Jazz By The Beach.
This Friday 17th August at 22.30 The Dixieland Clasijazz Band will be performing at Plaza Pérgola. Paseo Marítimo de Vera. Just along from Chiringuito El Playazo near Garrucha’s Mercadona.
Whats On
La Vuelta 2017 Lorca / Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto
August 30th 2017:
The annual cycling tour is passing though here for the first time in a few years, why not give them all a cheer and then nip into a bar for lunch.
The cyclists leave Lorca at 12.30 and pass through San Juan de los Terreros about an hour later. It passes Garrucha at around 14:00 and then climbs up to Mojacar pueblo and through Turre at around 14.30 so plenty of chances to see them.
This map shows the expected route as displayed on www.cyclingstage.com
Dolphins Off The Cabo de Gata
This fantastic film was shot by the Guadia Civil off the coast of the Cabo de Gata a couple of days ago.
The Cabo de Gata is about 30 minutes drive from Finca Arboleda and offers fantastic landscape and gorgeous beaches.
Sweet California Come To Vera
Sweet California are a popular female Spanish band and they will perform in the Bullring on Saturday.
Formed by Sonia Gómez, Alba Reig and Tamy Nsue. They have achieved success thanks to the albums “Break of Day”, “Head for the stars” , with which they were awarded discs of gold and platinum in Spain, with their last album “3” again set to break records of sales they will tour throughout 2017. Sweet California have more than 300,000 followers on Twitter and 500,000 on Facebook , plus more than 85 million views of videos on Youtube . Sweet California’s songs on Spotify have been heard by more than 390,000 people.
Enjoy singing along with Sweet California to the songs that you know by heart, “Vuelves”, “Hum”, “Good life”, “Empire” and many more. Do not miss out on the chance to enjoy Sweet California in concert, on a night you will never forget. The popularity and affection Sweet California are receiving is growing all the time, both in Spain and Latin America, where they will arrive in 2017 with the “Ladies tour” . They are in great form and they have already obtained Platinum Discs, with more than 100,000 discs sold, as well as MTV Awards and Prizes Los 40 . Now they are coming to the city … Come on!
Prices: There is a single price for the Vera concert, € 21 (General). Tickets for the Sweet California concert in Vera are available on the RedEntradas.com website and on the phone 958 10 81 81 (Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.). Also on the official website of Sweet California.
You can catch a taste of them here if you can not wait until 22.00 on Saturday.
Flamenco in Vera
Second Flamenco Festival In Vera.
On Friday 11th August Pastora Galván will perform in El Palmoral in Vera. Daughter of José Galván , she studied Flameco at the Seville dance school between 1990 and 1998, during which time she began her first professional work. She has performed all over Latin America, USA and Europe with the Company of Israel Galvan, her brother. It should be quite a night, it starts at 22.30, don’t be late.
The following night Saturday 12th August sees a Flamenco singing and dancing recital by “Entre Carrillos y Carretas”. Sung by Cristo Heredia, Edu Garcia, and Antonio García, guitarist Antonio Luis López and Eduardo Aguilera, Percussion Moi Santiago, Mariángeles Carrillo, Mariángeles Hernandez, Carmen and Alba Segura. Support is provided by the students of the School of Flamenco de Andalucía of Vera.
Both of the events are free and are sure to be well attended.
La Vuelta a España. (Tour of Spain)
Before the tour de France has finished the route for the “Tour of Spain” has been finalised.
For the first time since 2009 it is coming to Almeria and it will pass Vera!
The 11th day of the Spanish tour on August 30th will start in Lorca (Murcia) and will enter the province of Almería along the coast and visit a total of thirteen municipalities (Pulpí, Cuevas del Almanzora, Vera, Garrucha, Mojácar, Turre, Los Gallardos, Sorbas N-340a), Tabernas (N-340a), Velefique, Bacares and Gérgal ) until finally reaching it’s goal, the Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto. 2006 was the last time the Los Filabres summit was the final stage. The leg is 188 km long and it is the third time that the Calar Alto Observatory will be the destination of the day in the most important cycling event in Spain.
The race really gets started at the foot of Alto de Velefique. The climb opens with a first kilometre at 11.4% before the grades gradually flatten out until the last kilometre which is merely a false flat. Yet, the 14 kilometres climb up to Velefique is not for the faint of heart. The average gradient from base to top is 6.4%. Velefique is a former mining town in the Sierra de Filabres. In 2009 the place was the finish to a stage with over 6,000 metres of climbing. The now retired Ryder Hesjedal powered to the win.
The closing climb leads up to the largest telescope in mainland Europe, the Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto at an elevation of 2,168 metres. The 22 kilometres climb is averaging 6.3%, while the steepest sectors of 18% are on the lower slopes. In the section before the top the climb is irregular with steep stretches alternating with false flats and even short drops.
The Almeria stage is number 11 and is on 30th August. It will be shown on Spanish TV, Eurosport and ITV4. I haven’t managed to find a detailed map of the route but it leaves Villaricos and heads towards Garrucha presumably via Bourganvillas roundabout unless it makes an unlikely detour through the town. If anyone has seen the route in Google maps please let me know and I’ll add it to the post.
More good publicity for the region and it should make for some spectacular viewing. They will use two helicopters to film the race, one of which will be on scenic, touristic filming duty. Let’s hope they do as good a job of it as the shots from the Tour de France show.
The Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto looks fascinating and is somewhere that we really should visit.
The German-Spanish Astronomical Center at Calar Alto is located in the Sierra de Los Filabres (Andalucía, Southern Spain) north of Almeria. It is operated jointly by the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC) in Granada/Spain. Calar Alto provides three telescopes with apertures of 1.23m, 2.2m and 3.5m to the general community. A 1.5m-telescope, also located on the mountain, is operated under the control of the Observatory of Madrid.
Visit To Vera’s Seafood Fair
We paid a visit to Vera’s seafood fair in El Palmeral yesterday. You can choose individual dishes or go for the set platters for two people. Drinks extra of course.
We went at lunchtime and it was very quiet, probably a better atmosphere in the evening. The seafood was good and worth trying.
Feria Gallega Del Marisco
The GALLEGA DEL MARISCO FAIR is on in Vera.
From 13 to 23 July at the El Palmeral Exhibition Centre. Free admission. Open from 12 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight. More information on tel. 666103447
If you love fresh seafood this is a must, we went a couple of years ago and it was tasty and interesting to try dishes that are not easily available locally, washed down with a glass (or two) of Albariño.
Yummy, try it for yourself.
SUMMER CHESS TOURNAMENT
Next Saturday 1st July there will be an open air Chess Tournament at 18.30 in the open air of the Plaza Mayor in Vera
This summer in the Plaza de Toros in Vera will be Spectacular!
There will be so much to see and do in Vera this Summer.
Tickets are available from VERA (Tourist Office and Vera Playa Information Point). Sports Blanes. Mesón Geréz. Hotel Rest. Terrace Carmona. Café Bar Las Palmeras. HUERCAL-OVERA AND ALBOX: Óptica Almería. GARRUCHA: Nautical Restaurant. ONLINE SALE: redentradas.com.