La Buganvila, Marbella

Sunday 23rd February 2014 

It being Sunday, we are off to Marbella on the bus, and Kathleen goes to church, followed by a pleasant lunch overlooking the beach.

Waiting at the bus stop, on our way back to the campsite, Kathleen gets chatting to another woman, waiting for the bus. It turns out she too originates from Jarrow. It is almost like a normal family Sunday as a list of potential mutual friends and/or relations  are named, to no avail of course. I tell a lie, there is one "hit" an aunt of the fellow passenger worked as Matron at South Tyneside Hospital, and was known to Kathleen from her nursing days.. 

Monday 24th February 2014 

Rain overnight, but by morning, we are back to blue skies.

We are running out of food, and, more importantly, we are running out of wine, so, a trip to the supermarket is needed.

Kathleen has hurt her back, she claims, it is through washing clothes, I think it is through lying on the ground sunbathing.

While Kathleen takes it easy, I am free to ride about on the motor scooter, a bit of gentle cruising around Puerta Banus.

Tuesday 25th February - Thursday 27th February 2014.

I feel I have been a bit tame with my blog writing, not sure what it is. Kathleen says I am spending too much time reading the newspaper, perhaps she is right, she usually is, so she tells me.

We leave La Buganvilla on Thursday, and head for Almeria, which is about 200 miles along the coast, more or less North.

The old N340 has been dramatically improved, now, a lot of it has been replaced or upgraded to be the A7, mostly dual carriageway. 

It is a little disconcerting however, to every so often come across a section which the satnav thinks is finished, but, which in fact has come to a grinding halt due to Spain's financial woes. The satnav keeps telling us to "join the motorway", when all that is there is a stretch of unfinished carriageway, and a few abandoned earth moving machines.

There are still some pretty impressive sections or road, curving along the coast, with almost sheer drops into the sea, But, you could not really call the area north of Malaga "scenic". The hills which border the coast are composed of some kind of rock, which looks just like a "pit heap".   

Not only that, but sadly much of the countryside is marred by miles and miles of Polythene "greenhouses". No doubt they are very profitable, but, they do not look very attractive.

We arrive at Roquetas de Mar (N36 47'51" W2 35'28"), another ACSI site. A bit bigger than we would normally choose, but, it seems to be well cared for.

One bonus, it well off the A7, and, there appear to be lots of smaller and (hopefully) quieter roads, which may allow me to coax Kathleen onto the back of the scooter.

Went out for a scout around this evening (by myself) on the scooter, discovered the small quiet roads are almost totally lacking in sign posts, I thought I was going to run out of petrol before I found my way back to the campsite!

La Buganvilla, Marbella Contd

Monday 17th February and Tuesday 18th February 2014

Well, it cannot be fun all of the time, or, so Kathleen tells me.

There are chores to be done.

Kathleen initially amuses herself cutting my hair.  I notice, no scissors are used, only the elctric shears, hopefully, with the correct number attachment! 

I note the hairdresser is not wearing her glasses, which is not very reassuring.

It turns out fine, but, a bit short, well, very short. But, as people do, when it is not their hair which has been shorn, Kathleen assures me "it will soon grow". 

After the haircut, cleaning the outside of the van, I have to admit, it is very dirty after our long journey.

Wednesday 19th February - Friday 21st February 2014 

I still cannot convince Kathleen she is safe on the back of the scooter, on the A7/N340, but, I settle into a little routine of riding about to explore, and, of course go shopping for essentials (wine, bread, beer...etc).

I learn a valuable lesson on my second outing, it is hot, so, I am tempted into riding along with my visor open. Disaster, a wasp smacks into my face. The next thing I observe, out of the corner of my eye, is the wasp walking along the edge of my helmet. I have to wait until I get to the supermarket,  wondering all of the way, if it is about to sting!, before I can take my helmet off and get rid of the damned thing. I will not be making that mistake again, visor firmly shut at all times from now on!

The weather continues to be kind, cool in the morning, but, by 10:30 a warm and sunny 20C.

We become regulars using the bus into Marbella, so we can walk the promenade along to Puerta Banus, with drinks and snacks enroute of course.

The bus service appears to be good, but, the timetable appears meaningless, buses just come when they come with no apparent relation to the timetable.

No matter where you go, the fare appears to be 1.18Euro each.

First impressions of this site were that it was somewhat restricted because of the busy main road, but, once you find your way about, there are several walking possibilities, each with scenic views, and of course pleasant bars to partake of necessary refreshment in the heat.

Quarteira, Rain, Spain, Marbella

Sunday 9^th February 2014

 A day of rain and high winds. I do not even venture out!

 Kathleen being a good Catholic, walks to church in the rain.

 Monday 10^th February 2014

The rain has stopped, the sun is out. We decide to ride out on the scooter, perhaps as far as Fusceta, and visit Gordon and Kath (if they have not given up on the weather and left). We make it as far a Faro (about 15 miles), when Kathleen decides she has had enough. I must admit, it is very windy, I do not think I have been on a motorcycle in such high winds. We turn around and return to Quateira.

Something tells me the scooter is not going to be a success.

Once back, we get into conversation with an elderly (79) English woman, who, it emerges, hails from South Shields, although she has not lived there for some 40 years.

She recommends a restaurant (Tirimasu) for lunch. We walk the two miles to the restaurant, only to find, it is closed on Mondays! Fortunately, there is another restaurant open a short distance along the road, so, all is not lost.

Tuesday 11^th February – Thursday 13^th February 2014

You may have detected a common thread here, it is RAIN!.

I will dispense with the details, we have been here ten days on Thursday, it has rained for eight of them. Enough is enough, we are off to Spain, Marbella on the Mediterranean Coast, to see if the weather is better.

Friday 14^th February 2014

Marbella, La Buganvilla (N36 30’ 11” W4 48’ 12”), an ACSI site. This was not the most recommended of sites from the comments on the internet. But it seems to be perfectly OK to us!

The site is surprisingly busy, given that it is "out of season". 

We get a reasonable spot, but, then find the English couple parked near by (with a better spot) are due to leave in a couple of days, so, we arrange to move into their spot, as soon as they vacate it!

We even have a view of the sea!

Amazing, we wake to blue skies.

Time to explore, the site is fine, but, is separated from the sea by the coast road (A7-N340), but, there is a pedestrian footbridge, so, no need to risk life and limb. 

Not cycling country, but, I get out on the scooter, and check out the other potential site at Cabopina, only to decide we should stay where we are. 

Kathleen will not venture on the back of the scooter on the A7-N340, (well not yet anyway). 

Saturday 15^th February 2014

A trip into Marbella, on the bus, to check out the eating possibilities, and of course the church!

Other vital requirements (ie finding an Orange Shop, to renew my Spanish SIM card, internet time), are a dismal failure, we find two Orange shops, both of which appear to be closed down!

The good news is, unlike Portugal TMN, Orange-Spain have not closed down my SIM card for lack of use, and, have even retained the little credit I had left from last year.

Sunday 16^th February 2014

We are up early, our English neighbours are due to leave at 8:00, but, it is actually nearer 9:00 when they go, and we quickly move onto their vacated pitch.

Excitement of the move over, we head off to Marbella on the bus.

Kathleen goes to mass, whilst I look after more earthly things, like exploring the "old town" and finding a restaurant for lunch!

I must say, I am pleasantly surprised at Marbella, it is the ultimate "Costa del Sol designer tourist haven". 

Sure enough, there is a massive sprawl of modern high rise accomadation and "designer" shops, but, the "old town" is surprisingly quaint and well preserved.

In the middle of it all, there is even the remains of a Moorish fort, reputedly built in the 10th century. 

We enjoy an excellent lunch overlooking the sea, and even get to meet the waiter's newborn boy child, when his wife (?) turns up, to show off the new arrival.

On our return to the site, we find we have a new neighbour.

Quite an amazing character (if the story is true!). 

In 30 minutes and a bottle of Mexican Corona, (shared between myself and Kathleen), we get a story worthy of Harrison Ford.

This guy (Pierre) is (I may have forgotten some details):

• a French Canadian, living in Frankfurt, Germany
• was given a hand out of £250,000 from his father at age 30.
• after  heart attack, retired at 40, with an even bigger fortune.
• invested the fortune in gold, which has now increased 1000%
• having retired, he invented various equipment to help the third world
• everything he touches appears to turn into even more money
• plays five musical instruments (when pressed by Kathleen, none were actually named)
• married for the first time at 61
• has three "boats" dotted around the world, all of which, he has built himself
• when he is not sailing, he roams Europe (with his dog) in a campervan
• has been attacked by wild dogs in Romania, once saving his wife and once his dog
• ambushed and shot three times by bandits in Guatemala
• his wife, jets around the world, earning a fortune, as a banker, and helping the needy

I think that is it, makes you feel quite inadequate!.

You may have guessed from the volume of information imparted, it was not so much a conversation as a monologue.

Quarteira

Tuesday 04/02/2014

The road works near the entrance to the campsite are still not finished, they have progressed about 100 metres, since last March!

A shopping trip to Lidl, is required. Along with all of the other pensioners, we cannot resist the "bargains aisle". Kathleen is seduced into choosing some non slip protective mats, only 2.95 Euro. The have all kinds of uses: Protect worktop : protect sink, table mat ; drinks coaster ...etc, not to mention, double the shopping bil, when it is Ken’s turn to pay!

There is a hiccup in topping up my Portuguese SIM card, because I have not topped it up for a year, they have cancelled the card, but they give me a new one, with a small amount of data already in place. This is quickly used up, downloading the CoPilot GPS app, along with map of Portugal and Spain, which Gordon and Kath told us about.

The day time weather is pleasant, but, overnight, there is a howling gale, we never learn, we have left the awning out, we have to get out of bed to roll it in at 1:00am ! 

Wednesday 05/02/2014

A problem, we cannot get the handle which winds the awning in to detach from the awning, and, it is too high for me to reach to see what the problem is. Fortunately, our helpful English neighbours have  a ladder on the rear of their van. They reverse their van alongside ours, and, I am able to climb up the ladder on their van, so detach the handle.

It is dry and sunny, a trip to buy bread, vegetables, and top up my internet SIM, using the scooter for the first time. 

Thursday 06/02/2014

Weather is poor, not cold, but unpredictable, sunny one minute, violent downpours the next!

A day of reading and dodging the showers.

Friday 07/02/2014

Hurrah! The sun is out, it is sunny and warm!

We cycle for 5 miles along the coast, to the marina at Villamoura, beers at convenient stopping points of coarse.


Saturday 08/02/2014
The sunshine has been short lived. Grey skies and drizzle greet us this morning.

The plan had been to go to visit Gordon and Kath, on the motor scooter, but, the weather is too poor for a 50 mile round trip. Instead, we walk to Lidl to buy Pizza for this evening, and get thoroughly soaked in the process, when the drizzle turns to driving rain.


We manage a Skype call to Gary, Gabriel and Susana in Aberbyjan, and a call to Charlotte to wish her happy birthday.


Not even a photograph to show!

Caceres - Continued

Sunday 2nd February 2014 

There has been an overnight frost, but, it is dry!, and sunny!

We fall into conversation with another English couple, Gordon and Kath (Kathleen, her Sunday name), who are also planning a trip into town on the bus.

It being Sunday, Kathleen attends mass at the first church we encounter, (Sant Mateo), whilst I wander the historic area of Caceres.


The old town is like stepping into a set from El Cid.


There are narrow winding streets and ancient buildings, including a "Lancelot Taverna", but, none of the bars or restaurants are open.

The mostly lively scene I encounter is a busker

playing Spanish Guitar music and signing, what is no doubt a very moving song, if I understood a word of it.

It is soon time to make my back to the church, to meet up with Kathleen, who, her duty done, is ready for coffee etc.

We wander back into the sun filled main square, where we again encounter Gordon and Kath, drinking coffee in the sunshine.

More exploring, so back to the old town, to wander the narrow streets and make the obligatory visits to the Cathederal of St George, which no longer appears to be functioning as a church, but now appears to be a museum, telling the history of the (Roman) Catholic Church (beginning with Jesus of course), and mounting displays of religious bric a brac.

We encounter a parade going on, I am not sure what the occasion is.

Having had our fill of cultural activities, we make our way back to the main square, here we meet up with Gordon and Kath again, and spend the rest of the afternoon eating and drinking in the sun.

It is a hard life, but, somone has to do it.


Monday 3rd February 2014

We had intended to stay here another two days (Kathleen cannot resist the "bargain" of getting a free night if you stay three nights), but, when we wake, it is raining (again!).

So, accordingly, we set off for Portugal, Quateira.


The Spanish have built a nice new motorway, south to Seville and beyond, (that is where at least some of those Euro's went in the financial crash). So, we disregard our planned route, via Evora and do the 300 miles, free motorway (almost) all of the way. At the Portuguese border, they have installed automatic Toll Machines for all non-Portuguese vehicles. What a cheek!

We arrive at Orbitur Quateira (N37 W4' 2" W8 5' 14"), it is an ACSI site, but, it is cheaper to use our Orbitur memebership card and we get ten nights for 100Euro. 

The scooter is unloaded, with the assistance of Kathleen and a very friendly French couple.

From Home to Spain

Tuesday 28^th January 2014

True to form, we do not get away from home as promptly as planned, but, eventually we are away, on a cold and wet January day.

We have booked our first stop at Folkestone, and a Tunnel crossing, other than that, we have nothing booked. The plan is to follow a route we were given by a chap we met in Portugal, last year. It uses stops en-route which are open at this "off season" time of year.

 Our first overnight stop is Black Horse Farm Caravan Club Site, Folkestone, it has the advantage of having a separate area for Ferry / Tunnel users, so, you can arrive and leave "out of hours". We  arrive in the pouring rain, and dark. The Motorcycle trailer lashings giving a problem, don’t know it at the time, but, I have tied the ratchet buckle incorrectly, so, it is working itself loose as we travel. We eat, sleep, and leave in dark, 5:15 in the morning, to go to the Channel Tunnel.

Wednesday 29^th January 2014

Arrive for Le Shuttle, at Channel Tunnel, as you might expect, at 5:30am, it is pretty quiet, check in all very slick this time, machine reads our number plate automatically as we drive in, one click on the screen to confirm our details, and, we are in. Unlike the previous occasion we used it.

Emerge from tunnel, 8:00am French time. A soggy drive south, rain, rain and more rain, signs of flooding all around, and, every river we cross is swollen and bursting its banks.

Our first stop is Montoire-Sur-Le-Loire (N47 45’ 27.5” E0 52’ 10.4”) an Aire with lighting,

waste disposal, Water, Electricity. All Free.

Approximately 300 miles south of Calais, but, we arrive in daylight, which allows me to have a proper look at the scooter on the trailer and correct my faulty threading of the front ratchet strap.

Montoire-sur-Loir is a pleasant and typical small French town, a choice of boulangeries, banks, cafes and bars arranged around the market square.

First port of call is a cash machine, to obtain some Euros, then a friendly looking bar. 

To begin, two beers (typical English choice).

We sit and marvel at the number of people in the bar (it is only 6:00pm), and given the high price of beer (5.60Euro for two small beers), wonder how they can afford it.

But, we notice very few are drinking beer, careful observation while we drink our beer, and we notice some are drinking Pastis and some White Wine. Next round is Pastis and a White Wine, much more reasonable at 3.60Euro for the two. The only problem is, I do not like Pastis, but, perhaps I will acquire a taste for it?

30 January 2014

We fail to set the alarm, and are a little late at getting away in the morning, we have approximately 350 miles to go, to our next planned destination, which is Moliets Plage, Landes (N43 51’ 5.8” W1 23’ 6.7”) an Aire  with no facilities, other than street lighting and a Public toilet.

But, Kathleen has looked up the recommended Aire, and decided, she is not impressed, so, the destination is changed to Lac de Ville St Girons (N43 54.178’ W1 18.572’), which, the Aires Book says has everything, Electricity, Showers, Toilets etc.

Tomorrow is to be our 27th Wedding Anniversay, but, as we leave the A63 motorway, a slight Sat Nav misunderstanding almost ensures we do not make it to our wedding anniversary without a divorce.

At the end of the motorway slip road is a roundabout, we take one exit too early, and are soon driving along a single track road, surrounded by dense pine forest, needless to say, it is pouring with rain.

Three miles of recriminations later, tempers fraying rapidly, the sat nav instructs us to turn right into an even narrower gravel track.

No chance!.

The good news is, there is just enough hard ground at the entrance to the track to turn the van around, but, not complete with trailer of course!

We both emerge into the pouring rain to unhitch the trailer, push it out of the way, so, I can turn the van around in what seems like a ten point turn. Then re-hitch the trailer, and drive back to the point where we went wrong.

There follows nine miles in torrential rain, along narrow roads through the forest.

Kathleen is elated, when, eventually, we emerge onto  a road wide enough to have a white line painted down the middle.

Her joy is short lived, we arrive at the aire to find the entrance road under two feet of water.  

What to do?, it is now dark, the nearest aire we know of is another ten miles or so. 

We decide to park in the deserted car park opposite the adjacent (closed) campsite and settle down to eat and sleep.

It continues to rain for most of the night.

31^st January 2014

Today is our 27^th wedding anniversary, and we are waking up in a car park. 

Kathleen jokes about it, but, you just know, this will not be forgotten. It is going to be added to the long list of my errors and brought up periodically! Good job I had the forethought to buy a card for her!

After the previous three days marathons of over three hundred miles per day, today is a trifling 230 miles.

We stay on the “free” Route Nationale until we near Bayonne, at which point, past experience dictates it is wise to take the toll road to miss the traffic of Bayonne and Biarritz, not to mention the nightmare that is San Sebastian.

The weather improves, we have sunshine! And the temperature reaches a heady 11C, as we travel across the border into Spain, and, through the mountains. 

As we climb away from the coast, the temperature drops, and soon, we encounter snow on the ground, although, the road is clear and dry.

Once through the mountains, the temperature climbs to a balmy 11C again, on to our next destination, Burgos (N42 20’ 24.5” W3 39’ 20.0”) an ACSI listed Campsite, with of course, all facilities, including a heated Toilet block!

To be honest, if you are staying just one night, there is little advantage in using a camp site, but, today is HWD (hair washing day), which regular readers will understand means full facilities, including electricity are mandatory!

1st February 2014

An early start, we are on the road by 08:30. 

Free motorway for approximately 300 miles.

This is not the Spain most English people know, ie the Costas, we are crossing an enormous plateau, which stretches off into the distance.

Mostly, it appears to be deserted farmland, with every so often a sizeable, and surprisingly industrial town.

The superb motorway is almost empty of traffic, a little disconcerting, given how remote the area appears to be, it also seems to be lacking any emergency telephone points, or cameras along the way. Breakdown here at your peril.

This, of course, is the "plain", of "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain", fame, and, so it does, today, as we get regular downpours along the way. 

Although the sun is shining, it is very cold, only 6C.

A stop for lunch and fuel, and, we encounter the first Police Patrol we have seen since leaving Burgos. 

Two Gaurdia Civil, standing by their patrol car, faces muffled in scarves, over doing it a little I think! 

Eventually, we drop down from the high plateau we have been travelling across, and run alongside some snow capped mountains, called, Kathleen informs me, after studying the map, Sierra Berger.

By 15:00, we arrive at Caceres (N39 29'19" W6 24'46"), another ACSI listed site. This one of those sites where each pitch has it's own individual toilet, washbasin and shower room on the pitch.

The original route calls for an overnight here, before pressing on, into Portugal via Evora to the Algarve.

We are too feint hearted for that, we decide to stay here for a few days. The sun is shining and, the temperature gauge has crept up to 14C.

Tomorrow is Sunday, there are several churches in town, to satisfy Kathleen's church going tendancies, there is a bus stop outside of the campsite gates. A rest, lunch in town is the plan.