Back in the dark misty times...

Back in the dark misty times...
Genealogy, joyfully discovered ~

Monday, October 1, 2012

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains ~


September 26-27, 2012
The rain in Spain falls mainly in the Plains.  We are there.  The rain has deluged us for two days and I fear Torremolinos may fall off our itinerary before we leave but we have been very lucky so far, so I will not toss it off the list yet…

Today, we had two ah-ha moments for the Ruiz family research! 

We are in the south once again in a tiny apartment as guests.  It’s raining and since everyone hangs their clothes on the line, we were stumped.  We have a small washer beneath the stairwell just outside the door where I can stoop to reach the washer (but happy to have one).  Steven’s optimism, however, took us to the town of Puerta de la Torre to buy clothes pins.  He was sure it would clear up…. The rains continued after our purchase so he headed the car to Campanillas where we planned to look for a lavanderia, a place to dry our clothes.  
Just across the edge of town, he said, “I remember this is the town where Grandpa Ben was baptized.” 
“What?  You know where the church is?”  I felt my heartbeat speed up.
“Yes, I can see the top from here.” He pointed to a white stucco church amid the raindrops. 


No luck finding the street by car so we parked and walked and walked until we stood before it.  The church gates were locked (no luck breaking and entering as we did in the cemeteries) so we took photos from every angle and grinned at one another like children.  If grandpa was baptized there, we were sure his brothers, Manuel and Miguel as well as his sister, Maria, were also. 
Then we were hungry.  Across the street from the church, we had paella that melted in our mouths and a glass of wine as we gazed at the church and marveled that the church sits on Calle Ruiz-Maiquez.  Very sweet memory.
As we left the restaurant, I noticed a sign on the front of a house across from where we ate.  I’d taken photos of its windows, liking it immensely.  It was very Spanish with those fabulous ceramic tiles and a stone courtyard wall in front of the house.   As we neared it walking back to the car, I thought the sign read “Cuidad con el pero” and asked Steven what it meant.  He is feeling much more confident back in the south with his Spanish but still, he tilted his head wondering what?  We backed up.  As I read the sign properly, a growling dog jumping toward me near the door and sign showed the painted ceramic tile of a police dog and jumped back.  The sign actually read “Cuidado con el perro.”    Steven laughed all the way to the car.  I’d translated “City of the but” when in reality it was “Beware of the dog”.  (smiling here – obviously out of my element)
Back home again, no place to dry our clothes, still raining but a new umbrella in my pocket…. Our benefactor, Pepe, met us at the door with an invitation for fried fish “pescado Jure” Malagueno and Rioja wine.  Of course we accepted and he brought it to us, sat down and chatted (with Steven).  I tried to follow his Spanish but as I was finally understanding many words in the north, we are again in Andalucia where the words are chopped off and the s is dropped… He and Steven do very well though.
I was amazed to learn he was 77 and his wife was 62.  I’d guessed them about 85 and 75.  She is younger than I am.  Still shaking my head… but I regress once again.  The second ah-ha moment:  Pepe told us he knows grandpa Bernardo Ruiz was born in a house in a tiny hamlet called Arroyo de Oliva near Campanillas.  He also knows an older cousin who can guide us to the house.   We will talk to that cousin soon and fill in more Ruiz blanks ~
Now, we need to find the internet to post and contact our family.  We are definitely in the country; there’s a burro a short way from our abode who brays often, a rooster who crows often and millions of flies.  I am wearing myself out swatting them.  But!  We have coffee, food, friends, cousins, a washer and oh!  More good news:  Pepe’s wife (Pepa) has a clothes dryer and Steven is changing the load now. 
Another great day in Spain and tomorrow we go to Gibraltar where the immigrant ships sailed from its banks to Hawaii. 

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