La Nueva Tercia

4/8/2016

Rachel

We have just got back from Murcia, a place called La Nueva Tercia. My old school friend Rachel has a holiday home in the village and is out with her daughter for a few weeks. The journey to La Tercia, should have taken us about an hour and a quarter, for us it took about three hours, driving along the coastal road from Alicante on the notorious N332. It was actually quite a nice drive, although the temperature outside was bordering on 40 degrees. La Tercia is inland, so we stopped at Dos Mares, on the way for a late lunch and then travelled to San Javier and finally onto Rachel's casa.

The temperature in the village was blistering, much hotter than that along the coast. What a beautiful place it is though. A small, close community, who were delightful, in every respect!

The views all around the village are truly picturesque. Set among vineyards, mountains and farm lands, the area is breathtaking, very different to that of Alicante and the coast, where we live. The contrast between Valencia and Murcia is stark. Darrell and I were impressed by the real Spain, as we see it!

La Tercia is eerily quiet. You can hear the white noise from crickets in the scrub land, the faint buzz of children playing in the parks and a cacophony of laughter from the pools, but that's it. Very little if any traffic, no shouting, no nothing, just a pandemonium of relaxation, rest and recuperation.

It was nice to have a few hours to chat with Rachel, on our arrival. We had a lot to talk about, since she was last in Spain, in March. Rachel does seem to look relaxed and at home here, which is great to see.

It did feel a bit like being in the Wild West, but I actually quite liked that. There is a feeling of isolation, but equally I enjoyed that too. If you want to get away from life, this place is really for you. Rachel's daughter took me up to see the sunset, over the mountains. It was stunning!

The temperature was so hot, that it was actually great to get in a pool and cool down, even if I was in the shallow end. We had a few more beers, chatted with the locals and met our two hosts for the evening. An English couple who had lived in the area for ten years and were great friends with Rachel. Not your usual Expats and a very welcome change!

Myself and Darrell had a fantastic time in Murcia, seeing Rachel. I love seeing her, it truly makes me happy, at times when I haven't been. She spent some time, giving me advice and with Darrell flying to Australia on Monday, she wished him well, looking forward to seeing him in the spring.

She understands how unconventional our life was and still is and understands the difficulties surrounding a six month separation for us both. but after the battles we have had in our life, we both know, if anyone can do it, we can.

As we drove back, along the coast road, towards Alicante, through the Spanish plains, we both began to realise, that there was more to our journey, taking us to Southern Europe.

As much as we love living in Gran Alacant, we both would eventually like to get a finca, in a less crowded part of Spain. Darrell will be able to earn enough, in Australia, over the next few years to buy us a home, with land, where we will both, finally be happy. Something we have long desired. We will have to live apart at times, but we are well aware of the benefits of doing so. Spain is a beautiful country and we need to finally find our little oasis, in this gorgeous part of the mediterranean!

Peace and love, always!

Pool

After a chat and a few beers in the searing sun, we went for a quick dip in the pool. Not something I would usually do, not being able to swim, but I did make allowances, this one time.

Dinner

After a quick change of clothes, we had a walk down to the village centre, where we had a drink at a local Spanish Bar. The village itself is tiny and very traditional Spanish, so different from Gran Alacant. To be honest, both Darrell and myself loved it, which has completely changed our outlook on our time here. I'll explain more later.

We had a lovely meal of traditional Paella, cooked on top of our hosts solarium, beautifully decked out in granite, with its own bar, and views to die for. An impressive Spanish home, wonderfully cared for and the perfect setting, for good food and memorable company!