Thou Shall Hev a Fishy When The Boat Comes In.

We had a big sightseeing day yesterday.

First stop was the hilltop village of Mojacar Pueblo, then a few more ks inland to Bedar.

Bedar is a lovely little hilltop village frequented by the artistic fraternity.

We then drove up and over the mountain stopping at a remote bar for a swift one. 

In the late afternoon we headed back to the coast.  

Our destination was Garrucha which is a reasonably large town about 6ks from Mojacar. 

Every morning I hear the boats leaving the port and heading down the coast for a days fishing.

They head back into port about 17.30   six boats were out yesterday, they all return to port line astern.

The fish are quickly unloaded. 

Im no fisherman so I dont know what all the different types were. They also had a lot of prawns and squid onboard. 

The fishmarket is right next to the dock, the fish are put straight onto a conveyor belt in baskets, the people in the stands bid for each basket, as the fish come off the end of the conveyor belt they are covered in ice and loaded into the back of their respective delivery vans. 

Its great you can just wander around and watch it all happen. 

By the time it was all over we were getting peckish.

We headed back to Mojacar walked the dogs then headed down the road for a curry.

Rather than being sensible and coming home after the curry we went for a quick drink.....next thing it was 01.30 in the morning!!

It was a most enjoyable day, having my mate Matt here from Oz for the last couple of weeks has certainly helped me take my mind off of Elaines passing, I do still think about her constantly and am always running through the what ifs etc.

It is getting easier, it will be interesting on how I feel once Matt heads off back to Oz tomorrow.      

On The Road Again

Bombo has forgiven Matt for Getting his hand in the way of his teeth.

Last night Matt took me for a Bromance dinner, well it was his birthday.

Today we hit the road again and headed up to my favourite beach, La Carolina.

We are certainly getting some looks, two good looking buff men travelling together in a motorhome accompanied by two little fluffy white dogs! 

Here I am posing in my pink salmon shorts.

We then did a bit of half naked mountaineering. 

Matt leading the way.

Once back at base we went skyclad swimming!

There are now a lot of motorhomes arriving on the beaches of Andalusia as winter starts to bite in Northern Europe. 

Tonight we have Swedish, German, Czech, French and Spanish neighbours. 

When Bombo Attacks!!

Cadiz was a disaster, not only was the weather atrocious and the bars not dog friendly, we also managed to park up for the night  in probably the noisiest ever motorhome parking spot!!

We didn't realise that we were very close to a nightclub, it kicked off about 02.00 and went on until 07.00. The music was absolute crap, all doof doof. We did manage to get some sleep but were woken by the crowd going home at 07.00  as lovely as the Spanish are, well some of them, they are without doubt the noisiest bastards in the world, add a few drinks and its mayhem!! 

It was also blowing an absolute gale, and pouring with rain, we checked the weather at our next destination (Seville) and it was much of the same. We then checked the weather back in Mojacar.....sunny and 27 degrees, it was a no brainer, lets head home.

It was a nice six hour drive passing through Granada. 

As we got closer to the Sierra Nevada mountains the weather changed for the better.

We arrived home in the late afternoon, we left all the gear in the motorhome as we will go away again soon, as in tomorrow. 

We jumped in the little Citroen to go down to watch a band, bugger flat battery, I have a powerpack so we jumped it and away we went.

It was a good night, after watching the band for a while we headed off to Titos to watch another band, we finally finished up the night in the local chinky.

The car once again needed jumpstarting.

This morning we decided to go and buy a new battery after walking the dogs, this when the horrific attack happened!!

When Bombo is in the car or the van he becomes incredibly defensive of it, whilst I connected the jumper leads to the battery Matt opened the door to start the car, as he leaned in Bombo attacked him and tore his arm to shreds......well he bit him!!  There was a smidgen of blood, I was incredibly concerned but couldnt stop laughing.

Meanwhile a film is underway...

We now have a new battery and all is well.

The rest of the day we chilled, its Matt's birthday today so we went to the beach in the arvo then we went to Maui bar for  cocktails on the beach, tonight we are going out for a romantic dinner......nothing wrong with a bit of Bromance!

Drowning in Cadiz

It was a pleasant day when we left Gibraltar, the marina was buzzing with yachties getting ready for a race.

Our destination was Cadiz as it was only about an hour and a half hours drive away.

As we neared Cadiz it started raining, by the time we reached our parking spot on the edge of the old part of Cadiz it was absolutely bucketing down with a massive storm going on.

Now why didnt I bring any wet weather gear whatsoever, or anything more than shorts and t shirts?

We sat in the van and had a few beers whilst checking the radar for a clear spell, it looked like we were going to get a window at about 16.30. Right on the dot it stopped raining so off we went with the doggies in tow.

It was only a short walk into the centre and it looked a fascinating place.

The rain had kept all the locals and tourists indoors.

About 20 mins after we set off the rain was back with a vengeance. We were getting soaked so it was time to head into a bar, the first one was OK as I dont think they spotted the dogs under the table.

We decided to head back to base stopping at a couple of Spanish bars on the way, no chance Cadiz isnt dog friendly, we were turned away from three bars and arrived back at the van very very wet and cold.

The poor boys were shivering so I turned the heating on and dried them off.

We decided to stay in for the night as its still belting down with rain.

Our plan for tomorrow was to head towards Seville, but the weather is looking awful so we may have to reconsider.

The rain in Spain doesn't always fall on the plain! 

A Most Excellent Adventure

After yet another full english in the van, this time cooked by Mattie we headed off to the rock leaving the dogs in the van. I had checked the weather and it was going to be an overcast day , which was good for leaving the doggies behind.

We wandered through the streets, deliberately not going in any shops!

We found the Trafalgar graveyard which is the final resting place of some of the casualties of the Battle of Trafalgar.

For some strange reason we decided to walk to the top of the rock!!

The views going up were stunning. 

The moorish castle, not moorish as I want some more but built by the moops moors in 1500s 

We walked higher to the WW2 tunnels but the tours were all fully booked, so further up the rock we went.  

Mattie having a rest. 

The views were superb, it would have been even better on a sunny clear day but I dont think I would have made it if it was hot! 

Next stop was the Great Siege Tunnels, we spent about an hour walking through them. 

After that we headed for the summit, I would have to say its the hardest thing I have done in years.

I wasn't out of breath but my legs started to turn to jelly.

We met a lot of the monkeys on the way up and had to squeeze past some of them on the narrow steps.

It is a fantastic view once you get to the top. 

It was still quite misty so we couldn't see Morocco. 

After resting up the top for a while we caught the cable car down.

Once at the bottom we stopped at the Lord Nelson pub for a couple of pints and dinner.

We had a clear run back to the motorhome, back across the runway. 

We are moored up in the marina, these are our neighbours. 

We will head off tomorrow, just not sure where yet!

Gibraltar.

We were up at a reasonable hour this morning, after the full English in the van we went for a swim in the med, we were only parked up a few feet from the sea.

After a tub under one of the beach showers we hit the road to Gibraltar.

We only stopped once  for fuel so we were in Gibraltar or should I say la Linea by late afternoon.

The motorhome parking area is a few hundred metres from the border crossing, it cost 12 euro a night which I reckon is a bargain.

We took the boys for a walk over to Gib and had to wait behind the barrier whilst a BA plane took off back to London. The road to the rock crosses the active runway so it makes an interesting crossing.

The military band was getting ready to take part in the ceremony of the keys, rather than hang around and wait to watch it  we went for a drink.

Tomorrow we will have a good look around the rock, We are going to leave the boys in the van as they were getting quite tired today, and tomorrow we want to have a good explore.

Off To Gibralter

My best friend from Oz arrived Monday. I have known Matt since 1996 when I gave him a job at the marine workshop that I was running. He is now the head man of the Sydney Ferries maintenance division.

He was coming over to give me  some support since Elaine's death, plus to give himself a break from a very  demanding and stressful job.

We have had a couple of days just chillin, eating and drinking, but today we decided to jump into the motorhome and head off on a road trip.

We decided to head off towards Gibraltar, but by the time we had stocked up the van with food and booze it was 15.00.

We drove down to Cabo De Gata where we parked up on the beach.

There are only three motorhomes here and it is lovely and quiet.

We went for a walk along the deserted beach.

Then it was time to sit in a beachside bar and watch the sun go down

Tomorrow we will head off to Gibraltar.

More Of The Same...

I have had a lovely day today.

It has consisted of walking the dogs on the beach.

Having a swim. 

Reading and just laying in the sun. 

More walking the dogs 

I just love it here. 

I also polished the front of the van and removed all the dead bugs.

A lot of vans are here now, but they are all a nice bunch. 

There is a young French couple opposite me, I feel very sorry for them as they dont seem to be able to afford any clothes and walk around bollocko !! I have a good mind to complain!!  

I went for a drink at the little chiringuito (beach bar) and got talking to a lovely couple from Southport, they are taking their motorhome across to the Canary Islands for the winter.

They are moored up in the next cove, so I walked around there tonight for a chinwag, they told me of a good motorhome parking spot at Gibraltar, so that's the next trip sorted. 

It was pitch black when I left them, I forgot my torch so they lent me one of theirs, otherwise the walk back along the cliff top could have been a bit dodgy.

I will head back to Mojacar tomorrow.

Its been a lovely couple of days it would obviously have been so much nicer to have Elaine with me as this was her favourite spot. Unfortunately that's not going to happen anymore, but it has done me the world of good to get away. 

Taking The Motorhome Out For A Few Days

Life is still good, I still cant put my finger on why all of a sudden I start to feel more optimistic, my theory is that it has finally sunk in that she has gone and I have to carry on without her. Strangely I have just started dreaming about her which never happened at all in the first couple of months since Elaine's death. 

I have been down the beach a few times, the weather this time of the year is superb, bit more about that later!

I have also been going down to the Emerald Isle on a regular basis, having a beer or two and watching the football is very therapeutic, especially watching the England football team....groan! 

The last two Wednesdays I have gone to Scotty's bar where they hold a quiz, I have joined a team of poms and good friends that has now grown to 13 players, because we had so many we were split  into three teams, last night all our three teams came second last on 38 points!! We are a very evenly matched group of dimwits!

As I am pretty much up to date with getting all Elaine's stuff sorted in he house I thought it was about time I went on a road trip.

I took the motorhome to the quiz last night then when that had finished I drove to the Emerald Isle and parked it up opposite on the sea front. I didn't have to far to go after having a few drinks in the pub, just across the road!  

Whilst in the pub I had a late dinner!

Bombo fell asleep at the bar!

The plan was to get up early and get moving, but in the night there was a massive storm, it absolutely bucketed down with mega thunder and lightning...very very frightening me, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro... 

By the time it had finished is was nearly 10.00am, it was the first heavy rain in four months!

I took the dogs for a walk along the normally pristine paseo before I headed off, all the crap had been washed down from the hill across the pathway, the workers wont blow that away with their leaf blowers!

I headed off to my dear Elaine and mine favourite spot, La Carolina beach, it is very popular with the European motorhome crowd, there is a servo just a few ks away where you can dump your waste and fill with water so it is a perfect spot.  Can you just imagine somewhere like this in the UK or Australia for that matter where you can park up for absolutely nothing, no time restrictions, dog friendly, a baker comes around in his van in the morning with fresh bread and cross ants etc.

Its a nice 40 minute drive up the coast, it was still raining lightly when I left so the roads were a bit slippery.

By the time I had moored up at the beach the storm was heading away over Aguilas.

They have built a new stairway down to the beach since we were last here. 

I went for a good walk with the boys along the clifftops, there is also motorhome parking in the next cove. 

Bombo led the way whilst I walked behind with Sammie, who is getting better but I fear he will never be 100% again, but there is no way I want to risk an operation on his spine and have a paralysed dog or worse, I have had enough bad kaka this year to last me a lifetime. 

There is also a beach bar that is still open so I will pop down later and partake in a couple of bevies. 

As I am finishing this up the sun is now out so the solar panel will be soaking up some rays.

Life is good XXX