pueblo – Page 29 – don't confuse the narrator

roundabout they go

Carousel pony waits for rider — Patience is a pony

Over the last few days, the village has been celebrating yet more fiestas.

The main car park area by the river is given over to candyfloss and hotdog stands, the usual stalls selling tat, a bouncy castle or two and a few traditional funfair rides.

It’s all pretty run of the mill stuff. There are dodgem (bumper?) cars in two sizes, a couple of Torito Salvaje rides and a Canguro Loco. (I guess the first is a Spanish equivalent of a bucking bronco ride for kids, and the Krazy Kangaroo is a fairly standard kind of octopus ride.) Then, of course, there’s a carousel with painted horses and other fantasy creatures.

But one thing I don’t think you’ll see in the UK is the pony carousel. (The Spanish use the word pony to refer to shetland ponies.)
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post scriptum

Today, almost a month after it was started, the wildfire in the Valle del Tiétar has officially been declared over.

It started at lunchtime on the 28th of July and was under control by the 3rd of August. On the 13th it was described as “técnicamente extinguido”, but there have been people deployed in the area since then, damping down and making sure that it didn’t flare up again.

Two people died and 4211 hectares were burned, including a large area of the Sierra de Gredos Regional Park.

I can’t help but wonder how the person who started it feels now.

‘tranquilo’

I went outside on Thursday morning before the sun was up, and what struck me most was how quiet it was. It felt like an autumn morning in the UK: chilly, with a slight blur to the air. In the UK, that would have been from bonfires; here, of course, it was from wildfire smoke.

The helicopters started again soon after 8am, and a walk to the village showed that all was not over: the polideportivo was ‘occupied’ by soldiers and firemen, and the fire was still the main topic of conversation everywhere.

firetrucks & military vehicles at the sports centre

not perfect, but plentiful

There’s something disconcerting about how our yellow plums seem to be slightly luminous, like small, solar-powered lightbulbs, even when they’re covered in the silver bloom that’s typical of the plum family.

Between gold and silver, they can’t seem to make up their minds whether they want to be suns or moons.

Apparently, its early blossoming makes the plum a symbol of vitality in Japanese culture: our tree here in Spain certainly seems to be full of life.

(Fortunately, although they aren’t perfect, the fruits aren’t too full of insect life this year.)

fire!

Yes, it’s that time of year again.

Hearing a helicopter directly overhead, I assumed it was the ultralite that comes round taking aerial photos. Seeing the shadow of the blades cross the vine, I realised it had to be something rather bigger and went outside to see what was happening.

Spanish fire-fighting helicopter — somewhat bigger than an ultralite

It’s not surprising that there’s a danger of fire with skies this blue, but since the holidays don’t officially start till tomorrow, it’s a bit worrying.
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