Spain and Portugal road trip.......The best laid plans of mice and men!!

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

2014

Happy New Year and best wishes for a peaceful and fulfilling 2014.

Chris and I had a very eventful and full December in the UK. It started with the wedding of Amy and Carl and then catching up with friends and family. I spent the month staying with my friend Vicki in Jarrow and had a very special time over Christmas thanks to my wonderful friends and family. On Christmas Eve I shared communion at the little Methodist Church in Monkton village and then I cooked a side of salmon for Vicki, my girls and their dad. Christmas morning was the traditional smoked salmon, scrambled egg and champagne at Imogen and Phill’s house. I shared Christmas dinner with my old neighbour Heather, her partner Keith and Dan and Alex and members of both of their families.

Boxing Day is when we re-create Christmas Day and we all went over to Amy and Carl’s flat, the newlyweds, Idg and Phill, Keith and his girlfriend Anne and Chris and I. The tradition is to share the preparation of the meal. Amy started us off with Serrano ham, her home cooked ham, salmon pinwheels and prawns, crisps and dips and elderflower gin and tonics. We then had secret Santa and my present was an album of photos from the wedding, they are lovely.

Then to the meal, Carl made a starter of smoked salmon cheesecake, very light and citrusy. Main course was loin of pork and goose and roast potatoes, cooked by Keith, with Carl’s signature mash and a selection of veggies (my cooking contribution) –the absolute highlight was the gravy!! Pudding was fabulous sticky treacle tart and clotted cream ice cream, thanks to Phill and finally cheeseboard chosen by Imogen; Colton Bassett Stilton, Cornish Yarg, Brinkburn goats and a smelly soft French number whose name I have forgotten!! All accompanied by a selection of wines and finished off with port. It is a good way to share out the work and Chris did a sterling job with the washing up!!

Between the wedding, Christmas and catching up Chris and I have not seen a lot of each other so we decided to spend New Year’s Eve staying in a pub, the Wheatsheaf, in a small town called Corbridge in the Tyne valley. It is a lovely old town an ideal place to live but only if you have plenty of money, a two up two down terrace is £220K which is 22k more than the price I got for my 4 bedroom family terrace with garden. We ate at the pub and then there was a guy singing which made for a good night. Only downside was the telly at midnight and no singing of Auld Lang Syne, strange!!

We are now back at Chris’ house in Spain we plan to spend January here, assuming Chris is not needed at home, and then set off in the van to enjoy the southern coast of Spain and Portugal before heading north to get to Santander around third week in March to sail back to the UK.

On our first Sunday night the three Kings arrived, not on camels but, on the back of a trailer with horns blaring to signal their arrival and instead of gold, frankincense and myrrh the kids all got a bag of sweets and a photo opportunity to sit on the knees of one, or all, of the Kings.  Monday 6^th January is the day of the Kings the traditional day for present giving in Spain.

January seems to be speeding by and I have spent most of the beginning of the month feeling ill with a flu virus, for three days I was either in bed or snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket. It eventually developed into an awful sore throat and after two weeks I went to the local clinic to see the doctor. The system is relatively efficient and with your EHIC is free but the medical staff are pretty surly, she gave me some antibiotics and super strength 600mg ibuprofen for the pain. I have take the antibiotics and feel much better, but decided to use 200mb ibuprofen to avoid taking the lining of my stomach or also taking the acid inhibitors-talk about taking a hammer to crack a nut!!

We had a visit from Chris’ best mate, John for a few days and next week an old school friend of his is here with his wife. The weather is lovely today but was pretty ropey while John was here, we even had some rain!!

That’s all for now

Norma x

As Billy Idol sang "It's a nice day for a white wedding"

Just a short update as I know lots of you sent your best wishes for the wedding and of course here are some photos. It was a truly wonderful day and I was immensely proud of my two gorgeous girls.

Imogen, tmy daughter and he beautiful chief bridesmaid

On Sunday we had a fabulous time in a local hotel for Amy's home hen ( she had been to Belfast with her young friends and the bridesmaids), beautiful food and wonderful company. A big thank you to Imogen who arranged it.

 It was a pretty frantic week leading up to the big day, although I had already bought a dress I needed the other accouterments. Managed those in one shopping trip thanks to a brilliant idea from my lovely friend Vicki. Helped Amy and Carl with various bits and pieces during the week, including sorting out the order of service. We collected the pieces of cheese and on Friday assembled it into a "cake" with Carl. The rehearsal went well, although there was lots of giggling. Friday night I had a nice meal at "White Heat" in Jarrow with Amy, Imogen and her dad.

On the big day we were lucky to be able to use my old neighbour's house for the girls to get ready, and the time just flew by. Thanks to Heather! I got to the church about 3.45 , a chance to catch up with some of the guests. Then soon it was 4pm and the church lights dimmed and Amy and her dad walked into church to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's "Dream a little dream of me"  . 

She looked beautiful and her and Carl both looked so happy as they made their vows. They had chosen three hymns Shine, Jesus, Shine, Abide with me and Sweet Chiming Christmas Bells (which is a lovely version of While Shepherds watched ) In no time they were Mr and Mrs Horne and they left the church to  “This Must be the Place” by Talking Heads

Hen lunch, Vicki, Jules and Heather

The reception was great fun, informal seating, a buffet, a beautiful cake and a brilliant band "Big Red and the Grinners" if you want to see them here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmvBOPBawck. 

 I have know the lead singer 25 years since he was a young lad and he has know Amy all of her life, he wasn't playing during December ( his wife , Jude has just had their second son) but he played as a special favour to Amy. Thanks boys.

Hotel du vin, Newcastle

On Sunday we all had breakfast at the hotel and then Amy and Carl headed off for a 2 night break to Edinburgh, a very

Its all legal now!!

Dad, Amy Carl and the proud Mother of the bride

We don't often get dressed up!!

special place for them, to stay in a very nice hotel on the corner of Princes street, the Balmoral. 

Carl and his mam

The very happy newly weds

It is very posh and Carl posted on his facebook page "now at the Balmoral having our honeymoon, it's all a bit to posh for me, I thought the bloke at the door was trying to steal my bag" 

Vicki paid for them to travel first class, Imogen and Phill bought them afternoon tea at the Balmoral and their dad and Anne gave them some Scottish money to spend (although they are in the UK, Scotland prints its own bank notes) 

It had been a pretty frantic week, since getting back from Spain and Chris organised a night away for the two of us on Sunday. I dropped the newlyweds at the staion and picked him up and we stayed at The George in Chollerford, only 40 minutes form home but close to the Roman wall and on the banks of the North Tyne. It was a well needed rest from all of the hustle and bustle. The honeymoon is over and they both have interviews for new jobs today and back to work tomorrow!!

Here is hoping you all have a wonderful festive season.

Love

Norma x

Going back home .....

Hello again,

As we get ready to return to the UK I thought I would just do a short blog. Our plans to go down to the coast didn’t materialise. We decided to crack on and get most of the external work on the house finished while it was dry. The new windows and doors took 2 days to fit and they are lovely, no more rattling and draughts when it is windy. They come complete with a drop down mosquito net and new white shutters; the place looks really good and the finishing touches were the bars, which I volunteered to paint-what a horrible job!  The garden is finished and so is most of the painting at the front, Chris painstakingly painting the floor in front of the house.

We have a problem with the wood burner which is producing creosote and it is dripping down the external pipe causing a lovely mess on the front corner of the house! Chris has tried tape but not helped and the only way to avoid it is to burn the fire as high as possible but then it is too hot to sit in the room!!  For those of you that are thinking, wood burner thought you were in sunny Spain? Yes we are but it is winter here too and that means cold mornings till about 9.30 and chilly evenings from about 4pm and then cold once the sun goes down at about 6.30. Unlike in the UK the houses here are designed to keep cool, it is 35-40 C in the summer, so there is no insulation and at this time of year it is warmer outside than inside during the day. Chris is contemplating replacing the external tubing from the wood burner and sealing it again to see if it helps.

We have also finished the outside walls at the back of the house and that is most of the external maintenance done. Chris has ordered new windows for two of the rear bedrooms and they will get fitted when we get back in January. Then there is just the inside to decorate and the whole place will be finished. Whew!!

On Sunday we had a bit of a break, and drove to Cehegin as there was an artisan market in the main square at the top of the old town. Chris stuck his bike on the back and set off cycling I went up to the market on my own. It was my first visit to the old town and it is beautiful full of windy streets, lovely buildings and when you get to the top, stunning views. You never know what to expect but the market was pretty good, food stalls and some local crafts. It started at 10 and I got there about 11 and on the way down popped into the tourist office for some info and the guy asked was it busy and I said I’d never been before, he looked at his watch and said “Oh it is too early yet, there is free food and wine at 12 so the locals will be turning up about 12.30!!” If we are here in January then a later start is required. Chris had cycled the via verde to Bullas so I picked him up and we came back to the village for lunch.

I love to cook so I was busy at the weekend as I got 3kg plum tomatoes for 1 euro, about 85p. I made some Frito (the Spanish tomato sauce that is the basis of a lot of their cooking) which went into some minestrone soup and some in the freezer, and I also made roasted tomato soup too. A bargain and hours of endless fun in the kitchen!!

For lunch on Wednesday we invited Mel and Stan who, until recently ran a bar in Pliego, as a bit of a thank you for all of the help they had given Chris over the years. Unfortunately Stan had to work but we had a nice time, we had tapas at the bar and then we had goat curry and our neighbour made us her delicious “flan de cafe”.

We have spent about seven weeks at the house and have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know a few more of the locals, understand a bit more about village life and visit some of the local area. We tend to go into Pliego or Mula 3-4 times a week, especially when we need paint, stones, plaster etc but we could manage in the village-the local shops have good fresh fruit and vegetables, meat etc and on Wednesday and Saturday the fish man comes. If we were feeling really lazy we could wait till the van from the shop comes up past the house-saving a walk of about 400 yard!! It is still a very traditional way of life here and I’m sure there have been a few eyebrows raised as I was up a stepladder painting and when I mentioned that Chris was cooking!! Our neighbour’s son little Francisco next door has just started to walk and he looks like he will be a real handful. The children still spend most of their time outside, playing games and wandering round the village as it is a very safe environment.

We are flying from Alicante so have arranged parking for the van. It will be good to be home and catch up with people, especially Imogen who I’ve not seen since she headed off for Basle in August. Of course we have the excitement of the wedding on 7^th December and then Christmas. I’m hoping to get to see a live rugby game , (Spain is footie mad!!) and maybe some live theatre ............oh and the joy of a Saturday Guardian. Simple things........

Til  next time take care

Norma x

Autumnal musing

Hello and hope that you are enjoying life. I know some of you will be enjoying the sun but my friends in the UK are starting to feel the effects of winter. Snow on the hills in Scotland!!  It is unseasonably warm here , although the days are getting shorter and it is cool in the mornings but in the daytime it is still warm enough for shorts. We had our first real rain yesterday and today is very overcast but it is not really cold.

We had a couple of days away in the campervan last week; we set off to Mula on Tuesday so that I could go to the dentist. He removed the stitches and said everything looked clean and was healing well. That meant we could head off , so we packed the van and headed for Moratalla. It is only about an hour away but we thought we might be able to walk some of the camino that goes to Caravaca de la Cruz, as it happened the campsite was too far off the route . We had GPS co-ordinates for the campsite but they were wrong!! So it was a bit tense driving through the narrow streets of hilly Moratalla. 

Eventually we got to the campsite, which is 8km outside of the village and at the end of the road, literally. It is set in a lovely forest with a river running through a beautiful gorge, some sizeable fish and freshwater crayfish lurked in the crystal clear water. It was fabulous waking up in the forest and eating breakfast watching the antics of the squirrels. We set off to walk upstream, but it was about 50 minutes of scrambling which was great fun for me but not for Chris’ knee. We emerged onto a forest track and wandered a bit and explored a beautiful derelict 3 storey hous

Sunrise in front of the house

Halloween-Casas Nuevas

Camping in the forest near Moratalla

Walking the gorge

Making faces!!

e with amazing views from the 3^rd floor. The campsite had a nice daytime bar and restaurant and we enjoyed tapas and beer when we got back. After two nights we headed to Bullas and did a short cycle and enjoyed an evening of red wine and the most delicious Spanish ham we have ever tasted.

As we got back early afternoon on Friday we missed the weekly market in Pliego ,so Saturday we went to Mula which is a huge market but with a bit better choice. People around here tend to eat whatever is in season and cheap, nothing is pre-packaged and it is okay to prod and poke until you find the quality you want. So for example the tomatoes were 50 cents a kilo and aubergine courgettes and peppers 1 euro kg –so much cheaper and fresher than the UK. Once we have bought what is in season I then just make it into meals-a bit like Ready Steady Cook.

Sunday we drove to Bullas and cycled the Via Verde from Bullas to Ceheghin and back,  a 32km round trip-which is the furthest I have ever cycled. I felt weary but delighted that I managed to get there and back. It follows an old railway track and most of it is off road and it was fairly busy , the scenery is wonderful, with vineyards, olive groves and an ancient city. The cup of coffee in Ceheghin was very welcome.

We have some work to do on the house this week, part of the front garden needs new black plastic and pebbles, the back wall needs painting and the new windows are coming Thursday. So once all that is done we will probably head off down to either La Manga or Mazarron, for a bit of coastal cycling and enjoying the change of scenery at the coast.

We get back to the UK on 30^th November and the next day is Amy’s home hen so we had a little trip to Nuevo Condiminium (a retail outlet near Murcia city) and I got a lovely red dress to wear with leggings as I won’t have time before Sunday to get anything. Then it will be only a week to the big day, and although I have my dress I will need shoes and am not looking forward to a trip to Newcastle amongst the Christmas crowds.

Till next time

Norma x

Life in Spain

We have been at the house in Casas Nuevas for 2 weeks now and have settled into life here. The village is 12km from a medium sized town, Pliego and another 5km to  Mula in Murcia. The village is small with 2 shops, a local bar, which also serves food, a church, a small part-time health clinic, a 5-a-side football pitch and a school for children up to 11. It sits on the edge of the Sierra Espuna and the views of the mountains are stunning. We were last here for an extended time in 2011 and there has definitely been an influx of people with young children, at one point there were worries about the local school but it is currently doing well with about 12-15 children. It makes for a lively time around 9am when they start school and 2 pm when they finish.

Employment varies and local families have land with olive, almond and apricot trees but that is rarely enough to support a family and work on the land gets fitted in with other jobs. There are local pig farms, quarrying for marble, factories making jam and construction and haulage work. Our neighbour Frank works repairing agricultural machinery in Mula and his wife Juana Maria makes the desserts and works in the local bar, and they have a one year old little Francisco-who is the image of his dad!! Within the village one family runs one shop, the bar and have a mobile shop (well a white van with produce!!) and a vegetable stall at the weekly Friday Pliego market. Everyone working in these concerns is a member of the extended family and when I asked recently was everyone in the village related Paquita said just about!!

Monday we took Amy and Carl back to the airport after their week spent here. This was our wedding present to them and they really enjoyed the place. The area is beautiful and we went to Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia city, the coast and Carl and Chris did some cycling and walking. On Saturday we went to an Elvis tribute night, a good evening, although didn’t know that Elvis sang Delilah!! He was at the airport  so we can say “Elvis has left the country…….” We had a lovely meal together on Sunday in the local bar and Carl tucked into the local rice with rabbit and snails, 

It is only a month now to the wedding and I think they appreciated the break and the sun it is still warm here (31 C yesterday afternoon) during the day but cooler at night and we are still wandering around in shorts.

We have freesat here so watched the situation with the storms in the UK , luckily it didn’t affect the flight back to Newcastle. Sadly it has affected Imogen’s plans; she was due to go to Amsterdam with her friend Racheal. However Rachael  was stranded in London, not able to return and couldn’t get back in time today for the ferry .

We are hoping to get some work done on the house; some outside painting needs doing at the rear, there are new windows and front door on order. We need to get some firewood delivered, in anticipation that the temperatures will start to drop, especially now that the clocks have gone back.

We want to do some more cycling we did a bit of the Via Verde ( an old railway line) the first week we were here. I like it as it is off road and there are no great hills. We also hope to be able to take Ruby down to the coast and spend some time on a campsite and do some cycling along the coastline.  I fancy a trip to Cartagena too as it has an interesting history, given its position there are Roman and Moorish influences.

We seem to be having an interesting time with Ruby, fresh from her new clutch Chris tried to rearrange the roof recently!! We were parked next to a covered parking area, we are too high to get under them, and he turned too tight and knocked off the solar panel and the rear skylight. We collected them back up and drove off. The guy making our windows made some new brackets for the panel and Chris re-fixed the skylight………….not well enough and it was lost somewhere between Mula and the house. He has made it watertight and we will need to get another one. The solar panel is back on but we aren’t sure yet if it is working.

This week I have had a trip  to the dentist to get a tooth removed, I have been struggling since Portugal with a gum infection and it is a repeat of a problem I had recently and I hoped it would wait till I got home in December  but it is better to get it sorted. I have had a week of antibiotics and the extraction went well, although I have three stitches which need to come out in a week.  My x ray was 10 euros and the extraction  30, so probably slightly cheaper than home.  The dentist Manuel is good and his English is excellent too and he works in very modern, clean facilities.

We are here in Spain till 30^th November and then we return to the UK, firstly for the wedding and then to stay for Christmas coming back 2^nd January. We are then hoping to have an extended trip , which I have got roughly mapped out ,meandering through Spain and into Portugal, going along to Sagres in the western Algarve then up the west coast towards Lisbon then Porto and finally across to Santander to get the ferry home mid March. This will allow us some time to sort our visas for China and we hope to set off late March.

 Before anyone ask we are not going to China in Ruby!! Chris is keeping an eye out for a different van-we love Ruby but for longer trips we really need a van with a fixed bed as it gives more flexibility and dedicated living space…….and saves having to make and unmake the bed every day!!

Till next time

Norma xx

Espana revisited!!

Okay so let me start from where we are today and work backwards. It’s 11^th October and we are in Merida in Spain, it is just west of Badajoz, not far from the Portuguese border about halfway between Madrid and Sevilla. 

We came here to see the Roman ruins in the town and they were fabulous, but I made a very basic error-I didn’t check the camera last night and the battery ran out after two pictures!! Rookie travellers or what! There is almost too much for one day, a fabulous amphitheatre built for gladiator contests, a theatre –perfect for Mark Antony’s  “Friends Romans Countrymen “ speech. Roman baths, snow houses, the biggest bridge they ever built and a fabulous 2 storey aqueduct and then the Moorish castle too. We were all cultured out and didn’t even get to the museum.

We got here yesterday having left our Portuguese house sit, Will and Wendy arrived back Wednesday evening and we had a nice meal and a few glasses of wine and then packed up and left after breakfast. It was an easy drive but I was a bit dubious about the site having read one or two bad reviews, but they were unfounded, it is very basic and simple but the showers etc are clean and hot and the bar sells cold beer!! It was easy to drive into town today and we parked for  free-always a bonus.

The house sit was good especially as for the last 5 days we had sunshine and were able to laze by the pool, although some of it enforced!! On Sunday we set out for a trip to do a bit of walking and the clutch started vibrating and making awful noises-we knew it would need replacing before we left in August and just took the decision to drive and see how far we got-the answer was 3,500 miles!!

I did a bit of research on the internet and we opted to go to Ferriera do Zezere a little town about 5 miles away where there were 2 garages. The first one was very helpful but the entrance was too low for the van, the second one was perfect. I had the dictionary and a crib sheet with various useful phrases translated into Portuguese like, “we have a problem with the clutch” ,” we are leaving on Thursday”, “how much will it cost” etc. There was a lovely lady called Isabelle who spoke English. The place was also a spares depot, so they had the clutch and they could fix it the next day at 9am.......no repeat of Angouleme. The next day Ruby was in the garage, we spent the morning in Ferriera and then at 12.30 she was fixed. 240 euros for the parts and only 100 for labour. 

We drove to Tomar in the afternoon to see the Castle and convent , which were stunning. We met two American guys who were “doing” Europe and I asked had they enjoyed Portugal and one of them said-“Huh they aren’t very geared up for tourists” and when I asked why not he replied ”they don’t even take dollars” My reply –well the local currency is the euro,  just fell on deaf ears!!  Stay on your side of the pond then!!

The day we arrived in Portugal  we joined a toll motorway at Abrantes so when we were in Tomar we went to the tourist office to find out how to pay, she thought the post office would sell us a card. Wrong! Once you have got onto a motorway in Portugal the only system is to send a bill to the UK, they have number plate recognition systems . Apparently if you cross the border from Spain and join the motorway there are big signs explaining the system-not where we joined. It could take 9-10 months to get a bill , if ever, and the sad thing is the government introduced it to raise funds!!

We loved Portugal, the area was beautiful, the dogs were easy to look after, the house was comfy and the Portuguese people were so friendly and helpful. Sometimes it was a bit Esperanto, a lot of people speak French, a bit of English and understand Spanish and it helped us get by. 

We weren’t as active as we thought, firstly Chris had a cold, then I had one then it rained for days but we did walk one day about 7 km, wandering through the woods and fortunately arriving back at the next little village where we had a beer and Pica Pau-which is Portuguese for woodpecker-thankfully the dish is little bits if pork and garlic.  

So tomorrow we leave Merida and head across Spain towards Chris’ house, we have a stop-over planned but we will see how it goes. Driving in Spain is relatively easy, most of the motorways are not very busy. Then we have about a week before Amy and Carl arrive for their holiday with us.

Chris used the bad weather to get the China plan more developed and we have a broad itinerary that will give us a taste and fit in all of the must do’s , the wall, the terracotta army, cruising the Yangstze and the pandas.

Its only about 6 weeks till we fly home for the wedding and given how much we have eaten and drunk and how little exercise we have had its going to have to be a pretty intensive fitness regime.

Till next time

Take care

Norma xx 

Chris with ancient Moorish water system!!

Ruby -the cafe

Castle Tomar

Ruby-the dog-on left Maggie on right

Roman ampitheatre-Merida