We have had a good day today. We used the well for the first time, unfortunately to wash down the patio after Henry had been sick on it several times after eating something unmentionable. Well anyway, we thought this would be a good opportunity to see what our well water is like. So after sinking the bucket about 20 feet we waited as we pulled it up, wondering whether we would recieve horrible muck or sparkling clean water – and suprise suprise, up came sparkly clear water. So much so that we were about to dip into it and taste it, when we realised that although the water may have been clean, the thought suddenly hit us that the bucket certainly wasn´t as it has been used as a lampost substitute.
We went into Llerena this morning which is our nearest ´big´town, and are increasingly liking it as a town, it is smaller than Zafra, but equally charming – however our stay was for shortened after we found that our PIN number wasn´t being recognised at the bank. Quick panic back home and then we realised that I had written it down in code (don´t write down your PIN we are always being told…) and had forgotten the code. Ian suprisingly didn´t huff and make his normal pained expression, I think instead that he was just pleased that nothing horrible had happened with the bank.
We went back in later to get some gas, and on the way went past some roman remains of a amphitheatre and hill fort. Unfortnatly the track that we went up seemed like it had not been maintained since roman times, but saying that we saw a field full of storks. Well I think they are storks – what are the difference between storks and cranes? They are funny creatures with limbs that seem to bend in all directions – why did I think of nephew Joe? There were maybe not hundreds but certainly more than I have ever seen before. There are at least 5 pairs of storks / cranes nesting in the village and if we had a bedroom upstairs, instead of looking at owls people could watch these storks across the roof tops.
The village has about everything we could want, and we very rarely use the van to go anywhere. We´ve been very pleasently suprised with the number of small shops, the only thing wevé not been able to find is a washing up bowl, but managed to track one down today in Llerena. Obviously washing up must be done straight in the sink, but if you saw the teeny tiny plug hole you would wonder about this as it gets blocked with a rice grain. We had to go into an all sorts shop today and see if we could get a tin opener. We did – and could have got an amazing selection of other ´stuff´. Jewellery, matches, rainwear, mirrors etc all apparently from someones front room. Generally if a shop doesn´t sell it then a delivery van brings it round.
We´ve also cracked the rubbish etiquette. There are no individual rubbish bins and instead people put their rubbish into communal bins. We weren´t sure about that and it is just by watching people that we know what to do. However we now have a mountain of rubbish and will fill up one of these bins, so will have to sneak round the village spreading it around the bins. The best time to do this will be before 8 in the morning or at Siesta time which is between 2 and 5 when the village is asleep.
Had a bit of a strange experience. I attempted to ask Salina ´what is this´when showing her a knitting needle, anyway, I am now the proud owner of what I thought were here old knitting needles, however yesterday in the road another lady came up to me and started gesticulating what I only hope was knitting, and it seems I have some of hers too. It was quite a long conversation but sadly one sided, she persevered though and wasn´t put off by my gormless smile. I must admit I made a tactical error when I tried to introduce ´spinning´into things. My attempts at miming spinning seemed to startle her, and I am not sure whether my telling her that I made wool was correct or if it instead sounded as though I was a sheep.
We´ve not seen our friend Joe the policeman this week. But we are getting some waves, and a man that gave us sweets last week (at the 3 kings thing – not trying to lure us away) beeps his horn. I think in a friendly way. We still get stared at, which is a bit alarming. Well for me anyway – Ian is used to it.
Telefonica are having problems finding the house on their database, so one job this weekend is to have a word with Jesus and ask him what his phone number was when they were living there so hopefully they can track it down that way. So we are getting closer to getting a phone line – sort of….