Entry#4 In the Cruces de Mayo Competion by the Ladies Assoc.

This was the last cross that I got to get a picture of, unless I can get around to a couple today before they are taken down.  The town has been heaving with people in full party mode.  Summertime in Salobreña is the best time of year in my opinion.  Our population explodes with the tourism, the mood is light, and the weather is fantastic.  Our next fiesta is the fiest de San Juan happening 24-28jun. More about that later.  This is the cross erected by the Associación De Mujeres Tropica.  In other words, the Tropical Womens Association.

Entry#3 in the Cruces de Mayo competition Calle Tajillo

This is probably my favorite cross because of the surroundings. Three ladies do a cross on this little side street every year, and every year it is bigger and better than the last. The plants you see on this street are here year round, not just for the Cruces de Mayo. It is a lovely little street and the 3 ladies involved with the making of the cross look after all these plants themselves. Here goes.

Entry #2 in the Day of the Crosses Competition in Salobrena

This year saw 2 fiestas in one week, last Friday thru Sunday we had the Nazari Festival and this week, we have the Day of the Crosses celebration. All in all, a good week!

This entry, was built and submitted by the students and teachers of the Flamenco school in the Cultural Centre (Casa de Cultura). It can be found in the plaza of the Cultural Centre. As you can see, their theme is Flamenco. If you look closely, you will see the the cross is actually a Flamenco dancer in full dress with mantilla. Along with this display, was a small bar, music, a make shift wooden dance floor, and seating so that we could enjoy a show.

Cruces de Mayo Celebrations is in full swing.

Every year on the 3rd of May we here in Spain celebrate the Cruces de Mayo. It is in fact actually a 4 day celebration with music, make shift bars, dancing and most importantly, the decorated crosses. The pictures really don’t do them justice in my opinion, an incredible amount of work goes into the making of the crosses and their settings as you will see. This year, there are 4 outside displays and 6 indoor. Many of them have bars and entertainment, others are just large shrines. Since yesterday was May Day, the 1st of May and everyone was on holiday, most also took today off to make it a 4 day weekend, we do that a lot here. One or two of these small bars, will go on well into the very wee hours of the morning. I remember last year going to work the following morning, and there were still people hanging on for dear life at one of the outdoor bars. The first cross shown is actually a fountain, and the cross itself is made from fresh flowers. I will be posting photos of a different cross each day until all have been shown.

Back to the Garden…

I look after rental properties, and unfortunately most of my owners don’t get to see their gardens as often as they should. These flowers are in the garden of Villa Renna.

Pinch me, I live here!

When people ask me why I live here, I can’t always give an answer, but like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Nazari Festival- click the photos to see the larger versions.

This past weekend, the annual Nazari festival took place at the Castle in the Postigo, aka the Paseo de Flores. The Nazari’s were the last Muslim Royals to inhabit Spain. Granada was their last foothold in Spain.

The Nazari king Ibn al-Ahmar reached an agreement with the Spanish king Fernando III in the 13th century and was declared official vassal of the Spanish king. This declaration helped protect the Naziris for many years from the inquisition. The Nazaris held Granada until the 2nd of January in 1492 when it was at last conquered by Ferdinand and Isabelle. It was the last Muslim kingdom in Spain. It was under the Nazaris that the Alhambra was built. Enjoy!

The beautiful Church in Motril

I snapped this pic about 8pm last night, despite what the clock says, it is not working at the moment.  The sun was just disappearing around the mountains so the light shining on the church is fantastic. Enjoy,

Look at her now!

If you go back to the post on the 22 Mar, you will see this banana blossom when she was just beginning to lay down bananas, now it is in full swing, and the fruit has just gone mad.

Beautiful Pampas under a blue Andalucian Sky

I was taking pics in the garden today, absolutely everything is in bloom. This pampas grass is quite popular here and it grows wild everywhere too.