La Vida Alcalaína

One of the most impressive large birds seen regularly around Alcalá is the white stork, Ciconia ciconia . The other day we witnessed about two hundred of them flying overhead, on their way from wintering in Africa to their breeding grounds in Europe. They take the shortest route across the Mediterranean, because the thermals which lift them high into the air during their migration don't form over water. An estimated eighty thousand of them come our way, across the Strait of Gibraltar, though many more cross at the other end of the Med, across the Bosphorus and up through Turkey. White storks grazing in the spring meadows Alcalá now has three resident pairs, whose nests can be seen on pylons to the left of the A375 as you come into town from junction 42 on the A381.  You can often see them grazing in the fields nearby, or wheeling overhead.  Further south on the A381 towards Los Barrios there are nests on every pylon, and the derelict sugar factory at El Portal ...

Alcalá's 'Mesón Asador el Campanero' closed its doors a few years ago, leaving a gap at the top end of the food chain in the town centre. The restaurant was a carnivore's paradise, with the heads of beasts looking down on you as you tucked into their relatives.  We ate there a couple of times when we first came to Alcalá, but high prices and highly uncomfortable chairs (the traditional ones with lumpy wicker seats) put us off going there once we retired and moved here permanently. Following a total makeover, El Campanero recently re-opened under the management of Andalucía and Manuel Jímenez Jímenez, whose parents first opened the establishment in 1999. Andalucía and Manuel also run the popular "Gin Club" bar, Copas Campanero, opposite the restaurant.  I'm not sure when they find time to sleep. El Campanero is located  near the BP garage, opposite the Día supermarket.  It is open every day except Tuesdays from 8 a.m. till late, for breakfast,...