Diary Tuesday May 12
Arrived at
Madrid airport after 29 hours of travel, flight to Bogotá and from Bogotá to
Madrid to the accompaniment of screaming babies. Now munching away on my €2 coffee and
croissant, woman next to me complained about slow service and I remembered I
was no longer in Latin America and the pace of life was expected to be much
quicker, especially at an airport. Crazy
first impression was that there were so many tall thin men with non-existent
backsides! Where did that thought come
from?
Apart from
the screaming babies the flight from Bogotá was on a very shiny new Airbus 330,
very comfortable 10 hours and I did not leave my seat. Was reading the book I
purchased at Lima airport, after glimpsing a couple of episodes on HBO I decided
to read Game of Thrones and so I embark on volume 1, so far so good. This is only the third novel I am to read in
2 years, this is something that is going to change.
Avianca
served the smallest meals I have ever encountered, I have had bigger bocadillos
and I only drank water. At Lima I encountered a small problem as I was told
that the flight was full and I was on standby, fortunately once I had pointed
out that I had a confirmed ticked and even had a seat number (11K) and had 2
further connections things got sorted.
Apparently they changed my seat to accommodate a tour party and in the process
de-confirmed my reservation. However,
things got sorted and I was banished to row 26.
Last Friday had a party for my “desperdida” was a bit subdued, but last guest stayed until nearly 3 am. My poor Nick was and is being so brave, all this is very tough for him and during Saturday and Sunday he was fighting an increasingly losing battle with tears and I found a very touching note from him amongst my travel documents. We parted at Trujillo airport and I said it was a “hasta luego” and definitely not a goodbye. And I asked him to go to the waiting taxi rather than me leave him standing there. He did, but reappeared to give me the biggest smile ever through the glass into the departure lounge. My brave boy
It is tough
for both of us, as I have so many strong feelings for him and need to sort the
dragons and demons out that plague me and “relationships!” I asked him to try and get 3 weeks leave in
December-January he has already booked 2 as we plan to be together for
Christmas and the New Year no matter what the outcome of my “self-development”
process.
Short flight
to Alicante from Madrid and arrived at hotel around 2pm some 33 hours after
leaving the flat. Poor taxi driver at
airport was not pleased to Have waited ages only to take me to El Altet which
is a connobation literally at the other side of the runway, a short 5 minute
journey but with the €4.25 additional airport surcharge he got €12 which included
a 20% tip so he decided to give a begrudging smile in the end. Hostal El Altet
is a 2* hotel and is very pleasant especially for €25 a night, the bathroom
boasts a bath and you simply cannot imagine the joy of luxuriating in a hot
bath for an hour (first bath in nearly 3 years), showers are fine but sometimes
only a bath can relax you.
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| Before ........ |
Had a great
lunch for €9, Salad, Paella, Sardines,
Bread, Beer, Crema de Catalana and Carjillo (coffee with a brandy in it). El Altet is also about 1 km from the Med so
walked to the beach and then along it, taking off my shoes and socks and
enjoying the sensation of the sand and the sea.
Was thinking
just about the sensation, and the realisation that now I am free, to think to
write and to explore. Feels good. Did
battle with this notebook and realised that I really did buy a heap of junk …..
but Marco, has offered to look out an old
laptop of his and lend it me. Eventually
went to sleep around 11pm.
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| After ....... redevelopment close to Alicante Airport - El Altet |
Wednesday
May 13.
Woke around
7, feeling refreshed and by just after 8 was sitting enjoying a coffee and a
tostada con aciete (toasted roll with olive oil) sat till after 9 reading, and
then strolled around El Altet, have found that there is a bus to the airport
tomorrow at 8:20 and intend to use that rather than spend another €12 on a
taxi.
I can see
the planes taking off from my room and every other plane seems to be
Ryanair! Wow, airport is big
and very busy. The menu in the hotel is
in Spanish, English, French, Swedish and Russian …… which is very telling.
Even after
less than 24 hours on mainland Europe I appreciate the order of things and have
not heard a single car horn! Cars stop to let you cross the road and all is
very peaceful.
This morning
once I finished these notes it is more reading, lunch around 2pm, siesta and
then a 2 hours walk again by the sea, more reading, wine and tapas for supper
and then bed. Tomorrow is the big day,
when I arrive in Cehegin.
WEEK 1. “Solo en Cehegin” - Thursday 14
Checked out of hotel and took the
first of three buses to get me to Cehegin.
Lucky that I only had to drag my two bags the short distance to the
first bus, as they seemed to weigh a tonne, although they actually weighed only
around 38kgs between them.
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| Hill of the Blacksmiths |
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| Very steep! |
Sean the letting agent met me at the
bus station and we got into conversation and thus he forgot to give me the tour
and point out places of interest. His
brother Adrian who is the house owner was ready to greet me, and I feel in love
with the house at first sight. It is
quirky, odd layout, low ceilings, but I think Adrian’s wife is a cleaning freak
as it was spotless and I have almost every cleaning product known to man in the
cupboard, behind the sink, by the toilet and by the washing machine, along with
about 5 pairs of rubber gloves! However
the place is just great.
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| My abode |
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| Two interlocked houses |
It was about 38 degrees when I
arrived as it was the last day of a heatwave and temperatures were breaking
records for the time of year. Anyways, I
unpacked and then decided that the most important thing was to find the
shops. So around 4pm I went in search of
“Mercodona” very Spanish, very friendly
supermarket and VERY cheap! Probably
helped by the fact that ALDI has just opened next door, had a look around but
definitely prefer Mercadona. Decided to
cook my own version of a very Murcian dish of Rabbit with rice and lentils for
supper. And washed it down with a €1 bottle of Rose wine, Ok not the best taste
in the world but certainly I have drunk worse.
Martin Skyped me during supper and it was nice to chat to him.
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| Rush hour |
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| Early evening light |
Around 9pm and still very hot, and sunny
(sunset is around 9:40) went for a walk and got wonderfully lost in the
absolute maze of passages and lanes that wind all over the side of the two
hills that form Cehegin old town. All a
bit dilapidated and run down, dotted with loads of old palaces and arches and
tunnels but every so often you happen upon small modern squares with a fountain
and a trendy sculpture, Spain must have squeezed every last Euro it could from
the EU and thii slove little place is all the better for it. Especially as it is not crawling with
tourists or anybody in fact. On my two
combined trips out I think I saw 10 people well definitely no more than 20!
Just by my little house which I now
call the “Hermitage” - because it is
full of priceless treasures - no, there
are so many hermitages (hermitas) here I thought I might as well have one too! – and who
knows what miracles this one holds.
Friday 15
Cleaning and sorting out for several
hours in the morning, preparing for the visit of Andy tomorrow and hence some
cleaning and more food shopping, and buy all those little things that aren’t
provided I have about 20 mugs but no
wine glasses or champagne flutes “Quel Dommage!” into what am I to pour the €1.69 a bottle
cava (there was other stuff for under a euro) and I splashed out nearly €2
euros on tomorrows Rose wine. Also
bought some Crab salad, cold meats, olives etc for drinks on the terrace.
I took another walk this evening and happened upon a place I have seen advertised for sale at only €9000, of course it is a wreck but not a ruin! Might just take a look when Andy is here.
I took another walk this evening and happened upon a place I have seen advertised for sale at only €9000, of course it is a wreck but not a ruin! Might just take a look when Andy is here.
I have never experienced the feeling
of being completely at home in a place from the first second I arrived, well
maybe when I first set foot in India, I cannot get over this place, it is
designed for study, writing, being creative, contemplation and generally
enjoying the good and simple life ……. Here’s hoping.
It is now 9:25pm there is a nice
breeze and I am going to take a coffee to the terrace and watch the sun go
down, then think about bed as I have to be up around 6 and on a bus by 7 to
meet Andy at Murcia airport by 10. (2
buses and a taxi) ……
May 16 - 21
Met Andy at Murcia San Javier
Airport, and he will be here until next Thursday, so diary and blog a little
“on-hold” we get into a routine once he
has gone. But lovely that he is here as some exploring is nice to do in
company. Cehegin (old town) is a ghost
town with probably less than 40 % of the house in continuous occupation. It was
told by the helpful lady in the Panaderia (bakery) that the house are mostly
owned by families who have left and only return to Cehegin for the August
holidays – many of the house having been in the family for generations. It is lovely, hardly any cars, no noise except for the swifts, swallows or
house martins of which there are hundreds helpfully dive-bombing my
terrace. For so few people there are 5
supermarkets of various shape and sizes, Aldi seems to be shunned in favour of
Mercadona, these are a about 1.5 kms away, but Mercadona has an excellent fish counter
and I shall be a regular.
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| Andy relaxing uinder makeshift sunshade! |
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| Local dragon! |
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| 12th century arch |
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| 15th C Gateway |
Sunday was the feast of Saint Isidro,
(patron Saint of Farmers) and huge fiesta was taking place in town, however
Andy and I were unaware of this and only heard the regular “thunderclaps” that
were being launched in to the air every 20 minutes or so. Visited the local flea market run every month
in the disused station carpark, full of ex-pats so I kept to my best-worst
Spanish. These same brits would be doing car boot sales every Sunday back in
the Uk. Some lovely stuff available
(from the Spanish run stalls) including Antique clocks, farm implements and
furniture, all at very reasonale prices.
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| Caravaca dela Cruz |
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| Playing tourists |
Tuesday we decided to walk the route
in the opposite direction to the next town of Bullas which was a 12.5km walk,
actually we think the walk was much nearer 18kms (12.5 miles) as the signing
kept contradicting itself but there was an amazing amount of signage including
stop signs and dangerous crossing ahead signs for every farm track that crossed
the path! (No doubt EU funded) passed through orchards of apricots and olives
and nearer to Bullas we started to pass through vineyards. Bullas being one of three wine growing areas
in Murcia.
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| Viaduct on the Via Verde |
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| Bullas vineyard - Via Verde |
For our walks we were armed with a
mountain of information from the tourist office, the guy there was very
enthusiastic, I think we were his only visitors that day (week?) he said that
there were literally hundreds of walks to do starting in Cehegin but 90% of
them were unmarked. This sounds like a
nice challenge for me, to make a little guide to walking in and around Cehegin.
Let’s see.
Bought a plastic table and umbrella
for the terrace, already have two chairs so now alfresco dining will be the
order of the day. Plan to live on the
terrace more or less.
Today, Wednesday, is market day
looking forward to seeing what is on
offer, and tomorrow we are going to look at some abandoned house which are for
sale from as little as €4000. (£2900).
Just curious at this stage.
WEEK 2. Thursday May 21
Cancelled house visits, as
miscalculated bus times and Andy and I needed to get going at 11am. Saw Andy off and returned from Murcia airport
to here by 7pm. Finished off yesterdays
food for supper, ratatouille, sausages and papas bravas. Then read a little
before bed. Am enjoying Games of
Thrones, pure escapism.
Friday May 22.
Felt a bit odd today, realised the
task ahead and found it a bit overwhelming. Went shopping for Mussels and bits
and bobs for today. Had lunch then felt
very tired so went to bed for a snooze, which lasted 4 hours got up at 6pm went
for a walk, bough a map of the area for walking, and came back read, found the Spanish
equivalent to radio 3 on the “TV” and
did some facebook clearing out, down to 65 “friends” from 300!
Skyped Andy, read then bed. Decided to try the bed in the downstairs
small bedroom, can’t decide which bed I prefer.
One is east west and the other north south (does it make a difference).
Saturday May 23.
Up early and went for my
circumnavigation of the old town, brisk walk 30 minutes saw the sunrise. Looked at many abandoned houses and keep
thinking about a project! Started to make a timetable, with some 16 hours a day
to fill 112 hours per week, I need to be structured and not to simply fritter
away the time. Have decided that I will
follow the 5:2 diet as need to lose about 8 kgs to get my BMI within bounds. So my diet will be 2 days fast, 2 days fish,
2 days veg and I day (Sunday) meat. This should be easy especially with the
abundance of fruit and veg available here. Good Mediterranean diet, plus the 5:2
element. Long walks will also be the
order of the day twice a week – 20 kms.
Now I have a map I can see that Cehegin sits in the middle of a vast
forest, surrounded by hills and mountains.
With swathes of arable land for oranges, lemons, apricots, peaches,
olives, vineyards and vegetables.
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| Hermita de San Sebastian |
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| Cehegín from the hermita |
Went for evening walk via the Hermita de San Sebastian to the Hermita de la Virgen el al Puente about 6 kms round trip, I have purchased the Spanish equivalent of an Ordinacne Survey map of the area except it was printed in 1993, so not the most accurate, but better than nothing. Which explains why the main RM15 auto-via is not on it.
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| Apricot groves as far as the eye can see (1 euro a kilo) |
Came back to a beer, anchovy tostadas
and Eurovision, after five songs decided to go to bed.
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| Dawn: 6:30 Sunday May 24 |
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