Buying eggs in Montrondo with Juliet, to the vet with Pippa, spectacular herd of cows passes through the village, Spain and Italy impose border checks after Ceuta migrant influx and other stories of the week.

 Montrondo, Sunday, 9th August, 2026

Elliot and Juliet came with us to the Vet in Villablino on Monday

Good morning from Montrondo, once again. We have now been here for 3 whole weeks and have another 2 to go until our holiday in Biarritz. 

It has been a very quiet week with not much to tell. We have continued to have the company of Oli and family and to enjoy our grandchildren, Elliot (6) and Juliet (4). Sadly, they are leaving this  morning as our daughter has to work on Monday.

Last Sunday was the day after the village fiesta and the family christening and lots of  people were here. One week later, many have left and it is much quieter. That  morning we joined some of Eladio's siblings for coffee in Senra. Here is a photo to remember the moment.

Coffee in Senra last Sunday with some of Eladio's family

I came home to put the roast chicken on. We had got it locally, from Riello and you could tell it wasn't shop bought. With the remains I later made a chicken noodle soup which everyone loves.

That day our Canadian guests who had booked our house in El Cuetu a whole year ago, to see the solar eclipse on 12th August, arrived. They nearly locked themselves in, sending me a message for me to "please" order my neighbour to go over with the key "immediately" . My neighbour is an elderly lady with Parkinsons so no way was I going to give her that order. There is a hidden spare key for emergencies which, in the end, they didn't need. This week I had more rental problems. The air con in the Green Room at home was not working and I had just one day to find someone to fix it. I did, at a very elevated cost. In Santa Pola, the guests broke the glass of the TV table. Thankfully, Gina, the lady who takes care of the apartment, fixed that . Hopefully the guests will pay the cost. They should do. 

Our day ended, as it nearly always does here, with an evening walk to Murias and back after dinner.

On Monday I was up at the crack of dawn at 5.30 am! When she was up,  Juliet  went with me to buy eggs from one of the farmers. My granddaughter insisted Pippa came with us. Here is a photo of her trying to walk our dog on the lead.

Juliet and Pippa came with me to buy eggs in the village on Monday

Juliet asked the farmer if she could see his hens which, kindly, he did. I took a photo of that moment to share with you here.

Juliet with some of the hens whose eggs we buy in the village. 

It must have been quite an experience for Juliet to come with me to buy eggs as she is more used to seeing her mother buy them in a supermarket! Buying eggs in Montrondo is very bucolic I think. Later my granddaughter who isn't afraid to speak her mind, asked the farmer why he only had one tooth and would he please show it to her. I was mortified and hope his feelings were not hurt.

Oli and her family later drove to Villablino for more provisions and I went with my neighbour Pili, Eladio's youngest sister,  to have morning coffee at the old prison in Murias which nowadays is a successfully run rural hotel. There is a large signpost saying the terrace is for guests only but we ignored it and enjoyed our coffee in the most beautiful of surroundings. Morning coffee is often the highlight of the day for me which you will know if you read this blog regularly.

 I came home to find Pippa being sick over and over again on an empty stomach which had me worried. After lunch she had diarrhea and I didn't hesitate to find and ring a vet. I rang one in Villablino and that is where we spent the afternoon. The kids wanted to come with us and I thought it would be an interesting experience for them and it was. We took a photo of them at the vet which I have chosen for this week's feature photo. They had a grand time and the best thing is that Pippa was promptly dealt with. The vet pronounced she had gastroenteritis. She took her temperature through her bum to the delight of Elliot and Juliet. They were sorry for her when she was administered 2 injections, an antibiotic and one to stop her being sick. They behaved so well, we invited them to an ice cream across the road from the vet before going home. I had  a panic moment when Juliet wanted to go to the loo. She was wearing a pinafore dress with devilish buttons at the back. I don't know how I got them off but had to ask the waitress to put them on again afterwards, haha.

Here they are enjoying the moment and also doing some puzzles the kind vet, Elena, had given them along with some crayons.

Lovely moments with our grandchildren when they came with us to the Vet on Monday

We later had a small dinner at home followed by our walk. Once back we spent time before bed with José Antonio and Dolores. 

I had a better night and woke up more refreshed on Tuesday. I was up at 6.20 - better than 5.30 - and fed Pippa the special food the vet gave us which she seemed to like. Her gastroenteritis soon disappeared and she was herself again, thank goodness. 

We went food shopping with José Antonio and Dolores, the highlight always being coffee and biscuits at a bar in Villablino. I brought back enough food for our lunches until Oli and family were leaving. No doubt we will be going again next Tuesday but will buy a lot less as I will only be making meals for 2; just us and not even Pippa. Pips, sadly, will be returning to Madrid today with Oli and family as we have no one to look after her when we go to France. So tonight she will be sleeping with Suzy. We will miss her badly and so will a lot of the village kids. 

I had my weekly Facetime call with Amanda in the afternoon. To get some privacy I sat on a chair near Toño's chickens, another local spectacle. We spoke for 1.5h and it was great therapy as usual. In a month's time we will be in Devon to celebrate her 70th birthday - yes 70! We have been friends for nearly 60 years, a lifetime. 

Once our call was over,  I joined Oli on a walk round the village following Juliet who went to her friend Carla's house where they have a bouncing castle. She loved it. I had to leave them to join Eladio for his 8 pm dinner after which we were joined by José Antonio and Dolores on our evening walk. It was good to have company and they have gone with us on more walks since then.

Wednesday came and wonder of wonders I had slept for nearly 6 and a half hours. Eladio and I took the kids with us for coffee at Senra and I got them a Fanta each as well as a small box of Pringles and some crisps. That meant, of course, they would not be hungry for lunch damn it. I go all out to make lunches I think they will like but they never do. I think they live off crisps, biscuits and sweets. No doubt they will go back to normal at school in September. 

Just as I got up from my siesta, I heard cows and walked to the main gate of our complex. Indeed there were cows and many of them, over 100 I would say. They had been dropped off in Murias and were being walked through Montrondo and up to the mountains where they will spend the rest of the summer. It was a beautiful spectacle and a bit of fun too as some of them veered across the road and into a neighbour's garden. The people here are used to cows but not so many at the same time. Our grandchildren loved what they saw. I took a video to share with you which you can see here.

Eladio felt like going out afterwards and wanted to visit his parents and grandmother's graves so we took Juliet (and Pippa) with us. Here is Juliet on her bike with Eladio on our way to the church.

Juliet on her bike coming with us to the cemetery

Eladio became very nostalgic, melanchonic and sad as he sat and contemplated the graves.I told Juliet her grandfather (Booboo) was sad and she went and gave him a hug, bless her. This was the moment.

Juliet hugging her beloved "Booboo" at the cemetery this week

She soon got bored and wanted to leave and we walked with her to the village green called "El Campo". A group of mostly men were playing a game of bowls unique to the area but although Eladio knows how to play he didn't want to join in. Instead he took a photo of me by the "Pilón", a well where his family used to get water before they had running water in the house. Imagine!

Me by the well on the village green this week

Eladio felt like socialising that day and suggested we go to the bar. We sat with a group of women we know well and felt at home. Later we went outside to talk to another group, some of whom had gone to school with Eladio. When they are here, Eladio and his siblings love to reminisce. They had a hard life but despite the difficulties there are many good times for them to look back on. 

The day ended the same as every day this week, dinner alone, our walk to Murias and back and early to bed.

On Thursday I weighed myself for the first time since I left Madrid, thanks to some modern scales Dolores gave us. Thank you Dolores. If the scales are right I now weigh about 61 kilos and have lost 5 thanks to Mounjaro. Whoopee. Again that morning I went with Pili for coffee at La Cárcel. 

I can't remember what I made for lunch that day - oh yes, roast chicken legs with potatoes - and again it was a struggle for the kids to eat the meal I had made. They have no idea at age 4 and  6 the effort I put in here to feed everyone everyday. 

Suzy had good news that day. She had been offered another job, this one was up her street as a dietitian at a hospital in Alcorcón, a town near us. She has been hired by a British catering company called Compass Group. Later came the bad news, she wants to leave home which we know will be difficult on her salary and her intention is to go and live in London again. What worries us is that she won't take her medication if she leaves home. She starts next week and I wish her luck. 

Friday morning saw me making "cocido madrileño", a slow cooked chickpea, meat and vegetable stew which we all love. I spent all morning making it, only stopping to go with Eladio for a coffee to Senra. We had a lazy afternoon and evening and our day ended as usual. 

On Saturday I was up at about 6 am and had only had 5 hours sleep; just not enough. It was Oli family's last full day here. We went on our only walk together and it was to Murias where, unfortunately, there was nowhere to have our coffee. Meanwhile, Eladio and Toño, together with Pippa who I miss already, walked up the mountains as far as the Birch tree forest and came back exhausted. Pippa came back very dirty and had to have another bathe in our claw foot bathtub:-)

The big news that day came from the Spanish government which introduced temporary border checks on visitors from Italy. This was in retaliation for Rome imposing similar measures to Spanish visitors after the major influx of migrants to Ceuta. Georgia Meloni, the Italian Premiere announced the extreme measure even though she knew and knows that any non EU visitor has to face a Police Control when leaving Ceuta for the Spanish mainland. The whole thing is a political storm in a teacup and is ridiculous. The press published pictures yesterday of the new control for Spaniards arriving in Italy who now have to go through a separate lane and be checked for their ID. This goes against the Schengen agreement where EU citizens travelling within the EU are not generally submitted to border checks. It made me quite angry when I saw this photo.

A special lane for Spaniards arriving in Italy.

It rained yesterday, on and off for the second time in 3 weeks. There was a huge thunderstorm with lightning which thankfully did not cause a fire as the terrain was wet. It was lightning during a dry thunderstorm that caused last year's dreadful fire.

It was Oli and family's last day with us and it was bittersweet. Juliet told us she wanted to stay with her grandparents and was very loving towards us. It was Elliot's last day with his favourite cousin, Oliver, who have been inseparable throughout their stay. It was lovely to see their friendship blossom. 

Today is Sunday and as I write, they have just left. Poor Juliet burst into tears of emotion to leave us behind. That made me cry too but I hastened to tell her we will see each other again soon at Alicia's wedding in León at the end of the month. Pippa was fastened in between Elliot and Juliet and seemed to be quite comfortable but it was heart wrenching to see her go too. It was  a sad moment as their car left the gates and they were on their way. We wish them a very safe journey.

Our day will be much quieter and less chaotic without them I suppose. We shall continue to enjoy our stay here but it won't be the same.

Now it is time to leave you and have my second cup of coffee before I take my shower and get on with the day.

Wishing you all the best, cheers Masha