Where is the cesspit?
AndalucÃa, 6th of March
Only four weeks in to our new life and we are progressing well. Especially now
the weather has changed dramatically. We now have sunshine and temperatures well into the twenties during the day which
is much more like it. Today we agreed the final details of the design for la cocina nueva,
the new kitchen, and work will start this week. The photograph shows the empty shell that we have at the moment. By the
end of the month we hope to have a fully functioning kitchen in rustic style but with all mod cons. The first job for
the builders was to try and locate the cesspit but despite digging trenches in the likely area there is no sign of it as
yet. Maybe we don't have one at all which is a very scary thought. Andre, who is designing and supplying the kitchen for
us, has been helping us to locate the right oven, fridge, tiles and so on. There are so many decisions to be made in a
short space of time and it really helps to have the support of someone who knows the suppliers and who can come with us
as guide, translator and advisor.
Los cortes de corriente, power cuts
We have had lots of power cuts already. Some were because of the heavy rain we have had which caused
frequent power cuts lasting from a few seconds to several hours. Others were as result of us overloading the new
electricity system and causing the trip switch to activate. We discovered that we only had a 3.3 kilowatt system which
is fine for a holiday home but woefully inadequate for the electric fires and kettle we were using. This was soon solved
by asking the estate agent to ask the electrician to up rate the system to 7.7 kilowatt. This just means that we pay a
higher standing charge to the electricity company. Even now we have still managed to trip the system which just shows
how cold it has been.
El fontanero, the plumber
After
an abortive start with an English plumber who mostly failed to turn up, we now have an excellent Spanish plumber. There
is now a plentiful supply of agua caliente, hot water, in el cuarto de
baño, the bathroom, giving us a wonderful hot and powerful shower. It looks a mess as it's just a
temporary solution with surface mounted pipes but we don't care as long as we have hot water. I think the lack of hot
water was probably one of the hardest things to cope with in the first few weeks. La
lavadora, the washing machine, is plumbed in too. Eventually we hope to have a utility room which will house
the gas water heater and the washer.
Sent by: Sue
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