Spain update April 2026
Monday the 6th of April 2026
It was not yet 5:00h when, after masses of preparations, including the most important one i.e., to take our dogs to the dog boarding facility, accompanied by Justine and Kiki, for whom it was the very first time staying at a hotel and about whom I was a little worried. Before dawn on Wednesday, the 18th of March, we left Casa Belgica for Bordeaux, where we checked into a “new” hotel around 4 p.m. to spend the night, as it was too difficult for me to drive home in one go. The next day, after the impromptu vegetarian supper prepared by the kind cook and a peaceful night in a good bed and pleasant room, we drove on to Belgium after breakfast to fulfill the many appointments we had. The most important one for me was the Keiheuvel walk in Balen, as I had not seen the co-workers for quite some time and was really looking forward to the reunion. The rest of the to-do list was for Dirk: taking our car to the garage for inspection, getting the GINB magazine ready for the printer, and preparing the membership cards for mailing. My to-do list consisted of freshening up our apartment, which was sometimes left unattended for weeks or months—with everything inside, answering my emails, making phone calls, resting in between, and keeping doctor's appointments. After a long drive, we arrived in De Pinte around 18:00h. and we had to do some grocery shopping before we could go home; it was terrible, because just like Dirk, after 10 hours on the motorway and the Paris ring road, I longed for peace and quiet. The next day we got started, but not without first asking for the third time since our departure how our dogs and co. were doing at their hotel. ASAP, the owners sent a video of our motley crew running carefree through the playing field and sunbathing in the grass. Lola the big boss, literally and figuratively, in the middle to get a good look at her subjects and, if necessary, put them in their place.
On Saturday, the 21st of April, we left for Balen around 8:00h to “support” our “Balen team,” who were busy decorating the hall and preparing the kitchen for the next day. When we made our “arrival” a few hours later, Claire was busy dressing up the GINB shop, while Yolanda, meanwhile, was wholeheartedly making her “Warm & Cosy” stand as attractive as possible. Hopefully, to prepare them for tomorrow’s rush. Ellen watched the activity approvingly from her photo on their table and the one in the hall. Sonja took tasteful care of the table settings, and Kevin and his “staff” took care of everything else—which was a lot, actually... After everything was ready for tomorrow, we enjoyed a pleasant and delicious lunch together with the staff, said goodbye, and left for our “Business” hotel in Beringen, where we stayed every year during the “Balen event.” After a restless night, despite my 80 years, I put on all my obligatory battle paint at 7:30h. It was not even 9:00h yet when we were sitting downstairs having breakfast in the company of a bunch of noisy, hungry students. I had not even finished my coffee when Dirk started nagging that we should not leave too late, so a second coffee was out of the question because he still had all sorts of things to do at the bar, and that was difficult when participants were already there, etc., so… Upon arrival at the venue, I could not get out of the car fast enough because it was chilly, according to Dirk, who never gets cold.
Anyway, when we opened the door to the hall, there was a guard of honor of co-workers on both sides singing Happy Birthday at the top of their lungs!! Since I was not sure who was celebrating their birthday, I just sang along and clapped my hands too. Afterwards, it turned out that I had clapped for myself, because at first I did not realize they were singing for me, as my birthday had already passed by more than a month after!!! While I was receiving the congratulations, Raymond Buekenhout and his wife had arrived, and the team joined us for the solemn moment that was approaching. I was given a beautifully wrapped pink box to open. When I carefully unfolded the tissue paper, the contents turned out to be a beautiful silk BLABLABLA scarf by artist Princess Delphine!!! I was totally surprised and touched by the beautiful gift to which all the staff had contributed. It was a fact that the person who had chosen the gift knew my taste!! After the wonderful surprise, of which Dirk had naturally been aware, I was walking on clouds for the rest of the day. It was lovely to see the people again, and I thoroughly enjoyed the lively atmosphere and the many conversations with the participants. As usual, everything ran smoothly and everyone did their best; the food from Kevin Styles was top-notch, and everyone was satisfied and full of praise. The service was excellent, as always. When the participants left for the walk, I was exhausted, and shortly after saying goodbye to the co-workers we headed back to De Pinte.
Thanks to the intervention of a specialist friend who had even attended our wedding, I was able to see the gastroenterologist for a consultation the following Monday, the 30th of March, a consultation for which you normally had to wait four months after requesting it, and by the time it actually happened, you could be dead and buried. Anyway, there was still a week in between, so plenty of time to finish our to-do lists. As always, we ran out of time, had more work than anticipated, and Monday arrived sooner than expected. In any case, the car had passed its “exam”, so Dirk was a more than satisfied man when he drove me to the clinic at 8:30h on Monday, the 30th of March. Fortunately, after a brief visit to our friend, I was released from the specialist's waiting room quickly and was allowed in for a consultation after just about ten minutes. After a summary of my problems, the doctor carefully reviewed the translated results of the tests in Spain and decided that I needed to return on the 20th of May for a scan and be admitted to the day clinic the following day for examinations under anesthesia. It did not make me happy, but in hindsight, it was an advantage because Dirk quickly combined my appointment with an adoption day!!! That way, the adopters would not have to wait so long, he convinced me. He would leave on the 14th of May with his trusted co-pilot, Dirk B, and the adopted dogs, and organize a small adoption day on Friday, the 15th of May. After that, he would fly back to Spain, and we would fly back to Belgium together, where I had to attend my doctor's appointments, and then return together in the van. I would have to wait and see what condition I would be in after the examinations, I thought, but I agreed to his plan. We would just see when the time came…
Because Dirk had seen that our return journey on Saturday, the 4th of April, was marked as extremely busy, we decided to leave on Thursday, the 2nd of April, with a stopover in Bordeaux. When we left two days later at 5:00h, the motorway was busier than expected. Despite the early hour, thousands of trucks were driving in front of each other in both directions and on both lanes, and we did not see the first passenger car until we reached Lille!! Not healthy for sensitive souls like me who are afraid of the motorway. To top it all off, to Dirk's usually verbal annoyance, we spent an hour and a half driving through the periphery of Paris, and I was only reassured when we drove onto the road directly to Bordeaux, where we exited 10 hours later and rushed to the hotel, arriving in the pouring rain. After an equally rainy night, we left after breakfast at 9:00h heading towards Spain to cover the final 750 km and drove onto the extremely busy Bordeaux ring road 10 minutes later, where the same misery awaited us as in Paris. After a stopover at our usual Bidart rest area, we crossed the border just an hour and a half later and drove into Spain. During the long trip, Dirk stopped at “his” regular holy rest areas, and in one of them we bought the accompanying plastic-wrapped sponge sandwiches with goat cheese, or whatever was supposed to pass for them. When, hours later, we left the mountains of the Soma Sierra behind us and saw the towers of Madrid in the distance.
"See," I sighed with relief. If all went well, we still had a couple of hours ahead of us, that is, if the Madrid ring road was not too busy, because it was Semana Santa, and that is holier than holy to Spaniards. Great was our astonishment when we drove onto the practically empty ring road of the capital; it was unprecedented. Dirk could not believe his eyes, and I could not believe mine; here and there was a car that we gaped at, we did not understand it at all. Anyway, perhaps there was a large procession going out, I suggested; whatever it was, they all looked like the Ku Klux Klan regardless. As we drove past the airport runways towards Calypo, two planes took off overhead. Just under an hour later, at 17:00h, we stood in front of the Casa Belgica gate, and the unloading could begin…
I had barely recovered from the journey when Marie-Carmen showed up with a gruesome story a day after our arrival. A galguero had a young female Galgo whose Achilles tendon had been severed due to abuse?? He wanted an organization to pay for the surgery and wanted his dog back afterwards to continue hunting with her. Anyway, he had applied here and there but had been turned away everywhere, M.C. told me. So, I gave her a message for the man. GINB would take care of the dog and have her operated on, on one condition: that he surrender the dog to us and make no further claim to her. The next day she was there with the female, whose battered, unusable leg was a sight to behold, and her passport!! The first thing that was done was to remove the dirty bandage; while Dirk put on a new one, I sent an email to Dr. De Frutos and asked for an appointment for three dogs. Kiki had to be sterilized, photos had to be taken of Justine's front legs and an appointment possibly made for when the second leg could be operated on (depending on the condition of the operated leg), and then of course there was the young female with the Achilles tendon that was torn in half. I got an appointment on Friday, the 10th of April, for possibly 2 surgeries and an X-ray of the Achilles tendon, etc...
Saturday, the 11th of April, 2026
So yesterday, at 8:00h we went with Kiki, Justine, and Kala—who was called Bala before, but since this year the dogs under our care start with the K in CB (otherwise I would lose track of who was operated on when)—I had named her Kala. When we checked in with Dr. De Frutos before 9:00h, the waiting room was already packed with clients, and my mood went below zero. Everyone was talking over each other, and by the looks of it, Dr. De Frutos did not know where to start. Once the initial rush had subsided, he took us to his office where Justine's front legs were examined first, after which she went for the X-ray. Then it was Kiki's turn; her open chest cavity had been reduced to a tiny slit of barely one and a half centimeters. After Dr. De Frutos had expressed his admiration for our work, Kiki disappeared into one of the operating rooms for sterilization. Finally, Dirk went to get Kala, who had waited obediently in the van. When Doctor De Frutos saw her leg, he looked worried. So, it was not just bad, but *very* bad, and after the X-rays, it turned out to be even worse than expected!! It was going to be a complicated operation that could be done in two ways. One would result in a stiff leg; the more serious operation, a tendon reconstruction, meant an external frame for about two months afterwards to keep everything in place. Although I hated external frames, because she was still so young, we opted for the tendon reconstruction. If it did not work, the operation would have to be redone and it would result in a stiff leg, but then we would have given her every chance... She will be operated on Wednesday, the 15th of April.
Justine's X-ray showed that the large fracture was completely closed, but a smaller one had not yet been operated on. She had a minor infection, so we had to wait before the second leg could be operated on. In the meantime, she had to take medication. *SIGH*…
Dr. De Frutos suggested going for breakfast and returning an hour later to pick up Kala, who was still under anesthesia. Easier said than done, because when we got back an hour later, Dirk could not find a parking spot and I had to walk to the clinic alone, a dangerous undertaking. Ten minutes later, however, he had managed to squeeze the van between two cars, and we were able to take Kala back to Calypo. During the drive, she turned out to be very musical, because all the way back she tormented our eardrums with voluminous howling in every key. Between howling, Dirk shouted that she should be named Maria Callas, but with a K. This morning he went back to Talavera to pick up Kiki. During the 80 km back, it turned out she also had a concert in store. What is next…?
Friday, the 17th of April 2026
As planned, we took Kala to Dr. De Frutos on Wednesday for surgery on her Achilles tendon. Because we had a dog sitter, we drove on to Xanadu afterwards to do our weekly shopping, as once Kala was back home, we must stay home, and since we needed supplies, we must go to Xanadu; there was no other option. In the late afternoon, Dr. De Frutos sent a message that everything had gone well and that Dirk could pick her up around 17:00h. So, immediately after the email, he left for Talavera and was back 2 hours later with Kala, who was wearing an Elizabethan collar and whose leg was in an iron frame with sharp corners wrapped in red bandages to prevent unwanted injuries. She was still under the influence of the anesthetic, and it took a while before Dirk could convince her to lie down on the bed that was waiting for her. As soon as she settled, she was surrounded by her curious dog family, who crowded around her so as not to miss a thing of the scene. Despite Kala’s uncomfortable condition, which she fortunately accepted without complaint, everything went smoothly. In the evening, she went outside with Dirk and the dogs for a pee and then slept through the entire night. The next day, she was wide awake and ate her breakfast with relish after which she settled back down on her little bed and kept me company the entire morning while I wrote the update. In the afternoon, she chose to lie in the sun with her dog family, while Dirk was busy weaving the new shoots of the ivy—thought lost after the fire—into the fence. An idyllic scene that was startled by the sudden, raw coughing of Maximus, which instantly alarmed everyone, especially Dirk and me. He was given drops for his throat, but he continued coughing. In the early evening, Titaba and Clothilde followed, and then, with a few exceptions, almost everyone. Because we were very worried, I sent a message to Doctor De Frutos, who replied a little later that a virus was going around and advised us what to do and what to give. Luckily, we have almost an entire pharmacy in the clinic. Anyway, we did not sleep a wink last night, because apart from Astrid and Kala, they were all coughing and spitting! So, we—especially Dirk—had to get in and out of bed all night to administer medication and clean up every speck of phlegm so that I would not slip all over it when I went to the toilet or walked around about five times as usual. Except for Kala, who chose to keep me company again this morning while I was writing, they are all currently lying outside in the sun and I do not hear any more coughing... Hopefully it stays that way, to be continued…
