Portugal & Spain 16th Dec - 21st Dec

16th Dec - Olhao

The beautiful sunset at Olhao! Today we headed off towards Olhao, knowing more or less exactly where we wanted to stay - makes a change as we just normally go with the flow. We stopped at Lidl en-route for some food & had a spot of lunch on the carpark (classy or what?) We arrived in Olhao early afternoon, it's a great place - got parked up, I did a bit of work.... then we headed in to town for a walk along the front as the sun set. We decided to stop at one of the many small cafe bars along the front to finish watching the sunset with a coffee & a brandy (pure indulgence), it was truly magical! Back at the van Mal made a wonderful mushroom risotto. almost forgot as soon as we arrived here I spotted a huge nest on top of a chimney stack, so we got the binocs out & it was a stork with her baby....so cute & an awesome sight.....then guess what.....looked out of the door to see another chimney with yes you guessed it another stork with her baby!!! Taken whilst sat enjoying brandy & coffee....delicious 17th Dec - Conil El Torro Our garden area in Conil.... We got up reasonable early & decided to head towards Spain, not sure where at this point, but thought we would see where the mood would take us! Anyway we travelled for the whole day having a bit of lunch on the way. We decided to go to Conil (a place recommended to us by Brian & Mary), they had stayed on a couple of campsites there. Jane (sat nav) took us on a couple of scary turns through the town, one of which we decided to ignore her on....thankgod - we would definitely still be stuck there now! We thought we would check out the beach area first for a spot of wild camping & found a couple of other MH's so we pulled up & bedded down for the night. We awoke to a wonderful sunrise & took a stroll on the beach, wow this is life! 18th Dec - Estepona Again we decided to head on into Spain unsure of where to spend the night. En-route we decided to stay at a campsite in Estepona (we needed a site to re-charge the electric & do the regular waste disposal etc.) We found a little campsite which had once been a garden centre, it advertised hot showers & a heated pool - the pool sold it to me as I hadn't been swimming for a while 'cos of the change in temperature. Needless to say the showers were luke warm & the pool was cold .... all running off solar panels - so would only stay there again if we were desperate! At 18 euros per night you would expect better. Almost forgot I drove the MH & got her set up in her spot for the night!! 19th & 20th Torrox area Beach Our garden in Torrox... Today we decided to head on to Nerja so we could have a couple of days relaxing before the Wilsons arrived. We came across 3 MH's on the beach just outside of Nerja, just down the hill from where the Wilson's are staying. We pulled in & asked them if they were spending the night - well they couldn't have been more helpful, even moving one of their van's over to give us room to pull in alongside them! People are so accommodating & friendly, nothing is too much trouble. Two of the MH's left the next day & we were left with a lovely chap (not sure of his name yet) but we affectionately named him Captain Birdseye ....Mal thought he should be snowed under with work offers this time of year!! We spent the whole day sat out reading & generally relaxing. We have decided to move to a campsite tomorrow, to re-charge the electric & I need lots of water to do the pre-Christmas van cleaning! Oh we had another MH join us with two guys, Mal affectionately named them 'The Pet Shop Boys'! 21st - El Pino camping (Torrox area) Off to El Pino camping just 500m up the hill from the beach - arrived here at 9.30am, found a convenient spot & set about our chores. Did 3 loads of washing & spent most of the day cleaning the van, fresh sheets for us tonight. Did some admin too, then treated myself to a long luxurious shower....wow it's amazing what you come to appreciate when you are spending your life on the road. To add to my unfinished jobs I thought I would complete the blog too....Mal cooked a wonderful spicy pork & pineapple dish for tea....we hadn't eaten since our breakfast so devoured the food in no time. We had a nice man arrive at our door, to offer us some freshly caught Mackrel....free of charge of course.....it truly is a different world on the road - so that's lunch for tomorrow sorted. The Wilsons arrive tomorrow, so no doubt it will be a while until I blog again! So a Merry Christmas to you all & a Happy, Healthy, Wealthy 2009!

Armacao de Pera 27th Nov - 15th Dec

It's been a while!!

Not too much has been happening, hence why I have waited for a while to blog! Sorry to all you readers......although I am not sure who/if anyone reads this. Our two 'couples' of friends have now moved on, Brian & Mary into Spain ready for their trip to Morocco for Xmas & Gilroy & Sheila to Olhao for a spot of bird watching prior to returning to the UK for Xmas. They have all been great company & we enjoyed another great night out at the Portuguese evening. We helped Brian pack their RV up a bit....well Mal did whilst I had a cup of tea with Mary! They bought us a lovely Santa for in our MH....it was so kind of them & looks great! It was very windy & rainy on the 29th so Mal dug some trenches at the back of the MH 'cos we had a river flowing through camp. We stayed in today as the weather was so poor, Brian & Mary came round in the evening as they had packed all their Satellite etc away.

Sheila (Pink top) & Mary Mal & Gilroy

Brian & Mal

Mal trying Sheila's funky glasses on for size!

30th Nov - It was rainy this morning! but we managed to sit out for a while in the afternoon, at least until the showers came again. We said our goodbyes to Brian, Mary, Sheila & Gilroy hoping that we will meet up with them again on the road. Eve & Bill our neighbours at the back had been out yesterday to the church made of bones (ooohh quick spooky). Oh & the pig (now known as pig in harness) has been ordered to leave the site...so naturally Jolie, Annie & Shaun (the dog) will have to move on! The rest of our time was spent relaxing, reading, going to the market, down to the beach - just regular day to day stuff!

15th Dec - departure day!

We both got up early & embarked on packing for the off! Bill came to ask Mal some IT advice, so Mal kindly offered to take a look at his laptop to try to fix the problem - to no avail. Our departure time consequently slipped back to after lunch.... Anyway we headed of towards Porches were we stopped off for lunch, this is a lovely area with beautiful beaches. We stopped off at Pingo Doce (supermarket) for 8litres of woolite for my sister P.....it is much cheaper in Portugal & she is my sis! We decided on a spot of wild camping at the barragem (reservoir), anyway long story short....we got lost ended up near a barragem on a workman's site....the roads were mud & it was pretty scary driving albeit not the worst I have experienced on this trip! We gave up & decided to go towards Albufeira, which was almost where we came from about 2hrs before! We carried on through Villamoura & stayed on the beach at Queteira.

P.S - we still haven't got the parts from Hymer!!!

Me above the beach in Porches The old church on the peninsula at Porches - spot the person with the long hair....could be cousin it!!

The old church on the peninsula at Porches - beautiful!

Porches Beach...

Armacao de Pera 18th Nov to 26th Nov 08

18th to 26th Nov 08

Life is nice & relaxed now we have settled down in one spot for a while. Brian & Mary called round this morning to see if Mal could update their Tom Tom (Mal is the on site techno guru). We wanted an oil filled radiator for the van, so they kindly took us to Leroy Merlin (Portugal's equivalent to B&Q). After this we headed to the supermarket & had a spot of lunch out! I had started my cleaning this morning but broke off to go out.....guess it will wait until tomorrow!

Cleaning day today.....the resident chef made me a lovely breakfast, think it was to give me my cleaning energy! Anyway finished cleaning about 1pm. Mary called around to say the laptop she had taken to be fixed at the shop still wouldn't connect to the Internet! Mal took a look at it later & decided it needed stripping down - his next job! Naomi (the pig) has been confined to barracks & is now known to us as 'pig in harness'..... she now has to wear a harness, basically people have been complaining about her roaming around!

Armacao de Pera beach

I have decided to get a bit more exercise in the form of swimming, it is an outdoor pool (so it's very cold)! Mal took himself on his bike, so I popped around to see Mary & Brian. Mary & I took a stroll to the local hairdressers to book her in, Mary knows everyone.....so you get to meet lots of people. There is a library on-site, so I picked up a couple of books. Mal has been on to Hymer again they have finally agreed to order the parts in the UK and send them out to us here! Mal & I took a cycle to the beach late on today, watching the sunset & the fishermen unload the days takings.....not a good day at sea apparently. We met a lovely Portuguese man on the beach who told us all about the fishing in the area & the fisherman we had been watching (who was so kind as to give me a Seahorse from his boat).

Me in the swim...at the end of November!!

The next few days were spent doing my daily swim, cycling, fixing Mary's laptops, amongst many other things - in 1 week I have swam 154 lengths = 4,620metres! I now have a swimming partner too.... a lady called Annie (Naomi's (pig) Mum). After our swim today Annie asked Mal & I round for drinks in the evening. We took a bottle of wine & had a lovely evening chatting about places/experiences we'd had. Annie & Jolie are experienced campers, in the van with us was a dog & Naomi (the pig).....you would never have known there was a pig in there!! Anyway Mal & I have been going easy on the old vino since we started travelling, but Annie & Jolie are in the Wilson's league (for those of you who know the Wilson's) they drank....3/4 bottle of martini & 3/4 bottle of whiskey respectively!! Think they may have thought we are lightweights.... they are a lovely couple & it was nice to be invited round.

Mary & Brian invited us out for something to eat along with another couple (drinks on them for Mal fixing the laptops etc.) - this was very kind of then as they have equally helped us out with stuff. Anyway we had a lovely meal with them & met another great couple with lots of interesting stories to tell. We enjoyed each others company so much that we all agreed to go to the Portuguese night (something to do with getting your food served in a bed pan!) on Friday which is at the same restaurant on the campsite. Today Mal & I had experienced a few issues with the electric hook up failing i.e. it had gone off twice prior to going out! The weather has changed slightly over the last few days & it has gone much cooler & is certainly cold at nights about 9deg. Anyway on our return at 11pm the electric was off again!! It was very cold in the van, so PJ's & socks was the order of the day for me.....of course Mal was as brave as ever....! Swimming is off the agenda at the moment too, it is too cool & the pool has been closed...not sure if the pool will re-open! Hopefully at our next place we may get an indoor pool - I was really enjoying my swimming!

Portugal 7th Nov to 17th Nov 08

Camping Lisbon - 7th Nov 08 Church of Nossa Senhora da Graca

The bells of Church of Nossa Senhora da Graca Woke early this morning - Mal took himself on a bike ride to explore! We had battleships in the bay right in front of us......which was another 'new' experience. After breakfast we had decided to visit the 16th Century Fort Sagres which presented us with some awesome views, there is a beautiful old church here too Church of Nossa Senhora da Graca which dates from 1579. We then set off on the road towards Lisbon, stopping off at Sines for a picnic lunch. To stave off the boredom of travelling Holly & Phil watched DVDs on the trip. We arrived at Camping Lisbon just before sunset. Whilst Mal & Phil got the van in position & hooked up to electric etc., Holly & I headed to the on-site supermarket.....WOW!!! I know we are in a recession but I half expected to find powdered eggs & ration books. Out of season campsite supermarkets are just not 'the thing'! Holly & Phil kindly offered to cycle to the supermarket whilst I cleaned the kitchen & bathroom. Anyway the sun went down down & it was very dark, I was starting to worry about them as I knew they had no lights on the bikes....anyway the happy campers returned unscathed, but laden with bags of good things. I knocked together a curry whilst having a 'mini' fire with poppadoms under the grill - the curry went down great. We settled in for another of our card marathons.... Camping Lisbon - 8th Nov 08 http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadelisboa/ http://www.golisbon.com/sight-seeing/castle.html

Santa Justa Elevator The view over Lisbon from the Castle St George

Castle St George

Statue of Christ

Plaza

One of the man street trams

Now I must say this site has a great website & is classed as a 4* but it is not as nice as any of the other lower class sites we have stayed at, the facilities are below standard, with hardly any hot water for showering - the site itself is a little run down & just needs a bit of TLC. Today was our 'explore Lisbon' day!! We packed our rucksack & headed off after breakfast on the bus to the Oceanarium which is the second largest in the world! Wow the Oceanarium was a real blast, great for kids of any age, we saw Octopus, Sharks, Seahorses to name a few - they also do sleep overs for kids too which I thought was a great idea, we all thoroughly enjoyed it especially the Sea Otters! Lisbon is like many major cities not very clean, the streets were strewn with litter & dog muck, there is a lot of graffiti too! The 'main' tourist areas shops etc are cleaner. Next we caught the metro to the Castle of St George it's oldest parts date from the 6th Century! Prior to visiting the castle we explored the backstreets of this district & happened upon a little family run restaurant. We all decided upon the lunch menu of the day at 7.50 euros each, prior to ordering the waiter arrived at our table laden with plates containing cheese, ham, olives & bread - as he had just placed them onto the table we placed our order.....he then proceed to take the plates off the table just leaving the bread & olives! He was clearly trying to get us to order the more expensive menu, which was far too much food....anyway this really put Phil offside & for the rest of the meal he had a grudge against the waiter & decided he wasn't giving him a tip (Mal sneaked a tip to the waiter at the end of our meal). The meal was absolutely beautiful & really inexpensive for the amount we had - clearly you must state exactly what you want & not be pushed into an alternative menu! Fed & watered & armed with directions from 'the waiter' we headed to the castle. The castle provided expansive views over Lisbon, in particular they have a Camera Obscura here which Mal & I wanted to see, unfortunately it was closed!! We ambled down into the City where there was an abundance of shops, we sat in a street side cafe & quenched our thirsts with a jug of Sangria, putting a perfect end to a perfect day! Due to there being a huge street protest & some of the roads being closed we ended up getting a taxi back to the campsite.......jeez it was like a fairground ride (wild mouse), the guy would have been better off in Estoril on the F1 track! Mal et al fed on Risotto (I was still full from lunch so gave it a miss). We finished the day with a couple of rounds of cards being our last night together. Guincho - 9th Nov 08 An early start today as we had to get Holly & Phil to the Airport.....we dropped them off at about 7.30am. We currently have a broken table!! Good old Hymer quality strikes again.....boy I am cheesed off with this. Basically the telescopic foot on the table has stopped working, so the table will not rise into it's upright position! We will have to stay in the area & go to Hymer in Sintra on Monday. Mal & I tried with success to get the table to rise to it's correct position, almost killing Mal in the process as a piston shot out of the bottom of it & smashed right into his chest. We thought we would try a spot of 'wild' camping for the night along the coast, without success....the drive along the coast was breathtaking & very very busy. Anyway we ended up going back to one of our old campsites & staying there for the night. The weather was great 25 degrees so we sat out sunbathing, Mal made a delicious tuna bolognese for tea. Armacao de Pera - 10th Nov 08 I set about cleaning the van first thing as it was a bit of a cess pit after the 4 of us staying in it. Then we headed off to Hymer - Mal explained our problem with the table & water cap (not locking - this is our 2nd cap), the guy at Hymer took the van off & came back about 1/2 hr later to say he couldn't fix it! They would need to order a new base, also they had no water caps left as he had just fixed 2 other vans, apparently this is a common problem. We decided to call Hymer UK to get them to order the part & get it delivered to Seville then we would get it fitted when we headed over to Spain for Xmas. Anyway we got on our way down to the Algarve, stopping off only for a quick snack - courtesy of Deb's snack bar! Arrived in Armacao de Pera just west of Albuferia at 6pm ish (it was v dark out) not great to arrive anywhere new in the dark, as it's difficult to find a spot, pitch up, you can't get a feel for the area etc. However, we got parked with relative ease & settled in for the night, concluding we could always move tomorrow if need be. Armacao de Pera - 11th Nov 08 Naomi!! Naomi having a route.... Great!! I got a lie in until 9.30am, but was a wake on & off with workmen drilling & hammering! I will have to suss out what's happening later. Just as I sat eating my porridge, whilst gazing out of the window.....I spotted a black animal lying down near someones van (it was not a dog) - it was a little back.....pot bellied pig!!!!! I got Mal to check it out too.....'said' pig was just chilling by someones van! I can't believe someone's keeping a pig in their MH??!!?? can they...... just asked Mal if we can get a pig........he says the van is not exactly pig friendly! I suggested he could live in the garage - the pig of course!! tee hee We took a cycle around the site & after numerous round trips & aided by the knowledge of a friendly couple at the back of us Eve & Bill (telling us about the sunrising & setting) we decided to stay where we are but to put the van in sideways, so we would benefit from the sun more. I put down our new outside matting, chairs etc. looks like we have really set up home for a while at least - think we will stay for about a month (depending on the weather of course). Armacao de Pera - 12th Nov 08 to 17th Nov 08 We are really enjoying our time here the weather is fab 25 degrees today, so plenty of sitting out & reading being done (want to make the most of the sun before it turns colder). Now 'the pig' her name is Naomi (after Naomi Campbell) she is 5 months old, she loves you feeding her apples (or anything really), she now comes to visit us, she allows us to scratch her & lies on the floor so we can scratch her belly....she has a real personality, answers to her name, is house trained, knows where home is, basically she is great & I want one! We have spent the last few days exploring the area, there are some great beaches here with lots of fishermen. Mal & I got some great fish from the fishmonger in town (don't know what it was), we are getting very adventurous now! We have met another nice couple Mary & Brian, who have kindly been updating us on good campsites to visit & general knowledge on 'full timing' as it is called, they have a huge RV. Mal sorted out one of their laptops for them. We visited the street market on Saturday (which I love), we bought some fabulous fruit, veg & fish - I made a great Paella on Sunday. Once again life has taken on a more leisurely pace, with hours spent in the sunshine reading. However, we are commencing our Spanish lessons on Weds (just studying together), but we felt we must set down a timetable for them or we will not do it! Piri Piri chicken for tea tonight courtesy of Mal's kitchen.

Portugal 30th Oct - 6th Nov 08

Portugal 30th October 08 - Fuzeta We headed off to Portugal at 9.50am via Seville, where we intended to call at Ikea and the Hymer dealership (to get 'another' new locking water cap - 3rd one lucky). The trip along the N340 in Spain was hellish, you are really taking your life into your own hands, I call it running the gauntlet! We passed Vallderamma where the Volvo masters were being held (Golf for those of us who don't know)! We had a pretty straightforward journey, once on the outskirts of Seville we realised that Jane (sat nav) had gone mute, try as we might we could not get her to speak to us - perhaps she was sulking as we hadn't used her for a month! Anyway after many wrong turns, u-turns, and any other turns you can think of, she regained her voice - thank god! We paid our visit to Ikea with not too much success, we needed a kettle (ours had broken), they didn't have any..... but we indulged in a 'meal out' meatballs in Ikea! It was reaching 4.30pm so we decided to give Hymer a miss and head straight on to Portugal. We programmed Jane for a campsite which seemed to be really out of the way, along some salt flat areas. We did a u-turn convinced we were in the wrong area, but Mal not one to give up, decided we had been heading in the right direction after all (it was pitch black outside, with no lighting). Eventually we came to the end of the road and still hadn't found the campsite, the only place was a hotel - Mal popped in to ask them. Unfortunately the campsite was on an island which was only suitable for tents and you needed a boat to get there - thanks Jane!! Although Mal did come armed with an alternative campsite, so we headed there. Just as we approached the campsite we saw an area where there appeared to be a lot of 'wild campers' so we decided to join them, the place was called Fuzeta, we had a great spot just at the side of the inland river. Again I did not sleep well as Mal will happily tell you, I have developed an incredible imagination, whereby every sound I hear in the night turns into all sorts of weird and wonderful things....

Portugal 31st October 08 - Sines We set off early this morning, continuing our journey north - we have to pick Mal's daughter Holly and her boyfriend Phil up at Lisbon airport on Sunday afternoon. We decided to avoid motorways and toll roads as much as possible. The landscape has changed considerably in Portugal, Mal had prepared me for a 3rd world country with a poor road system - we were both pleasantly surprised to find it much nicer then Spain! We passed numerous fields filled with numbered trees, which Mal informed me were 'cork' trees, they appeared to have just had their bark removed (quite a bizarre sight). There were also fields of Orange trees and solar panels!! At one stage of the journey on every electric pylon for as far as the eye could see there were huge birds nests, we concluded they must have been storks. We also went along an original roman road and boy did our bodies know about it - we felt like the life was being shaken out of us! Eventually we happened upon a place called Sines which is a working port, but does have a beach too (not really somewhere you would want to holiday though) - but OK for a spot of 'wild camping'. We parked up with two other vans and bedded down for the night - again my imagination was switched to full power....so not a great nights seep!

1st November 2008 - Guincho Another early start, we wanted to hit Lisbon today. The first part of the journey was again straightforward and very quiet, as many of the roads seem to be in Portugal. We stopped at a roadside stall to buy some tangerines, melon & a string of onions, all for 2 euros! Coming into Lisbon was an amazing view, we crossed over a bridge which had a statue of Christ at the side (very similar to the one in Rio). As we crossed the bridge the sight of Lisbon laid out in front of us was breathtaking. The traffic was also breathtaking as it had suddenly got very busy and the locals drive like maniacs! We where heading towards Estoril on the coast, the drivers would have been better suited there (they have a F1 track). We arrived at the Orbitor Guincho site late afternoon and set about unpacking, we had decided to stay for 2 nights. Our neighbour was a young man called Ben, he politely introduced himself to us and advised Mal on the good beaches and great waves (Ben was a surfer dude from Germany). Prior to dinner we decided on a walk to the beach across some sand dunes, I have never seen sand dunes so big....it took us ages and was going dark by the time we set off back! The campsite was good and had all the facilities we needed.

The view of Lisbon!

2nd November 08 - Guincho

We had a leisurely breakfast & arranged the van ready for our visitors. Then we headed into Lisbon calling at Ikea (finally got a kettle), then on to the airport. Holly & Phil arrived on time & our pick up went really smoothly, we called for some shopping on the way back to camp and fully intended on catching the bus into town to watch the Brazilian F1. I checked with reception to see if they knew anywhere we could watch it, they advised me to ask in the bar. Wow! the bar on-site put it on for us....the four of us sat there and drank a few beers whilst watching Lewis Hamilton win! Mal nipped back to our van to see if Ben wanted to join us, as we had promised to let him use our Internet to check out the waves! Mal reported back that Ben was just gonna grab a snack as he had been drinking with the English before!! Anyway he joined us for drinks then came back and joined us for the evening, I cooked up some chicken tikka for everyone and we all continued to have a few drinks and play cards. Unfortunately, it all proved too much for me and I had to take to my bed....a little worse for wear I must say!!

Holly & Phil

Holly said oh did you take some pictures last night......guess she had forgotten about this one!! Ben (surfer dude in the middle)!

3rd November 08 - Quarteria

We had a very long drive today down to the Algarve. We had a picnic en-route, Holly & Phil played backgammon, snoozed & enjoyed the views. We arrived in Quarteria late so just had an easy evening, watched a film & had an early night.

4th November 08 - Quarteria

This site is great! We woke to a lovely morning & all enjoyed a leisurely breakfast outside! We decided on a walk along the front into Vilamoura (Mal & I had stopped off here on our route north for a look around the marina). Vilamoura is a great holiday resort, it is based around the second largest marina in Europe. We had a light lunch overlooking the marina followed by a mooch around the shops. We picked up some shopping & decided on a taxi back to our site as it was cheaper then the bus for 4 of us! Holly & Phil took off on a cycle ride whilst Mal had a snooze. We had a lovely meal followed by an awful film!

5th November 08 - Quarteira (Bonfire night)

No bonfires here though! The first time any of us have been away from the UK on bonfire night....

This morning after breakfasting outside (doubt we could do that in the UK on bonfire night), we headed off to the much reported gypsy market. I must say most of these markets are the same selling the same old stuff, it doesn't really appeal to me - as I hate fighting through people or routing through things to find what I want (Mal finds this quality a good one). Anyway we didn't buy anything! We carried on towards the fish market & came across a street market selling produce (now that's more like it), we bought olives, nuts & tangerines. At the fish market Phil bought some sea bass as they had decided to be on dinner duty tonight. Holly & Phil then headed off to Albufeira to explore & we headed back to camp, having a leisurely stroll along the beachfront. I gave Mal a pedicure & we both sat out in the afternoon sun reading. The kids came back early evening & cooked a delicious meal of sea bass, salad & couscous, complete with local wine they had bought. The evening was completed with Sex & the City movie (which Mal & Phil proceeded to talk through), so Hol & I had to show them a red card! We then had a couple of rounds of bridge which the girls aced the boys at - yipppeee!!!

6th November 08 - Sagres

Mal took himself off for an early bike ride, so we could have a little lie in - got up at 9am. It was a beautiful clear blue sky day. We all set about preparing the van for departure. Mal was gone for 2hrs & I started to get a little worried. He arrived back fresh as a daisy complete with 'new' tyres on his bike! We had breakfast finished the packing & headed off in search of our next destination. Almost seemed ashame to travel on such a glorious day! We stopped off at Praia da Rocha (Portimao) for a picnic, the beach area of this resort is absolutely lovely - we took a stroll on the beach then headed back to the van. We carried on to Sagres, we had decided to wild camp tonight and found a great location overlooking the sea, with a number of other campers. We quickly put some warmer clothes on grabbed some snacks & drinks & headed down to a beach area Holly & Phil had found to watch the sunset. We sat & drank beer, snacked on olives, crisps & nuts whilst watching the most incredible crashing waves, it was truly awesome & great fun! We made pizza & salad for tea, then played whist & bridge - girls won again.....

Praia da Rocha - our lunch stopover!

Sagres sunset - awesome! What a place for beer & snacks (our very own beach bar) - fantastic!

Meet our driver....

Marbella 16th - 29th Oct 08

Well that's it we're on the move tomorrow! Looks like we will be spending Halloween in Portugal....how exciting. We have had a great time here, it's been extremely relaxing - with great weather! Unfortunately we have both been ill with a bad cold for about 10 days which was a mare, but we are better now. During our ill spell we thought we would 'make do' with what food we had in on a Saturday, thinking we could go to the supermarket on Sunday - guess what it was shut and it was bank holiday on the Monday!!! Now when you're ill you just want a bit of comfort food...anyway the guy across from us was washing something under the outside tap.....he is on his own, so I presumed he couldn't be bothered with washing stuff in his kitchen! I said to Mal oh look he's got 3 chicken thighs, secretly planning to ambush him on his return to his MH (during my hungry no shops open spell). Next thing he went over to his bike and placed them on there (to dry, they were flipping shells) - think I was hallucinating!! Like an oasis in the desert... We had success to with the laundry woman...we got her to wash 'sin bleach' (without bleach) - yippeee!! Luckily the stuff which she had bleached didn't bother my senses 'cos I had the stinking cold! The other day Mal tripped off to empty the bog, only to find a very drunken lad. He was in the toilet disposal/bog washing area being sick into the reciprocal then splashing water on his face from the pipe which everyone uses to clean their bogs - urgh! We took a trip into Marbella on Monday to the weekly street market which was brilliant, we bought huge amounts of fruit for next to nothing - it was a great experience. We have had a thoroughly wonderful time here and shall be sad to move on. Portugal here we come!

Costa de Almeria & Marbella 3rd Oct to 15th Oct 08

Again it's been a while since I last blogged - but we have slowed down now, so life is taking an easier more relaxed road! Mal in Orange Square - Marbella During some high winds a tree blew down in the night - a close call! That's how close the tree came to L'Escargot!! Costa de Almeria 3rd Oct 08

We arrived here late afternoon after a long drive, although I am getting much better as a passenger I must say - thank god! On our arrival it was absolutely boiling hot, the hottest it's been so far. We immediately got the awning out & opened all of the windows. We were only stopping here overnight, then planned on driving straight down to Marbella to meet up with my Sis. So, a relaxing night was just what we needed.

Marbella 4th Oct to 15th Oct 08

The drive down to Marbella was mainly motorways so not much scenic stuff, although there is not much of that on the coastal side of Spain anyway, we had about 140miles to reach our destination. We found our campsite after a bit of confusion, we planned to stay here for 30 days. When Mal pulled up at the site, I must say I was a little wary as it didn't look as good as previous ones we have stayed at - I asked Mal if he wanted to book for just one night to check it out before we committed to the 30 days. After much discussion we agreed to do the 30 days! We were told to pick our own spot then let them know at reception, but one of our big issues was there were trees everywhere.....meaning we could not access the internet! Again parts of this site appeared to be a Favella albeit a little more down market than in La Manga - you would think it would be the opposite as we were now in Marbella! Anyway we found 2 spots and went back to reception to see if either were available for 30 days, yes but only one of them - I agreed we would take it. We then drove back through said Farvella & parked on 'our' spot Mal put the satellite up, but we couldn't get a signal 'cos of the trees! We decided we would have to move to another spot, just as the guy arrived to unlock the box to connect our electricity. Uh oh we tried to explain to him it was no good we would need to move, much to his chargrin. We looked for another spot but again no satallite....the guy followed us, then looked totally hacked off with us slammed the electric box & dissappeared - guess he was sick of us! Anyway we finally found a spot...not one we would have naturally chosen but hey ho! We set up camp, I was a little reserved as I was not sure the place was too nice. We got in touch with my Sis & agreed to meet up with her tomorrow as she already had plans for tonight. Over the next 2 days we saw P & C, had a meal out with them & sunbathed at their hotel, which was in the centre of Marbella, just a 10min bus ride for us. Unfortunately P was not too well & they were not overkeen on their accomodation, so decided to go home 3 days early - therefore we did not get to spend much time with them. After they had departed we have had leisurely days, with walks on the beach & trips into Marbella, it's good to relax with no driving for a while! We had a very windy day last week & during the night I heard a big crack like a tree falling down.....we are surrounded by trees! I jumped out of bed to look through the window & sure enough the tree right at the side of us had falled down!! OMG it was amazing it didn't hit the MH! One of our happy campers had a branch come down on top of their MH.... We have been doing a mixture of hand washing & the launderette (they only do service washes)! On our service washes I have been giving the woman our wash powder & softner, just incase they used nasty stuff - I have a bit of OCD with funny smells (you can ask my Mum, as she happily likes to tell people of this affliction). Anyway, yesterday Mal took the washing & she tried to re-assure him by showing him she uses Ariel. So, today we had a load of bedding & towels, I concluded we would go with her wash powder to save ours for a 'rainy day' (no pun intended). I gave Mal instructions to get her to do them 'muy caliente' (very hot) - she replied saying para blanco (we concluded this was wash for whites) so Mal agreed. After a nice hot day at the beach Mal collected the washing & I dashed out to peg it out..............uh oh the whole lot stank of bloody bleach......obviously in Spain if you have a para blanco wash you whack a load of bleach in too!! Well it doesn't get much worse for me not only do I have this affliction of smells but I cannot abide the smell of bleach, of all the washing to get it on to.....my towels & my bedding - fabreeze here I come! We have some English neighbours, who in our opinion are a bit odd, as in they don't really speak to us - but they talk to each other. Mal & I have created names for them, we have Bill Oddy & his Wife who have left today, so now we are left with Dudley Moore & his Mrs. Anyway that's it for now happy reading! We are here until the end of October then we will be travelling to Portugal.

Carcassonne, Leucate, Port Vendres, LLoret de Mar, Cambrills, Oliva & La Manga 21st Sept to 2nd Oct 08

It's been a while since I last wrote, so a lot of catching up to do!

21st Sept 08 - Carcassonne http://www.destination360.com/europe/france/cite-de-carcassonne.php

Another early start today! I didn’t sleep well at all last night – think it was the pressure of feeling a little insecure, but we had a quiet night with no rowdy people. We headed off to Carcassonne, Mal has been here before as it is near where Greg (his brother-in-law) used to live. The drive today seemed a long one, the landscape was not as entertaining as it has been previously – the fields of sunflowers had now gone over, as they are ready for harvesting. We arrived here at about 12 noon, Jane took us up a tiny street which made us both breathe in. Our spot for the night is just outside the castle walls – boy what a view! We had a quick lunch, then decided to go & visit the castle – it is awesome. It is a stunning medieval town full of little quirky streets lined with shops & restaurants, there are some hotels & a beautiful church. It is a really hot day today so we grabbed some shade & a couple of beers.

The castle at Carcassonne

The castle at Carcassonne

22nd Sept 08 - Leucate Being in the area of where one of Mal's friends lives we decided to pay 'Erica' a visit. Mal had explained the house was up a track, when we arrived at the start of the said 'track' I had a sharp intake of breath, it was a steep winding track albeit it did have tarmac! I offered to alight & walk to check things out on the drive up, but Mal assured me L'Escargot would do it 'no problem' - the track was a good way up to the house, but I lived to tell the tale. At the house we were greeted by a pleasent French man who we came to know as 'Laurent' he kindly informed us that Erica had left for the UK! We were unsure of her return date & based on the fact we planned to meet up with my Mum in Lloret for my Birthday we could not afford to wait around. We left Erica a note & planned a return trip maybe next year when we are in the area again......I did suggest we call or e mail prior to our arrival, but Mal thought it would be ok! Anyway we meandered back down the track, but not before I cut my heel open on a gate (don't ask!!) but it did really hurt. Mal did a great job getting us up & down the track safely. Mal's next suggestion was to go to a beach resort called Leucate, so we prgrammed Jane & off we went. Well it took hours & hours for us to get to our destination, Jane had decided to take us on a weird drive through the mountains, with no sign of life for miles & miles, along winding mountain roads (single track) - at one point we had to get the map out to check she hadn't lost the plot......but we couldn't find where we where. Anyway we carrried on & on eventually reaching civilisation! Leucate was a great place, our site was right on the beach, we decided to stay here for a few days & just relax, we were both tired with travelling. The place had great cycle routes too, so we spent some time cycling (12 miles return trip for some shopping, complete with a ferocious head wind - I was knackered). The rest of the time was spent chilling, reading & we decided upon a spot of hand washing (you will see that from the pictures)!

Me doing the hand/foot washing!

One of the great sights along the way!

One of the many thousands of vines we saw on our journey!

26th Sept 08 - Port Vendres This was just a stop off point for the night prior to crossing the boarder into Spain. It was a working port but was still attactive in it's own special way. Charles Renee Mackintosh spent time here painting pictures of the walks. Mal & I took a walk around the headland which had some lovely views. We had a quiet evening as we prepared for our early start tomorrow. We have sussed out that if you get on your way from the aires early enough in the morning then you don't pay - an early start for us it was then! I was excited about our trip today as I was going through my first land boarder............nothing happened!

Port Vendres

27th, 28th (my birthday) & 29th Sept 08 - Lloret de Mar

We arrived here mid afternoon, we had booked into a campsite - luxury living for a couple of days! Once we had set up our site we headed off to explore where my Mum & Aunty Barbara were staying - their arrival time was 5pmish & we had arranged to meet them for a light meal at 7pm. The area was called Fenals, so we were not in the main centre of Lloret which suited us fine. We had a stroll around the area which was quite pleasant, not the quaint villages & landscapes of France but different! We met up with my Mum & had a meal out (nothing fancy as we are on a budget)!

On the 28th we went over to Mum's apartment for breakfast, Mal cycled so me being so 'young' (on my birthday) I got a backie (for those of you who don't know what this is......it is Mal giving me a lift on his bike). After breakfast Mal headed off to explore on his bike whilst I went down to the pool with 'the ladies', we had a lovely relaxing time sunbathing, chatting & reading. Mal joined us for a light lunch, then he was off cycling again (suppose this is what it's like when you have kids??) I continued to sunbathe as I was dying to finish my book, the ladies took themselves off to their apartment & I joined them later, only to find Mal already there! Mal & I went back to our campsite whereby Mal had moved our home to a much better location, he had cleaned up too. He handed me a note which said drinks would be served on the veranda as & when I required them, he had got a bottle of sparkling wine which we later took for pre dinner drinks with the ladies! Mal had sussed out a restaurant for the evening too. We collected the ladies at 7pm & after our drinks we walked down to a restaurant next to the beach for a sumptuous meal - so sumptious that we had terrible indigestion through overeating.....guess our simple lifestyle & way of eating proved too much when faced with a large calorie laden meal! No more BIG meals for us two..... we dropped the ladies off & headed for bed.

First thing we spent time trying to locate somewhere to stay at our next destination. Then we went to see the ladies who had gone out, so we cycled down into Lloret which was very busy, then back to the campsite. We chilled out for an hour or two, then I went to see the ladies who had invited us for tea. Mum & I went down for a drink in the bar & just spent a bit of quality time together chatting. Later Mal arrived & we prepared tea, Aunty Barb was feeling a little unwell - so we fed her some indigestion stuff & in no time she was better. After tea we played cards, teaching the ladies how to play whist, which they thoroughly enjoyed. We said our goodbyes as we won't see my Mum again until March. Then we had a cycle race back to the campsite, Mal won (but only just)!

30th Sept 08 - Cambrills

We travelled for a good portion of the day & arrived here late afternoon. Along the way we could see the beautiful mountain range of the Pyrenees the mountains appeared as if they had been painted onto the skyline. We also saw some houses made of straw exactly like the 3 little pigs house!! Jane also had a mad moment and tried to take us on some back roads where there was a huge ford (basically the road had collapsed) there was no way we could get L'Escargot through so Mal had to do a bit more of his skilled manouvering! We had to go through Barcelona (we didn't stop off as we have both been here before). I must say the driving around Barcelona was quite frightening, the Spanish drivers are awful, I spent some of the trip sat in the back of the MH reading as it was just too hair raising for me! We picked a beautiful spot on the roadside & decided to have a sit out on the beach - not knowing where we would sleep! There were a lot of palm trees nearby which were filled with parrots, it was an amazing sight. After eating a light meal Mal got talking to a Dutch guy who said he wouldn't wild camp on the main road as it was too noisey, but one of the side streets would be ok, he also advised Mal to move the reversing camera from the dashboard as it would get stollen in no time (apparently people think they are GPS). Unfortunately the camera is hard wired onto the dash so not very easy to move around , we will need to address that later! Anyway we moved onto a side street & prepared the MH incase we needed a speedy escape. Neither of us slept very well, but I must say it was a little better than expected. Cambrills is a lovely place just a little further along the coast south of Salou.

1st Oct 08 - Oliva

We are now on our drive south to meet my Sister who arrives in Marbella today. We arrived here late afternoon, we were staying at a municipal camsite near to the beach - what a wonderful spot! We dumped the MH grabbed our beach stuff & headed for the sand! We just lolled around for a couple of hours until about 7pm reading & relaxing - it was idylic. The MH was an absolute tip, so I decided tomorrow morning was 'spring' cleaning! We had a good nights sleep, it's amazing what a difference it makes when you are in a place you feel really comfortable, we could easily have stayed for a few days - but maybe we will return. The next morning was spent cleaning........with a clean house we left for La Manga.

2nd Oct 08 - La Manga

Again we arrived relatively late to a very interesting site. Along our way today we went through an area called Santa Palo which was full of salt flats which were surrouned by mountains of salt! We also saw some rice fields & Flamingos feeding in the slat flats - wow we are so lucky! We drove through Alicante & noticed the Volvo ocean race is due to set off from there, Mal was so excited but he decided he didn't want to stop off, whilst we drove along the road near to the sea we saw a huge yacht, I noted down the info on it's sail & after checking the internet later we realised it was one of the yachts of the ocean race. The set up was brilliant at the campsite, we had everything at our disposal, launderette, tennis, swimming pool, mecial centre, supermarket etc.etc. The plot we had was big in comparison to previous ones & the site stretched right down to the beach where there was a retaurant. Prior to eating we decided to walk down to the beach, this was the interesting bit......there are some permanent sites here and some long term lets - well as Mal put it 'it's like a posh favella' I started to laugh but totally ageed! There were some really nice spots but the majority was like a shanty town, it was quite peculiar because it was clean & tidy but just weird! However, we did conculde we would be happy to stay there again & could happily have stayed a little longer. Perhaps this is what people do & tell everyone they have a place in Spain!!

Cadillac & Gimont 18th, 19th & 20th Sept 08

18th, 19th & 20th Sept 08 - Cadillac & Gimont Cadillac Me outside the Church in Cadillac! Inside the Church in Cadillac A Church along the roadside en-route! Just one of the many pretty villages we have driven through.

Keith, Mal, Me & Helen - some great people we met in Cadillac!

An early start today to Bordeaux which meant we avoided paying for our camping fees for the night, as we were gone by the time the guy came around to collect! The day didn’t start too well, Mal got very cross with me when I tried to interfere with the speed we were driving at – uh oh got to bite my tongue! Anyway, we arrived in Bordeaux at about 10.30am & headed for the Hymer dealership. Fortunately they were very helpful & asked us to go around to the service area & they would take a look at the problem with the block. After a lot of testing & fiddling around the guy concluded, as Mal had 2 days prior that the electro block was caput! He went off to see if they had one in stock, unfortunately not. Mal asked what they could do as we were travelling, they thought they would see if their other place had one in Toulouse which was over 100 miles away……anyway they didn’t have one! Then the guy disappeared & arrived back with a new one (we concluded with our limited French that it was for another customer, but they would let us have it). So, Laurent (the hymer guy) set about taking the seat out amongst other things to get access to the electro block. Finally he had it fitted just after 12 noon, we were ready for lunch as we had skipped breakfast to set off early – but we decided to crack on the further 20 miles to our next destination Cadillac, stopping along the way to get some supplies. We arrived in Cadillac just after 1pm & I proceeded to unpack the shopping, only to find the fridge wasn’t working! Mal tried his best to diagnose the problem but was unsuccessful – part of the van instruction manual is in ‘German’! Back to Hymer we went…….we waited about 20mins to speak to Laurent, who then came out to look at the van. He diagnosed a missing fuse from the new block he had put in…….we said Au Revoir to Laurent……he said he hoped we wouldn’t be back soon. So, another 20 miles back to the site, which was only very small & by this time we were getting concerned there would be no room left! Luckily for us we managed to secure the same spot as earlier. I cracked on with some food as Mal was almost passing out from hunger by now. Mal had got chatting to a guy across from us called Keith & his wife Helen. After dinner we had another disaster, Mal knocked a glass of wine over the laptop, but I am pleased to say we dried it out after taking it to bits & it has survived……how much bad luck are we having at the moment!!??!! Next day we got chatting with Keith & Helen who had stayed here before, they told us there was a great market on Saturday & also advised us on camping in Spain as they had been doing it for years. Mal offered the services of our internet connection for them to send e mails to family in the UK. Unfortunately Mal discovered a virus on their laptop, so on he got with sorting it out. We had a bike ride into town, which I must say is a lovely little place with charming character. Keith popped round later to invite us into town for a beer which was lovely. Keith being a cockney regaled us with some very funny tales of his youth which I particularly found enchanting. The next day we went to the market which was a real cultural experience, the air was filled with a penetrating array of interesting aromas. There was a stunning display of fruit & vegetables, along with clothes, wine, the most delicately created cheeses which looked almost too beautiful to eat. Alongside all of this there was a menagerie of animals from live chickens, geese, a cat, kid – some of which I must say were not for sale! We met up with Keith & Helen for a coffee, as ever Keith entertained us with some great tales, then we said our goodbyes & exchanged contact details (hoping that we will meet up again sometime). We then set off for Gimont which was on our way to Carcassonne. We arrived in Gimont at about 2pm, so quickly cooked some Mackerel & knocked up a salad prior to our 3pm webcam call with Wendy & Jmel in New York. After our web call we took a cycle ride into the town – I must say I was disappointed, it was very run down. With the town being run down I was on edge as to whether it was a safe place to stay. But we concluded it was, but I set the van up ready to hit the road immediately if we needed to – as advised by Keith. Oh one thing I almost forgot Mal has taken to free wheeling down hills now to save on fuel, another of Keith’s tricks – I must say it’s like riding on the wild mouse!