SUNGRL

Today we took a drive towards Jerez to see the Carthusian horse stud called Yeguada de la Cartuja which translates to Stud of the Charterhouse. The Carthusian horses are an Andalusian breed of horse as they descend from the Andalusia area. They do tours of the facilities and put on a show on Saturdays.

We had been to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna which has ties to this area in the sense that the Lipizzans can be traced back to Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Cartuja stud is so much more relaxed with the public being able to pat the horses and the warms ups being performed in the public courtyard. No one but the horse’s rider is able to touch the Lipizzans at the Spanish Riding School.

Our tour guide Lena took us to see the stallions who are housed in 5 stables with 10 boxes. They have 300 horses on the 250 acre property. The 50 stallions that are in various stages of training are housed in these stables along with 10 mares who are also trained to perform. The rest of the horses roam in the paddocks.

All the breeding is done by artificial insemination and the Stud employs three full time vets. Lena showed us the breeding facilities as well as the surgery. The foals are all kept together until they are about six months old – they then gradually separate the stallions and the mares and by the time they are one they live separately. They are assessed for about three years to see if they will be used for breeding and what sort of performing. The horses that are surplus to requirements are sold off to assist with breeding programs in other parts of the world.

All the foals are born a brown colour and it can take up to ten years for them to go white. There is the odd brown or chestnut horse but no black ones. This is because they were all killed centuries ago and it will take a long time to recreate the gene that produces a black Carthusian horse.

After the tour we went to the arena to watch the show. They brought in a line of mares who are roped together and they move around behind the master on the lead horse, turning this way and that in formation.

They then bought in a stallion who ran wild and free around the arena – we were in the front row and it is quite amazing to see them running past you so closely.

They then have two horses pulling a carriage – they move their legs in unison. They then had four horses pulling a cart where they did a time trial around the arena going between the cones.

They then bought in the dancing horses as such, two horses who move around the arena changing the way they use their legs in a dancelike fashion – it really is quite amazing to watch how graceful they are.

At the end they bought in the foals who jumped around the arena like lunatics. They then let their mothers in who they are separated from now but straight away each foal found it’s mother and started suckling. It was then the mother’s turn to go loopy – quite a few of them got down on their backs and rolled around in the sand.

From ancient times, the horse has played an important role in our culture, a fact which has been demonstrated through numerous pictorial testimonies. In the Iberian Peninsula in particular, it is known that horses already formed part of the everyday life activities in the earliest civilisations.

The origins of the influence of the horse and, in particular the Andalusian horse, within our culture coincides with the flourishing of the first large civilisations in the Peninsula. The Carthaginians incorporated large numbers of horses into their armies due to their strength and endurance. Later, the ancient Romans were capable of appreciating the bravery of the Andalusian horse and used this breed to its full potential both as a means of transportation in civilian life, as well as in the frequent violent conflicts, as a sign of distinction reserved for kings and emperors.

The Arabs organised their armies to include a light cavalry, which was almost exclusively formed by Andalusian horses. This light cavalry was important in the Arab expansion in Spain. From their first contact with the breed, the invaders admired the virtues of the Andalusian horse and their great triumph lay in conserving and strengthening the characteristics or the Spanish race itself. This led to the creation of several important breeding centres and horses were even sent as gifts to Constantinople, Baghdad and other major cities throughout the Islamic Empire.

From its foundation towards the end of the XV century, the Monastery of La Cartuja has been converted into the cornerstone of the Jerezano thoroughbred horses. For three centuries, which coincided with the centuries of greatest splendour of the kingdom of Spain, the Carthusian monks established a breeding stock which, through time, would be converted into one of the most celebrated and appreciated stocks in the world.

The true origins of this stud farm are unknown, although one popular anecdote has it that when tenant of the Carthusian monastery, Don Pedro Picado, was unable to pay his ground rent to the monks, he decided to pay them in kind by offering them his mares and colts

For over five centuries the monks have played an important role with the Carthusian horse and the land on which the stud stands today. They were defeated a couple of times but were then reinstated. The stud and the land have changed hands many times over the last century and combined with a vineyard. In 1983 the State Heritage department (Patrimonio del Estado) took charge of these assets, and in 1985 the livestock was separated from the other assets belonging to the vineyard. In 1990, the State Heritage department incorporated the stud farm into the public sector company EXPASA Agricultura y Ganadería, S. A., which was given the responsibility of maintaining and improving this unique genetic heritage.

In March 1998, the Carthusian monks ceded to EXPASA, for use in the Stud, the original branding iron in the form of a bell, with which the horses were branded in the XV century. With this act the branding irons which have distinguished the stud since its creation were brought together, that of the Yeguada de la Cartuja – Hierro del Bocado.

The Yeguada de la Cartuja – Hierro del Bocado, is in the present day, the most important reserve of Carthusian horses in the world, with over 200 horses grazing in freedom in the grasslands of the Finca Fuente del Suero Estate.

Today we took a drive to Ronda which is situated in a very mountainous area about 750m above sea level. We decided to take the scenic route through the mountains. We turned off the highway just before our normal EU2.00 toll checkpoint that we go through on the way to Marbella. Just because you hop off the highway doesn’t mean you avoid the toll – they have a toll booth just off the highway too. The toll here was only EU0.95 – bargain. It is a bit of a joke re the tolls as Steve is never happy when he sees the toll booth looming in the distance. The highways in Spain are very good so the money has been well spent.

As we headed into the mountains we understood why the toll was only EU0.95 – the road was so bumpy. It was tar sealed but hasn’t been maintained that well so there are dips and hollows all over the show. Luckily it was only like this for the first 24km and once we passed the mountain village of Gaucin the roads were very good.

There are these mountain villages dotted along the way as well as the odd house here are there. We wondered what all the people that lived there did for a living – the land is very mountainous and scrub like. There were a few olive plantations and we saw a sign for a lime plantation but as a percentage we didn’t see a lot of productive land.

It took us about an hour and a half to get to Ronda – it was a perfect blue sky day again so the contrast between the sky and the mountains was spectacular. Ronda has a population of about 35,000 so it was reasonably busy when we got there – the roads are narrow and there is not a lot of parking. We followed our nose through town and spotted a car coming out of a parking area so we nabbed it quick smart. Steve said we better take good note of where we’re parked so we find the car again. It turned out that this parking lot was just up from the main shopping street and next to the Police and Guardia Civil.

We wandered down the main shopping street which became pedestrian only after a while. We were quite surprised at the number and quality of the shops – it was great. I even managed to replace my running shoes, albeit I had to go with men’s version rather than the women’s. At half the price that I pay in NZ I am not complaining.

The Guadalevín River runs through the city, dividing it in two and carving out the steep, 100 plus meters deep El Tajo canyon upon which the city perches. The Spanish Fir (Abies pinsapo) is endemic to the mountains surrounding Ronda.

Three bridges, Puente Romano (“Roman Bridge”, also known as the Puente San Miguel), Puente Viejo (“Old Bridge”, also known as the Puente Árabe or “Arab Bridge”) and Puente Nuevo (“New Bridge”), span the canyon. The term “nuevo” is a bit of a misnomer, as the building of this bridge commenced in 1751 and took until 1793 to complete. The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges, towering 120 metres (390 ft) above the canyon floor, and all three serve as some of the city’s most impressive features.

American artists Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles spent many summers in Ronda as part-time residents of Ronda’s old town quarter called La Ciudad. Both wrote about Ronda’s beauty and famous bull-fighting traditions. Their collective accounts have contributed to Ronda’s popularity over time.

Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls describes the execution of Nationalist sympathizers early in the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans murder the Nationalists by throwing them from cliffs in an Andalusian village, and Hemingway allegedly based the account on killings that took place in Ronda at the cliffs of El Tajo.

We did a self guided tour of the Plaza de toros de Ronda, the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain. It was built in 1784 in the Neoclassical style by the architect José Martin de Aldehuela, who also designed the Puente Nuevo.

The Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Ronda occupies a very special place in modern Spanish culture and history as the home of the Rondeño style of bullfighting and also of the Real Maestranza De Caballería De Ronda. The bullring was built entirely of stone in the 18th century, during the golden years of Pedro Romero’s reign as champion bullfighter.

Home to the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda, Spain’s oldest and most noble order of horsemanship, an order that traces its heritage back to 1485, and the year the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the Moors in Ronda, thus bringing the city back under Christian rule after 773 years of Islamic rule.

Many tourist guides will tell you the Ronda bullring is the oldest and largest in Spain, in fact the story is confusing. The little bullring only has seating for 5,000 spectators, hardly the largest in the world, but the rueda, which is the large round circle of sand, is the largest in the world at 66m, making it 6m larger than Spain’s biggest bullring, the Plaza Toros Las Ventas in Madrid.

The bullring in Sevilla is considered older having commenced construction in 1761, and was completed in 1785, compared to Ronda’s commencement in 1779 and completion in 1784, though purists agree Ronda’s bullring should be entitled to the crown since it was first to stage a corrida. However, in May of 1784 during the first inaugural corrida to be held in Ronda’s Plaza de Toros, part of the stand collapsed forcing its closure until repairs could be made.

The second inaugural corrida occurred on May 19th 1785 and featured Pedro Romero and his greatest rival in the ring Pepe Hillo, by all accounts a day to be remembered in Ronda as one of bullfightings greatest moments. All of Ronda’s most noble families were in attendance, and the town was bedecked in flags while in the streets a great party was going on.

Ronda’s bullring, whilst perhaps not the oldest in Spain is definitely the oldest bullring constructed entirely of stone, most others being constructed with a combination of stone and brick. Ronda’s bullring, designed by José Martín de Aldehuela is unique in having all of the seating under cover. The stands were constructed in two levels of seating of 5 raised rows per level and 136 Tuscan sandstone columns forming 68 arches provide support for the top level of seating and the roof of the Plaza de Toros.

After checking out the bullring we visited the museum, the Museo Taurino, which contains many of the most important outfits and bullfighting regalia from the last two centuries, as well as an extensive collection of weapons used by the Real Maestranza during Spain’s many wars.

It was interesting seeing all the behind the scenes pens etc… Steve said he would quite like to see a bull fight but I am not so sure. Although a blood sport, by definition, some followers of the spectacle prefer to view it as a ‘fine art’ and not a sport, as there are no elements of competition in the proceedings. In Portugal, it is illegal to kill a bull in the arena, so it is removed and either professionally killed or treated and released into its owners’ (ganadero) fields.

After our tour of the bullring we wandered back into town for some lunch. It was 2pm so all the shops (except restaurants) were closing for siesta. This tradition is still alive and well with most shops shutting for 2 to 3 hours. It was amazing how quickly the street cleared out.

After lunch we drove back to Sotogrande – along the way we saw a traffic jam, Spanish style : )

Last night we went to Marbella and caught up with our friends from NZ, Bruce and Konnie who happened to be in the area. We had a lovely dinner at Paella’s Y Mas. I also spotted some very nice shops as we drove through Marbella so have added that to our list of sightseeing destinations.

After a few days of mixed bag weather we were very happy to wake up to a beautiful clear sky morning. We booked a round at Alcaidesa Golf Links Resort. There are two courses here – Alcaidesa Links and Alcaidesa Heathland. The Links course has fantastic views of the Mediterranean, the Rock of Gibraltar and North Africa. It was the perfect day to make the most of these views.

It is a very enjoyable course. After a lightbulb moment at the driving range yesterday I played really well and hit the ball nicely. I had two birdies and a handful of pars. It was an I Love Golf day.

Alcaidesa Links is the only links course in southern Europe, inaugurated in 1992 and designed by Peter Ellis and Clive Clark.

We are still struggling with the fact that the sun does not rise here until about 8.25am. It rained quite heavily in the night and was quite cloudy when we woke up this morning adding to the darkness. After we finally got moving and went for our regular walk around Sotogrande we decided to check out the large shopping mall near Marbella. It is about 45 minutes from here and was really nice. Steve replaced an old jersey he had thrown out and I continued to avoid all clothes shops – I don’t have any room unless I throw something out which I am struggling with!

We decided to go down to Puerto Banús for some lunch. We went there the other day after golf but the heavens opened up so we didn’t get to explore. It reminded us of Villamoura in Portugal – lots of restaurants and flash boats in the marina. They also have all the high end shops like Louis Vuitton, Gant, Cartier. We had a nice lunch at The Open Grill. We took a pavement table and were continually waving off the Africans peddling their fake bags and sunglasses.. You wonder how they get away with it with the real mccoy right there in the shops. They obviously don’t have the same laws as they do in France.

After lunch we wandered around and looked at all the boats and flash cars that were dotted around – Rolls Royce’s, Ferrari’s, Bentleys to name a few.

Puerto José Banús, more commonly known as Puerto Banús is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella, Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, a local property developer, as a luxury marina and shopping complex. It has since become one of the largest entertainment centres in the Costa del Sol, with 5 million annual visitors, and is popular with international celebrities. Developed around a coastal village in the Mediterranean architectural style, Puerto Banús contains expensive shopping malls, restaurants and bars around the marina. It is also scene to many exotic cars that are owned by international celebrities and wealthy owners that also own large yachts. Luxury cars like Rolls Royces and high end sports cars like Ferrari’s, Lamborghinis and Mercedes Benz are a common sight in the summer months around Marbella and Puerto Banús.

After a wet Sunday the sun was again shining on us as we took a walk around Sotogrande this morning. Based on this sunshine we booked a round at the San Roque Club. It is quite a popular spot with two courses there – the Old Course and the New Course. We were booked on the New Course which we discovered is not as popular as the Old Course although still a very good course at half the price : )

We got through about 4 holes and felt a spot of rain – this wasn’t part of the plan! Me being the forever optimist thought it wouldn’t amount to much but unfortunately it got quite heavy. Not to worry there were plenty of trees to take shelter under and we didn’t have anyone behind us so we could just wait it out. This became a recurring theme on the front nine – play, stop, play, stop. We enjoyed a dry back nine though and my golf even improved slightly! I managed to drive the 12th which was a short par 4 and then sank the putt for an eagle.

We must have been a bit too excited after that as we drove off the wrong way and Steve teed off on the 6th hole instead of the 13th. Steve’s asking me if it is a par 4 or 5 – I didn’t have my glasses on and I’m looking at the scorecard and I’m saying I think it is a par 5 but that could be a 3! I went back and looked at the sign and it said Hole 6! Duh – we drove back the way we came and wallah there is the sign to the 13th and low and behold it is a par 3. By the way, Steve hit his tee shot out of bounds on the 6th – obviously wasn’t meant to be.

We really enjoyed the course – there were two lakes which they used very well on four of the holes. The New Course was created by Perry Dye in 2003. It is set on beautiful natural terrain with many scenic views. The difference between Old and New is mostly in the Dye-family shaping: big, steep bunkering, larger greens and railroad sleepers. The course resembles a Links in many areas although it is a Parkland course. The New Course was the venue for the Spanish Open in 2006 and the Qualifying School Finals from 2003 – 2007.

Today we played our “home” course La Reserva Club de Golf – the one in Sotogrande where we are based. We played with our “landlord” Mark who is a fairly handy golfer. Again Steve was happy to have some male company on the golf course and Steve’s competitive streak came out as he challenged Mark to a dual. It is a lovely course and left the first two courses we have played in Spain so far for dead.

It was another lovely day. Mark got off to a good start and was three up on Steve at one stage. Steve clawed his way back to one down and then Mark got to three up again with three to play. Steve won the 16th and 17th so he was one down with one to play. His drive was errant and ended up down the bank under a tree but he pulled out a Bubba Watson special to land just right of the green. Both Mark & Steve had to chip on and Mark putted in for a four to take the match one up. There will be a re match of course – watch this space.

Meanwhile back on planet SUNGRL, the only thing going really well was the tan. Not my best day at the office but as Steve said some people would give their right arm to play a course like we were playing so I really can’t complain. What’s a few double bogeys between friends. I did par all the par threes though : )

This golf course was opened in 2003 and was designed by Cabell B. Robinson. It is considered to be one of the best courses in Spain and has a lovely clubhouse. The clubhouse is based on the design of a typical Andalusian farmhouse.

Today we drove north again to Marbella to play the Rio Real Golf course. We were paired up with a couple of Swedish brothers – Jonas and Matias. They were nice young lads who don’t get to play a lot of golf back in Sweden but had some good natural talent and strength. Steve enjoyed having some male company on the golf course. They spoke good English but would chatter away to each other in Swedish and say various phrases in Swedish if the other did a good shot. Steve tried repeating the phrases – I told him he hadn’t mastered many Spanish phrases yet so probably not a good idea to get confused with Swedish. And we all know what he’s like on the English front : )

The course was nice and played out towards the sea and back again. It was a lot flatter than the Marbella Golf & Country Club course. I didn’t play too bad – my practice at the Golf Centre is paying off.

The Rio Real golf course was designed by the legendary Javier Arana, considered to be the best Spanish designer of all time. The golf course opened in 1965 and runs alongside the Rio Real River, from which it takes its name, and forms an integral part of the course, right up until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea.

After golf we decided to check out Puerto Banús which is a marina development just south of Marbella. It has a beach promenade, lots of restaurants and cafes, a marina and lots of shopping. We went to Vanilla, a cafe that was highly recommended on Trip Advisor. We sat outside and just as our food arrived the heavens opened up. We tried our best to shelter under the outside umbrellas but it was pretty heavy so we made a mad dash inside with our food in hand. The staff were very friendly, the food good and they did soy milk lattes so all was well with the world.

The forecast had been for a bit of rain in the morning but it didn’t arrive until the afternoon. Our plans for exploring the area were thwarted but we will come back another day I am sure.

Today we drove about an hour north to Marbella. It doesn’t get light here in the mornings until about 8am – I am finding this quite strange. We had an 8.50am tee time so we got there in time to hit some balls to warm up. I had read on Trip Advisor that the course was one of two very distinct nines.

The first nine was very tight with lots of ravines and scrub – a bit of a trick golf course as Steve called it. The second nine was a lot more open. It was up and down as is the natural terrain in this part of the country. We had nice views down to Marbella and the Mediterranean – it was another blue sky day in paradise.

It was an OK course for our first game of many I am sure.

The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior and opened in 1994.

Our drive south was uneventful and quite enjoyable – the roads are fantastic. The terrain is very arid with patches of green here and there where the land has been watered to keep the crops alive. We saw many, many olive groves. The views of the Mediterranean were also fantastic. We reached Sotogrande about 4pm and met Sarah who owns the villa. Her and her husband Mark are from London but live here. After a tour of our new ponderosa, Sarah took us on a tour of the area. She reminded us that the Spanish still enjoy a siesta between 2pm and 5pm so a lot of the shops shut. The restaurants and supermarkets remain open however.

Steve was thinking he could fit right on in with this Spanish lifestyle – to be fair he hasn’t needed to be in Spain to enjoy his afternoon siestas. Siesta is his middle name.

Our ponderosa for the next few weeks is awesome – really enjoyed unpacking knowing that we wouldn’t have to repack for another 5 weeks. Cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner has also gone down a treat as well as doing the laundry and hanging it outside – no more Chinese laundry’s for a while. The simple things in life : )

Did I mention the weather – STUNNING. The SUNGRL is in heaven.

We have spent the past couple of days exploring our immediate surrounds and coming up with a plan for the next few weeks – there is so much to do around here. Gibraltar is a 20 minute drive away, we can take a fast ferry to Tangiers in Morocco, there are many beaches some of which are on the Mediterranean and some on the Atlantic and there are golf courses galore.

We joined the Golf Centre at Almenara today for the month. We can hit unlimited range balls, use the chipping and putting facilities as well as play the 3 holes they have all day, every day. All for EU45 (NZD73) which we thought was pretty good. Operation “sort my golf game out” is underway.

Sotogrande is the largest privately owned residential development in Andalusia. Originally a gated community, it is located in the municipality of San Roque, Cádiz, Spain, southern Europe and is composed of a 20 square kilometres (8 sq mi) stretch from the Mediterranean Sea 25 km east of Gibraltar, back into the foothills of Sierra Almenara, providing contrasting views of sea, hills, cork forests and green fairways, including the Rock of Gibraltar and Morocco.

Sotogrande was established by the generous couple Joseph Rafael McMicking e Ynchausti and Mercedes Zobel de Ayala y Roxas, both Filipinos of British-Spanish and Spanish descent, respectively.

The Zobels, having seen the idyllic coasts in 1962, bought five neighbouring farms, with the idea of creating a luxurious residential development by the Mediterranean. McMicking succeeded in creating what has become one of the most luxurious urbanizations in Europe, in May 2006 it was featured in The Times as having the most expensive homes in Europe.

Today, Sotogrande is renowned for its varied sporting facilities. It has five golf courses, Valderrama Golf Club host to the European Tour’s Volvo Masters and the 1997 Ryder Cup, the Club Real de Golf, Almenara, La Reserva, La Cañada and a Golf Academy; 6 world famous Polo fields owned by the Santa María Polo Club; two Tennis and Padel Tennis Clubs and the SotoTennis Academy; the Raquet Centre which specializes in padel tennis and the Octogano which specializes in tennis, a rugby club and two Beach Clubs (Cucurucho,Octogano); a Kayak / Sailing Club, Riding stables and a busy marina.

We left New York on Tuesday the 30th September at 6.30pm heading for London. It is only a six hour flight going that way versus a seven and a half hour flight going the other way. We arrived into London Heathrow, Terminal 3 at 6am and got a transfer to Gatwick which took about an hour and a half in peak hour traffic. We were booked on a flight to Alicante in Spain at 11.50am and we were starting to feel the effects of the time difference. In New York terms it was about 4am and we had only had a few hours sleep on the flight from New York. We were asleep on the flight to Alicante before the plane took off – I remember waking up at one stage trying to work out where we were.

That little nap did us the world of good as we were raring to go when we touched down in Alicante. We picked up our rental car and headed to Javea where we were going to stay with our friends from Brighton, Glen & Jo. Glen had emailed us the Google Map instructions and I had printed them out as we didn’t have any data on the iPad in order to use Google Maps on there. I tried my best to follow the instructions to the letter but was constantly worrying we were going south instead of north. Even without data you can open Google Maps and it will show your position as a blue dot and move as you move. The blue dot was moving north so all good.

After about 60km we got to offramp number 63 which we dutifully took. Again I tried in vain to follow the instructions but when none of the roads have road signs with their names on them there was a bit of crossing everything and praying going on. Luckily the map had a couple of photos on it showing the road with a building which I was able to recognise – paint by pictures stuff! We got to the road where there road was supposed to be off but we couldn’t see it – it didn’t help that the road signs (yes there were now road signs) were facing away from us. We decided to stop at a Garden Centre and ask for directions – the lady wasn’t too sure but thought it was back by the golf course.

Steve said “do they live on a golf course?’ – I wasn’t sure. Anyway up the road we went again and we said if we don’t see the road we’ll stop at the golf course and call Glen & Jo. Wallah – there it was, road sign and all and on the golf course. Two happy Kiwis pleased to see two happy Poms. Sheer good luck I say, not good management. They both conceded that it probably would have been a good idea to mention that they lived on a golf course.

We met Glen & Jo in Santorini six years ago – they were on their honeymoon. They normally live in Brighton in the UK but have a villa just outside Javea. We have caught up with them in Brighton on a previous trip to this side of the world and saw Glen in London in June this year. It was so good to see them both again and to enjoy their lovely Spanish villa with a beautiful in ground pool.

We had a beautiful home made Gazpacho to start with for dinner followed by some well cooked steak – so good to have a home cooked meal and to sit outside to eat it. Of course this was washed down with a couple of bottles of champagne and some Spanish red. A perfect night catching up on all the news.

I didn’t wake up until 9.30am and could have kept on sleeping which is unheard of for me – the day befores travel had caught up. We spent the day relaxing before heading into town to walk along the waterfront down to the Port. That night we went to the Old Town for dinner to a typical Spanish restaurant called Casa Grau – the food was delicious. I had a Cava with dinner – the Spanish equivalent of Prosecco. When they mentioned Cava I immediately thought of the Fijian Kava. It was cool wandering through the little alleys and seeing the 14th century church in the square.

Another late night meant another late start – what are holidays for anyway? We had a bit of rain but it cleared just in time for us to go into town to get a data card and to hunt and gather for the evening’s meal. The afternoon was spent by the pool. Jo and I then went for a walk to Benitachell a little village just up the road which had a great view of Mongo which is a mountain that looks like a sleeping elephant. We enjoyed another home cooked meal this time cooked mainly by Steve & I – it was good to be cooking again. More champagne, cava and chit chat followed.

We were up a little earlier on the Saturday morning to prepare for our six and a half hour drive to Sotogrande. We had a fabulous few days in Javea with Glen and Jo – we thoroughly enjoyed their company. Luckily we will be in London again in November so a catch up has already been planned. Jo made us a picnic lunch for our journey and we were off.

Xàbia or Jávea is a coastal town in the province of Valencia which is in the Valencian Community Region of Spain by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rocky headlands, the town has become a very popular small seaside resort and market town. Half of its resident population and over two thirds of its annual visitors are foreigners.