We had planned a trip to Spain to have a good look around the area we were moving to, to get away from the cold of our winter (and picked a good week to go, we left temperatures of -5c and landed into temperatures of 18c, I know where I would rather be). We were getting quite used to the airport routine, Ryanair flights, and car hire at San Javier airport so the outward trip was a doddle.
We were driving down to Vera in Almeria and staying at the Valle del Este golf resort, a place we had been to before BUT NEVER DRIVEN THERE OURSELVES!
Up in Murcia around the airport there are signs all over for the various golf resorts and I thought we would see signs for the golf resort from the E15 in Vera. I also had printed a map from the internet of the road down to Valle del Este, so even though it was after 10.00pm and dark, we were fairly confident we could find it. According to the map it was a short way after Vera.
We passed the turn off for Vera, and took the next exit…….and then drove around the countryside of Almeria, in the dark and ended up on a country road leading inland – it felt wrong, so we turned around and went back to the EP15. The previous junction had been for Vera, but also had a 24 hour services sign, so we could stop there and ask for a clue where we needed to be. As we came off the EP15, we needed to turn left however just as we got onto the roundabout (bearing in mind we go anti-clockwise in Spain) I saw the sign we wanted to see – Campo de Golf – no name, but it had to be Valle del Este, I shouted to Neil to turn up this road and as soon as we had gone 100 yards (or should that be metres) we recognised some new apartments that were being built from our last trip – we were nearly there.
We checked into the hotel and discovered that the bar was still open. We also had the choice of going to a bar around the corner. The hotel bar was really quiet so we decided to walk to the bar in the commercial centre around the corner, tonight was Wednesday and the board outside the bar proudly advertised Wednesday night as Karaoke night – a quick about turn, the hotel bar may be quiet but that was definitely preferable to Karaoke.
A quiet hotel bar is actually a good place to try out my newly rehearsed Spanish, and I greeted the waiter and ordered 2 glasses of red wine (in perfectly rehearsed tourist Spanish), and got a very appreciative smile from him, and 2 rather large glasses of very nice red wine. Although it was late they also sorted some food for us and it was a really relaxing way to end the day.
Tomorrow, we visit the show house and get an idea what our new home will be like, can’t wait to see it.
Wednesday 27 February 2008
NIE Numbers
If you want to do anything in Spain such as buy a car or buy or sell a property, you need an NIE number, which is simply an identification number for foreigners which is needed for just about any form you fill in. There are several ways people apply and get their NIE numbers, some do it by applying to their Spanish consulate in this country, others use a lawyer or other agent in Spain. We were fortunate that Dan, who had shown us around on our inspection trip, was happy to help sort this out with us. We were popping over to Spain for a few days and one of our tasks was to apply for our NIE number. All the forms are available on the internet and you can get English translations if you don’t speak Spanish, to ensure you are putting the right answers in the boxes, but Dan did all this for us and we just needed to check through and sign the forms when we met up. We then drove down to the immigration office in Almeria.
Now, I have read all sorts of stories about how long you can be queuing for you NIE number but we were either very lucky, or Dan knows the right times to be going to the immigration office, either way we were given numbers 97 & 98 in the queue and when we checked they were already dealing with 94, so 10 minutes later we were at the relevant desk and Dan was handing over all our documents. We had been told we needed some passport photos, but Dan had said that they didn’t always ask for these, and we didn’t need them.
Within 10 minutes we were leaving the desk, our application forms duly stamped for processing and we had signed the relevant authority for Dan to collect them in 15 days. He also needed 9€ for each of our applications which is payable on collection, and that’s it – job done.
Now, I have read all sorts of stories about how long you can be queuing for you NIE number but we were either very lucky, or Dan knows the right times to be going to the immigration office, either way we were given numbers 97 & 98 in the queue and when we checked they were already dealing with 94, so 10 minutes later we were at the relevant desk and Dan was handing over all our documents. We had been told we needed some passport photos, but Dan had said that they didn’t always ask for these, and we didn’t need them.
Within 10 minutes we were leaving the desk, our application forms duly stamped for processing and we had signed the relevant authority for Dan to collect them in 15 days. He also needed 9€ for each of our applications which is payable on collection, and that’s it – job done.
Friday 8 February 2008
Learning the Lingo
It's time to start putting some real effort into learning the basic Spanish phrases so I can hold a basic conversation and hopefully get by in restaurants, hotels and shops. Having done 'o' level Spanish 30 years ago, I really am hoping that the little grey cells will have retained some, but I do seem to remember it was a relatively nice language to learn.
The first thing to do is to see what home learning programmes are around. I know that certain learning styles don't appeal to me and so I need to find one that will. I have a Nintendo DS that I do Brain Training & Suduko programs on and is small enough to carry in my handbag and although I thought there was little chance, it was worth doing a search on the internet - lo and behold, they do 2 for the DS, a basic and an intermediate - so I ordered on line and received the basic one within the week.
It's a good little refresher programme but I don't think it would be great for someone with no knowledge. It's a good way to learn the basic words, but the use of verbs and the masculine/feminine issue doesn't seem that clear to me (and I do understand the concept). However, Neil has taken an interest in this program as it's so handy, no computers to set up, no books to read through and if it gives him the basic words then maybe it does have a use for complete beginners.
It gives you groups of 10 words to familiarise yourself with and then a number of games to play to enable you to remember the words, as you progress it keeps bringing words from previous lessons back in. It also has a dictionary, but again is a little restrictive - but it is only a beginners program and is great for using for 5-10minute refresher sessions and really easy to take out and use over a coffee somewhere. I will take it with me to Spain next visit and it will be useful as a quick reference guide if we are struggling to make ourselves understood.
Next, I needed a more in-depth program to run on the laptop, as I spend half my life using my laptop and therefore know it is a medium I will use regularly. Learning from books doesn't interest me. Having looked at a few, I decided on the Berlitz program. They do flashcards, which makes you translate both verbally and written English to Spanish and vice versa. You also have video lessons of scenarios where you can hear the spoken word as it should be and can then opt to play a role in the video so you are actually taking part in the conversation and can check how you sound compared to the computer. Both the DS program and the Berlitz program have the ability to record your voice and then compare it to the program.
I have found both programs suit my manner of learning and I can understand quite a lot of written Spanish already, although it's still quite difficult for me to create sentences. I am looking forward to our trip to Spain in a couple of weeks to try out my knew, if limited skills, and hopefully it will be received positively by the locals - at least I will be trying but I know my first couple of times trying it will be quite nerve wracking! Wish me luck!
The first thing to do is to see what home learning programmes are around. I know that certain learning styles don't appeal to me and so I need to find one that will. I have a Nintendo DS that I do Brain Training & Suduko programs on and is small enough to carry in my handbag and although I thought there was little chance, it was worth doing a search on the internet - lo and behold, they do 2 for the DS, a basic and an intermediate - so I ordered on line and received the basic one within the week.
It's a good little refresher programme but I don't think it would be great for someone with no knowledge. It's a good way to learn the basic words, but the use of verbs and the masculine/feminine issue doesn't seem that clear to me (and I do understand the concept). However, Neil has taken an interest in this program as it's so handy, no computers to set up, no books to read through and if it gives him the basic words then maybe it does have a use for complete beginners.
It gives you groups of 10 words to familiarise yourself with and then a number of games to play to enable you to remember the words, as you progress it keeps bringing words from previous lessons back in. It also has a dictionary, but again is a little restrictive - but it is only a beginners program and is great for using for 5-10minute refresher sessions and really easy to take out and use over a coffee somewhere. I will take it with me to Spain next visit and it will be useful as a quick reference guide if we are struggling to make ourselves understood.
Next, I needed a more in-depth program to run on the laptop, as I spend half my life using my laptop and therefore know it is a medium I will use regularly. Learning from books doesn't interest me. Having looked at a few, I decided on the Berlitz program. They do flashcards, which makes you translate both verbally and written English to Spanish and vice versa. You also have video lessons of scenarios where you can hear the spoken word as it should be and can then opt to play a role in the video so you are actually taking part in the conversation and can check how you sound compared to the computer. Both the DS program and the Berlitz program have the ability to record your voice and then compare it to the program.
I have found both programs suit my manner of learning and I can understand quite a lot of written Spanish already, although it's still quite difficult for me to create sentences. I am looking forward to our trip to Spain in a couple of weeks to try out my knew, if limited skills, and hopefully it will be received positively by the locals - at least I will be trying but I know my first couple of times trying it will be quite nerve wracking! Wish me luck!
Tuesday 5 February 2008
Taking the dogs to Spain.
Our 2 pups were always part of the plan in our move to Spain, well one was, at the time we originally talked of moving I was only planning on having one dog, still the same applies to 2 as it does to 1.
Taking them to Spain is not a problem, however, I do want to be able to bring them back with us when we visit. I don’t have any knowledge of kennels in Spain and so I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving them. Fortunately, there is a system whereby they can travel without quarantine – all they need is a ‘pet passport’ or what’s known as the Pets Travel Scheme.
Full details are available from the DEFRA website.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/index.htm
Our local vet where the pups are registered deal with pet passports so when I spoke with them about it they were fully aware of what was needed. The first step is to have the dogs micro-chipped, this is so that they can check that they have the correct dog when giving the necessary jabs. The pups were micro-chipped at 10 weeks. It’s a similar routine to them having their jabs and neither dog particularly objected. It’s quite odd afterwards as the chips are large enough to be able to feel them under the skin. After a couple of weeks, the dogs have grown and put a bit of weight on and we can’t feel them anymore, but they have been checked to make sure they can be scanned and read.
At 12 weeks the pups were old enough to have their rabies jabs, which they had last Friday. As with any jabs, it makes them sleepy but I think that’s the stress of the visit, not the jabs themselves. Neither pup has had any adverse reaction to the jabs, and we now have to wait for 30 days and then get a blood test done for each pup which will be sent off the DEFRA for analysis to make sure that the rabies jabs have worked correctly. Our vets have said that the results can take 4-6 weeks to come back and if either or both are negative we will have to go through another process of injection and blood tests. This is one key thing that could delay our move to Spain as we will not move out there until the dogs are ok.
Once we know we have good blood tests we will be able to take the dogs to Spain with us. We will not be able to bring them back for their first visit until 6 months after the date of the blood test that resulted in a positive result. We can only hope that both dogs get good blood tests together, that would be the ideal, but if they don’t then we’ll just have to start again as necessary.
Taking them to Spain is not a problem, however, I do want to be able to bring them back with us when we visit. I don’t have any knowledge of kennels in Spain and so I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving them. Fortunately, there is a system whereby they can travel without quarantine – all they need is a ‘pet passport’ or what’s known as the Pets Travel Scheme.
Full details are available from the DEFRA website.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/index.htm
Our local vet where the pups are registered deal with pet passports so when I spoke with them about it they were fully aware of what was needed. The first step is to have the dogs micro-chipped, this is so that they can check that they have the correct dog when giving the necessary jabs. The pups were micro-chipped at 10 weeks. It’s a similar routine to them having their jabs and neither dog particularly objected. It’s quite odd afterwards as the chips are large enough to be able to feel them under the skin. After a couple of weeks, the dogs have grown and put a bit of weight on and we can’t feel them anymore, but they have been checked to make sure they can be scanned and read.
At 12 weeks the pups were old enough to have their rabies jabs, which they had last Friday. As with any jabs, it makes them sleepy but I think that’s the stress of the visit, not the jabs themselves. Neither pup has had any adverse reaction to the jabs, and we now have to wait for 30 days and then get a blood test done for each pup which will be sent off the DEFRA for analysis to make sure that the rabies jabs have worked correctly. Our vets have said that the results can take 4-6 weeks to come back and if either or both are negative we will have to go through another process of injection and blood tests. This is one key thing that could delay our move to Spain as we will not move out there until the dogs are ok.
Once we know we have good blood tests we will be able to take the dogs to Spain with us. We will not be able to bring them back for their first visit until 6 months after the date of the blood test that resulted in a positive result. We can only hope that both dogs get good blood tests together, that would be the ideal, but if they don’t then we’ll just have to start again as necessary.
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