Discovering a new life in Costa Almeria

Terreros may be a quiet place outside the holiday season but there is certainly lots to do during July & August. The first thing to do when you are visiting is to go to our information kiosk near to La Venta (it's a wooden hut near the roundabout).

Here they have lots of information booklets on the area but the key booklet to get is this one.

 

 

 

 

It lists all the events that are taking place in Terreros during July & August. If we look at the page for today, there is a dancing exhibition on the Paseo Marítimo at 22.00 (yes, a lot takes place late at night because of the heat during the day), there's Yoga at 18.00 in the Cultural Centre and children's basketball in the court on the Paseo.

 

 

There's a few concerts up at the Castle during the summer, including one this Sunday and this Saturday there is the Romería Virgen del Carmen, who is the patron saint of fishermen (romería = picnic & procession) starting at 21.00.

 

 

Last year during August there was also a large notice board on the Paseo listing all the events for the month - and there was a lot to do.

 

 

Keep an eye open for noticed by the Supermarkets and in the bars as these will give you additional information on events that are taking place.

 

 

And enjoy summer in Terreros.

Last night we were aware of a lot of 'muck' appearing on the lounge floor - and I blamed the dogs for bringing it in. However, it appears they were not the cause, it was actually ash from a forest fire some 30 minutes away over Cabrera, thought to have been caused by a lightening strike. People have been evacuated and homes have been burnt, although I don't know how badly. This is near to the popular towns of Mojacar and Turre, and hopefully there have been no injuries. A massive fire-fighting force was in use and this morning the fire is mostly out.

The following is taken from: http://www.davidjackson.info/

Infoca, the forest fire people, say that the probable cause of the fire was a lightening strike from the storms we had yesterday.

While Almeria city and Albox suffered intermittent showers throughout the day, the Levante just had a dry thunderstorm, steady winds and temperatures of up to 40ºC.

Canal Sur says that 300 houses in the mountains have been evacuated so far.
The fire started in Cerro de la Mezquita and has spread rapidly. 53 fire units have been assigned so far, as well as two amphibian aircraft, three normal planes, an overall command plane, four helicopters and two large capacity helicopters.

The main bulk of the fire is out, although it is still burning away up in the mountains.
The Guardia are still not letting anyone up into Cortijo Grande, although the Turre – Los Gallardos road has reopened.

Over 2,000 heactacres (20 square km) was burnt, according to media reports. It has been confirmed by an eyewitness that Finca Listonero was burnt, along with a number of cortijos close by. El Almeria newspaper says that around 20 cortijos were destroyed.

The flames did come down very close to Turre, and several fire breaks were made by the army just outside the town.

The fire reached a level 2, and a battalion of troops (around 120) were deployed to the area overnight to protect Turre and Mojacar, along with heavy earth moving equipment.

While the troops have been stood down, local media report that aerial units are still trying to extinguish the fires blazing up in the mountains

After the recent heatwave in England I have had a few friends asking me how I keep cool in the heat of summer. Here we have week after week of high temperatures so we are more prepared for it than having the odd week in the middle of a cool wet summer.

The main thing is to wear as few clothes as possible and to move slowly, easier said than done if you have a job of work to do or a family of young children to look after.

If you can plan your day to suit, an early start is best - whether it's walking the dogs, housework or tidying the garden - getting an early start has two benefits, one is that you are doing them at the coolest part of the day (a must for dog walking) and secondly, it gets the chores out of the way so you can relax and enjoy the day, and if you need to - a little sleep at siesta time to recharge the batteries.

I lose track of the number of times I shower and change clothes in a day, at least the clothes dry very quickly so although there is more washing to do - it doesn't seem like it because it's washed, dried and away in a matter of hours. Ironing is an almost impossible task in this heat so the trick is buy clothes that don't need ironing where possible, and to put them away after washing in a way that will keep creasing to a minimum.

I know a lot of the Brits that come to Spain, either on holiday or to live, complain about the restaurants not serving the food piping hot and not warming the plates, but I must admit to doing things the Spanish way now - as I get so hot if I eat piping hot food or drink red hot coffee - instead, I allow my meals and drinks to cool a little now. I also find if I drink too many chilled drinks I seem to constantly want more - I find drinking coffee better, but then I have always been a huge coffee drinker.

Sleeping at night is a big issue in the heat of summer. There are cooling pads you can get to put under your pillows, which some of our friends have said help. We just use a floor standing fan and have it blowing across the bed. So far we have been able to sleep quite well. We have a cool shower before bed, and find this helps us get to sleep. Last summer we had the aircon on all night but this year haven't found we need - to so maybe we are acclimatising to the heat a little.

Finally, we have lots of fans in the rooms to keep the air circulating. We do have air conditioning but prefer to use the fans, have the doors and windows open and when we can - we enjoy the outdoor living this weather allows. There is often a breeze in the garden, a quiet corner in the shade, a good book, a G&T and a comfy chair - and we let other people run around in the heat of the day.

And where are the dogs in all this heat? Laid under the table, in the shade, infront of a fan - not daft are they?