Well, I like tomatoes.
Monday, 17 September 2007
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
small wonder
What with a trip to the UK for a wedding, camping expeditions over here, fiestas, visiting friends, working hard on the bbq area and guests coming and going, my blogging time and desire seems to have been marginalized.
It doesn’t stop me thinking though. For example – here is one for you – cats in general and our cat Pancho in particular. I can understand why they want to rub themselves against your legs when they meet and greet you. Well, I think I do anyway, as they seem to say, ‘Hello, I’m pleased to see you, so get on and feed me,’ though obviously not in that order. But why or why is it that the courtesy is extended to the door, the desk, the chair and various items of random furniture. Sometimes Pancho is so enthusiastic in greeting the desk at which I am currently sitting, that he actually bangs his head on it. Weird cat!
I wonder about a whole host of unrelated things sometimes. David calls me Wonderwoman.
It doesn’t stop me thinking though. For example – here is one for you – cats in general and our cat Pancho in particular. I can understand why they want to rub themselves against your legs when they meet and greet you. Well, I think I do anyway, as they seem to say, ‘Hello, I’m pleased to see you, so get on and feed me,’ though obviously not in that order. But why or why is it that the courtesy is extended to the door, the desk, the chair and various items of random furniture. Sometimes Pancho is so enthusiastic in greeting the desk at which I am currently sitting, that he actually bangs his head on it. Weird cat!
I wonder about a whole host of unrelated things sometimes. David calls me Wonderwoman.
Friday, 10 August 2007
Monday, 30th July
We wake up to water on tap and more of the same heat. I take a good shower, just in case. If the equation is cold, outdoor showers equals camping, then count me out.
By this afternoon, the temperature is back up to 37+degrees though with a cooling light breeze and occasional cloud cover. The effect of ‘oven outside and fridge inside’ effect is lessening which is in part due to the lounge, which is upstairs, has now come up to a similar temperature to that outside. Our bedroom which is downstairs and built into the ground, hardly changes in temperature year round. And as there are no windows in the room we are only aware of the arrival of dawn when slivers of light creep through the cracks in the two double doors. Conversely, they look like tiny stars glimmering in the night sky. Clever people these Palmerans.
This morning, we had internet connection so we could read the news regarding the receding flood water in the UK. Of course the lack of running water remains a critical issue and we are aware that many people are currently sleeping in schools and shelters and have nothing but devastation to return to. After our small stint without water, it seems almost cheeky to sympathize.
However, we are tested a little during the day when we discover that the casita water heater has sprung a fairly serious leak. Luckily, I know a man that can talk some sense into it. However, it proves less then willing to be re-fitted to its connections which turn out to be non-horizontal and non-parellel to each other. Some heavy tools are needed for their ability in persuasion.
Later in the day, on questioning Julio as to why there has been no water, he characteristically brings it all down to politics. Albilio, the newly elected mayor of Garafia is a Socialist, he reminds us and this is where the fault lies. We have had 4 years of trouble free government under the Coalition Canarias (whom obviously Julio votes for) and now, with the first real heat, ‘look what happens! Pah’
Ophelia at the village shop tells us differently. She says that the influx of people coming to their country houses in the area has caused the shortage. Well, yes, Ana and Pepe would fall into the category of people and since there are 8 of them when they come for holidays that multiplied by however many other visitors would add to the elevated usage of water. But since they too have been without water (8 people without a shower or flushing toilet does not bear thinking about), the argument does not, can I say, hold water.
Suffice to say that David and I are not convinced and may yet seek further guessed, yet positively held, conclusions. Our vote would have to go with a burst water pipe theory, though that will hardly win any points in interest value.
By evening, the sun has relented by 5 degrees and it makes all the difference. We become semi-nocturnal, watering hard and long in the fading light. It is a joy to be outside, now full of energy and zeal that we thought had disappeared for ever. Actually, it is my favourite time of day. Our land to the west drops off sharply from the now sun-bleached terraces into a dramatic gorse and rock filled ravine which creeps out to the nearby sea. Facing us directly opposite is what is aptly known as Anden Verde – Green Peak. It rises up in a no-nonsense way to 500m from the ravine below and this along with the collaboration of the mountains to the north forms an amphitheatre. In the evenings, it is a playground for sparrow hawks, kestrels, Canarian yellow-chested finch and darting swallows. And when they have finished with their final exuberance of the day, a special sort of stillness sets in. You can feel yourself become part of the quiet, part of the landscape. An inequivicable black line is drawn where the mountains meet the sky and it is time for all good people to return indoors for the night.
However, not all things to all men are all the same. Take Ana and Pepe for instance. The cool of the night means only one thing to them – party! Now back up from the terraces and at the house, we can hear and vaguely see that tables and chairs are dragged outside while voices call out, ‘Where shall I put the paella? / get the glasses will you? / anyone seen the wine / Ow! Who put that there?
We shudder a little, thinking of our guests now that they will probably have gone to bed, and hope they are not having a holiday from hell – terrible heat, no water, noisy neighbours ……
But quite soon, it all settles down and the now soft murmuring voices drift inside. It is after all already tomorrow.
Later in the day, on questioning Julio as to why there has been no water, he characteristically brings it all down to politics. Albilio, the newly elected mayor of Garafia is a Socialist, he reminds us and this is where the fault lies. We have had 4 years of trouble free government under the Coalition Canarias (whom obviously Julio votes for) and now, with the first real heat, ‘look what happens! Pah’
Ophelia at the village shop tells us differently. She says that the influx of people coming to their country houses in the area has caused the shortage. Well, yes, Ana and Pepe would fall into the category of people and since there are 8 of them when they come for holidays that multiplied by however many other visitors would add to the elevated usage of water. But since they too have been without water (8 people without a shower or flushing toilet does not bear thinking about), the argument does not, can I say, hold water.
Suffice to say that David and I are not convinced and may yet seek further guessed, yet positively held, conclusions. Our vote would have to go with a burst water pipe theory, though that will hardly win any points in interest value.
By evening, the sun has relented by 5 degrees and it makes all the difference. We become semi-nocturnal, watering hard and long in the fading light. It is a joy to be outside, now full of energy and zeal that we thought had disappeared for ever. Actually, it is my favourite time of day. Our land to the west drops off sharply from the now sun-bleached terraces into a dramatic gorse and rock filled ravine which creeps out to the nearby sea. Facing us directly opposite is what is aptly known as Anden Verde – Green Peak. It rises up in a no-nonsense way to 500m from the ravine below and this along with the collaboration of the mountains to the north forms an amphitheatre. In the evenings, it is a playground for sparrow hawks, kestrels, Canarian yellow-chested finch and darting swallows. And when they have finished with their final exuberance of the day, a special sort of stillness sets in. You can feel yourself become part of the quiet, part of the landscape. An inequivicable black line is drawn where the mountains meet the sky and it is time for all good people to return indoors for the night.
However, not all things to all men are all the same. Take Ana and Pepe for instance. The cool of the night means only one thing to them – party! Now back up from the terraces and at the house, we can hear and vaguely see that tables and chairs are dragged outside while voices call out, ‘Where shall I put the paella? / get the glasses will you? / anyone seen the wine / Ow! Who put that there?
We shudder a little, thinking of our guests now that they will probably have gone to bed, and hope they are not having a holiday from hell – terrible heat, no water, noisy neighbours ……
But quite soon, it all settles down and the now soft murmuring voices drift inside. It is after all already tomorrow.
Sunday, 29th July
9 am. 32 degrees but the water is back on Do washing up from the night before and fill up some water containers, including the kettle should anyone be insane enough to want a cup of tea.
10.30 am Water goes off, lose internet connection and the temperature has risen to almost 35 degrees in the shade.
The guests from the casita, Paul and Yvonne, have come up to the bbq room to sit in the relative cool and play dominoes. We break the news to them that the heat is set to stay until Wednesday – which is the day they fly home.
5 pm 36 degrees. It really is a day for staying inside though one of my brief excursions reveals that the vegetables are not faring well. The cabbages have collapsed into prostrate heaps, the courgette plants have dropped their large umbrella-shaped leaves into wilted woefulness and the tomato plants have shriveled up into nothingness. I wonder if there is any point in watering tonight. It certainly is a shame when things have been grown from seed and been watered for months to end so abruptly just when they were coming into prime fruitfulness. But at the end of the day, they are just vegetables and realistically, we can buy them from the supermarket although they won’t be as nice, free or convenient. I wonder how the animals are up at Justo’s though.
8 pm David has persuaded me that it is a good idea to do a little more concreting so I crawl into action.
8.03pm Julio comes down the track dressed in his running gear. 6 ft, black beard and customary red nose, he is a sight to behold dressed in white T shirt and silky red shorts slit at the hip. He wants to know what we are up to. We explain that we are trying to improve the area and hopefully alieve his fears that we are building another apartment.
As David points out to me later, people have this obsession about how almost any building would make the absolute ideal conversion to an apartment. When Justo and Carmen were telling us how they would like to sell their farm, ‘the barn would make an ideal apartments’ (yes, and a complete fortune to do), the cowshed would make an ideal apartment and they even thought that the 2m x 3m chicken house we built would ‘make an ideal apartment.’
9.30 pm Finally finished. Time to clean everything down and start watering the garden. Phuh.
Luckily it is a full moon and we can easily see where we are going. There are several areas covered by a sprinkler system we laid, but there are still a lot of plants not captured by this system and it is time consuming.
10.15 pm I get to try out the outdoor shower with cold water from the tank as there is still no running water. I am not as enthusiastic as David. Sorry no photos, please.
10.40 pm Baked beans on toast for dinner. We have had dinner later when we have been working – but not often!
11.30 pm to bed and watch a DVD of Doc Martin. Now who dreamt up that opening shot I wonder with a silhouette of Martin’s Clunes and those give-away ears.
10.30 am Water goes off, lose internet connection and the temperature has risen to almost 35 degrees in the shade.
The guests from the casita, Paul and Yvonne, have come up to the bbq room to sit in the relative cool and play dominoes. We break the news to them that the heat is set to stay until Wednesday – which is the day they fly home.
5 pm 36 degrees. It really is a day for staying inside though one of my brief excursions reveals that the vegetables are not faring well. The cabbages have collapsed into prostrate heaps, the courgette plants have dropped their large umbrella-shaped leaves into wilted woefulness and the tomato plants have shriveled up into nothingness. I wonder if there is any point in watering tonight. It certainly is a shame when things have been grown from seed and been watered for months to end so abruptly just when they were coming into prime fruitfulness. But at the end of the day, they are just vegetables and realistically, we can buy them from the supermarket although they won’t be as nice, free or convenient. I wonder how the animals are up at Justo’s though.
8 pm David has persuaded me that it is a good idea to do a little more concreting so I crawl into action.
8.03pm Julio comes down the track dressed in his running gear. 6 ft, black beard and customary red nose, he is a sight to behold dressed in white T shirt and silky red shorts slit at the hip. He wants to know what we are up to. We explain that we are trying to improve the area and hopefully alieve his fears that we are building another apartment.
As David points out to me later, people have this obsession about how almost any building would make the absolute ideal conversion to an apartment. When Justo and Carmen were telling us how they would like to sell their farm, ‘the barn would make an ideal apartments’ (yes, and a complete fortune to do), the cowshed would make an ideal apartment and they even thought that the 2m x 3m chicken house we built would ‘make an ideal apartment.’
9.30 pm Finally finished. Time to clean everything down and start watering the garden. Phuh.
Luckily it is a full moon and we can easily see where we are going. There are several areas covered by a sprinkler system we laid, but there are still a lot of plants not captured by this system and it is time consuming.
10.15 pm I get to try out the outdoor shower with cold water from the tank as there is still no running water. I am not as enthusiastic as David. Sorry no photos, please.
10.40 pm Baked beans on toast for dinner. We have had dinner later when we have been working – but not often!
11.30 pm to bed and watch a DVD of Doc Martin. Now who dreamt up that opening shot I wonder with a silhouette of Martin’s Clunes and those give-away ears.
Saturday, 28 July 2007
Saturday, 28th July
Up and at ‘em fairly early with the intent to go to Barlovento for building materials, post birthday cards (one late, one early), pay bills etc. Opened the bedroom door and immediately shut it again. Calima. Thick hot air. This is when we get the desert heat from Morrocco and it isn’t nice. It is not good for anything, not for the land, the animals, us and not even the guests like it!By the time we got to Barlovento it was a stifling 29 degrees. And worse was, when we got back, David was keen to start the mixer up and do the next section to the base. Just then …. The guests came back (1 pm) … ah beloved guests.
There was nothing for it but to spend a very pleasant afternoon in the cool of the house although I have to admit that David braved most of it working outside in the shade, planning and plotting.
Even the chickens get very little attention, although I did pick them a few figs and strawberries as a way of saying, 'sorry guys, can't do anything about this heat.' (This will probably give them the sh**s and then we will all be sorry.
There was nothing for it but to spend a very pleasant afternoon in the cool of the house although I have to admit that David braved most of it working outside in the shade, planning and plotting.
Even the chickens get very little attention, although I did pick them a few figs and strawberries as a way of saying, 'sorry guys, can't do anything about this heat.' (This will probably give them the sh**s and then we will all be sorry.
8pm still 27.5 degrees though feeling slightly cooler with a slight occasional wind.
8 to 9 pm watering the garden. Thanks to Julio, there is plenty of water in tank so they needn’t go thirsty.
8 to 9 pm watering the garden. Thanks to Julio, there is plenty of water in tank so they needn’t go thirsty.
9.05 David discovers we have no mains water. He resorts to outdoor shower using the COLD water from the tank. Cries of yargh emitting from cottage patio. At least the neighbouring village of El Tablado should enjoy the show.
Friday, 27th July
9.30am Luis arrives with delivery of gravel so we can start building the base for a new log store at the side of the container. The store will not only be practical and attractive, it will also conceal the container to a large extent. Plus we will be able to hide some of life’s essentials – such as scaffolding, cement mixer, etc. - behind the wall of it.
Luis is hopping around with happiness this morning as he has the bill for us. He always asks us to check the addition, which as usual proves difficult due to the fact that he figures are not in straight columns, his 4’s are like 7’s and visa versa. Anyway, between the 3 of us we manage. And it is less than half the price we were expecting. I ask you – £20 per hour for a JCB including operator – not bad!
The guests leave around 10.30 am with many promises to return as soon as possible/tell their friends/be our agent and so on. Now time to get the casita ready for the new guests due today, though they shouldn’t be arriving until after 4pm as per the instructions we give them.
They optimistically arrive 12.30 with cries of ‘what has happened to the weather’ (it is hot but cloudy) and ‘we seem to be in the middle of nowhere, what can you recommend we do?’ This, I am sorry to say, does not endear me to people. We recommend they go away again and come back after 4pm. Well, actually, the casita is nearly ready for them, so we let them drop off their luggage, use the bathroom etc. and generally try and be kind.
We then send them off to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, point out all the lovely walks in the area which the north is famous for, and the scenic and/or whacky villages around us that they should visit.
David and I then crack on with 14 mixes of concrete which we do in around an hour. That is seriously speedy going – ask any builder! And so the first base is done on our new project.
The guests find it difficult to stay away for too long and find themselves back here at just before 4pm. But we are finished with noisy work for the day so we disappear from view and they can relax on the patio.
The forecast is for a good few very hot days but there is no sign of it right now. Thick cloud begins to envelope us, seeping over from the west, and it feels like a smoggy night in London. I decide to give the vegetables a long watering session, intended to seep deep down into the roots. If it is going to be hot, then this cool night will give the water a chance to sink right down and help them over the next few days.
Luis is hopping around with happiness this morning as he has the bill for us. He always asks us to check the addition, which as usual proves difficult due to the fact that he figures are not in straight columns, his 4’s are like 7’s and visa versa. Anyway, between the 3 of us we manage. And it is less than half the price we were expecting. I ask you – £20 per hour for a JCB including operator – not bad!
The guests leave around 10.30 am with many promises to return as soon as possible/tell their friends/be our agent and so on. Now time to get the casita ready for the new guests due today, though they shouldn’t be arriving until after 4pm as per the instructions we give them.
They optimistically arrive 12.30 with cries of ‘what has happened to the weather’ (it is hot but cloudy) and ‘we seem to be in the middle of nowhere, what can you recommend we do?’ This, I am sorry to say, does not endear me to people. We recommend they go away again and come back after 4pm. Well, actually, the casita is nearly ready for them, so we let them drop off their luggage, use the bathroom etc. and generally try and be kind.
We then send them off to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, point out all the lovely walks in the area which the north is famous for, and the scenic and/or whacky villages around us that they should visit.
David and I then crack on with 14 mixes of concrete which we do in around an hour. That is seriously speedy going – ask any builder! And so the first base is done on our new project.
The guests find it difficult to stay away for too long and find themselves back here at just before 4pm. But we are finished with noisy work for the day so we disappear from view and they can relax on the patio.
The forecast is for a good few very hot days but there is no sign of it right now. Thick cloud begins to envelope us, seeping over from the west, and it feels like a smoggy night in London. I decide to give the vegetables a long watering session, intended to seep deep down into the roots. If it is going to be hot, then this cool night will give the water a chance to sink right down and help them over the next few days.
Thursday, 26th July
We have friends visiting this morning, Helen and Theresa who have recently moved to Franceses, so I really enjoy the change of tempo and chance to chat over coffee. David cracks on with making steps down towards the casita complete with rustic handrail.
Later, Luis arrives with the picon – fantastic! Really pleased with the colour of it and it is really easy to spread out. Luis is a very happy man – we are spending money. Just as we are finishing, the guests arrive back for the evening and they seem quite impressed to see the difference – at least there are no excavators or lorries this time.
.
Knock on door at 9.30pm – fresh fish delivery from Ana and Pepe.
Later, Luis arrives with the picon – fantastic! Really pleased with the colour of it and it is really easy to spread out. Luis is a very happy man – we are spending money. Just as we are finishing, the guests arrive back for the evening and they seem quite impressed to see the difference – at least there are no excavators or lorries this time.
.
Knock on door at 9.30pm – fresh fish delivery from Ana and Pepe.
Wednesday, 25th
We are now left with a largish area of semi-flat semi-clay land. We just need to dig a little trench through it to let the water escape - 18” deep and 20 metres long - involving several long-handled hand tools, the hammer drill, angle grinder, David, me and about 4 hours of seriously hard work. My main job was to help remove the loose soil/clay/stone from the trench and whisk it off in the wheelbarrow (uphill of course) and tip it over the side. I would have liked to have complained but David’s job of hacking, digging and grinding it out of the begrudging land looked a good deal worse. This was after all where the excavator had pranced about all the previous day compacting it down quite efficiently. Ah Luis you scamp, what a shame you didn’t bring the little bucket to dig out the trench as we asked you to, but no worries, we love it really.
By 3 o’clock we had got it dug out, just time for some cold pasta from the night before and a collapse until 4pm. Now for the easier task of putting in the underground tube through which excess rain water can drain and concreting over. Trouble is we have no gravel to make the concrete so we have to be ‘resourceful’. 25 minutes later we are returning in the Land Rover with 20 buckets of gravel which we have liberated from an extremely large heap – can’t tell you where exactly as then you would know as much as us.
Thankfully, we get it almost completed as the guests return.
By 3 o’clock we had got it dug out, just time for some cold pasta from the night before and a collapse until 4pm. Now for the easier task of putting in the underground tube through which excess rain water can drain and concreting over. Trouble is we have no gravel to make the concrete so we have to be ‘resourceful’. 25 minutes later we are returning in the Land Rover with 20 buckets of gravel which we have liberated from an extremely large heap – can’t tell you where exactly as then you would know as much as us.
Thankfully, we get it almost completed as the guests return.
Tuesday 24th
Luis cunningly avoided being on time as is his wont and arrived at just after1pm. We were pleasantly surprised to see him at all actually after weeks of waiting, although it wasn’t really Luis but one of his side kicks plus Luis’ son. The nameless sidekick looked a bit of a tough nut with a sizeable scar rising up from the corner of his lip. Added to which he was shoeless which is slightly strange for someone in the construction, or destruction industry. It was the first time we have seen Luis’ son working without his dad. We have known the lad for about 3 or 4 years. In fact, when we had the ‘big hole’ (6m x 4m) dug out for the bbq room, Louis’ son, who is only ever referred to as ‘boy’ jumped into the Bobcat and gave us a demonstration of his remarkable abilities of swirling it around in a tight space immediately adjacent to a precipice. That was when he was 10 years old. Now he is 13 he has obviously moved onto larger things such as manoeuvring a 5 tonne truck in a small space next to what was the precipice and is now our bbq room. Plus an excavator. Our excavator.
Man and ‘boy’ worked hard all afternoon patiently digging, clearing and levelling an L-shaped space next to and in front of the sea container. Four times, man went off with the lorry to empty the rubble, rock and soil they had cleared, while boy continued to dexterously craft and clear. A lot more to clear than we had thought and we are in something of dread of how much it is going to cost.
Man and ‘boy’ worked hard all afternoon patiently digging, clearing and levelling an L-shaped space next to and in front of the sea container. Four times, man went off with the lorry to empty the rubble, rock and soil they had cleared, while boy continued to dexterously craft and clear. A lot more to clear than we had thought and we are in something of dread of how much it is going to cost.
Monday, 23rd July
David made me ring Luis. Oh, how I hate ringing Louis, I tell him, which he already knows. Eventually though, when I have been totally cornered with not an excuse left, I do ring him. ‘There is no point,’ I am still muttering, ‘he will just promise to come any old time and he never does. It doesn’t mean anything. And anyway, what can I say to him this time that I didn’t say on Friday, or Wednesday before that or Monday before that.’ But I ring him anyway.
‘Hello Luis, how are you?’
‘I’m fine thanks, how are you?’
‘Fine. Erm, Luis, when do you think you are coming?’ There is no point in thinking up some long lead in which I will then have to mentally translate.
‘I’m here actually, on the drive, I have just arrived.’
Shock horror and he is as well, just like the Genie of the Lamp, and Louis would just about fit into a lamp at around 5ft tall. And he promises to be back this afternoon (tomorrow at latest) now he has seen what is required and start the latest round of works on the drive.
Go up to farm above us as we haven’t seen them to talk to for a couple of weeks now. We need to do our good neighbour bit which in our case is mainly just making the effort to have a chat. We meet Justo walking along with a wheelbarrow full of huge calabazas (pumpkins) and he offers us one. Oh, he’s got loads, he says so we take up one that is something like the size of a small child, well, baby at least. Would we like some onions… no we say, we are still OK for onions from the last time …. potatoes maybe …… no, still OK for potatoes, we tell him. Well, he says, as soon as we need any, all we need to do is ask. ‘You know that,’ he says, which makes me feel so looked after.
But it is a lovely hot day today with an impeccably blue sky forming the most amazing backdrop for the mountains and we cannot but help discuss the weather. Almost too late, we remember that hot days for a farmer are not usually so great. Working outside in the relentless heat is so tiring and we move into the shade to talk. He takes a puff from the large cigar jammed in between his only slightly brown teeth and we try to focus on just his left eye, as he is blind in the right.
Most of our conversations seem completely disjointed and Justo quickly leaps onto the subject of forest fires which are a constant threat. He tells us that 28 years ago there was a fire so immense that the whole of the north was ablaze. ‘There was just no greenery for months to come and we had to buy sacks of grain for the animals,’ he tells us. We are fairly amazed by this as it was something we had never considered that this panoramic vista of mountain greenery could ever have been totally destroyed. Although we were here when there was a fairly large fire 2 years ago and we watched the helicopters in the distance dropping water bombs over it. That lasted 5 days and there have been many other small ones since.
We tell Justo that we are going to say Hello to Carmen who, he tells us, is in the orchard. At this, Carmen emerges, blue floppy cloth hat pulled down over her ears and her dyed red hair poking out. ‘Café?’ she wants to know. Carmen never uses 5 words when she can use one. ‘Papas?’ No, sorry we don’t really want a coffee or potatoes just now. But she is keen to discuss how well her grandchild, Claudia, is doing at sailing. She has probably been doing it for nearly 2 years now and is starting to get a good collection of trophies already. ‘1st prize, 2nd and a 3rd’ Carmen tells us, and then a little sadly that she doesn’t get to see so much of her these days.
As we return down the donkey track to the house, we see the meter reader man. He is new and doesn’t know where it is, or rather they are as we have two meters for water and two for electricity now that we have had the supply split up for the two houses. Where does this path go? He wants to know, is it to another house. We laugh a little and say that it doesn’t go anywhere else, it is just our own little cobbled street. We direct him up the donkey track to where Julio lives, in between us and Carmen and Justo at the farm.
10.00 pm. Louis rang to say he couldn’t come today after all, which we had sort of guessed. Should hopefully be around 11 or 12 tomorrow when he comes.
‘Hello Luis, how are you?’
‘I’m fine thanks, how are you?’
‘Fine. Erm, Luis, when do you think you are coming?’ There is no point in thinking up some long lead in which I will then have to mentally translate.
‘I’m here actually, on the drive, I have just arrived.’
Shock horror and he is as well, just like the Genie of the Lamp, and Louis would just about fit into a lamp at around 5ft tall. And he promises to be back this afternoon (tomorrow at latest) now he has seen what is required and start the latest round of works on the drive.
Go up to farm above us as we haven’t seen them to talk to for a couple of weeks now. We need to do our good neighbour bit which in our case is mainly just making the effort to have a chat. We meet Justo walking along with a wheelbarrow full of huge calabazas (pumpkins) and he offers us one. Oh, he’s got loads, he says so we take up one that is something like the size of a small child, well, baby at least. Would we like some onions… no we say, we are still OK for onions from the last time …. potatoes maybe …… no, still OK for potatoes, we tell him. Well, he says, as soon as we need any, all we need to do is ask. ‘You know that,’ he says, which makes me feel so looked after.
But it is a lovely hot day today with an impeccably blue sky forming the most amazing backdrop for the mountains and we cannot but help discuss the weather. Almost too late, we remember that hot days for a farmer are not usually so great. Working outside in the relentless heat is so tiring and we move into the shade to talk. He takes a puff from the large cigar jammed in between his only slightly brown teeth and we try to focus on just his left eye, as he is blind in the right.
Most of our conversations seem completely disjointed and Justo quickly leaps onto the subject of forest fires which are a constant threat. He tells us that 28 years ago there was a fire so immense that the whole of the north was ablaze. ‘There was just no greenery for months to come and we had to buy sacks of grain for the animals,’ he tells us. We are fairly amazed by this as it was something we had never considered that this panoramic vista of mountain greenery could ever have been totally destroyed. Although we were here when there was a fairly large fire 2 years ago and we watched the helicopters in the distance dropping water bombs over it. That lasted 5 days and there have been many other small ones since.
We tell Justo that we are going to say Hello to Carmen who, he tells us, is in the orchard. At this, Carmen emerges, blue floppy cloth hat pulled down over her ears and her dyed red hair poking out. ‘Café?’ she wants to know. Carmen never uses 5 words when she can use one. ‘Papas?’ No, sorry we don’t really want a coffee or potatoes just now. But she is keen to discuss how well her grandchild, Claudia, is doing at sailing. She has probably been doing it for nearly 2 years now and is starting to get a good collection of trophies already. ‘1st prize, 2nd and a 3rd’ Carmen tells us, and then a little sadly that she doesn’t get to see so much of her these days.
As we return down the donkey track to the house, we see the meter reader man. He is new and doesn’t know where it is, or rather they are as we have two meters for water and two for electricity now that we have had the supply split up for the two houses. Where does this path go? He wants to know, is it to another house. We laugh a little and say that it doesn’t go anywhere else, it is just our own little cobbled street. We direct him up the donkey track to where Julio lives, in between us and Carmen and Justo at the farm.
10.00 pm. Louis rang to say he couldn’t come today after all, which we had sort of guessed. Should hopefully be around 11 or 12 tomorrow when he comes.
Sunday 22nd July
Thought I heard voices from above while I was watering in the garden. Turns out that Pepe and his 3 nephews had brought round yet more freshly caught fish for us. Just 3 this time, so hopefully we can manage them in one meal. Yesterday they brought us a big tub of Gaspachio soup, a ham and vegetable casserole and 7 large mackerel so we shan’t starve while they are here..
Pepe and Ana are just so kind though, as are all our neighbours, few though they are. They have the house directly below us although actually they live on a different island and their house here is a holiday home for them. Our guests to the cottage think that it is quite bizarre that people should live on the next door island and yet come to this island for a holiday. But that is the entire point, the contrast is immense. Pepe works in an office – insurance - and Ana in the bank where, she tells us, she is glued to a computer screen all day long. Pepe says that there have been building works just to the rear of their apartment for 2 years – ‘2 YEARS!’ he exclaims – and they only get some peace for a few hours per night. Can you imagine then the tranquillity they feel when they come here where the silence can be tangible, the stillness audible and the peace all-enveloping? And fishing is an obsession!
Pepe and Ana are just so kind though, as are all our neighbours, few though they are. They have the house directly below us although actually they live on a different island and their house here is a holiday home for them. Our guests to the cottage think that it is quite bizarre that people should live on the next door island and yet come to this island for a holiday. But that is the entire point, the contrast is immense. Pepe works in an office – insurance - and Ana in the bank where, she tells us, she is glued to a computer screen all day long. Pepe says that there have been building works just to the rear of their apartment for 2 years – ‘2 YEARS!’ he exclaims – and they only get some peace for a few hours per night. Can you imagine then the tranquillity they feel when they come here where the silence can be tangible, the stillness audible and the peace all-enveloping? And fishing is an obsession!
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