Rio de la Miel

I did not plan to post while I was in Spain

but I got up early every day
to write while it was quiet

and I am glad that I did
because the experience was captured

and the words have a freshness
that is difficult to create retrospectively.

Now I must pause and catch my breath.

Back soon.

MrsM lets the team down

MrsM
Oh no!!
I left the adaptor behind in the hotel.

MissM
I'm disappointed...
We let you out by yourself
and you start losing family heirlooms.

MrM
What would you say
if I told you
that I gave you
that particular adaptor
because I knew
you would probaby lose it?

MrsM retires, hurt.

Souvenirs of Nerja

I fell in love with the Costa del Sol...

I thought it was just
sun, sand and flamenco

but I discovered
dramatic mountain scenery,

Moorish history

and orange groves.

You can sit in the sunshine in Granada at lunchtime

and then drive across the hills

back to the sea

and the bustle of the promenade.

Nerja, I'm missing you already.

Roll on next year.

Friday Night in Tutti-Frutti

Errr...

Help me out, folks...

What shall we call this...

'Social Geography'?

Snapshots of the Alhambra

You stand at the edge

And wonder where to start.

Each space is perfectly proportioned,

Every surface embellished

With intricate carvings

And tilework of vibrant colour.

You remind yourself that there is no need
To record everything,

That you are trying to capture images
That will remind you of the joy

Of a cool, blue-bright January day
In the Alhambra

And then you begin.

Another Intense Day

Up early because we are off
to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada...

to study Geomorphology
with our fearless leader.

This required us to spend the morning
in an almond grove
surrounded by sugar pink blossom,

a brief stop for lunch
breathing in the smell of wild thyme,
admiring the white-washed buildings,

and then it is off
down the hill through the orange trees
to the river bed.

Chemical Analysis

Measuring Flow Rate

Observing Sediment Deposition

Taking Photos

Well...somebody has to do it.

Physical Geography

This is the Geography
of hard hats and rock hammers

of observation,

of landscape.

This is the Geography
of schist, silt and scree

of river, mountain,
coastline and desert.

It can only be done outside
wearing trousers with pockets
on the side of your legs.

I'm coping.

*****
Thank you for all your lovely comments yesterday.
I am out all day on expeditions
and have very limited access to the internet
so I won't be able to respond this week.
Thank you for looking after MrM.

Postcards from Spain

Dear Head of Department,
Here we are at the margin of Europe.
It is an ideal place to study cross-cultural interaction
and the contemporary challenges of transition
from an agricultural and fishing subsistence economy
to the wider boundaries of tourism
and transient ex-patriate communities.
I am out of shot carrying the First Aid Kit.
I am working hard...
Yours, most sincerely,
Alice


Dear MrM.
Wish you were here.
Luv Ax

black and white

Zebra
Ustad Mansur; Minto Album (1621)

MrsM is selecting her spring wardrobe

MissM
I won't let you buy that zebra print dress.

Firstly, because it is too weird.

Secondly, because when we go to South Africa
you might get munched.