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.
