CoronaVirus Self-Isolation Week 6

I hate to whine, but the weather recently has been a low blow.  There have only been a handful of days with sun over the past month.  The forecast for the next 10 days is more of the same.  Only two days of partial sun and temps in the 50s.  Temps in the 50s with sunshine is glorious!  Temps in the 50s with rain is dreadful.

And then, the electricity went out on Tuesday.  All day.  I felt like I had done something to offend the gods.  I’ve been chill and calm for all these weeks, but without wifi throughout a full day of constant rain… it was beyond the pale!

I am so glad I have my dogs Cassie and Cam with me.  They are a comfort and a pain and a constant.  I would definitely feel lonelier without them.

Last time I was in Spain, I was traveling so much I had to leave the dogs many times.  I found a place near me, Elena’s Guardaria Canina.  Elena is a Saint.  She runs the establishment, slightly outside of Begur.  There are huge outdoor enclosures where the dogs are segregated by size and temperament.  She boards, grooms, and trains dogs.  She also has a couple of horses.  She is a radiant soul and she cares for the animals as if they were her own.  She would send videos of the dogs to me while I was away to let me know how they were doing.  In the evening, they went indoors where they were kept in kennels heated by a central fireplace.  Elena spoke to the dogs in Catalan, so I guess they’re sort of trilingual now.  They spent a lot of time there.

In the spring, an American friend from my Catalan class offered to keep my dogs for half the price.  He lives in Begur permanently and brought with him from the US six dogs, two cats, and a bird.  I thought maybe the bird was a parrot or a mynah bird or something “pet-like,” but it was a pigeon named Chiquitita.  He has a big yard with plenty of room for them to run and play with the other dogs.  Cassie and Cam loved it there.  I was really lucky to have had two such great dog keepers!

Now it’s just the three of us.  An added perk this time though is that the “Hitler” of the apartment complex who wouldn’t let me walk the dogs on the grass, isn’t here.  And, after the wild boar infestation last spring, they’ve reinforced the fence, so the dogs actually get to nose around a little on their own.  Oh happy day!

This couple of months has been SO different from my last time here when I had 30 visitors in 40 weeks.  I was constantly picking up, dropping off, and traveling somewhere.  In between, I was plotting distances and routes and making reservations at AirBnbs, restaurants, and tourist destinations.  This trip absolutely couldn’t be more different.  I still love Spain, but within a much smaller radius!

And my toothpaste exploded!