“Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; Without rain, there would be no life.”
John Updike (b. 1932)
So there has been plenty of ‘life’ here in the Marina Alta during March. This has probably been the wettest month of the last five winters! Heaven knows the farmers and growers have had a positive answer to their prayers and the previously low level of our water reserves have been substantially replenished. We still can’t get used to the idea of heavy rainfall being cause for celebration here; another reminder that “Africa starts at the Pyrenees” I suppose.
The month began well with a trip with friends to one of our favourite mountain restaurants, the Verd y Vent, located across the Jalon Valley, near the top of the Sierra Bernia. This place is a kind of dry stone Tardis; from the outside it looks like a tumbledown barn – inside it is a very rustic but cosy restaurant separated into about six dining areas. In the summer there are super outside dining terraces with wonderful mountain scenery, birdsong and the scent of sun-baked herbs satisfying all one’s senses. The feast consisted of the usual deal of five courses, the main course always being a half leg of lamb plus one option – this day it was venison stew (fish or chicken can be pre-ordered)- this is all washed down with unlimited jars of local (and very quaffable) wine. Cost? €13.95 (under 10.00GBP). Needless to say this place is always full which, with the friendly efficient service creates a very enjoyable ambience.
This month it’s the cherry blossom of the Vall de Gallinera which takes centre stage from the earlier show of almond blossom. Either we mistimed our trip or the blossom was not enjoying a good season but we were hard pressed to capture any good images. All was not lost however as we launched our trip from the small traditionally Spanish town of Pego where we were lucky to stumble upon a display of the towns fallas display of giant comic and irreverent effigies, made of papier mach´e. The word ‘falla’ is derived from ‘fallo’ – Spanish for mistake and the fiesta tradition of burning these effigies has developed from the tradition of carpenters burning their ‘fallos’ and rubbish. This all happily coincided with St. Joseph’s day (a carpenter of course) which is also joined by the Spanish Father’s Day celebration. A further bonus of all this hullabaloo was the parading from church of the Fallara Mayor and the Fallara Mayor infantil, traditionally adorned in virginal white lace costumes with ornate hair combs and fans. These are the local equivalent of what we know as the town Beauty Queen and, here in Spain, the junior supporting act of Beauty Princess. This is considered a great family honour and causes the girls to be involved in all the local festivities of the coming year. This gave me the chance to redeem myself on the photographic front!
Our local Anglo-Spanish Assoc. hosted an interesting talk (in Spanish but kindly translated by a fellow member) by Juan Torres, the local Warden of the Mount Montgo National Park. This is our local equivalent of Ayres Rock, a pink/orange mountain between Javea and Denia which is the dominant feature of our landscape and view for many miles. We learnt that it forms part of a subterranean mountain ridge which adjoins and terminates at Ibiza. We were also told that there are over 650 species of flora including orchids, oleander, juniper, saxifrage, holme oak, wild antirrhinums and narcissus. Some species are unique to Montgo, others are otherwise found only in the Pyrenees or on the Balearic Islands. It was also explained how the combination of the mountain and the adjacent headland which forms the Marina Alta is to be credited with providing our rather unique micro-climate which we enjoy here in Javea, Moraira and Calpe.
By complete contrast, I organised the annual karting
event for our above group which seemed to be a great success and was enjoyed
by twenty race participants. This was held at the excellent karting circuit
near Ondara and was followed by the opportunity for the winning team to
gloat and the losers to make their excuses during a jolly good lunch, at
the Montgo Restaurant, nr. Javea.
With the arrival of spring much sandy/beige colour is appearing in our scenery as the farmers plough between their vines, almonds and olive trees, converting the wild flowers (Flores de campo) into fertilizing mulch for their crops. We are also enjoying the bold splashes of yellow as the mimosa trees burst into blossom together with the bright green of the new season’s fig trees. Above and beyond all this, we were treated to the spectacle of a family of four huge birds of prey, gliding and circling above our valley. Possibly they were buzzards but, judging by their shear size I would guess they were most likely eagles. An amazing scene, whichever they were!
Chris Garwood
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2007
January / February /
March / April / May / June / July & August / September
2008
March / April
