POD "The Dog Days of Summer"

Although this morning is cool, we've officially reached the dog days of summer. I'm up bright and early every morning, (thanks to the soft woof of a certain white dog standing on the floor at the edge of the bed) and the dogs are walked and home well before 9AM. It's the only way I can do it, because once the sun starts creeping higher in the sky, it becomes much too hot to exercise the boys.
So, in the morning, while the backyard is still in semishade, you can find them running around like crazy: tearing in and out of the bushes with the occasional thump of a clumsy black critter flying into the (thankfully) sturdy fence. The POD is the boys enjoying their last bit of outside time before the yard is fully engulfed in sun.
After some morning play and a nice walk, the boys are ready to beat the heat by settling down in their comfortable air conditioned home. So until about 5 or 6 pm, when daddy gets home, this is how you'll find them:



Trust me, I appreciate a long quiet day with sleeping children, but you can only imagine the energy they have come 9pm when the shade and cool air begins to return!!! Ah well, what's another short walk around the block at 10pm right?

Beach Reviews: Punta Candor

On Sunday, (I know. I'm a little late. BUT the Spanish won the World Cup, I partied and then I had a hangover. How's that for an excuse?) Matt and I checked out another new beach. This beach, Punta Candor is still a part of the Rota beach system, but it's around the corner from the busy boardwalk and restaurants that line most of the beach. The beach is a pretty easy drive from Rota, and if you get there early... parking is a cinch as well. Get there late... you'll be parking on the edge of the skinny road. Good luck with that!

As you can see... the beach was very quiet at 10:00 in the morning... but it filled up as the late- rising Spanish arrived.

Anyway, with large sand dunes and a shoreline lightly littered with rocks and shells, this beach is more natural than some of the other beaches we've gone to here thus far. However, the beach is still close enough to civilization and popular enough to support it's own chiringuito. I was able to do a little late morning beach combing (one of my favorites usually only possible on the rustic beaches or in the off season) and yet still sit down for a yummy tapa of chocos fritos (a version of fried calamari) and a refreshing tinto de verano!

I really liked this beach because it's the best of both worlds, but I can only give it a 4.0 out of 5.0 because it's still early in the summer and we've got a lot more beaches to try! In fact, i'm reconsidering my Cadiz rating of 3.0 and lowering it to 2.0. After seeing this beach... Cadiz looks pretty bad! Who knows, by the end of summer... I may realize... my top rated beach is right here in Rota!

The adorable Chiringuito.
The view of Punta Candor from our table at the chiringuito. :)

Un dia a la Mayeteria

Un dia a la Mayeteria. I really should Wikipedia Mayeteria to see exactly what it has to say about what it is. From what I understood, (the day/tour was completely in spanish!) it is a traditional Rota Farm from the olden days. Farms have grown and expanded, but we were able to see how it was done way back when!
My spanish partner, Rocio, works at the Rota office of tourism and on Fridays she takes groups to the Mayeteria. She invited me to come along and see this important part of Rotan Culture. Why not?! So, she informed me that we would be taking "el tren" to the farm. A train? Okay, clearly something was getting lost in translation, because there are no train tracks in Rota. I figured it was her way of saying bus or something. So we were waiting for this "tren" when look what rounded the corner! I started dying laughing! I had no expectations of what this day would be like, but it was already off to a good start!
The ride to the Mayeteria was super! We drove through the town with the wind blowing in our hair. The conducter was NOT afraid to lay on the whistle or bells for kids standing along the side of the street, and of course we were expected to wave! :) Here's us getting outside the town to the fields. It was about a 10 minute train ride there. Superb!

As I said before, I had NO idea what a Mayeteria was before telling Rocio I'd join her at work for the day. I am still not exactly sure, but... I will tell you... it was a fun time! Seeing the countryside for the first time (other than driving through with a car) was great, and seeing how the Spanish farm was very interesting. I took lots of photos, so that Rocio could snag some and so that my other friends of the base with kids can see if it's something they'd be up for doing. Personally, I thought it was a great little morning trip and well worth it!

Moscatel grapes. Plucked one of these suckers right off the vine and ate it. Delicious. I've always wanted to do that!


Rocio starting the tour at the old building dedicated to the cameleon, a rare and endangered species here. There were no live cameleons in there, but lots of great information.


Sorry, being a wino I just LOVED the grapes!


Discovered these little guys hiding in the shade up under the thatch (thatch... is that the right word?) of the roofs. There were HUNDREDs of them. They will be delicious next Spring when the caracoles are served again. ;)


Old tools


The only "fence" for this bull pen was this little gate in front. The rest of the "fence" was a ginormous cactus ring. SO neat to see that the Spanish used/use nature as a natural fence!


Hey big boy...


Introducing... my boyfriend. Haha no but really, when I showed Matt this picture, he laughed and was like... it looks like Sultan's long lost brother. Same googly-eyed confused expression and everything!


Did you know that the vines of squash were strong enough to hang them?!


mmmmmmm SO pretty!


Tintilla grapes. A varietal that is ONLY grown and made into Tintilla wine here in Rota. I've tried it and it's pretty darn tasty! (A sweet sherry-like wine)


A delicious ending to the morning. Beer, a tintilla wine tasting, and fresh homemade aranque. A delicious dip made out of various crushed veggies and bread. It's a dish you can only find here in Rota!

POD "Smart Birds"

These black and white scavenger birds are popular here in southern Spain. Not a day goes by where I don't hear or see one of these little guys. They often frequent our back lawn in search of tasty piles of... well... you know. I SAID they were scavengers didn't I? Don't hate. Just because they are sh*t eaters doesn't mean they can't be pretty.

Anyway. Surprisingly enough... they are very skiddish. I can't even walk by the window without them flying away. These photos were taken from INSIDE through the window by hiding behind the wall and slowing sticking my hand out in front of the glass. It was the only way I could get a picture of them without them taking off.

SO YEAH, knowing this, you'd THINK they'd be TERRIFIED of a dog right? A dog sitting RIGHT outside with them, staring them down. I mean, a DOG has a lot better chance of causing it harm than a human. Well, apparently these birds are smarter than they appear. Apparently they've seen how stealthily Sultan can move. They must have observed him from the trees and said "AHA! Take note! Fear NOT the black creature for it runs in circles and into fences." Smart birds...

AHHHH Portugal :)

As most of you know, Matty and I took un puente (long weekend) trip over fourth of July to Portugal. We spent two nights on the ocean and explored the Moorish Castle and Palace of Pena in the beautiful, scenic Sintra area. We also spent two nights in downtown Lisbon right in the heart of the Baixa district. There, we walked the streets and saw all sorts of great stuff including the alfama district, the Belem tower and St. Jeronimo's monastery. I posted ALL of the great photos in two albums on Facebook, but I wanted to share my favorites here. :) Although they NEVER do justice, I think these particular photos capture at least SOME of the beauty, history and mystery of these great areas. Ahhhhhh what a beautiful weekend. Enjoy the shots, and don't forget you can click them for a larger view!

The US Flag is raised at Rota Naval Station!

As many of you know, Rota Naval Station is a Spanish Naval base. Because it is so, the Spanish flag is flown year round, and the US flag can only be raised for Independence Day and the Fourth of July weekend. This morning was the flag raising ceremony and the kick-off to a great holiday weekend. I was fortunate enough to be there bright and early to take photos of this awesome event!

Sun coming up over the ready flagpole.

This photo wasn't by me (I couldn't get this close), but if you look... you just may see Matty at attention.
Old Glory on it's way up.
Marines, airmen, sailors and soldiers still at attention after the national anthem has finished playing.
Happy Independence Day and have a fun & SAFE Fourth of July weekend!