Rain, Malaga and Sunshine

Tuesday 13 November

Surprise surprise, we woke to another fantastic day, not a cloud in the sky. This is the first time since we have been here that we have had two consecutive days without rain. Brilliant. It was warmer outside the house than in today so we had our breakfast on the terrace looking at the lovely views. The snow on top of the mountain all but gone.

We really needed to walk to Riogordo today as firstly we were becoming overwhelmed with rubbish and recycling and needed to make our way to the bins also we needed to update the blog which is exactly what we are doing now......


Monday 12 November

Well, the wind in the night certainly did the trick and we awoke to a perfect sunny day. Not sure if we have mentioned this but, when the shutters are shut the room is in TOTAL darkness. It could be brilliant sunshine or a nuclear flash over and you would never know it. This has so many advantages and we are sleeping till we naturally wake up. That is we sleep solidly all night possibly 10 hrs plus. It really is effective and we think if we ever have a house again in the UK we are going to get blackout blinds fitted.

Going outside it was warm and the sun hit our faces and it was good. It must have been really cold in the night as the mountains to the East were dusted in snow on their tops. It looked lovely. Thankfully it was only at the top and nowhere near us.

Anyway, we were like a couple of school kids the windows and doors were all thrown wide open and the washer was put to work. There is no point in doing washing here unless it is nice outside. Things simply don’t dry in the house overnight. We have no central heating or even an airing cupboard so nature has do the job or it doesn’t get done at all.

We took all the cushions and throws off the settees and let them all air in the brilliant sunshine. We have often wondered why when we walk down the streets we see people hanging things over the balcony, now we get it. The chairs were soon out for sunbathing and Kev set to on Campy giving her a clean. It is amazing how 2 weeks of rain can take the shine of a car. By the end of the day it was back to showroom condition. Even Petra got involved and cleaned the windows on the outside. She did look fantastic when finished (Campy that is).

We sat on the terrace all afternoon too lazy to go out & having tea and Panettone ( a pre Christmas treat). We really should have taken the rubbish and re-cycling down to the bins but when the sun is out at the house you really do not want to go anywhere else it is so lovely. 

We are learning that Riogordo really is a place of extremes and you need to grab the good days with both hands because if you blink you might miss them and that really would be a shame. We could so easily have jumped in the van and gone exploring but that wasn’t really what we wanted to do. We like the house and when the weather is like it was today why would we want to go anywhere else?

Anyway, we’re sure it’s going to rain again tonight because Kev cleaned Campy....

Sunday 11 November

True to form, if you have a nice day one day you can guarantee that there will be a price to pay the next. Today was payback big time. When we opened the shutters in the morning we were surprised to see for the first time that we had condensation on the windows. It was very dull and overcast. There was also low cloud base and of course it was raining. 

Nothing for it but to hunker down for the day and do some serious reading Petra is reading a book on a couple who buy a derelict farm house in Spain and Kev is reading Robinson Crusoe. We had the gas fire on most of the day to keep us warm. 

The rain continued on and off all day and as it wore on the wind got up. It increased in velocity as the day moved on until in the evening it was blowing a full gale and the windows and doors started rattling. The wind was blowing from the North and lying in bed we could hear the all sorts of bangs and rattles as the storm raged and the wind howled on. Petra wedged a piece of paper in the door to stop it from rattling. Kev just when to sleep.

Saturday 10 November

We awoke to a beautiful day today, as soon as we opened the shutters it was obvious the dark depressing clouds had dispersed and had been replaced with blue sky and sparse white clouds. Great!

We had our breakfast and by 10am we were ready for Sue and Mick to arrive to take us on a day out in Malaga. On arrival we all piled into Mick’s car and we were off. As we drove towards Malaga the weather just got better and better and by the time we arrived at the multistory it was lovely and warm.

Whilst chatting, Sue mentioned that there was a trip organised to Gibraltar on Dec 7th and perhaps we would like to go. Absolutely came the reply, and without further ado she whipped out her phone and no sooner said than done we were booked on the coach. Fantastic, only €10 each and apparently there is a Morrisons so its just in time for Xmas shopping. 

Mick and Sue are veterans of Spain and know Malaga like the back to their hands. First stop was a cafe for a caffeine fix. We went to a small but very pleasant plaza and settled in a street cafe sipping coffee. It was a very pleasant and relaxing start to our day.

After coffee we went on a walk around the shopping streets of Malaga and on to the high street. We saw lots of street performers including a man who was sitting down on an imaginary chair, the invisible man and a man who could paint you up a mountain scene on glass coaster quicker than you could get your wallet out. There were also quite a number of familiar shops even a C&A.

Next stop was a fresh produce market which was lovely to walk around it was very atmospheric and had recently been renovated. We tried some ham which we have seen before in the supermarket. It’s basically a whole leg of pork which has been hung, smoked and left for months to cure. The outside of the leg looks dirty and shriveled. The man behind the counter cut a bit to try, it was cut very thin and took some chewing but had a distinctive and pleasant taste. 

After this we were taken to a Bodega - a small bar with a collection of barrels behind the bar of local wines. The one we had was a sort of sherry, sweet and dark but very nice. The bar was very old and had lots of character including power cuts. No problem, a man got on a chair flicked the switch and we were back in business. One thing; the wine was very strong and from the first sip it sent a rush straight to your head. 

Fortified, we carried on looking around the city and made our way to the harbour area. This had had a huge amount of money spent on it and is a playground for the rich. Lots of bars and label shops here. We sat on a bench in the sun for a while, so good to feel the warmth of the sun again.

By now we were thinking of lunch so walked back towards the shopping centre through an avenue of trees and past the Cathedral, a momentous structure so big it was impossible to take a proper photo of with the space available. We settled on a street bar in another square under the shade of an umbrella and a bush. We were not there long when a pigeon  decided to join us and landed on the table wanting the nuts left by the previous occupants of the table and sent things flying.

We ordered Tapas and drinks and was waiting for it to arrive when a couple of men arrived opposite us and set up their busking equipment. A quick tune on the guitar and the singer was off with the other chap tapping on a box for percussion. I was all a bit loud and after the second man had been around with the hat the bar gave the signal to shove off, and thankfully they did. The Tapas then arrived and we sat having a lovely relaxed lunch.

It’s amazing how quickly time goes as it was soon 3pm and after settling the bill we made our way back to the car. Sue and Mick knowing that we are having quite a few visitors very kindly decided we should see the airport and took us there. So we should have no problems collecting people now.

Our sincere thanks to Mick and Sue for befriending us and taking us under their wing and taking us out for the day. We had an excellent time, had a good laugh with good company and loved Malaga. So a big cheers and thanks to them both.

The Fresh Produce Market

The Bodega

The Harbour Walk

The Cathedral 

Mick, Sue and Petra

Friday 9 November 

It’s a good job we went out yesterday as in the night the flood gates of heaven opened and we had more rain than you can shake a very big stick at. It woke us up a couple of times as it thundered down on the roof, window ledges, patio and covered table. It felt good to be warm and dry in our beds. 

When we woke in the morning it was 9am, still raining and it didn’t stop all today. There was some pathetic attempts at thunder and lightening but it really wasn’t worth the effort. We stayed in listening to our music, cleaning the house and doing the blog. We also down loaded Jeeves and Wooster on to the iPod so we have a bit of entertainment sorted out for later.

In the morning we had a visitor to the house, the huge harlequin Gt Dane from down the track. He brought with him his German Shepard cellmate to introduce him to the inconsiderate neighbours who disturbed his slumbers last night. When he saw us he gave a large and very deep woof, as if to say ‘that’s them’!!!.... as it was raining we decided not to go out and exchange pleasantries but watched in horror as it thumbed its teeth at us, turned its back and in an act of obvious incitement cocked its leg up against Campy’s offside rear bumper and relieved its oversized and overextended bladder. So that’s him off the christmas card list.

Thursday 8 November

We decided come hell or high water we were going out today. We’re getting a touch cabin fever and besides we are running out of food. As an example we have only spent €22 in local shops on food since we arrived and, what with the €15 for a gas bottle for the fire on the second day its been good for the wallet but not so for the soul. No, we need to shop.

Luckily, it didn’t rain in the night and it was a nice sunny today. A quick inspection of the track to determine if it was sound enough for Campy and we slowly set off. It does seem a bit wimpy not going out as and we feel like it but the van is heavy at 2.3 tons unladen and we don’t want to damage the track any more than we have to. The rain really has pounded the poor thing. We have been down a couple of times and given it a bit of support and fill in the bigger holes and give it a pat down with the spade.

We drove the 30 odd km to Velez Malaga over the mountains, we love this dramatic drive especially the return journey. Making our way under the motorway on the outskirts of the town we found the large out of town shopping centre. The main purpose of the trip was to get ourselves a iPod dock. All respect to Richard and Carol’s CD collection but we noticed even they had their own small iPod dock system so fair do’s

We looked in a couple of shops but settled on a Sony RDP-X200 Personal Audio Docking System €199. It’s quite extravagant really, we were going to spend half that amount but on hearing the difference in sound quality, we sort of convinced ourselves that our music collection was worth the extra.

The supermarket (next to the electrical shop) shop was a nightmare we had the trolly from Satan himself, which was stiff and once loaded the with water 5x 5 litre bottles for 65c each it was aching to get back to its maker and was creating merry hell. It was really difficult to find what we wanted in the shop and we ended up going back and forth crisscrossing the aisles all over the place. All this took quite a long time to sort and we were getting tired hungry and irritable. Sod the tissues - we were off. 

On the way home we stopped off at Lidl and in need of sustenance we trotted over to the near by McDonald's for lunch. This was also a bit of an extravagance but, the big mac calleth and it must be obeyed! Petra had a McPollo? (chicken in a bun to you and me). 

Lidl is fantastic in Spain much better than the British equivalent. The fruit and veg are great and because the place is a reasonable size you can easily find your way around, We decided to start stocking up the bar ready for when visitors come (30 bottles of Grand Reserve for an amazing €77 (£66 or £2.20 each)) We also got 36 bottles of beer €19.14 (£16.50) Bottle of Gin €9 this is the good stuff not the €3.98 stuff which doubles up a paint stripper or if pushed break fluid. 

Back home the weather was warm and sunny so we sat out for a while before it started to cool off and we attacked the mound of shopping needing to be put away. The iPod dock is awesome and we love it.

Thursday night is quiz night down in Riogordo. A group of expats get together in the bar and have a jolly time drinking and answering impossible questions. It started at 8.30pm and is (of course) the furthest point form the house and all down hill. It must be 1.5km to the pub and some of the hills are 10%. The way down is dark, very dark and we needed our torches initially find our way. As we were walking the sky suddenly flashed with lightening and rumbled and we knew what was coming.

We made it to the bar before the rain and once there we were given a warm welcome and introduced to Keith who kindly agreed to make our team into a threesome a godsend really as we were really rubbish at it. Quite embarrassingly so really. There were lot of questions on subjects like sport, Australia, 70’s and 80’s music etc we weren't much help to Keith but despite us, in the end we didn’t come last, we had a good time and we had the smallest team.... so we did ok.

Bearing in mind that we are usually all tucked up in bed by 9.30pm at the latest the 11.30pm walk up the endless road to bed was a tiring and hot one. It was strange walking the deserted streets of Riogordo which are now becoming so familiar. It all looked quite picturesque with the street lights on and the clock tower and civic buildings being illuminated which somehow disappear into the chaos during the daylight. As we walked up the track to the house it was black as black can be and deathly quiet, that was until we were copped by a dog and suddenly the whole valley erupted in unison. We saw our neighbours huge harlequin Gt Dane’s eyes flashing red in the torch light like the hound of the Baskervilles as he voiced his indignation at being disturbed from his slumber. For a while (roughly one nanosecond) we felt sorry for waking the dogs and possibly the owners but then again.....what goes around comes around! We arrived back at the house cussing why we hadn't take the van and had to sit for half and hour to compose ourselves and cool off. 

Upon reflection, and all in all, it’s been a good day today, Campy had a stretch of her pistons, the weather has been kind (sort of), we now have a quality music system and enough food and drink to last for weeks. We have all we need so let it rain as much as it likes. Blacker the sky’s the better....! Pa!

 We are going to slept well tonight.

Wednesday 7 November

Walked into Riogordo today and had our Spanish lesson. After we went to the corner cafe to catch up with the internet and had drinks with Sue. It was great to see her; more coffee, beer and bacon rolls. Weather today was fairly good it did rain but not as much of late. Other than that not a lot happened so nothing further to report.