MANILVA

Monday 21st January.
Over the weekend we made arrangments with Mano and Anna to go over to Manilva today for dinner and then spend the day with them on Tuesday to see the routine to look after the two dogs and two cats! Vidal called in to say hello and to also to check on a leaking tap on the main sink which he is going to change when we are back in the Winnebago.Whilst we have been away our neighbours have come back from England and also some new ones have arrived on the site.Dave and Jane Owens who have a American RV and have had in the past Winnebago's like ours as they travelled across America came and talked to us and we were also able to give them some details about Portugal as they moved down,we also found that we had a lot in common with them and swopped E-mails for the future!In the evening we had a dinner with Mano and Anna as we settled in to their house.
Tuesday 22nd January.
After the night befor we got up to a sunny day and then saw the routine to feed and look after the dogs and cats.Feria is a large Boxer,Derek is a very small Yorkshire Terrier.Fish is a black and white moggy and Bella is a grey Persian pussy!! They all have different ways and also go and come as they want-its like looking after four small children!We then went with Mano and Anna up to the village as it was very hot and sunny and they showed us all the place's to shop as we made our way around the bars,including some that we had not been to befor and at the same time we picked up Carlos's son Fabio from the nursery school.We had a very nice Tapas lunch in a Gypsy bar just around the corner and met the owners son who is a famous Flamenco singer in the area,all the ladies were drooling until they found out that he was married!
Wednesday 23rd January.
Mano and Anna set off to the airport to go to Anna's house in North Wales as we took over the family! We went out to do some shopping and when we came back everything was all right! We had a late supper and I found out how to use all the controls for the TV. Over the last few weeks we have started to think about the what we are going to do in the next few years and have come to a decision-Watch this space in the next few days!!
Thursday 24th January.
As we got up it was another sunny day and so it was a good time to set our plans in motion,We are going to rent an apartment in Estepona and become resident in Spain ! I made a call to Paul Dudley in Oxford and we found out that he would come and pick up the Winnebago and sell it for us back in England,at the same time we called the bank in North Wales to make some arrangments with them.We have spoken to our friends and they all think that it is a good move for the future,We could also sell the Winnebago on E-bay as a alternate if we want too.We love the life down here and have fallen in love with the Costa del Sol and especially in Estepona,which is why we put the advert in the paper two weeks ago for work! We started today to look at the rental pages in the local papers and soon found some apartments in our price range and made a appointment to see one later in the day .As I was on the phone a message came up to ring back to a number-It was our first job offer! We made contact with the person and are waiting to speak to him again over the weekend as he wants us to check out the area above Malaga where he owns three large villas and is also making plans for a holiday park with chalets that he makes- he wants us to look after the villas and also has plans for other things in the future!-Watch this space.We went over to the Winnebago as the apartment was just across the road and met Vidal,he thinks that it is a great idea and he also gave us a great lead to sell the trailer to somebody on the site who he knows is looking for one as we are keeping the Smart car as we have spent so much money on it since the xmas breakdown but we will not need the trailer anymore! We checked out the Winnebago and then went across the road to meet the person to see the apartment-they did not show up-manana as they say in Spain.Friday is local paper day so we will pick one up and start chasing up more rentals. When we got back everything was OK at the “Casa”
Friday 25th January.
We had a phone call from the garage to say that the new spare key had arrived from Germany so we went over to Marbella to pick it up and then go and look at Cartama above Malaga which is were are first job could be not knowing what was about to happen! The road out of Marbella heads up to the high sierras on the way to Coin and then Cartama,As we set off on the three lane road just after the start we hit a rock on the road in the inside lane which had fallen on to the road,I could not swerve to miss it as a car was just overtaking us! The front nearside tyre went with a bang and I had to drive on for a few Kms untill we found somewere to stop as we could not stop on the roadside due to the space and drop! It now gets worse,as a Smart car does not have a Spare tyre! The front and back tyres are different so you only have what is basically a repair kit to fill the tyre with filler to get you to help!but the tyre had a very large hole and was past this option. We rang Vidal,our Guardian Angel and he drove over to help us.The next problem was when Vidal arrived we soon found out that we did not have a jack to take off the wheel! So Vidal got his jack out only to find out that it only fitted his BMW! So we then flagged down a passing car and borrowed thiers! Vidal took the tyre off and put his spare wheel under the Smart car and gave back the jack!We then headed back down to Marbella and left Brenda in charge of the Smart car on three wheels! We went into the garage on the large shopping mall and got them to put on a new tyre and at the same time we bought a new jack,we then headed back up the mountain to Brenda! The new jack was then used to put the wheel back on and retrieve Vidals spare wheel! We then decided to change the other front tyre to match the new one and had arrangrd with the garage to look after us as we headed back down! Vidal is a star and we can't thank him enough.We eventually got back to the casa to find that our “Family” were OK! A large drink was called for after another “HELLUVA” day!! For supper we had Calf's Liver,Bacon,Sausage.fried Onions and Mash.