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.