Trujillo, Montfrague, Plasencia. Some of the best of Spain

Trujillo

What a treat Trujillo.  In the middle of nowhere particular. A little town. Wandering winding rundown streets opening out onto a most marvellous plaza.

Being made to pose

Another fountain

 And then a castle at the top of the town with cellars which Mama hid down.

I can see you

 And views.  Views upon views to take your breath away.

Looking at a view

 Daddy said I could only go up on the walls if I held his hand the whole way and if I let go we had to go down.  Mama went down.

A long way down

And there were great big storks nesting.  And when they flew overhead, the light went out.  Like a dinosaur.

Storkies

The next day we drove up to the National park which is famous for its big birds.  It was very very pretty and we stopped by a stream for lunch and looked at the footprints of wild boar.

Lunchtime.

Mama went on about all the wild flowers.  Flag lavender and Rock Roses and white broom and orchids.  Daddy picked something he said was sage and it smelt like poison.

Flowers

We found a sign to Castillo de Montfrague so parked Nona and started climbing a montain.

The castle

 It was so beautiful when we reached the top but it was a very long way.  And it was hot.  And Mama had only one Chupa Chup to lead me onwards.

The view

 And there were loads of birds.  A vulture came in to land behind me and the shush of the wings ruffled my hair.

Birds

There were rivers below.

River

 And birds above and we drove along the valley to a beautiful campsite near Plasencia and at night I hear the frogs chatting.

Plasencia

Today we cycled along the river into town and looked at an art gallery.

Art

 And I looked at a dingdar.

Dingdar

 Mama liked this a lot but Daddy got hot.

Things

And then we went for lunch.

My glass of wine (with water).

Caceres Extremadura

Playa Major

So here we are in Extremadura.  It is cold.  Mama keeps talking about the pigs.  The pigs which make the jamon.  I'm quite keen on jamon and Mama says the pigs in Extremadura are happy pigs because they wander about under the cork oaks eating the acorns and they are happy as a pig in acorns.

So we are stopping in a great campsite just North of Caceres and every pitch has its own bathroom.  We like that.   Yesterday we caught the bus into town.

A church

We were the only people on the bus and the bus driver rubbed my hands because he said they were frio.   We had a lovely lunch of Migas which are bread crumbs fried in garlic and parsley and jamon and served with a fried egg on top.  A bit like a mixed up English breakfast.  We also had chorizo and lentil stew and then lamb with sheep cheese sauce and poor man's potatoes which was lovely and suckling pig in paprika.

Lentil stew

 Mama said they like the paprika a bit too much.

My photo of Lamb in sheeps cheese

Pudding

 Oh.  I ate the pudding before Mama could take a picture.  It was cheese cake.  We ate out in Plaza Major and just as they brought the main course it started pouring with rain and everyone ran for cover except for us.  We were sheltered under a giant umbrella and it was very cosy.  A bit like camping.

Climbing the walls

 Caceres is a city that had Muslims and Jews and Christians and has been untouched since the 1800s Daddy says.

Taking it in

It was a strange thing to see.  I've never really been anywhere like it.

Pounding the pavements

 There were no shops or aerials or wires.  There were a couple of restaurants but they were hidden away like secrets.

A secret restaurant

It is raining today again.  Hard.  It is a bit too much like camping.             

Yeah scored a goal.

Cordoba. The best playground in the world.

Cordoba

We eventually got to Cordoba.  Daddy had thought that we could free camp somewhere.  We drove round and round and it was too difficult so Mama found a parking place on her Camper Contact on her telephone.  It was right in the centre but we couldn't find the entrance so we drove round and round that until Daddy worked out how to get in.  We were all a bit grumpy by the time we arrived.
The parking was great though.  It was in a wood and next to a park so we had a game of hare and hounds where Mama ran off and drew a trail of arrows with some chalk and Daddy and I had to find her.   Eventually we had to ring her up to find out where she was although when we found her there were lots of people staring at her crouching behind a bush muttering into her phone.
The next day we went to the mosque and there was a boy there who looked like he was on the telephone.

Me and a chap on the phone

So I sat down on the pillar near him and pretended I was on the phone too.  To my cousin Riff. Mama told me later it was an audio guide whatever that is.

The Mosque

I got a bit bored looking round the buildings so we went outside and floated boats down all the water canals.  I drank out of every water fountain I could find. And peeed all over Cordoba.

Water water everywhere

I wore Nanny's Cordoba T-shirt but no one said wow apart from Mama and she always says wow because that's what Mama's do.  But the best thing about Cordoba is that it really has the best playground in the world.  Ciudad de Ninos. Cousins don't go to Antequera go to Cordoba.

Really the best playground in the world

 It had lots of climbing things but the best thing were all these water pumps and channels and water wheels to play with.

Diverting water

 I got very wet.

Sign of a good day

Lobo Park,El Torcal and Antequera.

The pig in the wolf place

It seemed as if we would never leave Fuengirola.  I got ill.  Mama took me to the doctors for the first time in my life.  It was very exciting.  He had a white coat and a stethoscope and stickers and I got to lie on his stretcher. And then our water pump broke so we had to get that fixed and it was all a bit of a faff and Mama said bring back the 3 bedroom 2 bathroom flat and forget this life on the open road malarkey.

What a view

But then we set off and we all got very excited and we drove up into the mountains and to a wolf place that also had a pig.

I made myself very popular with the guide by chatting to her all the way round and asking her very interesting questions.  I liked that bit.  The wolves were OK too.

Tundra Wolves

We left there and headed for El Torcal national park.  Mama had wanted to go there since she saw a photography exhibition in Malaga.  When we got there she said her breath was taken away.  I don't think that was the case as I could still see her breathing.  Daddy drove Nona up this very steep one lane hill and we parked in the middle of nowhere.

Parking in middle of Nowhere

I thought Daddy said we had parked in the middle of Norway and got all excited about seeing my cousins.  But no.  Just me and the Nofuns.  Anyway I got to go climbing and I like climbing.  But it was cold.  We had to dig out all our warm clothes out from under the seats.

Climbing El Tornillo

And I found my first fossil. And I stood on it.

Is it dead?

Climbing to the very top

Another view

Another rock

We could see for miles from the top.  We could even see the bay of Malaga.  Daddy was scared in case the wind got up and we blew off the edge but it didn't and as the sun went down we could see the lights twinkling over the bay and the stars above and I could hear nothing but an owl and Mama going on aabout the view.

The next day we went to Antequera.  It was Easter.  Thanks for the egg Aunty Jayne and Aunty Ping.

Antequera

Antequera is cool.  Hilly and cool.  There were a load of blokes carrying my mate around on a swaying gold thing.  They kept stopping and starting.

My mate

They were followed around by this great band with big drums and cymbals and trumpets and things.  I liked that.  I wanted to march all round the town with them.  Mama followed for a while and then she got bored and made me go and eat cake with her.

View of El Torcal from Antequera

I thought that Benalmadena had the best playground in Spain until we came here.  Wowee cousins where were you?

Best playground in Spain

And it had a bull ring which we sneaked into and Mama chased me around making snorting noises.  It made the best place for a game of hide and seek.

Bullring

 

Me hiding 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as I was settling into the town, they dragged me off again.  To Cordoba.....

Swimming, Grandads, Hair and Belts.

 Mama thought it a good idea that I have some swimming lessons.  She thought I should mix with some Spanish children.  I love swimming and daddy wanted to take me.  She signed me up for 2 lessons a week for 2 months at the local municipal pool.  Mama said it would have been easier to get an American green card than to get swimming lessons.  But she did and I loved it.  At first.  Then the swimming instructor dropped me in the water.  Daddy said she was teaching me to dive but I think she was teaching me to drown.  Daddy said all the other children liked it.  But I didn't and I told them so.  I told everyone so.  And I wanted to leave and when I left I didn't want to go back again.

Daddy trying to get me to jump

Mama and daddy did a lot of bribing but I refused.  I said I would only go back if they told the teacher that I did not want to dive.  And so they did.  And I went. And I loved it. And after a few weeks I dived.  All by myself.  And now I can swim.

 Granddad Geoffers came.  I was glad because I seriously missed Lollo and Nanny.  We took him to Malaga and Mijas.

Market Malaga

 And he dug me motorboats on the beach and I sat in them.

Making a motorboat

 And I sat on his shoulders.

Riding Granddad

 And then we sat on a donkey.

Riding a donkey

Then Mama took me to have my hair straightened out as she had cut it wonky and the man in the barbers cut it all off even though I told him I didn't want it too short.  But I sat nearly quite still for him instead of wriggling for Mama.

Mind my ear

 And then we went to this fabulous belt maker in Fuengirola to have a belt made for granddad. http://www.casamadeira.es/en The man there is really nice. He calls me a funny guy.  He gave me my very own belt. 

Me and my belt

Mama said that with my haircut and my belt I looked so grown up I would very soon be standing for Parliament.  So she buried me in the sand.

Up to my neck in it

Not too grown up now she said.