A couple of days ago, for the first time in ages, we weren´t able to eat al fresco. No, it wasn´t raining or cold or anything like that – it was simply too hot. If you´ve ever used a fan-assisted oven and opened it when it was going full blast, that´s what it was like stepping outdoors – not pleasant. Well, it is late July and we are in southern Spain, so I guess such extremes are to be expected from time to time.
We recently made yet another journey of exploration this time to the province of Córdoba. There was mercifully little evidence of any foreign invasion and the town we visited had a nice authentic feel to it (estate agent speak for ´it was a bit scruffy`). That said, the countryside was okay (nothing spectacular) and the water in the river was brown. Hmm. The estate agent who showed us round seemed more occupied with his personal life than with finding us the right home, constantly answering calls from his various paramours and we ended up seeing three houses which were all, for various reasons, unsuitable for us. The fact that there are very few foreign people has an effect on the rental market in as much as there was only one property available for a long-term let. We took a look at it but the place was filthy and full of dead birds, so we decided it wasn´t quite what we had in mind (even though it was a bargain at a mere €525 a month – what a cheek!).
Back here in the Sierra de las Nieves, we had a group of people round for a late lunch and drinks on Sunday. Because of the heat, I had decided to serve a buffet, preparing most of the food in advance. After two days of cooking, I finally switched the oven off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon. We had one hour before our guests arrived and all we wanted to do was to heave our weary and sweaty bodies into the shower. Ian turned on the tap in the kitchen and discovered that, yet again, (for the umpteenth time since we arrived here in April and very likely not the last time either) there was no water. Aaaargh! Luckily we have big bottles of tapwater stored in and around the house as a standby but somehow having a wash when you´re hot and bothered is not quite as refreshing as having a shower.
We are now a wee bit confused as to where we go from here. Our rent runs out in October (we might be able to extend it for a month or two) and we are still none the wiser as to where we want to go next. We´re pretty sure now we won´t stay in this beautiful region as the prices are still ridiculously high. Incidentally, there might be another good reason for moving on. Last night Ian and I went to a meeting where the highly controversial opening of a quarry just on the outskirts of the village was discussed. The mayor kept repeating that nothing was certain yet and that he merely wanted to inform everybody as to what might be on the cards. Opening a quarry obviously doesn´t just generate employment and extra income for the community but also poses severe threats to the environment and to peoples´quality of life and maybe even health: dust, noise, vibration and extra traffic immediately spring to mind. A friend of ours whose house is about a kilometre away from said quarry was sitting next to us, chewing his nails to the quick whilst we thanked our lucky stars that we are only renting here rather than being a home-owner. Seems we´ve had yet another narrow escape. Onwards and upwards.