We were to meet our new host at the petrol station in town so we could follow her to the house. This brought two thoughts to mind 1) was how small is this town if there is only one petrol station? and 2) how remote is this house if we need an escort? There was no need for concern on both accounts.
It was going be a great stay. We were kindly given a tour of the town that had a really traditional Spanish feel. Nice and local and not typically a tourist destination. We were advised that it was normal in the area for bars to supply tapas with every drink, gratis! There were several large supermarkets and a weekly fresh food market. We were sure we were going to enjoy our time there.
Our new hosts were a fabulous couple originally from Germany and they shared a nice house in the mountains overlooking a valley dotted with citrus, mango and avocado trees with the Mediterranean Sea in the distance, with their two dogs Zora and Luna. They were well settled in Spain and had just bought a house they would soon be moving into. They required us to look after their dogs while they went to Germany to visit relatives and acquire a number of items for the new house.
Almunecar is normally warm and sunny all year round but the first week we were there it rained and rained. So much so, the steep gravel track down to the road had eroded to the extent it was impassable. We had to leave the car down on the road and climb up, which kept us fit, especially when bringing the shopping home!
Zora and Luna were fine dogs. Zora was a street dog and had a litter of puppies shortly after our hosts rescued her. Luna was one of the puppies and she was about twelve months old. They were strong dogs and had to be walked on a lead because unfortunately one of the local farmers spooked them and due to their protective nature, had understandably become aggressive towards him. They were so strong we would be dragged up the steep hills on our walks which made it easy going up but we used to pray the nasty farmer wouldn’t turn up while we were going down!!
Oh the serinity 
Valley view
We set ourselves a mission to find the bar that offered the best tapas. It took a bit of doing and we sampled many but we eventually found ‘Bodega Francisco’ hosted by a barman with character and offering brilliant tapas – some of the best Serrano on fresh crusty bread I have had, the Tempranillo and Linda’s latest favourite, Tinto de Verano, all superb.
Bodega Francisco 
Mmmmm sardines
We were making it a regular lunch time treat. Three or four drinks usually provided us with enough tapas for lunch. One morning we drove into town and decided to do a bit of shopping beforehand. I was walking ahead of Linda when she caught a loop of plastic strapping with one foot and inadvertently directed the second foot in the same loop causing her to lunge forward face first into the pavement! The downhill nature of the surface aided her momentum skidding on the tactile paving (rippled surface to aid the blind). I caught the tail end of the fall and was unable to do anything about it. I immediately went to her aid assisted by several strangers which were very nice. One woman fished a bottle of water out of her shopping bag and offered it to Linda who was sporting some grazing on her forehead and the right side of her face. The supermarket security guy brought a chair out for her to sit on and told us he had called an ambulance. We were really humbled by the generosity of everyone. The wait for the ambulance was quite long but we thought it would be a good idea to be checked out because she was experiencing pain in her wrist and knee as well.
The ambulance experience was very different to home. It arrived with just the driver. He didn’t speak English so his aid was limited. He strapped Linda to an upright seat in the back of the ambulance and I climbed into the passenger seat. Fortunately it was a very short ride to the hospital. I got to thinking later that perhaps there was no ambulance crew available and they sent this random guy out to pick us up!
Once inside they were taking details and again we struggled to communicate but when we got to see the doctor it got a little better. He sent us to X-ray which Linda would normally refuse but reluctantly agreed to have her wrist x-rayed. To our relief nothing was broken, just badly strained. They dressed her up and I thought she was going to want to go home but to my delight she was happy to go to Bodega for a drink- what a trooper.
What a trooper 
Nothing a Tinto de Verano couldn’t fix
We did a day trip to Malaga on the edge of the Costa Del Sol. We liked what we saw of the city so much we decided to go back for a few days when we finished the house sit. Would have loved to go a bit further south to Marbella and even further to Gibraltar but we had to get home to the dogs. There is so much to see in Spain we decided that we had to go back and spend more time there at some point. With coffee at €1.20 and a beer costing a similar amount, the good food, the sunshine and the general low cost of living, why wouldn’t you?
Our hosts returned safely from Germany and it was time for us to move on again. We thoroughly enjoyed Almunecar and I am sure we will return sometime. The skies were full of rain and thunder again the day we headed off to Malaga as we endured a very wet drive.
Watch out for next blog where we encounter the gypsies of Malaga and enjoy the charm of Granada.