Let the Lion roar

This is wrong, very wrong indeed. As reported in a posting a few days ago the pool is ready, Johns reputation as the best pool keeper in Blanca is unchallenged its looking great. So whats the problem? quite simply its cloudy weather for a third day and we have rain forecast. We had just about given up on getting any rain at all this winter having nearly got through February and  March without any much to write home about. Not that we do not want rain, indeed we are pretty desperate for a good downpour. Looking over the campo we can see many citrus trees that are suffering from lack of water. We are guessing that growers are hanging out for at least some free water. The price of lemons is through the floor, with Turkish imports killing the local market. Incidentally its not only the growers who are suffering because of this. Packers work on an as and when basis and there has very little call to work for the ones at the local warehouses this winter.
Water costs money and although it may seem cheap if you only want to water a few terraces like us if you have to work it into the cost of growing commercially it looks like many are just not able to afford the price. We are hoping the rain does come in reality, our leisure  activities can hold fire, It is so much more important that the local market gardeners get that free water before the summer. They may not sell the lemons this year but the trees need to be taken care of for the coming ones. So fingers crossed for a bit of drip drip drop little April showers and maybe the reverse of the old saying, March having come in like a lamb will go out like a lion.
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footnote

Photo taken from Villa Alba yesterday.
I wrote this post last night - then it started raining and its not stopped since!

The Gota Fria is here

Guardamar. With torrential rain throughout the night and most of the day, the damage it is causing is all around, many people with ground floor or accommodation at the bottom of a slope have found the the water pouring under their doors as it cannot drain away fast enough. The roads have been like rivers with 3 or 4 inches of water running down them. Manhole covers in the roads are being forced up and gushers of sewer type water gushing out of them. All this water is running down towards the beach and has eroded the beach into deep gullies (some several feet deep) as it makes its way to the sea, taking with it the wooden walkways, rubbish bins and anything in its path. On Reina Sofia park the duck ponds have overflowed and the childrens play area was roped off as the water has washed away a lot of the sand.
Driving inland to Formentera, lots of the fields are under water and resembling paddy fields, the farmers are will like this as they normally have to flood the fields manually from the sluices.

Hey Guess what!

Last night it rained and rained and rained, not to mention the thunder and lightning that seemed to be non stop for about 12 hours. Poor suzy the cat was most unhappy, she's never liked storms and makes a sad little mew noise as she tries to sit under your pillow. Needless to say we did not sleep outside last night. The plants all got a really good watering and hopfully the water supplies have been topped up. We have had no heavy rain since 31st May,just a couple of very light showers and as I said before July was the hottest in 40 years.
The rain was not to sandy so cleaning up will not be to bad, hope everyone remembers NOT to use loads of water to clear away the sandy deposits. Much easier to leave it to dry them sweep it away.
The pool was nice and cool this morning, this time of year it can get really really warm in there which is not so refreshing.
Rain also effected the airport with some flights delayed and others diverted. We flew in in a thunder storm once,not a lot of fun. Still more rain forecast for today which is good news for the water supplies and the plants.

Fortuna - thermal

The Church at Banos De Fortuna
Yesterday we had a trip to Fortuna, which about 15 kilometres west of Orihuela situated in a quite mountainous area, it is a large town with mainly narrow streets and has a nice unspoilt feel to it, with some lovely architecture.
3.5 Kilometres along the road is the Banos De Fortuna, a small village with several luxurious looking hotels, a church and other facilities, The main attraction is the open air thermal pools and swimming pools where entrance is included if you stay at one of the hotels, but 10€ for the day otherwise. Other health treatments are available including mudbaths and massages. The Hotels are all brightly coloured and fresh looking and you can have a 7 night stay all inclusive for about €450 this includes several free treatments, and wine and water with your meals.
It is a very popular health resort, and it is quite normal for people to wander around the village in their bathrobes.

Update 3-New centro commercial near Rojales

All thats left of the BP garage on the new centro commercial site (photo taken 28/05/08)

The BP garage has now been demolished and all the water and drainage pipes have been laid, Building will be starting shortly.

Which water do we drink?

Well it appears from the poll that 82% of people who voted drink bottled water, i myself drink tap water, in the summer its nice chilled, i have not suffered any ill effects - yet, so i will stick with it.
It is recommended that men drink about 3 litres of water a day and women 2.2 litres,
and in a hot climate you should drink more, that is a lot of plastic bottles to recycle or better still not use, so think about your carbon footprint and wean yourself onto tap water, start with a couple of glasses a day and gradually build it up, you'll be fine.