Terry and Pat’s travels and more

  March 31st Having had a lazy day yesterday and conscious that I am now halfway through my holiday I decided to go back to Salobrena town on the shuttle on my own instead of with a group led by Usain Bolt who seems to forget that she is dealing with many older people. As it was I was joined by Angela and we wandered around until we found a cafe where we stopped for coffee and a leisurely rest. Later we found a park and then some shops which we spent time browsing in. Nothing spectacular but far more pleasant than my first trip here. As ever, back in time for lunch and then to my room where for a time I sat on the balcony but the wind made it a bit chilly so I went inside and had a nap. Tonight was the holiday company Gala dinner but it was not a Gala dinner as it has been in the past. I have been travelling with this company for many years and a Gala dinner was where all the company’s guests gathered for a meal on the same table which was served A la carte. Tonight we were offered...

  March 30th The clocks went forward this morning which would have meant the loss of one hours sleep but I am on holiday so I chose to stay in bed a little longer and go to breakfast a little later to make up for it. Such luxury. It was my intention to sit outside in the sunshine this morning reading  but it got a bit windy so I went back inside and finally finished my Peter Robinson book there. After lunch I stayed in my room and hoped to, perhaps, sit on the balcony but even there the wind put paid to that so I watched some programs that I had downloaded on my iPad before I came away. I also face-timed Terry to make sure he hadn’t fallen off the shed. I don’t know why I asked him how he was getting on with it because I don’t even like talking about it. It seems that he will still be at it all day tomorrow so I still can’t rest easy. One image that does come into my mind is Terry lying on his back on top of the shed looking up at the sky just like Snoopy the dog. Best cling o...

  March 29th On the road again. The usual start to the day, then after breakfast,  onto the shuttle to visit another nearby town, Almuñécare which is a bit smaller than Salobrena but in my opinion nicer. There was a botanical garden to visit plus shops and cafes and no mishaps to spoil the visit. What is really pleasing is that the weather has been so nice, much better than I expected. Back in time for lunch and then had a couple of hours to rest up before making my way to the wine tasting session held here in the hotel. The owner of this hotel produces his own wine and it was this we were tasting with the hope, no doubt, that the guests might make some purchases. I tried to face-time Terry while I had the time available but he was on the roof of that b——y shed removing the old roofing felt. Not only does he have no fear he’s got no sense either so I had a nap and sat on the balcony for a read before making my way to the wine tasting. Each guest had a chair with five glasses o...

  28th March When I woke up this morning I found that I had transformed overnight into an 80 year old woman. I don’t feel or look any different so I’m taking the attitude that 80 is just a number. I had a nice message from Terry which could be classified as romantic laced with humour. I don’t think he likes people knowing that he is a softy at heart. Sort of a cuddly Teddy Bear with teeth. During the morning a bottle of Rose wine and a candle in a tin had been delivered to my room which, no doubt, was organised by the Rep which was a nice surprise. Terry wanted to know what happened to other 79 candles. Some people are never satisfied. I decided that I would share the wine later with some of the other guests because I wouldn’t be able to drink it all by myself. I think I can already hear Terry laughing his head off in disbelief. Today I am going to do what I came here for. NOTHING but eat, drink, read, people watch and sleep. The pool here has been closed because of the very heavy ...

  27th March Another day and another trip on the shuttle but this time to Grenada. This turned out to be a bit of a fiasco and certainly did not go according to plan. We left late morning and were taken to a point on the edge of Grenada where we would catch a bus/train vehicle which would either take us on a round trip or we could get off and on at various stops. It seems that mode of transport is about as reliable as the Reggae buses in Barbados but not as much fun. These bus/trains were either full, or close to, so our group had to split up. Angela and I were the first to get on one of these vehicles and the Rep told us to get off at Stop 3 where she would meet us but gave no time and we never did link up. Not knowing what to do Angela and I found a place to have a leisurely lunch after which we got a cab back to where the shuttle would be. I asked the Rep why she didn’t meet us as arranged but she said that she was there but couldn’t find us. Not very satisfactory. We saw very l...

  March 26th                 After a good nights sleep the first thing I did was to send another message to Terry but this time I made sure the WiFi was working. It wasn’t a convenient time to face-time him so left it until he messaged to say he was ready. As I’ve said I expected him to be grumpy because he hadn’t heard from me but he wasn’t as he had already assumed, knowing my fractious relationship with anything to do with computers, that I’d probably had trouble of one sort of another with the WiFi. It became clear when the connection was lost several times that the WiFi at my end was weak and unpredictable. During our face-time I could see him but he could only hear me not see me. That wasn’t really a problem but Terry was a bit miffed because he said that on the 28th he was hoping to see me in my Birthday suit. Dream on Sonny. At bit more unpacking and then I got ready for the trip, later this morning, on the shuttle bus to Salobrena to...

  25th March Having arrived at the hotel I booked in at reception and then immediately made my way to the restaurant for lunch which I really needed having only had a bit of breakfast before leaving home and a small snack on the plane. The restaurant lunchtime session was beginning to draw to a close so the choice of what to eat was dwindling but I had no trouble finding something to quell my hunger pangs. This was not a perfect time even  for first impressions of the restaurant or the food but I was satisfied and, when finished, made my way to the room allocated to me to see what lay in store. The room was laid out in much the same way as most hotel rooms but I was pleasantly surprised that it was quite spacious (much  bigger than some of the shoe boxes I’ve had to squeeze myself into on past occasions), well appointed and a full-on sea view from the balcony. What was not to like. The bed was also comfortable as I soon found out because I was now starting to feel tired. ...

  25th March Hello, this is Pat and I have taken over this blog from Terry for the next two weeks while I’m staying at the Salobrena Hotel in southern Spain. Why am I here on my own? I am now used to holidaying on my own from time to time because, in the past, it hasn’t always been practical for Terry and I to get away together. Not only am I used to it but I really welcome some time on my own to do whatever I want, when I want. Living as a couple is inevitably a compromise but for two whole weeks I DO NOT COMPROMISE. Terry and I are both people who can  be very sociable but are also happy with our own company. To any ladies out there who feel they would like to holiday on their own but are daunted by the prospect, don’t be. I’m sure you will find lots of people to talk to and, having done it once, you will realise it’s much more enjoyable than you might imagine. Preliminaries over, let me tell you about my first day which started at 4a.m. this morning when my cab arrived to t...

  16th March I’m sure you have all heard the expression “a picture paints a thousand words” and I’m sure there is an element of truth in that but not everyone sees a picture in the same way and so it’s meaning can be different from person to person. Take the Mona Lisa, the lady with the enigmatic smile, for instance. There are a number of theories as to why she is smiling  but all those theories are based upon the fact that the painting is actually a true reflection of the sitter. Who knows whether that is correct or not and, assuming it is correct, whose interpretation of her smile is correct? Is she happy or is she suffering from a  touch of wind? You may wonder how that is relevant to you and me and the fact is that we all are faced with this dilemma on regular basis. How many times has someone fixed you with “The Look” which immediately conveys an emotion of one sort or another. Your assumption as to what particular emotion may be completely wrong and it’s only when “...

  11th March It was a miserable and very cold winter, or so it seemed to me, followed by Trump the Chump deciding to take on the world in various ways. The sun came out for a few days giving the impression that Spring had finally arrived but then did a disappearing act and the cold weather is back. Another disappointment. I think we all need a bit of cheering up and one way of doing that is looking forward to our holidays. There is a multitude of ways to holiday: as a singleton, a couple or a group? Home or abroad? Europe or long haul? The list is endless. Pat and I have to tailor our holidays to take into account our age and mobility, so in the main, we opt for short haul, all inclusive, package holidays although we don’t always go together. We used to be more adventurous but it’s time to accept the inevitable. I like to think that we are quite sociable but are lucky that we are both perfectly happy with our own company. We have become used to separate holidays because of various ...

  1st March When I began this blog I was determined that I would not get involved in British Party Politics or Religion but World Events is an entirely different matter. I watched the footage of the meeting between Trump/J.D. Vance and Zelenskyy and was appalled at what I saw. Metaphorically, Vance held Zelenskey down while Trump thumped the s..t out of him. It was a disgraceful, distasteful and disgusting act of verbal violence and if that is what the U.S.A. considers Diplomacy to be then God help the rest of  Europe. To tell the leader of a country, any country, that he doesn’t hold any cards and will have to ‘roll over’ and agree to any proposition put to him and, to boot, will have to hand over the deposit of minerals that the country is sitting on does not bode well for rest of us. If Trump allows Putin to take over Ukraine in its entirety does he really think that Putin will share the spoils?                       ...