Bonterra Park 7th June 2009

7th June! We have been gone 1 whole month!
Last 5 days pretty similar, bike rides, 20 odd miles is not uncommon nowadays, although we did go to Onda via the Navara, because it was a bit too far.
When we arrived at the tourist information shop, it was shut. Tricia wanted to go to the “famous” museum but it was shut until 4pm. As we could see the castle from where we were, we parked (only place actually in Onda itself, to park) and set off in that direction. Fairly steep climb but we finally made it, sweating profusely as it was early afternoon and the temperature was mid 30’s. Got the castle gate, yep you guessed, shut!

Followed Tricia down, as she took pictures of just about everything, doors, windows, birds, steps, thank God for digital cameras.
Stopped for a coffee, asked for dos café leche, got just that except they had already put sugar in and, as usual, Tricia ate my biscuit.
Received an unusual request from Mr Swan back in Blighty. “Queeny Swan is off on a hen week end, I could pop over?” Thought he must be joking as he has just come back from a week in Greece or somewhere, so “Yeah, OK, plenty of room”. Next second, another e-mail “See you on Thursday then”!
Then of course it’s “hire me a bicycle, pick me up, get the beers in, wipe my arse etc.”.
He never changes you know. When he gets here the first thing he will want to know is “where’s the Port then? That’s it there mate, pretty terrible isn’t it? That’s Tricia with another “sweet” coffee and a cake she said she really liked but did not know what the hell it was?


I hate birds. Sitting having a good read the other day, splat! Right on my shoulder, I don’t know what it had been eating but green and yellow was certainly part of it. I asked Tricia for a tissue “What the heck for it will be miles away by now!”
Tried the restaurant on site, “3 courses plus wine/beer, €9” Well there were choices, but my starter of Pasta and Bolognese sauce was very good, either chicken or mixed fish. Tricia wanted fish, I went for chicken. “It’s off, all gone, how about lamb?”
Now lamb is one of her indoors favourite so it’s yep, yep, yep me too please. It was OK’ish. Pudding was a pineapple panecotta, gorgeous. We also had a carafe of wine and I had a beer. €18 not bad except we hadn’t eaten that much so far and wobbled back to the Mothership.

It’s Sunday morning, I’m reading The Sunday Times online. Tricia is “cleaning her bike” again. What that really means is that she “intended” to clean her bike but decided to get her cossy on, eat oranges and lie in the sun while she is reading. She has “cleaned her bike” like this for some time now. The bike just gets browner with dust, she just gets browner.
Tricia “bike cleaning”.

Got a shock while we were at the port, I ordered a “beer” and the waitress DID NOT UNDERSTAND! This must be the only part of the world that the word beer is not universally understood, I tried “Bieree”, “beeraaa”, “birra” and was on the point of shouting slowly as we English do at times like this, when I remembered what was written on the last twelve pack I bought at Lidl. It’s “Cerveja”, pronounced “kayvetha”, with the emphasis on the second syllable from the end of the word. So I now know why I don’t see many drunken foreigners around the place and lots of Spanish falling all over. After about 3 drinks we can’t pronounce it anymore and have to just go home! So Swanny be warned.
As I have said in other posts, this is not a part of Spain frequented by many British so you must learn the language, consequently we are giving it a go. Tricia is doing really well and adding to her vocabulary every day. I have managed to say “kayvetha” more than tree times in an evening so learning anymore would just be showing off.