Still not tired of it

I could look at this view for hours. I've never lived anywhere with a view of the sea before, and I love watching the changing colours and textures.

Confession: yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of my first blip, and I didn't post a blip! I've missed so many days over the years that Blipfoto doesn't consider it an anniversary anyway, and my excuse is that I'm having to be miserly with my data allowance while I wait for the router to arrive. But I'll never forget that day when I thought, “I have to start sometime,” picked up the camera, stepped out of the front door, and snapped the first thing I saw. I never dreamt it would become such an important part of my life, still less that I'd still be doing it almost daily, ten years later.

Anyway, yesterday's first task was of course to go out and shop for all the bits and bobs we were lacking. Then we went out for lunch on the terrace of Lute y Jésus, a very traditional fish restaurant. A feature of Almuñecar and most other seaside towns here is the African women who wander round town with trays of jewellery on their heads trying to sell it to restaurant customers. The first time we came to Almuñecar four years ago, we got into conversation with one of these sellers, Fatima from Senegal – she was pleased to find someone she could talk to in French. Thereafter we kept bumping into her and discovered she lived at the bottom of our street. And as we sat on the terrace yesterday, she recognised us and came up to say hello. Not only that, but as we left the restaurant we bumped into R and D who just happened to be walking by. It's nice to go somewhere where you know so many people.

Back home I decided to give the pool a try. S had told me before lunch that he'd dipped his hand in the water and it was “warm”. So I didn't bother testing it, just hopped straight in. Aargh! I'm no freespiral or SpotsinTime. I managed four teeth-chattering lengths (it's only 5 metres long) and then hauled myself out and dashed shivering back into the house. I think it will be bearable when I am better prepared for it!

This morning the firewood guy Marcos came round. We have painful memories of lugging and stacking the wood in our previous little corner of paradise which was inaccessible to vehicles … Here it couldn't be easier. Marcos backed his mini-skip right into the garage and tipped the wood out into exactly the right place. Then S used his Boy Scout skills to rig up a pulley system with some bags for life and the emergency piece of cord from his walking kit so that we could lower the wood from the garage directly into the patio. No lugging at all! And as we didn't have enough cash, Marcos said with a carefree wave that we could pay him later.

Predictably, lunch was at the Balcon de Cotobro, which is now our local restaurant and the only one within easy walking distance. Well, down 283 steps to the beach, to be precise, but we needed the digestive hike uphill afterwards. Later, an abortive shopping trip … We set off into town, then belatedly realised that it's the Cabalgata de los Reyes this evening, which we were determined to avoid. So it was about turn and home to light the fire.