One Life.....Live it!: April 2016

Murcia, Spain March 2016

There are quite a few new Camperparks popping up in and around this part of Spain and Area Narejos, our next stop is one of them. Situated at the end of Murcia Airports runway near Alcazares, the planes were a different outlook on a camp site but this time of year there were only a few taking off and landing so wasn't a problem for us. The whole site is tarmaced so the noise did travel but pitches are a good size. There are a few showers, washing up facilities and a laundry room. If you stay more than 4 nights the charge is €7 a night plus EHU. There isn't much to do in the area the beach is a 5 min walk away and a long promenade to bike along. There is a huge market on a Saturday a few mins walk away. Neil found Churros thin hot donuts! It kept him quiet whilst I browsed the stalls. Yes I bought another top! Neil got socks! and 5kilos of juicy Oranges for €2!

Our very kind German neighbours also gave us some handpicked mandarins, they were the sweetest orangesI have ever tasted.

We have been good lately trying to save on the budget so we tried the menu of the day at the sites restaurant, Marejos. It was horrid! I had fried fish, well it was deep fried but not sure if it was fish or the dregs of the sea! Neil opted for chicken. safe? It was swimming in fat with a few mushy potatoes, Dessert of Creme Brule was passable all for €12 each, not a bargain, I did complain and they were generous, knocking all of €4 off the bill! The day didn't turn out well, when we got back to Bessie Neil knocked my phone off the side and it dropped through a thin gap in the floor resulting in Neil having to empty the outside locker of its contents and taking the floor panel out to get to the phone. Not a happy man I think he had more than his quoter of San Miguel that night!

The Salt Plains near Guadamar

Area Narejos Camperpark

Restaurant Marejos

No Neils not on the runway this is our pitch!

Saturday Market at Narejos

The lemons are bigger than the Potatoes!

Neils Churros!

Narejos long promenade to Alcazares

Beachfront bar for refreshments

Cartagena, Spain

After a few days in Murcia we headed south to the city of Cartagena. Cartagena Camperpark is situated on the outskirts on a good bus route into the city. Not the prettiest of sites but the lady in charge is very friendly and helpful and seems very proud of her site. Hot showers one water point, EHU and very good Wifi for €10 a night.

We met neighbours Steph and Neil and their little dog Cookie, they are also on their first Adventure in a MH they have no set plan to return to the UK for a while. They have never owned a tent, caravan or MH before so they bought an older Hymer camper first to see if they enjoy this way of life. Ive got a feeling they are going to love it! They have both given up their jobs in Nottingham to live this life. They own a villa in Torrevieca so they have the best of both worlds! We have been invited to their villa and would love to meet up with them again soon.

We took the bus into Cartagena but we made the mistake of not taking a map with us, we found the tourist info office but it was shut! We didn't get to see very much but we had a wander for a couple of hours before catching the bus back.

Restoring some of the facades of old buildings in the city

The next few days we spent Wild Camping around Aguilas south of Cartagena. This area is full of free stops with stunning scenery. We travelled around the mountains to get to Playa Blanca, a large free area with no facilities high up on a cliff. This stop is well worth the journey.

Playa Blanca

Bessie all alone!

Our next Wild Camp was to Higuericas, we stayed here on our way North in February with Ray and Val. The last time we were here a frenchman told Neil and Ray off for trying to put up a windbreak between the two motorhomes!

The free stop has no facilities and is right on the beach with hills all around.

When you wild camp here there are a few no- no's and one of them is you must not empty your waste water or toilet waste anywhere on the site you must take any waste with you and empty at the nearest garage or MH waste point. A german man was put to shame by the frenchman standing in the background of the photo below! He took his toilet cassette and dug a small hole and emptied the contents! Camping behaviour is not allowed at these places meaning you must put tables and chairs etc away at night, no awnings or windbreaks are allowed or you will be heavily fined if the local police catch you and everyone will be moved on.

Morning Sun

Beautiful Higuericas

We have seen all sorts of items strapped to Motorhomes but this was a first! Tomato Plants!

Our last wild camp stop in the area was Playa Carolina the next bay around from Higuericas.

This is our favourite Wild camp so far because of its elevated position and 2 lovely beaches with lots of space. We saw Seals the first morning from Bessies window, it is a special place.

A few beach caves

After a wonderful few days with no hook up or the luxuries of a Camperpark i.e. Hairdryer for me, we needed water and gas and a hairdryer! So our next stop was Cabo De Gata Camperpark. Another new site with a very friendly and helpful portuguese owner. The site although within the Cabo de Gata national park is a little remote with lots of polytunnels around it. The site itself is very neat and tidy with good hot showers and good wifi. Washing machines are €3.50 and pitch with hook up is €10 a night. We had a few days catching up with washing and emails etc so a good stopover to recharge the batteries.

Cabo De Gata Camperpark

Reception and Restaurant

Almerimar Port was our next stop, another favourite of ours right next to the marina and beach. We spent a week here over the Easter period. We met some nice people here, Doug and Marg from Braintree are experienced Motorhomers and Doug and ex cabbie tells some great stories of people he's met, he is a real cockney joker and made us laugh so much!

Doug and Marg

Almerimar Aire

There is also 'no no' when on a Camperpark. Usually there is a waste drop point for grey water, (waste from your waste water tank) and a separate area to drop your toilet waste. At Almerimar there is only one waste point in the ground for everything and a separate water point to rinse the area after you have finished. The photo below shows a camper dropping his toilet waste no problems and then the next photo shows another camper using the same area to wash his Cafietiere and mugs out! The hose he is using is the same hose people use to rinse out their toilet cassettes! That is a no no! Germs galore!

Im glad we didn't get invited round to his for coffee!

Washing out the Cafietere where the toilet waste is dropped!

Almerimar Port

Snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains

Sunset at Almerimar

On our last day at Almerimar we spotted an English owned restaurant just around the corner from the harbour front called Leos. The tapas looked good but we were craving a Roast dinner and we were not disappointed! Neil ordered the 'Elvis', this is the king of Roasts and yes he ate the lot!

Leos Tapas Menu

The Elvis!

Our next stop was to the city of Malaga, a place I have only ever flown into. Our camper park El Rincon at El Rincon de la Victoria was another new site about 15 mins away from the city with easy acsess in by bus. The sites pitches are in a circle with the reception and shop in the centre. Pitches are ok but a little tight to manouevre in and out of because of the angles of the little erected fences. We saw a couple of scrapes whilst we were there! Our neighbours, a young german couple had picked up an abandoned puppy from Portugal, he was found in a dustbin when he was tiny, apparently the owners were traced but they had children and other dogs so didn't want him anymore! His name is Chief and he now has a loving home!

El Rincon site

The site is not the easiest place to find and it is in a very strange place at the back of a few houses up a dirt track.

Which way would you go to the campsite?!

Just a few hanging pots on a balcony!

I did go in the sea!

Our day trip to Malaga city started off with Neil spotting the largest Ferris wheel in Europe called the Mirador Princess. I must admit it was fun and the views were fantastic!

We also climbed another very large hill that Neil was keen to get to the top of! The castle overlooking Malaga port had views of the city and beyond. On the way down Neil fell over! Bearing in mind I was wearing flip-flops and Neil had trainers on Neil took a tumble on the way down I thought it was funny and Neil wasn't amused! Why do we always laugh at other peoples mishaps!

Neil before he fell over!

Malaga Cathedral

Our next City stop was Seville. We didn't stop here on the way north last time and it is one of the cities I most wanted to see on this trip and it turned out to be our favourite city of the trip!

We stayed at the Marina in Gelves on the outskirts of the city. A bus journey costing €1.60 each got us into the centre in just 15 minutes. The marina is a little oasis of calm with the boats moored one side of us and the river the side.

Our first sight of Seville was a man dressed in this!

The most luxurious hotel in Seville called Alfonso X111

at £749 for a standard room!

The beautiful Giralda Cathedral where we saw 2 weddings.

There are so many tiny little walkways and streets leading off from the cathedral it is like walking through a maze, it doesn't seem to matter if you get lost, it is part of the charm of the place, you turn the corner and there is always a surprise. We found a lovely cafe that turned out to be a Hostel! The tapas was delicious and so was the Chocolate Brownie! I would even stay here!

One of the charming little restaurants this one was an Italian with a glass floor!

Young and Old attractions in Seville! A Beer Bus to hire!

Whilst walking along the Canal de Alfonso we came across a food festival full of people enjoying the local food and drink so we just had to stop and try!

The beautiful Plaza De Espania, the King of Spains palace.

April 2016, 8 months into our trip and starting the very slow trip home we just had to return to our favourite place. Only 2 hours away from Seville we returned to Algarve Motorhome park before heading North.

We had an overnight stop at Manta Rota Aire, a stop that some people had recommended to us because it was by the beach and cost €4.50 a night! Well first impressions were a hundred Motorhomes were waiting to board a ferry or something! They were all parked in lines with the first row being called 'dead mans shoes'! The front row being first choice of pitches because it overlooked the gardens and towards the beach. As soon as a motorhome left someone would come along and mark the spot with their chairs or anything they could get their hands on quick and then one of them would stand on the pitch until the other arrived with their motorhome to secure the pitch! The man on reception was so miserable it was an effort to get any information from him and made the whole experience miserable. The electric was extra but you were only allowed 8 hours! The receptionist would come around and turn us all on at 8pm and turn us off at 8am! We were glad to leave the next day.