Calpe News

Hola!

We left Aranjuez on a cold and misty morning and headed south. Our drive to Calpe passed in no time and we made good progress arriving at the site at 13.45pm. We were given a warm welcome by the staff and old friends and after lunch began the process of settling in.

This year we decided to have an awning fitted to the van and what a difference that has made. It practically doubles our living space and is a very welcome addition.

The days are warm and sunny, even got to 26C on Wednesday but it soon becomes cool when the sun goes down. Last year we had to retreat into the van but now we can enjoy sitting in the awning with our little gas fire to keep us cosy when the temperature drops to 10C. But hey, we have had some spectacular sunsets.

We are getting lots of exercise, walking here, there and everywhere. We enjoyed a visit to Albir/ Altea last week and Harry and his pal Ray went up the Ifach ( the big lump of rock that dominates Calpe) and of course we are looking forward to Christmas. We may be in the sun but the decorations and the Christmas tree are up. Not too sure if Harry is taking a dip in the Med this year on Christmas morning but will keep you posted.

We wish you all a very happy Christmas and  New Year.

Lots of love Harry and Kath xxx

PS Harry has just told me that he will be getting his toes wet - watch this space, we haven't been able to download any photos yet but we will keep on trying.

En route to the sun

Hola!

Here we are again on our travels. We left Fort William on Thursday 1st December just before the snow arrived and travelled down to Portsmouth with overnigt stops at Bury, Uttoxeter and Aldershot to visit family along the way. We were booked  on the 11.am ferry from Portsmouth to Santander on Sunday 4th December (Happy Birthday Edna) and, eager to be off, we arrived early at the Port. We were greeted with the news that the ferry was running approx 3 hours late due to the bad weather and more was to come. Oh joy!!

Armed with Sturgeron (which we actually didn't use) we quickly settled on board and went to find a convenient place to feel queasy. The lounge bar at the stern of the boat appeared to be the best option and so we spent a couple of hours reading, sipping tea and watching the world go by - well the land disappearing in the distance. Even participated in a quiz, not officially, I didn't go up and get the sheet but wish I had because with our score we would have won. C'est la Vie!

When it started to get really rough we went down to the cabin and got into our bunks. Harry went off to sleep but I read for quite some time while the boat heaved and tossed. Despite all that we both managed to sleep reasonably well and woke up to a relatively calm sea. The boat managed to make up some time so when back on dry land we were able to reach our destination, Haro, in daylight.

We spent 3 days in Haro, capital of the Rioja region before moving on to Aranjuez, south  of Madrid. Again a few nights stopover before we travel on to Calpe tomorrow (Monday 12th) where we will meet up with old friends and sunshine. Present readings for Calpe are 19C day time and 10C night time. Slightly warmer than the -1C we are having here in Aranjuez. Still got our winter woollies on.

Speak to you all again next week, oh and Harry says it's great to be back in Euroland where a coffee costs Euro 1.10 with a complimentary mini croissant.

Lots of love
Kath and Harry xxx

New adventure

Well that's the motorhome all packed and ready for the start of a new adventure. We set off tomorrow and head down to Portsmouth, visiting family along the way, ready for our sailing to Santander on Sunday morning arriving in Santander Monday lunchtime.

We will spend a few nights at a campsite in Haro before moving onto Aranjuaz and then onto Calpe arriving on the 16h December, where we wintered last year, to meet up with friends.

Our plan is to move on in the New Year and head to southern Spain and then to explore Portugal before returning via south west France at the end of April.

We don't envisage being back on e-mail until we reach Calpe when we will post an update.

Until then we wish you all  very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Harry and Kath (the wanderers) xx

Final chapter of the first part of our big adventure!

Well Kath has given me the dubious honour of doing the last blog on the first part of our big adventure.

We were amazed to look at the stats page and discover we have had 2457 separate viewings of our blog during the year we have been away, so for those who like figures here is the list.
United Kingdom 1014
USA  318
Germany 255
Netherlands 232
Spain 193
Italy 165
France 129
Canada 63
Russia 54
Switzerland 34

We have also enjoyed reading the comments family and friends have posted on the blog.

We started our journey in March 2010 not knowing what to expect but what ever it was we felt ready. Looking back on the year we have some lovely memories and thousands of pictures of which we managed to share some on the blog with you all. It would be impossible to say we have one favourite from all the places we have visited but I think Kath will agree with me (I will check with the boss before publishing this)
that we both loved Italy especially Tuscany and the Cinque Terra and the friendships we have made over the year particularly the gang in Calpe.

We hope we have kept you entertained with our ramblings and on occasions our history lessons (hope they didn,t put you off).

The year has been for us a fantastic opportunity to see new places and meet different people and to try in our own small way to give you all a flavour of what we have seen and done.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to every body in all the countries who have followed the blog especially our families and friends.

So until we begin a new adventure it is with lots of love that we say cheerio for now.

Harry and Kath xxx
PS The boss agreed with me
                                             

Calpe - Spain (Episode 6)

Hola!

Quote of the week

"If you want to read your book tonight darling, I don't mind watching the rubgy on tv" Does Harry think I was born yesterday?....................................

Our last weekend in Calpe - sad to leave but looking forward to seeing everyone back in the UK. We leave Calpe on Monday morning - a long drive to just north of Madrid where we will stop over for 1 night then on to Haro (where we have stopped before) for 2 nights before driving to Santander where we will catch the ferry on Thursday afternoon to arrive in Portsmouth on Friday evening.

We will do one final post when we get back to the UK so until then, bye from both of us and thank you all for sharing our adventure with us.

Lots of love

Kath and Harry

PS - I've comissioned Harry to do the final blog, I think he has got away far too lightly these last 12 months xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Calpe - Spain (Episode 5)

Hello to one and all - sorry there hasn't been a blog on for a couple of weeks but there hasn't been that much to tell you and besides we haven't got much time left on the camp e-mail so we thought we would save it for when we did have something to report.

Life here at Calpe just plods along - people come and go and some stay longer than others. The gang of 8 is now down to 6 and soon, we will all be gone.

We hired a car again - a smart little black Polo for only 70 Euros for the week. So it was off and about again getting to the places which we couldn't manage by public transport. Not far away, but just set off a busy main road was a very interesting building (Morrocan style) with all sorts of pots and old doors outside, so we decided to check it out. It was amazing, everything from lamps, glassware, furniture, reclaimed doors and surrounds. We wandered from room to room mesmerised. Harry fell in love with the whole property and had visions/dreams of turning it back into a home.

We had also discussed going to visit another camp site situated at Guardamar (south of Alicante). We had heard good reports about it and wanted to check it out for ourselves for future ref. It was a lovely site with both indoor and outdoor pools, gym, sauna etc etc. A good restaurant, terrace and bar with free Wi Fi, cable tv and much, much more. It compared favourably with Calpe - we'll just have to come back again !!

It hadn't felt long since we celebrated New Year and guess what? - we went and did it all again. This time it was Chinese New Year and so the gang of 6 all went to The Wok - Chinese buffet, all night long (eat as much as you can) - entertainment and a few glasses of vino tinto!. Cava and fireworks at midnight and a late night back to camp.

The following day we were off to the Xalon valley to see the almond blossom. Row upon row of almond trees but not yet in full bloom - still a spectacular sight. It was a lovely afternoon and after stopping to buy some oranges on the road side to take home we did the tourist bit and drove around the countryside and up into the hills. We stopped at Fonts de L'Algar. Some of you may recognise it. It is where the Timotei advert was filmed many moons ago.  Quite surprised to see banana trees - but here's the proof! 

On Saturday the gang of 6 took the tram to Alicante for a day out. We were pleasantly surprised and made visits to the port and the old town before meeting up with everyone for dinner at a Mexican restaurant before the long trek back to camp. Check this street out along the promenade - it really makes you feel quite queasy walking down it. Whilst down at the port Harry decided this crew hadn't quite worked out the meaning of team work!  

 Some other views from Alicante. 

 

The highlight of the week was climbing this lump of rock.....................  although Harry might disagree. His highlight has been being able to watch the 6 nations rugby on the TV!! 

 

Anyway, Harry, Ray and I set off at 9.30am. It was a lovely day albeit a little hazy. Well worth the effort with some fantastic views as you can see. 

So, until next week when we will be busy packing up to make the long trek home.

Lots of love - Kath and Harry xxx

Valencia-Spain

So, off to Valencia - we caught the 9.00am bus and for the next 3.5 hours enjoyed the journey to Valencia stopping at small towns along the way. It was nice for Harry to see some of the Spanish countryside instead of having to drive through it.

Our hotel was next to the bus station and close to the historic centre so it was all very convenient. After checking in, we went for a wander to get our bearings and make plans for the next couple of days. The Lonely Planet guide is a great source of information and we made a list of all the things we wanted to do and see. We decided that we would spend the following day exploring the old town (Historic Centre) which was going to keep us busy for a whole day and the 2nd day would be spent at The City of Arts and Sciences which is a major cultural and entertainment complex set up by the Valencia Regional Government.

After dinner at a nearby restaurant we returned to the hotel to have an early night in preparation for our explorations the following day.

Day 1

The Historic Centre is fairly compact and once we had got a copy of the town plan from the tourist office and got our bearings, we were off. Nearly every town has it's bull ring, Valencia was no exception and it's museum was quite interesting. 

Onto the station, an impressive Modernista building, opened in 1917. The main foyer is decorated with ceramic mosaics and murals. 

 Another impressive building is the Mercado Central. Valencia's Moderista covered market which was constructed in 1928 but given a new lease of life since it's recent 11 million Euros refurbishment. 

This is The Plaza de la Virgen which shows the splendour of some of the buildings here in Valencia.

Lunch was patatas bravas and fried prawns at a pavement cafe and once refuelled we were on our way again. A visit to the Cathedral and then to end the afternoon a visit to the botanical gardens which was an oasis of calm from the busy streets of Valencia. Established in 1802 is was Spain's first botanical garden with lots of mature trees and plants and an extensive cactus garden. A place to see free flying parrots in amongst the trees and somewhere for Harry to make a new friend.

A long and tiring day but very enjoyable and the bath waiting for me back at the hotel was bliss!!

Day 2

The Jardines del Turia are a 9 kms stretch of gardens, a mixture of playing fields, cycling. jogging and walking paths, fountains, lawns and playgrounds and have been constructed on the site of the now dry river bed which runs through Valencia.

It was a very pleasant walk from the hotel, through the gardens to the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences). There was much to see there which would have taken several days - on this occasion we chose to visit the Oceanografic Centre. We paid our entrance fee and were delighted to find that we had been charged the reduced rate for pensioners but when we thought about it, realised our jaunt to the city must have aged us! Oh well, it comes to us all - we had a great day at the Oceanografic Centre and here are some photos that we took of our day there. 

 

We rounded off the evening with a lovely meal at the hotel with thoughts of our return to Calpe the next morning.

So, until next time when we shall have to find new adventures for you all.

Lots of love

Kath and Harry xxx

Calpe - Spain (episode 4)

                                                       

                                                  HAPPY NEW YEAR

And, to start off the New Year, Harry and his pal Ray celebrated in style - another dip in the Med. a little colder than Christmas Day but they were still crazy enough to do it!!!

The week prior to New Year saw us out and about, making the most of our time here on the Costa Blanca. A morning's walk behind the camp site ended up as a 3 hour hike, off the beaten track along dried up river beds and the like. 

We were tired and ravenous when we got back to camp so over to the camp restaurant for the dish of the day - a hearty rabbit and potato stew which was absolutely delicious. Regional Spanish cuisine at it's best and all for only E3.50.

Calpe is a thriving fish port with it's own auction market which is open to the general public. Every day at approx 4.30pm the fishing boats enter the harbour, land their catch and for the next couple of hours there is a frenzy of activity and the whole spectacle is fascinating to watch especially when the odd octopus decides to climb out of the fish box onto the conveyor belt or make the leap to freedom (short lived) onto the floor. If you look closely on the photo there is an octopus on the floor. Lots of different types of fish all being sold at next to nothing - it's all very fast and furious.

The walk back along the beach at sunset was pretty special too. 

Another day we took the tram to the nearby town of Altea and spent a very pleasant day exploring the old town and walking along the promenade. We trundled back into camp at 7.00pm worn out but delighted with our day. 

At New Year the gang of 8 went to a nearby restaurant where (some of us) danced the night away, enjoyed the finger buffet and brought the New Year in in style. we didn't have too late a night - there were some in our party who had plans for New Year's Day!

On the 2nd January we were all invited to a buffet lunch on camp. It was a lovely warm and sunny day and a good time was had by all relaxing by the pool terrace.

We haven't done any cycling since we have been in Calpe but ever determined to try and keep fit we often go for long walks. We decided to walk along the coast (in the other direction to what we had done previously). It was a very pleasant walk and not too strenuous. We came across a bar/restaurant on the water's edge where we enjoyed a beer before the long trek home.

On the 6th January it was the 3 Kings Celebration - a public holiday which is celebrated in great style. The evening before there was a procession through the town and local people and tourists turned out in their thousands to watch and celebrate. It was a great atmosphere and a great time was had by all.   

We have decided it's time for us to have a short holiday (be careful with your comments) - so tomorrow we take the coach to Valencia where we have booked into an hotel for 3 nights. We are looking forward to exploring the city, maybe a little shopping and of course having a bath!!!

So until next time when we hope to have tales of our time in Valencia.

Hasta luega

Kath and Harry xxx