When it rains fish will appear, 28

Door San Daniel gepubliceerd in Verhalen en Poëzie


It was morning and the sun exploded in her beautiful palette of bright colors. The sky was on fire and it promised to be a hot day. Soon everyone would want to irrigate and I realized that the president of the water board was right, the asequia had to be cleaned. I sighed deeply and went to the village to have my first cafe solo of the day, the dark tar-like coffee that opened your eyes wide after the first sip.

"Hola," I said and "buenos dias," as I walked past the men I had known for years. I came to the bar where Kristina was pouring coffee. "Kissy kissy," I said, "good morning, have you got a cafe solo for me." She nodded and I stood amongst my neighbor farmers. The hams were neatly arranged above our heads, waiting for customers who would like a 'tapa' of ham.

Juanpe was already standing with a coffee in his hand and a barecha, the locally brewed drink that made you guts shrink. He had a pickaxe with him, leaning against the bar. "Almost time," he said, "we'll gather at the president's farm at 8:00." I nodded, my shovel was already in the back of the car and after my coffee I would drive straight there.


Kristina handed me my coffee over the heads of the men, in the little glass that was almost too hot to handle. I blew a bit into the glass and took a careful sip. I shivered for a moment, my mouth had become a coffee bean roaster. I rinsed the solo in my mouth and swallowed the first gulp. What remained was a delicious strong coffee aftertaste.

The rest was just delicious, "the taste buds in my palate are saturated with the strong coffee," I realized. I gulped away the last sip and turned to the exit. "I'll be right there," Juanpe chuckled, holding up the barecha and the coffee.

Antonio's farm was outside the village next to the asequia and I saw some men smoking from a distance. "There is a lot of smoking going on in Southern countries," I thought as I parked my car and got my shovel out of the trunk.

"Muy Buenos," I greeted the men and as usual in southern Spain you always shake hands or you touch a shoulder, the contact in the South is always physical.

"Are we ready," I asked? "Never," replied an old farmer, "but we have no choice, the dry season is coming and there has not been a drop of rain." "Where is Antonio," I asked? Laughter sounded as if a good joke had been told and I understood, that except for Juanpe, he was the only one missing.

"He'll come," said the old farmer, "let's get started, because today it's going to be a hot one, even a blind man can see that and he can hear us working."


A moment later we stepped into the asequia, the man in front hacked into the muddy bottom and the man behind him scraped what had come loose away with a shovel and threw it on the low side on the bank. A sickle was pushed into my hands and a moment later I was chopping down bamboo.

Hour after hour we progressed meter after meter. The sun was lashing us now with full force and my throat was completely dry. "After the next bend we'll come to my land," I said, "we can stop there and get some wine from my bodega." "Great," said the old farmer, "that seems like a golden idea." In the distance we saw a second team coming our way, led by Juanpe, we met at where my land started "Dr. Livingstone, I presume," I spoke the historical words that everyone knows in Western society.


"What do you mean," Juanpe asked, "I'm with the neighbors and I don't know any Dr. Livingstone." "Never mind," I laughed, "that's something from my past life." "Oh," my neighbor replied, but I could tell from his empty gaze that he wasn't following me. "We started at your farm," said a hefty farmer with a shovel in his hands behind Juanpe. "That's nice," I replied, "then it's clean from the beginning to my cortijo. I suggest we have a drink and a rest there. " "What are we waiting for," said the big farmer, stepping out of the asequia and slightly later we were sitting behind a few liters of country wine.

also read 29

San Daniel 2019


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06/04/2019 21:22

Reacties (2) 

09/04/2019 09:51
Blijft boeiend je schrijven te lezen.
09/04/2019 17:02
thx ..Yneke
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