is a natural pool in front of the cave with clear waters which are ice cold and very refreshing in the summer. It is like have an inland beach but without the beach.

I am looking forward to this upcoming weekend as it is an extra long weekend so there will be lots to write about, I hope, and even some photos of Gibraltar.

Summer is here

A few days ago I decided we should go out for dinner and since Nadia has been offered a new job I thought it would be nice to go out for a meal in a place of her choice. She chose the Dolphin Bar in Camp Bay which is a pebble beach.

We met up friends for a few drinks before we went out as we had not met them for some time and just wanted to catch up for a bit. Afterwards we got to the Dolphin Bar to find that they were about to close but after asking the kitchen staff if they were willing to stay open for one more extra table, they happily said yes.

The setting was lovely because the weather was just perfect for having dinner al-fresco and the temperature was just right as it was neither hot nor cold sitting outside. As I looked out in the bay watching the sun slowly dip under the mountains in Spain I thought to myself: what a wonderful place I live in and how lucky we are to get such beautiful sunsets to enjoy.

After dinner we had a short walk on the beach which really is just a concrete, we watched a few people fishing and also a group of divers was just about to get in the water when I thought I have not been diving for a really long time and I kind of missed it but with any luck I will be back on it very soon.

We left the beach for a nice drive round the Rock. 

There is movement in the air

The winds of change seem to be blowing in Gibraltar as the situation seems to be getting better after is got a lot worse. On Sunday Gibraltar saw the queue to cross the border to be about 3 hours in length as the Guardia Civil decided to “clamp down on smuggling” and made driving in Gibraltar a nightmare and, apart from making the Llantios suffer, the Spanish have also suffered this time.

Most of the queue was made up of Spanish cars - the policy in Madrid and so many out there in Spain that think if they apply pressure at the frontier, this will break our resolve of not becoming Spanish. As a result to this the Spanish workers have decided to do a protest on Friday against this policy which is imposed on all the users of the border and they have called on us the Llantios to also join them.

In Gibraltar we should dress the town in red and white as we do for National Day and keep it like this all through the summer until after National Day to show Madrid and the world that we are here to stay and we want to stay British.

Anyway in other news, last week I decided to open a Twitter account to just put short bits of day to day living but also to advertise the blog on it, please feel free to become a follower if you want to keep up to date with all news and info.

Well guys, there is change in the air and I think there is a still more gusts to come so I shall put on my jacket and brave the winds of change.

Help Us fight the good fight

Following my last post here is an e-petition about the gibraltar issue.

Please sign and show your support

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26238

Fishy Times

All of this week in the local news we have been hearing of how the Spanish fishermen are trying to fish in Gibraltar waters with illegal nets. The government has decided to stop all the fishing activities and now is trying to come up with a solution to help all the parties involved - this is the story so far.

Anyways this has resulted by the same old action that Spain did many years ago and has started to put huge queues under the banner of trying to stamp out tobacco smuggling but I am not sure who they are trying to kid here, when we all know it is to do with the fishing dispute and the old age dispute of Spain trying to take back Gibraltar, something they seemingly gave up a long time ago.

Spain has been claiming Gibraltar ever since it gave it up with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Over the years Spain has tried to claim it back either by political motives of by force, the most notable one was the Great Siege 1779 – 1783, and let’s not forget the more recent political siege when Spain closed our land border.

But let’s talk about the more recent dispute about the water around Gibraltar. Spain says that under Utrecht claims Gibraltar has no waters around the Rock but if we look into this document further, should Britain claim Menorca back from Spain? It also states that the land border should be closed, well if we were to honour that part of the deal there would be a lot of unemployed Spanish people living in Spain, in an area were the level of unemployment is already sky high.

Going back to the fishermen they want to fish in our water which in my view should be allowed as long as they stay within the law and EU laws - something they do not do or have not done for many years. The last government eased the tension by allowing them to fish in any manner they wanted as long as they were more than 250 meters away from shore.

The result of this fishy dispute is we the people are suffering more than anyone. We are the ones who endure long queues; we are the ones who endure constant abuse from the Spanish government - locally and globally. But when it comes down to brass tacks why don’t they take us to court to get the EU involved - because they have no case for it. So instead of sitting round a table and try to come up with a solution they prefer to make the lives of the working people hard - Gibraltarian and Spanish alike.

On another note I read some online forums where many Spanish people post there that they should close the border - clearly these people do not work in Gibraltar and do no suffer what the Spanish workers suffer everyday. Summer is coming and the heat is already on the rise, let’s see how long the queues are going to get before the Spanish government realise there are hurting theit own people more then us.

These are fishy times.        

Party Time

Tonight we are planning a small get together to celebrate Nadia’s fours year anniversary in Gibraltar.

Anyway we are going to do a small party at a little Moroccan restaurant just under the house which for me is Gibraltar’s best kept secret when it comes down to pinchitos. This restaurant has a very relaxed and chilled out atmosphere and the owner is a very friendly guy, for example if you want a drink you do not need to order it you just get up go to the fridge and pick it up.

The other bit that I like is that he does his pinchitos on a small bbq which he keeps on the door of the restaurant - for the past few days the smell from them has been driving me crazy as the smell fills the street and my house and I have been craving it.

If I do not post soon, it is because I have had one too many beers tonight!

May in Cordoba Part 2

Later during the day we went looking for the patios which are open at certain times – something we only found out only after seeing a sign outside one of them stating which times they were open, so we decided to head back to the hotel for some rest and much needed cooling down.

We set off in the early evening to try and get into some of the patios and enjoy some local food. As we made our way over we decided to go inside the old castle. This is where Columbus asked the Spanish kings for money in order for him to embark on his journey to the new world. The palace was closed until 9p.m when there would be a sound and light display so we decided we could see the show later.

As we walked towards the area where there were quite a few patios which by the way do not have an admission and there are about 58 of them across Cordoba, we came across a glimpse of Cruz de Mayo – a festival held two weeks before in which the city’s squares and garden have big crosses made from flowers and plants. Then we saw some patios which were the smaller ones and not very impressive but then again they had not been awarded any prizes. The prize wining ones had queues to get in so we went for dinner
 instead.

Dinner was in a typical tavern of the area where tapas are served and local foods are the most popular even amongst tourists. After dinner and some fino (dry wine) we managed to get into one the patios that had won a prize and also had hosted important guest over the year like the Queen of Spain Doña Sofia.

It was not as large as I expected when we got inside but you could see that a lot of thought had gone into it as it was designed as an old house. All kinds of flowers were being grown and even some strawberries that invited the guests to experience the lushness of the garden. Just next to an example of an old kitchen with is working wood burning stove made from ceramic tiles and mortar out of metal was a small perfume shop that sold perfume which smelt like certain flowers that grew in the patios across Cordoba. Nadia bought one which smelt to orange blossoms and tangerine which is the loveliest smell that I have smelt in a long time.

When we left the patio, the streets were filling up with people as the local bars and tavern opened their doors. With plenty of flamenco and wine to go around people quickly joined the party and some people were dressed up for the occasion.

We made our way to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos which is the castle I mentioned earlier but we were a bit late for the show so we went in quickly and missed out on the first few minutes. When we walked into the courtyard you could feel the coolness of the garden with its marble floor and small pool of water - a legacy of the castle’s Moorish past. After a short show on the wall of the castle we were shown the rest of the gardens with grand fountains of water. As we got close, the first fountain it lit up and music started playing. As we watched the water dance to the sound of music I was reminded of how wonderful garden of the Alhambra is with all of its unique water features. The second fountain was the most impressive as the display of light, water and sound all came tighter to produce one amazing and beautiful display that brought the magic of the garden to life. Walking back to the entrance the magic of the garden still had a firm grip on us.

The next day we woke up a bit later as we were out late and we checked out as soon as we could get our bags packed. The only thing that was left to do was to visit el Puente Romano (roman bridge) which is an iconic landmark across the Guadalquivir. The crossing was quite hot and at the end of it there is an old Moorish tower that was used to defend the river. There was a small band playing in the shade of the tower which gave that little bit of atmosphere to a hot day.

Inside the Torres de la Calahorra they have built a small museum dedicated to the Moorish rule of Spain and its many advances in science, technology and art. The best part of it was seeing the interactive models of the Alhambra and the mosque in Cordoba.

We had some lunch and it seemed that in every restaurant we went in we would bring a crowd of people. After lunch we decided to start making our way back to Gibraltar and escape the soaring heat which we had over the weekend.

   

May in Cordoba Part 1

I have just come back from a very hot weekend in Cordoba, and even though the heat was unbearable I still managed to enjoy some things about it.

When we arrived in Cordoba on the Friday the first thing we noticed was the heat. I know I live in a hot part of the world but even I thought it was too hot, it was 35 degrees and this was at 9p.m. Anyway the drive up to Cordoba had been uneventful but finding our hotel proved to be a challenge as traffic was restricted in the area. After asking a policeman we finally found our way to the hotel.

The Hostal Almanzor is a small but centrally located hotel about 5 mins walk from all the main sites and the best part about it that it was cheap and very clean, to be honest I was expecting much worse for the price we paid, being the busy season in Cordoba. 

The next day we had a booking for the Arab baths which were located on the same street as our hotel. Myself and Nadia had been to one before in Granada so we knew what to expect and I had booked in the big package which includes two massages and the bath time. For those of you that have not gone into an Arab bath before, it is very different than your normal day at the spa but the result is the same.

They are beautiful inside with lots of attention to details and most of it is candle lit but there are also very low lights inside to give you the sense of the sun coming in through holes in the roof. In this one the warm room was the largest one and as usual topped with a dome with stars cut into the roof to let the sunlight in. After my massage I got into the warm pool and floated time away looking up at the stars in the roof and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere created to make you feel when the Moorish Empire was still in power.

Now the main reason to visit Cordoba was to visit the Mosque and also the festival of the Patios. So after the bath we visited the Mosque/Cathedral which is a world heritage site and quite the site to see. As you walk round the outside it gives you a glimpse into a time when Islam was the biggest religion in the South of Spain. Its high walls are a marvel to look at with is many brass doors and its beautiful frescos carved into it.

As you walk into the main entrance you come into a large patio full of orange trees and a small patios. Shame that they were not in bloom, if they were it would have filled the atmosphere in the patio with their sweet smelling scent. Once inside, the first thing you notice is the size of it and also the amount of tourist milling around the place but the best part was that it was nice and cool inside. Inside this huge space there are 856 columns topped by the iconic double arches which are make this place so famous.

On the south side of the building are the most impressive Moorish carvings within the building. This is the area know as the mihrab which is where Muslims would pray to in the direction of Mecca. I was over hearing a nearby tour group and just managed to get a very interesting little fact that the dome above it is built in such a way that the imam could be heard throughout the whole building.

The summer is here.

I am happy to say that the summer has arrived to Gibraltar, I know that in some areas of the world it seems a bit early but for Gibraltar it is right on time, maybe even a bit late.

Looking back at this winter, it has been a dry one with not a lot of rain or bad days - this could mean a mild summer or a very hot one. I have been looking forward to the summer and also because I enjoy the summer more than the winter. The reason for this is that I love the sea and doing water based activities, I think by now you all know that I am a diver and quite the mad one. Unfortunately, I have been out of the water for a few weeks since I got a cold the last time I went diving.

Also, before I forget this weekend I have planned to go to Cordoba for the weekend with Nadia to enjoy the flowers and the patios which are open throughout the city during the first two weeks in May.

Cordoba is a very old city and also a world heritage site because of its unique mosque/cathedral which was built by the Moorish about 1000 years ago and still is an impressive site to see.

Anyway peeps, will put some photos up as soon as I get back which I am looking forward to it as I got myself a new camera in the UK.

The Garden Grows

I have taken up gardening but instead of a real garden I have a bright corridor where I want to grow some plants and vegetables. My first try at it was to grow herbs in the kitchen and it started quiet well to be honest but after awhile things went wrong.

The parsley started to grow too much and was taking over the rest of the plant pot and even though Buttons had a try at eating it, it just grew bigger. After this it also attracted some little green bugs and this started to affect the other herbs so a few days ago I decided to throw them all out expect for the mint which is growing quite well.

Also we saw the new additions to the garden which a set of 3 flowering plants I am not 100% sure what they are called but I live in hope they will grow strong in their new home which has plenty of light and heat.

This also brings me to another point - I had an old spider plant which I had kept from my old office and after 6 months living in the corridor (my garden) it has started to give birth to new little ones which I will at some point transplant, when they are bigger.

 Anyway guys will post some photos up soon also of the progress so watch this space.

Disappointing Lunch

Even though that I am happy to be back in Gibraltar on the first day back just hours after I had landed, my parents decided to take me out to lunch and we had a bad experience.

As we walked down Ocean Village looking for a place to eat we saw a lunch special menu for £7.95 at Celebrities and we thought that is a good deal and my parents had been before recently and the food was quite good, so we went for it and sat down.

We came in and we were asked if we wanted some drinks so we ordered a few beers a bottle of wine, some soft drinks and last but not least a Mojito (for me). Anyways, the drinks had not arrived by the time we ordered our food so we enquired about them and we got told they are on they way which was strange as the place was empty apart from one other table.

The beers and soft drinks got there but the wine and the Mojito were still missing and again we were told it was coming - this was about 20 mins after we placed our order. The next thing that came was the wine and to our dismay they brought the wrong brand of wine to the one we ordered. But the Mojito, which is the best part, they left for last. The Mojito finally gets there and is put in front of me, now I don’t want to sound like I know all that there is to know about Mojitos but something was not right, the ice inside it was not crushed but had 3 big cubes floating in them so with out even tasting it or giving it a second chance I sent it back to the bar and just ordered a glass for the wine.

After this the wine we ordered was brought to us and it was not chilled as you would expect and before we even had a chance to explain, the food came to the table and if the drinks were bad the food just made everything worse. Apart for taking forever, the food was cold and the chef thought that it would be good to put garlic sauce with my chicken tikka instead of rita.

We called the waitress over and asked her if we could speak to the manager but instead we got the owner who apparently was also the chef. He asked what was wrong and we told him that the drinks were completely messed up and to top it off, the food was cold when it got to the table.

His reply to all of this, as most people expect should have been to try and solve the situation or even help us in getting what we wanted, but instead he said this: “If you do not like it here, drink up and go”. Shortly afterwards the waitress came up to say the drink were on the house and as soon as she said this we got up and left without even finishing our drinks.

Luckily the day was saved by Pizza Express next door, we had a lovely meal and the service given to us by our waitress Gemma was very good. At least some places in Gibraltar still have good food and good service at heart.

If any of my readers visit Gibraltar or are living here, please avoid Celebrity Wine Bar and I do not recommend this place to anyone not even for just a drink.

Back at home in the sun

After 18 days away in the UK I am back in Gibraltar and I missed the sun, Nadia and Buttons.

Sorry that I could not write a lot about the day to day goings of my time in the UK but the Internet was not always available. So in this post I will wrap up the other week I was over there.

Anyway as the week progressed I had some days off as well as some afternoons off but the weather sometimes made it miserable. I met with my parents on one of my days off to spend the day with them and also to do a tourist thing for the day. We did a bit of walking instead of taking the bus or the underground as the weather was nice, although that was the last day of nice weather for a while.

We also visited the Royal Mews which is part of Buckingham Palace but you can visit it, this is the part of the palace where the stables are and where the royal cars and royal carriages are kept and maintained. The most impressive part of the tour was the golden carriage which in itself a statement of wealth and power.

We walked to the front entrance of Buckingham Palace to take a few photos and also to watch the London Marathon as the finish line was just opposite the palace. We also had a quick pub lunch with some ale to wash it down.

After this we went down the Cabinet War Room museum which was the underground base where the British government ran the country from during World War 2.

So the other thing I managed to sneak in was to catch a show and got tickets to se Les Miserables. The show was fantastic and I enjoyed it very much and I was lucky that we found some really good seats online and even had dinner included.

Anyway I am happy to be back in Gibraltar and the sun and heat is on and getting ready for the summer which I am looking forward to.