Week 36 of 2021 started with a swim in the Mar Menor.
Friday, September 3rd.
This morning the sun was out & there was no wind so I went for my morning swim. After my swim, I went indoors had an omelette for breakfast then sat reading for a few hours.
This afternoon I went to the local Chinese store & bought another flower pot, 4 new cactus & a bag of compost. When I got home I transplanted some lavender into the new pot & then went back into my apartment to cool off. I will decide where to plant the new cactus this afternoon, they are only small & won't take up much room.
The rest of today was spent, as normal, with me reading a book on my kindle.
Saturday, September 4th.
I went for my swim this morning followed by coffee & tostada at the chiringuito. After I had a shower I put my washing in the washing machine & went back to the chiringuito where I sat with a bottle of water, reading my kindle until the washing machine had been given enough time to do its job, then I went back up to my apartment, put a second lot of washing in the machine & sat on my balcony reading whilst the washing became all spick & span & came out smelling of beautiful wildflowers in a spring meadow.
This afternoon & this evening was spent finishing the facial recognition for the photographs on my computer, after finishing this I then began sorting through the images, meta-tagging them, putting places or country tags on them, or deleting ones that were out of focus or duplicated. I did seem to have a lot of photos that were taken in burst mode on the camera. These were generally of birds flying through the sky & were too far away to be of a quality I liked so they got deleted.
Sunday, September 5th.
I slept well last night & woke around 8 am, I got up & went for a swim before sitting at the chiringuito talking to Andrew & having a coffee. After my coffee I return to my airconditioned apartment to read for a while, I have chicken & salad for lunch then go back to the chiringuito to read & have a pint.
I see my friends Mark & Matt Magee at the chiringuito but when it gets too hot for me I go back to my apartment to watch the ladies Arsenal team beat the Chelsea lady's team in the opening game of the WSL. Following this, I watch the England v Andorra game & am very pleased for Bukayo Saka when he sets up a goal & scores one in England's 4 -0 win.
I stay up late & watch highlights of the rest of today's football before I eventually go to bed.
Monday, September 6th.
This morning I go for my swim & afterwards have a tostada & coffee at the chiringuito. I go home for a shower before going to get my tablets for this month. I go to the local pharmacy & get my normal tablets but the extra concoction I have to take before my colonoscopy this week has to be ordered & I have to go back to pick it up later.
I go to see my friend Martin in his office but he is not there this morning so I continue on to see my friends Sheila & Bernard. Their cat has gone missing & they are very worried about it. I hope listening to me rabbit on for a while took their mind off their cat, even for a little while. After having a cup of tea I continue to Mercadona where I buy some ribs & potatoes for my lunch.
I take my lunch home, eat it & as always after eating lunch I fall asleep for half an hour. I wait till the pharmacy has reopened this evening before going back to pick up my order.
When I go back to the pharmacy at around 6 pm I am told that they were unable to get the order for me but that it will be there at 10 am tomorrow. I walk next door to the cafe & my friends George & Yvonne are sitting there. I sit down with them for a while, chatting & enjoying an Asiatica coffee. After my coffee, I head home & watch some rubbish on the television before going to bed.
Tuesday, September 7th.
I woke up early this morning & sit waiting for the sun to come up enough for me to take my swim. At 8 am I walk down to the beach & take my now regular 1 km swim. The chiringuito isn't open when I finish my swim so I go home & have a shower before going back down for my coffee & tostada.
After my breakfast, I leave the chiringuito & walk to the pharmacy. This time they have the Pleinvue powders that I have to take tomorrow before going to the hospital. I pay for them & walk back to the chiringuito where I get some water & sit reading my kindle for a while before going back to my apartment.
I have some lunch a tuna pie, & the rest of the day is spent watching a series on TV. I am not allowed to eat anything after my lunch until after my colonoscopy tomorrow. I don't know if it's just because I can't eat or if I really am hungry but I want something else to eat all evening & night, it is hard work not going to snack on something.
Wednesday, September 8th.
I had set my alarm for 5:45 am this morning as I have to take a dose of something in water at 6 am. I make the mixture up, it smells quite nice, it doesn't however taste as good as it smells. I have to drink the first powdered sachet in 500ml of cold water over half an hour followed by another 500ml of water over the next half hour.
After drinking it I go back to bed for a few hours & get back up at 9:45 am for the second powdered drink. The second drink is a combination of powders, one being mango & the second being liquorice. I don't like liquorice much anyway but the mix with the mango drink is horrible. I drink the second drink & bam, my bowels open up to evacuate very quickly. I can drink water only until 12 then nothing to eat or drink until after the colonoscopy.
At about 1:30 pm I get a call from the hospital asking me to go to the hospital at 4:40 pm instead of 6 pm. I explain that I have to wait for transport & I am asked to do my best to get in earlier. I phone Lesley who is taking me & she can just about get me there in time for the early appointment.
We arrive at the ´Virgin de Caridad´ hospital in Cartegena & soon find the place I am supposed to be. I am about to have a camera shoved up my backside so that they can get a look around in my bowels & I am surrounded by my female translator & three very young female nurses, this is not a time to be bashful. The nurses talk to my translator who tells me what is going to happen before she goes to wait outside. One of the nurses asks me which is my best arm so that the anaesthetist can inject a sleeping drug. A second nurse explains again, this time in English what is going to happen. A third nurse injects me with some sort of sleeping drug & within seconds I am fast asleep.
The next thing I remember is being woken up, handed my personal belongings & told that I can get dressed. I am handed a letter & told that these are the results & that when I am ready I can go. I am very upset, these three young gorgeous nurses have had their wicked way with me & I am being asked to leave without being offered breakfast or even a cuddle.
Waiting outside, Lesley helps me back to the car. I am still a bit woozy & my stomach aches a lot. Lesley takes me back to my apartment & makes sure I am in & recovering safely. I decide I will watch the Poland v England game on the television tonight but I still have a very sore stomach & keep falling asleep on the sofa. After having a protein shake & lots of water I finally give up on the football & go to bed.
Thursday, September 9th.
I woke up at about 9 am feeling a lot better than I did when I went to bed last night. I take a shower, have a shave & then go out on my scooter to Cafe Prensa to see my friend Mike. I have a tostada & coffee with Mike before heading back home.
After the excitement of seeing Mike, I am worn out & spend the rest of the day on the sofa getting over yesterday's hospital visit.