Mark and Rosalyn arrived with us on Wednesday lunchtime from England, and are members of an increasing group of people – house hunters in Spain! Now that Spanish property prices here have fallen to levels not seen for several years, the possibility of buying a home – whether for a permanent move or for holiday use – is seen as much more realistic again.
They soon settled in to their room and had some lunch here, before setting off on there property viewing trip, to see some properties that they had already shortlisted with an agent on-line. This gave them the opportunity of familiarising themselves with the area a little and getting a general idea of what was on offer. They were also being very philosophical about the appalling weather that we were having during their visit, saying that if the area and properties appealed to them now in the pouring rain, then they would absolutely love the place when the sun was shining!
After dinner with us and a good night’s sleep, they set of the next morning with another Spanish property agent to see more houses for sale in several different towns and villages in the area. They had seen quite a few different homes during the early part of the day, and were on their way to another one when they were involved in a serious road traffic accident, with an oncoming car that aquaplaned across the road and hit their vehicle head-on. Fortunately they were not badly injured, although their car was totally written-off, ending up in a ditch on its side. We received a phone call from them in the early evening asking if we could collect them from Gandia hospital, where they had been receiving treatment. This was, of course, the first we had heard of the incident so we hurried down to the town to bring them home. They were suffering bruises and whiplash and counting themselves lucky that their injuries were not very much more serious – and agreed through it all that the treatment they had received at the hands of the Spanish healthcare system had been excellent and very thorough.
The following day – Friday – friends of theirs who live in Madrid were due to arrive to spend some time with them here at Villa Florencia so Mark and Rosalyn were happy to spend a quiet day awaiting their arrival and making phone calls to arrange a replacement hire car, etc. Nigel and Elizabeth arrived around 8.30pm and they all went to a nearby restaurant for evening meal and then a nightcap here afterwards. On Saturday after breakfast we took Mark to the local car rental office in Gandia to pick up a replacement car and then they went off with their friends for the day for a second look at a couple of Spanish properties that had particularly caught their eye as well as for a trip to Gandia beach area. They returned later in the afternoon, by which time the weather had improved slightly, with plans to go to a good restaurant in Gandia for dinner that night.
Sunday morning came, and it was time for Mark and Rosalyn to leave for Valencia airport to catch their flight home. They are, however, seriously interested in a Spanish property in the area, so there is a strong possibility that we shall see them here with us again. Hopefully their next visit will be a little less eventful, with no need to sample the local medical services, and will also be marked by considerably better weather. As they themselves said, if they like the place under these circumstances then they will surely love it when things are more normal!
Their friends Nigel and Elizabeth had a more leisurely breakfast, since they had no morning flight to catch, and set off in their car to go home to Madrid a little later. They also agreed that they had had a great time with their friends and that it had been a perfect opportunity to catch up and spend some time together. Maybe we shall see them all back together again, possibly in time for a housewarming party!