Spain - week two, day one

Saturday May 3rd, 2008

Moorish Farmhouse, Orgiva, Spain

Our first transition day of the new season. Our first guests are leaving and new people are arriving later on. We were really surprised to receive some very detailed feedback on the week and, it seems that all our guests were very pleased overall. One persom said they had arrived with high expectations because of what they had seen on our website, yet we had exceeded these expectations in virtually every area. So that is definitely a good start.

Then down to Motril to do a big shop. This is absolute hell. The store is completely jammed up with people, far more than we would have expected. Later we realise that due to this being a holiday weekend, maybe lots of people have come to the coast from Granada and Cordoba and they are all shopping today. As I join a queue to pay, there are seven full trolleys ahead of me, and when I load up the car, there is a queue of people to get the next trolley.

So I am a tiny bit later than intended at Malaga airport to meet Eve, but we find each other easily and are soon on the way back. One or two issues to discuss, but nothing too serious.

We got back just after 3:00 and only a few minutes after Chris, our guest from Malaga, had arrived. Everyone has arrived by 4:30 and we decided on a quick trip down to Orgiva so people could get the bearings and see a little of the local town (as so that I could pick up a few things that I had missed at the superstore this morning)

Tonight's meal is our "blockbuster" first night special. Lots of tapas, including the fiery prawns and marinated mushrooms. Then chicken with peppers, escalivada, and salad, followed by fruit with the hot chocolate, cream and honey source. So hopefully everyone is wowed by that. One problem this week is that one guest is allergic to peppers (on which Spanish food relies) and another is allergic to prawns. So some of the food is cooked in Nigel and Zoe's kitchen to avoid contamination! This is not a great success and we'll need to think about this further.

But everyone seems to enjoy it all and everyone has now met each other. And we have plans for a big trip to Pampaniera tomorrow for everyone as well.