After the rain

Weekend 11/12^th November

The weather was bright and sunny over the weekend. Visited the coast on Saturday to post the blog……ironically, the wifi café internet was down, but the signal from a neighbouring Locutorio was strong enough to post the blog.

Saturday evening, we had an excellent meal….starting with an unusual house salad with chicken livers ….J had bacalao with a tomato sauce, C had chicken, and finishing with a sort of crème brule sweet.

On Sunday, we walked round the village and el campo, taking pictures of the olive groves and walnut trees, interspersed with orange and lemon groves. The land now has a lush green covering of grass after all the rain, a change from the scorched brown of the summer. We also saw 2 pigeons (palomas) ….one with painted blue and yellow wings, and another with red and yellow wings ….see pic. We saw their owner near his loft, and gathered from his proud smile and gestures that they were his …..rather an odd way of identifying ones birds. Picasso named one of his daughters Paloma ….he was from Malaga of course, and this month is the 125^th anniversary of his birth…..some link ? …not really !

In the afternoon, we drove to three high villages in the mountains, traversing some very hairy roads which have yet to be upgraded. J did not enjoy !!

Monday 13^th November

The day dawned bright and sunny again, and J spotted 2 peregrene falcons from the balcony.

After breakfast, we drove to the house and showed Tommy the new shower taps which he was happy with. The main job today would be cementing the roof with 10 cm of cement ……just hope walls hold all the weight. We walked into town and went to a Café to draw the light switch plan, which we had been putting off for a week or so, and would probably be needed imminently. On to Malaga to AKI for 2 terracotta uplighters, and back to house to review progress. The roof was cemented, curtain walls started , but no grills in the walls. Sergio drilled out a space for the glass blocks for downstairs bathroom, which will provide some light.

Then back to the village via camino rural road following the valley . It is very steep in places …..1 in 3 as a guess, with many run offs for flooding arroyos (streams) across the road, which can become raging torrents. C rescued a tortoise in the road….not sure if it is an indigenous species or an escaped pet.