I passed most of the morning watching Victoria Derbyshire on the box. Had a conversation with Lisa on Messenger just before her and Matt left Oslo for Tromso on their tour in Norway. I've got my fingers crossed that they see the Northern Lights.
Later on she had wifi on the plane. They had to circle the airport for 30 minutes before landing because of heavy snow. Thankfully they finally got down on the ground and posted some snaps of the conditions.
In the afternoon I went for a ride on the bike and then called at our friends Dick & Jackie's for a coffee before going down to the clubhouse to download some entertainment for the evening. I've got the American version of Sherlock Homes and a couple of movies.
I'd heard on Bay Radio that the temperature in London was 18° and sunny and when I talked to Val that evening she said it was a warm and sunny day. Here in Catral it was 13°, cloudy with a cool breeze. There was a couple of hours in the afternoon when it felt warm.
After dinner I spent the evening with my movie downloads which kept me entertained, but as we move on at the weekend it feels like I'm firstly waiting for Val to get back and secondly to get back on the road. We will have been here for 36 days on Saturday and be more than ready to explore somewhere different.
21 February 2017
I woke up to a much sunnier morning. The shorts and tee shirt weather is back with a vengeance. I spent most of the morning listening to the radio and packing things away ready for our exit on Saturday. The tent is almost empty and our silver screens are stored in the compartment under the van.
I chatted to Val over the phone around lunchtime to find Gregg had got tickets for himself, Solene and the boys for the Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday. Let's hope we get the right result. C'mon you Red Devil's.
In the afternoon I was in touch with Lisa on Facebook. It had been snowing for most of the day and there was not much chance of seeing the aurora before tomorrow night. I just hope it happens for her.
I went out on the bike and then down to the bar for a bit more Netflix downloading and then had an hour in the sun reading a nice book called Driving Over Lemons about a couple who bought an old farmhouse in Andalusia.
After a Spag Bol dinner I got stuck into a far fetched Nicholas Cage movie which kept me amused for a couple of hours and then called it a night.
22 February 2017
I had a busy morning taking the tent down, cleaning it and putting away all the paraphernalia that goes with it. There is only one outside carpet left and a few tent pegs to sort out on Saturday morning.
My next door neighbour is of in the morning heading to Granada. He is a single chap and a keen motorcyclist and likes a good chap. He has told me the same tale about Benidorm for two days running. He had some ham going spare so it was ham and eggs for dinner.
This afternoon after the washing up I went down to the bar to do some downloading, check the emails and see if Lisa had poster anything from Norway. I was good and didn't even have a drink. Then it was off on the bike to Catral to see if any of the English pubs are showing the United game at 6:00 pm.
It was down to Catral for the 2nd time to watch the match in a pub called The Tavern. I could have been in any small pub in the UK but they had the match on and United got a positive result.
I was back in the van for about half eight and was waiting for news of Lisa on Facebook which came at about 11:00 pm. Her quest to see the Northern Lights was finally fulfilled and from what I read her and Matt got a dazzling show. Yeah.
23 February 2017
After a solid sleep I woke late to a sunny day. It had rained in the night and everywhere was coated with a thin film of sand as always seems the case in this area. The Spanish don't seem to have a Scooby Doo when it comes to drainage systems so there was lots of large puddles all over the sight. The sun soon evaporated them and it was dry again.
I spent the morning and beyond doing a few jobs the biggest of which was mending a puncture on Val's bike. The other stuff was to get the van ready to drive away later in the day to go and pick her up from Alicante Airport. She is supposed to touch down at 10:00 pm so it will be late by the time we get back to the site.
The great news from Lisa is that her and Matt had a wonderful display of the Northern Lights. The photographs I have seen so far are a tiny bit grainy but fantastic nonetheless. Their guide was apparently very helpful setting up their camera as it needs a very slow exposure to get the best shots. They were lucky with the weather to get a clear window to see the lights as it's been snowing most of the time they have been in Tromso and it was snowing again not long after they got back to the hotel.
My book kept me amused for the rest of the day until it was time to set off to Alicante. It about a couple who buy a run down farm and move to Andalusia. We picked up the coast of Spain just south of Barcelona and we haven't been greatly impressed. Unlike France it is lacking in any decent architectural design. Everywhere in France there are beautiful historic buildings. Apart from a couple of cities such as Valencia it is all high rise buildings that they seem to build right up to the sea front. Our fingers are crossed that the towns and cities further south are more pleasant to the eye.
I parked up on the beach in Alicante waiting to pick Val up from the airport. I saw her flight come in as I was talking to Lisa on the phone who was tracking her on the net. Then it was just a case of waiting for her call to let me know she had disembarked and I was with her within ten minutes. Val was delayed about half an hour probably because of Dorris. When we got back to the site it was nearly midnight but we still enjoyed a nice drop of fizz to celebrate her return. Happy campers.
24 February 2017
It was a warm night for sleeping and after a late sleep we woke to a cloudy day. The sun poked through for about half an hour but then it became cloudy again but still warm enough for a tee shirt.
We spent the morning doing a few jobs the main one being getting the washing done as we might not have the use of a washing machine for a couple of weeks.
Val went down to the pool for a swim at half past one leaving me to collect the laundry and do a bit of reading. She managed to get hold of another Tony Hawks book while she was in London so that will be next on my list. When she got back it was more washing and cooking so we have something for the first couple of days of our travels.
Friday night is movie night in the clubhouse and we watched a film called Nocturnal Animals which was a dark tale of rape, murder and revenge. It most certainly kept us amused for a couple of hours. Then it was back to the van for an hour with Bay Radio and a book. The was an interview with Piers Morgan and Nigel Farrage at 10:00 pm Spain time but I couldn't be bothered to get the TV out of the cupboard and out of its box only to have to pack it away again, so we got our heads down for some welcome zzzz's.
25 February 2017
We made the mistake of leaving some washing and two pillows out overnight which got a good soaking with the rain. The pillows had to go in the tumble dryer and with that and the numerous other packing up job and then going round to say goodbye to a few friends it was almost 1:00 pm by the time we got on the road.
We headed south to La Zenia to catch up with an old work colleague called Phil Dixon and his wife Lynda. We called at a couple of supermarkets on route to do some shopping and by the time we got parked up in our spot for the night it was 5:30 pm and we were meeting them at 6:00. It was only a short walk from where we parked the van and when we got there they had a couple of other friends there from Blackburn, Rob and Sue.
The next stop was a Spanish bar with Happy Hour from 6:00 till 7:00, so we put our best foot forward and made the most of it. Stein's for €2.50 were enjoyed by the men whilst the ladies all had either wine or cava. What a nice way to start the evening.
Then it was back to the apartment owned by Phil and his wife and two other couples. The ladies cooked some spiced chicken and various other bits and bobs for us all to make fajitas and very nice they were to. The evening went by in a flash which is always the sign of a good night and when we got back to the van we were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
26 February 2017
We had arranged to meet with Phil and the gang for breakfast at cafe called the Captains Table in the little resort of Punta Prima about 5 km up the coast. They did a full English breakfast for €3 and very nice it was too. After that we walked down to the beach and along the promenade spending a pleasant hour strolling in the sunshine.
It feels good to be back on the road again and not spending too much time in one place, although we have decided to stay here today so we can be certain of having somewhere to watch the cup final.
We had a quiet afternoon leading up to the final not wanting to get bobbins and miss the match. Phil and Rob had got some good seats when we landed at The Gap pub and the beer was Alhambra which slips down nice and easy. We got there with about fifteen minutes to kick off, perfect. It was a cracking game with United just edging it 3-2. Gregg, Solene and the boys were there, what a game for the boys first final.
Although we had an invite back to Phil's we headed back to the van for a most welcome quiet night. We found a radio station with some good tunes and enjoyed a brew and a glass of wine before calling it a night at about half ten. Livin't dream.
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