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Sunday, April 27
Algarve To Lisbon
by
George and Anne
on Sun 27 Apr 2008 23:46 BST
Day 88 Sun 27 Apr 08
SEE NEW PHOTOS - CLICK HERE
Set off about 10.30am amidst much hugging and waving from our neighbours, a lovely send-off. Drove away very sad to leave but it’s nice to think we’ll definitely come back again.
Headed off to Lisbon – motorway all the way and all passing through inland countryside – should take three and a half hours tops. The further north we got the greener it all became, very similar to English views. Saw a lot more cars than we usually do when travelling on Sundays, maybe because it’s the last day of the bank holiday weekend, but only saw one other caravan the whole way. Toll motorways – had to pay €45 (we were a class 3 vehicle, so probably had to pay extra for the caravan).
Over the bridge into Lisbon looking for camping signs (the book said “well signposted from all major routes” – absolute rubbish). The site was very difficult to find – we knew it was in a big park so we followed signs for that. We saw one sign for camping, then no more ! Ended up down in amongst blocks of very tatty flats with loads of locals out on the streets – very helpful locals – it seemed that every time we were dithering about where to go, one of them would point in the direction and wave us on with a thumbs up ! This happened at least three times and we eventually arrived at the site. The locals must be very used to pathetically lost caravanners in their backstreets.
Anyway, have found another brilliant pitch – up in the woods away from the main hub of caravans with loads of room and our own water tap and picnic bench. Put the awning up straight away, even though we are only here for a week, as we are looking forward to having guests to stay on Thursday for a few days.
George has got bad tooth ache at the moment so we are hoping it will get better before we have to seek out another dentist !
This site is in a lovely setting – in a large natural wooded park – but only a few kilometres from the centre of Lisbon so we will have to get used to big city driving.
Saturday, April 26
Last Week In The Algarve
by
George and Anne
on Sat 26 Apr 2008 23:44 BST
Days 82-87 Mon 21 Apr–Sat 26 Apr 08
SEE NEW PHOTOS - CLICK HERE
Played golf on Monday atPine Cliffs – on the Sheraton Algarve Hotel complex. Lovely course along the cliff-tops, only nine holes, so we went round twice for €47 each pre-booked at a discount golf shop in Almancil. While we were there we saw an advert for the Vacation Club/Timeshare company based there – go and listen to the blurb for 90 minutes and get a free round of golf. As we own three weeks at the Marriot Golf Resort in Majorca we were quite interested in how it all works out here so we had our “chat” with one of the reps. It turned out to be a practically identical set-up to ours but very expensive - one mid season week cost €28,000 ! Anyway, needless to say George wouldn’t let Anne sign anything but we did get a voucher for a free nine holes.
Weather is now very hot and sunny and should be for a while apparently. Spent an afternoon (plus picnic) on our local beach – practically had the place to ourselves.
Had another visit to Vale do Lobo. Anne went into the Beauty Spa for an eye lash tint (brilliant when you’re away – who wants to wear mascara all the time ?) and George took some photos of the “Arty Things” which have appeared all over the place. Went back via our favourite beach bar and sat overlooking the beach with another bottle of wine.
Played our free nine holes at Pine Cliffs then spent a few hours round one of the swimming pools there – brill.
Had a lovely day on Thursday visiting our friends Annette and Gordon who have a house in a small village near Tavira (back towards the Spanish border). They are both also members of Mendip Spring Golf club so we caught up on all the news/gossip. Got there mid morning, went into Tavira for a walk round the town and coffee, then came back to their house and had a wonderful boozy lunch up on the roof terrace in the blazing sun. Lunch lasted for quite a while ! Ended up with tea and cakes – what a lovely day – thank you both. See photos…………
Moving on to Lisbon on Sunday so we took the awning down on Friday, which was a bank holiday out here. We prefer to do this as it gives us a totally free final day and gives us a bit of leeway if it rains on the last day. It’s no fun taking down and packing away a sodden awning (apparently) – it’s heavy enough when it’s dry ! Sat outside in the sun afterward feeling pleased with ourselves.
We have really enjoyed our stay on this site and will definitely come back here in the future. We have had really lovely neighbours for the whole time – John and Marjorie with dog Dexter on one side and a Dutch couple, Jose and Andre and their
three-legged dog on the other. We invited them round for drinks at 6.00pm on our last night and had a lovely couple of hours sitting in the (still hot) sun chatting – we did talk about things other than caravans, honest ! Then went on to Vilamoura on our own for a great steak in Rui’s Carvery for our last meal here.
Off to Lisbon tomorrow – filled up with diesel at €1.29 per litre, a lot more than in Spain.
Tuesday, April 22
Algarve Continued
by
George and Anne
on Tue 22 Apr 2008 12:28 BST
Days 75-81 Mon 14 Apr–Sun 20 Apr 08
Lovely days this week – long walk right along Quarteira promenade and then on to Vilamoura harbour – lots of sitting in the sun outside the caravan.
Went to the local market here which is huge – bought a beautiful little jacket for our grandson-to-be.
Have made a few visits to the Equestrian Show Jumping Arena in Vilamoura, we had heard about it from our neighbours in the next caravan to us – their son owns some horses who are competing in some of the classes being staged and they were going to watch. The climax was the Grand Prix on the Sunday with some top horses and riders competing. As it was only up the road from here we popped in a few times and really enjoyed it.
Had a trip to Albufeira which was the first place we ever stayed in the Algarve when the children were little – saw the balcony of the apartment we had, in the town centre right near the beach.
Lots of changes since those days – the fisherman’s beach where all the fishing boats were drawn up on the sand is in the middle of a re-vamp. The street leading down to it where we used to park our hired mini all those years ago is now mainly pedestrianised, the boats have all gone from the beach, the car park has been made into a large tiled area and there are lots of new modern cafes and restaurants. Ruina’s fish restaurant just by the beach is still there though.
They seem to be knocking down buildings on whole sides of streets and starting again. Oh yes – the loads of steps that led down from the cliff top on the far side of the beach have now gone – replaced by two (very long) escalators - that’s progress for you ! It might be interesting to visit again when they have finished it all.
Anyway, it was great fun going back – ably finished off with a few hours on the beach in the afternoon, where George went in for a swim (he insists on you all knowing that !)
Had a bit of a do with the camera – went to take a photograph and it wouldn’t work – it made all the right noises and all the right lights went on but the lens bit refused to budge. Found a camera shop and they kindly tried a new battery in it but to no avail – it is a late camera – only had it for three years but it has taken approximately 3,500 photographs. Anyway, went back to the shopping mall in Guia and bought another one for €110 – not in the plan but needs must.
Sunday, April 13
Enjoying the Algarve
by
George and Anne
on Sun 13 Apr 2008 23:15 BST
Days 68–74 Mon 7 Apr–Sun 13 Apr 08
You can see our latest photographs – CLICK HERE
On the way back from the beach bar yesterday George had a lovely telephone call from Grace – Lady President of the Rotary Club of Weston-super-Mare thanking us for our “guest appearance” the night before - let us explain ……………
Saturday evening was Grace’s big night – the annual President’s Dinner and Dance, being held this year at the newly re-jigged Cadbury Hotel and Country Club. We were really sorry not to be able to go as it was George who invited Grace into the Rotary Club – she was the first Lady Member and has been a massive asset. She and husband David had no idea that other members had arranged a telephone link over the PA system so we could talk to her. We called during the evening pretending to try and book our caravan in for the night whilst photographs of us on our trip were shown on a big screen – you can imagine the confusion – anyway, we were thrilled to be able to give them both our good wishes from afar.
Weather not too good for the first few days – on Tuesday it absolutely hammered down all day – so we postponed puting the awning up until it got better. We spent the time doing a bit of shopping and driving round to see what had changed since we were last here in 2002. A huge mall has appeared in Guia (just inland from Albufeira) and new roads are confusing us !
Bought some Swordfish and Dorada down in the indoor fish market – the man was so nice he even told George how to make a great sauce to go with it ! Nearly next door is the indoor veg market so we stocked up – including some tiny chillies that the lady assured us were lethal. Will let you know……..
Had more heavy rain overnight one night and it’s been very windy so we didn’t put the awning up until Saturday (bearing in mind the last time we put it up it blew away) – the spare part Anne had brought back from her UK visit worked well and we were able to unpack the car and give it good brush out.
Went for a long walk along the beach from here (the very eastern edge of Quarteira) nearly to Quinta do Lago. Still very windy but sunny – found our old favourite beach bar, Mad Max’s, now called Izzy’s – and enjoyed a bottle of wine right on the edge of the beach overlooking the sea. – see photo.
Weather got better every day – boiling hot sun on Sunday so had a great day here on the site, then had another trip to the Sports Bar in Vilamoura Marina in the evening to see the end of The Masters Golf from Augusta over a few glasses of red wine.
Weather is forecast to be settled from now on so we are looking forward to some sun and beach days.
Sunday, April 6
Cadiz to The Algarve
by
George and Anne
on Sun 06 Apr 2008 23:37 BST
Day 67 Sun 6 April
Left the site at 10.00am and took the motorway, €5.65 toll.
Passed along huge flat plains towards Seville, weather became very cloudy, then round the ring motorway and headed west towards Huelva.
Went over an impressive suspension bridge crossing the Odiel River and on towards the Portuguese border.
Drove through into Portugal over the natural border of the river Guadiana between the two countries, still cloudy but looking brighter.
The motorway surface was surprisingly poor apart from Huelva to the border.
We are not used to cloud – we were in Cadiz for a week and (literally) didn’t see one cloud until our last day there !
Arrived on familiar territory – when the children were small we had a two week time-share in Vale do Lobo and came out here every year. Had some fabulous times. We sold the weeks in 2000, bought three weeks in Majorca and have only been back once since then so are really looking forward to visiting old haunts.
Arrived in sunshine - the caravan site is on the edge of Quarteira, between Vale do Lobo and Vilamoura. It is quite a large site - not that easy to find but no back alleys this time – some pitches are enclosed by low hedges with high kerbs (no !) and there are open areas where you can almost park where you like (lovely !). We found a great place against one of the boundary fences, loads of room to tow the caravan into position with the car rather than man/woman-handle it, and only one other caravan anywhere near.
Now this will make you smile – we decided that the other caravan was facing the right way for the sun etc and pulled ours facing the same way into the exact place we wanted, got out of the car to check – where was the caravan door ? – against the hedge at the back ! We hadn’t realised that the other caravan was French – continental caravans have their doors on the other side to ours ! So we had the embarrassment of pulling the caravan away, going round in a great big circle and came to rest in exactly the same position but facing completely the other way. Never mind, it’s a super spot.
Got set up then walked down to the beach and had a Super Bock beer in the beach bar in the hot sun. Beautiful golden sand stretching to Vale do Lobo in the east and Vilamoura in the west.
Here for three weeks – wonderful.
(One drawback, no internet on the site – this is coming to you from McDonalds in Vilamoura – but it is free).
Check out the latest photographs from Cadiz – click here
Saturday, April 5
Bay of Cadiz
by
George and Anne
on Sat 05 Apr 2008 19:00 BST
Days 61-66 Mon 31 Mar- Sat 5 Apr 08
Really enjoying the Cadiz area. For those who aren’t sure, the ancient walled city of Cadiz is right at the end of a long thin spit of land, historically easy to defend as most of it is surrounded by water. It is considered to be the oldest city in the western world, founded by the Phoenicians in 1100BC. The old town itself covers not much more than a square mile which makes it brilliantly compact for walking and exploring, although the city has now spread outside the original walls down the spit of land. We have been here once before when a cruise ship we were on visited for a few hours. We loved it then and have been looking forward to our return.
The caravan site is actually in El Puerto de Santa Maria, just across the bay from Cadiz, on the mainland so we took the catamaran ferry – 20 mins, €1.80 for both of us. Arrived at the port of Cadiz at about 10.00am then walked … and walked… and walked. Saw the sights we had seen before plus many others – the defence Castillos, the calm relaxing parks, fabulous beaches, (one of which is almost the whole length of one side of the spit), the Roman ruins, lovely churches and the beautiful cathedral in one of the main squares. George went up one of the cathedral towers to see the breathtaking views over the whole town.
Too many things to mention them all but we would recommend anyone to visit here.
Had an afternoon walking round the old town of El Puerto de Santa Maria. Met a local gentleman who chatted to us over a beer in the cathedral square and told us a bit about the history of the place –it is named El Puerto because it used to be the port for trade with the Indies. There are other Puertos - but not El Puertos. Found the bullring – third in importance in Spain, behind Madrid and Valencia. Lovely old own with a lot of history.
Had a day out in the car, visited Chiclana, Puerto Real, San Fernando and Rota, but did not manage Jerez – didn’t think we could do it justice in a couple of hours, can’t do everything. There are absolutely fabulous beaches in this area – from 5-mile stretches of golden sand edged with dunes to more traditional beaches of golden sand with long promenades, cafes and restaurants – all with the gently shelving bright green Atlantic sea. The bay of Cadiz is also a haven for wild life watchers. It has large nature reserves, including marshlands, on the migratory route of many birds between Europe and Africa
Oh yes, we are now in sherry country! Didn’t have much idea about sherry until we went to a history and tasting evening at the Bogeda (wine cellar) Gutierrez-Colosia, established 1838, up the road from the caravan site - €5 each. Really interesting talk by the wife of the owner, Juan Carlos, about the history of sherry and this particular bodega which has been in the same family for 4 generations. All sherry comes from a geographical triangular area made by Jerez, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlouca. All the grapes must be grown inside this triangle (or just outside it) but the sherry must be made inside the area – or it cannot be called sherry ! It’s made by a process called ‘criaderas y soleras’ which basically means that over a period of a few years the wine is moved down from upper rows of barrels and added to lower barrels and eventually into the floor level row, the soleras. Some wine is removed from the bottom barrels every year to be sold. Sherry therefore cannot have a date, as it is made up of wine from several years but the dry Fino takes at least 3 years to produce and Amontillado another 5 years after that. Also learned that sherry should be eaten with the meal – not as an aperitif – over here they have a beer or two before the meal to quench thirsts, and then they drink different types of sherry with their meals. Tasted five different sorts and had a really good evening – ended up buying straight from the barrels, a litre each of Fino and Oloroso. 2 litres for €6.10 - bargain. Apparently it is not a good time at the moment for Sherry producers. Doesn’t every business always say that? Anyway you can help this particular family out by buying some of their sherry in the uk, look out for the Gutierrez-Colosia name on the menu, I’m sure they’d appreciate it!
The weather has been fantastic all week with clear blue sky and temperatures around 28 degrees. We had literally not seen one cloud until Saturday afternoon when it hazed over a bit.
Off on Sunday, heading for Portugal.
Sunday, March 30
Fuengirola to Cadiz
by
George and Anne
on Sun 30 Mar 2008 23:35 BST
Day 60 - Sun 30 Mar 08
CLICK HERE TO SEE LATEST PHOTOS
Well – it had to happen sometime, and now it has…………. but we’ll begin at the beginning:
Beautiful sunny morning, (Anne’s birthday too), managed to remember to put the clocks forward and left at 10.30 for the drive to Cadiz – should be under three hours. Had a dilemma about which route to take when we’d passed the Gibraltar turn– the red road continues round the coast but there was a brown road shown as a more direct route across country – was the road ok ? did it go straight up mountains ? (not good) or straight down them ? (even worse). Decided to give it a go and it turned out to be a brilliant dual-carriageway all the way to Jerez. We turned off before reaching Jerez, and passed the 3,000 mile mark as we were heading for Puerto de Santa Maria – Camping Las Dunas, right on the beach.
Lovely journey, stopped for coffee on the way, the road took us through an area of nature parkland, very lush, more like English countryside than Spanish at times.
Arrived at Santa Maria, following TomTom, and here our troubles started. Saw lots of activity along the road and thought it was market day – the road we wanted was blocked off by a barrier guarded by a policeman. Stopped by him and asked for a diversion to the camp site – “go back to the roundabout and turn left” he said – so we did. The left turn was quite a narrow back street but we bravely (foolishly ?) followed the policeman’s directions and took it. Big mistake – there were cars parked all down one side and eventually, one of them was parked away from the kerb so we couldn’t go any further ! Got out amidst the usually honking of horns from the cars behind – we just shrugged our shoulders. Passers-by were very sympathetic and a group of particularly fit young men helped us “bump” the sticking out car and get it against the kerb – brilliant. We got a bit further down the road, past a side alley, and it got even narrower. Now nowhere to go – stuck between a parked car and the kerb. After about half an hour of wondering what to do four policemen arrived, all very pleasant (they probably found it very amusing), and looked at all out paperwork, insurance, driving license etc. We eventually unhitched the car, pulled/pushed the caravan back to the side turning, got the car up there, hitched up the caravan again – hooray. The policemen told us to go up this back alley and turn right at the top – “then what ?” we said shrugging our shoulders, still mindful of the market barriers everywhere. They very kindly took pity on us, told us to follow them, so we became (possibly) the only people to arrive at the camp site with a police escort - how marvellous !!
Checked in to the site and were told that there is a world motorbike racing event –Gran Premio Jerez – in progress over the weekend. Nearly finished now but might be noisy with bikers everywhere. At this point we didn’t care ! Booked in, got set up and headed for the bar where we sat outside in the sun, great atmosphere – loud music and bikers.
Here until next Sunday, lots to explore.
Saturday, March 29
Alhambra to Alhanbra
by
George and Anne
on Sat 29 Mar 2008 11:50 GMT
Days 55-59 Tues 25–Sat 29 Mar
To have a look at the new photos click here – PHOTOS
I’m back ! Had a wonderful time staying at brother Roger and Sister-in-law Lee’s house for Easter. They live in Galleywood, Essex, and my Mum was staying there too. 13-strong family get-together at niece Sue and husband John’s house on Saturday evening BUT before I could have one sip of my red wine my mobile rang – (George) “I’ve got a bit of a problem I need to tell you about” – the awning disaster story. Tried to sound as sympathetic as possible whilst sipping my wine thinking “I leave him alone for five minutes and look what happens!” Made appropriate “there there” noises and as he had obviously coped brilliantly, with the wonderful help from surrounding caravanners, I enjoyed the rest of the evening (despite the family comments such as “did the wind strike without awning” etc)!
Woke up to a beautiful Christmas card scene on Easter Sunday - everything white with snow - Nina and James, and Jonathan, joined us for the day and we had a lovely cosy time round a blazing log fire. Very strange to think I’ll be sitting out in the sun in a couple of day’s time. Arrived back at Malaga Tuesday evening and enjoyed a welcome-back bottle of bubbly – lovely.
Wednesday morning we played 9 holes at Santa Clara – this is the remainder of the round we abandoned in the storm last week. We played with an Irish guy who was on his own, great character and playing off 8, or used to as he put it. Hit the ball a mile, usually in the right direction. He said ‘mention old TC Hayes to anyone in the electrical business in Ireland and they’ll know me’. Great fun and a lovely course.
Only a few days left here now. Had a great day trip to Granada (took our Alhambra to the Alhambra – get it ? – the car to the palace) . It was under two hour’s journey, the temperature dropped from 22 degrees when we left here to 8 degrees as we got higher up, then settled at 12 degrees on arrival. Luckily George had put some long trousers in the car or he would have been stuck with cold legs ! Tickets for inside the Palace were sold out for the day so, as we could only see a small part in the time we had, we concentrated on the old area of the city around the Palace. (The Alhambra Palace complex is actually an old walled city made up of lots of different areas). Many narrow little streets surrounding it, really enjoyable day, called in at Mijas on the way back as it was getting dark and enjoyed the view of the lights of Fuengirola from the high terraces.
Planning a lovely day on the beach, another trip to the market and a last-evening meal at the Chinese restaurant down at the marina. Off to Cadiz tomorrow, staying there for a week before moving on to the Algarve.
To have a look at the new photos click here – PHOTOS
Monday, March 24
Awning Warning
by
George and Anne
on Mon 24 Mar 2008 07:50 GMT
Days 52-54 Sat 22 – Mon 24 Mar 08
Easter Saturday woke alone, with Anne safely in the UK enjoying the snow.
Looking forward to golf in bright sun but a bit windy and the local radio was mentioning gusts expected up to 30mph which didn’t sound too excessive. The awning was flapping about but nothing really warned me of what was to happen later!
Nick picked me up at 12 and drove me for about 20 minutes to Calanova Golf, a new course above Mijas Costa and below La Cala. Met up with the Wheathill lot, 8 of us today, and teed off at 1pm. Most of the course is elevated and the wind was horrendous, nobody could score well but it was fun. Great course I thought with all holes different, some spectacular driving tees, drop holes etc and reasonably open although it didn’t feel like it with the ball being blown all over the place.
It got quite chilly by the time we finished at 6pm; yes, 5 hour rounds are normal out here and that’s with buggies. Coffee and cognac in the clubhouse warmed us up nicely.
Nick dropped me off about 7pm, not a breath of wind now, and I happily walked up through the site towards our ‘home’.
Something immediately struck me as looking a bit different!
The awning (it’s quite big 6.5 x 2.5 metres) was completely missing; the carpet with all our stuff on it was still there although no longer neat and tidy as I’d left it.
One of our neighbours quickly filled me in. At about 4pm a massive gust had hit the site causing people all sorts of problems including lifting our awning straight out of the ground and still attached to the caravan swinging it upside down on top of the caravan with the wind trying to tear it apart. Caravanners we’ve already discovered always help each other out, and apparently about 5 of them had rushed across to rescue it. They managed to get some of the poles out to collapse it and get it back down off the roof and then decided it was safest to take it down completely. It was folded up at the side surrounded by all the poles and pegs etc.
What a nightmare – it looked like rain so I was then panicking to get everything in the car or the caravan and one of our Brit neighbours helped me with that. I was so grateful to everybody; I went and found them all to thank them, Brits, Danes and Dutch.
Easter Sunday, no eggs for me this year, but bright sun, not a cloud in the sky and no wind – typical!
Spent the morning sorting out the mess, got everything out and repacked. Unfolded the awning, unzipped all the panels and checked everything out. Some damage to the poles but nothing too serious. Biggest annoyance is a missing thingy about the size of a matchbox. Five of them support the cross poles on to the caravan. Hopefully Anne can get a replacement whilst she’s in the UK.
Lovely long and relaxing walk along the beach in the afternoon.
A bit quieter on the site again now, most of the Spanish Easter visitors moved out today.
Another gorgeous day on Monday. When we shopped at the Fuengirola mall on Thursday with Nina we bought a couple of those beach chairs with the short legs so it seemed rude not to try one of them out. Spent most of the day roasting on ‘Andy’s Beach’, a five minute walk away. Marvellous.
So we’ve learnt a few things. 1) Get a solid groundsheet to go under the carpeting to stop water coming up during any torrential downpours. 2) Always attach the storm rigging kit that came with the awning but seemed unnecessary before! 3) Use the bigger longer pegs supplied instead of the shorter ones also supplied. 4) Probably wise not to go and play golf in adverse conditions.
Looking forward to Anne arriving back tomorrow, Malaga airport 8.30pm.
Friday, March 21
Nina comes to visit
by
George and Anne
on Fri 21 Mar 2008 18:48 GMT
Days 48-51 Tue 18 – Fri 21 Mar 08
Have had a lovely time with Nina – picked her up from Malaga Tuesday morning, came back here and sat in the sun with some lunch and a cup of tea. Walked down to the beach and sat outside at the beach bar on the sand drinking red wine mixed with sprite – much better than it sounds – in really hot sun, lot of people about. Then back to the caravan for a meal. We have decided to do the decent thing and let Nina sleep in the caravan, with us out in the awning on the blow up beds. No problem – really comfortable out there, plenty of bedding, we slept really well.
Next day was market day – off we went in bright sunshine but a cooler breeze today.
Quite a few purchases, then back to the caravan for a rest - and found the site to be a hive of activity – the Spanish Easter holiday had just begun and there were caravans, motorhomes and tents pouring in. Very busy (and noisy – the Spanish don’t talk quietly) not many spare pitches left now. Meeting some friends for a meal this evening at a lovely restaurant, La Lunas near Mijas, about twenty minutes away from here. Eight of us in all (see photos) had a great time with a super meal from the menu of the day – all for €14 each. Back to the caravan, raining a bit now and all was well until…… tremendous thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning – torrential rain (absolutely deafening in a caravan and awning) and crashing thunder.
We were absolutely fine in the awning although we have not got a waterproof groundsheet, just a mesh-type matting. Got a bit wet on the ground from underneath eventually as the heavy downpour continued, we came into the caravan at about 8am, for a cuppa and watched all the occupants of the tents struggling – they were absolutely drenched. This site is on a slope and there were rivers of water running downhill. Lots of the tenters gave up in the morning, packed up and disappeared. Can’t blame them.
We were due to play golf with a big group at 12.00 so set off about 11.am, the rain had just about stopped by now, and managed to play 7 holes (rather well !) before the thunder and lightening started again. Finished 9 holes then bailed out, came back, picked Nina up and spent the rest of the afternoon in the massive new shopping mall in Fuengirola. Bought a couple of beach chairs then came back for a lovely meal in the caravan. Nick managed to get us a foc voucher to play the other 9 holes on Wednesday which we are really looking forward to. The course is Santa Clara, very nice, much more open and forgiving than El Chaparral but hard enough to score well. George has played it before with PIGS, didn’t help him that much!
We are all sleeping in the caravan tonight, in case of a repeat performance by the weather ! Nina and Anne fly back to the UK tomorrow morning. Anne will be back here on Tuesday.
Uneventful trip to the airport for George to drop off the girls, roads very quiet on Good Friday. Heard on Radio Costa del Sol or something like that, that diesel prices in Spain have just reached an all time high. Oh goodie, mind you, that’s still only about €1.2. A lot of doom and gloom down here locally about the lack of tourists and lack of golf playing tourists but they still don’t reduce their prices. Something like 3,000 unsold properties along here as well and the Marbella planning corruption scandal doesn’t help.
Weather is absolutely gorgeous, typical now Nina has just gone, so I’m drying out all the golf gear and giving the awning a good airing. Nipping up behind the site soon to meet the Wheathill crowd who will be just finishing playing Cabopino. Might have a beer or two and listen to stories of great adventures and lipped putts. I’m playing with them tomorrow so hoping they are getting tired now to give me a chance.
Monday, March 17
Golf at last!
by
George and Anne
on Mon 17 Mar 2008 23:40 GMT
Days 45-47 Sat 15 – Mon 17 Mar 08
Went to the market on Saturday up the road at Cala de Mijas – as seasoned market goers now we didn’t think it was a particularly brilliant one, but we did buy some really good olives. Came back and sat outside the awning. George had a marathon internet session at the bar (!) while I read my book in the sun.
Had a day in Fuengirola on Sunday. Lots of locals out and about along the promenade very smartly dressed for Sunday – a stark contrast to the white/pink/bright red holidaymakers in their sleeveless t-shirts and shorts. The road along the front is very Southendish with lots of holiday gift shops selling everything from postcards to blow up crocodiles, but just one road back away from the sea is a maze of lovely little narrow streets with much smarter looking bars, cafes, shops and a much calmer atmosphere. Drove further along the front, past the marina, to Los Boliches beach which we think is nicer than the main Fuengirola beach – quieter and more spacious. Spent a few hours on the beach in the sun with a picnic. Had a swim (just the one each!) the water quite cold but it had to be done.
Monday was golf day – most of Nick’s group had arrived at the weekend so there were ten of us in all – played just up the road at El Chaparral . It’s a lovely course, quite hilly with some stunning views. We both played quite well considering we’ve hardly played since before Christmas. The greens were brilliant, really fast and true, and were recently voted the best greens on the Costa del Sol (beating Valderama by one point apparently). Finished off with lunch on the terrace.
Really looking forward to the arrival of daughter Nina tomorrow who is coming out to stay with us for a few days. She is making us grandparents in August and we can’t wait to see her.
Friday, March 14
Early days in Cabopino
by
George and Anne
on Fri 14 Mar 2008 23:50 GMT
Days 40-44 Mon 10 – Fri 14 Mar 08
Settled in well here, our pitch is conveniently placed quite near a wash block - lovely showers and plenty of hot water. Our first day was quite cloudy, we put up the awning (in record time), and then unloaded a lot of the stuff out of the car into it. The car heaved an audible sigh of relief as the back end rose.
It’s quite a large site, very commercial with three restaurants, indoor pool, outdoor pool, bar, café, mini-market etc. We are less than five minutes stroll from a lovely big sandy beach (Andy’s beach, if anyone is familiar with the area) but you have to cross a bridge over the very busy main road to get to it. We have never liked this stretch of the coast because of the busy dual carriageway (we call it the Costa del Sol M25) – never mind, we can use camping cheques here (£10.30 per night) – but not for the Easter week, when the price more than doubles (€31 per night).
We are back to paying for the internet but it is wi-fi so we can use it in the caravan – quite expensive, €19 for eight hours. That is eight hours cumulative, ie you log on and log off every time you use it. It’s not always a good enough signal in the caravan, so every so often George takes the laptop down to the bar where (funnily enough !) the signal always seems to be fine.
Whilst chatting with our English neighbours we have found out that a German couple come and stay on the pitch we are on every year for about four months at a time. Because of this they have planted a very pretty flower border along the front edge, so we have been asked to keep it watered – see photos.
Weather now boiling. Met up with friend Nick who is over staying at his house near Mijas at the moment. He came to the caravan for a meal – our very first visitor abroad – and, predictably, we had a very boozy do finished off with coffee and cognac down at the marina.
Have had a couple of very lazy days, walking, sitting in the sun, supermarket hunts etc. A group of players from Nick’s golf club are coming out here next week for a few games – we have been invited to join them - so we met Nick at El Chaparral Golf Club for coffee, a bucket of balls each on the driving range, then lunch on the terrace in preparation. (more photos) We were hitting the ball very well – which obviously means we’ll be absolutely rubbish in the games proper !
See new photos - click PHOTOS
Sunday, March 9
Cabo de Gata to Fuengirola
by
George and Anne
on Sun 09 Mar 2008 23:54 GMT
Day 39 Sun 9 Mar 08
Left Cabo de Gata at 10.00am, lovely warm sun.
Had a good journey, on a red road as there’s no motorway round here, and the massive tomato farms ran out after about two hours. There was then an amazing section between La Rabita and Motril – spectacular sea views, high climbs, viaducts and hairy bends right on the sea edge, lots of curvas peligrosas. Soon after we found ourselves on motorway – not marked in our atlas! – brilliant and only €2.30 toll. Full steam ahead for the rest of the way, very busy and hectic on the Malaga ring road and and arrived here at 2.00pm in bright sun and 21 degrees
We are now at Cabopino, which is about 8k south of Fuengirola, for three weeks. We wanted to be on the site actually in Fuengirola, up behind Los Boliches beach but it was full up due to the Easter week so we are now here.
The arrivals procedure was a bit chaotic, nowhere really to leave the car and caravan while we checked in, but we were given a site plan and a list of free pitches so we walked round and picked a lovely one. George nearly managed to back the caravan into the right position (he’s getting much better) but, as always, help was on hand - two big Danish men appeared and took charge. The pitch had only been vacated a few hours before apparently and these men knew exactly where the caravan should positioned – and proceeded to help us man(and woman)handle it there with millimetre precision!
Got settled in. Went off and had a beer on the beach as the sun went down, then had a lovely Chinese meal round the little marina next to the beach - not a tomato in sight !
Saturday, March 8
Laid back in Cabo de Gata
by
George and Anne
on Sat 08 Mar 2008 19:45 GMT
Days 34-38 Tues 4-8 Mar 08
Settled in well here. Cabo de Gata, near Almeria where we are now, is a huge nature reserve, very good for bird watching apparently, not that that interests us particularly, but the wild and rugged scenery is lovely and we have had long walks along beautiful beaches. The caravan site is down a long lane off the main road and has a very laid back atmosphere and the staff are really helpful and friendly. There is plenty of room and lovely wash blocks, spotlessly clean. We park our car on the pitch next to the caravan and we can also hang washing there – not particularly attractive I know, but necessary at times. (Sites like La Manga did not allow washing to be hung in front of the caravans).
Drove to our local town – Cabo de Gata – and had beer and Tapas along the seafront in the sun. Weather warm in the sun but cool wind.
Had a great day touring the nature reserve in the car and found San Jose (yes, we now know the way) which was a picturesque village with a lovely beach-front, marina and small restaurants overlooking the sea. Had a beer here and promised to come back for lunch on our last day as we liked it so much. Carried on to Las Negras, similar but tattier, and home by a diverse route through salt flats, hilly passes and scenic sea views.
Visited a local golf course on Thursday but thought €55 each was too much to pay, would have been only €38 including a snack and a drink if we’d gone on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday! Went to the lighthouse three miles along the coast – a very scenic (and scary) spot – see photos.
Our last day was really warm - went to the local market, had an hour on the beach and then made the 20 min journey to San Jose for a lovely paella lunch in the sun overlooking the beach – see photos. Came back and snoozed in the sun, then packed up ready for leaving in the morning.
Off to Fuengirola tomorrow, about four hours driving. We will be sorry to leave here.
PHOTO INFORMATION
I’m sure most of you have figured out that we are putting a few photos on this blog but most of them are going up onto another site called Picasa which is run by Google. This is because uploading photos here on the blog has to be done one at a time and can be slow and painful whilst we can upload batches to Picasa more easily. So to see most of our photos you click on the link below. That brings up a group of albums, one for each area we’ve been to. Click on the want you want to look at hey presto, there they are. Click on slideshow is the easiest way to view them.
To have a look at the new photos click here – PHOTOS
Tuesday, March 4
Almeria vicinity
by
George and Anne
on Tue 04 Mar 2008 17:16 GMT
Day 33 Mon 3 March 08
What I haven’t mentioned before is that “we” lost some keys whilst in La Manga. Before we left the UK we separated the keys so that we each had a complete set – car, caravan door, alarm, wheel clamp, hitch lock, safe key etc. After we had packed everything up at La Manga we realised we only had Anne’s set ! Instant panic (by George) because if we can lose one set we can lose another one, then we’re really stuffed ! Looked everywhere we could think of – in every cupboard, drawer, box, back of the car etc – nothing ! Couldn’t think where “we” might have lost them – did they fall out of Georges pocket when he was climbing all over the big guns ? Were they in one of the big awning bags which are now buried in the back of the car ? Anyway, we left the site thinking that if they were in the car or caravan somewhere they still would be when we got to Almeria. And if not – oh dear !
First morning in Almeria - lovely and warm and sunny. George still in panic mode, (I only panic about silly little things now, not big ones) was going to telephone the insurance company and start the hassle phase of trying to get replacements. I suggested that we should empty the whole car out and make sure they weren’t there – so we did (see the photos). George eventually found them wedged between boxes between the back seats where Anne (apparently) had dropped them – hooray, panic over. We are now going to look for two key rings with the elastic coil things to attach the key rings to our bodies permanently !
Set off (very relieved) to visit the town of Almeria. Hadn’t heard of the place before George sat next to a lady on an aeroplane last year who lived here. It turned out to be nothing like we expected – it’s a really big, busy, commercial, working town – plus a big university. However, there is also a lovely sandy beach and promenade stretching for miles which is what we’d seen on Google Earth. Had a lovely afternoon walking by the sea, coffee in one of the beach-side cafes in the sun. Found the massive Carrefour supermarket on the way home and bought some supplies for the barbie – big prawns, sardines, tuna etc.
To have a look at photos click here – PHOTOS
Sunday, March 2
To Almeria
by
George and Anne
on Sun 02 Mar 2008 21:21 GMT
Day 32 Sun 2 Mar 08
Set off about 10.00am, straight onto the motorway towards Almeria – about a three hour trip. The first half is all toll motorway – a fabulous new road along the mountains and then the valley, past thousands and thousands of acres of tomato plants – all enclosed in white or see-through plastic sheeting or netting. Passed through tunnels straight through the mountains where no other route was possible. Then the motorway ended (toll – €11.20) and we transferred to a red road for the rest of the journey. Stopped for coffee and chocolate croissants along the way.
Reached our turn off at about 1.00pm and reached the site about twenty minutes later. Camping Cabo de Gata is about 10k east of Almeria in the heart of the Cabo de Gata Nature Park. Total mileage to date is just short of 2000. Went to reception and checked in – were told we could pick our own pitch so we walked round and chose a lovely sunny one. About four men arrived as if by magic to help us push the caravan into position. Brilliant.
Weather now very warm and sunny – 24 degrees on the way here. Got set up, sat outside with a mug of tea then went to the bar where you got a free small plate of tapas with each drink ordered. Lots of locals in the bar dancing to Spanish music. We kept ordering halves of beer and the tapas kept coming !
Internet here is good, through a chance conversation George was told not to bother to pay for Wi-Fi in your caravan, just take the laptop to the Internet Room and you can log on for free. Also it’s a much better signal. So George has now managed to upload the La Manga photos from last week.
To have a look click here - PHOTOS
Saturday, March 1
Enjoying La Manga
by
George and Anne
on Sat 01 Mar 2008 18:31 GMT
Days 27- 31 Tues 26 Feb - Sat 1 Mar 08
Have had some lovely warm sunny weather most of the time, hottest 24 degrees, one day was a bit more cloudy but still quite warm. Anne’s been out running in the mornings to the sea and back – lovely. The site is a huge rectangle with the long side measuring just over half a mile. One short edge is where the entrance and reception is by the road and the opposite short edge is along the beach looking across Mar Menor to the La Manga Strip. Running down to the beach and back on a round trip is about 1.5 miles – quite far enough thank you.
Went to the La Manga Club Resort (only 10 min drive) where George has been on Jolly Boys Golf Outings before – hence his memory of the area is a bit hazy ! Lovely Hyatt hotel on the site, also rubbed shoulders with Ian Wright in the Golf Clubhouse bar. Playing golf there as part of a package can be reasonable but if we had played it would have been €198 a round, each! So guess what, we didn’t.
Had a lovely day in Cartagena, about 25 mins drive away. A previous visit was when our cruise ship stopped here for a day in 2000. Walked around familiar streets, beer on the harbour front, lovely weather. Spanish cities all seem to be so clean and inviting with pavement cafes, narrow streets, interesting buildings and friendly locals.
On Saturday we had a brilliant walk in the hills above the La Manga resort. The track wound its way up the mountain through forests until, 45 mins later, we emerged at the top. Here there is a massive old gun emplacement built in 1930 with two huge guns (Navarone size) trained out to sea originally to protect the approaches to the big navel harbour at Cartagena. The views were nearly stunning – nearly because there was a lot of cloud swirling around below us obscuring the views some of the time. We took some photos which you can look at. We could see, during breaks in the clouds, the La Manga Spit in the distance on one side and the coastline and mountains towards Cartagena on the other. A truly beautiful spot and almost deserted apart from a few locals and mountain-bikers. We would highly recommend this walk to anyone who is in the area – we only found out about it by chance from a man George got talking to in the supermarket on the campsite.
The awning proved easier to take down than put up – no problem – and we rewarded ourselves with a great Indian meal in the restaurant here which is down by the beach.
This site is very self contained – beach, supermarket, bar, restaurant, swimming pool etc but for a long stay we think we’d prefer a site - like Javea – where the town itself was within easy walking distance.
Off on the short hop to Almeria in the morning for a week.
Monday, February 25
Awning Morning
by
George and Anne
on Mon 25 Feb 2008 23:00 GMT
Day 26 – Mon 25 Feb 08
Awning morning !
Lovely weather, bright sun, no wind.
Got out the massive black hold-all type bag that has been in the car since we left. Also found the big bag full of poles – oh my god – they all look the same ! Actually, what we must confess here is that, because we are awning honeymooners as well as caravan honeymooners, we did actually have a bit of a trial run with the awning poles in our hallway before we left so we knew which was which !
Followed the instructions (numbered 1 to 8) but got stuck on number one – pull the awning through the rail ! For the uninitiated there is a rail/groove along the sides and top of the caravan – the awning has a thick piping along its edge – this has to be pulled through the channel of the rail. All went well until it got to a join in the rail – turned out that this was full of big lumps of sealant which had to be gouged out with a screwdriver bit by bit. There are two such joints so it took the best part of an hour to clear them both. Anyway, all went pretty well after this and after a couple of hours the awning was up and looking pretty good for a first attempt.
What can I say, it is enormous – the full length of the caravan, that’s 19ft and 2.5m deep. Part of this will be the bedroom for our visitors. Spent the rest of the day emptying the car, moving stuff into the awning and giving the car a good brush out.
George’s back not so good after the exertions of the awning erection so will need to take things a bit easy for the next day or so. Went to the excellent supermarket on site here for some provisions. Weather forecast good again for tomorrow, 20 degrees. Yippee.
Sunday, February 24
Javea to La Manga
by
George and Anne
on Sun 24 Feb 2008 23:00 GMT
Day 25 – Sun 24 Feb 08
Woke up to light rain this morning. Paid the bill which was €14 per night courtesy of the ACSI discount card. (Villanova Park was paid for by Gold Card Camping Cheques – 11 cheques at £10.30p each paid for 14 nights.)
Packed everything up, said our goodbyes and left the site at 9.45am. Easy journey today - only about three hours driving to Camping La Manga, all motorway - the tolls amounted to €10.30. No problems except it was raining all the way until about the last five miles.
We had tried to book in by email last week but were told they were fully booked so thought we’d just turn up with innocent faces – worth a try, and it worked - we were given a choice of two pitches straight away ! Pitch J51 clearly shown on Google Earth, should be an attachment you can click if it works?
This site is right on the beach at Cala Honda and is huge but doesn’t seem it as all the pitches are separated by hedges. Ours is a brilliant one, quite large, with its own water tap and waste water drainage - and perfect position for the sun (important as we are planning to bite the bullet and get the awning out this time !!) We also have 10amp electricity which is a bonus, we had 8amps at Javea and 6amps at Sitges. It’s not so much of a big deal now as we do not need the fire on so much, or on a very high setting.
Had a walk round and drove off up The Strip for a meal.
 1 Attachments
Saturday, February 23
Last few days in Javea
by
George and Anne
on Sat 23 Feb 2008 15:46 GMT
Days 21-24 Wed 20Feb – Sat 23 Feb 08
See new photos
All going well although the weather has gone off a bit since we arrived here. It seems to be following a general pattern – a bit of rain overnight, a bit cloudy during the morning, then the sun comes out for a warm afternoon. That’ll do.
The really cheap meal we had on our first night here turned out to be more expensive that we thought – the next morning George found he had lost a filling! So off we went to the dentist – George had his filling replaced, while we were there I had my new “tooth” re-glued (don’t ask) as it had come a bit loose, and we came out €110 worse off ! Oh well.
Went off for a ride round, followed signs to a golf course and found the big Marriott Hotel and Golf Resort on the road to Denia. Won’t be playing golf there though as it’s €75 each per round.
Were invited to go out with our new Rotarian friends again – this time for lunch at a Chinese restaurant they had all been to before. Drinks and nibbles at somebody’s awning at 12 noon first then walked to the restaurant. Had the set meal deal – three courses, bottle of wine per couple and liqueurs, all for €7.50 per head and that included the tip ! Walked back, had coffee and cake at someone else’s caravan and got back to ours at about 6.00pm having had a very enjoyable time – they are all lovely people and have made us really welcome. (see photos) Thank you David and Jane, Peter and Margaret, Jack and Edna, Richard and Dorothy, Eddie and Audrey.
Went off in the car to Benidorm, only about forty minutes along the coast road. We’ve never been there before. Weather now lovely - very sunny but still a bit chilly in the shade. Benidorm is huge and full of high rise, many look pretty new. It’s built up around and along two enormous sandy beaches and one smaller (comparatively) one – probably well over five miles in total of wide golden sand. Absolutely gorgeous beaches but wouldn’t like to see them in July or August though.
Had a long walk on our last day here – down to the port, very picturesque with various rows of pavement cafes by the water – then right along into the old town, a maze of very narrow streets surrounding the large old church. Lots of work going on with the pavements and roads round the edge of the old town which will be lovely when finished. Weather now glorious – bright sun, no wind, very warm. Came back and sat outside the caravan all afternoon.
Off to La Manga tomorrow, we’re told the site is full but we’ll try and get in anyway. Could be fun. Let you know.
See new photos
Tuesday, February 19
First day in Javea
by
George and Anne
on Tue 19 Feb 2008 21:37 GMT
Day 20 – Tues 19 Feb 08
Bit cloudy this morning but no more rain. Went off for a walk round the site and then into town, going through a dried up river bed on the way. Came back for some lunch, sun out now, so sat outside for an hour then went off for a drive round.
Were invited to another Rotarian’s caravan for drinks this evening – in the end there were twelve of us! We were made very welcome and had a great time. The group, all members of IFCR, International Fellowship of Caravanning Rotarians, come out here every year at this time – sounds like a good idea to us !
We are here until Sunday when we move on south to La Manga and then Almeria.
Monday, February 18
On to Javea
by
George and Anne
on Mon 18 Feb 2008 23:33 GMT
Day 19 – Mon 18 Feb 08
10.00am - Had a bit of a moving out party – tried to manoeuvre the caravan by hand into the right position to get round the four inch high kerb on one side of the pitch and the tree on the other ! Within minutes four men appeared, as if from nowhere, asking if we needed any help – all from surrounding caravans, two German one Dutch one Brit – so the job was done. Hitched up, said our goodbyes and off we went.
Journey started off well – but after about an hour it started to rain. After that we had torrential rain for much of the time. Good news though – the price of diesel is less in Spain, €1.1 per litre. The route took us past thousands upon thousands (literally) of orange trees – row after row after row – in all stages of growth from bare fields ready for planting to mature acres laden with fruit. This was the scenery for most of the way to the Costa Blanca – amazing.
We are still cautiously keeping on toll roads - €33 approx for this leg.
Arrived at the Javea site at around 4.00pm. Found out we were not expected (despite the two emails we had sent) but eventually were put on a large pitch near one of the toilet/shower blocks ! Very convenient, but not particularly private. Never mind, we’re only here for six days.
1491 miles driven so far.
Everyone seems to be English – not always good ! George went off to find the Rotarian contingent and found out from one of them a few eating places to try. Settled into the caravan and paid for six days internet wi-fi, €3.60, rather different from Villanova Park which was €3 per day ! Also, we can pick it up in our caravan so no more carrying the laptop to the bar or internet café – brilliant.
Showered and changed, then went out for what must be the best value for money decent meal we’ve ever had. Three course meal for €8 (about six choices for starter, main and desert) and that included – (wait for it Cathy…...) a bottle of wine each –result !! The food was fine, we ended up drinking one bottle of wine and bringing the other one home with us. Also, because we’d had the set meal we were given vouchers for a free full cooked breakfast each or a free main meal each ! Bargain. Only bad thing so far is the weather – raining at the moment as we go to bed.
Sunday, February 17
Still in Sitges
by
George and Anne
on Sun 17 Feb 2008 18:07 GMT
Days 15-18 Thur 4-Sun 17 Feb 08
Last few days on this site – had a lovely afternoon in the gym and pool area, exercise machines, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi - almost had the place to ourselves.
Played golf on the par 3 course again on Valentine’s day and had a lovely evening meal in the restaurant here, finished off with bubbly and chocolates back in the caravan – keeping up with traditions, unlike most of the other nationalities here who didn’t seem to be aware of it.
Had another day in Barcelona, managed to get off the train at Sants Station and set off for the Placa d’Espania. Found ourselves in the chaos of a huge clear-up – the aftermath of a massive international mobile phone exhibition. Spoilt the look of the Ave Maria Christina somewhat. Walked up the hill of Montjuic to the Museum of National Art and then spent a few hours touring round the Olympic Games ’92 venues – athletics stadium, olympic pool etc. Sadly the Palace Sant Jordi was not open.
Walked right back into city centre and saw the outside of Gaudi’s house – decided that €16 each was a silly price to see the inside, not to mention the hour long queue! Running out of time so jumped into a taxi to visit the Museum of Music, over near the very impressive National Theatre of Catalunya. This is a wonderful exhibition, beautifully staged with interactive sound and about five different videos showing in various areas – the staff were lovely and changed all the overlay text on the films to English just for us ! Very much worth the visit – we must have been in there over two hours – brilliant value at €4 each.
The train was still free – we now know it’s because they are working on the infrastructure and there have been delays, not that we noticed any. Bargain.
Went into Villanova town centre on the bus to visit the Saturday market – much bigger that the one here with all the usual goods on offer, all set up round the indoor fish market. George managed to find a barber willing to tackle his hair – after first going in a ladies salon and being turned away ! – so he’s all neat and tidy on top but still has the beard.
Spent our last afternoon sorting out the car and caravan ready for tomorrow’s journey to Javea where we will meet up with some caravanning Rotarians.
See more photos
Wednesday, February 13
Enjoying Sitges
by
George and Anne
on Wed 13 Feb 2008 17:29 GMT
Days 7 - 14 Wed 6th – Wed 13th Feb
Settling in for a while now – getting up not too early, tidying, shopping, walking, emailing etc in the mornings, sitting out in the sun in the afternoons.
Went up the road to the local golf course. 18 holes, all par 3 (that means very short for the non-golfers among you). Very well kept, lovely greens, nice club house – we had great fun – playing in shorts for the first time this year.
Had a day in Barcelona- got the bus from outside the site into Villanova town station and then got the train to Barcelona – or so we thought! After about 45 mins on the train the surrounding countryside was getting more and more rural. The more rural it got the more we thought we’d dropped a bit of a clanger – and how - we had overshot Barcelona and were on our way to Girona! Got off at the next stop and got the next train back (20 mins ride!) Never mind we’ve got all day and for some reason the return train tickets to Barcelona are free.
Visited some old haunts there - Sagrada Familia (the unfinished Holy Family Church) still didn’t look and any more finished that the last time we saw it but is still very impressive. We walked for miles, George made the mistake of ordering large beers in La Ramblas – turned out to be enormous and €10 each -see photos – the waiter obviously thought we meant large price ! No problems on the train back !
Went to a local market 5 mins walk from here, usual assortment of vegetables, meats, cheese, clothes etc but not wet fish which we wanted.
Had an afternoon in Sitges town centre wandering around the narrow streets of the lovely old town. Looked in estate agents window, property very expensive here – seafront flat two beds €800,000. We’ll stick with the caravan then…
Dragged George to a free water aerobics class in the indoor pool here. Had to sign the register and put your age – we were the youngest by about twenty years but it was great fun – even had to wear a silly hat – see photo. Over 40 people there in all, and the best part was you could stay in and use the pool jacuzzi, steam room etc afterwards. George started chatting to a golfing man in the changing rooms – turns out that his welsh wife who is here with him used to play off +3 (that’s very, very good for the uninitiated). He plays off 9 and they play all the courses for free because she used to play for Great Britain and knows all the pro’s and he was head greenkeeper at Carmarthen. Apparently she goes up to the local driving range here every day – there’s dedication for you.
Thank you for the emails, nice to know you haven’t forgotten about us …yet.
Here until Monday then it’s off to Javea.
Tuesday, February 5
Sitges - First Day
by
George and Anne
on Tue 05 Feb 2008 00:36 GMT
Day 6 – Tue 5 Feb 08
Well – what a site! It’s absolutely huge but doesn’t really seem it. Pitches are all divided by hedges and mostly shaded by trees. The are quite a few people about but also lots of empty pitches. The bar and restaurant last night were almost deserted – lovely.
The shower and toilet block is brilliant – very big and absolutely spotless. Found the laundry area this morning (aptly named the buggedera ) and did my first load of washing of the trip - the drying of it was very tiring – see photo. If you like you can take in a load of washing, give it to the nice lady through the serving hatch, and she’ll wash and dry it for you for 7€ - rather lazy but also a bargain in my book!
Went online in the café this morning and sat out in the sun this afternoon.
Went into Sitges town this evening to see the carnival – one of the most famous in Spain so good timing. Parked the car, walked along the seafront, then went and found a lovely Italian restaurant. The owners and staff were very welcoming and we felt like part of the family by the time we left – they all assembled for a photograph – see photos !
Then the carnival began just up the road from where we’d eaten – amazing sight, lots of beautiful people, beautiful costumes and loud music, went past us for two hours and it still hadn’t finished – see photos. Apparently it goes round the route twice and is still going strong at 3.00am – too late for us oldies !
We are settled here for two weeks before moving on to Javea – it’s a struggle !
Monday, February 4
Day 5 - Toulouse to Barcelona
by
George and Anne
on Mon 04 Feb 2008 23:12 GMT
Day 5 – Mon 4 Feb 08
Very heavy rain and wind in the night, had a bit of a lay in and left the site in sunshine at around 9.30. Had about 20 mins on the ring road round Toulouse and joined the motorway to Barcelona at 10.00am.
Brilliant flat open road, lovely countryside. Car towing really well today – seems much easier than yesterday – due to the lack of wind we think, or perhaps we’ve got a following one !
Joined the A9 and headed due south towards Perpignan at 11.30 – comparatively boring road. Stopped for coffee and sandwich at “Aire Le Village Catalan” – the last services before Spain just past Perpignan – at 12.20.
Passed our 1000 miles mark just before the Spanish border. No passports needed at the border, we were just waved through at both points. Weather has changed a bit and is now cloudy, but the motorway is much quieter. Passed through some torrential rain, back out into the sun and 16 degrees – that’s better – but quite windy now.
Reached the part of the motorway skirting Barcelona (we were heading for Sitges on the far side) and were suddenly surrounded by lorries of every shape, size and speed. Anne was driving at this point and mentioned that George had had the easiest part of the day – again !
We followed our directions to the Villanova Park caravan site and arrived with no problems. Were lead to our pitch by a lovely young man who pointed to the space – and promptly disappeared. We soon found out why ……. not a very big area, difficult to approach round the corner, with a tree at one end ! Oh dear… tried to tow the caravan round the very tight corner and would have managed it if not for the two foot high wall on one side and a three inch high kerb on the other. A German couple across the way took pity on us and offered to help – brill. We unhitched the car and, between the four of us, we manhandled the caravan into position.
This site is massive – 1200 pitches. Sanitary blocks are excellent – new and spotless with red hot water – lovely. Set up the caravan, hot shower, San Miguels (the real stuff, not like at Weston Golf Club) in the bar , quick meal, explore more tomorrow.
Sunday, February 3
Day 4 - Poitiers to Toulouse
by
George and Anne
on Sun 03 Feb 2008 23:09 GMT
Day 4 – Sun 3 Feb 08
Good job we packed the de-icer ! - defrosted the car and left the site at 8.00am. Set off to Toulouse in a beautiful sunrise. Our joy was short lived however as TomTom decided to send us on a different route to the one we wanted without us realising. The cross-country route was very pretty and passed through some lovely places – St Martin Lars, Confolens - ended up losing about an hour by the time we were back on track.
Didn’t cross the river Vienne at Limoges until nearly 11.00am then met up with the motorway and followed lots of long scenic sweeping curves including the Dordogne Viaduct. Our Alhambra is towing very well - we were taking it steady with the cruise control set on 55mph which was fine apart from when the automatic gear box had to be coaxed away from screaming up some of the long inclines in second !
On the way we very excited to hit 11.5 degrees, our highest so far, after the minus 3 degrees of yesterday. Hopefully this will be a continuing trend as we head south.
Arrived at our Toulouse camp site Le Rupe with some brilliantly flukey navigation skills by George. If they hadn’t been right we would have been in deep doodah towing a caravan in the middle of the City. The site is very basic but fine for an overnight stay. Went up the road for a meal.
Good night.
Saturday, February 2
Day 3 - Boulogne to Poitiers
by
George and Anne
on Sat 02 Feb 2008 23:06 GMT
Day 3 – Sat 2 Feb 08
Left the site at 5.40am and got stuck into our longest days driving. Super conditions – dawn at about 8.00am and nothing else on the road for a while. Got to our first motorway toll booths (still in the darkness) and managed to choose an unmanned kiosk – the only way was back ……… testing our new reversing skills. At the next one the ticket blew away before we could get out of the car and grab it out of the machine so Anne picked up what looked like a new one off the ground – that’ll do. And it did – no problem !
We thought the price of diesel would be cheaper than at home, and it is – but not by much. We paid €1.25 today (mind you, unleaded is €1.42).
Got to the Rouen area – what’s that white stuff at the side of the road ? Yes – snow! Temperature dropped to minus 3 degrees – what next we thought. However, as we got further south, the snow disappeared and our spirits rose with the temperature.
Lovely countryside all day, including crossing the Loire at Tours, stopped at a brand new “Aire” for coffee and snack.
After a lot of shared driving we arrived at Le Futurist caravan site just north of Poitiers. The site overlooks Futurescope (a massive futuristic theme park we think) and has very modern facilities and red hot showers – brill.
Early night tonight to catch up on some sleep.
Friday, February 1
Day 2 - Recovery
by
George and Anne
on Fri 01 Feb 2008 23:02 GMT
Day 2 – Fri 1 Feb 08
Howling wind in the trees above us all night. Just the same when we woke up which made us think twice about travelling at all today, so we stayed put.
Spent the day recovering – sorting out the caravan – buying a few provisions etc.
Wind dropped in the afternoon so plan to leave early tomorrow.
Thursday, January 31
Day 1 - Bristol to Boulogne
by
George and Anne
on Thu 31 Jan 2008 23:54 GMT
Day 1 – Thurs 31 Jan 08
What a nightmare start to our adventure……..
Up early and left Bristol Baltic Wharf site at 7.30am - weather very wet and very windy. Got through Bristol ok, driving very carefully…… very windy still - and rain off and on (more on than off).
My brother and his wife were bringing my mum to meet us at Clackett Lane services on the M25 (near where she lives) so that was our first stop. Arrived there eventually feeling very windswept and had a great time in the very warm and cosy caravan before setting off for the Channel Tunnel. By this time the rain was torrential and the wind horrendous.
The Folkestone and Dover ports were closed because of the weather so the M20 was closed between junctions 11 and 12 so it could be used as a lorry park to cater for the lorries waiting for them to start operating again. We wanted junction 11a ! Sat in a traffic jam for about 30 minutes in the pouring rain before being taken on a diversion route to the tunnel where we had to pay through the nose for a ticket as we hadn’t pre-booked – WARNING TO OTHERS - £255, at least £70 more than internet price!
We were the last (literally) high vehicle to be loaded onto the 4.20pm train – squeezed in behind an enormous motorhome. Good job because the next train was cars only.
Great journey through – arrived in France to more wet and very windy weather – worse if anything. Followed Anne’s (and Tom Tom’s) brilliant directions and arrived at Manoir de Senlecques site near Boulogne around 7.00pm local time.
Wonderful little French man leapt out of his office in the pouring rain – hardly able to keep his umbrella up – and directed us to a pitch where we put the caravan legs down and hibernated for the rest of the evening and tried to salvage our nerves.
First meal in France ? – fry up – too wet and tired to venture further.
Site facilities appear, in the dark, to be basic but fine. Manor and grounds probably fab but no idea at this stage.
Planning to leave at 7.00am tomorrow to get an early start.
Good night.
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