Good morning once again from Montrondo where we have now been for a whole month, the longest time ever. We are enjoying quiet time here with Eladio's siblings and their families and are happy to have escaped the heat of Madrid.
They were at our house within just 4 hours and Pippa was soon in Suzy's arms whom she loves just as much as she loves us or maybe more. Here she is back home. I have missed her every day, especially on our walks.
The house was empty without her and even emptier without our grandchildren. We stripped some of the beds, started on the washing and cleaning which is quite a job but kept us busy for a few days. Lunch was a bit of a disaster. I was going to make spaghetti carbonara. I thought I was missing eggs which Pili gave me. Then I didn't have any spaghetti so got some from Dolores. When I realised the pancetta wasn't there either I had to improvise and made fried eggs and chips. We were running out of provisions.
Eladio commented he thought the brakes of our brand new Volkswagen T Roc were not working right. He had noticed it a week before on a drive to Villablino. If only he hadn't waited a week to tell me. Now we had less time to react before our trip to Biarritz which at the moment is touch and go. On Monday we called VW who sent a breakdown truck to pick it up. They took it to the VW garage in León, an hour and a quarter away from here, on Tuesday and we didn't hear from them till Wednesday and then again on Friday. Bottom line is they won't inspect it until tomorrow 17th and we are off on 20th. We asked for a courtesy car, of course, but they didn't have one. Thus we have been without a car since Monday. If the car is not ready we shall have to take a bus or train to San Sebastian and another bus or train to Biarritz which would take a whole day rather than a 5 hour drive in our new car. Fingers crossed it will be fixed before our trip. Thanks.
That evening there was a dinner and dance in the marquee on the village green. As we don't eat much dinner we didn't have dinner but went to see what was going on after our walk. On our walk, amazingly, we bumped into two ladies speaking English which is unheard of here. Jacky who is a bit older than me is from London and married a man from this area in the 70's. They have a house in Murias and live in Pozuelo, near us in Madrid. What a coincidence. We met them again another day and no doubt I would have met up with Jacky for a coffee but she has just left for England.
Dancing is not my thing as I have two left feet and so does Eladio but it was quite lively. Eladio had a wonderful time socialising with friends he went to school with and who are now in their 80s. He came home feeling quite emotional which is unusual for him. It was cold as we left and we came back to a quiet house with the central heating on. As we have done every night we slept in our pyjamas and covered with a duvet. That would be impossible in Madrid and feels like luxury.
Monday came and Oli was back to work. Her next holiday isn't until the beginning of September. This week she has been the presenter for the news desk which I think she quite enjoys although she confessed she far prefers being out on the job. She was on and off the TV all morning and I caught her about twice. The main news topics this week were the earthquake in Colombia, the eclipse - of course - and the situation in Ceuta where there are at least still 10.000 illegal immigrants. She sent me some photos after being made up for the job. She looks stunning.
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| Olivia all dressed up and ready for her news desk reporting job this week for her programme, La Hora de la 1. She does a splendid job. |
I switched her programme on every day this week on my iPad and had the pleasure of seeing her reporting live multiple times.
Meanwhile in Montrondo, I hitched a ride with Eladio's sisters and went shopping in Villablino as we were running out of food. This time I made sure I had the ingredients to make spaghetti carbonara.
In the afternoon we invited the family for coffee here on the back terrace which is the coolest place to be in hot weather. We tried out the eclipse glasses and I was thankful to see they were the approved ones. There was so much talk about wrong glasses and the danger of looking at the sun during an eclipse we all became a bit worried. That afternoon, Eladio and I socialised again and went to the village bar where we sat with lots of women from his generation and whom he had been to school with too. I had to have a photo to share here.
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| At the bar this week with some of the women Eladio went to school with many, many years ago. |
The day ended with a frugal dinner followed by our daily evening walk with Toño and Dolores before going to bed.
On Tuesday morning I went with Pili in her car to have coffee at Senra. There was to be no visibility of the eclipse the next day in either Montrondo nor Murias but we had been told that Senra was the place as the mountains don't cover the sun at that time - 8.30 pm. A local told us the exact two places which he himself had checked. Thus we later confirmed with the family where to go to watch the spectacle, the first full eclipse in over 100 years in Spain.
I came home to do more washing and then some ironing and made "solomillo" (tenderloin steak) with fresh mushrooms for lunch. The cut was divine.
The rest of the day was spent having coffee with the family, making up the beds, our walk and watching something on the TV.
Wednesday came, the day of the much awaited, once in a century full eclipse. As Spain was the main inhabited region in the world of its path of totality, it drew massive astro and non astro tourism. NASA came and took over a whole village. The totality was mostly in northern and central Spain so many off the map villages became visitor hubs but not Senra. We are far too way off the tourist map. What had started in Siberia ended in the Balearic islands. This eclipse is the start of a trilogy of eclipses to happen in Spain. Next year another total eclipse will take place in the south in Andalusia on August 2nd and in 2028 there will be what is called an annular ring of fire eclipse on January 26th. So Spain is the place to be for these astronomical events. I read many people have booked accommodation 4 years ago for the one next year. Last August a Canadian couple booked our place in Asturias but I am very sorry it was so cloudy there I think they didn't see much.
We had a hearty lunch of roast lamb which I roasted slowly in the oven and it was divine. I think I was too excited to sleep a siesta so I made sandwiches to have while waiting for the eclipse. We had been told the moon would begin to cover the sun from 7.30 pm. I made a very English sandwich filling of egg mayonnaise which was lovely although I think my Spanish family were a bit dubious. I also took plums, water and a jacket as apparently during the full eclipse when everything is dark it suddenly gets cold. I sort of wished the eclipse was at midday to get the full effect rather than at 8.30 pm, just one hour before sunset but apparently that was to add to the magic.
At about 7 pm we set off in cars, some on bicycles, in the hot sun to find a spot to park in Senra. We had expected it to be full but it wasn't. We took along some beach chairs for the wait which we all appreciated. And here is some of Eladio's family wearing their special glasses; an historic photo I must say and difficult to get as everyone was all over the place and not paying attention.
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| The family ready to watch the eclipse |
Pili took one of Eladio and I with ours on which I have chosen as this week's feature photo.
Meanwhile in Madrid, where visibility would be 99%, Suzy was out in the countryside near our house with Tana and Pippa also waiting for the eclipse. This is the photo she sent me.
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| Suzy and Tana with Pippa about to watch the eclipse |
Thankfully, Pippa's eyes would not be damaged as I doubt she tried to look at the sun. And in Boadilla, Oli and Miguel chose to stay at home so as not to have problems with the children taking off their glasses. They did well to do that; much safer than arguing with a 4 year old to put his or her glasses on.
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| Miguel with the kids waiting for the eclipse with their glasses on |
By 7.45 we could already see the sun partially eclipsed by the moon but with our glasses and great care. That was difficult as everything is dark with them on. Then oh dear the clouds appeared and we thought that would be the end of our experience. But the stars aligned better than ever and at the last minute the clouds went and we were able to watch the sun completely covered by the moon and its corona and then a ring of what looked like red fire. That was a special moment. By then it was night time during the day, perhaps the most incredible moment. People cheered and 1 minute 40 seconds later it was daylight again, like dawn. What an amazing experience. I was unable to take any photos as I couldn't see to do so. I got this wonderful one from NASA taken in Zaragoza where the eclipse is reflected in the river so you get two eclipses.
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| NASA's best picture of the eclipse taken in Zaragoza |
We walked home and I felt so energised. We saw people appear from fields where they had gathered to see this rare event which we felt part of. And then it got dark again naturally as the sun set at around 9.30 pm. We had had two dawns and two sunsets that day; something to remember always.
Thursday was an important day for Suzy. She was starting her new job as a dietitian for the Compass Group, a British catering company. She is working at the hospital in Alcorcón not far from home. I wish her a lot of luck. She deserves this chance. I went with Pili again to Senra to the grumpy man's bar - who, by the way was not interested in the eclipse - for our morning coffee which has been a bit of a ritual here and a nice one. It was a very hot day and in the evening we went on our walk with Toño and Dolores. I was happy to see my pony and my donkey back in their field. Eladio took a photo of me with my equestrian friends. I promised them I would bring them some food next time. I bought apples especially for them at the supermarket on Friday but they had moved fields.
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| Greeting my equestrian friends on one of our walks this week |
I should have slept well that night but only got 5 hours sleep. On Friday morning Dolores and I went with Pili to get more provisions at Villablino. Pili also had to take her car for its annual MOT which, thankfully, it passed.
Once home and with the shopping unloaded,I made salmorejo - a thicker type of gazpacho - which we had followed by fish served with leek and potatoes. After our siesta we joined Eladio's family at Pili's house right next door to ours. At first we sat in the shade to have our afternoon coffee but soon the clouds came and then a thunderstorm. It lasted till late at night and briefly internet went.
Back home, Suzy and Oli were at a birthday party for Celeste, Copi's mother. They sent me a lovely photo of the two of them together wearing flowers. Flowers were part of the party I later heard.
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| Suzy and Oli at Celeste's birthday party this weekend |
It was on Friday evening that Tana told me Pippa wasn't eating her food, her dog food and what to do. I was a bit alarmed. Pippa is 12, going on 13 which is considered very old for a dog. For sure she is fed up of her usual kibble but I also think her taste and smell may be diminished because of her age. I gave her instructions and Suzy too, to buy her some appropriate human food; chicken, rice, sweet potato, boiled egg, beef, etc the very next day. They did that and she is now eating again bless her.
We watched a great film on Netflix that night. Called "Los Creyentes" in Spanish,it is badly translated into "Truthers". It stars one of my favourite Spanish actors, José Coronado and nearly all the films he is in are good. Apparently it is in the Netflix top 10 in 65 countries. It had us riveted until nearly midnight.
Saturday dawned and I was up at 7 am and had slept 6 hours which is great for me. The main news that day was a 5 scale earthquake in Granada which saw no victims but did its damage to homes and cars. The other topic was Ceuta. It was expected there would be another influx of migrants like the one on 30th July when over 70.000 stormed the border from Morocco into Spain. It is said the Moroccan government allowed that to happen to get political clout. This time the latter thwarted the efforts of 300 migrants, nearly all of them from Sub Saharan Africa. They did so by deploying hundreds of riot police, using water cannon, razor wire and tear gas on those poor souls hoping for a better life. I didn't like those scenes. And I don't like the scenes of more than 5000 desperate migrants stranded and desperate in Ceuta. There have been terrible stories of Moroccan migrants raping young Moroccan girls. The Spanish authorities have to step up there however difficult it is.
Back in Montrondo, we knew another thunderstorm was coming in the afternoon so went on our walk in the morning, not wanting to be robbed of one again. Toño and Dolores with their dog, Pipo, came too. Morning coffee was at home this time after which I made our lunch, smoked pork cutlets with fresh asparagus and mushrooms again. I slept an hour long siesta after which the rain started and turned into a full blown thunderstorm including hail. It went on for hours and both the electricity and internet went. Life without internet is not much fun. I lit candles of which we have many around the house and waited for internet and electricity to return. It was only when Toño and Dolores came to see us hours later that we realised the electricity had only gone in our house. Eladio switched it on again and we had both light and internet again. How stupid we felt.
Today is Sunday and the sun is shining although we expect another storm in the afternoon. Today will be a quiet day. Hopefully tomorrow we will have good news about the car. But more about that next week when we should be in Biarritz celebrating our 43rd wedding anniversary.
Cheers till then and all the best from Montrondo,
Masha
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