So here we are back in the UK and it is even colder. Our ferry crossing went without a hitch apart from a very heavy interrogation from a very charming, female, British customs officer. We almost expected her to ask us the colour of our underwear it was that personal but hey, guess we could also understand that sometimes it is necessary especially as we are travelling on different country passports.i
Anyway it is colder here than we have experienced for a while and as soon as we leave the ferry at Dover we head for Reading and our great friends Cal and Jane who we met in Split, Croatia. They live in a small village called Kidmore End and we are made most welcome at Glen Cottage. One of their daughters Iona is home so it is great to meet extended family as well and in the evening we all sit down to one of Calums amazing fondues. We love these people, our friendship seems so natural and easy, and after a good overnight sleep in Molly we head into Oxford the following morning for a good look around this pretty University town. First stop coffee - like minded friends - and then we are on our way. Believe it or not the sun is shining and the day is glorious, just perfect for exploring all the different campuses, strolling through the parks and along the river Cherwell - watching the antics of students as they celebrate something or other by throwing themselves into the river fully clothed then covering themselves in coloured flour whilst swigging cheap champagne directly from the bottle - oh to be young again and to be so in a place as vibrant as Oxford!!!!!
Next stop the covered market, which is amazing, and where Gary and I buy a big bunch of fresh coriander and Cal buys lunch. Hand made pork and meat pies which we eat out of the bag propped up against a wall in a quiet back street somewhere in this vast town. Awesome and never able to be repeated of course.
From here we go to Cals tennis club which is no ordinary tennis club - if you knew Cal you would completely get this - it is the tennis of old Kings and Queens called "Real Tennis"!!!! Such a complicated game with enough oddity to allow a gout-ridden, overweight Monarch to cheat and win. To be honest I am not sure this is a true or complimentary explanation of this complex indoor game, which slightly resembles modern squash wrapped up in tennis, but that is how it appeared to me and no amount of explanation could help me understand. Guess you had to be there?
Staying for 2 nights with our beautiful hosts we waved them a fond farewell the following morning and made our way to Cheltenham via Cherhill, Calne where we had lunch with another "friend" at the local pub. Friend is in parenthesis as this is rather a unique friendship and until our lunch on this day we had never met but had been in touch for a few years. Daphne is the mother of a friend of mine living in Nelson who loves travelling too and over the years we found we had a great deal in common including Tanya, her daughter, and Nelson where she visits often. Daphne, like Cal and Jane, lives in a pretty village in the most beautiful house, complimented by a splendid garden, which is over 400 years old. Directly opposite is the local graveyard so everywhere is peaceful as you can imagine. We spent a wonderful few hours with Daphne, firstly over lunch at the Pub and then over coffee and Danish pastries at home and I know we will meet again - quite possibly in Nelson???? Thankyou Daphne for your hospitality and generosity - it was lovely meeting you at long last.
Leaving Daphne we headed for the campsite in Cheltenham where we planned to wash and clean and pack Molly up for her time in storage but not before we had a lovely visit from Ian and Jane, his friend. Ian is Gary's brother-in-law who goes out of his way to meet up with us when we are in UK. We get as close as we can and he comes visit. A few hours whizz past as we eat sandwiches and drink wine in the comfort of Molly - Ian is a musician and a very interesting person to listen to - and before long it is "goodbye time" again and we are back to packing up. See you next time Ian!
From here we go straight to our storage place in Shropshire where we stay overnight in Molly, finish the last of the packing, winter over Molly and attempt to put on her cover!!!???? Please do not attempt this at home folks - it is very dangerous and we should have known better!!!!
We had been plagued by high wind gusts over the last couple of days making even driving difficult so picture in your mind putting a cover on Molly starting from the roof top and Gary only being a little fella as well? Really it was never going to happen and it was only in hindsight that we realised that had we started 6 feet in front of Molly, rather than on top, all could have worked out perfectly had we timed the parachute effect of the wind gust perfectly - for Mollys cover was seen to be the perfect fit for the caravan behind us as Gary was forced to let it go having run and been dragged the length of Molly's roof in an effort to stay grounded........from here let your imagination take over because right at this moment in time it also decided to rain.............mmmmmm....do you have some good visuals? He almost went parasailing.... For free!!
There were a few other complicating factors with regard to staying in a storage place overnight and all I can say is that I am thrilled I have a little more bend in my sore knee than I had a few months ago and add, very strongly, that it is alright for you men!!!!!
Next morning we taxi to Telford bus station to catch our bus to Victoria but not before our lovely storage man Alan suggests he puts the cover on Molly after the Summer but before Winter.....Alan we love you. Lobbing him the keys and the insurance details we are off to London for our next adventure.
Bye Molly - take care and we will see you later.....Love you X
Arriving far too early, which I fear now is a family failing, we wait in the cold for our bus, which is also running late, remarking how the dynamics of England have changed since our last visit and just how many young people smoke all over their children.
The coach trip is great and at our stop in Birmingham we get a seat in the front for the rest of the journey and at last we are arriving at Victoria. We have extremely comprehensive instructions on how to get to Brenton's place in Lewisham and a couple of hours later we are there.......absolutely shattered. We are bringing a lot of our stuff home so our bags are heavy and awkward and by the time you have done bus, tubes, train, bus..............well, it's just very tiring.
A nice reception from Paul - Brenton's flatmate - a welcome cup of tea, a sit down and a chat and we have recharged our batteries ready for the onslaught which is my eldest son Brenton. I describe him as an onslaught not as a derogatory term but because he has sooooo much energy just bursting to get out and I know he won't read this blog anyway so I am safe.
A lovely homemade meal, a good nights sleep and 4 days to enjoy London.
In no particular order we saw Cats with Brenton and Jake (Brenton's treat but also thanks to Iain for getting us amazing "close to the front" tickets) - an absolutely rivetting, modernized show at the Palladium with a very talented cast who kept the audience spellbound. A tasty Mexican meal completed the evening.
The Natural history museum was a must for us and we spent a whole day there albeit in the middle of the school holidays which was not the best time to choose unfortunately. The museum is very hands on, full of amazing stuff but definitely needs to work on its earthquake simulator!
We managed, with Brentons help, to catch up with Eddie and Charlene, Sarah and Jim and Matthew Mount (from Nelson) at a restaurant in Picadilly which was truly lovely. Everyone gets on so well and it is great for us to catch up, chat and listen to what all these young people have going for them. They are truly inspirational and a pleasure to be with. Kaye - an update report on Matt will be with you soon.
We love you all - thanks for looking after us Brenton and thanks everyone for taking the time to spend time with us.
Any spare time we had we spent recuperating and preparing for our next journey to Australia from Heathrow - another big trip and long haul flight via Dubai.
So we said our farewells again to Brenton, Jake and Paul and left Lewisham for Heathrow airport. We had no idea what lay ahead for us and in many ways it was good that we didn't. It was sad leaving Brenton - not knowing when we would see him again. Not too long we both hope - we always have a spare bed in NZ.
Love to all X
Thursday, 30 April 2015
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Au revoir France
Having decided to leave Europe via Calais we started our progression through France amazed at how warm the weather was. We had heard how chilly it was by comparison to Spain and were not looking forward to being cold at all.
Taking the coastal route to Perpignon through the Costa Brava, Lloret de Mar, Bascara etc etc we stayed just one night in Elne very close to San Cyprien beach and Perpignon City.
Our main aim in France this time was to head to the Dordogne. I had read a book The Ripening Sun by Patricia Atkinson and had always wished to go see and explore the area she described in her narration. It sounded magical and we needed to go and see this wonderous place for ourselves.
So we headed for the mid pyranees - driving through continuous wine country under a clear blue sky, huge and grand chateaux dotted along the backdrop of this most amazing scenery - this was truly the grass roots of France and an incredible day of travelling. Suddenly our surroundings became more and more familiar and we realised we were in Montelieu, a very unspoilt village high above a deep gorge renowned for its plentiful "other worldly" bookshops or libraries as the French call them. We had thoroughly explored this village on our last visit to France so we kept moving on to Saissac where the panorama is spectacular and a must stop for photo addicts like us. Arriving at our chosen campsite,once again, it was closed!!!!! No worries a Camperstop beside a Cemetery, undertaker/funeral parlour will do us for one night - it is free after all!!!!!! As eery would have it a fog descended that night and hung over us the next morning so we eagerly decamped and headed for Vezac, at last we were getting close to the Dordogne region. Yesterday though we were basking in 25 degree temps - today we had 8 degrees!! Our luck had run out.
The weather was so bad this day that as we passed through Castelnau and Larrouse - picture perfect townships - it was just not worth stopping. The French countryside on a dismal wet day is nothing like the French countryside in sunshine so we ambled on. Montricoux, Caussade, Thadrac, Degonac, Cenac, Roque Gageac - whoa we are here, Patricia Atkinson country! Gageac was where she had her vineyard, on which the book was based, and gosh the sight before us was amazing. To our left the mighty Dordogne River and to our right a sheer mountain face that a whole township had been built into. It is totally beyond description but our photos on facebook tell the whole story. There were "once habited" caves, houses, churches, chateaux, castles and turretts all built into and below this amazing cliff face - what a sight to behold.
We camped in Vezac that night, surrounded by these majestic castles - the temperature was also 0 degrees. So, as we had seen and explored a little of the area in very unpleasant weather, we decided to move on but not before visiting Beynac et Cazenac, a magnificent castle 3kms from Gageac, vowing to return in more clement weather - like summer.
Continuing north-west we drove through the Limousin area to Lac de Saint Pardoux - where Molly broke the speed limit going uphill - through the Loire Valley to Le Mans - where, well I am sure you all know what goes on here..........! Knickle knackle trees line the roadside and are caught in silhouette as the fog rolls in at around mid day each and every day and it is freezing. "Je suis Charlie" references pop up here and there and at every Boulangerie that is open we stop to buy a "mille fueille" - open is the operative word here and deep down I am grateful most are closed.
As was our next campsite closed at Mont Saint Michel - gosh Alan Rogers (Camping Cheque)you really need to get it right!!! However much closer to the Mount is a huge Camperstop where we parked, took down the bikes and biked to the Mount. Both healthier and cheaper.
There are so many changes happening around this place, the main one attempting to re route the dyke as the water is undermining the foundations at high tide - not forgetting it has been surrounded by water at high tide for hundreds of years - so reclamation work spoils both the tranquility and aura of this wondrous feat of architecture. It is also very, very commercialised.
However, once away from the hustle and bustle, as you go deeper into the buildings, the peacefulness returns and there is plenty to oooh and aarh over for hours - which is exactly what we did.
Next morning we headed for Dieppe - a drive of 5hours plus - through the Vallee de la Vire. Molly gets a special lane - the Vehicular Lents lane (the slow lane) - and then, ironically, gets flashed by a speed camera???? Go figure that one.
We seem to have found the sun again temporarily but the whole landscape is covered with a haze. Towns flick past but to be honest we are just driving - there is little to see other than gorgeous, furry, white cows and nickle, nackle trees. This part of France is not special for us so after a night in Dieppe we head straight for Calais and the ferry terminal.
The weather is now atrocious - cold, strong winds and very wet. We are parked in a Camperstop on the edge of the ferry terminal. Great big ferries back out of their berths, do a 180 wind and head out to sea - right outside our bedroom window and all night long. Helicopters join in at 3am.................!!!!!!
Tomorrow morning it will be Molly and us on the ferry heading for Blighty. We are just hoping the weather is a little more friendly. Fingers crossed X
Taking the coastal route to Perpignon through the Costa Brava, Lloret de Mar, Bascara etc etc we stayed just one night in Elne very close to San Cyprien beach and Perpignon City.
Our main aim in France this time was to head to the Dordogne. I had read a book The Ripening Sun by Patricia Atkinson and had always wished to go see and explore the area she described in her narration. It sounded magical and we needed to go and see this wonderous place for ourselves.
So we headed for the mid pyranees - driving through continuous wine country under a clear blue sky, huge and grand chateaux dotted along the backdrop of this most amazing scenery - this was truly the grass roots of France and an incredible day of travelling. Suddenly our surroundings became more and more familiar and we realised we were in Montelieu, a very unspoilt village high above a deep gorge renowned for its plentiful "other worldly" bookshops or libraries as the French call them. We had thoroughly explored this village on our last visit to France so we kept moving on to Saissac where the panorama is spectacular and a must stop for photo addicts like us. Arriving at our chosen campsite,once again, it was closed!!!!! No worries a Camperstop beside a Cemetery, undertaker/funeral parlour will do us for one night - it is free after all!!!!!! As eery would have it a fog descended that night and hung over us the next morning so we eagerly decamped and headed for Vezac, at last we were getting close to the Dordogne region. Yesterday though we were basking in 25 degree temps - today we had 8 degrees!! Our luck had run out.
The weather was so bad this day that as we passed through Castelnau and Larrouse - picture perfect townships - it was just not worth stopping. The French countryside on a dismal wet day is nothing like the French countryside in sunshine so we ambled on. Montricoux, Caussade, Thadrac, Degonac, Cenac, Roque Gageac - whoa we are here, Patricia Atkinson country! Gageac was where she had her vineyard, on which the book was based, and gosh the sight before us was amazing. To our left the mighty Dordogne River and to our right a sheer mountain face that a whole township had been built into. It is totally beyond description but our photos on facebook tell the whole story. There were "once habited" caves, houses, churches, chateaux, castles and turretts all built into and below this amazing cliff face - what a sight to behold.
We camped in Vezac that night, surrounded by these majestic castles - the temperature was also 0 degrees. So, as we had seen and explored a little of the area in very unpleasant weather, we decided to move on but not before visiting Beynac et Cazenac, a magnificent castle 3kms from Gageac, vowing to return in more clement weather - like summer.
Continuing north-west we drove through the Limousin area to Lac de Saint Pardoux - where Molly broke the speed limit going uphill - through the Loire Valley to Le Mans - where, well I am sure you all know what goes on here..........! Knickle knackle trees line the roadside and are caught in silhouette as the fog rolls in at around mid day each and every day and it is freezing. "Je suis Charlie" references pop up here and there and at every Boulangerie that is open we stop to buy a "mille fueille" - open is the operative word here and deep down I am grateful most are closed.
As was our next campsite closed at Mont Saint Michel - gosh Alan Rogers (Camping Cheque)you really need to get it right!!! However much closer to the Mount is a huge Camperstop where we parked, took down the bikes and biked to the Mount. Both healthier and cheaper.
There are so many changes happening around this place, the main one attempting to re route the dyke as the water is undermining the foundations at high tide - not forgetting it has been surrounded by water at high tide for hundreds of years - so reclamation work spoils both the tranquility and aura of this wondrous feat of architecture. It is also very, very commercialised.
However, once away from the hustle and bustle, as you go deeper into the buildings, the peacefulness returns and there is plenty to oooh and aarh over for hours - which is exactly what we did.
Next morning we headed for Dieppe - a drive of 5hours plus - through the Vallee de la Vire. Molly gets a special lane - the Vehicular Lents lane (the slow lane) - and then, ironically, gets flashed by a speed camera???? Go figure that one.
We seem to have found the sun again temporarily but the whole landscape is covered with a haze. Towns flick past but to be honest we are just driving - there is little to see other than gorgeous, furry, white cows and nickle, nackle trees. This part of France is not special for us so after a night in Dieppe we head straight for Calais and the ferry terminal.
The weather is now atrocious - cold, strong winds and very wet. We are parked in a Camperstop on the edge of the ferry terminal. Great big ferries back out of their berths, do a 180 wind and head out to sea - right outside our bedroom window and all night long. Helicopters join in at 3am.................!!!!!!
Tomorrow morning it will be Molly and us on the ferry heading for Blighty. We are just hoping the weather is a little more friendly. Fingers crossed X
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Adieu Spain x
Today is "beautiful Annie's" birthday and it is to be celebrated all day long, La Garrofa style. Firstly breakfast in Roquetas de Mar with balloons, special pressies and Annie's perfect breakfast - mushrooms, onions and bacon?? Wash this down with gallons of salty coffee and tea and this is the best start for anyones birthday.
After the birthday breakfast Gary and I decided to walk back along the sea front to Aguadulce (a few kilometres from La Garrofa) via the Roquetas local weekly market. This is a great market that sells everything from fresh foods to clothing to household goods to shoes etc etc and covers approx 5 acres from the Grande Plaza to the sea. Here you can also buy, squashed into a foil bucket, one whole, smashed, rotisseried chicken covered with mixed, roasted peppers and stuffed with a swag of yummy chips (post smashing of course) all for the low, low price of 8 Euro. Absolutely delicious and piping hot.
Having bought a couple of warm longsleeved tops for Gary and a few cheap gifts we headed on to Aguadulce by foot just happening to stumble over a rather lovely tapas bar on the way. In this region of Spain tapas is included with every alcoholic drink and although they may vary in quality it is a lovely touch and can eliminate the need to cook anything for dinner. We took advantage of this hospitality quite regularly and sourced the tapas bars that were most generous. Never miss a trick us Kiwis!!!!
Arriving, finally, in Aguadulce (I say finally here not only because of the tapas bar detour but also because it is a long walk) we jumped on a bus to La Garrofa amazed at how easy it was for us to get around this region second time round.
The birthday afternoon soiree was in full swing when we arrived back and this extended into the evening where Jesus (pronounced Hey-seus) had prepared great platters of a hot traditional chicken and vegetable meal for Annie to share with her friends. Altogether the day was perfect and Annie had a wonderful time - spoilt rotten by Tons (her husband) of course - and for us? -we were just so happy to have been priviledged to spend it with her. We love you Annie and Tons and hope our paths cross again some day.
Great times were spent at La Garrofa once again although the dynamics of the camp had changed from our first time round. Karaoke - not too sure about this though - was in full swing each Saturday evening; a gastronomic club had been invented and was going well and a pool table had appeared - although this I believe was minus a few balls, had two blacks plus a few technical issues?? We had a lovely curry evening where several really delicious curries were brought forth and last but not least, the finals of the Australian Tennis Open was on the TV - we were wrapt.
Gary and I found some amazing walks into the barren hills around this area which still show interesting signs of how the shepherds lived here with their goat herds. Small caves were set up as abbatoirs and the remnants of herding pens are still to be seen. There are also many skeletons and ear tags scattered around??? Walking in these hills is so very peaceful and therapeutic and although the weather was not always great at La Garrofa we were still able to take some long walks.
Deciding to stay on for Mo and Jim's (Geordies) 40th wedding anniversary, once again we were becoming La Garrofered so decided to put Gary's La Garrofa song in a frame and hang it in the bar. However, with all the Karaokeing going on (oh boy some of it is bad) (not you Mo you are the karaoke dancing queen) we are not too sure the glass won't be cracked by now. Lol.
So, Jim and Mo's wedding anniversary was to be 1975 style - the year they were married - and Annie and Tons, Gary and myself decided to make dressed, lifesize dolls of them and put them outside their camper in the early hours of the morning of their anniversary. Shopping for this was so funny. Grey wig, tattoos, microphone for Mo, tights to make the bodies, faces, boobs, gloves, balloons etc etc. A couple of stolen cigarettes, some clothes (super trooper T shirt for Mo - think Karaoke), boots, crocs and a colourful ley completed the ensemble. Putting them together was another story. There were times when the belly laughing went on forever and there was concern that knickers would be wet by the end of it all but eventually two very lifelike almost full sized dolls emerged. It is easy to cross a leg and angle a foot to take on a lifelike portrayal and "Mo and Jim" - well it was uncanny seeing them sitting there fully finished.
Up early on the anniversary morning and in the cold and dark we struggled to string the balloons and place our new Mo and Jim outside their camper - we struggled because of the laughter more than anything else but we also knew Jim was likely to come out early morning for a cigarette if he was unable to sleep. However all was done but to this day we are still unsure as to whether they really had no idea. Some strange things happened whilst making these "people" in Annie and Tons awning - eh Annie?
The anniversary celebrations were great with all the 1970's food - sandwiches, cheese and pickles on sticks stuck in foil-covered cabbage, mini sausages on toothpicks, quiche etc etc and the next morning we moved on heading for Mazarron.
It was quite a sad farewell and other people were in the process of leaving too. There had been a little tension in the camp this time round over an incident and the camp was quite divided which we found very hard. We were not involved and sat in the middle of it all but the tension was like sparks all around us and it was unable to be avoided.
Whether we return is uncertain but the old addage keeps coming to mind. Never visit a place twice!!!!
We hope people will keep in touch - our La Garrofa times hold such sweet memories.
Travelling to Mazarron was like travelling through a continuous sand/gravel pit up on the Spanish plains between huge mountains. It wasn't a sand/gravel pit of course it was just the nature of the land which was occasionally broken up by the first signs of Spring - blossoming fruit and nut trees.
We were in fact making our way towards Benidorm - a must see after that horrendous TV programme - but when we arrived at the campsite in Mazarron it was full so we continued on and decided to freedom camp above a beach as by now it was getting quite late. However we got cold feet being in Spain and limped into a neighbouring campsite with our tail tucked between our legs parking right next to a van beautifully painted with Marilyn Munroe, Bing Crosbie, James Dean and many others of that era. We have freedom camped in many countries but we felt Spain was pushing our boundaries just a little far.
Next stop on our way to Benidorm - Crevillent where we spent 5 nights. What an amazing site tucked in behind an hotel. Free washing machine - modern front loader too - free wifi very strong and efficient. Large well maintained private sites with modern facilities and plenty of hot hot water. There was even an ironing board and steam iron as well and close by a cheap Chinese restaurant. This was Camping Las Palmerous - peaceful, quiet and very sunny. Thoroughly recommend this site although there is little to do in Crevillent itself.
Next stop Benidorm via Alacante. On the way there Molly seemed to be filling up with what we thought was either gas or exhaust fumes which we seemed unable to clear. Fearing the worst - that our new exhaust had somehow developed a problem - we started sorting out in our heads how we were going to get round this new issue in the never ending saga of Molly's silencer. Between Crevillent and Benidorm there are upteen roundabouts which we thought must have put extra pressure on Molly so imagine what utter relief we felt when, and I am not sure how, we discovered that it was not the silencer at all but, would you believe, very ripe cheese in the fridge!!!!!! Fabulous cheese but not for our consumption after causing us soooo much stress.
BENIDORM - love it or hate it!!!!
Benidorm is definitely cheap. Food beer and wine especially so. It is very busy, full of British tourists who seemed in general to be very loud - especially the men. They all seem to be very big too and a great majority use mobility scooters for some reason or other.
We actually enjoyed Benidorm for its difference but it is not Spanish at all - it is purely Britain in Spain - and this of course brings me to what I need to say next. The British have taken over Benidorm by sheer mass and dominance. Some might say that is good because Benidorm is busy and thriving where other parts of Spain are not but, is this not what is happening, exactly the same, in Britain with other cultures dominating? - the British do not like that at all. Confusing I say. My theory is that this is the difference between a traveller and a tourist - travellers embrace the culture, tourists want to change the culture to accommodate them.
I had the most amazing haircut in Benidorm though - yes I took the risk and was glad - cut by a young Spanish lady who lives outside of Benidorm. Whilst I had the haircut Gary took himself off to the seafront to read a paper and this time he says was most possibly the highlight of his stay in Benidorm. He watched a 50plus, beautifully tanned, shirtless man "dancing on the beach like no one was looking" to the music coming from the pub across the road. He was mesmorised by the dancing and the lack of inhibition - yes Gary you could do that too.
We walked a lot in Benidorm - finding the huge market and the Old historic town. The campsite was well placed for this - great location - but to be honest we could have been in a terraced house on Coronation Street and that is all I will say.
From Benidorm we headed just north of Valencia to Torre la Sal passing through Calp, Denia, Gandia and many other places - one large town seemingly rolling into the next - skirting round Valencia along the Autovia del Meditteranean to the campsite at Torre la Sal where we stayed for 3 nights recuperating from Benidorm before heading to Barcelona. At this campsite the first night is free, wifi is free and although it is large it is very pleasant as it has been divided into separate, small campsites and is situated on a very straight, windy beach. There are no British at this camp it is literally full of Germans with a few Dutch and French thrown in. We had amazing warm sunny weather and spent our time rebooting our tan but with absolutely no one to talk to - the Germans were very unfriendly even though we flew our NZ flag on our GB camper - and having never come across this before after 3 nights we headed for Barcelona.
You may be getting the feeling that this part of Spain holds very little interest for us and you would be correct in that assumption. It is busy, crowded and not what we have experienced anywhere in Spain so far. There is also a fixation for roundabouts hereabouts and you really cannot travel much further than a couple of kms before hitting another one. Another strange phenomenom in Spain, is that they put pedestrian crossings just on the exit of a round about and...a judder bar!
Anyway Barcelona or rather the journey to firstly.
We travelled on a Sunday, 5 plus hours, but with little or no trucks on the road the journey was not too bad. We have moved from the orange grove areas of Murcia and Valencia back into wine country and vineyards are en mass. Coming out of winter the vines are bare but the wealth is apparant. Arriving at camping Barcelona we look forward to our free bus ride to and from Barcelona - a good 3/4 hour trip to the immediate centre - and we are not disappointed. We choose the hop on hop off bus when there to see this sprawling city and to view the architectual influence that Gaudi has had here and is still having. Barcelona is lovely, huge, extremely busy and bursting with people. We walk partway down the famous centralised Rambla, eat tapas and drink wine in the window of a cute restaurant. Barcelona seems to have got it and done it right and there is so much to do here - they have managed to blend old with new buildings extremely well and they sit side by side not only supporting but complimenting each other. It is sprawling, it is massive and we do not have the time to see it in any depth so we satisfy ourselves looking arround a huge department store on the Rambla whilst we wait for our return bus and we manage to change Gary's Uno de 50 wrist band which has been malfunctioning - an absolute added and unexpected bonus. We are happy with what we have seen and done in Barcelona but we are also happy to move on.
Tomorrow it is Adieu Spain - Bon jour France.
After the birthday breakfast Gary and I decided to walk back along the sea front to Aguadulce (a few kilometres from La Garrofa) via the Roquetas local weekly market. This is a great market that sells everything from fresh foods to clothing to household goods to shoes etc etc and covers approx 5 acres from the Grande Plaza to the sea. Here you can also buy, squashed into a foil bucket, one whole, smashed, rotisseried chicken covered with mixed, roasted peppers and stuffed with a swag of yummy chips (post smashing of course) all for the low, low price of 8 Euro. Absolutely delicious and piping hot.
Having bought a couple of warm longsleeved tops for Gary and a few cheap gifts we headed on to Aguadulce by foot just happening to stumble over a rather lovely tapas bar on the way. In this region of Spain tapas is included with every alcoholic drink and although they may vary in quality it is a lovely touch and can eliminate the need to cook anything for dinner. We took advantage of this hospitality quite regularly and sourced the tapas bars that were most generous. Never miss a trick us Kiwis!!!!
Arriving, finally, in Aguadulce (I say finally here not only because of the tapas bar detour but also because it is a long walk) we jumped on a bus to La Garrofa amazed at how easy it was for us to get around this region second time round.
The birthday afternoon soiree was in full swing when we arrived back and this extended into the evening where Jesus (pronounced Hey-seus) had prepared great platters of a hot traditional chicken and vegetable meal for Annie to share with her friends. Altogether the day was perfect and Annie had a wonderful time - spoilt rotten by Tons (her husband) of course - and for us? -we were just so happy to have been priviledged to spend it with her. We love you Annie and Tons and hope our paths cross again some day.
Great times were spent at La Garrofa once again although the dynamics of the camp had changed from our first time round. Karaoke - not too sure about this though - was in full swing each Saturday evening; a gastronomic club had been invented and was going well and a pool table had appeared - although this I believe was minus a few balls, had two blacks plus a few technical issues?? We had a lovely curry evening where several really delicious curries were brought forth and last but not least, the finals of the Australian Tennis Open was on the TV - we were wrapt.
Gary and I found some amazing walks into the barren hills around this area which still show interesting signs of how the shepherds lived here with their goat herds. Small caves were set up as abbatoirs and the remnants of herding pens are still to be seen. There are also many skeletons and ear tags scattered around??? Walking in these hills is so very peaceful and therapeutic and although the weather was not always great at La Garrofa we were still able to take some long walks.
Deciding to stay on for Mo and Jim's (Geordies) 40th wedding anniversary, once again we were becoming La Garrofered so decided to put Gary's La Garrofa song in a frame and hang it in the bar. However, with all the Karaokeing going on (oh boy some of it is bad) (not you Mo you are the karaoke dancing queen) we are not too sure the glass won't be cracked by now. Lol.
So, Jim and Mo's wedding anniversary was to be 1975 style - the year they were married - and Annie and Tons, Gary and myself decided to make dressed, lifesize dolls of them and put them outside their camper in the early hours of the morning of their anniversary. Shopping for this was so funny. Grey wig, tattoos, microphone for Mo, tights to make the bodies, faces, boobs, gloves, balloons etc etc. A couple of stolen cigarettes, some clothes (super trooper T shirt for Mo - think Karaoke), boots, crocs and a colourful ley completed the ensemble. Putting them together was another story. There were times when the belly laughing went on forever and there was concern that knickers would be wet by the end of it all but eventually two very lifelike almost full sized dolls emerged. It is easy to cross a leg and angle a foot to take on a lifelike portrayal and "Mo and Jim" - well it was uncanny seeing them sitting there fully finished.
Up early on the anniversary morning and in the cold and dark we struggled to string the balloons and place our new Mo and Jim outside their camper - we struggled because of the laughter more than anything else but we also knew Jim was likely to come out early morning for a cigarette if he was unable to sleep. However all was done but to this day we are still unsure as to whether they really had no idea. Some strange things happened whilst making these "people" in Annie and Tons awning - eh Annie?
The anniversary celebrations were great with all the 1970's food - sandwiches, cheese and pickles on sticks stuck in foil-covered cabbage, mini sausages on toothpicks, quiche etc etc and the next morning we moved on heading for Mazarron.
It was quite a sad farewell and other people were in the process of leaving too. There had been a little tension in the camp this time round over an incident and the camp was quite divided which we found very hard. We were not involved and sat in the middle of it all but the tension was like sparks all around us and it was unable to be avoided.
Whether we return is uncertain but the old addage keeps coming to mind. Never visit a place twice!!!!
We hope people will keep in touch - our La Garrofa times hold such sweet memories.
Travelling to Mazarron was like travelling through a continuous sand/gravel pit up on the Spanish plains between huge mountains. It wasn't a sand/gravel pit of course it was just the nature of the land which was occasionally broken up by the first signs of Spring - blossoming fruit and nut trees.
We were in fact making our way towards Benidorm - a must see after that horrendous TV programme - but when we arrived at the campsite in Mazarron it was full so we continued on and decided to freedom camp above a beach as by now it was getting quite late. However we got cold feet being in Spain and limped into a neighbouring campsite with our tail tucked between our legs parking right next to a van beautifully painted with Marilyn Munroe, Bing Crosbie, James Dean and many others of that era. We have freedom camped in many countries but we felt Spain was pushing our boundaries just a little far.
Next stop on our way to Benidorm - Crevillent where we spent 5 nights. What an amazing site tucked in behind an hotel. Free washing machine - modern front loader too - free wifi very strong and efficient. Large well maintained private sites with modern facilities and plenty of hot hot water. There was even an ironing board and steam iron as well and close by a cheap Chinese restaurant. This was Camping Las Palmerous - peaceful, quiet and very sunny. Thoroughly recommend this site although there is little to do in Crevillent itself.
Next stop Benidorm via Alacante. On the way there Molly seemed to be filling up with what we thought was either gas or exhaust fumes which we seemed unable to clear. Fearing the worst - that our new exhaust had somehow developed a problem - we started sorting out in our heads how we were going to get round this new issue in the never ending saga of Molly's silencer. Between Crevillent and Benidorm there are upteen roundabouts which we thought must have put extra pressure on Molly so imagine what utter relief we felt when, and I am not sure how, we discovered that it was not the silencer at all but, would you believe, very ripe cheese in the fridge!!!!!! Fabulous cheese but not for our consumption after causing us soooo much stress.
BENIDORM - love it or hate it!!!!
Benidorm is definitely cheap. Food beer and wine especially so. It is very busy, full of British tourists who seemed in general to be very loud - especially the men. They all seem to be very big too and a great majority use mobility scooters for some reason or other.
We actually enjoyed Benidorm for its difference but it is not Spanish at all - it is purely Britain in Spain - and this of course brings me to what I need to say next. The British have taken over Benidorm by sheer mass and dominance. Some might say that is good because Benidorm is busy and thriving where other parts of Spain are not but, is this not what is happening, exactly the same, in Britain with other cultures dominating? - the British do not like that at all. Confusing I say. My theory is that this is the difference between a traveller and a tourist - travellers embrace the culture, tourists want to change the culture to accommodate them.
I had the most amazing haircut in Benidorm though - yes I took the risk and was glad - cut by a young Spanish lady who lives outside of Benidorm. Whilst I had the haircut Gary took himself off to the seafront to read a paper and this time he says was most possibly the highlight of his stay in Benidorm. He watched a 50plus, beautifully tanned, shirtless man "dancing on the beach like no one was looking" to the music coming from the pub across the road. He was mesmorised by the dancing and the lack of inhibition - yes Gary you could do that too.
We walked a lot in Benidorm - finding the huge market and the Old historic town. The campsite was well placed for this - great location - but to be honest we could have been in a terraced house on Coronation Street and that is all I will say.
From Benidorm we headed just north of Valencia to Torre la Sal passing through Calp, Denia, Gandia and many other places - one large town seemingly rolling into the next - skirting round Valencia along the Autovia del Meditteranean to the campsite at Torre la Sal where we stayed for 3 nights recuperating from Benidorm before heading to Barcelona. At this campsite the first night is free, wifi is free and although it is large it is very pleasant as it has been divided into separate, small campsites and is situated on a very straight, windy beach. There are no British at this camp it is literally full of Germans with a few Dutch and French thrown in. We had amazing warm sunny weather and spent our time rebooting our tan but with absolutely no one to talk to - the Germans were very unfriendly even though we flew our NZ flag on our GB camper - and having never come across this before after 3 nights we headed for Barcelona.
You may be getting the feeling that this part of Spain holds very little interest for us and you would be correct in that assumption. It is busy, crowded and not what we have experienced anywhere in Spain so far. There is also a fixation for roundabouts hereabouts and you really cannot travel much further than a couple of kms before hitting another one. Another strange phenomenom in Spain, is that they put pedestrian crossings just on the exit of a round about and...a judder bar!
Anyway Barcelona or rather the journey to firstly.
We travelled on a Sunday, 5 plus hours, but with little or no trucks on the road the journey was not too bad. We have moved from the orange grove areas of Murcia and Valencia back into wine country and vineyards are en mass. Coming out of winter the vines are bare but the wealth is apparant. Arriving at camping Barcelona we look forward to our free bus ride to and from Barcelona - a good 3/4 hour trip to the immediate centre - and we are not disappointed. We choose the hop on hop off bus when there to see this sprawling city and to view the architectual influence that Gaudi has had here and is still having. Barcelona is lovely, huge, extremely busy and bursting with people. We walk partway down the famous centralised Rambla, eat tapas and drink wine in the window of a cute restaurant. Barcelona seems to have got it and done it right and there is so much to do here - they have managed to blend old with new buildings extremely well and they sit side by side not only supporting but complimenting each other. It is sprawling, it is massive and we do not have the time to see it in any depth so we satisfy ourselves looking arround a huge department store on the Rambla whilst we wait for our return bus and we manage to change Gary's Uno de 50 wrist band which has been malfunctioning - an absolute added and unexpected bonus. We are happy with what we have seen and done in Barcelona but we are also happy to move on.
Tomorrow it is Adieu Spain - Bon jour France.
Thursday, 5 February 2015
Goodbye Portugal: Hello La Garrofa
So we packed up and we left but there was no sadness attached - which in itself was a little sad!!! There was no one to say goodbye to, no hugs to be given, no see you in New Zealand farewells so we hopped in Molly and drove out of town - albeit very noisily - heading for Tavera and Molly hospital.
As it happens Tavera was only about an hour away but the closest campsite to where Peter, the English mechanic living just outside of Sao Bras Alporto, lives who was hopefully going to fix Molly.
On our arrival we were shocked at the condition of the campsite and immediately decided this was not for us. Fortunately we had been given the GPS coordinates of another campsite close by which only had eight pitches and where we were welcomed with enthusiasm. It was a gorgeous little campsite called Casa Rosa and the weather was gorgeous to match but our first priority was to get Molly fixed. We had seen Peter on our way through and a decision had been made to replace her silencer/muffler rather than weld it but we had to wait 3 days before he could do this. It wasn't ever going to be hard filling in time at this lovely campsite where we met some very interesting people. Dave - who enjoyed "walking football" and "football golf" - kindly took us into Tavera to get some groceries and showed us around the Marina where he kept his sailing boat. We ate at Chicken Luis which is a must if ever you happen to be in Sao Bras Alporto. Although the town was dead and seemingly empty, at 12 noon people emerge from nowhere and head for Chicken Luis en mass!!!! For 4.50 Euro you get a huge plate of rotisserie chicken, chips and salad. For 2.50 Euro you get a carafe of good wine to go with it. Perfect.
Every now and then when you are travelling everything seems to come together and slot perfectly in place. This is what happened during our final week in Portugal the highlight of which, apart from Molly being fixed and the cheap, chicken meal, was a visit from Sue and Dave. Such a lovely couple who live on the Algarve - the sister of Alex and her partner Dave - who we originally met in Northern Spain and who have just finished travelling the length and breadth of New Zealand.
So our time in Portugal has come to an end and, after the perfect, night storm (perfect because it was at night) we headed for Sevilla in Spain to a camperstop at a Marina on the outskirts of the township.
It was a long drive along the Autopista del V Centenario and most of it was done in howling wind and torrential rain - the previous nights storm had caught up with us - and arriving at the Camperstop we could not get in!!!!!! No amount of pushing the buzzer would alert or wake up the security guards to open the gate so, in the pouring rain, the man from the camper van queuing behind us elected to run over to rouse them - Yes!!!!! I was so relieved!!!!! 'cos otherwise it would have been me!!!!!!!
After stormy conditions all night and no Wifi either, the next day in beautiful sunshine but a biting wind, we bussed into Seville and decided to see this huge City from the hop on, hop off bus with a final walk through the Old Town area. It was a good day but 2 nights was enough at this Camperstop.
Next morning we headed across the plains to Cadiz through a very agricultural, very flat landscape but upon arriving at the campsite it is raining again and the campsite is flooded - absolutely awash. There is not one dry parcella so we move on to the next campsite in Conil de Fonterra and unfortunately missed out on seeing Cadiz. However what we missed out on in Cadiz we made up for in Conil eventually. Once more the weather was not good but at least the parcellas drained well even if the roads did not. Confined to Molly for a day we were shocked at the tactics that Germans will go to to ensure that all parcelas around them remain empty!!!!!! 1:Put a large black rubbish bag over the box for the electricity supply for surrounding sites, after you have plugged in of course, and secure tightly at bottom. This looks very official and gives the impression this particular box is out of order. 2:Run your power cord vertically through the site next door and park a bike at the top of the site as well. This looks like the occupants have left for the day and are coming back. 3:Just spread yourself over 4 sites - one for your car, one for your caravan, one for your windbreak where you sit and finally one for your amazingly long washing line!! 4:String copious lengths of washing line, preferably at neck height, across all adjoining sites and hang an old tea towel on each????
We settled in happily on our tiny corner site and waited for the bad weather to pass - and it did.
Next day and in perfect sunshine we drove into Conil, had a fabulous few hours just wandering around this beautiful little historic and very old town. It was all a bit quiet and a little jaded but we stopped for a beer in the main, very small square and lo and behold on our right was a small shoeshop having a liquidation sale - 70% off?
Long story short 4 new pairs of shoes were bought - beautiful soft leather ankle boots for me and a pair of dress shoes and a pair of leather shoes for Gary and some sneakers. Oh and a little pair of pink and red Converse baseball type boots for Maya. We were very happy. To cap the day off we had a splendid Spanish Menu del Dia meal at lunchtime and then headed to Tarifa.
Rolling hills and craggy mountains made up the scenery now and as we drove into Tarifa we knew we would enjoy this place. Anywhere with FREE wifi is great for us. The toilet block was close as well. Isn't it amazing how the small things mean so much?
The following day we drove Molly into Tarifa and parked her on a side street within spitting distance of the Police station and walked to the Port. We had decided to take a 50Euro guided day tour to Morrocco the following day but needed to book this in advance. That done we explored Tarifa. There is a very small castle on the prominence overlooking the Port which, in its heyday, had the sea lapping at its walls but now, with land reclamation, the sea laps a long way away. The castle itself is being lovingly restored. Stopping for a beer in the sun we spotted our camp next door neighbours Kath and Norman who came and joined us and who also decided to come to Morrocco with us the following day. And what a fabulous day we had.
Setting off in Molly the following morning with Kath and Norman in the back and parking as per the previous morning we caught our boat. Each passenger having to wear a sticker. We could see none similar to the ones we wore but hey ho, all will be well and let's get some advice from this guide on board because no one so far has claimed us!!!! "Stay with me and all will be well" he offers. Cool - very happy. Spotting a long queue having something done with their passports, initially we thought they were exchanging money, we asked if we needed to do anything with our passports? "Stay with me and all will be well". Cool - very happy.
Morrocco is only three quarters of an hours boat trip from Tarifa so on disembarkation the guide came up to us saying "Come with me, come with me". Up we jumped and followed him below decks where we mustered with lots of other people. It was here that the guide noticed our "sad stickers" were not green and from that moment on we were on our own. Walking over the tailgate of the boat and up the ramps we were very sternly pulled aside and lined up along the back wall and waited.......and waited......not knowing what was wrong.......until the whole boat had disembarked!!!!! Just the 4 of us!!!!
Stern orders were barked at us - "stamp, stamp, passport". Back down the ramps, over the tailgate and back upstairs we got our passports stamped and yes, back down the stairs, over the tailgate and up the ramps and..........there was our diminutive, Morroccan guide smiling from ear to ear to greet us.
It was a great day. Transport was a small mini van and just a handful of people with us. A tour of the hills, past the Palace and amazingly sumptuous homes, a camel ride on the beach for me and a stop for scenic pictures on top of a hill. Down into the main modern city of Tangier where the mini van was given up and feet took over, through the archway into the Old Town, the Casbah, the markets - fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, cheeses tasting like sour milk, second hand goods, clothes etc etc. Children, beggers, barterers selling cheap trinkets, people coming at you from all angles not wanting to let you go, gabbling on in a language you cannot understand........oh the sights, the sounds, the colours and the beautiful, spicy aromatic smells was a complete sensory overload. It was awesome.
Lunch was in a typical Morroccan retaurant and to be honest after all the beautiful smells we had been accosted with was very bland....... but it filled a spot and then we were back in transit walking through the cities back alleys where most local people lived. It was slightly formidable, twists and turns through crumbling archways, worn out steps and dark, dingy multi storied apartments splashed with bright paint and graffiti to add a bit of life and perhaps comfort. There were no cars in this part of town but plenty of steps as the alleyways fed each other. Children played with homemade spinning tops and expertly tried to sell packets of Wrigleys gum, amongst other things, for 1euro. This part of Tangier was a definite eye opener and the older teenagers appeared crafty and slightly unsavoury in character but I guess perhaps that can be put down to survival!!!!!
All in all it was a great day with very lovely company. We were pleased we managed a trip to Morrocco if only for one day - it is a day filled with memories but also of huge compassion for what appears on the surface to be a very poor but happy country.
Sailing back to Tarifa - a very tired foursome we had our evening meal together in front of a beautiful log fire. All was fine.
The next day we spent walking on the beach only 200metres from the camp. Although the nights are cold the days have been thankfully quite warm and pleasant.
Saying goodbye to Kath and Norm our next stop was Gibraltar - well a campsite 7kms outside of the border crossing.
Between Tarifa and Gibraltar the landscape was riddled with wind turbines on pylons!!!! Now we really like wind turbines but this was ugly, ugly. They spread for kilometres all through the hillsides and on pylons?????? Guess as long as they do the job!!!!!!
Arriving at the campsite to a nice welcome from a group of mentally challenged adults, there seemed to be some sort of sanctuary next door, we decided to bike the 7kms onto Gibraltar, spend the rest of the day there and move on towards La Garrofa the following day - staying just one night. This would break up the rest of the journey with a stop at a campsite just outside Marbella for a night. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Gibraltar was Gibraltar. A rather stop go 7kms took us to Passport control ......stop go because Gary's pedal kept falling off........but it was pleasantly flat and once again a very hot day. Passing through passport control this time was a breeze. This from the Border Control Officer - "New Zealand eh? Bet you didn't come from there on your bike!!!!" Ha ha, all fall about laughing. Heard it so often, or similar themes of this, that it no longer takes your breath away!!!!!
Anyway getting onto Gibralter having got over the hilarity at passport control, one has to cross the airport runway which is quite a long walk. If you are unfortunate enough to be in the middle when the bells start clanging, the claxon starts blowing and the traffic lights turn red you really do need to watch out....or run! We got over with no problems and I am sure they have it all worked out but.........well, you just never know do you?
Gibraltar is very nice. There is walking street which of course is very English and you buy in Great British Pounds. There are English Pubs and of course the ubiquitous English Fish and Chips. We decided to walk the hills though looking for the Monkeys. Mistake or not.....we saw three or maybe four......and can confirm that Gibraltar is very hilly and very steep. This though gives you some amazing views over the Gibraltar Straight dotted with 23 huge ships waiting their turn to enter the Port. I have to say the monkeys were a trifle disappointing given the effort spent but our day on Gibraltar was definitely worth it. Walking back into the main square we did the one thing we had always planned to avoid.....we had English cod and chips (the best on Gibraltar) and a good cold tap beer, but hey......Gibraltar is English after all!!!!!
Oh yes and I bought a great Nikon camera with Wifi, 2 lenses, a memory card and a bag thrown in and all for a very good price. In Great British Pounds of course but no tax!!!!!!
Cycling back the 7kms having passed through passport control...this time with passports between our teeth and not even having to stop......we finally got back to the campsite in the dark having to constantly stop for Gary to tighten up his pedal. "Well, another adventure under our belts" was the refrain from you know who!! Mmmmmm.....maybe I thought differently as I counted the blisters under my feet!!!!
Next morning we were off again driving along the Costa Del Sol to a campsite not far out of Marbella. Camping Cabo Pino, a huge site set near a beach and a luxury Marina is just 5kms outside of Marbella and our last stop before we arrive back in Camping La Garrofa. Registering for our one night stay we were asked whether our camper was rented? No we replied we own Molly. Ah ha - Molly has been here before, she is coming home. She has been here with Courtney and Brian her previous owners but she is not staying long this time........just one night please.
Once again this site is crammed full and vans are cheek by jowl - it is not nice but after a pleasant conversation with our new neighbours we head for the beach across the motorway. What a surprise!!! It was lovely with a couple of rickety looking bars on the sand which reminded us of Thailand. A short walk further opened out onto a rather lovely Marina. Huge expensive boats tied up, we chose our one, with equally hugely expensive cars parked all around. We opted for a delicious Chinese Menu del Dia - cheap as chips - sitting in the sun, overlooking the Marina and FREE wifi. Awesome.
La Garrofa here we come!!!! Starting our journey along the Autovia del Mediterraneo we skirt round Fuengirola, Malaga and Frigilliana and drop off the motorway onto the Coastal Road at Maro. The motorway was getting boring! We pass Salobrena (castle on the rock) which is beautiful in the sunshine, Calahonda, Adra and Alqueria. We provision in Roquettas at Lidls and soon we are at Camping La Garrofa. It is very busy and we can only have a site under the bridge but our friends are there and we are happy. Malcolm was his usual insulting self, so we know us 'bloody Kiwis' have been accepted into the fold again!
It is Annie's birthday tomorrow and we wanted to be here for that. We made it - just in time.
As it happens Tavera was only about an hour away but the closest campsite to where Peter, the English mechanic living just outside of Sao Bras Alporto, lives who was hopefully going to fix Molly.
On our arrival we were shocked at the condition of the campsite and immediately decided this was not for us. Fortunately we had been given the GPS coordinates of another campsite close by which only had eight pitches and where we were welcomed with enthusiasm. It was a gorgeous little campsite called Casa Rosa and the weather was gorgeous to match but our first priority was to get Molly fixed. We had seen Peter on our way through and a decision had been made to replace her silencer/muffler rather than weld it but we had to wait 3 days before he could do this. It wasn't ever going to be hard filling in time at this lovely campsite where we met some very interesting people. Dave - who enjoyed "walking football" and "football golf" - kindly took us into Tavera to get some groceries and showed us around the Marina where he kept his sailing boat. We ate at Chicken Luis which is a must if ever you happen to be in Sao Bras Alporto. Although the town was dead and seemingly empty, at 12 noon people emerge from nowhere and head for Chicken Luis en mass!!!! For 4.50 Euro you get a huge plate of rotisserie chicken, chips and salad. For 2.50 Euro you get a carafe of good wine to go with it. Perfect.
Every now and then when you are travelling everything seems to come together and slot perfectly in place. This is what happened during our final week in Portugal the highlight of which, apart from Molly being fixed and the cheap, chicken meal, was a visit from Sue and Dave. Such a lovely couple who live on the Algarve - the sister of Alex and her partner Dave - who we originally met in Northern Spain and who have just finished travelling the length and breadth of New Zealand.
So our time in Portugal has come to an end and, after the perfect, night storm (perfect because it was at night) we headed for Sevilla in Spain to a camperstop at a Marina on the outskirts of the township.
It was a long drive along the Autopista del V Centenario and most of it was done in howling wind and torrential rain - the previous nights storm had caught up with us - and arriving at the Camperstop we could not get in!!!!!! No amount of pushing the buzzer would alert or wake up the security guards to open the gate so, in the pouring rain, the man from the camper van queuing behind us elected to run over to rouse them - Yes!!!!! I was so relieved!!!!! 'cos otherwise it would have been me!!!!!!!
After stormy conditions all night and no Wifi either, the next day in beautiful sunshine but a biting wind, we bussed into Seville and decided to see this huge City from the hop on, hop off bus with a final walk through the Old Town area. It was a good day but 2 nights was enough at this Camperstop.
Next morning we headed across the plains to Cadiz through a very agricultural, very flat landscape but upon arriving at the campsite it is raining again and the campsite is flooded - absolutely awash. There is not one dry parcella so we move on to the next campsite in Conil de Fonterra and unfortunately missed out on seeing Cadiz. However what we missed out on in Cadiz we made up for in Conil eventually. Once more the weather was not good but at least the parcellas drained well even if the roads did not. Confined to Molly for a day we were shocked at the tactics that Germans will go to to ensure that all parcelas around them remain empty!!!!!! 1:Put a large black rubbish bag over the box for the electricity supply for surrounding sites, after you have plugged in of course, and secure tightly at bottom. This looks very official and gives the impression this particular box is out of order. 2:Run your power cord vertically through the site next door and park a bike at the top of the site as well. This looks like the occupants have left for the day and are coming back. 3:Just spread yourself over 4 sites - one for your car, one for your caravan, one for your windbreak where you sit and finally one for your amazingly long washing line!! 4:String copious lengths of washing line, preferably at neck height, across all adjoining sites and hang an old tea towel on each????
We settled in happily on our tiny corner site and waited for the bad weather to pass - and it did.
Next day and in perfect sunshine we drove into Conil, had a fabulous few hours just wandering around this beautiful little historic and very old town. It was all a bit quiet and a little jaded but we stopped for a beer in the main, very small square and lo and behold on our right was a small shoeshop having a liquidation sale - 70% off?
Long story short 4 new pairs of shoes were bought - beautiful soft leather ankle boots for me and a pair of dress shoes and a pair of leather shoes for Gary and some sneakers. Oh and a little pair of pink and red Converse baseball type boots for Maya. We were very happy. To cap the day off we had a splendid Spanish Menu del Dia meal at lunchtime and then headed to Tarifa.
Rolling hills and craggy mountains made up the scenery now and as we drove into Tarifa we knew we would enjoy this place. Anywhere with FREE wifi is great for us. The toilet block was close as well. Isn't it amazing how the small things mean so much?
The following day we drove Molly into Tarifa and parked her on a side street within spitting distance of the Police station and walked to the Port. We had decided to take a 50Euro guided day tour to Morrocco the following day but needed to book this in advance. That done we explored Tarifa. There is a very small castle on the prominence overlooking the Port which, in its heyday, had the sea lapping at its walls but now, with land reclamation, the sea laps a long way away. The castle itself is being lovingly restored. Stopping for a beer in the sun we spotted our camp next door neighbours Kath and Norman who came and joined us and who also decided to come to Morrocco with us the following day. And what a fabulous day we had.
Setting off in Molly the following morning with Kath and Norman in the back and parking as per the previous morning we caught our boat. Each passenger having to wear a sticker. We could see none similar to the ones we wore but hey ho, all will be well and let's get some advice from this guide on board because no one so far has claimed us!!!! "Stay with me and all will be well" he offers. Cool - very happy. Spotting a long queue having something done with their passports, initially we thought they were exchanging money, we asked if we needed to do anything with our passports? "Stay with me and all will be well". Cool - very happy.
Morrocco is only three quarters of an hours boat trip from Tarifa so on disembarkation the guide came up to us saying "Come with me, come with me". Up we jumped and followed him below decks where we mustered with lots of other people. It was here that the guide noticed our "sad stickers" were not green and from that moment on we were on our own. Walking over the tailgate of the boat and up the ramps we were very sternly pulled aside and lined up along the back wall and waited.......and waited......not knowing what was wrong.......until the whole boat had disembarked!!!!! Just the 4 of us!!!!
Stern orders were barked at us - "stamp, stamp, passport". Back down the ramps, over the tailgate and back upstairs we got our passports stamped and yes, back down the stairs, over the tailgate and up the ramps and..........there was our diminutive, Morroccan guide smiling from ear to ear to greet us.
It was a great day. Transport was a small mini van and just a handful of people with us. A tour of the hills, past the Palace and amazingly sumptuous homes, a camel ride on the beach for me and a stop for scenic pictures on top of a hill. Down into the main modern city of Tangier where the mini van was given up and feet took over, through the archway into the Old Town, the Casbah, the markets - fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, cheeses tasting like sour milk, second hand goods, clothes etc etc. Children, beggers, barterers selling cheap trinkets, people coming at you from all angles not wanting to let you go, gabbling on in a language you cannot understand........oh the sights, the sounds, the colours and the beautiful, spicy aromatic smells was a complete sensory overload. It was awesome.
Lunch was in a typical Morroccan retaurant and to be honest after all the beautiful smells we had been accosted with was very bland....... but it filled a spot and then we were back in transit walking through the cities back alleys where most local people lived. It was slightly formidable, twists and turns through crumbling archways, worn out steps and dark, dingy multi storied apartments splashed with bright paint and graffiti to add a bit of life and perhaps comfort. There were no cars in this part of town but plenty of steps as the alleyways fed each other. Children played with homemade spinning tops and expertly tried to sell packets of Wrigleys gum, amongst other things, for 1euro. This part of Tangier was a definite eye opener and the older teenagers appeared crafty and slightly unsavoury in character but I guess perhaps that can be put down to survival!!!!!
All in all it was a great day with very lovely company. We were pleased we managed a trip to Morrocco if only for one day - it is a day filled with memories but also of huge compassion for what appears on the surface to be a very poor but happy country.
Sailing back to Tarifa - a very tired foursome we had our evening meal together in front of a beautiful log fire. All was fine.
The next day we spent walking on the beach only 200metres from the camp. Although the nights are cold the days have been thankfully quite warm and pleasant.
Saying goodbye to Kath and Norm our next stop was Gibraltar - well a campsite 7kms outside of the border crossing.
Between Tarifa and Gibraltar the landscape was riddled with wind turbines on pylons!!!! Now we really like wind turbines but this was ugly, ugly. They spread for kilometres all through the hillsides and on pylons?????? Guess as long as they do the job!!!!!!
Arriving at the campsite to a nice welcome from a group of mentally challenged adults, there seemed to be some sort of sanctuary next door, we decided to bike the 7kms onto Gibraltar, spend the rest of the day there and move on towards La Garrofa the following day - staying just one night. This would break up the rest of the journey with a stop at a campsite just outside Marbella for a night. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Gibraltar was Gibraltar. A rather stop go 7kms took us to Passport control ......stop go because Gary's pedal kept falling off........but it was pleasantly flat and once again a very hot day. Passing through passport control this time was a breeze. This from the Border Control Officer - "New Zealand eh? Bet you didn't come from there on your bike!!!!" Ha ha, all fall about laughing. Heard it so often, or similar themes of this, that it no longer takes your breath away!!!!!
Anyway getting onto Gibralter having got over the hilarity at passport control, one has to cross the airport runway which is quite a long walk. If you are unfortunate enough to be in the middle when the bells start clanging, the claxon starts blowing and the traffic lights turn red you really do need to watch out....or run! We got over with no problems and I am sure they have it all worked out but.........well, you just never know do you?
Gibraltar is very nice. There is walking street which of course is very English and you buy in Great British Pounds. There are English Pubs and of course the ubiquitous English Fish and Chips. We decided to walk the hills though looking for the Monkeys. Mistake or not.....we saw three or maybe four......and can confirm that Gibraltar is very hilly and very steep. This though gives you some amazing views over the Gibraltar Straight dotted with 23 huge ships waiting their turn to enter the Port. I have to say the monkeys were a trifle disappointing given the effort spent but our day on Gibraltar was definitely worth it. Walking back into the main square we did the one thing we had always planned to avoid.....we had English cod and chips (the best on Gibraltar) and a good cold tap beer, but hey......Gibraltar is English after all!!!!!
Oh yes and I bought a great Nikon camera with Wifi, 2 lenses, a memory card and a bag thrown in and all for a very good price. In Great British Pounds of course but no tax!!!!!!
Cycling back the 7kms having passed through passport control...this time with passports between our teeth and not even having to stop......we finally got back to the campsite in the dark having to constantly stop for Gary to tighten up his pedal. "Well, another adventure under our belts" was the refrain from you know who!! Mmmmmm.....maybe I thought differently as I counted the blisters under my feet!!!!
Next morning we were off again driving along the Costa Del Sol to a campsite not far out of Marbella. Camping Cabo Pino, a huge site set near a beach and a luxury Marina is just 5kms outside of Marbella and our last stop before we arrive back in Camping La Garrofa. Registering for our one night stay we were asked whether our camper was rented? No we replied we own Molly. Ah ha - Molly has been here before, she is coming home. She has been here with Courtney and Brian her previous owners but she is not staying long this time........just one night please.
Once again this site is crammed full and vans are cheek by jowl - it is not nice but after a pleasant conversation with our new neighbours we head for the beach across the motorway. What a surprise!!! It was lovely with a couple of rickety looking bars on the sand which reminded us of Thailand. A short walk further opened out onto a rather lovely Marina. Huge expensive boats tied up, we chose our one, with equally hugely expensive cars parked all around. We opted for a delicious Chinese Menu del Dia - cheap as chips - sitting in the sun, overlooking the Marina and FREE wifi. Awesome.
La Garrofa here we come!!!! Starting our journey along the Autovia del Mediterraneo we skirt round Fuengirola, Malaga and Frigilliana and drop off the motorway onto the Coastal Road at Maro. The motorway was getting boring! We pass Salobrena (castle on the rock) which is beautiful in the sunshine, Calahonda, Adra and Alqueria. We provision in Roquettas at Lidls and soon we are at Camping La Garrofa. It is very busy and we can only have a site under the bridge but our friends are there and we are happy. Malcolm was his usual insulting self, so we know us 'bloody Kiwis' have been accepted into the fold again!
It is Annie's birthday tomorrow and we wanted to be here for that. We made it - just in time.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Portugal - 2nd Edition
Leaving La Garrofa our first stop.....Malaga, for just one night. On our arrival here, after an uneventful but noisy journey, the chosen campsite was closed!!!!!!!!?????? Small print is a funny thing and so easily can be overlooked. Not being disheartened we move on with our heads held high and 200metres down the road - redemption. A very nice campsite just putting up it's Christmas lights and a site that had an "almost but not really" ensuite. They also take camping cheques, another bonus. Tired and exhausted after our previous late night/early morning we settled in for the night. We will look at all these surrounding places along the Costa del Sol on our way back from Portugal to La Garrofa towards the end of January.
However, to recap and to also explain our noisy journey we had discovered, at La Garrofa, that Molly was injured and sick.........her muffler had a split in it!!!!! In Spain this is hard, we now appreciate, to remedy and although we spent and arm and a leg to make her healthy nothing seemed to work. Bandages and gunk were not going to cut the mustard and we finally would roll into Albufuiera having lost the lot, plus one wheel trim, which incidentally we hope is at La Garrofa with our new ACSI book? (Malcolm take note here).
But I am getting ahead of myself we are still in Malaga and Gary is under Molly doing another fix - my MacGivor came with back up!!!!!!. This fix suggests you run the engine for half an hour after applying the bandage but to do that in a campsite is just selfish so that is a tomorrow job after leaving the campsite and, I can guarantee, on the side of the road???? Firstly though to get the backing strip off the bandage to expose its stickyness!!!!!! Geez Spanish people are clever or we are just plain inept and guess what?.........now it is pouring with rain.
So next morning we did as above, stopped by the side of the road for 30 minutes, then headed for Isla Cristina, again just for a stopover. After Camping La Garrofa not much stacked up here so, once again, we hunker down for just one night albeit on a mushy, muddy site. The sooner we get to our apartment the better.
Mmmmmmmm.........but things did not work out that well!!!!
Arriving at our apartment at the pre arranged time Gary was met by a very harrassed cleaner and a dirty, partially cleaned, cigarette smelling, cold, "could have been lovely" apartment which initially looked as though it was very much in the very wrong part of town. Negotiating an hours wait till the apartment would be ready we park Molly in the cold shadow of the apartment block and wait. Bad vibes are bouncing off the dashboard!!!!!!!
An hour later and still mayhem reigns but we start to move our necessities in. The oven is black inside and the cleaner is waiting for someone to come to unscrew the glass for cleaning and to look at an electricity point - something to do with the washing machine. It is getting dark and cold (winter here) and the place stinks of stale cigarettes. Finally we are on our own - not sure where everyone disappeared to - but we have been given a fresh air spray to combat the smell, have a filthy tablecloth on the dining room table, a pile of clean sheets, pillow cases and towels to use, 1 toilet roll, 2 squirts in the washing up liquid bottle, 1 squirt in the hand wash bottle but lots of hot, hot water and great Wifi. The apartment is freezing cold so we find an ineffectual 2 bar column heater in the wardrobe and plug that in and BINGO!.........the electricity goes. In the meantime we have been accosted by 2 Portugese policemen with regard to Molly being parked in the road outside the apartment...........someone has complained. This however is temporarily resolved when we explain we are renting an apartment in the complex for 1 month and Molly is our mode of transport........they will get back to us tomorrow - fingers crossed here for a good outcome but resolving the electricity problem is more complex. There is no switchboard in the apartment, no torch, 2 burnt out candles and we realise we have no way of contacting anyone. There is absolutely no information in the apartment re contact numbers etc and because there is no electricity there is no wifi. What to do?
A beer for Gary across the road where he hooks into complimentary wifi to contact Nelson who we booked the apartment through and a candle for me from Molly. Gary waits and waits and waits for a reply but none eventuates and he gives up and comes home. 2 hours later he tries again - yep another beer - but nothing. Asking the barman if he could use his phone to ring the number at the bottom of the email he informs Gary that Nelson lives in Canada and doesn't have a Portugese number. However Nelson's father David is in Albufeira at the moment and he knows his number.........god forbid this is getting soooo complicated. Gary explains we have no electricity so the barman rings David who tells us the Portugese power is weak and we have plugged in too many "things"..........one 2 bar column heater????!!!!! He will be over in 30mins.
To cut a long story short he arrives and turns the power back on at the switchboard in the next door studio apartment but it keeps tripping off. We have been without power now for 4 hours and are frozen solid. Ironically the food that should be in our state is rapidly defrosting - including our precious salmon. Eventually it stays on but we are instructed not to use anything so we just go to bed to get warm ....David will be back in the morning with an electrician. This he does and there is a fault.......with modifications recently done a nail or screw has gone through an electrical wire so the whole circuit is isolated. If we need to use the washing machine we have to use an extension lead and please remember electricity is expensive here in Portugal, the sun will warm the apartment?????.....mmmm......the only room to see the sun at all is the bedroom which incidentally is the only room to have a wall heater - very strange - and the walls are just painted concrete designed to keep the place cool in summer but not warm in winter. Oh, and by the way, Lena the cleaner lives on the floor below should you need anything.......better late than never to be told this.
Is there anything else we can do for you before we head back to Canada tomorrow? Yes please, we would love a clean tablecloth and a torch please. (We got the tablecloth but no torch) We continue to have ongoing problems with the electricity but Lena the cleaner or the people now in the studio next door are there to "reboot the mains" when necessary. At this point we begin to have a sly feeling that the studio apartment and our apartment share the same, small hot water supply as cold showers now seem to be the order of the day and we never have hot water!!!!! However Christmas Eve comes round, the studio tenants leave, Lena comes to clean, uses the studio washing machine and bang - the electricity goes again. Lena is going away for Christmas so she kindly leaves a studio key so we can continue to reboot - our cold water problem surprisingly is remedied with no tenants next door and for a few days hot showers are back.
Oh I forgot to mention that throughout this I have been hit with food poisoning which incapacitates me for a week and leaves me weak and grumpy as we try to begin to explore this very hilly township. And the dog downstairs should be shot.
Over the course of Christmas the electricity fails for no apparent reason on numerous occasions and I am fully prepared, after Christmas, to jump back in Molly and drive into the sunset. Gary wants to ride it out and in the end I agree. The policemen never reappear so we assume Molly is safe.
Albufiera is actually a very nice town and we are positioned perfectly on the edge of the old town, 5minutes walk to the beach and within easy reach of shops, supermarkets, restaurants, cheap Chinese shops and whatever else you might need. We are on the top of a hill and four floors up with no lift so coming home is sometimes quite hard but we have grown to like this place, Albufeira, over the one month period. We have also figured out how to keep ourselves warm in the evening in the apartment - light the gas oven and leave the door open - and how to preserve a supply of hot water for us which I am not authorised to talk about. Things are on the improve.
When we initially arrived here the town was empty and dead. On Christmas Eve everything changed and the place was invaded by the Brits. Restaurants and shops reopened, everywhere was extremely busy. The weekend after New Year everything changed again and there was a mass exodus. Restaurants and shops have gradually closed again and only a few tourists remain. When we leave on 12th January virtually the whole of the tourist industry in Albufeira will have shut down until March.
We have covered a lot of Albufeira on foot over a month. The weather has been fantastic and it has been much warmer out of the apartment than in. This has been our incentive to get out each day. Strolling towards the Marina one Sunday we stumbled across this most amazing restaurant where we had a home cooked roast dinner at a very reasonable price. This is where we decided to celebrate Christmas and where we had our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve which included live entertainment and quite a few bottles of champagne. It was a fantastic evening although the walk home took over an hour due to several wrong turnings!!!!!!! Christmas Day morning father xmas found me and we drank champagne and ate chocolates together and Christmas Day evening we found a hotel with live music and we danced the night away. It was a good but different Christmas for us.
New Years Eve was live music and fireworks down on the beach but it was very chilly and very crowded when we got there so, after a while, we walked up the hill to the apartment and watched the fireworks from our bedroom window. Eat your heart out Auckland - these were spectacular and we had the best view in town.
As I said earlier we have walked for miles over this town, north, south, east and west and it is by no means small. We have eaten or drunk beer, coffee or wine in most of the retaurants here. We have shopped in most of the supermarkets here and strolled in both the new and old towns. Regardless of where we are and almost every day George and Mildred pop into view. Now George is a very loud, obese, British gentleman who uses a mobility scooter rather than his legs and Mildred is his equally loud wife who trundles along behind him in a daze but who does use her legs. We first met them at The Lemon Tree and had a passing chat there but seriously.........it has become quite spooky because whatever time of day, wherever we are G & M are there. Supermarket - half hours walk away - G & M! Middle of back street in Old town - G & M! Local newspaper shop - G & M pop up again! On our way to the Marina today - oh look - G & M!!!!!!! We will probably find them ensconced in Molly when we drive off tomorrow and his mobility scooter on her roof! Lol.
Anyway although Albufeira did not start well for us and the apartment is not the best we have decided we wouldn't have swapped this month for anything. We have met some amazing people, including the sister and her partner (Sue and Dave) of a couple (Alex and Dave)who we met earlier on in our travels and who are currently travelling NZ. We have had some great experiences here as well, have managed to relax on the beach with a book or two, stolen a few hearts to take away with us, twisted a few Portugese people round our little fingers in the course of having fun together, have laughed lots and almost cried a little and really wouldn't mind returning one day.
Tomorrow we pack up and leave and I guess we may be a little sad but move on we must. First stop Tavira to hopefully get Molly's muffler welded and to meet again with Sue and Dave.
We will bring you an update on Molly's condition just as soon as we can. Currently she is serious but stable.
However, to recap and to also explain our noisy journey we had discovered, at La Garrofa, that Molly was injured and sick.........her muffler had a split in it!!!!! In Spain this is hard, we now appreciate, to remedy and although we spent and arm and a leg to make her healthy nothing seemed to work. Bandages and gunk were not going to cut the mustard and we finally would roll into Albufuiera having lost the lot, plus one wheel trim, which incidentally we hope is at La Garrofa with our new ACSI book? (Malcolm take note here).
But I am getting ahead of myself we are still in Malaga and Gary is under Molly doing another fix - my MacGivor came with back up!!!!!!. This fix suggests you run the engine for half an hour after applying the bandage but to do that in a campsite is just selfish so that is a tomorrow job after leaving the campsite and, I can guarantee, on the side of the road???? Firstly though to get the backing strip off the bandage to expose its stickyness!!!!!! Geez Spanish people are clever or we are just plain inept and guess what?.........now it is pouring with rain.
So next morning we did as above, stopped by the side of the road for 30 minutes, then headed for Isla Cristina, again just for a stopover. After Camping La Garrofa not much stacked up here so, once again, we hunker down for just one night albeit on a mushy, muddy site. The sooner we get to our apartment the better.
Mmmmmmmm.........but things did not work out that well!!!!
Arriving at our apartment at the pre arranged time Gary was met by a very harrassed cleaner and a dirty, partially cleaned, cigarette smelling, cold, "could have been lovely" apartment which initially looked as though it was very much in the very wrong part of town. Negotiating an hours wait till the apartment would be ready we park Molly in the cold shadow of the apartment block and wait. Bad vibes are bouncing off the dashboard!!!!!!!
An hour later and still mayhem reigns but we start to move our necessities in. The oven is black inside and the cleaner is waiting for someone to come to unscrew the glass for cleaning and to look at an electricity point - something to do with the washing machine. It is getting dark and cold (winter here) and the place stinks of stale cigarettes. Finally we are on our own - not sure where everyone disappeared to - but we have been given a fresh air spray to combat the smell, have a filthy tablecloth on the dining room table, a pile of clean sheets, pillow cases and towels to use, 1 toilet roll, 2 squirts in the washing up liquid bottle, 1 squirt in the hand wash bottle but lots of hot, hot water and great Wifi. The apartment is freezing cold so we find an ineffectual 2 bar column heater in the wardrobe and plug that in and BINGO!.........the electricity goes. In the meantime we have been accosted by 2 Portugese policemen with regard to Molly being parked in the road outside the apartment...........someone has complained. This however is temporarily resolved when we explain we are renting an apartment in the complex for 1 month and Molly is our mode of transport........they will get back to us tomorrow - fingers crossed here for a good outcome but resolving the electricity problem is more complex. There is no switchboard in the apartment, no torch, 2 burnt out candles and we realise we have no way of contacting anyone. There is absolutely no information in the apartment re contact numbers etc and because there is no electricity there is no wifi. What to do?
A beer for Gary across the road where he hooks into complimentary wifi to contact Nelson who we booked the apartment through and a candle for me from Molly. Gary waits and waits and waits for a reply but none eventuates and he gives up and comes home. 2 hours later he tries again - yep another beer - but nothing. Asking the barman if he could use his phone to ring the number at the bottom of the email he informs Gary that Nelson lives in Canada and doesn't have a Portugese number. However Nelson's father David is in Albufeira at the moment and he knows his number.........god forbid this is getting soooo complicated. Gary explains we have no electricity so the barman rings David who tells us the Portugese power is weak and we have plugged in too many "things"..........one 2 bar column heater????!!!!! He will be over in 30mins.
To cut a long story short he arrives and turns the power back on at the switchboard in the next door studio apartment but it keeps tripping off. We have been without power now for 4 hours and are frozen solid. Ironically the food that should be in our state is rapidly defrosting - including our precious salmon. Eventually it stays on but we are instructed not to use anything so we just go to bed to get warm ....David will be back in the morning with an electrician. This he does and there is a fault.......with modifications recently done a nail or screw has gone through an electrical wire so the whole circuit is isolated. If we need to use the washing machine we have to use an extension lead and please remember electricity is expensive here in Portugal, the sun will warm the apartment?????.....mmmm......the only room to see the sun at all is the bedroom which incidentally is the only room to have a wall heater - very strange - and the walls are just painted concrete designed to keep the place cool in summer but not warm in winter. Oh, and by the way, Lena the cleaner lives on the floor below should you need anything.......better late than never to be told this.
Is there anything else we can do for you before we head back to Canada tomorrow? Yes please, we would love a clean tablecloth and a torch please. (We got the tablecloth but no torch) We continue to have ongoing problems with the electricity but Lena the cleaner or the people now in the studio next door are there to "reboot the mains" when necessary. At this point we begin to have a sly feeling that the studio apartment and our apartment share the same, small hot water supply as cold showers now seem to be the order of the day and we never have hot water!!!!! However Christmas Eve comes round, the studio tenants leave, Lena comes to clean, uses the studio washing machine and bang - the electricity goes again. Lena is going away for Christmas so she kindly leaves a studio key so we can continue to reboot - our cold water problem surprisingly is remedied with no tenants next door and for a few days hot showers are back.
Oh I forgot to mention that throughout this I have been hit with food poisoning which incapacitates me for a week and leaves me weak and grumpy as we try to begin to explore this very hilly township. And the dog downstairs should be shot.
Over the course of Christmas the electricity fails for no apparent reason on numerous occasions and I am fully prepared, after Christmas, to jump back in Molly and drive into the sunset. Gary wants to ride it out and in the end I agree. The policemen never reappear so we assume Molly is safe.
Albufiera is actually a very nice town and we are positioned perfectly on the edge of the old town, 5minutes walk to the beach and within easy reach of shops, supermarkets, restaurants, cheap Chinese shops and whatever else you might need. We are on the top of a hill and four floors up with no lift so coming home is sometimes quite hard but we have grown to like this place, Albufeira, over the one month period. We have also figured out how to keep ourselves warm in the evening in the apartment - light the gas oven and leave the door open - and how to preserve a supply of hot water for us which I am not authorised to talk about. Things are on the improve.
When we initially arrived here the town was empty and dead. On Christmas Eve everything changed and the place was invaded by the Brits. Restaurants and shops reopened, everywhere was extremely busy. The weekend after New Year everything changed again and there was a mass exodus. Restaurants and shops have gradually closed again and only a few tourists remain. When we leave on 12th January virtually the whole of the tourist industry in Albufeira will have shut down until March.
We have covered a lot of Albufeira on foot over a month. The weather has been fantastic and it has been much warmer out of the apartment than in. This has been our incentive to get out each day. Strolling towards the Marina one Sunday we stumbled across this most amazing restaurant where we had a home cooked roast dinner at a very reasonable price. This is where we decided to celebrate Christmas and where we had our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve which included live entertainment and quite a few bottles of champagne. It was a fantastic evening although the walk home took over an hour due to several wrong turnings!!!!!!! Christmas Day morning father xmas found me and we drank champagne and ate chocolates together and Christmas Day evening we found a hotel with live music and we danced the night away. It was a good but different Christmas for us.
New Years Eve was live music and fireworks down on the beach but it was very chilly and very crowded when we got there so, after a while, we walked up the hill to the apartment and watched the fireworks from our bedroom window. Eat your heart out Auckland - these were spectacular and we had the best view in town.
As I said earlier we have walked for miles over this town, north, south, east and west and it is by no means small. We have eaten or drunk beer, coffee or wine in most of the retaurants here. We have shopped in most of the supermarkets here and strolled in both the new and old towns. Regardless of where we are and almost every day George and Mildred pop into view. Now George is a very loud, obese, British gentleman who uses a mobility scooter rather than his legs and Mildred is his equally loud wife who trundles along behind him in a daze but who does use her legs. We first met them at The Lemon Tree and had a passing chat there but seriously.........it has become quite spooky because whatever time of day, wherever we are G & M are there. Supermarket - half hours walk away - G & M! Middle of back street in Old town - G & M! Local newspaper shop - G & M pop up again! On our way to the Marina today - oh look - G & M!!!!!!! We will probably find them ensconced in Molly when we drive off tomorrow and his mobility scooter on her roof! Lol.
Anyway although Albufeira did not start well for us and the apartment is not the best we have decided we wouldn't have swapped this month for anything. We have met some amazing people, including the sister and her partner (Sue and Dave) of a couple (Alex and Dave)who we met earlier on in our travels and who are currently travelling NZ. We have had some great experiences here as well, have managed to relax on the beach with a book or two, stolen a few hearts to take away with us, twisted a few Portugese people round our little fingers in the course of having fun together, have laughed lots and almost cried a little and really wouldn't mind returning one day.
Tomorrow we pack up and leave and I guess we may be a little sad but move on we must. First stop Tavira to hopefully get Molly's muffler welded and to meet again with Sue and Dave.
We will bring you an update on Molly's condition just as soon as we can. Currently she is serious but stable.
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Spain 4th Edition
Granada by day and the main attraction of course Alhambra.
Firstly though we catch a local bus into Granada Central with the object being to find the Old Town which has become our favourite area to explore within these large cities. So, wandering through a maze of narrow streets backdropped by red, gnarly mountains, occasionally happening across a fruit stall here, a trader in leather goods there, we realise we are in the Jewish district of Granada. I cannot express or paint a written picture as to how it looks and feels to be able to wander through a communities habitat and daily life soaking up the richness of it all. The memories and the beauty are in our heads and hopefully expressed in photos we upload to Facebook and I am forever humbled by the fact that we are lucky enough to be able to do this. This feeling particularly hit home in Granada and, as is our norm, we became so engrossed in our surroundings and wanderings we realised we were quite lost in the back streets of this huge, huge city........but never fear, it was lunchtime and we had espyed a graffiti covered cafe with truckloads of attitude, on the corner of a dilapidated street that just begged us to come on in. So we did. As Gary will say - we went in as strangers and came out as friends - wine soaked and bellies full with another adventure and experience under our belts.
An hour later and a long uphill slog we finally arrived at the ticket office at Alhambra. Now the fun started as there are only a certain amount of people allowed through each day and only 30% of these tickets can be bought at the ticket office and the queue was.......well, not too bad to be honest. Senior citizens are cheaper too, but not us we are from New Zealand (go figure that one and hey what about our budget?), so begrudgingly paying full price we entered the wondrous world of Alhambra.
Alhambra is a palace and a fortress complex, originally constructed in 889 as a fortress and then rebuilt firstly in the 11th century, when the palace and walls were added and then converted into a Royal palace in the 14th century. In the 19th century it was saved from dereliction, restored and is now the most amazing piece of arcihtecture I have ever witnessed. The buildings are basically quadrangles with rooms opening on to a central courtyard and all quadrangles are joined by connecting rooms and passages. The columns, the filligree, the reflecting pools, the very prominent water features, whether within the quadrangles or flowing down the sides or centres of a bank of steps all make you feel you have stepped into another world. The outside walls of Alhambra are austere, plain and, to be honest, uninviting but once you walk through the immaculate gardens to the inside you feel as though you have walked into paradise on earth. We spent hours here in the sunshine which made the light perfect for photography so please go to our facebook pages and view the pics - just couldn't stop snapping.
But it is getting late, the light is fading -we must retrace our steps back home to Molly.
Deciding to catch a bus back down into Centro rather than walking we got off the bus........somewhere????? (Wherever it was it was the last stop so we had no other option). Getting your bearings in a place this size and locating your bus stop as well takes some doing but, true to form, my trusty GPS (Gary) got us right there and well within the 2 hour time limit!!! LOL.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Granada and our stay in Granada given it is a big city but after 4 nights at this campsite tomorrow we will move on. We are still looking for a base to stay for a while so maybe, just maybe, our next port of call just outside of Almeria will be the place.
This 4 hour journey was beautiful. After dispensing with low cloud and heavy fog at Venra del Molinillo we climbed to 1400metres - the highest we have taken Molly so far - skirting the eastern side of the Sierra Navada mountains. The photos posted on facebook cannot do it justice it is like driving through a wonderland. We have been sooooo cold but now we are back in brilliant sunshine and warm again. We love Andalucia. Driving through La Peza Lopero there is a light dusting of snow on the mountains and then we find ourselves on a mountain plateau cruising at 1100metres through plain, arid countryside where nothing much is able to exist or be supported except.........fields and fields of windfarms as far as the eye can see and surprisingly they are beautiful. Majestic arms slicing through the atmosphere. Doris telling Agnes...."you can do it! Keep going, don't be so lazy", but her arms are hurting and she has to come to a slow halt as Doris looks down on her and continues her own neverending motion of arms. It is a glorious sight and yes we are on the Spanish plains. There are small villages dotted here and there embedded in the folds of these spectacular mountains which look like the layers and frills of flamenco dresses basking in the sunshine.
At Dolar we descend a little into a basin of agriculture. Plastic greenhouses and wigwams sheltering tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant abound, from the road to the horizon. The surrounding hills are now sparten and there is only tussock to view. Then grapeviness and olive trees come in to view - kilometres and kilometres of well looked after vines - and the mountains take on the frills of the flamenco skirt again. I have never seen such beautiful scenery in my entire life and the light was perfect for photography.
And so we descended after our long journey into Almeria and Kate (gps) and Molly took us to Castell del Rey and to our next campsite - La Garrofa.
Next update:
And so 2 weeks and 1day later we are still here at La Garroffa and what an amazing time we have had and are having. The weather is fantastic and we are positioned directly overlooking the beach. The shore is stoney and stormy - wave wise - and the sound of the pebbles crashing to shore lulls us to sleep at night. This is the most amazing place ever. A tiny cove nestled between Almeria and Roquetas
Next update:
If you have been faithful enough and been an avid follower of our blog you would have realised by now that all has been very quiet on our blog spot for well over a month.
What happened was that we got stuck in La Garrofa. This is a place that you either "get" or you "don't get" and we definitely "got it". We finally stayed here for just over 5 weeks!!!!!
Why? The place is nothing special - small sites, salt water showers, a bit old and tired (it actually was the first Spanish campsite on the Southern coastline) - but the people, oh the people who get La Garrofa, form this amazing bond of happiness, helpfulness, fun and contentment. Those who don't fit in with the place hurry up and leave for better, more modern climes. Swiss, Scottish, Dutch, English, German and of course New Zealanders - some with amazing skills and eyes to die for - come together at planned and impromptu get togethers, which can last all day or to the early hours, creating memories that will last forever for everyone. Throw in long walks over the barren hilltops to a Tapas bar in the next bay; Thursday morning English breakfast gatherings on the seafront in Roquetas; girls day out to the Grand Plaza buying up all the specials; the Curry evening; the Chilli evening; the fresh fish evening; the guitar, harmonica and country music evening (amazing couple to watch and listen to who run a back packers on the Isle of Skye); the bonfire on the beach evening, with burnt sausages and marshmallows and cans of beans popping in the fire; the Ukeleli evenings with the La Garrofa song written by the amazing Gary and put to music by Markus and Sabrina from Switzerland (boy those two could dance): the leaving evenings - the saddest of them all. We fell in love and stayed. It was so easy. A local bus going left would take you to Almeria which boasted an amazing beach to stroll along, up to date shops to shop at and a castle called Alcazaba which was free to enter. A bus to the right would take you to Aquadulcie, for food shopping, and then on to Roquetas where we both had a tattoo done - another tick off our bucket lists.
We had been looking for a place to stay for a while for a while and as we eased Molly under a low hanging tree on a parcela overlooking the beach we were welcomed by the sun and these amazing people. Next day the low limb of the tree was cut off to allow us more room. We are unsure how this came about but it was the conduit to our falling in love with the place as people had been trying to get the branch lopped of that tree for years. Instantly we were a hit - we had achieved the impossible.
Mo and Jim from the UK, Jurg from Switzerland (he arrived in July and is still there), Margarite and Peter from Germany and Holland repectively, Lisa and Brian from Scotland were all La Garrofad but a steady stream of previously La Garrofad couples would soon arrive to swell the throng. Annie and Tons from Holland, Ellie and Steve from the UK, Dawn and Graham from the UK and the "kids from Switzerland"- Markus and Sabrina - who would soon be La Garrofad as well, who would leave and then return for more. All of these beautiful people made our stay at La Garrofa magic.
And then there is MALCOLM!!!!!!!
Malcolm is the cornerstone of La Garrofa without whom the place would not be how or what it is. Malcolm is a wiley Scottish jack-of -all trades who charges 5euro for most things - or at least suggests he should. Malcolm has a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. He came to La Garrofa many years ago and never left and is now one of the few employees La Garrofa has. To be honest there is no need for many more when you have a Malcolm at your disposal because he has everyone's interests at heart and visa versa. Malcolm calling in for a cup of tea, orange fanta or a home cooked meal for later is a regular occurance. Malcolm is the camp Father Christmas and everyones friend. Thankyou Malcolm for enhancing our stay at La Garrofa and looking after us. We will be back.......soon.
Oh I forgot to add - he is extremely good at blowing up engines too!!!!!!!
So upward and onward and we finally left La Garrofa after 35 days and after the most amazing farewell. The wine, brandy, whisky, music, dancing and food flowed and three of us were the cabaret. Mo, Sabrina and myself, with a little bit of Annie thrown in, reminding us that I still have a little bit of "the wild child" left in me. It was definitely a night to remember and next morning, after battling through a human line of resistance we drove out of La Garrofa and towards Portugal for a month in an apartment over Christmas and New Year.
Firstly though we catch a local bus into Granada Central with the object being to find the Old Town which has become our favourite area to explore within these large cities. So, wandering through a maze of narrow streets backdropped by red, gnarly mountains, occasionally happening across a fruit stall here, a trader in leather goods there, we realise we are in the Jewish district of Granada. I cannot express or paint a written picture as to how it looks and feels to be able to wander through a communities habitat and daily life soaking up the richness of it all. The memories and the beauty are in our heads and hopefully expressed in photos we upload to Facebook and I am forever humbled by the fact that we are lucky enough to be able to do this. This feeling particularly hit home in Granada and, as is our norm, we became so engrossed in our surroundings and wanderings we realised we were quite lost in the back streets of this huge, huge city........but never fear, it was lunchtime and we had espyed a graffiti covered cafe with truckloads of attitude, on the corner of a dilapidated street that just begged us to come on in. So we did. As Gary will say - we went in as strangers and came out as friends - wine soaked and bellies full with another adventure and experience under our belts.
An hour later and a long uphill slog we finally arrived at the ticket office at Alhambra. Now the fun started as there are only a certain amount of people allowed through each day and only 30% of these tickets can be bought at the ticket office and the queue was.......well, not too bad to be honest. Senior citizens are cheaper too, but not us we are from New Zealand (go figure that one and hey what about our budget?), so begrudgingly paying full price we entered the wondrous world of Alhambra.
Alhambra is a palace and a fortress complex, originally constructed in 889 as a fortress and then rebuilt firstly in the 11th century, when the palace and walls were added and then converted into a Royal palace in the 14th century. In the 19th century it was saved from dereliction, restored and is now the most amazing piece of arcihtecture I have ever witnessed. The buildings are basically quadrangles with rooms opening on to a central courtyard and all quadrangles are joined by connecting rooms and passages. The columns, the filligree, the reflecting pools, the very prominent water features, whether within the quadrangles or flowing down the sides or centres of a bank of steps all make you feel you have stepped into another world. The outside walls of Alhambra are austere, plain and, to be honest, uninviting but once you walk through the immaculate gardens to the inside you feel as though you have walked into paradise on earth. We spent hours here in the sunshine which made the light perfect for photography so please go to our facebook pages and view the pics - just couldn't stop snapping.
But it is getting late, the light is fading -we must retrace our steps back home to Molly.
Deciding to catch a bus back down into Centro rather than walking we got off the bus........somewhere????? (Wherever it was it was the last stop so we had no other option). Getting your bearings in a place this size and locating your bus stop as well takes some doing but, true to form, my trusty GPS (Gary) got us right there and well within the 2 hour time limit!!! LOL.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Granada and our stay in Granada given it is a big city but after 4 nights at this campsite tomorrow we will move on. We are still looking for a base to stay for a while so maybe, just maybe, our next port of call just outside of Almeria will be the place.
This 4 hour journey was beautiful. After dispensing with low cloud and heavy fog at Venra del Molinillo we climbed to 1400metres - the highest we have taken Molly so far - skirting the eastern side of the Sierra Navada mountains. The photos posted on facebook cannot do it justice it is like driving through a wonderland. We have been sooooo cold but now we are back in brilliant sunshine and warm again. We love Andalucia. Driving through La Peza Lopero there is a light dusting of snow on the mountains and then we find ourselves on a mountain plateau cruising at 1100metres through plain, arid countryside where nothing much is able to exist or be supported except.........fields and fields of windfarms as far as the eye can see and surprisingly they are beautiful. Majestic arms slicing through the atmosphere. Doris telling Agnes...."you can do it! Keep going, don't be so lazy", but her arms are hurting and she has to come to a slow halt as Doris looks down on her and continues her own neverending motion of arms. It is a glorious sight and yes we are on the Spanish plains. There are small villages dotted here and there embedded in the folds of these spectacular mountains which look like the layers and frills of flamenco dresses basking in the sunshine.
At Dolar we descend a little into a basin of agriculture. Plastic greenhouses and wigwams sheltering tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant abound, from the road to the horizon. The surrounding hills are now sparten and there is only tussock to view. Then grapeviness and olive trees come in to view - kilometres and kilometres of well looked after vines - and the mountains take on the frills of the flamenco skirt again. I have never seen such beautiful scenery in my entire life and the light was perfect for photography.
And so we descended after our long journey into Almeria and Kate (gps) and Molly took us to Castell del Rey and to our next campsite - La Garrofa.
Next update:
And so 2 weeks and 1day later we are still here at La Garroffa and what an amazing time we have had and are having. The weather is fantastic and we are positioned directly overlooking the beach. The shore is stoney and stormy - wave wise - and the sound of the pebbles crashing to shore lulls us to sleep at night. This is the most amazing place ever. A tiny cove nestled between Almeria and Roquetas
Next update:
If you have been faithful enough and been an avid follower of our blog you would have realised by now that all has been very quiet on our blog spot for well over a month.
What happened was that we got stuck in La Garrofa. This is a place that you either "get" or you "don't get" and we definitely "got it". We finally stayed here for just over 5 weeks!!!!!
Why? The place is nothing special - small sites, salt water showers, a bit old and tired (it actually was the first Spanish campsite on the Southern coastline) - but the people, oh the people who get La Garrofa, form this amazing bond of happiness, helpfulness, fun and contentment. Those who don't fit in with the place hurry up and leave for better, more modern climes. Swiss, Scottish, Dutch, English, German and of course New Zealanders - some with amazing skills and eyes to die for - come together at planned and impromptu get togethers, which can last all day or to the early hours, creating memories that will last forever for everyone. Throw in long walks over the barren hilltops to a Tapas bar in the next bay; Thursday morning English breakfast gatherings on the seafront in Roquetas; girls day out to the Grand Plaza buying up all the specials; the Curry evening; the Chilli evening; the fresh fish evening; the guitar, harmonica and country music evening (amazing couple to watch and listen to who run a back packers on the Isle of Skye); the bonfire on the beach evening, with burnt sausages and marshmallows and cans of beans popping in the fire; the Ukeleli evenings with the La Garrofa song written by the amazing Gary and put to music by Markus and Sabrina from Switzerland (boy those two could dance): the leaving evenings - the saddest of them all. We fell in love and stayed. It was so easy. A local bus going left would take you to Almeria which boasted an amazing beach to stroll along, up to date shops to shop at and a castle called Alcazaba which was free to enter. A bus to the right would take you to Aquadulcie, for food shopping, and then on to Roquetas where we both had a tattoo done - another tick off our bucket lists.
We had been looking for a place to stay for a while for a while and as we eased Molly under a low hanging tree on a parcela overlooking the beach we were welcomed by the sun and these amazing people. Next day the low limb of the tree was cut off to allow us more room. We are unsure how this came about but it was the conduit to our falling in love with the place as people had been trying to get the branch lopped of that tree for years. Instantly we were a hit - we had achieved the impossible.
Mo and Jim from the UK, Jurg from Switzerland (he arrived in July and is still there), Margarite and Peter from Germany and Holland repectively, Lisa and Brian from Scotland were all La Garrofad but a steady stream of previously La Garrofad couples would soon arrive to swell the throng. Annie and Tons from Holland, Ellie and Steve from the UK, Dawn and Graham from the UK and the "kids from Switzerland"- Markus and Sabrina - who would soon be La Garrofad as well, who would leave and then return for more. All of these beautiful people made our stay at La Garrofa magic.
And then there is MALCOLM!!!!!!!
Malcolm is the cornerstone of La Garrofa without whom the place would not be how or what it is. Malcolm is a wiley Scottish jack-of -all trades who charges 5euro for most things - or at least suggests he should. Malcolm has a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. He came to La Garrofa many years ago and never left and is now one of the few employees La Garrofa has. To be honest there is no need for many more when you have a Malcolm at your disposal because he has everyone's interests at heart and visa versa. Malcolm calling in for a cup of tea, orange fanta or a home cooked meal for later is a regular occurance. Malcolm is the camp Father Christmas and everyones friend. Thankyou Malcolm for enhancing our stay at La Garrofa and looking after us. We will be back.......soon.
Oh I forgot to add - he is extremely good at blowing up engines too!!!!!!!
So upward and onward and we finally left La Garrofa after 35 days and after the most amazing farewell. The wine, brandy, whisky, music, dancing and food flowed and three of us were the cabaret. Mo, Sabrina and myself, with a little bit of Annie thrown in, reminding us that I still have a little bit of "the wild child" left in me. It was definitely a night to remember and next morning, after battling through a human line of resistance we drove out of La Garrofa and towards Portugal for a month in an apartment over Christmas and New Year.
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