19th September A Zzzzzz of Mozzies

Yesterday evening there had been that 'zzzzzz' noise when there's a mozzie about. I slapped on lashings of Deet mozzie cream to deter any potential nibblers (if the pong of the cream didn't put them off, the fumes knocked me out so I slept through the annoying 'zzzzzz').

This morning I was bite free but Ian had been under attack! I woke to him looking like a cocoon, wrapped in the sheet. He described how the little critters were working in pairs during the night and several times he had stereo 'zzzzzz' 😅.

During our breakfast conversation we decided a collection of mozzies should be called a 'zzzzzz' but apparently it's a scourge. I then had a Google and found out that the Germans call mozzies 'schnacke', although I think they got that wrong. I suggest whoever gets bitten (usually me) is the schnacke!

Anyway we decided on a trip out today. So Ian was on picnic preparation duties while I washed up and packed swimming stuff, just in case. Then we took the main road out northwards to Llanca a seaside town about 10 miles from the French border.

We parked near the harbour and pottered around looking at the boats.

Overlooking Llanca from what was originally an island. It now has a car park and marina which joins it to the mainland.

On the island there had been bunkers and trenches as part of defence in the early 1900s, fighting off the French. The town has been in and out of French/Spanish ownership several times as the countries battled over the border.

This is what palm trees look like when the leaves aren't trimmed every year. 

The Spanish way to empty bins. All single handed and controlled by the driver using something like a game controller.

This sign says 'pensa-hi' meaning 'think about it'. In the UK we have similar signs saying 'think bike' - they must have turbo charged OAPs in Spain!

We walked inland to the old town. Ian had read up on Llanca history and the towns in this area were always built away from the sea/harbours because of pirates. 

In the old town the oldest building to be found is a Romanesque tower, in the main square, dating from the 13th century. 

Also in the main square is St Vincent an 18th century baroque parish church.

After a lovely picnic in the shade of the church we made our way back to Rolo along the high street. By this time everything was closed, other than the restaurants, as it was siesta time. We jumped into a very hot car, opened all the windows and roof, and took the road towards Portbou along the coast.

Portbou wasn't much. Seemed to be an industrial town so we skirted by and headed on. It was at this point that we realised we were very close to the border.

With only 1km to go, no passports, driving on a mountainous road with no where to turn it looked a bit tricky. Luckily there was a garage on the Spanish side about 500m to go for us to turn around in 😁. Phew!

About turn and then back to the apartment for the rest of the afternoon. First a swim and then a cup of tea and a read. This evening has been a bit cooler but warmer than it looks like everyone is having in the UK.

I think that tomorrow is a local day. We might get the paperwork sorted as well.