Category: Flowers

Settling in to Saliente

Settling into the house has been very easy in some ways, and in others not so much.

It’s wonderful to be in my master bedroom with the huge bathroom, but the hot water wasn’t working so we couldn’t have showers. Also the washing machine kept stopping because of ‘not enough water’.

We got hold of a local plumber and arranged for him to visit. We want to replace the gas cylinder water heater with a solar one, as well as the house heating system. The current system uses red diesel and neither of us likes that so we’re going to get a pellet burner for the main living room that will act as both a fireplace and heat the radiators as needed.

The plumber’s wife does pool cleaning which we badly need – you can’t even see the bottom of ours through the algae and muck. There’s also a crappy ‘jacuzzi’ on the terrace by the pool that we’ll have to empty and dispose of.

It turns out that the hot water does work, although the canister did need replacing. The problem was that we kept testing the hot water in the kitchen, where for some very strange reason the hot water pipe was not connected (or turned on, or something). Anyway I did get a very nice shower before we ran out of all water.

The plumber came up the next day with his wife, who said she could definitely rehabilitate the pool, while he went down to the lower, larger water tank and opened something up that allowed a bit more water to be pumped to the smaller upper tank that feeds the house. He also arranged for another fellow to partially fill the lower tank from his tanker truck in a couple of days.

A few days later we went into Albox and had another meeting with our bank guy – he helped us setup our new cards, and we also arranged house insurance.

Back at the house we realized that the loud ‘cawing/squawking’ that we’d been listening to day and night was not a large exotic bird, but a small frog living in the pool.

I thought I’d rescued him and proceeded to scoop him out (on only my second try with our new net) and deposited him in a shady part of the garden in a bit of water. Well – it turns out he didn’t want to be ‘saved’ or relocated, as the very next morning we found him once again singing his mating call at the top of his lungs from the pool.

We’ve seen other local wildlife such as rabbits, and this morning Colin saw a fox, who seemed to be interested in the rabbits, but I was too slow to get a pic.

Sitting on the terrace at any time of day is very pleasant, and there’s always a beautiful view to be had.

I’m also enjoying being able to do yoga again – my master bedroom is large enough that I can put out my mat with plenty of room to spare.

Another fellow has come to do some measuring for balustrades for the inside stairs, as well as fencing for the front yard. It’s quite a large space so we’re only going to enclose part of it – the raised beds for our veggie gardens will be outside the fence, although we will have to ensure that they are rabbit-proof.

One afternoon we walked the dogs on the rambla to the nearby restaurant – it was just packed, and there was a bouncy-castle for kids and music playing. We didn’t think it was an after-funeral party and decided it was either a wedding celebration or christening party. There were lots of kids and the little girls were all dressed up with frills and bows – very cute.

When I sit on the terrace beside the pool it’s easy to envision how it will look next year with some strategically placed flowering shrubs in pots and a couple of nice large umbrellas – it’s going to be gorgeous and I can’t wait!

Getting the House!

We arranged a second visit to the new house in order to find out about where fuse boxes and water controls, etc. were. The current owners were very accommodating, and while Andy (from the estate agents) did an inventory of the furniture that will be left for us we walked around with the owners and they told us all they could about everything.

There are two water storage tanks and the lady told us who to call when we need fill-ups. She’s so nice and is leaving us a list of who to contact for everything we might need.

It was very nice to find that I loved the place as much on the second viewing as I did on the first – I can’t wait to move in!

We’ve taken a couple more drives around the area – we figure if we’re going to host the odd small bike group once in awhile we better know the best places to ride.

Yesterday’s trip was quite long, but some of the countryside was so beautiful it made the hours worth it.

On the way back we missed a turn in one of the small villages and ended up going for a few miles on a rambla, but we made it ok and ended up where we expected near the sanctuary.

We signed the deed for the house almost a week ago. Waiting at the notary office for almost two hours was a bit nerve-wracking but in the end it was all ok. Our lawyer had sent the funds for the purchase ‘the slow way’ and the sellers didn’t want to wait 3 or 4 days for the $ to show in their bank so our lawyer went off to the bank and had them recall the funds and re-send them ‘the fast way’. No problem!

We were given the keys and I almost skipped for joy. A quick run for groceries and we were on our way to our new home!

The next day we arranged for the wi-fi service, but all else will have to wait for three days as it’s yet another long weekend here.

The first thing we discovered was that we had no hot water – first on our list now of what we’ll have to deal with. Next will be getting the water tanks filled, arrange for the pool to be cleaned before mid-June, and have the heating system checked. Oh – the joys of home ownership!

Slow days over Easter and another step forward

We received the contract for the house by email from the lawyer late one evening. We had a couple of simple questions that we emailed back to them but by then everything was shut down for the five-day Easter weekend.

Not able to do any business we had a couple of very slow days, taking only one day-trip back north to Chirivel. Once again we commented on the beauty of the area, and doing the loop in a different direction we came back via Oria.

Sitting outside one afternoon at the campground we got a bit of a shock – we had the canopy out as it was nice and sunny and were surprised by a large thump above us and seeing some spray.

I jumped up and stepped away to get a view of the canopy and could see what looked like bird poo spread out all over. Colin got the hose out and sprayed it off – it was gross. I was very glad for the canopy as I’d been sitting right below where the worst of the poo was and might have gotten it right in the face!

A short while later when inside the campervan Colin noticed that some of the brown shit had come thru the open vent above his bed and was sprinkled on his duvet – since we had just done a bunch of laundry the duvet cover was hanging on the line drying so the poo/goo was right on the duvet itself.

It actually didn’t smell bad so we’re not really sure what it was – maybe mud and bits of grass or leaves/needles. We couldn’t figure out where it came from – we hadn’t noticed any large birds, although it was very windy and could perhaps have come from one of the large trees nearby. It’s a mystery.

Another day we drove up near the new house and while Colin sat with the dogs outside the restaurant and had a coffee I finally – for the first time this year! – got on my bike. I rode up the nearest rambla and pedaled leisurely along below the house and north almost to the sanctuary.

It was a very nice ride, although I did have to pay good attention to the ‘road’ surface, which is a combination of dirt, gravel and sand, and having many washout grooves from all of the recent rain.

I think being able to explore the ramblas will almost make up for not being able to ride the canal paths in and around Worcester anymore.

The ride north was all gently uphill, and hardly noticeable – you could only really tell there was a gradient at all because going back south to the restaurant I hardly had to peddle – I might even have been able to coast the whole way if I’d wanted to.

After the long-long Easter weekend we got to do some more business. A quick visit to George at the estate agent office answered most of our questions regarding the contract. He printed it for us and we signed it. We then popped into the bank, which we were lucky to get into as it was market day and the street was packed with stalls.

Our representative was with other customers so we made an appointment for an hour later. When we saw him at noon he did a transfer for us of 10% of the house purchase – our bank cards hadn’t arrived yet and we also don’t have an NIF number so we couldn’t do it ourselves. We gave him the papers showing where the large transfer of cash from the UK came from to back-up the anti-money laundering file on the account.

After the bank we returned to where we’d parked the camper van – about a km back along the road out of town because of all the extra parked cars for the market. Next stop was to drop off the papers at the lawyers – a one-pager from the bank showing the 10% had been done, as well as the signed contract. Another step forward!

From Papiano to San Martino Canavese – via Cavour

The next day was a day of rest, laundry and watching the final day of Tirreno-Adriatic as well as Paris-Nice on tv. Winners of each were as expected – the two Slovenians, Pogacar and Roglic.

Pogacar won TA in rather convincing fashion, but Roglic needed a good effort from Van Aert to rein in one of the Yatesies on the final climb of PN.

Packing up again on Monday morning didn’t take long as we hadn’t completely emptied the campervan the other night. Saying goodbye to Papiano once again we left under beautiful sunshine and a clear blue sky.

Without being in any super-great hurry we ended up continuing on all the way to Cavour. As we got further and further north the sunshine disappeared behind the clouds and the rain started, but we made it to the fruit farm ok.

As usual the dogs were in the courtyard to great us – mama Maya and her little one Spreet (he’s at least five now but still smaller than his mama, and she’s tiny) as well as the young lab that they got a few years ago when the old lab died.

It rained most of the night but by the time we got up it had stopped. After a nice shower and some breakfast we saw the older fellow (father, we think) approaching. His english is much worse than my Italian, and I managed to convey that we were just finishing eating, then would get some water and be ready to leave in about an hour. That seemed ok as he said he’d be in the courtyard and we could find him when ready so he could open the gates for us.

The farm must be doing ok as there’s a shiny new tractor in one of the outbuildings. In addition to producing the fruit they also make it into jams, etc, have occasional lunches and dinners, and sometimes run a pre-school. Accepting campers isn’t a huge part of their business, but we’ve enjoyed staying there several times now.

The first time for me was five years ago when I spent six or seven days there upon my return from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Colin came and picked me up and we went to Mt. Ventoux for the dedication of the Tom Simpson memorial. Colin had know Tommy years ago in his riding days so it was quite special.

The drive to our next destination didn’t take too long as it’s only a bit north of Torino. Very shortly after leaving the motorway we saw a pink arrow and it was easy going following the route from there to the small town of San Martino Canavese that we’d chosen to watch the race from the next afternoon.

We had a nice chicken and rice lunch and spent the rest of the day reading. Relocating just a bit for the night we found a large flat area across from the cemetery – far enough off the main road that the traffic noise was much less.

I took a walk around the cemetery the next morning, and was just pondering the fact that many of the folks residing there had lived to nice old ages…

…other than the ones named at the two war memorials…

…when I saw a teddy-bear. The baby only lived a couple of months, and the plaque was very touching, being from ‘Mamma and Papa’.

The Alps loom in the distance, still of course, covered in snow.

Mid-morning we went for a walk through the town looking for a cafe – there’s another war memorial next to the steps going up.

We didn’t find a cafe, but did come across barking dogs behind every second fence.

Having some time before the race arrives we took a short drive to the next decent sized town on the route, managing this time to find a nice cafe that served delicious Segafredo coffee – totally worth the search.

Back at San Martino we parked in an area right on the race route, and settled in to wait. A police car pulled up to warn us that the road was going to be closed soon but we assured him it was ok – that’s what we’re parked here for.

Lido de Camaiore for Tirreno-Adriatico ITT

Leaving the aire before 8:00 we headed north towards Lido de Camaiore, stopping along the way for a fabulous cappuccino at a highway rest stop.

We got to Camaiore in good time and drove along the Lido, passing several of the team buses in the best parking areas.

Most of the parking areas were taped off for the teams and other race officials but we came to a perfect place near the Hotel Joseph.

There were some other campervans there already so we figured it was a good place to stop.

After a bite to eat we went for a walk back towards the start of tomorrow’s ITT – it was a bit of a ways and there were no cafes open or anything. We did enjoy the excercise and fresh air, however.

There are several teams staying at the Hotel Joseph, and the mechanics, etc. are all in process of washing the time trial bikes and everything.

There are all sorts of sculptures and art pieces along the Lido – some of them are quite nice and some of them a bit puzzling.

Also, because we’re so close to Carrara there’s lots of marble – some of the sidewalks are actually made of it!

After a very early night and a good quiet sleep we were up early again. Wanting a cappuccino we walked north this time along the Lido, eventually asking a policeman where a cafe might be found.

Following his directions we shortly were seated outside a very nice, and increasingly busy cafe at one end of a large plaza.

Across from the plaza were more sculptures, and a lovely long pier that was very well made with stainless steel handrails – quite impressive.

There was a fellow playing the harp partway down – I think I even recognized the song he was playing which was something Italian and classical that I don’t know the name of.

The beach here looks excellent – very wide and flat with fine white sand.

For a few hours in the late morning most of the riders were doing re-con of the course, then the police motos and photo motos took their turns.

The first racer left around 2:00 – it’s a straight north ride for almost 7 km, then a hairpin turn and back south to the finish, so each rider passes us twice, once in each direction. I got the Cav…

…a heli – what?? They’re alway sneaking into my shots…

…someone coming from the beach who didn’t care at all about the race…

…Alaphilippe…

As some of the riders finished they slowly rode back to their hotels – sometimes on the race road and sometime on the sidewalk. At one point I looked up and coming towards me was Richie Porte! I waved and smiled (not having time to take a photo) and he smiled back and said ‘Hi’! – almost the highlight of my day. I also got Ganna…

…Evenepoel…

…and Pogacar…

A very fine day of race watching, followed by another very early night.

Mellowing in Mansle

Since our return from Spain things have been pretty quiet for us and we haven’t done a whole lot, with a few exceptions.

First, and quite important – we went to a clinic so Colin could get his ‘vaccine passport’ and I could arrange for my second shot. They weren’t sure what to do with me – they don’t vaccinate ‘tourists’ but we managed to convey that I wasn’t really just a tourist, and they really wanted to help me so they gave in.

The very nice lady doctor (that spoke pretty good english) told me that since my first shot was about four months ago it was too old and I’d have to get two more from them. Disappointing as it would mean delaying our return to Italy, but I made an appointment for the first one two days from then.

When we arrived for my appointment the first thing the same doctor said was ‘why don’t we do an antibody test just in case – if you have antibodies then we may only have to give you one shot’. They took a bit of blood from a finger prick, then gave me a shot. While I waited my 15 minutes the test result came in and I did have enough antibodies – they presented me with a vaccine certificate!! They still didn’t know what to do about billing me so just let me go.

The first thing we did when we got back to Mansle was go to the bar, but Edith had to break the news to me that I had to wait a week before I was ‘legal’ – oh well, back home we went.

The second, and very enjoyable thing was that we had Tony and Joyce over for dinner. It was a lovely evening so we sat outside for the appetizers before coming inside for the main meal. There was good wine, and excellent conversation, and the food seemed to go over well – an extremely nice evening.

We had lunch one day near Luxe at the ‘lake’ – they’d stocked it with 300 kilos of live trout and there were dozens of fishermen and women sitting in the rain along the shore.

One old fellow caught two good sized ones while we ate.

We had several nice bike rides, with the last one being over 40 km – we stopped in Aigre for lunch then managed to make it home before the rain hit.

Colin took the campervan to the place he bought it from in Ruffec to get all of the small things sorted out – we’re going to Italy in the car so won’t be needing the campervan again for a while.

I’ve learned to make a proper pie crust and have made a couple of very tasty quiches – next up steak and mushroom pie.

There’s been a couple of very important races that we watched on tv this year rather than being there. First the world championships in Belgium, which would have been awesome to see live – a thrilling race won for the second year in a row by Julian Alaphilippe.

The second one two days ago was Paris-Roubaix, which normally takes place in April, and is the first time it’s been held since we saw it live in 2019. This year it was rain and mud all the way, and was won with a thrilling sprint to the finish by three riders – the winner by a few inches was Italian Sonny Colbrelli.

Having missed both of those races we’re really looking forward to going to the last big one of the year – il Lombardia – on our way back to Papiano.

Roast Lamb, Friends in Logrono, back to France

The campground’s pit-roasted lamb dinner was every bit as delicious as we remembered – a joint of lamb brought sizzling in a pan and carved by the chef at our table, accompanied by green olives, lovely crusty bread, fries and salad.

I ate as much as I could and still had plenty to take away for tomorrow’s meals – a really excellent birthday dinner.

The next morning we weren’t in any great hurry to leave so took a nice long walk along the main street of the town.

As usual in this area it’s all about the Camino, with auberges all over the place, as well as a nice plaza and some cafe/bars.

We did get away right around noon, stopping to say goodbye to the owners and letting them know how much we enjoyed staying there – and the dinner last night – and promising to return.

The drive to Logrono didn’t take that long, and we found the aire no problem – we’d been there two years ago. It’s just on the north edge of the city in an area chock-full of sports fields and activities. Nice and flat with lots of trees, very near the river.

In the morning we took a walk to the river, then east along the lovely pathway to the large pedestrian bridge, passing a skateboard park along the way.

We only came to the town to see Ricardo (Richard) and to pick up three cases of Rioja to take back to France – he was able to meet with us a bit early, along with his daughter Lucy.

It was so nice to see them again, especially as we’d not been able to come to Spain last year. We took another walk with them, this time to a cafe where we sat outside and chatted for a bit.

Lucy has grown up so much – she was only 12 or so when we first met her, and now she’s in her final year of school before entering university next year – a very lovely and beautiful young lady.

When we told them where we’d been the last couple of days they were so surprised – it’s the place that Richard’s father was born and grew up in – he still has cousins and other family there. I showed them the photos I’d taken and they recognized almost every place.

Right after Richard and Lucy left we also got under way, deciding to go all the way back to Mansle rather than stopping partway. We made a stop very near the French border to pickup a couple more things and once again crossed over without even a question, only knowing we’d crossed the border when we passed the sign saying ‘France’.

Bonar, Barrio de Las Olas and Barky Dogs

It absolutely poured with rain during the night, and Mo, as usual, tried to out-bark the thunder. We’ve noticed that the campground has made several improvements from the last time we were here. The bathrooms, including the sinks and showers all seem new and they’ve spiffed up other things as well.

The one thing that hadn’t changed was that no one was at the office when we wanted to leave. The last time we’d just left some cash in an envelope and put it thru the door slot, but this time we left a note that we’d be back later.

We had to go up to Lugo to try to get a couple of things fixed in the campervan. Not only had the solar battery/electrics failed but the sink plug had sprung a leak – for the second time! Adria: we love the new campervan and many things about it, but some of the little things are just crap!

We made it to Lugo and the place we’d picked was very good – we got a replacement sink drain/fixture and one of their guys had a look at the battery. He wasn’t an expert and couldn’t determine what was wrong so didn’t charge us anything, although Colin gave him some cash anyway.

We headed southeast back to the campground where we paid up, then further east past Leon, stopping at the edge of the town of Sahechores where we saw a bunch of campervans parked in a field. It was quite pleasant, with a very nice restaurant/bar as well.

We were enjoying a nice beverage when a woman at a table near us lit a cigarette. As this was very smelly, and I know isn’t allowed I motioned for her to put it out – no doing. She gave me the evil eye until Colin went in to pay, then I went to her table and apologized for my response to her smoking, telling her that my mother had died due to cigarettes and it just made me sad. She accepted my apology very contritely.

We had a nice quiet night – with…ta-da! – full power on the battery in the morning. We took a short walk – there’s a huge stork’s nest atop the chimney of a church, and a rock that looks like a frog (according to Colin) – a bit of imagination can be used, then I get it.

We got going before noon back to Leon to stock up again and then off northeast to the town of Bonar. It’s in a lovely area and the aire is right on the river – 3 euros a night including electrics.

The aire is right across from the community swimming pool/recreation area and as it was Saturday they were having a party.

Hundreds of people started to arrive and the music was blaring – we feared no sleep would be had until well after midnight.

We took a walk in to the town and had a nice drink at one of several cafe/bars.

On the walk back two ladies looking out their window smiled as I waved at them then took their photo.

We were very pleasantly surprised when the music at the party across the road stopped at around 9:00 and we were able to get an early, peaceful night.

There were about 25 campervans in the place overnight but many left during the day. We assume this is the last weekend of holidays in Spain and everyone has to get back to work or school.

There are several hiking and mountain-biking trails around here, as well as skiing in the winter. We took a walk along a trail that was meant to take us to a waterfall, but it wasn’t well marked and we went about a kilometre the wrong way before backtracking.

It was still a nice walk, though, and we went back along the road rather than the trail. There was more than one house with guard dogs, and one in particular had several large, loud ones.

Another walk into the town, and another refreshing beverage, this time with a couple of tapas.

On the walk back the sun was coming thru the clouds in brilliant rays – a lovely evening.

This morning we went for another walk, this time following the road rather than the unmarked trail. It was easy walking until we came to the ‘dog house’. This time there were no fewer than six very large dogs just hurling themselves at their gate to get at us so we hustled past.

Then a lone dog – a ridge-back, Colin thought – came after us up the road. There was a fat old lady yelling at it to come back but it just kept coming at us. I scooped Mo up in my arms and the dog went past us and on to Colin and Henry. Colin gave it a light kick and it retreated back a bit, allowing us to pass.

I yelled at the old lady – even though it wasn’t in Spanish I’m sure she understood ‘get control of your f’ing dog!’.

I must say something about the dogs here – there are dogs everywhere, but here in Spain it seems the owners don’t care as much about having them on a leash and it can be quite frightening, especially when we have two fairly small dogs – always on their leads, of course.

We continued on up to the nearby small village of Barrio de Las Ollas – unfortunately there wasn’t even a cafe, and several of the houses were for sale.

It wasn’t deserted or anything, in fact restoration work was being done on more than one place.

Not feeling very energetic we declined to go to town for a drink, opting instead to sit in the chairs outside and take it easy.

There are only four or five campervans here now and it’s very quiet.

The recreation area across the road had a bit of music as usual, but again it ended nice and early.

Exploring Galicia – Foz to Razo, and Places in Between

We had a couple of fairly quiet days, with nice walks along the shore trails.

The weather was a bit crappish so we didn’t go far, and never even bothered to get out the bikes.

One morning there was a man that was teaching his son to surf – and the little fellow seemed to like it.

After a couple of days of rest we decided to head a bit inland again, and ended up in an aire at the edge of the lovely village of Castro de Rei. It even had free electric.

We got parked, then took a walk into the village, where we encountered an elderly couple that were just leaving their garden and crossing the road to their house. They took a great interest in the dogs, especially Henry. We managed to converse a bit, even with my very poor spanish, and they were so sweet – wanting to know the doggies names, and also where we were staying.

We then walked back a bit and stopped at the bar to have a drink, and then a couple of very small tapas. The bill for a really nice glass of rioja, a beer and two tapas was a grand total of three euros!

On the way back to the campervan I tried to take some photos of the almost-full moon – I was fairly disappointed with the results…it was much more colourful than I seemed able to capture.

We left Castro de Rei mid-morning the next day and continued on the short distance to A Feira Do Monte, which was also very nice, although quite a bit larger town. The aire, however, was in a really beautiful area right next to a bird sanctuary.

It was a fairly busy parking area actually, with lots of cars coming and going – there are several nice trails going around the ‘lake’ and to various places in the town.

We took a lovely long walk around the ‘lake’ – it has many informative kiosks as well as a few strategically placed bird watching towers.

The next morning we took a short walk along one of the many paved trails – it eventually led to a museum in the town but we didn’t follow it to the end, opting to get going to our next stop instead. I must say they’ve done a really good job with the trails and info in this area – very nice to see.

We went a couple hours almost straight west to what we thought was going to be an isolated beach aire on the coast near the small village of Razo.

It was a beautiful place, but not what we’d expected. It was just bustling – mostly with surfers, but at least it had a couple of nice bars and restaurants. We parked for the afternoon right across from the beach – directed by some fellows that looked fairly official, but we weren’t asked for any money. We squeaked into a space, slightly scraping the canopy holder on the side of the campervan on a sign on the way in.

After a nice walk above the beach – no dogs allowed on the actual beach – we tried to order a drink at a bar, but no luck. They were incredibly busy but didn’t seem to have nearly enough staff to service half of the folks. Two people at the table next to us were able to order some of what they wanted but then the waitress pretty much ran away without taking our order. When I said ‘well…maybe tomorrow!’ the two laughed and said ‘she’s very stressed’ but we’d waited long enough and left for another place.

At the second place we ended up not only having drinks – a very nice bottle of Rioja – but also lunch.

We relocated where we parked a couple of times to find the right place to spend the night, ending up on a large paved area at the edge of town, again right across from the ocean.

The sunset was beautiful.

Back to Rio de Luna

A beautiful morning greeted us at the little aire – such a lovely place.

The drive to Rio Luna was pretty flat and a bit boring, at least until we passed Leon and got into the foothills of the mountains.

The dam at the end of the reservoir didn’t look like it’s letting any water out and the lake does look higher than when we were last here. There were lots of boats out and the marina was pretty full.

The campground was much busier than it was two years ago, but we ended up on the exact same pitch. First thing I did was shower, and did the hot water ever feel good!

Down at the campground’s bar we had a nice conversation with a british couple that now live in southern Spain and are up here for a vacation. As with most brits we talk with they are frustrated by England’s ever changing covid rules – visitors are hesitant to come over as rules may change while they’re here and they’ll have a huge hassle getting back to England.

One afternoon we looked up and there was a rainbow in the clouds – no rain at all, in fact most of the sky was bright blue – a hot and sunny day.

We’re having a little vacation here before heading to the north coast. The first ride we took was on Wednesday into San Emiliano where we saw the fabulous horse fair two years ago.

We had a coffee at one of the cafes and I asked the waitress if the horse fair was going to be on at the end of the month – I showed her some photos I’d taken two years ago and she said, very sadly that no, the fair was off because of covid. Darn! We were really looking forward to it.

I then went into the small supermarket to get some cheese for the pasta to go with my bolognese sauce, and a local interpreted for me and sent me to the proper area of the store to get the best cheese – made just down the road. Unfortunately I’ve let my Spanish lessons slide a bit in favour of Italian and haven’t brushed up enough – I’ll have to do better!

The little ones were pretty good in their chariot on our first ride into San Emiliano, but the second ride when we went up to Abelgas wasn’t so pleasant – at least for me.

They’re sharing one chariot as Colin’s bike doesn’t have the proper connection, and both dogs did nothing but bark and howl the entire time up and down to the village. At one point on the way back we were chased for quite a while by a big dog – that was something I just didn’t want to deal with!

It gets quite cold here at night – just above freezing, but by mid-afternoon we want to hide in the shade. Yet it’s not nearly as hot as some places – it reached 48.8 in Sicily yesterday, and the fires back home are so bad. We feel very fortunate, and don’t take anything for granted.

Even though the campground seems pretty packed and there are a lot of kids, it’s very quiet, especially in the mornings. We had a very late sleep in this morning and didn’t arise until 9:30 – quite unusual.

We did take the doggies for a nice walk on the trail behind the campground – we’d followed it all the way around 2 years ago but turned back partway this time as it was getting hot.

When I downloaded my photos and then compared them to the ones I took last time I wasn’t too surprised to see that some of them are almost identical between the two years. I like what I like!

They had recently cut the weeds, etc along the path and right around a new thistle were dozens of tiny blue butterflies – you can’t see them that well in my photo but they were awesome.