Yes reader, It's my Crimbo message!

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Yes reader, It's my Crimbo message!

Chris • Dec 21, 2018

It's the 21st December and as I look seawards I can see people sunbathing au naturel

christmas card of view from terrace looking over vera playa beach in golden purple colours and santa and his sleigh flying high in the sky

This will be the last one from me before crimbo. Yes reader, it’s my ‘Christmas Message to You All’ as I pretentiously call it.

We have a special treat lined up for Christmas in the form of a seven course dinner, however, as the entrance fee requires a small mortgage, we have been determined for it not to be ruined by contracting the dreaded lurgy that tends to do the rounds this time of year. We’ve got three days to go and so far we’ve remained safe from the disease. Our secret? Keep everyone and everything at arm’s length! Just the other day I was wandering aimlessly down one of the aisles of our local supermarket rolling my eyes heavenward as the in-store radio tinkled out Leona Lewis’s “One More Sleep” for the umpteenth time when a lady I know (names have been changed to protect identities) spotted me, rushed up, gave me a hug and a peck on both cheeks only to proudly announce “ooh, I’ve got this terrible cold.” Well, I literally pushed the woman away from me as if I was a member of the ‘me too’ movement rejecting unwanted advances. Sounds mean doesn’t it? Well, I don’t care because come hell or high water NOBODY is ruining my Christmas.

There. That’s my Christmas message. I’ve said it. So if you see me over the next couple of days in a public place wearing marigolds and rubbing hand gel on my upper lip like some crack addict – you’ll know why. Cheers!

In other news, today is the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year – and you know what that means don’t you? Well it means the days are now getting lighter and longer…which is a roundabout way of saying that summer is on its way. “Oh no it’s not!” I hear you cry… Oh yes it is! So if you are full of midwinter blues, don’t fret as your summer deliverance is getting near(ish). We celebrated winter solstice by watching the sunrise over the Mediterranean from our terrace and taking a moment to reflect.

We took a little jaunt out to the mountains yesterday. A particular favourite of ours is a tiny little village called Tahal (pronounced Taaal). It is completely unspoiled, a little white village with a maze of pretty streets cared for by the locals with pot plants and trailing flowers. A pretty little square in the centre and soaring above the village are beautiful pine forests. At the top of the village is a tiny castle-cum-tower. Every time we visit though, the tower is locked, so this time we went into the town hall and asked if we could see it. The friendly staff told us to go straight there – which we did – and an employee of the town hall arrived a few minutes later with the key.

He diligently switched everything on for us, including a video – beckoning us into the booth to watch it.

Well, you would never have thought that inside would be such an oasis. Interactive displays, models and multimedia telling you the history of this sweet little village – and as you climb further up the tower, there are more displays interspersed with stunning glimpses of pine forest through the small windows of the tower.

All in all, a very typical and friendly little village and a taste of the real Spain that is just on the doorstep dare you explore a little further from the bright lights.

Talking of friendly, here in Spain at this time of year it seems local businesses like to show a token of their appreciation for your custom. We did our usual refill of petrol at the local garage. Before we drove off, the attendant disappeared into his little office and came out with a bottle of wine “un regalo para ti” he said (“a gift for you”). I promised not to drink it while driving home – oh how we laughed. The same thing happened at our local pharmacy but instead of wine, we got two bumper sized scented hand soaps – I’m a cheap date, I was over the moon and what an appropriate gift for someone with an OCD handwashing fetish!

Steve and I always make an effort to converse in the language and I’m convinced that it’s this effort that makes them embrace us foreigners and treat us like locals. It’s possible to live somewhere like this and not speak a word of Spanish…but we can honestly say that our experience has been enriched by putting in the effort to learn the lingo. In that small village we visited this week where no one speaks English, the fact we could walk into the town hall and speak with the staff who were so helpful and friendly says it all really. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re getting there poco a poco.

And of course our paying guests are very friendly too…I mean, the nice Christmas wishes be it by email, Whatsapp, text or yes…snail mail even, has been very happily received indeed. Thank you!

It has been very interesting hearing our guests’ homeland weather updates, whether that be Bonn, Brussels or Birmingham! Most of the time we have been hearing how cold and dark the days have been for them…it’s hard for us to imagine this suffering sometimes especially as I am writing this now outside on the terrace on the 21st December and as I look seawards I can see people sunbathing au naturel or even some hardy souls taking a brief dip in the sea! No wonder so many Northern Europeans choose to spend Christmas and the winter months in VP.

So on that note, Steve and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2019. Enjoy the break and we hope to see you in the New Year…who knows, maybe even next Christmas! Santa suit or birthday suit, the choice is yours!

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