Kim and Paddy had to reluctantly leave on the 3rd at 6 in the morning. I haven't seen 6 in the morning since I left work so it was a bit of a shock to the system when we woke up to say goodbye. Once they left mum and dad both slipped off back to bed whilst Vick and I for some reason stayed up. We regretted this decision at about 9. We were knackered for the rest of the day but struggled through without a siesta. Mum and Dad on the other hand woke up 3 times that day.
If you're lucky enough or just observant you can pretty much guarantee to see some dolphins at La Garrofa. It does help when you have a mum that is always on ''Dolphin Watch'' as she stares misty eyed out to sea and then flaps her hands shouting ''DOLPHINS.'' As much as we did take the piss out of her when you see them in the distance it does put a smile on your face.
In the UK we're usually getting ready to take down the Christmas decorations and carry on with normal boring life after New Year. In Spain it carries on until the 5th for when the 3 Kings arrive and bring the presents to the children.
There was a Kings procession going through Aguadulce and we were kindly invited to Michaels to watch from his balcony (I say balcony... this place is as big as a tennis court.) Mum and Dad met Michael on a previous visit to La Garrofa and have been friends since. When we arrived we were introduced to Lucia, Michael's cleaner/ friend, and her Daughter who's name I can't remember (Sorry). We weren't really sure what to expect other than a few drinks and nibbles whilst the procession passed. We were taken outside to the balcony and presented with a feast of traditional Colombian food. In case you're wondering, Lucia is Colombian, not just a fan of Colombian food. I'm not sure what it all was but it was delicious. What can only be described as a cauldron was filled with seafood and rice, a heap of what looked like bright yellow dumplings, but can now be described as potato heaven and when topped off with the homemade salsa they were amazing!
Once we had eaten, Michael revealed a 'treat' for us to all try. His description was that it would have last been seen at our granny's house, to which Helen (another friend from La Garrofa) replied in her Geordie accent ''It's not me Granny is it?'' It was bright yellow in colour and looked quite stringy, and tasted like a big dry chip. After a lot of unsuccessful guesses Michael confessed that we were eating a yucca plants stem which is a delicacy in Columbia. As far as I'm concerned it can stay in Columbia.
At around 5 the Kings procession arrived! Everyone ran to the balcony edge to watch the grand passing. The road below was full of kids with empty bags waiting for them to be filled with sweets. It was magical. What actually happened is three guys dressed as kings passed by on three car towed trailers and threw sweets at kids. That was it.
If you read this Michael and Lucia thank you for the afternoon, we all enjoyed it and also enjoyed it the next day with the three bags of food we took home. I need the recipe for potato heaven and the salsa but not the yucca, you enjoy that yourself.
