Que tal mis amigos?

Giant effigies and displays draped in holy regalia paraded through the streets carried aloft and surrounded by the chosen people dressed in exuberant papal attire who deem it an honour and privilege to be part of the whole ritual, truly something you would rarely experience outside of an Hispanic country. It's observations like these which enforce the sheer difference in cultures of a foreign land and no matter what your outlook, you have to acknowledge it.

When we first ventured to purchase the property it was purely on the understanding that it would be primarily an investment which could also be, in the interim, used to holiday, treat relatives, friends or rent out for financial gain. What a difference a few years make. Our second visit panned out much like the first with more tidying and minor maintenance. We had chosen this particular visit, as we were on our own, to explore more of the surrounding Campo and townships.

Coin itself had at that time a population approximately the size of Portland with the town having one main street of shops, a number of Plaza's where old men sat, and still do, in the shade of the orange trees and a couple of supermarkets which still are remarkably well stocked, especially to our delight with great selections of fresh meat and fish beautifully displayed as they used to be in England. There were about 1200 foreign residents back in 02, predominantly British, so the resources and outlets were pretty limited then.

We drove along roads, tracks and motorways (autovias) before venturing into the city of Malaga which has a mix of traditional and modern Spain. The southern sea routes consisted of one main dual carriageway which extended two thirds the length of the coast with a faster less crowded toll road mirroring the first route interspersed only with main town exits. (That means the British outcrop of Gibraltar is only 50 minutes from Marbella and about 1 hour 10 mins from our Villa, handy for shopping at M&S!)

After the first couple of days we were pleasantly surprised that the area we had chosen to pitch up in was actually central to a number of key routes to main towns and cities within the Malaga province, most of which I will detail later.

That second visit was short but sweet and it wasn't until the August visit, again just the two of us, that we decided to enlist the help of the builder Mark had set up for us. Before leaving though, we were aware that the property perhaps needed someone to pop in every now and again to check things were tight and secure. Ours, like most properties, have all windows and doors barred with what the builders quaintly call wrecking grills' which are made of iron and make it almost impossible to gain entry without heavy cutting equipment and a lot of noise.

However, Spain is not a crime free zone and some properties, especially holiday homes, left for long periods of time can become havens for fly tippers and scavengers alike. Also, although water and electricity supplies can be isolated, it's always prudent to have it checked regular in case of leaks or the suchlike especially if you have a swimming pool. Mark came to our rescue again only this time it's he who needed the favour. He and his wife Sally asked to stay in the Villa during our absence until the next visit as they were themselves moving to another house and needed to leave their present tenancy immediately while awaiting completion of another agreement. This to be fair worked out a treat as the property would have been empty for about three months and this way a live in guard would give the appearance that permanent residents were in occupancy.

Mark offered us 200 euro's plus bills a month and would keep it clean and tidy until we returned. Bonus! that settled that and as we had got on well with them both socially, we agreed and handed them the keys until our return. This eased our mind somewhat in the short term though we knew this temporary measure would need to be replaced by someone permanent.

August came, as did the first of many flights we now booked from local airports, (i.e.; Bournemouth, Exeter, Southampton and Bristol) this shortened the journey time considerably with flights relatively cheap. That third trip as I said was in mid August with a flight from Exeter. The total journey time door to door including airport check in lasting two hours was a little over five hours which was much more acceptable.

Anyone who has ever opened the door on an oven to be hit by the intense waft of heat will have experienced exactly what we felt as we exited the plane at midday in Malaga. The hire car's air conditioning system was full on all the way to the villa but the relief it brought ended abruptly as we entered the house. The temperature on the little thermometer on the wall outside read 40C, which was hot, I can tell you. After settling back in and taking the usual hour to carry out the now ritual clean and tidy, we received a visit in the form of our first tradesman, a general builder.

Now, talk about a small world and I'll go into even more revelations about that later, Rocco' as we affectionately came to know him, ran, with his partner Antonio, a building company which carried out everything from minor home improvements to full house builds. He had come recommended by Mark so there was no reason at that time to doubt his ability and we had to choose someone.

He was a burly chap but very friendly in his approach. We had some beer in a cupboard from the last time which was a little on the warm side but it did okay. We had purchased some garden furniture at which we now sat discussing our requirements and backgrounds. We discovered that Rocco was actually Italian, with an English wife running a Spanish business.

Both his sons lived in England and one of them played for a rugby club of which I had played against at my time as a Dorchester rugby club member some years back. I suggested that at some time we must have played against each other and thus a friendship was struck up.

He put forward a number of ideas for the terrace, wall and surrounding area including removal of the trees, bushes and reconstruction of the pool surround.

He gave us a rough estimate for everything and said he would send confirmation of the quote by e' mail which would be waiting for us on our return home. Rose frowned at me and I shrugged and laughed nervously. Rocco left and stated the offer would be open until November when we had informed him that's when we would probably be back.

He left after a few more warm one's and we sat looking at his quote, which, to be fair for all the work listed, was reasonable but well over our budget. What's new?' Rose blurted. Ah well, needs must. The weather was so hot that week that we achieved very little else in the way of manual work. The pool was a lighter shade of green and full of muck so there was no using it to alleviate the searing heat. We did however spend the time shopping for luxury items like a washing machine, television and toilet rolls!

We had been informed by an English couple in a bar that work had started on a large shopping complex not ten minutes walk away which would include a multiplex cinema, bowling alley, shops, bars, restaurants and a couple of large English based department stores, though looking at the size of the town, it was hard to believe something like that would ever be built and actually used, how wrong we were.

The time quickly ran out for that week and we left having again completed a number of small tasks and purchases with yet another idea on how to make the place more comfortable. We needed air conditioning before the next summer! We had slept little with the heat of the night almost as severe as the daytime. That had put the first real doubt in my head as to the viability of actually spending the hot summer months here but it was something to work on. First of course, the building work needed to be done, especially as Rose's Mum and Dad had intimated they would like to visit the place sometime in the new year.

Useful hint
Tradesmen, can you ever find a good honest one! Well we did with Rocco and Antonio but we've also had our fingers burnt more than once by less than scrupulous ones. It's getting better now, but early on we found there was a number of so called ex-pat businessmen who exploited rather aggressively the fact that new home owners were obviously ignorant when it came to dealing with the Spanish traders and would or could only deal with their fellow Brits'.

It's a shame that this gave rise to a wide mistrust brought about by the greed and non integrity of the cowboy' rogue traders which appeared to have thrived. They would say anything to get business but delivered less than satisfactory service for a quick buck. Most were here today and gone tomorrow with no guarantees and unfinished work their only ethic. (They are still here but with a growing immigrant population, word soon gets round). Shame as it is, this happens all over the world I know but there are still good foreign trade and businessmen here as well as good Spanish ones. I have and use a selection of both and have hopefully whittled out the rogues. If you need work done or to purchase something, get a recommend from someone who lives in or knows the area, although this is still no guarantee. So even better LEARN THE LANGUAGE! and then you can go the town hall and ask, as here in Coin, likewise in many other towns, they have a department specially set up to help the immigrant population.

Useful tip
As well as the inclement winters that exist, there is also the other extreme which is the heat of the summer. It's long, hot and sticky, excuse the phrase, and can be just as depressing as the winter. (Once in Aug of 06 the temp reached 49 C, about 114 F, at midday on the terrace, not a lot you can do in that! Sun worshipping, even I can't sit out in it!) A lot of places like ours were built without the luxury of aircon' and as we found, it may be possible to find respite from the searing heat holidaying on the coast with a dip in the sea further comforted by an offshore breeze or hanging around in a chilled hotel room or bar.

But for a lot of home owners further inland, there isn't that luxury and temperatures can reach very uncomfortable levels if you're not used to it or are of fair appearance. Life is like living in an oven from June to September so beware and take care. Check out properties with aircon or pool if that's what you need, though it's not too expensive to install after purchase but take it into consideration. We would certainly not be without it now even if it's just for our guests.

Spanish facts
There are three main types of music associated with Spain: Flamenco, Tango and Salsa. English shoe size 10 is a size 45 here. Helmets are compulsory for motorcyclists but in my experience the enforcement is overlooked in the Campo especially as kids as young as ten appear to own and ride scooters between towns to see friends.

The drink drive limit is almost half of that in Britain and new drivers are totally banned from drink driving for first the 12 months, and the penalties are harsh! You must carry photo ID at all times when driving. Heavy penalties are also handed out to cars not indicating their intentions on motorways. And beware, if you're pulled here for speeding and you're a tourist or have no Spanish address, you will be expected to pay an on the spot fine, whether you've got the cash or not!

Useful phrase
Lo siento senor, soy ingles, no hablo espanol.
Pronounced: Loh see-ento senyour, soy inglays, no abloh esspanyol.
Meaning: I am sorry sir, I am English and don't speak Spanish. (Smile foolishly and hope for the best!!!)

Next week
Told you I'd find the money, well, half of it anyway!' and it's painting time.