Important Day!

Yesterday we finally got our keys - it's official we are staying in Spain - we now have a house.

We've been living here for almost 18 months, we have lived a relaxed life filling our days with golf, dog walking and socialising.

We have had fun.

But that's all about to change.

We have finally got the keys to our new home.

Now you could be forgiven if you think the house is done and that all that's needed is a bit of gardening to tidy up the front. Forgiven, but oh, so wrong.

We have a loo in the bathroom and a pozo (or septic tank) in the grounds - BUT - they are not actually connected up. So our first job is to go dig a hole, find where the pipes are and see what's involved in getting one pipe connected to the other so we have a loo we can use.

And believe me, that's only the tip of a very large iceberg!

Tomorrow I'll take you on a tour inside the house!

It's got a name!

After a bit of Googling - I've found out the intese rains we have had this week have a name - the Gota Fria (the Cold Drop) - and it happens at the change from summer to autumn.

From Spanish Wiki: The cold drop, is a non-frontal extratropical atmospheric disturbance that can cause exceptional violent and intense rainfall during a few hours or days with lightening and hail.

Spanish news this week has been dominated by stories of the devastation caused by this weeks rains.

I'm not sure having a name makes it any better BUT it does seem to be over for this year, the sun is back.

How much water?

During the night we had a massive thunderstorm but by the time we got up everywhere had dried out except the washing I had forgotten to bring in. That's all been through the machine again and this time is drying inside.



Now, the roof terrace is all flooded again. The terrace has a drain off spout which is currently pouring faster than our hosepipe.

At least it saves mopping up!

Well, the rain has stopped but somewhere there is a lot of water flooding an electricity sub-station closeby. We have now had in excess of 20 power cuts ranging from a few seconds to several minutes. Fortunately we have managed to time it right for making a Sunday roast, coffee as and when and remembered to light the candles before it got too dark to find them.

The joys of Spain in heavy rain.

What a storm!

I remember the first week we moved to Spain we had a few storms, thunder, lightening, torrential rain - the works. Over the months we have been here we've had storms from time to time, normally after a hot sunny day.

Monday started off hot and sunny, we were on the golf course bathed in sunshine for several hours before the clouds started to gather over the hills and I said it looked as if it may rain.

What an understatement that was!

It was already getting dark so it was difficult to know how much the clouds added to the darkness but the rain came suddenly, huge big drops like someone was tipping a bucket of water over your head. Then the distant rumbles of thunder and the occasional flash of lightening.

Then it turned into a full blown electrical storm. The lightening was so frequent there wasn't time for thunder in between. Massive bolts of lightening striking down through the sky and hitting ground somewhere not too far away. All the roads were awash with rivers running down them. The house electric went off and we lit candles as we knew even if it came back on, it would go off again soon.

We were planning to go bowling and decided we would still go and hope there was power to the centre. As we drove through the storm it became obvious how big the storm was. There was lightening out to sea, there was lightening over the mountains. It lit the sky as bright as midday. It was a cracker.

As we arrived in Aguilas we passed by a Rambla, the dry river bed was a good 4 or 5 feet deep with rain water and flowing at an alarming speed towards the sea - anyone or anything in the Rambla would be washed out to sea with out a doubt.

The storm continued for a few hours, but the power was on at the Bowling Alley and so we were away from it for a couple of hours and when we left the underground carpark, the rain had stopped, the skies were clear and the roads were drying out.

Tuesday morning was dry, cloudless and sunny - the storm a memory for us but I can imagine some people would be in for a day of cleaning up.

Storms over here are awesome!

Checking out of Hotel Caracoles.

Monday night brought a storm of enormous proportions (more about that next post) but I thought I'd share my walk with the dogs the morning after.

Yesterday morning I noticed a parked car on the Campo and on the hill ahead of me I could see 3 people wandering around, 2 of them were halfway up the hill and the other closer to the bottom. I stood and watched them for a while as I couldn't, for the life of me, think why they would be there at 7.30 in the morning, it was barely daylight. As I watched them I could see that they were obviously searching for something amongst the shrubbery and they were slowly making their way higher and higher up the hill.

As I got closer I could see that they had small bags in their hands and that they were placing whatever they were finding in the bags.

As I rounded the corner I saw a woman just at the base of the hill, bag in hand, bent over one of the shrubs, hands rummaging amongst the branches.

Curiosity was killing me.

Hola, buena - she called across to me. Great I thought, she's happy to chat.

Hola, buenas días - I replied. Qué busca? was all I could think to ask - what are you looking for?

Caracoles - she replied! I was in luck. Because of my post of 2 days ago, I knew caracoles meant snails.

Ah,si - despues de la tormenta? After the storm?

Si, - she replied, - hay muchos caracoles.

So it seems that the storm had brought out enough snails to warrant a family outing at the crack of dawn to climb the enormous hill in the photo to collect snails.

Unfortunately at this point she returned to her labours and wandered away from me - I was dying to know what they would do with them all.

So, the question as to whether the snails climb down from the twigs or simply fall off has been answered, at least for now - neither - they are picked like brambles from a hedgerow!

Bugs and stuff.

Wednesday night saw the first deluge of the autumn, and it seems to have triggered a plethora of bugs. We still have the usual wasps and flies but this morning as I was walking back into the house the bug above was perched at the side of the door - I thought he was quite sweet - about an inch in length and quite docil - and then all of a sudden, it suddenly vanished.

The one below was flying about infront of the window as I was sat at my laptop earlier. It typified the term 'bumbing along' and crash landed onto the rejas, ended on it's back and struggled to turn over without falling off it's chosen landing perch. It then marched back and forth along the reja like a sentry on duty. It was reddish brown in colour and had a long snout. It was about an inch & half in length and I've no idea what happened to it - again, when my back was turned - it vanished. But I doubt it was a text book take-off if the landing was anything to go by.

(Reja's are the security bars we have at the windows)

I'm glad I've got my stompy boots!

Stompy Boots!

Campo stompy boots acquired - nuff said!

Bugs watch out!

Hotel Caracol

I love the quirks of nature. I love that I have time to appreciate them.

On my early morning walks with the dogs on the Campo I pass lots of shrubs and scrub that probably have a host of creatures I cannot see and wouldn't want to know were there: spiders, lizards, scorpions,snakes (remind me again why I wear sandals on my walks and not great, big stompy boots?).

But there are 2 dead shrubs that, overnight, play host to an army of snails. If you look closely at the photo you can see several clinging to the branches - just like a snail hotel (caracol is spanish for snail - education element of post over). As far as I can see they only use the dead shrubs, none of the ones with leaves have any to be seen - obviously too much of an obstacle course. Some of them are 3 or 4 feet off the ground, that's a fair climb for little snails.

When I walk the dogs later in the afternoon there a none of the snails still in the shrubs, so I wonder what time do they check-out? how do they get down? do they climb or do they drop? and are they the same snails that come back each night?

Oh the joy of the countryside, the joy of time to dwell, the joy of nature.

Now, I must give more thought to getting some stompy boots!

And finally it rains!

It had to happen - and finally at 7pm last night it did, we had rain - for about an hour! It's the first rain we've had since 23rd June - almost 12 weeks.

More is forecast for tomorow, we are into rainy season - just as we have people coming over to see us. We've not had any visitors through the intense heat of summer, but in the next couple of weeks we have one of Neil's sons coming over and then our American friends will be here.

I do hope we get the rain out of the way before they fly in from California - it would be such a shame for them to arrive to rain.

And of course, now the rains are starting - we'll soon be seeing the first signs of the autumn mossies! Better stock up on lots of mossie spray!

Please, my brain hurts!

Well, 2 spanish classes in one morning after 8 weeks break - wow, that makes the brain cells work.

I have been continuing to use my Spanish each week by meeting one of my teachers for coffee once a week and 'chatting' about what we've done over the previous week in Spanish, otherwise I'd be starting from scratch. It's amazing how quickly you lose the ability to form sentences and go back to pointing at things and uttering single words. I know some of the others haven't looked at a book or practiced sinced we finished class at the end of June.

Our 'chats' in the bar have been viewed with interest by the local Spanish who must wonder at these 2 strange English 'mujeres' who insist on talking Spanish, with dictionaries and verb books close at hand, (that's me, not my teacher) - when it would be so much easier to just speak in English!

So, I now have a pile of homework to do and hopefully, the cooler weather will make it easier to get back into work mode.

Hasta luego, mis amigos!

A good way to learn Spanish.

With a possible house move on the horizon we have to start thinking of the practicalities, such as packing. I remember being surprised in the UK that there were companies that supplied packs of cardboard boxes for moving things. Previously when I'd moved house I'd always had packing crates from the removal company.

I have a friend who has lived in Spain for several years, whose favourite saying is that 'everything you can get in the UK, you can get here in Spain'.

The trick is to Google in Spanish.

So, today's word is cardboard boxes - cajas de cartón - Googled, site found complete with option for English - job done!

This will be a good way to improve my spanish vocabulary beyond 'pan y leche' - bread & milk!

Summer's over - finally!

The temperature has finally dropped below 30c, the breeze has started to blow again, there is silence where there were screams of toursists jumping into pools, we can no longer smell charred beefburgers on BBQ's, it only takes 5 minutes to pop into the local supermarket for a loaf of bread (instead of 45 minutes) and my Spanish classes resume this week.

Summer is over, life can begin again!

Looking good.

We've been waiting a few days to hear back from our solicitor about the house and today he rang. Neil spoke with him so I was trying to piece together the gist of the converstion from the few comments Neil was making and it was sounding good.

As soon as Neil came off the phone, I could tell from his face - it was good news. Everything seems to be in order, there is just one thing left to sort out and then we can really begin to think about packing our stuff into boxes and moving one more time, but this time will be the last, hopefully, for many years.

It's all very exciting and a little bit scary at the same time. It means we are really going to stay in Spain, we'll have our own little corner of Spain for the dogs to run and play and bark in, we'll have our own home to decorate and do-up as we want, something I have missed by being in a rental property for the last 15 months. We'll have our own fruit trees and vegetable patch. But that's probably for next year.

Initially we'll have to finish the house!

Street Party.

It seems since we've moved to Spain we have had little need to think about celebratory nights out - things keep happening on our 'special dates'.

In June, my birthday coincided with the Flamenco Party and we all got dressed up and enjoyed a truly Spanish evening.

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary and it coincided with the anniversary of Annie's Bistro opening last year and Danny & Annika had arranged a street party and BBQ for last night. It was the perfect evening for an outdoor BBQ, one of the great things about Spanish summers, you can plan ahead and rely on the weather.

They had arranged a continous stream of music from a variety of DJ's, a huge cooking area with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs and more plus a huge salad bar - food was not going to be in short supply. To make life easier in the bar they had arrange a ticket system, 1 ticket for a beer, 2 for a wine amd 3 for a spirit so you could buy all your tickets from one point and it meant Annie could have help behind the bar while Danny was cooking.

There was a massive turnout, must have been over 200 people there and the atmosphere was brilliant. We wandered home before mid-night just as it seemed to be moving up a gear - no idea what time most of the others got home, but it was a great night out.

Today's our Wedding Anniversary.

It seems hard to believe, but 4 years ago today Neil & I were in California for our wedding.

Where does the time go?

We have wonderful memories of our wedding day, we were very lucky to have met our new friends, Lynn & Andy, on a Mediterranean cruise the year before. We had been dinner-table-buddies for the week and all got on really well, so there were the usual 'we must keep in touch' and 'here's our e-mail' comments at the end of the week, and we did keep in touch by e-mail. Lynn & Andy live in California, about an hour south of San Francisco, so probably felt safe from us 'just popping-in' - but then it happened. They got an e-mail from us to say we would be in California, in April 2005 - would they be at home for us to call.

After a few e-mails, what we had planned as an afternoon visit as part of our 2 weeks holiday in California, turned into us staying with them for the 2 weeks. We had only known them from our cruise but here they were, opening their home up to us. We had a wonderful 2 weeks in Gilroy, met so many of their friends and had a few days travelling to Yosemite & Las Vegas - to see a bit of the surrounding area.

While we were there, Lynn spoke to Neil and said if we were ever to think about getting married, they would be happy to host the wedding ceremony for us, should we wish.

A few weeks later, Neil proposed to me and, after a nano-second, I said yes. So, thoughts turned to the venue and we decided we would ask Lynn if she was serious about us getting married at their home in California, and when she said yes, we were both agreed - we would marry abroad.

For several reasons, we set the date for Sept 3rd, less than 4 months away. One of my dearest friends, that I had met at college, had missed my first wedding and said she was definitely going to be at my next. So, it was an interesting phone call to her to tell her we were getting married (lots of screams down the phone) and her immediate response was 'this time, I'll be there!' I told her I would love that but it was happening in California - her response? 'I don't care, I'm still going to be there!'

And so it was that the 3 of us flew to California on Thursday, 1st September. We were due to collect the marriage licence from San Jose on the Friday, with the wedding on the Saturday.

Lynn had been fabulous over the previous 4 months, organising ....... well, everything. She had sorted the flowers, the cake, the buffet, the tables & chairs, the guests, the photographer - just everything. All I did was turn up with my husband to be and my dress. I had e-mailed a photo of my dress to her so she could match the colour for the cake decorations and my flowers, oh there was just so much I had to be grateful to her for, the day was fantastic.

We were married in their garden by Lynn,who is registered to perfom marriages, with Andy as Neil's best man and my dear friend, Liz, as my bridesmaid.

There's so much more I could write, so many little stories to tell of our wedding day (mmmhhhh, I feel another blog idea) but it all went amazingly well and 4 years on, it still remains an incredibly wonderful memory for us.

And so Neil & I are well settled into our new life in Spain and in a few weeks our Californian friends will be here to spend some time with us.

All this from being dinner-table-buddies!

Many thanks to Lynn & Andy for being brilliant friends.

Happy Anniversary Neil.

Buying a house in Spain, the process.

Paperwork is massively important when buying (or selling) a property in Spain, but there are 2 crucial documents.

Firstly, there is the 'Escritura' which details the property that is for sale and secondly, the 'Nota Simple' which shows who owns the land/property and whether there are any charges against it. It is advisable to get a copy of the Nota Simple as close to the purchase being concluded as possible to avoid any late charges being added.

Normally, when an agent takes a property on the market for sale they ask for a copy of the 'Escritura' to be able to describe the property they are marketing correctly, so they are able to send this copy to the purchasers solicitor, once an offer has been accepted by the seller.

So, what happens next. You've found a house you like and your offers been accepted.

Normally, once an offer has been accepted a deposit of €3,000 is paid by the purchaser to their solicitor. This takes the property off the market. The solicitor will hold the payment until all the paperwork is checked and deemed ok and then the deposit is passed on the the seller. It is at this stage that any extra items to be included in the contract should be added. If, at this stage the owner decided to sell to someone else, they would need to refund you twice the holding deposit. This tends to avoid any problems of gazumping. If the purchaser was to pull out at this stage they would forfeit their deposit, unless something was wrong with the paperwork.

This seems like a pretty good system to make sure both sides don't mess the other about.

So, we are currently at the stage that we have paid our deposit to our solicitor and he is now checking through the paperwork and hopefully, in a couple of days, we will get a call from him to say everything is ok, at which stage we will know that we are definitely buying a house and we can start planning the next stage of our adventure in Spain.

Exciting and scary at the same time.

More soon.