A Tour of the Alpujarras of Granada .....

Escape the searing Andalucian heat for a tour of the Alpujarras, the white mountain villages set in the hills above the Costa Tropical of Granada Province.

               

Coca de San Juan - St John's Cake

Tomorrow is the Feast of Saint John, a celebration of the start to summer filled with food and fireworks.
 It also means that today is the day to pick up your Coca de San Juan from your local Panaderia, a lovely traditional pastry covered with sugared fruit.   Enjoy with a crisp glass of cava!

  The "Coca de Frutas de San Juan" is the traditional sweet prepared on the feast of St. John in June. It is a light sweet bread with candied fruit scattered throughout, as well as on top. It makes the perfect sweet to accompany a cup of tea or coffee at breakfast, brunch or for an afternoon snack.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes  Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 envelopes (1/4 oz each) dry yeast
• 4 cups unbleached white flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• rind or zest of 1 lemon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 egg white
• several types of candied fruit – oranges, cherries, etc.
• 3 Tbsp pine nuts, optional

Preparation:

Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk in a glass measuring cup. Melt butter.
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a hole in the center of the flour. Add eggs, sugar, yeast-milk mixture, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon to the center of the flour. Stir slightly.
Add canola oil and melted butter to the bowl. Mix thoroughly, while adding water a bit at a time until a soft dough is formed. (The amount of water needed will depend on temperature and weather conditions.) Form a ball in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave it in a warm place, out of drafts. Allow to rise until dough has doubled in size.
Heat oven to 350F (176C) degrees.
Turn the dough onto the greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle flour on the dough. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to the form of a long oval, about 1/2-inch thick.
Lightly beat the egg white. Brush top of coca. Decorate with the candied fruit and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Place the baking sheet in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until coca turns a golden brown. Serve warm.

Yoga for Complete Beginners - Yoga Class 20 Minutes

The Rain in Spain......

Motril Beach

At last, some  rain,

not just a drop or two,  no,  we  awoke at 4 o'clock this morning to the sound of  thunder crashing over head and lightening flashes rarely seen on this part of the Spanish Coast.  Tropical,  torrential rain  lashing down and a river of water rushing down the lane outside the winow.

The first thought was for the modem and leaping out of bed to switch it off because we've  previously had two of them  destroyed by electrical fields, the second was, will it would rain long enough to soften up the hard baked earth and fill the reservoirs.

Hours later it is still raining and more forecast for tomorrow which may or might not materialise; forecasted rain  has a tendency of disappearing into thin air here and the forecast catching up sometime later.

Meanwhile,  we're cosying up to the wood stove and enjoying the rain from the inside.

In Memory of Layla......

2001  -  Sunday  21st April  2013

"Not gone...but only gone before to where love lives on evermore.

Not lost...but only lost from sight, as one who walks ahead at night.

Not parted...only just apart ...in memory kept close in heart.

Not of the past.…but now to be a part of all eternity".

 

Layla with Dobby at Cortijo Azahar

4th June 2005

2nd January 2002

Motril Mining Excursion.......

 Geo-Mineral Forest Park of Cerro del Toro: The conversion of an old zinc mine into a museum is the main feature of this activity. The project presents the process of production in the ...

 Article by Julissa Quesada  - 6 August 2013

 
Knowing that the mines of Motril have recently re-opened, I decided to make it a family Sunday fun day and go for a visit.

Taking a drive into Motril and following the N-323 behind the hospital, one can reach the Geo-Mining Museum of Cerro del Toro. The drive up may be a bit confusing and you can easily drive by any markers leading the way without noticing. Our persistence in finding the place took a little under an hour, our faithful GPS failed us this hot Sunday morning. We did stop and ask for directions on our way up and drove right past it. One must be on the look out for a red billboard that is just not angled properly onto the road and is barely visible.

Parking is available when you pull in from the main road leading up to the foothills of the Lújar Sierra.

Once leaving your car in the parking area, you must walk 1km to the mining reception office. It is separated into two segments; first 450m, the next 550m. The crossroads marks hiking trails where we found wild rosemary bushes and sage. The walk down is on a steep hill that is not paved – my mistake this Sunday was wearing open-toed sandals and carrying a heavy bag. The information panels leading down to the mine will catch your attention although they are only in Spanish. They depict the history of mining of El Cerro del Toro, the ecosystem of the Nacla Mountains of Motril and the surrounding areas.

Once at the mine’s entrance, we were handed hard hats; everyone, including children, must wear them as a safety precaution, and down into the mountain we go after waiting for any latecomers to arrive. There is an immediate drop in temperature once passing across the threshold; a much-welcomed relief from the noon sun overhead.

The tour guide was very informative talking us through the history of the mine, its properties and the cycles of ore mining throughout its history, prior to any video presentation that the guide would lead us to.

What was most impressive is the preservation of the mine itself; there are no high-tech installations for educational purposes. The video presentations had a feel of shadow puppets against the stonewalls – non intrusive and almost magical. If I explained more it will be a spoiler for those who plan on visiting.

The tour itself is under 40 minutes but the walk through is fun and interactive. The tour guide illuminates all hidden corners with a powerful flashlight when you can easily walk right past mining galleries that resemble crawl spaces.

As an added bonus, Eduardo, our tour guide, shared folklore of the mine from when he was a kid and the adventures and often mishaps most had after the mine closed in the 1970′s as he walked us to a grated mine shaft that led to the midland gallery, currently flooded and inaccessible.

There are four, free, guided tours, every hour, on the hour as of 10:15. Saturday and Sunday during the month of August.

Although there were pamphlets in English, German and in French, I suggest calling and making arrangements for an interpreter if needed. The tour guides who were on duty only spoke Spanish.
Wheelchair and handicap accessibility is limited because of the unpaved road leading down to the mine, so its best to call ahead and make arrangements.

* Groups of 10 or more can be arranged by calling in advanced.
* Completely kid-friendly; my two year old did not fuss.
* There are picnic areas and a Mirador along N-323 to complete your day.

So, pack a picnic, put on your walking shoes, take a short trip and feel like you are in the centre of the world, if only for a little while, escaping the summer heat and crowded beaches.

For any other additional information including Handicap Accessibility or for booking Group Tours, please contact the Motril Cultural Department on 958 838 450.

Spanish 'Solar Police'

The latest nail in the coffin for Spain’s solar energy producers is an Energy Law amendment which allows inspectors to enter private properties without a court order. It's a move lawyers believe could set a worrying precedent.

• '€30 million fines for solar producers a joke' (22 Oct 13)
• EU opens case against Spain over 'sun tax' plans (30 Sep 13)
• 'Let's tax the sun': new law shocks world press (21 Aug 13)

As if Spaniards had not already been dissuaded by the potential €60 million fines they face for illegally generating their own solar power, they now have to look forward to a knock on the door from the 'solar police'.
A change to the ruling Popular Party’s (PP) Energy Law allows inspectors to “raid” properties they are suspicious of, armed only with administrative authorization.
If the suspect denies entry, Spain’s Industry Department will then ask for a court order that guarantees inspectors access to the property alongside Spanish national police.
Officers will be able to seize all documents related to to energy consumption and seal off entry to the property.
Lawyers consulted by Spain's VozPopuli online newspaper raised serious doubts about whether the move was constitutional.
They also said it set a worrying precedent by obliging citizens to let inspectors enter a private residence.
All this means generating your own solar energy without paying for the privilege is a risky business now in Spain.
Whereas Spain once flung money at companies who set up solar power programmes in the country, it now plans to slap a fee on people who create their energy for personal consumption.

ADVERTISEMENT

As the Wall Street Journal put it, Spain is punishing "a small but growing segment of the middle class" who have installed solar panels to generate their own electricity.
Forbes also slammed the Spanish government’s move back in August by saying, "You get the feeling that government officials were out of ideas, stared up at the sky one day and thought, 'I've got it! We’ll tax the sun!'"
The PP’s plan is to raise cash to help pay off their 'tariff deficit', or the difference between the cost of operating the country's electricity grid and the money it rakes in.
"Imposed by decree, the reform aims to raise money for tackling a €26 billion debt to power producers which the state has built up over the years in regulating energy costs and prices," Australia's Business Spectator reported.
According to VozPopuli, the ‘payback’ to big energy companies has taken the form of this new Solar Energy Law.
This makes independent power generation by households one of the biggest financial risks Spaniards can currently take at a time when cutting costs is ever more necessary.

 

Gibraltar border watch

Gibraltar border watch

Motril port works imminent .....

 AN €11.9 million contract to improve Motril port has been awarded. Actividades de Construccion y Servicio (ACS) led by Florentino Perez, current president of Real Madrid Football Club, will carry out the work.

Its subsidiary companies, Dragados and Drace, will extend the dyke, dredge both the Azucenas basin and the port access, and improve Azucenas beach.

Motril Port Authority intends to extend the current dyke by 300 metres in order to improve protection. The area to dredge in order to expand the entrance channel is 500,000 square metres.

The project is included in the Motril Port Business Plan and it is partly funded by European Regional Development funds. The works will start before the end of the year and should be completed in a period of 14 months.

  

Gibraltar's Border with Spain - 18th September 2013......

Guardia Civil abuse Gibraltarian This video is evidence of the Spanish authorities behaviour at the Gibraltar / Spain frontier Guardia Civil officer directly abusing citizens.
 Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9d5_1380449120#5ZkRGBx3meoLHXC0.99

The Flag of Gibraltar Flies High over the Foreign Office, London.....

The flag of Gibraltar (left) flies next to the Union flag, over the Foreign Office in Whitehall, London, during Gibraltar’s National Day, commemorating the anniversary of the Rock’s first referendum on British citizenship.  10th September 2013.

Stolen Motril Mangos........

Agrojete SL sufre el robo de 800 kilos de mango, de su finca en Motril en el Pago de las Zorreras, con más de 8.000 árboles

Carta de Agrojete SL tras serle robados 800 kilos de mango:

Agrojete S.L. posee una finca plantada de mangos en el Pago de las Zorreras de Motril de unos 8.000 árboles aproximadamente.

Hemos observado que entre el domingo 25 y el lunes 26 de Agosto nos han robado aproximadamente unos 800 kg de mango variedad osteen siendo el primer año de cosecha de esta finca, pues se plantó hace 3 años.

Estamos muy preocupados ante el inicio de campaña contra estos robos y así lo hemos denunciado ante la Policía Nacional, Policía local y Guardia Civil de Motril; esperando hagan su labor para frenar los robos en dicha finca en la cual llevamos invertidos más de 400.000€ y tememos lo peor de no poder recolectar parte de nuestra cosecha.

Por lo dicho y expuesto requiero a los cuerpos de seguridad de Motril una respuesta rápida y eficaz para frenar a los ladrones ya, de lo contrario tomaremos nuestras propias medidas y volveremos a denunciarlo cuantas veces sea necesario para que se ponga fin a estas sustracciones de frutas de dicha finca.

Firmado: José Antonio Vallejo Franco Gerente de Agrojete S.L.



SDL free internet translation.....

SL Agrojete suffers from the theft of 800 kilos of mango, on their farm at Las Zorreras, Motril, from more than 8,000 trees.

Letter of Agrojete SL after be stolen 800 kilos of mangos:

Agrojete S. L. possesses an estate  planted with mangoes in  Las Zorreras, a suburb of  Motril, of approximately 8,000 trees.

We have noticed that between Sunday 25 and Monday, 26 August we have had stolen approximately 800 kg of mango 'osteen' variety being the first year of harvest on the estate since was planted 3 years ago.

We are very concerned about before the start of the season against these thefts and so we complained to the National Police, local police and Civil Guard of Motril; waiting to do their work to curb the theft in the estate in which we have invested more than €400,000 and fear the worst for not being able to collect part of our harvest.

What has been said by Jose and exposed to the security forces of Motril a rapid and effective response to stop the thieves already, otherwise we will make our own measures and we will return to denounce it as many times as necessary to put an end to these subtractions of fruits of the farm.


Signed:    José Antonio Vallejo Franco Gerente de Agrojete S.L.

The building plans for over 8,000 homes have been put on hold in Motril.....

PLANS for building more than 8,000 homes in Motril have been put on hold.

The new Plan Litoral law passed by the Andalucian Government is preventing any house from being built bringing negative consequences to the local economy.
 
Originally designed to protect the coastline environment, the Plan Litoral forces Andalucian towns to immediately adapt the Andalucian Urban Development Plan (POTA).
That means many of the 8,773 houses planned to be built in Motril have been ruled out by the POTA even though they are in the General Plan for Urban Development (PGOU) passed by the council in 2004.

Only 1,818 of these houses have been built and the remaining ones, even though only off-plan, have been cancelled with no possibility of amendment.

On top of that, new projects can’t be passed as the plots they would supposedly be located in are officially ruled out by the POTA.

The Motril town council has complained about this situation as it considers it is seriously damaging the local economy.
“It is a contradiction to have the regional government cancelling plans that it previously passed,” said Infrastructures Management deputy Nicolas Navarro.
“The Junta de Andalucia should be more flexible in this economic crisis,” he added.

Gibraltar - Artificial Reef & Spain's Retaliation At the Border......

Trevor Bickerstaff

The Rock of Gibraltar - 1862 showing Windmill Hill Barracks, O’Hara’s Tower and the Spanish mountains in the distance

A comparison of Lee's painting and Firth's photograph of the same subject. Both were probably created on more or less the same dates.

  http://gibraltar-intro.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/chapter_2211.html

Spanish fisheries chart steers clear of British waters.........

A screen shot of the Junta de Andalucia website showing Spanish designated shellfish fisheries near Gibraltar in red and green. None of them overlap into British Gibraltar territorial waters. The artificial reef at the heart of the current dispute with Spain is outside the nearest fishery, known in Spanish as a ‘caladero’. Under Spanish law, commercial fishing can only be conducted in such areas.

Maps freely available on the Junta de Andalucia’s official website show that shellfish fisheries designated by Spain in the Bay of Gibraltar clearly respect the boundaries of British Gibraltar territorial waters.

The fisheries, known as ‘caladeros’ in Spanish, are the only zones where Spain allows commercial fishing but stop clear of British waters.

The revelation will cast doubt on Spain’s claim that it is acting to protect the interests of Spanish fishermen in the current dispute.


When the Gibraltar Government created an artificial reef off the runway a fortnight ago, Spain complained that the 70 concrete blocks had destroyed a traditional Spanish shellfish fishing ground.

But although at least one Spanish trawler routinely raked the area for clams, the site of the reef in British waters is well outside the nearest fishery designated by the Junta de Andalucia.


Gibraltar and the UK have maintained throughout that Spanish actions at the border and in other spheres are motivated less by fishing than by politics and the underlying sovereignty claim.

Raking the seabed for shellfish in British waters is illegal under Gibraltar’s nature protection laws.




BOUNDARY LINES

The maps on the Junta website show that the nearest designated Spanish shellfish fishery ends north of the port of La Linea breakwater.

By contrast, the Gibraltar reef is inside British waters south of that same breakwater.

Spain does not recognise British jurisdiction of that area of sea but even so has not designated the site of the reef for commercial fishing.

Under Spanish law, fishing is only allowed within designated ‘caladeros’. That means that even if this was a stretch of Spanish sea, commercial fishing would not be allowed there.

In fact the nearest designated Spanish fishery in the Bay of Gibraltar, known by the Junta as Bahía de Algeciras II, ends on the northern boundary of the area of sea claimed by Britain.

The same is true on the east side of the Rock, where the shellfish fisheries designated by Spain end north of the runway on the edge of British waters.

In other words, irrespective of jurisdiction, there are no designated Spanish shellfish fisheries in British Gibraltar territorial waters.

That means that Spanish fisherman cannot legally rake for clams in these waters, whether under Gibraltar law – which applies – or Spanish law, which does not. 


 SPANISH DIPLOMACY
Yesterday a senior Spanish diplomat insisted that the current dispute would not end until the artificial reef was removed from waters off Gibraltar.

Ignacio Ibañez, director general for foreign affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, made the claim even as he denied that the tight border controls were retaliation for the reef.

“On the fisheries it’s very clear, you have to take out these blocks from the sea,” he told the BBC in an interview.

“Our request is not going to the Gibraltarian authorities, our request is going to the UK…”

Gibraltar has insisted from the outset that the reef was built for environmental reasons to regenerate an area of the seabed off the runway and Western Beach.

But this argument holds little sway with Spain, as Sr Ibañez made clear yesterday.

He said the area in question had been designated by both Britain and Spain as a designated EU nature protection site and that any activity in such an area required prior study and consultation.

“To build an artificial reef in an area where fishing is happening makes no sense,” he said.

“You create artificial reefs where you don’t have fish. You don’t create artificial reefs where fish are there and fishing activity is happening.”


 by Brian Reyes   -    15 August 2013
Gibraltar Chronicle

The Rock of Gibraltar - 1860 painting by Frederick Richard Lee, R.A. (1798-1879)

1862 - The Rock of Gibraltar - the view is from the ruins of the Spanish fort of Santa Barbara.


http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=17470&size=large  

Following use of Gibraltar as a Smokescreen - The heat is back on Prime Minister Rajoy

Article by David Eade from Gibraltar's Panorama 

After Rajoy and Margallo’s recent attempts to use Gibraltar as a smoke screen to divert attention away from the corruption scandals in Madrid,  this week sees the Spanish Prime Minister back in the dock whether he likes it or not.
Not the dockyard of Gibraltar or even Rota but in the dock of the court of public opinion.
He would have been there anyway as this week the investigating judge in the Bárcenas corruption case will be questioning the PP’s secretary generals, past and present. However thanks to the Spanish daily El Mundo,   Rajoy is again under suspicion with questions asked over whether he has lied to Spain’s Parliament?

BOMBSHELL
In El Mundo’s Sunday edition it revealed that the former treasurer of the Partido Popular, Luis Bárcenas, who is currently in prison awaiting trial on corruption charges, cashed a cheque from the party in May of last year.
 It is a bombshell because Rajoy has categorically stated that at that time,  Bárcenas was no longer employed by the party.

The newspaper reproduced a photograph of the pay slip of Bárcenas dated May 2012 which shows that he received the sum of 18,257 euros.

The former PP treasurer is at the centre of a corruption scandal that has engulfed the ruling party with allegations of illegal payments to its politicians and officials.

The discovery of this payment put the embattled Spanish Prime Minister firmly back in the hot seat. He told Congress, Spain’s lower House of Parliament, on August 1 that after he won the general election in November 2011,  Bárcenas was no longer with the party.

The Partido Popular has reiterated that Bárcenas was no longer a member of the party from 2010 and that it had refused his request to rejoin after he had temporarily resigned as treasurer the year before. He had been granted leave of absence to try for a Senate seat and then been caught up in the Gürtel corruption case.

However El Mundo believes that after Bárcenas sought to be reincorporated into the Partido Popular an application was made to Social Security for him as a member of the senior management with an indefinite contract for which he would receive 14 payments plus the required legal retentions. His salary was over 255,000 euros a year. On this the Partido Popular had “no comment”.

Bárcenas, who was PP treasurer for two decades, is currently in prison accused of offences against the Spanish tax authority, money laundering, fraud and falsifying documents in the Gürtel corruption case. Gürtel also is centred on the PP and involves allegations that a network of businesses made illicit payments to the party’s politicians in return for contracts.

Bárcenas has testified before the investigating judge that the Partido Popular had hidden accounts in which monies received from companies in the construction industry were placed. He added that leaders of the party between 1991 and 2008 including Rajoy had received payments from these accounts.

Needless to say Rajoy and the rest of the leaders of the PP deny the existence of any hidden accounts or that they received any payments from Bárcenas. 
Bárcenas had accumulated around 48 million euros in Swiss bank accounts from his illicit activities.

Rajoy is on record as telling Congress that it had been wrong to have any confidence in Bárcenas but declared his innocence of having any knowledge of or receiving payments from his illegal accounts.

BADLY SHAKEN
The Spanish public’s belief and trust in the political class has been badly shaken over the corruption allegations and the support for the PP has dramatically collapsed.
 Rajoy is a leader under suspicion as he leads his country through a catastrophic economic crisis with the looming threat of Cataluña seeking independence.
The recent debacle over Gibraltar has caused ridicule for both Rajoy and Margallo coming in the same week as it was proposed that all Spanish workers should take a 10 per cent pay cut.

On Wednesday the secretary general of the Partido Popular, Maria Dolores de Cospedal, is due to appear before the judge investigating the Bárcenas case. Her predecessors Francisco Álvarez Cascos and Javier Arenas are due to testify this week also. Arenas was the PP’s candidate for the president of Andalucía at the last regional election.

The heat is going to intensify on Rajoy and the PP in the coming weeks and months.
A Transparency International survey showed that 86 per cent of Spaniards believed their politicians to be corrupt. The indications are that the 86 per cent are right.


13-08-13

What are the competing claims over Gibraltar?

By Vanessa Barford   BBC News Magazine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23617910

Salobreña Summer Market....

On the Beach Front at Salobreña,  every day until 8th September...8pm to midnight.

In total 20 posts handmade products hundred percent, as jewelry, leather, pottery, etc. .. and all of artisans from the Alpujarra Valley Lecrin or the coast, and the Villa.


In addition, and especially aimed at children during weekends will be held activities such as recycling workshops, playgrounds or magic shows.

 

A new subduction zone forming off Spain’s coast..........

A change in the tectonic plates off the coast of Spain means a future of earthquakes and heightened plate movement in the region.
A budding subduction zone offshore of Spain heralds the start of a cycle which will one day pull the Atlantic Ocean seafloor into the bowels of the Earth, a new study suggests.


  João Duarte is a research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and he has been talking to OurAmazingPlanet magazine.

He explains that Subduction zones are key players in creating super-continents and opening and closing the Earth’s oceans.

 In a Subduction zone, one of the Earth’s tectonic plates dives beneath another, sinking into the earth’s mantel, which is the layer under the crust. As the crust disappears continents may collide, as has happened numerous times in the history of the planet.

Subduction zones have also led to the biggest earthquakes on the planet.
‘Passive margins’ is where the oceanic and continental crusts make a seamless transition. This is seen in Eastern North American and northern Europe.

But if the north of Europe is stable, it’s different story in the south. Off the SW Spanish coast the seafloor is folded and fractured and is leading scientists to think the earth’s crust could be in for a break.

João Duarte told OurAmazingPlanet, ‘We are precisely in the transition between a passive and active margin. The plate is breaking in two and starting to converge’.

He published that conclusion on June 6 when he and his colleagues placed their research in the Geology journal. It is the result of careful mapping of the underwater faults near Spain and to the west of Gibraltar in the zone called ‘the Southwest Iberia Margin’.

The zone has spawned several large earthquakes such as the 1755 tremor in Lisbon which killed more than 10,000 people, and team has now discovered active thrust faults throughout the supposedly passive margin.

Duarte says that means the margin is not passive anymore and is now being reactivated, i.e. a new convergent plate boundary is forming. This is the beginning of a subduction zone.

The researchers suspect that the new Iberian Subduction zone will get a little help from a tiny ultra-slow subduction zone beneath the Strait of Gibraltar which is attached to the African plate.
Over the next several million years this may roll out towards the Atlantic and merge with the Iberian zone to create an even bigger trench.

Subduction zones take millions of years to form, and they leave few clues as how the process works, most of the clues are left in the mantle.

Duarte says the embryonic subduction zone near Spain suggests that subduction spreads from ocean to ocean.

He and his team are now developing numerical models of subduction to better understand the forces in plate motion.

Making sense of the complex tectonics offshore of Spain and Portugal is also crucial for forecasting the region’s seismic hazard.

‘Despite twenty years of intense investigation, only now are we starting to understand the whole picture’, he said.

 LIVE SCIENCE

CREDIT: João Duarte/Geology