In Week 29 of 2024, I spent most of the week working on my website but I did catch up with an old friend on Saturday and had a great time chatting over Brunch.
Monday, 15th July.
I woke up at around 8 am today. I got up, had a coffee, and did the Wordle puzzle online. While doing the puzzle, I had a eureka moment and realised how to solve a problem with the coding on some sections of my website. I corrected the coding error as soon as I had done the puzzle.
At around 11:50 am, I walked to the bus stop to get the bus to Los Narejos. When I got there, I looked at the times of the buses to check them and discovered the timetable had changed again. I now had to wait 40 minutes for the next bus. Feeling okay, I decided to walk to Rio Nalon. I believed I could get there before the bus arrived, and the exercise would benefit me. When I got to Rio Nalon, I checked the time and thought I could get to the next bus stop before the bus so I continued again. When I got to the Mercadona stop, I was puffing like a steam train, and the heat was getting to me. I didn't feel terrific by now.
Unfortunately, there was no shelter and nowhere to sit at the Mercadona bus stop and it was in the full heat of the midday sun by now. The pavement there is very broken up and as I tried to read the bus timetable I stumbled on the broken pavement and just stopped myself from falling flat on my face. I stood there for a while, getting my breath back, but the heat was too much for me, and as the bus was still someway off, I kept walking. Walking across the road at the next roundabout, I saw my friend Lisa in her car. She called out to me as I walked behind her and I waved and stopped in the shade of a wall to wait for her. As I waited, my breathing improved, and I leaned against the wall and watched Lisa go round the roundabout towards her home. She wasn't turning to give me a lift.
I stayed there and got my breath back. When my breathing had returned to a more normal state, I continued, but my rests were becoming more frequent. After a short time, I continued but stopped again when I got to a bus stop with a shelter and a seat. I sat for a couple of minutes, and as I was only a short distance from La Sombre Pizzeria, I decided to walk the remaining distance. Alas, I only got around 60 metres further on before I had to sit down again. This time in the nook of a window at La Estribor restaurant. I sat there for a few minutes and then walked the remaining few steps to where Martin and Dave were waiting for me.
I couldn't speak for a few minutes, and my heart pounded. When I could talk I ordered a large bottle of water with ice. Dave and Martin told me I was mad for walking, and I explained I had intended to get an air-conditioned bus. As I sat there, the bus passed us. I got there quicker than waiting for the next bus. I will not do this again, at least not in the midday sun. I may be an Englishman, but I am not yet a mad dog.
As I sat there talking to Martin and drinking the water I texted Lisa to apologise for not replying to her as she called me from her car. I explained that I had been too puffed out to talk. She asked if I wanted a lift home later and said she would pick me up. This was very helpful as I also needed to get some shopping on the way. Lisa picked me up at 3 pm and we went to Mercadona to get some shopping. Once we finished shopping, Lisa dropped me off at home before going home.
This evening I stayed at home and put the air conditioning on.
Tuesday, 16th July.
I got up this morning and decided to go for a swim. I had a coffee, checked my messages, and then walked down to the Mar Menor with my snorkelling mask. I swam around for about an hour. The water was warm and relatively clear. I saw quite a few jellyfish but only the ones that look like fried eggs and are harmless. After swimming, I returned to my apartment, had a shower, and started working on my website.
I started making some changes to the navigation on my website. It is a relatively small change visually, and anyone looking at it might not see the change immediately, but it is a huge job and will keep me busy for a while.
Wednesday, 17th July.
I woke up about 7:30 am today. I got up, got a coffee, did the Wordle puzzle online, read my messages, and then went down to swim in the Mar Menor. The water is warm when I get in. It is just like getting in a lukewarm bath.
After swimming, I return to my apartment and continue the work I started yesterday on my website. I work all day on the site and go to bed around 11 pm.
Thursday, 18th July.
I woke up at 8 am today. I had intended to go for a swim but the wind had made the Mar Menor a bit choppy when I looked out at it from my balcony. Instead of swimming I had a coffee, did the Wordle puzzle and immediately started work on my website. I spent all day working on my website and went to bed around 1 am.
Friday, 19th July.
When I got up this morning, I expected my new Arsenal football shirt to be delivered. I had been told it would arrive today. I went swimming in the Mar Menor and took a small pot with me. The pot was to collect sea shells in. I spent an hour or so swimming around collecting shells from the floor of the Mar Menor, and when I had filled my small pot with shells, I went back to my apartment. I spread the sea shells around the base of one of the cacti in a pot on my balcony. It looks much nicer than bare soil or the stones I have previously used.
I showered, got a coffee and sat down to work on my computer. Before starting work I ordered some protein powder on Amazon. They couldn't deliver it to Economy Cash as all the slots were full and suggested another Amazon Locker to have it delivered to. To my delight, the shop they recommended was even closer. Dia has had an Amazon Locker installed, so I had it sent there instead.
I worked all morning and most of the day on my website, and around 4:30 pm, I had a message from Seur, who where delivering my shirt, that the delivery would now be made on a different day and that they would message me early on the morning of the new delivery day. I worked on my website and went to bed around 2 am.
Saturday, 20th July.
I woke up later than usual today at around 8:30 am. I must have slept awkwardly as I had a bad backache. I went swimming in the Mar Menor and collected another pot of sea shells. When I returned to my apartment, I spread the sea shells around another cacti and then started to put them around the base of my bamboo plant. I will gradually move the stones from the top of the soil on all my plant pots. I will use the stones at the bottom of the pots to help with drainage and use shells on top of the soil for decoration and to stop the soil from being blown or washed away.
At about 11:30 am, my friend June picked me up in her car. I had messaged her earlier in the week to tell her I had a bookmark for her collection, and she was picking it up, and then we were going out for a coffee. We drove to San Cayetano and went to El Bar for coffee. When we sat down, I decided I might as well have something to eat, and as they were still cooking breakfast, I had a large English breakfast. As everyone knows, breakfast after midday becomes brunch. It is the custom to have an alcoholic drink at brunch. With my large English breakfast I also had two glasses of white wine. June and I sat down chatting for hours as we hadn't seen each other for quite a while.
When we were having Brunch I had a message from Seur to say they hadn't been able to deliver my parcel. They hadn't told me they would be coming back today, so it is not a surprise I wasn't in. Seur has to be the worst delivery company in Spain. Most deliveries I have had through them don't have a delivery date; if they do, they generally miss it.
When we finished June drove us back to Los Alcazares and dropped me at my apartment. I went on to the web link Seur had sent me to arrange delivery of my parcel to one of their local collection points. I still have to wait for them to deliver it to the closest Seur collection point, but at least I won't have to wait at home for them to arrive.
This afternoon, I continued working on my website and listened to the music outside as the stage was set up for tonight's Flamenco show. I worked on my website until just before 10 pm and then went downstairs to watch some Flamenco. I watched the show's start but didn't stay long as my legs were aching and I could hear it just as well from my apartment. I did video a bit but couldn't work out how to reset it as it kept videoing in a square shape, which I don't like. I prefer to have it video in landscape mode, so I don't have much editing to do when I look at it.
When I got back to my apartment I put the air conditioning on. Even at nearly 11 pm, the heat was stifling, and I couldn't sleep without cooling the apartment before I went to bed. I watched TV and eventually went to bed at 2 am.
Sunday, 21st July.
When I woke up I got myself a coffee and then went down to swim in the Mar Menor and to collect some more shells. I enjoyed floating around watching the fish and collecting shells but returned to my apartment after an hour. I had a shower, had a coffee and sat at my computer. I worked on my website till about 12:30 pm.
At lunchtime, I decided I couldn't be bothered to cook anything, so I went to the Dia store at the top of the road and got one of the rotisserie chickens for dinner. I got a couple of other things, and while I was there, I picked up the delivery that Amazon had left in the lockers. When I got home, I ate the chicken's legs and wings and separated the rest of the meat from the bones for sandwiches or omelettes next week.
I spent the rest of the day working on my website and went to bed around midnight.