1st May
I’m sat watching the rain fall through the open door and the smell of fresh rain is intoxicating.
I can hear distant thunder vibrating in the hills behind the house and all the birds, which I was cursing earlier for making such a din, have vanished.
This time in 2022 we were in the campervan staying at El Cantal Campsite and it rained non stop for 3 days. The camp site was awash.
This year the site appears to be almost empty as it has been sold for redevelopment ( they really need more apartments and Hotels) so as campers leave, they aren’t being replaced.
It’s been a lovely sunny morning but the forecast said rain due about midday and they were right.
Now i know we didnt come to Spain for rain (even though they desperately need it) but its warm enough to have the doors open so we are sat reading and listening to the drumming of the rain on the tiles outside.
I woke up early this morning but felt good. I had slept well so I was keen to get up and make some Tea. Sue had given us a hand full of English T bags last night when we called to see them.
They kindly lent us sheets, pillows, Pillow Cases and Duvet covers so we didn’t have to carry them on the plane. So we went down to collect them yesterday evening. We obviously stayed and had a drink and a catch up.
However, I fear they had an ulterior motive.
It seems they wanted ‘Someone’ to stay in their apartment for a Month in September whilst they were away. I know, It’s a shitty job, looking after a beach front apartment for the whole of September (when the weather is perfect) but hey, some one has to do it.
As no one else volunteered we felt obliged to offer.
So we will just have to come to terms with the fact we will be here again at the end of the Summer.
Bummer!
The landlord of our rented house is Dutch and I think they must be a Nation of Coffee drinkers as there is all the Coffee making paraphernalia to make your own filter coffee. When we first rented, there was no kettle and we had to buy one, which lives here permanently now.
So, when we arrived yesterday they had kindly left us a few provisions.
Some semi skimmed milk ( a good bet when you dont really know peoples taste), some bread (white sliced). Some butter and a box of English T bags.
But the T Bags were horrible, (Sorry Paul).
When i visited the shop this morning they had this brand of T Bag in the British section so I suspect people think this is what we drink?
Unfortunately the temporary supply Sue gave us last night was fast running out and i needed a fresh supply, so I got ready to walk down the road and pay a visit to the local supermarket.
This is an interesting shop as its the only Supermarket between Garrucha and the Commercial Centre in the middle of Mojacar. So it’s handy.
Since we were last here they have had a revamp and the stock is almost exclusively targeted at English (UK) clients, with a range of familiar items. They were also one of the few supermarkets to be open today as its Labour Day and a National Holiday here in Spain.
I went with the intention of getting some basic breakfast provisions to tide us over till we could get to one of the bigger supermarkets but Jaki had a much more important agenda.
Shampoo and Shower Gel.
This apparently trumped anything else we might possibly need.
When I got to the shop it offered almost all the basics, but as I’m still trying to watch my weight (I had a bad diet day yesterday with a 3 course meal at lunchtime and a Pizza and Crawfish Tails for supper) so today I had resolved to be ‘on it’.
There was Yoghurt but it was the flavoured Yoghurt so loved by over weight Brits. There was bread, fresh ‘wood oven’ baked bread, but when i asked (using Google translate ) if they had Sour Dough, they said No. [Pan de masa fermentada]
However when I was browsing the isle’s I came across a loaf that looked to be slightly more healthy than ordinary bread. It had grains and seeds in it and it was reasonably low carb at 38 grams per 100g. so I bought it.
To my surprise when I got home and translated the writing on the wrapper, it was Sourdough. Result!
I bought a bottle of Extra virgin Olive Oil too but that wasn’t such a good buy. When i went to put it away in the cupboard there were two full bottles, one at least was what we left last time we stayed.
On the way home from the shop I stopped at Dani (a small Cafe come shop that has a great balcony) where I had a cup of Coffee and i couldn’t resist buying some huge Tomatoes.
The Tomatoes and coffee came to €3.
We sat on the front porch and had our first breakfast in the sunshine.
Luckily we had finished by the time the clouds started to thicken and the thunder rumbled in the distance.
Now we are sat indoors.
jaki is once again in conversation with Motorway.
She has been trying to sell a van for about three month’s now but Motorway seem completely incapable of managing this. They have lost paperwork, e mails and communication with their customer service department in South Africa (?) is almost impossible.
Despite explaining things repeatedly, they phone every few days and ask the same questions once again.
Avoid them at all cost.
We plan to meet up with Dave G later this evening for a Curry but I suspect the rest of the day will be spent avoiding the rain.
Bill and Jaki go Travelling 