Oh no, still not any post, where are you?
Luv eve
xx

Hi everyone,so sorry for the delay I,m having problems with outlook :curse: I have given up on it now for the time being grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .

Now all the news you have been waiting for eek hope your ready for this .

We arrived in Malaga on the evening of the 12th collected our little fiesta and headed off to find the villa we were staying at,Dorothy who owns the villa advised us to call them when we got near and they would meet us,armed with the directions we procceded to find it ourselves, well I could not believe it has we climbed up a track in the dark,we just kept edging our way up the track ,our fiesta was bumping along , we passed a couple of villa's on the way up ,it got a bit hair raising has Andy negotiated a couple of hair-pin bends and I was fully aware of the very steep drop at the side of me but eventually we arrived at the villa,and it was gorgeous,high on the mountain overlooking the Torrox to Competa road,during our stay we were woken by the sounds of the cockerel's and the donkey at the small farm below and of course the campo dogs ,we had our own terrace where we enjoyed a nightcap on return from our travels,and it was so warm well into the wee hours sitting out and enjoying the views and the sounds of the campo,so very idilic ,and I must say that Dot and Paul the owners were very good hosts and I also enjoyed the company of their little Honey the westie ,she was so cute.
My intention was to have a couple of days at first to relax but Andy was ready to explore,the first day we headed off to Competa ,the scenery on the way is breath-taking ,they were resurfacing the road,so when you return Eve its all newly tarmac ,the roads are like being on a roller coaster,fantastic views with all the villa's dotted all over the mountains.We did not stop at Competa that day but procceded to drive on and we came back on a different route going through Sayalonga,Algarrobo,and various other little places all very pretty.Basically we drove around all day exploring the area.
It would take me far to long to explain all the different places we have visited,in all we did 1,800 kms in the little car, over the duration we travelled along the N340 has far has Adra ,we visited La Herradura and Almunecar and took various inland routes and explored the country-side,and believe you me we found ourselves up and down mountains and along tracks and saw some stunning scenary,It was especially stunning one day up near a place called Otivar inland from Almunecar.
In the other direction we have travelled to has far has Marbella passing all the various resorts on the way.
On one of the days we decided to take a look around the Velez Malaga region,I was looking for a small place called Rubite where there was a villa for sale,well we are driving around and near a place called Trapiche when I spotted a villa with a sale sign on it,so out of curiosity we stopped to take a look,there was another villa a few hundred yards away and the people on the terrace gave us a friendly wave,we walked into the grounds and the next thing we new about five minutes later this BMW pulls up and a Spanish guy gets out,he could not speak a word of english,it became apparent that he was the owner,anyway he ushered us in to the villa to show us around it was really nice and had got a huge garage underbuild,it had not got a kitchen fitted so I new it had not been lived in,to cut a long story short he passed the phone to us and we found ourselves talking to someone who could speak English and he told us the villa was for sale at 480,000 E far to much,the villa was nice but you could tell from the window frames and the grills and the fact it had frogs in the bottom of the pool that it had been on the market for a long time,so we made a retreat.
We continued to look for Rubite we were climbing up a mountain road with hair-pin bends ,in the end I said I did not want to go any further up,so we turned round and started to head in another direction and again came across a house with a to rent on it,so I asked Andy to pull up so I could take a look,it was within a cluster of about 4 or five houses,an old Spanish lady appeared waving her arms and directing us to a little cottage,couldn't understand a word she said anyway shortly afterwards a Spanish man came along out of one of the houses and he could speak English and he showed us around the house,it turned out to be very nice,three huge bedrooms and he said it was available for has long has I wanted,he even said he could remove the furniture in it so I could have my own,it was such a nice house with gorgeous views,he wanted 600 a month,which was OK but the only downside to the house was it did not have any out-side space,having said that I would still consider it though,it had got a balcony off the front bedrooms and some small space to the side,I'm still not discounting it.

On the first Sat. we wanted to visit Nerja to find an estate agent,we had seen a property before we left at Maro,the owner had agreed he would rent it long term,we found the agent and arranged a viewing for the next day,we were to pick a woman up and take her with so she could translate to the owner,anyway to cut a long story short just before the viewing the owner said he did not want to rent it after-all and would only sell it to us,we were not prepared to buy it,so that was that.
Whilst we were in Nerja we saw a very glamorous wedding at the church in the square,the woman we all dressed in very expensive gowns it must of cost a mint,it was extremely up-market affair,the bride looked gorgeous and she walked around the square whilst the crowds cheered on,and then she was driven away in the horse and carriage that was decorated so beautifully.Also whilst we were in Nerja that afternoon a procession of people passed through dressed traditionally and there was a band playing,all very entertaining.
We were to spend many an evening in Nerja having a meal and a drink and soaking up the atmosphere of the street artists ,a very beautiful place indeed.

We spent some time around the Velez Malaga area,I particular like it inland ,we came across a commercial ,so Andy wrote the phone number down and rang them unfortunately some-one else was signing the rental contract on the 1st October,so that was a downer ,although the rent was far more than we anticipated.

About three or four days prior to us leaving we were driving into Torrox for a meal when I noticed a commercial for rent,so again we stopped and had a look and decided it may be worth viewing,so Andy contacted the owner and arranged a viewing for the next day at 11:00 ,we looked at it and were surprised at how much space it had,so we went away and had a coffee to discuss it and decided that we would rent it,the girl that showed us the property could not speak English so we made an appointment with the gestor in Torrox for that afternoon ( we had already met her,she was recommended by Dorothy ) so we were very excited at having at last found somewhere,but it all ended in a big disappointment,because when the gestor phoned the owner to translate our interest it was found that the rental was already taken and she showed us around just in case it fell through so back to the drawing board

There was so much happened its hard to explain everything,but another memorable experience was witnessing a horrific thunderstorm on the second Thursday we were there,It woke me up during the night and oh my goodness did it rain and the claps of thunder and lightening went on all night and well into the next day,my worry was how to get the car down the track,well we waited till the afternoon for it to stop raining and thought we would go out,OMG we did not even get half way down the track before it became apparent that we would not get any further,the torrents of rain had swept debris all down the track and the water gushing down had washed big gauges in the track ,we just could not get through so we turned around and headed back to the villa,we waited and attempted it again a few hours later,but in the end the spanish farmer turned up and him and Andy got spades and had to fill in the holes on the bend before we could attempt to get the car round,from then we had to proceed with caution to get to the mainroad.
The storm had swept loads of rubish onto all the beaches,there was loads of bamboo sticks ,goodness knows where from,incidently we only spent two afternoons on the beach and had a dip in the villa's pool once,we really did so much driving about.

All in all though it has been quite an adventure with one thing and another ,I'm sorry for the long post ( but you did ask ) there would still be loads to tell,at first when I arrived home and saw my house for a fleeting moment I thought I must be mad to sell it,that did not last long ,the move is still on


I have been busy since arriving home and I will try and catch up with all the news over the next few days,thanks again for your welcome back and your interest in my visit.

Speak again soon

Love Jean xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

yeah, hurrah, great to hear from you, glad you liked the area, haven't got time to chat now, boo hoo. be nice to see some new tarmac, and yes some of the roads are a bit hairy, when you went to otivar did you see the chicken restaurant, that is if it is still there. I last went there when expecting ashley, nearly 19 years ago, felt very queasy onthe way, and the sound of all the chickens didn't help, the meal was good , well the little that i ate of it, but it was renowned for its chickens, not posh , very spanish, i have often wondered if it is still there.
Right better go, also I feel very homesick now, boo hoo, and of course nerja is lovely, holds a special place in my heart, i know that area inside out. Only 3 weeks and i will be back in competa.
Speak soon,
take care
Luv Eve
xx

hi jean
loved reading your post, i really love competa area.
wanted to move there myself but need to be near the coast for my daughters course.
Off to spain myself next week end, hoping to find some where to rent
Im so excited, hopefully if all goes well moving late december.
best wishes julie

Wow Jean sounds like you were very busy and had a great time - good to have you back - cant wait till we go......

Hi Julie ,good luck with your trip,I noticed a few places to rent in Nerja there are lots of rentals about,I noticed you have sold your house very quick I hope you have a really good time,I tell you what you wont half notice how cold it is here on your return,when we arrived back it felt freezing getting off the plane Competa is so nice but I think I'v decided against it to live ,I would need a donkey to carry me up and down the hilly streets,I really loved it inland from velez malaga and also around Otivar,we visited Vinuela also,very nice but to far inland ,mind you its very scenic all around the area,s we visited,spoiled for choice.

I hope you find what you are looking for

Best Wishes Jean

Hiya Jean

What a brilliant post!

I loved reading all about your adventures, and all the exploring you did.
What a shame you were let down / misinformed about a couple of places; but at least you've discounted those options now, and can move onto the next ones that come along.
I'm sure there will be many more possibilities coming your way, once the time is right.

Is Andy just as enamoured with the area as you are?
Now you've got over that initial little pang about your house, are you all geared up to putting it on the market now?

I do hope that you can move onto the next step of your dream soon, and that the house sells quickly.
Sending you love, hugs, positive thoughts and a great big welcome home

From Sam xx

You certainly did some exploring And even witnessed a Spanish thunderstorm - aren't they something! You really do need to make sure you like the area where you are going to live though, renting first is a very good idea. Don't rush into anything as there is a lot out there

Thanks Sam and Lionda, don't worry lionda we will not be rushing into anything and will be renting initially has you say there is plenty out there,Its so cold here after the wonderful warm evenings of sitting on the terrace it feels freezing .

Sam I'v tried to look at the threads ,I do hope your mother is enjoying her stay with you,its nice that she is visiting whilst O/H is away,is she still with you? I'm sorry but I have not read all the news yet


Andy was in his element driving about Spain,even on our last day he drove south has far has Marbella ,and before that we had been up to Vinuela and had a late lunch beside the lake ,by the time we arrived home I felt I had been traveling for hours Lol ,it was a good experience though and I'm looking forward to making the move,I was hoping that I was not going to be here for another winter,there still is a bit of finishing off to do with the house before it can go on the market Andy has just got to have it all just so but hopefully it will go on in the next few weeks, one way or another we will move ASAP,I was a bit apprehensive about George and the heat,but I saw several dogs that were very happy out there,some of them had thick coats too.

Good to be back on here though

And it's really great to have you back on here, Jean

Looking forward to catching up with you properly very soon.
Yes, Mum's still here (she goes home on 9th) - so I shan't be posting too much just at the moment.
However, it's really good to have a quick read before I go to bed

Take good care.
Love Sam xx

Welcome back Jean. Sounds as if you have had a ball!

hi jean we were lucky with our house, most of the houses around near us sell quite quick. im really looking forward to next weekend hope i find somewhere to rent.
so many things to sort out.julie