Pastoralia in Alcossebre and la Sierra d'Irta

This morning, I took another look at the non-functional Epson printer and found this time that it was recognising the legitimacy of all its ink cartridges, and was no longer complaining of a paper jam. It's a real puzzle, which I can only attribute to several months of not being used. Just having a current running into on stand by could make a difference to the sensors, but then it could also be a matter of changed humidity levels. I don't believe in helpful gnomes or fairies. 

I drove to Alcossebre to visit the church shop and drop in centre 'El Camino'. When I was last there, the new premises was being refurbished by a crew of volunteers, and it opened just after I left, so I was keen to see it in action. There was tea or coffee and excellent home made cake on offer, and half a dozen people sitting and chatting. While I was there, another half a dozen came and went. The shop is on the street quite close to the Capilla San Cristobal where we hold Sunday services, after the local Catholic community have finished. It couldn't be better placed, and it's a credit to the hard work of those who established it and keep it running.

On the way back, I drove into Peñiscola, and met up with with churchwarden Ron Legg close to the harbour entrance. He then led the way by car along the beautiful coast road south into the Parque Natural de la Sierra d'Irta to the urbanizacion where he and his wife Jenny live. There's a wooded barranco running down the centre of the housing estate. Forty different kinds of birds have been identified as visiting this area. A family of eagles perches atop the electric pylons, and every now and then a hoopoe comes to drink out of the communal swimming pool. My sort of place!

Jenny is coping with a painful wait for a knee and a hip replacement, and is confined to bed on painkillers for much of the time. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before she gets a date. It was good to see them both again, and pray with them.

Then back for supper, and after struggling for ages to upload photos without the link crashing out, I went for a twilight walk around the perimeter of the urbanizacion to get some exercise and clear my head and summon patience before continuing.