Well, we got here yesterday and you know what? It actually rained. Unbelievable.
Spain has been having a heatwave for the last 5 weeks(ish), wallowing in 40+ degrees of uninterrupted glorious sunshine.
‘That’s too much’ you might think. Not though when you’ve been suffering a typical UK Summer of rain, high winds, flooding and grey drizzle. But apparently it’s been glorious in the UK according to the media. This is true if you live in the South East corner, but we are in the North West and we don’t have it so good.
Over the last few weeks Deb has been monitoring the weather and looking forward with anticipation to returning to our Spanish home in the height of Summer.
It was with much disappointment then that we flew into Valencia airport, which was under a blanket of cloud so thick that the UK would have been proud of it.
We were on the road within around 40 minutes of landing and we headed off towards Ontinyent. All you could see driving along was a thick blanket of cloud that got darker grey as it went towards the hills, our direction.
As the A7 meandered upward into the hills it got darker, then we saw spots on the windscreen. ‘I’ve just seen the car ahead spray his windscreen.’ I said to Deb, trying to put a positive spin on the situation. ‘It’s too far ahead,’ she replied, ‘That’s rain.’
I couldn’t deny it.
As we travelled further South it got brighter and by the time we entered Ontinyent the clouds had thinned and there was the odd glimpse of the sun. The forecast was good for our stay so all should be good.
We drove through town, turned off the main toad and up the single lane track which eventually becomes a dirt track and up to our gates. By this time most of the cloud had cleared. We unlocked and drove up the drive and our house came into view. I love this tantalising view.
As an aside and not a comment on the political situation, Deb and I were shocked at how quiet Luton airport was yesterday, considering it is mid- August. Yes there were a lot of people around, but we had expected what we had last year, no free tables in restaurants, nowhere to sit, long queues for the loos etc. By comparison it was quiet. We had a leisurely breakfast, strolled around the shops and had no problem finding a seat waiting for our flight to be called.
I suppose Brexit unsurety as well as the plummeting pound are already having an impact on the tourist industry.
