March in Olvera

Wednesday March  23d.

 

 Before deciding to come to Spain in March and April I did some research into historical weather data.  According to weatherbase.com the normal rainfall for March in this area of  Spain is 40 to 45mm and 4 to 6  rainy days. 

Well...  Thanks to climate change or just bad luck, the weatherbase.com statistics have been no where close to accurate.  In the past three weeks we have had only a couple sunny days without rain. Also the temperatures have been several degrees below normal.  One morning last week there was snow on the higher hills to the west of us.  The locals tell us that they have never seen weather like this in March.

It's been quite disappointing. We are here to cycle and walk, but outdoor activities have been quite limited. We looked  into renting a car and going somewhere else but the wet weather system covered pretty much all of the area within reasonable driving distance  The forecast for the next few of weeks  doesn't look much better.  😞

During the first 10 days of the rainy weather we would not have been going anywhere anyway. We were both house-bound with a Covid infection.  We are both triple vaccinated (Pfizer). Neither of us experienced more than minor symptoms, similar to a chest cold with slightly elevated temperature for a couple of days.  It appears that Linda was infected first and I a couple of days later.  Luckily we had good supply of food in the house. A friend helped us by picking up medication and antigen tests at the pharmacy.  We both tested negative about 10 days after the onset of symptoms and are back to our normal activities.

Given the transmission rate of the Omicron variant, our Covid infection was not a surprise.  There does not seem to be any lingering issues other than perhaps a little fatigue. Or perhaps we are a little depressed with the weather. ???

 Finally this week we got out for a couple of nice rides to some local villages, El Gastor and Setenil. 

 This photo is a shot of Olvera taken on the way to El Gastor

On the way back we ran into herd of goats on the road.

As you can see there are were quite few clouds forming and luckily we just made it home 

before the rain started.

Yesterday we had a really nice ride and great lunch in Setenil with our friend, Bodil.

Setenil is a very interesting town. It is located about 15 K south of Olvera. Many of the houses and stores are built into the sides of overhanging cliffs. Because of the interesting setting and the fact that it was a Saturday, there were quite a few tourists, mostly Spanish families.

buildings under the overhanging cliffs

Linda and Bodil

Between rain showers yesterday we went out for lunch to "Lo Nuestro", a local restaurant, with our friend Bodil.    Below is shot of Linda's meal. It is a goat cheese salad. The goat cheese is hidden in phyllo pastry.

                                    

Wednesday March 30th.

It is cool and foggy this morning in Olvera.  There is a weather warning out for parts of the Costa del Sol, including Malaga and Granada. In conjunction with the rain, the wind has been carrying abnormal amounts of red  sand dust from the Sahara. The falling rain brings the wet dust (ie mud) to the ground and stains everything that it touches. Below is photo of the dust in the air, taken a couple of days ago

 

 

 

However, it looks like some better weather is moving in from the west.  We are waiting for the fog to lift and then we are heading for the Algarve on the moto. The weather forecast in Tavira looks nice for the next few days.  Hopefully it is correct!

 

 

The above photo is of a store front in Olvera. Obviously the initials do not stand for "Linda and Bernie"    They stand for  "La más Barata"....      "The Cheapest One"  !! 😉

 

Life in Olvera

We have been in Olvera for a three weeks now.  The weather has been spring like.  We have had overnight temperatures as low as 2 degrees and highs of  22 during the afternoon.  Generally the temperatures have been between 8 and 19 degrees, with a mix of sun, cloud and occasional rain.

We are outside most of the day, walking and biking. Also we a have taken a couple of overnight trips on the motorbike. Once to the Coast and another trip to Cordoba.

We encountered this cute fellow on a walk last week. He was grazing on a short rope.  He was very friendly and came over to see us.

Over the years we have met quite a few people here.  Two of our friends are heading to the US in a couple of days to cycle from California to Florida. We are meeting up with others for lunch soon for a farewell get-together.

Covid  antigen test are readily available at the pharmacies for $4. We just administered tests to ourselves. I would feel bad if we inadvertently  passed along an infection before their trip

This past week we made an overnight trip to Córdoba, about 180K north of Olvera.  It was a nice relaxing ride up through some small towns on 2 lane highways.  We stopped for a look at Castillo de Almodóvar. Unfortunately it was closing for the afternoon shortly after we arrived, so we didn't get to see the inside. (next time).  However we had a very nice midday dinner at a restaurant at the base of the castle.

This is one of the castles that was used in the filming of Game of Thrones

I'm not particularly enamoured by the prospect of driving though Spanish cities. Road grid systems were not used when these cities were built. Finding your way through a complex network of one way roads , in heavy traffic, is not my  idea of a fun adventure. The rail station in Cordoba is easily accessible, close to nice hotels and has great parking... undercover and free for motorbikes.

 

Below are a few photos of various parts of Córdoba.

 Córdoba is recognized as the hottest city in Spain. Temperatures close to 50C were recorded here last summer.  While were here the day time temps were in the low 20s.

Plaza de las Tendillas in the business centre of the modern city

 

A plaza the edge of old city with the tower of La Mesquita, the once Muslim, now Catholic Cathedral

    

A typical street in a renovation portion of the old city

Entering La Mesquita garden area

There are a lot of parks in Cordoba. This one was on the edge of the old town.