Month: January 2023

Saturday dawned beautifully sunny, we got ready, had a bit of brekky & bibbed off on the bikes across the border again (and got ANOTHER stamp !!!) 

Basically all of the sites to see were up on the rock, you can’t cycle and it would take too long to walk all the way up and back down so we opted for a mini-bus tour.  

We struck gold with a lovely guy in his late 60’s / early 70’s who had been born in Gibraltar and who had been running these tours for the last 40 years.  We locked up the bikes & hopped in with an Irish couple from Kilkenny in the front, us in the middle and three German / Dutch guys in the back (who ate snacks & chatted) whilst the guide literally threw SO much knowledge at us from the second we got into the car until the second we said goodbye (see selfie of the three of us below).

{As an aside – if I thought the drive up to Kevin’s place was a bit lairy 😳 – it was NOTHING compared to this – he kept on chatting as he motored speedily around hairpin bends, etc. and eventually I got used it it !!!}

We stopped at a few strategic photo-opportunity points e.g. The Pillars of Hercules – which marks the entrance to the Straights of Gibraltar and it was lovely & clear & we could see all the way over to Morocco !!!

OK – so let’s start with the fact there are 2 entries for Gibraltar in the Guinness Book of Records:-

1.  For being the smallest colony in the world – 5km long by 1.2km wide

2.  For having the shortest inter-continental flight – to Tangier – 43 miles taking less than 25 minutes

… and some other stuff he mentioned:-

3.  Population of 30,000 and 15,000 additional peeps cross the border every day to come to work and Gibraltar has ZERO unemployment !!!

4.  English is the official language, the pound £ is the official currency and there are red (working) telephone boxes and red post boxes (see piccie below)

5.  The only place Europe to have wild monkeys is the Rock of Gibraltar – home to the Barbary Macaques – see piccies below – especially one sitting on MY HANDS (courtesy of the guide) and he called the monkey “Harry” !!!  Definitely the highlight of the tour…

6.  Although 78% of the population is Catholic, Gibraltar has a significant population of Muslims, Jews & Hindus

7.  Gibraltar was captured for the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession and Spain formally conceded it to Britain in 1713

8.  The name “Gibraltar” is derived from Arabic – in the 8th century there was an Arabic military leader named Tariq ibn Ziyad and he named the rock “Mount of Tariq” – which is what Gibraltar means in Arabic

9. Below you’ll see a shot I took of a commemorative plaque that states Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Phillip came over in May 1954 & stood there looking out over Gibraltar. That was THE ONLY TIME that any British royal has EVER visited. Shame on The Royals – that’s what I say 😐

He probably told us LOADS more but that’s all I can recall at this moment…

He dropped us back & we had lunch at a lovely little place watching the world go by then a little bib around the shops (and I bought my obligatory Christmas ornament – see below) then cycled off to Ocean Village – which is a resort built around a marina with lots of cool bars & restaurants (and Dave really liked it) so we had a cocktail there… (bit of a crap photo but there you go…)

Had it not clouded over, we might have stayed for more and again – like yesterday – after we crossed the border & came back – the sun came out & it was lovely out there but La Linea (the town on THIS side of the border) is a bit run down & has none of the charm of Gibraltar so we headed back to The Van…

On the way the main street (Winston Churchill Avenue) was closed as it bisects the runway !!! And a plane was landing (see BA plane below…) This apparently happens 2 to 7 times a day – each time the road being closed for 10 minutes. They are apparently planning to build a tunnel underneath…

So Dave had spoken to our son Marcus on our arrival in Nerja on Monday afternoon & then informed me that we were due to collect him from Malaga airport 3 days later at 8:40pm on Thursday evening, that he would be staying 4 nights and would be returning to the UK on Monday.

So the previous day I thought I’d give him a call to advise NOT to only pack shorts and sunglasses as it IS winter over here and you DO need a broader selection of attire !  At the end of the conversation, I said “OK sweetheart – so we’ll see you tonight” at which point he announced that he had booked his flight for the FOLLOWING Thursday (i.e. the day we were leaving Nerja 😐…)

In the end (given the lovely Pizza & Wine Day at Kevin & Helen’s) it all worked out for the best BUT we had never planned to stay for TWO and a half weeks in Nerja so we looked at the map and on the Friday morning headed for Gibraltar !!! (and will pick up Marcus NEXT Thursday returning to Nerja for another week…)

We arrived mid-afternoon, had a late lunch in The Van and then trundled off on the bikes (with our passports !!!) 2 minutes up the road to Border Control…

And a couple of stamps later we were suddenly in a different country !!! As you come out of Border Control, the road is called “Winston Churchill Avenue” so Dave got a selfie with that in the background & also one of me with the Gibraltar sign… And one with the famous Rock of Gibraltar behind us. We took the shot (& it looks very cloudy) but 5 minutes later all the clouds had dispersed and it was azure blue skies & sunshine…

We had a bit of a cycle around and it was strange seeing shops like Mothercare and Early Learning Centre that have long disappeared from the UK – to still be thriving over there… We then had a beer & a wine in Casemates Square but it wasn’t as vibrant as it had been in Cartagena the previous Friday so we popped to the supermarket for a few snacks & returned to The Van to plan our “proper” tour the following day…

… and got pulled up by the Border Control guy as we weren’t wearing cycle helmets 😳

{I’ve since looked it up on t’internet and apparently it ISN’T compulsory to wear a helmet in the UK and it’s ONLY compulsory to wear a helmet if you’re UNDER 16 !!! I know I was a child-bride 😂 but sadly it’s been a LONG time since either of us could pass for under-16 !!! As ever – Spanish bureaucracy at it’s best 😐}

Dave’s brother Kevin & his wife Helen (so there are TWO Helen Millers !!!) had earmarked Thursday for a “Pizza Afternoon” up at his place in the hills…

Updated the blog in the morning, got ready & then at 12:30pm Kevin kindly came to collect Dave, myself, Paul & Sue and drive like Stirling Moss on the windy dirt-track-cliff-edge roads 😳 back to his place & dropped us off with Helen (who was an excellent hostess & immediately plied us with wine before putting Dave’s t-shirts in her washing machine !!!)

Meanwhile Kevin then bombed back to town to do another run, plus a couple of peeps drove themselves so there were about 14 of us in total.

Kevin has a pizza oven built into the wall in the outside space and it took a couple of hours to warm up and then the pizzas 🍕 kept on coming (accompanied by salads & some French sausages we’d brought that needed eating…) – as did the wine 🍷 🥴

We’d met one couple the night before & a couple of ladies on a previous visit but all of the peeps were lovely, the weather was gorgeous (as was the outside space to enjoy it) and it was just a wonderful day… ❤️ (Check out the views from his veranda in the photies below where we have the Dave on his own, the 3 sister-in-laws, the 3 brothers and then Dave wandered out holding a glass of whiskey announcing the glass had been a wedding present to Kevin & Helen 30-odd years ago… After the amount of alcohol he had consumed by then, I’m amazed it lasted the rest of the day 😂 )

Kevin, by comparison, was very measured in his alcohol intake and even dropped us all back at Los Arcos to carry on (which might not have been the best plan as neither Dave or I can remember going to bed 😳🥴😐… but magically the clean, dry t-shirts managed to accompany us !!!)

Had another chilled morning on the laptop whilst the rain ☔️ cleared and Dave did “blue jobs” (like topping up The Van with water and emptying the 🚾) and then had a shower and set off to town with…

WASHING !!!

We’ve been away for 2 weeks now and we were totally out of pants 🩲 !!! 😂

€4.5 including washing liquid & softener for a 30 minute wash & whilst it was doing it’s thing, we went off to have lunch in the main town square (Plaza de Balcon de Europa) opting for Chicken Caesar Salad (me) and some meat salad with spicy sauce (Dave).

Chucked the smalls into the drier for another €3 and as the drum was SO big, everything was bone dry after 30 minutes – I was dead impressed (doesn’t take much…)

Had a wander onto the Balcon de Europa – which Nerja is famous for – and is a tree-lined walkway (almost like a pier) where musicians (& apparently painters & jugglers, etc. but we didn’t see any !!!) come to share their talents – and provides fabulous views over the Mediterranean… 

Then tried on another couple of leather jackets and have defs decided on the style now…

Wandered back to The Van for a little rest & a snack.  I said I’d make us scrambled eggs but when I came to crack the eggs into a bowl – they were already hard-boiled !!!  

So we NOW know that huevos COCIDOS is BOILED egg 😂

What made it funnier was that I’d given Dave a hard time the other day when I’d asked for a soft egg – and it was rock hard – as we then realised he’d unknowingly boiled an already hard-boiled egg !!!  Ah the Spanish 🇪🇸- you godda love their weird little ways…

Then set off to meet Kevin & a few of his friends at one of the local bars, put the world to rights for a bit then headed back.

The first piccie is at Capistrano Village where we are staying – it’s about a half an hour walk to town / the sea and speaking of walking – did a LOT yesterday – 16,973 steps – see my screenshot below !!!

Whilst we had been at Kevin’s the day before, a Spanish official (not The Policia) knocked at Paul & Sue’s & said we had to move The Van within 24 hours as it couldn’t stay parked outside their apartment (even though they explained who we were and even said we were staying in their place).

Dave (being Dave) has simply written a note & put it in the windscreen stating that we are staying at Paul & Sue’s and to ring his mobile if any issues…

Nobody has rung – YET 🤞

For the first time since we’d been in Spain, it rained ☔️ so we had a lazy morning updating the blog and answering guest queries then got ready and the sun was breaking through again as we wandered down the hill into Nerja centre in the afternoon. On the way, Dave made an appointment for Thursday at 4:30pm to have his hair cut (the salon is run by an English girl from Louth and apparently all the ex-Pats use her…)

So I’m in the market for a leather jacket and tried on a plethora yesterday – some cheap & nasty and some obviously better quality. I reckon I’m going to settle on a black one trimmed with a little bit of red and with a red lining – currently “50% off” so €149 rather than €295 – watch this space…

Then we went for a late lunch at Mena Garden (which sounds like a Chinese) but where I has an excellent chicken, bacon & cheese club sandwich with a few fries, Dave had chicken curry & we washed it down with a Tinto De Verano and a beer…

The “flowery” picture is taken outside but then the wind got up again & it looked a bit “black over Bill’s mother’s” so we went INSIDE and took another snap when the drinkies came but before the food…

Bobbed in the Mercadona (supermarket) on the way back then arranged to meet later and went for a little rest in The Van. Now although Dave had bought the unlimited Spanish SIM, when I went on ITVX to try and watch Coro, it told me I was outside of the UK and wouldn’t let me 😡

Luckily My Dave is such a ⭐️ that we downloaded some VPN-thingy to trick it into thinking we are in London so caught up with last Friday’s episode 🥳

We then all met at the bar which is on-site at Capistrano Villages – La Cueva (The Cave Bar) and again chatted to a few of the ex-Pats whilst enjoying the real fire 🔥 then (as we were still full from the late lunch) we came back & I munched on a few squares of Milka with a cup of tea & watched Monday’s episode before nodding off 😴

As Mick & Debs had arrived on a Sunday (when the shops are all closed) we arrived the following morning bearing gifts of croissants, jam, hotdogs, mustard & OJ and had brekky in the sunshine 😎 then bid them farewell and bobbed off to the massive shopping complex up the road called Gran Plaza to sort out the lack of mobile WiFi…

They still have “Orange” over there so we brought the device with us (to test it) and Dave settled on a Pay-As-You-Go 150GB SIM for €30 BUT he DID need his passport to buy the SIM and there seemed to an AWFUL lot of paperwork & fuss for one little SIM but anyway…

We then put Nerja in the SatNav and headed on our way but the closer we got, the more the wind got up and GOSH it was a bit of an unnerving journey as we were ascending up into the hills and there were huge bridges (with NOTHING underneath) and The Van was being swayed hither & thither 😳 (so I tried not to look and busied myself with answering guest queries and booking ferries for them…)

We arrived outside Paul & Sue’s apartment at Capistrano Villages (where Dave & I had flown & stayed at in January 2019 & 2020) and where Kevin was also waiting to greet us – and all went in and had tea and cake out on the balcony on a fabulous sunny afternoon overlooking Nerja (but sadly in all the excitement I forgot to take a photo 😔)…

Kevin then drove us about 15 minutes out of town (up & down bumpy, gravelly dirt-tracks and AGAIN unnervingly close to the edge of a cliff 😳) to show us where he lived – and which could have been another potential spot to park The Van… He and his wife Helen live in a great spot with fabulous views and they think the 15 minute journey into town is nothing but I don’t think I could drive it (even in a normal sized car) even once…

They have a huge outdoor living space (a lot of which is under cover) and I sat down out there and fussed Tigi (the brown one) & Romeo (the black one) – their 2 cute little dachshunds…

Kevin then drove us a teeny bit down the hill to an equestrian place where we caught up with Helen who had been out riding for the afternoon and was then at the stables with her beautiful 5 year old horse (and do you know horses live to 30 years old ? !!!).

Kevin then dropped us back at Paul’s, we had a little drink of sparkly 🥂 & a chat then went to get ready to meet the ex-Pat lot at one of the local hotels – Los Arcos. They meet up for Happy Hour at various local hotels & bars in the area every night between about 7pm & 9pm – very much a “drop-in” session if you fancy it – and we caught up with some of their friends that we’d met on previous visits.

We then went back to Paul & Sue’s who kindly knocked up dinner for us whilst chatting about the old days – then retired to The Van – and a good time was had by all 😊

After a quiet night (!!!) we woke & trundled back down the beach spaces and I did us a lovely brekky of Spanish oranges, (tinned !) pineapple and banana with peach yoghurt, some OJ and some croissants & Bonne Maman raspberry jam (I know, I know – lots of sugar… but it was yummy 😋)

We have mobile WiFi in the The Van and although it’s unlimited data in the UK, it is apparently capped at 19GB when roaming and when trying to update the blog and book guest ferries, I realised that we were out 😔

It was Sunday so nowhere was open to sort it (for those techies out there who are saying “Why didn’t Dave just top it up ?”, he didn’t know the phone number associated with the SIM (which you apparently need to know) and when I said “Why don’t you just give them a ring ?”, he announced he would end up speaking to “some muppet in India” 😂 and it would be too difficult so his plan was to purchase an unlimited Spanish SIM the following day…)

So I read my Psychologies magazine to “enrich my emotional lift” (!!!) for a bit then we trundled off on the bikes to do a reccy as we were due to go out for dinner with Mick & Debs so wanted to see what places were close to their apartment.

Excellent cycling paths along the promenade / coast road again and passed lots of families eating out in the sunshine 😎

Came back, popped the bikes back in the garage (see Dave’s “Helping Hand” from Benidorm market that he attached to the garage door which he is VERY happy with – and it hasn’t fallen off yet as I predicted it would !!!).

BUT what he ISN’T happy with is his 15 metre “Magic Hose” that he said was “about 3 metre” and thus not long enough when he last filled The Van up with water – ah well – you win some, you lose some !!! 

We then parked back up again at Mick’s place just as they arrived.

We then had a cup of tea ☕️ followed by drinkies in their apartment overlooking the sun-drenched golf course – on an empty tummy – all I’d had was my fruit salad & croissants !!! 

Dave had a lie down in The Van whilst the rest of us got ready and then not too far away we found a lovely little place (where they spoke no English at all – just how we like it) and I had a really nice chicken schnitzel with mushroom sauce – and LOTS more glasses of Vino Rosado and eventually wandered back to the apartment & Van 😴

So we trundled off in The Van but when we looked up Mick’s actual addres whilst en-route, we saw the it was actually 23kn PAST Almeria and in a place called Roquetas de Mar so that’s where we went…

On the outskirts of town, we saw a massive shopping complex so pulled off as we needed a few bits & popped into the Lidl’s next door.  Came back to The Van, Dave turned the key and…

Click but NOTHING…

Like a flat battery in the old days…

Dave mutters things like “This isn’t good…” and “The immobiliser is f@cked !”…

I have learned in situations like this to say nothing…

Then he picks up his phone & goes into some app (our entire LIFE is controlled by one app or another on Dave’s phone 😐)

Now it’s Saturday evening and Dave has dumped The Van sideways across 3 or 4 parking spaces and all I can think is, “I’ll have to go in with my Google Translate (APP !!!) on my phone and try to explain what’s happened and NOT to give us a ticket which Dave will refuse to pay and which will follow us around for the next 10 years before eventually getting us both thrown into a Spanish prison – as it will be MONDAY at least before we’ll be able to get hold of anyone to sort this”…

The suddenly after about 5 minutes or maybe a bit more (it FELT like more !!!) suddenly The Van kicks back into life 🥳 !!!

He said he’d immobilised it earlier in the day (so nobody could steal it whilst we were site-seeing in Cartagena) and it had set off from THERE OK, but then clearly got a little confused later in the day !!!  Anyway he sent some command via some app on his phone and sorted it 😅

There was only ONE official “Camping Park” in the area and I’d given them a ring on the way but they were full.  `On the Park4Night (APP !) there were apparently also 15 designated motorhome spaces in a beach-side carpark with a vibrant cafe on-site but… that was also full.

It was getting quite late by then so – although Mick & Debs were not due to arrive until the Sunday afternoon – we ended up parking on the road outside their apartment, had some dinner and all was well…

The Catholic (obviously) church “Iglesia de Santa María de Gracia” was mentioned a fair bit in the museum in Castillo de la Concepcion and was already on my list to visit.  Google said it closed between 2pm and 5pm so we headed there after the castle about 1pm…

… and it was closed 😞

And there were no signs saying WHEN it was open and no signs even saying the name of the church – it was just closed…

But – as we were there – the first photo below is of the outside…

So we then decided to go for cake & coffee.  We were right in the bustling centre & saw a lovely cakey place so I bagged a table in the sunshine and told Dave to go in & choose a cake and take a piccie to show me – which he did.  He wanted the massive creamy thing with like a toffee topping then said he felt sick 🤢 after eating it !!! I was a bit more moderate & chose a small sweet pastry filled with confectioners cream (which I haven’t had since the 1970’s !!!) and – as Goldilocks said –  it was just right 😋

The OTHER church that was on my list was Iglesia de Santo Domingo – also in the centre a few minutes walk away – so we visited there and I got my fix… ☦️

After here we TRIED (really hard) to visit the “Roman Theatre” (not the old amphi-theatre next to the lift that we’d taken photos of up at the top earlier) – this was a different place.  Google Ma[s took us to it but we couldn’t – for love nor money – find the ticket office & entrance – even though we SEE other visitors inside. 

Cartagena is quite hilly and Dave was SURE that if we went HIS way, we would come to the entrance – but even though we walked all the way around (including a steep hill) – we ended back where we’d started….

The last piccie below IS of the place from the OUTSIDE looking down 😂 (but sadly not any taken on the inside…)

Dave was hacked off by then so we headed back to The Van and bid Cartegena farewell (as we didn’t fancy another disturbed night) and headed for Almeria (pronounce “Al-Maria’ – not as I was saying it “Al-Mair-ee-a” !!!) where we were due to meet Dave’s childhood best friend – Michael Vincent Taylor (AKA “Mick”) and his partner Debs for more fun & frolicks…

So (after a slightly groggy start after the disturbed night) we got ready & started out on our Day of Culture…

First stop the was the panoramic lift (€4.25 which included entry into a castle up at the top). Check out the chins on the photo we took as we waited for the lift to arrive 😂.

The lift with the bridge was very reminiscent of Shanklin Cliff Lift (which we live next door to) so I’ve included a piccie of that too !.

The lift takes you to the highest point I the city where the 13th and 14th century fortress of the Castillo de la Concepcion stands offering fabulous views over the city & port.  

See piccies of the Roman amphitheater & the panoramic lift (behind me & the palm tree 🏝) and also Dave standing on some ruins in a Usain Bolt stance !!!

Then we wandered into the castle – a lot of which has been added to & modernised to form a museum now devoted to the history of Cartagena.  See spiral staircase (which we DIDN’T go up or down as Dave has an aversion !!!) and also everyone in the Middle Ages must have been short as we had to crouch to get from room to room – see Dave in action below… 😂

We watched a couple of info films (with English subtitles) and discovered Cartagena has Islamic roots but the good old Crusaders came along and put their Christian stamp on the place.   So they all had to convert to Christianity or leave.  Apparently they converted but still practised their own religion until King Alfonso X (“Alfonso The Wise”) got into power and deported them in the 13th century…

We came out then had a wander round El Parque Torres (Torres Park) where there was a lovely (very tame) peacock that some Spaniards were feeding then we came back down…

• Location: 37° 36′ 6.75″ N 0° 58′ 54.05″ W