It is generally agreed hereabouts that the winter has been one of the best for many years. Through January there have been some windy (and therefore barely beachable) days, and the nights have frequently been at no more than 13deg C - which is low for us; but there has been a lot of sunshine. We had a day trip by bus to El Cotillo (still looking like a ghost town, but with a lot of charm and excellent fish restaurants!), and had our first sunbathing Oliva Beach day of the calendar year on 18th January - unseasonable early! Next day the Winter Fuel Payment arrived - a nice little touch! We had a few more beautiful days, and then the clouds started to gather. We were off for dinner with Cake Eileen and Chris the Fish on a Friday evening and had walked 100m when it started to rain, and then it poured! We raced into the Rock for shelter, and eventually we were able to continue on, but this was the start of a really bad patch of weather, which persists. This is - of course - all relative:- with floods and deaths in Oz, Northern Europe freezing, and even peninsular Spain suffering very cold temperatures one should - as they - not grumble; but fleeces, closed shoes and long trousers have been seen; and it makes the smoking ban somewhat more uncomfortable for those in exile from bars.
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| This is Gran Canaria, but you get the picture! |
Last Monday Ruth agreed to do an extra radio programme on the Wednesday. That day we had our final jabs, enjoyed some time in the Rock and remarked on the heavy cloud, and went home! At 3 am of Tuesday many folk (including Ruth) were woken up by the rain and thunder.This was impressive! Next day no Hot FM. The studio had gone under 5cm of water and the electrics were no more. It was off the air all day. On Wednesday - with the rain stopped, but very strong winds, Ruth thought there would be no need for her services down at the studio, but Val got going by 11am using her own MP3 player. Ruth went down there in case she could be useful and was able to operate in near normal conditions by noon. There has, however, been occasional rain ever since, and some grim cold wind. Friday's theme was Wind, and yes, it is possible to find 24 tracks on the subject. The mystery person was Hurricane Higgins, and there were plenty of punters!
Now we are engaged in planning and packing for the Goa trip, which starts on Wednesday, and departure from this slightly depressing island seems timely!