Ramblings from Spain

We've been away for just over 3 weeks now, and yesterday I finally managed a bit of yoga! Only 25 minutes as I was bring bugged by flies and our French neighbour's dog. It makes the most ear piercing squeak of a bark, and all day long we hear " Canaille, non. Silence. Tait toi" and other admonishments. I've just looked up the name Canaille; it means rabble, scum or dregs. Hmmmm. I suppose anyone would object to being called that, even a dog. But, back to the yoga. It was ok, I stuck to my tried and tested program of favourite poses. Absolutely no warrior threes or bridges. Nice to do some downward dogs and focus on my breathing (when I wasn't swatting at flies).

We crossed to Caen this time as we'd promised to visit my second eldest sister and her husband. They have a lovely home and were perfect hosts. Their part of Normandy still bears the scars and memorials of German occupation, and is always a sobering place to visit. Apparently many of the elders there are still very grateful to the British for their liberation. Having days before left a Britain that currently seems full of hate, it was even sadder to see the memorials to all that perished there.

We moved from there to a drizzly Le Mans, and the riverside town of Chinon. The sun came out there, and has been with us pretty much ever since. Next was the beautiful hilltop town of Najac. The roads in and out caused some stress. Then Cordes-sur-Ciel, another beautiful medieval town perched on a hill. By Albi the weather was scorchio, and then on to the coast at Argeles-sur-Mer. A refreshing dip in the sea was needed, but unfortunately the sea there was not for the faint hearted. My heart must be be faint indeed because we set off for the pool instead! The most beautiful pool I've come across in my 60 years, with different areas for every requirement. So we did them all, including the waterslides.

It may seem that 7 week holidays must be really expensive, but up to this point we'd spent a total of 20€ on places to stay. The ferry was £94, and we'd needed a tank of diesel. Even the really nice campsites are only around 23€ a night. If we weren't so keen on a drink occasionally we could be living very very cheaply.

There are downsides, however. Along with the intense heat in Argeles, there were mosquitos. Many, many mosquitoes. I looked like I'd contracted chickenpox as I always react badly to them. There was also a thunderstorm of epic proportions. We were out cycling. We'd only gone about 15 miles and were looking for a place for a chocolat chaud and some gateaux when I heard rumbling. Paul didn't, as his hearing is virtually non existent, so dismissed my worries. The rumbling increased and I insisted we got under cover. Just in time. Unfortunately our cover was those large umbrellas they have, largely to protect you from the sun, so I still needed to wrestle myself into my raincoat whilst trying to stop the rain landing on my chocolat chaud and catalan cream donut. It lasted for ages. A huge thunderstorm with lightning flashing all around us. When it finally stopped, we cycled back to find our pitch covered in wet mud, all over the mats and groundsheet and splashed up chairs and tables. Looked like a river had gone through there! And an electrical surge had wiped out our electrical system.

We left France thinking we may need to return home, but clever Hilda managed a self reset as we drove into Spain and the holiday continues. After a night at the edge of the Pyrenees, with yet another huge thunderstorm witnessed, we headed to the coast, and apart from moving from one side of Tarragona to the other, have not moved for 10 days. The cycling here is excellent, on beautifully smooth quiet (if hilly) roads, or designated cycle paths. The sun is warm but not too hot, the beaches are not as good as Cornwall but we're less than 100 metres from one (and we don't need the wetsuits to go in), there are still mosquitoes in the evening (far fewer than Argeles) and pesky flies in the daytime. Not to mention Canaille complaining squeakily about her name. We'll move on in a few days, but for now it seems just right. We've a hilly 32 miles planned for when we've had another cup of tea, then a lie on the beach and a dip in the sea. 

I'm missing home (well, the people & cat in it) again. I'm not present for the things I need to do as an executor of Dad's will either. I don't have time now to explain how difficult it was to print and send documents to the solicitors... The mossie bites itch, the flies and Canaille bug me. And today's hills are going to hurt my legs. But yoga has taught me a valuable lesson; focus on the present, and enjoy being in it. We're not here forever, make the most of it. I plan to do so.