June came so much faster than we ever would have guessed. It feels like it was just March and we were just in Texas talking about how we would be going to Spain. And here we are getting the car packed to head to the airport.
This morning, just before ten, there was a loud knocking on our front door. Dominica and I lept out of bed to go investigate. It was Mike. He had decided to get up and go down to Órgiva today and see if he could get the package from the post office’s package handling center that is only open until ten. After much work he convinced them to give him the package and he paid the twenty three Euros delivery fee for it. Then he drove it up the hill and brought it to us.
So I immediately got dressed, sent Rachel a message that I needed the address of where they are living, got ready and headed out the door. It was just after eleven, I think, when I was in the car and headed out of Cáñar with her package and their lantern that they had accidentally left at our house.
It was a really nice morning for a drive, other than the fact that we are so crazily busy today and just have no spare time at all for something like this.
I just followed the road signs, it really was not a complex drive. Up to Granada on the A44 and then the N432 towards Córdoba, the reverse of the drive that Dominica, the girls and I did the last time that we returned from Córdoba that we liked so much. I had to drive out to Jaén province, about thirty minutes short of Córdoba, quite a long drive and at very slow speeds.
Rachel and Shawn are staying for two weeks in the little village of Cequia (like acequia but with the first letter missing.) I had to drive through the village and up the hill behind town and up some really tiny roads to find them. They were both out in the driveway “working” when I arrived. It took me about two hours to get out to Cequia from our house. A long morning.
We talked for about half an hour. They showed me the house and the enormous spider that was hiding in the driveway that they were trying to figure out what to do about. It was one of the biggest spiders that I had every seen. So huge.
It was sunny on my drive but I could see rain out over Córdoba and the clouds rolled in while we were talking. It did not rain while I was there, though.
I stopped and took a few pictures as I was heading out. The drive back went fine. I encountered some rain for maybe a third of the drive back.
I stopped to get gas and this was the first time that I have needed to do something and did not have a debit card! Thankfully I had plenty of cash. That would have been pretty awful. Nearly a disaster.
When I got back to Órgiva, a bit after three, I ran up to Baraka and got take up felafel wraps to bring home for Dominica for our lunch. This is our last real meal in Spain! We have been wanting to eat at Baraka again for nearly a month so were very glad that we managed to get one last meal from there. And it is cheap to get take out from there, only about eleven Euros.
I got home, parked the car in the plaza so that Dominica could work on getting the car cleaned out and packed up so that we will be ready to go when the time comes. Trying to save as little as possible for the end of the day.
We ate lunch and I got to work. Have a lot to do today.
Dominica continued to work all day on packing and cleaning while I worked “at the office.” So much to do when you are moving away from a place.
Luciana was working on something in one of her notebooks today and was drawing a place that she kept calling “Sofia” and saying how much she wanted to go back there. I was confused and could not figure out what she meant. She said “Sophia, with the streets and houses.” Eventually I figured out with Liesl’s help that she meant Sevilla and that she was drawing a picture of Sevilla because she loved it there so much.
When Dominica and I were returning from loading up the car we saw Liesl and Luciana up on the terrace waving frantically at us. They had gone up there to see the sunset because they love watching the sunset here. While up there they had remembered about Liesl’s Special Sunset spot up the hill on the acequia. I had remembered this this morning while driving and had been planning on making a point to take Liesl there this evening but work and everything got busy and it had slipped my mind.
We explained that it was too late and that the sun had already set. Luciana explained that we needed to go anyway because they had to make a memory of it! So sweet. Liesl said that she just wanted to go to the place and was not concerned that the sun had already gone down. Liesl is like me and I appreciate the value to her of these sentimental moments so I had them get their shoes on quickly and I took the two of them up there again. It has been at least a month since we were last there.
Liesl led the way and was very proud that she knew the way and needed no guidance. We got up there and the acequia was really roaring. Ciana held her hands to her ears as it was running so hard. We had a nice ten minutes up there. Liesl really appreciated being able to go up to her special place and have some time there to take it all in. There was just a little yellow sunlight left above the mountains to the west that we could see. It was a very nice moment with just me and my girls. Liesl gave me a big hug and stood there with me looking out over the valley. Our last time here at Liesl’s Sunset Spot, one of the first little places that we discovered in this little village.
Liesl led the way back down into the village and on the way to the plaza saw a huge frog (or maybe a toad) in the street. This is the first frog that she can remember ever seeing. She was very excited about that and had to get home to tell Dominica.
Before going back to the house we sat on the bench on the plaza and just sat quietly for a few minutes. It is sad leaving this town. This place really felt like home to us. Who knows if the next place(s) will have a similar feeling of belonging. This place really fit us well. We love it here. This is our kind of place. Liesl decided that she wants to write a book and tell the story of coming to live in Cáñar.
I took a minute to reflect on living here in Spain. Liesl said that when she has kids (two little girls, she plans on having) that she wants to bring them to live in Cáñar.
We talked a bit about how they could not tell yet, but some day Liesl and Luciana will look back on Cáñar as a very, very special place. This is the very first place that they lived in Europe. This was the very beginning of what will turn out to be an amazing adventure. The first step has been taken, the adventure is underway.
I just can’t believe that this first “tour” is now over. This was one of the most momentous decisions of our lives. It is so big that it is very hard to believe that we are really in the midst of it.
On the way back to the house the girls wanted to stop by the market to say goodbye to the woman who owns the shop. The ran in and said “Adios”. She gave them hugs and kisses and gave each of them a little bag of Cheetos which she knows that they love. I had stopped by earlier to say goodbye.
Getting home it was back to work. Then a little later taking load after load of trash out. If you remember from previous posts, we can only take trash out here after 9:30 at night so it tends to pile up.
It took three trips out with the garbage to get it all out.
At eleven I shaved and took a shower. My last chance while here. That wraps up our Monday and takes us to midnight. Dominica was working on the last minute packing and getting all of the furniture back into place as it was when we arrived so that we are ready to go. We plan to leave home at two thirty to drive down to Malaga. Two hour drive to there, drop off the car and be a little early for our flight. Better safe than sorry on such a major flight.
I’m ending today’s update at midnight since I am not going to bed and otherwise the days would run together.
Next update… from Norway.