We arrive in Spain

This is a little late, but our internet access has been very spotty here in Espana. On June 13, Kim and I boarded a plane in Reno headed for Spain. Our plans were to spend a week with Viola and Angelinas in La Roda, then head for the RI Convention in Lisbon via train and bus. After a week of "conventionalizing" in Lisbon, Viola and Angelinas would pick us up in a rented car and we would head off on a road trip through the northern parts of Portugal, and into Galicia (Northern Spain). Bella, the "Grand-Dogger" would accompany us. Our return to La Roda would be down the westernmost provinces of Spain. From Galicia, to Castillo de Leon, through Extremadura, and finally back to Andalucia. We got a bonus when one of our Belgian Daughters, Justine, and her fiancee Christoph, came and took a weeks vacation here at La Roda with us!

It was great getting into La Roda after the long plane trip. Things went well after we rescheduled our entire flight itinerary on the day of departure. Just before we left home for Reno, we found out our first departing flight was delayed for three hours causing us to be unable to make our connection in Dallas. With much hassle, we ended up on an Iberian Airlines flight out of LA for Madrid, then on to Malaga. Despite some trepidation about this airline, the flight went smoothly, and we arrived in Malaga to the waiting arms of our Spanish daughters.

It was like coming home, except that Viola has purchased a NEW home. Wow! What a beautiful place. A large two story, well built and handsomely finished. Only a couple of years old, the girls got a very good deal on the place, and are very proud of it as they should be.

Opie's new home on Calle Pablo Neruda
(one of her favorite poets). That's her garage on the right.

The "Barbacoa" in the patio is very nice. We are breaking
it in while we are here!

Of course, this was also my first introduction to Bella the "Grand-Dogger". What a sweet, smart, and easy to be around dog. I had lots of fun playing with her, and watching Viola play "Tira la pelota" with her. She is a very enthusiastic retriever, and a very nice and compact size.

Bella is very fun to play with! Isn't that a beautiful tile
floor? Looks like rich wood parquet.

Bella is on alert as Viola prepares to tira la pelota!

Of course we had to go and visit the new business in town: "Pub California". This is the beautiful new place that the girls built from the ground up. It's a "copas" bar: beer, wine, and mixed drinks. We went down and a gang of Viola and Angelinas' friends were there to welcome us. They brought "tapas" and we enjoyed our reunion with drinks, good food, and good conversation (well, limited to our language skills and Viola's patience for interpretation).

Mother and daughter recline in the Pub California

Angelinas is very proud of her bar, as well she should be.
The detail reminds you of the Golden Gate Bridge!

Beautiful tile work in the bathrooms of the Pub California

The bar has very nice ambiance. It also is a good
place to watch a soccer  (futbol) match!

Kim was behind the camera for this picture of our little "tapas"
reunion party.

Viola is a very patient translator!

My first "Dad Project" was to fix two toilets in the house. They were functioning well, but I noticed that the mounting bolts had rusted off so they were essentially just sitting there unattached to anything. Everything here is similar to, but different from the States. Same with toilets. After consulting with Angelinas' brother, we drilled and installed anchors for the hold down bolts in the tile floors. No wax rings to fool with, a little caulking, and a shim or two and we had a couple of solid thrones! While I was in plumbing mode, I also got the shower to drain better. A local plumber had inspected it and told the girls that it drained slow because of a flat grade. However, after taking apart the drain basket I pulled out a hank of hair as big as a large mouse! Still drains a little on the slow side, but much better!

Viola tests the loose toilet in the downstairs half bath (aseo).

A new experience drilling into tile and anchoring the commode.

The weather was pretty warm, so our daily routine was to get up and walk with the dog for about an hour before it got too hot. Very relaxing to stroll through the olive groves, and enjoy the sights and smells of rural Spain. La Roda is a small farming community, I think in some ways similar to Loyalton or Portola (but bigger). You are just as likely to see a large John Deere tractor cruising through town, as passenger cars and trucks.

Viola and I follow Bella over the bridge to the nearby
olive orchards while Kim runs the camera.

Kim couldn't resist a shot of an Andalusian horse doing hazard
abatement in a vacant lot.

Beautiful thistle with olives in the background.

Spanish poppies (I guess they are cousins to the California
state flower).

Early in the week we went with Viola to an ancient town nearby called Estepa. Apparently people have inhabited this place since cave dwelling days. However, the place became a town long before the Roman empire. In fact, when the Romans took over the town, the locals decided to commit mass suicide rather than live under Roman domination. That was about 2,200 years ago! It was called Ostipo by the Romans who hung around a few hundred years until the Visigoth's kicked them out. Then the Arab Muslims (Moors) took over and renamed the town Istabba. After the Catholics drove the Moors out in about 1200 AD they rechristened the town "Estepa". They could write a Broadway musical hit about this: "You say Estepa, I say Ostipo........"

It was very interesting, and I always get a weird feeling being in a place that has so much "known" human history. There is also a lot of prehistoric evidence of human occupation in the area.

The Cathedral on the hill is built where the Moors originally fortified the town. There is still evidence left of their occupation. Today, there is an order of nuns there. The nuns go about their daily prayers, and also bake sweets for sale to raise money to support the church and other worthy causes. Visitors to the Cathedral can purchase the sweets by going into a small vestibule off the main church and ringing a bell. A nun inside then opens a small "lazy Susan" type door, to take your order. You put your money on the rotating door and send it in. The nun then sends your purchase back around to you. You never see the her, you can only hear her as she takes your order. Of course, Kim could not pass this opportunity by, and she bought several items, all imminently edible.

The Moors reinforced the old Roman fortifications, and the
Christians built on that. This corner of the hilltop shows some
of the older walls. 

The church was beautiful inside. The lights were coin operated.
If you wanted to see the inside in all its splendor, it cost you a
one euro coin for 5 minutes. A nice older gentleman slipped a
coin in to proudly show us his church.

Here Kim is about to order some baked sweets
through this "Lazy Susan". The nun is on
the other side, never to be seen.

This is looking down into town at a church that was
destroyed during the Civil War by communists
or anarchists. The only thing left standing is the
bell tower.

Karst formations (limestone) are plentiful in the area. Lots of
quarries.

A view of the hilltop from below.

It was a great kick off to our visit, and even though Kim and I had been to Estepa before, this was a special visit with Viola, and we saw and learned things that we hadn't before.

This post has gotten way too long, so I am going to cut it off. More to come (hopefully in shorter "chapters"!)

That's All!