The Social Network
Friday, January 12
Camping Roquetas de Mar, Roquetas, Andalusia Having loaded everything into the van on the night before our departure from San Pedro, we made a reasonably early start on our way east, then north, to eventually meet up with our good friends John and Karen Bryan in Torrevieja, on January 29. We headed out on the toll road, through Malaga and beyond, aiming for a decent-looking campsite by the beach at Roquetas, somewhere we’d not been before. Getting close, the sat-nav took us down what looked like a blind alley, closely guarded by trees either side. It looked touch and go whether we’d make it intact but we inched along carefully before emerging onto a road running parallel with the beach and which took us straight to this busy, reasonably flat but unremarkable site, about 300m from the shore. Everywhere looked open but the place had a sullen air about it, as if everyone was indoors, or hibernating. After a look around we checked into the bar and had a drink and some very good tapas before settling down for the night and vowing to move on in the morning... there appeared to be nothing worth sticking around for. Saturday, January 13 Camping Los Madriles, Isla Plana So, after almost a month since we first visited this lovely little site on the Costa De Almeria, with its open-air pool fed directly by thermal waters, we paid our second visit... just in time for the January quiz on the 18th, as promised. It was again very busy but we managed to find a slightly better spot a few lines up from the pool, a bigger pitch and with easier access than before. Once settled, we reacquainted ourselves with the lie of the land and enrolled with Sue and Ian, the organisers of the quiz. “Are you the ones who won last time?” they asked. “Er... we’re not sure. When was last time?” we said. In the end, we came clean and after the usual ‘bandit’ jokes they signed us up and promised to find us some fellow stragglers to make up a scratch team. Before then, we had more exploring to do and first on our list was the village to the east of Isla Plana, La Azohia. We took the main road route on our bikes and found it to be a sleepy seaside village blessed with three or four bars, pizzerias and restaurants, plus a large wasteland on which there were 50 or more motorhomes all taking advantage of this perfect wild camping spot, right next to the beach and a handy little Spar shop. We chatted with an English couple who’d been on the land for three weeks, getting their water from the shop and dumping their waste down a manhole, like all the other vans. We thought we might go back for a couple of free nights at the end of our stay at Los Madriles. As it happened, we never did. Over the course of the next few days, we basked in glorious sunshine and temperatures in the low to mid-20s (it turned out to be a record January), cycling into Puerto de Mazzaron for the first time, enjoying a lovely menu del dia on the harbour, and returning to the social club, the hub of Isla Plana, for a few cheap drinks in the boiling sun. For exercise, we had the lovely, warm, open air pool just a short walk away from our pitch, or the tennis court, which we had to ourselves for the duration of our stay. On the 18th, the day of the quiz, we had pre-match drinks in the awning of our near-neighbours, John and Jan, then met our new team-mates, Roger and Jeanette and Pat and Dave, for a long night of brain-teasers. Like before, it was a great night. We took home the first prize, a selection of wines, and Jane scooped the €32.50 kitty on the chance-your-arm question: how many marriages did the world-record bigamist have? Her usual response to this type of question is ‘69’ – childish, we know, but on this occasion it was nearest the mark of 62! We shared the winnings with the team and, all in all, the night just about paid for itself. The next day, a little worse for wear after post-quiz drinks with John and Jan, we joined the British expats playing boules at the campsite’s excellent bouledrome and found everyone to be very friendly, if a little mock-grudging that we’d won the quiz the night before. They got their own back on us and beat us two novices hands-down. Nevertheless, we resolved to play again at some or all of their thrice-weekly get-togethers... we can only get better. On Saturday, we were inducted into the local tennis group and joined Eddie, Peter and Paula for mixed doubles at the nearby Las Torres campsite. If all this sounds too much like an episode of Terry and June, with a bit of Margo and Jerry from The Good Life mixed in, well it was a little like that but it’s either mix in and have what passes for fun in the these parts, or stay in and watch telly and play cards. In the evening, at the end of this social whirlwind, we were invited to have drinks with Roger and Jeanette, the lovely Nuneaton couple we’d met at the quiz. We loved their caravan, its fixed bed and plenty of room, its awning and spruce appeal, and enjoyed their company as we swapped life stories. Despite all the activity, the friendly people and the great facilities, there’s still something not quite right about this site. The bar, which might be a hub of activity, only opens at night when there’s an event like a quiz on (i.e., rarely) and while everyone we meet of whatever nationality is very friendly there is a disparate nature to the community. Everyone retreats into their small groups (us included), emerging in the morning to have a dip in the pool, do tai-chi, stretching classes, Aqua-aerobics, table tennis or drive off in their car-shares to play tennis at any of the excellent clubs around the area. Most of the people here have been on site since September or October, and will stay until April or even longer, taking advantage of the fabulous climate here in this sheltered corner of Spain. Could we do the same later in the year, once we’ve taken our fill of Germany, Croatia and Greece? Who knows? If we did, we could look forward to more nights at the cinema with Eddie and Evelyn. We joined them for a trip to Aguilas on Tuesday to see Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri (excellent, despite the dodgy ending) at a cinema which offers one English language version of a current release every month. I also had a lift from my new Austrian friend Werner on the following Thursday to his tennis group. Here, 12 veterans split into three groups of four to have what in my case was a frantic, high-intensity game with three other blokes, including Malcolm, an expat from Newport and the leader of the group. Later that day we had a lift from Eddie and joined Peter and Paula in a team of four at the quiz at a neighbouring campsite. Another good, successful night and one that made a long stay here in the future that much more likely. If we did, though, we know we’ll have to hire a car as the cycle routes are poor... but there is so much to see in the area. On Friday, as the temperature dipped, we discovered we’d run out of gas. So, after getting up early, doing a load of laundry, hanging it out, playing boules with the crowd, having a coffee with Dave and Pat and getting directions to the nearest auto gas garage, we unhitched the van and set off to hunt it down. Eventually we found it, out on the moors behind the campsite, then drove back into Mazarrón, did two loads of shopping, topped up the phone and collided with a road sign (minimal damage) before heading back home, pretty much exhausted. Saturday – our third on the site – was a day for relaxing and preparing the van for our departure on Monday, ready for the hour or so’s drive to La Zenia and our rendezvous with John and Karen. I hope my old tennis partner is ready for me, after all the practice I’ve had over the last nine months! Monday, January 29 Apartment, La Zenia, Murcia We’d had a high old time at Los Madriles, none better than on our last full day when we drove into the port, courtesy of Roger and Jeanette, for an excellent menu del dia at a typically Spanish restaurant, packed with locals all enjoying the local delicacies on offer. Jane had vegetable pie and pork cheeks while I had pork cheeks and paella, washed down with a selection of beer and wine. The carousing continued into the afternoon around our table before we started putting away our gear in earnest, loading the bikes onto the back of the van ready for a bright start in the morning. On the Monday, we said our goodbyes to Roger and Jeanette, and John and Jan. Who knows, we may all meet again here later in the year for more organised boules, tennis, quizzes, cinema outings and restaurant visits! By 10.15 we were on the road for the shortish journey along the coast to La Zenia where John and Karen had rented an apartment for the first six weeks or so of their extended Spanish winter break. We pulled into their quiet residential road just before lunch to find a lovely lunch waiting for us in the dining room of their impressive two-bedroom penthouse apartment, with a sun terrace overlooking the sea. After barbecued pork steaks we had a bracing walk in the sunshine along the coast to a beautiful chirringuito on the beach at Cap Roig. While we sipped beer and wine, some hardy souls had stripped down to their bathers to make the most of the late January sunshine... pinch me again, it’s what time of year? On the second day, we started to be assimilated into the ex-pat lifestyle that prevails in this part of Spain. Firstly, Karen and Jane went to the hotel complex just up the road for a morning of Zumba and keep-fit before John and I gathered our tennis gear for the thrice-weekly seniors mix-ins at the same site. The MC, Una, organises anyone who comes along into a well-matched series of doubles which keeps everyone involved fit and active and helps to turn anything from eight to 12 strangers into friends. John, having already been to a couple of the sessions, was already a veteran but I soon fell in with the Dutch and Belgian characters who were there. Despite their advancing years, they all played a mean game and I was lucky to come away with a record of played three, won one, lost two. On Tuesday night, we returned to the hotel for its menu del dia, hosted by sparky bar manager Yolande and on Wednesday, in John’s new sporty Mazda 4X4, we had an extensive tour of the region, nominally to look for a padel tennis centre, but also to look at an urbanizacion where mutual friends have bought an apartment on the edge of a golf course. It certainly is a lovely part of the world. We paused for a chat with an English family who were enjoying a quiet game of bowls high on a plateau overlooking the golf course and the padel centre and as they outlined their life spent enjoying the year-round sunshine, packing in tennis lessons alongside their golf rounds and trips to the beach, the peripatetic life in the motorhome started to lose its allure. On Thursday, with more friendly keep-fit and tennis sessions (albeit with John now laid low by a nasty cold) and a good look around the legendary La Zenia boulevard shopping complex, it was easy to see why so many British and Irish people have chosen to make this either their permanent or long-stay home. Our last night was celebrated in one of the ex-pats’ favourite haunts, Manhattans in Cap Roig, where we feasted on chips, mushy peas and faggots, served with a frosty frown by another spiky waitress, this time from Lancashire way. On Friday morning, we said our goodbyes and gracious thanks to our lovely hosts, wondering if La Zenia had enough to keep us there for three months or so next year, perhaps from New Year until Easter. Who know... but it’s certainly something to think about. Friday, February 2 Wild camping, Calp, Costa Blanca Following the satnav out of La Zenia, we stopped at the Boulevard to take on supplies and promptly found ourselves heading down a blind alley. Luckily, traffic was light as Jane manoeuvred us backwards out of the tight spot and back on to the main road north. We had a number of options, including heading north-West towards Madrid and Toledo but the weather wasn’t looking great. As a result, we veered off towards one of our former stops at Calp, just north of Benidorm, where the forecast was much more promising. We missed the main turn-off to the town so took a circuitous route into Calp only to be met with a massive diversion caused by a cycling event. Once we’d negotiated this, it was too late to have the benefit of a full day on an expensive camperstop so we pulled up behind some other vans on a side street and bedded down for the night. Saturday, February 3 Camperstop, Sol de Calpe Boreal We’d last visited this very smart stop in late November when we benefited from an opening offer of around €12 a night. Some months on, the best we could negotiate was just over €17 a night if we stayed for more than seven nights. So, with the weather looking good and the place still feeling like a new pin, we settled in for the comparative long haul, knowing that we still had three weeks to get the 500 miles or so to Santander under our belt. As it turned out, we were in the right place as, on Saturday, we both came down with the cold from hell! Aching limbs, headache, hacking cough, generally miserable and certainly not wanting to eat or drink. So, we felt sorry for each other, watched a lot of British TV via our Hoola app and went to bed early until we got better... about five days later. With three supermarkets and a chemist on our doorstep, it wasn’t difficult to feed this particular cold and with the help of lots of toast, plus oranges and two separate versions of paracetamol bombers we managed to shift it in time for our promised trip to the Punjabi Indian restaurant on the Friday night. Sadly, the meal wasn’t worth the wait. Nevertheless, the stay in Calp has been well worth it. We discovered a lovely walk around the base of the famous Ifach rock which dominates the bay and stumbled upon a wonderful community centre which offers amazing three-course meals, including a litre of wine, for €6 a head. We also passed a pleasant hour at a Finnish salmon and caviar bar in Calp’s Belgian quarter, chatting to the Russian owner and the Norwegian pensioner who appears to be his only regular customer. In Calp, unlike in La Zenia, things are generally a little more cosmopolitan! On Saturday, to kill time before the England and Wales Six Nations game, we strolled through Calp’s weekly street market, coming to the mutual decision that someone is travelling the length and breadth of Spain selling the same rubbish, just on different days of the week. |
From top, Jane in the amazing thermally-heated pool at Los Madriles; a typical menu del dia on offer at Puerto de Mazzaron; crystal clear water at the harbour in La Azohia, some of the ‘action’ on offer during the thrice-weekly boules tournaments at Los Madriles and fellow travellers Jeanette and Roger from Nuneaton
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