Well, there was me crowing about how clever I was by being right up to date with the blog and BOSH!! seven weeks have past and I have written not one word. I probably still wouldn’t have had it not been Christmas as I wanted to wish my reader a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Pity I’ve also missed that opportunity.
Oh well, the thought was there.
The last seven weeks have been enjoyable to us but probably would not have been of great interest to you so I have simply listed below a few highlights.
After getting the car back beautifully restored after the nasty and vicious tree jumped in the way while I was reversing we found we had another problem, the brakes were squealing. This normally means worn brake pads which Emilio confirmed, “ . . .we will order some pads and fit them the day after they arrive which should be tomorrow . . . ”
Tomorrow came and went as did the next few tomorrows. Emilio has said we could drive the car (carefully) but not tow provided the new pads were fitted within the week. It was just on a week when Emilio rang to announce the arrival of the pads and twenty four later they were fitted and we were fit to continue our travels.
One reason we wanted to visit Cordoba was to visit the Cordoba Cathedral or Cordoba Mosque Cathedral as it’s generally known.
The Mezquita (Mosque) dates back to the 10th century when Córdoba reached its zenith under a new emir, Abd ar-Rahman 111 who was one of the great rulers of Islamic history. At this time Córdoba was one of the largest, most prosperous cities of Europe, outshining Byzantium and Baghdad in science, culture and the arts. The development of the Great Mosque paralleled these new heights of splendour.
Today the Mezquita de Cordoba (Cordoba Mosque) as it is comonly known (or the Cordoba Cathedral as it was know by its current owners the Catholic church) but following a dispute between the church and the city over the name of the building in the 2010's it is now diplomatically called "Cordoba Mosque Cathedral”.
It is a very strange mix of Islam and Christianity that, with hundreds of moorish columns separating the building into a myriad of small areas, feels huge.
Despite the problems we had encountered while staying at Camping La Campina we were very sad to leave such a well run comfortable site but we will return.
From Cordoba we travelled west, and a bit south to Moncarapacho. Sadly the site we stayed on last year was no longer operating so we decided to tryout a brand new site run by a young French couple. We suffered an ear shattering eleven nights only because we were travelling back to the UK and it was handy for the airport and for R & F’s place as they had kindly offered to take us to the airport, which we accepted with thanks and also to pick us up on our return which we regretfully declined as we were arriving back so late.
The visit back to the UK was for me to attend an appointment with a consultant cardiologist. We flew back with Ryanair - every time we fly Ryanair I say it will never happen again, this time both Easyjet and, believe it or not British Airways offered lower fares but at less convenient times. We were collected from the Stansted Airport by Sue’s Uncle David and taken to his home where Auntie Brenda had a delicious meal and a soft bed waiting for us. The following morning we were at the hospital bright and early and were very impressed by the way everything was handled. I was taken into a room by a nurse, weighed and my blood pressure taken. After a couple of minutes waiting I was taken to another room where I was given an ECG, different from the one a few weeks ago in that it had lots more wires, then after waiting a few more minutes in the corridor I was ushered into a consulting room and after examination told by the doctor that:-
“ . . . heart sounds normal, lung fields clear, there was no lower limb oedema and JVP was not raised. 12 lead ECG showed normal sinus rhythm and no significant abnormalities. Recent echocardiogram showed normal LV systolic function and no significant valvular lesions . . . ”
And before you ask no I did’t remember exactly what the doctor said I quoted the above from a letter from the consultant to my doctor of which I received a copy, it went on: -
“ , , , In conclusion, Mr Steve’s examination and investigations showed no evidence of an underlying cardiac condition of significance. His shortness of breath is likely related to his increased BMI . . . “
Weeks of tests, flights half way across Europe to be told I was fat and getting fatter, just what I wanted to hear - NOT. Neither did I want to hear that although the doctor planned to discharge me he first wanted to do one more test, unfortunately I can’t remember what. He insisted the result would be all clear but wanted to dot the i’s and cross the t’s so we expect there will be another trip back before the end of the winter.
Whatever people say about the NHS in general or this hospital in particular I was treated in a most helpful and professional manner indeed the appointment described above was scheduled for 10.00am and by 10.30am everything was completed and we were on our way.
We returned to Camping Moncarapacho to find the local dogs were still holding 24hour concerts and our neighbours were still “arses” so we moved, not very far less than 10km down the road to a large bustling site - Camping Olhao.
Every town and village in Portugal has its nativity scene set up somewhere in the village. We had heard of a special one in the border town of Vila Real de Santo António and so took a trip to see it. The only word that can be used is amazing. The whole thing is set up each year in a building that could have been an old theatre or school hall but is in fact the António Aleixo Cultural Centre. The scene is said to be the largest yet, covering 210 sqm and featuring over 4,000 figures and 20 tonnes of sand and is the life work of a single enthusiast who willed it to the town when it got too big to for him to handle alone.
Since we have been at Camping Olhao we have had a number of very pleasant meals with friends, one was a return visit to Duck Garage (to see what I wrote last time click HERE), we went with the same group of ex-pats, had largely the same menu with largely the same quantities of food and paid much the same price - excellent.
On the subject of food, a restaurant that we have visited a number of times over the years we have spent wintering in Portugal is now most definitely off our visitor list. It is O’ Americo (to read my original report click HERE) on our last visit a week or two ago everything was the same but . . . ? Difficult to quantify but none of the four of us particularly enjoyed the meal, the service was somewhat offhand the fish not as plentiful and not as tasty (¿fresh?) and the ambience was somewhat lacking. We had invited friends Ann and John to lunch there with us next week. That has been cancelled and we will go somewhere else.
It would have been at this point I would have wished my reader a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR but both those events have now long gone.
Oh well perhaps next year.