Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain.
Summary: Week 33 of 2026 was full of early swims, scorching heat, website work, cruise planning, whale‑watching excitement, and time spent with friends around Los Alcázares. A personal snapshot of my daily life as summer peaked.
Monday, 10th August
I went swimming for an hour as soon as I got up today, I did the swim to the rocks, did my water aerobics, swam back to the shore and repeated this two more times before stopping. When I had finished my swimming and water aerobics, I went to the new chiringuito outside my apartment and sat down to try the breakfast again, hoping it would have improved over the last couple of days.
I ordered the same as last time I was here, coffee and a tostada with tomato and tuna. They had tuna today so that was better already. I sat down and started to read my Kindle. My coffee arrived, shortly followed by the tostada. The coffee was good and the tostada had plenty of tuna on it. Unfortunately, the tomato had been chopped using a food processor again so it resembled a watery tomato purée and had no taste or texture. The tostada with my coffee was the same price as Buenavista but nowhere near as good, so I think I will return to Buenavista until someone tells me it has improved at the new chiringuito.
After breakfast, I retuned to my apartment. I had a shower, got dressed and sat down to do the Wordle puzzle. I had just finished the puzzle when I had a message telling me that a Lord of the Rings T-shirt I had ordered was out for delivery today, with a company that are not always good. It meant waiting in until it arrived. I began to work on my website. As I sat working it was getting hotter and hotter and I eventually had to shut all the doors and windows and turn the AC on. I had just done this when my robot vacuum and mop messaged me to tell me to change the water in its water tank. I cleaned out the dirty water, topped up the refill tank and set the cleaner running before continuing to work on my website and wait for my delivery.
At around 14:00 I stopped work for a break and for lunch. I had three chicken and chorizo skewers for lunch and while cooking them, I also cooked a chicken breast for my dinner later.
At 17:45 I had an email from EcoScooting saying they had tried to deliver my package and that I was out. I had been in all day, and they never came to my apartment. It is the third delivery I have had using this delivery company, and they have lied every time about delivery drivers calling when I was waiting for them. I immediately sent a complaint to them and asked if they had a place in Los Alcázares they could drop the parcel at, as I had no faith in their delivery drivers.
For dinner in the evening, I had a baked potato with the shredded chicken breast I had cooked early. I had seen earlier that my friends Bernard and Christina were on a cruise on the NCL Epic, a ship that I will be sailing on, going to Cape Canaveral later in the year. I asked them to send me some photos of the ship, and now and then Bernard would send me photos as they explored the ship and sent me details of what they were doing. I got more excited about my cruise and I looked for videos of the ship and also for videos about getting freebies or upgrades on cruise ships.
I noticed that it had clouded over in the evening and at one point I heard thunder, and it rained for a few minutes, but the puddles dried up rapidly. It may at least make it a bit cooler on my swim in the morning. Because I'm trying to lose weight and get fitter, I asked CoPilot AI for advice on doing more swimming. I wasn't surprised by the advice it gave, but was pleased I had checked before doing more exercise too quickly. It told me that the hour I am doing six days a week is already excellent and that doing more may not benefit me at all and may even make me put weight on. I will take CoPilots advice and stick with what I am doing, it does seem to be working for me presently, I just need to be more patient.
Tuesday, 11th August
After I woke up this morning, I put my swim shorts on and went down to the Mar Menor for my morning swim. I did my swim and aerobic exercises and went back to my apartment for a shower. I worked on my website until around 11:30 and then got on my disability scooter to go to meet Martin at Pizzeria la Sombre.
I sat chatting with Martin for an hour, but it was too hot for me to stay out. Since collapsing at the ZZ Top Concert last month, I have been a lot more aware of how my body feels in the extreme heat. I have been trying to stay out of the heat in the worst part of the day, but Martin only likes to go out between 12:00 and 14:30. Not a good time to be sitting out in the sun. When I began to feel uncomfortable, I went straight home, putting the air conditioning on as soon as I got in.
Once home, I had a late lunch and then began working on my website. While I was working, a delivery company arrived with my new T-shirt. It was a day late, but it seemed my complaint last night worked. I tried it on and it fitted perfectly. It depicts the characters Gandalf and Gollum from Lord of the Rings, sitting together chatting and having a beer, I love it.
Wednesday, 12th August
I woke up early today and got ready to got to the health clinic for my Sintrom blood test. I didn't go for my regular swim because it would still have been dark if I had gone before I left to go to the health clinic. I was the first person called in to have my blood test this morning and was in and out quickly. At the last blood test, the levels were low, probably caused by me forgetting to take my tablets on at least one day. Today the reading was OK, my INR reading was 2.9.
On my way back to my apartment I stopped off at an outside area that has some gym equipment for people to use. It is covered by pine trees and is quite cool even in the sun. I stopped off and tried a couple of pieces of the exercise equipment and settled on using a static bike for a 20-minute session. It was easier on my knee than I expected, but I was still puffed after 20 minute non-stop peddling. After doing the exercise, I drank the cold electrolyte drink I had taken out with me, rested for a couple of minutes and then got back on my scooter and went back to my apartment.
It seems strange to be using exercise equipment but going there on my disability scooter rather than walking. The thinking behind me doing it this way is; if I hurt my leg or get too puffed out in the extreme heat, I can still get home on my scooter. If I hurt my leg or did too much and had to walk in the heat, I might not be able to get home.
By the time I went home, the heat was overpowering and felt very uncomfortable. I rested at home and after having a salad for lunch I decided to go to the Dialprix shop to get some shopping. I went on my disability scooter and got a few things that I wanted and went straight home. The heat was unbearable, with the heat index considered it must have been in the low 40 °C.
This afternoon and evening, I just relaxed in front of the TV with my feet up and watched the Arsenal vs Como friendly game. I quite enjoyed the game. Both sides used numerous substitutes, as the game was really just to give minutes to players before the start of the new season. I was particularly impressed with Arsenals academy players Marli Salmon and Theo Julian, and the new signings Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimarães. The game finished 1-1, and although I would like to have seen a win, it was good to see the players who returned to the squad recently get some time in before the new season. I do feel that the gap between when International games finish and the start of the new season starts, hinders the better teams, who have plenty of International players returning late for pre-season training. It seems this year to especially be affecting Arsenal, and it's crazy to think that only a few games into the new season, International players will be expected to turn out to play for their National teams again.
Thursday, 13th August
After getting up at around 07:30 I got ready for my swim and walked to the Mar Menor. I swam for around an hour, going out to the rocks and back 3 times. When I had done my swim, I went back to my apartment for a shower.
I worked on my website for a while and then got on my disability scooter to go to the health clinic to get the results for yesterday's blood test. I already knew what the reading was, but the full results tell me the dose of Sintrom to take until the next test and the date for the next test. At the health clinic I handed over a translation to the receptionist explaining that a couple of weeks ago her colleagues had discovered a problem with my records. She went away and spoke to someone else and came back with my results sheet. Apparently, my records still have not been updated. If when I go for the next test in September they still haven't been altered, I will have to take a translator with me again and demand that they sort out the records. This way, I can get the results at home and correct the errors in their system.
On my way home, I stopped in the park to use the gym equipment again. I did 20 minutes on the static bike before getting puffed out. I drank the water I had taken with me and then went back to my apartment. For lunch, I had a salad with tortilla wraps. In the afternoon I had a message from my friend Gail who is trying to decide whether to do part of the cruise I am doing in January around the Dominican Republic.
After chatting with her and after looking at the trip I had booked, I realised that the company I had booked with, Costa Cruises, had booked me a a flight only for the return leg of my trip. Obviously, there had been some misunderstanding when I asked for a return flight to be included, I meant the outbound and homebound flights not just the homebound flight.
I researched online and found that flights went on an almost daily basis. Because it will be my birthday, I decided to go a few days early and to spend five days in the Dominican Republic before the cruise. Flights and a hotel were very reasonable, and I booked everything up through the booking.com website. After making the change to my holiday plans, I rang my sister and spoke with her for a while.
When I had finished talking to my sister, I started looking at the excursion options I had for the cruise and any I could do in the five days before the cruise. I found a trip that I could take from Punta Cana, where I am staying, that goes looking for humpback whales. The whales should be starting their migration North while I am there. I started tracking a Humpback whale a few months ago, and it is fascinating to wonder if it may be anywhere near where I will be. I booked the whale watching trip and then started looking for other excursions for my cruise.
After looking at the options for hours I decided to do eight different ones, some free ones, some quite hair-raising, some relaxing and some very interesting. The trips I booked included, swimming with dolphins, snorkelling with turtles, several island tours, a rum brewery trip and on my birthday, a zip line trip over the jungle on the island I will be at on my birthday. It reminded me of my birthday this year when I went over a jungle canopy on the Sky rail at Kuranda in Australia. I think it will be very exciting, even if I can't hear my friend Nic swearing as we go down.
Friday, 14th August
Today I got up at 06:45. I did the the Wordle puzzle and then went swimming for an hour. I couldn't help noticing while I was swimming backwards and forwards to the reef, that there was a massive black dog, it looked like a Rottweiler on the beach. Its owners had it off the lead and were throwing it a ball to fetch in between going out on their paddleboard. They were located right next to the disabled ramps and shelter and couldn't give a damn about anyone else.
There were numerous council workers trying to clean the beach, but they all looked too scared to go on that stretch of the beach and avoided it. I don't know if a council worker or somebody else eventually approached them, but they did put the dog back on a lead and move off the beach. I hate to think of what could have happened to any small kids on the beach if the dog had attacked them. The owners were selfish and should know better. If you have a dog, keep it under control and clean up after it craps or urinates on the promenade. The local laws don't allow dogs to be off their leads on the beach, and you can be fined heavily for ignoring this or for not clearing up after it. The Los Alcázares town hall has spent a lot of money on dog facilities, use them.
After my swim, I showered and walked along to Buena Vista restaurant for a cooked breakfast. The breakfast was good but was spoilt by the ignorant young Spanish couple on the next table. They were shouting at each other loudly and playing loud music on their phones. They kept moving furniture so they could pose for different photos, and they let the little dog with them do what it wanted. It was off the lead, and they ignored it as it went round urinating on all the tables. As it walked under my table, I shouted at it, telling it to go away in my best English. The dog moved off, and the couple cooed over it like a child had just been attacked by a monster. They didn't care less that it had urinated over all but my table. After they finished the one bottle of water they had shared, they walked off down the promenade, the dog still off the lead.
I pointed out to the staff at the restaurant what the dog had done, but they didn't seem to understand or care. No attempt was made to wash the table legs, chair legs, or area around them with water and disinfectant. As I sat there, a group of English people arrived and sat at the dogs favourite table. They had a small child with them, and I was going to mention the dog to them until they started arguing with each other and being loud and obnoxious themselves. I finished my coffee, paid my bill and went home. I probably won't return while there are so many tourists in Los Alcázares.
When I got home, I decided that I would start to have breakfast at home more often. My kitchen was clean, and I could now start to plan more healthy meals. I decided that I would like to make healthy waffles, some sweet ones, but the majority would be healthy savoury ones. I ordered a small waffle maker from Amazon and then started researching health waffle options.
This evening I put the dishwasher on to run overnight because I wanted to finish cleaning the kitchen up tomorrow.
Saturday, 15th August
I woke up before my alarm today and got up and checked for messages on my computer before heading down to the Mar Menor for my swim. I noticed that the sea was cloudy today and visibility wasn't good. I did my regular three laps out to the rocks and back, with my now regular aerobic exercise by the reef. I think this helps my hip, I have no proof that it does, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
After my swim I returned to my apartment went for a shower and then put on a load of washing before sitting down with a coffee while I did the Wordle puzzle. I have noticed that I seem happier in the mornings and have lots more energy. After doing some research for the reason this may be, using CoPilot I have decided to do extra exercise at the start of every afternoon from today. It won't be a lot, but the advice CoPilot gave me was to do just ten minutes exercise directly after lunch.
I had a second coffee and then put the dishwasher on to clean a couple of things. Then I cleaned the kitchen work top up, putting some kitchen appliances away in drawers. I messaged my friend Nic and was pleased to hear back from her straight away, I hadn't heard from her since last week and her brief messages always cheer me up and put a smile on my face.
Once the dishwasher had finished, I put a few more bits in it and set it running again. My clothes hadn't finished their cycle in the washing machine, but while I was still feeling energetic I began to clear my dining table ready to move it to its new position in my lounge. I don't use it to eat off, it just gets used to dump stuff on. I will move it to a new position out of the way and I can put my small fridge on it.
This afternoon and evening, I added descriptions to some photos in my National Parks & Monuments Tour, Photo Albums, on my website. In particular, to the following photo albums:
I waited in all day and all night and the delivery from Amazon, never arrived, although an email stating that they hadn't been able to make the delivery and would try again did. There was no reason given and no date for another attempt given. I did manage to finish cleaning my kitchen work top. Once I have finished removing items from the shelving unit opposite it and cleaning that up, my kitchen will look great. Then I won't want to cook in it, in case I make it untidy again.
I had a short chat with my friend Lisa this evening when she responded to a post I'd made on Facebook. It was good to hear from her. We went on a short trip to Marrakech, Morocco together a few years ago but haven't been away since because we never seem to be in the same place long enough to make plans.
Before going to bed tonight, I mixed up four portions of overnight oats and put them in my fridge to have for breakfast over the coming days.
Sunday, 16th August
I woke early today at around 06:30. I have been trying to lose weight for a while now and weigh myself on Sunday mornings when I get up. I was very pleased when I weighed myself today when the scales told me I had lost more weight. Only 0.6 kg or 1.3 lbs, but it was an improvement again and with last week's loss, also of 0.6 kg, I am beginning to see the difference the swimming is making.
It was too dark to go swimming, so I pottered around on my computer for a while. I began doing the Wordle puzzle but got stuck after my 3rd guess. The sun was coming up outside so I left the puzzle unfinished and went for my swim.
I swam to the rocks and back three times, doing my water aerobic exercise each time I got to the rocks. The swim is just over 1.2 km in length, so over the 6 days swimming this week I have swum over 7 km. I'd like to say it's getting easier, but it isn't really and my arms ache, but the weight loss is worth the pain.
When I got back to my apartment I had a shower, got a coffee and ate one of the jars of overnight oats I had made yesterday. I then sat working on my website and added descriptions to more of the photo albums on it. As I sat working on the photo albums, I had a message from Amazon to say they were going to deliver the parcel they couldn't deliver yesterday, today. I would have to stay home until it arrived now, and it would probably mean not going to the pub to watch the Arsenal vs Manchester City Community Shield game. I put the air conditioning on and closed up all the doors and windows, it was getting very hot again.
While waiting for the football, I added descriptions to more photos on my photo albums, including these;
I was really impressed with the way Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield. Even with many first team players still not featuring from the start, Arsenal dominated the game, and after they scored their first goal after only 25 seconds, the result was never in doubt. New players, Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimarães, looked like they'd been in the team for a long time and are both great additions to the squad. If today's performance was anything to go by, they have a great chance to win the league again this season.
After the game finished, my Amazon delivery arrived. I decided to walk to Rio Nalon and go to Harry's bar for a pint to celebrate. It was quiet at the bar, there seem to be fewer and fewer people using it every time I visit. I stopped for a couple of hours and had three beers while I talked to people outside and watched the wildlife walk up and down the street. I could hear the noise of the farmers parade at the bottom of the road but didn't go to look at it. I left and began my walk home when it started to cool off a little.
As I approached Porscha Bar, I was approached by my friend Connie, who gave me a hug and said hello. I stopped at the bar and got a beer and sat down at a table to rest my legs. I was soon called across by Janine and joined her, Connie, Bob, Janine, Paul, Wendy, and Gary. One by one the people left and Connie and Bob asked me to join them for a drink back at Rio Nalon, but I had already done enough walking for the day and stayed where I was. I sat chatting with Gary outside the bar even after it had closed. I had no idea of the time, and eventually, we both left and I walked home.
It wasn't until I got home that I realised how late I had sat chatting with Gary. I got in and went to bed at just after 03:00.
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