Episode 33

Episode 33
In Spain the shops close from 1.30pm to 4pm, with some closing a little earlier and others that don’t open at all in the mornings. This can be a bit of a pain at times but things are slowly changing. All the new modern shopping centres are open all day and during the afternoons they are almost deserted. In Portugal most stayed open all day with those that did close only doing so from 12.30pm to 2pm: In both countries they stay open until quite late.
We visited another lovely cave at Aracane, the Grutas de las Maravillas. This one has beautiful stalagmites and stalactites in the form of shells, drapes, curtains, floes and columns. One column looked as if it was wrapped in drapes. When back lit they are translucent and resemble alabaster. One series of vertical floes almost resembles a frozen water wall with the white crystals glittering in the artificial light. Another area looked like delicate while coral all over the ceiling, even on the bottom under the water there were small stalagmites though only a couple reached above the surface of the water. There were several pools and the water was crystal clear and several metres deep. Inside the cave was quite warm at a constant 17˚C, it was much colder outside. One lonely small green plant clings precariously to life high out of everyone’s reach; it can only exist because of the artificial light and the slight air current that passes here because it is fairly near the entrance.
South of here we crossed the Rio Tinto, there is a really big copper mine here run by the company Rio Tinto, and there is a town of the same name. This must be where the name of the company originated. There are several mines in this area.
El Rocio is a small town on the edge of the Donana National Park. Apart from the main road to the coast that runs across the edge of it there are no other sealed streets; they are either wide or very narrow and sandy. That sand can be quite soft in places too. In some ways its like the ‘wild west’ with people on horse back cantering through the street and horse and mules pulling carts. Just for contrast there is a large crane and excavator working on a new housing project, and a few very new large 4 wheel drive vehicles parked on the streets.
We took a tour into the National Park; there is no other way to visit it. I had first read about this wetlands area many years ago when I read Robert Mitcheners book ‘Iberia’. It covers around 50,000 hectares and there is also a Parque Natural on the opposite side of the main road that is protected too. It is a vital winter habitat for many migratory birds from Northern Europe. The graylag geese that we had seen in Svalbard are probably here; perhaps they recognize my bright red pullover. There is not a wide variety of land animals as it is mainly soft sand country with cork and holm oak trees, pine trees and gum trees and other scrub and dune grasses. This is no untouched wilderness; people have been raising horses and cattle here for about 2000 years. Eucalyptus trees were introduced in the mid 20th century so that the oil could be extracted from the leaves to provide another source of income for the people who live here.
The vehicle used for the tour is a Unimog and seats 20 people and although it was one of a group of 6 doing the tour we were lucky enough to have only a few people on our vehicle and an excellent driver/guide who, although he didn’t speak much English he was extremely good at finding and pointing out animals and birds along the way.
The trip began by driving the 33k’s south along the wide sandy beach past men working in the water up to waists digging for cockles. I have finally put a definite name to those shell fish we have seen people gathering for weeks now. It seems that you cannot buy them locally; they are all sent off to major restaurants and hotels in the big cities. At the southern end we came to the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. Large flocks of black backed gulls took to the wing as we passed. We then drove up along it some way before turning into the park proper. Immediately we saw some fellow deer and then some wild boar. The wild boar are a fairly small pig, a very dark gray colour and hairy. Apparently in the early morning they roam the beach digging for cockles, catching fish and even a slow bird or two.
In one area we stopped and looked at the houses the people used to live in here. They are a rounded A shape with a frame built from logs and branches of the trees and thatched with reeds. These houses weren’t meant to be permanent dwellings as the people moved around quite a bit.
On the marshes we saw flamingos, herons, and a whole array of other birds bobbing on the water. In some bushes we saw red kites and a buzzard flying over head. There were red deer as well as fellow deer, and there are wild horses too. Things we didn’t see are the Spanish Lynx, an endangered species with 200 of them living in the park, and the Spanish Imperial Eagle that is another endangered species. Rabbits are here too but the lynx keep their number in check, and there is a mongoose but they are rather difficult animals to even glimpse.
Spent some time in Serville: It seems a pleasant enough place with the Guadalquivir river running through it. Fairly large boats can still come upstream as far as here. There are some lovely plazas and pedestrian streets interconnected by narrow alleyways that can be like navigating a maze. A sleek modern tram glides quietly along the pedestrian areas through the heart of the city past the cathedral. At least you can see where the tram runs, the cyclists aren’t nearly as predictable and pose a much more serious threat to the humble tourist who unwittingly steps into their path.
Seville’s history dates from at least the Roman days. It was occupied by the Muslims for around 300 years and became the headquarters of a powerful Muslim state with territory from the Al Garve to Murcia. After 2 years of siege it was reconquered by the Christians in 1248. Then with Columbus’s landings in America it was given the monopoly on trade with the Americas and rapidly became one of the richest places in Europe. The city has had its ups and downs since then suffering two bouts of plague which killed vast numbers of people in the 17th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. In 1992 a World Expo was held in the city.
The cathedral here is one of the largest in the wold, the largest Gothic one apparently, so the tourist literature claims anyway. Built over the former 9th century Almohad mosque, it dates from the early 15th century but incorporates a few features from the mosque. The most impressive of these features is the tower; the former 76m tall minaret that is square but with gently tapering walls so that its smaller at the top than at the base. It does not have steps but a series or ramps going around the inside of the outer walls. This was done so that the muezzin could ride up here on his horse in order to call the faithful to prayer. A renaissance belfry was added in the 16th century to make it more Christian in appearance, finally a weather vane with the shape of a woman was placed on top bringing the total height to 100m. The view over the city with the river in the distance and the Alcazar Palace and its gardens immediately below is lovely
The main entrance is beautiful with intricately decorated arched doorway above which a pointed V flanked by decorated columns that lead to a balcony with pinnacles which is overlooked by a large rose window with decoration all around it. It is topped by more pinnacles with a small tower on either side one of which has a spiral column running up it.
Inside the cathedral in the main chapel is one of the largest altar pieces in the world, it stands 18m high and has over 1000 sculptures representing scenes from the Old and New Testament. Off to one side is the mausoleum of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus). His coffin is held aloft by 4 heralds (figures) representing the 4 Kingdoms of Leon, Castile, Navarra, and Aragon. 80 Flemish stained glass windows don’t give a lot of light into the gloomy interior but with the help of artificial lighting and a magnifying mirror we could have a good look at the pattern on the vaulted ceiling.
There are many bells in that tower and on Sunday morning they ring loud and clear but not with any coordinated rhythm, just a cacophony of noise that is not easy on the ear when one is near them.
Another of the main sites in this city is the Alcazar Palace; it was built on the site of a Royal residence from as early as the 10th century. Although it incorporates many features from Islamic architecture most of what we see now is from the 14th century onward. The outer fortified wall probably dates from about the 10th or 11th century.
Perhaps the most impressive area is that surrounding the Patio de las Doncellas. Built around some long pools of water with a small are of grass and some trees it has lovely lobed arches leading off it on each side flanked by lower triple arches with fine plaster screens above them. The plaster mounding and the tile plinths are very Islamic in style. So to are some of the ceilings with mouldings in the form of stars to represent the heavens, especially in the room that was the Kings bed chamber with its domed ceiling.
A second and third story have been added all around this courtyard and these are the quarters still used by the current Spanish Royal Family whenever they visit Serville.
The Patio de las Munecas (dolls) is a much smaller courtyard and has several columns of pink, black and light coloured marble that probably came from destroyed palace in Cordoba. One of the column has three female heads somewhere on it that gives the Patio its name.
In one room upstairs, off to one side of the Royal quarters there are several huge tapestries hung on the walls. They are embroidered in silk, wool and gold thread. One is said to be of some battle in North Africa. Each would easily measure 6m x3m, perhaps larger.
All the rooms are huge and open with tile or stone floors and we both wondered how anyone ever got warm here, no sign of any fireplaces though probably there were wool carpets on the floors and perhaps hung about the walls. Although the winters here are not bitterly cold now, they were certainly much colder during medieval times.
Outside there are extensive gardens with fountains and planted with hedges of myrtle and the ever present orange trees. Walkways lead from one area into another and a two story wall with a covered walk, like a long veranda gives a good overall view of the garden. Apparently much of the original garden built on two levels was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, the one that destroyed Lisbon.
Both the Palace and the cathedral had much scaffolding erected all about them. In the case of the cathedral they are in the process of cleaning the stone work on the outside and it is coming up a lovely light cream colour, when finished it will look really lovely. In the palace there is some restoration work going on and the main entrances is all enclosed in mesh that has a painted rendition of how it should look.
This area is the heart of Flamenco country so we thought it would be nice to see a show. There are many bars where an impromptu performance may happen but that is usually in the wee hours of the morning and so we settled for a more tourist orientated show at a somewhat more reasonable hour like 9pm.
We arrived well before the starting time and it was just as well that we did so, we got rather good seats without being right under the dancers. This was a very small bar with a miniscule stage so there wasn’t a lot of space for the dancers to move about. I don’t know if any of you know much about flamenco but I had always associated castanets with flamenco dancing but the dancers we saw did not use them.
Our show started with a man playing guitar and a woman ‘singing’; I use that term rather loosely as to my ears it sounded more like wailing, and she had a very painful expression on her face 99% of the time, she also clapped her hands and stamped her feet from time to time. The guitar music was pleasant but in no way was it melodic.
The first dancer was a woman dressed in a black dress with the frills at the back that can be opened out. She frequently pulled it up to open out these frills as she danced, pulling it so high at times that those people sitting right up under the stage would have had a good view of her panties, we got a brief glimpse from where we sat. She too, wore a painful expression as she danced to the accompaniment of the ‘singing and the guitar’. The hand and arm movements are very artistic, the hand clapping and foot stamping just noisy. The very fast feet movements only seem to last a short time, and although they are extremely skilful I don’t think that they are nearly as good as tap dancers like the ‘River Dance’ people etc. Certainly these dancers don’t keep up the very fast rhythm for nearly as long.
A man came on and did a solo dance, very similar to that which the woman had done, then the woman came back dressed in a different dress and they danced together. For the final set the woman who had been singing got up and danced too, and that was quite an accomplishment on that tiny stage, as the fellow playing the guitar was seated there too. The show lasted 11/2 hours by which time my head was thumping from all that wailing. David read somewhere that you have to get a feeling and understanding of flamenco to really appreciate it, well, I think I will pass on that pleasure. Yes, I would go to another show, but if I was equally unimpressed a second time I don’t think there would be a 3rd time.
In the small town of Sanlucar de Barrameda on the Guadalquivir river we visited a Bodega. Bodegas are wine cellars, they are all over Spain, wherever there are vineyards. In this area it is mainly sherry that is produced and in this town they specialize in a particular type of sherry called Manzanilla. They say its not really sherry; it has less alcohol content 15% and is made using a special process. As luck would have it we choose a small Bodega that uses traditional methods still. This is the La Cigarrera Bodega and it was started in 1758 and is now in the 9th generation of the same family.
To make the Manzanilla they buy fermenting grape juice from the co-operatives that crush the local grapes as they don’t own their own vineyards. The fermenting wine is then added to certain oak casks in the storerooms. Firstly, each batch of casks are stored in three layers, one atop the other but separated by a wooden block; they are not moved from that position. Each one is two thirds full of fermenting wine, one third air so that the yeast can breathe. From the bottom casks one third is removed, from the oldest ones this is the stuff that will be bottled and sold, the cask then has the same amount replaced from the cash above it, and so on, so that the new wine that comes from the co-operative goes into the top casks in the storeroom with the casks that have the wine that had been there the least amount of time. It is moved from one cask to another with a special pump that transfers it very slowly through a tube with many tiny pinholes so as not to disturb the yeast on top, this helps to keep the end product clearer so that it does not need filtering when it is bottled.
At the end of our tour that was really only through a couple of store rooms we got to taste several of their products. We tried the Manzanilla, a pale colour and quite dry taste. Neither of us particularly liked it, we also tried a couple of other dry sherry’s and didn’t really like them either but then we tried a couple of sweet red ones and found one that we both really liked so we bought one of them. Sorry, but I don’t think that bottle will make it home.
As a further point of interest Columbus sailed from here in 1498 on his third trip to the Caribbean. In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan also set said from here when he attempted to find a westerly route to the Indies. He succeeded in going round the south of South America but was killed in the Philippines after crossing the vast extent of the Pacific Ocean without bumping into anything. His pilot, Juan Sebastian Elcano, although very rarely ever acknowledged in the history books, became the first man to circumnavigate the globe by bringing home one of the five vessels Magellan had set said with, the Victoria.
In Jerez de la Frontera there is the ‘Real Escuela Andaluz del Arte Ecuestre’ (Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art). This is on a similar line to the more famous Spanish Riding School of Vienna, except that of course this one is not only in Spain but in Andalucía, where the horses mostly come from though some are cross bred.
One day a week it’s possible to watch the horses in a practice session and on another day they put on a show. As we were around on the day of the practice session we went along for a look. There is still a charge but that also includes a visit to the large home in the grounds and a coach museum, as well as a visit to the stables.
First we watched a video about the horses and the way they have been used through the centuries then we went along to the arena where we could watch the practice session. They are not practicing as in a rehearsal, but merely learning or practicing certain steps. For the hour that we sat and watched probably about 40 horses came and went from the area. The ones we saw were practicing the simpler steps, with just one or two doing a couple of high kicks, none doing the really fancy stuff but it was still good to watch. Most of the ‘dancing’ horses are gray in colour, or in the process of turning to gray, they are often 15 years old before they have completed the change.
They are broken in at 4 years of age and begin their training that can take up to eight years. They will then work till they are around 22 years old. All the horses are either Stallions or geldings, no mares kept here. With the most difficult steps, there are three especially difficult ones; a horse will only specialize in one of those three steps.
This is a school for riders as well as horses and there are a few international students here too, but to gain admittance here the student must be fluent in Spanish. Some come on a 2 year course others on a 4 year course. Some of the latter may appear in public performances towards the end of their training. There are 120 horses here, but some of them are carriage horses, and about 16 students and professional riders. A school for the carriage driving is run in conjunction with the riding school.
Outside is a circuit course where the horses are exercised, they didn’t do anything else but trot or canter around this course so it must be where they can relax and enjoy themselves as much as for exercise. Next to this is an area where the carriage driving is taught and practiced. We only got a very brief look at this which was a pity because I love to watch these beautiful horses go through their paces.
The large home that the guide called a palace is what I would call a ‘stately home’ or ‘mansion’ though it does have 3 stories above ground and one below. It was build 1860-64 for a Frenchmen by the name of Garnier. Only a few rooms on the ground floor are open to the public but they all have French doors that open out onto patios or the garden and the ones that were used for entertaining have beautiful painted and moulded ceilings. One even has 4 stags heads on the ceiling one near each corner. Downstairs is what used to be the kitchens there is more information about the horses.
We went into the tack room and the guide showed us the different saddles and explained there uses, the ones used in the performances on those horses that jump high are very heavy, 20kg. The stables were next and we could pat any horses that come up to talk to us; each one has its name, date of birth and parents names above the door of its box. By the feeding bowl some have special instructions on their diet from the vet.
In the carriage museum are many carriages from Europe, Britain and North America. One looks very much like an oversized baby carriage. It is of French design and was last used a few years ago when the daughter of King Juan Carlos was married. With the hood folded down in the wedding photos it looks even more like a baby carriage. Another one was especially built for King George IV of England. He was a big chap apparently and the wide seat was designed just to suit his shape. In front of the seat is a big splash guard made of wicker and also two mud guards over the back wheels that are wicker.
In another room there are some modern carriages with disc brakes and metal wheels that are used for modern carriage driving shows and competitions. Then lastly we saw the costume display with costumes from the 1800’s till present day. They have changed surprisingly little over that time.
© Lynette Regan February 5th 2008