Gota Fria

Today is overcast and the dark clouds are suggesting that we are going to have rain. Our friends tell us that we are due to have a storm over the weekend. I just hope that we are not due for a gota fria which is a very big storm. We had one a few years back when villages were flooded and river walls demolished by the raging water. Many said that the fault laid with the government who had stopped people cutting bamboo for their own use. They said that the bamboo had subsequently fallen and made damns in the rivers which were then demolished by the heavy rain which then flooded into the rivers. Who knows what occurred but the floods caused a lot of damage.
 Our poor friends Jean and Roy live by a river and they and their dogs had to be lifted from their property by the fire brigade. Their villa was totally flooded, their car ended up in the river and they lost their belongings. Fortunately our restaurant was barely affected, other than an inch or two of water in the kitchen.
The Spanish authorities were pretty good and the army were called into the villages to clear the damage. They gave people affected by the floods vouchers to go to restaurants and supermarkets to get food and a rumour circulated that old ladies were given knickers.
They also paid compensation to those affected  but our friends were not eligible for some reason. It has taken Jean and Roy a couple of years to get things back to normal. For them the thought of another gotta fria is worrying. We are quite safe where we are being up in the hills.
Today Jean and Roy are coming over to ours to bring our new cooker. Unfortunately Colin could not get it in the car yesterday
Today I am feeling much better and not so tired. The walk up the hill last Sunday really exhausted me but it was worth it for the views and also to take flowers to the cross where our friends sons ashes are scattered.