We have had phenomenal thunder storms over the last few days.  Biblical... is the way some people describe them.  The rain here in the mountains was intense but the destructive effect of rain in the mountains intensifies as the water runs downhill.  All along the coastal plain there has been flash floods, extensive damage and loss of life.  It's been wet and soggy here but very limited damage or danger.

Here we are on main street in Olvera. Going shopping for groceries.

Despite the rain, we have managed to cycle every other day. The sun rose this morning into a clear blue ski. Having run low on groceries (due to the fact that we forgot that nothing is open on Sunday!) we went out for breakfast this morning.  There is  great little cafe / bar on the way to the grocery store.  (Las Niñas) We ordered "dos café americanos y dos molletes con tomate y aceite". This is traditional breakfast meal here.  Molletes are a type of bun and are often serves with  fresh blended tomato sauce. Instead of butter on the buns one dribbles fresh olive oil.  They are pretty tasty!  As is the coffee.  Really the coffee is not just tasty... it is incredibly tasty.  I don't have a clue why the coffee is so great here.  It just is the best I have ever had!

We got an early start this morning so that we had time to have breakfast and the to pick up some groceries before we were meeting Gary & Caryn for a bike ride at 11 am.

Mollete with tomatoe, olive oil and fabulous coffee.

Gary picked a good route going north out of Olvera though the town of Pruna to Algamitas then looping back to Olvera on A384. The route was a little under 50K, up and down though the olive fields on local paved roads.  The towns we passed through were not all touristy,  quite the opposite.  Reaching Algamitas we were hungry and thirsty. However we quickly discovered that there are no restaurants in Algamitas!  The locals gave us directions to a restaurant 3 kilometres uphill from town. The distance estimate was bit off, but after 5 or 6K we found a nice restaurant and stopped for a beer and a bocodillo (sandwich) . After getting back to Olvera, Gary calculated that we had climbed over 1000 metres during the ride.  Thank goodness for the electric assist.  Even so we had sore thighs when we arrived home.

Below are a few photos from this ride

Looking back to Olvera

We stopped a country church on top of a hill

Looking north from a hill top on the road between Pruna and Algamitas

The Rain in Spain....

Due to the presence of a couple of low pressure systems over the Mediterranean, Spain has been experiencing heavy rain and flooding. Luckily we are are not in the heaviest rain area but we have had quite a bit more than normal.The weather has been alternating between rain days and sunnier days. Today it has been raining off and on all day, but yesterday it was nice with light showers in the evening.

Yesterday we took advantage of the blue skies and we cycled thought the hilly countryside to the town of Setenil de las Bodegas with Gary and Caryn.  Setenill is located about 15K south east of Olvera.  It is a pretty and interesting town located on the cliffs along the river Trejo.   A popular tourist attraction are the house that are built into the cliffs bordering the river. A bodega is a small building, cabin, shed, or storage unit.   Hence the town gets it's name from the small cliff buildings.

We stopped at nice little cafe in town for lunch before cycling back to Olvera. Although it was getting quite cloudy on the return route we didn't get rained on. It was a nice ride. The E-bikes we have are quite nice. We tend to use minimum assist and only when required.  The range on these bikes is well over 100K using continuous minimum assist.

On the road looking back toward Olvera

Gary Caryn and Linda as we entered Setenil

The cafe where we had lunch on the left.

Some of the bodegas built into the cliffs along the river.

Another Setenil street photo.

The rain has created a problem for us. The houses here are built of concrete blocks with a layer of cement on the inside and out. They are not insulated.  One of the outside walls of this house has had water leaking into it for some time now. This wall, in one of the bedrooms, and part of the ceiling is damp and mould started to form.  We reported the problem to the property manager and she came today to attempt the rectify the problem.   Luckily we can close off this part of the house but we are both feeling mild effects for the dampness and perhaps the mould.  There is a possibility that we will be changing houses. We will give it another day or so to see how it goes. It's not a huge problem at this point.

On the up side.... We are enjoying ourselves. We went out walking this afternoon with our large umbrella and got this photo of a beautiful rainbow.  The we stopped for lunch at Pepe's cafe we ordered "un bocadillo, con jamon, queso y tomate, y una caña"  (a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich and a draft beer, my favourite.  I'm British after all! )

On edge of Olvera. The bushes you see are small olive trees.

The forecast looks better tomorrow so hopefully we can get back on the bikes for another good ride.

Back to Olvera, Andalucia

Here we are...  off again!

Summer ended abruptly in BC this year. After a hot and smokey August, September arrived with a abundance of rain. Albeit, the rain was needed and relief from the wild fire smoke was a blessing but  we also had cool weather and early October snow.

We were flew from Cranbrook to Calgary early on October 10th.  We landed in Calgary in a snow flurry but by the time we reached Toronto, the temperature was in the high 20s.

On the way to Spain we stopped in southern Ontario to attend our niece's wedding.  We arrived a few days before the wedding and had a good time catching up with Linda's family and helping with the wedding arrangements.  The outdoor wedding was at a recreation area near Niagara Falls. The weather cooperated and the wedding ceremony went off without a hitch.  The lighthearted ceremony was refreshing and Jenna and Eric looked very happy.  We were delighted that we were able to be there for the ceremony!

We had made an erroneous assumption that the wedding was on Saturday and booked our flight to Spain to depart from Toronto on Sunday. It was shock to discover that the wedding was on our day of departure but as luck would have it, thanks to a last minute flight delay, we were able to stay for the ceremony before jumping in the rented car and racing down the QEW to catch our flight.

Jenna, Eric and the wedding party.

We took an overnight flight from Toronto to Paris and an afternoon flight to Malaga.  We stayed overnight in Malaga and met up with friends from Nelson who are in Spain to do a 5 week bicycle tour of Andalucia.  Gary and Caryn are staying in Olvera for a week before starting their tour.   Linda and I rented a couple of e-bikes from a company in Malaga and arranged with the company to transport the four of us and our bikes to Olvera.

The trip went well and we arrived in Olvera around noon yesterday. We couldn't get access to our accommodation until later in the afternoon but now we are settled.  We rented a small house very close to the house we rented last year. It is located on the top of the hill with great views of the surrounding countryside.

Here are a couple of photos of our rented accommodation, Casa Sierra Vista. The house has 3 stories and as you can see in these photos of the main floor, it is narrow. The house is only 8 ft. wide but it feels quite roomy.  The entry, kitchen, dining area, living room and small porch are located on this floor.  The second floor has 2 bedrooms, each with a double bed and the bathroom. On the third floor is a washing machine and a nice large patio with dining table and chairs.

Here is our sunset dinner on the upper patio.

Later this morning we are meeting up with Gary and Caryn for an easy ride to Coripe on the Via Verde de la Sierras.