Monday, 15 January

This morning, I arrived early in the hotel to send out those e-mails to the publishers for the guide books. I sent out 4 as that is all I had and one to restaurant client from April 2006 who has a friend at a UK paper and will ask this friend to consider a piece about the area based on what I wrote. I was a bit late in sending the article (8 months late to be exact) but hopefully they will still send it on to their friend.

We then went to Ronda to run some errands as per usual. We stopped by the office of CIT Serrania de Ronda which is a tourist office for the area which aids businesses such as ours. The main guy there is Alfredo, the same Alfredo who penned a letter to the Malaga government on my behalf about our hotel road signs.

Among the things we spoke of today was the Ronda Festival in May. We as a group, are going to start discussions shortly for this festival where, last year, there were cooking demonstrations by various restaurant chef in the valley and Ronda. Ivan participated in that and will do so again this year. We also talked about the jazz festival. I will send out an invite again with a couple of options on dates to have first meeting and will hope to have the festival for 2008. There definitely is interest in seeing what we can accomplish with this.

Other point, even Alfredo is frustrated with the lack of support from any official agencies supporting tourism. All the publicity goes to the coast and it seems at every turn, the government, whether it be the Junta de Andalucia, the Malaga government or the Patronato de Turismo de la Costa de Sol , puts obstacles in the path of tourism here, nothing to makes life a bit easier for any of us.

Anyway, we also covered the fact that I will be sending out invites for a meal, lunch or dinner, to owners of the valley businesses, an idea I had last summer but failed to follow through on, including Alfredo. This could possibly develop into a forum to discuss common concerns, issues or problems amongst business owners and maybe even develop into an owners association of some kind for the Serrania de Ronda of hotels and restaurants, something lacking in this area at the moment.

After we finished with that, Ivan & I headed to Estacion de Jimera de Liber (one valley over from ours named Guadiaro Valley) to try out a restaurant called Quercus which apparently has a good reputation run by a Spanish lesbian couple. After a 25 minute ride to get there (we did not have telephone contact details to call ahead), it was closed and probably closed for the whole month of January and perhaps February as well. So we decided to head to Estacion de Cortes de la Frontera to try a restaurant there that we heard of run by an English couple. Again no luck, they closed their doors permanently a couple of months ago. Not surprising as they had come to our place for tapas once and told us about their place but they didn't really want to continue with it too much longer. So we decided to head back to the village of Jimera de Liber and have lunch at a place run by Javier, someone we know, a small hotel and restaurant. When we arrived, the place looked a bit different and Javier was no where to be seen. Of course, we soon discovered that he left the place two months earlier. So no luck really!! We headed back into the Genal Valley and in Atajate we lucked out... the venta (roadside restaurant) was still serving lunch even though it was already 4.15. Most places in Spain will stop serving lunch at 4.00 and the kitchen closes, period. And then back to Juzcar.

The weather is a bit foggy today, a damp haze everywhere you look and low hanging clouds/fog over the mountain tops. However, all the almond trees started to bloom about 3 days ago and every day there are more flower blossoms appearing in pink or white.

THIS is something I've written for inclusion in guidebooks, hopefully. I'm sending this some publishers I've come across for their next revised edition of their guides of this area.

The Genal Valley of the Serranía de Ronda, Málaga
(for inclusion in Costa del Sol Guide, Andalucia & Spain guidebooks)

The quiet and restful Genal Valley has a history that goes back hundreds of years. It is located in the Serrania de Ronda just to the south of the bustling white village of Ronda. It is sandwiched happily between two national parks, La Sierra de las Nieves and Grazalema. There are two main roads that access the valley, the A369 which is known locally as the Ronda - Algeciras road and the A397 (formerly known as A376), known as the Ronda - San Pedro road.

Each road has a turn-off to the Upper Genal Valley. Following the A397 (formerly A376) from the town of San Pedro de Alcantara on the Costa del Sol, the turn for the Valley is located 11km before Ronda. The A397 is a winding mountain road with plenty of traffic, especially in the summer months. It will repay you with the fantastic views of the coast, Gibraltar and, on a clear day, the mountains of North Africa. Following the turn for the Genal Valley, one will see six of the seven white villages of the upper valley, Parauta, Cartajima, Júzcar, Puerra, Faraján and Alpandeire. All have populations of less than 300 and all have very traditional lifestyles. Mobile vendors still pass through these villages on certain days of the week selling a wonderful variety of wares: bread, fish, vegetables, melons among an orchards worth of fruit, as well as fabrics.

Because the upper Genal Valley is still not widely known or developed, it is not heavily travelled; it is therefore a recommended destination for those looking for peace and quiet in a traditional Spanish environment. Each March until May, the valley is filled with wild flowers. As many as 2,000 species growing in this area in springtime with different blooms appearing weekly. The Genal Valley is also chestnut country. In May, the upper valley is filled with the pungent odour of the yellow chestnut flowers in bloom. In autumn, there is a swath of autumnal colours burning across the valley as the chestnut leaves pass through their seasonal change.

Along the boundary between Cartajima and Júzcar lies another area which is worth a visit. This is Los Riscos (literally, "The Cliffs"). It is a wild area in which millennia of winter winds and rains have worn the limestone of the terrain into a series of wild natural sculptures. Although these are not as spectacular as others in the province of Málaga, they are worth seeing as a reminder of how desolate and remote this area was in the days before paved roads and the combustion engine and of the days when a handful of hardy Berber Arabs made their way into the mountains from the coast on mule and on foot and decided to stay.

The Valley is a great destination for motorcyclists, cyclists, walkers, bird watchers, star gazers, rock climbers painters, photographers, writers and nature enthusiasts. For bird watchers especially, this area is a must. It is right on the north-south corridor for the annual bird migrations. It is not unusual to see soaring griffin vultures, eagles, falcons or other birds of prey above the mountainous terrain. With all the natural subjects to paint (ruins, mountains, rooftops, churches, valleys, villages, trees, flora, etc) and changing light, painters could spend endless days painting and not run out of subjects. And all of the villages of the Valley have annual traditional fiestas and Semana Santa festivities, August being the month of fiestas for the Upper Valley.

The lower Genal Valley has eight villages which are all located along the Algeciras – Ronda road. Travelling north from the coast, one first comes to Gaucin, the most southern village on the A369 and then to Benarrabá, Algatocin, Benadalid, Benalauría and finally Atajate. All the villages are similar to those of the upper valley in terms of size but all have their own unique charm. Some offer museums, all offer at least one place to stop for a drink or a meal and some offer accommodation.

Júzcar also boasts La Fábrica de Hojalata (the Tin Factory). This was the first factory ever built in Spain which operated from 1731 to 1905 producing tin for the king’s armoury. Alpandeire was once home to the much revered Friar Leopoldo, a local friar who lived out his life in a monastery in Granada but is still admired by many in the Serrania de Ronda; it is not uncommon to come across his portrait in any number of shops, bars and restaurants in Ronda and the surrounding area.

Lodgings and restaurants are available in varying shapes and sizes throughout the valley be it a hotel, casa rural (country house) or other accommodation, bar or restaurant. La Casa Grande in Alpandeire, opened in January 2006, offers 10 double rooms along with a restaurant and bar. Hotel Bandolero in Júzcar, opened in October 2004, offers eight double rooms with sweeping views of the valley and theme painting holidays. Its restaurant, La Bodega del Bandolero, offers creative tapas and country cooking which can also be enjoyed in the bar or on the terrace. Hotel Los Castaños in Cartajima, opened in 2004, is a bit higher end with five luxury doubles, a roof top terrace, sweeping valley views and an in-house residents only restaurant. La Casa del Llanete in Alpandeire opened in 2005, offers bed and breakfast rates as well as creative and therapeutic holidays by the English owners. Restaurant Anafe in Parauta offers a range of game meats while Bar Torricheli in Júzcar offers a variety of tapas as well as combination plates. Restaurant Remidios in Faraján also offers a variety of meat selections on its menu. There is also a camping site in Júzcar, Nuestra Virgin de Moclón, alongside the Genal River for those on a budget opened in the warmer months with a bar / restaurant and a wonderful natural swimming site in the river itself. Hotel Banú Rabbah in Benarrabá has 10 rooms, a restaurant and a good size swimming pool for the summer months. Meson La Molienda restaurant in Benalauría is a museum and restaurant with fantastic views of the valley.

Then there are locally based outdoor adventure companies offering services such as rappelling in the Genal river, paint ball, mountain bikes, hot air ballooning, organised hiking, guided bird watching, quads, amongst others.

Genal Valley - Accommodation and Restaurants

Hotel Bandolero * *
La Bodega del Bandolero
Cl. Tercio Mora Figueroa, Nº 11
29462 Júzcar (Málaga)
http://www.hotelbandolero.com/
Telf:+34.952.183.660
E-mail: reservations@hotelbandolero.com

Hotel Banú Rabbah * *
Restaurante "Kábilas"
Cl. Sierra Bermeja s/n29490 Benarrabá (Málaga)
http://www.hbenarraba.es/
Telf: +34.952.150.288
E-mail : hotel@hbenarraba.es

Hotel Hacienda La Herriza
Crta. Gaucín - El Colmenar, Km. 6
E-29480 Gaucín (Málaga)
http://www.laherriza.com/
E-mail : info@laherriza.com

Hotel Salitre & Restaurant ***
Ctra. Comarcal 373, Partido Salitre
29491 Algatocín (Málaga)
http://www.turismosalitre.com/
Telf: + 34.952.117.172
E-mail : complejo@turismosalitre.com

Hotel Los Castaños * *
Cl. Iglesia, Nº 40
29452 Cartajima (Málaga)
http://www.loscastanos.com/
Telf: +34.952.180.778
E-mail : reservations@loscastanos.com

La Casa del Llanete
29460 Alpandeire (Málaga)
http://www.casadellanete.com/
Telf: +34.951.166.057
E-mail : info@casadellanete.com

La Casa Grande & Restaurant
Cl. Barranco Nº 76
29460 Alpandeire (Málaga)
http://www.avired.com/
Telf: +34.952.180.400
E-mail : hotellacasagrande@yahoo.es

Mesón La Molienda
Cl. Moraleda, Nº 59
29491 Benalauría (Málaga)
http://www.molienda.com/
Telf: + 34 952152548
E-mail : angarilla@avired.com

Mesón La Sierra
Ctra. Ronda-Algeciras, Km. 18
29494 Atajate (Málaga)
www.atajate.net/lasierra
Telf: + 34.952.180.165
E-mail : lasierra@atajate.net

Restaurante La Fuentecilla
Cl. Cerrillo Isidoro s/n
29491 Algatocín (Málaga)
http://www.hotelruralfuentecilla.com/
Telf: + 34.952.150.371
E-mail : lafuentecilla@depcapc.com

Bar Torricheli
Cl. Ereta, Nº 3
29462 Júzcar (Málaga)
Telf: +34.952 .183.677

Camping Ntra. Sra. de Moclón
29462 Júzcar (Málaga)
Telf: +34.659.682.898
Telf: +34.606.802.211

Restaurante El Anafe
Cl. Calvario, Nº 1
29451 Parauta (Málaga)
Telf: +34.952.181.035

Restaurante Los Labraos
Ctra. Ronda-Algeciras, Km. 83´300
29493 Benadalid (Málaga)
Telf: + 34 952117058
E-mail: loslabraos@hotmail.com

Sunday, 14 January

YESTERDAY, Nicky stopped by with a stack of English language newspapers. Nicky, along with her partner Phil, is the owner of a bed and breakfast in Alpandeire where they do creative holidays, painting instruction, therapeutic holidays or plain B&B. Nicky is helping this new publication, called the Olive Press, by taking it around for distribution in the upper valley. The publisher is an Englishman who has worked for a couple of the English dailies and is now starting this one here in the Ronda area for the English speaking community. Nice idea.

NICKY also enquired about the Jazz Festival and how it was going. I told her that as I had not had any responses except one to the last email I sent out there for a meeting and apparently there was not much interest; as it is now January, it is a bit late to get a festival organised for the coming May. She told me that Phil had responded to my mail with some suggestions and that they are interested in attending participating... I did not receive that email. So I think I need to reignite the whole idea for next spring. Since apparently there are people with an interest, I think it would be a good idea to try again to get it organised.

YESTERDAY, we also had a reporter stop by called Lola. She is writing the article for Geo magazine, the same magazine I mentioned in an earlier entry when the photographer came by. She told me the magazine has a circulation of about 30,000 in Spain and she did not think the article would appear in other European issues of Geo but one can hope. So Ivan and I sat with her and her husband for a while and talked about being here in Juzcar, local activities, the valley, the hotel and what it was like building this business.

IVAN sold another cake yesterday to a village person. It looked yummy, I must say.

OF the two TVs I took to the technical shop for repair the other day, one is for the bin and the other one works. I simply don't understand these TVs... I've had problems with them before where a guest complains the TV is not functioning. I have exchanged TVs between rooms and it seems to work. This time that did not happen with one of them as the technician told me it would cost 70 Euros to repair and I can buy one new for about 100 Euros so he recommended tossing it. The other one did not function for me or Francisco but the technician said it functions so back to the room with it. And now I need to purchase a new TV for the room. Or perhaps I should take the over sized TV I purchased months ago for our bedroom at home (I was not thinking clearly at the time of purchase obviously as it won't fit in our bedroom and so is still in its box) and put it in Room 11 and take that small TV and put it in our bedroom.... now that would work! All I need to get is a TV stand big enough for this TV.

ONE more thing to mention today. We had an unpleasant experience with a hotel guest this morning who stayed for the last two nights with us. She was clearly not all there in the head from the start. On Friday evening, Ivan came to me here in reception from the bar to say someone enquired about a single room. He also said she was acting strangely as she was laughing out loud to herself alone in the bar. When she came to reception, she said all she wanted was a bottle of Baileys and wanted to pay right away for the night, all the while smoking.

THE next morning, yesterday, she came to the bar about 12.00 and stood in same place in front of the bar with two packs of cigarettes, smoking, staring into space with two glasses of wine in front of her that she did not drink. Eventually she went onto the terrace for a bite to eat, food she ordered and then did not eat. She came back into the bar in the evening and did the same thing, stand at the bar and smoke.

THIS morning when I arrived in the reception area, I found my computer unplugged, disconnected from everything, reception desk disorganised, answering machine unplugged, radiator cover off, sign on the dining room door attached backwards, lamps unplugged, floor lamp in the middle of the floor, and this woman stretched out on a sofa in the salon, smoking with an electric radiator going next to her. I said to her "what are you doing here?" She said the heat in her room did not work (not true as I checked it last night and it did work). I told her she had to pay and leave right away as I was not impressed with her actions at all. She then broke into song when she noticed a Tarot book in my bookcase. I grabbed the book from her and told her to stop singing and to go wait in the bar. She yelled at me, "In the street?!? In the bar!??" I said go to the bar and followed her.

SHE finally paid me in cash after speaking to me in bad French and acting very, very strangely. I went and checked her room and found that the tub had been filled with water and teabags she had requested the day before. The room stank of tobacco and the ashtray was full ( I opened the windows of course). It was later when I was checking over my PC and putting it back together that I noticed my computer mouse was missing. She took it I assume as it was there last night when I closed up. I did not even know if the PC would function as she had apparently opened the tower as well so who knows what she was doing. Clearly all was well or else I would not be writing this blog entry now. Hopefully, we won't have another experience like that one, ever! But that is the problem when one has a public business such as ours.... you never know who you will encounter. Poor thing, she should not be let out alone as clearly she has issues or perhaps she is not taking her meds regularly!!

WEATHER today, not so nice, overcast and cool. Feels a bit damp too but it has not rained here in weeks and I think we could use the water. I spent some time on the terrace yesterday watering all the potted plants as they were all dry.

FRIDAY, 12 January.... Already!! I don't feel like writing much today so I thought I would upload a couple of snap shots I've been wanting to include in this blog. The first two photos you see are of the crocuses that are covering the hillsides at the moment. As I mentioned in a recent entry, they are purple with hints of yellows and appear as miniature French irises.

THESE next two photos are of the cakes Ivan made for the Three Kings Day, 06 January, last Friday. They are not very sweet and are flavored with essence of orange blosom, orange and lemon zest, some whiskey and brandy, sliced in half horizontally and then filled with whipped cream and are topped with candied fruits, toasted almonds and toasted sugar. They were yummy!! Remember, Ivan made 44 of these cakes, we sold 40 of them.

Chef Ivan making Roscones de Los Reyes with assistance of Dani

AND finally, this next and last shot is of the valley yesterday as I drove back from Ronda. You can just see some of the plumes of smoke because the valley is a bit hazy due to the smoke itself. But as I mentioned earlier, this is the time of year for clearing the groves of chestnut trees of excess limps and all the dead leaves. Everyone who burns must obtain a license from the village hall and this goes on until late March.

WE just had a single woman arrive and ask for a room for tonight.... one can never say what will happen when running a small hotel in the obscure mountains of Andalucia.... can one?

HAVE a nice weekend!! Hasta la proxima!

Thursday, 11 January. We went into Ronda this morning to take care of a couple of errands. No great loss being closed as it is dead quiet here at the moment even though we do arrive back in time to provide lunch to anyone interested in eating.

Yesterday, I spent some time sending a few emails to artists about possible workshops. I am encouraged by the fact that we now have three painting workshops booked for the coming September and October and perhaps that could be four and one now firmly booked for May 2008. But we need to have more of this business in other months to even out the cash flow. Perhaps 2008 will very cash flow, I just have to keep plugging away at those emails.

I cut the lavender plants back on Sunday. They were enormous and I didn't have the right cutting tool so my hand was very sore afterwards. We're hoping that when they come back, they'll have even more flowers.

We received a one night booking at half board yesterday for that family from Malaga that came around the other day. They booked seven rooms as that was all that was available that weekend, in February. And another one reservation for late February, two singles, English. It will be a big family affair for the family in mid-February with 14 people.

We also had a bit of passing trade for lunch yesterday and the two days before. Nothing today. A group of Danes was sitting on the terrace having tapas when I arrived from Ronda after morning errands. Ivan attended to them until I arrived. The first thing they did was ask if I was English? Eventually we were talking about me the American, being from New York City and how they had just been talking about NYC themselves and how much they just love New York! I told them I love it too and do miss it!! Very friendly bunch, as usual.

Well, not much else to say at this point except we are waiting eagerly for our holiday next week. Not sure what we're going to do during the second week of holiday... could just stay here and do nothing but go stir crazy. Or go on a few days trips to places in the area that we have wanted to visit but just did not have the time. Maybe even take the dogs with us.

Ivan is now in the kitchen making sushi for us for dinner. It's gotten a bit chilly but as in the last few days, the weather is quite warm and comfortable during the day with bright sun, cloudless skies, no breeze. But the valley is becoming all smoggy because of all the chestnut burning going on at the moment. The annual exercise of trimming the trees and burning them along with the leaves.

Sunday, 07 January - my cousin Jennifer, her husband Rob and a couple of their friends dropped by this afternoon. They all live in NY but are here in Malaga on holiday. When I saw them at Christmas, they promised to come up and have a look a the hotel. So here they were today. They had a tour of the hotel and then a walk around the village and then back here for some tapas on the terrace. When all was done, they headed off to Ronda and then back down to the coast. That was a nice surprise as I did not know when they would be here.

Again, the weather today has been glorious, sunny, warm and very comfortable. Hope this will last for the next 10 weeks.

Iris did not show for work yesterday as we expected. She went to Belgium with her family for Christmas and we thought she was going to be back yesterday but no word. Guess we'll see if she turns up for work next weekend. Actually, things have been so quiet, better not to have to pay an extra employee when we are not making so much.

This week promises to be quite boring... actually I think it will be this way until after our holiday. We had a family stop by yesterday to look the hotel over in planning a family Saturday night for dinner and stay. They would book the whole hotel in the first or second week of February, a Saturday night.

I have some marketing work I need to get on to. While I was in London on my layover coming back from NY after Christmas, I was checking out some guide books in an airport bookshop on the Costa del Sol and Andalusia to see what they said about this area. Needless to say, there was very little about the Genal Valley or the Serrania de Ronda... there was something in a couple of them but not enough. All of them provide a write in address if a reader knows of an error or omission or a simple update. So I have to write a blurb about this Valley including the other hotels and restaurants and send it in to be considered. That should be done sooner rather than later because I'm guessing the publication date of an update is imminent. I also need to get a few more letters of solicitation out to that list of artists provided to me by Maggie.

I sent a few before Christmas but have received only one response which was not promising. There are a lot more potential artists to write to about workshops and if I want to get the reservation book full, I need to get cracking on that.

I took the Christmas decorations down in the bar this morning and will have Francisco get rid of the lights and tree on the terrace tomorrow. I've taken a couple more bookings for March in the last few days as well. Need more though. And I want to update the website too. Always something to keep one busy when you have a hotel and are building a business.

Happy New Year. It's been a while since my last entry but I've been busy and distracted.

Ivan had to make 40 cakes for yesterday afternoon, ordered by the village hall for the village people. Today was the day of the Three Kings and it is Spanish tradition to have a particular cake with secret gifts inside covered with dried fruits and sugar and filled with whipped cream (which I made). So Ivan made 40 over two days .. we also provided them with some liquors and hot chocolate. That was a nice little event in the school. This is because there are elections this year and someone is thinking on his feet, campaigning already. This was a first for Juzcar or so we are told.

New Year's Eve was just alright. No one we knew was here for the dinner. Ivan's parents could not make it either , a first. We had seven rooms booked so seven couples for dinner and no one else, which was a bit disappointing. In the last two years, there were people from the village in for the dinner as well and this year, nothing. So it was small. Last year, we also had a group of our friends that came down from London & NYC to spend NYE here. Some we already knew and others were new friends but it was nice and a fun evening. This year was missing that.

Anyway, we had people in the hotel until 03 January so a bit extra business. And yesterday the cakes and chocolate for Juzcar which was good.

This afternoon, after Ivan and I took the dogs for a walk, Francisco came by with our new coffee table that he made from the old front door of the house. He then invited us to stop by his finca as he and his brother-in-law were in the process of making homemade liquor with lemon flavour. So we went up there and had a few tastes of his recently made wine, mosto, and liquors, not to mention some homemade sausage. There were quite a few guys there by the time we arrived. Francisco has so much booze that he's made both from his grapes and liquor and any which way you count it, he has a lot of it! I asked him what he was going to do with all this and his response was that it goes quicker than you would think. Late afternoons like this very one helps to kill off a good portion of his supply... after all there were at least 10 of us there.

The weather here recently has been just gorgeous. I've been wearing shot sleeves and there have been guests dining on the terrace, outside. This is the kind of weather I would have expected for southern Spain, not the cold we've had the last two winters. But then, I know this is not normal weather either. It's so mild in the day that the house in the evenings is not cold at all. It feels more like we've gone directly to spring. And the purple crocuses are already out all over the mountain. This is normal for this time of year already. If this warmth keeps up, I would expect to see some wild flowers already starting to bloom. We shall see... depends on how long this mild climate keeps up for. I'm talking 18 degrees cel here on 06 January.

Anyway, we will be closing for a few days from 19 January for our vacation. We're going to visit some friends. Francisco will take care of Diego everyday providing his meals and taking care of the dogs.

I want to post some of the photos I took of the 40 cakes Ivan made while making them but they're not ready yet so I'll do that next time.

So that's it for now. Time to prepare some dinner.

WEDNESDAY, 13 December - This morning shortly after I arrived in the bar, a gentleman came into the bar with a big camera. He is French, he explained that he just came from the Juzcar ayuntamiento and that he needs a room for the weekend as he is preparing a story on Juzcar for a magazine called 'Geo'. They are doing eight pages with photos and text about Juzcar and as we are the only restaurant in town, he wanted to take some photos of our dishes that are typical of the area. Unfortunately, we do not really have traditional dishes of this area but we do have a couple of dishes that include chestnuts which do come from this area.

HE had a look around the hotel and wants to take a few photos today. He asked if we had a cleaning woman who he could photograph so we called Maria Jesus to ask her to come along for this and she has declined. She is too shy and or embarrassed to have photos taken of her "cleaning". Perhaps it will be me instead. He will also be taking photos around Juzcar this coming weekend including the old tin factory, the first factory in Spain and others of some of the people. This is very good for us as it is free publicity for the area and hopefully will bring us some business.

THE Jazz Festival meeting did not come off yesterday. I got another answer in the morning from one of the recipients of the email saying he could not make the meeting but wants to know what happens and will attend the next one. Someone else called to ask if the meeting was happening. And the day before, we stopped by the Casa Grande in Alpandeire, another small hotel, whom I invited to the meeting, Jesus said he did not receive the original mail and he could not attend on Tuesday. So I have decided to send another invite for the another meeting in the early days of January.

I received yet another query for a booking over Christmas on Sunday, this one from a doctor based in Detroit! I sent a note saying we are closed for Christmas. We need to have at least one holiday a year with family. Even though Ivan and I are spending this Christmas apart, a least we are spending it with our respective families. I'm off to NY on Saturday, early, and will have some time to have drinks with friends in London as I have an 8 hour layover, provided there are no delays in arrival. Ivan heads north on 22 December for four days with his family. And it turns out his parents can not come to help out for New Year's Eve this year as Ivan's maternal grandmother is not well and his parents are caring for her.

OUR new brochures were ready on Monday so we will collect them this afternoon. Yesterday afternoon, we went pine cone collecting. We got four big sacks full of them. They are great for starting fires in the stoves... much better than fire starters.

AS predicted, it is just about dead here at the moment. The weather has improved today as yesterday was foggy and cold. Today is sunny but still cool, not cold.

WE put up a Christmas tree in front of the hotel on Monday with Christmas lights and the bar is all decorated now, thanks to Dani, our bandolero waiter. He does have a talent for this. Here are a couple of photos...

WE also have a new employee, Iris, a Belgian woman who lives in Cartajima. She's been with us now for about three weeks and seems to be working out OK although she is going home for the holidays which is a bit inconvenient for us. She helps Ivan in the kitchen which is great for him as this was something seriously lacking. She has problems, however, frying an egg... she always breaks the yolk! It's becoming a joke now. But she is quite pleasant and is helpful.

HERE'S what it looks like here today. See ya.

Monday, 11 December, so we had a fairly busy passed few days although yesterday was extremely disappointing for a holiday weekend Sunday. We had one table for lunch.... no passing traffic yesterday to speak of at all. I figured it would be a bad day because everyone was heading home after the long weekend. Ivan's brother Gaby and his wife Natalia came down from Madrid for the weekend but they left on Saturday to avoid the traffic. I'm sure many others had a similar idea because business was so bad yesterday.

We were full on Friday and then 7 rooms on Saturday. Everyone ate in the restaurant every evening and a couple of the rooms were repeat clients... came back for the food. And other new clients are already planning to come back in January or February for a couple of nights with a large group filling the hotel. They loved it here and were sorry to have to leave yesterday after spending four nights with us.

The dogs now have a new dog house that Francisco built for them. We have a quiet week in front of us. I got only two response on that email about the meeting for the jazz festival so I am not expecting anymore new developments in that area. I suppose people have lost interest as I was so late in coming back with a date for a first meeting... or they will just show up tomorrow afternoon unannounced. I'm not really sure what will happen but for the two that answered I will send them a note to cancel the meeting... I see no point if all cannot attend.

I am off to NY on Saturday. More later. Today's weather, very cool, cloudy, a bit damp.

Monday, 4 December - today we should be closed but as this is a big holiday week here in Spain, we are opened. There are two national holidays this week, Constitution Day and something else to do with the Immaculate Conception, which falls on Wednesday and Friday of this week. We had four rooms booked for today but two cancelled this afternoon due to illness; we have rooms booked all week now and the hotel is full for the weekend.

We had to take our road signs down last week because of the possibility of a fine. The local tourist office manager is trying to get rid of the fine for the hotel in the next village and to prevent them from fining us... he was going to speak with the provincial government as they are the ones who would issue the fine. Good luck to him!!

The last weekend was fairly quiet as the one booking we had didn't turn up. There was lots of rain on Saturday so not much trade and yesterday we had only three tables for lunch.

This morning, I came out of the house late as this was supposed to be our day off so we had a lie in instead. I was walking the dogs when a car went by and of course stopped at the hotel. Two Belgian couples wanted some food and it was not even 12.00 yet. So they some jamon (ham) and wine and then Ivan made them some tapas. They were very happy.

One of our cleaning women stopped working for us a few weeks back because she and her husband were taking over the lease on the bar in their village, the next one over from Juzcar, Farajan (pronounced "fa-ra-HAN"). We went over there for some tapas ourselves today.

I've been doing some accounting today and a bit of website work in addition to some marketing. Our artist friend, Maggie Price, sent me an email a couple of days ago with information on possible artists that may be interested in having painting workshops here. I revised my invitation letter asking for their business.... all Americans, amd sent a few out. Hopefully something will come of that. We already have one more workshop booked in September 2007 thanks to Maggie. She sent us one of her friends who also does painting workshops and he booked a week with us. It's late to be getting any more of these in the first half of 2007 but I will continue to try to build more of that kind of business.

The weather has cooled more so lately. That said, this afternoon felt like an early summer day with a mild breeze and bright sunshine all day. The leaves on the chestnuts are turning a burnt color now and falling more rapidly. Around the valley, one can see that the burning has already started; this is an annual event, cleaning up the fincas of leaves and trimming the trees for next season. I was told that this year was not a good season for the chestnuts because there was not enough rain. I guess when there is a significant drought, it takes a couple of years to get things back on track. I thought there was lots of rain this year but because the rain was late and not enough, the chestnut yield was slim. Next year I suppose things should be better.

Anyway, at this time of year and until the spring now, one can see plumes of smoke rising in various locations around the valley on any given day. There are strict rules in place from the Junta de Andalucia on how one can burn, who and when. There must be water not far, one can only start burning from sun rise until about 13.00 hrs and one must obtain permission from your local ayuntamiento (village hall) who will tell you on what dates you can burn and for how long that permission is valid. So everyone awaits their turn and in the meantime, cleans the finca preparing piles of rubbish (leaves mainly) for burning. I suppose the branches are taken for firewood as the houses here do not have central heating(!!)... everyone uses stoves or fireplaces for warmth.

I also finally sent out that invitation to those possible participants for the Jazz Festival I proposed. Yes, a Jazz Festival in Juzcar!! Alfredo, from the local Serrania de Ronda tourist office, is very interested on the idea. I proposed this idea about six months ago and circulated a discussion paper with the various things to be considered. It met with a lot of interest then but I never got around to sending out an invite for the initial meeting to discuss what's actually possible and who would be willing to undertake what. I finally sent out the invite on Friday and am waiting for all to respond.... so far only two have. My idea is a music event here in Juzcar and a couple of other villages, the idea being to raise the profile of the valley. I receivedsome comments back from those that saw the paper and it was already suggested that the event should only be in Juzcar initially as it would be easier to organise. I think it is a good idea if it comes together..... let's see where this gets to in the coming months.

So, this blog format for creating new entries has changed... they eliminated the possiblity for me to preview my new entries and the spell check as well. What are they thinking? I'm not sure how this will look now but I'm going to go ahead and publish it.

Juzcar, pronounced 'hooth-car' or 'who-th-car' or as I like to say, 'whose-car?'. Have I put a photo of this village on this blog yet... I think not so here's a photo of Juzcar.

This is the first photo of the village that I took on the day that we passed through the village after viewing the hotel for the first time back in August 2004. We arrived in Spain from London on 12 August 2004. By 30 August we had identified this property here in Juzcar as the one we would most likely purchase and low and behold here we are... a bit more than two years later.

The hotel had been for sale for a while and the previous owner was desperate to sell it, or so we are told. He had lots of debts and his wife did not want to stay in Juzcar where he was from. they also had three children attending school in Malaga so on the block the hotel went.

We got the contract agreed by the end of September, early October, which actually wasn't that long. We arrived in Juzcar on 12 October 2004, after a long holiday weekend. One mistake I think we made was not to come back here again after our initial visit. Very green we were... it didn't even dawn on us that we should have done a bit more research but then again had we done that, we probably would not have come here. I don't regret our purchase of this hotel but I do wish we had done more research before we arrived.

This is what the exterior of the hotel looked like in the first days after we arrived in Juzcar...

Notice how boring the terrace looks... no plants on the outside of the railing, no tables or chairs, a curtain hanging in the window over looking the terrace, an ugly restaurant sign with arrow, not many plants on the terrace. What you don't see is that the doors to the bar are opaque so one cannot see inside nor from inside to the outside... strange I thought to have it so. And the bar was equally boring with ugly things hanging on the walls, not much personality.

So we've made a few changes for the better since we arrived but as we look at the old photos now and see what we have achieved and what we want to do still, we just don't know when we will be able to afford to get the changes made. Poco a poco as they say here.

Here's a photo of the terrace in September 2006...

Much better now, no?

Today is Wednesday again, already!! 29 November.... so what's been happening?

We had only one booking for the weekend and that was on Saturday, a couple from Malaga. They arrived right around the time we were also invited to a baptism. One of our village people, Raul, had a son not too long ago... well his girlfriend, not him. Raul is the brother of Auxi who, together with her husband, run the bar here in Juzcar called Torrecelli's. So Raul invited the whole village of course and that includes us. You see, not all the village people are mean or bad tempered or dislike us. We have a few that come in fairly regularly and Raul is one of them.

Well our clients were arriving right around the time of the mass and then the party so we had to wait until they arrived, had dinner and then went off to bed. By that time, around midnight, the party at the school was over. But everyone had gone to the club. Yes, Juzcar has a club as well. It is called the Teleclub and it run by David, Raul's brother-in-law, and his girlfriend Ellie. The club is attached to the church, Santa Catalina, so it is a town building.

Here's a typical story of Spanish bureaucracy. The club is owned by the village hall. Back in August when all the villages have fiestas, there was a fight one night outside the club in the town plaza. It turns out that those who were fighting were all from another village, the one with the bad reputation in the Upper Genal Valley.... which I shall not name. Anyway, it was cause for the friendly Guardia Civil ('GC') to step in. The story goes that one of the chiefs from Malaga heard of the fight and asked why the Teleclub was still opened because apparently they, the GC, knew that the Teleclub did not have an operating license. This is the part that confuses me because the village hall owns and rents out the club; why in the world would they not simply issue an operating license to their tenant? Pedro, our local GC, was in a little bit of poo-poo because of this because he should have made sure they had papers or that they were closed. In the end, after the club was closed for a short while, word is that the village hall issued a temporary operating license to the club and it is opened again. Fun story that says an awful lot about the ridiculous red tape in this country!

Anyway, we went to the club on Saturday for a couple of drinks. Raul's dad, Juan, was there and was very generously offering his water deposit to us if we were ever in a crunch and without water with the hotel occupied. His finca is above the hotel's and he has a 6000 liter water deposit. I hope we never have to take him up on his offer but that was very nice of him.

I got a bit drunk as I had not had much dinner and someone is always buying us drinks when we go out there. Sunday morning was a bit difficult to say the least.

On Sunday we had a few tables for lunch but only enough to have them sit in the bar or on the terrace as Sunday was a beautiful day. A couple we know from Seville who stayed with us in April showed up unannounced, a pleasant surprise.

Monday, we had a late sleep in as this is a pretty quiet week. Our new door is finished and looks good. Francisco finished that on Friday.... painting around the door and whatever else it needed.

Here's a photo of the new door...

It does make the house look so much more welcoming. Turns out the old door was too wide as well... extra wide; I order this door with a normal measurement so we had to have the extra space closed off with bricks and to us it is very noticeable. Anyway, nice to have a new door.

On Monday I started chasing up the printers who are in the process of making new brochures for us.... I changed printers because the service we got from the first one was too slow and unresponsive. So we changed to another one and low and behold, we have waited for over three weeks just to get the first proof. When I called them on Monday, naturally they said come in tomorrow to see the proof. So I picked it up last night and made a few corrections, dropped it off again today and need to have one more look at it before it goes to print. At this point, we have no brochures in Spanish nor English so we are using the old ones which have no photos.... but hey, better something than nothing, right.

Today we had a couple of tables for lunch. One of them was the owner of the hotel in the next village. In an earlier blog I wrote about the GC coming in and telling us they were going to denounce us for the road signs we installed without permission from the provincial government. Well, the owner of the other hotel today asked me if we were ever denounced for our signs. I told her about our recent experience with the GC regarding this. She told me that she recently received a letter from the Diputacion de Malaga, the provincial government with a fine for the signs she used to have on the road.... a fine of a whopping 900 Euros!! She said she was denounced in February 2005 so it's been almost two years but nevertheless the letter arrived. Her lawyer said he would see if he could do something but doubted it! So perhaps we will get a letter in 18-20 months with notification of a fine for our signs... something fun to look forward to. And yet another thing highlighting the difficult and frustrating bureaucracy in this country, especially for a small business.

Weather report.... it's cool in the evening, still not cold but quite cool. During the day with the sun, it is very nice, both tables sat on the terrace for lunch today, 29 November!! The leaves are falling now, lots of different hues of yellow and other falls colors. No rain to speak of in the last few days.

I'm happy to report that we've now got three painting workshops scheduled for 2007. Maggie Price has been a great fan of ours and has recommended us to a couple of other artists who have contacted me. I've now got another workshop booked for September in addition to Maggie's and to artEscapes, the first group that was here in September. We're hoping for a few more workshops but it is already quite late in 2006 to get bookings for the first half of 2007. These workshops do require some lead time in order that they can be filled and people require some time to get organised so each day that passes makes it less likely that we'll get more of these for the first half of 2007 which is too bad. The scenery here in the springtime is so lovely, I'm sure that when the artists do finally come, they will be very happy with their subjects.

How was business this week? Well, we only had one drop-in on Wednesday, a couple of Belgian girls passing through. We had a group of 5 from Estepona come for lunch on Wednesday as well. They were celebrating a 58th wedding anniversary.... whew, that is a long time!! Otherwise, it has been fairly quiet this week. We only have one booking for tomorrow night but things do pick up again for us in the first week of December as there are two national holidays that week; we have a quite a few bookings that week. And we are working on our Fin de Año fiesta. Unfortunately we had a cancellation of one of the 3 bookings we did have due to family illness, so we still have 6 rooms available. Anyone interested in coming to Juzcar for New Year's Eve? Give us a ring!!

Friday, 24 November already. Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the USA and I was hoping to have a turkey dinner myself with Ivan and perhaps a couple of friends but that was not to be. We had to go to Malaga for the day because our bank that provided us with a mortgage required Ivan to have a physical and that had to be done in Malaga. So he had an appointment in Malaga at 10 AM which required us to leave Juzcar at 8AM. His second appointment was at 7PM, oh so convenient for us.... so we had to spend the whole day in or near Malaga.

The first appointment only lasted about 40 minutes and was on time as well so that worked out OK. We decided to go to Nerja afterwards as we had sold one of our puppies to someone who owns a hotel there and we wanted to see how she was doing. Our French Bulldog, Bandit, had 4 puppies in April 2006. We sold a couple of them, kept one and gifted one to Ivan's sister up in Castilla Leon. So off we went to Nerja, roughly 50KM on the east side of Malaga, a beach front resort town. As neither of us had been there before, it was a good chance to see another town in Malaga and to see the hotel as well.

The puppy had been purchased by Carlos for his daughter. When we arrived, Maria Carmen, Carlos' wife, was in reception and was very pleased to meet us. She told us they were very happy with Reina and that she is just adorable. She had grown of course since we last saw her several months ago but she appeared to remember us. Carlos told us that he had not seen her so excited before. Their hotel is quite nice as well. Very close to the beach, on a plaza so I'm sure they do a very good business.

After we left there, we had some lunch and then headed to Churriana. There is a dog "hotel" there and we are looking for a place to put the dogs while we go on holiday during Christmas and in January when we plan to close for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, they were booked up solid for Christmas but we made a booking for them for January. A very nice kennel with lots of space for the dogs to run around and they offer training as well which our German Shep could use. He's a big dog and wants attention all the time so he jumps up on people and many don't want a big dog on them, including me. So that all should work out nicely.

After that, we picked up some more plastic bags for vacuum packing as Ivan has been going crazy with vacuum packing. He also found out that there is a technician in the area who he called. The technician said he would pass by here one day when he is in the area as he understands Ivan's need to learn more about the machine.

We got back to Ronda around 9.15PM so we picked up some Chinese food for dinner and got back here to Juzcar around 10PM... a very long day indeed.

Here are a couple of photos of the area today with clouds, fog, fall colors and damp appearance:

Alto Genal, above Juzcar, 24 November 2006

Village of Cartajima, 24 November 2004

Today's weather is cool, grey, cloudy, a bit wet. It rained all last night but no leaks yet in the bar. All the chestnut trees have changed their colors now... lots of yellows of various shades. Not much in the way of reds or flame but nevertheless, it looks quite good.

Today is Saturday 18 November and already it's going on 8PM; we've been pretty busy these last few days. Wednesday we went down to Malaga and picked up Ivan's new vacuum packing machine and did a couple of other things that needed taking care of in Malaga capital.

One of them was to get the hot air oven repaired, a very important utensil in our kitchen. Last week, it started over heating, and one of the fans was making a noise that was not right. We packed that into the back of the car (we have a 4X4) having found via the internet that the local technician was based in Malaga and it would save us a lot of money to bring the oven to him as opposed to him to us. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to get everything that was wrong with that oven fixed. Now it is functioning so much better.

The vacuum packing machine was a lot heavier than we expected and bigger as well. It truly is the top of the line. Of course the instruction manual leaves a lot to be desired as it doesn't really explain, in any language, how it functions. It has several programming options, gas use, various setting for amount of vacuum packing and the like. The manufacturer, an Italian company, won't speak to end users (of course!) so we have to figure out how to get some instruction on all the uses of this machine. Anyway, Ivan has already packed up various things into plastic, i.e. steaks, ox tail, quails, frog's legs, stews.... he's been busy!

We were lucky with the weather this week until Thursday when the rain came back. Again we had leaks in the bar because of the constant rain. I think it rained for about 30 hours straight... clearly we are not in a drought situation!

We didn't have anyone staying in the hotel until Friday. We had a group booking for the whole hotel... a group of Brits from Gaucin, another village in the lower Genal Valley, the last one in fact. They were 16 and came to celebrate a 70th birthday. They were all so happy to be here. They started arriving about 4.oo, had drinks at about 7.30 and went into the restaurant at 8.30. We had a nice big fire going in the fireplace to add warmth and atmosphere. They had sent us their dinner order the day before so it was that much easier to serve them... 8 cochinillos were ordered and many solomillo ibierco relleno (stuffed pork tenderloin with chestnuts and prunes). A very nice group; in fact, the host has been raving about us to all his friends in Gaucin so we've been getting quite a bit of business from there... all Brits and all very happy to have a nice place with good food. Apparently, the restaurants in Gaucin leave a bit to be desired.

Today, we have seven rooms. There were 2 drop-ins and the rest were booked during the week or earlier. We also had a gang busting day in the bar and restaurant... there were several hikers about today as the weather was lovely (although it has started to become cold at night).

We also had a visit from the Guardia Civil. It turns out one of their jobs is to patrol who puts up road signs on the main roads... something so disturbing that it requires the GC to be involved. We have three signs on the roads indicating where we are, two are at or near the junction of the San Pedro - Ronda road and the other is at the junction to the Alto Genal (upper Genal Valley) from the Algeciras- Ronda road. So the GC turned up Saturday morning and asked if we had papers demonstrating permission to put up the signs. When we put up the signs, they were a replacement for the previous signs by the previous owner with the old name of the hotel. He, Antonio, told us when we first arrived, that getting permission was a big hassle (like many bureaucratic things in Spain) so don't bother. He advised that if anyone asked about permission, we should just tel them to go and take the signs down themselves (great advice, huh?). We asked our contact at the Serrania de Ronda tourist office, Alfredo, the same question... how do we get permission to put up sign about the hotel on road. He offered similar advice saying that it took much too long and we should just go ahead and put the signs up. He also told us that if we received permission, the signs would have to be official in appearance and could not contain the name of the hotel. So we took his advice and went ahead and installed the signs... and they do look good, not an eyesore on the road side or anything like that.

So now we have been informed by the GC that it is an offense of sorts and that they are reporting us to the Malaga provincial government who may fine us!! Must speak with Alfredo and get some advice as to what to do next... if anything!

Monday, 13 November.... today is our day off. We had a pretty good day Sunday with nine tables for lunch. Of course they all always showed up at about the same time which makes it a bit difficult. And several of them had small children with them which makes it that much more difficult... usually the children are screaming or throwing bread or stomping on the stage. These children were running around the restaurant, screaming and crying... what fun! As for the hotel rooms, we had one booking for the weekend, 2 nights, but then on Saturday, we had a couple of drop-ins which was good. They all had dinner as well so all in all not a bad weekend.

Ivan's brother and father arrived late on Friday evening. They had a lot of carne with them for us. We got quite a few chuleton which is Ivan is looking forward to wrapping in his new vacuum packing machine which we're picking up on Wednesday. Anyway, Carlos and Mariano were here for a couple of nights and helped out on Saturday in the bar and restaurant. They headed back north fairly early on Sunday for the long drive back (seven hours to Madrid from here in a car).

Price Group at Hotel Bandolero, October 2006

This is the second group of painters we had stay with us last month; they are Americans. This was, for many of them, the first holiday in Spain and Europe for that matter. They were all very happy with the hotel, the location, the painting subjects and, of course, the food. The group was organised by Maggie Price, a pastel painter and instructor; she was so pleased with everything that she has already booked another pastel workshop for September/October 2007. We were very happy with this group and we hope to grow this group theme holiday business... much better business than drop-ins and individual bookings. There were also non-painting spouses and they found plenty to keep themselves busy as well.... one day golfing down on the coast, another day exploring the paleolithic cave drawings in the next valley, wondering around Ronda for a day and of course, the light rappelling through La Sima del Diablo in the river here in Juzcar. La Sima del Diablo is located in the Juzcar river... it is four cascades of various heights which you climb down.... backwards with a rope and harness. A couple of the cascades have pools on the bottom of them where you can swim/float. One passes through the most incredible (!!) landscape to get to these cascades walking 4km from entry point in the river to the first cascade. It is a workout and you have equipment as well, not much but some. It is something I strongly recommend to everyone to try while staying at Hotel Bandolero, weather permitting. The husbands had a blast that day and were very happy with our recommendation.

We only started working with this outdoor adventure company in the spring. It is managed by a very charming Spaniard named David and his wife. He is very professional and keeps everyone entertained during the whole experience so it was a lot for fun for everyone, even the wives got to see all when the husbands returned as David put everything onto his laptop for viewing. Everyone got a photo memory CD as well of course.

And the weather... today gorgeous and sunny. Very mild temperatures for this time in November. Looks like the leaves the chestnut trees are trying to finally change colors so a very late autumn. The weather has been beatiful since Thursday but looks like there is some cloud in the forecast for the coming day or so. With this weather now, it is perfect for walking, hiking, bird watching or just reading a book with a tall cool drink. Now that the sun has gone down though, it's time to light a fire.

Well, I think I'm going to go home a relax for a while and then have some dinner so adios for now.

Today is Friday. The rain stopped Wednesday night and we had a drying up day yesterday so today is beautiful.... clear skies, sun, light breeze, mild temps... very nice. It is rather quiet today as well.

On Wednesday, we had one booking, a couple who came from Israel, the first guests from that country. They stayed one night here during their tour of Spain; they flew into Madrid from Tel Aviv and have been doing a car tour. Unfortunately for them, Wednesday night was very, very wet. After dinner, I offered them a movie to watch in the salita (our salon) which they gratefully accepted as they could not go for the walk they wanted. Yesterday they were heading down to the coast and then off to Granada to see the Alhambra. The wife was actually Canadian and her husband was Israeli. We meet interesting people all the time in this business.

We also had a drop in couple, Swedes they were. They too were on a driving holiday of Andalucia. They had seen the website of a place in the next village and went there to get a room. On arrival at about 6.15, there was only a phone number stuck to the door which they called. The owner told them he would be back at about 7.45 and sent them to us for something to eat. After chatting with them for a while, they asked for our room price list and then decided that they'd stay here instead. So we had two rooms on Wednesday night .... for dinner as well.

Tonight, Ivan's brother Carlos and his father arrive for a couple of nights. They are coming to deliver some meat to us. We have Chuletón de Ávila on the menu as well as Suprema de Cochinillo but we have not had a supply of the meat for a few weeks since we sold the last ones. We always have it brought down from up north and we have a reputation in this area for being able to eat this authentic meat from up north here. In fact, a group from Málaga that booked the whole hotel last month requested that we let them know when we have the chuletón so they could come up for another fabulous meal and night's stay.

What is a chuletón, you ask.... it is a cut of meat like a steak ... lamb, pork, beef, any meat but in our case beef and rather large at 450 to 550 grams. And coming from Ávila makes it special as Ávila is famous for its beef.

The cochinillo from Ávila and Segovia is also famous in Spain. Ivan's method of preparation for the cochinillo has earned him rave reviews from every guest who has ordered it. Have a look on the guest book page of the hotel website to see what people have said about his cochinillo. He prepares it boneless so what is on the plate when served is completely edible. And it looks very nice as well. Here it is below...

Doesn't this look tasty? It comes with a spicy honey sauce and seasoned mashed potatoes. The shot glass has juice that it cooked in to pour on it or sip it... as you like.

Tonight we have one reservation for two nights....a Spanish couple who are arriving between 9 & 10 this evening and will dine then as well. Hopefully the weather will hold out so that we can have decent lunch business tomorrow.

Oh and as today is Friday, perhaps you remember that the power company was supposed to turn off the power today... all day. Well, they called and cancelled due to the heavy rain earlier this week. This is the second time they've cancelled.

On Monday, Ivan and I went pine cone collecting. On the other side of Pujerra village, which is a neighboring village and the village with the chestnut co-op... well there is a rather large pine forest on the slopes of the mountain. There are lots of pine cones along the road and pine cones are great for getting a fire going. Last year, Ivan's mother and I went and collected bags of them at about this time. They were not yet opened however so we've left them next to the stove in the bar to dry and sure enough they have been opening all week. We put them in the guest rooms with the wood for the stoves there. Nothing like a nice roaring fires on a cold night to keep warm by.

I received a piece of mail on Thursday which I had to sign for; it was from the department of statistics in Málaga capital. They maintain these statistics on room nights (how many rooms and where the guests are from) in the tourist industry in Andalucia so they send us this questionnaire every month. Apparently they did not receive August from us and so sent it certified informing us it is obligatory to complete. A few minutes after I opened the letter, the phone rang.... it was them!! Very strange... as if he knew in that minute I had opened the mail they sent to us. Anyway, I completed that form last night and faxed it them this morning so they are now happy.

Next up....... the story of Diego!

The power company called this morning. They wanted to let us know they are cutting the power on Friday from 8.00-16.00 hrs. I couldn't believe that they actually called to let us know. Normally they just turn the power off without warning. And then a few minutes later, someone from the power company actually turned up in the bar to post a notice that the power would be cut and to whom!! Progress. So no power all day Friday, for improvement to their network so it can't be bad.

And yesterday evening, three technician showed up from Iberbanda, the company with the contract to provide all the small villages of Andalucia with broad band access to the internet. This is the second time they've been here. The first was more than a month ago to install some equipment on Francisco's finca... his finac happens to be the ideal location for their antenna which broadcasts their signal for satellite broadband access. So we thought after a short time later we would have our broadband access as this dial-up service that we currently enjoy (!) is so slow (sometimes only 40 kbps). But that was not the case and we have been waiting and waiting...... and now these boys turn up yet again to do some more of whatever it is they do to get it running. Hopefully soon.

The weather we suffered yesterday with all that rain was apparently not as bad as what the coast was suffering. We heard that several cars were washed into the sea in Mijas from all the heavy rain. We went to Igualeja yesterday afternoon to buy some meat and when we were returning, there had been a rock slide on the road we came down only a few minutes earlier and half the road was covered in rubble. Very heavy rain yesterday. Today there is just lots of fog and cloud about but so far no rain.

Ivan made a couple of tarts yesterday afternoon. I have to take them into Ronda now. We sell tarts to a restaurant in Ronda called La Quinta. We've trying to grow a cakes and catering business. We have sold quite a few of Ivan's cakes to the village people. We did a wedding cake in September to a young lady from Ronda who found us on the web.... she has ordered another cake this month for her husband's upcoming birthday. Selling to the restaurants in Ronda has not really taken off for us but we're trying. Have you seen our cake website... www.bandolerocatering.com ... there are plenty of photos of Ivan's products.

I spent all afternoon yesterday catching up on my accounting.... in-putting all those bills ... didn't have time to calculate the revenue yet though. Perhaps this afternoon. I input everything into my system before I hand it over to my gestor (accountant) who does all the official stuff. We actually had a refund last quarter which I was surprised at. We saved it for the next quarter in case we owe.

So last night we wound up with two unexpected rooms for the three technos from the ISP company. They had some tapas for dinner and went to bed early. Ivan got up to give them breakfast at 8.30 this morning. Today we have one room coming in and then the next booking arrives on Friday for two nights. We've also been taking enquiries for New Year's Eve. The first booking for that arrived several weeks ago, in fact I think it was in August... a Norwegian couple. And we also have a UK friend and new husband coming as well. So we still have a few rooms available ... de momento.

The owner of the casa rural next door arrived on Monday to do some work there. His name is Paul and he is from the UK. He and his wife bought the place in April and we have been working with them ever since.... a joint effort to increase both our businesses. Paul's placed a few adverts in UK walking magazines as that is his target market. He's now starting to get some results. I use his space as my overflow space since we have only 8 rooms. His additional 5 rooms gives us a good size for groups. He also has Francisco & his wife working for him! The bungalows, as we refer to them, were built by the same guy we bought the hotel from. He sold them separately and they have changed hands one more time since we arrived.

The US elections were held yesterday. I sent in my absentee ballot to NY. I see that Hilary Clinton won her seat easily. Looks like we finally have a change in Congress... hopefully for the better!

Anyway, it's raining again! Wet, wet wet. I'm off to Ronda.