Marbella etc (6)

MONDAY 6 Oct (cont'd.)

Despite Jo's lack of mobility she suggested we go out for a short walk in the afternoon so off we toddled, past the relatively new Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre:

and on to the humpy-back boardwalk:

then rewarded by a small bottle of Frappucino:

and later, dinner, beer, wine and bingo in Charlies bar.

TUESDAY 7th October

Yesterday was going to be a down day - books and pool - but today definitely was. Still, we had pre-dinner drinks back at Charlies:

WEDNESDAY 8th October

The day started, as usual, with a hot bath to ease Jo's back. Afterwards she felt able to suggest another walk - this time eastwards towards the boardwalk at Dunas de Artola where we'd been a few times before. We weren't sure we would make it all the way there but in the end we did. We hadn't previously noticed that the beach there is officially a naturist one but somebody with orange paint obviously didn't think it should be allowed:

Then it was boardwalk all the way, past the Monument and on to a beach cafe for lunch - yes, gambas pil-pil again:

We slightly lost our way on the return journey so, at the end of the day, I had clocked up almost 19,000 steps - all in flip-flops/thongs - the highest total yet.

We had booked dinner at El Med, the resort's upmarket restaurant down by the sea, but first we had to finish off the 2 remaining beers in the fridge plus what was left in the gin bottle. When we did finally get to El Med for our 7:30 pm booking we were surprised to see that the Spanish Night, which started at 6:00 pm, was still going strong - the flamenco section hadn't even started.

We setttled down for our meal anyway and took a few pictures as the sun was going down:

I chose my meal badly - whole sea bass but done in the Cadiz way where they slice up the meat and then deep fry it:

Liqueur coffees afterwards - mine was French (Cointreau) and Jo's was Calypso (Tia Maria):

Jo may have been straining to see a bit of the Flamenco dancing - but what a racket it was. Hardly a nice quiet dinner in lovely surroundings.

THURSDAY 9th October

Packed, checked out and Uber'd all the way to airport, where we now sit in the VIP lounge (as they call it). Ross is picking us up at ABZ.

Marbella etc (5)

SUNDAY 5th October

Jo's still struggling with her back and finds most movement painful. That said, once she's up and properly dosed, she can walk a bit. We discussed whether we might try another beach to boardwalk saunter but the uneven surface of the sand wouldn't be good, so I looked at where else we might go that didn't involve a beach and I noticed from Google Maps that one of the very first golf courses our group played on back in 1998 was less than half an hour away and the walk would take us through a bit of parkland on the other side of the main A-7 dual carriageway.

It was, however, our hottest day yet - 32 C (90 F) - and we would be walking in the heat of the day. Nonetheless, we set off and, once over the A-7, we came across some nice bike/walking trails in the woods that would lead us up to Santa Maria Golf Club, bringing back some very fond memories for me of the days when I used to be moderately capable and competitive at golf:

In the clubhouse for some lubrication, looking towards the 18th fairway, I took this photo of Jo and her new sunglasses, acquired at a little supermarket on the way here:

I wandered down to the first tee where I recalled there was a fairly big fear factor in our group back in 1998, but, seeing it now, I wondered why?:

That fairway looks plenty wide enough to me - just don't think about the water all the way up the left!

Heading back through the trails again we got a close-up of the adventure park (https://aventura-amazonia.com/parques-amazonia/marbella-eng) - a bit like Go Ape or Landmark - only a whole lot scarier:

Stopping at the small(ish) supermarket where Jo bought her sunglasses, we picked up a few groceries and headed back - but not before Jo insisted on stopping for her ice cream treat at Kalt Helados:

Another 12,000 steps day.

Dinner back at our apartment was bread and garlic prawns cooked in butter (we didn't have any oil).

MONDAY 6th October

I'm afraid no improvement in Jo's back but at least the pharmacia was open again, so off I trotted to acquire a huge tube of what the Spanish call Voltadol Forte and some extra strength paracetomol (650 mg).

We actually saw some clouds this morning but, although a bit cooler than yesterday, it's still plenty warm. Looks like a book day for us.

Marbella etc (4)

WEDNESDAY 1st October

Our first full day at the resort. We weren't in our usual villa but it was fairly close - adjacent to the reception block and roughly above the Market Place. This was the view from our balcony:

The last time we were here it was a full house - Gary, Luca and Ross came too. This time it's just Jo and me - so much room! We purposely hadn't hired a car this time - we had planned just to have a relaxing break mostly on-site.

Being away from home and having spent 3 nights in a hotel in Malaga I had fallen out of my knee exercise regime so I needed to get back on track quickly and I thought the best way to do that was to use a couple of the machines in the gym - so that was my start to the day, after which I picked up our morning croissants - lovely!

We spent some time at the adult-only outdoor pool but otherwise did very little other than read our books. We had managed to cast my Netflix account to the TV's in the apartment and had started watching the House of Guinness on Tuesday evening so we were on to episode 2 now.

THURSDAY 2nd October

Today we were booked to attend another sales preview - something we had booked the previous year as it seemed like a good deal. It's not something we look forward to but we got through it unscathed.

After lunch we decided to walk to the local mall where there is a decent-sized Carrefour supermarket. We didn't plan to buy a lot - only stuff that we couldn't get, or was substantially cheaper than, the small market at our resort. It's a bit of an up and down walk but it took less than 15 minutes to get there.

Nothing much else today - other than laundry, cooking, reading and eating - then another episode of the House of Guinness.

FRIDAY 3rd October

I didn't go to the gym this morning - my knee was sore and swollen. Jo thinks I overdid the gym work yesterday. However, the croissants had to be got so off I went, cheered on by Jo looking out from the small balcony at the back of our apartment:

Time to stretch our legs a little - a beach walk, heading west in the direction of Marbella town. The sea was very calm and settled and we paddled a little on the way. After an hour or so we were ready for lunch and we came across the beach cafe we had stopped at last year. We enquired about tapas, but no, all they did was "racion" - basically small portions. We chose a mini hamburger and something that was described as aubergines with honey - and this arrived:

Deep fried aubergine chips in honey? Really? There was enough there for 4 of us.

On the way back there are stretches of boardwalk - part of the long-term plan to cover the whole coast:

We alternated between the boardwalk, the beach and, towards the end, pavements through other resorts:

We made it back "home" safely:

Over 16,000 steps again today.

SATURDAY 4th October

Jo had a bad night - her back again, so it's been a slow day. I was back at the gym this morning and this afternoon I decided to walk to the local pharmacy/pharmacia to get a top-up of Voltarel for her. Unfortunately, I got there a few minutes too late - they closed at 2:30 pm and the next nearest is over 12 kms away in Marbella town. I found out that you can't get any medicines - not even paracetomol - unless you go to a proper pharmacy. No disaster for now as Jo has adequate to see through the weekend.

It's Saturday so it's pizza night and I planned to go to on-site Charlie's Bar to get it. I wondered whether they would be showing the Manchester United match but was disappointed to see that Charlie's doesn't open until 6 pm now - I'm sure it used to be 4 pm which was perfect for watching Premiership football on Saturday afternoons.

Marbella etc (3)

TUESDAY 30th September

Breakast then final packing, check out and wait in the foyer for a while. We soon got fed up and wandered over to the bus station where I went up to the ticket desk and showed her my carefully researched screen shot:

"No, no, no" she said - "train to Fuengirola then bus from there". It seems this particular bus service doesn't run any more so off we trotted to the nearest train station where I went up to the desk thinking I could get tickets from there but I was told just to tap my credit card on the machine entry point - which we did - and it got us through in good time to catch the next train to Fuengirola.

3 stops later we were at Malaga airport - who knew there was a train station there? I've been to the Costa del Sol more than 20 times and was never aware of this. Anyway, 40 minutes later we were at the terminus in Fuengirola. Now the trick was getting through the electronic barriers - we tried several but none would accept my credit card. We spoke to one of the staff and he said it's ok - just walk through here - in 2 hours time your card will be charged with the maximum fare. Sounds good - except 4 days later the only charge on my credit card account is the nominal 1c card check.

Anyway we went for coffees and I ordered an Uber to take us to our resort - easy.

At the resort we were a little early but soon were in our apartment and had stocked up with food essentials from the Market Place. The second part of our holiday could now start.

Marbella etc (2)

Saturday morning here and it's getting hotter again. Hope everyone's ok back home after Storm Amy.

I forgot to mention that, before we came to Spain, I made some of our travel arrangements for January/February in the southern hemisphere. We leave Aberdeen on 7th January and fly to Singapore for a few days. We then go to Darwin - again for a few days before heading to Adelaide. After that, final plans are yet to be made. We have booked a week up in the Gold Coast the first week in February but otherwise our plans are fluid until we return to the UK on 26th February - a bit shorter than our usual stay.

Now back to the Marbella diary:

MONDAY 29th September

Our second full day in Malaga. First of all we had to check where the bus station was as we had specific plans to catch what was allegedly the only bus of the day that dropped off at Hotel Don Carlos, adjacent to the Marriott property. Finding the bus station was no problem but figuring out how and where to book wasn't quite as easy. After a while we decided we would just come along early on Tuesday and suss it out then.

I had booked us in to the Picasso Museum at 2 pm - it was fully sold out on Sunday when we'd tried. We had plans to see the Cathedral as well but didn't know whether we'd make it over there in time to do it justice before the 2 pm deadline.

In the end, we made it in plenty time. The vastness and the splendour of these historic churches gives pause for thought that "them and us" is not just a current human failing:

We did the full tour with audio guide and still had time for another tapas lunch just outside the Picasso Museum, watching the long line of ticket holders slowly progressing towards the entrance. One of the tapas choices was black pudding so we just had to try it:

Then it was time to join the Picasso line. I can't pretend I'll ever fully understand his work - surrealism, cubism etc - but there were one or two pieces that caught the eye:

I thought we'd look for a quiet beer after the Museum but had yet more frustrations with Google Maps information about opening and closing times and whether businesses were still going or not. We gave up eventually but then happened upon a (very) small hole in the wall that did nothing but Pastis del Nata - and a coffee if you want. It was doing a roaring trade - and no wonder.

That kept us going for a bit as we headed to one of Malaga's very old what I would call sherry houses - Antigua Casa de Guardia. I made the rookie error of calling the drinks that were poured from large casks behind the bar "sherry" - "no, no, no - ees Malaga wine!":

We had 3 each - Seco, Pajarete & Moscatel no.2 - any more and we might not have found our way back very easily! Quite an experience - the barmen tally your drinks in chalk on the bar and then total them up when you're ready to check out - and if you leave a tip, they ring a bell so all can hear!

We made it back to our modern, high tech hotel which didn't appear to have a proper restaurant but it turned out there was a franchise operating adjacent to where we had breakfast. We were their only customers but we had a lovely meal starting with local bread and olive oil which was so nice you could have drunk it from the bottle. Even our random choice of wine was excellent:

Off to bed - tomorrow we check out and head to our Marriott resort.

Marbella etc

Today (Thursday) is our 3rd day on the Marriott resort, having spent 3 nights previously in the centre of Malaga. Ryanair was bang on time but we had some technical problems with Uber - we understand there was a blip in the internet that evening - so it was almost midnight (Spanish time) when we checked in to our high tech hotel where it's all Bluetooth entry etc.

But before I do the holiday diary I should tell you that I managed to go out on my bike with my pals on a fairly decent ride and I had no issues with my knee. Furthermore, I attended my 6 week physiotherapy check the day before we flew out to Spain and all went well. She said there was now no need to see the surgeon again - just keep up the good work.

The weather in Banchory had been pretty good before we came here - every morning we would sit in bed and look out at what we called the golden light as the sun came up and shone on the trees:

Our last evening in Banchory was a bit bitter-sweet as we attended one of Mohammed's retirement do's. No more Derbar - the end of an era. Let's hope a suitable replacement comes along. We were there with Anne and Leslie again - it used to be 6 of us every month but Johanne is now too poorly to attend:

Back to Spain now:

SUNDAY 28th September

We walked past the port to the tourist centre - cathedral, Picasso museum, Alcazaba fortification etc. To get to the top of the latter it's quite a climb and I wondered whether Jo would make it or not but she was game to try. I pointed out that it was a zig-zag path most of the way which helped.

First was the Roman theatre:

Then the climb - occasional rest was required:

We made it to the top and then headed for lunch - tapas, of course and it had to include sizzling gambas pil-pil:

Thinking a beer might be in order on our way back to the hotel, we searched in vain for somewhere with decent beer that was actually open before evening. Google Maps wasn't much help - a lot of the info seemed to be out of date or just incorrect. We gave up but did eventually stumble upon one on the way back - https://lafabricadecerveza.com/en/

A short(ish) kip at the hotel then out for dinner. Not many places open early enough for us on a Sunday evening but we hit the jackpot with https://tascalaska.es/. Excellent salad followed by paella:

More to follow in due course.

Almost 6 weeks

Tomorrow (Wednesday) it will be 6 weeks since my knee op and I really appreciate now how much it has improved. Jo and I have just returned from Mallaig where I had initially planned to be joining our walking group on our annual weekend away. We decided not to waste the hotel booking which had been booked and paid for. Although I could not join the others on the longer hikes they were doing, Jo and I did a few decent walks together – a couple of days over 15,000 steps – and generally I was fine. It hurt a little on the last day in Fort William when a good portion of the walk was on concrete, but on trails I was OK.

I’ve been doing short sessions on my static bike for more than a week now and managing to lower the saddle as my knee bend increases. Today I even risked a short cycle on my hybrid bike – just to the shops to pick up some milk – and again it was fine.

Furthermore, I drove all the way to Mallaig (4.5 hours) on Thursday and all the way back yesterday so things are definitely getting a bit more normal again. The knee is still stiff and a bit swollen – and still quite warm – but I feel a lot happier about progress.

I had contacted the physiotherapist team previously as I had imagined there would have been some follow-up before now. I got a return telephone call but after discussing my progress to date I was told all seemed to be well and I should just wait until my formal PT assessment which is now fast approaching anyway – Friday 26^th September – the day before we go to Marbella.

Anyway, as I said earlier, the Mallaig weekend was good and was a welcome break for us both. We stopped at the Glenfinnan Monument on the way over – hordes of tourists there. On Friday we walked the village, drove to Loch Morar and, on our way to Arisaig, stopped off at the Silver Sands:

Back in Mallaig we climbed up the hill – well done, Jo – and completed the Mallaig Circular trail, stopping at a bench on the descent:

On Saturday we took the small boat ferry to Inverie on the Knoydart peninsula – a place that can only be reached by boat – or a 2-3 day hike over mountains and boggy land – there is no road. The reward is the lovely Old Forge pub, the most remote in the country.

There are nice walks round there and we took one of the shorter ones:

The most surprising thing about the day is it was Pride weekend – rainbow colours everywhere and a march of about 100 people – more than the local inhabitants. We also managed to fit in a quick visit to the Knoydart Brewery which supplies the Old Forge.

Sunday was a train ride to Fort William – a 90 minute ride which includes the aforementioned Glenfinnan viaduct. A coffee stop was followed by another climb up to the start of the Cow Hill trail – then a trail walk down again:

We decided to head to the Ben Nevis Centre, near where the trail up Britain’s highest mountain starts – and where Kelly began her amazing Three Peaks Challenge – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, all 3 in 24 hours – all those years ago. We got a bit sidetracked and ran out of time before we got there so we had to head back.

Talking of Kelly, she and Chris are trying to find a suitable rental – ideally as close to Miller’s and Asher’s new schools in the hills. One possibility that would be ideal is just 2 doors away from where their new house is going to be built:

Demand for this property will be high – good luck, guys.

Meanwhile, I’m still looking at some possible ideas for our holiday Down Under next year.

4 weeks on

It’s 4 weeks today that I had my knee op and I can definitely see signs of progress now. Still stiff and sore, and sleep, although improving a little, is still not easy. I decided to look back at my old blog diary from 12 years ago when I had my first knee replacement and that has encouraged me a bit. I was still on Tramadol then whereas I gave up the opioids after just 2 weeks this time.

Back in 1983 I was contemplating getting some ankle weights for my exercises – perhaps I need to start using them again now? I was also starting to, ever so gently, get on the exercise bike. Time for me to try that again now, I think.

I have been out on a few walks – some short, just to the shops and back but a couple of longer ones too. Last week, Jo dropped me at Morrison’s and I walked back from there, hugging as close to the river as I could. This year’s drought has certainly tamed the Dee – the strip of water has got ever narrower and there appear to be more rocks than water in places. This was down below Banchory Lodge:

I walked under the Dee bridge and then realised I would have to somehow climb back up the embankment to the golf course. That bit was a bit of a struggle but I got there and then bumped in to some of my pals playing their regular Wednesday Quaich. I rewarded myself when I got home:

 Yesterday Ross took Jo out for her weekly visit to her friend Elizabeth and I hitched a ride with them. Ross dropped me off at the entrance to the Household Recycling Centre, aka the tip, and I walked the trails back from there – just over 3 kms in total. I had been getting in to trouble with Jo as she had spoken to former Physiotherapist Joan McLoughlin who had told Jo that I must continue to use my walking stick on the longer walks, else I will end up with a permanent limp. I did as I was told yesterday but I don’t feel the stick’s helping at all – I feel I’m past that stage.

The other thing that Jo is banning me from is driving again just now. It’s just over a week until our trip to Mallaig so I need to get in the car before then. I can’t see how it can be an issue in an automatic car, given you only use your right leg to accelerate and stop.

I walked up to the Legion on Saturday and had a couple of pints of ale with Colin – first time for a month.

That’s about all for now but I’ll close with some photos. First of all, Jo wearing the nice jacket that Lucy had to leave behind:

Then a couple of Kendall – one with Lucy and another with Cade:

Medical update etc

It’s Monday 25^th August, some two and a half weeks after my knee op and I guess there has been some improvement over that time but, from where I’m sitting it doesn’t really feel like it. One of the big issues is lack of sleep – I had forgotten what a major issue this was the last time (almost 12 years ago now).

One lesson I did learn from back in 2013 was to come off the heavy drugs as soon as possible. You need them to allow you to do the essential exercises and get the joint moving again but they are addictive. Last time it was co-codamol, this time it was dihydrocodeine. Both are opioids (synthetic opiates). I’m happy to say that I stopped them just over a week ago. I’m still using paracetamol on an occasional basis and I’m getting through the exercises OK.

A week ago I went to our local medical practice and got the staples removed, using a special tool. The nurse cleaned the wound and put on lots of small sutures and a light covering which was to remain for a week. Here's a couple of before and after photos:

                                                                     Staples in – staples out

Then, this morning I removed the temporary dressing:

Jo and I were due to be going away next week but given our current relative lack of mobility we have now decided to cancel the whole trip. We had booked to go on a CAMRA tour round Ludlow Brewery in Shropshire and we thought we would take the opportunity to visit Bath - somewhere Jo has always wanted to see. It was a bit of a road trip - 6 nights' away - 5 hotels and averaging about 4 hours of driving daily. Our next planned trip is to Mallaig on 11th September - let's hope we can manage that one OK.

I think I forgot to show you the photo of Gary arriving at the golf club in his (relatively) new company’s van when Scott and Lucy were here:

Last week was Barry's 71st and he and Helen went for a meal at a fish restaurant in Oban: