Sunday, 13th August, 2023
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| High up in the mountains in Montrondo - view of the Tambarón peak in the distance |
We are now home after a wonderful 2 weeks in Montrondo. We came back to another heat wave in Madrid where the temperature is at least 15 degrees higher. It was a huge shock coming home and when I stepped out of the car it felt as if I was in an outdoor sauna. Honestly, we wanted to stay to avoid the heat wave but had to come back for a number of reasons.
But back to where I left off. Last Sunday was the perfect Sunday with all the right ingredients. That day we took the "Camino Valle" walk again. I was making a Sunday roast from a very large leg of lamb I found in the deep freeze. Instead of cooking all morning, I par roasted it so I would have enough time to cook it to perfection when I got back from our walk.
Pippa was eager to join us as she loves our walks in Montrondo. Here she is perched on the small rock on the steps leading to the back garden. That's her favourite place. Mine is the stone bench outside the kitchen called a "poyo" but pronounced the same as chicken (pollo). "Poyos are very common in Northern Spain and are often a hub for villagers. In Montrondo the name for informal village gatherings is "calecho" which has no translation. It's a bit like that Danish word "hygge".
It was warm but not enough to be uncomfortable. The walk along Camino Valle takes you up a mountain path to a hidden gateway which only Eladio knows how to open. There are no sign posts anywhere and gates on the path and fields are very shoddy; nothing like the countryside signs in the UK where you see things like "lambing season" go over proper turnstiles or those lovely "kissing gates". If you don't know the area you just get stuck but my husband knows it like the back of his hand. Here he is opening the makeshift gate.
The path takes you to the top of the hill which runs parallel to the village below. Murias de Paredes although bigger than Montrondo with about 80 permanent inhabitants vs 10 or 11, is still very small. Here is the view from the path.
We were home on time for me to take care of the Sunday roast. And what a feast we had. The leg was so big it lasted us two days!
It's not often I make a Sunday roast which made last Sunday the perfect day after a fantastic walk in complete harmony with nature and not a soul on the way. The wonderful thing about Montrondo is that it is well and truly off the tourist map so you more or less have all the paths and walkways to yourself. Also missing is litter, such a nuisance elsewhere in Spain.
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| The gateway to the Camino Valle walk |
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| Murias de Paredes as seen from the Camino Valle path |
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| Last week's Sunday roast. |
Once again the afternoon was spent lazily reading on the sun beds outside and playing Ludo with Dolores.
He told me he had cut the grass there and on other family plots many, many times. As a child, his task was to walk up the very steep path (La Bedulina) to take his father his lunch while he was cutting the grass. Grass was cut manually with a scythe; such very hard work.
Monday came and our walk that day would take us up the mountains. I know I told you last week I don't like walking uphill, but that day was different. I think the mountains were calling me. I suggested we walk up to the "Abedular" (birch tree forest). It's where my father always loved to walk to when he used to join us in Montrondo. It was his favourite tree which figures because of his love of Russia and especially the Nordic Countries where it is perhaps the most common tree. The "Abedular," I have heard is the biggest birch tree forest in Spain. As we walked up, Eladio pointed out several fields that belong to his family. Here is just one.
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| Eladio pointing out one of the family fields |
I love reaching the destination of "El Abedular" and thinking my father loved it too. No doubt Eladio's father and his fellow workers didn't take in its beauty as they had such hard work to do. But I love it. This is just a part of it that my camera could catch with its lense.
A little further on you can spy the highest mountain in the area; El Tambarón, which stands at just over 2100 metres high. Facebook reminded me this week that I have been up it twice, 6 and 7 years ago in 2016 and 2017. It's quite an achievement. Here is a picture of me on 10th August 2016 at the summit. My fitbit that day recorded 24km and the mountain itself is the equivalent of 7000 feet, which is three times higher than Snowden.
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| The Abedular - birch tree forest |
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| 7 years ago this week I climbed the Tambarón mountain for the first time. It is 2100 metres/7000 feet high; 3 times more than Snowden. |
However, I don't think I will ever do it again as it is a very hard walk and climb. Eladio took a photo of me with the Tambarón peak in the background to record the moment and for me to have a feature photo for this blog.
Going up the mountain path is hard whereas coming down is easier except for the stones so you have to watch your feet. We all came down very dusty. I had to change my clothes and bathe little Pippa who so valiantly follows us everywhere.
Lunch was leftover roast lamb which was delicious. As I sat outside the kitchen which has two exits, I took a photo to show you. Of all our houses it has my favourite kitchen; the only one we designed ourselves - with a little help from Ikea of course.
It was just lunch for 2 at our house but at my sister-in-law's house it was lunch for 17!! My in-laws had visitors and also invited their builders. Only late in the afternoon were they able to join us, Eladio's brother on one of the sunbeds in the back garden and Dolores to play ludo with me - our favourite past time when we are in Montrondo. Here are two photos to capture that lovely lazy part of our last afternoon in the village.
She beat me but I think we are about equal. Ludo in Spain is very popular and is not only for children. It's quite a complicated game with lots of rules. I looked up the English rules which, funnily enough, are rather different.
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| Our lovely kitchen in Montrondo |
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| Elado and his brother on the sunbeds on Monday afternoon |
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| Dolores and I playing Ludo on the terrace at the back of the house - the coolest place |
Our last supper was probably eggs - I can't remember now. If I look back I realise we didn't have one dinner outside on the terrace as it simply was never warm enough in Montrondo. When the sun goes down the temperature descends so you need to sleep with a duvet on. I saw a piece of news this week where the newsreader described how Spaniards go north on holiday so they can have the luxury of sleeping under blankets. Now that I am home where the temperature has reached 40ºc, I can totally equate to that.
On Tuesday morning we set about getting ready to go and to close the house- But we left all the furniture outside as Oli and family are going there today for 2 weeks. They will escape the heat and the kids will have a blast with their cousins and roam much more freely than they can at home.
We stopped for coffee with churros at La Magdalena and then continued our over 400km drive home. We stopped again for lunch about 100km from home and had a decent roadside cafe lunch. The place was full of Italians who were coming back from the youth event with the Pope in Lisbon. He didn't look too well and I saw him being pushed on a wheel chair. He is only 86 but not looking too healthy. I wonder whether he too will resign like Ratzinger.
We were home by just after 4 pm, the hottest part of the day. Thankfully Tana had put the air con on in our room. As soon as I had unpacked, I was off again. Oli was waiting for me with my grandchildren as Miguel was working this week. It was lovely to see them again. Their flat has air con but the obvious place to be was their communal pool which is where we headed.
And a grand time was had by all. Elliot can now swim - or rather keep afloat. Juliet armed with a sun hat, high factor sun screen and arm bands, loves jumping in too. But she also likes the kids' pool where she insisted I join her. Here is the little mite playing with some other children's toys which later caused friction, hahahahah.
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| Juliet happily playing with other children's toys in the toddlers' pool at Oli's place |
I slept so so compared to Montrondo and on Wednesday morning woke up at 7.30 to realise we had had the air con on all night which is quite a record. At around 9 am that morning it was already 25º and would reach 39ºc. Oh, if only we had been able to stay longer in the north of Spain. It's funny how most international tourists head for the baking hot Med coast. Only a few of them have discovered Spain's green coast - the stretch of coast that goes from Galicia to the Basque Country and includes Asturias and Cantabria. If they knew how much cooler it is there, maybe they would flock there. One of my father's pupils sent me an article from The Times about Asturias - mostly for "foodies" but it interested me as it talks about just the area where our house is located. This is it, if you can get past the paywall. One thing they got right is that it is really an "untapped corner" of Spain for foreigners as is Montrondo for both Spaniards and foreigners - a place I reckon I am the only Brit in the area.
We had lots and lots to do that morning. First thing first, we went to pick up the Volvo. You may remember it broke down on our way to Montrondo and we had to go in the Mini. The Volvo was taken that day to the garage where the mechanics couldn't find anything wrong. After picking it up we took it for its annual MOT test which it amazingly passed with flying colours. Next on the agenda was coffee at Alverán, that little luxury I love about living where we do. Then to the bloody bank to pay an enormous sun for Inland Revenue tax arrears - damn it and then to the health centre to pick up a prescription for my sleeping tablets. The final task of the day was double, filling the tank of the Mini and washing it at the garage. We were home for a quiet lunch in our air conditioned dining room. That is when we met our French guests who came on 29th July but whom we hadn't met until that day. They were a charming couple, both called Olivier, from Aix.d'Angillon (somewhere in central France). We hardly saw them again. They later gave me a great review, bless them.
After a very short siesta it was grandparent duty so off we went to Oli's house to help her with the kids. The only place to be, once again, was at their lovely pool. This is a photo for you to see.
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| The pool at Oli's place |
Dinner was a quietened down version of a mad hatter's tea party with lots of lovely dishes. Of course we all had an ice cream afterwards - both Elliot and Juliet. We left at around 9.30 and came back to a quiet house. Entertainment was a random documentary about WW2 - right up our street, of course.
Thursday came. At 7 in the morning it was already 25ºc! Thus I had breakfast outside. I then sat down and did my rental work homework, sending off house information packs to the last of our guests for Santa Pola and El Cuetu. I think Thursday was the hottest day of the year and we didn't leave the house. There is no question of going for a walk here unless you do so at 6 am. Meanwhile in Hawaii, fires are burning the islands, fires are running wild in Canada of all places and climate change is basically causing havoc all over the world.
Elliot was at a summer workshop so he wasn't there but although we didn't know it then, we would meet later in the evening.
We had dinner at Ginos - a quaisi Italian restaurant. It was a total Mad Hatters' Tea Party - honestly. But the best point for me was when Elliot wrote his name for me on a napkin. I had no idea he knew how to write his name and he promises no one taught him. He is not even 4 yet bless him. This is his first effort and I am keeping it.
We were relieved of grandparent duty when Miguel arrived just after 10 pm. Would you believe the temperature was 32ºc at that time? So we called it a day but would be seeing the family the next day for a barbecue at home.
In the afternoon I spent time by the pool. I must have gone in about 8 times but after 5 minutes outside the water I felt baked again. There was nothing for it but to go upstairs to my air conditioned bedroom, have a proper shower, a change of clothes and lie on my bed watching a series. I have been watching, on and off, a BBC series called "World on Fire". No, it's not about heatwaves or climate change but about, yes, you guessed it, WW2 and is set mainly in Poland, Berlin, Manchester, Paris and Egypt. I am loving it.
We then parted ways to carry on shopping which Juliet was not happy about. Here she is with her "gampa" or "booboo". I love to see them together.
Friday was shopping day. We also met up with Oli and Juliet for a coffee at Alverán which spiced up our morning. This is the wonderful coffee Ragma, the waitress served me. She knows just how I like it - strong but with lots of foam.
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| The perfect cup of coffee at Alverán on Friday |
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| Mid morning encounter with Juliet on Friday morning |
I had a hairdresser appointment at 18h - a dreadful time to go in this heat. I asked Conchi, my hairdresser, not to bother blow drying my hair as the heat was unbearable. It was then that I had to go and help Oli with the kids as Miguel was at work and wouldn't be home till 10pm. He was covering the story of "operación salida" - the so called August traffic exodus - for the main news that night. Thus I had the joy of seeing both children again. They were in high spirits and you have to be on the lookout the whole time. Oli invited us out to dinner which was very kind of her and of course "Booboo" came along too which delighted the children. Here he is with both of them. He is such a strong man, considering he is nearly 80 years old. That I can hardly believe.
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| Eladio with both of his grandchildren on Friday evening |
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| I was pretty impressed to see that Elliot knows how to write his name. |
We arrived home just as our French family did. They had been out to Madrid for one last time. We spent time chatting - yes, in French - and they told me they had enjoyed their stay very much. We spoke about the cost of living in Spain vs France. They said that on the whole France is more expensive but it all works out pretty much the same as they earn a bit more but they surprised me when they said food is more expensive in Spain. I have been going to France for many summers now and I think I actually agree with them. Olivier, Olivier and Adam would leave the next day for a "toute suite" 11 hour journey home with only stop on the way! I told the lady that our trips are different with lots of stops on the way hahaha. I can't wait now for our trip to France which I have just now increased by one more day, hahahaha.
On Saturday morning when I got up at 7 am, they had gone. Tana got going on preparing the rooms for our next guests - a group coming today with Russian sounding names but I think they are Lithuanian. It's quite a coincidence they live in Gran Alacant (Santa Pola) where we also have an apartment. Oli came with the kids at around 11 am and we all convened by the pool which we had to ourselves yesterday. It was so hot; too hot to make a barbecue outside so I used an electric grill I have to grill loads of sausages and lamb chops. The kids hardly ate anything so there are lots of leftovers for today hahahahaha.
After our siesta Oli and co left and we won't see them again until the beginning of September. I wish them a great stay in Montrondo and in Santa Pola where they will be joining Suzy who is now living next door with our neighbour Lucy.
I sent Tana off for a 2 day break which meant that yesterday afternoon and last night, it was just Eladio, Pippa and me! It felt strange but good. Of course we skinny dipped in complete privacy. When we moved into this house in 2006 the house next to ours was completely visible. 17 years later the vegetation has grown so much you can hardly see it. It feels like our pool is in the middle of a forest, it really does. We both agreed that it is the focal point of the house; it's key feature and that there are very few houses with a pool adjoined to the house itself. They are normally at the bottom of gardens. I love ours.
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| Our very private pool practically adjoined to the house |
Today is Sunday and I'm excited to think that this time next week we will be starting our trip to France. The excuse is a cousinade wedding which,. as you know, I have turned into a 11 days trip with stays in St. Jean de Luz and beautiful Île de Ré.
This week we shall have to continue to suffer the heatwave until we leave for cooler St. Jean de Luz.
Now it's time to sign off. Wherever you are, I wish you well.
Cheers till next Sunday,
Masha
Masha
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