Finn falls ill

Finn felt poorly after breakfast on the Saturday and was complaining of a sore stomach and was running a temperature. We had home-cooked squid and pork the night before and I was initially concerned that he might have had a touch of food poisoning but between being in the pool so often, the heat at night (the fans don't really cut it compared to decent air-conditioning) and the troublesome presence of tiny ants or termites in many nooks and crannies of the kitchen and other parts of the house, Finn could have picked up a big from anywhere. He was eventually sick and perked up a little but he swung back and forward through the day.

I had a fruitless search for the "big pool" which is also available for our use, navigating the narrow avenidas of our and the neighbouring urbanizacion to no avail. In the evening I took the three fit boys into Mijas for a wander and some dinner. We dined at Restaurant Oscar which had a great view but was pretty average in its fare. My risotto was evidently pre-cooked, microwaved then grilled so the "paella crispiness" was on top rather than underneath. And they used long grain rice rather than arborio or even paella rice. The boys ate their pizza with little comment although the breeze took Rowan's menu over the parapet. I had to check him for attempting to follow it.

We wandered some more and found a great homemade (well, homemade in Malaga) helados shop. Sean, Angus and even Rowan enjoyed their ices! Back at the house, Sharon had had a torrid time of it with Finn and his night terrors which lie dormant for weeks on end but when they do surface can be quite alarming. This time was the worst he's been, screaming and demanding to get out the house then screaming more in the small garden and wanting to get out and over to the pool, even in the dark. He would not be placated and he wouldn't wake out of it. I went with him across to the pool the second time it happened and he did waken up as we went through the gate although there was no sudden realisation that he was suddenly awake, just a calming down of the hysterics and gradually awareness that he was out of the house. Needless to say we didn't get a great sleep, keeping an ear out for Finn rousing and starting once again. Angus got up too and was sick, after demanding Sean, his roommate for the evening, get him glasses of water which he gulped down. It was a rough night with various changes in bed personnel before we were done.

Finn was tired but recovering by Sunday morning, with no memory of his wanderings of the night before. The boys had discovered the Uno card game and were enjoying it, led by Finn who had been taught it at school. As midday approached we decided to head into Malaga for the afternoon. The drive in was fine but just as we approached where I wanted to park the road system threw us, taking us further and further away. Eventually we looped back round and got parked. From there it was a short walk up to the cathedral square and a stop for a lazy Sunday lunch, shaded from the fierce afternoon sun.

After an ice-cream stop we passed the ruined semi-amphitheatre of the Teatro Romano but Finn was starting to flag so Sharon elected to take him and Angus back to Mijas. Sean and Rowan joined me for a climb up inside the walls of the Alcazaba. It's ten years since Sharon and I were surprised by the views and the feeling of calm that pervades as you climb up into the cool Moorish interiors with their neat gardens and formal pools. Rowan didn't necessarily exude that same feeling of calm but he and Sean had a good time exploring the walls and archways and gardens with me. We eventually found our way barred and returned back down to the Jardines de Pedro Luis Alonso to the car. The drive back to Mijas was a lot easier in the daylight compared to our late arrival on the previous Sunday.

Back in Mijas we had a great evening to ourselves by the pool which led to skinny dipping by the boys with Sean showing his much improved dive. After all this, Finn was once again fraught going to sleep and repeated his terrors of the previous evening, perhaps not quite so severe but still beyond the norm of the ones he has at home. It seems as though the combination of the tummy bug and the foreign location have brought some stress to the surface and we can only hope he calms down again soon.