Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of long walks, heavy drinking surprises, garden centre trips, sad news about Uncle Paul, Caldero celebrations, new tech, photo album work, rugby and football, and a fantastic Sunday lunch at Lottie’s finca.
Monday, 9th October
I woke around 07:30, had coffee and worked on photos for my website until 11:15. I walked along the main road to the office, arriving at 11:50. Dave arrived just before me, and Martin joined shortly after.
I hadn’t had a beer here for a while, so I had a couple to celebrate Arsenal’s big win at the weekend. We chatted until 14:15 when Aria’s bus arrived. Martin took her home, and Dave had already left, so I decided to walk home.
By the time I reached Rio Nalon, my legs felt like jelly. I stopped at La Petit Bistro and sat with my friend Sandy and some Irish lads. They forced beer on me, and at 16:00 they dragged me to Perlitas, tied me to a chair and kept the beer flowing. I eventually escaped around 19:00. I don’t remember walking home or going to bed, but I made it.
Tuesday, 10th October
I woke at 09:00, unsurprisingly after yesterday’s session. After coffee and a shower, I checked my messages.
At 10:30, June took me to the Jardimar garden centre in Torre Pacheco. I loved it and spent nearly €50 on a bottlebrush tree, two small plants and a stone gecko for my balcony.
June dropped me home to unload, then took me to the office. Martin was already there, and my friend Jim, who had flown in from Scotland, joined us. We chatted until 15:00, and Jim dropped me home. My legs were still aching from Monday.
In the evening, I watched films and went to bed at 23:00, though I didn’t fall asleep until midnight.
Wednesday, 11th October
I slept well but woke a few times. I got up at 06:15, had coffee and worked on my website. At 09:30, I showered to meet Liz, but she had slipped a note under my door saying she couldn’t make it.
I cooked a full English breakfast. At 10:30, my phone rang. I saw my sister’s number and instantly knew something was wrong. Before answering, I knew she was calling to tell me Uncle Paul had passed away. I had spoken to him only a couple of days ago. It is a reminder to enjoy life while we can.
Paul and I had great memories from our Florida trip for his 60th birthday. Those memories are what matter in the end.
At 11:00, I took recycling out and went to Mercadona for shopping. Tomorrow is a Spanish bank holiday and the 40th anniversary of Los Alcázares’ municipal autonomy, so some shops may close.
I worked on photos all afternoon. My new phone was charging very slowly, so I ordered a new charger. In the evening, I finally got through to Costa Cruises and paid for my cruise next month. I’m officially excited.
Thursday, 12th October
I woke at 08:00, had coffee and worked on my website. At 10:00, I met Liz and walked to Buena Vista for breakfast. The beach was already busy with Caldero celebrations.
I ordered my usual medium breakfast, and the waitress brought my normal coffee with milk. After breakfast, I walked home to wait for my delivery. It arrived at 14:30, and my phone charged fully by 16:00. The new charger was worth it.
I took cold beers to Peter, then walked down the beach giving beers to Paul and Stuart before joining Dave and Viv at their pitch. I stayed with them until 18:00, then went to La Playa bar to see friends.
I sat with Sean and Michelle, then Paul joined us. We had beers and shots before walking back along the beach to Peter. I grabbed another beer from my apartment and chatted with him until 19:30.
After a tortilla snack and some computer work, I returned to La Playa bar. They had run out of draught beer, so I went to the bar opposite. I joined Gina and Willy, then Ady arrived. We moved inside at 22:30 and sat with Alan. I bought the last bottles of beer they had. Connie and Bob joined us, and we stayed until midnight. I got home around 03:00.
Friday, 13th October
I woke at 09:00, had coffee and waited for Peter, who never arrived for breakfast. I spent the entire day at my computer downloading photos and running duplicate‑finding software.
Before bed, I explored settings on my new phone. Now that I can charge it quickly, I re‑enabled apps I had turned off. I set up the Google Assistant to read my tasks, weather and news headlines in the morning. I went to bed at 23:00.
Saturday, 14th October
I woke at 06:45, just before my alarm. When it went off, the Google Assistant read my tasks, weather and news. It will be useful once I set it to a news station I prefer.
I stripped my bed, put the linen in the washing machine and turned on the dishwasher. After coffee, I adjusted more phone settings. Lottie messaged inviting me to dinner tomorrow.
At 10:30, I walked to the spice shop for bread and made a tostada. I spent the morning deleting duplicate photos.
At midday, Jim called and asked if I wanted to go shopping. We went to Pinatar Park and then Dos Mares. I bought coffee capsules. A lady at the till opened the barrier and waved me straight through, saving me from queuing. We bumped into Donna and her mum and had a coffee with them.
Back home, I remade my bed and put another load of washing on. I watched Wales vs Argentina. Wales led 10–0, then 10–12, then 13–12, before Argentina won 13–29 after intercepting a loose pass. A disappointing result.
At 19:30, Pat picked me up for dinner at El Jardin in Los Narejos. It’s an all‑you‑can‑eat restaurant where you order dishes instead of using a buffet. We ate around 16 dishes between us, including chicken, beef, duck, dumplings, ribs, spring rolls and garlic prawns. We left at 23:00, and Pat dropped me home.
Sunday, 15th October
I woke at 06:45, had coffee and worked on my photo collections. At 10:00, I walked to Buena Vista to meet Jacquie for breakfast. We chatted for nearly two hours.
Back home, I saw a message from John in Majorca saying he hopes to visit next week. I worked on my website until 13:45 when Jim picked me up to go to Lottie’s finca in Roda.
Alison met us at the gate and took us to the garden. We had drinks and tapas before moving to another table for dinner. We started with a lovely salad, followed by the best paella I have ever eaten, full of meat and seafood. I even had room for fruit and ice cream. It was all washed down with plenty of beer.
I thought it was 17:00 when we left, but it was after 19:00. The food and company were fantastic. Jim dropped me home, and I went to bed at 21:30, worn out from the day.
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