International Wrath

30th January

Leaving Fuseta tomorrow. We have been here for 9 nights. A record for us and whilst we have enjoyed it, I am pleased to be moving on. Our French neighbours are not very friendly and Monsieur is always telling me off and what to do in French. The first night JC left i took the dogs out for their last wee at their usual time of 10.30. It was very quiet, I admit. Well only for a second as a cat appeared in Kickers line of sight and that was it. He started barking his head off. But almost immediately Monsieur was banging on the back window of his van, presumably from his (twin?.) bed and I assume it must have been Madame who pushed on the horn. Amazing, what could have been a 3 second bark off turned into a really noisy saga.

The next day my new green ground sheet started moving a bit in the wind as my securing down method I would agree was a bit primitive. Barbie on one corner. Deck chair on another etc. i assume it had been rustling when i went off to get some bread so I was given the directions, in french, as to where I could buy the same screws as he had that would tie it down. Unfortunately, all of a sudden, my ability to understand French left me and a shrug seemed to do the trick.

The next night I went about the tedious job of having to empty our grey water ( water from the basin and sink, not loo), into a drain by our van. You do this using a bowl and opening the outside tap on the tank. This is not strictly pc as everyone else seems to walk over to one of the service stations nominated for this, and empty their water down the sink there. As this sink goes into the drain which passes by, I thought I would simply cut out the middle effort bit. I had used the drain every evening. Monsieur saw me and... "la Bas, La Bas" waving his hands around. Luckily it was dark and I am hard of hearing and have very bad sight.

All this combined with Kickers input today on the beach has reinforced our decision. The beach is very popular with fishermen and a group had left their gear next to the water's edge. Kicker decided to leave his mark on it which brought the wrath of the Portugese fishing fleet down on Jc and he and the dogs were ordered off the beach. Oh dear, it's not easy.


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Location:Fuzeta

Armona

27th january

My sister is staying for a couple of days and has a hire car, so we are making use of the opportunity to explore a little. The islands just off the coast here can be visited by ferry from Olhao, about a 15 minute drive from here. By coincidence, a friend from Whitstable has recently bought a house on Armona island and she arrived yesterday. So Gybo and Kickers's first adventure on a ferry and all went well. Val met us from the ferry and showed us around. A glorious unspoilt place with small bungalows set on the western end of the island.





























There are a few cafes but fairly closed up at this time of the year. We spent a couple of hours there and then phoned for a water taxi as the only ferry back was at 5.30.

The water taxi is in fact a fast, small motorboat approximately 22ft long with a cabin and I assume doubles up as a tourist/ fishing boat in the summer. Kicker jumped straight on but Gybo got to the edge of the quay and started pushing backwards. She did not like this idea, and we had to carry her on. The 30 minute ferry ride there took about 7 minutes back.






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Location:Fuzeta

Nesting and housekeeping

24th January

Jc got a taxi to the airport. Whilst we don't have the outside accoutrements that long stayers have, it would be a Pallaver to up sticks. Also, this way I have more time to concentrate on nesting and housework. The first thing I bought was a 5m x 2m piece of green sheeting which is used on beds to stop weeds from growing through. This is our new garden area and Gybo and Kicker's sunbathing mat. The site only has service points for water dotted around the site, so you have to top up or move the van when you need some. Of course most vanners know all about this and come equipped but being virgins at this lark we know and have brought nothing. The 5 litre bottle of water was the next purchase to be used as a top up vessel. This doesn't work as the nozzle of the bottle isn't long enough to reach into the water aperture. So off I go to find a funnel. This also doesn't work for reasons too boring and embarrasing to tell. The answer is to stuff the open neck of the soft plastic 5 litre water container into the hole and hope for the best. It works.

A new outside brush topped off the purchases and here we are.










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Location:Fuzeta

Fuzeta

23rd January

The real crux of this pitch business for long stayers ( a technical term), is the sun. Which is mostly governed as you can imagine by the tree formation on the site. The pitch we moved into yesterday has sun all day until 4.00 ish but is definately too small and having done the full reccee, there is not much else to choose. Whilst discussing this, the van on our starboard aft quarter. ie next to Kevin an Anne, moved out so whilst there is a small tree creating some shade at certain times on this pitch, we would get the evening sun which suits our gin and tonic habits. Also, Kevin had told JC his entire life story by this time so we figured we would be safe to move next door to them. Up anchor and resettle into new pitch. Just as we had finished organising all the faffage. I look up at the tree and decide that actually the van ought to be at right angles to its present orientation to get more sunshine. Telling Jc resulted in a deluge of stuff, but mostly using words like impossible, woman, difficult and NO. Meanwhile our Kev who I think had overheard us has decided that he would like to move his van 90 degrees and if we go first it will be easier for him. Anne is on her 27th ciggy of the day and is shrugging a lot. Then our new french neighbours get involved. Not speaking English they explain how if we rotate the van we will loose the evening sun. By now rotating is not an issue and we stay where we are.

Kevin's move is not without effort. He has full royal blue perimeter windbreak forming a large enclosed garden. This is supported by numerous stakes which he has carefully hammered into the ground. There is a ground sheet, with a patterned mat on which is the collapsible table and 4 chairs. ( 2 for them and 2 for visitors). The gas bottles and water carrying trolley are stored on the ground sheet in the corner and he has also set up a washing line between the trees. The latter being the only thing that doesn't have to be moved.

The other big subject in the campsite is satellite receivers and dishes. How big, which country, how many programmes. Walking around there are a few really large dishes bolted onto wooden pallets and taking up a corner of a pitch. Kevin wants one.

Later that day the enormous dish is wheeled round to his van. He is learning quickly about how it all works and as quickly it becomes apparent his pitch is all wrong for sattelite. There are three enormous trees between him and the satellite he wants to lock onto. He will have to move!

Meanwhile we explore the beach. This area of the beach is completely sheltered by the sand spits running parallel to it and apparently is heaving in the summer when the town operates a ferry to the island of Armona.























There is a river running into the sea here which forms a natural sheltered harbour for many small fishing boats who sell their catch at the town's fish market. The fish here are probably the freshest I have ever seen on a fish stall and it is lovely to see.

On our return to the site Kevin has moved into our old pitch and Anne is watching 'Cash in the attic' and they seem very happy.



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Location:Fuzeta

Mystery Shopper

22nd January

The plan is to find a site in striking distance of Faro Airport whilst JC flies back to the UK for 4 days and Dins flies out for 3 days. These site directories don't give a flavour of the location of the places, or villages nearby and we have been disappointed on many occasions. So despite the fact that my husband's patience will wear thin I am determined to find a nice place for this long stay. And this is the day!

We set off to look at the site and free parking which was mentioned in the bar the previous evening. This is at Monte Gordo. The site is within one of the Natural Park areas with lots of pine trees and across the road from a large car park which is right on the beach and full of camper vans 'wild camping'.ie camping illegally but no one seems to mind. The car park has 2 busy restaurants and loos and had we not been wanting the security and ease of a site whilst JC is away this would have been great fun.

The camp site looked ok too, so a possibility although quite a way from the airport.

Next up was Fuzeta. This had been my favourite choice ( from what I had read) until our Scottish friends said it was a real 'tinkers site', which put me off but actually not sure what it means. Fuzeta is a small fishing town that sits inside a large, long sand spit which is inhabited and called Armona. The actual town is a bit high rise but the seaward aspect is gorgeous.

The next stop was at Olhao which I thought would be fine before I got there. But there is no actual beach in this town and the site was very clinical with not much atmosphere. The last site was past Faro in Quarteira and we were all getting weary. The directory had mentioned caterpillars here but I called the site and was told they dealt with them. So all sounded good. When we got there a man was having a row with the receptionist about his ACCI card saying he was waiting for the new 2012 card to arrive, but they weren't having it and wanted to charge him the full rate. I persuaded them to give us the discount by showing them the invoice for the 2012 card as we haven't got the card either. Jc and I had agreed that whatever happened we would stay the night here anyway. The site is built on the side of a hill. It is ghastly. When you drive around there are 'no entry' signs on most lanes and many areas you are not allowed into. Most of the empty pitches are on such a slope we would need to jack up one end of the van and rest it on a couple of orange boxes to be able to make a cup of tea on our hob.

In desperation we found a flat sunny spot on the perimeter. There was no electric point and we had to run our cable across the road and across another pitch to plug in. And then I noticed that John was staring at something. On the other side of the perimeter fence there was an enormous half built block of flats. Well rubble really. Rubble has been a major focus on this trip. It was a) very ugly and b) if the builder wasn't going through an austerity phase then presumably would be resuming work on it the next morning.

That's it, I thought and flounced off to reception. It really wasn't her day. Within 15 minutes JC was driving like the wind back to Fuzeta and the Tinkers.

Outside the campsite there is a large car park with a big sign saying no Camping Cars. But there is a rally of them! Amazing that no one moves them on but apparently, like Whitstable, there are no police in the town.












We decide to go for the official campsite and moor up in virtually the only spot available. It is too small and our nose is sticking out but with Kevin and Anne from Lancashire behind us and a french family next door it feels right for tonight.



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Location:Fuzeta

Tavira

21st January

We had been told about a coastal town in the Algarve called Tavira and wanted to take that in on our way. It is odd to be driving through these country borders with no more than a sign to show that you have crossed the line and we had hardly seen any police in Spain. So it was quite a shock to see a Motorhome pulled over by the Portuguese police and a group of them standing by the road a bit further down. We also encountered a road block on a major dual carriageway (going the other way, thank goodness) where it seemed they were searching every car! The tail back was miles. I have never seen that in the uk.

Found the campsite on the outskirts of Tavira and I went in to confirm the price and have a look. The Camping club book says they take our ACCI discount card which is capped at €16 and we are incredibly grateful to my sister's sister in law, Jill, who told us about it as we have saved a fortune with this. The receptionist explained the price and that whilst they took the card they didn't offer any discount because of it. Errr, well what is the point then??
Apparently they take it as identification!

So said we would be back later after visiting the town which was delightful. The roads are pretty narrow and there was a bit of a moment when we drove round the main square finding 3 roads in and one narrow cobbled lane out which disappeared around a corner. We both looked at each other and breathed in, until we got to the bend where the road opened up. We never found the big car park that our Scottish friends had mentioned and simply parked in two free parking places at the side of the road. The town is very attractive and straddles a large river. Good shops and cafes.






Whilst the plan was to stay in Tavira and move on towards Faro, I remembered seeing details of an Aire nearby. This was slightly back towards the border at Castro Marim, but it would be good to have a free night and we had water and gas, so no worries.

The Aire was full to bursting as was the enormous car park next door.






Apparently, there are many campers of all nationalities living in these Aires and car parks and we got talking to an english guy who told us about another one on the beach not far away. We had a very comfortable night and treated ourselves to a fry up at the local restaurant in the morning.


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Location:Castro Marim

New vocation

20th January

The best nights sleep for ages. It is odd, but when you go to a hotel, there is always the noise of people passing your door, or from next door, or something is wrong with the room or the pillows or the mattress. This camper van lark is great. It is really quiet, and you have all your own home comforts.

A really long walk down the beach to the town of Isla Christina resulted in JC finding the house he wants to buy. ( now I am getting worried). This was only accentuated by a delicious lunch in one of the beachside restaurants whilst watching the Tuna fleet at work.




We are obviously in Tuna country. The restaurants have at least 6 Tuna options on their menus.

Back to Wishstream for an afternoon snooze. Errr, what is that water coming from under the kitchen unit. I do know how my husband feels about DIY and as this was his first lunch + vino for ages, I could understand any reluctance but he was straight in there to get involved. Within minutes we had the drawers out, sink out, and lo .... the waste pipe runs horizontally into a T connector that has one end going up to draining board and the lower part connects over the pipe that goes into the waste tank. Except that it was no longer connected. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN??

Luckily because of our DIY skills and plumber intuition we sorted it and put everything back together in time for our sunset drink on the beach with our new Scottish friends.


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Location:Isla Christina

Neighbours

19th January

Another great Wishstreaming day. Out on the motorway, blue skies and hot. Making towards the Portugese Border now. Passed a very interesting feature, a pair of towers that looked like there was a spray of light falling from the top of each. On the motorway so difficult to get a good pic but we think they must be located on a reservoir so maybe part of a dam with water spraying out as Ian beam. Beautiful.









Driving down to a Isla Christina we pass a very smart coastal town called La Antilla. Lots of attractive new builds in varying architectural styles which is so different from the rather pikey, dirty places we have been seeing recently.
On from here we drive along a road lined with pine trees and the sea beyond on one side. Gorgeous except for the now known terror of potential procession caterpillars.






There are supposedly 3 good camp sites along this road, and as we want to stay 2 nights, we decide to check them out. Jc and the pups are waiting patiently in the car whilst I do my charades and Spranglais with the rather sinister looking site owner who wants €22 a night but the bar is CLOSED. The restaurant is CLOSED and the shop is CLOSED. We move on. Camping Giralda take our ACCI discount card so it is €16 a night and looks fine except very full with motorhomes.



Jc and the pups nod in agreement. They want that walk on the beach. We moor up next to an English couple who have just arrived. A tiny pitch but all are open so it like open plan and doesn't feel that small. Our neighbours are Scottish, live in France and have come down through Portugal. She is very chatty and immediately launches into the " where have you come from, ......going to....., how far, and for how long ..... Whilst it was quite difficult to keep up , i noticed that he had unfurled their whirlybird clothes airer and was setting it up between their van and ours right by where JC had put our chairs. He had his hands on his hips a lot and kept coming over to try and interrupt. When that failed he brought out a large bag of wet clothes and started heaving them onto the airer. That seemed to do the trick and whilst I was able to go and find my cup of tea, it was apparent that ALL their washing including underwear would be hung out here today. They seem nice though.

Our other neighbour is German. He has the most fantastic looking grey Hymer. Pretty new we think. He has a dog, A cascade of fruit bowls hung from one of the trees nearby and a network of washing lines around his pitch. Difficult to know how old he is, but younger than he looks I would say. He was wearing pajama bottoms when we first met him, and he kindly offered the use of his washing line. He has the text printed on the back of his van,

Don't dream of life - Live the dream




The beach was not disappointing especially as there are a couple of restaurants right on it and only a 10 min walk away. Oh oh. Jc is wondering why we have to go north at all?



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Location:Isla Christina

Towards Seville

18th January

Very cold night last night which is odd as we are not using any heating in the evenings as they have been mild over the last few days. But dawn is very cold and whilst I am ok on my shelf, JC has been cold in the mornings and we will be digging out the extra blankets tonight. We are heading towards Seville and because there is no camp site nearby plan to stay at 'Camping Villom' in Dos Hermanas about 15 mies south of Seville.

JC surveys gas stock and proclaims the dreaded news that we need to top up the gas. Still, it's not so bad, since we found that list in the back of the Aires book, we can at least relax in the knowledge that there are 3 suppliers within our next 2 days route and we plump for the gas bottle refill company in Jerez rather than a fuel station. We now know that at these refill places, nice men in uniform handle the whole thing for you, supply the correct adapter and just fill it up. No drama - you would think. Finding the flipping place was as usual a mix of repeat journeys, swearing at Jane, and speaking some Spanglais!

The camp site is at the edge of the town. Bar and facilities mostly closed as usual. But a nice place. Mostly Scandinavian campers and a large number of pussy cats. Kicker nearly severed my feet by charging off in hot pursuit when his lead had wrapped itself round my legs.

A first proper camp site experience today. We actually got our new Kamper deck chairs out and sat in the sunshine by our van with a cup of tea and our dogs by our feet.



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Location:Don Hermanas

Round and Round

17th

Saddlebag 16C
Clear blue skies

It is difficult to keep a track of time and days here and when we sat down last night to plan in the route to Faro we realised that we now won't be able to fit in all that we wanted to do. And so it is. Despite having no pressures we seem to be working to a timetable as usual.

The night was really cold but rain has cleared and another warm day develops. We plan in another coastal site which is 'adjacent to a long beach', and use the directions in the Caravan Club directory to guide us. The directions haven't taken into account the new roads that seem to pop up all around this area and soon we are travelling in the wrong direction having driven down the same road twice and done a U- ey on a major road. All quite calm though and finally we turn to Jane Tom Tom who knows less about these roads than the caravan club. We have now wasted literally hours looking for this blessed place, even using the map on my IPad to try and get there. Finally, I find their own website and there is a line drawing showing ' Camping Playa Aquadulce' next to the town off Costa Ballena. WHY NOT PUT THIS INTHE ADDRESS THEN.? So off we go to Costa Ballerina. The site is on the south side of this town, but no, just a car park. Ahhh. Nearly giving up. Tom Tom has all sorts of other info already loaded into it. The site is not found on anything I have loaded but just maybe it is already there under the 'point of interest - caravan sites near by'. YES!

We follow the directions to a really rubbly lane and I look at JC who is very laid back and philosophical. He puts Gybo on his lap and Kicker is by his side and off we bimble at 5mph for a couple of miles until we reach the site. Pretty closed up and not worth the hours of searching, but it is adjacent to the beach which is a lovely long rugged stretch of white sand. The waves hurled themselves onto the rocks nearby. The noise was really loud and we went to sleep with the sound of the sea in our ears.



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Location:Near Rota

Cats and Dogs

16th January

Very bad night as the rain hitting the top of the van is like a machine gun and my shelf bed is not far below it. Jc is deaf and he couldn't sleep either. It was relentless, all night and most of the day. Jc went off to the office to explain we would stay for another night and asked about the Sat TV system they advertised. They have TV points on every pitch and if you have the right cable, then hey presto, you can get their satellite which is set for English tv. Ahhh, that's why there are so many Engleesh! I race off to buy the cable from the supermarket and having paid the exorbitant sum of 17 euros we fiddle about in the rain setting it up, and I am getting very excited about catching a bit of Eastenders.

After an hour or so, we are both quite fed up with my purchase as there doesn't seem to be anything audio or visual down the wire except for a crackling sound so I start to wander around the site looking at other people's cables and find what might be a useful fellow camper. His welsh accent is so strong it is only just more understandable than the Spanish receptionist on the site, but he chats on about analogue and digital as an expert would, so when he comes round to enquiry if we have sorted it, we invite him in. ( as we haven't).

He has a Rapido camper, same sort of thing as Wishstream but French and with twin beds at the back. ( not sure if that is a French thing, twin beds?). They spend three to four months there as his wife likes the whist, the quizzes, the €1.50 tapas dish every Saturday. He is bored and would either like to go somewhere else or go home. Also, he knows nothing about setting up televisions. After another hopeless hour with him as commander of the remote control and going nowhere, I find a tatty A4 sheet in our Burstener bag which relates to the analogue set up of the Tv. I wrestle the remote off him, go through the motions and within minutes we are sorted.

Couldn't understand Eastenders as so much has happened since I last watched, but it was comforting and we saw some drama programme and the 10.00 news. Not sure it was the best use of €17 but it whiled away a very wet day.


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Location:Zahora

Cats and Dogs

16th January

Very bad night as the rain hitting the top of the van is like a machine gun and my shelf bed is not far below it. Jc is deaf and he couldn't sleep either. It was relentless, all night and most of the day. Jc went off to the office to explain we would stay for another night and asked about the Sat TV system they advertised. They have TV points on every pitch and if you have the right cable, then hey presto, you can get their satellite which is set for English tv. Ahhh, that's why there are so many Engleesh! I race off to buy the cable from the supermarket and having paid the exorbitant sum of 17 euros we fiddle about in the rain setting it up, and I am getting very excited about catching a bit of Eastenders.

After an hour or so, we are both quite fed up with my purchase as there doesn't seem to be anything audio or visual down the wire except for a crackling sound so I start to wander around the site looking at other people's cables and find what might be a useful fellow camper. His welsh accent is so strong it is only just more understandable than the Spanish receptionist on the site, but he chats on about analogue and digital as an expert would, so when he comes round to enquiry if we have sorted it, we invite him in. ( as we haven't).

He has a Rapido camper, same sort of thing as Wishstream but French and with twin beds at the back. ( not sure if that is a French thing, twin beds?). They spend three to four months there as his wife likes the whist, the quizzes, the €1.50 tapas dish every Saturday. He is bored and would either like to go somewhere else or go home. Also, he knows nothing about setting up televisions. After another hopeless hour with him as commander of the remote control and going nowhere, I find a tatty A4 sheet in our Burstener bag which relates to the analogue set up of the Tv. I wrestle the remote off him, go through the motions and within minutes we are sorted.

Couldn't understand Eastenders as so much has happened since I last watched, but it was comforting and we saw some drama programme and the 10.00 news. Not sure it was the best use of €17 but it whiled away a very wet day.


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Location:Zahora

Trafalgar cape

15th January

Saddle bag 16 C
Jc: Chesty
Mandy: Coughing
Pups: On the lookout for caterpillars

Decided to visit the Trafalgar Cape where there is now a lighthouse. It is a long way. We have to do the 15 min walk to the beach and then walk all along the beach which looks miles. I suggested a few options including taking Wishstream, getting a taxi ( there at least) riding our bikes with pups running alongside and finally Me not going at all. Jc said they were all pathetic ideas and we set off around 11.00. It was a glorious walk and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The dogs raced around in and out of the sea and met loads of friends of all makes and sizes. The Cape has the story of the battle printed on a board. It has a picture of an aerial view of how the ships were placed and each ship is named. It is written from the Spanish point of view and failed to mention who had won. A Spanish girl reading the board asked us if we knew.

The walk back was slow but we got back to a warm and comfy Wishstream just as the rain started.


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Location:Zahora

Going down to the sea again

14th January

The sky is pure blue as we drive out of Jimena. Very similar to the day we arrived. Our plan is to make for the coast as we have both missed the sea, and Jc has found a campsite within walking distance of a beach at Zahora half way between Tarifa and Cadiz. The drive is very enjoyable. I realise what a pleasure it is to drive the van compared to the small car we hired. Past the black and white herons (which I now know as Storks) nesting on top of the Telegraph poles and on to Tarifa.



Big wind farm country here as the winds around Gibralter are renowned, probably due to them being funnelled through the Straits.



We passed a number of places where there are motorhomes and caravans moored up on the beach. Not sure if these are official sites though, so decide to go on to our planned destination. Pinar San Jose is a large site with modern facilities and has been FOUND by the Brits. 90% of the motor homes here are British and some of them are enormous. One kind English lady came up to us minutes after we arrived to tell us about the Procession Caterpillars in the area. They are a vile pest living in pine trees ( this site is covered in pine trees) that kill the tree and have poisonous hairs along their body. These will give humans a nasty rash and can kill a dog if they breath the hairs or swallow one. Apparently the camp owners have just sprayed a number of nests in the site as a puppy nearly died. January and February are the worst months and they are in pine trees all along this coast so we will have keep the dogs under our noses even more than usual.

We walked the 1/2 mile to the sandy beach which was definately worth the effort. It is flanked by the Cape of Trafalgar where the great naval battle was fought in 1805 ( or so JC tells me). An exhausting day finished with a glass of beer taken on the deck of a timber shack operating as a beach restaurant whilst watching a sunset to match whitstable's. Who could ask for more?
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Location:Zahora

Getting Out

14th January

Wishstream is packed up and Vilja has kindly offered to come into the Casita to cuddle the dogs whilst we get the van out. She explains that she will be nervous to watch which isn't what I wanted to hear. Jc opens the gates and fills in a few of the enormous craters in the road outside with a bit of spare rubble. Wishstream moves slowly backwards. Hang on a minute. How much room did we have on either side when we came in a month ago. I thought it was about 6 inches either side! NOPE. Our awning which runs alongside the top of the starboard side is now touching the stone pillar. Our now very tried and tested communication system between the two of us involves arms and hands and, for small gaps, fingers to demonstate the space left. I can see Jc in my port wing mirror and his fingers are not quite pinched together. He is indicating a little more than 2 mm of space. It seems we have run out of room on that side as well. We have a conflab and the problem is that when the back of the van gets out into the road, because of the slope down to the left the top of the van leans right over. WELL HOW ON EARTH DID WE GET IT IN THEN?

Jc is in the most jolliest mood he has been in for the last week. I am feeling sick and he can tell that tears could be an option today and he just needs to keep me calm. I figure that if we can change the line slightly and get the back lower wheel onto slightly higher ground as we go back, this might work. There is a lot of forward and backing. Jc is using his hands and then his fingers and then ... No, shaking his head, and then, just as his fingers are about to pinch he cries out YES, and we are out!

Down the lane, nose into Vilja's drive, turn.. piece of P.... Up the rubble lane and out onto the road. I park up alongside the dustbins, and jump out to pick up the pups and say our goodbyes. And then I did have a blub!


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Location:Jimena

Last Day

13th January

We are both still suffering from this chesty bug but need to pack up and we both really wanted to do one last walk. So took the path alongside the river way past where I have been before. ( although Jc has done this walk several times). Regretfully I didn't take a camera, but the walk was a proper rugged trek. The paths are cut or rather worn into the large stone slabs that line the river bank and the going is slow but really enjoyable. The dogs are in their element and I now understand about the 'flat feet' that Tibetans and climbing dogs have. They were as nimble as goats on these rocks and clearly loved it.

Vilja had been given a new Racklette machine for Xmas. I love this dish but only eaten it on skiing holidays and Jc has never had it. So I asked Vilja if we could organise a Racklette evening during our stay. This has been on and off for the last 2 weeks. It is organised and then she forgets or it is organised and she eats a big lunch ( can't do two meals in one day!), so I had given up. But today it is definately on.

We arrive in the big house at 8.00 to find her busy preparing home grown avocados. Potatoes have been boiled and prepared and the table all laid out as if for a dinner party. Mo is joining us. A tall, handsome 32 year old French friend of her daughters who has taken a month off work to come down to Spain and look after Vilja. Supper is delicious although quite difficult to get to eat it as she gets settled beside the big fire with her roll ups and forgets what the plan is. She has also made a home made cheesecake using her own homemade jam. We are amazed. A different woman. I am feeling rather guilty now about the way I have described her, but she is clearly getting much better and returning to her old self which is actually very endearing!

We discuss the dreaded manoeuvre required the next day, and she advises that one of her friends who have a camper was visiting and suggested that we should reverse out of the gates, but then drive down the lane, into her drive through the big metal gates and turn around in the drive. My thoughts are with the day in Ronda. Getting stuck is not an option.
Lets sleep ( or not as is the case with the worry) on it.



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Location:Jimena

Jimena - our stay

We are nearing the end of our stay here. Very mixed feelings really. A lovely Spanish village surrounded by mountains on 2 sides.


Our casita has been ideal for the walks and the ease of exercising the dogs but the nights have been really cold. The wood fire has been smokey and both of us have suffered from chesty bugs which has made us reluctant to light it. So it has not been as cosy as we would have liked and we still have 2/3rds of the wood pile left!! The main house is lovely but we now understand that Vilja doesn't really bother with trying to get rentals for the casita in the winter, hence it is not as organised or kitted out as one would like. However, we have really enjoyed our stay here and have grown very fond of the mad landlady who has lived life to the full and other than short term memory loss is still living it that way. The dogs have taken to her and she now baby sits for us when we go out for the day.


The countryside round here is beautiful and whilst we have been here for 4 weeks we haven't seemed to find the time to explore it fully. A definate regret.











One thing that has been a big surprise is the lack of English speakers in the shops and restaurants especially when you consider that there are a large number of ex pats here. But it reminds us how lazy we Brits are. I am now taking my dictionary every where I go and trying harder! The restaurants are true spanish and vary from offering a tapas lunch for 8 Euros for two including wine, to a more sophisticated version at 30 euros for two. Much of what we eat here though we would never have at home which makes it special. We move out on Saturday and we are both dreading reversing the big van through the very narrow gates, out onto the very lopsided rubble path and then reversing it all the way back down the lane onto the road. I for one am having a large slug of Din's sloe gin before we start, and I expect my husband will be joining me! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Jimena de la Frontera

Correos

La Fuente Vieja is quite a hike from the Jimena Post office so they don't deliver. Vilja has a post office box no. consisting of a small drawer larger than A4 size which is opened with her key. We duly visited the box every day before Xmas and found letters and little notes in spanish which when taken to the very stern looking lady at the desk who handed it to her not so stern looking colleague who went out the back and returned with a big parcel. So by Xmas eve we had received most of what we thought had been sent. My brother had sent a package by Parcel force courier which according to the tracker website was delivered to the Spanish agent on the 20th, but so far no sign. Couriers usually drop off at actual addresses not at post office boxes, so after Xmas I plucked up the courage to approach the very stern lady to discuss. She speaks not one word of English ( yes, I know that is not her fault) and gabbles away quickly as soon as you raise an eyelid. I had only got the words parcel force out when I was pushed outside and led around the corner to the door of some offices where I understood the people inside spoke English. The stern lady looked quite cross. Inside the offices I found a man on the phone who also spoke no English. Hmm. This is ridiculous, I thinks. So back into the post office and write out my name on a piece of paper. Approach stern lady with the word "package" and then do driving charades as if I am driving a lorry. No smiles, but she takes my name, goes out the back and returns with my big Parcel Force box. She is still quite cross. I am now really cross. I ask why there is no note in the box and she answers at 100mph using some recognisable words like 23rd dais, holiday, and lots of shrugs. At one point we are both talking!! at each other knowing that neither is understanding one word. Quite hilarious really.

Suddenly silence and the package is carefully handed to the not so stern colleague for processing. " identification?" I hand over my driving license with all my details and picture. Stern one shakes her head. "non, passport". I say " in La Casita" . She then smiles and shrugs. I nearly smack her and leave to return another day.

We are still awaiting a recorded delivery package. It is probably sitting on the mantelpiece at the stern one's home!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Jimena