Thursday 12th September (Day 22)
Well if we thought we had encountered wind and rain so far on this trip we hadn't. Last night it rained and the wind blew like it was the end of the world. The motorhome shook, a thousand monkeys were banging on the roof and the tree above us, which has some round seeds, kept dropping them on the roof and they then rolled across the roof like marbles. This continued most of the night and early morning. Indeed breakfast was not had until almost 10.00 as we had a 'duvet morning'. The weather looked set for the day but things changed by around 11.00. Chris and Resa strolled off for a coffee and to book a meal at 'El Barco' for Sunday, while I tootled around the site. Lunch was had - toasted cheese and meat on fresh bread. While it still looked, well unsettled, Chris and I went for a stroll to stretch our legs and pick something up for tea. We walked to the main town and then the length of the sea front stopping for a coffee at the 'Tango Bar'. Here we lost the will to live with the slowest service we can remember. Two coffees arrived after about twenty minutes; we drank them and asked for the bill. Another twenty minutes and we walked in to pay. Appalling service. Back to the site and we had a game of Molky (a type of wooden skittles) with about eight of us. Then dinner. The clouds are gathering again and it looks like a possible repeat of last night. Before that we went over to Resa and Eric and were joined by Graham, Chris and Lynn for a few games of (S)Uno.
Friday 13th September (Day 23)
So we had a much quieter night with little rain or wind. We appear to have been very fortunate as just eighty or so kilometres away rivers broke their banks, motorways were flooded with cars bobbing along them and three people died. Anyway, after breakfast the sky looked ominous so we opted to stay on the site and the group played some games of Molky until it did start to rain, which was around 12.30. Resa, Eric, Chris (Stephens), Graham, Chris and I left just after 13.00 for a tapas bar. (It had stopped raining but waterproofs and brollies were taken). We then walked along the sea front to Oscars where we had previously had some great tapas on Chris' birthday. The owners were British and very welcoming. We had the same tapas as last time and while eating it the rain. started. Fortunately it had stopped, more or less, when we had eaten and were about to walk back. On arriving back five of us, not Chris S, went to our motorhome and we played a game of cards - Phase 10 - for a couple of hours. We had a very loud thunderstorm and heavy rain while doing so. By 18.30 we all returned to our respective homes to change for dinner at 'The Chicken Shack'. An average meal at the Chicken Shack - which is not actually called that. It is a pizzeria. As said an average meal for a reasonable price. My other issue is the acoustics there make it hard for conversation and I was not the only person present who had difficulty hearing what people said. During the meal we found out that Chris S has an uncle who has taken a serious turn for the worse healthwise and she is now flying home tomorrow.
Saturday 14th September (Day 24)
So last Thursday, during the night, we had really bad weather. At 06.30 this morning the weather made that look like drizzle. The wind blew rocking the motorhome; the rain rained like ten thousand monkeys banging on the roof; the seeds in the tree rolled across the roof like a marble championship; and finally hail. Hail like I have never seen, 1cm or more across accompanied by constant sheet lighting as if a giant neon tube was faulty and flashing. Fortunately, within about 40 minutes it had died down to just rain and wind. It had, however, rained enough that a few miles south of here the area / roads were flooded. Six people have now died. But to more mundane things. Breakfast was late, around 10.00 and we had to say goodbye to Chris S who was flying home for a couple of days. Also the weather had meant the Saturday market was cancelled. Horror of horrors! For our part we have decided on a walk along the coastal path to the Coral Bar and beyond. It was a wild sea that greeted us with, not surprisingly, red flags flying. Most of the path was dry and manageable but a few spots involved straddling either side of a large puddle or even climbing on the fence to get passed. The Coral Bar, while open and partially sheltered, was awash with spray from the waves pounding the shore. The walk was made all the nicer as the rain coupled with the now hot and humid temperature made the smell of the bougainvilleas and other plants was quite strong and heady. We continued on past the Coral Bar making for Playa de Fustera a mile or so on. Here we stopped for a couple of coffees watching the waves break over the rocks and chatting to some English folk. Then we walked even further along the coast but after only a few hundred metres found the path disappeared where the land had slid into the sea. While still passable, by rock climbing, we felt the shoes we had on were not suitable so we reluctantly made our way back to the site and had a late lunch. As we are leaving on Monday we decided to ensure we had food for a few days travel. Taking stock of what we needed we were off shopping. First stopping at the Mercadonna supermarket, then Aldi and lastly Lidl - we know how to rock! The rest of the afternoon we spent putting the bikes into the motorhome garage and packing as much as we could. We did this today as it was not raining and to get the bikes in involves taking almost everything out of the garage area. After this activity we then sat around doing the inevitable chatting. Early eveing we had a shower and changed into our glad rags as by 20.00 we were seated at 'El Palacio' for a night of unlimited tapas and paella, a bottle of wine, desert and coffee accompanied by flamenco dancing / music. Four hours of entertainment and food for €35 a person a real bargain as it was such fun and good entertainment. Just past midnight we all arrived back very weary for bed.
Sunday 15th September (Day 25)
A very hot and humid night but the strong wind meant we could have less windows open than we would have liked. The day started with a change from the last few days - blue skies and sunny. A shower and breakfast and then the morning was spent on domestic chores. Cleaning inside and out, defrosting the fridge, cleaning the windscreens and windows and using some paste to start removing some of the scratches on the side windows where bushes etc have come into contact with them. By 13.30 we were all at 'El Barco' for a lunch. We left the restaurant just before 16.00, What a meal! Stuffed does not describe it. Fish soup, baby squid, swordfish, steak are just a few of the options for €15. We toddled back slowly as we were so full. We then all sat around, dozed, and well did nothing until around 19.30 when we had another quiz. I must report the ladies took a 3-2 lead. In out defence they had one of our group (Malcolm) as they claimed they were a person down. They seemed to ignore the fact that this gave them one more than us and the inter round quiz I had set so could not take part in meant they were two people up. It makes you wonder who decided this. Not being a sore loser we should mention that the men did exceptionally poorly losing by eight points. Perhaps a stewards enquiry is needed! It was almost 23.00 when we all took our leave.
Monday 16th September (Day 26)
So we were all off today; one group of five to Albea, about ten miles; the second group of ten to Javea. - twenty miles; and us off on our own. We were going to a camp site near Fortuna in Murcia about ninety miles away. Just over two hours saw us pulling into the site, Camping La Fuenta at Fortuna. This included a diesel stop at €1.10 a litre which was quite a result. After booking in and settling in we had lunch. I should state that this stop cost €24 a night. This gave us electric hook up, a personal shower / toilet / washroom and access to the 36 degree pools, jacuzzi and spa. Another English couple arrived here for fifteen days before spending five months in Benidorm; I make no comment on that, but the back of their mh would endear themselves to so many Europeans. We then spent four hours doing; swim, spa, Jacuzzi, beer, sunbathe (and repeat). Back to the motorhome around 19.00 and we sat for a while just soaking up the sun before cooking a stir-fry. The weather forecast is good for the next few days and, thankfully, quite cool for the nights.
Tuesday 17th September (Day 27)
Reviews on this site suggest an annoying hum form the plant that maintains the spa. We could barely hear it and it certainly did not disturb our slumbers. The cockerel was another matter! A cool start to the day but with the promise of another hot day. We had a simple muesli breakfast before packing up ready to leave. Then by 10.15 we were back in the spa. We stayed there until 11.20 when we returned to our site and had a shower and disconnected the electricity to give the key back to reception as we had to be off site by midday. So by just before midday we were off and on our way towards a camp site just before Granada. We had a brief stop for lunch and by 16.00 arrived at Camping Alto de Vinuelas, in Beas de Granada. It is a site giving views of the Sierra Nevada although it should be stated not good views, as the trees on the site are quite mature and slightly obscure it. We had one of the bigger pitches but even then it was quite tight to get settled. There are one or two pitches we subsequently found that would be (a) easier to get onto and (b) allow larger units to access. Having connected up we just sat and rested for a while before the 'adventurer' in Chris got us walking to the town about a mile away. It may only have been a short distance but the hill down was almost 1 in 3 so the walk back was a challenge. The town itself was a typical small Spanish town, narrow streets, some dilapidated buildings, some well kept buildings, a church (locked). A lot of the houses were growing / drying peppers on balconies. Above the town was an unusual rock formation which we discovered was called 'El Fraille' (The Friar). We briefly thought of walking up to it but with no water with us we vetoed it as it was still in the high 20's. A slow stroll back ensued giving us a thirst to be sated by a good old 'Speckled Hen'.
Wednesday 18th September (Day 28)
Well, where to start? I suppose in the early hours of the morning. A dog barked and barked and barked. I would have attacked the owner with a baseball bat had I (a) a baseball bat and (b) known the owner. This is not a one off. Eighteen days at Calp and a man across the street had a dog that barked day and night. There really is no need. Spain seems to have the most noisy dogs / lazy owners of all the countries I have visited. Anyway that meant quite a disturbed night. So 09.30 saw us eating breakfast. A slow route was planned with a shopping stop. Tomorrow was the Camanito Del Rey walk. I mentioned to Chris to check the tickets ....... It was today! Over 100 miles away and at 13.00. Well never in the history of motorhomers has packing been done so quick. We needed diesel but couldn't afford the stop. Eventually we arrived at the north / main entrance where we expect to find a car park. How silly! Road side parking only and not for a 7m vehicle. We eventually found a place and then had a 2.7km walk to the start of the trail. All this rushing meant no lunch; just a few items slung into a backpack. 13.00 saw us donning hard hats and joining our Dutch guide, Johann, with nineteen others. A brief history of the Camanito Del Rey (Walk of the King). A hydro power station was built to supply Malaga. To drive the turbines a 4km canal was built through a gorge. The water is normally about two metres deep but in wet weather can be 40m, making the walkway along the gorge to maintain the water flow dangerous and aches needed to be 24/7. In 1921 the King of Spain opened the canal / power station and heard about the walk. He insisted on walking some of it and, as he was the most notable person to do so, the name 'Walk of the King' stuck. The walk is dramatic and high, between 50 and 100m above the gorge. On the walk we saw many Gryphon Vultures. This group of vultures are the second most plentiful group in the world and are over 1m tall with a 3m to 4m wing span. There are so many that there are not enough wild animals to feed them. An agreement in the area has been made that road kills and animals shot by farmers are given and stored until rotten then dumped in a field. (Fortunately the vultures only eat once a week.) Another unique feature is the otters. Some of the frogs, that otters eat, have poisonous skins so, unique to the area, otters skin all frogs before eating them. Another feature shown to us was the Carob tree. Several hundred years ago the Barbars invaded Spain from Morocco and conquered almost all of it. They introduced the Carob tree. This tree is unique in that any Carob tree anywhere in the world has seeds that are the same size, shape, colour and weight. The Barbars used these to weigh metal (hence carat today) as one seed is equal to one carat. Also European shoe sizes; if you are a size forty this is the same as forty Carob seeds end to end. Back to the walk, it continued for nearly two and a half hours in high 20's temperature and we were glad for the three litres of water we had. By 16.00 we were on the bus waiting to be taken back to our start place. It was then a short walk to the motorhome. We had chosen a site close to the walk, Camping Parque Ardales. while a large site (for tents) it had less than fifteen pitches for motorhomes. We eventually parked up and walked up for a beer before a traditional English meal at the Motorhome; Sausage (British), Bacon (British), Egg (Spanish), grilled tom and chips. One can only say 'Luvverley Jubberley'. The evening was spent yawning and, for some dozing, before bed. A well earned rest.
