Friday 28 December
It is very easy to fall into the ways of the Spanish and the one, which for me, is not that too difficult to master is that of putting everything off to tomorrow. I was sitting on the sun terrace all day today in the lovely warm winter sunshine and thinking it really is about time I wrote something for the blog! Mind you, I said that yesterday and indeed the day before and I have to confess that we are all so relaxed here in the Campo that if we slowed down much more I swear in all probability we would stop all together.
The weather over the last week has been absolutely perfect, warm enough to sunbathe but not hot enough to get burnt. So we sit there eating, drinking, reading, listening to music whilst gently tanning ourselves to a golden brown. It is possible to have your breakfast on the terrace and sit on the sun lounger all day not going into the house till 5pm when it starts to get a bit cooler. We then sit in front of the log burning stove with a brandy watching the fire develop into a warm and pleasant glow radiating heat to the whole room.
Before you all go for reaching for the bucket I can tell you we are having temperatures in the late 20’s and into the 30’s. It is a complete turn around from when we first arrived and is indeed very welcome indeed and has now become the norm.
We had a great time with Jo’s boyfriend Paul who came out with her on 17 Dec. We took them to El Torcal rocks near Antequere. Bill bless him offered to stay at the house for the afternoon and mind the fort, Campy only had 4 seat belts so we are unable to take 5. The rock formations are very high up at the top of the mountains and on the day we went we were unprepared for the low cloud base, cold and strong winds. We arrived at the Visitor Centre and had a job to open the door to Campy as it was so strong. There is only one thing to do in circumstances like this, Eat! We sat in the van eating our lunch and wondering what to do when suddenly the wind abated and the sun came out. We decided to risk the 40 minute walk and set off. It was really worth it, the weathered rock formations are amazing to see and unworldly (see photos).
Paul was in his element and at every opportunity he was off climbing rock stacks, jumping and doing all the things young men must do. Every time he jumped off something my back gave a twinge of pain in sympathy. Still, we kept losing him when he wondered off then finding him again and then losing him again but in the end we managed to finish the walk together and we got back into Campy really fulfilled at the fantastic things we had seen.
It was with sadness that we took Paul back to the airport the following day as we had got quite used to having him around. So much so that we were setting 5 place settings for days after. No matter, more for us...!
Christmas Eve was another lovely day, after we collected the turkey from the butcher Then went for a drive around lake Vinuela. We stopped at the villages of Los Romanes and Periana. We took lots of great photos. Later, after a buffet supper we settled down to watch “A Christmas Carol’
We had a lovely Christmas day. A bit dull and rainy. It was really strange having the family together in Spain for the first time but we all really loved it and will remember our first Christmas in a foreign country for ever. We are so grateful to Josie and Bill for coming out and sharing their time with us. We got up at our normal time 8.30ish and got dressed etc. Bucks Fizz and shortbread whilst we opened the gifts. Breakfast followed, croissants with smoked salmon and scrambled egg, juice coffee and toast. In the morning we played Monopoly & Scrabble and relaxed with the fire and a bottle or two of something or other (can’t remember).
Petra produced a magnificent Christmas - pate starter, boned and stuffed turkey with lots of veg. Followed by flamed Xmas pud and brandy sauce. A lovely long, chatty family lunch. In the evening we watched a film and enjoyed our stash of Xmas goodies.
Far be it from us to blow the trumpet of our daughter, but she who can do Rubik’s cube sat with a wooden puzzle called ‘the log pile” consisting of 10 pieces of wood with holes and dowels and systematically assembled them into a square. We had been trying to do this puzzle for weeks with no success. Nobody is now prepared to undo it so Carole and Richard it’s here waiting for you in the box.
Boxing day and the weather improved and saw us back on the terrace until it was time to go Viv and Mike’s. They had invited us along with several others for a their traditional late lunch of turkey with bubble and squeak. We started with drinks in their garden and then a guided tour of their amazing house in the village, 300 years old and much extended and improved by Mike and Viv. Puddings were made by Maggie (Pavlova) and Petra ( key lime pie, no surprise there)
We had a wonderful afternoon eating, drinking chatting and laughing. We finally left feeling full and merry.
Thursday was very hot and sunny and we spent most of the day on the terrace. Josie cracked on with her coursework for a few hours and then she and Petra started a Wasgij jigsaw. Bliss.
Friday 14 December
A very special day today as Bill, Kevin’s Dad has arrived for his visit with us. He had a good flight and after a bit of a false start we found each other. It was great to see him. He is all settled into the house and even saw some sunshine this afternoon. However I think it was a bit of a shock to him how cold it can be in the night. Kev stoked the fire as fast as he could until we were sitting in shirt only. Dad was still rapped in 5 layers and his dressing gown.
Saturday 15 December,
We had a walk down to Riogordo, we were amazed at Bill’s stamina as he managed the walk very well indeed. Topped up with a few of Riogordo’s finest Ceverza (beer) he charged up the hill like a rat up a drainpipe. We had the afternoon at the house chatting eating and drinking.
Sunday 16 December
Brunch, (full English) yum. It turned out that the water to the house had been turned off at the main stop cock at the bottom of the track. Kev had noticed that the water was not on as there is an outside tap what is connected to the mains. We still had water as the outside water tank holds 3000kg of water. It is not unusual for the water to suddenly stop and we have noticed it before but it has never been off for this length of time before. Mick kindly came out and sorted the problem with his ‘Manchester Spanner’ Thanks Mick. It looks like the man from the water board came to read the meter and decided that the place was empty and simply turned it off. You’d have thought he would have come to have a look before he did something so rash. Still all’s well that ends well.
We spent the afternoon sitting in the sunshine on the terrace. Things are starting to warm up!
Monday 17 December
Back to Malaga Airport again today, this time to collect Josie and Paul. Unfortunately, Campy only has 4 seat belts so we had to leave Dad at the house. All went well with the pick up and as agreed they were waiting for us as we drove up to arrivals. We got back late afternoon and enjoyed the rest of the day catching up. Lovely to have a house full for Xmas. Paella for dinner.
Tuesday 18 December
Wow what a great day we had today, The sun was out and warm from the start, we sat outside at the table having a leisurely breakfast. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the terrace in perfect weather, hot, sunny and calm. We were able to sit till about 4.30pm when it started to cool off. No problem log burner on and a great late afternoon, Kev playing Cribbage with Dad and Petra and Jo making dinner.
Wednesday 19 December
Decided to take everyone to Malaga for the day. It was another nice day and we got up early to catch the 9am bus fro Riogordo. We spent the day sight seeing, shopping, Sherry at the bodega, eating Tapas, more shopping, coffee and getting the 3pm bus back. Everyone fell to sleep on the bus except Kev who is too tall for the seat and was wedged firmly in the seat unable to move.
In the evening we went to the ‘Old Mans Bar’ (Internet Bar) and met up with Sue and Mick for a meal. The food and meal were great and it was nice to catch up with Sue and Mick. The food was excellent and the atmosphere in the bar friendly if not a bit noisy towards the end. Sue and Mick also kindly gave us a bag of clementines fresh from the tree which we will really enjoy. Riogordo looked lovely tonight with all the Christmas lights on.
Tuesday 11 December
It’s been a mixed week, first we went to Gibraltar on Friday and although up till then and indeed after the weather had been great, sunny and warm with a scattering of small clouds or even totally free of clouds, Friday the heavens opened and it tipped it down.
The journey started with a very early start 5.30am, up and ready to meet Sue and Mick down at the petrol station 6.30am. We also met for the first time Ruth who is a neighbour of Sue and Mick and we all set off for Puente Don Manuel to join the coach and the other travellers who like us were on a shopping quest for Christmas goodies.
The weather did not get any better and all the way to Gib it poured with rain and we often went through low cloud base. The coach driver was excellent and very smooth. We arrived at Gib at about 10.30am and we were soon through Customs. It is very unfortunate that UK and Spain can’t get the problem of jurisdiction over Gibraltar sorted out as it shows a rather sinister side of politics which does nothing but inconvenience the traveller. We had our passports checked (well if you can call an official walking from one end of the bus to the other with cursory glance a check!). We parked up in Morrison’s car park and we were let loose on the shops.
It continued to tip it down with rain as we walked around M&S and BHS and the like when suddenly it stopped and someone turned up the heat as it started to get quite warm. All you need when you are wet and warm from walking and going into shops. It was great to be able to converse with the shop keepers in English we had forgotten what it was like to be understood and to understand. We got some very reasonable alcohol 2x Glen Rothes £20 and 1x Bombay gin £10 and 1x Courvoisier brandy £20 all liters. Just as a point of reference, Famous Grouse was £6 a litre. Then we have fish and chips which were rubbish and not really worth a mention other than we hadn’t had fish ‘n’ chips for probably 6-8 months so we were looking forward to tucking into a nice but of fish especially as Gib is by the sea. No, the fish was obviously a bit rescued from the cat dunked in the oddest batter we had ever seen deep frozen and chucked in the microwave to finish. Crap really!
After lunch it was time to attack Morrison’s which we did in no time. It was great to see familiar brands but sad that we really couldn’t take full advantage of them as we were limited by space. The one big regret we had was not buying some Cheddar cheese. We saw the run out date on the package and saw that it ran out before Xmas so it would be of no use for our guests. We never thought we could have bought a pack and a loaf and had cheese on toast as a nice snack when we got home..!
We loaded all our goodies into the suitcase Sue and Mick had loaned us and put it in the hold of the coach then went back to Morrison’s for a final cup of tea. 3pm we were all set to head off back to Spain but first you have to go through the hoops of leaving one country and entering the other via passport control and customs for which we had to all get out of the coach collect together all our purchases and even empty the coach of things like coats etc. We left the coach on one side of the border carried all our stuff through the the gate and got on the coach on the Spanish side. Bonkers really!
The journey back was much like the journey there wet and miserable and by the time we arrived back it was dark and we were very tired. All in all it was a worthwhile trip only spoilt by the atrocious weather and the Customs debacle. We would definitely go again as you can pick up a few bargains - only if you pay cash don’t expect to get a receipt.
On Sunday we went out for a truly English experience - a British Sunday lunch. We met up with Sue & Mick, Ruth and Ken and headed off to Friends Bistro bar in Puente Don Manuel. We went via Los Romanes, a small village perched high above lake Vinuela with spectacular views. We had a thoroughly enjoyable lunch/afternoon. Lunch was 3 courses and although there was a choice of 3 different roasts we all opted for the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. When the time came to choose puddings Kevin could not decide between cherry pie or apple pie. He opted for a small slice of each and set a trend. Everyone had a half and half pudding except Petra - not a fan of pastry.
We sat outside in the sunshine for coffee and drinks. It was a lovely warm day and so civilised to be sitting outside in December with Christmas trees and decorations all around. Eventually we headed home, Sue and Mick stopped at their post box in Riogordo (they kindly let us have our mail sent there) and there was our first Christmas card - thank you Jan and Keith.
On Monday we got to the bus stop in Riogordo in good time for the 09.00 bus. Everyone patiently waited and chatted until the bus arrived at 09.40. Whilst we were waiting we were very entertained by Spanish parking in the village centre. The pedestrian crossing seems to be a perfectly legitimate space to park. Also there is no need to pay any attention to the white lines marking out parking spaces, just leave the car where it happens to stop. We saw 2 lady drivers park in the road as all the parking spaces were full (including the pedestrian crossing) and leave their cars there to go shopping, obviously OK because they had put their hazard lights on. This soon meant that no traffic could get through so one of the drivers came out and moved her car, simply turned it round and stopped on the other side of the road and returned to the shop.
We had a good morning shopping in Malaga and returned to Riogordo in the afternoon.
Sun Rise at Riogordo
Tuesday 4 December
Not much to report this week as we have had a very quiet time, and loving it. The weather all week has been glorious and we have simply been for long walks in the mornings and retired to the sun terrace all afternoon. It continues to be very cold in the late afternoon, about 4pm where one simply has to put on a sweater...!
Our Cat population has now increased to 8, yes Richard and Carole that’s 8 cats. We have somehow acquired three more very attractive adult cats a ginger and white, a black and white and a tortoiseshell. Clearly there is a bit of friction between the two groups but they seem to keep fairly well apart. The down side it the food in the hopper takes quite a hit every night and we are filling it up every 3rd day. Looks like we will be going to the shops very soon.
We also met the Goat man this week, he brought the herd down to the house to feed off the vegetation under the olive trees. Kevin had a short conversation with the owner Jose in which neither understood a single word the other said but it was cordial and both left feeling fulfilled and better acquainted.
Last Saturday we met up with Sue and Mick, it was nice to catch up again and we are looking forward to forthcoming trip to Gibraltar this Friday. Finally, we attended the Thursday quiz night and found to our horror that this week was the last week we shall see our quiz masters and fellow team mates Keith and Jenny as they are going back to the UK for Christmas. As we are utterly hopeless without them we are at a loss what to do. In any case the quiz night is taking a break for two weeks so we have a bit of a reprieve. Clearly we need to latch on to the ’Badgers’, last weeks winners.
