Puntos de vista - a personal Spain blog

Serrania means mountain range, similar to sierra. Round these parts, in southern Andalucia, La Serrania usually refers to the Serrania de Ronda, the area around La Ciudad del Tajo, which is, of course, very mountainous.

[map courtesy of rondaserrania.org]    

There are also La Serrania de Cuenca, located in the provinces of Cuenca, Guadalajara and Teruel; and La Serrania de Hornocal in Argentina. There are no doubt others, although Wikipedia did not reveal them.

Serrania derives from serrano which is an adjective and a noun.

Secret Serrania de Ronda

This is a website, www.secretserrania.com, which is owned and run by Karl Smallman, a freelance web designer, photographer and journalist, who lives in the Serrania in Jimera de Libar.

I cut my blogging teeth writing for Karl in years gone by.

Now I have my own website: www.help-me-ronda.com

Karl's is www.secretserrania.com

[photo of Ronda's Puente Nuevo by Karl Smallman]   

SerraniaRonda.org

This is an official portal for information about the Serrania de Ronda. it has information on the towns and villages, parks, accommodation, dining, activities, sights, hiking and a contact form.

Serrano or serranito

This is a tapa, widely available across southern Andalucia. It was invented by Benito Gonzalez from Ronda.

You can read about its origins here:

History of a Ronda "tapa" - Eye on Spain

History of a Ronda tapa - Help me, Ronda

History of a Ronda tapa - Secret Serranía de Ronda

[ABC]   

© Paul Whitelock

Pictures:

ABC, Karl Smallman, rondaserrania.org

Thanks:

Benito Gonzalez, eyeonspain.com, rondaserrania.org, secretserrania.com, Wikipedia, www.help-me-ronda.com

Tags:

ABC, Benito Gonzalez, eyeonspain.com, Karl Smallman, rondaserrania.org, secretserrania.com, Serrania de Ronda, serranito, serrano, Wikipedia, www.help-me-ronda.com

Spanish bureaucracy, eh? Doesn't it get on your nerves? What with annual tax declarations, IBI, traffic fines, bank security and banking charges, it's a wonder we put up with it and continue to live here!

[Youtube]    

But, my latest confrontation with bureaucracy really bites!

Animals

Well, we know we're supposed to get our pets "chipped" and treated for everything from ticks to rabies, but my latest confrontation with bureaucracy bit me hard ..... Literally.

One of our cats got a claw caught in the cat flap. Amid Fritzi's screaming and yelling I tried to free her, whereupon she sunk her teeth into the palm of my left hand. Out of fear, I guess. 

Anyway, I got her free, but I was bleeding like a stuck pig. I washed it thoroughly under cold running water and my ex-nurse wife put a sterile lint pad on it and taped it up. This was Thursday.

By Saturday I was in some pain, so, surgeries closed, I went to the chemist's where a kind young pharmacist had a look, cleaned it up and put a proper dressing on it.

Come Tuesday it was still hurting, so I went to the doctor. She treated the wound, which by now was full of pus. I was given a tetanus jab and a course of antibiotics.

"I am obliged to report this to the veterinary authorities," she told me. "They will send a vet to your house to check you and the cat out."

[Touchwood Pharmacy]    

Within a few days the vet came, checked the cat's documentation and filled out a load of paperwork.

Imagine my surprise this week when I received a registered letter with a bill for 84 euros for the privilege of this 20 minute visit!

Excuse me, shouldn't this be free-of-charge? THEY wanted to monitor the situation, not me!

Well, I've paid the bill now. No point in complaining.

Conclusion

Look, along with smoking, litter and guardia civil trafico, I am not deterred from living for the rest of my days here in Andalucia. I'll just have to grin and bear it and keep paying the fines and the fees.

© Pablo de Ronda

Pictures:

Touchwood Pharmacy, YouTube

Tags:

antibiotic, banking charges, bank security, bureaucracy, cat, cat flap, chemist, claw, Fritzi, IBI, Pablo de Ronda, Paul Whitelock, pharmacist, rabies, sterile, tax declaration, tetanus, tick, Touchwood Pharmacy, traffic fine, vet, veterinary, YouTube