Monday 3 July 2017

Surprise at Sotogrande ...

Having finished Alan James' brilliant book on Buddhism (one of the more resonant isms if one has to choose) an hour's  stroll through the shallow housing estate in the sun, an alternative route to escape the car dominated local infrastructure, is rewarded in the shady Centro Comercial with Rupert Sheldrake's "The Presence of the Past" nestling innocently amongst the €4 potboilers ... maybe the second reading will reveal more understanding ... the first felt right, but, like Bohm, the scientists, albeit radical ones, can be challenging for an untrained brain ...

Anyway, the cool, quiet, courtyard cafe inspires a little writing along with the Sheldrake gift ... and slipping the tablet into the rucksack enables it ...

The rhythm of these days in Torreguadiaro varies little in the warm sunshine that is the norm for July ... well, hot sun as it rises, but cooling breezes make it pleasant and seeking shade from time to time helps too ... the holidaying slaves, starved of Sun and determined to maximise exposure in the short time available, have a different rhythm, slathering sunblock on pale skin and laying out to toast themselves ... rather risky from both the chemical and direct sun, perhaps?

Early walk along the beach to Laila's 8 am opening cafe, for caffeine boost ( the lack of which at the Barn Retreat was accepted but not continued) ... to the house for conversation, then longer walk ... some shopping ... maybe a call to Russ in his bus along at San Enrique ... more conversation, a dip in the pool, a short stroll to keep the legs happy ... and reading, of course, generally abandoned on the pilgrimages, whether for the sake of weight and volume reduction or to leave the mind free to wander, who knows?

These optimistic "urbanizations" around coastlines worldwide appear unconcerned about inundations, maybe short-term thinking, maybe seeing rising sea levels as gradual and sometime in the distant future ... certainly not anticipating the tsunamis anyway ...

As far as the local urban encroachments are concerned, it seems the illegal developments are in the firing line from the regional government ... one rather drastic way to reduce the over supply of housing hereabouts ... and another worry for ageing expats, already suffering from declining health, drooping pound and Spanish officialdom not always willing to learn English ... not to mention rumours of DUK breaking away from the EU sometime soon ...

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