Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland and anticipating my return to the Murcia region of Spain in August 2008 for about a month
'Fair and softly goes far' - Miguel de Cervantes
Friday, 9 May 2008
Urgent upgrade work on Mazarron to Morata road
Urgent upgrade work on the D4 road linking Mazarron to Morata is to be carried out with the aim of reducing the number of accidents on this traffic-blackspot. I've only been on this road a few times, and can attest to how badly this work needs doing. Local road infrastructure in the Mazarron area has been improving by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years, with the opening of several motorway-standard links recently and with more to open soon, but there remain quite a lot of rural roads which are unable to cope safely with the traffic they are now expected to carry. The upgrade planned for the Mazarron-Morata road is certainly a step in the right direction.
I arrived back in Nairn yesterday afternoon, after a pleasant sea-crossing from Zeebrugge to Rosyth and a very easy drive back up north - the road, specially after Bruar, was not very busy in my direction so I made pretty good progress.
I won't write more now because I seem to have internet connection problems at home - I don't think it is a problem with my equipment, or my broadband wi-fi modem, but the internet seems to cut out unexpectedly from time to time; perhaps it's a local network problem? More later...
UPDATE: (Thursday 8MAY08 09.11 BST) Well I'm glad to say the connection problems I referred to above have disappeared; it must have been a general network problem in Nairn (or perhaps further afield).
Since I departed Mazarron last Saturday I have been making good and enjoyable progress on my journey back to Scotland, which I expect to reach next Tuesday. I've posted about my journey so far in my other blog here, for those who are interested in following my progress.
Bill signs-off from Mazarron - tomorrow my journey home to Scotland begins
I shall be departing Mazarron tomorrow morning to begin my journey back to Scotland, which I am scheduled to reach on Tuesday 6th May after having driven north through Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands, spending some nights in hotels, others with friends and/or family.
Earlier today I recorded a couple viedos of my preparations for my final lunch in the house here; the last videos I uploaded (see here) had music tracks, but no spoken content from me and someone made a comment that he would prefer to hear me talk, rather than have music - so you are duly warned, that is what you get in these latest videos! Whilst preparing lunch I run through my itinerary for the next 10 or so days in some detail - I hope you find it informative even if not precisely 'enjoyable'; I'm no professional as you will readily observe!
In the first video I prepare a salad and provide a running commentary of the food I am preparing and the itinerary I shall be folowing for the first several days of my journey to Scotland (as with the lunch in the earlier videos, although I prepare the salad first, I eat it after what you will see me preparing in the second video):
In the next video I'm preparing some salchichon (a little like a sliced chorizo sausage) and continuing my narrative of the rest of my journey back to Nairn:
I'll be in Nairn until the first week of August, then flying to the Netherlands for a party, then flying on to Mazarron for several weeks until early September. No doubt there'll be enough to pique my interest in doing some blog posts during the time I'm back in Scotland. Probably I'll manage to do a few blog posts during my journey home, assuming the hotel wi-fi is working. However, until then, this is Bill signing of from Mazarron for the present ...
Last Tuesday I decided to take a trip down to Almeria, basically because I wanted try out the rest of the Cartagena to Vera extension of the AP-7 toll motorway beyond the Cartagena to Mazarron sector, with which I am already very familiar. I also wished to check out for myself the route to Almeria airport; Almeria lies on the A-7 motorway, which one joins at the end of new AP-7 extension at Vera.
As expected, the continuation of the AP-7 extension from Mazarron to Vera is, like the Mazarron-Cartagena sector of the new motorway, a superbly-engineered piece of road and currently costs €7.10 each way to use. It also travels through some exceptionally beautiful scenery and like the Mazarron-Cartagena sector is little-used ar present (no doubt because people wish to avoid the toll when their are alternative toll-free roads) so it is almost like driving on one's own private motorway and very relaxing and enjoyable, despite the high speed of travel. There are two quite lengthy tunnelled sections on this sector, which cut right through mountains.
However once one joins the A-7 at Vera it is a very different situation! The first 20 Km or so is over a VERY rough road surface and like a lot of the older motorways in Spain is engineered with quite sharp bends and steep gradients, because Spain is quite a mountainous country. More recently-built motorways lessen these awkwardnesses by simply lavishing money on the construction and tunnelling through some of the higher obstacles. Anyway, after the first 20 Km or so the road becomes considerably better, similar to the standard of the A-7 between Alicante and Totana, although like that section it is very busy because it is the main traffic artery and it is toll-free.
Access to Almeria airport is at junction 456 off the A-7; there are some sharp and unexpected turns shortly after leaving the motorway (at least I found them so) and great care needs to be exercised. I've updated the travel details from Mazarron to Almeria airport in my Casabill website and you can see the updated notes here (the related .PDF file has also been updated). Also partially-updated is the table of toll fees at the foot of the linked page, to take account of increases in charges with effect from 1 January 2008 for the sectors I have used personally; the other figures in the table will also have increased by about 2 per cent.
This morning I took a drive up to the Hermitage (Monastery) of Saint Eulalia of Merida near Aledo, in the mountains north of Totana, because the atmosphere was very clear today and there is a fabulous view to be had from the 'Sagrado Corazón de Jesús' (holy Heart of Jesus) monument, the culmination of the walk up the hill from the monastery. Here are a couple of the photographs I took this morning:
'Sagrado Corazón de Jesús' (holy Heart of Jesus) monument (20th April 2008) - Click on the image to see an enlargement -
The view over the valley with Mazarron and the sea in the far distance (20th April 2008) - Click on the image to see an enlargement -
- I took some photographs up here in February 2007 as well and you can see those here; I think the panoramic photograph I took today is rather clearer than the one I got last year.
Raffle scam in Aguilas at expense of Spanish Red Cross
Apparently raffle tickets are being sold in Aguilas by scam artists pretending to be acting on behalf of the Spanish Red Cross; their story is that the funds are being raised to help buy a new ambulance to replace an older one. It is sad that people will exploit people's goodwill in this way; unfortunately Spain is in no way unique, though, as I recall there were similar frauds by people purportedly collecting money on behalf of various legitimate charities, or for very similar-sounding but fraudulent outfits, in Scotland a few years back.
The politics of water shortages in Spain brutally illustrated
Spain is short of water, that's unfortunately not news and it's a situation that has been worsening for some years and, if you believe the direr predictions about the likely effects of the potential effects of projected changes in global climate that may occur in the next fifty years, for example, we ain't seen nuthin yet!
Situations like this always highlight underlying regional tensions and the intrusion of raw politics into how these are dealt with. And so it is that Catalonia and Barcelona, chronically short of water, will get additional supplies transferred in as a result of a vital new aqueduct (or imported by by ship); the area is of course a highly-developed and important component of the Spanish economy. It is also a stronghold of the governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister (President of the Government) Zapatero. This despite official government policy being to frown on such regional water transfers
Murcia on the other hand, just as chronically short of water, but not quite so important historically in the national economy and generally more a Popular Party (i.e the the Opposition) suppporting area, will not.
Expect these regional rivalries to become much more extreme in coming years and decades if the predicted continuation and worsening of the water shortages in Spain is what happens.
Here are some photgraphs I took yesterday which taken together give a pretty good idea of what it looks like now - I may add a few more items of decoration in the next week or so, but I don't want to 'overdo' it (some may think I've done that already).
Front area with its resident [somewhat out of place] crocodile (12th April 2008) - Click on the image to see an enlargement -
Front planting area and front tiled area - surveyed by a meditating Buddha (12th April 2008) - Click on the image to see an enlargement -
Side area with alert Iguana The small trees are a lemon, an orange and a grapefruit (12th April 2008) - Click on the image to see an enlargement -
Looking from the front to the side - where an 'Easter Island' head presides (12th April 2008) - Click on the image to see an enlargement -
The former 'Beauty King' Borja Alonso González, 27, has been shot in the hand and leg in what is thought to be a drug-trafficking related incident and is being treated at the Povisa hospital in Vigo. See also here for an English-language report.
Moral: a person can be beautiful on the outside, but that does not necessarily imply inner beauty or good morality.
Judgement delivered against ex-Mayor of Totana, Juan Morales
The Superior Court of Justice of Murcia has issued its judgement in the property corruption scandal in Totana against former Mayor Juan Morales; he must pay a fine of €200,000 to avoid prison. The fine amount must be lodged with the court by 2pm next Monday and must surrender his passport. I have written previously about the fine of €70,000 imposed on the current Mayor of Totana, José Martínez Andreo.
Weather at Dalcross Airport (Inverness), just five miles west of Nairn, where I have my home in Scotland.
Weather at Murcia Airport, San Javier (Spain), about 45 miles from where my home in Spain is located.
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