Out to lunch

We rose a little earlier today and this meant I had a chance to chat with Terry Mills, father of Sue Brown who owns Finca Manolo.   I got the low down on the cats and I was 50% correct with their names.   The tabby is called Tibby!   Terry comes up from his house every morning to feed the moggies.   He is a retired TV engineer from Bristol.   He and his wife, Eileen, came to Spain to be closer to their daughter.   They love it because the Spanish people are so much nicer than the Brits at home.   Smiles and politeness are prevalent.

After breakfast, Pauline and I drove to the Eroski Hypermarket to top up our food supply.   Pauline pushes her wheelchair until she is tired or in pain.   Then she sits in the chair whilst I continue with the shopping.   When she is rested she gets up and sets off, picking up things we need along the way.   We got everything, checked out and then loaded the car.   She was planning to go back into the building that houses Eroski etc. for a cup of coffee.   However, when I gave her the option of stopping by Lake Vinuela for lunch, she jumped at it.

When we drive back to base it involves passing the huge Lake Vinuela which is an important water source for the area.   As you drive you discover on your right a lay by with two restaurants.   Last time we stopped it was to sample the food at "Camping Vinuela" and felt it was rather noisy and basic.   This time we parked outside the other restaurant and sat down on their balcony overlooking Lake Vinuela.   We had Sangria followed by chicken in a sauce of almonds & mushrooms for Pauline and swordfish in white wine for me.   It was excellent and only cost 30 euros.   After this we drove home and rested.   he weather today has been cloudy but warm.

This evening we cooked seafood pasta which was very tasty.   We couldn't eat it all because we could still feel full from lunchtime.   Tomorrow's weather is still a little off so we decided we shall visit Cordoba again.   Not far from the Mezquita (old mosque) is a garden area which is supposed to be beautiful and peaceful.   We shall give it a try.   The Mezquita is a wonderful place.   It is the oldest and largest in Europe with over 800 red and white arches.   In the middle is Cordoba's cathedral!   It is a sensational success in terms of merging two places of worship for Islam and Christianity.

 

The Cats

Firstly, I must state that although I like most animals Pauline cannot stand cats.

Here at Finca Manolo we have two resident cats.   When I say resident I do not mean they live in the house.   They are outdoor cats but are fed by Terry, father of Sue Brown who, with her husband Trevor, own the property.   Terry lives just down the road and his first job of the day is to feed and water the two cats.

I know one cat is called Marmy because she is a marmalade cat.   The other is a tabby, so lets call her Tabby.   They spend most of their day lazing around, watching us swim in the pool.   Towards the end of the day the tension mounts.   This is when a couple of neighbouring cats come on site and our two take measures to move them off.   There begins a quiet howling from Marmy whilst Tabby usually sits on a wall watching the action.   The cats face up and the howling starts to get louder and louder.   The visitors sit there and stare at Marmy as she issues her warning.   Eventually, they start to move slowly away and the tension relaxes.

It doesn't end here because they keep on returning during the evening.   The howling becomes quite scary once it has gone dark.   One of the visiting cats is completely black, so how Marmy can see it in the darkness I cannot tell.   Perhaps she sees the "cat's eyes".   All this slow action goes on in the dark as we eat our evening meal just outside the kitchen door.   When this isn't happening our two cats attend the table in the hope of leftover food.

They are two real characters and I have got to know them well.   Last year when Terry and his wife, Eileen, came round for drinks Marmy was happy to jump up on Terry's lap.   But for the rest of the time no cat offers to sit on my lap and they are not encouraged to do so.

On the day we arrived we had an agonised text message from Sue, our daughter.   She has three cats and the oldest is Felix.   He is over twenty years old.   The news was that the previous evening Felix had been attacked by a dog and had run away.   Half the neighbourhood was out looking for him.   the fear was that he was dead somewhere, following the attack.   Sue was heart broken at the thought of him dying that way.   The following day I had a text message - "He's back!"    So all is well again.   I used to have a dog and when he died I was lost for 3 days afterwards.   We do get so attached to our pets.   I decided at the time, "Never again!"   That is how it has been.   I prefer to let others keep dogs and I will make a fuss of them.

A Power of Good

You should see Pauline when she is swimming!   Steadily she is getting all she needs from swimming in the pool.   This year there are hardly any wasps drowning in the pool.   Last year I had to sweep the pool daily to get rid of the floating debris!   One thing is still very noticeable.   There are still lots of dragonflies swooping to the pool and some are connected to each other!   These are blue in colour and they look beautiful.

The other night we had a very large "creature" clinging to the metal gauze on the doorway to the kitchen.   It was light green and long (2 inches or more) and very narrow.   I knocked it off and it flew away.   As evening approaches the flies do tend to congregate under the trees.   They seem to like flying round and landing on my face!   The cheek!

Across the lane outside our property there is a house in which lives a big mut of a dog.   The first year we came she got locked in our place and her owner was banging on the gate to get her back one night.   Last year I had to keep moving her out of the gates whenever I was coming or going in the car.   She is a big dog and if she doesn't want to go she is a big weight to force out of the property.   After we had left last year she had pups and one was killed by a vehicle coming down the lane.   So far she has not annoyed me as much, but I wish she would disappear.

The Spanish police are still catching the unwary by concealing camera cars at junctions.   It is an on the spot fine of 150 euros as I discovered to my cost last year.   As we arrived on Friday we spotted them on a road that ran parallel to ours.   They should soon pay off the national debt!   Yesterday morning we found two of them shopping whilst on duty, would you believe?   They were leaving the local Dia supermarket (Lidl type place) as we were going in.   This year I am determined not to become another contributor so I am coasting about at low speed and watching for every single change of speed limit..   Well, I do need to relax when on Holiday!

It's interesting to see how Spain is coping with their financial and employment problems.   Not far away, in Velez-Malaga, the mayor has closed the tram service to Torre del Mar and leased the trams to Australia.   Just there we see many partially built apartment blocks where no work has been done for a few years.   Their workers are finding employment on the land as more and more people start growing tomatoes, melons etc for the international market.   Go in the wine section at Eroski and you will see a smaller selection of wine with more emphasis in cheap wines.   But the establishment is still busy every day.

So relaxed

Once again we have seen wall to wall sunshine here at Finca Manolo in the Montes de Malaga.   Looking out of the window this morning, I wondered what is was that was reddish gold.   It was the nearby hillside lit by the early morning sun.   We have an amazing wrap round view where we are.   There are mountains and hills all the way round. If we need to go to any point there is no straight route.   The only way is to meander between the countless hills and mountains.

As we look out to our right we can see the white village of Comares sitting on top of a very high hill.   It appears to have no road leading up there, but last year we drove to it to prove this untrue.   Although the village of Colmenar is the one we use for supplies of food we are actually closer to Comares.   My wallpaper on the PC is a photograph of Comares taken mid afternoon.   We turn our gaze towards the left and eventually come to the sight of Mount Maroma towering over a white village.   It appears to be about to fall on top of this village when you get nearer.   Yesterday we heard thunder coming from that direction but the weather here never changed.   Quite often the sky is entirely blue except for a bank of cloud sitting on the mountain as if it is an active volcano.   In the winter it is covered with snow and I have seen a number of photos of experienced climbers tackling the mountain.

Further over to our left is a long range of smaller mountains that rise up like stone sculptures from the land below.   Driving over to Colmenar, we see a changing view of these as the angle changes with every bend in the road.   The roads locally can be challenging as they cling to the hillsides and offer a sheer drop to the unwary.   Throughout the foothills we see many, many white houses and farms perched there.   To the right of Comares there seem to be dozens of them.   At night they shine like stars in the blackened landscape.

As dusk approaches I start making plans to cook our evening meal.   On Saturday night I made a paella with the seafood I bought in the Eroski Hypermarket.   Last night saw our first barbecue with chicken wings and rice salad. The delay in having a bbq this year was because I could not find a supply of firelighters at Eroski!   I know they sell them because the tiny remains of charcoal left by the previous people was bought there.   They must have the lighters too!   Tonight I am making tortilla to a simplified recipe I found in the house.   Last time I did one it stuck to the pan!   I hope to do better tonight.   I am finding it easier to use the bottled gas cooker this year.   I have even finally mastered how to use the dishwasher this year.   It would be simple if the various control marks had not been erased with use over the years.   Trying to use any machine without clear controls is bound to be difficult.

On checking my smartphone today I find that I have missed the gym and Pauline her art group.  Oh dear! I have taken steps to avoid any problems with my chest developing through the gym absence.   I have brought a pair of dumb bells to exercise with!

Here ends today's report.

Not Spanish Weather!

I awoke on Saturday to the feel of a breeze blowing through the open windows.   A few minutes later I heard heavy rain falling and this was accompanied by thunder.   It was too late to rescue our towels left outside.   Eventually the rain stopped and then started again as if to say "I haven't finished with you yet!"  

Once we had eaten breakfast we set off for the Eroski Hypermarket near Velez-Malaga to get our food for the next week or so.   It is quite different from Waitrose in Menai Bridge.   It is a massive store selling anything you could want.   There is a huge fish and seafood counter where they offer an amazing range of the freshest fish & seafood.   Next to this is a massive deli with more versions of Serrano ham, Chorizo and cheese than you might think exist.   Pauline found she was able to get round by pushing her wheelchair and sitting in it whenever she was getting pain.   This method worked like a charm!   It was funny when I asked for 15 slices of Serrano ham and the assistant cut 50 slices!   We only paid for 15 slices, though.  

 

At the far end of the store was our favourite section - wine!   We selected our bottles and Pauline was able to advise a Swiss couple on which were the best reds and whites.   In the greengrocery section I bought half a water melon wrapped in cling film.   We love it!   The piece is huge!   I managed to source a 5 litre container of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for 16 euros.   That will last me well over a year.   The only item we could not find was fire lighters for the barbecue so we can't light a bbq till tomorrow when I have been to the village shop.   Shops close on Sundays in Spain.   Neither could I find jam this year, so that's another purchase for tomorrow.  

 

Today we had a late breakfast of scrambled eggs and later a lunch of pate with crusty bread - washed down by a Portuguese beer provided by the house owners.   Tonight we shall be having pork chops with salad.   I did so much reading today that my Kindle had to be put on charge.   We have had a few swimming sessions too.   Earlier I opened my email to find that Reyes at Hotel Chateau La Roca is now a Twitter follower of my tweets.

 

Just now, life is very relaxing!

Here we are again!!!

On Tuesday we left home and drove down to Portsmouth.   Despite warnings about delays on the Britannia Bridge and Brittany Ferries telling us about roadworks in Portsmouth we had no delays and a perfect journey down.   We had a great meal in the Flora Dining room on board the Pont-Aven and slept well.  Well, not really the truth.   Pauline couldn't find her ear plugs and had a disturbed night with my snoring.   Next morning I found the ear plugs in her handbag!   The sailing was lovely with perfect weather all the way.   However, on the Tuesday there was fog once we were in the English Channel but it didn't last long.   The ship sailed half an hour late but we arrived at Santander on time.

 

Our usual hotel outside Santander was quieter as this time there no cyclist teams staying there.   They had reserved our favourite room and set up the bath so Pauline could have a shower.   The restaurant there had improved and we were reunited with Manuel, the waiter.   He's part of the fittings!   We did not see Reyes, the hotel owner and wondered if she was no longer involved.   Next morning I showered and left Pauline to do the same.   Suddenly there was a crash from the bathroom.   I went in to find Pauline flat on her back in the bath and the special chair in pieces.   It was a challenging 20 minutes getting Pauline standing and out of the bath!   Although she had had a nasty experience the only after effects were bruising and stiffness.   What good news!   Eventually we made our way in for breakfast and met Reyes on the way.   She was most worried that we had experienced this accident and would be telling the person responsible that she had not adequately tightened the fittings.

 

After this we were treated to even more attention and the staff were running to open doors so I could wheel Pauline through.   On checking out, Marisa, the receptionist, went into the office to tell her boss we were leaving.   Out came Reyes to wish us a safe journey onwards.   We ended up with the royal (Reyes means royal) treatment.   We arrived in Toledo without taking the wrong turn at the roundabout and ending up in the football stadium!   After a long rest we dined at Gambrinus in the old city and really enjoyed our meal.   I celebrated by spilling coffee down my shirt and trousers as well as on the table cloth.

 

Today we travelled down to our base for the next fortnight.   We now have WiFi!   After emptying the cases we had a good swim and now we are off into Colmenar for supplies.  

"I see no ships!"

On returning to Hotel Martin after the evening meal in Toledo I looked at my mobile phone and saw I had two text messages.   Horror of horrors!   Brittany Ferries had contacted me to say that because their crews had been staging wildcat strikes they had decided to suspend all sailings.   There would be no 24 hours cruise from Bilbao to Portsmouth on board the Car Finisterre on the following Tuesday.   Their advice was to drive up to Calais and take a P & O crossing when our tickets for Brittany Ferries would be accepted.

This would mean arranging some overnight accommodation in France for Tuesday and also a meal that night.   I therefore when downstairs on my way to get my laptop PC from the car to surf the net and fix up something.   As I passed through reception I mentioned what had happened to the receptionist.   She was incredibly helpful and brought out her netbook to find out the distance from Bilbao to Poitiers in France where she had once stayed on route to Calais.   It seemed the right place to stop for the night.   I popped out to the car and returned with my laptop which I set up in reception and used their free Wifi service.   By this time it was time for changeover for the reception staff and the evening man came on duty.   He was told the news and he too began to help me.   I found a very cheap place called Class Hotel and booked a night's stay for £35.   We were fixed up.

 

The next day we drove to Bilbao where we had already booked a night in the Barcelo Nervion.   This hotel turned out to be far better than the Tripadvisor.com reviews had suggested.   We had an excellent evening meal and breakfast, the following day, was also top rate.   On Tuesday morning we set off for the French border and began our use of the toll motorways.   These French motorways were way past their sell by dates and were being upgraded to three lanes each way.   The trouble was that there were hundreds of HGVs using them.   They were travelling slowly along the inside lanes and I had to drive very carefully as, occasionally, a car would come from that lane into the "fast" lane.   On occasions the entire massive convoy of lorries would come to a halt, creating a vast lorry park!   During this time we also experienced torrential rain which slowed us down too.   By the time we reached Poitiers we had undergone a stressful time.

We then found that we had chosen to stay in a hotel which was extremely "basic" and the room was tiny with a bed that creaked at high volume!   But they did offer Wifi so I surfed the net to find an eating establishment in the town.   We agreed to go to Bistrot du Boucher, the number one choice of Tripadvisor.com reviews.   We asked the manager to call a taxi and when we were driven to the restaurant it cost us 21 euros!   However, the meal was absolutely wonderful.   We chose rump steak with chips and salad.   For wine, I selected a Bordeaux Superieur.   The desserts were also excellent.   Pauline had creme brulee and I had sorbet.   It was a popular restaurant for people were arriving all the time.   The return taxi cost 16 euros so we felt a little happier.

 

Whilst in Bilbao I had a phone call from Brittany Ferries to ask what our plans were.   When I said we were to head for Calais the woman advised that we would receive back the cost of the return fare (£359) and £200 towards travelling costs.   I thought this was excellent customer care and thanked her.

 

On Wednesday we drove to Calais where we followed the Car Ferries sign to the port.   Our tickets were accepted and we were booked on the 5.45pm sailing.   This didn't leave until 6.05pm but we then sat down and waited for the journey to end in Dover one hour and 35 minutes later.   There we had chosen to stay at the Dover Ramada Hotel before leaving the next morning for home.   Our evening meal was very good indeed.   Our room was comfortable, if a little crowded with furniture.   In the bathroom was the world's noisiest ventilation fan!   We got a good night's sleep and next day ate the best hotel breakfast we had ever experienced!!   Then we set the Satnav for home.   The road was busy and the M25 was a hive of activity but quiet against its reputation.   Eventually we gained the M6 and thought we were doing well.   It was at junction 18 that we joined a stationary queue and found to our horror that they were closing the motorway because an accident was blocking it.   We took the exit and found that we were on a very direct route for North Wales.   What luck!   I filled up at a service station and advised the woman there that she might have a busy afternoon as the motorway was closed!   "Not again!" she exclaimed.

We then had an uneventful drive home and stopped at Waitrose in Menai Bridge to get essentials to last until our main visit there for groceries the next day.   We arrived home and sighed a sigh of great relief.   It was good to be home after taking an unexpected extra 999 miles from Bilbao to Calais.   Home sweet home!