Crazy Weather

Looking outside from the shop window, I think the glass is tinted yellow - but when we go outside the sky is actually orange. My weather forecast says that the air is hazardous.This is Saharan sand and it stays around for days, some times landing as as sand and sometimes as mucky rain. It covers everything and trying to clean up after it is no fun.
Our decks had been gleaming after a big effort from Ronan and now they are the dirtiest they have ever been. The muck rain especially has stained every rope on board, the sails have lines of brown on them and there is even dirt gathered in the zips of the cockpit covers. It takes several days with our new power hose to get the worse of it out and we hope that time will get rid of the remainder of it.
In other news - local truck drivers are on strike and as well as blocking the roads and the port their beeping horns are a constant background noise.
We have a visit from Hilary and Graham, the lovely neighbours we connected with when we were staying in Plym’s lovehomeswap in Andalusia. They are on their way north to their son’s place in Aragon and decided to stop in and catch up with us and see the city of Cartagena. They bring us avocados, lemons and daffodils from their garden. They tell us about a fisherman’s shantytown they visited just over the hill from here so a few days later when we have a rental car we drive over and have a look.
A few days later we have a rental car so drive over to see it for ourselves. The ‘town’ of Algameca - has been there for nearly a hundred years so even though the houses are rough and ready with no planning or electricity, it is here to stay and it has a charm all of its own.Read more