Easy rider

Most places, when huge gangs of guys on customised motorcyles roll into town, they lower the shutters, lock up their daughters and play dead. In Juviles they put a few kegs of beer in the church square and start frying eggs. Pictures and video of the 3rd annual bikers' rally on the town hall website here. Notice the lovely weather for late september.

Semana Cultural

We got back from Juviles last weekend after a week of wilting in the heat and enjoying the highlights of the Fiesta and the preceding Semana Cultural or cultural week. Highlights included old men eating fritters. Or not really eating fritters, so much as sitting back and admiring them.

Although a lot of the "events" were comically underwhelming and eccentric, it was brilliant. Juviles, with only 200 people, has a smaller population than many blocks of flats, and for the village to hold dozens of little events plus at least two whole night-long parties (I say "at least" because we left for Malaga before it was over) was really quite something. There were activities specifically for little kids, old folks and what I tend to think of as normal people, i.e. of my age, but most events had something for everyone. The Fiesta last Friday in particular was an extraordinary mix, with everything from a bouncy castle and kids' fancy dress to dancers in schoolgirl outfits that would make the hot sixth-formers in St. Trinian's look positively frumpy.

Best fancy dress by far was a little girl of about six dressed as a traditional Spanish abuela or grandma. Grey hair, black dress, pinny, walking stick, and the killer detail, pop socks with one rolled up and one down. This is not a great shot (from the ayuntamiento here), but this is her with some pals: She won the "most convincing abuela" competition, with the ladies below coming second and third. They were furious, as you might imagine, and the atmosphere on the winners' podium was sour.

Coming soon to this blog, the ropey "Medieval Market", several bands, and the adult education group's handicraft exhibition. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the sexy dancing girls, but I somehow forgot where my camera was when they were on.

Edinburgh has nothing on this.

We're back in Juviles from Friday, and joy of joys, our visit coincides with the fifth annual village Semana Cultural, or cultural week. Events include a bookmark-making workshop, a lecture on back pain and a "tasting" of beer with fried eggs and bacon. There's also something called a "frozen bubble competition", and a free breakfast featuring 80 proof anis spirit and "typical" sweets. You know that episode of Father Ted when Fun Land comes to Craggy Island......

Interesting one; there's a verbena (outdoor party) at 11pm on Friday, and the listing says it's "amenizada por el grupo Fuente Nueva". I read this as "amenazada" or "menaced by", but then looked it up in the dictionary: "amenazar" does indeed mean to "to menace", whereas "amenizar" (with an "i") means "to enliven". I'm so glad I clarified that. Having witnessed Fuente Nueva's performances before, I expect I'd have been none the wiser.

Anyway, I'll be taking pictures during this orgy of cultural treasures and will post some of them here in ten days or so. Meanwhile, if you want us between the 1st and 9th August, call my Spanish number: (+34) 697914136.

...and here's an old one.

Not the most flattering shot of the old girl, but this is Luna, the most sweet-natured dog in the village. She won't come in the house (unlike the cats), or indeed in anyone else's home as far as we know, so someone must have clearly defined her place to be the street, one way or another, when she was a pup. Instead she will sometimes hang around outside our door, sort of guarding us, we like to think. She certainly seems pleased to see us when we're in Juviles - although her rounds take her to various positions around the village depending on the weather and the action, and she's no doubt pleased to see everyone she bumps into. She's a gentle, quiet dog and I've never known her to bark. Whereas every other dog in the village enjoys a damn good shout on a regular basis.

We have a new friend.

This fellow belongs to Tino, the owner of the eponymous bar at the end of Calle Altillo (i.e. about four doors away). And in his tiny mind, he (the cat, that is, not Tino) believes that our terrace belongs to him. Here he is simultaneously absorbing the heat from the rock on our roof and enjoying the shade. He's one of three we saw quite a lot of the other week, his siblings being a very fetching dark tortoiseshell and a striking all-black with a shock of white on the end of the tail. This one is by far the friendliest/cheekiest. Their mum sensibly confines herself to the bar, where she avails herself of the constant flow of tapas.

Juviles joins information superhighway

We don't have ADSL at the house but should you stay there, you can check your e-mail for free at the Guadalinfo facility in the village "library", just two minutes walk away. Guadalinfo is an initiative by the Junta which aims to provide free internet access to every community in Andalucia with 10,000 people or fewer, so Juviles (currently listed as 202 souls) certainly qualifies. The library has about six terminals and when I used it earlier this month, there was only me and the Czech family from the Dragon Verde in there. The kit is brand new and the connection is fast. It's open to the public Mon-Thur 15.30-19.30 but it seems to be OK to wander in at other times if the door's open (I was there Friday about 1pm).

The village - El pueblo

Just two hundred or so people live permanently in Juvíles, and the only regular traffic we get along our narrow lane is a couple of mules and a small flock of goats passing by on the way to pasture.

Although it’s very quiet for most of the year, Juvíles has three bars - all of which serve tapas and meals - a pharmacy, a bank, a small supermarket, and a new village swimming pool which is open during the summer months. Traders pass through selling fresh bread, fruit and vegetables from their vans. Nothing in the village is more than a five-minute walk away from anything else.

Most people around here work in the fields or in the ham industry (there’s a large secadero, where ham is cured, at the other end of the village from our house). Local crops include cherry tomatoes, almonds and chestnuts, and there are lots of sheep and goats around for cheese production.

The village gets distinctly lively at weekends and during holiday periods, when a lot of people who’ve moved to the cities to work return to their ancestral homes. The main fiesta in August sees the population swell to a couple of thousand for a few days.



There are some interesting sites in and around Juvíles, including the sixteenth-century village church and the remains of a Moorish fortress, although the main attraction is the lovely countryside and its rich flora and fauna. The GR7 walking route passes right through the village, and there are hundreds of excellent day walks around and about. Above the village there’s some more serious climbing and hill-walking country in the Sierra Nevada itself, and depending on the season, you can go horse-riding, mountain-biking or skiing with various local companies, or you can be at the beach in about 45 minutes.

The bigger villages of Trevélez and Bérchules are a few minutes away by car and the town of Cádiar, where you’ll find all main services and a sizeable English-speaking community, is twenty minutes.


No más que dos cientos personas viven constantamente en Juvíles, y la única circulación habitual que tenemos en nuestra callejuela consiste en unos mulos, y un pequeño rebaño de cabras que pasa de vez en cuando en camino hasta el pasto.

Aunque está muy tranquilo durante la mayoría del año, Juvíles tiene tres bares, y cada uno sirve tapas y comidas. Hay también una farmacia, un sucursal bancária, un pequeño super, y una nueva piscina que se abre en los meses de verano. Vendedores pasan a menudo por el pueblo con pan, fruta y verdura. Nada en el pueblo está a más que cinco minutos en pie de nuestra casa.
La mayoría de la gente aquí trabaja en el campo o en la industria jamonera (hay un gran secadero al otro lado de la aldea). El cultivo de la zona incluye tomates, almendras y castañas, y hay ganado, incluso cabras y ovejas.



La aldea se pone mas animada a los fines de semana, y en vacaciones y fiestas, cuando vuelve mucha gente de las ciudades. Durante la fiesta principal en Agosto ven miles de personas de Barcelona y otras ciudades.

Hay unos sitios interesantes en Juvíles y sus alrededores, incluso una iglesia del siglo 16 y los restos de un fuerte moresco. Pero el atráctivo principal es el precioso paisaje y su flora y fauna. La ruta de senderismo de larga distancia G7 pasa por el pueblo, y existen cientos de caminatas de unas horas en la zona. Encima del pueblo hay territorio mas exigente en la Sierra Nevada. Es posible montar en caballo o en bicicleta de montaña (hay empresas que operan rutas y alquileres), y en invierno, las estaciones de esquí no están lejos.

Los pueblos mayores de Trevélez y Bérchules están a unos minutos en coche, y Cádiar – donde hay varias tiendas, bancos, una gasolinera etc. – está a veinte minutos.