La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
Water is “agua.” Sparkling water is “agua con gas” (water with gas). When we were out with the wonderful Glaswegians, I was in the mood for gas. When the bottle arrived I read the label as CONGA. It was an odd design that had the final “S” of CON GAS disappearing within a round seal that simply reiterated that it was mineral water and had “burbuja crujiente” which translates to “crispy bubble.” Don’t ask me. Interestingly, to me at least, is that the water comes from Solán de Cabras, a remote spring in the region of Cuenca, Spain, more than 450km/280 miles northeast of us. There are records of the waters being used to heal the sick going back to Roman times. It was claimed that Julius Gracchus’ arthritis was cured in 182 B.C. I don’t know Julius, but records don’t lie. Do they? Anyway, the conga has been dancing in my head ever since.
We walked the 10 minutes to the post office earlier today so San Geraldo could send his new shoes back. He didn’t get around to it yesterday because he also had a book, a 10-pound book (correction: it was only 6.3 pounds), he wanted to send to a cousin in Norway. As we walked, San Geraldo commented on how quiet the streets were. I was oblivious until we turned toward the post office. San Geraldo finally asked, “Is it a holiday.” And then I remembered. It’s Assumption Day or as it’s known in Spain, The Day of the Assumption of Mary. (I’ve always wondered what it was that Mary assumed?) I said, “Oh, shit. I’m sure the post office is closed, too. I walked ahead to save SG the steps and, yes, it was.
So we walked up Avenida del Gran Capitán until we reached Roldan and we enjoyed coffee and second breakfast. By the time we headed home, still with the bag containing the 10-pound book (correction: it was only 6.3 pounds), the temperature was 40˚C/104˚F. It’s now 42˚C/107.6˚F and still climbing. We’re in for the day.
We’ll be out again for coffee Saturday morning. Elena, our summer house cleaner, has been at the beach (in Fuengirola) for two weeks and she’ll be here tomorrow again to clean.
I sent The Kid Brother a big care package from Wegmans last night to arrive for him yesterday afternoon. Lots of good stuff, including a big container of cashews. It’s only money. Worth the smile I can imagine as he unpacks it all.
Cuando salimos con los maravillosos habitantes de Glasgow, me apetecía agua con gas. Cuando llegó la botella, leí la etiqueta como CONGA. Era un diseño peculiar: la “S” final de CON GAS desaparecía dentro de un sello redondo que simplemente reiteraba que era agua mineral y tenía “burbuja crujiente”. Curiosamente, al menos para mí, el agua proviene de Solán de Cabras, un manantial remoto en la región de Cuenca, España, a más de 450 km/280 millas al noreste de donde estamos. Hay registros del uso de estas aguas para curar enfermos que se remontan a la época romana. Se decía que la artritis de Julius Gracchus se curó en el año 182 a. C. No conozco a Julius, pero los registros no mienten. ¿O sí? En fin, la conga ha estado bailando en mi cabeza desde entonces.
Caminamos los 10 minutos hasta la oficina de correos hoy temprano para que San Geraldo pudiera devolver sus zapatos nuevos. Ayer no pudo porque también tenía un libro, un libro de 4,5 kilos, que quería enviarle a un primo en Noruega. Mientras caminábamos, San Geraldo comentó lo tranquilas que estaban las calles. No me di cuenta hasta que doblamos por la calle peatonal de la oficina de correos. San Geraldo finalmente preguntó: “¿Es festivo?”. Y entonces recordé. Es el Día de la Asunción, o como se le conoce en España, el Día de la Asunción de María. (Siempre me he preguntado qué asumó Mary). Dije: “¡Mierda! Seguro que correos también está cerrado”. Me adelanté para ahorrarle a SG los escalones y, sí, lo estaba.
Así que subimos por la Avenida del Gran Capitán hasta llegar a Roldán y disfrutamos de un café y un segundo desayuno. Para cuando volvimos a casa, todavía con la bolsa del libro de 2,85 kilos, la temperatura era de 40°C/104°F. Ahora hace 42°C/107,6°F y sigue subiendo. Nos espera hoy.
Saldremos a tomar un café el sábado por la mañana. Elena, nuestra limpiadora de verano, lleva dos semanas en la playa (en Fuengirola) y volverá mañana a limpiar.
Anoche le envié a El Hermanito un paquete grande de Wegmans para que le llegara ayer por la tarde. Un montón de cosas buenas, incluyendo un gran contenedor de anacardos. Es solo dinero. Me imagino la sonrisa que merecerá mientras lo desempaqueta todo.
• Durante el segundo desayuno, San Geraldo se disculpó con la camarera por el desorden. Le dije que parecía igualito a su escritorio. Ella se rió y dijo: “¡Y su desorden se convierte en tu orden!”
• Moose relajándose a un nivel de la cima. Dudo no lo ahuyentó.
I guess Mary assumed she was going to be buried and return to dust upon her death but SURPRISE! Nope. Lifted directly into heaven. I heard a joke a long time ago that I’ve never forgotten. It’s about Italians, not Spaniards, but it may also apply to them. The joke is that Italians do not believe in God. However, they do believe that Mary is his mother.
Gloria is a powerhouse, isn’t she? I have to say though, that at no time in my life was I moved to participate in a conga line. I mean…just no.
Maria Luna
Maria Luna,
The joke fits! There’s also definitive proof Jesus was Jewish. His mother thought he was god and he thought his mother was a virgin. Conga line, absolutely not. Doing the conga, yes.
Perfect!
“Do the Con Ga” — LOL! I used to love that song back in the ’80s.
It’s always hard to live in a country where the holidays aren’t hard-wired into your brain. I used to have that problem in Morocco, too. And then there was Ramadan, when everything had abnormal hours for a whole MONTH!
Steve,
14 years and we still haven’t caught on.
Oh yes! The ‘Feast of the Assumption of Mary’ was a big summer Holy Day of Obligation for all us Roman Catholics back in the day. All of us headed to church to attend Mass….or else! Hey, we all survived pretty much.
Moose looks SO comfortable.
Jim,
SG grew up Lutheran. He’s always surprised by it. Moose was blissed out.
To this day August 15 is embedded in my memory as a holy day of obligation. That goes deep, considering I haven’t practiced for decades. Boud
Boud,
August 15 is the day before our anniversary. So I SHOULD remember the holiday
I… generally… avoid ingesting things… that are gas propelled… I make plenty on my own, thank you. But sounds marv!
Rade,
LOL. Thankfully, I don’t, currently at least, have that problem. But then I don’t often have carbonated beverages.
Maybe it was Dancing Water???
Moose looks so peaceful on her perch ; lucky cat.
As for Gloria Estefan; I was never much of a fan but then after her bus accident I had a dream that I was one of her roadies and when I awoke, I had a new opinion of her … and so I do that Conga!
I prefer my water “sin gas”. Actually, I prefer it without minerals, too. I remember my MIL taking containers to fill with mineral water in Hot Springs, AR, where you can get it from the natural springs. We spent years on a water well, distilling our water, so I like it without any taste at all.
Kelly,
I rarely have anything but plain water. For some reason I was in the mood that day. We had a well in Connecticut. We only drank bottled water!
Conga fizzy water may yet take off as a trend. Just wait for some benighted yoof on TikTok to get wind of it…
Mary certainly assumed that everyone would believe that a teenage bride wasn’t having sex with someone who wasn’t Joseph at all, and that it honestly, definitely was an angel wot clambered through her curtains in the middle of the night and made her pregnant… Yeah, right. Reminds me of one of my fave Xmas carols, courtesy of Kenny and Mr Hankey! Jx
Jon,
And Mary pulled it off. I’ve also read the whole virgin birth thing came from a mistranslation.
One cashew grows on a single cashew apple
Can’t believe they’re so cheap
Adam
NEKORANDOM.COM
Adam,
I never knew this! Wow. It’s fascinating. Still, I paid $18.99 for a jar of cashews that he’ll probably consume in a few days. But thanks for telling me about cashew apples.
That’s my favourite Gloria Estefan song! It’s always a real spirit and mood raiser!
Debra,
It’s the same for me. I listened to the music several times yesterday. And the band looks like they’re having a blast.
Maybe Mary assumed Joseph would buy the virgin birth story.
Kirk,
And she was right.
Did you say a 10 pound book? Not even the Bible weighs 10 pounds. Was it a small Torah? I can’t imagine.
Anyway, it’s always nice to see your smiling face and learn of new adventures here.
Stay well.
Anonymous,
I exaggerated. It weighed 6.3 pounds.
There was a Protestant organist who was hired by a Benedictine monastery while their monk organist was away at grad school. When Aug 15th came around and they were preparing the service music, the organist actually said: “Just what are we assuming here?”
Wickedhamster,
I bet that went over well!
I love the look of that bottle of water! Blue is my favorite color, and that bottle certainly is blue. I grew up in a town that was about 80% Catholic. (I wasn’t) I never understood all of the holidays and the reasons that they had to go to mass.
Michael:
We were always caught by surprise in Sevilla. SG would be walking to the supermarket with his shopping cart and a neighbor would ask where he was going. And then they’d explain to him it was a holiday and everything was closed. There sure are a lot of saints and virgins!
I bet your apple or google calendar would alert you to all of the special days. Always embrace the local culture.
David:
My calendars DO alert me. They also assume when I read the alerts, I register what they say.
I’m always a day behind! I guess I usually check in the (my) morning, and you publish later in the day 🙂 I like the design of that botella!
Judy C:
I am all over the map with my post times! I do love those blue glass bottles.
Is iced coffee a thing in your heat? I’ve been enjoying it since late April this year, even with A/C. I’d happily share some humidity with you, today it’s around 85%. So iced coffee and mostly indoors for me!
Bonnie in Minneapolis
Hi Bonnie in Minneapolis!
We do iced coffee here, but it’s not a typical drink for Spaniards. We order our coffee and then ask for two glasses of ice. An obvious clue we’re not from here. San Geraldo usually pours the coffee over the ice — because it’s cooking. I manage to do it myself when he’s not there. It was 111 today but less than 30% humudity. That makes a huge difference. STILL, it was 111! 113 tomorrow! By the way, I love Minneapolis. Have you ever seen Erin Schwab perform?
Conga over to your email, Scoot.
Deedles:
Thanks for the wake-up call. I just did! You are more than a duchess. You’re a goddess.
Isn’t CON GAS the same thing as evangelical nazis/MAGAts?
Tundra Bunny:
Oh, I hope not. Or they were right and I shouldn’t drink the water.