Clare`s arrival

The rain stayed away yesterday, and so I got out and walked as much as I could, first up the promenade as far as Torreblanca, then later down as far as Fuegirola RENFE station and up to El Corte Inglez. It gave me an opportunity to piece together the different routes I drove around town when I was here in November into a single mental navigation map, I cooked a minestrone soup for supper, and went off to Malaga Airport to meet Clare from her flight arriving promnptly at ten o`clock in the evening. On the way home I missed the turning for the motorway and we ended up driving back on the slower coast road. It´s better illuminated in the dark and somewhat less stressful to drive as a result. 

In the morning I left Clare to wake up gently and headed to St Andrew´s for Morning Prayer and Eucharist at eight thirty. Thankfully, from where I'm staying this time, it's just a five minute walk instead of a fifteen minute car journey. After I´d socialised for a while at the church coffee morning, I collected Clare from the apartment and we walked the promenade as far as the statue of Our Lady Queen of the Sea, and back. 

I showed her where the most convenient shops were located and the barrio market, where we bought some fresh lubina (hake) for supper. Then, as it was starting to rain, we went by car to the big El Corte Inglez to buy her a dressing gown and have lunch on the top floor with a view across the rooftops to the encircling hills and encroaching clouds. On our return we went out again and walked as far as the port and back, in need of more fresh air, despite the drizzle. We had tea and Applekaka with vanilla sauce in a small Swedish restaurant not far from the port. In our culinary context, it seems we call Applekaka is Apple crumble and custard, Nice to know that it´s appreciated elsewhere. 

I took Clare to show her the church and office, and we Skyped Rachel in Arizona while we were there and had a good signal. Then I had a few work tasks to accomplish before settling down for the evening, so Clare returned and cooked us the lubina fillets with a pimiento sauce from a Basque country recipe, plus spinach and new potatoes, all locally grown or caught. A wonderful way to live and eat.