Viva Espania! Part one.

What a lovely time DT and I had in La Mata, a seaside resort at the top end of Torevieja, Costa Blanca.
We stayed in an apartment which is owned by a friend.
It was very comfortable with a spacious patio area that overlooked well manicured gardens, with a large swimming pool.
There were fine views of the Mediterranean too.
I love to be by the sea, I suppose that living in Liverpool, one of the world's major seaports, it's in my blood.
My Great Grandfather was a Captain in the Merchant Navy and used to carry goods to many far off places, including Southern Spain, where we have holidayed on many occasions.
Everything was going 'swimmingly well' until our second day at the beach, when, DT decided to launch himself off his sunlounger.

He has a poor 'track record' of the said item!

I had my nose in a book, when there was an almighty ripping sound.
Turning around, I saw him with his backside firmly planted in the sand, and the remnants of the bed and aluminium frame, encircling his stocky frame.

He was firmly stuck, much to the amusement of the diners, at the adjacent beach bar. I could do little to help, firstly because I was convulsed with laughter and secondly, I am physically incapable of getting up of a sunlounger without my darling's assistance.

This is due to the Rheumatoid Arthritis that has depleted my mobility.

The more he struggled, the more entrenched he became. He managed to 'turn turtle', only to become even more firmly stuck.

Imagine the scenario...He looked like a beached turtle with the sunbed on his back.

Fortunately an enormous passing German chap saw his plight and helped disentangle him.
His name was Harry Neuman, and his laughter was as large as his six foot six inch frame!

It's the first time we've managed to make a German laugh whilst on holiday.
We treated him and his lovely wife to drinks at the beach bar.

I don't know what it is about DT but he has an uncanny knack of keeping me suitably entertained, albeit unwittingly!

On our way back to the apartment, we discovered a little roadside shop that sold all kinds of delicacies, including chickens cooked on a rotiserie.

That evening we dined on assorted tapas, followed by a delicious hot juicy chicken, stuffed with fresh herbs and smothered with the basting juices from the rotisserie.
I served delicious, huge squashy, whole baked local tomatoes and tiny potatoes, baked and sprinkled with sea salt, fresh from the local salt lakes.
Also I served a dish of baby padron peppers roasted in olive oil and again, sprinkled with sea salt.
All this was washed down with several glasses of a Spanish Rose Cava.

The end of a highly entertaining and perfect day.