Keep Calm And Let The Adventure Continue

When the going gets tough ...

I’d never before considered myself as capable of being a strong minded type. I’ve spoken before about paths open to walk when losing a loved one. There are essentially two: the first leads you to falling apart, the other doesn’t. If you choose the latter, you grow stronger and more determined to boot. It is an inevitable outcome. Is it strength which gives us courage, or is it courage which gives us strength? The answer for me isn’t important. For every day that I am picking up the pieces, overcoming setbacks, finding solutions, and simply taking everything in my stride, I am growing stronger and I feel greatly empowered by it.

So what better way to take advantage of this new state of mind than to finally banish my fear of heights (and edges!)? The opportunity arose to do just that when a friend announced she had booked tickets for us and another to walk The Caminito del Rey. This was the place to do it and my mind did not hesitate. I will just add at this juncture that five years ago when the Junta de Andalucia announced they were to rebuild the caminito and make it accessible for all, fate was already sealed and I knew I would take the walk sooner or later. My incentive was obvious. My heart has for a long time been lost to the intoxicating beauty of Andalucia’s landscapes and I’d harboured a burning desire to see beyond what was once a tantalising glimpse to all but the few extreme sports enthusiasts. The precipitous and crumbling pathway that clung precariously to the rock face before was only traversed by these brave but quite frankly stupid few. Indeed, a handful tragically didn’t make it through alive.

Ready for the off and, no, I'm not saluting!

When the day arrived, I laced up my walking boots and said to myself that “this was it, chica, there was no backing out now!”

The view below my feet. (Note the flimsy fencing between me and it!)

Experiencing the Caminito begins more than a kilometre before you get to the start. A long walk through a very long dark tunnel carved (clearly by the vertically challenged!) through a mountain is already a test for the feint hearted. Revealed at its mouth is a glorious pine forest which descends majestically to a lake. This tranquil surrounding shepherds you down to the starting point where the real treat awaits. Once we were fitted out with rather fetching (not!) hairnets and hard hat, we were invited to set off in small numbers at timed intervals so to avoid congestion on the walkway.

The valley beyond the first descent.

Almost immediately, we began our ascent as the suspended walkway rose through one end of the gorge before lowering us gently down again into a beautiful valley where we meandered through shady pine trees along a river bank. After a good pace, up we climbed again on to the second suspended walkway that rose through the gorge at the other end. Millennia of river carved rock face and valley floor was finally laid out before me and I wasn’t disappointed. Indeed, the fear I thought I had didn’t show itself once not even as I leaned precariously over the mesh fencing to capture the wonder of what lay below my feet.

The new walkway is built over the old.

7Km later, I emerged at the finish feeling victorious and while taking the bus ride back to ‘base camp’, I thought to myself how much Brian would have enjoyed the experience. That said, I’d felt so energised by the experience, that I’m pretty sure his spirit was right beside me while I was living it for the both us.

The famous bridge across the gorge, at
last viewed from the inside!

Back on the reasonably level ground of Finca del Olivar and feeling fired up, I was ready to tackle the re-emergence of an irksome neighbour (a certain Señor Torres) who, for the past eight years or so, has been attempting a right of access claim through either my land, or through one of my neighbour’s. It seems he’s not choosy! His own land is somewhat landlocked so it is an expectation that some form of access will be granted which will affect somebody. Up until now a helpful sort (doubtless friend) allows him access via their track but this no longer appears to suit him. The case is a complex one and has raised its head again following its referral back from the national court of Andalucia to the local provincial court. Now that they have settled their proverbial game of ping pong, we await another hearing. In the meantime, I´ve met with my solicitor to discuss the ramifications of access being granted through my land (which would, in any event, remain mine). We’ve also attended the court office together to sign papers recognising me as the beneficiary of the Finca and thus I can be fully represented and heard. I was quite business-like and we managed to draw up a potential solution should things not go in my favour. If I lose I will have to be compensated. If he loses, I can put the problem to bed once and for all and will be free to continue with my longer term plans for either remaining at the Finca or moving on. I am not losing sleep over either outcome.

There were more important issues to occupy me, that of preparing the Finca for winter. Principally, that meant storing away the garden furniture and barbeque, closing the pool, and ordering enough firewood to see me through the colder months.

Firewood delivered (in a heap) and then stacked neatly by me.
I'll confess that I didn't put the car away for a couple of days, just in case!

I scratched my head a while over the garden furniture, trying to figure out just how I was going to get it all neatly stacked the way Brian had always done it before. I set eagerly to the task but this quickly waned when I found myself propping one sunbed up with my right foot while employing my left hand to prevent the other from pinning me against the outdoor fridge. I came to the glaring realisation that it was time to start doing things my way. The result, actually, isn´t too far from the way it was before. The most important thing is that I now have a system that works for me. I reckon that experience has been the driving force for other things I´ve done differently since. It was time to make my own decisions about how things should be done. Brian´s probably nodding “about time”!

The BBQ sports its new cover made from an old
charity shop bed sheet!

After 10 years, the gate lock gets fixed.
Decision made!

Fitting a shut off valve on the irrigation system in an attempt
to stem the flow of water (long story!) even when the system was off,
led to me call in Scott to fit a proper one on the main pipe. Another
decision made!

Of course, managing a plot this size is a never ending job. This usually sunny corner of the Mediterranean is currently experiencing as much rain in a few days as is normal throughout a whole Winter season. In fact, some days have seen utter curtain-falls of water. It’s normal to suffer the odd power cut or two when it rains hard, but a torrential thunderstorm last week, the loudness and ferocity of which I have never experienced before, saw me peering bleary-eyed into my fuse cupboard and, with the aid of a torch, resetting and testing different parts of the house to see what was tripping and what could therefore be isolated and left off. My plan worked, and that particular night, I managed to keep power going to essential services.

Outdoor jobs of pruning, cutting back and lighting the first bonfire are all on the back burner. Once the drier weather returns (hopefully soon), I will don my gardening boots and set to work. Unfortunately, my pool pump has suffered some water damage in the heavy downpour and the pit of doom is looking sorry for itself, albeit it is now providing refuge to a rather large and grateful amphibian! I´ve ruled out a problem with the electrics and assume the pump has expired or needs repairing. In the meantime, I´m syphoning excess water out of the pool with a garden hose in an attempt to stop it overflowing as the rain continues. Back in the house, my electrics are tripping again and I’m back once more to running only essential services while catching the drips from a leaky ceiling over my TV with a bucket!

I figured Winter would be a testing time. Am I worried? No, I’m taking it all in my stride!