Hot and Bothered

Hot chicken and garlic roll with coffee – yum

Thursday, after spending 4 nights at the small campsite near Malaga…we left the coast (that might have been a BIG mistake) and made our way to the small town of La Puebla de Cazallla. There’s a great free motorhome parking stop there with toilets, electricity, water but no shade… Instead there’s a tiny booth run by a very kind man originally from Benidorm.

He encourages us when we try to use our terrible Spanish and calls Denis the cowboy because of his sunhat. He tells us he likes the Irish. All along the pathway outside his booth are tables under shade umbrellas and he makes a great hot chicken roll! With garlic (I hear the bugs don’t like the smell of garlic…) and strong coffee and freezing cold ice cream. The necessities.

The temperature in the van is 37.9, Denis says there must be something wrong with the thermometer – it couldn’t be that high. I also think there’s something wrong with the thermometer – it couldn’t be that low.

One good thing about the heat I can appreciate – flowers and trees

They say opposites attract and here we are the optimist and the (pessimist) realist. His way of looking at the world could be right and maybe his way would make for a happier experience. Instead of raising my eyes to heaven when he shares one of his optimistic gems maybe it would make me feel better to imagine he is correct… Hmm.

In this small Spanish town I am in that uncomfortable hell of itchy bites and hot air. Today would be a fine day to think like an optimist but for some reason (my physical discomfort?) I cannot rise up out of this bad place. I walk in the shade for a little because walking helps but then I think about tomorrow and the next day and when will this heat end?

…and tomatoes in an allotment next to the parking

It seems like my thinking is actually the problem. I listened to a podcast about accepting the present moment and it dawns on me that my thinking is leading me to worrying, leading me to dark, dark places in my mind. Listening to those thoughts are bringing me down. I remind myself that I am here, just here and no matter what is forecast to happen tomorrow it cannot touch me, here.