Sunday, 27 January 2019

Hill walking in rural Andalucia

I'm linking up with The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer.

I've had a fab week here in Andalusia! Our current campsite, Camping Rural Presa La Vinuela, has fab views out over a reservoir lake and we have been going walking by the water and over the hills for a couple of hours pretty much every day. We initially thought we might be here 3-4 nights. Tonight will be the 10th night and I think we might well be doing a few more yet. Right now I am watching a flock of 200-300 (at least) smallish seagulls (terns maybe?) who group together and fly around the lake every evening, presumably just for the hell of it!

Yesterday I amazed myself by walking to the local grocery shop without stopping on the way. It's only a kilometre or so away and I know that doesn't sound like much of an achievement! However, as you can see if you squint at the photo below, the campsite is just downhill behind me. The shop is one of the white buildings at the top of this hill in front of me. I swear if it was any steeper, I'd need ropes and crampons to get there ;-)


We've managed to avoid ghastly weather so far this month. There are frequently high winds here, but it's dry and there's no sign of snow coming this way. (That's a cloud on the hill in the top pic.) Commiserations to anyone who's already fed up with miserable winter weather or who is baking in Australia. I can't even imagine how to cope with day after day of over 45 degrees.


In bookish news, congratulations to Ichabod who won the Witch's Moonstone Locket by Marsha A Moore giveaway! Hope you love the book, Icky!
Did you all get your free Mamachari Matchmaker by S J Pajonas short story? Stephanie (fab name, no?!) is offering free downloads until the 1st Feb to celebrate her birthday so Happy Birthday to her!

Giveaways closing soon
27th Jan: A Moleskine travel journal to celebrate the A Heart in the Right Place by Heide Goody and Iain Grant blog tour
31st Jan: Winter's Heist by Emily Duvall paperback
$25 Amazon gift card to celebrate the By Any Means by James Morris blog tour
$10 Amazon gift card to celebrate the The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick blog tour
Free Literary Flits Spotlight book promo post
3rd Feb: (post on 1st Feb) Oh What A Pavlova by Isabella May to celebrate her The Cocktail Bar blog tour)
(All current giveaways here)

On my blogs this week were:

Stephanie Jane
#Veganuary Food Diary - Week Three
The best of Gibraltar? Alameda Botanical Gardens

Literary Flits
By Any Means by James Morris Spotlight + Giveaway + Excerpt
The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick Spotlight + Giveaway + Excerpt
Mamachari Matchmaker by S J Pajonas short story review + Free Book
A Heart in the Right Place by Heide Goody and Iain Grant Spotlight + Giveaway + Excerpt
The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater thriller review
Vizilsan: Blue Rabbit's Crystal by Marko Marković graphic novel review
Pocket Poets: Rupert Brooke poetry review

Airing Out
Aire - Alcaidesa Marina - La Linea de la Concepcion - Spain


Love this Patricia Vonne song Guitarras y Castanuelas, inspired by her Andalusian heritage

26 comments:

  1. It looks like a nice place for a walk.

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  2. This looks gorgeous and such a great place to walk around. I really want to see Spain one day. The sunshine looks wonderful. Thank you so much for your visit to my blog. I hope you have a great week ahead x

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    1. We enjoy southern Spain in the winter and I would love to explore more of the rest of the country too

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  3. Those pictures are awesome! I'm loving the updates of your adventures...

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  4. Glad your trip went well! Hope you have a great week!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays and Cover Spotlight!

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    1. Thank you! We're loving this area of Spain :-)

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  5. I think that it would be great to explore the world at your own pace like you are doing. The photos are simply amazing. Have a great week!

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    1. We've learned over the years that there's nearly always something fab to discover everywhere, but often when we least expect to do so and when we're meandering around

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  6. Sounds like you're still enjoying the trip! I love a good challenging walk/rock climb! Makes you feel like you've accomplished something. :)

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    1. And a lovely little shop stuffed with all kinds of unusual foodie delights to make the climb worthwhile :-)

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  7. It’s so pretty! And it looks fairly warm, too. I’m currently buried in snow. Have a good week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. It's mid to high teens here so mostly we don't need the heating on. That's in centigrade. Nothing like polar America - get yourself on a plane to Spain!

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  8. Wow looks beautiful there! I can see why you guys are sticking around longer. I think I would too.

    Glad the weather is nice somewhere. :) I feel for the folks frying in Australia as well. And it's cold here.

    Have an awesome week!

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    1. It's so bizarre seeing consecutive news stories about such heat and cold. These extremes are so worrying for me

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  9. it looks like a lovely place to explore

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    1. Highly recommended for outdoorsy people! There's keen cyclists here too who get my admiration because no way could I cycle up these hills - or down for that matter!

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  10. This looks absolutely gorgeous! Sounds like a lovely place for a walk. Beautiful photos x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. It's so lovely here! I shall be a little sad to move on

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  11. Such lovely photos. I am happy to be where I live which has not really been too hot or too cold. We got a few cold days this week. But now it will be 60-70F, 18-21C for the upcoming week and that is really nice I think. Have a great week and enjoy some books! Anne - Books of My Heart

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    1. Now that sounds like pleasant temperatures! There's been too many extremes these past few weeks

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