Since last Wednesday night, there has been the annual festival in El Masroig. It started out with a communal dinner for the neighbors. I grilled about 7 pounds of beef fajitas to pretty good reviews. Quality beef is hard to find around here. When it comes to being gracious, these folks are hard to beat. There are four Joseps and one Jose' living within 30 feet of our house. The one with trumpet practices almost every day and is the resident musician on our block.
Thursday through Sunday brought more celebrating with dances, concerts and competitions. There were big parties starting at midnight and lasting until 4 a.m. just down the street from our house. We turned out for dancing Friday and Sat. and stayed until 3 a.m. both nights.
The festival wrapped up on Mon. with a late afternoon parade in front of the house and a "Dance of the Devils" after dark. Los Diablos paraded through town chasing people with fireworks. This kind of thing would be a hard sell with public safety types at home but, thoughtfully, the town furnished a team of paramedics and an ambulance in case you were burned or trampled.
Many of you have asked about the prevailing sentiment of people regarding the political and economic situation here. Some of these pictures tell the story. The scissors theme of the town's decorations and lots of other little things reflect a strong separatist feeling among many Catalunyans. People here tend to blame the federal government in Madrid for their troubles. The austerity enacted by the present government has hurt and we know several people who have taken deep pay cuts. Local elections are scheduled here in the near future and the results will be interesting to see. Thanks for keeping up with us and please stay tuned!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The last two weeks of August are usually the warmest of the year in Montsant. We decided to go to the mountains for a few days for a change of weather. The Pyrenees are about three and a half hours away. It feels like springtime there with grass growing and wildflowers blooming. The air is like breathing pure refrigerated oxygen. We spent three days hiking mountain trails. The air was so full of green aromas that I could almost feel myself turning into a plant.
Because these mountain valleys were so isolated until relatively recently, they were spared the war,wear and tear most of Spain has experienced over the centuries. The are some truly exquisite old churches that have survived without molestation or remodelling. This area is a ski resort in winter but the tourist presence this time of year is low and slow. We were probably the rowdiest people in the campground.
Because these mountain valleys were so isolated until relatively recently, they were spared the war,wear and tear most of Spain has experienced over the centuries. The are some truly exquisite old churches that have survived without molestation or remodelling. This area is a ski resort in winter but the tourist presence this time of year is low and slow. We were probably the rowdiest people in the campground.
We've been traveling around checking out wine areas that are close to us. Gandesa is the principal town in D.O. Terra Alta and is about 30 minutes away. There are several spectacular wine cooperatives around here that were built early last century. We also went to Penedes which is the largest D.O. in Catalunya. Torres and a few huge cava producers dominate the area. It's really pretty and planted wall-to-wall with grapevines.
As you can see, our vineyard is progressing. I've been fighting the birds with some success. They like Finca Vieja because it's close to their roosting area in town. I've been going to the vineyard every evening to chase them around for a few hours.
As you can see, our vineyard is progressing. I've been fighting the birds with some success. They like Finca Vieja because it's close to their roosting area in town. I've been going to the vineyard every evening to chase them around for a few hours.
Monday, August 13, 2012
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