Earthquake in Indonesia, escape from the heatwave, off to Montrondo, Katty visits Suzy in Bali, a day trip to Oviedo and other stories.

Sunday 12^th August

Monday. Happy to be back in Rueda.

Good morning everyone.

This week finds me in our beloved village Montrondo and in our lovely new house which in October turns 3. We love it here and enjoy this house tremendously, the only one we have ever built. The walls are those of the house Eladio was born in; just the walls as everything else was rotten and we had to build it from scratch which took nearly 2 years but now we have it for life to enjoy.

Last Sunday we were still in Madrid suffering the heat wave. I shall never forget the 42ªc it reached that weekend, the hottest I have ever known it where we live. 

That day, Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela who rules the country with an iron fist, suffered an attack on his life. He survived a rather crude drone explosive attack while in a public gathering. He blamed the US and Colombia and later in the week detained a political opposition leader for the attack on his life. 

Maduro survived an assassination attempt on his life last Sunday 

That was headline news, after all it's not every day there is an assassination attempt on a government leader's life. It also shows how vulnerable they are or he is. Certainly using a drone to try and kill someone is a new type of killing weapon and I don't like it. New technology should be for good not for bad in my mind. 

After making lunch that day, Oli and I had some quality time together. It was nice to have her back. We went out on a few errands and then had a coffee at Alverán in Boadilla. It was there we video whatsapped Suzy. We had a lovely chat. Later in the day she warned us there had been an earthquake in the nearby island of Lambok, so near from Bali. 

Sunday's earthquake, the epicentre. 

More than 300 have died after the magnitude 6.9 struck. It was the 3rd quake since she went to live there. Apparently there are over 7000 tremors a year in the area and people live with earthquake warnings often but Sunday's was particularly strong. My daughter told us she was riding her scooter when it happened and even though she didn't notice the tremor, she saw people running out on the streets and shouting in fear. It must have been awful. It certainly sent tremors down my spine. Earthquakes are no joke and Suzy has been lucky so far. I am praying there will not be another one while she is in Bali. 

Monday would find her in Singapore on a day trip there to renew her Indonesian visa for a further 6 months. It must have been tiring as it's a 2.5h flight, a bit like flying to London from Madrid so not that near. The alternative was Malaysia which is even further. She left on Sunday our time I think and got there while we were sleeping. Her mission turned out to be successful although it must have put her out of pocket for a while. She told us she has been giving nutrition sessions so is earning something and that she intends to teach English online for more income. That is thanks to my dear friend Jacky. Thank you darling. And here she is with her coveted visa. Suzy is happy living her funny new life in Indonesia and that for me is what matters. Go for it Suzy. Love you.

Suzy with her new 6 month visa for Indonesia which she had to travel to Singapore to get 

From Alverán, Oli and I drove to Carrefour market to get some provisions to take to Montrondo on Monday and to make sure there was enough in the cupboards for my Father and Lucy while we were away.

Again in the afternoon we installed ourselves on our beach chairs in the shade under the trees in the garden, leaving the pool to our French Airbnb family. It was still very hot reaching 39ºc that day, a little less than the 42ºc on Friday. It had reached 46ºc in some parts of Spain and a total of 4 people died as a consequence. Later I heard the figure just in Catalonia was 11! Most of Europe last weekend was suffering the heatwave which we would escape when we came to Montrondo on Monday. 

We were joined by the dogs and soon by the little French girl, Marian who has just turned 8 and is so sweet and pretty. She loves the dogs, Elsa and Norah but we have to keep Pippa away from her. My little dachshund does not like children and there is nothing I can do. Marian sat with Elsa and spoke to Oli and I in her perfect French and the two of us did our best to understand and reply. She told us she wanted to be a vet when she grew up which didn't surprise us. She also told us she adores her brother Clement, that her Mother is a teacher of history and geography and that her Father works in a bank or for a bank. Jerome came down to join us a bit worried his daughter was being a nuisance but we loved her. He explained that his was a "modern family", he being the father of 5 siblings from 3 different mothers, little Marian being the youngest and whom he had with his current partner. We also learned that Clement is Peggy's son from her previous marriage or partnership. Indeed they are a "modern family". We felt practically like dinosaurs as we have been married for 35 years and both are girls were born inside our marriage.  

We all read our books in the shade. My latest book was "Night" by the Auschwitz survivor, a Hasidic Jew, Elie Wiesel, who died in 2016. I heard about his book when there was news of his former home in Romania having been vandalised with anti-Semitic graffiti. How sad. What a story by the way. He was an amazing man. 

My book of the week

On a much happier note, that afternoon, far away in India, the 25 year old Spanish badminton player from Huelva, Carolina Marín, won her third world championship being the first person ever to do so. Badminton is a minority sport in Spain but now everyone here knows who Carolina Marin is. Well done Carolina, well done Spanish sport excelling again. 

Carolina Marin with her third world championship medal on Sunday. 

We coincided with our French family while making dinner on Sunday night. They are lovely people. Jerome told me he was born in Casablanca where his Father taught French to Moroccans and that he was later transferred to a school in Normandy. He told me it was a huge culture shock to move from Casablanca to northern France when he was just 15. I chatted to his wife Peggy, the teacher of French and Geography and who speaks great English and told her that history had been my favourite subject at school, especially the French Revolution and Napoleon. I had a great history teacher at St. Joseph's College, Miss Scorer, who I will always remember. 

Oli and I were making "Spanish tortilla" and Peggy and her family were interested to know how to make it. That got me thinking that maybe I should offer Spanish cooking lessons as part of my Airbnb business where you can also sell experiences. I am even thinking of getting Eladio on board to teach our guests Spanish. Jerome is learning Spanish and our English family were interested too so maybe there is a market for it haha. There you have me, always on the lookout on new ways to find income. This, by the way, was the tortilla we made to which I added a bit of spinach. Adding anything but potato and onions is not very orthodox but I can tell you it tasted great. 

The tortilla I made for Sunday night's dinner

Sunday ended watching another episode of "Fariña" in our huge bed with Pippa at our side. This week we were really hooked on this series inspired by real events - the story of drug trafficking in Galicia which is still happening today. 

Monday was the day we came to Montrondo. Monday was also the day Suzy had her first proper lesson in the Indonesian language which she has been picking up and keen to learn while in Bali. I think that is a great initiative and the best way to get to know a country; learning the language. 

Suzy is learning Indonesian

We left quite early for Montrondo, at about 10 ish after saying goodbye to the French family, my Father and Lucy. As usual we stopped at Rueda at the Palacio de Bornos for a well deserved glass of local white wine; "verdejo" for me and "sauvignan" for Eladio. We had it with a plate of ham which would be our lunch.  Just as we arrived at the "bodega", a picturesque flock of sheep was crossing the road and I had to get a photo. Oh how I love country life.

Flock of sheep in Rueda

We got to Montrondo at around 5 and found it sunny and warm and about 30ºc - it would go down over the following days. Eladio had left everything clean and tidy since his stay here a few days ago and we soon settled in. 

Pippa and I spent time outside on the sunbeds under the shade of the apple trees where I continued reading my book, "Night". Eladio joined me shortly and we had our own kind of afternoon tea, fruit with nuts on our cool back terrace. It was nice to see Miguel and Claudia who came to visit us. We hadn't seen them since last year and were keen to know how life was for them in Cuba. 

I made a light lunch of "lacón" with asparagus followed by melon and cherries after which we watched another episode of "Fariña". It was early to bed for us that night. In Montrondo we sleep under a heavy duty duvet, unlike a simple sheet and air conditioning in Madrid. What a difference in temperature and how happy we were to have escaped the heatwave.

On Tuesday the temperature in Montrondo dropped by about 10º. That was fine by me. We missed our walk that morning as we had to wait for the central heating oil to be delivered. So I read on the sunbed after some household chores; cooking and ironing. That day I made a much loved Portuguese cod recipe "bacalhau a bras" which Eladio and I devoured. If you are interested, this is the recipe I use and it is "easy peasy" to follow and make. 

Bacalhau a bras

Lunch was followed by the 3 o'clock news as always. That day the news was about wild fires in Spain, the main one being in Lluxent in the province of Valencia. But far worse was the wild fire in California. A siesta was in order afterwards. Meanwhile, Oli and Miguel were on their way here. They arrived at around 5 pm to find us once again reading on the sunbeds, our favourite place here in the summer. It was lovely to see them and to have their company for a few days here. 

Eladio had invited an old school friend from the village, José Manuel and his Sevillian wife, Pepi, for coffee at 7 pm. Being a bit late for coffee, Olivia and I also served cider, shandy, black cherries, chorizo and whatever we thought they might like at that time of the day. After 7 pm here it gets cold and sitting on our back terrace soon we were all wearing fleeces; unimaginable in Madrid hahaha. 

Dinner was late on Tuesday. I can't remember what we ate but I can remember what we drank; the bottle of French white wine from the Loire Valley our Airbnb guests had brought us. Later the 4 of us watched Fariña which Miguel and Oli were hooked on too.

On Wednesday I was up late for me at 7.15. That would be the norm here which was a nice relief. I had my coffee alone with Pippa, read the "papers" on my iPad and even ironed before everyone else was up. I made them all breakfast, my favourite meal of the day.

Finally that morning we got our walk, our first since Sunday. It was a long one to Senra and back, made longer by stopping to talk to villagers. It was a lovely sunny day but later it would rain. Oh rain, I haven't seen any for ages. We walked to Senra where we had the usual coffee at Cumbres de Omaña. Once there we went to buy bread at the very old bakery which according to Eladio has not changed since he was a little boy. And here are MIguel and Oli with Pipps holding the 2 big loaves we bought.

Buying bread at the bakery in Senra

We walked back via the old Murias to Montrondo path, the mid way point being "God's rock" (la peña de Dios) where we have taken so many pictures over the years. Oli wanted one of her jumping down from it. Here she is jumping down. I did not dare.

Oli jumping down midair from God's rock

We were home really late for making lunch. For once I hadn't prepared it beforehand and thus had to rush to put the chicken legs in the oven which we would have with sauteed potatoes. It turned out a bit dry and we had our meal much later than usual. 

After siesta time, we spent more time in the garden which we call "la era". It was getting cooler and soon we went inside. It then started to rain and my what a strong shower although it didn't last long. Miguel, Oli and I spent the time eating biscuits, drinking tea and playing games; ludo and trivial. Amazingly I won both. I have never won trivial before and I had hard competition with Oli's boyfriend although I think it was more luck with the dice than anything else. 

After our games we had a break before dinner and it was then that, after checking my Facebook, I found out that my dear cousin Katty who lives in New Zealand and is  an air hostess for Air New Zealand was in Bali and that she had met up with Suzy my daughter. I couldn't believe it and was over the moon they were together. You see I love Katty as if she was a sister even though I am more her aunt. The two of them had planned the visit and wanted to surprise me. Well they certainly did surprise me. I sort of wish they had told me well on time and then maybe I would have done the crazy thing and gone out to join them. Here they are like two peas in a pod.

Suzy with Katty in Bali

While they were out at a concert, we rustled up a simple dinner from whatever I could find in the fridge and later we carried on watching Fariña until Eladio and I began to fall asleep. 

Thursday was the day of our day trip to Oviedo. Oviedo is the capital of the province of Asturias in the north west of Spain, just 1.5h from here. It's a relatively small old town with a population of about 220.000  but with a lot of history and charm. The famous Spanish statesman and writer Campomanes is from here as well as the  author Leopoldo Alas Clarin. Clarín really put Oviedo on the map with his novel "La Regenta" and also gave the town another name, "Vetusta" in this well known book.  Vetusta means old, antiquated and also conservative and has become a synonym of the city. Woody Allen also put Oviedo on the map in his film Maria Cristina Barcelona and apparently loves the city. There is a statue of him in one of the squares and  talk now of removing it after the accusations of his sexual wrongdoings. When we saw it we did not take a photo for this very reason. Of interest are the old town, the beautiful squares, the late Gothic cathedral, the Foldán indoor market which is a jewel, as well as the theatre, "Teatro Campoamor" and also the beautiful 5 star hotel La Reconquista where I would love to stay one day. Asturias, actually a "principado" (principality) as the heir to the throne in Spain is always the Príncipe de Asturias, is a beautiful province with some of the best food in the country owing to its Atlantic coast and mountainous regions. The best cider in Spain comes from here and as you will read there is a peculiar way of pouring it to get the most sparkle, called "escanciar" and the waiters in the local bars pour it over a device called "no me chisques" (don't splash). We were to drink lots of local cider on Thursday.  

Asturias is the rainiest part of Spain and Thursday didn't disappoint. Oviedo was the coldest provincial capital that day with temperatures between 18 and 20ºc, thus we went well wrapped up and even wore coats!  We drove via the motorway but would come back the via the mountain roads which were much more picturesque. By about 12 am we parked just outside the centre and walked from there to the old town. In need of a coffee, we went in search of the nearest bar we could find and sat in the cool weather and slight rain. Here are Eladio and I enjoying the beginning of our day out. I should add it was a first for us, as we never venture from Montrondo other than to do the main shopping in Villablino. I had been to Oviedo before but many years ago in the Tour of Spain and my memory was hazy. So that day I was to rediscover the beautiful town of Oviedo also full of very interesting statues which I loved.  There are about 100 dotted all over the town which make it like an open air museum. 

Coffee in Oviedo 

While we were having coffee, other people were having cider. I asked the waiter if I could take a photo of him pouring it the way they do in Asturias and he obliged.

Pouring cider the local way in Oviedo 

From the café we walked the old streets; the most famous one is Calle Uria and here we were offered local chorizo and cheese from one of the many shops offering local fare. Eladio and Miguel were very happy to try it as you can see in the photo.

Trying the local chorizo and cheese, Eladio and Miguel.

We walked along the Uria street until we came to the square with the Cathedral. We did not go in as there was a queue and the entrance fee was 7 euros per person. Since when do they charge to enter a cathedral in Spain? Also, no dogs are allowed so Pippa couldn't go in. But isn't she one of God's creatures I thought. No, Spain, is not a dog friendly country I can tell you.

The 14th century Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo

In the same square there was one of the most famous statues in the city, La Regenta, the protagonist in the novel who, apparently was the lover of a bishop from the Cathderal, her confessor. No wonder the book became popular. Everyone takes photos of it and we did too.

Oli and I by the statue of La Regenta in Oviedo

From the cathedral we made our way to the famous indoor market, "El Fontán" where we were keen to buy local produce.

The Fontán market in Oviedo.

Sadly ogs are not allowed, so not wanting to leave Pippa outside, we smuggled her in, covered in my coat hahaha and we took turns to carry her. 

We smuggled Pippa into the market in Oviedo

Here we bought lots of fruit and veg, as well as fish which we would eat the next day.

Outside the indoor market there were lots of stalls with some nice looking produce as well as flowers. I got my three companions to pose for a picture and here they are.

Miguel, Eladio, Oli and little Pippa by the market stalls in Oviedo on Thursday

Oli and I didn't buy anything from the stalls but spied interesting little boutiques. Oviedo is well known for its well dressed inhabitants. You can tell them apart from tourists from a mile away. At a pretty little shoe shop which stocked very original espadrilles, both of us bought a pair. Mine are yelllow and Oli's are blue. Here we are in the shop with our new shoes.

Oli and I with our new shoes

It was lunch time when we left the market and we had a table booked at a place Miguel had found on Tripadvisor, "El gato negro".  It was actually a typical "sidrería" (cider bar). However, as we had Pippa with us, we had to ask for a table outside and thus had to wait quite a while to sit down and taste the local fare. While we waited we all enjoyed the local cider and a small tapa. Finally we got our table outside under the parasols which was a good thing as it was raining lightly. The food was great and we all tasted the Asturian "fabes" (habas in Spanish, broad beans in English). I had the typical Asturian bean stew "fabada" and Miguel had another typical dish called "cachopo" which is really a huge breaded piece of steak with cheese which comes with an enormous amount of chips. 

My fabada and cider

Here are Oli, Pippa and I at our table at the restaurant in Oviedo that day enjoying our outing and being together.

Lunch in Oviedo

Our lunch finished late and with plenty of time on our hands, we walked back to the car to unload our purchases from the market after which we would explore more of the city. As we left the restaurant I spied another of Oviedo's lovely statues. This one was of a donkey and as I love donkeys, I just had to get on it and have a photo. I'm such a child inside my friends.

On a donkey - one of Oviedo's lovely statues

After leaving our stuff in the car we returned to the centre and walked towards the Teatro Campoamor where the yearly Princesa de Asturias prize giving ceremony takes place.

Teatro Campoamr Oviedo

I once went there during a Tour of Spain. It was to a homage event for a local cyclist, "El Tarangu" who was very well known in Spain. Later we went to his house and had a fabada and even a "queimada" a hot alcoholic drink typical of this area. 

From the theatre we walked along the Avda Uria or was it Avda Pelayo and came across more statues. I particularly liked this one of a traveller and got Eladio to pose by it. Oviedo really is the city of statues and they seem to blend in very well with the architecture.

Eladio posing by one of Oviedo's many street statues 

Our last stop was the Hotel Reconquista, the only 5 star hotel in town and where the prize winners of the Princesa de Asturias awards always stay. One day I shall stay there too, I hope:-)

The Hotel La Reconquista in Oviedo

From the hotel we ambled back towards our car. It was to be the end of our lovely day in Oviedo except for a stop at the Carrefour supermarket to stock up on provisions for the rest of our stay in Montrondo. Miguel was our driver and this time took us via Los Bayos along country roads, roads we had never been on. We were home by about 9 pm and I can tell you none of us was hungry. We just had fruit for dinner, the fruit we had bought at the Fontán market in Oviedo. 

Friday was a lovely day. It was warmer too. Oli and Miguel did all sorts of exercises in the garden that morning while we preferred to go on a walk. Here they are working out. I have to say they are both very sporty. 

Oli and Miguel working out on Friday morning

Our walk that morning with Pippa was to Murias and back via the old path and along the "Camino Valle" which takes around 1.5h. Here is Eladio opening the makeshift gate into one of the fields; not lovely turnstiles like in England and not many sign posts either.

Eladio on our walk on Friday

On Friday Miguel cooked with Olivia's help. He made a dish from the fish (cod) and vegetables we had bought at the Fontán market in Oviedo which was delicious. I liked the method which was new to me: chopped vegetable with the fish placed in little bags of greaseproof paper which he then fried in olive oil. This is what it looked like.

Fish and vegetables for lunch on Friday

After the compulsory siesta, on Friday we had a bit of outdoor fun and games. I introduced Miguel and Oli to the Finnish bowling game of Molkky which Oli won by the way. I was introduced to the game by my cousins in France and bought one for Montrondo but we haven't played it very often. So having a go at it on Friday afternoon was a treat.

Game of Molkky on Friday afternoon

We also played a bit of badminton with rackets I bought when we first built the house. Miguel even put up the net that came with the set I had bought. It was quite strenuous. Badminton is not a well known game in Spain although that is changing thanks to Carolina Marín the Spanish three time world champion. But I well remember playing it at school and at the local church and always liked it. Here are Miguel and Olivia playing. It was Miguel's first time but I think he enjoyed it as he seems to like all sports.

Miguel and Oli playing badminton on Friday

Dinner was courtesy of Miguel too on Friday and he made us Spanish tortilla. It was my lucky day on Friday as I didn't have to cook although I did do the skivvying of course. That night all four of us watched the last 2 episodes of Fariña. It was a very good Spanish series that I highly recommend. It's about the Spanish drug trafficking "narcos" in Galicia which is still going on today I will read the book now that I have seen the series. 

Yesterday after breakfast we finally got to talk to Suzy and we had a family video call on whatsapp, not something we do often, although we should. It was great to see Suzy so happy and pretty and wearing colourful clothes - no more London black. She also introduced us to her new boyfriend during the call and we got to see Dous I think his name is. He is Indonesian and plays the drums in the band she sings in. If she's happy, I'm happy. She looked it too and I took a screenshot of the call to share with you here. Later in the day she booked her flight to come home for Christmas. She'll be coming from the 11th to 27th December and I can't wait.

Suzy during our whatsapp video call on Saturday

On Saturday Oli and Miguel were going away to Gijon, the big coastal town in Asturias to stay with a colleague of Miguel's. They will be back today. Eladio and I decided to go for a trek up the mountains with Pippa and to take a picnic. Eladio wanted to show me the "Boz Quemao" valley high up in the mountains and I was keen for a day out walking. So I packed our picnic which we carried in an old Nokia ruck sack. We left at just after 11 am and were not back until about 4.30 pm. It was a long hard walk in the sun and we were grateful for the many water springs on our way up, like this one, "la canalina". Every nook and cranny in this area has a name, hahaha and after so many years being married to a man from this village they are all now quite familiar to me.

Drinking water on our way up the mountains. 

I wish I knew how many kilometres we walked yesterday but I don't as I lost my fitbit in France and forgot about turning on one of the health apps on my phone. Eladio reckoned we had done between 12 and 15 but they were tough ones as the terrain is difficult with lots of stones and water to get across, not to mention just how steep some of the paths are. At about 1.30 we got to "Boz Quemao". meaning "burnt wood" (bosque quemado in Spanish) which is really just a big meadow. It means a lot to Eladio as this is where in the summer he and his family used to cut the grass and turn it into haystacks for their cattle. When he was little, his job was to walk up the mountains to take his Father his lunch. 

Eladio at "Boz Quemao"

I was too tired and hot to carry on so we turned back to find somewhere near water to have our picnic. We also had to find a place in the shade which wasn't easy yesterday. All three of us were hungry and enjoyed our ham and tomato sandwiches. I had even made a mini one for Pippa. After a good rest in the shade and more water from the nearby spring, we set off down the mountain path again which would take us at least another 2 hours. We came home dirty, tired but happy and all dying for a shower. Well, Pippa wasn't dying for hers but she was the first to have her bath hahaha. We all felt a lot better afterwards. 

With the house and garden to ourselves, I did the washing, hung it out, wrote a bit of this blog and then joined Eladio on the sunbeds outside and started on my new book, "Fariña". We had an early dinner, tuna fish salad, then watched the news. Both of us fell asleep really early in front of the television and I think we turned in before 10 pm.

This morning after a long night tossing and turning, I woke up at 6.30 to a quiet and dark house. It only gets light here at this time of year at about 7.30. On the plus side the sun sets at 9.30 pm. 

Today I shall be making "cocido" stew for lunch and Oli and Miguel will be back. It looks like we will have similar weather to yesterday, warm and sunny so I look forward to a nice and quiet Sunday with my family. We shall be going back to Madrid either tomorrow or on Tuesday. We can't stay away much longer than a week and tomorrow we will have been here for 7 days.

Wishing you all a great Sunday and week ahead, I shall sign off now until next week.

Cheers Masha