Thursday 9th December 2010

Tuesday we caught the bus into Malaga where we had a good walk around and along the beachfront. Malaga has a large port and it shows, so far the dirtiest and unattractive city we’ve been to. As we got further from the port end, the seafront did improve slightly but the overall impression was still not good, despite the sunshine!

Wednesday was spent around the camp sorting out what we were bringing home etc. As it was such a lovely day we went for a walk to admire the fabulous views and ended up at the Spanish bar/restaurant just outside the camp entrance, where we sat in the sun and had some of the cheapest drinks we’ve had so far. As we arrived a local guy who had obviously had more than his fair share was leaving, he meandered over to his horse which was tied up nearby and told it in English “Take me home”, maybe it was an English horse? It seemed to understand and plodded off as though this was a usual occurrence!
During the evening we watched a terrific storm over the hills, with  lots of sheet lightning and thunder, it must have lasted nearly an hour. Obviously this was followed by gale force winds and torrential rain!

Today we woke up to a bright sunny morning and temperatures in the 70s. We caught the bus into the next town Alhaurin De La Torre (bus driver not happy as I only had a 20 euro note, oops!) where we had a good walk round checking out the shops and had lunch in a great bar before Lynn and Sarah had their hair cut. The area has some nice newish estates with small parks and children’s play areas as well as some expensive properties (1 million euro). It seems to be an affluent area judging by the cars we saw, lots of nice Mercs, BMW;s and Audi’s. The main road through in lined with trees and well kept grass areas, it even has an exercise area for the elderly, which was being used! Most of the machines are operated from a sitting down position and are specifically designed for the less mobile, no comments please!

Monday 6th December 2010

After a very rainy night, we woke up to a cloudy but warmish morning. Some of the clouds were covering the valley but beneath the hill tops, which was very picturesque. Lynn was very impressed and I obviously explained the hours I’d spent researching it just to find that view! After a cooked breakfast (it feels like a Sunday!) we walked up to the office and saw Pavlo, who we think is Ukrainian (not Spanish) and arranged for the storage etc of “Bella”.

As the sun had come out, Lynn and I went for a walk along a country lane which had very large plots of land either side with Villas on them. Some of which were impressive others needed some work on them, they all had great size plots and views. We stopped after some time when we met a large and free Doberman, who wasn’t particularly friendly! Lynn found the house she wants near the entrance to the camp, hidden behind tall trees, long winding drive, pool, lovely gardens and great views! Roll on that lottery win!

Sunday 5th December 2010

Woke up feeling a little tired as the Spanish kids were still up and running at 1am! After breakfast we left the camp in sunshine and set of towards Malaga, a fairly short and straight forward journey along a dual carriageway, around and through some fantastic hills and across some not so fantastic ravines. As we neared Malaga some of the houses in the hills were lovely, with great views of the coast. As we followed the directions around Malaga and towards the airport we spotted a large shopping complex where we were able to stock up with food and drink as we didn’t know what the campsite would have or how easy it would be to get into the nearest town.

We’d had trouble with the satnav locating the site and were having to rely on the web page directions we had copied earlier, but as it turned out they were spot on. We went through Alhaurin De La Torre which was a very nice affluent town before heading into the hills and finding the campsite. We’re glad we stocked up as the camp “supermarket” is a freezer in the office and you need to catch the bus into the town. We have a pitch at the bottom of the camp with incredible views over the valley and hills, very quiet and peaceful. The manager wasn’t here so the site barman/warden put us on the pitch and said to return tomorrow to see Pavlo to sort everything out.

Saturday 4th December 2010

Sunny day, but windy. Some Spanish families arrived yesterday and began unloading copius amounts of food and drink into their caravans! Last night the noise wasn’t too bad but today we suspect it will be noisier. Lynn and I went for a bike ride to find the best way back to the main road which was really easy as it turns out.

This evening we decided to try the camps bar/restaurant as they advertised a menue of the day for 9 euros. We got there about 7.30pm and grabbed a table in the bar area next to a roaring log fire! The bar was busy with locals but the restaurant was very quiet. We ordered some drinks, I tried the local “Alhambra” beer which was great. After a while the waitress brought over a plate of crisps covered in mayo and several hot battered prawns, they were delicious. At which point I suggested if we sat there long enough we might get a enough free tapas instead of paying for a meal! Obviously that didn’t go down well with Lynn and Sarah! After a while we ordered our meals (with the help of the waiters dad who spoke some English) and more beer. No sooner had we done this than the waitress brought out some more tapas, this time a plate of Olives with bread and cheese, what did I say!! Anyway we had a lovely meal, three courses (plus tapas), a bottle of wine, beers and coffee for 32 euros!

Thursday 2nd December 2010

With the sun shining Lynn decided to do some washing, which sounds simple but entailed interpreting instructions from a German lady and Lynn having a ride in a golf buggy driven by a guy who thinks he’s Alonso!

After breakfast we went to explore the village on our bikes, Its similar to Bicknacre with a church and school as well as a small shop where we stocked up for a few days. It also has at least four banks? The Spanish do seem to have lots of banks a lot of which seem to be region ones?

In the afternoon Lynn and I set out on the bikes to ride along the coast. The beach is made up of small pebbles but is long and clean with showers and wooden paths dotted along it. We passed a couple of motorhomes wild camping on the beach, one next to a sign saying it was forbidden! At the far end was a lovely secluded bay and a large residential area.
Whilst we were enjoying the views I thought I could hear something, yes air hissing out of my front tyre. We found  it had been caused by a sharp thorn, so moved to a bench and began to remove the tyre. The repairs went easily enough, but as we were leaving we found my rear tyre was totally flat and had more of the thorns in it. Both of Lynns tyres also had them in but hadn’t punctured yet. Needless to say it was not so straight forward a job as we hoped and eventually did the best we could and made a hasty retreat back towards the van! We nearly made it before Lynns tyre got too flat so we had to walk the last bit. I think new inner tubes are needed as the current ones look like patchwork quilts!

Wednesday 1st December 2010

A brighter but very windy morning, left the camp by 10.30 and set off to find the dual carriage way heading towards Almeria and the Malaga. This took us through the hills and some great scenery, albeit a head for heights would have helped! We crossed lots of ravines and went through loads of tunnels. As we came out of the tunnel you were faced with a large plain set between the hills and the sea, covered with the plastic green houses. One area must have been similar to Danbury to Chelmsford. As we neared the campsite they had even started putting them on the hill sides as well.

We found the campsite easily enough and selected a pitch near the shower block and which catches some sun! The reception was the friendliest we had encountered yet and has a small supermarket, bar/restaurant on site. The rain had returned so we settled in for an evening of cards and “House”, Chris the girls are still playing as a team!