Our Last Week In Spain

Having worried that two months in Spain this year – albeit with a pop back for 5-6 days for treatment in the middle – would be too long, the last week rolled round remarkably swiftly!

We even had a mini ‘trip within a trip’, by heading off to Ronda for one night. Foolishly on my part, I hadn’t clocked that the ‘through the national park’ route actually meant ‘up and down hideous winding roads for 50km, defying death at every sharp turn’. That’s a route I will never be taking again.. Though the roadside goats and iberico pigs were a nice touch on the way.

We drove via a leather town called Ubrique where H nailed himself a new belt and two small wallets – as he does have a bit of a habit of losing them on boys nights out, tbh. And luckily stayed in a really nice (obvs dog-friendly) hotel, Reina Victoria, in Ronda. On the edge of town, with a cracking restaurant overlooking the massive gorge.

All very pretty – and thank god – with a more direct ‘big road’ to get us back to Chiclana.

H managed to slide in a couple more padel lessons and has def upped his game while he’s been able to take advantage of the waaaaay cheaper lessons at the raquets club there. I had one lesson once my shoulder was better and turned up to the second one, sadly feeling rather ropey, for no obvious reason whatsoever. Just had time to introduce myself to the nice young fella, when I realised I was going to throw up – so had to unceremoniously leg it to the Aseos, and did indeed part company with my morning cup of tea. All a bit embarassing and v annoying that I didn’t;t manage to get the benefit of a second lesson, when I am definitely the person who needed it the most!

Maddie continued to have the time of her life, endlessly leaping for balls in the pool, this being the best way to keep her cool in the increasingly hot June weather. She is going to be very underwhelmed when she gets back to pool-less, sea-less Dora Rd next week..

I am now home – and was straight into chemo blah blah on Friday – plus catching up with various chums before H gets back next Thursday. We have rebooked the house for next year and it is fast becoming a second home from home, or ‘Dora-on-Sea’ as Janine has termed it!

We are very lucky to have found somewhere that suits us well, where we have been welcomed by the local Spanish people and the few ex-UK people who are there. Everyone says the same thing ‘we like it because there are so few English people here’ – and long may that fab local feeling last. x