Tuesday 18 April 2023

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 18 April 2023 - T for El Torcál

 Hello lovely ladies, It's Tuesday again and time for the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. More about that later. let me show you my postcard:


It comes from Finland as you can see. It has some rural (unspecified) location on it and the Finnish flag: White background, blue cross.
It was sent to me by Mirja who lives in Lievestuore, a village in the middle of Finland which has 2500 inhabitants.

This is the railway station of the village. (The village has a Wikipedia page) Lievestuore has a school, a day care center, a youth center, a health center and a pharmacy, a church, a pub, a restaurant and a grocery store.

The photo of the stamp is a bit of a disaster. It's very bad quality and I don't know how to turn it round.


Here is a better one:
2022’s Christmas stamps are designed by Nina Kuu from Kirkkonummi. She is a versatile 35-year-old illustrator whose work is characterized by colors and a playful spirit. The artist, known for her large-scale murals, found it challenging to fit the illustrations on a postage stamp.

So what can I show you of my week?
I've been away this past weekend. I went with a group from the photo club and we went to a place called Antequera. We were invited by the local photo club and they guided us on a tour through the old city. First stop a bar for coffee and a toilet:
The mural depicts what Antequera has to offer. On the left the mountains of El Torcál and in the middle the Gate of the Giant and the right hand picture represent the dolmen.

Below you can see the gate of the Giants, a Roman structure:
I'm just showing you a few pictures as I have too many really. 

Beyond the 'door' we enjoyed a magnificent view of the city.

Of course I always add some palm trees for Elizabeth:

As this is the T-party I will show you a drink related picture. We were walking through the town when I saw the outdoor table and chairs of a cafe:

Oh dear, no coffee cups or glasses. Oh well... 
When I looked up, I saw a very beautiful ceiling:


This was all Saturday morning. In the afternoon we went to see the dolmens. These are neolithic burial sites. (Photo below from the internet). 


This one is called Viera and it is the smaller of the two. (On the left in the above photo)
It was built about 3000 years BC and is 21 meters deep, 1.6 m wide and 2m high. I didn't take any pictures inside as it was full of people.

The other one is called Menga and is much bigger. (On the right in the aerial photo). I didn't take the photo below as I am actually in it (on the R).

Menga Dolmen in the largest in Europe at nearly 30m long. The largest upright stone weighs 180 tonnes. By way of comparison, the heaviest stone at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire in the UK, weighs 40 tonnes.

On the Sunday morning we got up early to drive to the Torcal mountains, half an hour outside the city. They are the famous for their unusual limestone rock formations.

We spent all morning there.
Below is the famous Tornillo (screw) with one of my companions posing.
And this is me posing in a different location:



To finish off I need a photo with a drink in it.
Lunch at the hotel. Several beer bottles are visible. So now it's time to visit Elizabeth and Bleubeard:

 I'm sorry this has turned into a long blogpost.

Have a lovely week,
Keep smiling,
Hugs,
Lisca






















12 comments:

Cloudia said...

Gosh these are marvelous. Thank you for sharing! Glad we both had it Tuesday T!

Mae Travels said...

Prehistoric stone emplacements with dolmens and menhirs are really fascinating. I have seen them in Brittany and in Ireland, but wasn’t aware of the Spanish ones. Your photos and descriptions are great.

best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Kate Yetter said...

Looks like a great trip with some amazing old structures. I love the rock and stone.
Love that stamp and the postcard from Finland!
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Carola Bartz said...

What an interesting excursion! The ceiling of that outdoor cafe is magnificent - I would have liked to spend some time there, drinking a nice latte. The dolmen are fascinating, but I like the Torcal mountains even more. What a seriously stunning area.

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Lisca, I enjoy your long posts-so much history and information in this one-this is nice you are able to travel to different spots like this.
that was a pretty stamp on the postcard too-Happy T
Hugs Kathy

Sharon Madson said...

Lisca, I so enjoy your posts because you go to such interesting places and do such interesting things. Can you believe I had never heard of dolmens. Great photos of you, and your companions and of your lunch.
Oh, and that stamp from Finland is very striking in the good photo. Happy T Day.

Amila said...

Beautiful photos and a beautiful postcard. I like this view of railway station. Interesting to see all these photos from your visits, specially the decorated ceiling. Photos from Menga Dolmen are wonderful too...
Happy T day!

Valerie-Jael said...

What a wonderful trip you had, Love the dolmens, mut have been fantastic to be inside them. Thed rock formations are very interesting, too. I always wonder how they managed to move such large and heavy stones in the past - fascinating! Hapy T day, hugs, Valerie

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I enjoyed your postcard. I used to have a "pen pal" in Finland.

So nice of the other photo club to invite you to Antequera. It looks like a beautiful old city with lots of photo ops. Loved the arch. And those rock formations are stunning. I am glad you had a good time.

Wow. You gave us a plethora of drinks, glasses, and bottles of beer for T this Tuesday, dear Lisca. thanks for sharing your trip to Antequera, your trek to the rock formations, and your various drinks with us for T.

Divers and Sundry said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing the photos! Happy T Tuesday

CJ Kennedy said...

Awesome stamp. It's so colorful. Sounds like you had a lovely trip with the photography club. So much to see and take pictures of. The Tornillo is fascinating. Hard to believe that structure's not man-made. Nice photos of you, too. Happy T Day

Anonymous said...

Fascinating ancient archeology and what a whacky rock formation! Keren