Christopher Columbus - Cristóbal Colón - discovered the New World in 1492, thereby proving that the Earth was round and not flat and opening up the Americas for further discovery.
[Wikipedia]
This day is celebrated throughout the Hispanic world on October 12th. In Spain it has been amalgamated with that country's National Day/Día de la Hispanidad and is an obligatory bank holiday (feria).
In order to celebrate this important date in the Spanish calendar, a group of us guiris assembled at our place near Ronda to swim, chat and partake of Rita's paella.
Gathered together were two Maltese, one Englishwoman, one Welshman, one Northern Irishman and one German, the aforementioned Rita. The 7th guest, Hovis, was suffering from a stinking cold, so didn't come.
Blessed with late afternoon sun at the start and Autumn warmth after sundown, the braver souls went swimming - the water was a refreshing 19C - while the others quaffed cava.
Time to eat and seated comfortably on the terrace, we started with sopa fría de pepino - cold cucumber soup - one of Rita's many specialities, followed by her "famous" paella.
As the wine and beer flowed and the conversation got increasingly lively, we learned more about the bird-watching activities of Hovis and Jacqui, John's and Lorraine's plans for their next visit and Richard's shoulder injury.
As the only permanent residents our life will continue more or less as normal, notwithstanding a visit by my daughter and two grandsons in a few days time. After that we start the run-up to Christmas, when it's off to Germany.
Pudding was Apfelstrudel with ice cream accompanied by assorted digestifs from my collection and coffee.
As we broke up - it was now dark - we made tentative plans to meet up when they are next in town in 2027.
© Diary of a Nobody MMXXVI
Picture:
Wikipedia
Thanks:
Rita Whitelock
Tags:
1492, Apfelstrudel, bank holiday, Christopher Columbus, Columbus Day, Cristobal Colon, cucumber, Dia de la Hispanidad, feria, October 12th, Paul Whitelock, pepino, Rita Whitelock, sopa fria de pepino, Wikipedia
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