Mntboy Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 Big meal and get together with friends last night - here in Spain they celebrate Christmas Eve more than they celebrate Christmas Day. They don't start eating until 11pm though and then they see Christmas Day "arrive". Today it's a big lunch with other friends and then home for a siesta . . . . Merry Christmas to everyone on The Hub! Tony & Andrea.Merry Christmas to you guys as well. Bonus 1
Bonus Posted December 31, 2018 Author Posted December 31, 2018 I've been posting a picture a day on FB to celebrate "the 12 Days of Christmas". Here in Spain, Christmas Eve is very important, as is the "Day of the Kings" which is 12 days later on January 6th. This adventure of ours has had some twists and turns, stuff we didn't expect or plan for, but so far we seem to have managed. We're a long way from achieving our goal, but we are at least enjoying our lives in the meantime - despite the difficulties. Here is my post from today. Without her, none of this would be possible: The 12 Days of Christmas . . . 12 Photos from this year that remind me of something happy, something good or something that I'm thankful for from this year..... Day 5: Andrea..... I am thankful that she is on this adventure-journey with me. Through the ups and the downs, the long periods of uncertainty, the constant moving of the goal posts, she manages to keep smiling and stays positive. If I'm well fed, living in a comfortable environment and wearing clean clothes . . . it's because, despite everything, she makes it so. . . . xxx DJR, Wannabe, Mntboy and 5 others 8
Bonus Posted January 7, 2019 Author Posted January 7, 2019 Today is the last of the Christmas Public Holidays here in Spain. Yesterday was "Kings Day" - the day 12 days after Christmas when gifts are delivered, so with yesterday being a Sunday, today is a public holiday. Christmas Eve is a big deal here - they only start to eat dinner at 11pm, Christmas Day is less important. New Years eve is pretty big but Kings Day is very important with Carnival processions etc. Next stop . . . "Semana Santa" (Easter) Mntboy, Dirkitech and Wannabe 3
Bonus Posted January 20, 2019 Author Posted January 20, 2019 Last night was the Fiesta of San Sebastian. All the villages around here had bonfires which they lit about 8pm and then they braaied the Spanish equivalent of "Boerewors" and Baked Potatoes. Lots of beer was drunk (I has a night off from driving) and we had a really nice time. In the towns - we went into Ainsa for example, they had half a dozen bonfires dotted throughout town. We visited 2 different ones. Chatted to some friends and generally "made merry". Today was a "rest day" as a consequence. . . . . . SilverRider, Matchstix, SL7 and 5 others 8
Bonus Posted January 22, 2019 Author Posted January 22, 2019 After weeks of relatively nice weather - cold but sunny, this week the winter weather has finally caught up with us. Today the sun was hidden behind low clouds and only 50kms away to the west it's snowing quite heavily. The forecast for tomorrow is high winds and rain. Typically, we escape most of the bad weather that's forecast for our local area, so we will have to see what happens . . . . Today I was helping Ramon the Friendly Farmer to cut down trees. The main trunks of the trees we cut down will be cut into logs for firewood at home. The long thin branches from the middle of the tree we will clean off and use in the vegetable garden for sweetpeas, beans and tomatoes to grow up and everything else will be stacked to make a natural fence at the edge of the field between Ramons land and the neighbours. It was a good days work and of course there was home made wine and ham for tea break time! Dirkitech, Wannabe and Mntboy 3
Bonus Posted January 24, 2019 Author Posted January 24, 2019 What a difference 24hrs makes! Yesterday morning around 8am it started snowing. By 11am It was a virtual whiteout. 24 hours later the clouds have gone and most of the low altitude snow has gone. The sun is out and the Pena Montenesa looks magnificent. #weloveithere :-) barrykm, Dirkitech, Hairy and 9 others 12
Bonus Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 It's been a sad couple of days for us here in Spain. One of "Wendy's" oldest friends, since they were at school together, lost her husband on Saturday morning. Everyone is devastated. He was only a couple of years older than me. A lovely guy. I'd only known them for the last 10 years, since Wendy and I got together, but they were my friends too. When this sort of thing happens, and this is the second time it's happened to us in the last year, you realise how far away you are from those you love and care about. if we were in SA we'd have been there within hours to help out and support our friends, but from here we just don't have the funds to allow it. We're doing what we can by phone and with messages but it's not the same. Wendys friend needs a hug and a shoulder to cry on. I know that with so many of us scattered around the world this sort of thing is inevitable. Those of us that move away don't make the decision lightly. We make our choices and we live our lives, as best we can. Some days it's wonderful, other days it's damn tough. It's a cliche I know, but make the most of those close to you. The clock most certainly is ticking. . . . RIP Richard. We will miss you my friend. Love from Tony and Andrea. Mntboy and Gen 2
Bonus Posted February 5, 2019 Author Posted February 5, 2019 Some time ago I explained how "Zona Zero", the 1000 odd kilometre network of MTB Trails that we live in the middle of, came into being. . . . A group of local business owners, working in conjunction with local councillors & authorities, realised that they needed to do something pro-active if they were to prevent their towns and villages from following the existing downward trend of declining business and de-population. . . . Their ideas have worked. The town of Ainsa and its surrounding villages all benefit from the income generated by visitors to Zona Zero. Roads & services to remote long-abandoned villages are being installed/re-installed and properties are being renovated & repaired. It's a big job and it's going to take some time to finish, but it is happening and we are a part of it! This article is in Spanish, but the high-lights are that it addresses the problems faced by people who live in remote areas of Aragon (the region we live in), suggests some methods of making life easier for those people and gives Zona Zero as a good example of what can be achieved. Great news for us all - and a testament to the hard work and devotion of the people who had the vision to come up with this and make their ideas a reality. https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/aragon/2019/02/05/francisco-boya-los-pueblos-montana-hay-que-ponerles-las-cosas-mas-faciles-1290926-300.html?fbclid=IwAR3QROKMJ7tdmrU9_aCuLiO_EIZQX7Fk7s1HcIYL7eoHehMGjnX8kBB4hN8 Dirkitech, Albatross, Wannabe and 1 other 4
Grey Hubs Posted February 6, 2019 Posted February 6, 2019 Today is the last of the Christmas Public Holidays here in Spain. Yesterday was "Kings Day" - the day 12 days after Christmas when gifts are delivered, so with yesterday being a Sunday, today is a public holiday. Christmas Eve is a big deal here - they only start to eat dinner at 11pm, Christmas Day is less important. New Years eve is pretty big but Kings Day is very important with Carnival processions etc. Next stop . . . "Semana Santa" (Easter)A bit late for this post...I good friend and he's buddies in the Basque country dress up every year for the KINGS Day. The Idea is that the kids ONLY have a short gimps of the KINGS as they exit the large Barn....(as per the 2nd pic) So they wait at the end of the barn, and the kids are let in on the other side. As the kids rush in, the KINGS disappear through the Barn doors, then walk past the windows...with the kids amazed and delighted... Think the parents have just as much fun with this as the kids do! Pulse and Bonus 2
Bonus Posted February 6, 2019 Author Posted February 6, 2019 Yeah, for the kids here it's the equivalent of hearing Santa up on the roof. If your friends in "País Vasco" ride and they ever come over this way, tell them to look me up :-) Grey Hubs 1
coppi Posted February 7, 2019 Posted February 7, 2019 6 January is Epiphany in Italy................public holiday and the " befana" brings you sweets Grey Hubs and Bonus 2
Bonus Posted February 8, 2019 Author Posted February 8, 2019 I often work with our friend and neighbour "Ramon the Friendly Farmer", but today I was helping out a different farmer. A friend of Ramons called . . . Ramon. Well at least I won't have trouble remembering his name. Today was a mid-winters day, The temperature was hovering around 15 degrees this afternoon and the sun was warm on my skin. Nothing like the 35 degrees plus that we get in summer, but certainly not bad for Winter. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it . . . . Wannabe, RossW, Mntboy and 1 other 4
Bonus Posted March 26, 2019 Author Posted March 26, 2019 It's been a while since we posted on our "Big Adventure" thread. . . we tend to post anything cycling related on our "The Pyrenees - Road, Enduro & MTB Riding . . . " thread and the Adventure thread has slowed down a bit. So, here's an update: We are currently living in the town of Boltaña (pronounced Boltanya) which is 4kms away from the village of Guaso, where our "Project" is, and 6kms from the town of Ainsa which is the center of "Zona Zero MTB Land". We're renting a three bedroom apartment which gives us plenty of space for ourselves and a spare twin room for friends & family to come and visit us. We plan to rent out the spare room with a breakfast thrown in "Air B&B style" (but not actually through Air B&B) for visitors in the summer. I'm currently working everyday - splitting my time between one of the local campsites and several local farmers. I'm doing all sorts of things related to general ground and building maintenance, even helping with farm animals occasionally. The work is 99% out doors, the weather has been lovely - we have not had a wet day in about 6 weeks - and I get to look at the mountains whenever I want to. We are preparing new paperwork for another trip to the banks regarding a loan for our Project and we are also looking into options based on Private Investment and/or Crowd Funding. Meanwhile we're living the dream. Loving the food, the people and the weather. Learning the language. Discovering new places and making new friends . . . . Best wishes to everyone . . . Bonus & Wendy! Skylark, barrykm, RossW and 8 others 11
Bonus Posted April 17, 2019 Author Posted April 17, 2019 I have a couple of days free from work so I'm up at our Project in Guaso giving it a tidy up and preparing for the next bit of garden wall I'm going to build. Popped in to see Ramon and Rosa who live next door and found these 2 lambs being born! They are so new that mum hasn't finished cleaning them yet..... After living in Jo'burg, I do love our "rural" life! Wannabe, Gandalf, GrahamS2 and 4 others 7
Bonus Posted April 19, 2019 Author Posted April 19, 2019 (edited) In Autumn whilst we were doing some work terracing our "sloping back garden", we dug up some bulbs. We didn't want to just throw them away with the garden rubbish but we didn't really have anywhere to put them - so we just buried them in a line on part of the terrace that was finished . . . . Nice to see that our Terrace Walls are weathering in nicely :-) Edited April 19, 2019 by Bonus Mntboy, TIB, Skylark and 11 others 14
Bonus Posted April 26, 2019 Author Posted April 26, 2019 We've had a rather wet Easter here in Spain. Not too bad where we are but in some areas down on the Spanish coast they have had floods similar to those that occurred in KZN over the last week. So similar in fact that "Durban" featured briefly on the Spanish national news last night! Here in the mountains we don't seem to get any flooding. There is very little "flat land" for water to build up on. There are network of streams and rivers leading down to the lakes and the rivers are ancient and have cut themselves between rock, not soil, so they just fill up and move faster. It's quite amazing to see the rivers in the dry season compared to the same rivers in the wet season. Wannabe, Albatross and DJR 3
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