Heading home...........

Hello again from a very sunny Spain.

Earlier this week in the afternoon it was 35 in the sun and 28 in the shade!! Thankfully we also had two days with rain and some low cloud-hardly enough to soak the ground but I’m sure the almond trees appreciated it.

We have only 6 days left before we leave Gijon on the ferry for Poole so want to enjoy the good weather. Chris got back last Thursday and I managed to get all of the jobs done that were needed, finished painting the window grills and the back door and got a new window fitted and the chimney sorted. Even sorted out the replacement lampshades etc .........Phew what a week! 

The chimney was booked for Monday and they said they would be at the house at 8am, and it was blowing a Hooley. They rang to say they would be a bit later and it was about 10 when they arrived by which time the wind had subsided a bit. I’d cleared the stuff in the front room and covered everything with dustsheets. The first job was to remove the old chimney, which had been fitted out through the wall with a 90 degree joint. It was absolutely full of black gunge, the cause of our dripping on the walls. The first attempt at getting up through the roof was amended when they hit a cross beam but the second attempt was fine. They worked very well and were remarkably tidy, except for the incident when they broke the new glass lampshade, and so we now have a new chimney that goes directly up from the wood burner and the fire is so much better. We’ve cleaned up and repainted most of the mess outside so the house looks so much better.

On Wednesday Paco came and fitted the last replacement window so now the house is so much cleaner, less dust than previously and no rattling in the wind. Once he had left I cleared up and then on Thursday morning got the house sorted before I set of to collect Chris from Alicante airport. I’m not sure why I bothered as within 15mins he had stuff everywhere-but it is his house after all. It is good to have him back though.

On Sunday we did a fabulous walk for about four hours, up the hill past a half finished building project and then along the GR252 for about 90 minutes until it joined with the waterways walk. Then a long slow climb and back down to Casas Nuevas. It was beautiful and clear and most of the time we were on our own, until we heard a car and it was a couple of birdwatchers from Murcia City. One of them spoke excellent English and he was from a language school in Murcia, married to a Cuban girl.  We had a good long chat and they headed off in search of some birds. A beer was very welcome when we got back to the village. Lunch was octopus and liver to start and then “cordero a la brasa” lamb oven baked with potatoes and tomatoes. Dessert was a bit of a disappointment, but then Juana Maria has been ill this week and she normally makes homemade puds.

As you know our trip to China was postponed but now that Chris is free to travel again we have been thinking about what to do. We did toy with Sri Lanka, on our list for a while, but the weather is a bit unpredictable in May/June. However we have decided on a short trip to Turkey, we have an outline which includes some of the major must see spots like Ephesus, Troy, Gallipoli and some walking on the Lycian way. We will end with a week on the coast for some diving, snorkelling and possibly some kayaking. We head off on 19^th May and get back to the UK on 26^th June, about five weeks in total.

We have decorated the front room this week and poor Chris spent the best part of seven hours painting the ceiling, it is covered in patterned tiles and the smoke had made it very grey. It was well worth it, the room looks so much better. The two sofas look like new too after I removed the covers and washed them. The advantage of the good weather is that they dry so quickly.

I’ve planned our route to Gijon, we will drive on Monday to just south of Madrid and then to a place called Tordesillas and stay for two nights. The campsite is on a riverside and the local town sounds interesting with Roman and Arab influences. Thursday night we will stay near Gijon avoiding any last minute problems with getting the ferry at 1pm on Friday. I’m trying to avoid looking at the forecast as sailing is my least preferred form of transport and the Bay of Biscay can be notoriously choppy, we have a cabin and plenty of travel sickness tablets. 

When we get to the UK we will stay with Chris’ sister and I have booked a flight home for Monday 24^th from Southampton, Chris is staying on in the south for a while and then heading back to Cumbria to see Adam.

Take care

Norma xx            `