Moving on from Chirivel, Spain...What's Next? February 2, 2021
Our time in Chirivel, Spain has drawn to a close. The past few weeks have been spent preparing for our next adventure in SAM; this time without a home base. Herman did a few small repairs and built in a shelf to hold a new camping stove for outdoor cooking when the weather improves. We also purchased a small camping table along with two folding chairs and puzzled a way to store those in the camper.
For my 55th birthday, we were completely alone with 100 kph winds. We had planned on heading to an archaeology museum in the next town, but it was closed. Spain is back in lock down and this time everything except essential businesses are closed. Instead, we went outside for one walk and filmed tumbleweeds speeding by. We had to turn back because it was really too windy to be out....we played a couple of games, made a tiny chocolate cake and Herman even agreed to dance with me for 10 minutes with a Bollywood video dance clip! We try to keep smiling, even when missing the kids so much. Thankful for the lovely warm fire, good food, better company and health.
The new house sitters, Matthias and Berthe, managed to drive here from Belgium. They had to get negative COVID tests and travel efficiently (within 72 hours) in order to make it before it would be necessary to get a second test in order to cross the border from France into Spain. Thankfully they had no problems and even arrived earlier than originally planned. It has been a gift to spend almost a week together in the house before what we have dubbed the "changing of the guard" takes place. They are very creative, kind and fun to spend time with. We have enjoyed sharing our mid-day meal and cooking every other day for each other. We had a final Skype call with the lovely house owners and it felt like we were saying goodbye to friends. It has been a discovery how well you can get to know people by sharing the responsibility of caring for their home.
Our original plans had us heading into Portugal by the end of this week, but last Friday all borders between Spain and Portugal have closed for any traffic (except trucks carrying goods). This lock down is due to an enormous spike in hospitalization due to COVID and there has been the new B117 also found in Portugal. So, we erased our penciled in route plan for the next month in Portugal and are now looking into where we can safely travel and stay in Spain. Today we will depart for Orce (which has archaeological remains of a Bronze age settlement) and then head out to explore in the nearby Natural Park Sierra de Castril.
It seems the hardest part of our travels so far are at this point in time. There is a great deal of uncertainty and back home there are a number of medical worries: My father ended up for several days in the hospital and will be scheduled for surgery in about two weeks; Tessa has been ill for a few weeks and after testing negative for COVID, figuring out what is going on with her has been challenging; A dear friend is fighting cancer. I can wonder what I would be able to do if we were home, but I know that we would find ways to help and support those we love. In the meantime, we talk on What's App, do research to learn about their ailments, write notes and send our love and positive thoughts.
When the solar power was not working well enough for the oven, we baked a loaf of cinnamon nut bread on the stove top and it turned out great!
Comments
Post a Comment