Well a new year is here , on the back of our lucky grapes and in true Adams family tradition it's time for new business.
Our new business is , house hunting . Yes we're finally taking the plunge, we're going to put all the neigh Sayers behind us and try and find a legal cortijo in Almeria if such a thing exists !
As you will be aware we are currently renting in the almanzora valley near Albox, "the valley of the dammed " ground zero for illegal builds and demolished properties. Our rental is not up to scratch yet, it has just been granted urban land status but is still without planning consent , our neighbours are less fortunate being on rustic land and no planning. The thickness of a building block in the garden wall is the only difference , it's so unfair.
So we hit the web, looking through page after page of cortijo's , finca's and villa's comparing them against our often revised wish list , then a possible and another so a viewing was arranged.
We set off with the agent from his office , onto the autovia then off , on to a narrow, very narrow road twisting through the fields then a cloud of dust and were in the rambla then out and in and out up a drive way , well it could be with some work and at last a house .
6 beds and 1 bath , could sleep 11 ? What with one toilet ! First up best dressed ! The gardens are out there somewhere and just need some work . But this house has lots of character and a good feel, just so much work and some more bathrooms, but the lovely wife is smitten and what's good for the goose ...
Then on to the second , this was more like a stage in the Paris - Dakar hopping from one rambla to the next in clouds of dust and sand , now this one it says needs some work , he was not joking as one end of the house is a ruin and the other has had the upstairs demolished and needs rebuilding, all of that aside the real issue was it was very over looked. So a no and a maybe , the words of my dad ringing in my ears on pocket money day " now don't just buy the first thing you see " but what if the first thing is the right thing ? It worked with the lady wife after all ! A house half as good would surly be a palace.
We sat up that night into the small hours mulling over the pros n cons the what ifs and reviewing the myriad of snaps we took. The out come was that we agreed to look for some more possibles online .
The next day after breakfast we sat at the PC to continue the hunt , but no , the internet was down, a few calls later and we found out that we were off and staying off . Our Internet supplier had been evicted from his mast and could not find a replacement location.
So we've been off line for 8 days , no house hunting just lots of mulling, we've arranged a second viewing with a builder and a pool installer , who knows it could be a hole in one? We were greeted back to the electronic world by a boxful of junk e mail , a wrong direct debt payment in the bank and an afternoon of Skype catching up with family.
As for dad , well he had a great time In Benidorm and is 75 years young today ! So Skype and cards all round.