Home again, Fathers' day, Shetland, it's Spring again, coffee dressed in yellow, chaos in France over the rise in pension age, fun with Elliot and Juliet, Spanish film The Beasts, the clocks go forward and other stories of the week.

Sunday, 26th March 2023

We both happened to be dressed in yellow when we went on our walk and for coffee on Thursday morning

Good morning friends and readers.

I can't believe we are now nearly at the end of March. Spring came this week and nature is gearing up for new colours and new life after Winter. I hate Winter but love Spring which brings the beginning of good weather  and more light. We will have more light  because of Day Light Saving Time which came into force last night. If in Madrid dusk was around 7.30 pm, it will now be at 8.30, giving us longer days. We have definitely come out of hibernation which I got a taste of last week in Santa Pola where the sun shone the whole time. Wonderful. I love the sun and could not ever live again in a dark and rainy country.

Last Sunday we left Santa Pola after 9 wonderful and restorative days there. We came home to a quiet but full house. We hardly saw any of our guests which always amazes me. It was back to our routine life. We went for a walk with Pippa which she was very grateful for. We then met up with both girls and our grandchildren for a coffee. It was Fathers' Day in Spain - Mothers' Day in England - so we had to meet up but we didn't have lunch together as Oli had to join her partner's family for what is called "San José" here. 

In these days of new gender identites, cancel culture, wokeism and all that that brings, there is discussion about whether Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day should either be cancelled or called something else. Oh how I hate this ridiculous trend. They are the spoilers of our fun. Here in Spain none of this has gone half as far as it has in the UK or the USA where books by beloved authors such as Enid Blyton are now being edited to suit the times but we are getting there. Call me an old fogey but for me a mother is a mother and a father is a father. I wonder though what it will be for future generations who I fear are being taught in a sort of Orwellian school of thought. I wonder too whether there will even be a Fathers' or Mothers' Day when our grandchildren, Juliet and Elliot, are grown ups. One silly Spanish politician suggested a day for a "special person" instead of Fathers' Day. Come on.

Neither Juliet nor Elliot are aware of any of this now as they are so small, just 1 and a half and 3 and a half, bless them. May their oblivion last as long as possible. Oli sent us a lovely photo of the two of them that morning. 

Elliot and Juliet last Sunday, Fathers' Day

We hadn't seen them since before leaving for Santa Pola and it's always a delight to be reunited. We met at Manolo Bakes where we all gorged on their delightful mini croissants except for Eladio who is not really partial to sweet stuff unless it is honey. For the record, Elliot had 3. 

Being Fathers' Day I had to have a photo of Eladio with his daughters. This is it. Here he is, a wonderful father with his beautiful daughters, Suzy and Oli.

Eladio with his daughters Oli (left) and Suzy (right) last Sunday at Manolo Bakes on Fathers' Day

After our coffee we took the children to a nearby park but both of them fell asleep. Oli was grateful as she is so tired as her work life balance is rather challenging with two small children. We left her at around 1.30 and only waved at our grandchildren who were fast asleep.

There was to be no Fathers' Day lunch as Oli wasn't there and Suzy wasn't hungry. So it was just my husband and I. Lucy and I made that lovely Portuguese dish called "bacalhau à brás" - onion, thin chips, cod and egg - of which there was far too much for just three of us.

I had an interrupted siesta as two new guests arrived, Alejandra and her mother Carolina from Mexico. Alejandra had come to work at the La Liga school nearby and her mother was here to join her. After they settled in their room I think they spent the rest of the day and night sleeping off their jet lag. I did meet the other two guests, Stefano, an Italian who lives in Mexico and who is here until 25th April and Katherine a very tall and dark girl from Ecuador. But I only saw them briefly as they were out most of the day.

I spent part of the afternoon loving a new series  on the BBC iPlayer called Shetland. It's a detective series set on the islands my father came to know in the war. He was stationed there and at Scapa Flow in Orkney. Still on his desk the day he died was a book about the Shetland Islands. I have always wanted to go and I hope I will one day. Watching the series, he was in my thoughts a lot. For those of you not from the UK, these are the northernmost islands in the UK and are quite near Norway - hence the presence of the Royal Navy there in the war to help Norway in which my father played his part. Shetland, or the Shetland Islands, lie between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. Distance wise, the islands are 80km from Orkney, 170km from Scotland and 220km from Norway. They are not easy to get to. The ferry takes at least 12 or so hours from Aberdeen and flying there is apparently very expensive. I can imagine why my father loved these islands from seeing the amazing landscape on the BBC series. 

An image from Shetland with its famous ponies where I hope to go one day

It is also teeming with wildlife, including puffins, all sorts of birds, ponies and dolphins. I just have to go one day. 

I could have watched it all night but was interrupted by Suzy and Eladio for dinner for which I wasn't hungry after the croissants and the Portuguese dish at lunch. 

We caught up on the news - bloody Putin daring to visit Mariupol, the worrying bank crisis after the fall of the Silicon Valley Bank being two of the main topics. Later we finished a Norwegian film set in WW2 called Narvik which I am sure my father would have known all about - it was where the biggest battle against the Germans happened before the occupation. I slept well except that I woke up after an awful nightmare involving little Elliot which upset me a lot. I hate nightmares. Later I slept well until just before 7 am.

Monday was a holiday in Madrid as Fathers' Day had fallen on  a Sunday. We had a quiet day, going for our walk after which we were busy with accounts for the equivalent of the Inland Revenue tax returns (declaración de la renta in Spanish). That would take quite a few days as we needed to gather all invoices possible so as to get some tax relief from declaring income on our rental business. The paperwork is the worst.

While we were doing that, USB was buying Credit Suisse and the financial market seemed to stabilise for a while but we shall see. Of importance on a geopolitical scale, that day saw Xi Jinping visit Vladimir Putin in Russia. The latter has a  peace plan of 12 points to put an end to the "conflict" with Ukraine. The Chinese won't even call it war. The Chinese together with Russia working out a peace plan doesn't offer much hope in my mind. But at least Putin is considering the word peace. Hate the man. Having a Russian mother I was interested that "blini" was on the menu - the small Russian pancakes usually served with caviar or similar. I love the blini but hate caviar. I used to have mine with "skippers" (small sardines). 

Our house was full of guests but I never saw the Mexican mother and daughter who spent nearly 2 days getting over their jet lag. 

The highlight of the afternoon was my weekly Skype call with Amanda. We both spoke a lot about our sleep or rather how badly or well we get our shut eye. I have to say I am sleeping a lot better these days, hallelujah. 

But I was up at just past 6 am on Tuesday morning. Spring came and it was most welcome. There was no walk that day as I had a hairdresser appointment and had to do some emergency shopping to last till Wednesday. So I was out most of the morning while my dear husband who is a politics junkie watched nearly the whole of the no confidence vote in Parliament. It was a bit of a farce as it was proposed by the far right wing party Vox who had no hope of winning, even if they used the famous 89 year economist Ramón Tamames to speak for them. It's a bit ironic as he was once a member of the communist party. Even so, my husband loves following Spanish politics. I don't.

Wednesday was shopping day which I have come to enjoy as it is a task we do together and includes coffee out.  There was no time for a walk afterwards but there was still time to continue gathering documents for the inland revenue tax returns (declaración de la renta). When we had just a few to gather to send to my accountant I was stunned to receive a message from the AEAT (Spanish tax agency) to say there were some irregularities with last year's tax returns. The document was long and complicated but there was no explanation whatsoever as to what the irregularities actually are. I wrote hastily to my accountant, Pilar, who is no longer my accountant as I didn't need one when I retired. But it was Pilar who did my tax returns last year. I looked at some of the finer print and it seems they want all the invoices/receipts etc of all income and all expenditure but will not accept either jpg or pdf files which is practically what all my documents are. I didn't need that. I don't need that. What on earth was it about? I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep that night but actually I did. 

The only pleasant item on my agenda that afternoon was a Facetime call with my dear friend Kathy in the UK. In the UK  Boris Johnson was undergoing a grilling from the Privileges Committee about his behaviour during "partygate". He will either be let off (likely as he always has done), given some sort of fine (possible), or lose his status as an MP. The last is unlikely but it's what he deserves. He should be losing sleep over this but I bet he isn't. 

The first thing I would do on Thursday morning when offices opened would be to ring Pilar and see what she thought about the threatening letter from the Spanish tax office. It was a big relief talking to her as she said nothing was serious. Apparently the Tax Agency has sent the same letter to most or all freelance workers as the law on working at home has changed since the pandemic and some items do not have tax rebates any more, such as a new computer. This means we shall all have to return some money. The good thing is that she can take care of it and was not worried. I hadn't done anything illegal or wrong which is what worried me most. 

So with a with a much lighter heart, off we set for our walk which included coffee and porras (again) and  shouldn't as it beats the objective. I realised we were both wearing yellow, an unusual colour for us both but also a total coincidence. Thus I asked the waiter to take a photo. That's this week's feature photo my friends. As we were leaving the cafe, a woman on the table next to us commented on the colour and put it down to our love as husband and wife. The funny thing is, as I said, it was total coincidence.

That day we carried on with gathering all the paperwork for the tax returns which Pilar will do in May. I can't believe how much time we spent on it this week and also how much money we spend on electricity, gas, water, insurance, internet, council taxes, boiler fuel, etc, etc, etc. It's the first time I have ever done this sort of work and it is a very interesting exercise. I now know just how much electricity has gone up. If we paid around 70 euros a month for this great big house in the early part of 2021, by July of the same year we were paying over 400 years per month, that's nearly 6 times more. It makes the news come true.  I also now know what all the utility bills add up to for all 4 houses. It is electricity that costs the most by far. 

Friday came and brought with it new guests. I can't believe how full we have been this month and I bless the Lord as this helps pay all those horrible utility bills, hahahaha. Our Mexican mother and daughter who left me a glowing review will be back on 1st April. In their place came Ricardo from Honduras and Pablo from Almeria; both to do exams this weekend, poor boys. 

We had expected to be baby sitting for Juliet and Elliot while their parents went out for a well deserved dinner on their own but they were far too tired and would leave it till Saturday.

If I have a had quiet life this week, it's been very turbulent internationally - the war continues in Ukraine, peace efforts aren't really being made, the banking crisis that started of with the Silicon Valley bank crash, spread through the sector. By Friday it even affected Deutcsh Bank. People will be moving their money from one bank to another in panic mode and who knows how this will end up.

 Nearer to home, in France, the young President Emanuel Macron, is under huge pressure from the population  over the new pension age law going up from 62 to 64. It really has got out of hand, with strikes and violent demonstrations everywhere.  It almost feels like a throwback to 1798, the famous French Revolution. Would you believe that because of this, King Charles' first foreign visit abroad as the new King of the UK, to France did not go ahead? I believe there was worry that the lavish dinner planned at Versailles would not go down well with the disgruntled French Population.   This was The Times front page yesterday. Just look at the photos of rubbish piling up in the streets of Paris thanks to the strikes, some of which was smouldering after demonstrators set fire to containers in the street. 

Front page of The Times yesterday

I honestly wonder whether Macron is getting his sleep. The good news is that I am. I have slept well nearly all week getting between 6 and 7 hours a night which is a huge tonic. 

Saturday was the most exciting day of this rather quiet week. Again our walk included coffee and porras at the local shopping centre. Once there, I couldn't believe what I was seeing; 2 replica Pippas, ie. 2 chocolate coloured miniature dachshunds just like her. Pippa met Greta who is about the same  size. Normally she is quite aggressive with other dogs but not with those of her same breed. How on earth does she know? I tried to get a photo but only managed this and didn't get the other mini sausage dog, Lola who tried to bite me (hahaha) in the picture.

Pippa meets Greta, her lookalike

I so love dogs, I go up to nearly all the ones I see, but I have a special fondness for dachshunds. It was interesting to talk to the owners and compare notes. All three dogs have similar traits; they are wary of strangers, focus on one person, are fiercely loyal and, yes, they all like to sleep in their owners' beds. It was quite a fun moment.

We sat in the brilliant sunshine and I told Eladio to close his eyes and imagine he was sitting with me having a coffee in Venice in Piazza San Marco. We spoke about our trip on the walk home, mostly about the essential items we must take. Our guest Stefano who is from north Italy has given us lots of suggestions and recommendations. In less than a month we will be on our way. This last week Eladio got our green card as well as travel insurance. We are nearly all done. 

We had a quiet afternoon until Oli and Miguel arrived with the babies. They had been out to lunch so instead of babysitting for them to go out to dinner, we did it so that they could go home and watch a film together. They needed some time out, poor souls.

The kids behaved and even ate their dinner with us so I was happy to report to Oli they had eaten "properly". They played with their toys too and later we took them up to our room and out of the way of any potential guest. They had a great time with us on our huge 180cm bed. I had to take a photo to share. This is it. 

Fun with Elliot and Juliet

We had lots of fun with them. Babysitting was the highlight of the day. Their parents came rather too early to pick them up. I think they felt guilty although they shouldn't. They need more time out, they really do. It's hard work bringing up babies and toddlers who you cannot let out of your sight for long; especially little Juliet, haha, who nearly fell off the bed a few times.

Oli and Miguel had watched the new Spanish film, "The Beasts" which won most prizes at the Spanish film awards (Los Goya) last month. So, when they went, we decided we would too. In Spain it's on Movistar Plus - yes the company I had so much hassle with when I changed operators. One of the reasons was their TV content so I was happy to be able to finally get some payback for all my efforts last night. 

What a film

Loosely based on a true story, it's about a French couple who move to a remote and poor village in inland Galicia. They go there to carry out their life dream of ecological farming and restoring old and empty houses. Everything goes sour when the French couple refuse to sign an agreement to sell land to a wind farm company which the rest of their neighbours want to make some fast money and quit their hard life. In Spanish it is called "As Bestas" which is the Galician for The Beasts. It is not for the lighthearted but what a story; the story of life where no one is right nor is rural life as idyllic as it might seem. 

I think we finished the film after midnight and of course last night they changed the clocks. We weren't tired and continued onto The Elephant Whisperers which I had already seen. Thus I must have fallen asleep at past 2 am (new time) and was up at 7.30. It was nearly light which surprised me. Today they have robbed us of an hour's sleep but I don't mind as even if the day is shorter, days will seem longer from now on as it won't get dark until past 8.30pm. 

Today we will have the pleasure of the company of our grandchildren again as they are all coming for lunch. I will be preparing lasagna. Pasta is such great comfort food isn't it?

Now I have come to the end of the tales of this week and hopefully you have enjoyed the read. Who knows, my friends, what next week will bring; good things I hope.

Cheers then till next Sunday,

Masha

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Another quiet week by the coast, and the Oscar goes to "The Elephant Whisperers", a trip to Benidorm where it all began, three years since the first Covid lockdown, two brothers in Santa Pola, lunch in Calpe, home again and other stories of the week.

Home again, Madrid, Sunday 19th March 2023

Back to the scene of the crime - at the bar in Benidorm where we fell in love in the summer of 1980. 

Good morning again friends and readers. How are you doing? We are now back from Santa Pola feeling rejuvenated from our time in the sun; as if we have come out of hibernation. In a way we have.

Last Sunday saw us down at the beach again. On our way we went to a cheap Chinese shop to buy a new parasol and a beach chair. One of our Airbnb or Booking guests had broken the former and the fourth chair was mysteriously missing like so many objects in the flat, such as a cork screw. I honestly don't get why people want to pinch every day objects. Chinese shops are popular in Spain where you can buy literally anything under the sun, including beach furniture. This time we got a blue and white striped parasol which is larger than the one we had which, as I told you last week, was 24 years old, the time we have had the apartment. 

It was sunny on the beach but not overcrowded. The weather was extraordinary for the beginning of March and once again I went into the sea. Eladio could not be persuaded. He preferred to sit in the shade under the new parasol. Here he is saying hi from our spot on the Playa de Carabasi last Sunday. Life felt good. Life has its ups and downs and I do love the ups.

Eladio saying hi from our spot on the beach last Sunday

As it's still not high season, there were no beach bars to get a coffee so we walked up the wooden path to the main road where there was one very full bar. We got a great coffee and some free biscuits but there was no chair or table to be had. Thus we drank our coffee on a bench overlooking the sea. That was fine for us. We returned to the beach where I went into the water again and read for a while. I didn't feel like another long walk as the day before we had walked over 15000 steps and one of my feet ached - probably because I walked on a slope in the sand.

We stayed until nearly 2 pm which is when we made our way home. We are not ones for spending the whole day on the beach. We had got quite a sun tan and thankfully that day I had applied sun cream.  Lunch was simple: gazpacho, steak and runner beans washed down with a small glass of red wine and followed by fruit salad.

Our afternoons at the flat were very lazy. We spent the time sleeping, reading, writing or watching content on our PCs and in my case, my iPad. That afternoon I was looking forward to a Skype call with my dear Uni friends Sandra in Brussels and Adele in Brittany. I wish they could have been with us in Santa Pola. If they had, my afternoons would have been more lively, hahahaha. 

Sunday night was the night of the Oscars. Many, many moons ago, I often watched the late night ceremony from the sofa of our TV lounge in Bradford. These days I can't be bothered. I love films but of a specific kind and I don't think there were any in my limited category nominated for an award that night. In any case, these days I do not stay up late. That is a thing of my teenage past. Some strange sounding film called "Everything everywhere all at once" was the overall winner and I won't be watching it at a cinema or anywhere. The  only film that grabbed my interest was a short documentary made in India  called The Elephant Whisperers about how a tribal couple in South India adopt an orphaned baby elephant. Raghu and later Ammu are adopted by Bomman and Bellie. To this couple who live in an elephant camp in Tamil Nadu's Mudumalia Tiger reserve, these baby elephants become like their own children to them. Marvelous story. 

Bomman and Bellie with Raghu their adopted elephant calf. 

It is on Netflix and I watched it that afternoon and loved it. For someone like me who loves animals any positive story about  about human and animal interaction always fascinates me. I read somewhere this week that gorillas have been taught sign language and that also fascinated me. The Indian film which won the  best documentary short film, is the first ever to win an Oscar.   India went ecstatic and so it should.

Monday dawned and it was another marvelously sunny day. We both decided we wanted to go a bit further afield, do something different and have lunch out. We know the region backwards from coming here for so many years. It's funny but we both had the same idea, go to Benidorm  - about 48km from our place. Benidorm is where it all began for us. It is of course the super tacky mecca of Spanish tourism but it has its saving graces; mainly the weather. It is also where I would go with my parents and family to the beach all the way by bus from Callosa or in my Aunty Masha' battered old car. The summer of 1980 was when I met Eladio. I won't go into how we met - it's such a long story, but we ended up falling in love in this area and our love was consumed on a beach in Benidorm. We could have never have known at the time that we would marry, Eladio would leave the church, I would leave England, we would have a family, live in Madrid and even buy a holiday apartment in the area. How could we have? Our first "date" was to the rather nicer beach, the Playa de Poniente outside  the centre of Benidorm. After that we went a lot. We would always eat or drink coffee at a run of the mill bar called Vimi which we have been back to countless times. On Monday we went back to find again it only to hear it had closed but the good news was it had been taken over by Aruba Gastrobar and was in the same place; so, good enough for us. We both definitely felt very emotional being there again and told the waitress who loved our story. She is the one who took this week's feature photo. 

We took our own photos too which you can see below. To think we were returning to the scene of the crime after nearly 43 years. We wouldn't have imagined that either.

The Vimi bar now called Aruba Gastro Lounge

In those heady days when we fell in love we would spend the day on the beach opposite, the lovely Poniente Beach which is far less full than the Levante Beach in the centre of Benidorm. It's probably because there are fewer hotels at the former and more apartment blocks. In any case, it was wonderful to be back. Ah, and before I forget, here are a couple of photos of the beach that Monday in March. No wonder Benidorm is the capital of Spanish tourism; if only so much of it wasn't so tacky.

The Poniente beach in Benidorm as seen last Monday

Instead of sitting on the beach which was a temptation, we decided we would walk all along the Poniente Beach and into the beginning of the centre of town; about 4km I reckon. There is now a new promenade much fancier than the one that existed when we first met. It was mostly retired people like us walking on it as well as quite a few Brits and Nordic people on holiday. They were lucky with the weather. I couldn't believe how many mobility scooters I saw which are not a common sight in Spain; only in Benidorm hahahaha.

We got as far as the end of the beach and had a rest sitting on a bench - like true pensioners, hahahaha. Well, I deviated actually when I walked into a boutique. I came out wearing a new green short sleeved t-shirt and carrying two more t-shirts in a bag. It was a long walk back but there was a prize at the end - lunch and not only any lunch. We had both decided we wanted to eat paella. After all paella is from this part of the country. Strictly speaking paella is from Valencia and Arroz a banda, its "cousin", is from Alicante. We spied quite an upmarket looking restaurant called El Barranco and had a very decent meal. The paella with seafood was excellent; so much so we nearly finished it. This was it before we dug in.

The sea food paella we had in Benidorm on Monday, where it all began. 

We could have spent time on the beach afterwards but we like our quiet time/siestas after lunch so drove back. We stopped at the local Lidl to get some more wine for our evenings there and more provisions for when Eladio's brother and wife came on Wednesday. I have to confess I could not resist buying chocolates, biscuits and ice cream too. I think Lidl has an excellent selection. The excuse was they were for our guests but the main indulger would be myself. Must go back on my diet now that I am home.

We were not hungry for dinner but I did have one of Lidl's marvelous mini chocolate and almond ice creams. I slept well that night after another wonderful day in the sun.

Tuesday came and we could tell the weather had changed a bit and the temperature had gone down. There was lots of wind. Even so, we got ready to go down to the beach. We got as far as the car and came home deciding it was not warm enough for a swim. Funnily enough it got warmer later. We did leave the house though to go for a long walk as far as the lighthouse, one of our favourite walks there. It's an hour there and back, so just under 10.000 steps. I love that spot on the cliffs from where you can see the small island of Tabarca where about 10 people still live. Not sure if you can see it in this photo I took.

The view from the cliff tops near the light house on our walk on Tuesday morning

As we walked back we spoke about our beginnings at Gran Alacant and how the whole area has changed so much since we bought our apartment in 1999 - 24 years ago. Wow! So many more have been built since and so many shops and restaurants have opened. Some people now live here permanently. It's not a bad place to live, especially because of the good weather.  Talking of our modest little apartment, here is Eladio in front of it. Our is the one with the green blur on it. It's tiny but spacious at the same time and it's best feature is the open terrace overlooking a Mediterranean garden and the communal swimming pool. Unfortunately one of the trees has grown so much we can no longer see the sea. I have written twice now to the people who maintain this place and I really hope it gets trimmed soon so that we can get our sea view back, please ...... 

Eladio in the garden in front of our apartment

I made comfort food for lunch; spaghetti carbonara which I love. The highlight of the afternoon was the weekly Skype call with my dearest and oldest friend, Amanda. That day was her wedding anniversary. She and Andy met when we were teenagers. He was at BGS and she, like me, was at SJC in Bradford. Their first kiss was in our house at 6 Heaton Grove at one of my parties which both my mother and I witnessed. They didn't marry for silly reasons but later in life met again and their love took off from there and has never been stronger. We went to their wedding in 2005 with my dear father, so this year it is their 18th anniversary. This year will be our 40th. Talking to Eladio the other day we commented on how I think I am the only one of my group of girlfriends who is still married to her first husband. Funny but true. These days, at least in Spain, it seems marriage is rather out of fashion. Olivia and Miguel are in no rush to marry and they already have two kids. They are not the only ones in their generation; it is quite the norm. Call me old fashioned but marriage for me is everything but then I was lucky and married the right guy. I suppose he thinks likewise about me. I know he does, bless him. 

Wednesday  15th March, was the third anniversary of the first lockdown in Spain because of Covid. In many other countries the first lockdown occurred too in March. We shall never forget. I think what we lived through is the worst thing that happened in our lives on a global scale on a par, in a way, with WW2. Lives were not lost fighting but to an unknown and very contagious virus which the Americans now believe came out of a lab in China by accident. Some people think Covid was invented, didn't exist or if it did exist it was planned to cull old people off. These, for me, are conspiracy theories not worth dwelling on. Facebook reminded me that morning of our first day in lockdown. While we were at home, my son-in-law, Miguel was working as he is a cameraman for TVE and press continued to work of course. He was kitted out as if he were to land on the moon or similar. This photo sums up the fear we all had of the virus.

Miguel. my son-in-law, working on the first day of lockdown in Spain, 15th March 2020, a day we shall never forget. He told me later that day he was filming from Benidorm which would have been deserted. 

We cannot forget either how many people were infected or died of Coronavirus; 680 million people in the world. Of those over 6.8 million died. In Spain alone there were 13 million cases and 119.000 deaths. These are chilling figures. 

But Wednesday was a special day  for us in a much more positive way, as Eladio's brother José Antonio and his wife Dolores were coming to join us. For those of you who don't know, it was Dolores who brought us together. They were with me in Callosa in the summer of 1980 when Eladio joined us there. It was thanks to them I met him. The rest, as they say, is history. So it would be 4 pensioners at our apartment, not just 2 hahahaha.

We went to pick them up from the train station in Alicante. Going there always reminds me of the first time I got off the train there having travelled all the way from England. It was the early or mid 70's and I didn't know a word of Spanish. I remember walking out into the hot sun carrying my huge suitcase with no wheels and trying to make my way to the bus station to take the bus first to Benidorm and then on to Callosa. What an adventure. I was stunned by the scenery, the rocky mountains, the sea but above all the orange and lemon trees which I still find exotic today, not to mention the palm trees. 

They came on the Ave, the high speed train which takes just 2h from Madrid, a long cry from what travelling by train was like in Spain in the 70's. Everything was dusty, dirty, hot and smelly, a bit like a third world country but I loved it. I found it all so exotic. Spain has progressed enormously since then and is on a par with France which I always found cleaner in those days. There is no difference today. It was good to greet "Toño" and Dolores, both retired teachers, like Eladio. Toño taught philosophy and Dolores was an English teacher. We drove them back to our modest apartment and I think they felt at home. The last time they had been here was in 2016. How time flies.

We treated them to an aperitif with prosecco which I bought for a few euros at Lidl - delicious - and some nuts before we sat down to a home made lunch. 

After the men had their siesta - a short one - we left the house and drove to Santa Pola where we parked by the port. From there we walked to the square by the castle and sat and had coffee and cakes at the lovely patisserie there. 

Eladio and his brother Toño in Santa Pola on Wednesday afternoon

Toño and Dolores had once been on holiday in Santa Pola in 1981 and remembered the castle which they wanted to visit. So we did and it was more or less our first time. It is a 16th  castle which was built to keep away the pirates from the nearby island of Tabarca. Initially the town of Santa Pola or village was contained by this enormous castle. Santa Pola, before tourism, made its money from fishing which it still does and at the castle there was a museum about the sea and its significance for the townspeople there. I honestly thought it would be boring but it was wonderful, a bit like the Castle Museum in York but all about the sea and fishing in older times. We loved it. 

Some photos of the sea museum inside the castle at Santa Pola

And here are the two brothers outside the museum, happy with our visit.

2 brothers in Santa Pola - here by the museum in the castle at Santa Pola

It was still light and warm enough for a short walk on the promenade. Santa Pola has vast sized beaches but is nowhere near as crowded as places such as Marbella, Benidorm or Torremolinos. It's more a family type seaside location with hardly any hotels. 

We drove back on the old coastal road and I pointed out all the caravans to Toño and Dolores, full, I think of "energy tourists". I have never seen so many there.

We came home to have another aperitif and then a cold dinner - tuna fish salad - which I think looked spectacular.

Tuna fish salad for dinner

One of the reasons I was happy to have Dolores with me is that she also likes playing ludo - you know I love it - so we played on my huge double board until late. It was a really great day and Thursday would be too. 

I love Thursdays in Gran Alacant as it is market day. Dolores loves markets too, not so much the men I think. We both bought white summer trousers and nice tops and then went to explore the fruit and veg stands. Oranges are what we like to buy here as they are grown in the area. I especially like the big juicy ones which come straight from the trees with no polish on them. We got about 15 kgs between us for less than a euro per kilo. I also got huge mandarins which you just don't see in Mercadona for instance. Just look at these two!

Huge juicy mandarins straight from the tree - bought at the local market on Thursday

Next on the agenda was the charity shop down the road. While the men went to the "hole in the wall", we bought second hand clothes, mostly t-shirts and shorts at 50 cents per garment!!! From the charity shop we drove down to the beach near Arenales and before heading for the sea, had a coffee together at the only bar on the promenade, Milla, I think it is called. This by the way is the beautiful palm tree lined promenade which was built not so long ago. 

The promenade in Arenales del Sol

Coffee in the sun by the sea in March was most civilised. Being a pensioner has a lot going for it, that is if you are still relatively young. 

Coffee in Arenales del Sol

I was looking forward to more time on the beach but first for a photo of the lovely view from the promenade. I never tire of it. Notice the new green t-shirt I bought last week in Benidorm?

Happy to be by the sea with Eladio, Toño and Dolores

From the cafe we walked down to the beach and placed our chairs in the usual spot. There weren't many people being the middle of the week in March. This beach never gets too full, thankfully. And here are the two brothers again, this time on the beach. But they didn't go in the water; only I did; the mad English woman, hahaha.

The two brothers on the beach

They didn't swim but they did walk. We took them on our walk to the end of the beach, one of my favourite spots, where we sat on the rock where Eladio lost his phone last time we were there. Thankfully we got it back. 

Soon it was time for lunch. We had all agreed we wanted to have a rice dish. So we headed to Restaurante El Batiste, the best place in Santa Pola. It's rather traditional and a bit old hat, but serves good quality food. You might be interested to know that this restaurant was frequented a lot by Spain's former PM, Mariano Rajoy who went back to his job as property registrar in Santa Pola when he was ousted from government. 

And this my friends was the "arroz a la marinera" and "arroz a banda" we had between the four of us and wow was it delicious. 

Our paella like rice dishes at Batiste on Thursday for lunch

By the time we had finished our lunch we were all tired and ready to go back to the apartment for a good rest. More than anything, I needed a shower after my swim in the sea.

The rest of the day was spent quietly "at home" and come dinner time we were not really hungry so mostly ate some of the delicious fruit from the market.

Friday was our last full day in Santa Pola. The day was ours for taking and we could decide to go anywhere. That is the luck of retirees, like us. Dolores wanted to revisit the charity shop again which we did together. I mean, at 50 euro cents a garment, you cannot look a gift horse in the mouth. This is the shop by the way where no doubt I shall be going back to. I promised the kind English ladies who run it that I would bring them some of our old clothes next time to contribute to their charity which is rescuing animals. I like that. 

The charity shop in Gran Alacant where you can get second hand garments at 50 euro cents a piece. 

On our way back we popped into Quicksave, the small British corner shop across the road from our apartment. I picked up my pre ordered Easter eggs, indulged in 2 small cream eggs and also got a big pack of Imperial Leather soap - love it. 

Once back in the apartment, our men were ready and both dressed with clothes from the charity shop hahahha. We had two proposals for that day; a day out around Callosa (where my parents used to have a house in the 70's) including lunch at Algar or lunch in Calpe, the pretty seaside town further north of Benidorm. Eladio voted for Calpe so off we went. In the local Valencian dialect it is called Calpe as Alicante is called Alacant. The Valencianos don't seem to like an e at the end of words hahahah.

The route is very familiar to me from all my summers here as a teenager and afterwards of course. It is equally familiar to Eladio and we have been many times to the port in Calpe to indulge in seafood where there are lots of restaurants to choose from.

Calpe has a famous landmark called El Peñón de Ifach or the Rock of Ifach. So we headed to the beach by the port from where we took photos. I honestly don't think you can climb it as it looks like sheer rock and I do not like climbing.

In Calpe on Friday morning

 I far prefer a walk on the flat on a beach. It was not really beach weather that day as the temperature had gone down a bit. Even so, some people were tanning themselves as it was sunny. 

Eladio in his charity shop clothes by the beach in Calpe

That particular beach is not very large so we soon found ourselves meandering around the port in search of a restaurant we could all agree on. My companions wanted fried fish and I wanted seafood, what is known as a "mariscada" in Spain. And that's what we had at the modest but well run restaurant called El Carro I. What we liked is that you could see the food on offer on platters so you knew what you were ordering. 

The food on offer at the restaurant in Calpe on Friday

This was my seafood platter including lobster which is my favourite food in the world. I often tell you I am not really a fish fan but love seafood and on Friday I got my fill. 

The seafood platter I had all to myself for lunch in Calpe on Friday

On our way to Calpe we had passed the new Russian Orthodox church on the road from Altea to Calpe and decided to visit it on our way back.  We last visited it a few years ago and it really is a gem. It was built in 2002 and funded by local (mafia) oligarchs who brought in Russian experts to build it. I also read it is a copy of a typical 17th century wooden Russian church. I think it is spectacular. I heard on the grapevine that the domes and there are five, are all solid gold. This is it. 

The Russian Orthodox Church in Altea which we visited on Friday

For me it was very special to be there again. My mother's family were Orthodox and I was baptised in the Russian Orthodox church in Paris, not to mention my grandfather was a priest and two of my mother's sisters were nuns - a lot or religion in my family as you probably know. When I was last there I cried inside the church surrounded by icons, candles and the smell of incense, so typical of the Orthodox religion. And it happened again on Friday. As soon as I stepped in, kissed the main icon and lit my candle, I felt the presence of my mother, my Aunty Masha, my brother George and even my father. All I could do was cry and there was my darling husband to hold me while I did. It was a very emotional moment. I can hardly imagine what it will be like for me when I finally visit my grandfather's church or my Aunty Olga's convent in Bulgaria. 

From the church we drove home. I would have liked to stop for a coffee in the pretty town of Altea but I think our driver was a bit tired, bless him - again. I do so love him.

We were home an hour or so later and able to wind down, etc. I had a bit of guest work to deal with and then I was free to read on the terrace. 

And then it was Saturday and it was over. All good things come to an end and we had to go back, the man reason being that guests were arriving that evening. I hope they enjoy themselves as much as we did.

Our drive back was pleasant although the car was rather full with so many oranges hahaha. We stopped once for coffee and then for lunch at the overcrowded Venta San José in the village of Zafra de Záncara. We dropped off Toño and Dolores near their house in Madrid and shortly afterwards were home ourselves. Pippa, as usual, was the first one to greet me. I had missed her dreadfully but Suzy looked after her like a mother. Suzy was making cakes in the kitchen and it was great to see her too as it was Lucy. We had 5 guests but I didn't see any of them until today. 

The best thing about being home was sleeping in our own bed and once again I got a good night's sleep - nearly 7.5 hours. Wow!

Today, Sunday, is Fathers' Day in Spain. Oli and family can't come for lunch so we shall meet for coffee some time this morning. I can't wait to see little Elliot and Juliet after such a long absence. 

So this is it for this week my friends. Hope you are all well and hope you enjoyed the read. Cheers now until next Sunday. All the best,

Masha

Rediscovering Helen Keller, International Women's Day, to Santa Pola to the sun, our house on TikTok, bathing in the sea in March and other stories of the week.

Gran Alacant, Santa Pola, Sunday 12th March, 2023

Waiting for my coffee in the sun on Friday morning in Santa Pola

Dear all,

It's Sunday again but a different Sunday to the usual as we are at our pad on the coast. We bought this apartment in 1999, the year my dear mother died. I only wish she could have seen it. She would have loved it. We love it too. It is simple and practical; there is nothing luxurious about it but it's a home away from home with the advantage of being near the sea and in an area with perhaps the best climate in Europe. Nearby Alicante is the sunniest city in Europe or so I read in some rankings.  

I could only dream about the sea last Sunday at our real home near Madrid. The sun only made sporadic appearances, it rained a bit and was rather grey. Even so, we went for our walk and, naughtily, to the local churros bar for a coffee and a "porra". Lunch was with the whole family and was peaceful as Elliot was asleep. Oli had bought cakes and one of them was a lemon meringue pie which I could not resist. It must have helped me sleep a siesta though and I felt bad when I woke up to find Oli and the family leaving. 

Suzy and I watched a film  together that afternoon. She had recently come across the name of Helen Keller. No doubt you know who she was; the deaf and blind girl born in the US over a century ago. Her story was made famous by the 60's film we watched, "The Miracle Worker", about how a teacher, Anne Sullivan, taught her words,  words that opened up the world to her Before that she lived like a pet or animal, a sort of feral child.  Once she learned the word water she entered a world of comprehension. Amazing to think she was the first blind deaf person to get a degree. Like Suzy, I remember being fascinated by her story and also watched the film with my mother many many years ago. 

I have her book, The story of my life. I may have written about it before because it is intriguing. My mother who was equally interested in the story, found it at a second hand book shop and I still have it. I showed it to Suzy. At the beginning there is an inscription to none other than Alexander Graham Bell giving him thanks. Keller even signed the dedication. I looked up her signature online and it looks the same. Could this really be the book that Helen Keller gave to Alexander Graham Bell? If so, maybe it is worth a penny or two. Who knows? The only grating thing is that it is the 1923 edition and her dedication is dated 1903 which makes little sense to me. One thing I did find out though is that she had strong links to the inventor of the telephone. I wrote to the  Helen Keller foundation, and sent them photos of the inscription. I wonder if they will reply.

The very old second hand book my mother bought with the dedication to Alexander Graham Bell. 

PD for those who don't know the story, Anne Sullivan, remained at Helen's side all her life, as her faithful "teacher", one of the first words she taught her disabled pupil. 

PHOTO BOOK 

The film is old and   really bad quality but gives you an idea of Helen's very difficult beginnings. I cried at the end and I think Suzy did too. We agreed we'd watch another film together another time.

Dinner was a simple and small meal after the excess lunch we had had because of the lemon meringue pie. The news was depressing as usual. The situation in Ukraine is a sort of stalemate with fierce fighting in the town of Bakhmut. Since the war started in February last year, I think we have all learned a bit more about the geography of this invaded European country.

Again I slept well that night and was grateful to wake up at 7 am on Monday morning. By then our Canadian guest, Faz, had left for Toronto. He was with us for 11 nights and was one of our best guests ever. We really liked him and I know Pippa would miss him too. She isn't usually partial to new people but she fell for Faz. Another guest  (Ignacio) was arriving in the afternoon and Marina and Mónica came on Thursday and Friday respectively. That's not bad for low season. We have hardly had a guest free night since the beginning of January and again I thank God and my lucky stars for that. 

Monday was quiet. Of interest, a young photographer came from Airbnb to take photos of my father's room. Airbnb did professional photos of the whole house a few years ago but I added what we now call "The Book Room" later.  The offer was free which was great. It's all down to being a super host I suppose. They wanted to take a profile picture of me but I'm happy with the one I have. This is the listing with my old photos. Let's see what the improvement is like when I get the new ones. There is a problem with the room; a bit of damp near the shower which is coming through the walls that is quite unseemly. Eladio kept trying to fix it but in the end rang the insurance people. There is always something to mend or fix in a large house like ours. 

Ignacio duly arrived in the later afternoon. I was intrigued that he is from the same town and area as us. There was an explanation. He is going through a divorce and needed somewhere to live near his son and he chose our place. He wanted to stay semi permanently but later told me he was going back home. In a way, I was very pleased for him. But he knows where we are if the going gets tough.  

The day was much like other days; our walk, lunch together, quiet time/siesta and then either TV or reading. Eladio spent some of the time talking to the electricity people who supply our house in Asturias. The bill that came was astronomical and no one had been there except for one group of guests in January. It beggars belief you have to pay for something you don't use. 

Tuesday was different. I had a lunch date in Madrid with an old colleague. Jorge L worked at  my Motorola and Nokia PR agency, Perception & Image and we go back a long way. He was in his 20's and is now only in his late 40's. To think I am nearly 20 years older than him. He is in his prime and has set up his own PR agency. Good for him. He booked a table at an intriguing restaurant on Calle Orfila just off Génova near the HQ of the right wing PP Party. Called Farey, it serves dishes from Israel and Argentina - quite an experiment I think. We loved the food and had humus, fried broccoli and lamb kebabs followed by baklava (of course). It was great to catch up and reminisce. I have been retired for a year now and have no desire to return to the corporate PR world of telecommunications. I had an up and down career, made more difficult because I was a woman. That is the truth. I had good times and bad, had to fight my way up the ladder, earned less than the men, had a worse car than the men, was bullied at times by some (jealous people) and loved by others. The corporate world, especially in Spain, is a battle field. I only wish I had thought more when I left Uni. If I had known then what I know now, I would have tried to join the BBC and become a journalist. That is what I was cut out to be. Instead I worked as a journalist but for telecom companies where it's a difficult world for women. Jorge was part of the good times and we worked well together. He is a bright guy always coming up with great ideas and not scared of challenging work. His hardest task was translating the unintelligible Nokia Network press releases into plain Spanish. They were awful and we laughed about that. I am completely cut off from that world now which was mine since 1999 but do not miss it. I do miss though great people like Jorge. We parted promising not to leave it another 10 years until our next lunch together. 

I felt good walking out of the restaurant onto the sunny streets of Madrid. It was rather a tonic to do something different. On Calle Génova I spied the new branch of Balbisiana, an incredibly upmarket patisserie; its second in the city. Even though I was full, I couldn't resist going in to buy some cakes, mostly for Suzy and me as Eladio isn't into cakes. I went for the raspberry tarts, fruit pavlova and a small pecan pie. I hid them in the guest fridge to be eaten at lunch the next day. PS, if you live in the Spanish peninsula you can order their cakes online which is how the business started out and how I came to discover it. 

The amazing selection of pies and cakes at the new branch of Balbisiana in Calle Génova

I then took the metro at Alonso Martinez to Colonia Jardin where I had parked my car and was home within under an hour. 

I was on time for my weekly Skype call with Amanda who lives in Devon. As you know, we have been friends since the age of 11 when we first met at school (St. Joseph's College in Bradford). It was great to catch up with her too and also commiserate on our lack of sleep and domestic issues. I also wish Amanda lived down the road. I don't know when I will next see her but I hope it is this year.

We had good news that day; the Mini was ready which meant we could leave for Santa Pola on Thursday rather than Friday. 

We picked it up on Wednesday morning. Wednesday 8th March was International Women's Day, something to celebrate but also to reflect on. 

We still have to fight for parity or gender equality as it is called today. 

The very idea of having an international day for women is because women are not equal to men and never have been. I am not only thinking of women in Afghanistan who are possibly the worst treated in the world, but of women nearly everywhere. We are not equal to men. António Guterres, the UN head, said this week that it will take another 300 years to reach parity. Meanwhile, this week, in Spain, where equality for women is a huge thing, the government announced quotas for top jobs for women in politics and businesses of at least 40%. That includes companies with more than 250 employees. It  made me think of Yoigo/Másmovil. In  2008 or so I finally joined the Yoigo management board as the only woman and it didn't feel good. The CEO's comment at my first meeting was "finally we have a pretty face". Was I only a pretty face? The government, and I'm no great fan of Spain's left wing / communist coalition, is right to introduce quotas. Otherwise parity would not happen naturally. When I left Yoigo after the Másmovil take over there was not one woman on their management team. Now they will have no other choice. Men have been in charge of the world from the beginning. Some men are scared women are taking over - they are not - and some think quotas are not fair. I think they are. It's not a question of being the superior sex; there is no superior sex. It is a question of men and women being equal. Until that happens we shall continue to celebrate women's day if ·"celebrate" is the word. I asked Chat GPT what women have to celebrate about being women in 2023. There was a lot of bla bla bla, but one phrase struck a cord and this is it: "Greater recognition of women's rights: Women's rights continue to be at the forefront of social and political movements, leading to greater recognition and progress towards achieving gender equality".  So, yes we have come a long way. 100 years ago international women's day didn't exist. Only 50 years ago in Spain, under General Franco, women could not open a bank account or take a job without their spouse's permission or had to give their job up after marriage. They could not have abortions, use contraception and divorce only became possible after the dictator died. Spain has come a long way as has most of the western world but I really hope it won't take 300 more years to reach gender equality. 

On a personal level and in my marriage I have no complaints about gender equality. My husband who was born in Franco's Spain, sees women equal to men, as he should. We share domestic duties and do many together too. I look after what I am good at doing and he looks after or is in charge of what he is good at doing. It's as simple as that. We do have a woman looking after us, Lucy, who cooks and cleans but we treat her the same as if she were a man. We love Lucy and she makes our life easier. One duty we do together is the food shopping although I draw up the list - I am good at that - and that was our task after picking up my lovely Mini. We had coffee too, together at Alverán and then lunch with Suzy. For lunch I got out the Balbisiana cakes which I think I love more than Suzy or Eladio do. Eladio does not have a sweet tooth. 

The afternoon was quiet as was dinner which we had as a threesome again. I slept well that night but woke up at 6 am on Thursday morning;  a bit too early. About two and a half  hours later my dear grandchildren, Elliot and Juliet were being taken to school by their father. Oli sent a video of them making their way to the car in their garage. I just love the way Juliet walks in her wellies and rain coat. Of interest, I found that raincoat abandoned late in the evening last May at Bolton Abbey. I wonder whether the owner could ever have guessed it would end up in Spain, hahahahahhaa. 

Elliot and Juliet on their way to school on Thursday morning

That was the day we set off for Santa Pola in search of the sun and the sea, warmer temperatures and a change of scenery. 

We loaded the Volvo in the end and it was full of food so as not to have to do too much shopping in Santa Pola. We left around 11 am and the drive was smooth. We stopped for lunch at a cheap roadside café; El Cruce in a village called Caudete, about 85km from Alicante. It serves a brilliant menu of the day for just 14 euros and the choice is endless. It's not haute cuisine but is good old fashioned home cooking with decent portions.

We arrived mid afternoon to 22ºc which seemed like heaven to me. It was actually the same temperature at home but it's the sea that makes it so attractive here. The flat was in pristine condition after Lucy, our neighbour, had cleaned it. It looked lovely too with the new upholstery and matching table cloth. In the old days we would arrive and have to clean everything before settling in. Honestly, it's money well spent. So we soon settled in. We were a little tired for a walk and I spent the time reading and watching TV until "tea time". Again Lucy came up trumps as she had made us some Spanish tortillas and soup for our dinner, bless her. Entertainment was the amazing film, Operation Finale,  about the capture of Adolf Eichmann (played by Ben Kingsley) the mastermind behind the "final solution" - the death of 6 million Jews. The story is true and even though I was only 5 at the time of his trial in Israel, I remember it being broadcast worldwide. I was brought up on WW2 stories because of my parents involvement and that is one I remember from a very early age. 

I found it very difficult to sleep after it finished  as it must have disturbed me a lot. So I turned to my kindle where I started another story about the Jewish fate in WW2. I finally fell asleep at 2.15 am according to my smart watch and woke up at 7.45. 

I got a bit of a surprise that night when a woman called Caroline wrote to me on Instagram late that night.  I don't know her but she had seen a video of me and our house where we rent rooms on Airbnb. She told me it had been posted on Tiktok of all places and sent me the link.  I was dumbfounded as to how she had found me and still don't know. I watched the video various times and saw that it has had nearly 1000 views!. You can see it here and if you keep the browser open you won't have to install Tiktok. As you will know Tiktok is the new Chinese owned social media site so popular with young people. But it worries governments who think the Chinese state may be spying on you. That my house is on Tiktok doesn't worry me at all as it's great advertising for my little rental business.  Here is a screen shot for you to see. 

My house where we rent rooms on Airbnb on TikTok of all places

I remember the TV report the video must have come from. It was done by ex colleagues of Oli's from a programme on Telemadrid called "Mi Cámara y Yo", when I first started my journey with  Airbnb in 2017 - I was thinner then hahahha - but have no idea how part of that report has ended up going viral on TikTok. Unbelievably too, Carolina, wants to come in April with her partner and she will be confirming soon. 

On our first morning back at what I call our "pad near the beach", we had a leisurely breakfast, not very similar to Elliot and Juliet's. You can see them having breakfast here (and below hopefully) before school on Friday. It is delightful; especially when Elliot touches Juliet's face. It's also good to see how Juliet aged 1 and a half is able to feed herself, albeit very slowly, bless her. 

Juliet and Elliot having breakfast on Friday morning

For once that day,  Oli warned us in advance about a live report she was doing. It was about the grave accent on the word "sólo" which is different to "solo" without the accent. When it has the accent, often called "tilde" in Spanish, it is equivalent to "solamente" as in "only" rather than "solo" which means alone or solo as in English. The RAE (Royal Academy for the Spanish language) had abolished the accent some time ago although many still used it. When they did that, purists and writers went up in arms. Recently the RAE announced it had come back or rather as Oli explained in the report - it had never gone but is now accepted with or without the "tilde". Confusing right? Very. This has had most of Spain criticising the Academy. I am a purist and don't want to see the accent removed. 

Watching Oli live on TV from our apartment on Friday morning

I made a stew with chickpeas for our lunch and a bit later out we went to enjoy the sunshine. It was 22ºc again but very windy. This area is named after the famous "levante" wind so it can be quite breezy here but with the sun nearly everything is acceptable.

We decided to drive to the nearest town, Santa Pola, about 7km from our "pad" which is in a semi gated community called "Gran Alacant". We headed for the port and parked there to walk into the centre. We went past the ferry boats that take you to the island of Tabarca and also past fishermen mending their nets which I always find very biblical. Here is a photo of Eladio beside the boats and the nets. It's a lovely sight.

Eladio by the port of Santa Pola

We headed for the main square next to the old castle and sat at a table belonging to a wonderful bakery and cafe called Dalua. I had to go inside to examine the cakes which are exquisite. I bought one covered in white chocolate to devour later as well as some chocolate biscuits and a freshly baked croissant to have with my coffee. Bliss. 

Eladio took a photo of me  sitting at the table in the square enjoying the sun and the moment and wearing short sleeves. That had to be this week's feature photo. 

To work off the croissant we then walked down to the beach and out of the town so as to get our 10.000  steps which is our daily objective. It was warm but oh so windy, the paper bag from Dalua nearly flew away. When we got in the car to come home it was boiling and we had to put the air con on, in March! We drove the coastal way and I saw all the caravans - lots of them - and remarked to Eladio that many of them probably belonged to "energy tourists" - mostly retired people from the north of Europe taking advantage of the good weather here and avoiding electricity bills at home, in these days when it costs so much, because of the war in Ukraine. Good for them I thought. 

Lunch was my delicious chickpea stew which was followed by a short siesta. I was later busy dealing with new bookings for our house at home, uploading photos, reading, etc. I was busy until dinner time when we had a frugal meal of leftover tortilla - thank you again Lucy.

Entertainment was watching a Spanish series on Netflix called "El Príncipe" (The Prince) which we had seen about 5 years ago. It's a detective series and and am impossible love story set in the the troubled neighbourhood "El Principe" in Ceuta, next to Morocco and is about drug trafficking and terrorism which had me riveted the first time round. I adore the main characters, José Coronado  Alex González (the detectives) and the beautiful Hiba Abouk, sister to a drug merchant. 

Detective Morey (Alex González), Fatima (Hiba Abouk) and PC "Fran" (José Coronado) from the Spanish series "El Principe". 

Eladio is not to keen on watching films and series he has already seen so he left me for his PC where he whiled away the time on YouTube until it was time for bed.

That night I slept a record straight 6 hours and then another hour so woke up feeling refreshed. It was Saturday and the forecast was for the highest temperature of our stay. I read it could reach 30ºc which is crazy for the beginning of March. 

Before heading for the beach we went to the ubiquitous Mercadona - Spain's leading low cost supermarket chain - to top up mainly on fruit and veg until our next shop. When the task was over and the food stored away, we made our way to the beach, first stopping for a coffee at 12 noon  as we are creatures of habit. 

We were down at the beach shortly after 12 where we found a place to park the car; mission impossible in the high season. We walked down to our lovely unbuilt upon beach, "Playa de Carabasí". Instead of buildings there are dunes where turtles live and there are various wooden walkways down to the beach. I had to have a photo of Eladio on the wooden path we took to capture the moment of delight of seeing the sea again for the first time this year,

Walking down to "our beach" yesterday morning

It was easy to find a spot on the beach for our two 24 year old beach chairs. We bought the flat in 1999 and they are still going strong except that one is missing. I tend to find that guests "pinch" things but thankfully there are no objects of value at our pad here. This is what the beach looked like yesterday morning for those of you who were enjoying the snow in England or colder weather elsewhere. That is the benefit of living in the warmest country in Europe, I suppose.

The beach yesterday

I was determined to take my first bathe of the year and the cold sea water took my breath away. But I thought to myself, if I could swim in the River Aire at Bolton Abbey in the winter as a child, this sort of cold (about 13ºc) was perfectly bearable. I plunged into the cold but clean water and enjoyed the sensation but didn't stay in long. I shouted out to my dear husband to take a photo to record the moment on this blog. This is it, proof that I bathed in the sea at the beginning of March. I remembered later that our last bathe in 2022 was here too and it was at the beginning of November, nearly winter.

Bathing in the sea in March, almost unheard of but not in this part of Spain. 

Because the water was colder than the air, I came out feeling warmer than in the sea. It was a lovely sensation and I then sat on my chair with my face towards the sun. I mused that I needed some good old Vitamin D (the sun vitamin) which was the only element from my recent blood test which was abnormal. Eladio was less daring than me and didn't go in. I had, though, persuaded him to wear shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt which I am sure he was thankful for when we saw the temperature was 33ºc!!

Soon it was time to get in our 10.000 steps so off we went for our walk towards the end of the beach where rocks form. I love that part and we always sit on a natural stone bench which we claim as ours. We always too talk about how we first bought the apartment, an investment we have never regretted.

It was only when we got back to our spot on the beach we realised Eladio's mobile was missing. He had been carrying it in his back pocket which is a bit short. It was a horrible moment realising he had either lost it or it had been stolen. I rang it and rang it to no avail. I could only think he may have dropped it when sat down on the rock bench at the end of the beach but it was too far and hot to walk there again. But I didn't give up and we drove the car nearer to the rocks and took the long walk down. I called and called his phone until a woman miraculously answered it. She had found it on the rock and heard the jingle. We raced there and were delighted to retrieve my husband's phone. It was such a relief. We mused afterwards just how important they are to us. 

That episode with a happy ending made us very late for lunch which we had at about 4 pm but who cares? We didn't. Sleep evaded me afterwards although my husband slept like a baby. Amazon arrived bringing me a new milk frother for my morning coffee. It came with a sort of stick to make patterns in the foam; how sophisticated I thought.

We spent the rest of yesterday in peace and harmony in our home away from home. Today is Sunday and we shall go down to the beach again but this time be more careful with our phones - yesterday was a good lesson. It also showed me there are some good people in this world. I think the lady who found it was Russian which made me happy too. 

It will be another warm but windy day here by the coast, a tonic for our bodies and souls a bit like coming out of hibernation. 

Wherever you are, I wish you a happy Sunday and all the best for the rest of the week. Until next Sunday, cheers my friends,

Masha.