as you can see we survived the lakes! the first trip out was a bit scary, well for me, i was all brave and excited all week, then got out there in the middle of the second lake and the wind was blowing, the waves... yes there were waves, and a strong undercurrent, we were paddling like crazy against the wind and waves whichever way we went! so the first time i got a bit freaked out... but we got back off the boat, and walked ashore, i went back in on foot to test out my life-jacket! lol... i was walking out slowing putting one foot tentativly out infront as i know the land drops away very suddenly at the lakes... when thats exactly what happened and i was screaming and flapping about like a crazy thing! then remembered i did have a life-jacket on of course! steadied myself, because it was still only chest deep really i had just panicked... i relaxed and leaned back into the water and it held me ok... till i came across some spiky twig things and started scrabling about all over again! hope no one got all then of video!

anyway after that i didnt want to stop... so we did four tours of the lake the final one going into another lake and seeing what was up there! it was a great day, the sun was hidden most of the day by some fluffy clouds and although we had both put sun screen on franco got badly burned, especially his ankles and chins. on our way back we stopped in cartama for coffee and tapas, and then passed and drove back to an ice cream parlor for a huge dish of beautiful cool ice cream!!!

i expected to be in agony sunday, but saturday evening, still no sky tv, we went out with pippa walking, did a big trip up to calle blas enfante, and continued all the way way and down into the centre of town and bar rosa roundabout, we stopped for coffee at bar chaplin and then home!

my arm muscles ached, but good ache, my shoulders were a bit tender, but not too bad and my hips i suppose were fine because i was sitting straight out, not sure, but not more than happy about that.



now photos here... top one is the fountain i have mentioned before, its at the top, well what was the top of riviera del sol, its now at the approach of the tunnel that takes you under the toll road to the huge area of apartments now on the other side of that road too!

the photo cannot really show the exact size of the thing, maybe four or five cars in length... its amazing though the water comes up out of her mouth!

and the photo above is the view of los olivos taken from the road coming down from the toll road into calahonda.

yesterday as we couldnt get the grandprix on our tv, we went down to the beach apartment and we getting ready to watch it there when the box froze! we left it a while and took pippa for a walk along the beach to a bar, had coffee and water, for pip, came back but no good, so back home again!

we turned the aerial so we could get our spanish freeview box to work and watched tv on that for the remainder of the day, even got the chelsea-manchester united match on that! and loads of american sit coms and movies all evening! in english!!!

It is not explanations that carry us forward,
but our will to go on...

TTFN
Marian