MONDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2019  Having not done any exercise since Thursday morning I somehow dragged myself out of bed and managed a 15 minute run, that felt more like half an hour. Oh well better than nothing I guess! Buffet breakfasts and me don’t go together really, as I have this affliction. It’s called a glutton gene! I eat too much. So having eaten more than my fill I put a few bits of fruit and cake for later in my little bag, but just as I went to leave the restaurant I was accosted by the head waitress, who looked like the villain Colonel Klebb in the James Bond film From Russia With Love. She made it clear that it was forbidden to take food away from the restaurant and with that the poisoned razor blade shot out the front of her shoe and she chased me out into the hotel lobby taking several swings with her right boot in an attempt to punish me for my misdemeanor. I escaped into the lift and as the doors closed I could hear the sound of a metallic clank as she kicked the outside of the elevator door. Okay maybe I exaggerated with the last bit 😊 Anyway safely ensconced back in my room I did some blog catching up until lunchtime.

I then grabbed a few bits and bobs before wandering down to the prom turning left and beginning a trek around to the other end of the bay in which Roses sits. I would describe Roses as a typical Costa Brava tourist resort minus Brits, catering instead for the more mature clientele from France and Spain. It was interesting to note that nearly all the menus posted outside the restaurants were in Spanish, French and Catalan (hardly any in English!). I would guess that 99% of the indigenous population here voted for independence during that illegal election they carried out a couple of years ago. The distinctive Catalan yellow and red horizontally striped flags were flying everywhere. So after walking round to the northern end of the bay to the marina I retraced my steps back to the point where the road to my hotel left the beachfront, but before retiring to my hotel I had to sample the warm waters of the Med. The beach consisted of lovely golden sand and gently sloping beach. So with sun shining and changed into my ‘Budgie Smugglers’ I had a lovely refreshing swim out to the last of the buoys marking the channel for the fast boats and jet-skis. It’s funny even though I’m a fairly strong swimmer of a reasonably sensible and logical disposition, I always get the dreaded feeling that I’m going to be attacked by Jaws (yes the Med does have great white sharks!), even though the chances of me being killed on my motorbike are about 10,000 times more likely!Funny how the mind works!

I mentioned earlier about escaping in the lift from Rosa Klebb, well it was a lie, I haven’t used the lift to get up to my room, except to transport all my bags from the bike when I first arrived. I have doggedly climbed the 165 steps to the 9th floor (sad I know, but I counted them!)  just to burn off those breakfast calories and anyway, it was all good preparation for those hills on The Camino in a couple of weeks time! In the evening  I wandered out to a Google recommended restaurant. I opted for the fixed price menu. The spagbol starter tasted off, the grilled chicken main was dry and overcooked. Only the crème caramel dessert was half-decent. And those of you that know me well, know that I’m not a fussy eater. As I left the El Cucharon I could see the waiter’s eyes cutting me daggers as I left the tipping dish on my table empty!