RSS
Los Alcazares: So excited to be here
Posted by daveb on November 16th, 2007
We’ve arrived at our new home in Spain! My family’s luxury apartment in Los Alcazares on the Mar Menor, Costa Calida! Compared to Yoko, it is luxurious indeed: It’s got a two bedrooms (one with a double bed, the other with two singles), two bathrooms (both a bathroom and a shower room), a kitchen with a full size sink in which to wash-up, a washing machine, a dining table, two toilets and… *toot-de-la-toot* two full-size sofas!
You may have read all of that and now be wondering, “so what?”. Believe me, had you had just spent the last three months of your life–non-stop–in a VW camper van without any of the above, you’d likely be excited too!
We arrived early evening and, after throwing our backpacks into the apartment, went for a relaxing stroll along the beach promenade (which is only five minutes away).
This is our home for the next three months and, oh boy, are we excited to be here.
Filed under Spain • Click here to comment, it makes us happy!
Italians drink too much coffee
Posted by Squiffy on November 15th, 2007
(Here’s an entry that we forgot to post in Italy!)
It’s impossible to get a ‘normal’ coffee in Italy. Ask for ‘coffee’ and you get espresso. Ask for ‘coffee with milk’ and you get an espresso with a dash of milk. Requesting a ‘latte’ gets you a glass of hot milk with no coffee. The closest we got to a mug sized coffee was buy ordering a cappuccino.
After a few weeks in Italy, I now have a theory on why the Italians are such apparently fiery people, arguing loudly in the street and driving like maniacs: They are all high on caffeine because they drink way too much coffee. And strong, black coffee at that. Don’t believe me? The photos explain all you need to know.
Filed under Italy, Thoughts • 2 comments »
Guardamar: Home from home?
Posted by daveb on November 14th, 2007
We met Mark and Sal at the camp site in Barcelona (well, actually quite a way outside). They, like us, were pretty unhappy with the high price and poor facilities that faced us there. They mentioned that there was a great camp site along our route south that we should try out; so we did.
The Marjal camp site is indeed in a different class to most, and certainly plays host to different sort of camper from those with whom we’ve thus far rubbed shoulders. For example, we’ve been bezzing around staying a night or two at whichever site is closest to the attraction that we want to see. Here, the site is the attraction and the campers come for many months at a time. Here, it’s a bit like Britain without the houses and the rain.
Everyone knows everyone here, and there is quite a community feel to it all. People run book swap stalls and organised coach-trips to local towns. The camp site mini-market sold all things British, in fact we even picked-up some Cheddar cheese (forgive us, dear reader, it’s been three months of pretending that Emmental is the Real McCoy). The camp site even has Wifi internet available!
Please don’t misunderstand me here or read something into this that not here: I’m not saying that our way of camping is any better, or worse for that matter. Just different.
We got chatting to quite a few residents here, all of whom we found most friendly and excited to hear about our trip. Many were well travelled themselves, although were horrified at the thought of two people living in a Bus the size of ours for any length of time!
Being me, I had to take apart the financials of it all apart and I have to tell you that these people are not dumb. A five month stay here will cost you about €300/month and the cost of food both in and out is cheaper than in Blighty too. We’re told that the sun stays out here much longer. Rather than work until late retirement, to get the money to buy a flat/villa in Spain, it appears that a lot of these people have retired earlier than otherwise possible (say, at 50) and bought a motorhome to achieve more-or-less the same lifestyle ten years earlier.
Filed under Spain • 5 comments »
The long drive south
Posted by daveb on November 13th, 2007
After saying our goodbyes to Barcelona, which I have always said is my favourite European city, we began our long drive south towards the Mar Menor, where a luxury apartment in Los Alcazares is eagerly awaiting our arrival.
We took the coast road to Valencia, as I’ve driven this stretch by motorway before and wanted a different view. It turns out that Spain is a big country and this road went on for ages. There were a few bits and bobs to see along the way: The Cava wine route, for instance. However, if you’re thinking of doing this journey in a day, take my advice and drive the fast roads instead. At the end of the day, we were both really tired and spent the night parked around the back of a petrol station.
The next day, we took the motorway and made much better progress towards our target.
Filed under Spain • Click here to comment, it makes us happy!
Greenwood Family’s Big Trip – 27th – 30th October – Barcelona
Posted by daveb on November 12th, 2007
Greenwood Family’s Big Trip – 27th – 30th October – Barcelona
When we get back to the van Mark is talking to an English guy who is going round Europe the opposite way in a VW camper with his partner. He gives us some great tips for places to stay in Italy and we swap blog details, although as he works in IT his is a lot more swanky than ours!
Horray! We’ve been blogged by Mark and Sal: These folks are touring tour and I reckon that they’re really brave — they’re teaching their two kids in the back of their motorhome as they go! Good luck to you both, stay in touch.
Filed under Spain • 1 comment »
The Mediterranean is quite large, actually
Posted by daveb on November 12th, 2007
We had planned to drive like nutters from the Amalfi Coast to a known-good (i.e. clean) camp site so that we could freshen-up and do our great lump of pent-up clothes washing. Oh, and do some food-shopping too, as we’ve only got Cup of Soups left. The next day, we would get the nineteen hour ferry to Barcelona and roll off the other side looking and smelling fresh, ready for business.
What actually happened is that we drove like double-nutters from the Amalfi Coast and got to Rome a couple of hours before schedule — and crucially before that night’s ferry departed. Given all that we needed to get done before continuing to Spain, The Squifter somewhat foolishly suggested that it might be possible to get onto the ferry that night, postponing our chores further. With the proverbial red-rag billowing in front of me, I drove even harder (well done Yoko) and got us to the port about an hour before the scheduled departure time. After some anxious moments in the queue–the bloke in front of us took ages to get sorted and we had no clue when the embarkment gate was due to shut–we managed to procure the two cheapest tickets possible (i.e. no cabin).
I had so been looking forward to spending the next nineteen hours of my life on my laptop, learning how to program Ruby, writing e-mails and crafting insightful blog entries. Instead, the lullaby rocking of the vessel sent me straight to sleep in my armchair for nearly the full allowance.
Filed under Italy, Spain • 1 comment »
Barcelona: How did we get here?
Posted by daveb on November 12th, 2007
At three o’clock the next day, the ferry was doing an impressive reverse park into its slot and SQ & I were both feeling a little bit overwhelmed:
“How did we get here?”
Yesterday morning, we were on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. Today we’re in Spain, with a near-empty fuel tank, a impressively large pile of dirty laundry, no food, and I, for one, cannot remember when I last changed my socks. (I was going to write ‘underwear’ here, but thought I’d save you the details. Oops. Sorry.)
As we drove off the ferry, we realised that we hadn’t got a map of Spain, let alone a map of Barcelona and had no clue whether there was a camp site here either! We pulled over to the side of the road so that I could fire up the laptop and copy the country’s map-files to our otherwise near-useless SatNav system.
All of a sudden, “Hola!”, came a waving hand and three beaming faces through our window, “can we do an interview now?”
Isabel, Alex and Javier, three Columbian reporters from a local independent news Website were pointing their video camera at me and waggling a Dictaphone under Squiffy’s nose.
“Yes sure, come on in”, I said. Then, micro-horror struck me as I remembered that a) our Bus was a complete tip–outstanding washing-up in a bowl on the floor next to an overflowing bin-bag–and b) I was still looking forward to that shower and to wash my clothes.
Thankfully, most of the interview was conducted by a completely-bemused Squiffy, who makes much better camera-candy than I. If we do get written-up, I’ll post the link here when I get it as, if nothing more, it’ll be a laugh to see what kind of interview we give after a cabin-less nineteen hour ferry journey!
Filed under Spain • Click here to comment, it makes us happy!
Change of Route: Viva Espana!
Posted by daveb on November 10th, 2007
From our planned route map, you’ll know that we were planning to drive to the foot of Italy and then ferry-across to Sicily, then Sardinia, before landing on the French mainland in Marseilles to begin our long drive to south-east Spain. We’ve got to get to Spain by mid-November as we’ve already paid for flights to take us to London, then Cork, for a close-friend’s Stag-Do and Wedding — I’m his best man, so I can hardly gracefully bow-out of the events!
After spending some time researching the ferry timetables and costs, we’ve decided to postpone our trip to Sicily and Sardinia. The ferry costs are “not economically viable”, the timetables are sparton (the Sardinian ferry is only once a week) and the weather is becoming less predictable around here. Plus, after two months of camping, this van is not getting any bigger and I’m rather looking forward to getting up from a sofa without concussing myself on a low ceiling. Rather than rush through these no-doubt excellent places and “soldier on, because it’s what we said we would do”, we’ve decided to change our route which will allow us to get to Spain ahead of time and slow-down for a few weeks (and make time for me to craft the Big Speech).
So here is the new plan: From the Amalfi coast, drive like a nutter to known-good campsite in Rome to do clothes-washing, food-shopping and self-cleansing. The next day, drive a hour north to Civitavecchia, “the port of Rome”–as in “London Luton airport”–and sleep through a nineteen-hour ferry ride to Barcelona! Whilst there, spend a couple of days seeing the big sites and then drive like a nutter to Los Alcazares on the Mar Menor where a luxury apartment is waiting for our bottoms to grace its most comfortable sofas.
Filed under Info • Click here to comment, it makes us happy!
Unscrupulous merchants or honest mistakes?
Posted by daveb on November 9th, 2007
We stopped on the Amalfi coast for a spot of lunch. The setting was so nice that we decided to push-the-boat-out and go for a main course at a restaurant (a real treat for us, nowadays). Two fair pastas, two waters, two coffees and–infuriatingly–two cover charges later; the bill came to a hefty €30 (the pasta dishes were €8 each, so I’ll leave you to work out the rest). I handed over my Amex and watched the super-friendly waiter punch-in €50 to his chip-and-pin machine. Rather than let me enter my pin (at which point the amount charged would have been displayed), he elected to print a counterfoil for my signature. Fifty euros? Honest mistake, I thought. That was until he subtly tore-off the paper with the amount hidden under his thumb and forefinger. He laid-down the slip and handed me a pen to sign, still “helpfully” holding it down with his thumb covering the number. I told him that the bill was €30 and that he had typed €50. After an initial surprised and then disagreeable look, he rolled-out a well rehearsed apology and gave me €20 cash in return for my signature (which I very carefully checked was not a fake; the cash, not my signature!).
On walking out of the restaurant, we passed a group of Americans who were on their way in for a spot of lunch. I told them, that in my opinion, the food was fair but for them to take care with the ‘check’. Without further coaching, they decided to eat elsewhere.
The next day, we bought a few rolls and some ham in a delicatessen. When the deli-man rang up the price on his weighing machine, we questioned him on it as five-odd euros seemed a lot for what we were getting. He reassured us that it was correct, so we paid up and went off to make our lunch. Upon opening the packet, we noticed that the price-sticker was actually itemised and, true enough, it contained two and a half euros of stuff we hadn’t bought. After lunch, I went back and called him on it. This time he agreed and refunded the extra with an apology. Maybe this was a genuine mistake? I can’t help thinking that, as this guy works here, he knows how much a couple of slices of ham and a few rolls cost; yet initially when questioned, he reassured us that the amount–double the actual cost–was perfectly reasonable…
It’s difficult to know what to advise you to protect against scams like these: On the one hand I want to tell you to pay for everything with cash (thus avoiding the first scam), but then again credit card companies offer protection against unscrupulous merchants in certain cases too, and it’s probably going to be easier to get your credit card refunded than to reclaim cash from a vendor who doesn’t want to pay. Always, always check your bill.
Filed under Italy, Thoughts • Click here to comment, it makes us happy!
Amalfi Coast: The best/worst Italian driving
Posted by daveb on November 8th, 2007
We talked to three people about seeing the Amalfi Coast and they all said the same thing:
“Don’t drive it yourself!”
Seriously, it’s not as bad as the Internet/SQ’s Mum/My Mum makes out. True, the road is really bendy and, true, it does get too narrow for two vehicles to pass each other in many places. However, the barriers on the cliff side are adequate (certainly more adequate than those in some of the American national parks that I’ve driven in a much bigger Winnebago-style motorhome) and the wall-side wasn’t that sticky-outy either.
In all honesty, there are only two things that spice-up the beautiful coastal drive:
Firstly, there’s the other road users. Italian drivers/riders are either a) really, really skilled as they put themselves and their vehicles into positions which would set the average British driver’s heart racing, if only slightly, or b) really, really bad drivers with a flagrant disregard for everyone’s health and wellbeing, including their own. Judging by the amount of dinks and dents–and often missing body panels–on most of the local cars, I’d call the latter. Hilariously, the law on this road is to “give way to overtaking vehicles” which means that if a speeding local on the wrong side of the road fast-approaching a cliff-hanging, hairpin bend twitches his nose in front of yours then you have to brake to let him in before the local coming towards you from the other direction of the blind corner has to fork-out for a new bumper!
Secondly, and way more of a white knuckle experience, the tourist coaches (usually full of petrified Americana) must take the racing-line to even stand a chance of getting round bend in one piece. If you meet one head-on in the bend, understand that it’s not them that is going to reverse until a suitable passing-spot is located. I was lucky not to meet any in a really tricky spot, whereas Squiffy met one early on in her drive, just as we entered a dark tunnel. She stamped on the brake so hard, that I must have looked like a bottled-Bartlett, face pressed up against the glass. The bus driver was so impressed with her reversing that he wound down his window and congratulated her, to a backdrop of the applauding coach party. Well done Chicken!
SQ adds: Thanks Dave and some good driving on your part too, although I have to note that for me, contrary to what I expected, it was much scarier being the passenger than the driver! We should mention too that we took a tactical decision to drive Amalfi to Sorrento rather than the other direction, to ensure we were furtherest from the sea/sheer drop side of the road :o)
Filed under Italy • 2 comments »