Self catering holiday rental accommodation in the Alpujarras, Andalucia, southern Spain

This is my page, and that's me, sniffing the air. As pedigree dachshund in chief, and officially awarded a prize as best puppy in my class - see link here - my job is quality control and looking after the welfare of the guests staying at Cortijo Opazo. Big responsibility, don't know how I find time for it all, but I think I'm doing OK. Anyway, on this page I bring you up to date with the various happenings at Cortijo Opazo and the world around us. I welcome comments, just adress them to Oska at info@cortijoopazo.com. Thanks for reading!

By the way, I am supposed to mention that it's a pretty fab place for a holiday.

May 2011

I've been told that May is one of the most beautiful months in Spain and goodness me that must be true this year. To my young eyes, scarcely 8 months old, the array of colours and shapes that have been emerging from the undergrowth in the form of wild flowers has been staggering - and that's coming from a dog who is naturally colour blind! Of course this year the preponderance of flora has been helped by the abundance of rain; sweet, warm, soft rain. In Spain they say that the rain that falls in May is the most precious of all since it is likely to be the last before the long hot summer; well we have enjoyed our bounty of priceless rain - and then some. Who'd have thought that the Spanish landscape could be so green?

So, what have we been doing with ourselves this month? We've had some intensive walking holidays here at Cortijo Opazo, with our guests who have opted for this holiday being treated to full board catering from the culinary fingers of William and Robert; and a wide, sometimes challenging range of self guided walks. If you fancy trying one for yourself then you can read all about them here. Ella was sometimes allowed to go walking with the guests, but so far I have been made to stay at home - obviously my presence at the homestead is more vital than hers. But I have been on another long walk, this time we walked the elephant! Not one of those huge grey monsters that live in Africa, but the mountain opposite the house that some say looks like a sleeping elephant. It was fantastic! You too could do it! Walk number 4 on this page. We saw cistus flowers, tassel headed hyacinths, poppies, lavenders, broom, eucalyptus in flower, and loads of orchids - whatever they are. The route took us charging through the villages, racing up the zig zag path, hurtling along the mountain track, staggering down the other side, then limping slowly to my bed at the end of it all. And there again, that strange aching in my paws at the end of the day, can't imagine what that's all about. The following day I was a little bit out of sorts and lacking my usually bounce, but now I'm up for another one, and if things go according to plan, there's a long walk on the cards for tomorrow. Yipee!

Click here to see past blogs:

April 2011

March 2011

Feb 2011

Jan 2011

Blog from 2010

And things are looking pretty good in our garden too. More than one of our guests recently have said that it is better than the Generalife garden at the Alhambra Palace in Granada. Now I can't see how this could be the case since this is a world heritage monument blessed with millions of euros of investment and even more visitors each year and Cortijo Opazo is just a country house run by the four of us, but the praise was appreciated none the less. Just to make sure, though, we recently visited Granada and went to see these famous gardens, and, well, the comparison is not without its merit. Can you guess which of these pictures are from the Alhambra and which from Cortijo Opazo?

But ask yourself this question: How many people enjoyed a delicious home cooked buffet lunch in the gardens of the Alhambra on Sunday 29th May? Answer - none (that I know of). How many enjoyed the same at Cortijo Opazo and the answer would be: twenty two. We had a perfect day in the a garden and at the same time raised money for the further development of this lovely spot in the name of the association 'Jardín de la Alpujarra' .

So, May has been a month of gardens, food and walking, what more needs one in life - well, a good sniff or two perhaps. But in the wider country of Spain, things have been changing. On May 22nd the local elections were held whereby the new mayors of the towns and villages were elected, along with their respected political parties. On a local level it seems more about the personalities than the parties - Pitres is still embroiled in a controversy about hoe should be the mayor since the results were evenly split - but nationally Spain saw a huge swing to the right with the party PP taking the lion's share of the votes. General elections for national government will be held next year. What issues will be upmost in the minds of this dachshund? To avoid controversy this question will remain unanswered, but they involve walks, bones and beds.

Yours, with an opinion to be canvassed,

Oska.

To view the April 2011 blog, click here.