June 16th 2013

After a few lovely days away last week we are ready to go away again.

We had three nights at Higherwell Farm Stoke Gabriel before going to Totnes for two nights and staying on the Caravan Club site there. We bumped into two friends as we arrived and had an enjoyable afternoon in the sun catching up with each others news. Sunday saw us dining at the Steam Packet pub on the river where our good friend Ian had tied up on his boat.

Tomorrow should see us off again with plans for one night stopping at Meldon reservoir before heading off to Tintagel where we have booked a clifftop site for three nights. Hopefully it won't be too windy ! After that we plan to visit Padstow before heading down the coast towards Lands End.

This has been temporarily put on hold due to a less than favourable weather forecast (unusual isn't it)

With nothing better to do for a while I have added the map above showing where we have visited. I hope you find it useful

Well, I thought it was time that I updated this a little.

Since arriving home we have been trying to sort out our garden slippage and feel that we are now getting somewhere with it (hopefully). We have decorated the house, inside and out pretty much, had More Time serviced and MOT'd and today she has had new carpets and vinyl flooring fitted.

This weekend we are off to Manchester to visit our daughter Carly then next week we hope (weather permitting) to off for a few days in More Time. We have booked two nights at Totnes but other than that no fixed plans at present. Hopefully the weather will improve and we can call it summer.

Slippage to garden caused by exceptionally heavy rain washing away foot of bank in stream. 

18th April 2013

Sue and I are now home again. We had to cut our stay in Spain short to come home and sort out the garden which had partially vanished in the stream at the bottom of the garden. It was hanging over us and spoiling our time away so once our tenants vacated we decided to return and start to try and get the garden problem resolved.

Missing the warm sunshine already and don't like this wet stuff that accompanies the grey skies !

Sunday 3rd March

We have had a mixed bag of weather this last few days. A couple of days ago we suffered a terrific thunderstorm that rattled around us for a lot of the day bringing with it heavy rain and hale. In the distance now the mountains look white as if they have a covering of snow. Here though the temperature today is 15 degrees late morning.

Tuesday we move on again, this time to Playa Tropicana at Alcossebre (North of here). We are there for a month and meeting up with some friends that we saw at La Manga earlier. According to the weather forecast the weather is due to pick up again and they are talking of 23 degrees on Thursday, we shall see !

25th February

Moving on to a new site tomorrow, at Crevillente near to Alicante.

We've enjoyed our three months here but are ready now to move on. We should be at Marjal for a week then move on to Playa Trpicana at Alcossebre for a month.

No pictures now as when my laptop was repaired my photo editing software was wiped off and not replaced so file sizes are too large to attach to the blog - sorry.

30th January

I know that it has been a while since my last update but I had computer problems and being in Spain they took a little longer to get sorted than at home. After many days in the hands of the repairer I enquired if it was ready and was told ‘Manana’ but it was still a few days later until it was fixed.

We can’t believe where the time is going, about four weeks more only at this site before moving on. Last night we helped the Scots on the rally celebrate Burns Night complete with specially flown in haggis, it was a lovely night. It just happened to coincide with our 38^th wedding anniversary so very good timing. We had some friends round in the afternoon to help us drink a couple of bottles of champagne and eat some cake before getting ready for the evening which besides the meal had us Scottish Country Dancing interspersed with disco music, we went home rather tired.

A couple of weeks ago I sprained my ankle (I just wish I could remember how) and it has taken a while to get better although when first sprained I was ordered by Sue to rest it so was unable to do much, hardly a problem in the sunshine though. We have had some fairly strong winds since then but not too cold fortunately, certainly better than at home currently.

Some friends we met last winter out here have arrived now and it has been good to catch up with them and spend some time together.

This coming week is another busy one with a fairly strenuous bike ride on Friday to the Portman guns which are a relic of WW2 and sited to protect the entrance to Cartagena harbour but still in position apparently, sounds interesting.

New Years Eve - La Manga

It is now New Years Eve and we have been quite busy since my last update. Carly flew out to stay with us for a week over Christmas and we had a hire car (which we still have) to pick her up from Alicante Airport and to go out and about while she was here.

Sue and Carly enjoying the sunshine in Cartagena

Sue joining a local resident for a sit at Cartagena

We also rented a town house at Mar de Cristal (about a mile from our MH in a straight line) which was lovely. With three bedrooms and two en suites we each had a bathroom and Sue made full use of having a bath rather than a shower for the first time since we left home in September. Weather while Carly was here was kind to us except on Christmas Day when it remained overcast. We took her to Cartagena where after a day sightseeing we stayed until after dark to enjoy the Christmas lights in the streets and squares, very good they were too. We also took Carly into the Calblanque Regional Park, to Cabo de Palos and we drove the full length of the La Manga strip to the infamous hump back bridge at the top. Besides these trips we played Boules (Carly is a natural and beat us several times) and eating and drinking too much as you do at Christmas.

Part of the extensive lighting decorations at Cartagena

A dip in the Mar Menor on Boxing Day (Sue and I were not one of the participants)

All too soon Carly had to leave us but at least she had managed to get a well priced flight from San Javier airport which is quite nearby. With a flight on time she was very soon back in a grey and damp Manchester, missed by us already.

Tonight we intend to join a group of ten and go to a local Chinese Restaurant in Cabo de Palos for a meal then come back to the site and head to the beach to see in the New Year, munching our dozen grapes as the clock strikes twelve. Apparently this is an old Spanish custom and brings good luck to you. We actually got to celebrate the New Year twice, once at midnight Spanish time then again at midnight UK time. With fireworks and chinese lanterns going of where we were an looking across the still water of the Mar Menor to fireworks on the far shores it was quite a spectacular New Years Eve climax. We slept in well on New Years Day 

Seeing in the New Year on the beach at La Manga

Off now for a street BBQ in our Calle joining the other Winter residents in celebrating the New Years arrival.