House-sitting gets you into people´s homes and you lead people´s lives for the time you are there. This one draws hugely upon our flexibility and sense of adventure. Let me tell you why!

After a wonderful trip down through the centre of Spain, arriving at the house in the Sierra Nevada felt great. It looked like a basic cortijo (small house), and guess what, it was! About the size of a London one-room apartment I would say. What makes up for that though is the stunning view of the Sierra Nevada at the back of the house.

At a lovely shaded terrace you can sit down to take it all in. Sunrise to the right, sunset to the left, what else do you want.

Well, water!!! Just before we got here the mains got turned off and `the people on the hill` have no water supply. There are two large depositos that serve as a backup. My first idea was that it wouldn´t be much of a problem. And frankly it isn’t. After one week I am just very aware of the importance of water. And how in the western world we are literally used to having it at our fingertips. The number of times that I have turned on the tap, to get some water for tea for instance, or to quickly clean my hands, to rinse out a dusty cup, or clean a plate after eating, gee wiz! No water for the toilet  – so we flush with a bucket.

Every time we do go out – to the town for shopping or to go somewhere – we make sure we carry all the plastic 5litre bottles we have saved and we stop by a little fountain in the centre of the village to fill them all up. Together with the water in the deposito, that keeps us going for a couple of days.

Getting to the house is an adventure in itself. Luckily Graham has a 4×4, as you can only get there over a 4 kilometre dirt road. And although that sound interesting, 4k of bumping around every time you want to go somewhere is proving to be a bit of a challenge for me…

The pictures on the 2009 Photo Album page tell the rest of the story…

 Click here to watch my video

The last 3 weeks Graham and I have been house-sitting in Spain, in a cortijo (=small house) tucked away at 1000meters in the Sierra Nevada. For the first time I have been using the panoramic function of my camera over and over again, and even those pictures can hardly express the vastness and the beauty of the landscape.

Every morning I find myself waking up early, greeting the dogs that are jumping up and down, happy to see me, and then walking out into the most amazing sunrise. After a cup of tea, while the air is still cool, Graham and I go for a morning walk accompanied by the dogs. As the cortijo is based at the end of a descending dirt road, the only way to go is up, and up and up. Very good for the calves…. and using walking sticks really makes a difference here, if only to keep a straight back!

Upon return we have breakfast, and after that, out come the laptops and the shaded terrace is turned into our office. A room with a view gets a new meaning here….

During the day, the light on the mountains shifts the colors and brings out more of the beauty of the slopes. Around 7pm we pack up for the day and start preparing our dinner. Or we decide to drive over to a swimming pool on the other side of the valley. That place also holds magnificent views and the water is crispy cold coming from a mountain stream even higher up.

In the next post you can read about the challenges a remote place like that holds. If you would like to get a feel of the place, visit the page 2009 Photo Album. I have put up a selection of panoramic shots there, as well as an slideshow of the experience. Enjoy the view!

Ever since I heard about the menhir fields of Carnac, Brittany, I have wanted to visit them. Finally, after 30 years, I did.

The mere sight of them is very impressive. Numerous stones are planted in rows that reach as far as the eye can see. They are called Menhirs. “Menhir” comes from the Celtic words “maen” (stone) and “hir” (long).

Each one is carefully placed at the same angle, using the natural shape of the stone to amplify the line-structure that stretches for almost a kilometre. At one end the stones are huge, more than 2 meters high. Further on they gradually drop in size. At the other end of the field where the megaliths reach maybe only 50 centimetres, huge flat stones are placed at a 45 degree angle at the end of each row.

It is generally believed that there was a stone circle (a la Stonehenge) on both sides of the field. There is no sign of those. Do the flat stones placed at 45 degrees mark the end – or the entrance – of the field? Who knows.

Next to the field is the Tumulus de Kercando, an underground burial chamber. The chamber itself has walls that are formed by 2 huge megaliths placed next to each other and a gigantic oval stone `table` on top of them to create a ceiling, the four corners filled up with stones and earth to provide its support. It has an amazing feel to it. Standing there my mind drifts back in time. Who were these people, putting in so much effort to create a room like this, and then cover it all up with earth, placing one megalith on top and one on the east flank to indicate the entrance? It remains a mystery.

Carbon dating shows that both the tumulus and the fields were erected somewhere between 6000 to 4500 years ago. Thus far no one has been able to explain their purpose. Unlike Stonehenge in the UK, archaeological excavations have not turned up any pot shelves or footrests here, to aid historians that are searching to shine a light on this phenomenon. Also all attempts to connect the fields to astronomy, sunrises etc. have been unsuccessful.

At another location a megalith appropriately called The Giant reaches 6,5 meters high. Makes you feel very small standing next to it….

For more pictures visit 2009 Photo Album, and let them speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

If you want to read more you can Google ‘Carnac’ or visit http://news.softpedia.com/news/Carnac-The-Most-Expensive-Megalithic-Fields-80548.shtml (I think (s)he means extensive…)