Hello folks, anyone out there still? Its been a long time since I wrote the last diary entry and tomorrow we will be flying home to the UK for Christmas. In all we have been at Los Madriles for more or less 7 weeks, by far the longest we have ever stayed on a campsite and it now feels like our second home. Much as we look forward to seeing friends and family (and pussies), we will feel sad to leave, but hey we are back on the 29th!! So what have we been up to:
Most of the 7 weeks we have been bathed in sunshine although it has got a bit chillier first thing in the morning and in the evening. With the nights creeping in earlier we have also had some amazing sunset skies with the surrounding mountains looking stunning in a pink/orange light.
Occasionally it has been a bit windy too and last night winds did reach up to 61 mph, fortunately we had taken our awning down in preparation for leaving tomorrow.
We have been walking in the Sierra Espuna mountains, about an hour’s drive from here. The Espuna mountains are set in a National Park and are popular with walkers and cyclists. We initially drove around some of the area and collected some maps in order to do some walking on another day. We have managed one 16km walk to date but sadly I fell near the end of the walk as I jumped off a rock and twisted my ankle quite badly. That was three weeks ago and I have just started getting back into doing walking again.
I have still managed to swim in the pool though and also have tried Aqua Aerobics organised by the campsite which has been fun.
We have also been out several times on the kayak around the bays and small islands of Puerto de Mazarron. Not as pretty as Croatia or Portugal, but still worth the effort to see the coastline from the sea.
Prior to hurting my ankle (in fact the day before) we climbed the hill behind the campsite which takes about an hour to get up and another one to get down. From the top you get a great view of the campsite and trying to work out which is our pitch was entertaining too.
The campsite has a good activity programme and you can dip in and out if you want to or just do your own thing. We were determined to try most things on offer (although John said no to singing and line dancing). As I belong to a singing group at home, I was keen to try it out. I had a chat with the organiser, Johnny and his wife Audrey and was gobsmacked to find out they live half a mile from us in Northmoor. Although we didn’t know them previously, we both knew the same people. Johnny knew my singing group, The Sutton Singers and was apparently one of the founder members!! I don't go every week but managed to get there last week to sing Christmas Songs.
We have also played Boules a few times particularly when I was unable to go out and about much because of my ankle.
A lady called Catherine takes a fantastic stretch exercise class every Friday around the pool. John and I have been going along and its a good alternative to Pilates and its free!! We also attend a similar class run by a Dutch chap called Willy. Both Catherine and her husband Phil have become good friends and they have taken us to a couple of Spanish restaurants mainly frequented by the Spanish which we would never have found and have been great company. Willy and his wife Else have also taken us out on a hike and introduced us to some interesting hill walks.
Our friends Corrine and Simon whom we met a few years ago when in Moraira have also been staying here and we have shared some time with them too. They are very keen cyclists and belong to a group that cycle 60 -80 km up in the mountains about 5 times a week!!
Catherine and I have also been line dancing and hope to continue next year.
So as you can see from the above, its been a very sociable stay here and we certainly haven't had time to get bored.
The campsite is around 70% German, 5% Dutch and French and the rest are English. On the campsite there is little to remind you that you are in Spain and so its good to go out and find places away from the tourists. I am the only English person in my Zumba class and I enjoy very much listening to the Spanish ladies chattering 10 to the dozen and giggling. I don’t really know what they are saying but it seems to be good banter.
Thomas and Susi if you read this you will be pleased to know I am trying to learn Spanish and using the Duolingo App you told me about.
We were concerned when we arrived that after a few weeks we might get bored but that certainly hasn't been the case. When we return we have a list of places to visit and walks and cycle rides we want to do.
With Christmas around the corner it was interesting to see how the Spanish prepare for the build up. Certainly there is a festive presence in the shops and some lights but certainly not to the extent that we have in the UK. Walking around the campsite there are quite a few vans with lights, tinsel and other Christmas bits and pieces decorating their pitches. I did manage to persuade John to put our lights up and I have hung a few decorations along the dashboard.
Today ended on a slightly sad note. As mentioned, we had strong winds this morning and we could see the waves crashing against the rocks so we drove down to the beach to take a look. We saw a few beached boats including a catamaran that had been moored at sea since we have been here and sadly a dead beached whale. We think the whale was already dead and possibly hit by a boat propeller before it was washed up onto the beach as it was badly battered in places. Very sad sight.
Secondly for the first time in 7 weeks we drove the van to fill up with gas and unfortunately caught the back end of the bumper on a gate which has caused the bumper and side panel to come away from the van. We have managed to put it back together with the help of gaffer tape. So two upsetting events on our last day before leaving.
We see on the TV that we have plenty of snow and cold weather to come back to. Fortunately we are going to be so busy over the next few weeks that I doubt if we will have time to notice the weather. We hope to see some of you but if we don’t we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and safe 2018.
