De Perros y Limones

Home Alone

We’ve had a week of much cooler temperatures- down to about 32 each day – which has been a blessed relief for us and the village.   It meant that we could go out a bit more in the afternoons and try to do two things; get Sonalee ready for her return to Morocco and to see the sights of where we live before Sonalee’s return to Morocco.

This is our home

She left yesterday on a flight from Malaga and we won’t see her for the next four months at least.   And it’s pretty shit.   Its shit for us that she has left behind and for her to be home alone in Morocco, or at least without me and the pack.  It’s not shit for Bibi who gets a mummy to look after her again.   But that really is the only positive from this.   We made a pact not to cry at the airport which we both just about kept to. 

  • Dora
  • Bindi
  • & Luna

So, Sonalee will be back at work after a week of self-quarantine and I have four dogs who already miss their mummy.   This is my principle job, to look after the hounds.   To say that my C.V. will look interesting is an understatement.  

Anyway, we packed quite a lot into our month together and made each morning walk with the doggies a really long one.  We also managed to visit my best friend’s family in a proper Spanish resort town as well as finally using our 300 quid tent!  Yay!  

It is fair to say that having four dogs is sooo much easier than having three children.  My God!  We have no idea how Kev and Igone do it, we really don’t.   Sonalee learned a new word whilst we were with them – squinnying.   It’s a Pompey word that means whining/crying/complaining bitterly.   Most of the squinnying came from some perceived slight from or bias towards a brother or sister.   Were me and my sisters like that?   I have a terrible feeling that we were.  Now that we are grown-ups,  the three of us never get like that anymore.   Well…

I love this one. I love it loads.
This one isn’t far behind.

It was, of course, wonderful to see them all for those four days as well as spending time with Nerea’s godmother and her husband who kept us from being too sober.   It’s lovely to see the kids to change with each meet-up.  We’re now looking forward to next summer and seeing them there again.

Oropesa is very very Spanish

This is one of the greatest benefits of being in Spain during ‘normal’ times.   And that we get to go camping!   For free!   Yep, the campsite which is maintained and cleaned meticulously doesn’t charge its visitors – these pesky Europeans with their weird ideas.   We visited the town of Castell de Guadalest to see the castle (of course) and also the Salt and Pepper shaker Museum (why not?).  The latter was brilliant!   Climbing the mountain behind our campsite was bloody hot work but the swimming pool there made it more bearable. 

Kevin’s youngest, Amaia, helping him choose the food for the evening.
Nerea, my god-daughter, is as beautiful as she thinks she is.

We were only able to go ‘on holiday’ thanks to Tony, our dogsitter.  He was brilliant.   He has quite the story to tell from the pandemic lockdown and how it affected him and his mobile home during his sabbatical from the Prison Service.   We hope he had a good time in  Fuente Tojar for a week.   The only problem during his stay was the one that literally left me sleepless with worry when we were in Oropesa.

Amaia was desperate to see the show. It turns out that we all really enjoyed it! Great fun!

We got a call from Tony late one night to say that Dora had taken fright at the sight of kids on bikes (she’s always been like that) and had scarpered into the pitch darkness of the campo.  He couldn’t find her.  He was worried and so were we.  That particular day it  had been 42 degrees in Fuente Tojar, which is savage.   I had images of Dora suffering in the day heat, too frightened to come home.   I had images of her walking and walking away from the village to end up by the side of a road and all sorts of other scenarios.   I was a mess.

Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum. Brilliant!

Then, the next morning, just as we were thinking about driving home, he texted to say that Dora had turned up at first light and demanded to be let in.  Like nothing had happened!   Aargghh!   Now, naturally, she’s a lot more cocky when we’re out in the campo.  What to do?

The return home to the village coincided with the saga of trying  to arrange a flight and the requisite tests for Covid 19 and the realisation that this was really happening.    What to do? 

  • You must leave one olive to appease the Gods.

Well, Sonalee has left me with plenty of jobs to get on with, including improving my lamentable Spanish.   It really is bad.   Part of my solution is to try to visit Bar Chico to watch the football more often.  It’s a tough task but I think I’m up to it.   Sonalee isn’t convinced it will teach me to improve my Spanish but Kevin and I think it is a great idea.  

The house, being as old as it is, needs constant attention and it is this that I will try to focus on in the coming months.   Most of the stuff that needs doing will be fairly simple for me to complete but I just wish I could improve my plastering skills to a level that it doesn’t look it’s been done by a blind, one-handed 4 year-old.   Sonalee pretends to not notice how bad it is but I know she’s thinking that some professional help may be required in the future.

That mountain in the background. We climbed that bad boy.

But I’m still going to miss her desperately.  Who is going to piss me off more than my wife does?  Who will I plan dinner for if it’s only me?  Who is going to make me the cup of tea each morning that I wake to?   How can I now stroll down to the village square for an evening drink with her looking beautiful?  Who can I hug on a walk?   Who will drink cava with me and then fall asleep on the sofa with Dante at her feet?  

Priego De Cordoba

This is 2020 and life for us, along with millions of others, has been turned upside down.  First we had four months of lockdown and being with each other 24/7 and now we have four months of not being in the same country or even continent. 

At the Tower

We are determined to make the best of it because what else can you do?  And when things do return to some sort of normal we’ll be stronger together.  Thank God Sonalee has Bibi at home with her.   Even if we hadn’t needed to get out of Morocco – mainly based upon having our car seized if we didn’t – I don’t think we would have forsaken the opportunity.  This last month back in Andalusia and beyond has been fantastic despite the insane temperatures.  

One of my favourites

And I will try to remember that in the coming months, months that will be shit without her.  

Hasta Luego, Inshallah

Ayubowan

Paul

A rare Luna sighting on a walk

PS  I cried.

  • Fuente Tojar Tours

Paul

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