Rambling Stories

One of my favourite things to do in Spain whether its Cadiz or Almeria is to find a cool relaxing spot for that first morning cafe con leche. In Vejer its a quick uphill stroll to the Plaza de Espana where you join builders. the local barber and the obligatory tourists to sit and reflect, ruminate and readjust to the already sultry heat and plan your day. In the Rambla I found a great little Venta just 500m up the old river bed from La Ermita, my village. There is no sign to it but a grape encrusted entrance with blooming bougainvilla beckons you in from the dusty slip road.

Once inside you are generally the only person there but then again there might be a local campo character slurping a drink at the bar or an ex pat or two. I will sit and savour the first cafe whilst smoking my morning Fortuna Azul and then onto a tostado and aceite and tomate (toasted crusty roll soaked in olive oil with fresh chopped tomato and salt). Recommended highly. Outside the bar and kicking up the dust one morning was a local goatherd with his muzzled dogs and a very well trained group of goats marching briskly head down along the Rambla.

In this bar one morning Dave and I met HiFi Dave and Glamourous Sue, a couple who had been out here for four years renovating their 200 year old Cortijo further up the Rambla. He had installed home entertainment systems in England in a previous life while Sue looked and dressed like an ex model, an incongorous sight in the wilds of the campo. They were trying to do their bit to create a social agenda so had recently organised a twice weekly meet up at their home for xpats plus also twice a week they had a film society showing movies on a big screen in their converted garage. Hi Fi Dave also went to Archery classes or raced his buggy up and down the river bed whilst also spending his day on renovation work. We agreed to see them at the wednesday social and he gave us directions to their house a few k up the Rambla, uncharted territory for me!

Work at the house was coming on nicely and Dave and I felt we both deserved a few beers at the end of a busy day. With HiFis directions we headed up the Rambla missing all the signposts he had given us and within only 3k we were in a different environment totally with majestic craggy mountains flanking both sides of the Rambla and quite deserted apart from a secluded farmhouse here and there skulking in the scrubland. We looked out of the car window half expecting to see a troupe of Apaches or Navajo in the heights above, it was that kind of Wild West vibe. Realising we had overshot our destination we doubled back and found Hi Fi's cortijo, perched on a high ledge with sweeping views of the mountains in the distance. Lots of English voices confirmed we were in the right place. There was my taciturn neighbour Jack chatting with a disparate bunch of expats, some Northern, some old, some interesting and then again some not. The usual. The beers and nuts flowed courtesy of our glamourous host Sue and the conversation turned a bit wacky. After maybe his third beer Dave was into his stride and regaling the table with tales of life in Valencia. Apparently they like their pigeons up there but unlike in England where they race them passionately in Valencia there is a slightly different slant on things. Apparently they let a female pigeon on heat out first and after an appropriate amount of time they let out all the male pigeons. With all the owners squinting through their high powered binoculars they have to ascertain the winning pigeon ie the male who first gets to the female and does the dirty business, if you get my drift. This being Spain of course lots of alcohol, laughter and heated discussion is involved in confirming the winner!

Another expat went into a very detailed and thorough story about an artist who created works of art in minature, for instance on a grain of rice. He said that to get the requisite composure to do the work he had to go into a Zen like state for 40 second bursts of work so that he effectively stopped breathing whilst concentrating so that his hand was steady enough. We were all paying rapt attention to the story until after a pregnant pause after this information was divulged Glamourous Sue piped up"My Daves like that in bed". Cue raucous laughter as Sue hadnt quite thought through what she had said and its possible implications. So welcome to campo life and expat experiences. Roll on Friday and the home cinema experience.