During the second week in May we drove down to the Costa del Sol and had 2 nights near Puerto Banus. I remember from my last visit 17 years ago that there was a lot of wealthy people there but it was more like a retreat for the rich and famous. It all seemed much more flashy with people parading up and down to get noticed. We enjoyed our most expensive ever curry there, £109 for a meal that would normally set us back about 25 quid! We had a wonderful day out in Marbella which has changed again in memory but better than I remembered. The old town was very quaint and prettily restored. After narrowly avoiding a timeshare scam we walked all the way along the beach path back to our hotel, watching the very talented kite surfers along the way.
Mike's return flight from the UK was delayed by over 3 hours, compenstion £3.00 for something to eat. Bearing in mind a Pepsi was £1.99 this was something of a joke. Our flight to Tenerife was delayed by one hour, compensation 25% off our next flights booked with Spanair. Hmmmm......
We flew out to Tenerife to join our friend Lesley, and her son Robert as they had a timeshare week there. We stayed in a lovely two bedroom villa on the south of the island. Our punishment was that we had to have 2 hours with a timeshare salesman. Much to his annoyance we did not succumb to his sales tactics. Was it poor selling or being on the final approach to the airport?
We spent most of the week relaxing by the pool, although the weather wasn’t great. Possibly another manifestation of climate change. We hired a car one day and drove up Mount Teide. We took the cable car up as high as we were allowed. At €22 each it was rather steep in more than one meaning of the word but well worth it-the views were stunning. Afterwards we shared bits of our lunch with some big fat lizards. One evening we met up again with our friends Carmel and Eugene on holiday from the Costa Brava. Having them there the same week was just too good a coincidence to pass us by and they were as usual on fine form.
When we returned to Malaga we had one extra night at Alhaurin-El-Grande. A small town inland from Marbella. The wealthy seem to have moved out of the heat and limelight of the coast into the hills. We were informed that amongst others Pierce Brosnan, Dot Cotton, and Rick Parfitt all have homes there. We had great fun at the Alhaurin annual Fiesta. There were several very smartly turned out men on horseback. Tradition dictates that if they are on horseback they have to be served free drinks. They had had several of those by the time we saw them, but they still looked very handsome. We saw a merry go round for children with real Thellwell ponies to sit on. I don’t think it was cruel because all the ponies had their heads and ears up.
A couple of days after our arrival back in Benidorm our friends Les and Tracey from St Helens came to stay for 4 nights. We had a great time with them relaxing in the sun and doing the touristy things one last time before setting back to the UK.
Mike and I are currently staying at a superb site only 3 miles from the centre of Plymouth. We got back a week ago having had a very smooth journey back across Spain. Our only set back being a flat battery the night before we departed. We also had a white knuckle moment along the motorway from Bilbao going towards Santander. I just had time to say to Mike, ‘be careful, there’s a road sign there I don’t really understand’ So we joined the motorway in the middle lane, with cars in it whilst a lorry was next to us joining in the fast lane. We had two overnight stops, one just north of Madrid and at Noja, only half an hour’s drive along the coast from Santander. I had telephoned ahead to check we would fit on the site in Noja. The lady spoke wonderful English but when we arrived we wouldn’t have got a tent on let alone our big bus. Some Spanish passers by offered us assistance and recommended two large sites at the end of the town on the beach. At Santander our ferry experience was enhanced by finding the most delicious AUTHENTIC kebab shop two streets back from the ferry terminal. I’ve never had a kebab sober before (well you wouldn’t would you?)
Since being back we have packed a lot in. We had some stunning weather to go touring around the southern tip of Cornwall. First up was St Michael’s Mount and then onto Lands End which has been developed into an ‘Experience’ with indoor themed attractions for the family. The landscape was unchanged and as I said our spirits were undaunted largely due to the wonderful weather. After a full day admiring Cornwall and negotiating the country lanes we thought we’d find a cheap B&B in St Ives. NO CHANCE. Lots of B&B but definitely not cheap. The blow was softened by the landlady providing a wine box of red and white to help ourselves to. A nice touch for us winos.
The next day we drove up to Boscastle which was nearly washed away in 2004 and drove along the north coast passing through Tintagel, Bude and attempting to visit Clovelly. Mike remembered feeding donkeys at Clovelly when he was a young lad in the ‘60’s. Unfortunately the principle of paying an entrance fee of £4.95 each just to enter a village for a look round and a pasty put us off. If we need to go back please let us know.
Well I guess that’s about all for now, you can read a slightly different spin on our adventures in Motorcaravan Magazine, August issue, available July. The format was the assistant editor’s idea! If you feel too ashamed and cannot bear to approach a cash desk with a caravan magazine it should be on their web page under the reader’s contribution section.
Take care and lots of love Ali and Mike xxx
Mike's return flight from the UK was delayed by over 3 hours, compenstion £3.00 for something to eat. Bearing in mind a Pepsi was £1.99 this was something of a joke. Our flight to Tenerife was delayed by one hour, compensation 25% off our next flights booked with Spanair. Hmmmm......
We flew out to Tenerife to join our friend Lesley, and her son Robert as they had a timeshare week there. We stayed in a lovely two bedroom villa on the south of the island. Our punishment was that we had to have 2 hours with a timeshare salesman. Much to his annoyance we did not succumb to his sales tactics. Was it poor selling or being on the final approach to the airport?
We spent most of the week relaxing by the pool, although the weather wasn’t great. Possibly another manifestation of climate change. We hired a car one day and drove up Mount Teide. We took the cable car up as high as we were allowed. At €22 each it was rather steep in more than one meaning of the word but well worth it-the views were stunning. Afterwards we shared bits of our lunch with some big fat lizards. One evening we met up again with our friends Carmel and Eugene on holiday from the Costa Brava. Having them there the same week was just too good a coincidence to pass us by and they were as usual on fine form.
When we returned to Malaga we had one extra night at Alhaurin-El-Grande. A small town inland from Marbella. The wealthy seem to have moved out of the heat and limelight of the coast into the hills. We were informed that amongst others Pierce Brosnan, Dot Cotton, and Rick Parfitt all have homes there. We had great fun at the Alhaurin annual Fiesta. There were several very smartly turned out men on horseback. Tradition dictates that if they are on horseback they have to be served free drinks. They had had several of those by the time we saw them, but they still looked very handsome. We saw a merry go round for children with real Thellwell ponies to sit on. I don’t think it was cruel because all the ponies had their heads and ears up.
A couple of days after our arrival back in Benidorm our friends Les and Tracey from St Helens came to stay for 4 nights. We had a great time with them relaxing in the sun and doing the touristy things one last time before setting back to the UK.
Mike and I are currently staying at a superb site only 3 miles from the centre of Plymouth. We got back a week ago having had a very smooth journey back across Spain. Our only set back being a flat battery the night before we departed. We also had a white knuckle moment along the motorway from Bilbao going towards Santander. I just had time to say to Mike, ‘be careful, there’s a road sign there I don’t really understand’ So we joined the motorway in the middle lane, with cars in it whilst a lorry was next to us joining in the fast lane. We had two overnight stops, one just north of Madrid and at Noja, only half an hour’s drive along the coast from Santander. I had telephoned ahead to check we would fit on the site in Noja. The lady spoke wonderful English but when we arrived we wouldn’t have got a tent on let alone our big bus. Some Spanish passers by offered us assistance and recommended two large sites at the end of the town on the beach. At Santander our ferry experience was enhanced by finding the most delicious AUTHENTIC kebab shop two streets back from the ferry terminal. I’ve never had a kebab sober before (well you wouldn’t would you?)
Since being back we have packed a lot in. We had some stunning weather to go touring around the southern tip of Cornwall. First up was St Michael’s Mount and then onto Lands End which has been developed into an ‘Experience’ with indoor themed attractions for the family. The landscape was unchanged and as I said our spirits were undaunted largely due to the wonderful weather. After a full day admiring Cornwall and negotiating the country lanes we thought we’d find a cheap B&B in St Ives. NO CHANCE. Lots of B&B but definitely not cheap. The blow was softened by the landlady providing a wine box of red and white to help ourselves to. A nice touch for us winos.
The next day we drove up to Boscastle which was nearly washed away in 2004 and drove along the north coast passing through Tintagel, Bude and attempting to visit Clovelly. Mike remembered feeding donkeys at Clovelly when he was a young lad in the ‘60’s. Unfortunately the principle of paying an entrance fee of £4.95 each just to enter a village for a look round and a pasty put us off. If we need to go back please let us know.
Well I guess that’s about all for now, you can read a slightly different spin on our adventures in Motorcaravan Magazine, August issue, available July. The format was the assistant editor’s idea! If you feel too ashamed and cannot bear to approach a cash desk with a caravan magazine it should be on their web page under the reader’s contribution section.
Take care and lots of love Ali and Mike xxx
