Arrival

Well, we finally got here. The bus took just about five hours and pulled in at 6 pm. After a short taxi ride, we were home again. All our stuff had been well cared for and there were no signs of flooding so that was a bonus. Both of us were so tired that we wandered down to Tito’s restaurant for a quick bite to eat and turned in early.

I was a bit disappointed when I got up the next morning, it was Sunday and the bugles weren’t playing to wake us. It was good to hear all the different bird songs again though.

After our morning tea, I started to take down some of the stuff that Castalo had put up high in case of flooding. Two totes and two suitcases were emptied and we started to discover a bunch of stuff that we had forgotten about. It was like Christmas all over again.

The car had to be retrieved so walking down to Blanca’s we met them coming our way. Apparently, there were no problems with flooding per se, but their roof leaked and wrecked two suites in her building. She also told us that our casa had had a leak as well. It’s hard to tell as they had already cleaned up and re-painted.

After a bit of bother and a hand from Castelo, the car finally started. The thing was so covered with dust I could hardly see out. It was decided to get a full wash inside and out but of course, it was Sunday and nowhere was open.

After eating lunch at one of our roadside restaurants, Rosalie having pancakes, eggs, and beer, we went in search of supplies. Water was the main thing to get, after beer and wine that is. Again, it being Sunday, there wasn’t anyone to sell us some. The jugs were in the back of the car, so after getting the rest of the essentials (beer and wine) I started to drive home. Lo and behold, coming the other way was a water truck so I stopped the car in the middle of the road and got two 20-litre jugs.

By the time we got home, I was exhausted and still had to unload the car. I was feeling a little groggy and nauseous. I went for a nap after unloading and slept for about two hours. I was still feeling a bit off so I had Rosalie check my temperature. Sure enough, it was up. I took a Covid test that came up negative then decided to just wait it out.

I think the heat got to me: I had hauled two 20-litre jugs of water plus a 10-litre jug, a case of beer, a case of wine and a heavy bag of groceries. The temper at the time was 35 C. So no wonder I felt a bit off. As the evening wore on Rosalie fed me chicken broth and I slowly started to recover. I was even okay enough to wash the worst of the dust from the car. I think it was heat frustration!