I've been away; out of work, LF and I headed to Spain in the car to get some
sun. First stop was the tiny village of Almonaster la Real in the mountains north of Seville near
the Portuguese border. An English couple I've been corresponding with for years have a
small farm outside the town where they’re experimenting with self-sufficiency,
I wanted to visit and get a flavour of that lifestyle. However, the day visit was enough for
both of us – using a bucket for a toilet, by choice, isn't really what I want
to do! It was a nice village though, so we stayed in the area for a few days to
explore.
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| Ancient monastery - Almonaster la Real |
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| Church in Aracena |
Next stop was down to the coast; Tarifa, beside Gibraltar
is one of my favourite towns. It's popular with windsurfers due to the strong winds funnelled through the straits of Gibraltar; we stayed in a little bungalow in the tropical gardens of a hotel on the beach, relaxed during the day then visited the lively little walled town at night for food and fun.
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| Vegetarian restaurant in Tarifa - who'd have thought it? |
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| Hotel gardens |
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| That's a sandy beach |
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| Yoga! |
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| Windsurfing and Kite surfing |
After a couple of weeks the funds were starting to run a bit low, so we started back for England. On the way I decided to stop off in Holland - I had a brief trip to Dordrecht a couple of months ago to visit a fabrication yard, and wondered if there might be an opening there; luckily there was, so now I'm based there (here) for a while. LF carried on home to London, I'm staying in a hotel here while I look for an apartment to rent. I've been strolling around each evening getting my bearings, and have to say this is a picturesque little town. Now I just have to get the Triumph over here so I can start exploring the area.
Peaceful waterway in front of cathedral
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| Barges |
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| The last windmill left in Dordrecht |
Nothing better than fabrication!
ReplyDeleteLooks a pleasant place, I must visit.
I know, I do it all the time! You'll like it here, small but friendly, full of cafes.
DeleteI mean't to add '.....keeps the taxman away' after fabrication but my tablet touch screen skills are not good.
DeleteEL D:
ReplyDeleteI must be missing something. Why didn't you keep LF company and then ride your Triumph back.
I didn't know you were a fabricator. I am in non-ferrous metals industry, more or less since 1974. My friend used to live in the UK before he emigrated here, and he was a machinist.
I'm not sure I could use a Bucket either. Do they have running water, or do you have to carry buckets from the River ?
Now I am also wondering, "WHERE DO THEY EMPTY THAT BUCKET ?"
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Well, Bob, logistics played a role; it was too hard to figure out what clothes I needed so I just stayed here!
DeleteI've been in fabrication since my Dad taught me pipe work fabrication on a refinery as a young man, although nowadays I design it and tell others why they've done it wrong - we're using lots of 316, Duplex and titanium on this job.
Final answer, can you believe they put the contents of the bucket on a compost heap, which later gets spread around the fruit trees for fertiliser. Mmm.. this apple tastes funny.
By the way Bob, did you notice the last few pictures were takren with the Nex5? I used the aperture priority as you suggested, and am really delighted with the results in the low evening light.
EL D:
DeleteI like my Nex 5n too, great video mode.
next time for low light, try Anti-Shake mode and perhaps bump up the ISO to 400 or so. You would be amazed, and also leave DRO "ON" (as opposed to OFF)
One press of your shutter and the camera will fire off 3 consecutive shots. Then it will take the sharp bits from each image and assemble them into ONE sharp image. Try to keep your aperature to around F5 if possible and only drop lower if light is too low
I used to be in sales and the I was a buyer for a decade. By duplex you mean 2205 ? Our company is one of the largest stockists of cu-ni in the country sold mainly to the Military. We also carry full range of AL
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Congrats on another new beginning. The trip to Spain sounds lovely (well except for going in a bucket).
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures of Holland. I remember when you were there the last time. Enjoy and don't work too hard.
Trobairitz, that last time I visited impressed me, that's partly why I came back.
DeleteI'll try to have fun - oh and there's an American lady runs a vegetarian cafe in the town, how lucky is that?
Holland is a nice place for work. I had been to Maastricht quite often and I liked their relaxed attitude. I am sure you'll like it.
ReplyDeleteSonja, I'm finding the Dutch to be very friendly people, and everyone speaks English!
DeleteHopefully, when I'm back on 2 wheels I'll be able to poo over to meet you and Roland again, regards, El D
That was supposed to say pop over, not poo over!
DeleteEL D:
DeleteI know you meant to POO over. Just bring your own bucket and nose plugs
bob
Riding the Wet Coast