CHRISTMAS PROMOTION

Purchase one of my prints between now and the 15th December and your name will go into a prize draw. The prize for the winner will be my original framed pastel painting - La Romeria. If you purchase more than one print your name will be entered into the draw for each print purchased.

In addition if you buy two prints you will receive a signed copy of Digby's book Paisaje de Loja.

You can browse my recent paintings on www.margaretmerrypaintings.wordpress.com or look at my web site www.margaretmerry.com.

CON OTROS OJOS

This is a joint exhibition of paintings and photographs of everyday scenes of town and country in the Poniente Granadino. It is being organised by the Asociación de Anglo-Parlantes de Loja. It is being held in the cultural centre El Pósito in Plaza Joaquin Costa Loja from the 30th September to the 16th October. I will be exhibiting some of my paintings and there will also be photographs taken by my husband Digby. There will also be contributions from two other photographers and another artist so it should be an interesting exhibition. The gallery is open Tue-Fri 6-9pm and Sat 11am-2pm. There will be an inauguration at 8pm on September 30th. Please come and visit us. It will be good to see you, particularly at the inauguration.
There have been a couple of interesting events at Huétor Tájar in the last two weeks. For a report and photos check out www.countryhouseinspain.wordpress.com

SIERRA DE LOJA

On Sunday morning we drove up the track through the pine forests above Loja to visit the Sierra de Loja for the first time. This limestone karst is at an altitude of about 1,400 metres. It is a true wilderness and home to the famous Lojeña sheep and awesome wind turbines which can be seen for miles around. There are a few shepherds’ cottages, for daytime use only, and the landscape looked very parched at the end of a long dry summer. Even the Charco del Negro (Black Pond) had almost dried out. This nature reserve must be beautiful in the spring when it is carpeted with wild flowers and even at this time of year, dotted about the shrivelled grass, we came upon some delicately pretty autumnal colchicums.

The panoramic views are stunning and you can see for miles across to the neighbouring provinces of Malaga, Cordoba and Jaen. On our descent, a shadow passed over the road in front of us, and looking up, we saw a pair of golden eagles wheeling above a craggy rockface.

REAL FERIA DE GANADO DE LOJA

The Sierra de Loja is famous for its sheep and today, next to the fairground, the farmers who are dedicated to the special breeds of Loja held their annual show in a giant marquee which housed pens of sheep, an information centre and, of course, a bar. Outside, a giant cauldron of lamb stew was cooking and everyone was given a generous plateful. The sheep are hardy creatures, bred to cope with all kinds of terrain, including the highest altitudes. They come in a variety of colours and there are even ones with black and white spots. Next to the marquee, in a row of loose boxes, were some beautiful horses of the pure Spanish breed.

The event may have lacked the glamour of the feria and the horse spectacular, but the country had definitely come to town and the place was full of characters.

ESPECTÁCULO ECUESTRE CUIDAD DE LOJA

Here are some photos of Friday night's horse spectacular.Never have I seen such beautiful horses. They musthave spent all day grooming them. The show began with individual riders performing choreographed routines. The commentator referred to the lifting of the horses’ front legs as the paso Español (Spanish Step). There were
sideways steps and reverse steps and a beautiful grey Arab horse was so
light on its feet that it seemed to glide over the ground with delicate,
dancing steps. One rider performed with a long pole, leaning right over in
the saddle and balancing with the pole while the horse made a circle
around it. There was also a pas de deux, with two riders on grey Spanish
horses performing another cleverly choreographed routine. One of the
riders in the solo acts was a very young boy, who looked about 8 years
old, and who must have been born in the saddle, I should think. The mare
he was riding wasn’t particularly large but because the little chap was so
small, she looked enormous. He controlled the horse wonderfully and with
such confidence and typical Spanish bravado. A far cry from those bossy
little English madams on their gymkhana ponies!

As well as the individual riders, there was a display of horse-drawn
vehicles, including a magnificent English carriage. There was also a pair
of what looked like Siamese horses pulling a carriage. They were a lovely,
burnished gold colour with sooty legs, manes and tails. What breed would
that be? One of the pics features a carriage driven by a very young lad
and with what seemed to me to be extraordinary skill. Some of those sharp
turns must be quite difficult to manoeuvre.

FERIA Y FIESTAS GRANDE DE LOJA

This weekend Loja is celebrating its annual feria grande. Last night we went to a superb horse spectacular under floodlights in the San Francisco football ground and this afternoon we visited the fairground. Beautiful girls arrived in their flamenco dresses and proud men on their handsome Andalucian horses. Here are a few photos that Digby took this afternoon

LAS CHORRERAS

For this Saturday’s guided walk, organised by the Patronato de Tourismo, we met at 0900 in Loja and drove to Venta de Santa Barbara, a little village about 10 minutes away, situated in a pleasant, sheltered valley.
The destination of the walk was to be Las Chorreras, the spectacular waterfall on the Rio Frio.
A clearly marked track from the village led us through olive groves and along the Rio Frio whose banks were lined with poplar trees and oleander bushes. Our guide told us that people used to use oleander as a means of catching fish easily. The plant is poisonous, so when branches were thrown into the water, the fish would die. Also along the riverbank were poplars, hazel trees, wild clematis and tamarisk.
Eventually we crossed the river over stepping stones and followed a path through blackberry bushes to the falls. The force of the cascading water has carved out of the rock below a deep pool. The water is cool, green and inviting, so many of the party, including all the children, couldn’t resist a splash and a swim.

QUEREMOS QUEDAR CONTIGO

Every Saturday in August the Patronato de Tourismo de Loja organises a guided walk around Loja. The walks are conducted at 9am or 9pm to avoid the midday heat and each one has a different theme. Yesterday evening’s walk was the Route of the Personalities and led by the Mayor, Miguel Castellano. The group met at the Mirador Sylvania which affords the best panorama of the city, immortalized in the Marx brothers’ film “Duck Soup.”

The walk took us through the oldest and most interesting part of the town in which statues of some of Loja’s most important historical figures are situated. Our guide talked at length about the famous priest, Jiménez Campaña, member of the Spanish Arts Academy ( 19th century) and Narváez, known as the“Great Sword of Loja”, whose impressive bronze statue dominates the plaza.

We continued the walk through a horseshoe arch, once the passage to the fortressed quarter in Islamic times, and up to the Alcazabar where, across from the floodlight spire of the Great Church of the Encarnation, our guide the Mayor, recounted the history and legends of the castle.

Photos of Mirador Sylvania and the Mayor conducting the group.

Next Saturday there will be a morning walk entitled The Environment of Loja. For more information contact :
Juan Antonio Peregrina Coca
Patronato Municipal de Turismo de Loja*
C/Comedias, nº 2, Edificio Espacio Joven
18300 Loja (Granada)
Telf.: 958 321 520
Fax: 958 325 650
info@ lojaturismo.com

www.lojaturismo.com / www.aytoloja.org

SIERRA MARTILLA

This morning we went to look at the archeological site in the Sierra Martilla in the north of the municipality of Loja. To get there you turn left at the top of the village of Ventorros de San Jose. It is signposted. After a few km down this road there is a track on the right with a notice board describing the site. We drove up the track to a rocky plateau which was protected on three sides by a vertical rock face - the perfect place for our ancestors to feel secure. From the plateau there are the most spectacular views of the Lake of Iznajar, the valleys below and the hills beyond. It was too hot to wander for long and there was nobody else there but we found some tombs from the Copper Age, an Arab watchtower and groups of large stones. This was once an important settlement and we will return to explore it more thoroughly when the weather is cooler.

VA DE CALLE

The 19th festival of street entertainment in Loja, Va de Calle, takes place this weekend. There are six "espectáculos", which include contemporary dance and circus theatre being performed during the evenings of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Details from www.aytoloja.org or from the Tourist Information Office. There is also a theatre workshop on Saturday morning in the Avda. de los Angeles. We hope to post some photos later.
Talking about photos please have a look at our new blog www.fotosdeloja.wordpress.com

LOS INFIERNOS DE LOJA

Yesterday we went in search of Los Infiernos de Loja, the spectacular waterfalls of the Rio Genil close to the town. In the little village of La Esperanza, just to the north of the town, there is a signpost opposite the bar indicating Los Infiernos 600 metres. This lane ends after about 200 metres and one is faced by open fields with not a waterfall in sight. Fortunately there was a camposino ( agricultural worker ) working in a field and he indicated that we had to walk across a field to a pylon and from there we would see the falls. They are quite spectacular but difficult to photograph as it is somewhat dangerous standing on the opposite edge of the ravine. Further enquiries indicate that you can get to the bottom of the ravine by accessing the Rio Genil from the centre of the town. We will try this another day when it is not too hot.

ENGLISH IN LOJA

On the first Tuesday in every month there is an informal meeting of the English speaking residents in the area of Loja at the Hotel Almazora - www.englishinloja.com. This lovely hotel is located in the olive hills near Venta del Rayo about 10 minutes drive from Loja. Here is a photo taken today of the gathering relaxing on the terrace which overlooks the pool and the view from the terrace.

We went along this morning specifically to discuss arrangements for an art exhibition, Con Otros Ojos, which is being held in Loja at the end of September and arranged by the Asociación de Angloparlantes de Loja - sites.google.com/site/loslojanglos. Three artists and two photographers have been invited to produce work for the exhiibition. As I am one of the artists and Digby one of the photographers we need to put our heads together to create some original pieces that reflect life around Loja.

EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS

From next Saturday, 19th June, there will be an exhibition of my paintings at the Hotel Cortijo de Tájar which is just off the A92 junction to Huétor Tájar. The subject matter will be quite varied as I would like to see what appeals to the local populace and the media will be pastel and watercolour.
Also at the exhibition will be signed prints of some of my work, signed copies of my books and my cat pebbles from the Rio Milanos. I am particularly pleased with the quality of the prints as we have recently purchased a new Canon imagePROGRAF printer which uses 12 colour ink cartridges and is producing very good images on Arches 310gsm digital watercolour paper.
The two paintings here are a watercolour of Loja and a pastel study from the flamenco show "Aires de Raja Flamenca" which was performed during the recent Feria Chica.
Next Saturday I will be at the Hotel during lunchtime and for dinner in the evening.

FERIA CHICA DE LOJA

This weekend, 3-6 June, is the Feria Chica de Loja. A fairground has been set up in the town but it is not as large as the Feria in Huétor Tája two weeks ago as the main Fiesta in Loja is at the end of August. On Friday night, though, we went to a special event "Aires de Raza Flamenco" in the football ground of the Barrio San Antonio.
The show began with two dancers and two horses, ridden by men in striking costume, performing a carefully choreographed dance in which the movements of the flamenco dancers complemented the actions of the horses. Two different horses, equally magnificent, performed a graceful ballet around long poles carried by their riders.
On the stadium, first class singers, guitarists and a flautist performed throughout theshow. Also on stage, two exceptionally good dancers gave a thrilling display. This was authentic flamenco, very different from the flamenco shows put on for the entertainment of tourists.
The performance ended, as it had begun, with dancers and horses. It was a wonderful show, enjoyed by everyone. Afterwards, we made our way home, stopping enroute at our nearest village, La Fábrica, for supper. Although it was past midnight, the terrace outside the bar was filled with villagers.
Unfortunately our compact digital camera was not able to capture images of the show so we would like to thank our friends Jim and Denise for these photos taken by them with their SLR.
During the summer months, the balmy evenings bring the people of Loja outdoors to fill the street cafés and pleasant, leafy squares which, at this time of year, saturate the whole town with the heady scent of lime blossom. We ourselves enjoyed a stroll around the lower part of the town and came upon a delightful square, canopied with trees, where we stopped for drinks and tapas before heading to the arena to watch theflamenco display.

FIESTAS IN HUÉTOR TÁJAR

Since Thursday Huétor Tájar has been celebrating its May feria and fiestas in honour of San Isidro Labrador (there always has to be a saintly excuse). At the Nuevo Recinta Ferial, a vast area on the edge of town reserved for fiestas and markets, a huge fairground has appeared and numerous large marquees have been erected, housing bars with kitchens to feed and water the multitude. Most of these have stages so that live music can be played all night.

On Saturday morning there was a Romeria (pilgrimage) through the town ending up at the fairground where, in the Town Hall’s marquee, paella and beer was provided for all. In the evening there was a horse fair and handsome young men arrived proudly riding their beautiful Andalucian horses. Others came in immaculately turned out horse drawn carriages.

The festivities go on all night but today, when we visited again at lunchtime, there were more children around and the fairground rides were busy while the adults were propping up the bars enjoying cerveza y pinchos (beer and kebabs). Tonight, after a mass in honour of San Isidro, there will be a firework display in the Plaza de Andalucia and then everyone will go back to the fairground to party all night once again. Not surprisingly tomorrow is a public holiday in Huétor Tájar and all the shops will be closed.

Despite the economic crisis and dire warnings from the EU about Spain’s financial situation, this country still seems hell bent on enjoying itself and spending money.