My sleep on the chair was a deep one & a couple of hours later I woke only because I was absolutely frozen stiff. I was wearing just & a shirt & trousers & was I was cold! Very cold, so I dashed off to my car to fetch my heavy English winter coat. However, whilst at the car I thought I should pop into the bar over the road, the one that Neil & Sandra sometimes use. So I had cup of coffee & said hello – sort of. They were all none English speaking Spaniards & they spoke to me, but all I could do was give them a smile with a Hola & a Buenas Tardis. Well at least they now knew I was around & anyway I would be back tomorrow with some of my friends that I had “talked with” through EoS.
I really wished that this rain would stop, I wanted to unpack the car but I loathed to do it in the cold & rain. I did take a few things however, that were impervious to rain, plastics, ornaments etc. The clothing could wait until tomorrow morning when hopefully the rain would have ceased & I wouldn’t feel so miserable & tired. I realised that it is no joke having to do it all on your own, with no words of encouragement from my wife.
I lit the pellet fire and after 20 minutes the lounge was snug & warm, that’s more like. Into the kitchen, that’s good of Sandra & Neil have left me some bread & butter, teabags & milk so I could have a little breakfast, perfect. They also left a large bottle of bubbly, that’s very good of them but that can wait until Phet gets here & we’ll drink that together.
My thought was to go back to the bar in the evening to use their wifi (as mine at home had no router), but tiredness came over me so I went to bed at 11.00pm, early for me as I rarely sleep more than four hours.
It was 5.00am when I woke, but that was OK I could listen to the Cricket (England against the Kiwi’s) & do a bit of unpacking. Curses it is still raining – don’t remember seeing this when I came for holidays! I recall it did rain though when house hunting for the whole 8 days I was here in October, was I cursed with Spanish rain? Ummm, should I continue unpacking the car in the dark & in the rain & risk maybe upsetting the neighbours before they even knew I was ensconced? Maybe not, we hopefully are going to have a long time together, & anyway this rain has to stop sometime.
It’s daylight now & hey the sun has come out, let’s start emptying the car. Driving it up to the house I thought, was the thing, although there is only a metre between it and the walls either side. I’d only taken in one load when the blaring of horns tells me I am in the way. So I have to move the car (Should have done it at 6.00am – lesson learnt).
At 1.00pm my highlight of this journey evolved. Six of us from EoS met up in the bar, & we had a smashing afternoon culminating in a nice meal with everyone coming back to view my new home.
It was all superb we vowed we would all meet up again hopefully with some extra bodies who will have since landed in Spain.
So with our farewell’s given & with everyone wending their ways home I decided to find my way to the bar again the use of their wifi. They are getting to know me know me now & a few actually spoke to me first – damn why didn’t I force myself to learn the language years ago?
Friday was spent paying for & trying to fix up the router & telephone, bought from BB4S in Algarrobo some 45 minutes away. They are a whole story itself but if I say English people acting as Spanish autocrats, it’s enough said. They asked me to be at the shop at 4.00pm which I was, only to find the place closed at 2.00pm. I could see a bloke inside however so I just made myself a nuisance outside until they let me in – 30 minutes late! The series didn’t end their, they had given me a cable short. So off I went again on Saturday morning to fetch it, another hour & a half lost.
The system kept dropping out all the weekend getting me & more heated. I was now willing to show a little English steel on Monday morning when they opened.
But would you believe it, I tried the internet at 6.00am on that morning & it was working perfectly & did so for the next 4 hours. The rug had been pulled from under feet I couldn’t complain about a system that was now working perfectly. Maybe it needed a few days to settle down, however it is working fine now.
At midday it’s off to the bar for lunch & to use their wifi, hopefully for the last time. I have never been in a bar so much in my whole life!
But bad news, the weather was bad in England. Northern France was also experiencing snowstorms & I was driving back to catch the ferry which is leaving on Thursday night, in order to finalise things in England & pick up some final items. Think I need to use an extra day’s travelling. I’ll start back tomorrow instead. At least I know just what to expect now with this gruelling journey.
Now should I go back over the mountains to Granada?