Finca Arboleda, Vera, Almeria idyllic Holiday Accommodation.
The annual fiesta and a promise of late nights starts on 21st September with one of the highlights for some people being the bullfights.
More information regarding the bullfight.
Reservation of tickets and more information can be obtained on the following telephone numbers: 676 385 583 – 650 275 262, and on the website: www.grupovientobravo.es
Given that the patron saint of Vera is the Virgen de las Angustias (Virgin of Sorrows), this is not a major celebration. However, devotion brings neighbors to the shrine located on the outskirts of the town year after year. The pilgrimage is held to pay homage to the people of Lorca who assisted Vera´s population when the town was besieged by the Moorish king Aben Humeya in 1569.
In fact, the city of Lorca did not have to intervene. The Moorish king turned back when he heard relief was on its way shortly after the attack on Vera’s walls had already begun. Thus began the memory and gratitude towards the patron of Lorca.
The celebration is marked by parades of horse drawn carriages that are colourfully decorated flowers and it wouldn’t be Spain without some loud music and dancing. The parade passes the local roads and reaches it’s destination at the Heritage. There the party will continue with Flamenco dancing music and fireworks until late in the night.
On Sunday it will all start again and will include a large Paella and a Children’s Piñatas Contest. There are some links and a google translation of the programme below. Sounds like fun!
ROMERIA VIRGEN DE LAS HUERTAS 2017 PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
SATURDAY 2
17:00 h. Begin the journey from La Legua through the usual roads, with all those floats and horses that want to accompany to the hermitage to snack.
9:30 p.m. Performance of the Flamenco Dance Academy “Las Chibancas”
10:30 p.m. Fiesta with the performance of “Ensía de Almería”
00:00 h. Great Musical Piro Show.
SUNDAY 3
11:30 a.m. “Pilgrimage of the Virgin of the Huertas” from its hermitage to make the habitual route.
We want to encourage everyone to participate in our Pilgrimage, dressing in the typical costumes, as well as decorating floats and vehicles without missing horses and riders to give a great color and splendor.
The Queens and Ladies of Honor for children and youth 2016 paraded in a chariot adorned for the occasion, accompanying our Virgin of the Huertas.
2:00 p.m. Arrival of the Romería to the Hermitage and we will be able to taste a paella.
5:30 p.m. Awarding of prizes of the Children’s Piñatas Contest, we encourage all the children to present their original piñata.
6:45 p.m. Performance of the flamenco group “Virgen de las Huertas”
7:30 p.m. Holy Mass officiated by our parish priest D. Carlos Fortes García, accompanied by the Choir of the Fraternity of Our Lady of Rocio de Garrucha.
Then, as is traditional, the Raffle will be held in honor of Our Lady of the Huertas several prizes that will be displayed at the entrance of the hermitage.
To end the party we will have the live music performance of “El Bartolico”
Here you can see some photos and videos of previous years.
A map of the location, click at the top right to enlarge.
It has been very hard to find exact information about the route La Vuelta will take through Garrucha and Mojacar but Garrucha town hall have posted this, so you would hope they know which roads need to be closed.
It is fairly self explanatory but is different to the last route I published. I f anyone knows the exact route further along please let me know.
If you’re in the UK be sure to catch the highlights at least, they are on ITV 4 at 7pm on Weds 30th August.
Not being golfers the beautiful restaurant at Desert Springs doesn’t normally feature when we are recommending a venue. This week we were guests of good friends celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Desert Springs offers a lot more than Golf, there is a Cricket Academy, conveniently located within the resort, within walking distance from team accommodations, comprising an international size world-class quality grass pitch complemented with floodlights, shower and changing facilities. A number of County teams use it for winter and pre-season training camps. They also host Football, Cycling and Tennis camps, have a fully equipped fitness centre and there is the Gym, developed in consultation with Daley Thompson. Ian Botham has a villa here and can often be seen in and around the area.
There is a good choice of places to eat. The Deck at the Club House offers a wide choice of light lunch time food available through daylight hours, including tasty soups, tapas, salads, burgers, pasta, wraps and filled ciabattas.
The Crocodile Club Restaurant & Rosewood Bar. The ‘Croc’ features an eclectic menu of Mediterranean, Pacific Rim and Thai dishes, along with fresh fish and grills, Pastas and Pizzas and Desert Hamburgers; lots for kids and something special for the adults. Tables are available in the restaurant around the open fire or on the terraces or outside in the semi-secluded terraced garden. The restaurant is open for lunch and/or dinner according to the season.
The annual cycling tour is passing though here for the first time in a few years, why not give them all a cheer and then nip into a bar for lunch.
The cyclists leave Lorca at 12.30 and pass through San Juan de los Terreros about an hour later. It passes Garrucha at around 14:00 and then climbs up to Mojacar pueblo and through Turre at around 14.30 so plenty of chances to see them.
This map shows the expected route as displayed on www.cyclingstage.com
We normally pick our Olives in early November. It proves very popular with guests. Some like to join in for an hour or two, others like last year spent three whole days helping out and very grateful we were to. Whether guests help for 10 minutes or three days they all enjoy the trip to the press to see for themselves the process of producing Extra Virgin Olive Oil from fruit they have helped to pick. We have 55 trees and hope to get around a tonne of Olives but it varies from year to year. The yield also varies depending mainly on the water content, a lot of rain before harvest will result in around 1 litre of oil from 25KGs to 1 litre from around 20Kgs of Olives.
We pick the fruit over a three day period, it is important not to leave the Olives any longer than 72 hours before pressing as this increases the acidity of the oil. The fruit is gathered by combing the branches with small plastic rakes so they fall onto large nets spread under the trees, these are then emptied into our trailer for transport to the press.
At the press the Olives are cleaned and separated from any leaves and twigs and then the Olives are “Cold pressed” at around 35º to release the oil from the water. Depending on which press we use either we bottle it ourselves or they do it for us.
It’s not all hard work though. We try to enjoy a nice lunch each day during the picking and when we go to the press we have a nice coffee and tostado while the pressing is taking place followed by a long lunch on the way home.
We still have some availability during the beginning of November if you would like to help while enjoying a break at Finca Arboleda.
Spain is the largest olive oil producer in the world, accounting for 44 per cent of the world’s annual supply, and the country’s love affair with the diminutive fruit shows no sign of decline despite new challenges.
With an estimated 340 million olive trees, Spain produces around 1.2 million tonnes of olive oil per year, enough to fill 400 Olympic swimming pools. About 45 per cent of the country’s olive oil is produced in the Andalucian province of Jaen, where olive plantations occupy 590,000 hectares including 66 million trees. These account for a fifth of the global olive oil supply, with the region producing more than the entire country of Italy, the world’s second-largest manufacturer. Olive trees are said to have been introduced to Spain by the Phoenicians almost 3,000 years ago, but it was the Romans who started large-scale production, with the Moors later introducing improved growing methods.
Fruity facts:
I found this fun video on YouTube and have promised myself that I will make one this year.
We normally pick our Olives in early November. It proves very popular with guests. Some like to join in for an hour or two, others like last year spent three whole days helping out and very grateful we were to. Whether guests help for 10 minutes or three days they all enjoy the trip to the press to see for themselves the process of producing Extra Virgin Olive Oil from fruit they have helped to pick. We have 55 trees and hope to get around a tonne of Olives but it varies from year to year. The yield also varies depending mainly on the water content, a lot of rain before harvest will result in around 1 litre of oil from 25KGs to 1 litre from around 20Kgs of Olives.
We pick the fruit over a three day period, it is important not to leave the Olives any longer than 72 hours before pressing as this increases the acidity of the oil. The fruit is gathered by combing the branches with small plastic rakes so they fall onto large nets spread under the trees, these are then emptied into our trailer for transport to the press.
At the press the Olives are cleaned and separated from any leaves and twigs and then the Olives are “Cold pressed” at around 35º to release the oil from the water. Depending on which press we use either we bottle it ourselves or they do it for us.
It’s not all hard work though. We try to enjoy a nice lunch each day during the picking and when we go to the press we have a nice coffee and tostado while the pressing is taking place followed by a long lunch on the way home.
We still have some availability during the beginning of November if you would like to help while enjoying a break at Finca Arboleda.
Spain is the largest olive oil producer in the world, accounting for 44 per cent of the world’s annual supply, and the country’s love affair with the diminutive fruit shows no sign of decline despite new challenges.
WITH an estimated 340 million olive trees, Spain produces around 1.2 million tonnes of olive oil per year, enough to fill 400 Olympic swimming pools. About 45 per cent of the country’s olive oil is produced in the Andalucian province of Jaen, where olive plantations occupy 590,000 hectares including 66 million trees. These account for a fifth of the global olive oil supply, with the region producing more than the entire country of Italy, the world’s second-largest manufacturer. Olive trees are said to have been introduced to Spain by the Phoenicians almost 3,000 years ago, but it was the Romans who started large-scale production, with the Moors later introducing improved growing methods.
Fruity facts:
I found this fun video on YouTube and have promised myself that I will make one this year.
David Bisbal will perform the final Spanish leg of his Hijos del Mar (sons of the sea) tour on Saturday, October 14 at 10:00 pm at El Hornillo football pitch in Huércal-Overa.
Bisbal is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as a runner-up on the interactive reality television show Operación Triunfo.
He has since released six studio albums, all of which topped the Spanish Albums Chart, in addition to recording a number of live albums. He has toured throughout Europe and Latin America and is now considered to be a crossover international artist. Bisbal has recived around 50 platinum discs for his recordings.
Hijos del Mar is his sixth studio album, recorded and produced in the United States, England, Sweden and Spain. It was released to the market on December 2, 2016, achieving in just two weeks platinum status in Spain. The first single “Antes que no” (Number One) achieved No. 1 status on iTunes in 9 countries including Spain and several Latin American nations in the first days after its launch, as well as achieving good reviews in social networks due to the innovative production made in the video of the single. David Bisbal launched the music video for another song included in the sixth studio project “Hijos del Mar” called “Hurts too much”. This song arises from the idea of making a collaboration with Unicef and is dedicated to children who suffer the consequences of wars. As a promotion, the Hijos del Mar Tour covered most of Spain, saving the best till last in Huércal-Overa. It then continues the promotion in Latin America.
Tickets are €80 for the front rows and €32 for a general seat, plus all the usual fees. You can buy them through ticketmaster.es, David bisbal’s website or la cafetería del Teatro Villa de Huércal-Overa y en Joyería Vasary in town.
The Cabo de Gata is about 30 minutes drive from Finca Arboleda and offers fantastic landscape and gorgeous beaches.
Jazz By The Beach.