Royal Turkey

It sounds like a two-word review of Prince Edward's excruciatingly awful 80s production of It's a Knockout starring members of his own family, but 'royal turkey' is in fact the literal translation of the Spanish term for peacock, pavo real. Now someone's keeping a pair in Juviles, and the bird's distinctive cry - so redolent of life in India during the time of the Raj - is now heard across our sleepy little Andalusian village at regular intervals. Hopefully this is a temporary arrangement only, and I say 'hopefully' not because I object to the high-pitched call, but because the poor things are in a cage hardly big enough for a pair of chickens. The cock has to position himself carefully right in the middle of his enclosure and stand at a forty-five degree angle to the sides if he is to open his tail without injury. This means the hen is just inches away from her mate's magnificence, and already a captive audience, which rather defeats the object.Generally speaking, nobody in Juviles would keep any living thing they didn't intend to eat (apart from dogs, that is, and many of those are used to hunt, herd or guard things that you can eat). So my guess is that the semana cultural this year will see a reconstruction of an historic roman or moorish banquet, with the unfortunate royal turkey as the centrepiece. I wonder if peacock tastes more like swan, or golden eagle? And this being Juviles, will they try to fry it?

The holiday within a holiday

Much as we love the rustic simplicity of the Alpujarra, we've developed a habit of taking a few days away in town while we're there. It's always an interesting contrast, as while the Andulcian cities are buzzing with sophistication and glamour, Juviles is mostly just buzzing with wasps. We've already done Seville, Cordoba and Jaen, and we've often spent the evening in Granada, Almeria or Malaga on our way to the airport, so we tried Cádiz for a change, and it was fabulous.
An extraordinary place, the original old town of Cádiz is built at the end of a causeway and largely encircled by ancient walls and bastions. You're never more than a few hundred metres from the sea, and the effect is a little like being on a ship. It's supposed to be the oldest continually inhabited city in Europe (thanks to the Phoenecians) and remains one of the most densely populated (thanks to the city walls). The food is great, everything is quite cheap, the people are extraordinarily friendly and helpful (they don't see that many tourists) and the local dialect is clear and easy to follow. I recommend it highly.

Back in Scotland

Where did that fortnight go? Juviles and Spain in general were blisteringly hot, although as there was a lot of rain over the first half of the year the landscape is still beautifully green. We had a fairly lazy two weeks, although I did manage to fix a few things, oil the woodwork, and touch up some paint. The house is now all ready for our next guests, who arrive from Barcelona on August 2nd. Still some weeks available late July, then late September, early October, and then the main October school half-term.

We're off to Spain....

...and will be in our place in Juviles from 28th June until 11th July. We may be able to pick up email but I can't guarantee it, although you can always call us on one of my mobiles - both will be with us.
+44 (0)7713 261172
+34 697914136
We've just taken a booking for September, and there isn't much availability in between, although the October half-term for London schools (w/c 26th) is still free, as are a few weeks here and there.

Here's a picture of one of Tino's cats, sneaking around on our roof terrace. He'll be waiting for us when we get there on Sunday, no doubt. The cat, that is, not Tino.

Another five-star review

The latest visitors to our place, a family from Yorkshire, were well impressed. (They also managed to break a door handle and go home with two of my books, but you can't have everything.) This is their review:

"This property provides excellent value for money. The view from the roof terrace was every bit as good as described. It was spotlessly clean and well cared for, with nice new facilities. There was hot water whenever needed and very efficient showers. We were very well supported before our visit - the owner providing careful instructions for picking up keys and directions from the airport. The house has a good selection of local guides and maps and the housebook of guidance and instructions is excellent. Telephone numbers for help were available though we did not need them. This would be a very good base for a holiday at any time of year."

I hope all these people are going back to Yorkshire, Denmark, Barcelona etc. and telling all their friends, as I can't help thinking word of mouth will get us more business than this blog.

Rush hour, Juviles

We're off to Juviles in about three weeks and while I'm thinking about it, I thought I'd post a shot of our neighbour's horse in the main street, taken last summer. Our latest guests left at the weekend and we've just taken a booking for the first two weeks in August from a Barcelona couple. They are bringing one set of aged parents, who are originally from the Alpujarra, and they'll be there for the highlight of the social calendar in our village, the glittering Semana Cultural and fiesta. July 12th - 31st is still available.

"The best holiday we've had in Spain!"

Our most recent guests left the house last week and were kind enough to give us a great review on the Villarenters site. Here's what they said:

"Property was fitted out to a very high standard and very well equipped with a terrace giving splendid views. A very quiet village with flocks of sheep and goats herded down the main street. Some of the best walking in Las Alpujarras with an excellent supply of walking guides both in English and Spanish and plenty of books for a rainy, or lazy, day. Good restaurants both in Berchules and Trevelez about 20mins away. Best holiday we have had in Spain!"

The next lot arrive on Sunday. We still have availability for much of June, the second half of July and the first three weeks in August.