Category: Spain

PORTUGAL & NORTHERN SPAIN

We head off on Tuesday morning and we really need to do some laundry so spot a camp a bit further along the Algarve region that has washing machines. We drive to Fuseta  where the camp is and we get one of the last spots in the camp.  Outside the gates in a carpark on the waterfront there are another 30 odd vans freedom camping in a ‘no camping’ carpark.  We have read that Portugese police do fine you for parking illegally camping up and the fines can be up to 1500euro so it’s not something we will be doing down south here.  We park up and it’s early in the day so we get our washing on and out onto the washing lines.  Whilst it is drying we take a walk into the little village, have a coffee and cake and then head down to the beach area.  It is a lovely day and this looks like an amazing area to have a holiday in.  There is an inlet that is at low tide when we arrive but it looks like the tide will come in really quickly and you could get caught walking across the low tide area.  We sit and have a drink here and watch the comings and goings of many people who are here.  We take a walk along the water front cafes and spy a 9euro deal of bbq’d salmon with potato and salad.  We decide we will come back later for dinner as that is a reasonable price for a large salmon dinner.  We head back to the van and bring the washing in. The camp also has a nice little bar where they serve food and drinks and you can use their wifi so great to see they have these facilities. We relax for the afternoon and go out for our dinner later on.  The meal we have is really lovely and we chat to a Dutch couple who now live here in Fuseta as it is just so cheap compared to everywhere really.  They say it is a shame we are leaving the next day as they would have loved to invite us for a meal and wine at their place and chat more about our travels.

Wednesday 17th Feb

We head along the Algarve coast road and eventually make our way onto the highway. We are heading up to a town called Peniche which is above Lisbon.  As we start our way on the highway going north we hit another toll.  This isn’t the same as the others we have seen so far in Portugal and their website says nothing about money tolls or any other sort.  We are confused and don’t know what to do.  Some people are doing something  at machines and others are driving through an automatic lane. We end up figuring that they have our number plate and our credit card details so we must be able to do the automatic lane.  We end up being wrong but it really isn’t clear.  We head up through the countryside which is similar to Spain of course as they are joined but it seems greener on this side.  The highways aren’t busy the same as a lot of countries in Europe.  It is quite a drive to get to Peniche and we have to change highways a few times. We hit another toll and again go through the automatic lane incorrectly.  We start to think at this stage that maybe we had better ring someone in the toll office when we can get wifi to check out what we should do.

As we arrive into Peniche it is very windy and raining. There are two or three camper stops we can stay at here for free and one paid ground so we take a drive around the little peninsula and check out the spots.  The main one right out on the western side is blowing a gale, wet and very isolated and I don’t fancy staying here the night.  The rocky coastline is quite amazing and reminds me of a place on the west coast of the south island of NZ called Punakaiki where the rocks are amazing shapes and look like they are stacked.  We view another area and it is also a little ordinary, so we drive back up to the marina which looks like a better sheltered place to stay.  We park up and sit and contemplate staying the night.  Next minute another van pulls in beside us (they’re French) and they ask if we are staying the night here.  We say yes and we then head off for a drink down the road and to check out with a local if they think staying here the night is ok.

We have a drink in a little pub and the bar staff tell us they think it is fine to park up at the marina for the night. We don’t stop there long as they are smoking inside at the bar which is awful for us since you can’t even leave the door open with it being windy, wet and cold.  We head back to the van and find there are two more vans pulled up along side of us which is good as safety in numbers is the name of the game.  Behind where we have parked are the walls of a fortress looking complex which is quite amazing.  We have a preference for marinas as they are not isolated and locals are used to people staying as well as a bit of traffic as people come to their boats or just love coming to the marina for the views and the nature of wind, water and tides as well as the birdlife. Quite often when travelling the paying area for campers is the marina as they have facilities for the boats which can also be used by the vans.

After a quiet night we have a look around where we are before we head off. We talk to another van owner who are English and on their way back to England as well.  We need to phone the toll company to find out if we have done anything wrong, so we find a café we can get wifi at and order a coffee.  The toll company tell us we have done the wrong thing and we need to stop at an office off the highway a little further up the country and see if we can pay the tolls before we get fined.

At least the day is a little better than yesterday and we head back to the first camper stop we looked at yesterday to take photos of the coastline. There are plenty of others at this location taking photos as well.  There are wild cats hiding amongst the rocks as we take photos so we go back to the van for a few cat biscuits which we leave for them to enjoy.  We head off back towards our out road but decide to have a look along the coastline from Peniche north where there are great looking waves and surf schools.  There are plenty of people out surfing or heading out and the waves look great.  What a lovely place for a holiday.

We head back out onto the highway. It’s always a shame we can’t spend more time at places like this. We need to get to a toll office just below Porto so we plan our route.  One thing we have noticed here in Portugal which is really cool is they tile the outside of buildings and it doesn’t seem to matter how many stories they are.  I guess the tiles stop them having to paint the building and they look really good.

Portugal is a lovely country and it seems most speak a little English at least. After a few hours travel we find the toll office and go in.  There is a significant queue and we aren’t sure we are in the right building so we go into another and ask the question.  Thank goodness for those who do speak English as our Portuguese is non-existent.  We have to go back in to the long queue so we grab a ticket and wait.  It’s about an hour’s wait before we get served and it’s about 4.30pm and there is still a long queue behind us.  These poor people obviously don’t get much of a break.  We are able to rectify the highway up to Lisbon but the highways above Lisbon are managed by someone else so we need to email them.  It has been an expensive highway trip at about 43euro but that will be nothing compared to the fine we may have received in the mail.

We head off to a place we will stop for the night which is Vila do Conde. Since we had to stop for such a long time at the toll office we arrive here late in the day and there isn’t much time to look around.  The town looks amazing and will come back to look around another time.  We drive to the camper spot which is at a boat storage place where there is a large dirt carpark and there are already a few campervans parked there for the night.  The surf looks huge and is pounding in to shore.  There isn’t really anything close to here like a bar or café so we just stay in the van for the night.  In the morning as we get ready to leave we spy the French campervan that parked behind us emptying their toilet onto the ground by a boat yard fence.  That is just the most disgusting thing.  It isn’t like there aren’t places here to empty it.  We actually find a service point for toilets less than 5kms down the road and well signposted.  There isn’t any need to do that.  It’s no wonder campervaners get a bad name when people do disgusting things like this.  Even if we were desperate to empty ours there is no way we would do that.  I know people may wonder what you do when  your toilet fills up.  Simple really, you poo into a plastic bag and throw it in a rubbish bin.  No different than a dog poo bag at the end of the day, and you would use a funnel into an empty bottle to pee into then wait until you find a public toilet to empty your loo into.  We haven’t been in this situation yet luckily but it’s not rocket science.

Anyway we take off and travel up the coast to a place called Viana do Castelo which looks really lovely. We stop for a coffee and a walk around.  It is a lovely place and there are a couple of souvenir shops where we buy a small rooster which is their symbol for luck in Portugal.  When we parked we had these fellas directing us into a park and trying to make sure we parked correctly which I didn’t need any help doing but they wanted money when we got out of the van for helping us.  We don’t stop too long as we have to travel into northern Spain today and get up to the north coast.  We choose a road that isn’t a highway to cross the border on and when we get there I realise it is more of a one way bridge and two way – particularly for larger vehicles like us – but there isn’t anyone giving way and it’s too long to try and wait until the way is clear so I have to proceed with cars coming towards us.  It is a tight squeeze and I pray we don’t have a truck coming on from the other end as I doubt we could pass.  We have our mirrors pulled in on both sides just to drive across.  Luckily no trucks pass us and we get over without incident, but it is always a fear that we meet another larger vehicle on roads/bridges that we can’t pass by.

As we travel through northern Spain it is really obvious that it rains a lot more here as it is very green and quite mountainous. There is some snow on the mountains and looks very cool.  It really is stunning countryside.  We travel on the highways and it is nice not to have tolls at the moment.  I think we have paid enough already. It is a long day’s travel and we arrive at our free camp area after dark.  It is at Ortiguera right on the coast and there is another van already there. We can see where there is a beach down below and the view from up on the park is really cool. If it wasn’t so late we would go for a walk down. Amazing what you can get for free in these countries, more should follow their lead. We park up, take the bikes out and snuggle in for the night as the temperature is very cold and without electricity we have no heater.  Having said that, the van warms up a bit when we cook and we can at least heat up water on the stove for a hot water bottle which helps to keep warm.  In the morning I get out and check out the coast line and the place we have stopped at.  We are parked above a cliff and we get a view overlooking a beach nearby and the vast ocean.  A couple in the next van come out and chat to us and we find out they are Kiwis as well and they are just starting out on their journey.  We end up chatting for quite a while and swap details to keep in touch.  It is always nice to be able to share learned information to anyone travelling as we have had passed on to us.

We drive along the coast and it is lovely countryside. We stop in a small town for a coffee and try to order a tostada with our coffee but the fellow doesn’t speak any English and it is difficult to tell him we want cheese with tomato and a few olives so we give up and end up getting a tostada with just mashed up tomato.  It is getting late in the day and it is just a little too far to be driving to France today so we end up stopping in Zumaia which is near the French border.  I had picked a nice looking marina out to stop at for the night.  As we drive in the town looks exceptionally busy and we drive into the marina only to find out the gates to the carpark we wanted to go into are locked.  That is always one of the tribulations of finding free spots as sometimes they are closed.  There is another spot to park not far so we head there.  It is a carpark amongst some industrial buildings that really look quite dodgy but there are 30 odd vans parked there – all Spanish so we pull up.  We can’t understand why there are so many here, maybe there is something on for the weekend as it is Saturday night and a lot of them seem like they have kids.  There were a lot of people out and about as we drove in so presume there must be something on and maybe that is why a lot of them are in this park because the marina is closed off. We are not sure what they think when we are out with a bucket in the morning and I help Vicki wash her hair! It is cold but ok and the water is hot. Without showers it is easy to have a wash down but hair needs a bit of room. We are spoilt by showers in all the camps but a wash with a flannel all over is quite adequate and as it is not stinking hot we don’t get overly smelly. In fact we will go 2 weeks without a shower and no problem. It is amazing how refreshed you feel even after a flannel wash.

MOROCCO

We leave La Marina and we are determined to drive right through to Gibraltar in one day. This is a mean feat as its 590kms and we have never driven that far in one day yet. However we manage it and arrive at a camperstop at La Linea about 8pm in the pouring rain. We could just see ‘The Gibraltar Rock’ from the van but was shrouded in cloud. The campstop was at a stadium and had many campers. We wont get to walk up the rock this time but we will be back again for sure.

In the morning we drive to the camper lockup at San Roque where we have had to make sure our fridge doesnt have any perishables and we take our back packs for the trip. The owner doesnt speak any English but we determine that they are closed when we want to pick up the camper on Saturday afternoon, so a quick decision has to be made that we will stay 4 days in Tangier instead of just 2. We say goodbye to Morrie (the van) who is parked up next to Speedy, Jules and Garries van and walk along the side of the highway to the bus stop. We take the bus down to Algeciras where we pay for our ferry tickets to Tangier which includes a free bus to Tarifa where it leaves from. We know that Morocco is on the high alert list right now and a lot of people are avoiding going there but we feel it will be ok.

We wait for our free bus at the Algeciras port which takes us directly to the waiting ferry. The trip is only about 40 minutes but is quite rough as the wind has really got up. We have our passports stamped on the ferry on the way over so disembarking is quite quick. We are asked if we want a taxi to the riad I have booked which is called Dar Nour. We decide it’s a good idea and the fellow wants to show us around the Kasbar and old Medina area where we staying so we agree on 20euro for 3hours sightseeing. The taxi is 5euro plus a walk up stairs and along narrow alleyways. As we wind up through the throng of people we are confronted with noise, bedlam, crowds, street stalls and a hectic local way of life. I feel overwhelmed and instant culture shock having been in the sheltered Spanish paradise for too long. Our room has been upgraded from a double to a mini suite which is up 3 flights of narrow windy stairs. It is very cool, but we have to get back down to our guide for our tour.

We head downstairs to the tour guide and he takes us around the narrow streets of the Kasbar area of Tangier. It is in the old medina area.  He tells us a little about a few things we pass on our way and we go through the street markets that are chaotic and crammed with people.  I fear a couple of times I am going to get lost as it’s difficult to keep up with so many people around.  He eventually takes us to a carpet shop obviously in the hope we might buy something but after them showing us a dozen rugs I make it really clear that we cannot buy as we live in a campervan currently and have no room to put a rug.  They are lovely but I know they will have massively inflated prices which I am not prepared to attempt to bargain with them currently.  We then head off and he takes us to another shop which sells spices.  These people are obviously his friends and this is part of his so called tour where we get stung for larger than life costs of things we could buy down the road for probably half the price.  Scot succumbs though and he buys some saffron and a few spices.  I tell him he will be able to buy it down the road for nothing but he has paid and that is that.  The guide then takes us to a restaurant where we will eat but the owner is hedging about what the cost is and won’t tell us.  Oh well we think it will likely be nice so we sit back completely on our own in the restaurant and await the 3 course supposedly truly authentic Moroccan cuisine.  The meal is ok but the cost at the end is a little steep since we believed Morocco is supposed to be at least as cheap as Spain which doesn’t turn out to be the case at all.  Halfway through the meal the guide asks if we want some hash.  He tells us not to make a decision until we see it and takes off in a hurry to get some and comes back ten minutes later with some.  He offers it to us for 1500 dirham.  That is 150 euro or 240aud.  I have no idea but it seems extremely exorbitant and we tell him we just aren’t interested.  He has told us it is totally legal in Morocco which we google later only to find out it is illegal and the consequences can be significant if caught, but often the police turn a blind eye as it seems to bring so much money into the country.  He then says he is leaving and the waiter will take us back to our hotel.  He is only 2hours into his 3 hour tour but he says we started an hour earlier than we agreed.  I have told him I think he is a rogue and I am not happy but he is determined to go and I figure what can I do, a stranger in a foreign country so I pay him and he leaves.

The waiter then takes us back to our hotel thankfully. We meet the owner of Dar Nour who happens to be a skinny French man who seems to be a very pleasant guy.  We head up to our room but once in bed we seem to be getting cigarette smoke leaching into our room from the floors below.  It is unpleasant and we have to open the window to try and keep it away a bit.  Not good. We didn’t know they smoked inside this accommodation or we would not have booked.

In the morning we head down to breakfast which is 7euro each and consists of fresh berries, breads, sweet and plain and lots of little bits and pieces like hard boiled eggs, cheeses, raisins, nuts, home cooked crumpet type things, sweet biscuits and juice, tea and coffee. It is quite a strange mix really but we find something we can enjoy and it’s ok.  The tea here is really lovely.  They make a mint tea and the glass has heaps of fresh mint in it.  Sometimes it can be a bit sweet though but it makes a refreshing change from alcohol which is difficult to buy here.  They do sell wine and beer at the Dar but it is very expensive so we don’t worry.  After breakfast we head out ourselves to see how lost we can get around the Kasbar and the medina.  We run into a fellow who really wants to tell us where we need to go but they only want money and often they don’t take you in the right direction, so we have to forcefully decline as he is quite adamant we need help.

We figure out our way to the main Kasbar road so we now know our path. We walk all around the market areas and head down towards the port area.  We end up at the Intercontinental hotel which looks over the port and stop for a mint tea and a toilet.  Whilst sitting there we meet another couple who are English and spend an hour or so talking to them.  Scot is happy as he chats with Bob about bikes, rugby and job opportunities in England. It is a pleasant afternoon and we say goodbye to the lovely couple we met and head off back up to the medina area.  We have only booked the Dar for 2 nights and since we can’t get our van on the weekend we ask to stay another night at the same price for the suite.  We get back to the Dar and end up having dinner there as the owner has employed a young chef who turns out to make the most delicious 3 course meal. It is Morrocan lamb and is fantastic and even surprisingly Vicki eats it too.  Tonight no one seems to be smoking so maybe we will be ok.  Back to our suite and an earlyish night for tomorrows sightseeing.

Another unusual breakfast the next day and we are off again to see some of the market streets we didn’t see properly yesterday. We have found the main tourist route through the medina so check out some of the shops.  There are people approaching us often asking us to buy cigarettes, tissues (yes strange), come to their shop, offering to show us where other markets are etc. Most are really good and go away when you say no thanks but you get the odd one that hassles you more.  Some of the shops are selling lovely stuff and we see light shades with leadlight I would love to buy but we can’t. Like every market place it is difficult to sort the genuine souvenir’s to the imported junk but it is nearly impossible but we have learnt not to be tempted to buy on the first day but to look around and compare and learn (except apparently spices!!) and though we see a few authentic looking things we don’t buy. We try and get a little something that reflect and will remind us of the country we are in. In a wholesale older market we see lots of ceramic and pottery bowls, tagines etc of all sizes and see one we like but keep it in mind for later. We spot the English couple from yesterday in the market so they offer to show us to the local supermarket as we want to see if we can get some crisps and a bottle of wine to have in our room before dinner. The supermarket has lots of goods, really good actually but suspect it is for the more well off households, but no alcohol and the crisps are really expensive so we buy only one pack and orange juice. Vicki assures me a break from booze will be good for me haha but she is serious.

Unfortunatly I spy bulk spices a hell of a lot cheaper than the spice bazaar but put it down –again – to experience. Vicki spies a bright, colourful shop and shows a bit of promise for a keepsake so we go in and chat to the owner who is keen for a sale. We look around and Vicki is taken by a small brass, colourfully painted camel which is real cute and though we do not know where it is made, though we are assured it is Moroccan made, it is small enough not to add any more bulk to the van. The owner tries to get Vicki to buy the set of 3 ranging in size but really we only want one so don’t give in. We decide to meander back up the old town to the market to get the miniature tarjine we saw the day before and manage to get one that was different than the others, a beautiful tone of blue at the right price. We wander around a bit more as the sun sets and sit in the main square for a while drinking in the sights and people watch. There are what seem to be homeless or at the least quite poor people around but on the whole the place doesn’t have the decrepidness and sadness of others we have seen and definitely not as many beggars. The food market area is humming as we wander back to the Dah and really it is a vibrant atmosphere and we feel now that we would like to come back and see more of Tangier and other parts of Morocco. We sit and read and have a few chips and juice in our room before heading down for tea. There are a few people in waiting for dinner and having a few drinks and lots of ciggies so not very pleasant atmosphere so we decide there is no way we can eat here so ask if we can have our meal downstairs away from all the smokers which is no problem thank goodness. I have a bit of a cold and the smoke makes it worse. Again we have a lovely 3 course meal this time large prawns done to a local recipe. We meet the young chef and congratulate him on his skills which I am sure he appreciates. All the staff here are great and if not for the smoking culture 5 star.

We get up to our last brekky and then go for a last walk around the Kasbah and final look around to see if there is any more souvenir’s we don’t really need but when has this stopped anybody. We decide to get a taxi to the port as it is a bit wet and only 5E so not worth the walk. We get to the port and find that the ferry has been cancelled due to the high winds and doesn’t look like going for a day or two. I am not sure if the taxi driver knew this but probably wanted the fare but who knows we will give him the benefit of the doubt. The guard there who has told us says we can go to Tangier Med which is a bigger port about 30 miles away where the ferries are running as they are bigger and can handle the conditions. We hum and hah for a minute then pay the 30E to taxi there but in the back of our mind is whether we should stay in Tangier until the wind drops but really that could be days away.  The taxi ride is cool as we see some of the countryside though the driver doesn’t spare the horses and the old merc is put through its paces.

We arrive to a very blustery port which is very new and still being built but Morocco is definitely planning for the future which is great to see. We get inside and find to our dismay that all THESE ferries are cancelled as well but luckily find one that is still scheduled to leave in a few hours so we decide to wait till the last minute to pay in case that is cancelled as well. As we are waiting we notice more and more people arriving including tour groups so we bite the bullet and line up and we are grateful we did as we get our tickets just as tempers start to fray and yelling and pushing occurs especially when a tour leader, who has already started getting tickets, comes back with all the passports which causes resentment as others think he is barging in! The guy behind the glass is doing his best but no staff to help as this is not planned. More people join in the arguments so we slink away and keep a low profile. In a matter of minutes the queue has doubled and we pray that the ship sails. We finally get on the bus shuttle to the ferry which drops us off at the terminal. We are on the first shuttle so get a seat. We chat to a couple of American ladies on holiday. Then we notice a man having difficulties and not looking well so we offer help and he is a medic and says he is having a heart attack. Vicki’s training kicks in so we get him comfy, she gets a sick bag as I alert the authorities to get an ambulance. The man is groaning and spewing and angry as he just wants to get back to Spain and doesn’t want to go to a Moroccan hospital. Vicki tells him she is a trained in CPR and we won’t get on the ferry until the ambulance has arrived if needed. The ambulance arrives in a very short time which is amazing and he is taken on board. His wife comes back in to get the bags and they are still hopeful that he will stabilise and be allowed on the ferry but this doesn’t happen and they are whisked off. We are impressed by the urgency and professionalism of the Emergency Services. We finally get on the ferry but don’t depart for hours so it is a long day when we finally get going. I reckon that the crossing is fine considering the conditions but Vicki wanders around so sees the roughness and rolling which she says is bad. I figured as we couldn’t smell copious amounts of vomit from the previous crossing then all will be ok.

We pull into Algeciras and get to debark. All I can say is that if the ship was sinking we would all die as no one wants to let the one in front go first and no one knows the merge rule and as at the ticket office tempers are fraying and rudeness abounds. Not sure what the nationalities are but I think Spanish. We have been on a few ferries now but the on board organisation here is non-existent and the crew would be useless in any emergency or evacuation. Gratefully we get on to solid ground and as it is already 8pm we end up getting a taxi to the Marriot hotel as it is cheap enough in Spain to make it worthwhile and did have rooms available before we left Morocco. The room is great although the only one left is a twin room so it’s single beds for us tonight, then we eat an ‘average for Marriot’ meal and hit the sack. The next morning we have a buffet brekky included and then taxi to the bus terminal, happily get our refund from the cancelled ferry minus the agent commission and get the bus back to San Roque and after a short walk we are reunited with Morrie who has had a great time with Speedy and they are now firm friends after sharing engine and gearbox stories.

It is early enough so we decide we should head off to Portugal. We were going to spend another night at Gibraltar to see the rock but since we are two days behind our schedule we get going.  We drive along southern Spain and up around Seville which is meant to be a lovely city, but think another day we will be back.  As we head over the border there are toll booths and we are a bit confused about what we need to do.  I get on the Portugese toll website which says we need to enter our credit card and any tolls we go through will be automatically charged.  This is apparently the only way a visitor to the country can work the tolls so that’s what we do.  We need to do motorways to travel quickly up through Portugal as we now have a time limit to return to the UK.  We head to the first place we have checked out to stay just over the border and the first camperstop which is free is full, so we move on to the next place we sussed out.  It is also heavily filled and there appears to only be one or two spots left.  It is a very large dirt carpark and there appears to be approx. 100 vans here, which we can’t understand as there is nothing here but muddy carpark and few facilities and it costs 4.50euro a night.    Anyway it is only for the night so park up.

 

 

LA MARINA ACTIVITIES AND FAREWELL

For the rest of January our days mostly consisted of more of what we have already explained. We were joined by Jules and Gary who stayed down the road and we enjoyed a couple of meals together before they left to go to Morocco. We frequented the pool most days swimming our 1km in a 14m pool which equates to 72 lengths – enough to make you dizzy really but it felt good to be back in the swing. Scot has taken on spin at the gym with gusto and is really enjoying it. We have joined in numerous events with our new found Brit friends. We went to a fancy dress dinner, a few music afternoons/evenings with many people jamming together and singing, a dance night, dinners or lunches out with people, 8 ball night or just a quiet drink or two with one couple or other. Our social life has soared from being just the two of us to being invited out often. We feel very blessed to have met so many lovely people and to be accepted as friends.

The weather has been exceptional and we have enjoyed temperatures up to the early 20’s with cooler nights. We have been to a number of markets where we adore the fresh food, oranges freshly picked 5kg for 2euro, very cheap olives, broccoli 2 large heads for 1euro. I could go on about the fresh cheap veges as we so adore them. Its such a shame we cant fit much in our fridge as we want to take as much as possible when we leave.

We were joined by other friends during Feb and we enjoyed some sightseeing to Guadalest which is a very cool village inland from Benidorm with a motorbike museum close by. We had lunch there because they roasted the meat on an outside firepit, it was delicious. We came back via Benidorm.

We did a bike ride with a number of the Brits and we biked along the coastline north from Santa Polo to Los Arenales del Sol which equated to about 30+ kms. What an awesome day. We all took our lunch and ate it on the waterfront partway along and stopped for a couple of coffees at cafes. Scot completed another push bike ride with a number of other guys – about 20 in total – they biked about 50+ km out the back of La Marina suburb. A great effort on his mountain bike.

Scot and i visited Alicante by bus and took a look around the old town which was lovely as well. We went with our friends to the Torreveija carnivales which was a colourful and joyful event even though they were running 2 hours late and it was a cool night.

I had to have a tooth pulled out which i was very afraid to get done. The back tooth on the other side was a drama and cost 1500aud. So along i went, i was in the chair perhaps 10 minutes and she had it pulled out and i was gobsmacked. I walked out to the waiting room where Scot said ‘Do you have to come back another day’ Lol. The cost 60euro. I am coming back here when i need more dental work done.

I am surprised that in Spain you can go into a chemist and ask for almost any medication you want and you don’t need a doctors prescription. If one says you cant buy it, you simply go to another who will likely sell it to you.

Scot went for a ride on the back of Micks Harley which is the first time he has been on the back of a Harley – not quite a bikers mole…haha.

We did a bike ride to Rojales with friends to the markets but unfortunately missed the markets we were so late, but the scenery was worth the ride.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at La Marina and would love to be back in the future but who knows where our travels will take us in the future. We reluctantly said our goodbyes to our new friends who we seem to have known for a long time and hopefully we will catch up with some or all of them back in UK at some stage. It seems strange leaving but we know we will enjoy being back on the adventure trail once away.

OUR CURRENT STATUS

We are very behind on our blogs because since we left La Marina we have not had wifi for the laptop to upload photos or our diary. But we will update them once we get back to England. However a brief overview of we have done and where we are now is following. We left La Marina and travelled down to Gibraltar where the next day we took a ferry across to Morocco. What an amazing place that is. Although they have a high alert for terrorism at present it feels safer than other countries we visited with the most amazing people. We would go back in a heartbeat. It was vibrant, busy and very real. We were shocked on arriving but once adjusted we loved the atmosphere there. We only were able to stay 4 days upon which time we took the ferry back to Spain, even though most were cancelled due to high seas and winds.

Once back we picked up our van we headed for Portugal. We didnt have enough time to see Portugal very well unfortunately. We spent a couple of nights in the algarve which was amazing and although it was winter there, there were so many campervans around, mainly French and Dutch. We headed up along the west coast of Portugal which again was stunning and had very big seas, which lent itself to feeling at home like it was NZ beaches. Peniche, Vila do Conte and Viana do Costello are place we want to see more of as they were incredible. Portugese were lovely and mostly spoke some English which helped. As we headed into northern Spain the countryside was dramatically different from southern Spain and it was green, snow on hills and spectacular. I think we need another year to see all these places we had to skip by as there is so much to see. We travelled from northern Spain into southern France and stopped in St Jean de Luz. We stayed there 6 years ago and loved it. We still think its amazing. We then travelled on to a place called Port Louis just near Quiberon where we also stayed 6 years ago. What an amazing place too. We are on the coast north of there and and stopped today and saw a lookout and a fort. All the places we have stopped in Portugal, northern Spain and France are free camperstops which are wonderful. Some have water, toilet dump and waste water dump and the odd one has electricity that you pay for. It certainly helps you spend less to see the countryside. We are in Saint Cast le Guildo tonight and tomorrow after stopping off at Saint Mont Michel, an amazing tourist destination, in fact the most popular in France, we then head off to Deauville or Blonville Sur Mer.  On the 29th Feb we take the ferry back to England.

Our travels are then over as we have a house sit for a couple of weeks whilst we contemplate whether i go back to work in Aus, or we stay in England or maybe travel some more, although i think we would have to sit Scot on a roundabout in Spain to earn some money to do so (roundabouts in Spain are where the prostitutes sit).

We have loved every minute of our travel and i am sure i am not the only one who wasnt sure we would make it the whole way round (or the van). We have seen 28 amazing countries, travelled almost 34,000kms and gained more friends and experiences than in our entire lifetime. But we need to get off our band wagon or we will go on about it. If there was any of our friends contemplating doing this we would be happy to help them with any questions etc.

So in a week or so’s time we will have more details up about the brief you have just read as we will be back in the very cool temps of England, actually west of London near the Chilterns hopefully in a very warm house with some lovely pets to keep us company whilst we make decisions about our future.

LA MARINA, HAPPY NEW YEAR

Monday 21 December

In the morning we say goodbye to Bill and Nina and we will meet up with them again soon as they have to go back to the hospital in Benidorm for a follow up after surgery that Bill had.  It seems from what we hear a lot of British come here to have dental stuff or surgery done as it is very cheap compared to England.

We head back to where we stayed outside Rob and Sue’s apartment as there is a bookshop that sells English novels and Scot needs more books so we stop there and buy a dozen or so books.  We then head off to the marina area near the esplanade where there are a few shops.  We park up and walk around the streets.  It is a nice town and we have a look in a few shops.  We need to get a couple more things from the supermarket so we leave the esplanade area and drive out to the huge Carrefour supermarket which is one we love to shop at.  This supermarket is massive and the variety of things make us feel like kids in a lolly shop.  It is difficult though as since we have such a small fridge we need to be careful we don’t buy too much as the food will just spoil and we will waste money.  We get our essential things and we will come back on the bus to get a couple of supplies just before Christmas day.  There is also a shopping mall here with some clothing and shoes shops etc that we will come back and we may be able to find something small for each other for Christmas.

We need to get to the camp or they may give away our site so we head off to La Marina which is 20kms up the road.  We arrive and check in and set up our little campsite.  We are on a corner which isn’t ideal but there are no others available.  We see people having street parties which look fun and we know that a lot of people here have probably been coming for a long time and know most others.  In the camp we see a mix of nationalities from Austrian, Belgian, Swiss, Danish, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Swedish, British and of course now Kiwi Aussies!  A huge mix though and we hope we will meet a few of them during our stay.  It is nice to actually be stopping for a few weeks as you get set up and then you just have to take it all down again.  We find our rugby world cup flags which we bought with us and use them as decoration as we have few Christmas ones.  We couldn’t find any solar xmas lights so we have none of those yet either.  We go for a walk along the beach to check it out and today there are a few waves but normally it is quite flat.  There are a couple of restaurants within a short walk along the sand so we will also check them out at some stage.

Tuesday and we decide we need to check out the spa and all it entails plus the gym, so we do a workout first and then change for the spa.  The pool is only 14m but if you swim for half an hour then you can get a km done.  The steam room, sauna etc are all great and we just know that we are going to really enjoy some down time here.

Wednesday 23rd December

We decide it is bus day today so we take the bus back down to Torreveija.  It stops right in the middle of town so we have a bit of a walk to get down to the esplanade where we need to check out a couple of shops and once we have done that we  head over to the main shop area which is about 3kms away.  We check out the clothes shops and I manage to find new speedos for Scot for Christmas, a bit boring I know but what can you do when you don’t have the time or knowledge of an area to find things.  Anyway after a while we head back into the Carrefour for our Christmas supplies.  After a bit I realise the buses back to the camp aren’t that often and if we don’t leave soon we will be waiting another 1.5hours before we can leave so once Scot has completed his purchases we need to catch a taxi back to the bus depot so we are just in time to catch the bus back.  There are a bunch of drunks sitting around the depot having a go at each other and a homeless man comes and sits right next to me.  I am not bothered by his presence, but I cannot stomach the stench of urine and whatever else so I have to move away.  We get back to the camp and relax with a drink and a book (which becomes a common activity).

Christmas eve and the day is just spent in the spa, the gym and sitting reading relaxing.

Christmas Day

We have heard from our newly made friends Nina and Bill and they are going to join us today for a chicken roast with roast veges which is nice as we are feeling a bit friendless here to date as we haven’t yet had a chance really to go out walking to meet fellow nearby campers.  Those around us are keeping to themselves very much so we need to find some like minded English speakers.

We have a lovely day though when Nina and Bill arrive and we polish off a few bottles of bubbly and beer and our dinner was lovely that Scot cooked.  I did desert – fresh berries and ice cream, not hard really, but we haven’t had ice cream in our ‘house’ at any time so is a treat.  I have managed to continue to have fresh raspberries, blueberries and occasional strawberries, every day, for our entire trip so far.  I am happy about that and now in Spain of course they are still available here.

The day finishes about 9.30 as it is getting chilly and since we have no table and seats inside where we can sit Nina and Bill head back to their van which is parked up outside the complex and we head off to bed.  People her in Spain actually do not celebrate Christmas day, they have a celebration with presents on Christmas eve and their big celebration happens on Jan 6th which they call kings day.

Saturday 26th December to Wednesday 30 December

Unfortunately I have caught the ‘camp cough’ which is quite shitty and sounds like it is rife amongst the other campers around the camp.  Apparently a flu went around everyone a few weeks ago so I am glad we weren’t here then.  Scot bikes into the town area and gets me cough medicine which I didn’t know contained pseudo ephedrine so after taking a huge dose of it before bedtime I was buzzing the whole night and there was no sleep for me…buggar! And very little for Scot.

We basically spent these days going to the gym, spa, beach and relaxing.  On the Wednesday we met a few English people that we end up having a chat with and organise to spend NYE with them.

New Year’s Eve is spent as we plan to spend the next month, swimming & relaxing in the spa and reading in the sun when it is out. Our van is not perfectly sited for the sun all day but we move around as the sun crosses and we get enough. We end up with our new English friends Alan & Ida and their daughter Wendy and her man Dave. We have a great nite chatting and getting to know each other with lovely nibbles and drinks. Vicki has made a batch of mulled wine which goes down well with the girls and I enjoy typical cold English pork pies. Around 11.30 us youngies – Alan & Ida decided to stay in – trotted off to the upstairs bar where there was a disco and partying going on. It wasn’t too crowded so we easy got a table and the girls had a bottle of bubbly and the boys beer. We all celebrated the New Year which in a way is strange as we normally do it with lots of our family & friends in familiar surroundings and here we are on the other side of the world so in some ways for me it was a little sad. The music by 1am had changed from disco to boom boom house which isn’t our thing so we left the locals to it and headed home. The funny thing was the party started at 11.30 and went to 6 am which we couldn’t quite understand but hey the Spanish start late as we have found out. We have so far found the locals very friendly and it seems to be a pretty laid back country and we are beginning to really like it and can see why it is so popular with the Brits, Germans, Dutch and French. It is not only the cheap prices and the weather that makes it attractive also that they are made welcome by the locals.

Friday New Years Day 2016

We sleep in late as it doesn’t get light till 8.30 and we are a bit weary. It is a beautiful sunny day and after brekky we head down to the beach for the local Polar Plunge. We are running late so don’t take anything with us as we don’t know what to expect. Well we arrive to a large gathering with BBQ,s and picnics and everyone nearly ready to dip their toes. There is a countdown and all those brave enough scream their way into the waves. The water is chill but not like any of the winter NZ Polar Plunges  and everybody has a good swim. There are people of all shapes and sizes and as close by is the nudist beach the amount of flesh showing isn’t to unsettling. No one here is too worried about wearing togs when the flesh is overflowing as we see it at the spa, good on them to. Mind you it is a bit weird seeing 70 year old Germans getting undressed on the beach! A lot of the oldies at La Marina are not exactly growing old gracefully in the fitness stakes and I think they have all led a life of excess. Everyone is very friendly and we quickly meet a lot of new people and as pretty much the only token colonials on the beach we are made very welcome and they generously share a glass of bubbly or three in the warm winter sun till around 3pm. We then went and had a couple of drinks with a pommy couple we had stopped and chatted on the way back from beach. These two ladies had stopped near the camp waiting for their hubbies and were sitting on chairs and said hello as they had remembered us from the beach (though we had met so many we weren’t sure) and as a joke they were pretending to be ‘Truck Routes’ which we may have explained are girls who sit on roundabouts and crossroads waiting for truckies to send some custom their way. I said I only had a 2 euro 60 cents which got a laugh especially when I said I had enough for both of them!  Really beaut pommy humour and we have found all of them real fun so we are really looking forward to meeting more.

Saturday & Sunday  2 & 3 January

As it is the weekend we have to pay 3 Euro to use the pool, spa etc for 1 ½ hours which is ok but what isn’t is having to share with all the locals and their noisy kids. The Spanish celebrate xmas more on the 6th Jan as the Three Kings Day so the camp has a lot of families arriving for the holidays. All of a sudden there are kids everywhere but we just have to accept it. Sunday is worse so relaxing not enjoyable at all.

Monday 4 to Friday8th Jan

As you will see each day now is pretty much like the one before ground hog day. The little town of La Marina is only a couple of ks away and quaint with all we need if not to specialised. We have spotted a bike shop so we get Vickis gears on her bike fixed (15 euro) and I buy a crash helmet as I am going to go biking with some guys tomorrow and though no one wears a helmet here it is legal to but I feel safer with one especially out on the busy roads. We also spy a booze distributor warehouse so check out the prices. We can get a 24 can pack of Strongbow cider for around $20aus and beer for cheaper. In fact at the camp store I can buy cans of full strength beer for as cheap as 25cents each. Yeah Hah. On the way back to camp we decide to stop at a small restaurant we have been told about by other campers. It isn’t big but cosy and they serve Tapas and titbit foods that you can buy what you want. They have about 20 large barrels of wine and sherry type drinks. You get a glass and you can sample all the wines (small sips in the glass) and then choose what you like. A glass of around 250mls costs about 1Euro and if you bring your empty plastic bottles you can fill them up for between 1.45 Euro to 2.95E per LITRE!! So we are going to take our 6.5L water bottles to fill. And the wine is really nice not crap. So we had 4 stuffed mushrooms, 3 Stuffed tomatoes, 1 stuffed eggplant  a potato & onion bread,  all the olives you can eat,2 wines each plus a dozen tastings for 11Euro all up about  $18aus. Can’t wait to go back may have to leave the bikes behind!

We were going to take the van to the mechanic to get the headlight looked at but after looking at the manual we did it ourselves as well as the rear light which had blown a bulb. The campers here are great as they came and told us our light didn’t work and then another told us our rear light wasn’t working when we drove in. They look out for each other especially when a newby arrives and they are trying to fit their million euro Winnebago McMansion on wheels into a camp spot. We have heard stories where the male driver isn’t listening to the wife and backs the brand new life investment into the tree or they have wedged themselves in and can’t get out or as we saw yesterday a humongous German (they all seem to be German) bus camper came all the way in and then couldn’t get past the hanging xmas decoration lights so had to back all the way out. We try not to laugh but it can be a bit of entertainment on an otherwise slow day.

This morning I went for my countryside bike ride with Pom Mike (and his wife Lisa) who we were told to go say hello here by our friends Rob and Sue who know them. Again we are surprised how well we get on with couples around our age or older and it is like we know each other. We went for around an hour and I got to see some of the surrounding area including the obligatory truck root –I mean route – who we waved to as we sailed by.  Mike & Lisa have been coming here for 6 years now as Spain is somewhere you can retire early as it is so cheap. After we went and had a few beers with them and ended up going to the camp restaurant for a small meal and a drink as neither of us wanted to cook and by then a few to many bevvies had gone down.  It was with a slightly tired head the next morning as I headed to my first ever bike spin class with Mike and Vicki was off to do her 1km in the pool. We hope to be a lot fitter by the end of the month and there are no excuses with the great facilities here.

Well until we finish our relaxing month, there won’t be too much on the blog as I am sure you don’t want to hear of our relaxing spas, drinky poos in the sun and a gym workout. We will continue in more detail when we leave and head hopefully for a week in Morocco then head through Portugal and France and on to the UK

GREECE TO SPAIN

Monday 14th December

We leave this camp and head to Igoumenitsa to get the ferry and the weather was sunny. We have a long way to go but make good pace. As if the rubbish is not bad enough we also pass a number of dead animals on the side of the road but mainly dogs and reflects both the number of feral dogs and the inability of the people to clear them whether through ignorance or will. Can’t understand it and very sad as life here is not revered for them. We decide on the coast road as we have a bit of time up our sleeve as we found out the ferry would be delayed for 3 hours which is a bit of a pain but out of our hands. We realise this may make things a bit tight for getting to Spain to see our friends Rob & Sue before they head off to England but can only do our best. We also decide to get our tickets from Italy to Spain when we are at the port in Cvitavecchia and not online which turns out to be the right decision.

The trip is quite good and scenery wise interesting.  We drive through an interesting area where the road is hardly wide enough for two vehicles with the vegetation having grown in on the side and no one seems to care whether it is cut back to enable cars to pass or not.  The road conditions in this part also leave a lot to be desired and we avoid pot holes whilst trying to avoid oncoming cars.  We arrive in Igoumenista in the early afternoon and find the ticket office. We sort of know the lie of the land as we saw this port on the way down and it looked quite nice so decided to embark from here instead of Patras. The office didn’t open till later on so we drove back up town, parked and walked down a bit to the town area and had a look around and a coffee. We then went back to the office and booked in then decided to drive the van into town to get a few supplies as we didn’t want to walk for miles with bags of groceries.

It was hard to find the store as it was very built up area narrow streets and for a Wednesday very hectic. We stocked up then found a better park on the main drag where we could take up a few parks without jutting out. Anything goes here obviously and everyone parks everywhere pretty much wherever they want. They even park right behind other parked cars to get coffee or have a feed and bad luck if you want to leave. The road here is 2 car wide so no problem with traffic flow. I can’t help but think the police would have a field day if this happened in Oz and the $$$ they would make but the police don’t do anything as it seems to work. There a heaps of eateries, cafes, creperies,  etc along the main drag and they are all open so must be a popular holiday destination and if this is how it is at this time of the year then god help what the summer is like. WEe eat a local salad and kebaby thing at a café which is cheap and really fills us up (we get far more than expected). We head back to the van luckily the parked car is not quite behind us so we can get out. We get to the port and find the entrance and try to work out where to go even though we know we have to end up at gate 12. A security guy lets us know which line to get into behind the trucks but then makes us go around the gate and stops us for a customs- police check. We are quite surprised as it is late but they make us open the van up and the storage area. While I am unloading all our crap out of the storage area we have to haul things out of the van as well. Vicki talks to the security guy who seems nice and chats with us. Apparently they are looking for drugs as Greece is a popular conduit for heroin, hash and dope from the Middle East, Ukraine , Russia and whereabouts. The other guy is not as friendly and acts like we are guilty as hell and starts pulling everything out of drawers, Cupboards, under the bed etc. He starts to try to pull our roof apart as, because of previous damp problems, looks a bit loose and Vicki says “Hey mate don’t destroy our roof it is only damp damage” but he just tells her to get out but thankfully moves on. I have to move all our stuff out of the storage area and I am trying to help but doesn’t want it preferring to just throw stuff everywhere. Prick and so OTT!!.

He finds some of our prescription drugs and starts quizzing us as if a packet of my Viagra makes me a drug addict and Vicki’s Panadeine with codeine in it a junkie. He gets over someone maybe a doctor who says nah just paracetamol so no problem. Good thing they didn’t find our other pill stash but shows how stupid the whole exercise is cos if I was bringing in stuff it wouldn’t be anywhere they looked (Maybe with the shit & piss in the toilet cartridge?? Or inside the spare wheel.) However they did say they caught a couple with a baby that had kgs of dope so it does happen. If I was carrying quantities I think would be travelling by road not risking a customs search. After half our stuff was everywhere the nicer guy did say they had a dog so I mentioned we would have preferred the dog sniffing out the van instead of the mess but no go. Then he says they do so many of these that they can usually spot the guilty ones after a few minutes talking to them and we didn’t fit the bill so go figure. I realise they are only doing their job but would be happier if they were searching for bombs or terrorists which does affect us or maybe they have a quota they have to search regardless. Anyway after an hour of searching we start putting things back and it takes us a while to restore the van as things can only go where they go as we have good system of storage. It is only later we see the foot prints on toilet and the face off the heater. The funny part was when they had a moment of panic when they saw all our runners under the bed and thought it was refugees hiding there! Anyway all good in the end we thanked them for their vigilance and parked up to wait for the ferry which we knew would be a while.

It started to get cold and we didn’t want to sleep so sat and read. At least we had gas for a cuppa. A ferry came in which we thought was ours but not to be and ours didn’t come in till 4am. Prior to this I went for a walk to get the stiffness out and noticed the cars had Trieste destination cards on their dashes and freaked that we were in the wrong lane and went running back to Vicki saying we must be on the other ferry as they were loading but then saw other cars with Ancona so stopped panicking. Anyway we board the ferry at last and luckily get to hook up the power to the van to our batteries and take our bags, pillows and blankets to our cabin which turns out to be the same as our previous one with noisy aircon but comfy and we are worn out so crash till lunch which was leftover greek salad from the café last nite so saved some $$.

We sat around and read , had a couple of drinks (wine snuck up from our room) and disembarked into Ancona around 6pm. We were going to find somewhere close but we had contingency plans and had sussed out camperstops at various distances from the city. I was driving and felt fresh so we decided to hit the highway and see how far we could get. We went left following a truck instead of right where the cop was directing  – whoops- never mind too late now and we are following our bibles direction so keep following the trucks as surely he is going where want to go. We get on the highway across the country and end up at a camper stop after a couple of hours in a cool place which is a popular caving tourist destination (pretty & colourful at nite with all the xmas decorations up) so we find the stop but it is a little bit out of town and deserted so head back to town and find a hotel car park that looks secure and park up for the nite. All is quiet that nite so we sleep quite well, have brekky then head off at 9.30am and it shows -1c so must have been -3c overnite. It is well worth making the effort to get away from the port last nite as the extra kms under the belt are gold and always makes the following days travels easier and less stressful.

The countryside across to Civitevechia is nice and varied and the villages even from the parts of the highway we are on are interesting, but then after Greece any countryside would be. There are villages nestled into the hills with castles and churches and our previous negative image of northern Italy is soon forgotten but we are reminded when we pass a bigger city and the smog and pollution is more obvious. We get to the port of Civitevechia and get a glimpse of the port which in the past was an important Roman bastion and you can still see some of the original walls as well as the relatively newer fort. We check out the ticket office that doesn’t open till 4.30 so have our again late lunch then head into town which is short walk. It is a very pretty town/city and we are glad we have an hour or 2 to look around. The walls are awesome and some great history with the large seaside promenade very popular with great outlooks over the marina, beaches and walkways. We walk up the promenade and back and then into the closer part of town and window shop while being serenaded by piped xmas music which reminds us that chrissy is just around the corner. We go to book with Grimaldi Line on the phone but for some reason it is 100euro more expensive than online even though the salesman says no way can that be the case. So we hang up saying we will get back if we have no joy. Online we get a junior suite with a window to see the sea and TV as well as king size bed at the much cheaper price so pays to shop around. We head back to the van and again have the wait to board the ferry. Even though we were delayed we are only a day behind our original time frame to get to Torrevechia so are happy to board around 8.30pm and departed around 10.30. Overall our estimation of Italy has risen from when we first saw earlier on the toll road past Milan and Turin and maybe a visit may happen one day.

As we sort ourselves out on the ship unfortunately I (Vicki) start to get severe pain in my side which reminds me of Switzerland.  I wont go into the whole gory details but this lasts the entire time on the ship and beyond which really spoils it for both of us.  I have some very strong pain killers which I have to take just to be able to manage a walk up to the café for the meals we ordered and paid for online.  I have no idea what is going on and at one stage I had the ships doctor give me an injection to help ease the pain.  Anyway the cabin was cool having a double bed, tv and a porthole to look out of.  It doesn’t really matter having a window but at least during the day if you are lying in your room you can let the daylight in and get an idea of what the time is. The time really passes slowly with what is happening, but Scot enjoys being able to watch some sport and news on tv whilst we wait to arrive in Spain.

We are early getting into port which is a bonus.  Rob and Sue leave in a days time so if we get ourselves halfway down to Torreveija (prounounced Torrebe ecka) we may see them before they leave. So off the ship we drive and then try to find our way out.  I tell Scot just to follow the truck in front which is what we normally do as that always seems to at least get you out of the port and onto a highway.  So off following this truck and on the map it is really difficult to figure out how to get out as the port is so huge.  It takes about 20 minutes of driving roads, roundabouts etc before we finally manage to reach the highway going south, so we are on our way.  Scot is ok to drive for a while so we get a couple of hundred kms down the road before we figure it is a good idea to find somewhere to stop.  We had flagged a couple of areas and we look for a campground or car park to park for the night.  This area is a bit different from others we have stayed and the narrow roads have no space to pull over on the side and even camps that are closed the gates are on the edge of the road so that is a no go.  We find a camp that has one gate still open but it looks like everyone is inside having a big party.  Scot parks in the middle of the road with hazards on and I go in to see if we can come in.  Finding no one really to talk to I find I can open the other gate so Scot drives in and eventually someone comes and we agree to just park out in the front car park for the night as this place is chokka block.  The party is a Christmas party with oldies having a ball dancing etc but we are both tired from a sleepless night that we don’t even notice the festivities and sleep.

We are up and gone the next morning – what a cheap campsite 7euro for the night, god we love Spain already!  We head out earlyish as we want to get down to Torrevieja as soon as possible.  We finally get to see some of the countryside we travelled past last night in the dark.  It is interesting with rather cool buildings in the towns we pass.  The countryside must be ok to grow a lot of stuff as Spain has a huge market share shipping veges and fruit all over Europe.  We make great time on the highway and get to Torrevieja about mid afternoon.  We easily find Rob ad Sues apartment they are staying in and knock on the door.  They are surprised we arrived at all as it was over 500kms down from Barcelona.  We had a great chat and Rob showed us some great freedom camping sites along the water front at Torrevieja before we headed back to their apartment and went out for an early dinner.  A lovely meal and very cheap.  They gave us free starters and a free baileys for the ladies and a liquor for the gents.  We had the van parked up in the side street so slept there for the night and met them for an early coffee before they departed for the airport.  We then made breakfast and drove off into the town to have a look around.

It is Sunday today, the 20th and we found an open supermarket.  We have fallen in love is all I can say.  The veges are so cheap and a great variety and fresh.  The other food is cheap and the amazing variety of brands etc is awesome.  We haven’t had it this good since Netherlands I think.  The alcohol is also great and cheap much to Scots delight.  We stock up on a few things and then head off to the campsite we need to check out.  It is at La Marina and about 20kms up the road.  It is a 5 star campsite and has a huge outside pool complex, a gym, indoor pool, huge spa with great water jets and bubble beds, steam room, sauna, Turkish bath, citris pool and cold plunge pool.  There are heaps of campers here and there are few sites left.  We think we had better choose a place today as the ones left will not last long at all.  So we walk around and pick a spot that we think will have a bit of sun and be relatively quiet.  We book that in and leave to go back to Torreveija for the night to freedom camp.  We park up on a spot that Rob had shown us yesterday where there are about 8 other campervans along with locals fishing off the rocks.  It is a lovely spot in the sun close to the town.

We meet a lovely couple in the GB van we are parked alongside and Nina and Bill come from Isle of Wight, although Nina is originally from Slovakia and co-incidentally from a little town of Piestany that we stayed in and had the folk night in the pub with a brewery.  Such a small world considering we didn’t stay at very many places in Slovakia.  We get on well and end up having drinks in their van until it is dinner time.  We don’t leave our van to go for a walk here as one couple said they were broken into a couple of nights before but luckily they have an alarm that sends a signal to their phone so nothing was taken.