Day Sixty-two 15.5.05 We went into Denia today and then onto Javea to have a look around. The coast around here is very beautiful and rugged with good beaches. We wanted to visit the development where a friend of ours has a property. We found the development relatively easily but it took a bit longer to find the property within the development. We eventually found the house after going down nearly every other road. When we got there we were just looking around and a couple from down the road introduced themselves ( Sina and Ann.) and invited us in for a drink and chat. We had a good look round and really love the place and the development. We're quite tempted and have arranged to meet an agent tomorrow to view two properties that are still available. We are keeping our heads screwed on though and won't make any hasty decisions. The prospect however is still an exciting one and the thought of owning out here is appealing. In the afternoon we headed back to the site and chatted to our Dutch neighbours (Peter and Wilmer) over for a glass or two of wine. They have owned two properties in Spain and advised us to consider very carefully before committing to anything. It is good advice and we will take note of it. Day Sixty-three 16.5.05 We went to look at the houses in Les Besetas, Adsubia near Denia, today that we had heard about yesterday. Number 17 is particularly nice with great views and lots of potential. We may be mad but we decided that we really like it and we started negotiations regarding the price. Before we knew it we had an offer accepted and now we have to start thinking about how we will finance the purchase. What are we like? It just feels right somehow and we think we know a way of financing it which would be viable. We have had a good look around the agencies and are sure that the price we have negotiated is a good one. Also a lot of the groundwork has been done for us as friends of ours have bought on the same development. We're not sure at the moment how this will pan out or whether it's a holiday home or something more permanent but we don't need to rush into that. We went for a lovely tapas lunch in a nearby village called Forna with existing residents Sina and Anne, the thing is with tapas its difficult to judge how much food you will get. We decided to order two dishes each and this was more than enough. Its such a nice way to eat, very social and the pace is down to you not the waiter. We washed it down with plenty of rose. As I am writing this we can see a huge storm developing over the sea. Peter came over and warned us it was the same as when the awning was taken. We dashed into action and put all the chairs in the van and battened down the hatches. The whole campsite is scrambling about tying things down and the sea had turned very choppy and black. Will warned a new arrival to do the same, which he did. Its now about half an hour since we first saw the storm brewing and it would appear it was a false alarm and the storm has bypassed us. Our new neighbour probably thinks we are all mad!