| 3 March 2002 Body of text from Adam: "We are now in Spain! a place called l'estartit nr Girona. Sun has come out today so we off to beach in a mo. On net tonight so email adamososki@xxxxxxxx!" Update received 24 Mar: The first campsite in Spain was Les Medes in L�Estartit where we stayed 4 days. Things got off to a good start as Adam smashed our top-box into a branch whilst trying to get onto the pitch. He then spent about 3 hours removing it and had to borrow a wheel barrow to dispose of it. There was an indoor pool which was great although Becky didn�t get a chance to try it as Adam went early in the morning and Becky found the bed too comfortable and very spacious on her own!!! We also met and made friends with an English couple called Penny and Roger who spend most of their time either yachting or motorhoming. They gave us lots of advice and help along with some good company. Adam gave his standard �this is why you need a computer�� lecture, which Becky avoided gracefully! We also met a mad Dutch guy called Rini, along with his wife, their friend and 2 dogs. They have also sold up and bought a motorhome but with the intention of buying a property in Spain and starting a business, more of Rini later. From L�Estartit we headed to Barcelona through some of the heaviest rain we�ve ever seen. It was a really miserable drive and in the end we stopped at a campsite near Gava, just south west of Barcelona and right by Barcelona airport. It was huge, about 24 hectares, but everything was closed down as it was out of season. By this time we were both asking ourselves why we were doing this, we were cold, tired, our bedding was wet as the back door had leaked and were quite depressed. To make matters worse we were told we had to camp on a muddy swamp under some trees. We had a look and both decided to leave, this was by far the most expensive campsite so far, and it was dreadful. Adam went to reception to explain but the Spanish don�t like to lose business and told us not to go, they�d show us another pitch. So we followed them right onto the sea front where there were a handful of motorhomes parked up with just a hedge between the pitches and the beach. We decided to stay, and about an hour after we pitched up, we heard a knock at the door. Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and found our friend Rini standing there!!! He had left Les Medes 2 days before us and we didn�t think we�d see him again. He had parked up in the swamp so Adam went with him to help move his van down next to ours. It really changed our mood to have him around and we all talked long into the night. The next day we said our goodbyes (again!) and headed down to Vinaros. We accidently took a coast road through the mountains and ended up spending an hour at 20 mph with a big queue of traffic behind us, needless to say we were both very glad to get back on to the motorway! The campsite at Vinaros was full but they let us stay one night as someone hadn�t yet turned up for their booked pitch! It was a shame we couldn�t stay longer as we really liked it there. Unfortunately whilst we were waiting for the laundry to dry, Adam managed to fall through an exploding plastic garden chair onto the marble floor and really hurt his back and neck. Although what really hurt was that Becky just couldn�t stop laughing. Her first words, eventually, were �stay there while I go and get the camara� (although Becky recalls this otherwise!). Although Adam ached the next morning we had no choice but to move on so we headed a short way down the coast to Peniscola. We stayed on a site called Camping Eden which was great because it was only a 20 minutes walk into the town. There was a beautiful beach and a castle standing right on the peninsula overlooking the town. We did a lot of walking and a bit of cycling over the following 2 days, and also discovered Spanish drinks measures (very big!) - they really don�t do things by halves here. Our one disappointment was that there was a great looking Chinese restaurant next to the campsite but it was closed the whole time we were there. Adam finally shaved his head and beard because of the heat but Becky had to get used to Adam without a beard - it was quite weird feeling like you�re talking to a stranger! From Peniscola we decided to head for Valen�ia, someone had told us of a good site there. When we got to the city we couldn�t find the site and when we asked at a petrol station we found it was a further 75 km down the coast! We decided to drive on through the city and try and find it. 16 March 2002 Body of text from Adam: Hi still in Oliva awaiting post as left card at last site! Like it here but both had food poisoning. Met a Czech waiter who's shown us around, its cool! A&B xx Update received 24 Mar: We finally arrived in Oliva just after 4 in the afternoon, then realised we had left our Camping Card in Peniscola. This was quite a big problem as it gets us onto a lot of sites with a discount, and provides insurance. We agreed to stay a couple of days in Oliva whilst we worked out what to do. The site (Euro camping) was brilliant - right on the beach and with a bar, restaurant and a small shop all open. We had a lot of hassle getting on a pitch (about 3 hours worth!) but in the process met Joachim and Annemarie Zobel from Germany, who came to our rescue by lending us a longer electric cable. They also entertained us and gave us our first taste of Spanish wine. We spent most of the first evening with them and learnt a bit about poisonous frogs (their hobby) and taught them a bit about GPS systems and laptops (Adams standard lecture again!). They left the next day but are now members of our newsletter - so welcome! You may hear more about them in the future as they have kindly invited us to stay with them when we visit Germany (itinerary allowing). Later that night our trip improved further when we went to the bar after a midnight walk on the beach and met Roman, a Czech waiter who speaks Spanish, English, Russian and (obviously) Czech. Adam had great fun practising his Czech and in return Roman gave us a list of places to see in the Czech Republic and looked after our stomachs and our state of consciousness for the entire 12 days we stayed there (he got us drunk a lot and even took us into the local town on his night off). Having had such a great weekend we decided to wait at Euro Camping whilst our Camping Card was posted from Peniscola. This was all arranged on the Monday with a warning that Spanish post could take 3 days. We spent our time in the bar, in the restaurant, in the toilets following food poisoning (!), on the beach and in the reception checking to see if our card had arrived. Then we met Dirk and Manuela (a German couple of similar age to us who have also sold everything and now live on the site with their Rottweiler Karl). We welcome them to our newsletter as well. They were lovely to us and as you can imagine yet more alcohol was involved! One problem with travelling with a motorhome is that once on-site you are stuck there, unless you can cycle, bus or taxi to where you want to go. But Dirk and Manuela took us shopping more than once to the supermarket about 12 km away. We all got on very well as we had a lot in common. They also became Becky�s first European customers for her handmade jewellery. One of the highlights of our stay was eating a paella that Dirk had �made�, which in reality meant he�d stood and watched whilst a German neighbour (Katerine) took over and did all the work! It tasted great though - better than the ones we�ve had in restaurants. Leaving after 12 days and saying goodbye to Roman, Dirk, Manuela and Karl was the hardest part of the trip so far. We both could easily have stayed at least another month there. So, feeling that we were lagging behind a little we left early Thursday morning (on Wednesday the owner of the site told us our card had arrived on the Monday but he�d forgotten to tell us, we were furious and ended up getting a great discount on our stay) and drove all the way to Murcia. We stayed on a campsite in the middle of nowhere but the site was ok and we ate in the restaurant although Becky was rather put off by the brain omelette on the menu. So we avoided it! We stayed there 2 days then got up at 6 am this morning, left the site at 7 am to avoid the worst of the heat whilst driving. There are no campsites between Murcia and Granada so we had to do the 265 km in one go. We drove the desert where there was no shade and it took about 5 hours to get to Granada. We�re on a site about 3 km outside of town in La Zubia and we have booked tickets for the Alhambra Palace, which is supposed to be spectacular, for tomorrow morning. Another early start :-( We�re not sure exactly where we are headed next as we may have problems finding a site over easter, but we will try and check the email tomorrow afternoon in case any of you want to reply (nice if you did ;-) !) as it may be a while before we can get on the Internet again. Please let us know if you want to be removed from this email group - we won�t be offended! Take care - we are thinking of you all working hard in your offices, Spanish Lessons and fish smoking! Best Wishes Adam & Becky Received 6 Apr 02: Hi everyone, Just a quick update email as we are in an expensive internet cafe in Lisbon, and haven�t prepared. Will send a longer one next time.... We have had a fairly manic couple of weeks since Granada, and covered a fair distance. We went from Granada to MArbella for Easter, and stayed just outside the town right near the beach. It was very crowded as all the Spanish people head to the coast with Tents for the holidays! On the Saturday (30th March) we took an excursion to Tangiers in Morroco (Africa!!!) and loved every minute except for the ferry ride back which was very choppy! We both rode camels, and have the pictures to prove it which will be included in our next mail. By the way, do check out Alex�s website (he mailed you all the details) as he has some photos on there that we sent him! Editor: Report continued in April..... |
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