Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain.
Summary: Week 30 in Los Alcázares brought beach swims, scorching summer days, tech hiccups, social catch‑ups, home improvements, and an unforgettable ZZ Top concert night.
Monday, 20th July
I didn't sleep very well last night. I didn't really expect to when I went to bed, and I didn't. Spanish football fans kept waking me up with the noise of car horns, loud firecrackers and general celebrations. I got up around 07:00 and got washed and dressed before settling down with my laptop to check for messages. I worked on my website for a while and prepared to return some beach towels that I bought a while ago to Amazon.
Lawrence messaged me to say he wouldn't be going for a coffee, which worked out well for me, time-wise. It meant I would have time to return the parcel, collect my prescriptions, get my beard trimmed and do some shopping before going to meet Martin at lunchtime. Just before 10:00, I set off along the beach to drop the Amazon parcel off at the collection point. When I arrived, I took the parcel in, and the lady put it in an Amazon return bag. I tried to show her the return label, but the Internet connection wasn't working. I went outside but still couldn't connect and had to tell the lady I would come back later.
I left the shop and went to get my beard trimmed at the Stylepoint barbers near my house. I had the beard trim and then went along to the pharmacy to collect all my tablets. I got all the tablets that I normally get and the extra painkillers that I have been prescribed for the pain in my hip. I took all the tablets home and logged into Amazon on my laptop, printed off the return labels for the parcel and went back out again. I still wasn't getting any Internet and decided to go to Avatel after dropping the parcel off to see if they could help. I went to the drop-off centre, but the printed label couldn't be used because I had already tried to return it via the mobile app. The lady registered the parcel and made the return manually for me so that I wouldn't have to go back again. She gave me a receipt, and I then set off to visit Avatel.
When I got to Avatel, the girl in the shop checked all my phone settings and couldn't make it work, so she gave me a new SIM card. Unfortunately, they will no longer put the card in your phone for you, so I was going to be without a phone until I got it installed. I left the shop and went to meet Martin at Pizzeria la Sombre. Martin arrived at the same time as me, and we went inside. I asked the owner if she had a pin I could borrow to install the new SIM card in my phone. She got one, and we both tried to open the phone but were unable to. Luckily, the barman there managed to open it up, and I was able to install the new card.
I sat outside with Martin and Dave turned up a short time later. As we sat talking, my phone rang, and I had a message, meaning the new SIM was now active. I was pleased as I do everything on my phone and felt lost for the brief time I couldn't use it or get messages on it. We were joined by Kate, and she stayed until she had to pick up Aria from summer school, but they were both back a short time later, and we all sat talking until around 15:00.
On the way home, I stopped at Mercadona to get something to eat. I only got a couple of things, but I did get one of the salmon dishes that I tried yesterday. I took everything home and settled indoors in the cool. Outside, it must have been in the high 30°c, and I'm finding it uncomfortable. I sat and binge-watched more episodes of NCIS, and while I did, I got an email about the ZZ Top concert I'm going to. It was to tell me that my ticket included free merchandise and that I should arrive early to collect it at the Bullring in Murcia.
I spent the rest of the evening watching TV and had an early night.
Tuesday, 21st July
I was woken several times during the night by noisy people parking their cars under my bedroom window with their car radios blasting music out. I managed to drop off to sleep again and woke up when the alarm went off at 07:30. I didn't feel brilliant, but I jumped out of bed, put my swim shorts on and went down to the Mar Menor for a swim. The water was already warm, and I started swimming straight away. I swam out to the rocks and back a couple of times and then went back to my apartment.
At around 09:30 I walked along to the Buenavista restaurant for breakfast. I looked for my Kindle briefly but couldn't find it. I messaged Lawrence because the last time I remember having it was in his car. I sat down at the beach bar, ordered my regular breakfast, a tostada with tomato and tuna, and a large coffee. I ate my tostada, and as I sat drinking my coffee, Martin arrived and sat down with me. We sat chatting, and around 10:15 Lawrence arrived and sat down. I asked Lawrence about my Kindle, but he hadn't seen it. I hoped I hadn't left it somewhere.
I left Buena Vista about 11:00 and walked back to my apartment. I got a cold drink and sat down to rest in the cool for a while before taking a couple of cardboard boxes to the rubbish bins.
I spent the rest of the day sorting through photos on my server, deleting hundreds of duplicates and many out-of-focus photos. The majority of them were photos from my Australia holiday in January this year.
Wednesday, 22nd July
I woke up early today at about 06:00. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up around 06:30 and did some work on my server. I continued deleting duplicate photos until the sun had come up enough to make it safe for me to go for a swim at about 07:30.
I walked down to the Mar Menor and swam out to the rocks and back twice. I felt a bit sore after one lap, but forced myself to continue for the second and was glad I had done it. I went back to my apartment, showered, dressed and as I sat down, I noticed my Kindle poking out from underneath my chair. I think I must have dropped it when I had a nap, and when my robot hoover was cleaning, it must have pushed it under the chair. Lawrence had told me he was going to go to Buenavista earlier today, and I was ready to leave when he messaged me to say he wouldn't be there until 10:00. I decided to go on my own and at 09:30 I walked along the beach and sat down to read my Kindle. I messaged Nic and wished her a happy birthday and ate my breakfast.
While I was reading, I heard someone say hello, and when I looked up, Oyvind and Theresa had sat at a table next to me. We said hello and talked briefly. I continued to read my Kindle, and at 10:20 I decided to go back to my apartment. It was a bit cloudy, and the humidity was already getting unbearable. Just as I was about to leave, Lawrence arrived. I told him I was just leaving, and he joined Oyvind and Theresa.
Once home, I closed all the doors and windows and put the air conditioning on. It would be unbearable indoors as the day got more humid and hotter. At 11:15 Lawrence messaged me to tell me he was on his way round to take me to ATime4AChange. When I arrived, I spoke to Keith, and he said they could collect everything I wanted to donate to a charity at 12:30, so I got Lawrence to drop me off at home straight away. I emptied the drawers of two bedside drawer sets I was donating and moved them to the hall. Then I took two bedroom chairs out to the hall. I have four dining table chairs that are never used, so I will use two of those in the bedrooms instead. This will make extra room in my lounge as well.
Coincidentally, the lady who I had asked about her sofa messaged me. I told her my old furniture was being collected today and arranged to go and see the sofa at her place tomorrow. It was wonderful to see my lounge beginning to look a little clearer, even with all the junk I still have to sort through. My furniture was collected by Keith at spot on 12:30 and taken so that it could be sold for the shop's charity.
I messaged Lawrence to see if he wanted to go for lunch. He wanted to go to Oishii in San Javier. He picked me up, and we were soon sitting down with our food. The food tasted okay, but the competition from places nearer to my home makes it unlikely that I would go back on my own. It was, as my mum would have said, cheap and cheerful. When we left, I went to the large Chino shop near the restaurant and bought two beach towels to replace the ones that I had returned to Amazon earlier in the week. They were better quality, larger, nicer looking and a bit cheaper than the Amazon ones; I was glad I had chosen to get different ones. After finishing my shopping, Lawrence drove me home.
Once indoors, I ate some small Mochi desserts I had in the freezer and spent the rest of the day working on my computer and generally keeping out of the heat.
Thursday, 23rd July
I woke up fairly early but didn't go for a swim as I was going to view the sofa I wanted to buy and didn't want to leave myself short on time. I checked my computer for messages and saw one from tonight's concert organizers informing me that my ticket included some gifts. It told me that I had to collect them at 19:00.
I left to go along the beachfront to the home of the lady whose sofa I was looking at buying. I had a bit of trouble finding the apartment because Google Maps was showing the address in the wrong place. I phoned the lady, and she gave me directions over the phone, and I soon arrived at the house. I liked the sofa and decided to buy it, but I needed to arrange to have it picked up and delivered.
After leaving, I went back along the beach to Buenavista and stopped for a coffee and a tostada with tomato and tuna. I read my Kindle for a short time, and when I had finished, I continued to ATime4AChange to speak to Kerry. After speaking to Kerry and getting some help from her, I went home to get ready for my trip to Murcia today to see ZZ Top.
Friday, 24th July
I returned from my memorable evening and night in Murcia at around 13:45 and got off the bus at the stop near my home and walked the short-distance home. When I got in, I was delighted that I had left the air conditioning on while I was away. After collapsing at the concert yesterday, I just wanted to rest in a cool apartment for the rest of the day.
I swapped messages with friends on Facebook and WhatsApp, with many messaging me to check how I was and to tell me to stay out of the heat for a few days. I rested for the remainder of the day. I had some pork ribs for my dinner and watched TV but did nothing else. I felt tired and still felt a little drained. I took a painkiller for a bad headache and went to bed at 21:30.
Saturday, 25th July
I was woken up at 04:30 by kids in their parents' cars with loud music blaring out and sounding their car horns. I got up and used the bathroom but couldn't get back to sleep, and at 05:00 I got up and did a little work on my website and did the Wordle puzzle. Just after 07:15 I collected my snorkel mask and went down to the Mar Menor for a swim.
I swam out to the rocks and back twice and got straight out and went back to my apartment in case today's Amazon delivery arrived early. I showered and sat down to work on my website. I had a message from Debbie to say she was going to a café on Rio Nalon and said to meet her there for coffee. I checked on my Amazon delivery, and it hadn't even left the warehouse, so I messaged her back and left home on my disability scooter to go and meet her.
When I arrived Debbie was waiting for me but told me that the coffee machine wasn't working, so I didn't get a drink. We sat talking for a while, and then I told her I'd be five minutes while I got a salad and some chicken for my dinner and that I would be back quickly. She waited, and I was out quickly with the small amount of shopping, and she informed me that the coffee machine at the café was now working, and we ordered some coffee and sat chatting. We sat talking had a second coffee, and she politely listened to my tales of woe and gave me good advice that I had been giving myself but needed to hear from someone else as well.
Debbie invited me to a BBQ next week and we then both left to go our own way home. At home, I put the small amount of shopping I'd bought away and then checked on my delivery again. The Amazon app informed me that it had now left the warehouse and was on its way to me. I got a drink of water, after the last couple of days I am more aware that I need to stay hydrated and sat down at my computer to work on my website while I waited.
The new UPS for my server arrived around 13:45. I left it while I worked on my website for a while and at around 17:00 I got myself salad with a chicken breast for dinner. After eating dinner I watched a couple of episodes of Bull on TV before remembering the UPS. I unpacked it, checked it and read the instruction manual. It was badly written and didn't tell me how to use it, so I used Google to find the correct information. I was glad I had. It was just a case of plugging it in as I had assumed, but you had to leave it to power up fully for around eight hours before connecting the server to it. I decided to plug it in and let it charge overnight and to plug the server into in the morning after my swim. That way I knew it would be fully charged and would work correctly.
The rest of the evening was spent watching TV before going to bed at around 23:00.
Sunday, 26th July
I woke up around 05:00 with the noise of music blaring out from a car below my bedroom. I opened the blinds and saw the car responsible. It was a white car with black bonnet and wings. It will be easily recognisable to me if I see it when dressed and awake. I think they must have seen me open the blinds as they moved off quickly. I went to the loo and was able to get back to sleep fairly quickly.
I woke again just after 08:00 but had terrible backache and decided against a morning swim as I know from experience this aggravates it. I went online and did the Wordle puzzle, which I surprisingly got in three and then wrote a brief blog about Wordle for my website. When I had finished the article and published it I put a load of washing in the dishwasher and cleaned out my ice cream maker and put the bowl in the freezer to chill to use later. I want to try making some healthier frozen desserts for myself, so I don't keep buying fattening ice creams. As I sat there I could feel the apartment warming up already becoming uncomfortable and after my experience in Murcia on Thursday, I closed all the doors and windows and put the air conditioning on.
I began working on my server, connecting the UPS up and installing some new software on it. After I had finished this job, I had intended to go to the bank to withdraw some money to pay for the sofa which is being delivered on Monday. My plan was delayed when I began surfing the internet and then started looking for recipes for cakes and ice creams that would help my diet. I am easily distracted, and before I knew it I had written a new recipe, with the help of Co-Pilot for a banana and blueberry protein loaf.
Before I could get distracted by anything else I went out on my disability scooter and made my way to the bank to withdraw the money. I went along the back roads until I found them closed due to road works and then cut along the beach. The sand was covered in beautiful young girls, and it was very distracting, but I made it to the bank and withdrew the money I needed. On the way back I saw my friend Shellie and her mum as they walked along the beach and I stopped for a very brief chat with them before heading home.
When I got in I mixed some cashew nut butter and Greek yogurt up, I coated a chicken breast in it and put it in the fridge to marinate for an hour before I cooked it. An hour later I went to the fridge and I thought the chicken smelt a bit funny and not willing to risk eating it I threw it out and went to the nearby, Dhillons kebab and pizzeria. I got a chicken kebab and took it home. When I got back to the apartment I checked my mailbox and found five postcards in it. They must have arrived yesterday. I took them to my apartment, ate my kebab and then entered all the postcards onto the PostCrossing website.
In the afternoon and evening I moved some the furniture around in my lounge and dining room ready for delivery of my new sofa. I also reinstated the recipe section of my website, although currently it only has a couple of recipes on it. I made the blueberry cheesecake overnight oats recipe and put two mason jars of the oats in my fridge to chill. Then I made myself a banana and blueberry protein milkshake for dinner.
The rest of the night was spent working on my website whilst I kept glancing at the TV whenever anything interesting was on.
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