Days 55-60 - I Can't Finca the Title

Not wanting to hang around in our prison cell of a hotel room for any longer than entirely necessary, we made a quick getaway first thing Monday morning (this is Monday 1^st October by the way – my blog writing efforts have been a little poor of late!) and headed to Barcelona-Sants station to catch the train to Alicante.

We had to put our bags through an Airport-style security scanner before getting on the train, which we hadn’t experienced before now.  Nick thinks it is something to do with ETA bombing Spanish trains in the past.  In the “Which Country’s Trains Are Best” game, Spain was immediately awarded a point when we sat down, as the attendant handed out free headphones that could be plugged into the armrest to listen to the film playing on the television screens throughout the carriages.  This point was promptly taken away however, as no sound could be heard over the white noise that was playing at only a decibel lower than the film!  During the journey we made our way to the restaurant carriage and had lunch – another first for me!

After arriving in Alicante we caught the tram to Benidorm where we were met by Svenja.  Quick side note:  while waiting for Svenja we decided to get a coffee from the train station café.  We ordered two cappuccinos and had to stop the “barista” from topping the coffee with not the foamy milk that we all know and love, but squirty cream (of childhood nostalgia fame).  We have experienced this a couple of times during our trip and I have to say I am not a fan.

As we don't have a photograph to illustrate any of these points, here is a map showing where we are.

Anyway, Svenja picked us up and drove us 20 miles to the Finca el Tossal, near the small town of Bolulla. The finca is a 7 bedroom hotel in the hills built from scratch by Svenja and her husband Thorsten, a German couple.  We were shown around by Thorsten and we had to resist voicing the “oohs”, “wows” and “oh my gods” that we were silently communicating to each other as we walked through the lit up gardens and pool area.  Here’s a link to the website if you want to have a look http://www.finca-el-tossal.com/gallery.asp

Needless to say it’s a big leap up from Andrew and Valerie’s!  But, as Nick pointed out we have something to thank them for, as if their place hadn’t been so horrible we would never have started looking at other websites for somewhere to escape to, which is how we ended up finding this place.

The next morning we were down in the kitchen ready to begin breakfast - our main daily task while we are here.  It probably sounds a lot more impressive than it is – we are not actually cooking anything, just setting up the room and laying out a buffet of breads, cold meats, cheese, cakes, fruit etc .  The presentation of the food has turned out to be the hardest part for me, but luckily this is something Nick is very good at so I usually leave the fiddly stuff to him. 

After everything is set out, Nick disappears off to “walk the perimeter”, looking for any pesky stray leaves that need sweeping up and to tidy the pool area.  This is involves half an hour of running a broom over the stones surrounding the pool so that they lie perfectly smooth (another job I would not have the patience for but Nick seems to enjoy!)  This picture is pre stone-smoothing just in case anyone questions Nick’s capabilities here.

While Nick is off playing Groundskeeper Willy, I am clearing away finished breakfast things, loading the dishwasher, wiping tables etc.  By the time breakfast is finished, Nick has finished his jobs and that just leaves us hovering and mopping the floor and restocking the beer fridge and by 12pm we are pretty much finished for the day!  The rest of the time we are free to do as we please, and a lot of this time has been spent sunbathing by the pool as the weather has consistently been between 25 and 30 degrees every day so far, not to rub it in or anything…It is set to get a lot cooler over the next few days though, dropping to a chilly 22 degrees.  I’m not actually joking - after two months of baking temperatures, every time I feel a breeze I get goosebumps!  Not looking forward to returning to the British climate.

Now for the best part….we get to enjoy the same three course dinner as the guests every night!  Highlights so far have been:  Starter –A mixed Veg and Feta cheese tower, topped with a layer of Caramelised goats cheese (this was especially a highlight for me as Nick doesn’t eat any cheese stronger than a Dairylea so I got to eat his topping too).  Main – Sirloin of Pork with Homemade chips and Oven roasted veg, and for Dessert – Chocolate Mousse with Fruit Coulis and Frozen Raspberries.  This is the terrace where we enjoy our dinner :-)

  

On Thursday we travelled a mile away from the finca to see the local waterfall!  We walked down a hill to the point where two mountain ranges meet, creating a narrow gorge between them.  There isn’t enough space for a path either side so the only way to get to the waterfall, is to go through the river! The path disappears at the edge of some rapids which we had to climb down into, before wading our way, waist deep, downstream.  Due to us not really preparing properly for this situation we didn’t manage to get all the way to the waterfall itself, as we had brought along a camera, phone and other items we didn’t want to lose along the way.  The plan is to try again without said items at some point soon.

Friday and Saturday were mostly spent sunbathing, interspersed with some HIIT (High Intesity Interval Training) that Nick has got me started on.  I decided if I’m going to be eating three courses every night I better start doing something to burn some calories.  So, that takes us to Saturday 6^th October, tune in tomorrow for the next week’s update!