A drizzly day today.

After 16 dry and sunny days we finally have some rain.  It's not heavy, just a steady drizzle and is soaking straight into the ground.  I was beginning to think we'd have to water the vegetable terraces as the soil was so dry, but when I was weeding over the weekend,  noticed that a few inches down it was a bit damp.  This should soak in nicely.

Yesterday we were down in Motril getting the car ITV'd - the Spanish equivalent of an English MOT.  The system is different here.  Instead of taking your car to the garage to have it done and not knowing quite what they do, here you take your car to a testing station and drive it through yourself while the technician tells you which lights to turn on and off, when to apply the  brakes and handbrake etc. He tests the emissions, horn and seat belts. The hardest part is when you drive over the inspection pit, he leaves you with a walkie-talkie and goes down under the car.  Then he talks to you telling you when to turn the steering left and right and it's so difficult to hear him. There are other cars being revved up for the emissions test, having their horns tested and it's all loud and echoing!   Cars have their first test at 4 years of age, then it's every 2 years until they are 10, then it's annually.  The Polo has now reached 10 years so this time we got a 1 year sticker for the windscreen.  Not bad value at €35 plus a few cents.

We picked up a bit of shopping at the supermarket - some really good joints of pork on special offer that we have stocked the freezer up with - before having a quick Valentines Day lunch at the nearest McDonalds.  Not romantic I know but quick!   Menu del dia at a restaurant on the beach at Salobreña would have been lovely but it was a bit cool and breezy for that.   And Spanish lunch time is very laid back - you need to allow a couple of hours extra.

weather was nice yesterday in Salobrena

We left home at 9am to make sure we weren't late for our appointment  in Motril as we weren't sure what state the roads would be in either over the Contraviesa or via Torvizcon.  We drove down one way and returned the other to see what they were like.  Some of last years problems caused by the rains have been repaired but not all,  in fact the land slips on the Cádiar to Torvizcon road don't seem to have been touched at all.  I wonder if it's a financial problem or sorting out liability?