Monsieur Noah, Bonjour
Moving to Spain - Part 2
By Richard & Susan Lust
www.viva-iberica.com
Continued from last month.....
The journey down through France and Spain was uneventful; everything was on schedule and going OK. Even the weather seemed to be on our side.
We finally made it and arrived at our new place. Bliss - the relief of knowing you can stop for a while and relax, sorry what was that last word? Relaxation didn't come into the equation. We arrived mid afternoon and yes the fence for a mare's paddock had been put up, but there was no sign of their shelter, barn or anything else. We had to unload the horses but there they were in the middle of a field without any protection and no water supply! We set to work, firstly unloading the animals, and then carrying water from the deposito - basically an unused swimming pool filled with water that was used to irrigate the fields. We then unloaded the trailer so that we could take it to buy feed and forage for the horses. Frantic activity ensued as sunset came and went. Very late that night we fell into bed.
The next morning we went back to the farm and fell in love with it again - in the morning light, it was and is especially beautiful; the distant mountains shading from green to purple as they disappeared into the mist. Silence! The scent of clean air! OK to work - first job, carrying water for the horses, feeding and then cleaning out the horse truck for Richard and the groom to return to England for the next load - no time for stopping and looking around, that will come later. A few jobs done, a hurried meal then the truck departed. It finally dawned on me that we had really done it; we had severed our English connections, left friends, family and income behind to start from scratch in another country and, our collective knowledge of Spanish was OK when it came to normal food, drink, hotels etc but it was a different matter when it came to real life.
I tried to get into a routine - first the water, this took about four hours a day and was a real nightmare and already by the second day I was having to lower a bucket into the swimming pool on a rope as the water level seemed to be decreasing very quickly; not helped by horses standing in water containers as I was filling them and then looking at me for a moment before slowly turning the things over leaving me the task of refilling them. It seemed a permanent job, two hours in the morning, an hour at mid-day and then another hour or two in the evening. We needed a pump; well it could wait until Richard came back with the next load - he was expecting to arrive back in England on Monday, leave on Wednesday and then be back in Spain by Friday. My spare time was easily filled; I had the pile of possessions we had turfed out of the trailer a few days earlier to find homes for - sad to say nearly 5 years later some of these possessions are still in their travelling containers! As we said when we moved, if you haven't used it in 6 months you won't miss it if you never see it again.
The days flew past and Friday afternoon arrived - unfortunately neither the mares' shelter nor the barn had made an appearance, so frantic telephone calls ensued; where could we rent stabling for more horses? Our second load was more mares and foals which were all duly reunited with their friends in the large fenced field - more water buckets were brought into use; in fact we used dustbins then filled these with water so we could have a longer lasting supply. I had to return to England with Richard when he left for the next load so that I could bring our second car to Spain - bliss two whole days without having to lift a water bucket! We left our groom holding the fort along with mother-in-law and a water pump - 'easy peasy' - no heavy lifting, water almost on tap.
While waiting at the ferry port at St Malo I noticed that our truck was attracting more than average attention and heard the word 'Noah' mentioned a few times but didn't really think anything more - the French, well they aren't really like us are they, just a bit strange.
Back in the UK and everything was grey, damp and cold - we hadn't bargained for needing complete changes of clothing, including shoes, every day and had forgotten just how horrible it can be working outdoors in England in winter. People seem to adapt to good weather so quickly - we certainly had. Anyway no time to complain, we had more vet's inspections to go through, a full load of nine stallions plus chickens, geese and cats to be inspected, loaded and transported. The cats went in the car with me - two in each of three massive travel cages. As I loaded them I thought, 'Please do not let the vet at the port ask for them to be unloaded so they can check microchips', as by this time the feral cats were getting more than a little annoyed with people as every time we picked them up we injected them, scanned them or pushed tablets down their reluctant throats and the cats were getting less and less cooperative with each session. What would happen if we had to take them out of their cages?
The geese were loaded in the front of the truck and then more cages, this time full of chickens, carefully stacked so that there was lots of fresh air and easy access for feeding and watering. Then the horses - no problem, it literally took ten minutes to load the nine stallions.
For me it was a final goodbye to England as unless I wanted to return in the future to visit family or friends I would not be returning to help with the remaining transport. A little sad but also very exciting.
We travelled down to Portsmouth and awaited the vet inspection, armed with a thick sheaf of paperwork. The vet was late. We were getting anxious as without the pre-boarding vetting, we could not embark on the ship and then would have the horrendous prospect of trying to rearrange the papers for travel on a different day. At the last minute the vet arrived, looked through the paperwork then opened the truck door and groaned. The horses were easy; you can count heads, get out a microchip reader and just walk down the line. Eleven geese - again you can just count heads. Chickens - well the first ones were counted, but then he started trying to rearrange cages so that the rest could be checked off - I think the numbers agreed, whether they were actually counted or not . . . well ! Then the cats "We'll we need to see them out so I can check their microchips" - I explained that I had four feral cats and as if to make my point a paw exited a cage and clutched hold of the vet's jacket. The vet pulled, the cat pulled back and pushed a second paw through the bars. "I think we will just go by your vet's paperwork" - magic words. We were through. We wrestled the jacket from two sets of claws and the vet beat a hasty retreat, "When is your next load?" he asked. When we replied it would be at the end of the following week he seemed to breathe a little easier and said that he was going on holiday at the end of the week.
We loaded the vehicles on the ferry and did a final round of water, food etc before we called it a night and went up to the civilised part of the ship for food and sleep.
The next morning we were first off the ship (remember that one - it's one of the few benefits of travelling with a lot of animals). We parked so that we could check all was OK with the animals before starting the journey - it was a little noisy, there seemed to be a lot of crowing going on and we were attracting quite a crowd, mainly Brittany Ferries staff. "Mornin' Mr Noah. What have you got on board today?" said one guy. At that Richard opened the truck door so that the travellers could be seen. A second of silence and then laughter broke out - we had a travelling circus - nine stallions in a row looking somewhat bemused, each with one or more companions - the chicken cages had overbalanced in the night and each stallion had two or three chickens sitting on his back, head, neck or whatever. We had eggs under the horse's feet and cocks crowing, geese honking and lots of burly ferry men laughing their heads off.¡, at which point a car stopped alongside and a fellow ferry traveller got out to see what was happening "Who do you think you are, b***** Noah?"
So back in Spain. Bliss! Hang on. We still had no barn, so nowhere to stable the stallions. Our previous phone calls had proven fruitless, so we called in the big guns and enlisted the help of a friend who was also an 'ex-rejoneador' and had lots of connections. Finally we found a place that had enough stabling and was only about 9km away, so we moved the boys in. Richard then had to leave again to return for the next load - time for food, shower and clean clothes then back in the truck - this time with the groom who had decided she wanted to go back to England.
So, no need to panic! Each day only two hour's watering the mares, then off, 9km, to feed, water and muck out the stallions, then back to water the mares. Have a sandwich. Back to exercise the stallions, then back to water and feed the mares; then off to water and feed the stallions - no problem I'll soon get a system going! I just have to find where the girl has put the pump - what do you mean it fell in the reservoir! Where in the reservoir? This sounds familiar!
Moving to Spain - Part 2
By Richard & Susan Lust
www.viva-iberica.com
Continued from last month.....
The journey down through France and Spain was uneventful; everything was on schedule and going OK. Even the weather seemed to be on our side.
We finally made it and arrived at our new place. Bliss - the relief of knowing you can stop for a while and relax, sorry what was that last word? Relaxation didn't come into the equation. We arrived mid afternoon and yes the fence for a mare's paddock had been put up, but there was no sign of their shelter, barn or anything else. We had to unload the horses but there they were in the middle of a field without any protection and no water supply! We set to work, firstly unloading the animals, and then carrying water from the deposito - basically an unused swimming pool filled with water that was used to irrigate the fields. We then unloaded the trailer so that we could take it to buy feed and forage for the horses. Frantic activity ensued as sunset came and went. Very late that night we fell into bed.
The next morning we went back to the farm and fell in love with it again - in the morning light, it was and is especially beautiful; the distant mountains shading from green to purple as they disappeared into the mist. Silence! The scent of clean air! OK to work - first job, carrying water for the horses, feeding and then cleaning out the horse truck for Richard and the groom to return to England for the next load - no time for stopping and looking around, that will come later. A few jobs done, a hurried meal then the truck departed. It finally dawned on me that we had really done it; we had severed our English connections, left friends, family and income behind to start from scratch in another country and, our collective knowledge of Spanish was OK when it came to normal food, drink, hotels etc but it was a different matter when it came to real life.
I tried to get into a routine - first the water, this took about four hours a day and was a real nightmare and already by the second day I was having to lower a bucket into the swimming pool on a rope as the water level seemed to be decreasing very quickly; not helped by horses standing in water containers as I was filling them and then looking at me for a moment before slowly turning the things over leaving me the task of refilling them. It seemed a permanent job, two hours in the morning, an hour at mid-day and then another hour or two in the evening. We needed a pump; well it could wait until Richard came back with the next load - he was expecting to arrive back in England on Monday, leave on Wednesday and then be back in Spain by Friday. My spare time was easily filled; I had the pile of possessions we had turfed out of the trailer a few days earlier to find homes for - sad to say nearly 5 years later some of these possessions are still in their travelling containers! As we said when we moved, if you haven't used it in 6 months you won't miss it if you never see it again.
The days flew past and Friday afternoon arrived - unfortunately neither the mares' shelter nor the barn had made an appearance, so frantic telephone calls ensued; where could we rent stabling for more horses? Our second load was more mares and foals which were all duly reunited with their friends in the large fenced field - more water buckets were brought into use; in fact we used dustbins then filled these with water so we could have a longer lasting supply. I had to return to England with Richard when he left for the next load so that I could bring our second car to Spain - bliss two whole days without having to lift a water bucket! We left our groom holding the fort along with mother-in-law and a water pump - 'easy peasy' - no heavy lifting, water almost on tap.
While waiting at the ferry port at St Malo I noticed that our truck was attracting more than average attention and heard the word 'Noah' mentioned a few times but didn't really think anything more - the French, well they aren't really like us are they, just a bit strange.
Back in the UK and everything was grey, damp and cold - we hadn't bargained for needing complete changes of clothing, including shoes, every day and had forgotten just how horrible it can be working outdoors in England in winter. People seem to adapt to good weather so quickly - we certainly had. Anyway no time to complain, we had more vet's inspections to go through, a full load of nine stallions plus chickens, geese and cats to be inspected, loaded and transported. The cats went in the car with me - two in each of three massive travel cages. As I loaded them I thought, 'Please do not let the vet at the port ask for them to be unloaded so they can check microchips', as by this time the feral cats were getting more than a little annoyed with people as every time we picked them up we injected them, scanned them or pushed tablets down their reluctant throats and the cats were getting less and less cooperative with each session. What would happen if we had to take them out of their cages?
The geese were loaded in the front of the truck and then more cages, this time full of chickens, carefully stacked so that there was lots of fresh air and easy access for feeding and watering. Then the horses - no problem, it literally took ten minutes to load the nine stallions.
For me it was a final goodbye to England as unless I wanted to return in the future to visit family or friends I would not be returning to help with the remaining transport. A little sad but also very exciting.
We travelled down to Portsmouth and awaited the vet inspection, armed with a thick sheaf of paperwork. The vet was late. We were getting anxious as without the pre-boarding vetting, we could not embark on the ship and then would have the horrendous prospect of trying to rearrange the papers for travel on a different day. At the last minute the vet arrived, looked through the paperwork then opened the truck door and groaned. The horses were easy; you can count heads, get out a microchip reader and just walk down the line. Eleven geese - again you can just count heads. Chickens - well the first ones were counted, but then he started trying to rearrange cages so that the rest could be checked off - I think the numbers agreed, whether they were actually counted or not . . . well ! Then the cats "We'll we need to see them out so I can check their microchips" - I explained that I had four feral cats and as if to make my point a paw exited a cage and clutched hold of the vet's jacket. The vet pulled, the cat pulled back and pushed a second paw through the bars. "I think we will just go by your vet's paperwork" - magic words. We were through. We wrestled the jacket from two sets of claws and the vet beat a hasty retreat, "When is your next load?" he asked. When we replied it would be at the end of the following week he seemed to breathe a little easier and said that he was going on holiday at the end of the week.
We loaded the vehicles on the ferry and did a final round of water, food etc before we called it a night and went up to the civilised part of the ship for food and sleep.
The next morning we were first off the ship (remember that one - it's one of the few benefits of travelling with a lot of animals). We parked so that we could check all was OK with the animals before starting the journey - it was a little noisy, there seemed to be a lot of crowing going on and we were attracting quite a crowd, mainly Brittany Ferries staff. "Mornin' Mr Noah. What have you got on board today?" said one guy. At that Richard opened the truck door so that the travellers could be seen. A second of silence and then laughter broke out - we had a travelling circus - nine stallions in a row looking somewhat bemused, each with one or more companions - the chicken cages had overbalanced in the night and each stallion had two or three chickens sitting on his back, head, neck or whatever. We had eggs under the horse's feet and cocks crowing, geese honking and lots of burly ferry men laughing their heads off.¡, at which point a car stopped alongside and a fellow ferry traveller got out to see what was happening "Who do you think you are, b***** Noah?"
So back in Spain. Bliss! Hang on. We still had no barn, so nowhere to stable the stallions. Our previous phone calls had proven fruitless, so we called in the big guns and enlisted the help of a friend who was also an 'ex-rejoneador' and had lots of connections. Finally we found a place that had enough stabling and was only about 9km away, so we moved the boys in. Richard then had to leave again to return for the next load - time for food, shower and clean clothes then back in the truck - this time with the groom who had decided she wanted to go back to England.
So, no need to panic! Each day only two hour's watering the mares, then off, 9km, to feed, water and muck out the stallions, then back to water the mares. Have a sandwich. Back to exercise the stallions, then back to water and feed the mares; then off to water and feed the stallions - no problem I'll soon get a system going! I just have to find where the girl has put the pump - what do you mean it fell in the reservoir! Where in the reservoir? This sounds familiar!