Well, we did our best but unfortunately we'll never understand Spanish village nightlife. New Years Eve came around full of promise and we were looking forward to heading out to a restaurant about 9 pm then seeing the new year in with the 'eating of 12 grapes' at midnight.
On our way back from Zahara we changed our minds and opted for an eat-in seafood dinner about 8pm (which was delicious by the way) then we planned to head out to the town square for drinks afterwards and wait for midnight. Well, the seafood dinner at home was over by 9.30 pm, so off we went into town.........but nothing was open and there was not a soul to be seen!! We'd only just got accustomed to restaurants opening at 9 pm for the evening meal. What the hec.....now this on NYE?!
So back home we trudged and sat in front of the tellie trying to stave off sleep. Midnight finally happened and as we stood shivering on our rooftop patio, we ripped the lids off our tins of grapes and hurriedly swallowed the slippery suckers with each stroke of the midnight church bell. Righto, off to bed...what a boring town, we thought.
Little did we know but everyone only then started emerging from their homes and headed for the bars - or so we were told the next day. I find it hard to believe that people actually go out that late, but what do I know? I come from suburban Birkdale where 10 pm is considered late.
So no, we'll never get used to Spanish nightlife, certainly not in a small white village in the countryside. And if we ever want to have any semblance of a nightlife, then a city is where we need to be. At least food is available between 2 pm and 9 pm in the city, unlike Olvera. Really...siesta starts at 2 pm and restaurants shut their doors until dinner at 9.
We're in Granada as I type this, snugly tucked up in a lovely hotel room at 8.30 pm, bellies full from the great crepe restaurant next door, and internet is free - and working.
I pondered whether to save this as a draft because it sounds whiny, but then I thought "nope, travel has its good points as well as its bad. " No use sugar coating it all.
Would we stay in an isolated village in the countryside again? Probably not unless I knew some other people there to hang out with, and not if I was expecting anything more than a sleepy time.
As Georgie and I were driving towards Granada today we tried to process the last three weeks based in Olvera by listing three things we really enjoyed and three things we didn't.
Not surprisingly, we both listed people we frequently ran into as enjoyable. Georgia really liked her visits to the library because there was a woman there that spoke a little english and really engaged with her, I enjoyed going to the local shops to buy things because there was always interaction of sorts and friendly smiles (or they were just laughing at me trying to speak spanish and/or mime?). Also the village church on xmas eve (even though I'm totally not religious) because families gathered there and the community spirit of xmas was real. Gathering in this 900 year old church was part of their daily life, and as special as the building and its artifacts seemed to me, this was just 'life' to them.
Tandem biking on the Via Verde was also fun, but one of the biggest highlights was a flamenco concert at the local cultural centre. At only $1,50 a ticket, it started at 9pm (yep, an early start for Olvera) and was full of families all out for a good time While I didn't understand what they were singing about, I loved the rhythm and audience participation which was encouraged. The emotion and fun of the concert was infectious and it was great to see both adults and kids taking part in it. Hopefully the short videos below gives you an idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA4dMXUZ02E&feature=youtube_gdata_player and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rx-pswjOv8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Things not so enjoyable to us were the steep, steep hills of the town; lack of town 'energy', especially at night,.....and siesta.
People that live out their lives in Olvera no doubt have a great love for the place, evidenced by the gathering of groups of old men each morning on park benches in the sun, just sitting watching the world go by; or the houseproud women in the cleaning aprons busily cleaning the street in front of their homes and yelling at each other from their balconies as they do the housework.
Food was ridiculously cheap in Olvera, so I can understand why they don't feel the need to work long hours. Georgie and I were feeling really pleased with ourselves surviving on about $20 a day for restaurant food for most of the time there, that is until we discovered the large "mercadona" supermarket on the edge of town three days before we left. Twenty dollars would have fed us for the entire week! And not just on basics, we're talking proscuitto, prawns and smoked salmon type of food! And you were right Donna, wine was about $1.50 a bottle, but when we found mercadona, I couldn't believe a bottle of vodka was only $5!!!
So yeah, I guess food was another 'good' thing we enjoyed about our time there.
That wraps up our time the Andalucian countryside. It's Granada and Madrid for the next week before flying to Zurich on the 9th. Then we're doing short bursts in Milan, Venice and Florence before staying in Rome for a week prior to the cruise.
No pics of NYE unfortunately. Only one of a cute putty cat that helped Georgie drink her milkshake for dinner tonight, and one of Georgie watching some show on the internet as I type this.
Enjoy the rest of the holidays if you don't have to go back to work tomorrow.
Love J&G xo
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