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2001
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To:
Cc:
Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2001 10:19 PM
Subject: A case of "Glad we weren't here last week!"
Dear All
So often, particularly when we were in Britain, we would hear
the lament (usually about the weather) of "You should have been here
last week!" Currently in the Spanish coastal town of
Peniscola, we are very glad that we weren't here last week.
The weather generally has been very windy but we have been
fortunate enough to find warm sunny spots, out of the wind, in which to
languish. Poor old Peniscola had what everyone here is calling a tidal
wave but what we believe to be a very high tide whipped up by the fierce
winds that have been savaging the area. Our campsite (Camping Eden -
1a quality, heated, new facilities, large pitches but low branched trees
which makes getting in and out of them a great entertainment for those who
have already accomplished the feat! Very secure site within easy walk
of the town - which has not yet recovered from the flooding.)
The ground floors of most of the buildings along this part of
the coast were flooded and there was so much sand all over the roads
and paths that the coast road was impassable. The local four wheel
drive vehicles still show evidence of having ploughed through the sand and
grot and it must have been quite a sight. The campsite just avoided
being flooded because it is about 300m from the beach. It is in the
second row of accommodation, not actually fronting the beach - thankfully
for all of those parked here. As a consequence of the flooding most of
the shops and restaurants are still closed and it is very sad to see people
still hosing out their shops with all of the carpets and furniture awaiting
the refuse collection.
Nevertheless, Peniscola is a lovely town that is a bit like
Surfer's Paradise was about 25 years ago. Many high rise apartments
and hotels but only just starting to develop its full potential. What
makes it very different to Surfer's Paradise, however, is the 12thC castle
that sits out on the bluff. We climbed to the top of the bluff and
then to the top of the castle for a spectacular view of the coastline.
A very different view to that seen by the Knights Templar who built the
place. The castle has been well restored and shows evidence of its grandeur. It was once home to Pope Benedicto XIII (also known as Pedro
de Luna - hence all of the coats of arms have moons on them) from 1411-1423
during what is called the "cisma d'Occident" - one of the several
times that the Pope was not enthroned in Rome.
Earlier this week we were in another coastal town - Sitges.
(Camping Garrofer - a huge, pine strewn block about 500m from the beach.
San facs drafty and only just okay. We had also been spoiled by the
san facs in the previous camp so it is probably a skewed opinion. A
group of "travellers" was also ensconced and so we didn't stay
long). It is said that Sitges is the "rave" town of the
Costa Brava where almost anything goes. We didn't see that side of it.
We saw a sleepy tourist town that looked like so many of the beachside
resorts in winter - a little sad. The beaches were well cared for
though and there were lots of great shops - food, wine, clothes, souvenirs
etc.
So, that has pretty well been our week. We will stay a
couple more nights in Peniscola and then head for the dreaded Benidorm -
people either love it or hate it. We want to experience it for
ourselves and, after all, it has been a long time since we have had a good
feed of fish and chips. For those who don't know Benidorm, it is a
beachside resort that caters specifically for the Brits. To quote
several people we have met - "It is full of fish and chip shops and
dodgy kareoke bars". Well, we will be able to report next week.
After next week I think our epistles will become fortnightly.
We will be at our longterm campsite in Guardamar and life will be a little
less interesting - Don't think you want to hear about spring
cleaning the van in winter! Another problem we have at the moment is
that none of our Spanish connections to the internet are working.
Hopefully there will be an internet cafe in Guardamar and we will certainly
still be touch anyway. Our address for anyone interested in using
snail mail (we will be there until at least the end of January and probably
well into February) is
Marjal Complejo Ecoturistico, Ctra. Alicante - Cartagena, Km
73.4, 03140 Guardamar del Segura (Alicante), Spain.
The commas indicate a new line of the address. Our site
is in the name of Gillespie so they won't know of any Millikan person
(Gillespie in brackets will get to me).
Will send this email via France and via Deb Walsh and
hopefully we will work out a more direct route for the next one.
Bye for now - Adios
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2001 1:12 AM
Subject: What odds would you give?
Dear All
Approximately 350 not so interesting km from Peniscola to
Benidorm. We had decided to see if we could get into the campsite
nearest the town so that walking in and staggering back to the van would not
be too difficult. We also thought our chances of getting into Camping
Don Quijote were minimal given that Benidorm is so popular and this was the
nearest site. Sure enough, we rock up at about 3pm and see about half
a dozen people sitting outside their vans in the car park.
Not much hope here we think. "Are you waiting to
get in?" asks Arnold. "No" says a male voice, "we
choose to stay out here on the carpark - it is nice and flat and we can get
electricity". (Each to his own!) "Is it full?"
asks Arnold again. "Think so" says same male voice.
Arnold went into the office and sure enough it was full.
As we were about to back out of the carpark, a deep throaty voice with a
very definite accent (a bit like one of the Carry On Gang - Kenneth someone)
hits the airwaves. "I know that voice" says Deb. The
hair is different - it has been permed - is it, isn't it - speak again!!
Yes, it really is
"Livvy!!". Stunned look from said Livvy.
Eventually she worked out who it was. Most of you haven't got a clue
who it was either have you. For the long time readers, those of you
who were with us up on the North Cape of Norway (go back into the archives
of June 1999), it was Livvy of Jay and Livvy fame. These two had told
us that every year they went to Benidorm for the winter. They always
went to the same campsite as they had lots of friends there and they always
had a great time. Back then, we had only heard bad reports about
Benidorm so we just smiled and nodded and said "Oh that is nice"
and left it at that, not finding out the name of the camp or any other
details. We have been unable to communicate with Jay and Livvy because
they are not in email contact and they live in their van when they are not
travelling to the US, or China, or wherever else they seem to go...
Jay walked into the office of the campsite and the next thing
you know we are squeezed onto the carpark, plugged into the electricity and
only 10 minutes walk from the town. On the long (for us) journey from
Peniscola to Benidorm, Arnold and I had discussed what a coincidence it
would be if we just happened to bump into J&L in the street! Well,
we did even better than that.
Needless to say, because of the unexpected pleasure of
catching up with old friends, we thoroughly enjoyed Benidorm. We went
to a British Pub and watched our Australian Rugby Union team wipe the floor
with a team called the Barbarians - made up of great players from the rest
of the world; we ate fish and chips, we did NOT go to a Kareoke bar but
we did have our first Chinese meal since we left London. (Camping Don
Quijote is impossible to get into unless you book way in advance (and most
people there book from year to year). Facilities are clean and
reasonable.)
Benidorm was actually a lot nicer place than we had expected
it to be. The beach is lovely (particularly when you are sitting on a
sunny terrace overlooking it, drinking coffee and brandy (as is traditional)
and soaking up the sun). The beach promenade is one of the longest in
Spain, restaurants abound (and you don't have to look at too many of the
junky souvenir shops unless you want to). Clothes are very inexpensive
(but we have no room to store any unfortunately) and if you are really into
beer in a big way you can get a pint (600ml) for as little as 70 pesata
(in Australian money that is about 70cents, in Sterling that is about 25p.
The old town of Benidorm (pre-tourists it was a fishing village) has a
lovely lookout over two beaches and we are told that the fishing fleet still
comes in and out of the small harbour that can be seen from the lookout.
(AG: An annoying aside. We were given a scratch card in
the street. When we scratched it three stars appeared. This meant a prizehad
been won; either 100,000 pesatas, a holiday in Spain or a camcorder.....but
only if you were British and staying in a hotel in Benidorm. I approached
several couples who just happened to be wandering by and who looked British
(I was right each time) and tried to proposition them into claiming the
prize. The deal I put to them was that we would share the money, if
that was the prize, they could have the holiday, we get the camcorder.
Seemed to me they had 2 chances out of 3 to get something substantial and
the organisers were quite happy to hand over the prize provided the
immediate recipients were British. ALL of those approached said it must
be a scam and NONE of them was willing to go with me to the office to claim
the prize. Oh me oh my, where has the trust of ones fellow man gone? I
have not scratched the final bit of the card to find out which of the 3
possible prizes we would have received. I dont want to be further
disappointed).
After spending four fun days and nights in Benidorm we sadly
left Jay and Livvy and a bunch of people who are all living the nomadic
life, chasing the sun and have now arrived in Guardarmar del Segura near
Alicante. The fun-loving oldies we met briefly last year are here
again this year and I think we will enjoy having a bit of a break.
Last night there was a country and western night and we have been told that
at least once a week there is some sort of entertainment in the camp.
We have a lovely sunny pitch, san facs are the best we have seen and we
still have to explore the town and the beach (nudist, I believe!). So,
before toddling off to the gymnasium and swimming pool, we wish you a fond
farewell and will report again when there is some news. It will
probably be a fortnight before the next message, unless something
earth-shattering happens between now and then.
Don't let that stop you lot writing to us though. We
love to hear from "home and away" (ohhh! sorry about that).
Adios
Deb & Arnold
Sent: 19 December 2001h
Subject: Christmas Missive
Dear All
Well, it is nearly Christmas and the sun is shining and all is right
with the world – well yesterday we were almost flooded out of the
campsite but we won’t talk about that. For the last fortnight we have
had primarily wonderful sunny weather, cool breezes and freezing cold
nights.
Camping Marjal is as good as we expected and we have palled up with
several people. We have met two couples who are contemplating moving to
Australia. Both couples (and almost every other British couple in the
campsite) are disillusioned with Britain and want a better life for
themselves and in one case for their young child (Paul, Anita and Elise).
Michael and Sarah have dogs – a Newfoundland and a Samoyed, with a
second Newfie on the way. For those in the dog world in Australia – they
are heavily into water rescue work with the Newfoundlands and want to know
if there is a water rescue group anywhere in Aus. It may well influence
where they chose to live. Jasper, their 65kg male Newfie, has won several
competitions and is not at all averse to dragging in a lifeboat in foaming
seas. His arthritis is the only thing that bothers him (he is starting to
get on in years). He won’t go out in the rain to relieve himself but
just try keeping him out of the sea when there is a rescue test!!!
We have joined the gym here at the camp and are both now on our way to
becoming tanned, trim and terrific – well when we are not complaining
about strained muscles and how we are going to organise the day around the
gym! Gee, life is hard.
We have also met lots of interesting people at the social functions
that are held here on site. The first Saturday night we were here a
country and western night was held in the bar, we have attended quiz
nights and, don’t laugh, even played Bingo (fascinating when the numbers
are called out in at least 3 sometimes more languages). The Bingo or the
Quiz is not the main exercise of the evenings. Interaction is. Of the folk
we have met we must include Sean, an Irishman who was a London Bobby for
28 years in the East End, before retiring back to Ireland to look after
his wife, Irene, who has multiple sclerosis. They are getting away from
the Irish wet winter and allowing Irene to get some sunshine. But, I must
say, with all due respect to the Irish – Sean is very IRISH! If Arnold
hadn’t been here to help him put up his "safari room" (an
awning type thing that attaches to the van’s awning) he would still be
doing it. We have had a lot of laughs (and a lot of accompanying beverage)
with this soft-eyed yet volatile Irishman.
We have been to the local markets, buying 2kgs of Valencia oranges for
about 50 Australian cents, olives for next to nothing and lots of
second-hand novels in English to keep up our reading supply. Glace fruits
are very prolific here and we have bought some wonderful preserved lemons
– really bitter sweet. Fresh fish, fruit and vegetables abound and it
has not been at all hard to dream up some more interesting meals now that
we are not doing as much during the day. Time can be given to some sort of
menu planning instead of wandering around ancient ruins. It is good for a
change.
Last night we went out to a Tapas bar with Michael and Sarah. The Tapas
bar was fun but even here in Spain, it is still an expensive way of
eating. . Tonight we are spending time with Paul (IT programmer) and Anita (Reflexologist) talking to them about Australia. They
want a better life for Elise and, although we have to be honest and say
that Australia is not all milk and honey, we can certainly sell the good
side of the place to anyone seriously interested in a great way of life.
Christmas is organised. A group of about 40-50 of us is going to a
restaurant just down the road for a traditional British Christmas dinner
– Spanish style. We have been promised turkey with all the trimmings but
Gill, who is organising it, is not quite sure just what
"trimmings" actually means. It should be fun finding out. She
has tried to organise Christmas crackers (bon-bons) and has absolutely no
idea what the restaurant will produce, despite their supposed
understanding of what she wants. It will all be a big surprise.
It is not only Brits here on site. Right now Arnold is speaking to a
German man whose English language is amazing. We are limited a little with
some of the German people because of language but most people here on the
site are warm and friendly and there is always a smile, a nod or a wry
comment about something. For me, dogs are a universal bonding mechanism
and there are plenty of them around here. Sean, our Irish friend has two
cocker spaniels; the German couple behind us have an Irish setter, down
the road are several rotweillers and Hugo the chocolate labrador makes his
presence felt. Poodles, Yorkies and the occasional mongrel top up the
collection.
The last two and a half weeks have gone a lot faster than either of us
expected them to. We have both been reading and studying a little (each
catching up on what were going to do over the last almost 3 years). Arnold
is learning Visual Basic 6 whilst I have my head inside some psychology
books that can then be related back to dog obedience training. Also
reading about clicker training and "Dog Obedience for Winners"!
So, this letter is by way of saying Merry Christmas to all and warm
greetings for a happy new year. We will be in touch again after the new
year and let you know how our "typical" British Christmas dinner
went. We are not sure yet how new year’s eve will be spent but there are
enough party animals around the camp that I am sure it won’t be dull.
Please keep in touch. We love to hear from you and, particularly at
this festive time of year, we wish you all peace, health and happiness.
Deb & Arnold
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 3:33 AM
Subject: Post Christmas report
To Deb Walsh – we have sent this to all of our Aussie mates because
we are sending from an internet café. We will do this until you return
from holidays at the end of January – thanks for helping us out Deb. Deb
Dear All
Well, Christmas with a difference this year. We hope that you have
thoroughly enjoyed your Christmas and that everyone received everything
that they wanted!!
Our Christmas started Christmas Eve when, having had a year’s
rainfall in two days (we are not joking!) the sky cleared and we were able
to leave the campsite. With some newfound(land) friends we went out for a
Chinese meal. Chinese food here in Spain is amazingly cheap and we thought
it would be a pleasant way to spend an evening. We did indeed have a very
good, very inexpensive Chinese dinner. The restaurant was packed to
capacity with lots of merry-makers and the atmosphere was great. Towards
the end of our meal who should appear but a Chinese Santa, armed with
gifts and shouting a very accented "Ho,ho,ho". He proceeded to
hand out gifts to the "ladies" (no comment from the sidelines
please – I did receive one!) and Christmas crackers (bon-bons) to the
gentlemen. We received a plastic calendar that spins in the middle to show
a Chinese scene on one side and the calendar on the other. It sits on
little legs and is very Chinese, except for the address on the bottom of
it that can only be Spanish.
Well, everyone was quite chuffed about all of this and we were making
favourable comments about the place when what should appear but a
complimentary bottle of Cava (the Spanish form of champagne) for each
table of 4 people. I should add that there was also a complimentary
cocktail at the beginning of the dinner! This restaurant is a real find
as, apparently, it is quite common for them to give gifts to their guests
(albeit plastic bracelets or paper ornaments) and you are never quite sure
of what will happen – except that you will get a good meal. Great
marketing really and it certainly keeps people coming back.
Christmas day dawned bright and sunny and we had our first full day of
sunshine. Arnold and I had our traditional breakfast of ham and cheese
croissants, fresh orange juice and coffee – we gave a miss to the
champagne. We were due to be at the restaurant for lunch at 1pm. We duly
arrived, sat ourselves at a long table with lots of others and had our
first bottle of champagne. Pre-dinner drinks are, of course, quite
acceptable and in the company of lots of new people we found the time
passing quite quickly. A good thing it was too. By 3pm the bread rolls had
all been eaten and the wine was going down quite well – good job it was
all inclusive! Finally, our first course (a choice of chicken soup or
melon with ham or garlic prawns) arrived and was pounced upon by the now
ravenous crowd.
Part of the day’s entertainment was the serving of the food. There
was one waiter for the 50 of us and with the assistance of a small Asian
boy who spoke Spanish, English, German and I guess some Asian language as
well, we finally received our turkey dinner – everyone had a large leg!
Just how many legs does a turkey have? About 30 plates of turkey arrived
on a large trolley. Those of us who did not get served in the first wave
waited eagerly for the arrival of the turkey trolley number 2! Oh no, only
one trolley delivery – the rest of us received our dinner, two at a time
– personalised service. You had to laugh. The waiter was soooooo serious
about his job and he did it brilliantly but it was just like watching
Manuel from Fawlty Towers. As I said – great entertainment.
Gill, the lady who organised the lunch was devastated. She had ordered
turkey with the traditional English brussel sprouts and roast potatoes. We
had turkey legs, chips and a cold combination of peas, beans and carrots.
Again, you had to laugh! Desert came by way of a lovely tasting but still
frozen in the middle, gateaux and we all laughed, danced and drank our way
through the day. It has certainly been a Christmas to remember.
Soooo, with that behind us, the sun is still shining (in fact Arnold is
out sitting in the sun right this minute), and we have new year to look
forward to. We understand that the campsite is putting on a new year BBQ
on 29th December (?????) and also fireworks and a bit of a
"do" on new year’s eve. We plan on having a few drinks with
friends some time before then, hopefully having an early meal at the
Chinese restaurant again (to see what goodies will be given out for New
Year) and then toddling up to the "do" and fireworks here on
site. There is another BBQ being planned for new year’s day and after
all of those celebrations an every day effort at the gymnasium will
certainly be in order.
For those of you who remember our ordeals from last Christmas/New Year
we can honestly say that this one has been a squillion times better!!!
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and safe new year and we will let you
know how our Spanish new year parties develop.
PS We nearly won the quiz night the other night. Equal first but we
didn’t realise that you had to shout out the answer for the tie-breaker
– we wrote ours down (‘cos it had been a writing down quiz up until
then). Oh well, better luck next time!
Love to all
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 10:39 PM
Subject: A noisy good time
9/1/02
Dear All
Thanks to all those who have sent us Christmas and New Year
greetings. To those who sent electronic cards, sorry, they have not
been opened. All too hard and too expensive when they download on the
mobile phone - also too prone to viruses. Our Norton AntiVirus has
been working overtime and we have been using the internet cafe a lot and so
far we are still "clean".
We hope you all had a safe and happy new year celebration as
we did and that 2002 will be a great one for all.
As mentioned in the last letter, we were looking forward to a
BBQ on 29/12 and an unknown event for new year's eve. The BBQ was held
in brilliant sunshine with the whole campsite staff "pitching" in
to help (pardon the pun - just can't help it). It was BYO tables,
chairs, knives, forks, plates and glasses but everything else was supplied
by the site and the flow of food and wine did not stop. It was
amazing. Large plastic jugs were constantly filled with red
wine/sangria and the flow of meat, salad and bread was a real "loaves
and fishes" event. Needless to say that a good time was had by
all. The party really started to get interesting when the gym staff
got everyone up and dancing (about 4-5 hours into the event) and there were
quite a few who were not too steady on their feet. Much to our
amusement we were asked to help some people move their caravan and set up an
awning etc just as it was getting dark. When eventually I returned to
our truck (after laboriously feeding caravan curtains through little tiny
sliding things that looked even tinier after just a little wine) it was full
of people still in the party mood. 29th December BBQ - resounding
success!
We managed to book into our Chinese restaurant early on New
Year's eve. It was packed and they were turning people away.
Unfortunately we had to leave too early to experience what might have been
there but those who had booked early and were in for the long haul looked
set to have fun. We returned to the campsite, and eventually went up
to the bar. Everything there was a little lack lustre and we sort of
thought that it was going to be a bit of a "dud" night.
Our group of about 10 were quite prepared to have a quiet
evening together, along with the few others in the bar when at about 11pm
people started to flock in. Our resident DJ, Richard (an absolute
relic from the 60's - long hair, leathers, bandana and all - managed bands
up until recently), literally rocked up, the music became tripple forte and
management arrived with the same party packs as we had on Christmas Day.
Result - instant party!
Along with the party packs came a small bag of
grapes. Have yet to determine the origin of this tradition but
apparently grapes are eaten (not only consumed in liquid form) at midnight.
The fireworks display was an act of Spanish bravery!
Several of the bar staff held sky rockets in their bare hands, lit them and
let them go at the "appropriate" times. The lighting of
jumping jacks at the same time provided little safety, plenty of noise and a
lot of smoke on which we all choked for about 20 minutes. Good news is
that no one got hurt and it was a talking point for quite a while.
Lots of dancing, lots of fun and a very good new year's eve was spent by
those who could hang out til late when the Spaniards really get going.
Next morning, bright and early, off we went to another BBQ.
Oh what party animals we have become! Our usual group was there and by
Wednesday evening's Quiz Night we all looking a little worse for wear.
Again we came second in the Quiz and just to liven things up for this week,
Arnold and I volunteered to run the quiz! Easy really - provided you
don't complicate matters by deciding that it is time that the whole camp,
not just the Brits, should get in on the act. Most of the others here
are German, or speak German so we have now printed out posters in English
and German (thanks to our newly acquired German friend who lives in Norway
and has almost forgotten all his German) and the questions will be called in
both English and German.
And I thought that running a conference could be tricky
sometimes! Wow! Politics here are something else and we
hope that it will be successful - keep you guessing until next week or so!
It will either be a success or else it will fail completely because the
German people are a little unsure about attending a weekly event that has,
up until now, been almost exclusively British and, sadly, some of the Brits
here do not like Germans and will not come! Oh boy! We can but
try.
We have now been here just over 5 weeks and with all that has
been happening we haven't even thought about getting a car and doing some
local sightseeing. I guess now that the silly season is all but over
(it is actually Spanish Christmas day today 6th January - Navidad) so it is
all back to business tomorrow and for us - back to the gym - again.
Not bad actually, averaging 5 days a week!!!
Til next time. Wish us luck.
Mary & Brian - if you are still in Benidorm send us an
email we might try to catch up with you.
Martin & Gill - we will be in London in early March.
Where will you be?
Alastair and Margaret D - thanks for letting us know about
Lloyd.
Oded & Lea - sorry, can't find your hotmail address.
Have sent this home instead. Have a good trip.
Mary C - will send you an email soon.
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 3:34 AM
Subject: Down but not out!
Note to Deb Walsh - I have sent this to all of the Aussies -
hope you enjoyed your holiday!
Dear All
It has been a while since we last wrote. The trouble
has not been lack of desire, but well, lack of desire. The Costa
Blanca has been hit hard by the local flu virus and almost our whole
campsite has been reeling with the sound of sneezing, sniffing, coughing and
other various unpleasant noises associated with the flu - we have not
escaped! The inability to lift one's head from the pillow is how it
gets you at the lowest point and we are now both well over that part of the
bug. Enough said. We are on the mend and the sun is shining and
has been for weeks and if you are going to be sick, it may as well be in the
warmth of the Spanish sun as anywhere else!
At last report we were about to run a multi-national quiz
night with the questions in English and German(quizabend ein die fragen
werden in English und Deutsche von Australiern prasentiert) . Against
the odds we did wonderfully well. Jurgen, our Norwegian/German friend
did a sterling job in rounding up the German people and with the Brits who
usually come plus those who just came to see if it would work, the place was
packed, more tables had to be brought in and, had their been a fire - well,
there wasn't! Seriously though, it was a great night and it inspired
the people who ran the next quiz to do the same, with a different
interpreter. A lot of goodwill was created and, when Arnold was seen
talking to Jurgen today, a German lady came to ask if we were organising
another quiz night. Next week some French Canadians are going to do it
(Giles speaks French, English and German so I guess he won't need much help)
and Jurgen has already started to make up a list of questions that we are to
help him with. We will only be here four more weeks so I suppose we
will get in at least one more quiz. It has been a fun way to get to
know people.
One of the questions we asked was about the Maori war dance
done by the NZ All Blacks and when you stand up in front of a hundred odd
people and do it, the ice breaks rather rapidly. We got the whole
audience involved with various questions and as the night wore on, the
alcohol levels rose and people were more inclined to try to do a Haka (sorry
Mary C have forgotten the spelling). There was a need for tie-break
questions and the whole crowd counted down the time while the teams failed
to break their "tie". It was great.
As for the rest of our time (I think is about 3 weeks since
we wrote), not a lot has been happening. Sickness for a week, gym 4-5
times per week, soaking up the sun and reading have filled the time.
We have only just now hired a car and plan to go to an old Moorish town
called Guardalest tomorrow, maybe do some clothes shopping in Benidorm
and/or Alicante (as they are a lot cheaper than in the UK) and then go to
the mountains for a couple of days.
The geography here is strange. Where the camp is
situated is really not very pleasant. It is flat and uninteresting
country but only about 20km away the mountains rise up out of the flatness
and, against a stark blue sky they are striking.
Not a lot more to tell. With only four more weeks until
we are back on the road again - and back into the cold, we are enjoying the
wonderful weather here and will catch up with you all again in a week or
two.
Bye for now
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 2:58 AM
Subject: Bingo, Carnival and only 2 weeks more sunshine
Dear All
Well, I just can't help it - I won at bingo again.
Fortunately it was not the 6' vase of flowers nor was it the metre high
candle stick - three bottles of wine were nicely presented in a pack and
they definitely had my name on them! What a pity there will only
be one more bingo before we leave here!
But seriously folks, don't fear for an addiction here.
It breaks up the week and affords a bit of entertainment (Sarah &
Michael you will laugh about the bar situation. "Elvis" is back
(the short stocky guy with winklepicker shoes and the very pregnant wife)
and there were olives on the table and a bar stocked full).
We held another quiz night last week and probably made
ourselves most unpopular with management. The bar (where quizzes,
bingo etc are held) had been closed for several days but we had been
promised that it would be open for our quiz night. Arnold and Jurgen
(our German interpreter friend) kept checking that all would be well
and...to cut a very long, harrowing story short, at 7.45pm, with 50 people
waiting outside in the cold, a key could not be found to open the room.
It takes a lot to anger Arnold but, with smoke coming from his ears, an
attack on the front office was in order. Miraculously a key appeared
and the, by then 60 strong, crowd cheered as they were allowed into the
dark room. Took another 5 minutes for the guy with the key to find
enough lights to make a going concern. When, at 8.30 instead of an
8pm start they actually rolled in a keg of beer, cheers lifted the
rafters. By this stage, however, everyone had gone back to their
vans and brought their own.
We were 3/4 way through the quiz when the beer was finally
ready to drink and a couple of very surly barmen had no change to give
anyone. It was certainly a night to remember. The quiz was
well supported and we could not have got another table into the room if we
tried. A good night was had by all and a 3/4 full keg of beer was
left in the bar. It has been an ongoing saga of failed
communications here and most of the residents are getting really cross.
There have been a couple of events in the bar since
"Elvis" came back and I think he will slowly win back his
clientele but there will be "bloody" consequences if it falls in
a hole again. We went to a "Carnival" there on Saturday
night (masks and costumes) and a lot of effort had been made with
decorations etc and we had a good time dancing to live music. The
night suffered from lack of attendance because of the unreliability of
recent times. This coming week's quiz has been promised a full
and functioning bar and Valentine's Day there is supposed to be a
"show" on up there. We will go to see what happens.
The weather is consistently wonderful - 20-25 degrees by day and it is
actually more pleasant to sit in the shade than the direct sun. We
are going to the gym daily. I am doing 1.5 hours each day there
and the weight is falling off (thankfully - the French pastries of a
few months ago had left their mark). I have muscles where I forgot
I even had places. Arnold is working hard on the cardiovascular
stuff and pumping just a little iron. My gym addiction is back and
it will be hard to give it up to go back to cold old London on 25 Feb.
Still, Spain doesn't have the West End theatres.
This will probably be our last missive from Spain so, attached, you will
find a couple of pictures from our time here. Great when you can
use an internet cafe to send them. As you can see, a good time was
had by all. The Funky Monkey is a bit like the Funky chicken but
with monkey noises. Santa brought us all a bottle of Spanish
liquore. Sarah and I got dressed up for Christmas (The Girls).
By the time the BBQ pictures were taken Colin and Arnold were ticking
quite well. Our Pool is the outdoor one not the one in which we
swim lengths to try to get fit! The mountains about 2 hours drive
from here are great. A picture this size can't show the
majesty of them.
We will be in London for 3 weeks, Ireland for about 5 weeks and then to
Egypt. Will finalise our plans a bit more in London.
We are going to get a car again tomorrow and do a bit more sightseeing
before we spend next week cleaning up ready to leave.
I know we have broken our rule about sending photos but we have access
at the moment to a landline. We won't have easy access to an internet
cafe in London (and it is also very expensive there) so, as much as we
would love to receive your photographs - please don't send any because
we will be back to emailing with the mobile phone. Ta.
Bye for now. Please keep in touch.
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 8:30 AM
Subject: 9 - 10 We did it again!
Dear All
As the Subject line says - 9-10 we did it again. For
the second time we have crossed the Bay of Biscay in a Force 9-10 gale, this
time with cross winds that made us change direction and had us rocking and
rolling all night. The good thing about it was that we were doing it
on 4 engines instead of 3 as we did last time and we were only 2 hours
late instead of 8 hours late. It was not raining when we landed at
Portsmouth and we made it up to London in short time and here we are -
sitting in the nicely heated van watching the hail fall all around us!
One of the first things we say as we came into Crystal Palace
Caravan park was our old friend the fox that I was able to hand feed last
time we were here. Haven't seen her close up yet but over the
next three weeks will try to re-establish contact with her.
Backtracking for a moment, our last couple of weeks in Spain
were spent in the gym, in the bar and travelling around in a hire car.
We went to a place called the "Guns of Mazzaron".
Along the coast, south east of Cartagena is a fort, built in 1925, which is
invisible from the ocean because it is built into the back of a mountain.
Until recently it has been a military "No Entry" zone but,
despite the No Entry signs still being there, a few tourists are now
starting to find the place. The fort is now in disrepair but four of
the huge guns are still there. Their barrels are about 15m long and
they are very impressive. Not a lot is known about this place but
apparently the guns did blow one ship out of the water at some stage.
In the watch towers are black outlines of various ships, listed under their
countries. There is no indication whether these were targets to hit or
miss - the outlines were of English, American and French ships. The
mountain scenery along the way to this place is stunning and the cliffs are
a vertical drop to the ocean. The fort has been constructed with local
stone, blends into the mountains and has been made with an excess of
attention to detail. What were the living quarters look like a fancy
military club on the outside (although gutted now) and the watch towers are
turreted. All in all a very impressive place to go.
Although I have been bad-mouthing paella on the odd occasion, we were
lucky enough to have a good one before we left. No, I can't give you
the name of the restaurant because it is exclusive and for invited guests
only. Sandra and Tony (welcome aboard guys), a couple we met further
north in Spain and met up with again in Guardamar, invited us over to
enjoy their version of it - it was great. Lots of fresh seafood and
just the right amount of spice - thanks again for a great afternoon in the
sun with just a little sangria to complete the afternoon.
We went to a restaurant called "The Ship", in
Torrevieja. This place is run by Brits and their specialty is
"Leg of Lamb with all the Trimmings". You have to book ahead
and the booking is for a minimum of four people and at the appointed hour
out comes a huge leg of lamb with a squillion roast potatoes, peas, carrots,
cabbage, gravy and mint sauce. Now, to those who have access to a good
roast lamb every now and then this might not sound too exciting - but when
you haven't had roast lamb for years, you can carve it yourself (not get it
from a pub where it has been sitting in water for hours) and have as much as
you like, don't have to do the dishes afterwards - it was absolute heaven.
Val and Colin, with whom we went are just about on commission from the
restaurant they go there so often. Every time they tell people about
it they end up going with them. I must admit, once a week for a few
weeks wouldn't have been bad. Also - very inexpensive (particularly
having just priced lamb here in Sainsburys!). Sandra and Tony - hope
that you a) found the place and b) enjoyed it.
Another eating time was had when we were supposed to go to a
Food and Wine Festival along with a Boat show with Pam and Michael (Michael
is a retired airline pilot who, at one time, was chief pilot for the King of
Jordon - interesting guy). They had been misinformed of the date of
the Festival and so we just had to go and sit in the sun on the promenade
overlooking the ocean in Torrevieja. Seafood is very good in Spain
and, once more, we had our fill. Good job fish is good for you!
We had a small farewell party before we left Marjal and it
was a bit sad really. We built up some good friendships with people
around us in a short time and it is sad to think that we may never see these
people again. Michael and Sarah were not able to join us as they
had already gone back to the UK with a view to going to Aus and living
there. These two we may just see again. Jurgen and Aud, our
Norwegian friends who helped with the German translation for our quiz
nights, Sean, the mad Irishman and his long suffering wife, Irene and
several others we met at the gym or just floating around the camp.
Gill and Tommy who organised Christmas for us came over and gave us some
Spanish wine to remember them by, Pam and Michael gave us a bottle of their
favourite Spanish wine, Sandra and Tony invited us for a Spanish lunch (as
previously mentioned). All of these things and more are the
memories that make up the privileged life we have had for the last 3 years.
I guess that our return to London is bringing our trip closer and
closer to an end and it is easy to get sentimental - but these are all
people we will never forget because of the very strange circumstances of
living within such close proximity.
Will send another email just before we leave to go to Ireland
and then, once in Ireland, we will start sending you all the blarney of the
Irish, having consumed copious quantities of Guinness (don't worry Mum, I am
not as alcoholic as I sound!). Keep in touch - will be back home in
Aus late June.
Until next time -
Thanks for the Email Sue G. Glad to
hear that all is going well and that your pergola is still standing.
Is the BBQ still working?
Carol K - well, 2nd email in three years.
Seriously - great to hear from you. See you soon.
Alison & Dave - haven't heard for
a while - all is well I hope.
Sarah R - I won't be back at the gym for 4
months now - withdrawal fat will begin to be evident soon I am afraid!!!
Will be one of the first addictions I plan to re-instate when back in Aus.
Shan't tell you what the others might be!
Love
Deb & Arnold
PS. Deb has expunged from her memory the trauma of the
last day in Marjal Camping! Final, final goodbyes were said and we got
into the van to make an early start. Turn the key...that's funny, the glow
plug light didn't glow. Turn the key again....nothing. By this time half a
dozen people were around offering suggestions. A Landrover was produced and
jump starting attempted but to no avail. The telephone number of an English
mechanic came from someone and after a lot of pleading he came. Voltmeter
tests confirmed that the battery had crashed. More panic (we had to be at
the port in 2 days or loose a lot of non refundable ferry cost)! The
mechanic went off and found an appropriate battery which has since worked
perfectly. We set off 3 hours later. very relieved. We made it to our
overnight stop well before nightfall
Arnold
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