Felice Navidad.

Wednesday 26th December 2018 - Torre del Mar.

Well this was certainly an alternative Christmas.  I suppose there are several basic reasons for the alternativeness.

a) we are in a warm sunny place by the sea

b) we are in a campervan

c) we have been joined by brother and sister-in-law

Even more than that, we haven't got any decorations, we haven't had turkey or mince pies.  We actually had our Christmas Day meal on Christmas Eve.  Apparently the Spanish people celebrate Christmas Eve more than Xmas Day and we followed suit.  We started with Manzanilla sherries at 12 noon and started our meal at 3pm, then finished around 9pm.

Our starters were Iberico ham, chorizo, prawns and fois gras. Wendy made a lovely Duck in Orange Sauce dinner with sauté potatoes and veggies.  We had a cheese platter and a whisky later.

We also had some of the Xmas cake that David had brought for us....mmm!  My Dad's Christmas Cake recipe too.

More sherry too!

Our actual Xmas Day involved some exercise in the morning.....cycling, running and most importantly David, Janice and I went for a morning swim in the Med.

Our lunchtime meal was a cooked Full English Breakfast.  In the afternoon we had a little walk along the beach.  We passed the naturist area again with some bronzed sights....reminded me of the pink prawns we had yesterday!

Later back at the site we had pate and cheese, washed down with a pint of......

In a way you could say we have been rather confused about whether we were having an English or Spanish style Xmas.

Today could be a day of abstinence.  David and Wendy are moving elsewhere.....not quite sure where yet but probably they will head towards Gibraltar.  We have had a great time with D&W.  It brings out our old childhood stories, jokes and brotherly rivalries.  Squabbling over the rules of Uno and Boule!  Janice and I were victorious at boule once more, hurray.....up yours Froggies!

On holiday....at last!

Sunday 23rd December 2018 - Torre del Mar.

We arrived on site at Torre on Friday and were joined by David and Wendy.  The site is still pretty empty.  We came here at the end of November and found out that this is the first year they have opened all year round and the ACSI campsite book still shows them as being closed from October onwards - therefore they haven't had too many bookings.  Janice has told me that we can treat our stay here as a 'holiday' as opposed to our austere 'lifestyle' we have been following up to now.

David and Wendy's chairs used to belong to my Mum and Dad and Wendy claims they still smell of Dad...or at least his pipe smoke?  We should be able to bottle 'essence of Dad' and sell it is an after shave....on reflection I don't think it will be the next Brut!

We won't be rushing around too much.  On Friday afternoon we walked along the beach into the start of Torre.  We walked past the nudist campsite and there were quite a few nude men on the beach!  Wendy was overcome and had a stroke, Janice couldn't reach!  Joke!

We had a beer in a beach bar and walked back along the road.  The girls must not have been too impressed with what they had seen earlier.

We had a night of several drinks and a lot of laughs.  The sherry came out later.

Yesterday we cycled into Torre and had a good look along the prom.  On a Saturday afternoon the locals were out in force.  David and I had an ice cream.  

I was tempted with a 'Dracula' flavour.....a combination of Cola, vanilla and raspberry sauce......rather different!

Later, Wendy prepared a lovely chicken dinner followed by bread and cheese.

Although Wendy and David live in France they have recently been back to the UK and the cheese included Scottish Cheddar, Wensleydale with Cranberries and Blue Stilton.  Very nice too....we aren't too impressed with Spanish cheeses.  Later we played a competitive game of Uno....according to David and Wendy's new 'French' rules!!  Well, I don't like to be racist but when have the French ever played fair?  It backfired as Janice won.

What a load of.....ambiguous equilibrium!

Thursday 20th December 2018 - Malaga.

We arrived at a wild camp on the southern edge of Malaga beach.  It's a little basic but it's next to the sea, it has views across Malaga and over to the mountains.  There are about 20 other vans (some a bit tatty.....we have gone up in the world with our new van!).

It is a straight cycle along the....promenade....about 6km into Malaga centre.

There are a few standing industrial chimneys so I presume this might have been an industrial area but now it has a good beach and double promenade with some good bars.

The city centre was good too.  We were impressed with it.  Also, people seemed to be pretty relaxed.....not like the UK where people are constantly rushing, especially near Xmas.  The Xmas decorations look stunning.

The main places to visit are the Cathedral, the Alcazaba (Moorish fort and Castle), Picasso's Museum and House and the Pompidou Modern Art Gallery.

Cathedral entrance.  Charged 6 euro each (not Senior Citizen rates!).  Fantastic Baroque interiors.

The Episcopal Palace.

We felt compelled to visit the Picasso Museum.  He was born in Malaga in 1881, although he moved away when about 10 years old and did most of his work in Paris.  

Now, Modern Art is not my thing but I do give Picasso credit for creating a new 'cubist' movement in art.  It is striking and was innovative but as with many forms of modern art I think...'what a load of bull', especially when it comes to the verbal description of the painting or sculpture.  We saw one sculpture he did...it was called 'Head of Bull' and was a bicycle handlebar as the horns and a leather bicycle saddle as the Bulls face.  It was described as follows..."Both objects, liberated from their intended function, remain perfectly recognisable although they now exist in an ambiguous equilibrium"!

This is one of the best on display, it's called 'Jacqueline seated'.  I quite like it, probably because it is different and the colours are vivid but why does he paint all his portraits as if they have a broken nose?

The museum attendants were like hawks, watching to prevent anyone taking photos and swooping when a device was raised.  It annoys me....all the paintings will be on the internet somewhere and as long as no flash photography is used, no harm is done.  You can photograph the Mona Lisa and anything at the Louvre so why not here!!!  It spoils the visitor experience and we have paid for the pleasure.

After this experience we didn't pay to go in the Pompidou Centre...

We had a look around the shop and came out again.

The  Malaga harbour is nice and they obviously get some cruise ships in although none were here today.

It very much reminded me of Whitehaven harbour....and that was done with EU money!  OK, it is a little bit better than Whitehaven but it's all in the beholders eye.

The day was a little cool and cloudy by our recent standards.  We cycled back sharpish to warm up.

We had a lovely day today going back into the city.

The Alcazaba was really nice and the Gibralfaro Castillo was higher up and gave great views over the whole area.

The city was the port for the Moors at Granada until the 1400's.

We spent a leisurely day around the city.  Enjoying the sunshine and a glass of wine and more modern art!

Maybe too much wine?

Then we watched the light and music show in the evening.

It was stunning but brief.  The lights by themselves were worth watching.  The streets were packed with a really good atmosphere.  We really like the city.

Me and George!

Tuesday 18th December 2018 - Cabopino, near Marbella (again).

The last couple of days we have revisited a couple of places we stayed before.  

Yesterday we travelled from Estepona to San Pedro, near Puerta Banus.  Our wild camp location was exactly the same place as it had been a coupe of weeks ago, on a side road next to the beach/promenade.  We arrived in the morning and quickly took our chairs onto the beach for coffee.

Later we cycled inland to the town centre of San Pedro.  It seems to have an older centre but most of the area seems to be upmarket shops for interior design, estate agencies and leisure activities (a lot of people around here seem to have money and the leisure time to be able to enjoy their money).  

We stopped in the centre and saw the tourist office.  I approached the lady in the office (it usually is a lady in the tourist office), I checked that she could speak English and then jokingly said "Can I have a town map, I am English, You can put a tick in the box and we are all happy"!  I say this because that is exactly how it always works when you go into a tourist information.  They give you a map and they want to know your nationality so they can compile data on who is using their services.  I was just trying to speed up the process.  The lady didn't really understand.....Janice told her I was being embarrasing and then the lady seemed to realise I was making a joke and smiled.

San Pedro had a lovely Xmas Globe, I imagine it will be quite spectacular when it is lit at night.  The town looked like many of the side streets were being dug up and re-layed so we didn't stay long.

We returned to Puerta Banus...the posh people's harbour!  We enjoyed another look around the harbour and the beach area....

Then back to the van.

We felt fairly secure at our current location, probably because it's a fairly affluent area but on some occasions we aren't so sure.  Security is one of the big issues when we are wild camping.  Many motorhomes congregate together but we usually look for somewhere apart.  I am more concerned about someone either breaking in whilst we are away from the van or trying to steal the bikes from the back than our personal security.  There are some horror stories about people in motorhomes being 'gassed' to sleep whilst they get robbed but I'm not convinced they are accurate and certainly must be unlikely in the extreme.  The main problem I feel is when we are in bed with all the blinds closed and we hear a car pull up nearby.  It is difficult to judge which side of the van they are on and it is difficult to assess how close they are.  Usually it is some young person(s) in a car 'hanging about', and it's amazing how many people lack spacial awareness and come unnecessarily close.  I usually ignore the noises unless it is in the early hours but occasionally I will get up and have a look out of the blinds or open the door in my boxer shorts!  Recently I felt a small shift and movement of the van and thought someone might be trying to take a bike off the back...I jumped out of bed and caught the culprit running away....it was a cat that had been climbing on the bike rack!  The bikes are double locked together and to the van so someone would need a bolt cropper or something similar to get them off and one of the cables has a padlock that gives an audible alarm if it is jostled.  Hopefully that will be enough.  The biggest risk is probably when we are away from the van but we can't do anything other than park it in a place where it is visible to the public in a well lit area.

Today we have moved on to a site for one night, to charge our batteries and empty/fill our tanks before our final push to the site we are booked on for Xmas.  Janice has given me my Xmas haircut.....I noticed a lot of grey hair clippings falling to the floor!  Janice consoled me with the thought that my hair is the same colour as George Clooney.  I am now trying to expand the thought to believe that I look like George Clooney, not an unreasonable thought, we could be related??

We are due at Torre del Mar on Friday for 11 nights.....We've never stayed anywhere so long!  Before then we intend to have a couple of nights wild camping near Malaga, we believe the city has some nice buildings and spaces so is worth a look.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention my sister-in-law, Wendy's reply to to my Xmas requests.....there's a very good reason why.....because it wasn't a positive response!

Superior Quality.

Sunday 16th. December 2018 - Estepona.

Yesterday we travelled from Ronda down the windiest road ever towards the coast.  The views of the mountains and Pueblo Blancos were stunning.

The little white bits are the villages.  I didn't think the roads to those villages would be suitable for our vehicle.  

As we approached the coast and descended from the hills the temperatures went up so that by the time we arrived at our wild camp car park in Estepona we were up to 20 degrees and glorious sunshine.  We hadn't quite got into Estepona when we had travelled down the coast earlier in the trip because our ability to cycle into the town had been thwarted by the impossibility of crossing a busy dual carriageway and the rough tracks needed to circumvent it.  So, by actually wild camping in a large car park by the harbour we were pretty much in the town already.

Not surprisingly there is a lovely promenade, which we walked the full length of, and there is a quaint old town centre.

The roundabout is named 'Glorieta de la Union Europea'.  I'm not sure whether many in the UK will be glorifying the EU at the moment.  We are not enjoying the news from home......and the Burnley Football results don't help either!  We need something to cheer us up.  We may need to get home in time for a General Election or Referendum?  I'm sure our wonderful politicians (all parties included for the purposes of journalistic balance) will sort everything out!  Am I taking positive thinking to the extreme?  I'm voting for Sean Dyche (Burnley Manager) for Prime Minister as he is a decent straight talking chap, takes no messing and he may be looking for a new job if results don't pick up.

Here's the place to be in Estepona.  I've always been known for my 'superior quality'.

The harbour area is nice...not on the scale of Puerta Banus or Marbella but it has some good bars and you can get a lovely view of Gibraltar too.  We actually went out last night for drinks.  We found a good, bustling, trendy bar.....it even had some dancing inside and the police had to come to sort out some trouble....nowhere near us, of course.  We stayed out as late as 10pm....we can't manage anything later and neither can we manage any more than two drinks each.

Today has been a lazy day with an afternoon walk around the town again and an ice cream for me.

My brother David and wife, Wendy, have confirmed they are travelling down in their motorhome to meet us for Xmas.  That's great news.....and I have given Wendy a full list of Xmas items we need, including Turkey, Sprouts, Cake, Pudding, Mince Pies, Brandy Butter and Tree with all the decorations....it's the least she can do, after all we are providing the Sherry!

No one expects the.......

Friday 14th December 2018 - Ronda.

.....Spanish Inquisition.  No Janice hasn't been having a go at me and neither have we been watching Monty Python.  I thought I would tell you about the Ronda connection to the Spanish Inquisition.

The Catholic Inquisition was a kind of authorised ethnic cleaning of the Middle Ages.  Ronda had been a Moor stronghold and many of the Islamic residents pretended to convert to Catholicism so they could continue to stay after the Moors had been defeated by the Catholics.  The Inquisition rooted out the Islamics and the Jews and named them as 'Heretics' and either killed them or drove them out.  Ronda suffered very much in this process and have an exhibition of the instruments of torture used by Michael Palin and friends...whoops, I meant the Spanish Inquisition.

Ronda's famous bridge spanning the gorge and the view at the top...

Ronda is also famous for its bull ring which was built in 1785 and is one of the oldest in Spain.

Yesterday we  did our sightseeing in the town and today we did a walk around the area and enjoyed the local nature.  The area is very much an olive growing area but we have seen lots of cork oaks, whose bark is used for corks and also for making cricket balls.  

The cork bark is cut off by hand and can regenerate after about 12 years.  Janice is checking this one out.

We saw a variety of wildlife....

As well as donkeys and goats we saw a Griffin Vulture (largest bird of prey in Europe) circling and I am sure I got a glimpse of a Spanish Beaver......a rare sight!

I know you won't believe this but we have splashed out on some fizz....our first bottle on our who trip!

We spent nearly 3 euros on it. Wow, I don't think we can afford much more!

Help me Ronda!

Thursday 13th December 2018 - Ronda.

Good weather couldn't last forever...not in December.  Today we have had rain all morning and it is forecast to be cold for the next day or two, although it should dry up.

Over the last couple of days we have travelled inland from Sanlucar.  Tuesday we stopped outside Arcos de la Frontera.  It's a pretty old town that is built up the ridge of a hill.  Plenty of old churches that are all closed.....according to the lady at Tourist Info they are closed till March for renovation.

A place called Arcos needed an arch.

This is the view from the town looking down the valley.  We liked the town but it was a bit quiet, probably because it was dull and cool weather.   Lots of places seem quiet...maybe it's the time of year and there aren't many tourists.  I nipped into another pharmacy to buy some extra reading glasses....I got a reasonable bargain.....two pairs for ten euros.  One pair are red and one pair blue....

Do they suit me?  I don't really want your answer!

Our wild camp location was near the town but down by its lake.

Yesterday we took the hilly twisting road through the 'Pueblo Blancos', white villages.  There were some stunning views of the mountains.

We stopped at a Pueblo Blanco called Grazalema.  Very pretty indeed...the whole village was pristine.  The guide book told us that it is the wettest place in Spain but it stayed dry for us.

Yesterday we arrived at a site just south of Ronda.  No, we haven't nipped over to the Welsh valleys.  It is famous for an old bridge linking the hilltop old town.  I haven't seen it yet....later today, after its stopped raining.  It is supposed to be one of the most popular stunning locations of Spain.  We shall see.  It did remind us of the Beach Boys song, 'Help me Ronda' and we played Beach Boys songs on the way into the area.  We are certainly getting 'Good Vibrations' about it!