It's Christmas Time

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.