Hey, Teach!

Hi everyone,
I'm going to have to keep this one pretty short because it's getting late and I still have packing to do for tomorrow!
On Thursday Pedro, Martin and I went on a new adventure. We headed up to the mountains, only about 20km from the french border to a little place called Eugui - the village where his Pedro's mother is from. It took a while to get there but upon arrival we grabbed a quick drink then headed off to see the sites... or site - it's only a little place after all. A couple of kilometres out of the village is an old ammunition factory. It was built in 1766 and was but was used for less than 50 years since the French decided that they didn't really want the factory right on there borders and destroyed a lot of the structure.
The Spanish decided to abandon the factory and nature has swept in to reclaim the land. After looking around this ruin we went over to where a group of archaeologists were working on a new part of excavation. I couldn't understand a word but they had a good chat with Pedro then one of us took us around a bit more to explain how these people would have lived. By the time we returned to the current excavation area the labour force had returned from their lunch: about a dozen young guys ready to do any heavy work. They seemed to be a bit over-enthusiastic in their greetings - Pedro translated a few 'compliments' thrown my way - but after a bit of a laugh we headed off to drink another drink.
Next on out list of things to do was drive to the top of one of the mountains to check out the view. It was definitely worth it! You could see trees for miles, little villages below and across the valley you could see the cloud covered hills. At the top there were also some semi-wild ponies just chilling out - two adults and a foal.
After a tonne of photos we decided it was time for some food. Back in the town we found a nice little bar with a relatively cheap menu. To my surprise, after a brief moment of conversation with Pedro in front of the barman, the guy  asks - in a broad American accent - where I'm from. I didn't expect that one at all. It turns out that the guy (the owner) was from LA and was more than happy to spend some time chatting away to us. He also gave me books! Knowing how travelling with a love of reading can be difficult he gave me a few that he had copies of and said if I needed more I could come back - shame they're so far away. So I am now the owner of....well it's a bit of a funny mix - Shakespeare's midsummer night's dream, Huston Smith's the religions of man (the title says it all) and Andrea Levy's small island about a Jamaican woman who moves to post war London to find it's not all it's cracked up to be. So apparently I seem like a Shakespeare fan with a thirst for religious knowledge and a love for general-historic fiction...interesting.
After our food he then went straight into showing me the herbal tea collection instead of offering the usual coffees....I apparently have that look now too.
Eventually though we had to go so after promising to get in touch next time I'm in the region we headed back home. I actually spent most of the rest of the day in my room half asleep because for some reason I was totally shattered and the heat was getting to me more than usual - not fun.
On Friday I decided it was time for some real work - to make up for  my day out. I was up early, swept, sorted out the animals and weeded the rose beds - the seeds had returned after being pulled when I first arrived. By this time it was getting on a bit so I relocated to the kitchen to help prepare lunch for a french family who'd just arrived. As I was still not feeling 100% I spent some time inside reading before returning to the kitchen - this time to make pizzas. We did have a bit of a laugh at my inability to make a square pizza but once they were finished they really were delicious! The rest of the evening was mostly spent watering the plants and reading some more.
The nerves were a little unsettled on Saturday morning after Linda had told me I was going to be helping her teach a couple of Spanish kids English. There was a 7 year old boy and a 10 year old girl - scary!  Luckily they weren't too bad though - we made animals out of toilet roll tubes before taking them out to the pool, over to the donkey and around the garden. We also spent some time playing a game where you gets points for getting these little metal disks through holes on a board. The kids loved that game do we did that and had them practicing numbers in English while they played. They left around 12.15 and as soon as they were gone it was off to the Chinese store for art supplies - the kids were coming back the following day. I returned to find Iker's dad and grandmother had arrived to take him and his girlfriend home.  They stuck around for lunch and by the time they left it was too late to get started on much. It's pretty quiet without Spain's answer to Romeo and Juliet but one thing I won't miss is that girl's shorts - I'm sure I have head scarves with more material! My evening was spent preparing for the next class and watching an old National Geographic documentary on the TV before going to bed.
Today we had the kids back for another class. Now I had decided to make paper plate dream catchers with them, simple you would think.....think again. I had them make it in the easiest possible way but it still took almost an hour and I had to help them basically make it. We also played the throwing game again, fed the donkey, had the two doing races and trying to start teaching them their new language. They left around 12.30 so it was time for brunch before getting back to work. The afternoon's been pretty quiet, but Martin wanted to take me to another fiesta in a different town so off we went. While we were there we met Martin and Olga's friends who had invited them to the town and they knew of an English woman in the village - a member of their friend's family. Off we went to find this mystical English woman and it turns out there were two - her daughter too! We spoke to them for a while before heading back to the main street for the giants, got a couple of tapas then stopped to listen to the live band before heading home. If it had been any other day I would've been happy to stick around but I was already tired and I still wanted to talk to you guys!
However  I'm definitely going go have to head off to bed now - I'll just be happy if that last paragraph actually makes sense since I'm running on empty as far as coffee is concerned and I'm on the road again tomorrow.
I will speak to you all soon!
Night

A Jack of all trades

Hola everyone! As I promised on my shiny new Facebook group (link to be found on the right) here is my latest post.
This one might be a little 'higgledy-piggledy' because I'm writing it in between helping cook for and serve the customers but I'll see what I can do!
On Saturday I was meant to go to the bulls with Jon and Martin but since I was absolutely shattered I had a bit of a lie in - what a treat! - then went to help Pedro with the shopping. We returned in time to wish Jon goodbye because he was leaving for Barcelona before heading back to Amsterdam. It's a little quiet without him but I think Linda's happy not to have to buy as much food - that boy is like an eating machine! There were quite a lot of customers in over lunch so we spend a good while helping in the kitchen before finally sitting down to have our own lunch. Pedro however missed out as he was out for a lads meal in his mother's home town with the men of the family - a little peculiar but apparently there were no ulterior motives and they had a good get together.
The afternoon was spent collecting vegetables, and having a bit of down time before getting back to work. We had bought some plant fertiliser for the Aloe Versa since it wasn't looking to healthy so I spent the evening replacing some of the bad soil with proper compost and adding the fertiliser before getting dinner and settling down for a nice Skype call.
On Sunday morning I wasn't half way through my coffee when we realised that the fridge wasn't working! Now there are two fridges here, one large industrial one then a normal fridge-freezer. It was the later one that broke. Oddly the freezer section was still working but upon taking the whole thing apart we discovered that the fan had completely frozen up, as had the entire back of the freezer. I spent the next half an hour defrosting it with Linda's hair drier. Once all the ice had gone we left it for a while in the hope that it would resume work on it's own accord. In the mean time I decided to build a frame for the new compost heap. Pedro and I found a good spot near his small vegetable plot, cleared the ground then hauled three pallets down from a huge pile at the very top of the land. Despite the heat we quickly built the frame - three sides with pallets and the front simply had a couple of lengths of wood at the bottom to strengthen the structure and prevent the compost from falling right out. We used wire and nails to hold it together with a couple of long metal stakes to keep it on the ground. By the time we finished it was time to get back to work in the kitchen and help cook for the guests before finally getting our own lunch.
Unfortunately the fridge wasn't interested in getting back to work so we dismantled it a bit more to see if there was another problem. Before long we had everything off the fridge-freezer that could come off but still it wouldn't work. I even took the fan out completely, cutting the wires to do so. However with half a dozen other things to do that was the best we could do with it for the day except leave it in the hop that further defrosting might fix the problem. By the time the plants and animals has been cared for it was meal time again. Two Russian guests appeared - a mother and daughter - half starved since most places were closed due to the fiestas. We had a good chat, I told the daughter all about helpX and they explained what they did back in Moscow. The daughter ran a fast food restaurant while the mother was a chemistry teacher. Amazingly she only earns around 450€ a month yet still manages to get by with supporting her family and going on holiday.
By the time they left it was quite late so I called it a night.
Monday was definitely one of those days were I almost wished I'd stayed in bed. First I managed for fall out of afore mentioned bed, then as I opened the big fridge door it wobbled and a pot of junket (cuddled milk desert) fell over inside the fridge going everywhere, then the coffee filter got stuck to the machine and fell into my coffee. This was later followed by the appliances trying to electrocute me!
After the coffee and another half hearted attempt at working on the fridge I ventured outside to muck out the donkey. Luckily he's outside most of the time so there wasn't as much to do but there was still enough to make a welcome contribution to the compost heap. After a quick snack Pedro and I returned to the fridge with renewed determination. We extended the cables a little since I'd cut them too short although it really wasn't a very solid join and they came apart a few times. It did work enough for us to rig the fan up to the car battery and it turns out it worked fine! However when I tried to connect it back up to the fridge *ZAP!*  Despite the fact the fan refused to turn the fridge still decided to give me a good strong shock, just in case I still planned on forcing it to behave. Back to the drawing board. After everyone had had lunch - customers, family and staff - we had another fiddle before deciding that the only option was to get a new fan. Pedro had tried soldering some new cables on but unfortunately took it past the point of no return so we couldn't reattach any cable at all!
First we tried the Chinese shop in Tafalla - if ever you need something from somewhere other than the supermarket the first port of call is the Chinese shop. Fridge fans however were not part of their typical stock and the guy didn't even know where else we could look. Plan B - Pamplona, the big city! Pedro and I ran around the streets searching and asking any passers-by where we could find an appliance parts shop and eventually we had the answer - the opposite side of town. Off in the car we went and after stopping for directions so many times I lost count we finally found the shop! Closed. Perfect, after rushing around thinking it might be about to shut - it was almost 7pm after all - it turns out that they're only open in the morning! At least we knew where the place was.
By the time we got back everyone was shattered so after a quick dinner and a bit of internet time it was off to bed - I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I had promised Martin I would go with him for the final bull run in Tafalla so at 7.15am bleary eyed and  questioning my sanity it was off to town. You could tell things were winding down already - there were less people, less traditional colours and even the bulls took their time getting along the road. In the ring there were quite a few more men (some still only boys really) wanting to try their luck. Some only wanted to watch from close range but I did underestimate a couple of them - the gymnasts. Skinny, quiet looking lads who didn't look up to much. As the bulls charged towards their friends and comrades these guys leapt over the animals as though they were just pieces of equipment in the gym. It was amazing, although still a little scary when you consider how it could go wrong. A similar moment  occurred when one of the lads jumped over the high barrier out of the ring but the bull tried to follow. It was determined to get over the barrier and from there into the crowd. When we left the arena Martin an I went for a coffee and on the shop wall I saw some photos from two years previous. On of the larger bulls had made it over the barrier and into the crowd. In the pictures you could see blood on its horns, people scrambling out of the way in fear and people not getting out of the way in time. It's the sort of thing that so rarely happens but can be devastating when it does. Luckily no one died that time but a lot where injured and in the past people have been killed.
On the way home we met with Pedro and Linda who were off to Pamplona so I quickly swapped cars in the road and headed back the way we'd come from. We dropped Pedro off for a doctor's appointment and Linda and I went to see if we could get this fridge part. The shop was open and when we explained this situation to the guy running it he could hardly believe his ears - what were these two daft English lasses doing dismantling the fridge?? Why hadn't we called a guy to come and fix it for us. Well, we explained how it was an emergency and how expensive a call out would be, doing it ourselves was the most sensible option. To be honest, I think we made his day, and we left the shop with a new fan complete with cables and ready to fit.
Pedro stayed in Pamplona as he was off to Dan Sebastian to visit Daniel and the baby so Linda and I headed home ready to start on the lunches. Four couples wanted feeding and one couple decided to stay the night too. By the time we got our food though there was trouble brewing. Linda and Iker had a pretty big spat over how little he was helping here which resulted in him storming off, Linda getting even note stressed and Mytani (I still don't know the spellings) - Iker's girlfriend getting upset and sitting chain smoking on the terrace. After I'd spent some time trying to cheer her up it was back to work. I still had to finish fixing the fridge. Thankfully it was an easy fix from that point. The fan worked and once everything was put back together it worked fine - success!! The atmosphere was still pretty chilly too though so I kept out of the way and kept looking for where to stay  next. I have my next project organised in Portugal but I'm going to have a quick wander around the north west of Spain first. After a while Iker and Mytani decided they were going to watch the football in the dining room while me and Linda stayed upstairs and watched some Spanish cookery program while I carried on looking through stuff online until I turned in for the night.
Today has been much more chilled out. I went to do the shopping with Fatna this morning, refilled the now-working fridge, made pineapple crumble, helped with lunches, then we sat down for our own lunch and since then I've been typing this up and catching up with some old travelling friends.
There's still the rest of the day for some madness but hopefully it will continue to be a quiet one - even Iker and Linda are talking again.
Now don't forget to check out my photos the Facebook group and feel free to comment!
Until next time!

Talk about grabbing the bull by the horns

Hi everyone!
I really need to keep track of the days a bit better - I didn't realise I'd left it almost another week without posting! This really is one of those places where time just disappears.
First things first: I have finally managed to organise a Facebook link for this blog. From now on I will write on there to let you know when I've got a new blog post, plus I'm in the process of putting the full collection of my travel photos on there too. Feel free to comment or discuss any travels and adventures - let me see who's reading! The page is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/633521363345096/633527926677773/?notif_t=like
I look forward to hearing from you guys on there! But now - on with the show.
I finished my last post just before heading out to the final night of fiestas in San Martin De Unx. All the locals were turned out in their best red and white as is traditional for the fiesta. The fire bull ran twice on Sunday evening, once at 10pm and again at 1.30am! Of course since it was the final night, and since Martin had taken us there, we had no choice but to stay. Between the bulls there were drinks to be had and a couple of stalls where prices could be won. On one you had to shoot the target and win a prize - I'm sure many of you are familiar with it. Here they used real air rifles, they weren't chained to the stall and there were no safety warnings or anything like that - who needs health and safety anyway?!
Eventually, after the closing ceremony (which was after the final fire bull) we got home, totally shattered but happy to have attended such a nice local little celebration.
After such a late night Monday got off to a slow start but by mid morning most of us were up and about doing bits and pieces. I spent most of the day helping Pedro with a 'cool' little project he had going on - homemade air-conditioning. Now if you would like the full instructions (or instructions which are as full possible considering half  the 'how to build' file was missing and we had to improvise on most of it) then let me know but basically you're trying to circulate cold air - cooled by a bucket of ice inside - through a load of aluminum pipes - to cool it further - and then push it out through a fan at the top. This whole system then sits inside a plastic bin with a hole cut out for the fan and the drainage tap. As I pointed out however a lot of the project involved guesswork and improvisation so new lids had to be made out of scrap metal, pipes were adjusted and readjusted, problems occurred. No wonder it took all day and half the next! Jon had been allowed the day off after such a late night but Pedro, Martin and I muddled through all day and by the time we'd finished up I knew it would be finished the following day.
Throughout the evening there were a couple of people in for meals, but other than helping with them I had a quiet and chilled out end to the day.
Tuesday morning was spent finishing off Pedro's project. It was great to see it completed - he's been wanting to do it for about two years now so it felt great to help him do it. We did have a bit of an anticlimax when we went to test it and discovered a compete lack of ice but before long Martin's wife appeared and she arrived with ice! It works pretty well to be honest, it wouldn't cool down the entire restaurant area by it would certainly help in the sitting room or a bedroom - not bad considering how none of us really knew what we were doing!
After such a long, productive morning it was time for a rest afternoon which I used to set up the new Facebook group. I did try and make it a page but the site doesn't seem to like me and wouldn't let me - but you do have the nice new group!
On Wednesday it was time for something a little different - we were off on a field trip!!
Linda was going up to San Sebastian with Jan to see her son Daniel and her grandson so Jon and I got to tag along.
San Sebastian is about an hour and a half away from San Martin on the coast - about 20km from the French-Spanish border. I had brushed the edges of it when I hitchhiked down to here but it was late and I saw nothing.
Before going exploring we waited around to see Daniel and his little lad. Now I'll openly admit that I'm not a baby person; I've never spent any time with one and if I was left to look after one for even five minutes I dread to think what would become of it. However he was such a cute little kid, didn't cry or anything and after his little table top rendition I think he's going to be a fine drummer when he grows up - have fun with that one Daniel!
Anyway once we dragged ourselves away Jon and I, after a disposable camera hunt, went to check out the old part of city and the beach which is practically in the centre of the city.  We walked along the sea front for a bit before heading back in search of lunch - when it comes to food Jon is like a machine - I don't know how he can eat so much! Next we wandered the narrow old market streets lined with pintxos (tapas) bars and quirky little stores selling ethnic clothing, incense and other such things.
Once we'd finished browsing we headed back and stopped at the beach on the way. Jon went for a dip but it was far too crowded for my liking so I just sat and enjoyed the sun at the top and did a bit of people watching. By the time we met back up with Linda and Jan they'd already said goodbye to Dani and the little lad which was a bit of a shame but after a quick drink it was time to get back on the road and head home for a quiet and early night.
Thursday morning started bright and early with a wake up call at about 6.30am for an important local event. Tafalla had been having their own fiestas all week and we were off to see the daily bull run. That's right, Tafalla doesn't have the fire bull; like Pamplona it has real, living, breathing, charging bulls! The six animals, all around 600kg, stampede down the street amongst a crowd of men running alongside trying not to get trampled. Another thing health and safety would never allow. Now in Gloucestershire, England there is an annual cheese rolling completion where competitors chase a wheel of cheese down a hill and whoever catches it wins. This year, because of health and safety issues the police tried to prevent it going ahead. Isn't it funny how in England it's too dangerous to chase cheese while in Spain it's perfectly acceptable and celebrated to run through a narrow street being chase by large, dangerous  animals - it's a strange old world. We viewed the run from behind the barriers - for those of you who know Orkney its similar to the town's set up for the Ba' - and then went over to the arena for the next event. Now I assume proper matadors always wear there fancy outfits when they're in with the bulls but in the morning the younger lads get the chance to practice with young bullocks and prefer to stick to their shorts and trainers. The animals can move a lot faster but so can the men and I bet the acrobatics is nowhere near as good with the bigger bulls: I'm saying that after seeing one of the young matadors - the best one in my opinion - took a running jump and lept right over the bullock as it charged towards one of the others. Part way through however there was a heart stopping moment when one of the lads fell as he ran from the bullock. It seized its opportunity while he was on the floor. You could see it jabbing him with its horns and stamping on him as he tried to get away. It was awful to watch, you felt so helpless. Thankfully the other lads had the bullock surrounded in moments and their shouting and arm waving distracted the animal long enough for the poor lad to scramble out of the way - he was lucky not too have been seriously injured but I bet he's got a few bruises to show for it. Most of the crowd had probably seen worse but I bet it was a serious reminder to all of how dangerous this sport can be.
Unfortunately, for all this tradition is known world wide and is part of the celebrations here, you can't forget how unfair it is to the animals. Being raced through the streets only to be slaughtered the very same day and being taunted and tormented to entertain an arena full of people - it might be tradition but it doesn't necessarily make it right.
But moving on - after the event we went to Martin's and had coffee with him and Olga before getting home where I rushed to my computer. It was my mother's birthday and I intended to surprise her! She had no idea I could call the home phone from my computer but I managed to speak to her from India on her previous birthday and I was determined to do the same this year!
We talked for over an hour and it really was great to hear from her properly since we'd only communicated through Facebook since I left.
When I eventually rang off I helped out in the kitchen for a bit then it was time for lunch.
Annoyingly, with me being as clumsy as I am, I managed to slip on the freshly-mopped kitchen floor and hurt my knee to the point where I was effectively out of action for the rest of the day.
Luckily this morning it was almost back to normal so off we went for round 2 of the bulls. The bullocks seemed a little more subdued today - great for the paramedics, though not as exciting for the majority of the spectators. This was followed by a quick look around Tafalla to find a memory card for Jon then we returned home. I've spent the day still trying to rest my knee a bit but otherwise I've been helping with rooms, the kitchen and picking vegetables - I got a huge pan full of peppers chillies and tomatoes today! We really haven't had to much to do with no customers in but it meant less for Linda to worry about.
Well that's all for now - I must leave you to fold tea towels! Remember to check out the new Facebook page!
Until next time!

¿Dónde es la fiesta?

Hi everyone!
OK so I know it took me a while to get this posted - sorry - but I've been super super busy this week! So I'll try not to witter on too much and get you guys up to speed.
After my last post on Monday we had another new arrival at the house - Linda and Pedro's son Daniel - who had just come down from San Sebastian to visit for a couple of days. He arrived just before dinner and we got talking - cars, sport, travel, things like that - and before we knew it it was 2am! Definitely a bad influence considering I'm normally asleep by midnight!
Anyway Tuesday morning was spent weeding once again, this time in preparation for a new herb garden (to replace the 'just mint' garden)! Around 11 I had to stop since Martin had arrived to take John and I to the town fiesta. The fiesta in San Martin is much the same as all other little towns in Spain around this time of year - its all about celebrating the end of the harvest and hoping for a god crop the following year too. The celebrations began around 11 with speeches from the major and local dignitaries followed by food and drink and music. We didn't stick around too long since we knew we'd be back later but it was a good start. Once I got back I had time for a little more weeding before  people started appearing for lunch. it turned out to be a super busy lunchtime so it was all hands on deck but eventually it quietened down and we got our lunch around 3pm. By the time this was all done it was time for a bit of down time and I got chance to Skype Rhona (I would give her a proper shout out but as one of my closest friends she doesn't actually read this....typical). Anyway, around 8pm Daniel came to see if I wanted a ride on the quad bike - talk about asking a silly question! We couldn't go too far since we had to get back but once again it reminded me how much I love motorbikes, quad bikes, etc. I had a great time anyway!
Around 9 Daniel, Jon and I got organised then went out with Martin to the fiesta. Every night, and sometimes twice a night, they have the Toro de Fuego - the Fire Bull. Basically there's a wooden bull mounted on a frame which can be worn on someone's back. From this frame shoots lots of sparks and fireworks. The idea is that someone runs around the square with if 'attacking' people. I think its mean to be instead of the real bulls (like the bull running in Pamplona) but either way its total madness - fun, but total madness. To be honest I spent half the the Fire bull peering outside from behind Daniel but that's only because I didn't want to get holes in my only decent set of clothes...I did however manage to strike up a conversation with a lovely lady called Janet from the South coast of England who had, by complete accident, managed to organise her and her husband's time in San Martin to coincide exactly with the fiesta.
After the bull it was time is a couple of drinks with Martin's friends then home and off to bed after a not be long day.
Wednesday morning began. Little later than intended since I slept through my alarm but after a quick breakfast Linda, Jan and I headed off to the garden centre to buy the new herbs. It took a while but we eventually picked out Basil, Parsley, Coriander, Chives, Rosemary and Rocket. We accidentally acquired some Rue too but hat was only because it was potted with the Parsley...
By the time we'd finished we had to rush home because there were a lot of people expected for lunch - another busy session in the kitchen! By the time we got round to finishing our own food it was time for Dani to head off back to San Sebastian. It was a bit of a shame cause he's a pretty cool guy and it would have been good to han out more but I've already warned him that I might come and visit San Sebastian so who knows.
The rest of the afternoon was spent planting up the new herbs and trying to organise what I'm doing next.
On Thursday I decided it was time to find somewhere to put the small amount of gardening tool and supplies so I made a space in one of the outdoor cupboards and now there's somewhere for the plant pots to live! The rest of the day was mostly spent helping out in the kitchen with salads and such, and serving the guests. In the evening we went to the Fire bull once again and this time Linda and Jan came along too! We had a pretty good time, hung out in the bar for a while and had a game of table football -Olga (Martin's wife) and I beat Jon and Martin although it was all starting to get a bit heated towards the end! Before too long though it was time to head back since we were all pretty tired - time for an early night.
On Friday morning Fatna took Jan and I out to the market in Tafalla. We didn't stay too long but I managed to get some new beads for my dreadlocks and we got what else we needed. Once we got back I made up all the guest beds again since the rooms had been totally striped for a deep cleaning session the day before. Luckily there weren't too many to do - 26 dorm beds, and 4 private rooms with 2 beds each.  The private ones just took longer since they had to be fully made up while the dorm beds are pretty basic. Next up was lunch and once that was finished we had more new visitors - the youngest son Ica (I have no idea how to spell his name, sorry) and his girlfriend. They seem like nice enough kids (well I say kids, they're the same age as me) but they do both still seem to have a typical 'terrible teenager' mentality. The rest of the day was spent helping in the kitchen then chilling out on my computer.
Saturday morning started nice and peacefully. I got up, put the coffee on, got half way through the mug and then......people! 13 still half-drunk young Spanish men appeared out of nowhere. Now to be fair we had been expecting their arrival, but not until the afternoon! They had been up partying at the fiesta all night and decided to check in early so they could catch up on some sleep before getting back into party mode. First though a whole bunch of them wanted to be fed so after moving my stuff out of the dorm which I'd been using I helped with breakfasts (or super in their case) then they disappeared off to bed until lunchtime. Once they were out of the way I cut back some of the chives since they were getting too long then froze them before moving on to the next job. The other rooms needed to be finished in preparation for a large group of french guests who arrived around lunchtime. Luckily the Spaniards didn't want lunch or we would have had about 20 people to feed! After lunch Pedro and I helped Ica and his girlfriend set up their new accommodation the tent. With all the guests they and Jon had to move out of their rooms as well. I shared with Janice, they camped and Jon ended up camped in the gym. The tent took a ridiculous amount of time to set up since it was a really old one with individual poles and held up with two uprights, a horizontal across the top and just pegs to create the A-frame shape. The fact the ground was so solid didn't help matters either but eventually we got the job done and they were quite happy with it once they had their mattress inside. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to improve my Spanish, much to the amusement of some of the Spanish lads who were alive and ready to party again. After a quick jump in the pool it was time to grab a quick sandwich for dinner then off to the fire bull once more - Martin takes great proud in the town's fiesta and gladly insists on taking us along to it. After the bull I ran into Janet and her husband once again and chatted to them before Olga dragged us - quite literally in my case - to the centre of the square for the next event....
Children appeared with this long narrow sheet of material (rubber perhaps) and created a mini arena in the centre of the crowd. Next in stepped 5 local men, one in a wedding dress, one in a sort of traditional female gypsy garb and the others in their traditional suits....it was already looking a little bizarre. What followed was a rather odd little performance of rival lovers and passion and death, but in a very comedic interpretation. perhaps it's one of those 'you had to be there' moments but it really was pretty funny! After the play we stopped for a couple of drinks and after Olga's best attempts at getting me to dance it was time to head back up the road. I spent a little while online to unwind then headed off of bed in the hope that the Spaniards wouldn't return late in search of drink.
Today hasn't been as busy at least. The french guests left by 7.30am - I didn't even get chance to help with their breakfasts. Hook tried to reenact a scene from the Great Escape but luckily he wasn't moving to fast so I caught him easily. The issue then was getting him back to where he needed to be.  every time I tried to move him he would just sit down again - and he's a big dog! It took both Linda and I pushing and pulling him to get him inside and thankfully from there he moved on his own accord. If it weren't for the fact that he and Rex would have wandered off together it would have been fine but we can't have that pair terrorising the village!
As that whole fiasco was finishing the menfolk awoke so it was back behind the bar to dish out the coffees and toasties before they backed up and left.
The rest of the day has once again been spent helping in the kitchen and garden, sorting the animals and also researching where to visit in the North West of Spain. If any of you have suggestions please comment and let me know!
On that note I better go, plenty still to do today and its the last night of the fire bull tonight!
Until next time!!

Twinkle twinkle little star

Hi everyone!
This is just a short post since thing have been pretty quiet here the last few days.
For most of Friday, Saturday and Sunday things were pretty easy going - i fed and took out the donkey, sorted out the dogs, then did a bit of weeding before it was too hot. After that the work was better suited to the heat. On Friday it was mixing up and using the eco-friendly weed kill that I used at Anne and Tom's:

1litre vinegar
50g salt
2 tspns washing up liquid

Saturday was the day for cleaning the terraces since loads of dead leaves had fallen all over it again. And Sunday was spent making the place look good for Pedro and Linda's return that evening.
In the afternoons we were free to do what we liked and I spent most of the time drawing or watching old episodes of Monarch of the Glen - a TV series based on an old family estate in Scotland.... a little sad I know!
During the evening all we had to do was water the flowers, vegetables and lawn, then look after any customers.
Now the first two evenings were fairly quiet but last night brought something a little different. We had a Swiss- Philippino guest called Alex who was interested in nighttime photography. After chatting away for a while he invited both Jon and I along with him when he went to get his photos later in the night. Jon wasn't too interested but I opted in so around 11pm off we went to find a good spot to set up. It took a couple of attempts since he couldn't get the right lighting or the right foreground but eventually we found a perfect spot where we could get a nice pond, a small tree covered hill top and the Milky Way (not the chocolate bar) all in shot. Of course taking photos of the stars isn't a quick and easy thing to do, especially if you want to capture their progression across the sky, so with the camera set up to do its own thing Alex and I simply sat and talked, swapping travel stories and discussing the wonders of the Universe - at which point I realised I needed to brush up on my astrophysics knowledge... again. It really was a beautiful night - not a cloud in the sky, the Milky Way was bright and clear and meteors shot through the sky as they always do at this time of year during Perseid's meteor shower. This usually occurs from late July to early August and is peaking around the 11-12th of August this year (so keep an eye out)!
Anyway by 2am we were both getting tired so we decided to call it a night and drove back to the motel where I promptly went straight to sleep. Alex on the other hand apparently stayed up until 4.30am taking pictures from the terrace!
This morning I had a bit of a lie in after the long night but after a good coffee, a welcome back to Linda and Pedro and a 'pleased to meet you' to Jan - Linda's original hitchhiking buddy - it was on to work. I fed the donkey and dogs then swept all the terraces (it's harder than you'd think) and by that time I was shouted in for elevensies. Because everything's only just getting back to normal today and people were tired there hasn't been as much going on today but we should be back on track tomorrow to get some proper work done.
Anyway I'm currently trying to work out the best way to make my photos available to all of you so as soon as that's done you can finally see where I've been lately  - I know you'll all be struggling to contain your excitement in the mean time but I must dash as I need to figure out where I'm going after this and when....
See you next time!

I now pronounce you Head Gardener!

Hi everyone!
So you all know I have ordered the new connector I need for my camera so fingers crossed I can start getting pictures on here again soon!
I've been keeping super busy here at Casa Pedro Motel this week trying to get the garden looking top notch for our host's friend visiting on Sunday for a few days! Normally the friend - Jan is forever commenting on the health (or lack of health) of the plants - hopefully she'll be in for a nice surprise this time!
So on Monday I got up nice and early, rummaged around for something to eat and after a quick coffee I got straight to work. Its much better to get up early and get as much as possible done before it gets too hot to keep working. By 11am I had finished weeding rose bed number one  and apparently that was all I had to do for the day - the problem here is that we're not allowed to work enough to make up for what we get in return!
After lunch we went to a local town called Olite. The town is home to the The Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra de Olite, ie: the palace of the kings of Navarra of Olite. And it is an impressive palace. Allegedly it was the inspiration for Walt Disney's Cinderella palace and looking it it you can see why. It's amazing. Towers and turrets and big Gothic window, old enclosed courtyards and HUGE fireplaces big enough to walk in. I only managed to spend an hour there as it had to close but it was wonderful! I took loads of photos so eventually you'll get to have a look and decide for yourself if it looks like a fairytale palace.
Once we left there it was back home for dinner then I spent the evening trying to organise two of my favourite people visiting me in Portugal in September. I can't wait to see them although the organisation's a nightmare! Now I know some people wonder why I would travel so much when I have such close ties to people back home - I speak to my better half most days and my mother when she remembers how to use her computer (only joking mum), I miss them, and my friends, tremendously when I'm away. However I have always wanted to travel the world and go on grand adventures and I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't travel. Beside I know I always have those people to come back to, and I think it makes me appreciate them even more.
Anyway on with the tale. Tuesday morning was spent weeding once again. This time I was clearing rose bed number 2  of all the stray grass and weeds. This one was quite a bit harder but I kept going. Around midday Linda (the host) returned from town to find me still working - minus the hand trowel as it had just broken - so she ordered me to stop working and have a rest. I guess I'd just been too immersed in my work to notice the time!
On the afternoon I just relaxed on the terrace for a bit and went swimming in the pool. It's a lovely little pool although it took forever to wash the chlorine out of my dreadlocks!!
After dinner I, once again, spent my time trying to organise things for Portugal before a quick Skype then off to bed. That evening I also went to retrieve Donkey and thanks to Linda's terrible influence(!) I ended up riding him bareback and barefoot back, in shorts, to his hut! One of those things you've just got to do.
On Wednesday morning I got up nice and early as usual despite the fact Linda said we could probably take it easy since Pedro was away for the day.
However I wanted to do some more work in the flower beds so I had a quick breakfast when went to ask Linda a different trowel or for something to fix it. Instead I was asked to clean the terrace outside the rooms for the guests because the weeds and the bird muck needed to be gotten rid of. It really is a two person job since you need to hose and sweep at the same time but Jon was nowhere to be seen so i made do on my own and a couple of hours later it was finished - although, annoyingly, I passed it today to find loads of new fallen leaves to be cleared away - typical.
After a quick snack Linda and I left Martin and Jon who was being made useful and painting the tables while we went to buy plants fun! We drove to Tafalla to the garden centre then off we went in search of 30 new plants for the terracotta planters on the terraces. We got a few different herbs  like lemon thyme and lavender then we settle on some cheap geraniums, carnations, plants that aren't to easy to kill. Once that was finished we stopped by a bar for a quick drink then it was off to Ildl for the shopping - that's right everyone Lidl is one of the main supermarkets here, none of this Tescos nonsense.
We had a bit of a delay when we tried to get home since the car wouldn't start. Its an old mk2 VW golf  so luckily it was possible to look under the bonnet actually see what was going on - unlike with all the modern cars- but we still couldn't work out the problem, even with the trusty Haynes manual. Fortunately there were a group of young lads hanging around and watching so with a nice smile from me and a little chat with Linda they offered to help by push starting it and luckily as they ran down the road, pushing it at an impressive speed, they got the car started.
With no further incident we got home.
I had considered going in the pool but I was determined not to have to wash my hair properly twice in one week so I sat outside and read until about 5pm when our new guests arrived a Dutch pair - brother and sister. They wanted to go to a vineyard so Linda offered to take them - and me - the same day since she was leaving the next day for a four day holiday with Pedro to see their son in Malaga. So off we went to Bodegas Beramendi for a tour. Considering the fact I got right through Bordeaux without stopping by a vineyard is ridiculous so this was time to make up for it and it was worth it. We were shown around the production rooms with Linda as the translator then we got to try a selection of the wine they produced - pretty good way to spend the early evening.
When we got back however it was all hands on deck - for most of us anyway. The Dutch couple wanted dinner - starter, main, desert and coffee, Pedro called to say his car had broken down so Linda had to go and get him from the bus station, the donkey needed to be seen to, I had to get my university funding forms done while I had the use of Linda's laptop and to top it of one of the dogs - Rex - spotted a stray dog in the garden - a gorgeous young Basset Hound - and decided to chase it a good 400m down the road, with me hot on his tail trying to get him to come back. It was a very busy evening that's for sure.
Linda and Pedro left this morning with the usual last minute panic of leaving the house for more than a day. While they're away Fatna is looking after the place, I'm trying to improve the garden and Jon is....well I don't quite know what he's meant to be doing but i can always put him to work in the garden!
So after they left I had a quick coffee then got straight to work planting all the new herbs and flowers we got. It took a while since I was trying to match them up so each pot looked nice but I finished with some time to spare before lunch so I went and retrieved Donkey (it's his name) and put him back in his hut where it's cooler.
Anyway I think I'm going to have a nice relaxing afternoon with maybe a bit more weeding and holiday planning. Thanks for reading!
See you all next time!