Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain.
Summary: Week 38 in Los Alcázares was full of swims, storms, website work, new travel plans, good food, and time with friends. A personal snapshot of my daily routines, small frustrations, and the moments that made the week feel worthwhile.
Monday, 14th September
I got up just after 07:00 and did the Wordle puzzle while I waited for the sun to come up. When the sun did come up I walked down to the Mar Menor and did my swim to the rocks and back my regular three times.
When I got of the sea and was sat on the wall drying off, Tony & Kim arrived, and we all sat down at the chiringuito for a chat and for breakfast. I had my regular, tostada with tomato & tuna with a coffee. While I was sitting there I realised an old friend, Bubbles, was at another table with a friend and as she left I said hello and talked briefly. When Tony, Kim and I had all finished breakfast, they walked towards the apartment they were staying in and I went home.
I sat down to rest and did some work on my laptop before shaving my head. I decided as I can never trim my beard how I like it that I would walk around to the barbers and get it trimmed. At 12:30 I took the short walk to the barbers to get it cut. There was no one else in the barbers when I arrived, and I was seen straight away. The barber did an outstanding job of trimming and tidying up my beard and once it was finished, I decided to go for a walk.
I left the barber and walked along the main road to Rio Nalon. I walked down Rio Nalon and turned right on the bottom road and walked back towards home. As I walked past Porscha Bar I saw the owner Gary, doing some painting on the front of the building, I said hello and then crossed the road and continued my walk back to my apartment.
Once I had got home I got myself a ham and tomato sandwich for lunch and then began working on my website again. After working on my website for a few hours I stopped and took a siesta. All the swimming and walking today had worn me out.
This evening I did more work on my website and watched the first half of the Leeds vs Newcastle football match. Leeds were winning 3-0 at half-time, but I was having trouble concentrating, my eyes were sore and I couldn't stop yawning. I wasn't really interested in the result, so I went to bed at around 22:00.
Tuesday, 15th September
I was woken up by noisy kids a couple of times during the night. At 04:15 I was woken up again, but I wasn't the only person. I heard someone shout at the kids, it sounded like English and someone shouting “Enough” but whoever it was and whatever nationality the person was, they got there message across. The kids shut up straight away, and although they didn't go home they did become hushed, and I was able to fall asleep again.
I woke up when my alarm went off at 07:15. I got up and when the sun had come up enough for me to be able to go for a swim I went down to the Mar Menor.
Just along from where I normally swim there was a fisherman who I have seen before. I don't think he is local because I have only seen him once before. He always leaves rubbish on the beach and this morning there were three or four people with him, maybe kids. He was about 100 yards from where I was swimming, and I saw him walk into the water, relieve himself in the sea in front of everyone on the beach and walking along the promenade. He did this directly in front of the toilet block behind him. I couldn't help myself and I screamed at him calling him a dirty effing pig and telling him there was a toilet behind him. A girl with him just looked at me and turned to him and said something about me being English.
As I swam out to the rocks and back for my normal routine I watched them pack their fishing rods up and leave. My swim was fine but I was fuming. The man peed in the water next to a disabled ramp which bathers use most mornings and in front of a toilet that is always open. He did it in front of walkers on the promenade and bathers on the beach. I hope if he does it again, his tiny little dick gets struck by lightning and that it fries him where he stands. People will say to me that people always have a wee in the sea or in pools. That maybe true, but he shouldn't be exposing himself to people walking along the promenade and peeing in the sea where bathers would normally be swimming, especially with a toilet directly behind him. When I finished my swim he was sat at the chiringuito having coffee with the group of people who had been with him. I wonder how the chiringuito felt about him peeing in the sea near the beach a short distance from where their customers were sitting. If it had been my chiringuito I would have refused to serve him.
I went back to my apartment, showered and took my medication before getting myself some breakfast. I decided to eat at home today, if the man had still been at the chiringuito when I went down I'm not sure, I would have been able to stop myself from having a go at him. I got myself some scrambled egg on toast and and some chilled hibiscus tea with it. Breakfast was good and afterwards I sat down to work on my website for a while.
I was checking on Facebook for messages this afternoon when I saw an advert for a great holiday. It was a tour in America, flying to Nashville, spending time in Nashville before then going to Memphis for a few days. Then it continued to New Orleans for a few days before then flying to Miami to go on a cruise around the Caribbean. It looked like a great price and after checking out the company that were selling the trip, the ship the cruise was on and what supplements for single travellers would be, I booked it. I will have to stop looking at holidays for a while now.
Once I had booked it I messaged my friend Nic to tell her I couldn't go to the Galápagos Islands with her next year. It turned out she had resigned from her job and was looking for a new one and probably wouldn't have been able to go anyway. I am glad I booked the trip and also glad I booked the extra excursions on my January trip that would also have made the Galápagos Islands trip less of a pull for me.
I went out on my disability scooter after making the booking, to get something to make a sandwich with. Once I got home I had a ham and tomato sandwich and a slice of cake made from yoghurt. If I didn't know its main ingredient was yoghurt I would not have known by its taste, I will have to try making my own.
I told my sister about the new trip, and she told me that she is booking to come and visit Los Alcázares next year. My friend Debbie had told me how good Celebrity Cruises were, so I informed her that I had booked a tour and cruise with them. Thirty minutes later she messaged me to tell me she liked the look of the trip and had booked to go on it as well, she hoped I didn't mind. It will be good to have company, and we can both get excited together.
This evening I started looking at the places the tour part of the trip goes and looked at different things I can do while on it. I stopped looking at things to do just before 21:00 and settled down to watch the Ipswich vs Arsenal Carabao Cup football match. Arsenal won the game 2-4 with the star of the show, undoubtedly 16-year-old Max Dowman again. He was brilliant got 2 goals and was the best player on the pitch by a long way.
Wednesday, 16th September
I was up early today because I had to go for a Sintrom level blood test. I pottered about for a bit and left to walk to the health clinic at about 07:40. I arrived at the clinic just before they opened at 08:00 and sat on a bench to get my breath back. A Spanish gentleman on the bench, who also had a stick, moved up for me, and I think he said he had seen me walking up the road and asked if I was okay. In my Pidgin Spanish I told him I was okay and that I only spoke a little Spanish. Before our conversation could go any further the doors opened and everybody raced to get in.
I never have to worry about the long queue outside because the blood test I go for is in a separate smaller room. I walked past the queue, turned and was the only person outside the room. I was seen quickly, my INR test reading was a little high at 3.3 but had gone down since the last one, and I think they will lower my dose of Sintrom a little more this week.
When I left it was quite cool outside, it had only just gone 08:00 and rather than go straight home I decided to go for a walk while it was still cool. I cut through the housing estate and walked to Rio Nalon. I was going to go into Café parking for coffee, but it wasn't open as I walked down Rio Nalon. I noticed that a café I hadn't tried on the right-hand side was open, so I stopped and ordered a coffee with a tostada. I sat reading my Kindle and got a second coffee. As I sat there my friend Tony approached me. He had been sat at another table at the same café, and we hadn't seen each other. He stopped, and we got another coffee and chatted for a while longer before I said I was leaving to walk home. I paid my bill, which, as I told Tony, I felt was a little high. By English prices he said it was very cheap but compared to other similar cafés in the area I felt it was expensive, and I probably won't stop there again.
As I left Tony said he would walk to Buenavista with me. We walked along chatting and sat down when we arrived. I had had enough coffee and we both ordered a bottle of water. We sat chatting for a little longer before Tony left to go back to meet his wife, Kim. I finished the water and read my Kindle and just before I left my friend Cara arrived and sat at the adjoining table with her dog. I left to go home and was beginning to feel that I had had some exercise, despite not going swimming this morning. When I got in, I sat out on my balcony reading the last of the book I was reading on my Kindle. The book was, book three of a set called The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries. I found all three interesting and will probably get the next three in the series soon.
Once I had finished the book I was using Facebook and managed to contact more of my family that I had lost touch with, first Phoebe and then her mum Michelle. It was great to be in contact with them again. After exchanging a few messages with them, I went back into my apartment and cooked some mince to make mince and cheese tortillas for my dinner. I browned the mice and sautéd the peppers, onions, and garlic before putting everything in a slow cooker to cook slowly all afternoon.
The apartment smelt great all afternoon and I loved the dinner when I ate it early evening. Afterwards, I made checks on my flight from Alicante to Barcelona next month. I had a problem logging into check it but with help via WhatsApp and the Iberia helpdesk I got everything sorted out, and they were able to confirm that I had paid for my suitcase. I realised afterwards that I could now book my transport home from Madrid when I return from Orlando, so I spent many hours researching the journey.
Because of the time the flight gets me into Madrid it meant staying overnight before travelling back to Los Alcázares the next day. I booked into a cheap hostel I have used a few times. Its very ordinary but the location is good. There are plenty of bars and restaurants to pass the afternoon and evening in when I get back to Madrid. I booked the hostel for one night and then began researching ways to get back from Madrid. In the end the cheapest, fastest and most comfortable was by train from Madrid to Murcia. The AVE train takes just over 3 hours and gets me into Madrid midday which will give me plenty of time to jump on a bus in Murcia to get dropped off in Los Alcázares at the end of my road. I booked the train and treated myself to the upgraded wide seat with extra legroom. Once I get to Murcia train station it is a very short Uber to the bus station and a €4 bus ride home.
I printed off all my bus tickets, train tickets, plane tickets and also loaded them in PDF format to my phone and computers in case of emergency. I was pleased that I now had everything finalised for my NCL Epic cruise in November and can now look forward to it with nothing more to worry about than having a good time. Once everything was finished, I turned off my computer and watched the remainder of the Everton vs Wolves football match before going to bed.
Thursday, 17th September
During last night I was woken up a couple of times by the thunder outside but got back to sleep quickly and slept until around 07:30. The storm was still going on outside, it was dark and black clouds were hanging around but it wasn't raining. I decided to stay safe and not go swimming. I had to collect my INR blood test results from the health clinic but decided to wait until later in the day and hope that the weather improved.
I spent most of the day working on my website, adding new navigation menus to some of my photo albums:
- Parks & Monuments Tour Photos
- Southern States of America Tour Photos.
- Peru Tour Photos.
- China Tour Photos.
At lunchtime, I reheated some of the mice I cooked yesterday. I added shredded cheese to it and had it in two tortillas. While I was cooking I accidentally knocked over a vinegar bottle. It smashed on the kitchen floor and I had to carefully back out of the kitchen and put some shoes on, so I didn't cut my feet. I swept up all the glass I could find then sent my mop/hoover robot to mop the floor and hoover up any glass I may have missed. I always worry if I break anything that I may miss something, stand on broken glass or china and slice my foot open. I have done it before and because of the Sintrom to thin my blood, I bleed profusely.
I continued working on my website again after lunch, working on hidden code that only search engines use but which will make my website more visible and easy to find. I stopped work in the evening and used up the last of one container of mince. I added cheese and oregano to the top. I microwaved it for a couple of minutes and ate it. It tasted beautiful. I have one container left and rather than freeze it I will probably eat it tomorrow.
I had some more vegetables in the fridge, but they were past rescuing, and I threw them in my compost bin. I will have to buy vegetables when I want it instead of buying lots in the misguided belief I will use it all up quickly. I am eating a lot more fruit but still don't eat enough vegetables. I do still have some other vegetables in the fridge that hadn't gone off yet and if I remember I will make a potato and leek soup tomorrow.
This evening I worked on my website until my eyes became too sore to continue and then I went to bed. I did add more navigation menus to more of my photo albums:
I am very slowly getting my photo albums sorted out, but it's a very slow job and a lot of work, but it keeps me out of mischief.
Friday, 18th September
I woke up a bit later than normal this morning, and it was light out when I got out of bed. It was a lot cooler out, and I decided not to go swimming. I never want to catch a cold before I go on holiday and I didn't want to risk it today in the cooler weather. I may stop swimming now but if I do, I will have to try walking twice a day. Walking doesn't help with weight loss as much as swimming and I find it more difficult, but I will do it as much as possible without pushing myself too hard and hurting my legs.
Tony had messaged me to meet him for breakfast so at 08:30 I walked down to the chiringuito to meet him. Tony wasn't there when I arrived, so I sat and waited for him. After about 30 minutes he hadn't arrived and I ordered my coffee and tostada. I had eaten my breakfast by the time Tony arrived and ordered another coffee. We sat talking for a while, with plenty of flies buzzing around. The flies were terrible, and I can only assume it was something to do with the heavy rain yesterday. I went back to my apartment and covered myself in fly and mosquito repellent before walking back down. I gave the spray to Tony to use and told him to keep it to give to Kim when he went home.
When we had finished breakfast, Tony went home, and I walked to the health clinic to get my blood test results. I was puffed by the time I got there and had to sit outside to get my breath back before walking in. Once in I queued up and waited to see the receptionist. When I got to the window, I asked (in Spanish) for my test results. The receptionist looked for them and couldn't find them, she looked in a filing cabinet and then came back to check for them on her computer. I held up my phone with a message in Spanish telling her my results always get put in a specific cabinet behind her. She looked in the cabinet and found them straight away and started laughing. She came back still laughing because I knew where they would be. She handed them to me and I left to go home.
I walked home and was puffing like a steam train by the time I got in. It wasn't the heat getting to me, it was the humidity. When I got in, I sat down and looked at the blood test results. I was pleased to see the Sintrom dose had been returned to what I am used to.
For lunch, I ate the last of the mince I cooked earlier in the week and then went back to work on my website. I have been drinking a tea I make myself from hibiscus leaves and I like the flavour. I drink it cold and wondered if I added anything to it, if it would help me lose weight. I used CoPilot to adjust the recipe I was already using and added the recipe for a Hibiscus & Ginger Tea to my website. Once I finish the small amount I still have left I will make some using the new recipe.
I worked on my website in the evening and into the night. Eventually stopping around 22:00 when I got a message that I had been issued with a £20 Amazon voucher. Because I would rather not use half of it on postage, I bought numerous Kindle books. These included a 13 book set of murder mystery stories, the complete set of Grimm's Fairy Tales, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and a book about the latest version of Da Vinci Resolve. This will help me start making my own videos later in the year.
My eyes were beginning to get sore from too much computer work again so I stopped using my laptop and went to bed at 22:30.
Saturday, 19th September
I got up around 07:30 today. It was black outside and very heavy rain was coming down. The first thing I did was strip the linen from my bed and put it in the washing machine. It was still dark outside so I got a coffee and did the Wordle puzzle, hoping the rain would stop. By 08:15 the rain had stopped the clouds were clearing, and the birds were singing outside.
By 09:00 it was pouring with rain, the storm and done an about-turn and come back with vengeance. I spent all morning continuing the work on my website. I stopped for lunch and had a sandwich and then re-made my bed with the clean linen. I put another load of washing in the machine and went back to work on my website. I checked my blood pressure and was very pleased to see that it was normal. It had been slightly above normal since I got the machine to check it. The different ways I am adjusting my lifestyle are obviously helping my health and make my efforts worthwhile.
I heard from my friend Lisa, who is the only person I know who holidays more than me. She will be back in Los Alcázares soon, and we will meet for a drink and swap travel stories when she gets home.
I watched the Brighton vs Arsenal match in the afternoon. Brighton played very well, Arsenal played very poorly. The game finished 3-0 and Arsenal were lucky not to lose the game by a bigger score.
This evening my friends Tony & Kim picked me up at 19:15, and we went to El Patio for dinner. I hadn't been there for a long time and was eagerly awaiting dinner. We had a great meal, sharing starters of baby squid in batter and garlic prawns. For my main I had a steak with Roquefort sauce and sweet potato slices. It was lovely. When we had all finished, Tony insisted on paying for dinner to say thank you for helping him out with his computer problem last week. When we left they dropped me back at my apartment.
After working on my website so much this week my eyes were very sore again so I got some fresh water, watched TV for half hour and then went to bed at about 22:30.
Sunday, 20th September
I slept quite well last night but woke up with backache. I got up, washed and got dressed before getting some water and taking my medication. I stood on my scales to weigh myself and was pleased to see that my weight had gone done by 0.5 kg since last week. I was pleased with this because I had only managed to go swimming once during the week and not walked as much as I had planned because of the rain. Although I didn't expect to be able to continue my swimming because it was getting cooler, I hoped to be able to walk further now the temperature had dropped.
As I sat down, I remembered that I had to be at the Aldi store just before 10:00 to collect and pay for some honey. A local apiarist should be dropping off some honey I had ordered. Last time he made a delivery he was late and by the time he did get there I had left and gone home. I watched TV until around 09:30 and then went out on my disability scooter to take a slow trip to the store.
While I was on my way to the store I heard my name being shouted from a nearby building. I stopped to look and saw Tony & Kim in the apartment they had been renting. We exchanged pleasantries and I set off again for the store. I was about 15 minutes early when I arrived, so I stopped outside where I expected the apiarist to be and sat on my disability scooter, reading my Kindle. As I sat in the car park my friends Steve and Bev turned up to do some shopping. We spoke for a while and when they went inside I carried on reading my Kindle. It wasn't long before the apiarist arrived, and I paid for and collected my large jar of honey for €13.
When I left I decided to stop at Buenavista for a coffee and tostada on my way home. When I got to the restaurant I parked my scooter and picked up my Kindle. When I looked at my Kindle I noticed the power had completely run out. I decided not to go into Buenavista and went straight home instead. When I got home I plugged in my Kindle to charge and went to the kitchen to get breakfast. I made a coffee and then made up some honey, cinnamon, and raisin waffles. I skipped adding any sugar and halved the mixture I used last time. The number of waffles was perfect, and they tasted good but weren't delicious. Next week I will try a different recipe, make the full amount but keep half the mixture for the following days breakfast.
After breakfast, I sat down in my armchair to rest for a while and then took my blood pressure. I was happy to see that like yesterday's reading it was in the normal range again.
I spent the rest of the day working on my website, adding new navigation menus to some photo albums, moving concert photo albums to their concert album section and moving some blog pages to different sections that made more sense and would eventually match the rest of the sites' navigation layout. I worked until 23:30 then went to bed.
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