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To The Finca! Part Ii
Chapter 4 - Oh we do like to be beside the seasidePack your bags everyone; we’re off to the seaside! An hour’s drive down the coast brought us to the lovely resort of Peniscola, with clean sand, bars, an old town and very few people. Along the way we’d spotted garden centres and a specialist shed shop, maybe we could get a shed for our tools tomorrow?
Oh it was such bliss to have a relaxing day, no supermarket run, no airport trips just sand and sea and surf. The sea was warm and gently sloped away from the shore. A picnic was shared and the Frisbee run after. We played to our heart’s content in the sea, body surfing and bobbing about like people who’d only had freezing cold dips in the river all week! The only downside was that it was the most overcast day we had and sure enough at about tea time the heavens opened. No matter, here was a port side bar selling sangria, well, when in Spain……then a search for a restaurant. Up through the old town with the castle, how pretty! And there's a fish restaurant with lovely views. That would do nicely. Sue and Sam were leaving the next day so we enjoyed ourselves to the full. The font stop for water on the way home turned into an impromptu roadside rave-up, the car doors open, stereos turned up and dancing in the street. Except for poor Sue who, worn out by lack of sleep and the privations of camping, was asleep in the back of the car.
Chapter 5 - Say ‘Hello’, wave goodbye!
‘Right, we gonna go and get this shed then?’ asked Jamie over breakfast, I could only agree and with self build enthusiast John arriving that afternoon the timing was perfect. So back in the car and back out Peniscola way to the shed shop. We stopped at a large garden centre along the way impressed with their range of healthy and huge trees and shrubs but more time for organising a garden later they didn’t have sheds so on we went.
The chaps at the shed place were very accommodating and agreed with some careful planning we could fit the pieces in the people mover and take one of the smaller ‘casitas’ away with us. They really were not your average shed; they were very nicely crafted with interlocking wood like a log cabin, more like a summerhouse than a shed really. In the office were impressive examples of wooden villas they had built for wealthy clients. ‘The police, he may not like’ said one of the workmen gesturing at the car laden with wood. Right, now you tell us! I squashed into the back saying spells like crazy so that the police would not pull us over. But we made it back safe and sound and everyone lent a hand for the ultra quick turn around to get the shed unloaded and Sue and Sam loaded to get their flight. Ryanair would have been proud of us!
I had a couple of hours to while away in Tortossa so Rosie and I decided to hit the huge Carrefour, less of a supermarket and more of a mall with baskets on wheels, it seemed that you really could buy anything (anything except a hand drill and plane for the erection of casitas that is). We were so long in Carrefour and I was so long in finding the car park that we were very late in collecting John and Tracy but fortunately for us their flight had been delayed so with the serendipity that has been John’s trademark every since I first met him we arrived at the airport at the same time.
When we returned to the finca the evening shower was just beginning, we assured John and Tracy that it would soon pass but the clouds kept rolling over the brow of the furthest hill we could see and the rain kept coming. Ben, Fi, Triston, Glen and Bear had all gone to the nearby town for a drink and we pondered whether or not to start cooking dinner. I was reticent to start cooking in the rain and with most of the party missing but it was getting dark and we were all getting hungry. When they finally returned Fi and Glen kindly offered us all refuge from the storm in their tent (we weren’t laughing at the size of it now) and Jamie and I remained outside to cook. I was so glad I had opted to cook up some nice heartening stews that night; it was exactly what was needed. We had dinner and a very funny round of ‘My Grandmother went to the Sex Shop’ (well we needed more red wine to keep out the rain didn’t we?) and then bed.
Chapter 6 - All hands on shed and on Jamie!
John and Jamie could hardly wait to get their hands on the shed after breakfast, and we were all surprised at how quickly it all fitted together and went up. Before I knew it they were starting on the roof. How very exciting. Jamie and I dreamed of being able to spend the night in our little wooden house before leaving for England.
But one slight challenge when we sat down to lunch was that the beer had fallen to the bottom of the old well that we were using as a cold store (a lovely chilly 4 degrees). Jamie was absolutely delighted, now he had the excuse to lower himself down on the boson’s chair he’d sourced! I hid around the corner a little reticent to see my boyfriend be lowered that far into the ground. All the boys were on hand to take the strain and operate the very basic pulley system and provide the muscle to lift him should the mechanism not work. I got shouted reports back which went something like this:
‘Jamie’s in the well’
‘Blimey its quite deep isn’t it!’
‘He says there is a door’
‘Mel says not to open the door’
‘F**king hell he says there’s a tunnel!’
‘There’s a tunnel, get a camera to him’
‘Camera coming down’
‘Mel says not to go down the tunnel’
‘He’s going down the tunnel’
‘He says it’s a long tunnel’
‘Camera coming up’
‘Beers coming up’
‘Jamie coming up’
So now we had cold beers and a tunnel!
Now it was time to pile Fish, the Fairy and the Bear into the car and take them to the airport, sadly no-one to collect this time. Our friends were leaving us. But when I retuned the shed was almost finished, just a slight problem with the floor that was a little too big and needed planning and the door to fit.
In the end the drill and the plane needed to do the last minute fittings would elude us but by some judicious use of a knife and some nails we were able to leave lots of things secure inside in little wooden house. The finca received lots of presents that week meaning that in future the sting of Ryanair’s limited luggage allowance shouldn’t be as painful.
Another thunderstorm rolled in to bid us good bye on Monday but I was still very sorry to leave. Ben nearly had to stay as he’d booked a flight leaving at 10am that day while the rest of were leaving at 10pm, but credit card to the rescue and hurried calls to a worried girlfriend sorted that out.
Jamie and I plan to return for a long weekend very soon, if only to try out the delights of the shed and another working party is planned for September. It was a wonderful week shared with wonderful people and we feel sure that the love and friendship that went into it will continue to bless the land there for a long time to come.
Written: 16th Jun, 05
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