This week I was able to do a lot of swimming, more than 7 km over the 6 days I went swimming. I also went on a trip to see the Algar Waterfalls in Alicante.
Monday, 11th July.
I woke up around 6 am today but turned over and went back to sleep. I woke again, just after 9 am and went for my morning swim at about 10 am. After my swim, I got ready to go to work at the office and remembered that I had to go to the Garden Bar to pay for a trip that I had booked. I went to the Garden bar on my scooter to pay for my trip, but the lady who collects the money for trips hadn't made it. Somebody else sent her a message for me, and I will try to catch up with her on Wednesday.
I left the Garden bar and went to Pizzeria La Sombra for my business meeting with my friend Martin. We spent a few hours chatting before Martin went home and I headed off to La Zona Terraza. I was sitting at the bar when Martin came in with his daughter Aria. We sat at a table and were soon joined by friends of Martin's and a little while later by his wife. We sat enjoying the sun, but couldn't get anything to eat as the kitchen didn't open until 7 pm. Martin and his family left to go home, and I headed home to get myself something to eat.
When I got home, I had a Spanish omelette for my tea and spent the rest of the evening watching television.
Tuesday, 12th July.
I woke at 7:30 and checked my computer for messages, and then went for my morning swim at about 8:30 am. After my swim, I cooked myself bacon, sausage and scrambled egg for breakfast and washed it down with a couple of cups of coffee.
After my swim, I went online and found that Amazon has a good deal on CBD oil that you can order on a repeat order. I made an order for it and hope that it will help me with my leg pain, and weight loss, aid my memory, make me more attractive to women, assist me in picking winning numbers for my lottery ticket, make me funnier and help with hundreds of other day-to-day problems.
At lunchtime, I went to Pizzeria La Sombra to meet Martin for a drink. When I arrived, Martin was not feeling too well and didn't stop for as long as usual. His dad, David, stays until we finish our beer, and then we both head home. For lunch today, I made a pizza, which was very lovely and very filling. After lunch, I fell asleep, waking a few hours later.
I decided to go for a swim in the early evening, and when I got into the sea, the water was warm. It was not as refreshing as it is in the morning. I managed to swim out to the rocks and back just once this evening, but it was another 400 m to add to my daily swim.
This evening I sat on my balcony for a while reading my Kindle, but it was very hot out, so I moved inside, shut all the doors and windows and put the air conditioning on. The rest of the night was spent watching television until I went to bed.
Wednesday, 13th July.
This morning, I woke up at around 8 am and went for my swim at about 8:45 am. I managed to do an extra repetition of my usual route this morning rather than just the two. This may have been due to the Spanish ladies who swim at the same time and in the same place as me most mornings, they are all older than me, but are so fit, that one or two of them put my swimming attempt to shame. One of the ladies, in particular, looked as if she may have been a competitive swimmer at some time; she switched from breaststroke to the crawl and the back crawl effortlessly and swam quicker and further than I with ease. We finished our swims at around the same time, and whereas I was a bit puffed out, she looked ready to go again.
After my swim, I returned to my apartment for a coffee and a rest before I went out later. I did notice that the new Chiringuito by my apartment, owned by the Estribor restaurant chain, opened for the first time this morning. I hoped it might encourage the other one to open earlier and to lower its prices.
In the afternoon, I went to La Ola bar. The lady running the trip I am going on in a couple of weeks will be there teaching Spanish. I can pay the money I owe for the trip when the lesson finishes. I waited in the pub courtyard for the lesson to finish, and when it finished, I went inside and paid for my trip and found out what time the Bodega trip is. It will be an early start for me as the coach will be picking me up at 7:15 am near the Arches in Los Narejos.
After paying for the trip, I went home and cooked myself some turkey fillets and had them with some salad for dinner. I let my dinner go down, and then early in the evening, I walked back down to the Mar Menor for another swim. I swam out to the rocks and back, but I found it more challenging in the afternoon heat; the water was so warm that it was not comfortable to swim in.
Tonight, I watched some television and waited for the Mo Farah documentary to come on television. I watched it and went to bed straight after. I set my alarm so I don't oversleep tomorrow and miss my trip to Algar Falls with Diane.
Thursday, 14th July.
I woke up before my alarm went off at 6:45 am today. I have a shower, shave, and coffee before I walk to the local bus stop, where I meet my friend Diane for our day out at Algar Waterfalls.
When I got home from my day out, at around 9 pm, I found that my delivery from Amazon had been left outside my apartment. I am pleased about this as it is my CBD oil and I want to start retaking it to help with the pain in my legs. I am in a fair bit of pain when I get in, so I get a large glass of water and collapse in front of the television for a few hours before going to bed.
Friday, 15th July.
I woke this morning after having an excellent night's sleep; either all of yesterday's travel or the CBD oil helped me sleep right through the night. At about 8:45 am, I went for my morning swim in the Mar Menor. The water is so much more pleasant earlier in the morning than it is in the afternoon. I got out of the sea feeling much better. I went back to my apartment, took a shower, and then got some cornflakes with Greek yoghurt and coffee.
When I was showering, I noticed the water pressure wasn't very good. A bit later, my neighbour Christine knocked to ask about the water. I went to her apartment and sat with her and her husband, having a cup of tea. Their landlord confirmed that the water was off to the building and that he would contact the water company about it.
After returning to my apartment, I set up a photo album on my website for yesterday's trip and added a blog about it to the Short Trips section of my website. Just after I finished working on my website, my friend Alan messaged me to meet him for a drink. He had been going to La Playa bar, but it was closed, so we met at the Alaska bar. I had a beer or two and a good chat with Alan and his wife Diane, and then I walked back to my apartment.
When I got home, I cooked myself a pizza and then retired to my sofa to watch the England Ladies play Northern Ireland Ladies in the 2022 Women's European Championship finals. England won 5-0, and I got to rest my legs before going to bed.
Saturday, 16th July.
This morning I woke feeling quite refreshed after a good night's sleep. At about 8:45, I went for my swim in the Mar Menor, and because the water was so calm and I felt good, I managed to swim out to the rocks and back four times. My legs felt a bit tired after, so I went back to my apartment, took a shower, and then sat at my computer for a while.
My friend Alan told me about a website from which he ordered some pretty good clothes. I had a look at the website today and ended up ordering two pairs of shorts and three shirts. I hope they all arrive and are the correct size.
I watched the Wales vs South Africa rugby match today. It is the final game of 3, with the test being drawn 1-1. Unfortunately, South Africa proved to be too strong for Wales and won 30-14. I felt Wales played well again, but seemed to lack something going forward in this game.
Tonight I wanted to watch the Arsenal vs Everton friendly game being played in the USA, but could not find it on television. I will have to wait to see the score in the morning.
Sunday 17th July.
I woke up around 7:45 am today. I logged onto my computer to see how Arsenal got on against Everton last night. Hooray, good news, Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 with new striker Gabriel Jesus scoring again and young centre-back William Saliba, making an appearance to help Arsenal keep a clean sheet.
After seeing last night's football results, I went for my morning swim in the Mar Menor. When I had finished my swim, I went back to my apartment for a coffee and some scrambled eggs on toast. After breakfast, I stripped the bed linen off my bed, put it in the washing machine, and got a second load ready for when it finished. I then cleaned my kitchen well and emptied my robot vacuum cleaner. I am glad I did, as it had picked up a USB lead from the floor somewhere. The USB lead had tangled itself around the inside mechanism, and if I hadn't removed it, it could have easily broken the vacuum. When my bed linen had been washed, I stuck a second lot of washing in to be washed and retired to the sofa to watch the final games of The Open golf tournament.
There was some magnificent golf being played, but eventual winner Cameron Smith put in a monster display to come from behind to win the 150th Open. This evening I have turkey fillets and salad for my tea, turn on the air conditioning and watch the film The Shawshank Redemption. It is one of my favourite films, and one of my favourite actors is Morgan Freeman.