A Very Happy New Year to all my family & friends.

It's been a quick year with a lot of changes and hopefully the passage of time in 2010 will slow down a little.

I hope you all enjoy your celebrations this evening, whatever you choose to do and may 2010 bring health & happiness.

Sunrise.

Sunrise this morning was spectacular - so I rushed into the house to get my camera to capure it before it had gone.


Now, I have a complicated camera, which has so many settings and different lenses but I can only use the point and press mode - automatic everything. It's a Canon EOS 400D for the techies (I'm not sure how that should be spelt) reading this.

On automatic, this was the result!






Pathetic! Automatic = rubbish!


I really must get around to learning how to use it properly.

So, I took the bull by the horns and twisted the dial to 'scenic'. This time when I pressed the shutter button it took for ever to click off - and this was the result - camera hand held so a little blurred but much better:



Then I remembered, when Neil bought the camera, he also bought me a mini-tripod. So, I ran inside for that and, after having to learn very quickly how to lock the camera in place to avoid it falling over and breaking, or worse dropping 20ft from the wall!
And this time - result!

The colours weren't as strong because day was definitely dawning, but you get the idea.

Now, what are the chances I'll start to read the instruction book before the next missed picture?

Remote, I think!

A new waterfall.

The past few days has seen a torrential amount of rain, mainly overnight but not always, and hurricane strength winds. At times I have had to force the pups outside to do the necessary, which they have reluctantly done only on the promise of a warm, fluffy towel awaiting their return and some chocolate buttons (doggy chocs of course).

Today the weather has changed completely and we once again have clear, blue skies, warm sunshine and no wind. As I walked down towards the almonds with the pups this morning I heard a new noise. Normally, it is so peaceful that the only sounds that break the silence are the birds and the dogs in the distance, barking their 'Hello's' to Brandy & Brinkley who are always happy to reply.

But this morning as I walked away from the house and down the track to the almonds I could hear running water - babbling brook style running water. I looked down into the bottom of the rambla, which is some 50 feet below and could just make out a section of rocks which has a fall of about 4 feet over which was running enough water to make the sound effects I had heard. The rambla is there to take the excess rain water and melting snow away but this is the first time I have seen it in action. Over the next few months I am sure we will see it flooded and running free but for now we have the sounds of a new waterfall to enjoy as we take our walks with the dogs - I doubt it will be long before it has dried up for now.

I love the nature of this area, every day brings new surprises and it wonderful to have time to enjoy them.

Not for the faint hearted!

Living up in the mountains brings new ways of living and traditions to living on the coast. Here people still live off the land and all over the hillsides you see signs ' Coto Privado de Caza' warning you that this is private land for hunting.

Hunting is mainly done on a Sunday so you are well advised to be wary of stopping by the roadside and taking an unofficial Sunday stroll on any picturesque area with this sign or this one.

We have already seen many rabbits, robins, snakes and mice but there is one other creature up here that is of significant interest to the locals that we haven't seen - the Wild Boar.

We know these animals live in and around the hills and ramblas and our neighbours even saw one wandering along the roadside late one evening about a week ago.

Last night we were told by a Spanish neighbour that the hunters would be on our hills and in our rambla today hunting the 'jabili', the wild boar. The hunters take up their positions in open areas of the pine forests where they can get a good view of the boar and then packs of dogs are released to chase the boars out of their hiding places and towards the hunters.

At about 11 this morning we saw the hunters, carrying their rifles, walking along the bottom of the rambla through our land (everyone has right of way through the rambla)

They walked to the far end of our land and beyond, as our land is not reserved for hunting but the land at the far end of the rambla is. There will be many more hunters all over these hills today. We were told that there would be approximately 100 dogs used in todays hunt. There are various spotters on the hills and there were 2 or 3 loud bangs indicating the start of the hunt. Since then I have heard a couple of gun shots and a lot of barking from the dogs but we cannot see anything as it's all happening over the hill among the pine trees.

It will end about 3 this afternoon, so until then our dogs are being kept inside behind a locked door - for their own safety. The hunters know we are here, we were outside as they walked by and waved to us so I'm fairly confident they will respect our land and keep away - but their dogs may not be so considerate.

Any boars killed today will be cooked and eaten over the coming weeks - it's the way of the land.

For more info on the Spanish Wild Boar take a look here: http://www.iberianature.com/material/wild_boar_spain.html

One-way phone calls!

After 7 weeks in the house we finally had a phone with a dial tone. We can make phone calls but we can’t receive them. Why not?

Because, at the moment, we don’t know our number, so we can’t tell anyone what to dial to call us back. If we ring them, the number just shows up as ‘Privado’ – private.

Along with the satellite dish and modem which has given us access to the internet, we have also bought a router which allows us to plug a normal telephone into it and make calls via the satellite dish. It’s really quite remarkable.

The whole system has not been cheap but it is our only option for a phone and internet where our house is located. Life in the mountains away from civilisation means peace, tranquillity & beauty but also leads to a few challenges.

We have our satellite TV from the Astra satellite and get a very strong signal so I looked for an internet via satellite solution using the Astra satellite as well.

Net2.com seemed to fit what we were looking for. It used the Astra satellite, the initial outlay for the equipment wasn’t excessive, the monthly payments were less than we pay now for the Vodaphone USB system and it meant we were back in touch with the rest of the world.

They are allocating us a phone number with the correct local area number and once that is done people will be able to ring us. It will make life so much easier and now I don’t have anymore need to drive to the roadside to pick up our missed calls and even better, no more waiting at the roadside for deliveries.

The technology is way above my understanding BUT I don’t need to know how it works, just that it does!

Thank you Net2.com!

Finally, we are connected to the outside world.

It took 3 visits and all I could get out of them was that it was a configuration problem BUT we finally have access to the internet from home and I no longer have to sit in the car at the end of the road.

Now all I have to do is work out how to get the phone working and we'll feel as if we have re-join the human race in the 21st century.

How frustrated am I?

Yesterday we finally received the long awaited call from the internet installer, they would be at the house this morning. Finally, we were to be connected to the outside world.

They were due at 11am and I was duly sat by the roadside by half past 10 incase they were early, as I knew they were travelling down from Murcia. Within a minute of parking the car my mobile phone rang and it was the installer asking for directions. I explained where to drive and 15 minutes later they arrived at Km 8. Surely, my next blog entry would be sent from the comfort of my own home.

But No!

The dish is on the roof, the cable is through the wall. They had my laptop on the roof while they started the set up process.

And then all progress seemed to stop.

Half an hour later they brought my laptop back telling me it was now raining so they couldn’t do anymore today and would be back another day, they will call me!

Oh, the frustration. It should have been all sorted today and now I have to wait – again.

I do have a sneaky feeling that they couldn’t actually finish it because I did overhear a conversation between them which suggested that something that should be in the back of the van couldn’t be found!

So, I’m off to the roadside yet again.

A morning surprise.

Winter has been late starting in this part of Spain this year. Only last week one of the locals was commenting how we had been having such a warm start to the winter and the lack of rain was beginning to be a concern but yesterday started with a heavy sky and rain always looked likely.

About 5pm we were aware that it was raining quite heavily. I say we were aware because this house is so well built, with such thick walls of concrete and a very solid roof, that you don’t hear the rain, even when it is torrential – and it was.

It rained all night and was still rain this morning, although a little less enthusiastically. Whenever we have bad weather the satellite signal for the TV can break up and in extreme weather, we lose the signal all together. Last night we had about half an hour where it looked possible we would lose the signal, but it managed to keep it together right through the X-Factor final.

I woke about 7am with the rain still falling, so I made a coffee and went back to bed to watch the news as the dogs would not be in a rush to go out.

About 8am we suddenly lost both BBC and ITV programmes and I assumed the rains had got heavier but it was getting to a time when the dogs would need to go out regardless of the weather.

And that was when I got a big surprise. I opened the front door to let them out and saw this…….

The skies were heavy with snow and everywhere was turning white. Brinkley was out there without hesitation, Brandy was not so keen at first but eventually he too went out.

I quickly put on my boots, big coat and gloves and went out with them. It was wonderful – so peaceful, so pretty and so much fun. The dogs were racing around, exploring all their usual favourite haunts that now looked and smelled so different. We walked across the hills as the snow continued to fall and I could see that there was plenty more to come.

Neil and I needed to go into town to change some gas bottles (we can’t run out with this weather) and to do some shopping. We also needed to collect my car. As we set off there was plenty of snow on the road but within a couple of kilometres, having dropped some 1,000 feet, the roads were clear of snow and easy to drive. Once in town we met our neighbours so decided to go for a coffee and talk ‘snow’ and ‘Christmas’ and ‘shopping’. It was a nice way to pass half an hour before we went our separate ways.

When we called for the little car we were told by the garage that the heather plugs were fine but they had needed to replace the diesel filter and clean some contacts and that it seemed ok now. We will find out when I try to start it in the morning, especially if it continues to snow through the night.

As I type this, the snow has stopped and the hills are looking a bit greener than they were so it has obviously warmed up a little bit but we do have more snow forecast. Tomorrow morning could be another surprise.

A normal weekend doing normal things.

This weekend feels likes we are beginning to live here rather than exist as builders.

Friday saw me at my 2^nd Spanish class, after which I spent some time with Janet & Graham around town. They took me to a fruit and veg shop which is quite literally in someone’s front room on a residential street with no other shops anywhere near it – but the choice and quality is far superior to anything you can buy at the market or at the local supermarkets. We had a wander around town and stopped for coffee in another bar. We sat on some small stools at a low part of the bar and judging by the look we got from an elderly man who came in10 minutes later, I think we were sat in his seat.

Friday night saw Neil and I back in town with Brian (my little Saxo). I had wanted to drive Brian earlier that day but he wouldn’t start. We knew we needed new heater plugs but after sitting over night in the cold he refused to start. By 3 in the afternoon, after sitting in the sun all day he started without a problem so we ran him down to the garage and asked them o fir new heater plugs, not that we knew how to say that in Spanish but we could point to them and they understood and even asked what they were called in English. Brian will be ready to collect tomorrow.

We had a lovely wander around the market in the sunshine on Saturday and then had a relaxing afternoon as both Neil and I are suffering with aching bones and a creaking back.

And now, we are just back from a wonderful Sunday dinner at a nearby restaurant. It’s off the road at km 12 (we live at km 8) although there’s a bit of a drive along the dirt track but it’s well worth the drive. Casa Joya is run by an English chef who had a Michelin star in the UK. We had been told it was worth visit, and we have to agree – the food is excellent. It’s a real delight to have such a good restaurant so close by for when we have visitors and the views from the restaurant are very similar to what we have from the house. Check it out at www.casa-joya.com

So, having enjoyed a good meal and a good bottle of wine we are now about to put up our Christmas tree. Neil has already unpacked a few things, one of which is my singing polar bear – which sings I’m dreaming of a white Christmas – to say the dogs are unimpressed would be an understatement, especially as it now occupies part of their settee.

Somehow, I think it unlikely that we will be leaving them alone with it for very long, I have a feeling they may try to show it who’s boss.

Kangaroo Mice!

While sitting quietly on the front step enjoying the warm sun, the dogs and I were suddenly taken by surprise by 4 small mice literally jumping out of a mouse hole in the ground about 10 feet away. They didn’t just run up and out of the hole, they were at least 10 inches into the air, almost as if they had a trampoline underground to aid with their exit!

This would account for why we have seen snakes near the house – it’s obviously where they go shopping for their weekend meal, and probably why the mice launch themselves out of the holes – they want time to see what’s up here before they are on the ground and running. It maybe that, should there be a snake waiting by the entrance, the mice would actually jump right over them and make good their escape!

So, decision time. Do we set traps? Well, I’m not a lover of killing mice and we don’t have any signs of them coming into the house. Having concrete floors, walls and roof, really the only way for them to get into the house is through the front door – so, maybe we should get a cat to deter them from coming in that way, but how would the dogs get on with a cat when all they have done previously is chase them?

For the time being I think we leave things as they are and continue to enjoy the nature around us…..

But the mice are on the same warning as the spiders – if they stay outside the house, no problem but if I find them inside the house – they are fair game! It seems to have worked with the spiders, since we cleared them all out and we moved in – I haven’t seen a single one in the house!

We've received our first Christmas cards from the UK.

The weeks are just passing so quickly at the moment that Christmas is likely to arrive and we’ll have no idea where December went.

The utility room is on its final stages – having the floor tiles laid. The washing machine is moving around the room at the moment, not because the spin cycle is too aggressive but because we need to tile underneath it and so we have to keep moving it from an area that needs doing to an area that’s been done. It’s not the lightest of objects to move but it does seem to be co-operating.

After waiting a few more days for the internet people to contact us, I finally spoke to someone at Head Office who informed me they we waiting for me to pay the Pro-Forma invoice. What Pro-Forma invoice?

Apparently when I completed the application form on-line it SHOULD have automatically sent me one to pay – but it hadn’t so Andrea, who speaks pretty good English e-mailed another one which I received late Friday. This needed paying at the bank and as soon as they had received the monies they would send out the equipment.

Only one problem that led to further delays – it had to be the Bank of Santander and they weren’t open on Saturday morning and then we have had 2 Bank Holidays together – Mon & Tues. So, I went in to pay it this morning.

Now, the Bank of Santander is not a small provincial bank, infact from bits I have reading the papers and seen on the TV news it’s actually faired quite well through the recession and is one of the more successful banks so imagine my surprise when I passed over the ‘factura’ for payment along with my debit card, only to be told I can’t use my debit card as they don’t have a swipe machine! I would need to take the cash out of the cash point and the go back into the bank to pay it.

Now, I may be a little sceptical on this BUT the cash points at the Santander Bank are one of the few that charge me for withdrawing cash – mmmmm!?

So, I walked around the corner to us another bank’s cash machine who don’t charge me, withdrew the money and then went back to pay the invoice.

I then phoned the internet people to let them know I had paid the bill so that they can send the equipment to the installer and maybe, just maybe we can get connected up next week! Oh, I do hope so!

Last week I went for my first Spanish class here. There were 3 of us in the class but I think I may be more advanced than the others and so does the teacher, so I’m going to keep to this class until Christmas and see how it goes and if necessary I’ll swap in the New Year. I also found out that each Friday night there is a conversation class in one of the bars on town, which is run by someone from the local Language School. Both Spanish and English people attend and they match an English bod with a Spanish bod and you speak English for half an hour and then Spanish for half an hour. Some times they may put you in groups of 4, 2 English and 2 Spanish – so that is definitely one for me to go to. The classes are free – you just buy a drink!

I couldn’t go last week – I just couldn’t miss the final of I’m a Celebrity, but I have no such excuse this week so I may summon up the courage and make an appearance.

I’m not going to make any comment this week about writing my next post from home as I do not wish to tempt fate!

While I was in town this morning I checked for post at the Post Office and we have received our first 2 Christmas cards with letters in them and it was really nice to get them. For my relatives who aren’t on the internet I always do a long catch up of what’s happened during the year and include a few photos because they can’t keep reading about things on my blog and it’s always lovely to receive letters back. I really like going to get my post rather than it dropping through the post box, I can pick it up and then go and get a coffee while I read what’s arrived – it’s a lovely way to pass half an hour.

We have a wall.

We decided we needed a couple of days rest after almost seizing up the day after we had laid the floor in the garage. We have pottered around the house doing bits, but nothing too strenuous, we even found time to go to the market on Saturday morning and have a wander around. It’s a good size market and we will be able to get most of the market shopping we need from there. It’s along the streets in the centre of town and as we wandered along, we bumped into our neighbours and their visitors, who we had previously met, so we all decided to stop in one of the bars for a coffee before going our separate ways for the rest of the day. It was a welcome interlude to all the work we have been doing in the house and I thoroughly enjoyed meandering through the stalls.

Sunday saw us back in our work clothes and mixing more concrete to finish off the front section of the garage floor. This was only 6 loads of cement and we had finished in about 3 hours.

Monday should have been a golf day but Neil woke to find he had tweaked his back and he was a little wary of doing any serious damage. As the weather had turned really windy he decided he would give golf a miss and rest his back as we had planned another heavy work day on Tuesday.

Tuesday saw us up early as today we were going to build the wall in the front of the garage ready for the door and window to go in. Now, neither Neil or I have ever built a wall before and we were quite pleased we would be using blocks rather than bricks. There were a lot less of them and it would grow really quickly. It was a slow process as every block had to be set with the spirit level to make sure it was all straight but we took our time and we managed to finish it before it got dark.

As we stood back admiring our handiwork, I have to confess, I did feel rather pleased with our days work knowing that today would be a rest day because…..

We’ve run out of cement!

So, today we have been into town shopping, trying out another coffee bar and generally enjoying the glorious weather we are having. Check the photo – gorgeous blue skies and temperatures still in double figures. I checked last night and it went as low as 8c during the night but once the sun rose this morning we were back to it being warm enough to walk around without our coats.

One disappointment this week, they were supposed to be coming to install the satellite link for the internet and phone yesterday but they rang me on Monday to say that the equipment hadn’t arrived at the installers so they had to cancel and will re-arrange when they have all the bits. I’m hoping to get a call later this week because it really is difficult without them.

Hey Ho, remember those days of phone boxes and letters – how did we all cope before mobiles and broadband?

I really hope my next post will be from the house – but I’m not holding my breath!

Our next big task is to tile the floor in the garage and we pick up the tiles tomorrow so I guess that will be started fairly soon. We’re trying to get all this work done before the winter sets in and we have seen our first signs this morning.

Over on the mountains far in the distance we have seen our first snow of the winter.