Friday happy friday

Today was a good day! We set out with Dad to go and fill up the gas canisters and see if that was why the generator wont start. After having to go back to the house because we forgot to pick up the keys, we made it to the finca. The sky was rather overcast today and there were threatened squalls of rain all day long, but nothing major. Dad managed to get the genertor running in three fell pulls, much to our delight. It turns out that we didn't know how to prime the motor and that was all it took. Dad went off to get ready for evening classes and we set about cleaning the house. Simon found Fran a very nice straight olive branch for her walking stick, which he ended up being very jealous of, and whittled it down to the perfect size. After running the borehole dry, we moved the 2 pallets worth of bricks and roofing tiles round to the back of the house, and did some general tidying as there is supposed to be someone coming to see the house. We cleaned and organised and got more familiar with the property, all of which made us almost hope that the visitors don't decide to buy as we would love an opportunity to do some more work on the site. We hiked back to town just as the sun was going down and got some veggies for dinner, a pruning saw for the olive trees, and 2 big mugs for morning coffee. The rain started to fall just as we got in the front door and we curled up for a night of good food and warm beds.

Alberca alberca

So the dream has begun. We set out on Wednesday to walk to Ruben's finca for the first time. We headed out along the road to Portugal, took the last road on the right and walked till we hit dirt road. Less than 10 minutes, past farms of pigs, an old couple trying to repair their fence where the sheep obviously tried to get out,and a lovely little stream with waterfalls on it, got us to Ruben's gate. The house sits on the side of a hill with an incredible view out over the Sierra. It is surrounded by olives and fruit trees and on a windy November day, looks like a little piece of heaven. The goal for the day was to get the alberca cleared out. It is the old resevoir, which acts as the overflow for the borehole tanks. We decided lunch was a good idea before attacking the digging, so we sat down and had a picnic of fresh baked bread, queso viejo, chorizo, jamon and olives, in the sunshine at the front of the house. Aaah bliss. It was then time for work. At some point about 2 years ago a sheep and a dog fell into the alberca, so there was a collection of bones in the soil, which made the digging a bit more interesting. Thankfully as they were sunbleached it was not as bad as we had expected. Simon did the digging and Fran did the hauling and about 2 hours later we could see tile! We then went and started the generator, which makes a heck of a lot of noise in the little spare room, and set the pump going on the borehole. The tanks filled up and we had overflow! Only to discover that at some point someone had cut off the excess pipe that ran into alberca and the water was just pouring out the side of the pump house and down the bank! We stuck a couple of bricks under it so as not to wear all the soil away and watched the water run, and then realised that as we needed to drain the tanks to clean them, filling them up was bit of a silly thing to do. We turned the power off and opened all the taps in the house to get everything out of the tanks. Thankfully the sulphur smell is much less so we think it was only because the water was standing in the well for so long. By that time it was starting to get late so we headed back into town as we were going to try and find the path over the hill, which is a much quicker way to and from Cortegana. The track is an old camino real that was originally built by the Romans that winds inbetween 2 dry stack walls and a series of farms. Really quite the nicest walk home that you could think of. It turned out that it was actually very easy to find and much faster than we expected. We got back into town just as the sun was going down and decided to stop in at our new 'local', a lovely little bar run by a very nice Scottish couple, David and Christine, for a glass of vino tinto. They got a big laugh from the fact we came traepsing in with a bucket full of plants, a broom and a rucksack, rather dusty and tired, but all in all very content.

Thursday dawned bright and clear and much less windy. We set out fairly early to get back to the finca and finish off the tanks. There was an armoire downstairs that looked rather out of place, so we shifted it upstairs to cover the window with the beehive in it. Yes the house has big shutters on the windows and sometime recently a swarm of bees decided that the space between the upstairs window and the shutters was the perfect place for a hive. It is quite large and very interesting to be able to watch the bees working. Kind of like the set ups they have at county fairs but right there in our own living space! Fran then spent a couple of hours bleaching out the water tanks while Simon whittled a walking stick and then we headed down the hill for lunch out n the stoop. The weather has been wonderful and we have been able t work in jean and a t-shirt, which wold never happen in Vancouver at this time of year. After lunh we trid to get the generator stared and had the first real setback of the week.We pulled and pulled on that stupid line and nothing happened. After about an hour of fighting with it, we gave up and trudged back over the hill to Coregana. When Mum and Dad were done with classes we went to the Trueco and ordered pizza and drinks to drown our sorrows. It was not the best of days but really it could have been far far worse, specially considering what we both were doing at this time last year.

a promising weekend

Most excellent weekend. We went to see Ruben's property on Friday morning. It is a lovely little place down the end of a dirt road on the side of an olive covered hill. With a generator and a pump house, it is almost a self sufficient place with lots of potential. The ground floor had great fireplace, there are a few steps up to a kitchen, bathroom, and what is really a bedroom but is home to the generator and firewood at the moment. There are problems with people stealing from unoccupied places so it all needs to be indoors. The upper floor is a bedroom area that looks out over the most divine view. There is a lot of little fix up jobs that need doing, the trees haven't been pruned in a while, the alberca (resevior) needs some digging out, Ruben would ike a patio laid, al of which give us some work to do in exchange for staying on the finca. There are several people coming to see it in the next couple of days, but if it doesnt sell, we are going to trade work for rent and will have our own little piece of paradise to take care of and practice Andalusian living on for a while. aaaah bliss. As we were leaving,we met up with Marcelino, a farmer who lives a bit further down the track. He is the classic ideal of the rural Spanish farmer from the cap to the beautiful gravelly voice. He had heard that Ruben had sold his place and wanted to have a chat about getting electricity run out to the various farms out their way. A lot of the more remote farms aren't connected to the grid, and the landowners have to get together in order to get lines run out to their properties. It seems to take a lot of negotiating and everyone has to be involved in order for it to work, so it can take a very long time to get going. Everyone who has come to see the property seems to be against putting in solar panels, which seems the obvious choice to us. We think it must be to do with the look of the panels themselves, as the amount of sunshine here would supply most of your electrical needs.

We left Ruben to do the long drive back to his home north of Lisbon, and set off to spend the weekend with Simon's parents in Aracena.The town is about twice the size of Cortegana, has a huge church in the middle, a set of caves where the lost Templar treasure is supposed to have been hidden on it's journey through Europe, and the ruins of a very cool castle. The Manley's have a very nice house off to one side of town with a big garden and a view of the local hills.

We got up early and set off into town to the weekly market. You can buy food, plants, a huge selection of clothes and shoes, not to mention a whole variety of olives. Simon is in love with the styles here and probably would have bought half the market if he could(shoes being his greatest weakness).We then strolled into town to have a cafe con leche at a little bar on the town square. Everyone is out and about on Saturday afternoon and the square is a wonderful place to people watch. The Spanish are very fashion concsious and the women all look fantastic. Most of the guys look pretty good too, althouh they seem more interested in their bikes and cars.Canadian's would probably go mad trying to drive here, as people stop wherever and whenever they want, park in the middle of the road, and pay no attention to the usual rules of the road. We think a new reality show based upon North Americans trying to get around rural Andalusia and not loosing their cool, could be the latest comedy craze. After coffee we walked up to the Casa Noble, a Casa Rural Superior, to see about a possible gig for Simon. We organised to go and see Melanie, the proprietor, on Sunday and set off for a walk ot the back of town in high spirits (well Simon was having huge doubts, but that is par for the course). We went to see the Manley's first house, down another dirt track, and got to see donkeys, pigs, goats and horses We collected acorns along the path and got a real kick out of having an entire field of little piggies come running when they realised that we were carrying snacks. The noise they make is one of the funniest snorty thing ever and well worth bending over every few steps to pick up nuts.
Sunday dawned bright and clear and after a very good lunch of solomiento Iberico we went into town for the audition. It all went very well and after a tour around the premises, a long chat about the possibilty of a kitchen job as well as a weekly gig,we were happy to return to Cortegana at the end of a very succesful weekend. In all we have been here for a week, have a chance at working in lieu of paying rent, and Simon has at least 4 nights of playing music in a rather swanky, upmarket hotel bar ,with one of the coolest bar tenders we have ever met. All in all we can't complain. Let's just hope it all pans out.

Thursday 20th November.

Momentous occasion! We took our first step towards becoming Spanish residents. The very patient lady at Cajasol ( local bank) after much shouting down the telephone, managed to set us up with a non resident bank account. YEAH!!! We have money! Well strictly speaking we will have access to our bank draft in a month from now...Spanish rural time, you understand, seems to move at a different pace. This can be frustrating but is mostly welcome. Not so much of the live to work but more of the work to live. I think Torontonians would have a heart attack trying to get anything accomplished. We then went to the bakery for our daily bread (amen) and had a great laugh at the fact we could buy the very same packet of Tortas from for 85 centimos that would cost $7.99 in Vancouver.Hmmm could be an opportunity for some export we think. After yet another trip to the ferreteria (yes you guessed it, more weather proofing) we finally sealed off the drafts in the kitchen and raised the temperature by about 5 degrees, which will be greatly appreciated come January. Half way through Simon trying to make a fabbo lunch the door rang and a couple of family friends decided to show up.Ruben, who lives in Portugal, has a finca for sale near Cortegana (please view the Inmobiluz website) so comes through town periodically and always drops by to check in with the family. Peter Jan, who owns a lovely set of rental cottages called the Molino Rio Alajar with his wife Monica, was also cruising through the village and stopped by for an impromptu beer. This was our first chance to meet some of the other local expats and was a welcome break in the day. After a sumptous if not hasty lunch, it was time for lessons to begin, so we made ourselves scarce and watched the local farmer grazing his goats in the nearby field from our back patio. It is wonderful to be able to spend only 1.35 euros on a decent bottle of wine and sit out in the sunshine and watch the myriad of birds fly by. It is a blessing that the predominant sound is that of our avian friends, not the roar of money being made.

happy wednesday

So DIY day began with a bang. We set out for the ferreteria and supermarket after writing ourselves a list in both English and Spanish, as we weren't taking Mum with us to translate. The ferreteria (ironmongers) is the local hardware store and will sell you everything you need from camping gear to screws. The young guy behind the counter was very patient and got a giggle out of the fact that we resorted to hand gestures for numbers as our pronunciation was not easily understood. The Spanish are very good at trying to understand what you are saying but sometimes have trouble with our funny accent. We then went to the local building suppliers, San Blas, to get a cover for the extractor fan, which was great fun as all the builders were looking at us sideways until a local farmer, Javier, who knew Dad came in. As soon as he greeted us and started chatting, everyone instantly lost interest in us. Cortegana has a population of less than 5000 people so everyone knows everyone else and it is very obvious that we are newcomers. Thankfully as Mum and Dad have been here for so long, most people know who they are and it will be easy for us to settle in as their children. Mum and Dad go to Almonaster to teach at the library on Wednesday evenings, so we totally rearranged the kitchen to suit us and fixed the horribly drafty back door. Mum was very pleased with what we did, so all in all it was a good day.

Tuesday

Fran woke up with a horrible cold this morning and sniffled the whole day long. Thank goodness for Sinutab and Vitamin C. We spent the day learning how to use the blog while Mum and Dad did lesson planning. As there are a steady stream of students though the house, we are getting used to the babble of Spanish voices and thankfully it is beginning to slow down to our uneducated ears. We went out with Mum to pick up her new glasses and got to meet Inma at the stationary store and Fatima at the 'Moorish shop' with her little girl Fatima who loves to rearrange all the stock.

The shop is a wonderful place with far more stuff on the shelves than can actually fit, but just about anything you could possibly need. We were looking for a spray bottle to kill off the aphids on Mum's adelfa (oleander). Everyone here is wonderfully friendly and very patient with the fact that we just smile and nod a lot and go ' Hola, Encantada/o/os'.

You have to admit that the views from our balcony and the back porch are spectacular and the Sahara sands make for some unbelievable sunsets. Both Dad and I have a ridiculous collection of photos of the same scene with different colours every night. Tomorrow begins the DIY and a trip to Almonaster library for the Wednesday lessons.

The first day

It was very pleasant to wake up to the sporadic sounds of cars on cobblestone streets rather than the roar of rubber on Highway 1. Even though the sound of Fran cutting down the forest kept Simon up half the night, we slept quite well and finally seem to be over the time difference.
After a breakfast of fresh squeezed Seville oranges, toast and Marmite (AHHH MARMITE),we went to Almonaster to see the old lady who sells the Butano canisters.Fran had run the gas out with a very hot bath and as they only deliver the canisters on certain days we had to go and pick up our own. When we got back, we picked up Mum and set off on our first excursion about the village. First stop was the local bank to try and set up an account. Unfortunately as they hardly ever see Canadian bank drafts we will have to wait a couple of days for them to find out how to deal with them.After that, to fortify ourselves, we stopped in at the local Casino for Cafe con Leche. Unlike it's North American counterpart, it does not involve noisy slot machines and Cabaret acts. It is where the locals go to meet, drink, and play dominoes. Ours has the most beautiful tilework and the best TV room we have ever seen. We walked to the village square to pick up some veggies from the local greengrocer. You tell the gentleman in the shop what you would like and he weighs it all out for you. The produce here is wonderful, truly organic and irregular looking, but so flavourful. Mum was very proud and beaming, introducing her 'hija' and 'yerno'(daughter and son-in-law) to everyone including the local 'huerfano' (it means orphan but he is the local bum, never give him money!) We returned home to have a giant lunch, as the Spanish eat their main meal in the middle of the day. Mum and Dad run a language school from their home, so we left Mum to teach very noisy kids English and went for a walk all around the village countryside. Cortegana spills down the side of a hill with a Templar castle at the top and is surrounded by olive and oak groves.We saw pigs, horses, sheep, donkeys, a couple of local farmers and two very excited puppies.

It is still lovely and warm in the afternoon here but can be a bit chilly as evening falls. We ended up at the Casino for a glass of vino tinto to cap off the evening and then headed home. All in all a good start to our new life. We even managed to learn a few new words on the long road to communicating with all our new neighbours. Slumber came even easier that night.

The Beginning

So after a major amount of planning, stressing out and soul searching we are finally ensconsed in the family home in Cortegana, Huelva. We flew out of Vancouver a week ago, to spend a rather expensive but fun packed week in London with our siblings.

We visited Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath, and had a sumptuous lunch in the Brew House Cafe. It was a real treat to see The Rembrant self portrait and some wonderful portraits as well as a beatiful Vermeer.

After a abortive attempt to see Tim Obrien, we ended up at the Jazz Cafe in Camden and got treated to Charlie Walker and the Dynomites. He is one of the orignal soul legends and was well worth the £15 entrance fee. Our trip to Canterbury on Friday to see Simon's sister Claire and his Uncle Douglas was lovely.

It was 16 years to the day that we had met there, so it was all very nostalgic. I have to say that a £15 entrance fee to see the Catherdral was extortionate after being able to wander around for free last time.And yes we know it was 15 years ago! We caught a train, or several back to Sutton to finish the day with a spectcular meal at an Italian place called Toscana. If you are ever in Sutton we highly recommend you check it out. The food was divine and the service impeccable, with a real Mediterranean feel to it. We had a wonderful bonfire party with Mark and Kelly and all their friends on Saturday night complete with fireworks and toasted marshmallows.

Mmmm good. Sunday morning arrived far too soon and we were off to Gatwick again for yet more flying time. Thankfully this time it was only a 3 hour jaunt to Seville. The Clickair folk were very nice and as the flight was only half full they let Simon take the guitars on as hand luggage which made him very happy. We landed in Seville to discover that it is still warm in this part of the world! We sailed through passport control and our bags were ready for pick up before we were done. I don't think we have ever had such an easy trip. Mum and Dad Light were waiting for us and there was much hugging and rejoicing. Have to say orange trees all through the parking lot was also a new experience and the hour long drive back to Aracena passed very quickly.We had a very nice lasagna dinner with the Manleys and then headed back to Cortegana to bed.