The Journey: Which country?

Before I left it had snowed but it didn't last long

So I'm in Spain. I thought I might take some time to write the blog before I go, but I didn't have any pictures and I didn't have much time. I had an early morning and much reading to do, so needed the time to do that instead of blogging. Life at the moment is a bit all over the place. Travelling, writing, trying to get things done on the land before winter hits, but being frustrated by the rain and a cold. It's all there in the chaos of life. It had rained a lot before I arrived back the week before and so the ground was soft. Not ideal for moving the caravan and chicken arks without chewing up the ground, which got left before I went away. We try and avoid making a mess, as we want to take care of our land. One of the mornings though there was a heavy frost, which meant the ground was firm and so we quickly got organised to move the chicken arks into the greenhouse. That went fairly well. The next was to get the caravan in. That didn't work so well.

Leaving a dreary Latvia. This was from the airport in Riga

Getting the caravan into the greenhouse requires a degree of precision. Getting it in, isn't the problem but lining it up in the most convenient place is not so easy. There is not much room for error and it was not helped by the fact the brakes kept locking up whenever it was pulled forward. It reversed beautifully but wouldn't go forwards to straighten up without digging great holes in the dry, soft ground inside the greenhouse. Ian started to take the wheels off and dismantle the brakes as they were never used. The caravan is only ever moved between the greenhouse and just outside the greenhouse and never on the road, so the brakes were just inconvenient - when they don't work properly anyway.

I did see some sunshine in Madrid and
at least it wasn't raining

One side came off no problem but the other one would not, so that meant a quick trip up to our friend to get an axle puller. We felt a bit bad as we could only do a flying visit. He has been very ill over the last few months so enjoys a visit. The days are getting so short so quickly that there was not time to chat as we needed the caravan set up so we could go to sleep in it that night. The axle puller did the trick and we managed to get the caravan in place and with a bit of time to spare to sort it out before the evening set in.

Central Madrid

They have interesting street signs in Madrid

Before the frost I did manage to dig up the fodder beets, beetroot and carrots and store them in the greenhouse under cover. I knew they would survive a light frost but they would need time to recover before digging up and the forecast was not great. I haven't had chance to dig up some of the Jerusalem artichokes though, which we feed to the chickens over winter. They are unlikely to get dug before I get back either, as it is set to rain for about 2 1/2 days solid. So I left Ian with the miserable weather. Mind you the weather was only a bit warmer and no less wet in Spain. Sigh! My first trip to Spain and it rained. I guess that's what comes of travelling in November. My friend did say that it is a fairytale land where the sun exists and to bring some back - I'll try. Maybe I can sneak some in my suitcase.

Central Madrid

A street in Madrid

I was supposed to be on holiday from work, but it didn't turn out like that. I was hoping for thesis writing time but instead ended up doing more on a protocol that needed submitting to a journal. Frustratingly the deadline came and went and it didn't get finished. There were issues that still needed sorting that I couldn't resolve.

Homeless Jesus, a very poignant sculpture in a very poignant
place

Homeless Jesus outside the cathedral with
many visitors passing by without even
seeing him.

The sun was in the wrong place to get a
good picture of this sculpture. I love the
gentleness of the man holding the bird.

On the Monday evening of last week I was in Madrid with a good friend of mine and his wife enjoying a meal, so another reason not to blog. It has been a while since I last met my friend but we have known each other for a long time. The last time we reconnected was in the UK at a prayer event that happened shortly after we left the US, so nearly 12 years ago. Before that we met up in Brazil, where I helped him and a group of others in churches over there. Are you following? We've met up in various places over the years, but this was the first time to really get to know his wife, although we have "known" each other on Facebook for a while and share the same birthday. They showed me around central Madrid and their neighbourhood. I sampled tapas and Vermouth. It was a short stay but I learnt a lot.