You know you're in Spain when ...

... it's hot and sunny, the streets are heaving with people determined to have a good time, and you have to shout to be heard above the racket of loud music and everyone shouting in that particular Spanish way.

I'd noticed a week or so ago that there was a romería in Salobreña the day after we arrived, so it would have been rude not to go. We had to do some quick shopping first, having neglected to buy either olive oil or vinegar yesterday, plus being stymied over the washing up due to lack of sponges. So we got to Salobreña a bit late, and traffic was backed up behind the procession. Instead of being patient for five minutes, we ended up doing a detour and parking 2 km away, so it was a long walk to the beach. Did I mention it was 27C at 11 am?

We got to the beach just in time to catch up with the tail end of the procession. It was absolutely heaving. Every association for miles around sets up a stall/float, highly decorated and serving drinks and tapas, for a kilometre along the seafront. Plus stands selling helium balloons, toys, knick-knacks, candy floss, sweets etc. And Africans with blankets selling designer knock-offs, with the police turning a blind eye for once. Add a couple of bouncy castles, highly strung Andalusian horses prancing through the crowd, and loud music blaring from every stand. It was mayhem. In addition, many groups of friends or extended family had set up tents on the beach or pavement and brought copious picnics.

We walked down the promenade soaking up the atmosphere (yes, we are definitely back in Andalucía!) and then sat down at a bar in the shade for a refreshing tinto de verano. There'll be extras on Flickr tomorrow once I have more bandwidth. Currently a couple in the extra bin.

Once we were done, it was a long, hot walk back to the car. We were knackered when we got there. Back home, S got to work and produced a typically excellent ensalada tropical with added fried prawns for a late lunch. A last-minute hitch when he discovered that the gas bottle for the hob was ... empty. Quite peeved that Gracia didn't tell us this yesterday! Or, better still, replaced it before we arrived. Still, we'd brought the electric plancha with us, so it was only a momentary hold up. The salad was delicious, followed by large servings of ice cream and a siesta.

I peeled a large prawn and chopped it up for Mystère, and he manfully ate it. He's eaten another one now, but I think he may be having trouble with his teeth as he spent a long time chewing and normally they go down without touching the sides. So I see a vet visit in his near future. Pleased he's eaten something though. And we had a sundowner on the terrace till after nightfall, to the sounds of crickets chirping, with bats fluttering by and stars appearing in the sky. ¡ Buenas noches !