The diggers here, the diggers here!! Yes I know calm down Louis but eight months after buying Cortijo Mercedes, sorting out finance, hiring architects, making plans, appling for permission, waiting for permission.........and then waiting some more, the happy day is here cos the digger can start demolishing. This has to be one of my favourite parts of the renovation process clear out the old ready for the new. In one picture the digger has cleared the rockface and levelled the upstairs lounge and roof leaving a lovely blank canvas for a new improved lounge (bigger) with new roof and private secluded patio are leading off it. In the other picture Digger is resting in the driveway after his labours and in the foreground you see the blossoming grapevine, ready to eat grapes in a few weeks. As I write I am listening to the happy sound of the cement mixer churning and Daniel and his labourers Luis and Ferdinand already laying bricks and foundations for the new wall, and its only the first day at it, go on my son(s).
But anyway I am getting ahead of myself in my excitement lets just backtrack a bit....
Things are coming together nicely methinks. Went to see my friendly bank manager Christian Kampfe of Cam Bank who somehow wangled me a mortgage even though I have no proof of income. He had on his desk a large pile of banknotes I had ordered for the renovation, so I now have hidden several thousand readies, cant tell you where, but its in an old sock....somewhere. Also arriving this week was Dodgy Dave my builder friend. He had dumped another vanload of his furniture plus tools at the cortijo and then driven over to Vejer with his partner Heather to check out property on the coast armed with his profit from his house sale in Valencia.
Meanwhile Daniel my Argentinian builder friend in Almeria was finishing up his last job before tackling mine. He promised to call when he was available and would have digger and labourers ready yippee. The call came and the start date was Monday 12 July whew which meant I could watch the World Cup Final with my Costa mates before heading east to Almeria. Dave turned up on the Friday so was able to give him a whistlestop tour of the coast, Vejer and hot surf beaches and cool funky restaurants. On the Sunday after Grand Prix picked him and Heather up from their campsite in trendy Canos de Meca and with my lovely plumptious ( two months to go) gal Jane in tow we headed off to watch the Final of the World Cup. We had chosen Las Dunas a huge Flintstone type beach bar on the Cabo Trafalgar to watch it. Alongside sweaty, nervous, face painted, flagwaving Spanish cool cats we had a royally good time exploding into happiness as Spain won in the dying minutes. The road back and through the old town of Vejer was a maelstrom of mirth and mayhem with the main Plaza awash with fountain jumpers, horns were blaring and whole families joining in on this momentous occasion. It was a fitting end to a superb day but I had to sleep as I had a six o'clock start to drive to Almeria because it was Digger Day.
Next morning after five hours drive nourished by Janes Cheddar and Pickle sarnies en route I turned off the main road onto the winding sliproad that led to the Rambla de Oria and my little hamlet of La Ermita. My mind was racing, would Daniel have started, would there be some unfortunate delay on proceedings. I hope not. I want to see a Digger I want to see a Digger! I want to see a Digger digging. And there it was demolishing the back part of the house. Its definitely a boys thing, watching heavy machinery demolish stuff. I was paying for this so I gave directions, demolish this, demolish that, hit that rockface hard, clear that area for a pergola and off it went, bish bash and most definitely BOSH. I was a happy boy.
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