Valencia Spain

Pine Mountain

Hello again from Pine Mountain. It has been a relaxing week on the ranch. Squeekers and I have been working in the greenhouse most of the week. My winter garden is now looking good once more. It has been neglected the last few weeks while I was in the city working on a project.

This week I went for a ride on Rocket the horse and took Pete the mule out with his cart to fix the fence line. Well enough about the ranch. This week we travel to Valencia Spain on our journey through Spain.

If you are new to our site here is how things are arranged.

Section 1----Pine Mountain

Section 2----Valencia Spain

Section 3----Pine Mountain evening

Valencia Spain

We returned to Barcelona from the balearic islands of Spain and then meadered our way down the coast of Spain to Valencia.

Valencia History

Valencia is an old city established in Roman times around 137 BC. In 72 BC Valencia's General Sertorius was killed at a banquet by rivals. A Roman general named Pompey then attacked the city and destroyed it. It was rebuilt a few years later. After the Roman empire fell the Visigoths conquered the city then after the Visigoths, the Moors took over the city in 714 AD. The Moors ruled until 1238 AD when King James of Aragon claimed the city for Spain.

Present day

Valencia is a city of 1.53 million. It is a mixture of old world charm and modern big city. We explored the city and went to the medieval gate then toured the market place.

city gate

Marketplace

We walked around the bull ring

Bull ring

We walked along the waterfront and enjoyed the fine food at several restaurants.

We explored the shops and before we knew it our time in Valencia was over. We have wandered around Europe for several months and now it is time to return to the new world. Next week we begin to explore the new world starting in Rio de Janeiro.

Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening on the ranch and Squeekers and I are relaxing by the fire in the fireplace. Squeekers is on his perch munching his favorite snack peanuts.

I am relaxing in my easy chair with my coffee of the evening from http://www.coffeefool.com/. Tonight I am enjoying Mocha Java. This American roast coffee combines Ethiopian mocha with coffee from the Java islands. This coffee is just right with the ham and cheese sandwich that I am having as a late night snack. Squeekers and I have been watching another episode of Lost on TV. My sandwich and coffee are now finished and my show is over. It is time for bed. I turn off the gas fireplace and put Squeekers in his cage. It is time to head upstairs to bed. Good night all see you next week.

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Menorca and Ibiza

Pine Mountain

Hello again from Pine Mountain. I spent most of this week commuting back and forth to LA to finish an engineering project I have been working on. Four hours on the road each day wastes a lot of time. In my spare time I have been writing my travel blogs and reading up on Agua culture biosphere gardening. In a nut shell it uses large tanks for hydroponic growing of plants. It takes it a step further by putting fish in the tanks as well. The fish bi products are absorbed by the plants and the plants turn the co2 from the fish into oxygen and use the nitrates from the fish as fertilizer to grow. I am thinking of converting my greenhouse to this system but I have to study it a bit more first.

Well it is mid March already, this year is flying by. So far we have had a mild winter while the rest of the country has been having a cold and snowy winter. What strange weather we have.

Well enough about the Mountain. This week we continue with our 3 section form. So if you are new to our news letter here is how it is laid out.

Section 1----Pine Mountain News

Section2----Our Travel Story

Section3----Pine Mountain Evening

This week we continue our journey through the islands of Spain. Last week we toured Majorca, this week we travel Menorca and Ibiza.

Menorca and Ibiza

We rented a motorcycle and left Palma for Alcudia on Majorca. We arrived in Alcudia then boarded the ferry for Ciutadella on the island of Menorca. Menorca is the second largest island in the Balearic islands. Ciutadella is the second largest city on the island of Menorca. The city is of Moorish design and life moves at a slower pace than on the big island of Majorca.

Ciutadella

Menorca History

Menorca is known for it's stone megaliths that go back to prehistory. The island has a colorful and varied past. It has survived Roman, Moorish, British and Spanish rule. Majorca was liberated from the Moors in 1231 but it took another 56 years before Menorca was liberated. The British took over the island in 1708 and held on to it until 1802 when it was returned to Spain.

Our travels

We left Ciutadella on the ME 1 better known as 271 or the Ciutadella - Majon road. The island poulation is around 88,500 with around 27,500 living in Majon the capital of the island. Majon is called Mao for short. The distance from Ciutadella to Majon is around 40 kilometers. Menorca is flatter than Majorca with gently rolling hills and secluded sandy beaches.

Menorca beach

Menorca inland

The highest point on the island is 1174 feet ( 358 meters) . We spent the first part of the day leisurely riding to Majon.

Menorca beach

While Ciutadella looks like a Moorish designed town Majon looks like a British town of the 19 th century. Majon was the seat of British rule from 1708 to 1802.

Majon

We spent about an hour touring Majon then headed back to Ciutadella to catch the ferry back to Alcudia. We spent the night in Alcudia then went back to Palma where we caught the ferry for Ibiza.

Ibiza

Ibiza is the smallest of the three main Balearic islands and has a reputation as a party island. From June to October various well known bands and DJ's try out new versions of house, trance and techno electronic music.

History

The island was first settled by Phoenicians in 654 BC. Later came Carthage, Rome, Vandals, and Moors. Liberated from Moor rule in 1235 by King James I of Aragon it went on to become a Spanish possession.

Our Adventure

We went dancing at several of the clubs. We were fogged at one of the clubs and foamed at another. One club blended into the next one and before we knew it it was morning. We took the ferry back to Palma and then flew back to Barcelona. It was an interesting week in the Balearic islands of Spain.

Next week we continue down the coast of Spain and tour the city of Valencia.

Pine Mountain Evening.

It is evening once again on Pine Mountain. I am seated in my easy chair by the fire in the fireplace.

Squeekers is on his perch munching peanuts. I am eating cookies and drinking my sample coffee from http://www.coffeefool.com/. Tonight I am enjoying Chocolate Mint. This American roast coffee is another desert coffee that goes well with after dinner sugar cookies. Squeekers and I have been watching another episode of Lost. This soap opera sci fi series has the survivors of a plane crash returning to the time traveling island after leaving the island and being rescued. Well my show and coffee and cookies are done for the night and it is time for bed. I put Squeekers in his cage and turn off the fireplace. Good night all see you next week.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minorca

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Majorca

Pine Mountain

Hello again from Pine Mountain. I hope everyone had a great week. The weather has been fairly normal this week. The snow level is at 7000 feet (2133 meters). The temperatures at night are 31F ( - 1 C ). The wind varies from 4 mph (6 kph ) to about 17 mph (27 kph ).

I have been commuting again this week to work on a project in the big city. The round trip commute takes about 4 hours out of my day. In my spare time I have been looking into a new system called aquaponics. I already grow enough fresh vegetables to feed myself in my little greenhouse, but my present system is labor intensive. If I build an aquaponics system I will not only have fresh vegetables without all the weeding and cultivating but also have fresh fish as well.

Well enough about life on the ranch. This week we will continue with our 3 section format.

Section 1----Pine Mountain Ranch Life

Section 2----Our Travel Adventure

Section 3----Pine Mountain Evening

Our travel story this week is about a trip to the Mediterranean island of Majorca.


Majorca

We began our trip to the Balearic islands at Barcelona. Round trip air fare from Barcelona to Palma the capital of Majorca is about $56. We landed at Palma and rented a car. We made our way from the airport to Hotel Can Pastilla. This hotel was a small family style no frills hotel that was close to everything. It was clean and comfortable, a nice place to begin our exploration of the island.

Majorca history

Palma is the capital of Majorca and has a population of about 375,000. The island has been inhabited since at least 6000 BC. The cities of Palma and Alcudia were established in 123 BC under Roman rule.When the Roman empire went into decline, the Vandals ruled from 426 AD until 534 AD when the Byzantines claimed the island. The Byzantines built many of the islands churches while they ruled from 534 Ad until the Moors invaded in 902AD. The Moors improved the irrigation systems for the crops and vineyards and various factions ruled until King James of Aragon invaded in 1229 AD and made the island part of Spain.

Geography and Temperature

The island of Majorca has two mountain ranges. One mountain range is in the Northwest and the other is in the east. There is a central fertile plain called Es Pla. The northern coast of the island is very rugged with many tall cliffs and sea caves. The Mediterranean helps maintain the temperature of the island. The high temperature is in July and August of around 82 F (28 C ) and the low temperatures are in December and January of around 50F (13 C ). The high mountain regions do get a little colder and sometimes see snow but very few people live there. The highest point is Puig Major at 1445 meters and it is a military outpost.

Population and Restaurants

There is about 800,000 people that call Majorca home. Among the more famous ones are Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, Claudia Schiffer, Annie Lennox, Colm Meany, and Julian Lennon. Most of the locals speak Catalan and Spanish with English and German as a second language. 6.75 million tourists visit the island each year. There are some 2400 restaurants on the island and 4 million olive and almond trees.

Our Adventure

The next morning we awoke and had breakfast then we began exploring the island. First we visited the local sites in Palma. We went to the cathedral Palma. This was another cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi. It's distinctive features can be seen for miles.

Our next stop was Bellver castle. This castle is 112 meters above sea level and was built by King James II in 1300. It has served many uses including a home for Viceroys and a prison. Today it is a history museum.

After the castle we decided to explore the north coast so we went to Valdemossa. Originally built as a palace by James II for his son, it later became a monastery until 1835 when it passed into private hands.

After Valdemossa we went to the small north coast town of Pollenca. The town was founded in 1229 and now has a bout 8000 inhabitants.

We returned from the north coast and then began to explore the central plain. The central plain consists of farms and ranches and stretches from the northwest mountain range to the east mountain range.

Majorca has something for everyone. There is the rugged northern coast for spectacular scenery. The plains have the farms and the west, south and east have many coves and fishing villages. We spent several more days exploring the island of Majorca. Next week we will explore the neighboring islands of Minorca and Ibiza.

Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening again on Pine Mountain. I am in my easy chair by the warm fire in the fireplace
Squeekers is on his perch munching peanuts.

My coffee of the evening Melted Marshmellow is from http://www.coffeefool.com/. This American roast coffee combines with melted Marshmellow to give you a tasty coffee that makes you think of campfires and roasting marshmellows on a stick. It goes well with homemade sugar cookies. Squeekers and I have been watching and theTV series called Lost. My coffee and cookies are now history and my show is over. It has been a long day. I put Squeekers in his cage and turned off the gas fireplace. It is time for bed. Good night all have a great week. See you next week.

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Barcelona Spain

Pine Mountain
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Hello again from Pine Mountain. It has been a warm winter so far. Every time that we receive a winter storm it warms up and melts the snow within a couple of days. Even night time is about 10 to 15 degrees warmer than normal. Well enough about the weather.

This week I have been making the early morning commute into the big city to work on projects. I will be glad when the project is done and I will be able to stop commuting. I am not sure how people make that commute every day for decades. It gets old fast.

This week we will continue with the new three section layout of our newsletter. Those of you that have just joined us here is how the newsletter is laid out.

Section 1---- Pine Mountain News

Section 2----Travel story of the week

Section 3----Pine Mountain Evening

This week our travel in Spain Continues. We arrive in Barcelona and tour that famous city.

Barcelona Spain

We left the city of Tossa de Mar and meandered our way down the coast highway for the last 103 kilometers until we reached Barcelona. We had become accustomed to the Spanish country life in the last couple of days and were not prepared for all the sights and sounds and magnificense that is Barcelona this second largest city in Spain.

Barcelona has an abundance of old world charm and a rich and colorful heritage. Historic buildings and world class museums abound and there is a new and exciting view at every street corner.

The center of Barcelona is Las Rambles. This wide tree lined central walkway begins at Cataluna and continues over a kilometer to Mirador de Colon ( Columbus monument ) in the harbor. there are so many sites to see in Barcelona that you hardly know where to begin.

Probable the most familiar landmark in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia ( Sacred Family Church ). Originally designed by Antoni Gaudi, this church began construction in 1882. So intricate and complex are the construction that the latest completion date is 2026. More than 2.4 million people visit this church each year.

Another place to see in Barcelona is La Aquarium. It is one of the most modern and the largest Aquarium in Europe. There are over 11,000 creatures in 35 tanks that show the variety of the 450 species that call the Mediterranean home. There is even a walkway through the largest tank that is a totally submerged tube. This lets you see the Mediterranean creatures in their natural environment.

An interesting place to visit in Barcelona is La Pedrera. This Antoni Gaudi building was built in 1905 and it looks like it was sculptured instead of built.

All this touring makes you hungry. Barcelona is world famous for fine dining. Chefs like Ferran Adria, Carme Ruscadella, Santi Santamaria, and Sergi Arola make fine dining an art. You will find dishes like zarzuelas and cod esqueixada. There are many fine restaurants like Mamacafe, Dos Trece, and Carmelitas that will make sure you are well fed.

You can spend weeks in Barcelona and still not see everything. If you are ever on the south coast of Spain make sure you visit Barcelona. Next week we go offshore to explore the islands of Minorca, Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera.

Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening again on Pine Mountain. I am in my easy chair by the warm fire in the fireplace

Squeekers is on his perch munching peanuts. My coffee of the evening Irish Cream is from http://www.coffeefool.com/. This American roast coffee combines with Irish cream to give you a tasty coffee that makes you think of Ireland. It goes well with homemade sugar cookies. Squeekers and I have been watching and theTV series called Lost. My coffee and cookies are now history and my show is over. It has been a long day. I put Squeekers in his cage and turn off the gas fireplace. It is time for bed. Good night all have a great week. See you next week.

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Northeastern Spain

Pine Mountain News

Hello again from Pine Mountain. We are in the third week of February already. It is winter here on the mountain. The last storm left us with almost 4 inches ( 10 cm ) of snow. The sun is out and it is warming up today so most of it will probably melt.

This week I am cutting our 7 section news letter to 3 sections. Our Newsletter was just getting too long and had too many ads between the introduction and the travel adventure. We are moving all our ads to the right side. If you see something that interests you just click on the colored words and you will travel to that website. We are putting up a new survey so feel free to tell us if you like the new format.

This week our Travel adventure is about Northeastern Spain.
Those of you that have just joined us, here is how our newsletter is laid out at least for this week.

Section 1----Pine Mountain News

Section 2----Our Travel Adventure

Section 3----Pine Mountain Evening


Northeastern Spain

We followed D914 along the coast from Cervera de la Marenda in Southwest France. The road was a twisting and winding one through the foothills of the Pyrennes mountains. This is considered an important eco region. There are thick stands of olive trees and cork oaks. There are breathtaking views of the Mediterranean around many of the turns in the road.

The wintertime brings the birds. There are over 356 species of birds that winter here. There are everything from ospreys, falcons, and eagles to egrets and terns. There are many species of ducks and swans and geese too. This is a wetlands area formed by the Ebro river delta.



Osprey

Farms

People live here too. They terrace the steep hillsides to grow crops. There are vinyards, almond and olive groves and fruit orchards.

vineyard

We reach the French border at Coll dels Belitres. D914 became N260. All the mountain driving took it's toll and we stopped for our first night in the charming little town of Badia de Portbou.

This region of Spain is known as Catalonia. The capital of the region is Barcelona. There are 3 different languages spoken in this region. The languages are Catalan, Aranese and Spanish. The area has a long and colorful history from the Roman Empire days to the rule of the Moors from 790 to 1492 to the castles of the feudal kingdoms of the middle ages.

We left Badia de Portblou behind an headed down the coast.

The next major town we came to was Colera a town of about 700 people. We stopped for a quick brunch then back on the road again. The next major town that we came to was LLanca. This is a town of about 4900 people. This town has a large commercial fishing fleet.

Llanca

We continued down the coast until we reached El Port de la Selva. We turned inland and came back out on the coast at Bahia de Rosas. We kept winding our way down the coast and finally stopped for the night at Tossa de Mar.

Tossa de Mar

This town is about the halfway between the French border and Barcelona. Tossa de Mar has a poulation of about 5000 and is 100 kilometers from the French Border and 103 Kilometers from Barcelona. The coastal scenery in this part of Spain is spectacular but the constant twisting and winding of the coast road makes for slow going and it takes it's toll on you by the end of the day.

Next week we will continue down the coast and arrive at Barcelona. This city is the capital of the Catalonia area and is one of the jewels of the Mediterranean.

Pine Mountain Evening

Tonight is another cold winter night on Pine Mountain. I am snuggled up in my easy chair by a warm roaring fire in the fireplace.

Squeekers is on his perch munching peanuts. My coffee of the evening Hot Maple Syrup is from http://www.coffeefool.com/. This American roast coffee combines with maple syrup to give you a delicious slightly sweet coffee. It goes well with homemade sugar cookies. Squeekers and I have been watching and old TV series called Highlander. My coffee and cookies are now history and my show is over. It has been a long day. I put Squeekers in his cage and turn off the gas fireplace. It is time for bed. Good night all have a great week. See you next week.


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