Monday 12-12-2016 to 16-12-2016

I don't want to have another week similar to the one just gone………………………. For nearly four years I’ve lived happily with my Warfarin medication. I’ve obeyed the rules about what is ok to eat and drink, and what isn’t. Several menu items which I once enjoyed are on the ‘forbidden’ list. I still haven’t forgotten how I used to enjoy liver & bacon with fried onions! Warfarin patients are also advised not to drink “alcohol beyond your usual daily consumption.” My normal amount is a 25Cl bottle at lunchtime. However with parties on two consecutive nights I went a bit beyond that. Consequently during the second night I was kept awake with stomach discomfort. By the following morning it was obvious that I’d developed a stomach bleed. When I’m away in the caravan I check my INR level by doing a self-administered blood test. I did one that morning which showed that I was off the scale at the high end. Normally a visit to A&E is needed where an injection of Vitamin K to aid coagulation is given but I decided to try and handle it myself. A carton of cranberry juice and a plate of brussel sprouts (both forbidden because of their high vit. K content) seemed to have the desired effect because my INR level quickly dropped. Of course loss of blood left me feeling weak and unable to walk very far. But by the weekend I was feeling much better.

Sunday 18-12-2016

Being the last Sunday before Christmas it was the day of the Migas Festival in Torrox Pueblo. I’ve enjoyed attending in past years but I gave it a miss this year. It was quite cold and the forecast was for the rain to continue for most of the day. It would be a terrible disappointment for the stall holders and the musicians and dancers who will have spent so much time preparing for their performance.

But it wasn’t a wasted day. In preparation for visitors arriving on Tuesday, I spent the afternoon baking a couple of cakes in my awning oven.

Tuesday 20-12-2016.

I went to Malaga today to meet my two girls and grandson who will be staying close by in an apartment for Christmas week. Their plane landed at 13. 30 and after collecting them we drove to the apartment. It’s has three bedrooms on the top floor of a block which overlooks the promenade and beach at Torrox Costa. Having looked around the apartment and admired the view from the balconies, I left them to their unpacking. We met up again in the evening and went out to Mirasol for dinner.

Wednesday 21-12-2016

Shopping for provisions was the first priority for the day but by 11 oclock that had been done and the shopping put away. We set off along the coast road, eastwards to have lunch at Marina del Este, a yacht harbour formed by the building of a breakwater from one end of a huge rock situated 200 yards from the foot of the cliffs. Into the hillsides apartments have been built in tiers with[chandlers stores and workshops on the ground floor. Several years ago some of the apartments were sold even before they were built. Unfortunately before the owners could move in subsidence was discovered, leaving the properties uninhabitable. For years the courts have been trying to resolve the matter but no doubt it’s difficult dealing with insolvent builders who have probably disappeared.

Later in the afternoon I drove over the headland to Herradura where I dropped my visitors at one end of the Bay having arranged to meet them at the other side.

Thursday 22-12-2016

We had several proposals on the table last night for today’s visit. Eventually we decided to visit Alhama de Granada, a town built on the edge of a gorge during the Arab occupation, although there’s evidence that the Romans were here first. It’s situated high up in the mountains at 3500 feet and is mid-way on the old trade route from Granada to Malaga Province. . The journey began with a 7mile drive along the coastal motorway, before turning inland to climb to the reservoir at Viñuela. Even after all the rain we’ve had in recent weeks, the water level is as low as I’ve ever seen it. The road twists and turns for the next eight miles before arriving at Ventas de la Zafarraya. Being high up in the mountains, unexpectedly for the next six miles the road is level and straight, passing through a wide plateau of agricultural landscape. Then the road makes a left hand turn and begins to climb again. At the top of the hill we were able to pull in and admire the view of the snow covered Sierra Nevada range. The road then drops slightly into the town. After we’d had a packed lunch sitting out in the warm sunshine, the girls and Sam ventured down the twisting path into the gorge where they followed a circular walk. In the bottom of the gorge are some long disused and ruined flour mills. Meanwhile I stayed in town and visited the plaza and Arab quarter.

Then it was back to the car for the short ride along the river bank for a few miles to the thermal baths. All the remains of the Arab buildings are within the grounds of an hotel so are inaccessible to the public but outside the perimeter of the grounds hot water was pouring out of a culvert and cascading into three pools. Several young people had changed into swim wear and were enjoying the warm water.

On our return to Torrox we visited one of the promenade restaurants close by for dinner.

Saturday 24-12-2016

Whilst I prepared lunch in the caravan the girls and grandson took the opportunity to walk from the lighthouse along the river bank and up to El Pino. Later in the afternoon we drove up to Frigiliana; one of the Arab white villages. The old part of the village is traffic free because not only are the roads narrow but many of the steeper ones are stepped. There are several vantage points which have some superb views across the valleys and down to the coast.

In the evening we went to one of our favourite restaurants, the Bamboo in Nerja for dinner. Before driving back to Torrox we walked through the town to the Balcon to see the Christmas lights.

To be continued.

To read this blog with more pictures in context go to

https://jondogoescaravanning. com/will-it-be-spain-again-for-2016-17-winter/