Further exploration

We started the day by setting up the lap top on the ironing board in the roof top bedroom. Have pushed the two single beds together and made space near the window where the cable from James and Lisa’s house reaches into this one. We can work off line which is what I am doing now and then plug into the internet via the cable and send email messages or upload this addition to the blog.




Brian has also managed to install Skype, so will try ringing Therese and Janiece soon.



I did some Spanish study, then we went to the market. Then up to town to buy bread and to have a coffee at the local bakery, then back home for lunch. Then a 6 km walk to the dam through the Gorge in afternoon. It was very pleasant mostly on the river bank – so an ‘along’ walk which I enjoy more than the up and down ones.. We stopped for drink at a nice bar/restaurant which is also a hotel with cave rooms and thermal pools and then returned on the same route in the gorge, but came into town at the top end. We found the square known as the four esquinas (four corners) and the very pleasant small supermarket where I bought some shower gel called Heno de pravia which I remembered Sofia used when we were in Cadiz.



When we got back from the walk we headed up to the roof top patio with the gin and tonics and then Brian went into the ‘computer room’ to play with the photos he took in the Gorge. I retreated further up to the top terrace to get the last of the sun, only to come down and find that he had locked me out! I knocked and knocked, but couldn’t make him hear. I started around 7.30 pm but by 8.15 had not managed to get his attention. I hoped that the smells coming up from the kitchen mean’t that he was in there so in a up to date version of the legend of Rapunzel, I undid some of the clothes line, and tied my book to the end and dangled it in front of the kitchen window, three floors below! Eventually he came out and wanted to know what I was doing! The good news is that we have a good chance of being cast in a remake of “As Time goes By”.



Here are a some shots of the escarpent that we took on today's walk:-

Around Alhama

The time stamps I have set for Alhama time.

By the way the purple bits in italics are Mary's posts

24 May

The internet café owner didn’t want to know us. I guess he thought we might hack into his system and bring it down. So we did the cut and past which you have all read by now. Checked at the Tourist Office and discovered the tours were on Tuesdays and Thursdays

25 May

A few chores, shopping etc and off on the tour of Alhama. There were four of us -3  English speakers and one multi-lingual lady who I suspect was French. The guide from the Tourist office (whose name in Spanish means protector, i.e.protectora ) decided it was best that she deliver her spiel in English rather than have the three English speakers looking blank. Listening to the other two English Speakers speak in Spanish, my guess is it would probably be the Aussies who looked blank!   Protectora was really surprised when I told her we were Australian.  Quite interesting and I have put a few pics in the gallery. “The House of Inquisition” is apparently (according to historians) a misnomer and it was actually a chapel named for St Peter. However, it’s now a private house and the owner must be thrilled to have a heritage label outside declaring the place to be the Casa de La Inquisición.  It was interesting to see that our guide had as much trouble translating dates e.g.. 1810 as I have when trying to translate them into Spanish.

26 May

Our neighbours (James & Lisa) have very kindly strung an ethernet cable across the street from their house to where we are staying. This means we can do all our work offline and the just take the laptop up three floors and connect and (thanks to Gmail) all the emails in the outbox will be sent and it will also sync with Gmail online to download our Inbox as well. Similarly, preparing the blog posts on Word will then be a simple matter of copying and pasting.

Some pics have been added to the last post as well as being included in the gallery.