White Letters Day!

On Friday we decided to sort out the confusion about documentation! For years the Residencia card has been the opener of doors - most significantly to discounts on inter-island flights & ferries - although getting one has involved much hassle e.g.thumbprints, proof of means & probably engaging a "gestor" to ease the process; but no more have been issued since April. Brussels is insisting on its removal. We didn't need or want one, but in its place is the need for anyone staying for more than 3 months in Spain to register with the local town hall, so we sallied forth to find out more.

Thirty minutes later we emerged with a relevant certificate each, several certified copies of same, and an iterim paper giving immediate travel discount - just because we asked! No fee! Only half a tree of paper! No gestor! A bit of Spanish and the right attitude! Result!

(The locals say the island was rich in forest until the Spaniards arrived and imported bureaucracy!)

Back at the ranch the mailbox heaved! Tax stuff and two delightful cards with long letters enclosed! Penny, George & Gregory sent news from their fishing business near Poitiers. Not all good - given the climatic onslaughts - but with a lovely shot of their July wedding, which Bob had attended! If there are serious carp enthusiasts out there visit:- http://www.lequeroy.com

John (as in J & Judy) had penned a serious (!) account of Paleochora since we left in October. Highlights include the arrival of a Chinese clothing shop in the mystery premises opposite Joop's and the disappearance of the Baby Jesus from the town Nativity scene!

Two wonderful reads! Muchas Gracias!

Little Saint Mik - must be crackers!

Here is Mad Mik. We have known him since Xmas '95 and he is now a DJ (and some sort of Gran Queso) at Hot FM - our community English-speaking radio station. (There is a second station, but that's not getting a plug!)

We love the 50s to 80s music, hourly UK news, local news, weather and text-in competitions on music and films. We win them oten enough- not too difficult when the same 10 max people enter! Prizes are not the point (1st prize a meal at X, second prize 2 meals at X!) -it's just good to prove the little grey cells still function!

Anyway! On Xmas morning Mik asked for cracker-type jokes and Bob had seen a great set of old turkeys in the Independent. We accessed them on the web and sent them in. Mik scattered them through his 3-hour show whilst we partook of Bucks Fizz and smoked salmon! See the jokes on: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3276229.ece

and listen to Hot FM live on http://www.hotfmcanary.com/

Yule in the Pool!

Yes - but briefly!

A sub-tropical Christmas

The weather improved in the days running up to Xmas Day. The surf was up. This is the slower of the two Lanzarote ferries going past the small island of Lobos en route to Playa Blanca.

On Christmas Eve there was glorious sunshine and we watched fishermen gutting on tables in the harbour shallows from one of our favourite spots:- Africa's little shack with the collared doves.

In Spanish style we ate our family meal that evening. (Pheasants from Oxford Covered Market)

Christmas Day, and the traditional dip in the pool! This year only Ruth even tried as despite the bright sun the unheated pool has been glacial!

Did she follow through?

Orange Alert!

Excitement on Friday 14th when the communications man turned up to sort out the intercom! We have been trying to have this done for five years, being given wrong information all along the way. and even bringing over (useless) a handset from UK. Getting it done now was a linguistic challenge and also meant we missed the best beach opportunity of the week, but afterwards we celebrated!

So it was on Sunday that we got to the beach and the wind was quite strong and from the East. We used the shelter and had a pleasant afternoon, followed by cooking our first ever Sunday roast - meat purchased by showing a diagram of butchers' cuts as they are different over here!

Then on Monday we heard on the radio that all of the Canaries were on orange alert for the next few days as severe weather was expected. Outside it seemed OK except for an unusual wind direction. Through Tuesday it became darker and colder. Gran Canaria and Tenerife suffered torrential rain, with the less significant island of El Hierro (furthest Weast) having over 70 litres per sq metre. All schools in the archipelago were closed. Finally at about 6.30 it was our turn! Completely silent but constant heavy rain! We raided the freezer, battened down the hatches and watched an old comedy video as the satellite signal was lost.

Chloe was due to arrive on Wednesday and the alert was still in force. Fortunately she was on a later flight and not the one diverted in the morning. She and the pheasants landed on time!

"Bah, Humbug!"

It is one of life's ironies that we started coming here in 1992 to avoid Christmas tat and hype! The theory is that in Spain it is 6th Jan that has more significance.

How things have changed!

Kids now get gifts for both occasions and the decorations go up even earlier than in Oxford Street!

These shots are of the brand new El Campanario Centre, which is still three-quarters empty in shop terms but has two conflicting loudspeaker systems aimed at the Plaza - each with carols!

Nice place for a drink if you have ear-plugs and /or like this sort of thing! That's our council tax paying for this!!! (but we did get a very nice and inclusive UNICEF card from the Mayor Claudina)

Comings, Goings, Delays & the "Puente"

Chloe and Chris had decent weather for their week, but it became a little cloudy and windy, so our day at the dunes was shortened and we used the wind shelter. We all went in the sea, though, despite the red flag! Bracing!!

They went out on their on one evening and did very well in a music quiz at The Oasis where the average age was greater than the sum of theirs!

Both 6th and 8th December are Bank Holidays in Spain. (Constitution Day & the Immaculate Conception!) Many people therefore (including school children) "make the bridge" and take all three days off! This meant a lot of activity at the harbour/marina which is 5 minutes away from home:- sailing, fishing, water sports and eating fish!

On their last day the sun shone brightly but they went shopping! We then had tapas by the harbour and they went to the airport for a 7.30 p.m. departure. They got as far as the gate and were told they would have to be put up in a Caleta de Fuste hotel, as there was a mechanical fault! They landed at Gatwick around 8.30 p.m. the next day! We had a text from Chloe the next morning at 6 a.m. to say she was on her way to work!

Sunnin' & Strummin'

Chloe and Chris arrived on Saturday evening (his first visit here!)

Sunday was a beautiful day. Monday started well but the wind got up driving them off Wai-Kiki beach and into the Corintia for a light lunch with us.

Whilst we were there Ilya the Russian (of course!) balalika player came along and busked. We had seen him last night at Imagine(http://www.imaginemusicbar.com)

We were astounded at the speed of playing with which even immodest but brilliant Eric (owner of Imagine!) could not keep up.

Chris has brought his guitar and has been inspired by the live music there and the previous night at Rock Island. (http://www.rockislandbar.com) The challenge is to provide venues for the rest of the week!

"This is not a Holiday!"

Neither does the sun usually burn off the cloud until at least 11 am so we have been doing our bits of business and admin in the mornings. We have had some memorable queues at the Post Office, but have sorted out a dodgy Satellite box, fridge hinges, wardrobe doors, broken sunbed slats, inflated bank charges, warped bike wheel, dead aloe vera and the internet! Last Wednesday we took the bus to the capital Puerto del Rosario.

Not a great success on the "tasks" front as the big shops we wanted to visit did surprisingly take siesta. This left us stuck on an industrial estate with no transport.. Never mind - the city is being spruced up and it's pleasant to walk round. Cruise ships such as the Aida - above - now visit, and there is a trail of new sculptures, such as the one shown, which seems particularly apt!

Gathering Winter Fuuuuuu- e -l!

Bob has just received his first annual Winter Fuel Allowance from Her Majesty's Government! Thank you - it will pay for some sun tan lotion or cold beer!

We have been here three weeks now. The weather has been largely lovely and we have had a day each week on the famous Oliva Beach at the "two hotels". The photo is from archive as we no longer take valuables (like cameras) there!

We have also enjoyed many afternoons on one of our roof terraces in temperatures up to 32 degrees C. The sun is setting at around 6pm so you have to be quick!

Wednesday 7th November - a date for Rangers to remember!

We returned the car to Hertz Stansted - a rather more satisfactory procedure than picking it up! - and had a meal at the airport, then took the courtesy bus to Holiday Inn where we had a fairly good value overnight deal! There were a few football fans around!

Next morning we were back at the terminal and as we worked our way towards the plane (having to yield a jar of horseradish source as a security menace) we realise we were bound for the came place as 200 Rangers fans. It was the Rangers-Barcelona match that night (Some Euro thing - we know nothing - we are not from Barcelona!)

An unforgetable flight! Fortunately short! We had the Northerh Irish contingent all around us! *"What! Ryanair is a Feinon company?") Complete with song sheets, and an immoderate line on Celtic, the Pope and the primacyof the good Queen!

The airport in Girona was awash with more of the 20.000 that attended! We got out and visited Yvette to disconnect her batteries, talc her wipers and swap luggage! Then back to the same hotel to watch the TV commentary on Rangers fans in Barca, have another over-elaborate meal and prepare for a 4.15 taxi!

UK for a week - not a lot to say!

Within an hour of landing we had paid 8 Sterling for 2 coffeees and 2 Danish pastries amd had a row with Hertz about their hidden charges for car hire. "Rip-off Britain!"
It was good to see friends and family, nonetheless!
We stayed in York with Chris and Penny, enjoying some real British ale, but not enjoying the food-poisonong (allegedly) acquired at the College training restaurant!
We went to Suffolk and saw Rose, Ray and Paul
Then to Croydon (good value Travelodge!!!) from where we saw Chloe and Chris twice, and went to Hants to have lunch with Ruth's parents & sisters (and John - Lois's partner!)
We picked up the post from Balham and bought a cheap mobile phone on Tooting market.
That's - for us - just about all you you need to do in UK!
So we left!

Hola y hasta pronto Girona (or the equivalent in Catalan!)

We could not find a hotel very near the airport in Girona (we have now.. !) so stayed at a very old-fashioned but friendly place in the Husa group. From it we visited the long-term parking place (Punt Central) and confirmed our reservation. We ate in their restaurant (a bit over-fussy!) and left next day. We looked round a neighbouring small town and took Yvette for a good wash and polish before her long winter rest! We used the Punt Central service back to the airport thinking we would leave the bag/s in Left Luggage. There is no such thing! - presumably as a consequence of the Madrid bombing - you do not find Left Luggage anywhere in Spain!

So we went into the city centre by bus - took an urban bus to a central point and had tapas in a nice lylle place on their Ramblas! Then we killed time until being thrown out of the bus station and then went back to the airport to doze until a 4.30 check-in for our Stansted flight back to Blighty!

Le petit ete!

We left the gite at the appointed hour on Saturday 27th October, with Madame not even wanting to inspect our cleaning! After washing the linen at the laundrette we picked up the Autoroute and set off South. We decided to push on to Perpignan - through all the region that had been so awfully wet both up and back in 2005! We stayed at the Premiere Classe, of course - this time with (slow) Wi-Fi! We ate well and had a thorough re-packing!

On the Sunday we drove to St Cyprien on the coast and had a wonderful ride on the bikes down a coastal path in bright sun. Nice place - worth visiting again! Next day the local papers rejoiced in how good the weather had been for this holiday Sunday (All Saints). On Monday morning we checked out and re-organised the car in order to put the bikes into the body of the car as would be needed for the winter. It was a simple drive (on national roads - not Autoroute) over the border and we reached the booked hotel in Girona with little trouble!

Things get a little better!

As the week progressed we were able to do some cycling - the best beimg south of the Alpilles - an East-West chain of pretty high mountains which seemed to offer some shelter from the Mistral! We visited some pleasing little towns, and some glorious terrain.

On Thursday afternoon we realised it was going to rain! The gite owner had complained that there had been none for 5 months - doing damage to olives and other crops. It poured! We went to St Remy for a wonderful meal at the Logis de France and came home for more "Fortunes of War"! On Friday it was market day in the village. We waited for the rain to stop and went down after noon. One stall! Possibly because all the stall-holders were in the Auberge

which we also visited for lunch! We spent the afternoon with a Marmite de Pecheur! Mussels, prawns, lotte (translation "devil fish" and scrumptious!) in a massive shared pot with free wine, salad, cheese and dessert for 8 Euros each! France at its rural best! We lurched back to the gite and set the alarm for an early cleaning & departure.

Into the Camargue

Sheltering from the Mistral we made two car excursions down to the Med and through the striking terrain of the Camargue. The second had as objective Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, where Ruth had spent a memorable time in 1982 sleeping on the beach! No blue plaque and you now can't drive as near to the lagoon! The sun shone, the wind had moderated and we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon there watching hordes of tourists! (We - of course - are travellers - not the T word!) Loads of horses, some flamingos, some bulls - a lot of marshland!

Also a lot of Roma begging!

October 20-27: Notre gite mignon

Our little home for the week was in the village of Eyragues. The nearest towns were St Remy (see other post) and Chateaurenard (left) - rather small and quiet but with (bliss and rapture!) a laundrette and internet place! The chateau dominates although it had a bit of a battering during the Revolution!

The village had a small supermarket and - in theory - 3 or 4 restaurants, but until the end of the stay they had a touch of the Italian and published opening times were not valid in October. We were reduced to the Vietnamese (OK!)!

The gite was half-attached to the home of a couple of our age, who were expecting us to be Spanish because of our address on the booking form! Very nice people with plenty of ideas on where we could cycle, and with local knowledge on the Mistral. By the first morning we had realised the 15 Euro charge per week for heating was going to be used! We set off on the bikes and after half an hour agreed this could not go on! The wind up and down the Rhone was reducing the temperature by at least 15 degrees C! Hands and faces were frozen and even downhills felt like uphills! Meanwhile the sun shone! Many recriminations over who should have remembered about the Mistral, and whether we should abandon early and head for the Pyrenees - where we had famously hit freak floods in 2005! In the end we stayed and did more touring by car than was envisaged. We watched the local weather forecasts and our own DVD collection of "Fortunes of War"!

In the footsteps of Van Gogh

This is where Vincent painted some of his most famous works. Just outside the city is the bridge you will probably recognise.

Later in the week we visited St Remy en Provence, where he painted over 150 works. It is a beautiful town, with a well-organised VG trail, big market, a lot of good restaurants and a terrible one-way system!

A week and a bit in Provence - Part 1

We had booked our gite from the Saturday, so we stayed two nights at the Premiere Classe on an out-of-town shopping centre in Arles. Sounds bad, but great value and close to such delights as the Campanile, where simple French food is always reliably served! On the second day we cycled the very short distance into Arles and saw some of the sights. These include the Roman amphitheatre (where unspeakable things still happen to bulls) and a mass of Provencale restaurants.

There are two indicated trails round the city (Roman & Van Gogh..see next posting). We can add another: the trail round all UK-linked banks looking for an ATM that allowed PIN actions so Bob could sort out the blocked credit card. (Failed!)

Toulon again!

We had no idea when we arrived in Toulon back on 8th July that this would be our re-entry point to France

It took a long time for the ferry to manoeuvre into the harbour and we were intrigued by the way it was moored to posts out at sea.

We were soon off and on the road to Arles. The sun shone and we stopped for beer and a baguette in a little town in the mountains.

Good to be back!

Italy 1: France 5

The port of Civitavecchia turned out to be delightful! We had to hang around the terminal for some time before getting a ticket, and then we spent the afternoon at the laundrette (!) and in a sea-farers' centre with internet access. Bob also got a haircut.

Then it was back to the port for the Grimaldi ferry to Toulon. (They also sail to Barcelona, which could prove useful sometime!)

Yvette had to travel in the open air this time (with 9 French and 1 Italian car) as shown here!

We left Italy with few regrets! We could we being unfair but we did not like: useless road signs, aggressive driving, fear of crime, privately owned beaches, no cheap hotel chain, closure of facilities in Autumn...

On the other hand they have secured a smoking ban in restaurants, and the fast food is excellent! On the boat there was a long queue for dinner (serious French passengers!) The crossing was smooth!

All roads lead to Rome!

We decided to get to France a bit earlier than necessary as the military man on the TV weather said rain was on the way! See also next entry for our probs with Italy! We drove aross the "calf" of Italy on Monday and headed for the coast south of Rome. We were looking for a moderately large seaside town with quiet hotels and reastaurants, a laundrette and internet office, and some coastal cycling! Latina fails on most scores, but the rest of coastal Italy seemed closed! After lengthy inspections of the coast we ended up there in the rush-hour with little to help us find a place to hang our hats!
Eventually we found the Hotel Rose (in Holiday Inn chain) - very friendly & helpful and with one trattoria nearby (behind the bowling alley!)! Next day we drove to Sadaubia on the staff's advice and realised it met (nearly) all the previous criteria! It was built by Mussolini as a model new town and has an impressive length of beach backed by a lagoon. A lovely ride on the bikes but of course most places were closed!
Camera battery also flat so no pics!
(The "nearly" for town facilities refers to our quest with a bag of dirty washing for the promised laundrette that turned out to be a dry cleaners disguised as a tobacconists!)
That evening we ate at the same place and tried to book our next ferry. The receptionist couldn't find the ampersand sign on the keyboard so we had to set off next day without a firm booking! We will need a very good reason to return to the centre of Latina!
On Wednesday morning we set off for the exit from Italy and handled the Rome ring road fairly well to arrive at Civitavecchia 60 km north on a deserted Autostrada. Things were getting better!

Sunday at The Grove!

..still catching up.. weather here in Fuerte just too good!

not The Grove in Balham, but an olive grove near Torre Canne during a very pleasant bike ride on Sunday 14th October!

Pretty old and wizzened, but still fit for purpose!

A bit of luxury!

After some dithering we signed in at the Hotel de Levante in Torre Canne (nearest town: Fusano inland a little!) It was well over-budget but there was virtually nothing else around. This is the view from our balcony. We stayed two nights, eating more than once at a very good small restaurant and meeting a British couple older than us who had travelled extensively and had many tales to tell including their recent tyre-slashing and passport theft!

Sunny but windy on the Puglia coast!

.. and after that short break...

... we are now on broadband in our Fuerte home! (Very efficient despite what is often said about Telefonica)... so we resume the saga of our migration with our arrival in Italy on 13th October.

We were under-prepared for Italy - we had lost a fair amount of travel literature in the house-fire of 2004 and we were operating on a hunch that the Puglia coast would be interesting, so we went to Bari, docking in quite pleasant weather; and we set off southwards to see what we could find! Bari itself has a very elegant waterfront, and therefter there is a series of towns with attractive harbours. There was a short period of rain as we drove, and we were unsure how far to go before settling. Many of the places that would have been delightful in season were closed!

How lucky we are!

The Ionian King has a Cypriot flag and was previously on a Japanese route so some interesting notices! We were boarded very early and realised as we watched the port activity that there were up to 200 young men trying to stow away on lorries bound for Italy! Their methods were blatant and we saw numerous evictions by the drivers and eventually severall successfully getting into an empty container - reminder of the Chinese who were found dead at Calais!

The authorities were not interested in prevention - only some work with dogs and mirrors by the ferry people! We are intrigued as to where they are from and why Patras!

A good voyage again - thanks to a discount cabin; but no thanks to Chloe for ringing at 4am or the horde of American High School students and teachers living up to every stereotype! One can only hope that travel will broaden their minds!

Piraeus, Patras, Pits!

Friday 12th October was not our finest hour as intelligent travellers!

After a very comfortable crossing we were off the ferry by 6.30 am. It was still dark and we had stupidly said we would pick up the ticet for the next ferry in Piraeus. We could not find the office and drove round and round up blind alleys and hovering in illegal spots! Eventually Ruth went up to the fifth floor in an office block to discover that it was just an office and not open until 9am!

So we set off for Patras on peculiar back streets and missed the main turning for Corinth. As we sat in a traffic jam and the sun came up we realised it was in the wrong place! We were heading into Athens. U turn and a 15 minute hold up getting onto the motorway followed by a beginner's navigation error at a service station and more confused progress down increasingly narrow roads§ We did eventually sort this out and had a fairly pleasant drive with a little rain and great views of the sea on both sides. We also saw the impact of the summer's fires on some hillsides!

We found Patras port easily but were amazed to see many groups of young men hanging around. This did not mean much at the time but we were reluctant to leave the car unattended and with the terrible signing for gates at the port and nowhere out of town to pull up we ended up sitting with a sandwich inside the port area for several sunny hours until embarking! Here she is!

Adio Paleo

We decided to wait until our friends Gail & Mike had arrived for their extra hols, and chose Thursday 11th October for departure. This meant we would also see Pascale & Marine for some of their return visit.

Our last few days were beautifully warm, and the beach fairly empty!

We booked three ferries, three flights, and car hire and hotels in UK. We had to dela departure by some hours owing to power-cut and paying the internet bill; but had an uneventful journey over the mountains to Chania, peppered with fallen chestnuts, and took the new ANEK ship Olympic Champion just after midnight! Calm before the storm!

As the shadows lengthened it was....

.. time to move on1
As September progressed there was a marked increase in:
tourists' average age, dress size, IQ!
Watermelon was replaced by grapes as the freeby after dinners!
Every Tuesday friends left to be replaced by "September people" we didn't know; but the weather was better than anyone expected!
When to move on?

Gavdos must wait

Todaythe Force 6 winds continued - bringing down yet more of the foliage supports on our balcony. Too windy for our scheduled last lunch on the beach with "old" friend Pauline from Aachen & her new beau Ron from Glasgow/Portugal/Nigeria, so we met where they are staying at Flora's and had the privilege of an afternoon with Papa Poseidon:- 75 years old, Danish & a former merchant seaman, he was unable to cross today to the island of Gavdos (most southerly point in Europe!) because of the wind. His essential travelling kit comprises twice as much as he can carry, supplemented today by food for a month - cauliflower and salami! He is an expert on Che Guevara, yoga & naval craft. Bonne route to all!

First signs of Zygositis!

"The irrational desire to sit behind plastic screens in Force 6 winds drinking Amstel" (ref: the Snack Bar Zygos on the Sandy Beach road)

Early symptoms include nostalgic reminiscence over summers past, reciting old comedy sketches and the urge to look up who did the Egyptian sand dance.

No cures are known but the condition is thought to be self-limiting following a drop in wind speed.

Rock Island Minor

Friday night and Paleo enjoyed a flavour of the live music which is so much a feature in Corralejo but happens too seldom here!!
Kostas at the Kosmogia bar engaged a rock duo Feedback (Mike & Wayne) which lives on the North Coast (near the campsite!)
The great and the good (and we) had a great time packing out the place and doing no harm at all to Kostas' takings! Mike sounds like J J Cale or Mark Knopfler!
There were a few sore heads in town next day!

A (medium) rare sight!

Last evening we heard and saw two cows! This is significant as we were told when we started coming to Crete that there were none on the island - with all beef and dairy product being brought in from outside!

This pair (bullocks) are presumably destined to become stifado and mousaka!