Buying a home in Spain

Buying our Condo/aka/Piso in Spain

Towards the end of 2021, we had to decide where we would be living after May of 2022.

For the first 5 years of our journey here in Spain, we rented an old, but large piso in the center of the city, with beautiful views of the river, a park, a mountain, and best of all, the historic castle just across the river from us.

We were happy in that piso, mostly. Since it was quite old, about 40 years, and had never been renovated, it had some flaws that we weren’t wild about, but had learned to live with. We loved being in the central part of the city, close to the main plazas, mercados, hospital, our school, and downtown.

But, the owner wanted to sell the place, and wasn’t interested in striking a deal with us. So we went looking.

So what’s different about buying in Spain?

The first thing that we discovered was that the whole business of dealing with realtors is quite different in Spain than it is in the US. There is no ‘Multiple Listing’ system. The realtors here are specialized by neighborhood, and, for the most part, do not share listings. There are some online aggregation sites that, I assume for a fee from the owner, will carry listings, but not all listings are there, and you end up trekking over to the realator anyway. Annoyingly, realators are not in the mode of finding properties for you. They are happy to show you one or two options in your first meeting, then wait for you to bring them one of their own listings you’ve found online, and ask them to show it to you. This ping-pong approach really extended the time of our search.

So,,,, then what?

Get a lawyer.

In the first serious conversation in a realator’s office, we realized we were way over our heads. We left that first meeting and hired a lawyer. Best decision we made, right off the bat.

Why a lawyer? Official duties of real estate agents in Spain, or at least our part of Spain, are not nearly as encompassing as in the US. Title research is not through a title company. There are real estate contract ‘customs’, that are common, but felt, and are, shady – such as avoiding taxes through under the table cash payments to the owner to show a lower purchase price. In the end, our lawyer handled all the official paperwork for us, identified all the experts needed to complete the deal, and with the escrow agent he hired, created the final purchase agreement. He advised us along the way, making sure all the Is were dotted and the Ts crossed.

Like a real estate agent in the US, if anyone was needed to make an inspection, etc. our lawyer identified them, negotiated a fair price, and lined up the work. Fyi, inspections of pisos in Spain are not normally done, but we wanted an inspection to make sure there were no expensive problems with the building that would come back to surprise us..

There was also a renter in the property before us. Renters have a lot of rights in Spain, and need to sign paperwork to acknowledge the end of their lease, and their date to vacate the property. The lawyer also handled this official paperwork, as well as helping us to close out the lease on our previous piso.

Cash

Everyone wanted to be paid in cash. The lawyer, the escrow agent, the 8 percent state taxes on the purchase, the deposit on the piso – a standard 5k, and the previous owner. The real estate agent holds the deposit for the property, not an escrow agent.

Before the sale, Other

Have the real estate agent identify the contact information for the President of the Community . They should also tell you if there are any outstanding community fees, or big projects planned before the purchase. In our case, we had the lawyer make sure there were no outstanding fees owed, and that our contract specify the previous owner pay all the future fees due on the new community elevator in advance of the purchase.

Specifiy the condition of the property. In our case, we wanted the place emptied of furniture. In the end we gave the sellers 5 days to clean the property out.

After the Sale.

Arrange for the old owners to take readings on all the utilities. You will need to have appointments to transfer the utilities into your name, and it helps to know the initial readings when you get your first bill.

The escrow agent will file the official paperwork with the city, after which they will provide an official copy of the signed deal to you. You will need that contract to change the utilities to your name.

There was also paperwork to be filed with the city which was done by the real estate agent, e.g. the garbage bill.

p.s. utilities include electricity, gas, water, water distribution, garbage

Merry Christmas 2021

It’s Christmas week here in Ponferrada and it warms my heart to see the lights and decorations everywhere. There is always something magic in the season to me. I love walking around the city at night surrounded by twinkling lights, music, and people like myself bundled up against the cold, but also loving every minute of sharing it with friends and family. It’s a time of quiet reflection, peace, and the wonderous looks of awe on children’s faces.

For us, it’s a great cap to a year of gradual but substantial opening up after the big ‘C’.

After being vaxxed, we began travelling again. First on small trips to destinations not-too-far from home. – some history, lots of museums, and great food (served outdoors of course) in many of Galicia’s seaside villages. We even walked a camino along the Portuguese coast.

In September, we visited the kids in Seattle. It had been way too long – two years for me, almost three for Rennie. We loved every minute. I’m hoping to take a longer trip to visit more family next year, but feel blessed to have had the opportunity to reconnect with my children and reacquaint myself with my now 4 year old grandson.

Then, back in Ponferrada, we joined a family in an annual day of meat preservation – sausage making, pork loin curing, and botillo making (you have to look that one up!). It was a whole pig. And after a few hours of work – the reward lunch from homemade products with a homemade appertif to finish it off. A day of fun memories.

And finally at long last, we returned to Hospitalero duty in the nearby village of Foncebadon, high on the mountain Irago.

With our boosters we look forward to returning to serving in the food kitchen for the needy next month. We’ve missed it.

Spoiler alert for anyone who makes it to the end –

Joy and love to you all this Christmas season and always.

Love, Rennie & Maggie

A few pics to share –

Lugo – historic town on the Camino Primativo – has a festival to recreate it’s history of Roman vs Celt

Our Holday in Lugo

Lugo (Galicia) is famous for their witches 🙂

Galicia is famous for it’s seafood and coastlines

Galicia Tapia de Casariego

Our family played an escape room in Seattle – based on Hogwarts!!

Escape rooms may be a new passion –

Making sausage. Even the herbs were homegrown. (See the wine preserved in the back right corner?)

Foncebadon. Decorating for Christmas. Pilgrims are still coming!!!!

Random Boardwalk art from our Portuguese Camino

Spanish class – Portuguese, Russians, Ukranians, Swiss, Morracans and the odd American 🙂

Castle with Rainbow

We will be moving – our landlord wishes to sell. Goodbye castle friend. We will be close by 🙂

Update for September 2020

It’s September already ya’ll. Strange how the virus has both accelerated and dampened the apparent passage of time for us. 2020 feels like a decade rather than a year – a year that is only ¾ done at this point. I for one can’t wait for it to be over.

Rennie and I had our own covid19 scare. We both had a ‘bug’ that lasted more than a week and just didn’t seem to want to end. No fever, but we had coughs, sore throats, achy bodies, and were just pooped. We made appointments and went for our tests. Let me just say that while we were relieved to test negative for the virus, no one should ever put a ‘qtip’ that far up a nose! Oh, and by the way, it cost us 160 euros each for the test. Apparently, you have to be referred to the hospital under private insurance here in order to have the test paid for. Here’s one for America where you can be tested for free!

Here in Spain, we have a resurgence of the virus after ‘opening up’. Mostly it seems to be fueled by young people out having a good time. The official response is to enforce mask wearing, ban cigarette smoking in public, close down bars after 1 am, and ban dancing. We’ll see how that goes. I don’t understand why the chances of passing covid19 are better in a bar after 1 am, but someone undoubtedly does!

Rennie and I go for a flu shot every year. This year, we’re even more anxious to get our shots – the idea of a combined flu and covid19 season just doesn’t appeal. It looks like the flu vaccine should be in stock at our pharmacy in another 10 days or so. The way it works here is different from the US. First you (same day delivery) order your flu shot from the pharmacy, then walk it up to the hospital’s urgent care department in a refrigerated bag, and have them administer it to you there. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the distribution of the Covid19 vaccine. I imagine they will chase us down and beg us to take it. In any case, Spain believes they will have their first doses (30 million) available in December. They’re working now to figure out who will get them first, and how they’ll be distributed. I can’t imagine we’ll be able to get ours before early 2021.


Life here marches on in our ‘new normal’. Masks are mandatory unless you are in a cafe/restaurant actively consuming. Greetings are verbal – social distancing has replaced the hugs and kisses that were the norm for Spanish greetings. Our summer highlight was the reopening of the outdoor city pools. We love the exercise and the people watching. The city did a great thing by making entrance to the pool free for the summer. Post quarantine, it is something ‘normal’ for kids and families to look forward to. They had to limit capacity of course and control social distancing, so we have new procedures. They’ve roped off ‘parcels’ which you reserve on the web. At the entrance they confirm your booking, take your temperature, have you walk through a foot bath, and finally use hand sanitizer.

You walk through marked off ‘hallways’ and pick your spot. Changing rooms are out, so you are (hopefully) wearing your suit under your clothing. The pool entrances/exits are marked so foot traffic is uni-directional. I’d say it is pretty well thought out. The biggest hitch came when they decided to make everyone wear masks everywhere but in the pool itself. The Spanish LOVE their suntanning, and a mask is pretty much antithetical to a uniform tan. It’s pretty funny actually, and a huge pain for the lifeguards who have to enforce all this stuff.


Yet life goes on. Smoking is big in Spain, and is now prohibited in public spaces (Thank God). Public infrastructure works are in progress – road resurfacing, etc. getting done while the ‘getting’ is good.

School is about to open, including school for us – the extranjeros. We sign up for our Spanish classes on Thursday. There are never more than 5 to 7 people in our class, so social distancing shouldn’t be an issue for us. We are really looking forward to starting class again, it’s been 6 months, and we have missed it.

That’s about all the news – we are in good health, and pray that you are too. Like the rest of the world, we will take one step at a time, and adjust as necessary. Be assured – as soon as the vaccine(s) are available, we will be in line for them. We’ve even discussed taking one (course?) here, and another under our Medicare plans in the US.

We are super excited to visit the US again to see our family and friends. As soon as all of this is over we will make plans to see family again on a trip through!

Love you,

Margaret

Phase 3. Life is Returning Post Covid to Ponferrada

A statue of a famous ice-cream vendor in our town square

Life is slowly returning to normal here in Spain post Covid. It is the third week of June here now, roughly 15 weeks into the quarantine.

Our phases are slightly different from those in the U.S.. Here, Phase 3 means that stores, restaurants and bars are open at reduced capacity. Depending on the business, crowds up to 75% of normal capacity are allowed. Restaurants are now allowed to have diners inside, socially distanced of course. But some businesses such as bars and discotheques are not yet allowed to open in the evenings (NO dancing!), and public shared spaces such as pools and gyms are closed without posted dates for re-opening. Government offices are slowly opening, but many require previous appointments, while others will not re-open until July 1, the official date for the end of this national emergency.

We’re enjoying the loosening of restrictions, and look forward to a return to normalcy – whatever that means. For now, it means an obligatory face mask. The police here are handing out 100 euro tickets if they catch you without a mask within two meters of another person, or within any indoor business. That’s ok. We fought hard to get free of the virus, and will happily wear masks to stay virus free.

It’s a little nerve wracking to have the country opening up again. Most, but not all of Europe has the virus under control. Notably, the UK does NOT. Unfortunately, 400,000 homes in Spain are owned by Brits, and Spain just this week has decided to let them in immediately, and without quarantine. While we understand that the country has to reopen, it’s hard to imagine letting folks enter sans precautions from countries where the virus is so far away from being under control.

Otherwise, life here goes on. We’re currently renewing our residencia for another two years. When successful, our new documents will be valid for two additional years, bringing our total here up to five.

This time, we hired a law firm specializing in visas for extranjeros to handle the paperwork for us, as they are able to file electronically while the government offices are closed. Our goal was to get the paperwork into the government’s queue for faster processing, and to have government issued papers in-hand that document our submissions.

Later this week, we’ll finish the detailed cleaning of our two albergues (church run hostels) , so it is ready for the grand opening of the Camino on July 1^st. We will be cautious, and are not rushing to man any albergue ourselves for awhile – instead we’ll be crossing our fingers for the health and welfare of the Peregrinos and Hospitaleros on the Camino, while supporting their work from afar.

Ultrea!

April 2020 Covid 19 Quarantine Continues

Camino

During quarantine, the Camino is shut down. That is a BIG deal. It’s hard to find numbers on this, but one article I read attributes up to 11% of the tourist economy to pilgrims. I believe it. Last year alone, there were well over 325,000 pilgrims spending money in businesses providing services related to travel, food, drink and lodging throughout Spain. As you know, these routes take pilgrims through rural villages, for whom other kinds of tourism just don’t exist. These tiny towns and villages have lost their residents over the last few decades – young adults who now leave home to find jobs in larger cities far away from home.

…

Sounds

Life in Spain is sooooo different during quarantine. For one thing, it’s eerily quiet outside. There is virtually no auto or foot traffic, no shouting, laughing or other noisy interaction. When I take the dog out, I hear … birds. I’m sure that they were always there, and always loud – but their voices were drowned out by our Spanish friends and neighbors.

And I really miss the pre-lockdown ‘paseo’ – a walk around the city before tapas and dinner at night – usually starting about 7pm. The sidewalks bustled, friends caught up on local news, and children played loudly with their friends.

For the six weeks of lockdown up until last Sunday, children were not allowed out of the house – at all. Can you imagine? Most of us live in modest apartments – the median apartment they say is 49 square meters – or roughly 500 square feet – filled with your whole family, children, adults, and pets all inside, all the time.

With all restaurants, bars, hotels, hostels, etc. completely closed, and without take-out / delivery there is no endless buzzing of motorcycles during lunch and dinner hours. No one is on the street unless running an authorized errand to an essential business, or to walk their dog quickly, and close to home.

Enforcement

How is all this enforced? The local Police and National Guard patrol constantly, enforcing rules, fining, and sometimes detaining residents.

How much are the fines? Pricey. The guidelines state a standard €601 penalty for unauthorized movement outside the home without good reason that can be increased to up to €2000 if the offender responds with an “inappropriate attitude” to law enforcement officers.

That fine rises to €3,000 if intimidation is shown towards the police but rises up to €10,400 if outright aggression or the threat of violence is shown towards officers.

The €10,400 fine can also be issued to anyone who attempts “to organize or participate in a gathering, party or celebration” that puts people at risk of contagion. Those rallies to protest restrictions in the US? They are not happening here.

A gradual return to ‘normalcy’.

It’s been a long 7 weeks. Spain is just starting to take baby steps in a very slow transition to normalcy.

Last Sunday, April 26^th, children were allowed out for the first time. There are restrictions – only between certain hours (12 to 7 pm), within 1 kilometer of their home, with one parent, for an hour of exercise. This isn’t group playtime. Shared spaces such as playgrounds are roped off, but still – it’s great to see and hear people out again.

Beginning this Saturday, May 2^nd, between 6-10 am or between 8 – 11pm we adults will also be allowed out for an hour of exercise. We can’t wait!! Of course there are strict rules governing our outings too. Could you ever imagine this happening in tandem, in unity, across the US?

Still, it’s working for us. We are down to less than 10 new cases per day in our region. Only time will tell if that number holds steady as the restrictions are eased.

The government has declared that businesses will be opened in ‘phases’ – each phase will last a minimum of two weeks, with the number of virus cases closely monitored to make sure we don’t regress too far, or too quickly while opening up. Sadly, I imagine a lot of the small cafes, bars and restaurants won’t survive. These ‘close quarter’ types of business establishments will be the last to fully open.

I’ve seen nothing about plans for opening up travel. I don’t think they’ve completely figured out that part yet. They’re anxious to get tourism up and running again, but they know they have to make sure they do it in a way that doesn’t blow up in their faces.

School

School here in Spain has been canceled for the year. Everyone, with few exceptions, is automatically passed on to the next grade. Students graduating from high school will somehow take the standardized test (like SAT?) electronically.

I don’t know anything about the ins and outs of teaching. I never aspired to be a teacher. I only gave presentations to homogeneous groups of people. I could have given the same presentation in person or by web meeting, for my target audience it wouldn’t have mattered really. But I hear that as a teacher, the lesson delivery is profoundly different when the students are remote versus together with the teacher in the classroom.

I do believe that for students in the United States, the virus has highlighted yet again the difference between the haves and have-nots. There have to have been so many ‘new’ considerations for effective digital learning – i.e. :

• Whether a student has a computer – or not.
• Whether the student has an internet connection – or not
• What speed internet connection the student has – and needs
• What kind of hardware and software a student has to have to participate fully in a remote classroom setting (we’re potentially talking really serious $$ here)

I am, I think, an eternal optimist. So, I am hoping that there will be all kinds of lessons learned, and that we will make real, fundamental changes to the way things are done following the return to normalcy. This is an experiment that was forced on us , but it may have many super important lessons to teach us too:

• The Internet is a utility
• Funding education for Lesson delivery – and minimum classroom provisioning requirements for students
• Corporate travel – I bet we can get away from a TON of it, and probably will to reduce costs while the economy recovers (potentially ecologically helpful)
• Daily commuting vs working from home – personnel management and team interaction in a virtual environment
• Health Care shouldn’t be tied to having a job
• Eating together at home & family time in general
• ‘Unskilled’ jobs are in a lot of essential businesses – what is a living wage for people, and how do we get there.

April 12, 2020


HAPPY EASTER !

With all the troubles going on around the world now, today I invite you to join me in celebrating everything good and nurturing – spiritual rebirth, family, friends, known and unknown heroes, warm memories, the beauty of nature and more……

I pray you are all safe, and in good health, physically and emotionally. We are truly blessed that our children and grandchild are, for the moment, virus free.

Rennie, Eli and I are all in good health, but like many of you, really bored. In Spain, we’re just entering our 5th week of virtual house arrest. Reading the news, our lock-down sounds similar to the lock-downs in the States, with the caveat (as non essential workers) that we aren’t allowed outside except to walk the dog, or for reasons other than food and medicine.

On the plus side, the lock-down seems to be working. Spain, knock on wood, has had several successive days now with fewer new Covid-19 cases and, as of Friday, a declining number of deaths as well. In that light, the isolation is more than well worth it.

When we do go on an errand, we stand in long, evenly spaced lines to visit any store. Grocery stores have attendants at the entrance to make sure you use their hand sanitizer and gloves before you’re allowed into the store. All stores have hanging plexiglass partitions up to protect cashiers. Some, like banks and pharmacies also have chairs piled up between you and the attendant to enforce spacing. I don’t blame them at all. I would want the same if I were in their place. The line at the Post Office is especially long, so we flip to see who wants to go.

BTW, I did for the first time get promoted to the front of the grocery store line yesterday. An officer came through asking if I was 65+ – then I was escorted to the front of the line. Sort of a mixed blessing :-), saved me a good 30 minutes though!



Ponferrada, like most (all?) cities in Europe houses their citizens in high rise apartments/condos. No wonder Europeans feel at home in NY City. Now, each night we open our windows and stand clapping along with our neighbors at 8pm, thanking all of our first responders and essential workers. Police cars , fire trucks and ambulances drive by honking and waving :-). On Saturdays there is a pre-selected song that everyone sings to the music blaring from the police cars. It’s great. Some of our neighbors are REALLY into it, and their apartment buildings light up with hand held LED lights flashing to the music, followed by eclectic music blasting through some serious speakers. Our moments of solidarity.

Outside those moments of community we do a ton of cooking (and eating!), some in-home exercising, lots of reading and hours of video streaming. (Thank you Internet!) As an aside, my apartment has never been cleaner! I was also lucky enough to have stocked up on yarn at year end sales, and stay busy crocheting, which I find to be really satisfying for reasons I can’t articulate. I will however, be able to outfit a bunch of people with crocheted scarves and hats next winter.

Unfortunately, employment in our (former mining) town was an issue before the virus. With the virus and closing of businesses , people are really strapped economically. Restaurants and bars are completely closed even take-out is unavailable now.

The Spanish government is trying to figure out how to help financially with a basic monthly income package (looks like it will be 500 euros per adult, not sure about children). For now though, all business taxes are suspended, all evictions are forbidden (+6 months after the lock-down is lifted), all local government employees are paid (even if not working), and the homeless (sin techo) are being housed in the municipal Albergue (Hostel). Health care, thank God, is not an issue since it’s universal here.

Our medical folks are absolute heroes, and are suffering. 20% or so have fallen to the virus. I don’t have details, but there were serious shortages of PPE, which seem (finally) to have been straightened out. As per what I’m seeing in the States, lots of ‘makers’ of face shields, and grannies sewing masks have helped.

In addition to being volunteer hospitaleros for pilgrims staying at (donativo) church run albergues (hostels) on the Camino, we volunteer several times a week at the church run comedor (soup kitchen).

Just before Spain’s lock-down hit, the soup kitchen finished their annual food drive – a blessing that ensured a solid supply of dried foods at hand for meal prep. Unfortunately, the kitchen also depends on local grocery stores and bakeries to provide fresh ingredients for their meals. With the lock-downs, groceries are struggling a bit, so can’t supply some regularly donated items, especially meat. Our one unauthorized trip outside otherwise sanctioned activities is to assist them once a week by providing enough meat for a day or two of meals. Rennie has to hand the bags though the window to the cook for the sake of social distancing, lol. With all meals ‘to go’ now during the lock-down, we’re not allowed to serve meals or clean up at the kitchen.

That’s it for the moment. Stay safe and take care of one another ya’ll

Covid-19 Quarantine March 2020

Spain In Quarantine March 2020

Hi everybody –

It’s Wednesday March 18, 2020 – and we are in our 5^th day of national quarantine to fight the Corona Virus, Covid-19, here in Spain.

It is a lovely day today, with a projected high of 22 degrees Celsius – about 71 degrees. A perfect day to enjoy the weather, and indeed, we have the windows to the apartment wide open.

Unfortunately, we can’t really go outside much to enjoy it.

You see, we’re under quarantine to fight Covid-19, and the Spanish take this VERY seriously (more on that in a moment!).

It didn’t take the Spanish long to lock down the country after the infection started to spread outside of Madrid and Barcelona. Indeed, we still have only two confirmed cases in our town of 65,000, Ponferrada. I believe they are right to lock down the people here, although I honestly believe the lockdown will be extended past the two weeks originally specified.

A few people have asked me why I think the virus has spread so quickly in Spain. My answer is that the Spanish, like their Italian cousins are a very social and affectionate people. We stop to say hi to everyone we know, no matter how well, with the traditional embrace and quick kiss on each cheek (left first, then right if you ever wanted to know 🙂

And, with modern transportation the way it is – the infections were first concentrated in the airport hubs, Madrid and Barcelona. These cities were quarantined first. Then of course, people traveled by train, bus, or car to other cities. The virus spread. We here, in our city have 2 cases in the hospital. Our big sister city, Leon (45 minute drive from here) had 8 cases a month ago, and now have over 600 today.

What does quarantine mean here? You can go outside for only a few things, and for only as long as you have to. You can go to the grocery store, the pharmacy, your doctor, the vet, get gas, or work – if you haven’t been told to work from home.

Every announcement is made on social media, radio, television, newspaper, and by police on megaphones from their cars.

The police cars are everywhere right now to make sure people are complying. They are stopping anyone on bicycle, or walking in 2+ ‘groups’ of people, or along the river paths. I had my dog Eli out for a walk yesterday afternoon on the river path, when a policeman called to me – asking where I lived, and reminding me to not go far – or for long – from home. They are serious. After a few days of reminding folks, they are threatening fines – 100 to 600 euros for ‘minor’ infractions, up to thousands for serious offenses – I imagine this to be in the ilk of the Kentucky gentleman who tested positive and refused to self-quarantine).

There have been a few, minor, adjustments after the first national announcements. Primarily clarifying that bars are closed, restaurants are limited to delivery only, limits to grocery store crowds, cancellation of non-urgent medical appointments, that kind of thing.

For a social, outdoor culture, people are surprisingly willing to comply. They understand the reasons and need for the order which have been well and thoroughly communicated.

Many suspect that the quarantine will be elongated.

It is BORING. And we are all USED TO walking everywhere, and talking to, touching and being social with our neighbors. We miss swimming and walking everyday, working in the community food kitchen, and the albergues. But hey, we understand.

After the first two weeks of quarantine, we’ll have a better idea of who is sick, who isn’t , and most of all, the confidence that we, together, are limiting the spread of the disease. Businesses are ‘sucking it up’, either closing, limiting hours, or consolidating so that their staffs can trade off time – 2 weeks on – 2 weeks off, to self-quarantine where they can.

There are many elderly here who we can protect.

It’s worth it.

We’ll all get through it, but I suspect, our measures are the ones to really limit the spread, and speed the recovery.

I suspect that means we have to limit non-quarantined countries for some time to come tho-

We are well and will be in touch.

With love,

Maggie & Rennie

December 2018

December 2018

Christmas in Ponferrada! Our second Christmas in Spain, and I think it was even better than last year. We did more decorating, had a potluck for Christmas dinner, and took more pictures this year.

There is something to be said for having the rhythm of the season under your belt. We knew roughly when everything would be shut down for holidays and stocked up appropriately. I baked… a LOT of brownies and cookies, which we gave to friends and acquaintances. It was quite fun.

We went for the second year in a row to the town’s Christmas Street Fair, where children meet, not Santa, but the 3 Wise Men. It’s a strange blend of traditions though. The 3 wise men have in their tent, a large bag of coal – presumably for bad little boys and girls, and they also have wrapped presents sitting on the floor of the tent around them.

Wise Men

One mother explained to me that when she was a child there was no Santa, only the 3 wise men. The Spanish celebrate Noche Buena, that is, Christmas Eve, but the main affair is on January 6^th, when the wise men arrive and give their gifts to the baby Jesus on the twelfth day of Christmas.. So January 5^th is another evening of time with family and friends eating King Cake and drinking Hot Chocolate.

This way there are two feasts, one present day, and New Years’s celebration in between. Not bad. AND, my personal favorite, the Christmas decorations stay up during the entire 12 days of Christmas, plus the lead-up-time, so it’s very festive for a much longer time. The Castle is all lit up, the Christmas tree in town square is beautiful, and the Nativity and Christmas scenes sprinkled through downtown are festive.

Town Christmas Tree

Christmas decorations downtown

Of course, I am now a grandmother, so I’m missing the second Christmas with Rennie 6. He is just over 1 year old this Christmas, so is really alert to the lights, the tree, and all the trimmings. But due to technology and the thoughtfulness of our kids, I have to say that we’re living vicariously with live video chats, and lots of pictures sent as they happen during the season.

Niki and R6

Ashley, Niki Rennie 5

We have a lot to be grateful for. Eli has recovered completely from his tumors, and had all of his staples removed by the doctor. Rennie 4 had a painful episode with his hand, which turned out to be a trifecta of rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and a cyst. With the local private hospital just up the street, we had no problem getting him seen, tested, and on medication in just a couple of hours. He spent all the rest of December and early January eating no seafood and with meat only once a week. We are stocking up on yummy meatless and chicken recipes.

Rennie 4

For Christmas I was given back my wedding ring, strung on a white gold chain. I had it cut off my hand during the aftermath of the boating accident in France, and it had been lying in a drawer. It was a complete surprise of the best kind. I also got an Espresso machine which is heavenly.

I also I gave Rennie an instant pot. There is a bit of a learning curve involved, but it should come in handy for some of the bean dishes I’m planning, and was fabulous for cooking pulled pork.

That’s it for 2018 – blessings to all – and best wishes for a healthy and happy 2019!

November 2018

When you first move to Spain, you’re given one year of ‘residencia’, following which, you have to reapply to be approved to stay longer (up to 2 more years on this go-around).    Rennie moved here at the end of May 2017, and the dog and I followed after selling the house in Lafayette, California at the beginning of July 2017.

So, after being approved for the next two years, we decided that keeping our furniture, truck, and other household goods in storage would be a waste.   There were only a few things that we cared about keeping, and a few others that the kids wanted besides the family memorabilia.

We decided to have the equivalent of an estate sale, and worked with an old friend from church to schedule it for November.   We had the storage company deliver everything to the church for sale.   It also gave us a place to sort through the stuff that we wanted to keep within the family.  Win-win, the church got extra funds and we downsized.

We thought we would have major heart-string trouble sorting through the one and a half moving trucks full of household goods, but it all went pretty smoothly.

We rented a 13 foot U-Haul truck, and it was JUST big enough for everything we drove up to the kids – who just happen to both live in Seattle, about 2 miles from each other.   We cleaned out our safe deposit box, had a wonderful time visiting with dear friends, and headed up to Seattle.   Adios California!

We spent just under a week in Seattle visiting with family –  went to the UW vs Stanford football game, visited Chilhuly gardens, ate ridiculous amounts of food, babysat our grandson, and generally relaxed after getting all the boxes and furniture sorted.  It was a whirlwind trip, but a great one.

Family

R6 –  loves his bananas

Football

More football

Chilhully

Random Seattle Craziness

We flew back to Oakland, California to get our Norwegian Air flight back home.   Going through California adds a hop to the trip, but Norwegian makes it worth it –   check it out for your next international flight folks.   It costs about a third of a business class ticket, but gives you ALMOST the same level of service.   The only difference was that our seats didn’t recline to 180 degrees (flat) –  more like a recliner – about 135 degrees.    I do prefer flat –  but for only $1600 round trip , and business class lounges at both ends, it’s a pretty attractive option for the price differential.

We stopped over in Paris for two nights on the way home.   The first afternoon we were lazy- just napped and hung out.   The next day we spent walking around in the rain and seeing the sights.   It was November 11th, and Trump was in Paris, so we stayed far away from the Champs de Elysee.    

Notre Dame

We flew back to Madrid, bused our way back to Ponferrada, and arrived home late on the 12th, where we were greeted by Eli our dog, and the wonderful couple that took care of him while we were gone on our trip.    We had been pretty nervous about leaving him, but although he was happy to see us come home, he clearly had a great time with his temporary family 🙂

Whew!

The rest of the month blew by  too –   Thanksgiving and Rennie’s birthday snuck up on me, but we did celebrate.    In Spain, birthday’s are celebrated a little differently – it’s up to the birthday boy or girl to host the celebration.   So, we arranged with a few friends to have a cheese and wine affair at the albergue (think basic pilgrim B&B).    We brought the cheese, sliced meats, wine and cake.    It turns out they invited a bunch more people, and added a TON of food and another cake.   A good time was had by all 🙂

We also had to deal with poor Eli –  he wasn’t feeling too spritely, so we took him to see the vet.   As they were examining him, they discovered 6 tumors that needed to be removed.   It was fascinating –  they sampled a tumor – prepared a slide sample, stain and all –  and then diagnosed right there in front of us in the examination room. 

Eli’s surgery was successful, and he’s recuperating now, being spoiled rotten, and should have his stitches (staples!!) removed at the end of this week.   

December –  I hope you’re a quiet month 🙂

October 2018

October 2018
We took a narrow boat vacation in October.  We went through part of the Canal Du Midi in France.   In our earlier narrow boat trips, we always had the kids with us.   This time, it was just R4, myself and Eli along for the ride.  We started in Argens, (very close to Toulouse) and took the boat to Beziers.   

The canal is lined with beautiful trees.

Along the way we stopped in Le Somail (amazing food and wineries), Aqueducts Argeliers, Capestrang (very quaint with an amazing mercado) Poilhes, Colombiers, The Fonserannes Staircase, and Beziers.    We doubled back to go out to the sea via Cesse. but gave up on that plan due to rain, rain and more rain.     I was the lock-worker and voted against adding 9 more locks each way on our trip in such slippery and cold, rainy conditions.   We found out later that there was a lock strike in that direction, so we wouldn’t have made it far in any case.  

The trip was fun, but more of a challenge than we remembered.    The last trip was about 10 years ago,  and my boat to land (and vice versa)  jumping days are coming to a close I think. The old knees are just not that happy anymore – especially after our little accident (more on that later).   Rennie drove the boat, but it was a different model than we’re used to and didn’t steer worth a darn.    Eli was a good traveler, and France is exceptionally dog friendly.   

In fact, we ended up spending two nights in Le Somail, which had an amazing restaurant –   if it wasn’t staffed with a Michelin chef, it was as close to one as I will probably get in my lifetime.     The first day we went in, it was too cold and wet to eat outside.   I asked if we might bring Eli in with us, and they invited him in without hesitation.   The food was amazing, and we went back for dinner, and then lunch the next day.   Absolutely wonderful.

A plaque on the bridge at Le Somail

Like all narrow boat trips, we had locks to deal with.   In France, the lock-keeper opens and closes the locks in a given direction based on a pre-determined schedule.    They aren’t obliged to help the boaters, and really can’t operate the locks and lend a hand anyway.   There are a few self-run locks, but they’re electronic vs the hand crank variety we had in the UK. 

 The locks are also much bigger.   Depending on the lock, 4 or more boats (big boats) can tie up at the same time.   It can get pretty dicey with just me on shore holding onto two ropes – one for the bow and one for the stern, and Rennie onboard waiting to throw or be thrown a rope.  Locking ‘down’ (downstream), was especially tough when the lock was deep – as the Fonserannes Staircase –  9 locks – each 30 meters in depth. (Amazing engineering tho’).

Staircase locks

The ‘staircase’ was where we had our little accident.    Just as you exit the last lock there is a 90 degree right turn that we weren’t expecting.   We rammed into the canal wall, I was thrown down and landed badly on my knees, half on, and half off of the boat, holding onto the boat for dear life.   We made the turn and docked.   It was then I realized that my ring finger was badly dislocated.   It looked like an arrow head pointing to the left.  I think I was a little in shock.    I grabbed it and shoved the knuckle back into alignment.   

We made it to Beziers, docked, and I took a taxi to the local hospital to have my finger looked at.   I was a little afraid it was broken.   Luckily, there were no breaks, and although they had to cut my wedding ring off due to swelling, they let me go after seeing the doctor with only a prescription for painkiller.

On the way back from the  trip we stopped in San Sebastian.     We LOVED visiting that city.     It’s beautiful, has amazing tapas, and is very dog friendly.   We will definitely go back and stay a few days to explore.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures of our trip through Old Town, and some spectacular views from the balcony of our B&B.

After we got back home to Ponferrada, Rennie’s best friend from the states came to visit for a few days which was fun.    Then we headed to Madrid for our flight to the states.     I’ll save that story for the November blog entry, but the jist of the trip was to get rid of everything we had in storage after selling the house last year.     We now officially have nothing left in California – except great friends and memories of course!