FEBRUARY
2006
SPAIN-Javea
SPAIN-Javea
Wednesday
1st and Thursday
were
spent with Ann. Friday
we were invited to dinner by Ann’s friend Charro, we had a
magnificent
Paella.
Saturday 4th was a rainy, windy day. We stayed in the caravan doing odd jobs. Sunday we left Javea having had only two days of sunshine. We motored southwest past Alicante towards Murcia, stopping at a campsite on the way. Monday was fine and sunny, we stopped at El Contador, a beautifully scenic camp, with the snow capped Sierra Nevada to the south. Tuesday we traveled on to Granada in beautiful weather. The camp, southwest of Grenada was excellent and we spent a day at the
Alhambra where the Moorish stalactites were the
best
Howard has seen, even better than those at Shiraz and Isfahan. Wednesday morning we bought
some large screws, Howard finished the table, not putting up the
collapsible table is sheer bliss. Thursday our journey took
us southwest to Ronda
through wonderful scenery. Friday having arranged a
service at the Iveco garage in Ronda, we left early and arrived at the
garage before it opened. While the service was being done we
visited Ronda old town, with a magnificent Bull Ring, the oldest in
Spain and featured in the film Carmen. We also visited a
stupendous gorge dividing the old town from the new, we walked down
into a “mine” to the bottom of the gorge, with information on the
town’s defences in Moorish times. There were many steep stairs
back up to the exit through the gardens. We continued downhill
and
crossed
the old, middle bridge, and back up the steep, winding, narrow
streets. On returning to the garage we waited a quarter of an
hour only to find their credit card machine was broken. The
caravan was parked outside the garage and we went for lunch, no cash,
we had given it all to the garage. We bought a small amount of
shopping and returned to the caravan to discover some damage to the
left front wing and lights. The garage accepted
full responsibility and repaired the damage free of charge. The
work was completed by 2100 and we returned to the camp
with a
mysterious squeal.
Saturday 11th the squeal was found to be a bolt holding up the spare bed having come loose. It was a glorious, sunny day in which to do our washing. Sunday morning arrived with rain showers, so Howard made a cupboard shelf for Mervyn to paint. In the afternoon we visited Ronda to view the very old bridge and tour the old town. Monday a late departure for Jimena La Frontier where we found a beautiful rural camp in hot, sunny weather. Tuesday we continued on to Algeciras to have the van looked at for the annoying squeal, it was not the loose bolt. We had booked in for 1000, but were told on arrival that we had to wait until 1600. At 1600 the garage spent an hour, only changing the filter for the power steering, they could find nothing else, the squeal disappeared when the mechanic climbed into the vehicle. We went on to camp at Tarifa, the southern most point of mainland Europe. Wednesday the saga continued!! We drove into Tarifa to buy tickets to Tangiers, no problem, then down to book in for the boat, the van was too tall, we returned to the agent for a refund. Howard took a dive coming out of the shop, not seeing a steep drop. Our next stop was Algeciras, where we bought tickets for the 1515-1630 ferry (not the1300-1335 one as planned). Having cleared entry formalities at Ceuta, we drove south along the coast searching for a camp, without any directions it
took an hour, but we eventually
found
one. Welcome to Africa. Thursday Mervyn baked a
cake and some bread, Howard did some odd jobs before we went into the
town,
Martil, to buy screws and pop rivets. We did not find a “hole in
the wall”. Friday
was odd job day, we made shelves for the top kitchen cupboards.
Saturday 18th a celebration, the sun shone Ra! Ra! Ra! With an early start we set off to Chefchuan, where we visited the Medina, on a cloudy afternoon. Booo! We took a taxi back up to the camp. Sunday morning we drove to Zerhoune 5miles north of Meknes, in pouring (English type) rain which stop briefly from time to time. Monday the drive continued on to Meknes, still in pouring rain. It was too wet for sightseeing. Tuesday more RAIN, sunny Africa? We continued work on the shelves for the caravan. Wednesday again off to Meknes Medina in heavy, prolonged showers and strong winds, we took a look around the covered meat (smelly) market, and bought
some
vegetables. We looked at some spices and sweets or small cakes
and biscuits. A
taxi took us back, up to the caravan. Thursday we started out for Rabat,
after 5km Mervyn was not happy with the air suspension, We returned to
the
Iveco garage in Meknes. After a fruitless search, we returned to
the camp for a guide, what a good move, and we were quickly guided to
the Iveco garage. An electrical part was diagnosed as faulty, and
we left the garage at 1800 to return to the camp. Friday we left again for
Rabat. The suspension was still not right, but we carried on to
Casablanca, where there was the best Iveco garage in Morocco.
Three hours, after finishing time, a faulty fuse, not in the fuse
board, was found. Finding the camp was horrendous, Mervyn took a
taxi with the caravan following, easy.
Saturday 25th we found a supermarket opposite the camp, and bought quite a few “unobtainable” items. Then south to El Jadida, where we had a luxurious, costly night in a Sofitel, where we had some washing done for us, the meals were good too. Sunday the washing was late back, so we had a short day to Safia. Monday our trip to Essaouira was in SUNSHINE, followed by an afternoon walk to the medina to get the rest of the washing done. Our mobile phones have not been connecting to the UK, or anywhere else. Tuesday we walked into Essaouira to collect our washing and buy a local sim card, the washing was ready early, but the local sim card would not connect to the UK, no sale. On towards Agadir with a few rain showers, we found a camp about 20km short of Agadir, it looks good.
Saturday 4th was a rainy, windy day. We stayed in the caravan doing odd jobs. Sunday we left Javea having had only two days of sunshine. We motored southwest past Alicante towards Murcia, stopping at a campsite on the way. Monday was fine and sunny, we stopped at El Contador, a beautifully scenic camp, with the snow capped Sierra Nevada to the south. Tuesday we traveled on to Granada in beautiful weather. The camp, southwest of Grenada was excellent and we spent a day at the
Alhambra where the Moorish stalactites were the
best
Howard has seen, even better than those at Shiraz and Isfahan. Wednesday morning we bought
some large screws, Howard finished the table, not putting up the
collapsible table is sheer bliss. Thursday our journey took
us southwest to Ronda
through wonderful scenery. Friday having arranged a
service at the Iveco garage in Ronda, we left early and arrived at the
garage before it opened. While the service was being done we
visited Ronda old town, with a magnificent Bull Ring, the oldest in
Spain and featured in the film Carmen. We also visited a
stupendous gorge dividing the old town from the new, we walked down
into a “mine” to the bottom of the gorge, with information on the
town’s defences in Moorish times. There were many steep stairs
back up to the exit through the gardens. We continued downhill
and
crossed
the old, middle bridge, and back up the steep, winding, narrow
streets. On returning to the garage we waited a quarter of an
hour only to find their credit card machine was broken. The
caravan was parked outside the garage and we went for lunch, no cash,
we had given it all to the garage. We bought a small amount of
shopping and returned to the caravan to discover some damage to the
left front wing and lights. The garage accepted
full responsibility and repaired the damage free of charge. The
work was completed by 2100 and we returned to the camp with a
mysterious squeal.Saturday 11th the squeal was found to be a bolt holding up the spare bed having come loose. It was a glorious, sunny day in which to do our washing. Sunday morning arrived with rain showers, so Howard made a cupboard shelf for Mervyn to paint. In the afternoon we visited Ronda to view the very old bridge and tour the old town. Monday a late departure for Jimena La Frontier where we found a beautiful rural camp in hot, sunny weather. Tuesday we continued on to Algeciras to have the van looked at for the annoying squeal, it was not the loose bolt. We had booked in for 1000, but were told on arrival that we had to wait until 1600. At 1600 the garage spent an hour, only changing the filter for the power steering, they could find nothing else, the squeal disappeared when the mechanic climbed into the vehicle. We went on to camp at Tarifa, the southern most point of mainland Europe. Wednesday the saga continued!! We drove into Tarifa to buy tickets to Tangiers, no problem, then down to book in for the boat, the van was too tall, we returned to the agent for a refund. Howard took a dive coming out of the shop, not seeing a steep drop. Our next stop was Algeciras, where we bought tickets for the 1515-1630 ferry (not the1300-1335 one as planned). Having cleared entry formalities at Ceuta, we drove south along the coast searching for a camp, without any directions it
took an hour, but we eventually
found
one. Welcome to Africa. Thursday Mervyn baked a
cake and some bread, Howard did some odd jobs before we went into the
town,
Martil, to buy screws and pop rivets. We did not find a “hole in
the wall”. Friday
was odd job day, we made shelves for the top kitchen cupboards.Saturday 18th a celebration, the sun shone Ra! Ra! Ra! With an early start we set off to Chefchuan, where we visited the Medina, on a cloudy afternoon. Booo! We took a taxi back up to the camp. Sunday morning we drove to Zerhoune 5miles north of Meknes, in pouring (English type) rain which stop briefly from time to time. Monday the drive continued on to Meknes, still in pouring rain. It was too wet for sightseeing. Tuesday more RAIN, sunny Africa? We continued work on the shelves for the caravan. Wednesday again off to Meknes Medina in heavy, prolonged showers and strong winds, we took a look around the covered meat (smelly) market, and bought
some
vegetables. We looked at some spices and sweets or small cakes
and biscuits. A
taxi took us back, up to the caravan. Thursday we started out for Rabat,
after 5km Mervyn was not happy with the air suspension, We returned to
the
Iveco garage in Meknes. After a fruitless search, we returned to
the camp for a guide, what a good move, and we were quickly guided to
the Iveco garage. An electrical part was diagnosed as faulty, and
we left the garage at 1800 to return to the camp. Friday we left again for
Rabat. The suspension was still not right, but we carried on to
Casablanca, where there was the best Iveco garage in Morocco.
Three hours, after finishing time, a faulty fuse, not in the fuse
board, was found. Finding the camp was horrendous, Mervyn took a
taxi with the caravan following, easy.Saturday 25th we found a supermarket opposite the camp, and bought quite a few “unobtainable” items. Then south to El Jadida, where we had a luxurious, costly night in a Sofitel, where we had some washing done for us, the meals were good too. Sunday the washing was late back, so we had a short day to Safia. Monday our trip to Essaouira was in SUNSHINE, followed by an afternoon walk to the medina to get the rest of the washing done. Our mobile phones have not been connecting to the UK, or anywhere else. Tuesday we walked into Essaouira to collect our washing and buy a local sim card, the washing was ready early, but the local sim card would not connect to the UK, no sale. On towards Agadir with a few rain showers, we found a camp about 20km short of Agadir, it looks good.
MOROCCO-Agadir