Calm before the Crazy

We all gradually unfolded in Rasquera, we made the horses a temporary paddock on an upper terrace which was thick with trees giving day long shade, they became hay eaters again, a new variety called 'heno' similar to English hay, very nice - but lacking the forage seeds they so enjoy! they preferred the alfalfa, which we gave in the evenings along with their usual 'home'  feed of sugarbeat & a little grain..

Our living quarters were divine, so luxurious & spacious ! Though most would say a yurt is rather small, it's considerately more roomy than a two man dome tent! And you can stand up to dress! - You know how annoying it is to put trousers on in a sitting position for two & a half months?
During the day we hung out in the shade by the outside kitchen & had cold showers in the bathroom unit across the terrace, all built by Rob, who is clearly an expert carpenter with an eye for practical simplicity & a knack to create everything so pleasing to the eye.  
The compost toilet was built on the edge of an upper terrace - a common tactic - which allows a natural drop into a container below, the toilet itself was a modern clinical unit in which you can pee & poo in the same sitting! It cunningly divides the waste with an oversized she-wee frontal attachment in the bowl. The poo lands with a delayed audible thud way down below, which makes you jump at first! But is very satisfying once you get used to it! The design is brilliant, keeping all odours out of the bathroom & shower area. 
Lisa had left us a healthy vegetable patch with fruits ripe for picking, Mark enjoyed some idle weeding and I was finally able to match my leg to arm tan by sunbathing next to a little plunge pool..

This life was physically undemanding but mentally fraught! I had a linguistic conumdrum in planning the horses transport, having to pass on specific requirements from English to Spanish to Catalan.
Elena, the ministry vet from Mora de Ebro was a great help, but the detail of needing the actual ministry vet stamp on the health certificate was never properly understood and thankfully the vet Elena had appointed, went in his own time to get the stamp at the office on the morning the horses were due to be collected. 
Parkers had mis informed us on a definate collection date & we had to re book our flights at our own cost. 
We also had to get into wedding planning mode, though our dream team, Rachel, Julia & Candy, headed by my daughter Poppy had covered almost everything, there were inevitable questions re preferences of this & that and getting our heads into gear was difficult. Mark hadn't yet got his outfit sorted & struggled to shop online. I confidently ordered my special wedding Dr Martins Leona Temperley boots on a dodgy site & was ripped off for a hundred quid with no delivery. 

We got to know various locals as we were quickly recognised simply because we always went to town on horseback - on one occasion I impressed a crowd of old boys outside a bar by successfully drawing cash out of a cash machine without dismounting! Not many horses would stand so close to the wall inset with its bright lights, beeping and emerging money sounds! Rayo was just about still enough for me to tap in the pin number right and didn't run off before I got the money! - Good boy Rayo! He does me so proud!
We went on a couple of treks around the area, visiting new friends, punctuated with local bars of course! We met a beautiful young spanish couple, Esmerelda & Ishmail who have horses too & spent a night over, delicious food & lively conversation, whilst Mark deflated blow by blow as the massive TV (for the whole game) didn't connect well enough to the wifi for the quarter final of the world cup!
They had the most varied collection of laying birds out in the garden & some lush home grown veg.
Incredibly kind too, they drove us around to offices & feed shops (I mean for horses!) without us ever needing to ask.

During the whole time we stayed at Rob & Lisa's finca, we would often hear birds, they became a familiar sound, starting early evening, perhaps with squarks from the young, then louder and clearly adult and of the preying kind. We discussed what they could be with visitors & I imagined exactly where the flock were living, in a bunch of high trees between us & the main(ish) road. We rode nearby a couple of times & I listened & looked eagerly to see one.

The day finally came for leaving our hide away & facing the fantastic, impossible to imagine, so nice we daren't think of them, days before us, the reunion with family, friends old and new, and a celebration of our love in a magical woodland location in surpringly sunny Sussex.

On the way to meet the lorry, full packs on the horses, who are not so sure about leaving their new found home.. We're riding past the clump of trees to our right, the birds had begun, up close, they were really loud!
Rayo's ears were twitching, his head going up, speed increasing, then the bird screamed so loud as if amplified with a 2k sound system! We fully expected to see a huge pterodactyl approaching us from the trees & Im sure Rayo did too, Tio jumped out of his skin! Then it dawned on us & perhaps the farmer was even sitting there watching & turning up the volume on his recorded bird scaring machine!

Today I can barely speak of the ill fated departure of our 2 boys on the transport lorry.. though they travelled well & arrived safely.. Us bound by plane the next day.. Unbeknown to us all, it would radically change the fate of our marital adventure.