Spain1 emails

Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 5:19 AM

Subject: Up and Over to Sunny Spain

Had this epistle all but done and the computer went down so enthusiasm to do it all again is a bit thin. Nevertheless, I shall endure!

Thanks to all those who have sent individual messages recently. Appreciate it. Will respond separately soon, when we are sitting in the sunshine with not much to do except swim in the pool, go to the gym (well one of us anyway), drink the local Sangria and write emails home. (Give me a couple of days to get further south.)

Decided to head south this week, despite being told of the floods in mid/southern Spain (what the heck it was raining in France too). So, up and over the Pyrenees Mountains.

The attached picture cannot possibly begin to show you the grandeur of these splendid mountains nor give any idea of how small and insignificant you feel when driving along the mountain pass road. Took so many pictures it took me a day to edit them all and get them into PowerPoint. Add to the snow topped mountains the fire of the autumn trees and the colour contrasts were awesome. Took a slight detour up a side road (as recommended by the Michelin guidebook) to a town with wonderful scenery. What the book didn't say was that the streets were so narrow that turning around or even getting by the buildings was going to be a hastle. Fearless driver and artful navigator inconvenienced all and finally got the big bus around doing a 3 (23) point turn and, skilfully avoiding a Pyrenean Mountain dog that was reluctant to get out of our way, got back on to the main road. Narrow as it was in places, it felt like a super highway. Adding to the spectacle were the various fog patches which, when only drifting on top of the mountains were great, made traversing some of the pass just a little hair raising.

So, up and over and suddenly we were in "Spaghetti" Western territory. Quite obviously the rain shadow of the mountains, the Spanish side of the border provided a complete contrast to the French side. (For those of you who know Adelaide, just like going through the Adelaide Hills and then heading for Murray Bridge - only magnified 1000-fold.) Strange rocky outcrops of momentous proportions contrast with nobbly hillocks, on the top of which were either crumbling or still functional monasteries. Such a contrast to the French monasteries it was hard to believe they are such a short distance from each other.

Didn't spend a lot of time in this desolate area, mainly because there are very few campsites open. We were not happy about wild camping in the area (and quite rightly so from what we were told today by people who pulled in next to us. They were parked at a petrol station rest area along with 4 other vans - quite common here - and were vandalised twice in the one night. Long story about what happened but confirmed our thoughts.)

Headed for Barcelona. Great and beautiful city and, at the risk of being flippant - pity about the pollution! Breathing in the air is positively dangerous! However, foot sore and weary we managed to throw ourselves down at an outdoor cafe along The Rambla (Barcelona's great promenade) and down beer and Sangria to alleviate the ardour of the 29 degree heat. Spent most of our time in the Gothic area of the city (the old bit) but did see some of the Modernist Movement (late 19th early 20th C) architecture of Gaudi and Cadafalch in the area of Eixample which was weird and wonderful. Strange shaped balconies with shark teeth barriers, mosaic covered walls, gargoyles and rooves that look like scales on a fish. On the older side, the cloisters of the cathedral were filled with the most amazing light filtering through palm trees and a gaggle of geese is kept there, adding to the park like feel of this small area in the middle of a bustling city.

Foot sore and weary it was a relief to get back to the campsite that overlooked the Mediterranean and a large marina with countless millions of dollars (let alone pesatas) worth of boats. Great time in Barcelona.

This week we plan on heading further south to check out the resort type campsites in which to spend winter (makes you sick doesn't it - sorry!). Conflicting advice about whether or not to book in advance for winter so we have decided to check out a few, book one and then head on to Portugal (as we have to have a visa and it runs out soon) before coming back to wherever we book to spend the nasty cold months. I know that in Aus the weather is getting to be wonderful but from what we hear about England it is already cold and wintery and it IS the Northern Hemisphere so we think we are pretty lucky.

Other attached picture shows the trauma experienced in writing weekly epistles. Actually it just gives you a bit of an idea about the inside of the van. The rotating front seats look strange because we have the seat covers down over the fold down armchair type arm rests that are part of the seat. Basic decor is green, gold and burgundy with black(ish) bench and table tops. Burgundy sink and oven, gold curtains, green and gold upholstery (that which is not covered to protect it from we messy humans.

Hope you are all well. Please keep writing. Love to know what is happening at home (and other parts of the world).

Sent: Monday, November 06, 2000 3:32 AM

Subject: Speeding through Spain

Speeding through the south coast of Spain at the moment trying to determine where we will stay for winter. Have found a great place, near Guardamar del Segur on the Costa Blanca, a small town not far from Alacante. The site has a gym (2 actually), two pools (only one of which is good in winter), great facilities, is within walking distance of the town, has its own restaurant and we met some great fun people who will still be there when we get back in mid-January (staying until 1 March 2001).

We have also found another campsite, not nearly as good a site but within 100m of the beach (which happens to be lined with bars and restaurants) near Marbella on the Costa del Sol where we will spend the first two weeks of January next year.

So, that has been our week, travelling lots of kilometres trying out different campsites. Not a lot from which to make a newsletter. Some of the interesting things along the way were the huge numbers of glasshouses made from plastic that surround the coast, right up to the edges of the 5* hotels. When travelling the coast road you look down from the hills and it looks as if the sea is right at the foot of the mountain. Sometimes it is and at other times it is merely the sun shining on the plastic of the greenhouses. It is very ugly but the microclimate that it develops within these hot houses is the only way that any crops can be grown and money made. It is quite a strange sight though.

The "Surfers Paradise" style parts of the coastline are very attractive from a distance because many of the buildings are white and, as the sea and sky are so blue, it is a wonderful site. Crass commercialism though and only there for the tourists - difficult one. It certainly adds to the Spanish economy and provides jobs etc. Don't know enough about Spain and its politics and economy to comment further with any sort of authority.

Weather is holding out well. We have been told that it is raining and, in parts of England, snowing so when it only gets to 23 degrees on any given day there really isn't much to complain about.

Have been drinking the local wine and thoroughly enjoying the Sangria (emphasis on the gr when said in Spanish i.e. Sangria), even got a reasonable steak for a very reasonable price. Food and wine really are very very cheap here, amazingly so. The quality of the wine for the price is amazing. Sangria is about $1.20 per litre and bloody good. Adding a couple of slices of the local Valencia oranges really makes for a very refreshing drink. San Miguel beer seems to appeal more to Arnold and that can be bought for about $1 per litre, so need we say more.

Having now secured our accommodation for most of winter we will head up and away from the sun towards Madrid. We want to go to Portugal and, as our visas are only valid for another couple of months, we need to get there soon and hopefully be down the south of Portugal for Christmas and away from the worst of the cold - not as good as the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca though. Next week there may be a little more interest in the newsletter as we will be back to being tourists instead of house hunting.

Hope you are all well.

Deb & Arnold
damag@bigpond.com

Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 2:51 AM

Subject: VIRUS FREE FROM VERY WET SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLA

STILL TROUBLE SENDING PICTURES - YOU MAY OR MAY NOT GET THEM, SORRY!

Dear All

So much for making a pilgrimage!!! We are in the third most visited place of Christian pilgrimage in the world (after Rome and Jerusalem) and we cannot get out of the van to see what we have come to see. The rain is flooding down and the decision to head to the Algarve (south Portugal) has been made, just as soon as we have been into the city of Santiago (we got very lost getting here, the least we can do is look at the place!).

To briefly summarise last week's letter for those who did not open it because of the KAK virus (which Arnold has spent the whole week eradicating), it went something like this. We went from El Escorial to Sergovia where there is a still functional 1st C Roman aqueduct. Climbed lots of stairs to get to the top and the views were great and the aqueduct an amazing engineering feat. On the way back to El Escorial it rained, hailed and then snowed on us and great sheets of ice were sliding off the roof of the van and onto the windscreen - a scary ride.

Next day it was on to Salamanca, a university town (Uni started in 1215). The whole town is made from golden sandstone and as the sky was so very blue the city was striking. Sky blue but temperature only 1oC at 11.30am. Very cold but worth the trip around the city that kept us captive in the University for hours. History oozed from every pore of the place and the carved stone entrance to the Uni was stunning.

On to a place called Vila Real, in Portugal. Between Porto (on the coast) and Vial Real (to the east) is the growing area for Vinho Verde, a green wine (whether it is red or white it is still called green!) The grapes are grown on such high cold mountains that they don't ripen as well as they should, are picked green and then the wine is made. Must admit the white wine we tried was very good.

East of Vila Real is the Valley of the Douro where the grapes for Port are grown. Again mountainous slopes abound but they have all been terraced so that the vines can be worked. It has to all be done by hand as there is no way any machinery could get down the slopes. Back breaking work. November-February is pruning time for the vines and everywhere we went there were small fires burning along the hillsides to dispose of the clippings. Not something that would be tolerated in Aus I am sure. Stunning views of the mountains and valleys filled one of the few days this week that wasn't raining.

Rocomadour had about 300 steps - we have outdone ourselves this week - 590 steps up to the Chapel of Santuario de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios in Lamego. This amazing church is at the top of a huge staircase that is at the head of a long narrow road. The sides of the staircases are covered in blue and white tiles depicting religious scenes and the inside of the church has the same tiles but specifically they show the story of the nativity. Well worth the trip up and down the stairs. Again the weather let us down and it was back to our campsite.

Because the weather was so lousy it was very tempting just to head south and get back to the sunshine. However, just north of Porto (back into Spain) is the city of Santiago de Compostela. As I said at the start of this letter it is the third most sacred place of pilgrimage. If we didn't visit it now, we probably wouldn't get there. So we hoped the weather would get better and we would be blessed! (Then again maybe you are supposed to suffer on a pilgrimage!) It hasn't and we plan on getting the bus into town tomorrow, regardless of the weather, and then head south again to Porto, Lisbon and to Faro as soon as possible.

Hopefully next Sunday there may be more interesting things to tell you as we may have been able to plough through the mist fog and rain to see the sights Portugal has to offer. I'm not really complaining, we have done fairly well up until now with the weather and, after all, it is winter!

Love to all. Please stay in touch.

Deb & Arnold

Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 4:22 AM

Subject: Soggy Spain

Not worth going on a pilgrimage for infidels like us. The weather has been rotten, I've pulled a muscle in my neck, Arnold's knee is troubling him and the rain does not only fall on the plain in Spain - it falls every bloody where!

This letter will be short because we have really been rained out for the past week. On Tuesday we managed to go into Santiago and it was well worth waiting for. The cathedral and surrounding old town were truly wonderful with the vibrant atmosphere of yet another university town. Lunch in town was probably the highlight of the week - wait for it

Polpo - market style

Boiled gamon (very very large and very very very salty) and boiled turnip tops

A good bottle of Spanish dry white suggested by our waiter

Don't knock the turnip tops until you have tried them. Boiled with garlic and the gamon, Arnold says they were quite delicious - actually I tried them - not bad. We are really quite wasteful in Aus. Few of us eat the turnips, let alone the tops. As for Polpo - octopus, tentacles and all, swimming in oil, paprika and garlic and served hot on a wooden cheese board. Travel broadens your mind!! Again, not bad but nothing to write home about (unless there is nothing else to write home about).

The weather really has now forced us to go south a lot faster than we had wanted to. Two electrical storms, one of which was quite violent and frightening have eroded our resolve to tough it out. We are currently in Lisbon where we have had one day of sunshine (the first in a fortnight) and one of rain (much better odds than we have been getting). Tomorrow we are going into the city to absorb the sights, sounds, smells and flavours of Portugal's capital city. Two nights in the luxury of a hotel might also restore the spirits.

Although the Lisborn campsite is good, there is so much to see in Lisbon it is a waste of time to keep going in and out. We also want to enjoy a little night life and when you have to travel back to camp on the last bus (about 10pm) night life has only just begun. The story of how we found the sight is a tale that is too long to tell - more good luck than good management (and in spite of the directions in the guide to campistes!!!!!)

So, next week we can tell you about the joys of Lisbon, the fame of Fado (not a place but a music style) and we might also have some idea of where we are going after Lisbon.

Because we cannot link into a network here in Portugal and have to use a Madrid number, there won't be any pictures for a while as it takes too long to send them on an international call - sorry. Will let you know if and when we have overcome this problem.