A quiet week in Montrondo, photos from Eladio's past and present, Oli and family leave, coffee in Villablino with Tere, the "Camino Valle" walk, my favourite places in the world and other stories of the week.

Montrondo, Sunday, 6th August, 2023.

On our walk yesterday via the "Camino Valle"

Good morning to you all from our refuge from the heatwave here in Montrondo, high in the mountains of the province of León in North West Spain. You all know this is the village where my husband was born (more about that later). 

We have now been here since 24th July, 2 whole weeks which is quite a record for us. For the first week we were joined by Oli, Miguel and our grandchildren, Elliot (nearly 4) and Juliet (nearly 2). They were on holiday and now that we are retired we are nearly always on holiday. We are lucky but we have worked for more than 40 years to enjoy our retirement. Thus it hasn't really felt like a holiday; more a change of scenery. We have certainly escaped the heat of Madrid as it is much cooler up here. Montrondo stands at over 1000 metres which is one of the reasons why. More and more people are realising it is better to take a holiday in the north of Spain which is why places like Asturias where we have a modest little house, are so popular. 

Last Sunday was the day after the village fiesta in honour of Santa Marta. Many people would have been out all night dancing and drinking but we did not go to the dance as it didn't start until 11.30 at night!!!! By then we were in bed.

Monday came and was Oli and co's last day in Montrondo. We spent a quiet day together or as quiet as it can be with two toddlers, hahaha - bless them. They had a grand time playing with their little cousins and having meals with us which were a bit like the Mad Hatter's tea party but every day! They both adore ice creams, just like my father did and I do and were allowed two a day. Here are the little mites with their ice creams. Later I found finger marks on many windows and mirrors, hahahaa.

Elliot and Juliet enjoying an ice cream in Montrondo. 

I may be retired but I still work as I have to run the renting of our houses. That day we had to deal with a difficult guest at the apartment in Santa Pola. They had broken the washing machine which I got someone to repair and then they told me they were not happy with the pillow cases, of all things. I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing when the guest told me they were winter pillow cases which they are not. They are normal white cotton cases. The picky guest had me buying some new ones on Amazon after refusing all the alternative ones my neighbour, Lucy, showed him. Lucy who looks after quite a few rental places for clients told me that guests are getting savvier and savvier at complaining so as to get a discount. She is right. Honestly, this year, I have come across the strangest of complaints, but the pillow case complaint had me stumped. Of course now I am expecting a revenge review. These are the downsides of renting accommodation on Airbnb and Booking. Someone suggested it would be more profitable to invest in financial products but that is something I would never contemplate. Thankfully, most guests are great and happy with their accommodation.

I am getting thicker skin and now worrying less about complaints or issues that occur. They are part of the job and I refuse to lose my sleep over them. So I have slept pretty well while we have been here. On Tuesday morning I was going to Villablino with Dolores to do some food shopping and I couldn't believe that I woke up at 9.15 am. That had me in a hurry to get ready to be in town early. I wasn't cooking that day. I had gone on strike or rather I had no more meals I could make with what I had at home so I booked a table for us all in Senra at the grumpy man's bar. He told me there were no tables until 3 pm - too late for us and then relented and said 13.45. We arrived later to an empty dining room so why did he tell me there were no bookings until 3? 

Anyway, back to Villablino - that old mining town which used to be quite thriving until the mines closed a few years ago. It is, though, a hub, for all the surrounding villages for shopping purposes and simple services. It was while we were having coffee that Eladio sent me a photo from the past. This is it. 

Eladio (in the middle at the back) with his parents and 4 of his siblings in Montrondo in 1959. 

The photo was taken, obviously, in Montrondo and is of of his parents and 4 siblings. As you can see they are numbered from the oldest to the youngest, Eladio being number 1. He has 5 but the youngest wasn't born till 2 years later.  His parents were as young or younger than Miguel and Olivia - in their 30's probably. We know the photo was taken in 1959 because the youngest child (the baby) was born that year. That makes Eladio just 15 in that photo although he looks younger. He told me it was taken to send to his mother's family members who had emigrated to Argentina as did many country folk after the Spanish Civil War. His mother was Ernestina and his father, Antonio. They ran a farm with cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens and all children were supposed to lend a hand. Eladio was a strong boy and being the eldest was expected to work the hardest. He can openly admit to having been a proper shepherd boy from about the age of 7. At the age of 12 he was sent to the Seminary in León to become a priest but had to work hard in the holidays.  Thus he was saved a life of being a shepherd or farmer, toiling the land or growing potatoes. That was the alternative in those days in villages like Montrondo, that or the mines.  

In 1959 I was only 2. I was born in Cambridge in the UK, a University town in much more prosperous England than what rural Spain was like then. When Eladio was a boy, there was no electricity at home, nor was there running water. It seems a miracle we met and have been happily married for 40 years. Life in Montrondo in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70's was not easy. It was remote, isolated and backward.  Yet those who lived here then, remember it fondly despite the hard work and lack of progress.  How life in Spain has changed since then. That same day I took a photo of what was the original entrance to the home stead or farm - with the main house and barns, etc. I wanted to compare it to what it looked like in the 50's. Here is a photo of then and here is a photo of now. What a difference. I'm actually not sure it looks better now. And I hate the fact that the old entrance no longer exists as there is a little modern house in its place. But then I am a nostalgic.

The family farm in the 50's. The house with smoke coming from the chimney is what is ours now although we totally shelled it. 

The same view but taken this week. What a difference from the 50's. 

Dolores and I poured over the photo while having our coffee in Villablino but we didn't have too much time as she had many shops to shop at and I had to be at the restaurant in Senra by 1.45. I do love going shopping with her. What I don't like is the rush back, unloading everything and then having to cook. No, I'm not on holiday here as I have to cook and wash the clothes. I have become accustomed to someone else doing that for me; Tana now and Lucy before here - so it will be a break to go home, believe it or not.

But on Tuesday I didn't have to cook. We enjoyed our last meal together in Senra and then Oli and family had to leave. We drove back to find a very empty house.

But I had fun in the afternoon when Dolores took me to a neighbour's house to order a cake. We spoke to several village ladies on our way back - many from Eladio's era. We also had fun playing ludo - my sister in law beat me - and enjoyed a cup of decaf tea and a biscuit together. 

I didn't cook dinner either as I had bought a delicious meat pie at Gadis - the supermarket in Villablino - which people fight for and I only wish they made more, hahahaha. 

That evening we watched a documentary about Oppenheimer, the mind behind the first atomic bomb. I haven't seen the film yet but the documentary was good. That man could not live with his conscience after Hiroshima. Of course he couldn't. But if it hadn't been him, it would have been another scientist.

We were in bed early, after falling asleep watching the documentary - they tend to make me fall asleep - and I woke up at 7.15 on Wednesday morning. 

We woke up to cooler weather and even a bit of rain. I did some washing but still did not dare go up to the top floor to tidy it up and change the beds after Oli's stay. We left it for later, hahahah. Dolores came with Toño, Eladio's next brother down, for coffee, after which I made our lunch. We had the easiest and most delicious of meals - spaghetti bolognese. 

I slept a short siesta after falling asleep watching the news - frankly Trump's legal problems leave me a bit cold and I am already fed up of the Spanish political wheeling and dealing to make a government after the hung parliament result of the general elections. The sun was out by then so I went outside to read under the shade of the apple trees. Eladio joined me later. 

Reading under the shade of the apple trees behind our house

Dolores came shortly after to play another game of ludo which we had to leave until the next day as it was getting late for dinner. That night I made an effort and put together a very Spanish dish called "patatas revolconas" - impossible to translate. "Revolcón" means tumbled or similar.  Here is a photo.

A very simple and delicious Spanish dish called "patatas revolconas"

Basically it is  semi mashed potatoes seasoned with paprika and garlic and accompanied by pork cracklings - that's the tough part, getting them to be crispy. We ate nearly all of it. It's a dish we both love and I don't often make as pork cracklings is not the healthiest food to eat I suppose. 

Suddenly it was Thursday - how time flies here - and saw me cooking and cleaning. Eladio hoovered the house which is always his job. I did the bathrooms which I hate doing but loved making our lunch; cocido (chick pea based dish). It was too cold to lie outside that afternoon as a cold spell had hit some parts of Spain - mostly the  north, so that afternoon Dolores and I played Ludo indoors. I'm going to miss that. 

Entertainment that night was a film called Septembers of Shiraz with Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek. Based on true events, it is the story of a Jewish family whose lives are destroyed when the Iranian Revolution takes place in 1979 shortly after the downfall of the Shah. We had seen it before years  ago but didn't remember much of it. It was right up our street. 

On Friday I went with Dolores to Villablino to do the shopping again. I didn't need much but my sister-in-law who has to feed 10 did. On Tuesday I had bumped into Teresa, the mother of our friend Ludy who is married to the cyclist Pedro Delgado. It's such a coincidence that both Eladio and Ludy hail from the same area. We agreed to meet "Tere" who lives in Villablino, for coffee on Friday. It was a lovely encounter and I got a friend of hers, a passerby, to take photos for me to send to Ludy and to share with you. 

Dolores and me with Tere having coffee in Villablino on Friday. Tere is on my left wearing a white top

There was lots to catch up on and great to meet Tere again on her home ground. Later I walked with her to the local market which was nearly mission impossible as she seems to know the whole town. The population is around 8000 which is big for this area. Tere wanted to know where Eladio was.  Well, my husband is not keen on shopping in Villablino and that morning went for a long walk up the mountains with little Pippa. He sent me loads of scenic photos and I asked for a selfie. This is what I got. 

Eladio high up in the mountains that surround Montrondo on Friday morning

He didn't get back until half an hour after I did which gave me time to unload my shopping and make our lunch.

While my husband had his siesta and I chilled out under the apple trees, back home in Madrid, Oli and Miguel took the children to the funfair. I think it was their first time and they had a blast.

Oli and co at the funfair in Madrid on Friday

I love my afternoons here, chilling out under the apple trees, accompanied by Pippa and then a game of Ludo with Dolores. 

It was just after our game that I looked out over the balcony to find Eladio's siblings getting prepared to have a photo taken together. It is not often the  6 of them are together. I decided I would be the photographer. This is one of the photos I took of them lined up in order of age, from Eladio and José Antonio to the youngest, the one missing from the photo taken in 1959. I later remarked to my husband that when the photo was taken in 1959, his parents, especially his father, could never imagine what life would be like 64 years later. 

The 6 siblings

I don't think he could have envisaged the relaxed life we lead here. Life in the 50's was hard and work was non stop except perhaps for the Santa Marta and Corpus Christi fiestas. It's such a pity he can't see the houses his offspring built. He would be amazed, especially at ours which was the original family home. 

My father never saw our "new" house in Montrondo which we finished in October 2015 as he was too old by then, nor my mother of course. It's funny how our parents are always in my thoughts; in mine at least.

Mine would have related to the film we watched that night, once again starring Adrien Brody. It was Roman Polanski's The Pianist which we had seen many years ago. I later read it is based on a true story, the story of a Polish Jewish musician, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who, incredibly, survived the Holocaust while hiding in a flat in Warsaw right next to the main Nazi official offices. Of course I had to look up his book and I have now downloaded it on my kindle. It's a harrowing but incredible story of survival. 

Saturday came and I decided to stop being lazy and go for a long walk. I don't really like going up the mountains as I don't like walking upwards, preferring the flat. Thus I suggested we did the "Camino Valle" walk - which is about 11000 steps there and back. It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful walk in the area. We set off at about 10.30 before it got too hot. "Too hot" is not the right description really as the maximum temperature yesterday was only 24ºc. We had the walk practically to ourselves, only bumping into my brother-in-law and the local farmer, my friend Manolo. We took the old path to Murias to get to the Camino Valle which means literally Valley path. It was beautiful and I had to have photos. Here is one of Eladio by the stream we walked alongside. 

Eladio on the old path to Murias by the stream

That old path leads you to the main road between Montrondo and Murias. From there you go right at the next turning which leads you to the Valley Path. In the field at the crossing I saw the horse and pony which seem to be spending their summer there. It was then that I noticed the horse - a large one - is a mare as it was being suckled at by its foal which I hadn't seen before. Again I had to have a picture. I am addicted to horses and most animals in general as you probably know. 

The mare and its foal on our walk yesterday

But I had to turn my back on them to continue on the walk. That's when I got Eladio to take a couple of photos of me for this week's post. I thought I would look awful but I actually like the photos. One of them I chose for the feature photo - me happy on our lovely sunny walk with my husband and of course with Pippa. 

On the Camino Valle walk yesterday

As we walked on the flat and then upwards along a path that runs parallel high above Murias, I reflected just how much I love the place. There are parts that are like a thick wood which Eladio always says reminds him of the scene in Dr. Zhivago when he is caught by Strelnikov. That had me thinking which is my favourite place in the world. I asked Eladio what his was and he was stumped. I kept on thinking and top of the list has to be Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire; a place I went to a lot as a child and where I took Eladio when we first fell in love. Other places in my top ten are not Paris, Rome, London or Istanbul as you may expect, but Playa de Poo in Asturias, the lighthouse in Santa Pola, Ilkley or Harrogate - again in Yorkshire - Venice (of course) and now Dubrovnik. Other places that come to mind are all in England, The Cotswolds, Bath and York. I'm sure I am forgetting places. For a place to come in my top ten, it has to be somewhere I feel happy and I felt happy on our walk yesterday along the Camino Valle so am now including it as one of my favourite places in the world. What are your favourite places in the world and why? 

We came back to have a lunch of leftovers and spent another lazy afternoon, mostly lying outside reading under the shade of the apple trees. We were then invited to tea by Toño and Dolores as they had visitors; a Spanish family that lives in Utrecht, Holland. I was especially interested to meet the wife who is a  microbiologist and doctor specialising in infectious diseases who told us her experiences of Covid and reassured us to believe in the anti Covid vaccines. Any people out there who think the pandemic and the vaccines were a conspiracy should talk to her.

And today is Sunday, our last but one day here. We shall probably be returning on Wednesday - to 42ºc in Madrid - how awful. I have put the roast on and left it half cooked so we can go on the Camino Valle walk again which I loved so much yesterday.

I hope you are all having a great Sunday wherever you are. Maybe some of you are in your favourite places in the world. I hope so. 

Cheers now until next Sunday,

All the best,

Masha