AudioBoo - Saturday Morning Beach Walk.

listen to ‘Saturday Morning Beach Walk.’ on Audioboo

An impromptu walk along the beach on a lovely sunny, September Saturday morning.

Too Wet For A Boat?

listen to ‘Too Wet For A Boat?’ on Audioboo

An Audioboo Podcast.

A bit of a rant about a few Olympic related events & happenings. Or, non-happenings, as the case may be

Reservoir Beds.

Doing something that you don't get to do every day.

Blog Action Day 2010 - Water

When thinking about this topic. The first aspect that came to my mind was the very real danger, in future years, of wars being fought over water.

It has often been said, that the next major war between nations, will be fought over the supply of water. The signs for this are already evident in various parts of the world.

Rain falls where it feels like and rivers are no respecters of national borders and therein lies the problem.

Some countries are lucky enough to be, at the moment anyway, self sufficient in water supply. But, many others have to rely on the water that flows into their country, via rivers, from across the national border.
So, what happens if that water supply dries up, or is diverted?

Just taking one major river, the River Nile, as an example, can show some of the potential problems.

The River Nile runs through many countries, most notably Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan & Egypt. But, it also has sources, or contributary lakes in Tanzania, Congo & Rwanda.
That's a lot of countries to be affected by one river. Albeit, one that has two parts. This situation is mirrored in many other parts of the world.

Egypt was called, by the Greek philospher Herodotus, "The gift of the Nile" and it most certainly is. Without the River Nile, that great ancient civilsation of pharoahs, tombs and magnificent monuments would never have existed. That's how important a river can be.

We tend to take our rivers and even our rainfall for example. But, the times they are a changing.

The rather large elephant in the room now, is climate change, global warming, or whatever you wish to call it.

This adds a whole new dimension to the future of water supplies to many countries.

It is already thought, that the current conflict taking place in Sudan, is at least partly caused by a dispute over water. This is something that is likely to be more common and widespread in the future.
And not just in Africa either.


The Middle East is another potential flash point.
It is thought that the Dead Sea could be extinct within 40 years. Although the Dead Sea is, obviously, not a river. One of the reasons for it shrinking, is the diversion of the water that would normally feed it.
The Dead Sea is supplied by the River Jordan. Another one of those rivers that has fed ancient civilisations.
The River Jordan is used by Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Israel. All, bar Lebanon, have diverted, dammed, or built reservoirs for use of the river for their own countries water supplies.


It doesn't take a genius to work out the potential future problems that could result between these countries. One of which is a nuclear power!


With the ever increasing rise in the worlds population, especially in the areas with the worst natural water supplies. And, with the added problem of the changing climate, which could result in reduced rainfall and river levels. The future does not look very good.


For me, the issue of future water supply, is as potentially dangerous, if not more so, that any threat from terrorism. In fact, it could even lead to future terrorism.


The time for action, is now.


But, what can we do?

A Spanish Holiday - Walking and vlogging.

Yesterday morning, before the exertions of the day, i decided to do something i've been meaning to do for a few days now. But, just hadn't got around to!
I went for a walk.

Leaving our cottage and instead of turning left and heading towards Orgiva itself. I decided to turn right and head towards the hills and the unknown.

(Our cottage and the view towards Orgiva)

I had been told that the path led towards the village of Bayacas. So, i just started walking.

The whole area around Orgiva and indeed the Alpujarras thenselves, are well known for walking. Although, i doubt that this would be encouraged during the heat of an August day. Hence the reason that i headed out around 9am.
At some time, i'd love to come back at a more sensible time of the year and explore more fully. I'm sure that would be a very valuable experience.

After only a few minutes on my path, i came across the dried up river bed of the Rio Chico. Another, lower, part of the river can be seen going through  the outskirts of Orgiva itself and i had noticed it a couple of days ago.
But, this time i was up close and actually walked into the dried up riverbed to take some photos.

(The Rio Chico - looking back towards Orgiva)

As you can see from the photo above, there are all manner of rocks and general debris scattered along the river bed. I should imagine that when the Rio Chico is in full flow, it must be one hell of a sight.
I don't know if the amount of rocks and the sheer size of some of them, is normal. Or, whether it is partly the result of the very bad, rainy, weather that the Alpujarras region experienced during last Winter?
(I've just had this confirmed by Clare, the owner of our property. Apparently, there was a period of unusual, prolonged and heavy rain in the area. This resulted in snowfalls on the Sierra Nevada mountains. The wet weather was followed by warmer temperatures, which then caused a rapid melt of much of the new snowfall. This in turn led to the Rio Chico becoming very swollen. Hence the huge rocks and boulders, which were swept downstream by the raging torrent. Several bridges were washed away and people on the other side of the river were left cut off. And all of this happened on Christmas Eve)

It seems hard to believe that this "river", when seen like this, could ever be capable of disturbing and carrying rocks downstream. It really was quite odd to be able to clamber amongst the rocks and boulders, with not even a trickle of water flowing.

At around this point, the landscape changed into what i later described to my wife, as a kind of lunar landscape. This was partly due to the eerie river bed. But, also because of the rock formations that surrounded me at this point. I had turned a corner and the rocky hillside had become a lot closer and steeper.

A little further on and the valley opened up once again, to show the village of Bayacas in the foreground and the rising hills. The start of the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the near distance. A very picturesque sight.

(Bayacas and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains)

Towards the left of the photo above, you just see the start of a gorge. Through there i could glimpse some of the higher peaks of the mountain range and i had this whole amazing sight to myself. As, although i had seen a few locals walking their dogs, further down the valley. I was alone at this point.

Although, i was very tempted to see what was around the next corner, something i can't usually stop myself from doing. I decided that now was the time to head back, as i was by now getting rather hot.
I think i may well try and take another walk up into this valley, before i go home.

Another aspect of this walk that made it slightly different, for this holiday at least. Is that, after over a week here, i finally took my video camera out of it's case and recorded two vlogs.
As i said in one of the videos that i recorded at the time. I have just not had the inclination to record any video footage, yet alone a vlog. For some reason, the situation has just not been quite right and maybe, that's no bad thing?
And yet, as soon as i started walking, i felt like vlogging again. The video camera came out and off i went.

There is something about walking that seems to start me thinking and wanting to talk into a camera. I find this happens in many different situations. Whether that be on the beach, in the woods, or anywhere where my mind has time to wander and think.
Maybe that's one the reasons that i enjoy walking so much in the first place?

Long may that continue.

Down To The Sea.

"I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky"

That is the first line from the poem "Sea Fever" by English poet, John Masefield. Now, i'm not in any way a big poetry fan. But, that line just came to me as i sat down to write this blog post.

Why?, you ask.
Well, i've just been down for a walk by "the lonely sea and the sky" & felt compelled to write something about it. Isn't that what blogs are all about, after all?

I'm very lucky in that i can see the sea from my bedroom window. Ok, i have to look out of the window at just the right angle. But, if i was trying to sell the house, the words "sea view" would no doubt appear in the description. As it happens, if i lean out of my rear bedroom window i can see Hastings castle (built in the 1080's, by the Normans) Well, what remains of it. But, that's another story...

I have lived in Hastings & close to the sea, for over 20 years now & in that time the sea has never lost any of it's initial appeal. I think you naturally feel that after you've lived by the sea for a while, you would get used to it & maybe not notice it quite so much. I know that this does happen for many people. But, in the case of my wife & i, that has not happened. If anything, i think i appreciate the sea more & more as time goes on. The fact that the sea front is so close to my home may have a bearing on that. As might the fact that i wasn't born here & moved here purposely to be near the sea, amongst other reasons.
I have got so used to living by the sea now, that i'm not sure that i would ever want to move away from it & i know that my wife feels exactly the same way.

Anyone who has ever walked by the sea, or on the beach, especially in relative solitude, would understand the calming effect that that walk can have & that was primarily the reason for my walk today.

I am currently going through one of those life changing periods that occur in most peoples lives, more of which at a later date & having the sea so close at hand has been of great benefit to my peace of mind.

I was out walking along the beach the other day, with the sand beneath my feet & between my toes & i thought to myself "I really ought to try & get out for a walk by the sea far more often".
It was one of those great summer afternoons. The tide was out, the sand was exposed & i was able to walk along a, relatively, deserted beach in my bare feet, with my feet in the water & all  in the warm sunshine too.
It's at moments like that that you realise how lucky you are & that life could be a whole lot worse.

I have a feeling that there will be many more walks down to the sea to come in the near future.
I can't wait.

A Tipping Point.

I woke early this morning, at around 3.30am. I have no idea why.
Yes, i know that's far too early & i did go back to sleep later.
But, as i lay there i started to notice sounds coming from outside of the house. It took a while, which is no great surprise at that time of the morning i guess? But, i eventually realised that it was the sound of water dripping.
Nothing unusual in that you might think. But, that was not a sound i was expecting to hear.

As i've said in many vlogs & blogs over the past few days. We, in Britain, have been experiencing some pretty cold & snowy weather recently.

When i went to bed last night, it was snowing & the weather forecast was of plenty more to come overnight. I was even planning another little excursion first thing in the morning, to have a nice walk in the snow & to take some more photographs.
So, the last thing i was expecting to hear was the sound of dripping water. Suggesting that it was either raining, or that the snow was thawing.
I got up, peeked out of the window & sure enough, the snow had already started to thaw. Hence the sound of dripping water.

This is one of the common problems with any snow that falls in this area. It tends not to last for very long. Partly due to the salt in the air from the sea & also because we just don't normally get extended periods of freezing temperatures.
This is was has been making this recent spell of cold weather unusual. It has lasted for a long time.

What must have happened, is that the temperature must have risen, very slightly, during the night. Just enough to kick start that thawing process.
The temperature had reached a critical tipping point.
That small rise in temperature had tipped the balance between, what would have been snow, to rain, or sleet. It was just enough to start the thaw.

This got me thinking & kept me awake for some time too!

This incident proved to me just what a difference a small rise in temperature can make.

In Hastings we probably live on the very edge of that tipping point between snow & rain many times every Winter, without even realising it. Most of the time the rain wins. Over the past few days, the snow has taken it's chance.

So, if this is what happens with a very small variation in temperature. Just think what would happen if the temperature were to change by a few degrees? As predicted by all of those climate scientists.
"It's only a couple of degrees" say the sceptics, or naysayers, "What difference is that going to make?"

I may be no climate scientist. But, i have very recent experience of the difference that a very small change in the temperature can make.
Climate change may well be a global problem, especially in the years to come. But, the effects of that change will be felt at a very local level.

I certainly hope we haven't reached that tipping point just yet & that there is a way to stop us ever reaching it.
As, i'm not sure i ever want to see over the edge.

And, by the way, i never did get to have that walk in the snow this morning.