Semana Santa - our first Easter in Spain!
Semana Santa - Easter! - here in Spain begins in earnest on a Thursday. Semana Santa, in Andalucia is an event that literally transforms towns and cities across this region. Processions of elaborately decorated floats with Jesus and Mary statues, groups of pointy-hood wearing Nazarenos (penitents), and shrill brass bands, walk slowly through the streets, from their parish church to the cathedral and back. It is an amazing experience, and a great time to come to Andalucia if you want to imbibe some deeply-held traditions that have less to do with religion than with social groupings and rituals. Many people avoid this time of year to visit Andalucia, but if you come prepared, both for the crowds and the inflated prices in the areas like Lorca where the bigger more touristy celebrations take place, then it is well worth the effort. You will never see anything like it again. So they have Thursday and Friday as public holidays which was why I was determined to try and not let my being ill derail our plans to have all that we needed to have in place done before the potentially long weekend. I am glad that we both managed to make it all happen. Once we got to Thursday we felt the pressure begin to dissapate. We got up and began Thursday with only two things to achive, I said I'd do the washing which we got got done and out drying before we drove into Mojácar Playa to visit a ferretería - a hardware/ironmongers/general store - to get some more needed items to make our life in the apartment - and in the future our own home - a little easier. We also decided to have a walk along the beautiful seafront and enjoy the wonderful sunshine.
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After we had finished the walk we decided to seek out somewhere to have lunch. We drove nearly into Garrucha along the coast looking at different places and we turned back after deciding to head back to Turre to check out some of the local eatieries. I had seen in one of the free magazines we had picked up details on a place just past where we are staying in Turre that sits in the middle of the countryside called El Tio Tomás, a Hostal Rural and Restaurante. It is a huge house which I think is a hotel plus eaterie. In the grounds there is a lovely outdoor cafe with covered eating area for lunches with a less elaborate lunchtime menu with a set el menú del día - menu of the day. We had a lovely mixed salad, then lamb roasted with honey and a dessert of profiteroles all washed down with half a bottle of wine for 14 Euros a head. Not the cheapest we had seen by any means but the price was well worth it when you took into account the amazing scenery looking across the currently green valley and up into the surrounding Cabrera mountains - beautiful!
Semana Santa - Easter! - here in Spain begins in earnest on a Thursday. Semana Santa, in Andalucia is an event that literally transforms towns and cities across this region. Processions of elaborately decorated floats with Jesus and Mary statues, groups of pointy-hood wearing Nazarenos (penitents), and shrill brass bands, walk slowly through the streets, from their parish church to the cathedral and back. It is an amazing experience, and a great time to come to Andalucia if you want to imbibe some deeply-held traditions that have less to do with religion than with social groupings and rituals. Many people avoid this time of year to visit Andalucia, but if you come prepared, both for the crowds and the inflated prices in the areas like Lorca where the bigger more touristy celebrations take place, then it is well worth the effort. You will never see anything like it again. So they have Thursday and Friday as public holidays which was why I was determined to try and not let my being ill derail our plans to have all that we needed to have in place done before the potentially long weekend. I am glad that we both managed to make it all happen. Once we got to Thursday we felt the pressure begin to dissapate. We got up and began Thursday with only two things to achive, I said I'd do the washing which we got got done and out drying before we drove into Mojácar Playa to visit a ferretería - a hardware/ironmongers/general store - to get some more needed items to make our life in the apartment - and in the future our own home - a little easier. We also decided to have a walk along the beautiful seafront and enjoy the wonderful sunshine.
After we had finished the walk we decided to seek out somewhere to have lunch. We drove nearly into Garrucha along the coast looking at different places and we turned back after deciding to head back to Turre to check out some of the local eatieries. I had seen in one of the free magazines we had picked up details on a place just past where we are staying in Turre that sits in the middle of the countryside called El Tio Tomás, a Hostal Rural and Restaurante. It is a huge house which I think is a hotel plus eaterie. In the grounds there is a lovely outdoor cafe with covered eating area for lunches with a less elaborate lunchtime menu with a set el menú del día - menu of the day. We had a lovely mixed salad, then lamb roasted with honey and a dessert of profiteroles all washed down with half a bottle of wine for 14 Euros a head. Not the cheapest we had seen by any means but the price was well worth it when you took into account the amazing scenery looking across the currently green valley and up into the surrounding Cabrera mountains - beautiful!
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