Hello to you all,
In mid January we had a lovely couple of days at the house with Alan and Linda, Chris and Alan went to school together. Although they had been in touch by e mail they had not seen each other for about 30 years, you can imagine how much catching up there was to do!!It was also fascinating for me to hear about Chris' antics when he was young. We got out and about a bit and the weather was lovely, nice enough for a tapas lunch in the sun at our village bar.
We then spent a couple of days sorting the house but we have major problems with the chimney, it is oozing black gunge, we need to find someone to complete replace it.
We set off in Ruby on 25th January and I had roughed out a plan in Spain and Portugal, mixing walking, cycling etc with a few city trips. We spent 4 nights at Los Escullos, Cabo de Gata, Almeria. We caught up with Ken and Marion, who we first met 2 years ago. It was good to see them and we shared a few vinos on our last night. On Sunday I looked at the map and thought north to Rodalquilar looked good and then lunch in Las Isletas. It was a beautiful day, clear blue sky, fabulous sea and then we saw the sign for a 10% hill........Chris made it to the top, nearly dying in the process. Me, I had to get off and push. The downhill was just as scary. We found a bar for coffee, Restaurante Cristol, run by ZZ top!! It was a Harley D spot and Cristol was Mr cool, no chat just coffee and tostado. He was even playing old American Blues!! We then went to Las Isletas and chose a restaurant for lunch, fabulous location right on the Med in the sun but mediocre and very expensive food 51 euros and the service was dreadful!!
Next day we walked to Pozo de Los Frailes, over the fields filled with lovely yellow flowers.The next day we cycled to San Jose and I got my bike fixed, apparently the gears were all out of alignment!! The lad who fixed it was a cyclist and his bike cost him 8,000 euros-twice the cost of Ruby. San Jose was definitely in winter mode and just when we thought we would have to eat in a tourist spot we saw"The Cafe of the Third age" perfect for two old farts on tour. Salad followed by fried fish and Spanish rice pudding, wine and coffee for 16 euros.
We set off the next day for the bit of the trip I had planned for my birthday, camping in Olvera, in the mountains between Malaga and Seville. The plan was to do the 37k Via Verde de la Sierra from Puerto Serrano , stay the night in a hotel and cycle back to the van. First problem, the campsite was shut but we found an "aire" a place you can park up overnight, this one was at the start of the via verde and had power and water and a bar in the old station. Without a safe place to leave the van we changed our plans and decided to cycle about half way have lunch at Coripe station and cycle back.
Serendipity Day.......When we got up in the morning there was a ground frost but it was clear and bright, so we set off. In the shadows it was -1 or 2. Enough to make Chris feel like his fingers were going to drop off!! When we got to Coripe about 11.30 we decided to continue to the end in the hope we could get a bus or taxi back and then pick the bikes up in the van.A swift beer at the end of the 37k was very welcome and by the end of the day I had cycled 42k a PB!!
After driving around Puerto Serrano three times we found the bus station back where we had first seen it-in the police station yard!! A driver was there and he told us the published timetable was rubbish and at 3.20 there was a direct bus back to Olvera and if we were lucky we might get the bikes on?? Our luck was in, at 3.30 in came the bus and we put our bikes in the luggage holds under the bus.
In Olvera we booked into a hotel Sierra y Cal, a lovely hotel which is run by a small Spanish company and with space to park the van outside. Luxury a room with a bathroom!! , complete with bath-just what you need after cycling. We had dinner in the hotel, my oxtail was yummy and the G&T felt well deserved.Our stay with dinner, drinks and breakfast was £82, which is less than we paid for our New years Eve B&B in Corbridge.
The next day it was pouring with rain and cold so we changed plan again and headed off for Cadiz. We stayed about 30 mins from Cadiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria. We had a lovely day in Cadiz , including posh tapas in Cafe Royalty. 2nd February was my birthday and we cycled about 30 minutes to the marina and had breakfast in the sun. Then a brief rest back at the van and we went out for lunch, starting with wine and tapa in a taberna and then seafood in Romeriji, a famous local seafood cafe. Then finally when we were lost in the back streets we came upon the local rugby club abd had a few wines and tapas as I watched Ireland v Scotland. Finished up at the campsite for chocolate cake and 2 very good brandies.Perfect day.
Monday we set off for Portugal, for Tavira, for cycling through the saltpans,walking, visiting historic Tavira. Our first stop was at the police camping ground , which I quickly rejected when I saw how manky the toilets were. We ended up on a site in Cabanas and settle down for the beginning of our Portugal adventure. By this time we were ahead of schedule but there was a possibility of a helpx, so we wanted to be in Portugal.
When we got up the next morning it was grey and rainy and we went to Tavira on the bus, lovely place but not much fun in the rain. Next day, was grey as well and we went to Faro and had a lovely day in the old town and a nice menu del dia. I looked at the forecast and decided that enough was enough, in a small van it is no fun if you have damp clothes etc so the next day we headed back to Spain. I had made a fundamental error with my planning, usually if we are planning we check out the average weather conditions. With my plan by we got to Porto we would have been in the wettest coldest month!!
So now we are on the Costa de Sol, on a nice little site called Camping Valle Niza Playa, just over the road from the beach. We are east of Malaga and the coastline is lovely we went on our bikes to Torre del Mar and sat in the beautiful sunshine drinking coffee. We've cycled again today and I got my bike sorted, the chain guard had come off and everytime I cycled I got oily legs. We are just back from a trip to a little place I thought would be good for lunch tomorrow-it juts out towards the beach-but it was an Italian and not quite what we were looking for. The upside was we had fabulous pizza, the place is run by Italians, lovely crispy thin crust. Tomorrow we may just eat at the campite. We have no real plans as such, our next stop may be near Nerja. We are here till at least Wednesday as I have made an appointment to get my hair cut on Tuesday in Torre. But who knows, at any point Chris may have to go back to the UK to be with his son Adam, so we are just going with the flow??
For those of you that are suffering with the extremes of the weather , I do hope it improves soon.
Till next time
Take care
Norma xx
In mid January we had a lovely couple of days at the house with Alan and Linda, Chris and Alan went to school together. Although they had been in touch by e mail they had not seen each other for about 30 years, you can imagine how much catching up there was to do!!It was also fascinating for me to hear about Chris' antics when he was young. We got out and about a bit and the weather was lovely, nice enough for a tapas lunch in the sun at our village bar.
We then spent a couple of days sorting the house but we have major problems with the chimney, it is oozing black gunge, we need to find someone to complete replace it.
We set off in Ruby on 25th January and I had roughed out a plan in Spain and Portugal, mixing walking, cycling etc with a few city trips. We spent 4 nights at Los Escullos, Cabo de Gata, Almeria. We caught up with Ken and Marion, who we first met 2 years ago. It was good to see them and we shared a few vinos on our last night. On Sunday I looked at the map and thought north to Rodalquilar looked good and then lunch in Las Isletas. It was a beautiful day, clear blue sky, fabulous sea and then we saw the sign for a 10% hill........Chris made it to the top, nearly dying in the process. Me, I had to get off and push. The downhill was just as scary. We found a bar for coffee, Restaurante Cristol, run by ZZ top!! It was a Harley D spot and Cristol was Mr cool, no chat just coffee and tostado. He was even playing old American Blues!! We then went to Las Isletas and chose a restaurant for lunch, fabulous location right on the Med in the sun but mediocre and very expensive food 51 euros and the service was dreadful!!
Next day we walked to Pozo de Los Frailes, over the fields filled with lovely yellow flowers.The next day we cycled to San Jose and I got my bike fixed, apparently the gears were all out of alignment!! The lad who fixed it was a cyclist and his bike cost him 8,000 euros-twice the cost of Ruby. San Jose was definitely in winter mode and just when we thought we would have to eat in a tourist spot we saw"The Cafe of the Third age" perfect for two old farts on tour. Salad followed by fried fish and Spanish rice pudding, wine and coffee for 16 euros.
We set off the next day for the bit of the trip I had planned for my birthday, camping in Olvera, in the mountains between Malaga and Seville. The plan was to do the 37k Via Verde de la Sierra from Puerto Serrano , stay the night in a hotel and cycle back to the van. First problem, the campsite was shut but we found an "aire" a place you can park up overnight, this one was at the start of the via verde and had power and water and a bar in the old station. Without a safe place to leave the van we changed our plans and decided to cycle about half way have lunch at Coripe station and cycle back.
Serendipity Day.......When we got up in the morning there was a ground frost but it was clear and bright, so we set off. In the shadows it was -1 or 2. Enough to make Chris feel like his fingers were going to drop off!! When we got to Coripe about 11.30 we decided to continue to the end in the hope we could get a bus or taxi back and then pick the bikes up in the van.A swift beer at the end of the 37k was very welcome and by the end of the day I had cycled 42k a PB!!
After driving around Puerto Serrano three times we found the bus station back where we had first seen it-in the police station yard!! A driver was there and he told us the published timetable was rubbish and at 3.20 there was a direct bus back to Olvera and if we were lucky we might get the bikes on?? Our luck was in, at 3.30 in came the bus and we put our bikes in the luggage holds under the bus.
In Olvera we booked into a hotel Sierra y Cal, a lovely hotel which is run by a small Spanish company and with space to park the van outside. Luxury a room with a bathroom!! , complete with bath-just what you need after cycling. We had dinner in the hotel, my oxtail was yummy and the G&T felt well deserved.Our stay with dinner, drinks and breakfast was £82, which is less than we paid for our New years Eve B&B in Corbridge.
The next day it was pouring with rain and cold so we changed plan again and headed off for Cadiz. We stayed about 30 mins from Cadiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria. We had a lovely day in Cadiz , including posh tapas in Cafe Royalty. 2nd February was my birthday and we cycled about 30 minutes to the marina and had breakfast in the sun. Then a brief rest back at the van and we went out for lunch, starting with wine and tapa in a taberna and then seafood in Romeriji, a famous local seafood cafe. Then finally when we were lost in the back streets we came upon the local rugby club abd had a few wines and tapas as I watched Ireland v Scotland. Finished up at the campsite for chocolate cake and 2 very good brandies.Perfect day.
Monday we set off for Portugal, for Tavira, for cycling through the saltpans,walking, visiting historic Tavira. Our first stop was at the police camping ground , which I quickly rejected when I saw how manky the toilets were. We ended up on a site in Cabanas and settle down for the beginning of our Portugal adventure. By this time we were ahead of schedule but there was a possibility of a helpx, so we wanted to be in Portugal.
When we got up the next morning it was grey and rainy and we went to Tavira on the bus, lovely place but not much fun in the rain. Next day, was grey as well and we went to Faro and had a lovely day in the old town and a nice menu del dia. I looked at the forecast and decided that enough was enough, in a small van it is no fun if you have damp clothes etc so the next day we headed back to Spain. I had made a fundamental error with my planning, usually if we are planning we check out the average weather conditions. With my plan by we got to Porto we would have been in the wettest coldest month!!
So now we are on the Costa de Sol, on a nice little site called Camping Valle Niza Playa, just over the road from the beach. We are east of Malaga and the coastline is lovely we went on our bikes to Torre del Mar and sat in the beautiful sunshine drinking coffee. We've cycled again today and I got my bike sorted, the chain guard had come off and everytime I cycled I got oily legs. We are just back from a trip to a little place I thought would be good for lunch tomorrow-it juts out towards the beach-but it was an Italian and not quite what we were looking for. The upside was we had fabulous pizza, the place is run by Italians, lovely crispy thin crust. Tomorrow we may just eat at the campite. We have no real plans as such, our next stop may be near Nerja. We are here till at least Wednesday as I have made an appointment to get my hair cut on Tuesday in Torre. But who knows, at any point Chris may have to go back to the UK to be with his son Adam, so we are just going with the flow??
For those of you that are suffering with the extremes of the weather , I do hope it improves soon.
Till next time
Take care
Norma xx
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