winter in Alfaz

It is a strange stop/start time for the expats around December/January. Quite a few people go home for a fortnight before christmas, or to spend christmas at home leaving a gap in the circles of friends out here. This year the weather has added traumas to the journeys, not to mention the spanish air traffic controllers strike.Two intrepid friends of Michaels have plans to go home twice in December – once for a 70th birthday which Stella insisted on sharing with her grandsons back here for 11 days and then flying to Manchester on the 22nd for the xmas week. It seems quite a gamble whether there will be airports open, and how they will get to Reading. We will have a standby xmas dinner ready just in case.

All is not sunshine here, although last Friday we had a sunny walk round Guadalest reservoir.with picnic. This weekend has been cold with incessant rain. Mike has a cold like half the population, and we are really glad of electric blankets

I really enjoyed cycling down to Albir last week, meeting up with Irene, who wanted us to see a new apartment.I did some shopping, and cycled back up the hill-only 15 minutes.

After xmas I shall join a spanish class again, the exercise classes will start in earnest, and I’ll join the monthly U3a debating group.We do meditation on Mondays and the sports centre x3 when we can Just livening up this uninspiring blog with some walk vistas

And finally the post walk paella- yummy!