Huelga....STRIKE!

Wednesday 14 November

Today we learnt the word for strike, Kev needed to sent a package to the UK to his Father and we needed to get to the Post Office for 10.30 when it opened. We both differed on what the opening times were, Kev thought it was 10.00 - 12.00 Petra 10.30 - 12.30. Either way we had plenty of time to amble down to Riogordo.

We are so lucky this week another brilliant day not a cloud in the sky and it looked set to last the whole day. As it was considerably warmer outside than in we had our breakfast sitting on the terrace bathed in full warming morning sunshine. It was really lovely. Even the dogs kept their traps shut. 

After we cleared away the breakfast things we made our to Riogordo down the now very familiar track past the harlequin gt Dane on the left and the three or is it four dogs in the house on the right all of which completely ignored us. It looks like familiarity breeds contempt in the dog world. Anyway, none of them could be bothered with us today. Even the two German Shepard dogs at the half way mark (usually good for an encounter) couldn’t be bothered. Into Riogordo we strolled.

We made our way to the post office which is situated next to the town hall and is in a corridor that also contains the tourist office and at the bottom a bar, the former we have never seen open despite repeated visits. Wouldn’t you know it the Post Office looked shut. We tried the door, definitely locked. We looked at the sign on the door and it turns out we were both wrong about the opening times. The sign said 08.30 - 10.30am as it was only 10.20am we were about to put it down to the Spanish way and perhaps the Post Office person had made it to the bar early when on the the three men mumbled what sounded like the man will be long presently. We waited.

Sure enough, in a few minutes the man arrived and opened the door the the Post Office. Kev presented the packet to be posted and the man read the address and then launched into a conversation that only he understood and handed back the packet. We explained that it needed to go today on speedy service and he said impossible. Manyana yes. Today no. He kept saying a word that we had no idea what it meant and Petra pulled out the dictionary. Apparently, Spain is on strike today and there is no post. Tomorrow yes today no. Luckily, the corner bar was over the road, after that escapade we both felt we needed a caffeine fix.

Refreshed we decided to take a walk to explore the lower part of the town and on to the river which is a recognised walk that we felt we should take a look at before committing to walk the whole route 10 miles. We needn’t have worried and the mile or so we did was beautiful and we vowed to do it in it’s entirety very soon. We walked back to the house a different route as we wanted to look at the far side of the town. It was worth it, very Spanish and interesting, a bit steep in places as you would expect but we are now getting quite accustomed to the ups and downs. 

One interesting point and on a personal note we went past a Pharmacy and we saw they had a fancy set of electronic scale for public use. This was the first set of scales we have seen since leaving the UK and Kev couldn’t resist getting on them. It was again worth the 50 cents as he has lost 1.5 stone and feels much better for it. Petra also went on and has also lost a couple of pounds so good news all around.

Back at the ranch the weather was beautiful still so out with the sun loungers and we sat in disbelief all afternoon in perfect temperatures sun bathing, reading and watching the goings on in the neighbourhood. Firstly there was the caterpillar tractor towing a water trailer with a spray at the back. It started spraying the olive grove around us. We do not know what the man was spraying out the back of the tank but our best guess is, it’s probably weed killer as we have had so much rain the hills around us are a beautiful green now. Shame really, but if left we doubt you would get amongst the trees in a couple of weeks. As it happened the tractor kept breaking down and every so often it would all go quiet and a metallic hammering would start. Then the tractor would start again and it would be on its way. In the end it all fell quiet and that would appear to be the end of the tractor......for now.

We also had a trio of lads on cross bikes who came along the track to the bottom of the house, we could hear them across the other side of the valley most of the afternoon. It really must be a great place to go ‘off roading’ around here. It didn’t bother us at all and it was interesting to hear their progress as the afternoon went on.

Another bit of good news it that it looks like the Turkey's at the farm behind us have gone to meet their maker. Not that we would wish bad on the poor creatures but clearly their time was up. The result is their is no clacking sound and the place has been cleaned out so no smell when the prevailing wind is in our direction. We are liking it hear more and more with every passing day. 

By 4.30pm it was starting to get a bit cool so we went indoors and Petra made one of her legendary curries.

A brilliant day, lets hope it continues. Oh and how nice it is not to have cleaned Campy and have 3 days without the rain, that makes it a double brilliant day.

Rain, Malaga and Sunshine

Tuesday 13 November

Surprise surprise, we woke to another fantastic day, not a cloud in the sky. This is the first time since we have been here that we have had two consecutive days without rain. Brilliant. It was warmer outside the house than in today so we had our breakfast on the terrace looking at the lovely views. The snow on top of the mountain all but gone.

We really needed to walk to Riogordo today as firstly we were becoming overwhelmed with rubbish and recycling and needed to make our way to the bins also we needed to update the blog which is exactly what we are doing now......


Monday 12 November

Well, the wind in the night certainly did the trick and we awoke to a perfect sunny day. Not sure if we have mentioned this but, when the shutters are shut the room is in TOTAL darkness. It could be brilliant sunshine or a nuclear flash over and you would never know it. This has so many advantages and we are sleeping till we naturally wake up. That is we sleep solidly all night possibly 10 hrs plus. It really is effective and we think if we ever have a house again in the UK we are going to get blackout blinds fitted.

Going outside it was warm and the sun hit our faces and it was good. It must have been really cold in the night as the mountains to the East were dusted in snow on their tops. It looked lovely. Thankfully it was only at the top and nowhere near us.

Anyway, we were like a couple of school kids the windows and doors were all thrown wide open and the washer was put to work. There is no point in doing washing here unless it is nice outside. Things simply don’t dry in the house overnight. We have no central heating or even an airing cupboard so nature has do the job or it doesn’t get done at all.

We took all the cushions and throws off the settees and let them all air in the brilliant sunshine. We have often wondered why when we walk down the streets we see people hanging things over the balcony, now we get it. The chairs were soon out for sunbathing and Kev set to on Campy giving her a clean. It is amazing how 2 weeks of rain can take the shine of a car. By the end of the day it was back to showroom condition. Even Petra got involved and cleaned the windows on the outside. She did look fantastic when finished (Campy that is).

We sat on the terrace all afternoon too lazy to go out & having tea and Panettone ( a pre Christmas treat). We really should have taken the rubbish and re-cycling down to the bins but when the sun is out at the house you really do not want to go anywhere else it is so lovely. 

We are learning that Riogordo really is a place of extremes and you need to grab the good days with both hands because if you blink you might miss them and that really would be a shame. We could so easily have jumped in the van and gone exploring but that wasn’t really what we wanted to do. We like the house and when the weather is like it was today why would we want to go anywhere else?

Anyway, we’re sure it’s going to rain again tonight because Kev cleaned Campy....

Sunday 11 November

True to form, if you have a nice day one day you can guarantee that there will be a price to pay the next. Today was payback big time. When we opened the shutters in the morning we were surprised to see for the first time that we had condensation on the windows. It was very dull and overcast. There was also low cloud base and of course it was raining. 

Nothing for it but to hunker down for the day and do some serious reading Petra is reading a book on a couple who buy a derelict farm house in Spain and Kev is reading Robinson Crusoe. We had the gas fire on most of the day to keep us warm. 

The rain continued on and off all day and as it wore on the wind got up. It increased in velocity as the day moved on until in the evening it was blowing a full gale and the windows and doors started rattling. The wind was blowing from the North and lying in bed we could hear the all sorts of bangs and rattles as the storm raged and the wind howled on. Petra wedged a piece of paper in the door to stop it from rattling. Kev just when to sleep.

Saturday 10 November

We awoke to a beautiful day today, as soon as we opened the shutters it was obvious the dark depressing clouds had dispersed and had been replaced with blue sky and sparse white clouds. Great!

We had our breakfast and by 10am we were ready for Sue and Mick to arrive to take us on a day out in Malaga. On arrival we all piled into Mick’s car and we were off. As we drove towards Malaga the weather just got better and better and by the time we arrived at the multistory it was lovely and warm.

Whilst chatting, Sue mentioned that there was a trip organised to Gibraltar on Dec 7th and perhaps we would like to go. Absolutely came the reply, and without further ado she whipped out her phone and no sooner said than done we were booked on the coach. Fantastic, only €10 each and apparently there is a Morrisons so its just in time for Xmas shopping. 

Mick and Sue are veterans of Spain and know Malaga like the back to their hands. First stop was a cafe for a caffeine fix. We went to a small but very pleasant plaza and settled in a street cafe sipping coffee. It was a very pleasant and relaxing start to our day.

After coffee we went on a walk around the shopping streets of Malaga and on to the high street. We saw lots of street performers including a man who was sitting down on an imaginary chair, the invisible man and a man who could paint you up a mountain scene on glass coaster quicker than you could get your wallet out. There were also quite a number of familiar shops even a C&A.

Next stop was a fresh produce market which was lovely to walk around it was very atmospheric and had recently been renovated. We tried some ham which we have seen before in the supermarket. It’s basically a whole leg of pork which has been hung, smoked and left for months to cure. The outside of the leg looks dirty and shriveled. The man behind the counter cut a bit to try, it was cut very thin and took some chewing but had a distinctive and pleasant taste. 

After this we were taken to a Bodega - a small bar with a collection of barrels behind the bar of local wines. The one we had was a sort of sherry, sweet and dark but very nice. The bar was very old and had lots of character including power cuts. No problem, a man got on a chair flicked the switch and we were back in business. One thing; the wine was very strong and from the first sip it sent a rush straight to your head. 

Fortified, we carried on looking around the city and made our way to the harbour area. This had had a huge amount of money spent on it and is a playground for the rich. Lots of bars and label shops here. We sat on a bench in the sun for a while, so good to feel the warmth of the sun again.

By now we were thinking of lunch so walked back towards the shopping centre through an avenue of trees and past the Cathedral, a momentous structure so big it was impossible to take a proper photo of with the space available. We settled on a street bar in another square under the shade of an umbrella and a bush. We were not there long when a pigeon  decided to join us and landed on the table wanting the nuts left by the previous occupants of the table and sent things flying.

We ordered Tapas and drinks and was waiting for it to arrive when a couple of men arrived opposite us and set up their busking equipment. A quick tune on the guitar and the singer was off with the other chap tapping on a box for percussion. I was all a bit loud and after the second man had been around with the hat the bar gave the signal to shove off, and thankfully they did. The Tapas then arrived and we sat having a lovely relaxed lunch.

It’s amazing how quickly time goes as it was soon 3pm and after settling the bill we made our way back to the car. Sue and Mick knowing that we are having quite a few visitors very kindly decided we should see the airport and took us there. So we should have no problems collecting people now.

Our sincere thanks to Mick and Sue for befriending us and taking us under their wing and taking us out for the day. We had an excellent time, had a good laugh with good company and loved Malaga. So a big cheers and thanks to them both.

The Fresh Produce Market

The Bodega

The Harbour Walk

The Cathedral 

Mick, Sue and Petra

Friday 9 November 

It’s a good job we went out yesterday as in the night the flood gates of heaven opened and we had more rain than you can shake a very big stick at. It woke us up a couple of times as it thundered down on the roof, window ledges, patio and covered table. It felt good to be warm and dry in our beds. 

When we woke in the morning it was 9am, still raining and it didn’t stop all today. There was some pathetic attempts at thunder and lightening but it really wasn’t worth the effort. We stayed in listening to our music, cleaning the house and doing the blog. We also down loaded Jeeves and Wooster on to the iPod so we have a bit of entertainment sorted out for later.

In the morning we had a visitor to the house, the huge harlequin Gt Dane from down the track. He brought with him his German Shepard cellmate to introduce him to the inconsiderate neighbours who disturbed his slumbers last night. When he saw us he gave a large and very deep woof, as if to say ‘that’s them’!!!.... as it was raining we decided not to go out and exchange pleasantries but watched in horror as it thumbed its teeth at us, turned its back and in an act of obvious incitement cocked its leg up against Campy’s offside rear bumper and relieved its oversized and overextended bladder. So that’s him off the christmas card list.

Thursday 8 November

We decided come hell or high water we were going out today. We’re getting a touch cabin fever and besides we are running out of food. As an example we have only spent €22 in local shops on food since we arrived and, what with the €15 for a gas bottle for the fire on the second day its been good for the wallet but not so for the soul. No, we need to shop.

Luckily, it didn’t rain in the night and it was a nice sunny today. A quick inspection of the track to determine if it was sound enough for Campy and we slowly set off. It does seem a bit wimpy not going out as and we feel like it but the van is heavy at 2.3 tons unladen and we don’t want to damage the track any more than we have to. The rain really has pounded the poor thing. We have been down a couple of times and given it a bit of support and fill in the bigger holes and give it a pat down with the spade.

We drove the 30 odd km to Velez Malaga over the mountains, we love this dramatic drive especially the return journey. Making our way under the motorway on the outskirts of the town we found the large out of town shopping centre. The main purpose of the trip was to get ourselves a iPod dock. All respect to Richard and Carol’s CD collection but we noticed even they had their own small iPod dock system so fair do’s

We looked in a couple of shops but settled on a Sony RDP-X200 Personal Audio Docking System €199. It’s quite extravagant really, we were going to spend half that amount but on hearing the difference in sound quality, we sort of convinced ourselves that our music collection was worth the extra.

The supermarket (next to the electrical shop) shop was a nightmare we had the trolly from Satan himself, which was stiff and once loaded the with water 5x 5 litre bottles for 65c each it was aching to get back to its maker and was creating merry hell. It was really difficult to find what we wanted in the shop and we ended up going back and forth crisscrossing the aisles all over the place. All this took quite a long time to sort and we were getting tired hungry and irritable. Sod the tissues - we were off. 

On the way home we stopped off at Lidl and in need of sustenance we trotted over to the near by McDonald's for lunch. This was also a bit of an extravagance but, the big mac calleth and it must be obeyed! Petra had a McPollo? (chicken in a bun to you and me). 

Lidl is fantastic in Spain much better than the British equivalent. The fruit and veg are great and because the place is a reasonable size you can easily find your way around, We decided to start stocking up the bar ready for when visitors come (30 bottles of Grand Reserve for an amazing €77 (£66 or £2.20 each)) We also got 36 bottles of beer €19.14 (£16.50) Bottle of Gin €9 this is the good stuff not the €3.98 stuff which doubles up a paint stripper or if pushed break fluid. 

Back home the weather was warm and sunny so we sat out for a while before it started to cool off and we attacked the mound of shopping needing to be put away. The iPod dock is awesome and we love it.

Thursday night is quiz night down in Riogordo. A group of expats get together in the bar and have a jolly time drinking and answering impossible questions. It started at 8.30pm and is (of course) the furthest point form the house and all down hill. It must be 1.5km to the pub and some of the hills are 10%. The way down is dark, very dark and we needed our torches initially find our way. As we were walking the sky suddenly flashed with lightening and rumbled and we knew what was coming.

We made it to the bar before the rain and once there we were given a warm welcome and introduced to Keith who kindly agreed to make our team into a threesome a godsend really as we were really rubbish at it. Quite embarrassingly so really. There were lot of questions on subjects like sport, Australia, 70’s and 80’s music etc we weren't much help to Keith but despite us, in the end we didn’t come last, we had a good time and we had the smallest team.... so we did ok.

Bearing in mind that we are usually all tucked up in bed by 9.30pm at the latest the 11.30pm walk up the endless road to bed was a tiring and hot one. It was strange walking the deserted streets of Riogordo which are now becoming so familiar. It all looked quite picturesque with the street lights on and the clock tower and civic buildings being illuminated which somehow disappear into the chaos during the daylight. As we walked up the track to the house it was black as black can be and deathly quiet, that was until we were copped by a dog and suddenly the whole valley erupted in unison. We saw our neighbours huge harlequin Gt Dane’s eyes flashing red in the torch light like the hound of the Baskervilles as he voiced his indignation at being disturbed from his slumber. For a while (roughly one nanosecond) we felt sorry for waking the dogs and possibly the owners but then again.....what goes around comes around! We arrived back at the house cussing why we hadn't take the van and had to sit for half and hour to compose ourselves and cool off. 

Upon reflection, and all in all, it’s been a good day today, Campy had a stretch of her pistons, the weather has been kind (sort of), we now have a quality music system and enough food and drink to last for weeks. We have all we need so let it rain as much as it likes. Blacker the sky’s the better....! Pa!

 We are going to slept well tonight.

Wednesday 7 November

Walked into Riogordo today and had our Spanish lesson. After we went to the corner cafe to catch up with the internet and had drinks with Sue. It was great to see her; more coffee, beer and bacon rolls. Weather today was fairly good it did rain but not as much of late. Other than that not a lot happened so nothing further to report. 

Rainy days

Tuesday 6 November

.....and all morning and through to the afternoon, evening and night. We have had one whole day since we arrived when it has not rained. One of our fellow Spanish lesson class mates told us in the bar afterwards that he had been here 6 years ago and 3 years ago it started raining in November and didn’t stop till March. God help us if that happens to us. Needless to say we have had the atlas out today looking at suitably hot places for next year. India or the Caribbean look nice and we believe Oz or NZ are roasting this time of the year.

Still hope springs eternal and we have also been told it is possible to get sun burnt on Christmas Day so we will have to wait and see.

Monday 5 November

Brighter day today (no rain) so walked into Riogordo to our first Spanish lesson. The teacher Isabelle was very nice but obviously thought we understood what she was talking about but of course we hadn't  understood a word. She looked a bit taken aback when we new nothing of the language. She set us some simple tasks to do befitting such novices and got on with the class. After class she said she would prepare some things for us on for the next lesson on Wednesday. So now we are to have two lessons a week...After class we went to the local bar and had coffee with classmates.

Highlight of the day

Walking back from the class and bar, we became aware of an old lady walking in front of us and to our left. She was a typical elderly Spanish lady grey haired, short and round and wearing black. In her right hand she had a small white carrier bag with string handles. On the bag was the familiar black oblong with the words written in white ‘Hotel Chocolate’. The bag looked old and shabby and clearly had been used for many things other than carrying chocolate. The sight of this bag got us thinking about how on earth did this bag get here? was it a gift brought over from the UK for someone here in Spain? What path has this bag been on and how many owners has it had before it ended up in this old ladies hand. One thing we can say for sure is that Hotel Chocolate bags last very well and if you need a good bag for your sarnies you could do a lot worse.

In the afternoon Kev wiped down Campy, so of course, soon after it started to rain...Which it continued to do all afternoon, evening and night.........

Sunday 4 November

The Weather has continued with it’s never ending rain. We stayed in all day again entertaining ourselves with music and books. In the evening we started a 3 day Fink Floyd marathon watching dvd’s we brought with us from UK. We started with Pulse the second disk which has Dark Side of the Moon on it.

Saturday 3 November

The weather has turned again. We awoke today to the sound of the rain pelting the roof and it running to the terrace. The mountains were shrouded in low wisps of cloud and it was cold again. We were going to drive to malaga today to do some shopping for an iPod doc but decided we would stay in instead. It didn’t improve all day and we entertained ourselves by Petra doing tapestry and listening to a book on her iPod and Kevin sorting out things on the computer.

Friday 2 November

Easy day today to write about today, We walked down to Riogordo and finally got the internet to work at the WiFi bar. We spent the whole morning and some of the afternoon updating the blog down loading pictures and catching up with emails and Facebook. We had 2 expressos, 3 beers and 2 bacon rolls and it came to only 7€.

It was great to get an email from Greta and Luke and the attached lovely pictures of them both and dear Elizabeth. We do miss those fantastic hot days in St Tropez and the evening drinks outside the van.

Also heard from Carol and Warwick today they want to come out to see us and James likewise. For their benefit here is a list of dates already taken bearing in mind we are here until the 28 Feb. Just let us know when you want to come.

Sam - Nov 25 - 28
Josie -         Dec 17 - Jan 8
Paul - Dec 17 - 21
Bill - Dec 14 - Jan 14
Caroline and Peter - Jan 28 - Feb 8

Riogordo

Thursday 1 November

We woke this morning to a lovely day. Beautiful blue skies and small fluffy white clouds. It felt much warmer and more like what we were hoping for. The poor weather we have had over the last 5 days or so was beginning to get us down a bit and we were wondering if this was our lot for the winter. We had been warned that Riogordo is a place of extremities, it can be boiling hot one day and freezing cold the next. It all depends on the wind direction and if there is snow on the Serra Nevada. If there is snow and the it’s blowing this way then it will be cold.

Anyway, today it was lovely and warm and we decided to go for a walk. Standing on the balcony and looking to the east you can see the local petrol station. This is the same garage we exchanged the gas bottle from the portable fire two days ago. Carole and Richard told us about the bar there and that they do breakfast’s (not that we wanted to eat) so we thought its a good a place as any to walk to. The going ‘as they say’  was soft we felt like we were walking on sponges as we walked down hill through the olive groves. 

When we arrived at the petrol station sat outside on what it basically the forecourt of the station under a patio umbrella drinking a couple of beers. Not the most salubrious of venues but it didn’t seem to matter. We sat in the sun happily chatting about what to do next winter. 

We were rather surprised to find that it is quite acceptable to sit within spitting distance of petrol pump and smoke but apparently it is. A man nearer the pumps than us was quite happily puffing away on his cigar with indifference. If he’s not bothered why should we be. Refreshed, we made our way back to the house along (more or less) the same route.

After lunch the temperature continued to rise so we got the sun loungers out of the shed and spent the whole afternoon sun bathing. At 2pm we had a lovely chat with Josie on the phone, it was great to hear her voice. We really can’t wait to see her again with Paul and Bill when they come over for Christmas. Although the thermometer read 33c + the winter sun isn’t that powerful so it was very comfortable to sit and read and generally be lazy without getting burnt. Amazingly, even though the outside of the house had been so hot the temperature inside of the house had only risen by a couple of degrees during the day. Still two degrees is two degrees and it was sufficient not to need the heating on.

In the evening we watched another dvd.

Riogordo from the house

Back garden

Wednesday 31 October

We really needed to get on the internet today so we walked the kilometer or so to the village and the bar we had been shown by Carole and Richard. It was a fairly nice morning and the sun was coming out in between the clouds. The mountains surrounding the house were still shrouded in cloud.

We sat in the bar and desperately tried to hook on to the WiFi but to no avail. We sort advice from an American man who was sitting nearby who sent (we later found out) in completely the wrong direction and we left very disappointed.

Later in the afternoon we decided to have another go only this time we drove down. The owner of the Bar put us right on the correct settings and we had another go. Still no good as it turns out the phone line was down. So we left disappointed again.

Tuesday 30 October

Kevin cleaned the van yesterday so today, of course, it rained long and hard and persistently all day. The temperature has plummeted to 16 degrees in the house necessitating the need for 2 bars on the gas fire. This has put paid to further work on Campy but enabled us to catch up on writing up the blog and relax a little after yesterday’s exertions. With the heating on the house is cosy. Plenty to do - ironing, housework and planning. Lots of lists. 

Captain’s supplemental 

We have now arrived in Riogordo which is the end of our month long traveling adventure abroad which started on 1 October. It seems an awfully long time ago but we have done so much and seen so much in that relatively short time. It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding adventure. 

So here we are now in the third part of our first year of retirement (first Cornwall second Drive the Med coast). Something completely different from the first and second parts. We have got used to our life in Campy and she has been very comfortable and reliable and we love living in her very much. Yes, she has been the smallest outfit on the site everywhere we have been, but we really like our simple and basic way of life. Everything is easy and uncomplicated for us. We have not even used all of Campy’s facilities to the full. For example, after the first couple of weeks we stopped using the sink, the water holding tank and therefore the waste tank. Preferring the bucket and chuck-it method. The instillation of the solar panel has made a huge difference. We have not had to use it for more than 9 days without plugging into electricity, but feel fairly sure that with careful control it is possible to be self sustaining, i.e. turning the fridge down to 2 which is sufficient to keep things frozen. 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if we were placing an order now for the van we would have the most powerful engine and possibly 4 motion as at times the van can be underpowered, particularly on long inclines. Also in England as we use the CLs predominantly and intend to free camp next year in Scotland 4 motion could be useful. 

She is a brilliant campervan with a well designed layout, ideal for 2 and very well engineered. 

Here are a few facts. 

In total we have driven 2031 miles to get to Malaga.
We have used 58.58 gallons of Diesel costing £324.50 and we have averaged 34.68 mpg. Considering the mountain ranges we have crossed and that Campy is loaded to within 200kg of it’s maximum weight that is pretty good going. 

We have spent £191 on campsites, £250 on food & drink and £221 on incidentals (ticket entries, parking and entertainment etc ). Total £986. Under budget and unexpectedly so. Now we are in Riogordo our costs should be less as we don’t have camping costs or need to use so much fuel. 

Highlights of the trip.

Strangely, the first day and taking the early ferry was inspirational. It was like the dawning not only of a new day but a new life. 

Driving on the right, not so difficult. It took a lot of concentration to begin with but after a few days it became second nature. It is fair to say that there are very few roads in England that at some stage haven’t been dug up and show the many scars of umpteen visits from various agencies who each in turn take their pick at the newly laid tarmac. As opposed to here on the continent, they seem to get their act together, have a little chat together and get all the workings done in one go. What are we doing wrong? The roads on the continent are very well maintained and virtually free of traffic. Masterpieces of road construction through very difficult terrain. We have to take our hat off to the pioneering engineers who worked out how to construct them. On the other hand in the town centres roads can be frustratingly complex, narrow and nerve-wracking to drive through (especially in a van). Our saving grace, and on some occasions our near downfall, has been the Tom Tom. How on earth we managed before their invention we don’t know. It must have been a nightmare. If there is one piece of kit you should not do without and should spend as much as you can afford on is a top of the range Sat Nav. 

Driving through France. We were astounded by the agricultural plains in northern France and that we could drive virtually all day, mile after mile, past huge fields and small villages and not see a living soul. This was very unexpected and again thanks to the Tom Tom which kept us off motorways and Toll roads. We saw parts of the country we would never normally have ventured into. 

The Alps. What a magnificent day that was. Beautiful weather, fantastic scenery and challenging driving. A journey everybody should do at sometime in their lives. A memory that we will treasure forever.

St Tropez. We loved St Tropez. The fantastic walk along the beach from the campsite to the town. What luck to be there when the classic boats were in the harbour. Sitting on the pier under the lighthouse in the warm sun watching th boats enter and leave the harbour. All the friends we made in the campsite. Late evening chats, every evening was warm enough to be sitting outside with candle light until bedtime. 

Crossing into Spain along the coast road through high, twisting roads, sides sheer enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 

Dali country. What a great day visiting the museum and Dali’s home town. 

Calpe. It was so lovely and hot here (33 degrees). The walk along the beach after our haircuts to the Chinese meal and stumbling back to the campsite afterwards. Again, we met some lovely people on this site. We can fully understand why Brits spend winters here. 

Mojocar. We loved this picturesque, white village perched on the side of a mountain with it’s narrow cobblestone streets, small shops and bars. Spectacular views across to the Sierra Nevada. 

Ronda is somewhere that Kev has wanted to visit since seeing the picture, painted by Bomberg, at Pallant House Gallery. We had a fantastic day here, again a town with great architecture and stunning views. A delicious Tapas lunch too.

Monday 29 October

A cool day with some sunny intervals today. Ideal weather for doing the outside of Campy. Kev washed and dried her and then we walked into the village with the laptop hoping to post the blog using the WiFi at the local watering hole. We also carried down the rubbish. Everyone takes their rubbish and recycling to huge bins around the village. Unfortunately we were not aware that the bar closes on Mondays. Instead we bought a few provisions including paella rice and a fresh loaf of bread. The walk back to the house is about 1km and is steep in places, especially as you near the house. 

Every property has a dog and we have discovered that they all talk to each other on a regular basis. Some houses have 3 or 4 dogs who talk to each other and to the other dogs. It only takes a couple of people to walk from their home into the village to set the whole valley talking! This conversation sometimes goes on all day and deep into the night. Maybe when they get used to us things will start to quieten down. 

In the afternoon it was back to work on Campy. She was given 3 coats of polish. Wheel arches were scrubbed and polished as were the alloy wheels and the tyres dressed. Stainless steel kick bar was polished, the engine bay cleaned, the inside vacuumed and all the cupboards washed out with Milton. The fronts of the cupboards and drawers cleaned and polished. We had already removed the cushions which make up the bed and vacuumed 3 months worth of dust them. The cab area was cleaned and polished. We think it is fair to say that Campy is now back to almost showroom condition. Considering the miles we have covered in such a relatively short time there is very little sign of wear, save a stone chip on the front which we think it came with, a chip on the driver’s side sill, a chip on the rear panel below the light and a minor scratch on the side door where a piece of metal dropped onto it. Kev will touch up all of these. 

The rattle. Regular readers will remember that Campy has an annoying rattle. After extensive searching it seems that she not only has a rattle but a creak. We discovered the cause of the creak whilst Kevin was turning over in bed and was the side of the rear seat rubbing against a piece of metal. A small amount of grease applied in just the right spot - resolved. The rattle is a little more difficult to resolve and emanates from the housing built into the bench seat that holds the two head restraints. We have tried removing the head restraints but the rattle persists. We think it may have to wait for it to be resolved during the yearly habitation check on our return to England and Bilbo. 

This evening we looked at the Spanish news channel and although we couldn’t make out much of the news we certainly understood the time. The clocks went back on Sat night and we were completely oblivious. 

Sunday 28 October

True to form given the first opportunity to sort out Campy we were up and at it. It was rather strange not to have slept in Campy last night but the beds here at the house are very comfortable and very warm which is more than can be said for the house itself, being typically Spanish and built with no insulation. It reminded Kevin of his childhood getting up to a cold bedroom except there is no ice on the window. 

First job was to completely empty Campy of all the equipment, belongings and everything else. We spent the whole day cleaning and checking equipment and storing it away under our beds where it will remain for the next 4 months. We have decided that as we only use Campy now as a car we would lighten it as much as possible to save on fuel costs. We have even taken out the gas bottles and table. Only keeping in the van the things that are essential under Spanish law for us to carry in the vehicle at all times. 

We also set the washing machine to work but unfortunately we haven’t seen the sun since Ronda, so it’s all taking an age to dry. Everyone reassures us that the weather will improve.

Word of warning to all our visitors from the UK we are 500m from sea level in mountains and when the sun is not out it is cold here. As we speak it is only 18 degrees inside and 15 outside. Bring your slippers, winter coat and stout pair of shoes for walking to the village. 

After dinner we put the heater on and settled down to watch a DVD. Our first since leaving the UK. There are dozens of DVDs and we randomly picked one that we hadn’t seen before called ‘The Way’. It’s about the Camino Santiago de Compostela. A great film and very topical for us as been talking with Kay about this in St Tropez - she has walked it twice. 

Saturday 27 October

‘Casa perro con pan’. The explanation for the name (house of dog with bread) was explained by the owners, Carole and Richard, yesterday. When the estate agent took on the property it was very run down and a man used to tie up his dogs at the house and come by to feed them with scraps including bread. Since it had no other name the agent called it Casa perro con pan to identify it. The present owners stuck with that name having got used to it. They have owned it for around 8 years and plan to live here when they get Carole’s NHS pension in 3 years time when she is 55. Sounds familiar? They have completely renovated and extended the property. It boasts 3 double bedrooms, one with en suite. A bathroom, open plan kitchen, dining and living area. Lots of outdoor patio area and a shed with all sorts in it. The water supply and electricity are mains and the gas is calor cylinders.

We arrived at 10.00 and spent most of the day with Carole and Richard. They have shown us in very careful detail how everything works and who to contact with any problems. At lunchtime they gave us a guided tour of the village and we had lunch with them and friends in their ‘local’. This is where we will be using WiFi to make contact via internet with everyone at home. In the late afternoon Carole and Richard left to get their fight home to Bristol from Malaga. 

It’s a good job that we like cats because Carole is a true animal lover and has 4 friendly strays under her wing. The shed is full of cat food and we will try to keep them in good shape whilst we are here. One of the females has a rather big tummy..... we wonder what could be in there?

The house is on a plot of land containing mainly olive groves. The owners receive 10 litres of olive oil each year in return for having their trees looked after and harvested and some wood for the log burning stove. There are also fig, almond and pomegranate trees on their land. The orange trees will be ready in December so we will be sure to have plenty of walks in the area then. We are to expect Jose with his goat herd to walk through the land occasionally. It is very green in this area and he walks his goats twice a day to forage. 

We are very happy with the house and have spent today (Sunday) making it our own. We have also sorted out our stuff from Campy to make sure its all clean and in good shape. Tomorrow we will give Campy a spring clean inside and out. 

We have a couple of bookings for visitors so far, Sam from Steyning will be over at the end of Nov. Jo and Paul will be here on 17 Dec and Bill is planning to be here for a month over Xmas and New year. Caroline and Peter hope to be here in Feb. The house can sleep 8 people as there is a sofa bed in the living room. There is even a cot and high chair but we definitely won’t be using them!

Riogordo is one of many “white villages” in Andalucia, very pretty with tiny streets. There are several small shops (house shops - in people’s front rooms. You can see their living rooms at the back of the shop) also small supermarkets, pharmacy, banks etc. Yesterday we went to the local museum where we learnt how olive oil is made and to an exhibition of art by local artists. 

Tonight our meal will be entirely cooked in the oven as we don’t have an oven in Campy and we are longing for a tray of roasted vegetables. 

If the weather isn’t too good we have lots to entertain us. As well as Petra’s tapestry and Kev’s painting we can play with the entertainment here. Lots of jigsaws (even an Archers jigsaw, what luck!), books, games, DVDs and Spanish TV if we feel like having a treat. 

There is lots to see and do in the area. A couple of large cities to visit, Seville and Granada. Other places recommended in the visitor info are a flamingo lake, a Wolf park, other local towns and villages. Endless walking opportunities, wildlife to see and fantastic star gazing.

The best news of all? It stopped raining today after 4 days of rain. 

Friday 26 October

We were ready to leave Antequerra by 9am and without disturbing our neighbours we gently drove off the Aire. The last few days have been quite challenging for us not only from the appalling weather but from the poor facilities made available for motor-caravanners like us. The Spanish have a lot to learn from the French and apparently the Germans when it comes to providing facilities. We appreciate that we are traveling out of season, but the sites (Aires) that are provided are done so to encourage people to stay, visit the town or village and spend some money there. All of the Aires we have stayed on in Spain have been pretty shabby or even if the facilities are good we have felt too nervous to stay or leave the van unattended. Today we decided that we needed a good night’s sleep and in an attempt to get out of the rain we drove to the coast and Malaga. Our chosen destination was nothing more than a caravan storage depot on the outskirts of the City, not far from the motorway and airport. On the way did a large supermarket shop in readiness for moving into the house. 

The drive was fantastic through a mountainous area and the motorway wound it’s way through a deep gorge bursting it’s way out onto the Costa del Sol and the Malaga metropolis skyline. The sight of the sky scraper buildings on the coast was mildly interesting but not today for us, so we let it be for another time. Instead we drove straight to our depot and were met by a very nice chap who showed us to our spot nestling between all of the parked and stored caravans and motorhomes. Yet again we were on our own but buy now the sun had come out. We were in a gated complex with a 24 hour guard, electricity and toilets and we felt safe, secure and dry. We spent the afternoon relaxing and reading. After dinner we played cribbage but were a bit rusty on the rules. Dad we needed you!

Thursday 25 October

We are losing track of the amount of rainy days we have had but one thing is for sure we won’t be staying another day paying €20 per night on our own on a waterlogged campsite. We are sure on a bright, sunny, hot day the campsite would be idyllic but on a horrible rain soaked day like today it’s time to move on. We packed everything away and set off to a free Aire about 50km away in Archidona. We arrived at lunchtime to a deserted split level car park. It was still pouring with rain, but soon after it cleared up. This enabled us to hang out our wet clothing and give the van a wash. During this time we were alone apart from a couple youths in cars on the upper level of the car park. Our suspicions were raised by this and also by the sight of vehicle made donuts on the gravel of the car park. At around 4pm our fears were realised when the 2 cars reappeared followed by a third with a group of youths in it who deliberately stared at us and made us feel quite uncomfortable. Clearly we were on their play ground. We decided as there was another Aire not far away that we would move. Had we had more company on the site we would have been happy to stay, but on our own why take the risk?

We drove to Antequera, a fairly large town and into the Aire which was easy to find. The facilities consisted of a long strip of parking spaces painted green and was close to a main road. Towards the end of the site we saw a very large motor home which was towing a Ford Ka on a trailer. It had British number plates. We thought this was great as it was the first British people we had encountered since we left Calpe and there was a nice gap next to them. Reversing the van up we were rather surprised to receive a rather indignant and may we say rude, toot on their large horn. We parked the van some 20 feet away from their van and Kevin went to introduce himself to our neighbours for the night. It turned out that the van contained an elderly couple and a tiny Yorkshire terrier. The male occupant seemed fairly reasonable but the female was not happy about us parking where we had It was she who had tooted the horn, all because she thought  if we parked too close we would make the dog bark. Kevin explained that in a place like this safety in numbers is paramount and we were staying put.

Walking back to the van it was immediately apparent that this was not going to be an quiet spot to camp for either of us for the night and so it proved as matters got much worse as the night went on. The first  issue was the noise of the traffic, constant and heavy. Next was the gym which was about 25’ from the van. They had all the windows open and we could hear the clanging of weights being lifted (and dropped) along with their PA system. As soon as we arrived on the site we spotted 2 men standing under a canopy to the right of the gym sheltering from the still pouring rain (also adding to the noise as it pelted the roof of the van). At first we thought the men were waiting for their children to come out of the gym as it was now clearly the kids turn to use the gym. But at about 8pm they were joined by 2 more men carrying bottles of beer and the foursome with animated voices decided to put the world to rights. We found this a little intimidating and really wanted them to go. At about 9pm they did. 

At 9.15 we put the roof down on the van and as things were now quiet, we thought we could at least try and get some sleep and that’s when the disco-aerobics started. Basically it was club music played at high volume and on 2 occasions the PA system was turned up to full throttle which must have made everybody’s window rattle within a hundred yards. It all ended at 10pm and quiet was restored. 

We did not enjoy our stay, not only from the noise levels but from the rude welcome we had received from a fellow Brit shame on them and we hope their dog added to their misery and gave them a sleepless night.

Wednesday 24 October

We decided today was a good day to catch up on the blog so we walked down the steep cobblestone streets into Grazalema village centre. Our first visit of the day was to the local artisan weaving centre. It was very interesting - we walked through a dusty museum full of ancient machinery. In the workshop we saw a man stitching hems onto blankets. In the office-come showroom we were met by a Señora who showed us some of the products that they make including ponchos, scarves, hats, blankets and throws. All made from local pure wool. We really liked all the designs and would loved to have taken away a nice double blanket, basic colour of cream with a brown crisscross pattern woven into it. But at €139 it was difficult to justify. Especially as we have 2 wonderful apache Indian Pendleton blankets with us already. We walked back up the village and spent a very productive late morning and lunchtime in the local bar drinking beer, eating tapas and getting up to date with the blog. 

We returned to Campy with some food supplies just before the rain started. It didn’t stop raining for the rest of the day and all night. The campsite was becoming waterlogged and it was difficult to dry out.