MANILVA WEEKEND.

MONDAY 26TH. APRIL 2010.

On Wednesday morning Brenda had an appointment at the surgery for a general check up so we decided to catch the village bus, which starts from outside, and go down to Sabinillas; the only problem was we missed the twelve o’clock one by a minute! They are on the hour every hour at this time of the year and they go down and along the coast and then return on the half hour. We then met Mano and Anna and caught up with their news as we sat outside Bar Rojas for some tapas.

Thursday was the last day for rain so in between showers we set off over to see Gissy in Estepona and at the same time get our hair done; we had a light lunch with her and caught up with all her and our news, on the way back we did all our weekend shopping.

The weather has now changed for the better and it looks like we will get a full week of sunshine as the temperature’s reach 27degs. So on Friday morning we walked around to the small fish market at the top of the main street and bought some fresh Cod steaks which we had for supper; I baked them in a rich Tomato sauce and we had Saffron new potatoes and garden peas, We then carried on down to the small Friday market, by the sports hall and picked up our fresh vegetables and also from the flower stall some plants for outside and inside the house. We dropped every thing back at the house and then went to catch the local bus at the bus stop just a few yards from our house at twelve o’clock again; this time we were early and so we waited and waited and waited! No bus arrived, we checked the time tables, asked the locals and a policeman and still no bus, it was now over forty minutes late; at the junction, where the bus stop is, all the cars entering the village pass but we had no luck in spotting anybody we knew, just when we were about to give up Mano and Anna came along in their car and they then gave us a lift down to Sabinillas where we picked up the papers and then went for a drink as we needed one after our trials and tribulations of trying to catch a bus !! We then came back up to Bar Rojas and sat outside in the very warm sun and had another drink and some fresh Patatas Fritas ! The bus saga will continue next week when we regain our energy, this all started because we parked the Smart car in our spot behind our house and decided to use the bus for a change

We got up bright and early on Saturday and after breakfast of Brenda’s poached eggs to start the day we caught up with the chores; Brenda is still on a cleaning and washing plan so I went into the kitchen and started on things for the weekend; first I made a Ratatouille with all the fresh vegetables from the market,Aubergines,Courgetts,Red,Yellow and Green Peppers, Leeks,Mushrooms,Green Beans,Onions,Tomatoes and lots of Garlic, all cooked in a rich Tomato sauce ! I then for a change made a Chicken Curry for dinner as we bought more powders and pastes from the big hypermarket over in Estepona on Thursday; We also made some individual trifles as a surprise treat for Anna, her favourite, Brenda made the strawberry jelly and custard and I started on the sponge which I soaked with a generous amount of Madeira wine, Local Strawberries, Pineapple and Peach slices on top of the sponge which was coated with Strawberry jam was then topped off with whipped double cream, a joint effort !!

On Saturday night after our Hot and tasty Chicken Curry we settled down to watch the TV; on TVE2 we watched a live music show; the artist who was new to us was Luz Casal,she is a fabulous singer and has a real together band with stings, horn section, two excellent guitarists, drums and a very clever piano/organist and backing singers, she is now in her fifties and came to fame back in the 80s.in Spain; Her music, on Wikipedia is described as soft adult rock ! She was very good and we really enjoyed the show and will buy a CD when we are next out.

After a lie in on Sunday morning we prepared Sunday dinner, Mano and Anna joined us so I roasted the other Leg of Lamb that they bought, studded it with Garlic cloves and Rosemary and we had all our usual vegetables and potatoes along with the Ratatouille; we then attacked the trifles and even Mano enjoyed them, he had a glass of Maderia wine at the start of the meal ! We then retired to Bar Rojas for a nightcap to end a perfect weekend in a very sunny Manilva.The pictures below show you the weekend at it happened and Brenda is in our chill out room on the first floor, chilling out !!

PS; Happy birthday to young Jack over in Melbourne, we tried on Skype video but missed you !

.

MANILVA.

Saturday 21st.February.

In the morning we went for our regular walk and gossip around the village as it was a warm sunny,crisp day. The new fountain and Plaza outside the church is starting to look very good and should soon be finished,Hasta Manana! The football at the stadium was the local 7-a-side teams playing on the half pitch with all the local rivalry on show,especially when the police team is playing! At lunchtime Anna joined us for a snack lunch of left over Fish Pie which even if a do say so myself was delicious ! We then walked down to Marena and Luis’s bar next to the “Office ”where we met Mano and Mark who had been over to Tarifa for a site meeting with Chris and Kerry,Tracy,Marks wife,who is from New Zealand and who’s father was an All Black back in the 70s joined us later as it developed into a “ Helluva ”afternoon as the bar was full with a local family and they soon started singing Fandango with one of the young boys being the star of the future! We left Mano in the Antique Bar playing domino’s as we walked home and had a late supper of Steak and Frits.

MANILVA VERBENA SANTA ANA 2008.

Saturday 26th.July.

Well the pictures below don’t give you the full atmosphere but we had a “ Helluva ” night in Manilva.The parade starts at 8-00pm and passes through the village twice with the village band lead by the Bandmaster with the Mayor and the councillor’s following the Santa Ana statue.The whole village dressed in their finest follows on behind.The two main bars on the Calle Mar were very busy and the stall holders did a roaring trade.We then joined the Spanish side of the Guerrero family. for supper with all the family sat around a large table on the terrace of the family house,with all sorts of tapas and plancha dishes.After some fine 8 year old rum we then walked back upto the main street where two Samba/Spanish bands played very loud music for dancing until past 3-oo o’clock in the morning.We were guests of the local PP party and danced the night away as we drunk a very fine chilled bottle of Cava with Mano and Anna.Carlos looked after us during the night and kept the drinks flowing,thanks! And also “ Muchas Gracias” to the family who as usual made us very welcome in their lovely house with over thirty of them including the great grandmother sat at the head of the table!