Last day at Finca Manolo

The last day always arrives and it is here.   Yesterday's weather was a mix of sun and cloud but warm enough to enjoy, which we did.   I actually forgot to take my medication, which, at home would have slowed me down with tight chest and slightly difficult breathing.   It was 3.30pm before we got back from final shopping and I didn't notice any change at all.   I took my treatment and continued as normal.

The rest of the afternoon was spent by or in the pool.   It has been the best hydrotherapy Pauline could have.   She has really enjoyed her stay here and that is so pleasing.   When Pauline is happy it means I am too.   It has been a great time of rest and recuperation for both of us.   We looked forward to it for such a long time and it worked out just right.

This is now the longest period the mains water has been off and it has made no difference.   I think Trevor is going to have to pay for a tanker to top up the reserve tanks for the people that follow us.   

Last night I cooked whole chicken breasts - first in the oven and then in the sauce.   I stuffed the breasts with mozzarella and the taste was good.   However, we decided the filling would be better if I had chosen soft cheese like Philadelphia.   Our dessert was a chocolate mousse that went down well.

This year we shall bring home two cases of wine plus a few extras to enjoy.   One is a Rioja that is a Gran Reserva of 1994 vintage.   That will be drunk with the very best Welsh Black Beef!

Tomorrow we drive north west to Trujillo which we have not visited before.   We stay one night and then head for Santander and our good friends at Hotel Chateau La Roca.   On Monday we sail for Portsmouth.

Finally, it came

Today began with total cloud and at lunchtime it was raining.   Although we have not used the pool, once the rain stopped I cooked lunch and we ate under the verandah  on the south side of the house.   It was fresh pasta - Ravioli with a basil pasata.   It was good and gave me ideas for lunches at home.

This afternoon I found an icon on my smartphone that allows me to do things using voice control.   It was fascinating as I tried different applications.   I have had this Samsung model for about 4 years and only now have I tried some of the standard apps.   I shall never change from PAYG though.

Sue rang today and requested some things we could get for her so tomorrow will see me going on the trek to Eroski Hypermarket again.   It keeps me out of mischief, though.

After coming here since 2010, with a gap in 2014 when we chose France, I have actually found one of the original routes, provided by the owners, bypassing Colmenar centre to get here.   Because the road we have usually used is closed for repairs, I have found a number of new ways through the village.   Previously we knew one way up and one way down!   The world is growing!!!!!

Tonight we shall be eating Lubina again.   It tastes far better here than at home.   But then, so does San Miguel beer.   Now that the owners have installed a new (LPG) cooker I find it easier to use and it gets to boiling point much faster than the old one.   In fact, the old one didn't seem to have the energy to produce a boil.   It has certainly meant I have used the BBQ a lot less which gave us more variety of taste.

Speak soon.

Funny how things turn out

Yes, today we drove down the motorways past Malaga to Puerto Banus near Marbella.   This is where many very rich people live and come for a holiday in the sun.   We drove into the town and drove round the central streets looking for a useful parking spot.   From here we could then take a walk round the exclusive shops and people-watch.   We could not find a single parking spot as they were all taken by Porsches, Mercs, BMWs, Jaguars etc.   So we left and headed back east!

As lunchtime was upon us we decided to take the motorway back towards Torre del Mar to find somewhere we could eat.   Along the way I remembered that we once drove along the coast road between Rincon de la Victoria and Torre del Mar and there were places to eat along the way.   By doing this we spotted a small bar and restaurant by the long beach and stopped.   Not only were there parking spots but also a number of disabled parking slots free.   One was right outside the restaurant.

We went inside and had an amazing fish lunch.   They specialised in seafood and fish so we chose the dish that contained all the fish caught locally.   It was piled up on our plates.   I fought my way through but Pauline capitulated at the two thirds point.   In addition we got a glass of water, bread and two small beers.   The cost was 25 euros!   Not bad at all!

Afterwards we headed for the Eroski Hypermarket to get our final food needs for our last week here.   Pauline bought gifts in a nearby shop and we had ice cream before leaving.   We got back and I took the food indoors and we read our Kindles until 9.00pm when I did some toast.   We were still quite full from lunchtime.

We had a lovely day!

Another day by the pool

The weather today was perfect.   It did get too hot to sit by the pool but we can always sit in the shade on the patio.   We had planned to visit Marbella and Puerto Banus to see how the others live but Pauline had a stomach upset so we stayed put.   Our plan is to go there tomorrow.

Once her stomach settled Pauline was able to swim and benefit from hydrotherapy.   As for me I went in the pool alone until Pauline felt better.   It was lovely and I really enjoyed it.   We enjoyed lunch which was cut short by the number of wasps attracted by serrano ham and Manchego cheese.   It was such a relaxing day.   

In the evening, once the wasps had gone to bed we had an enjoyable dinner with barbecued brochettes of pork accompanied by Caesar Salad.   The wine was a Marques de Riscal and was enjoyable.   We really enjoyed the meal which was ended with a special sort of profiteroles.   I love cooking.

As we sat by the pool we considered the view.   To the east Mount Maroma was in mist and to the south we saw Comares sitting on top of the mountain.   W e thought about days long gone by when Comares must have been the classical citadel on a mountain top, repelling all who invaded.   It really s the most impregnable position I have ever seen.

Four Candles

You will remember that we had difficulty originally in finding a shop selling pottery.   We called at a shop in Velez-Malaga with "Ceramics" on its sign.   It had some but nothing we liked.   However, we did buy a set of candles which eventually we lit one evening ready for dinner.   So, here they are - FOUR CANDLES without the Two Ronnies:

You should have seen the mess after they had burned out!   There was the most amazing wax sculpture and it flowed down and over the able.   It took quite a while to remove it from the table top!

Today was a very lazy day indeed.   Our lunch was a prawn based salad and it tasted wonderful.   The downside was that it attracted many wasps.   They seem to love seafood because our lunch with mussels ended up with the same experience.   Worth remembering if you come out self catering.

We have agreed that this holiday really is the pinnacle of the year and that we shall be returning next September.   We hope to travel via Salamanca next time to see what is said to be a beautiful city.   It is also possible that we shall include more visiting historic places than we have done so far.

Tomorrow we are setting out to watch the wealthy folk who stay in Marbella.   A report will be forthcoming!

Recuperation today

We have been rising early (for us that is!) and having a cup of tea in the peace of a fresh morning before the strength of the sun changes the mood.   It has been peaceful in a unique way.   last night I agreed to get Pauline out of bed for another peaceful time.   I rose today to find Mount Maroma was invisible as she was covered in cloud.   Much of the sky overhead was cloud and the outlook was not good.   I left Pauline asleep.

Later on the sun burned off some of the cloud, including a black and threatening one.   The morning improved and the day got better and better.   It was good because we had decided to get our strength up after the trip to Frigiliana for pottery yesterday.   We sat till we were getting too hot and then took to the pool and that was how the day went on.

As usual we did a lot of reading on our Kindles which can be read in bright light.   Every so often we would raise our heads and enjoy the view surrounding us.   This is what we came for - to soak up this lovely view.

Tonight we had our usual glass of Manzanilla and eventually I cooked some Dorada for dinner.   Dorada is the Spanish name for Gilt Head Bream which looks and tastes like Sea Bream.   The taste was excellent.   Food always tastes so good when eaten in the open air.   This is certainly the place to do it.

We have been at Finca Manolo for 2 weeks with a further week to go..   All that time we have been on reserve water supply.   Trevor says this is the longest the place has been without mains water.   I closed down reserve tank 1 yesterday and started to use water from number 2.   If the weather does not change I can see Trevor having to order a tanker to drop a load.

I understand the weather back home has not been that friendly.   What a contrast!

Success!

Today we had a visit from Trevor who, with his wife Sue, owns the property.   The visit was to clean the pool, arrange for the refurbishment of two dining chairs that had broken, to replace three light bulbs in the kitchen so I did not have to cook in the dark, and  to collect bedding and towels for washing.   He forgot the washing!

The day was sunny and very warm and, when he asked, we said we were going to stay here and enjoy the pool.   What did we do?   We drove to Frigiliana to see if we could get some pottery items.   We set off and, apart from a short delay on the motorway caused by an earlier accident we got to Frigiliana to hunt for pottery.   We found a vacant disabled parking spot and I wheeled Pauline to the pottery shop.   It turned out to be just the right place and we made a number of purchases there.   So now we have the pottery items we sought.   Mission accomplished!

After we got the pottery we opted for a light lunch a few yards away.   We had sandwiches and a glass of beer.   It was very nice and we had a very nice waiter serving us.   I asked for the bill and, when it came, I added a tip for the waiter.   We got up from the table to tackle the slope down to where the car was parked.   Lo and behold, the young waiter took over the wheelchair and gently got Pauline down to the car.   It was quite a steep slope.   He was really nice.   Glad I left a tip.

We came back to base by way of the hypermarket where we got extra food and petrol for the car.   We then drove home and sat out and read our Kindles.   Although it was not the planned lazy day we did have the success of making our ceramic purchases as planned before we came out.

As we had eaten at lunchtime we opted for a light dinner.   We bought tortolloni pasta and a pasata and when cooked it was just what we needed.   There is quite a lot of fish in the freezer so we shall be devouring this before we leave in just over a week.   We love the high life!   I have already built up the wine for bringing home.   We love Faustino V white rioja so there is a load to bring home.   On our return we shall have 3 cases of wine!

So all is working well here in Axarquia and further reports will be made.