We woke after our first night on our lovely little rustic site to bright sunshine. We have another 29 nights here and I have a feeling we are going to enjoy every one of them.
After breakfast we went all of 10 metres to the coffee morning. The stewards are great and seem to have a good programme throughout the week. It was a friendly get together with almost everyone on the rally attending. Once the meeting was over we had a walk into the village and had a look round the supermarket but they didn't stock a large range of goods so we went back to the van, packed up and headed to Motril about 25 km away and did what Peter Kay calls a big shop.
It was late afternoon by the time we got back, too late for the game of horseshoes that started at 3:30. I got stuck in to putting the second carpet down and erecting the tent whilst Val made us ca chille-con-carne for dinner. By the time we had finished there was just time for a quick shower before the evenings entertainment began.
We went to our very first Beetle Drive which was a bit of fun and gave us the chance to meet a few of the other people on the rally. Most people took their own drinks but you could buy beers from the bat upstairs, a bit pricey though at €3 a pint. It was a good night but it was after ten by the time we got back to the van and with breakfast on the beach organised for ten in the morning there was just enough time to update the blog and two or three chapters of my latest novel before getting our heads down.
7 March 2017
Val was already in the shower when the alarm went off and I had the kettle boiling by the time she got back. We had the collapsible chairs , table and bacon and eggs ready for the breakfast barbecue on the beach. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours with the rest of the happy campers.
Next came a walk of about two miles uphill to the village of Haza del Trigo and more importantly to Bar Los Pinos for a refreshingly cold beer and a tapas of potato salad containing peas, carrots and olives and topped off with some cold cooked red pepper and gamon. It took us a good hour to get up there and the views were worth the walk and we were lucky coming back down as we were passing a goat pen about two hundred of them were streaming out following the goatherd with us his new apprentices bringing up the read. We were adopted goatherds for about half a mile.
The rest of the afternoon we spent sitting out reading and listening to some tunes with yours truly embracing the Spanish tradition of siesta, or maybe it was a power nap.
The evening was spent playing carpet bowls down at the clubhouse which happily coincided with Happy Hour. Val with her natural sporting prowess finished third even though we've never played before. When we got back to the van I somehow ended up watching Tommy Cooper gags on the wifi. The old ones are the best.
8 March 2017
After an energetic day yesterday we decided on a relaxing day lazing in the sunshine. We has a chilli-con-carne for lunch and then got into some serious novel reading in the afternoon.
It was quiz night down at the clubhouse and we had ordered chip butties which were very tasty especially after we smothered then in salt,vinegar and tomato ketchup, yummy.
We managed to win two rounds of the quiz which won us a bottle of vino tinto and chocolates. We brought the wine back but the chocolates didn't make it.
I made the mistake of having a look at Facebook once we had made the bed up and started watching Dave Allan clips which meant we were up later than planned and we had to be up for a seven mile hike in the morning.
9 March 2017
We were up with the alarm and two cups of tea later and a quick shower and we were ready for our seven mile hike led by Mike who has been on this rally for the last seven years.
We were heading for La Mamola which is about forty five minutes along the beach but we were climbing over two very steep and large hills. It took us about three and a half hours in temperatures over 25° but the views were stunning from up high. We met up at a bar with the group who did the short walk and enjoyed a few beers with tapas before strolling back to the site for a welcome siesta.
We had a barbecue in the last of the sunshine of chicken, sausage, peppers, onions and corn on the cob, then it was down to the bar to see if the United game was being screened. No luck unfortunately so it was back to the van for a very welcome quiet night in and a bit of time watching a Netflix series as well as keeping up with the match. Tired campers who set the alarm for another hike in the morning.
10 March 2017
We were up with the alarm for an early start to this mornings walk which was a 14 km round trip to Castillo de Ferro. We set off in hot sunshine along the road. It was a gradual climb for about 4 km and the dropped downhill the rest of the way. We passed lots of pine trees with caterpillar nests and thousands of the processional caterpillars that had squashed by passing traffic. We did come across two lines that were on the move and gave them a wide berth, if they become agitatedly they send out spores that can have a detrimental effect on health.
We had a quick reconnoiter of the town and checked out a restaurant that had been recommended where we might go with some friends who are visiting tomorrow. Then it was into the square for a beer and a tapas of a fried egg covered in the thin Spanish bacon.
The walk back followed the reverse route and we were lucky to see three dolphins as we neared the top of the climb. We got back with about an hour to spare before the rallies Jacobs Join where everybody attending cooked some food and shared with everybody else. There was a bucket of sangria which still has some left three hours later.
The evenings entertainment was thankfully spent with a bit of Netflix in the van. We needed the rest. Zzzzzzzzz
11 March 2017
We didn't set the alarm for the first time in a few days as we knew our friends who were coming to visit were not early risers, thank god. We even had time to do the day before's washing up before they arrived.
Dick and Jackie arrived just before lunch time and we spent the afternoon walking between the various tapas bars on either side of our campsite enjoying the beer and the food. We probably covering two or three miles in total by the time we got back to the site ready for for a siesta.
Luckily Val had planned ahead and the previous day as well as making a cauliflower cheese for the Jacobs Join she had also cooked chilli and jacket potatoes for our guests dinner, so it was just a case of warming them up on the barbecue and serving them up.
We waved goodbye to Dick and Jackie about 7:30 which just gave us time to get ready for the evenings quiz where we finished a close second but no cigar.
Another day that went by in a flash. Happy days.
12 March 2017
The day started with me watching the Andrew Marr Show whilst Val went down to the village to take some photographs of the start of the Castillo de Banos to Popolos bike ride. I'm not sure how long the ride was, but we went six miles round twisty after twisty high up into the mountains to get to a tiny village where the bike ride ended and the Polopos Wine Festival took place.
We had a great day out and were served with copious amounts of vino, numerous hams and chorizos, cheese, bread and black pudding to die for. There was an estimated thousand people crammed into the square and surrounding area who enjoyed good food, good wine, good music and a jolly old time.
We set off back down the hill just after five pm, well fed, well watered and danced out arriving back at the site in need of a good siesta and luckily in time to catch the last couple of hours sunshine.
A quiet night sleeping it off was had by all who attended. Happy campers.
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