Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Light the candles

The candles they sell in the shops here in Spain are not for decoration. They are an essential backup for when the power goes off which it does from time to time.

Last night was a prime example of an occasion when you needed the candles close to hand. Just as Pamela was starting to prepare our evening meal, the electricity went off. It quickly came back on a couple of times but only for a second each time and then it went dead.

The whole urbanisation was in darkness, no lights in houses, no street lights – nothing. When you looked down the road, you could see it was in darkness down to the town. Looking up, the street lights up at La Pedrera were on because they are powered by a generator. 

I presume someone reported the incident to Iberdrola who then came out to fix the fault.  They must have been quick because about an hour and a half later, the electricity came back on. There were a couple of blips after that but then it all settled down. Pam could finish cooking the meal and I could watch the rest of Top Gear.

So a tip for anyone new to the area, always keep some candles and a torch to hand because there is a very strong possibility that you are going to need them.

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