Musical Motorhomes at La Garrofa.

We weren't too happy with the pitch we got when we arrived yesterday, nobody's fault, it's just very busy here at the moment and all the good pitches had been taken. Fortunately this morning we saw a couple just opposite us getting ready to move off so we discretely asked if they were just going out for the day or leaving the site. They confirmed they were leaving and all of a sudden we saw a couple of other folk eyeing up the pitch also. You loose if you snooze someone whispered as they passed by so while I ran up to check with the owner that it was ok to move Phil packed everything away. I nonchalantly unhooked our electric cable and as the couple drove off we were driving onto the pitch almost before they vacated it. Next thing we knew another couple moved onto our old pitch, which was better than theirs and another van moved onto their old pitch. Phew, it was exciting for a few minutes and great fun for the spectators. Ten minutes later and the dust had settled, the Musical Motorhome frenzy was over and we were all busy settling in to our new homes. We've now got sunshine from morning to evening and a great view of the beach and the sea, just what we wanted. An added bonus is the tree and the metal post ideally situated for Harry the Hammock! I gave him a test run after lunch and he's perfect. I tell you folks, life doesn't get much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amazing rotisseried chicken provided us with our third meal today, chicken salad sandwiches and there's still half of it to go, by the time we've finished with it we'll be crowing and laying eggs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The campsite has acquired a young French chef who had just started when we were here last time. He is now producing his own croissant every morning and they're delicious. Apparently his first couple of attempts with Spanish ingredients weren't too successful but he's definitely got the hang of it now and they sell out fast. On Thursday he is cooking a Bouillabaisse! We've had to put our names down as he needs to know how much fish to buy and currently there are fifteen of us looking forward to being transported to Marseille in a couple of days time.

A team of Spanish plumbers arrived this morning and the hot water to the showers has been fixed so you'll be pleased to hear that there is now a campsite full of freshly showered folk. Long may it stay that way.

Good news also that Annie finished my hat! Cool eh? Perfect for those cooler evenings.

Finally, here's another sunset for you:

 

 

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Back at La Garrofa

We left Bonuevo this morning on a grey day, weather wise. We enjoyed our stay there, it's a tidy campsite with everything you could want, clean toilets, hot showers and pitches that get the sun all day. No sun today, however, as we headed off for Aguilas on the recommendation of my niece Anne-Lise. Sorry Anne-Lise but Aguilas didn't really do anything for us. Maybe it's a bit more interesting in the summer but today it was a little drab. We parked up on the headland overlooking the beach while we had coffee and sandwiches and afterwards,with a shrug, set off for Almeria. The drive here is pretty uneventful but we were looking forward to meeting friends we had made here before Christmas and on arrival Malcolm, who pretty much runs the place as receptionist, handy man and friend to everyone told us to find a pitch and said he'd book us in later. When we were here late last year we could pretty much have our pick of the site but now it's packed. We're finding this now in Spain, it's much busier than it was before Christmas. Our previous spot right on the beach was gone but we've managed to find a decent pitch, well two actually, but Malcolm says we can have it for the price of one. He was a bit harassed when we arrived, the hot water wasn't working in the showers and he was trying to repair it, folk we're complaining that the hot water to the washing up sinks wasn't working either and then we tripped the electric supply, oops. Despite this site being a bit "tired" what it lacks in facilities and organisation it makes up for in personality. The people we met previously have all given us a warm welcome. We arrived attempting, again, to stop smoking but relented and went to the bar only to find the cigarette machine was no longer there! We wandered back to our motorhome, complaining bitterly to anyone who would listen. Two minutes later and a guy we met before offered us a pouch of tobacco. We thanked him but declined and then as I went up to sign in Malcolm threw a packet of cigarettes at me. Whatever you may think about smoking and smokers we can't fault the generosity of the people here.

Anyway, things are sorted now, except the showers and tomorrow we'll sort our pitch out. We're thinking of staying here for a few days, maybe a week and it's nice to get things how we want them outside. I've even spotted a tree and a pole that look like ideal hammock supports, wish me luck.

By the way, the folk we are travelling to Morocco with at the end of the month also have a blog. They have travelled across Europe before in their motorhome and arrived in France today on their way to meet us in Spain in a couple of weeks. You can follow Paul and Chris here: http://travelwithpaulandchris.blogspot.co.uk

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Market Day

Up early today to get the 9.50am bus to Puerto de Mazzaron and the market, as were about another twenty folk from the campsite, mostly French. We're in a bit of a French enclave where we are parked at the moment apart from an English couple on one side and a German couple on the other. Apart from them it's wall to wall French folk. They are all here for the winter and know each other. It's a bit like being at home with everyone popping into each other's back yards which lends itself to a nice atmosphere. We all say bonjour in the morning and they offer a "Bon appetit" when they pass by as we are eating, very sweet.

The market today was huge, about three hundred meters long and six stalls wide. A lot of the stuff on sale was clothing, shoes and handbags, typical of markets everywhere but one long row was fruit and veg and we took the opportunity to stock up, we even found some nice lettuce so we're ok for salads for the next few days. We bought some cheese from a stall where the guy was begrudgingly serving us as if we'd interrupted him from doing something more important than selling cheese but he had the last laugh. We bought what looked like some really nice goats cheese only to sample it when we got home to find it was completely tasteless. Cheese for folk who don't like cheese I guess.

However the purchase of the day was a delicious chicken from the rotisserie man. A big chicken (and gravy),tub of aioli and a loaf of bread for ten euros. We had some of the chicken for lunch with some of the veg that we had bought and it was absolutely delicious. It had been stuffed with garlic and orange. We'd never think of stuffing a chicken with orange but I guess they have so many here that they have to think of something to do with them. Anyway it worked really well. The guy slid the chicken of the spit, cut it into four pieces with some nasty looking scissors, deposited it into a wax coated circular box, anointed it with copious amounts of gravy, sealed it with a tin lid and it was still warm a couple of hours later. Best part is I reckon we have another two meals out of it yet. Bargain of the day. That and a litre of olive oil for seven euros.

We were back on the 11.10 bus so all done in an hour. Which gave us time to sit outside with an aperitif and enjoy the sunshine before lunch. Yes folks, the sun is shining again today after a couple of days of cloud and I'm sure you are pleased for us.

The English couple from next door have just gone down to the bar to see if Man City can beat Newcastle. Phil's gone for a siesta so I think I'll go and join them. I'll finish this later.

Later: Well, I reckon Newcastle were worth the draw at least. Bit hard done by for the disallowed goal as well. Shame about Nasri eh :)

The outside "carpet" is up and stowed, awning in, everything in the garage except the electric cable and screen cover. Early night and an early start tomorrow. We enjoy chilling for a few days at one place but we also enjoy moving on. Aguilas and La Garrofa are calling us.

 

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Bolnuevo Beach

We're still in Bolnuevo, moving on to La Garrofa, near Almeria on Monday. We walked along the beach today and couldn't believe that you wouldn't be able to find a spot even in the height of summer yet talking to people who are here all year apparently you struggle to put up your deck chair in July and August it gets that busy. Looking at miles of empty sand today we found it hard to believe.

 

Whilst strolling along we came upon this scene:

 

No, we have no idea either!

 

Bolnuevo is famous for its sandstone features. The rocks have been eroded for millions of years leaving these weird shapes.

Weather wise today hasn't been much to shout about. It actually rained this morning! And it's been a bit chilly all day. We stopped for tapas and a beer on the way back from our walk and now we're back at Chez Lulu thinking about watching a movie. I loaded the iPad up with films before we left and we still have about thirty or so left in the library. Ideal for lazy days when the weather isn't too good although I hope there aren't too many days like that. The forecast is better for tomorrow and I'm told there is a big Sunday market in Puerto de Mazarron which is just a ten minute bus ride away. The couple next door to us have lived and worked in Spain for ten years and they say they buy enough veg in the market to last them a week for not a lot of euros. We haven't been to a big market yet in Spain to we're looking forward to it. We've found a big difference in the variety and quality of fruit and vegetables between here and France. There is much more variety in France and the quality is much better, especially salad and tomatoes which is surprising really. The tomatoes in Spain are tasteless unless you can find the really good green tomatoes which are excellent. So we'll try the market tomorrow and then on Monday do a big Lidl shop before we set off to Almeria. We pass Aguilas on the way and my French niece who now lives in England has been there and recommends it for a visit. Then it's polytunnel country again, which is why the tomatoes are tasteless eh?

 

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A lazy day today, well, no driving anyway. After a couple of days of driving we get a bit fed up with it so we stop for a few days and chill providing we can find a decent campsite. This one at Bolnuevo is pretty good for us, shops nearby and a couple of bars and restaurants and we get free wifi if we walk over to the reception area hence I have no excuse to not post the blog everyday. We also get a chance to do the washing! We'll, Phil does anyway. Unfortunately on days like these I don't have much to say as not much has happened! I did however lay an "outside" carpet. The ground here is pretty sandy and dusty so we are forever bringing dust into the motorhome which gets everywhere. The caravan shops round here sell a heavy duty netting fabric which is ideal for the job and keeps me occupied for a while hammering heavy duty nails into the ground.

The only other excitement today involved Harry the Hammock. I found a tree and a metal upright the right distance apart so strung him up much to the amusement of the local residents. In I got, stretched out and thirty seconds later the rope slipped down the pole depositing me on the floor with a bit of a bang. Ouch! No serious injuries other than my pride and nobody laughed out loud which was a bonus.

So, that's us at the moment. Enjoying warm sunshine and not doing very much at all.

 

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George! & Bernadette!

We set off this morning from Oliva with our two trusty guides, George & Bernadette, heading for Bolnuevo, near Mazarron. We left the campsite and they couldn't agree and indicated we should go in opposite directions. This isn't unusual and they usually sort themselves out in a couple of miles and agree on the general direction. Today, though, was different. Very different. We knew we had to head toward Alicante so ignored their advice to the contrary and headed off in that direction, however, the constant screaming from the pair of them had us heading back to our starting point. Several times. Then we went "off road". I'll spare you the full story but we wasted an hour this morning before we ignored the pair of them and set off in the direction we had chosen in the first place. If they don't sort themselves out soon we're going back to the maps!!

Thus our three and a half hour journey was considerably longer than expected but we eventually arrived at our destination. A Campsite we stayed on last year which we realy liked; long sandy beach, shops, bars and restaurants within walking distance and a ten minute bus ride to the local town. When we arrived last time we were given a map of the site with all the available pitches indicated and we could choose from plenty of places. This time the site is rammed and we were lucky to get a pitch at all! Last time all the facilities, water, electric, grey waste disposal were on the pitch. This time we just have electricity and have to carry water and waste water. Grrrhh! Anyway it's a nice site and we'll only be here a couple of days to wash and dry some clothes before we head off to Almeria. Tucked up as we are in a corner of the site we have no free wifi but I'm heading off soon to the reception area to post this.

No photos from where we are today but here's one from where we were last night and this morning, I guess you could call this motorhome city!

 

 

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De-luxe Campsite at Oliva

Tonight we are parked up in Oliva, a little south of Valencia and we are back in orange country. From north of Valencia and away past Alicante and beyond you drive past mile upon mile of orange groves. Some have been harvested now, some are being harvested as we drive past and some are, you guessed it, waiting to be harvested. Of course they're not all oranges; there are Satsumas, Clementines, Mandarins and a fruit that is, apparently, unique to the Valencia district that I've forgotten the name of. The remarkable thing,and we noticed this last year, is the amount of fruit lying in the ground. We reckon 10/15% of the crop drops to the ground and rots. However I'm not an orange farmer and I guess these guys know what they're doing. We went for a stroll this evening and managed to catch a Satsuma or Mandarin JUST as it was falling from the tree. Very sweet and juicy it was too.

We didn't shake the tree, honest!

 

It's a de-luxe campsite we are staying on. We know this 'cos the receptionist had an attitude, they're charging us €18.00 a night and the electricity is metered. If we go over 4Kw they'll charge us extra. It's also pretty de-luxe because it has a beach to die for. Mile after mile of really clean soft sand. Even at the height of the holiday season I reckon you would still find a nice spot here and have room for a game of rounders. A bit like Bamburgh really. But with warm sunshine in January.

 

There's a small shop outside the campsite and we called there this evening to buy some veg.

"Where you from?" asked the owner.

"England" we said.

"Where in England?" he enquired.

"Bingley". Blank look. "Bradford" furrowed brow. "Leeds".

"Ahhh LEEDS" followed by some arm waving and foot shuffling suggesting that LUFC was his favorite English football club. Turned out that in a former life he had been a long distance lorry driver delivering all over England. "I deliver Oranges - Birmingham, Manchester, London, Brighton, Leeds, Edinburgh, everywhere." Having tasted the fruit here and in England I reckon he used to deliver the 10/15% that drops to the floor 'cos I never tasted an orange in England that tasted as sweet as that one we caught falling to the ground this evening.

Another reason this is a de-luxe site is the quality of motorhomes parked up here. The guy opposite is never going to miss an episode of anything. Check out the TWO sat dishes.

 

We used the toll roads again today and I have to say it's pretty boring. Tomorrow we are heading for Bolnuevo, near Mazarron and the journey time is not much longer if we avoid the tolls so that's the way we will go tomorrow. We need a supermarket top up and they're easy to find if we're not on the motorway. We have a bit of a routine when we are travelling, leave the campsite or parking place, find a bread shop, buy a baguette and two croissant and head off. After an hour we stop, brew a pot of coffee and have that with the croissant. The days when we can't find a bread shop are a disaster! Anyway we can usually find more scenic places to stop than a motorway service station car park and we avoid the tolls too.

Finally, for you folk showing concern - we've stopped cleaning the van! I know it was spick and span in St Etienne but we had two days of rain and a dust storm so it really needed a spruce up and we need to keep it clean. It's our HOME!

 

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