El Rocio

El Rocio was one of our main targets to go and visit on this leg of the journey with no idea what to expect apart from sandy roads.  In my head all I imagined was a single street with a bar on the corner and a sheriffs office, basically the setting of a western movie.  I was semi right, however this place is massive! 
Once we arrived and set up camp a guy from one of the previous campsites walked over and mentioned that there was a pilgrimage on and it may be busy on the Saturday.  We were planning to move on the Saturday so with this in mind we decided to stay and see what was going on. 


This western cowboy film I had in my head was coming to life... The town was rammed with people all rinding horseback or mules pulling carts.  On the Friday it rained and rained so the sandy roads were more dirt tracks.  As soon as you enter El Rocio all road rules seem to go out the window and it's every man for himself.  It works but its mental.  You will have some people who will bimble along but you also have people who get in their car and put their foot to the floor. Throw a couple of hundred horses into the equation and it gets a lot worse.   With not much going on in town apart from people arriving we went back home and got dry.  

Saturday the sun finally came out.  It was a nice change as it had been raining since we left La Garrofa. With the Pilgrimage happening on the Saturday we thought we should try and make it in early so we didn't miss anything happening.  We left the tent at 11.30 which isn't really that early.  The town population had at least tripled.  The squares were rammed and horses were everywhere.  It was kind of scary as horses aren't small so when one appears behind you its quite a shock .

After a walk around town we decided we should stop and have a coffee and beer and watch the madness pass us by.  Minding our own business we were approached by two people who had seen us camping in Cadiz and wanted to come and talk to us about the car.  They joined us for a couple of drinks and a quick chat about themselves and our trip, it turns out we had been to the last three campsites they had been to and we were also going to the next three campsites also once leaving El Rocio.  It was a good job that we clicked and got on with them really!  We met up back at the campsite and both exchanged stories about our bowel movements.  Not really a conversation you have after only meeting for an hour but we got on.

As we were leaving the next day I decided I should go in and see if the town was as mental during the night as it was in the day.  My answer is yes.  Its even more mental when everyone is under the influence.  From what we could see the pilgrimage is just an excuse to get on the beers.  There was even one happening the weekend after just down the road.
It also turns out that this was a very small pilgrimage as in May nearly a million people turn up for the Romería de El Rocío

Gibraltar

After a month of being stationary after such a hectic few days to get to Spain it was a little weird packing up and loading the car again.  We planned to head west as we didn't get the chance to last time.  So we headed towards Gibraltar and found a campsite in the ACSI about an hours drive away from there,  which was nice as I was bored of driving as it was very windy.  Driving the van in the wind is not enjoyable... imagine driving a house through cement,  its worse than that.



The campsite was a very big jump from La Garrofa.  There were camper vans the size of buses with massive  tow cars and caravans the size of a house.  We looked very very small when parked next to them.   We were just sitting down for some tea and then a nice guy came over to talk to us.  He had seen the car in La Garrofa and came to let us know that when it rained the pitch we were in tended to take on all the campsites water and flood, but only in major rain storms and not to worry as it hadn't rained since November when he arrived.  No need to move then if that was the case.  We said thank you and carried on with our evening.  Around 7/8 the next morning it decided to rain.  We woke up in around 5cm worth of rain water.  Now I hate putting the tent away when its wet... but this was just silly.





We arrived in Gibraltar at around 12.30 and headed straight for the cable cars to visit the top of the Cliffs.  There had been reports of very strong winds and so the cable cars had been closed for the weekend.  Just our luck.  For the first and probably last time ever we paid for a tour and took the journey up in a van.  We will probably never go back so we thought we may as well.

The best part was he wasn't even an actual guide.  It was just a taxi driver who knew the tour guide.  Even so he took us up told us a brief history of the place and took us to see all the usual sights.

Vick specifically told the guy that she didn't want to hold a monkey as she doesn't like how unpredictable they are. We were just about to get in the van to go back down when one decided to jump on her head. She thinks it could smell the fear, or it wanted to mate with her, either way she wasn't very impressed. The weather report wasn't lying either.  It was VERY windy.  On some points of the island you could lean into the wind and you wouldn't fall over.  It was a shame the weather was so bad as it would have been nice to have taken in the full view.  It wasn't the same experience when the guide pointed at Africa and said ''its there... its just behind the clouds.''

I don't really like doing the normal tourism stuff when away but seeing as we were in the area we felt we should go into Gibraltar and see the main attraction.  We even visited Morrisons.  Which was a very odd experience.  Everyone speaking in English and using GBP doesn't fit when you can be in Spain within 5 minutes. It just didn't feel right, even so we still bought some pies and onion bhajis.


Because the weather was so bad we ditched our next plan and decided to head inland to a campsite about an hour North.  This was mainly so we didn't take a beating from the coastal winds.  However we still took a beating from the rain.  That night we went to bed in 5cm of rain again but at least it drained away overnight.

The perfect breakdown...

Throughout our eastern part of our journey I was a little worried about breaking down.  I can fix a lot of basic things but if anything serious was to happen it would have been a bit of a disaster.  You cannot describe how happy I was when I drained the battery by leaving the lights on one day and then unwound the gearbox a few days later leaving us with reverse gear only.

 The reason I was so happy is the fact that both Dad and Paul were only a bus journey away and we weren't in the middle of Hungary.  The battery wasn't so much of an issue as we were at the campsite at the time, but the gearbox unwound in the Decathlon car park, and I didn't fancy driving all the way back in reverse.
After a quick text saying what we had done Dad and Paul both jumped on the bus.  After a quick stop off for some lunch, the recovery team arrived.  An hour later we were all in the car heading back to the campsite.  The perfect breakdown if there is such a thing.

Paul's main challenge whilst away was to fish.  Being so close the the sea it made sense.  Once him and Janice had fully set up the camper he was in serious fishing mode.  For Christmas he got all the gear... but had no idea.  He went out a couple of times and tried various types of bait but still caught nothing.  Dad then dug his rod out... the race was on.  Who could catch something first. 

I think I won as within 20 minutes I caught boredom.  Even so I battled on and even went out in the canoe one day which was a bad idea as the waves picked up and by the time I had cast out I was in the rocks.   I decided that fishing is not my sport and the only way I was going to catch anything was with a grenade.
I like to think Paul is still stood there now catching nothing whilst the 2 italians that were at the same campsite are still dragging out metre length sized squid every night right in front of him.

Keep practicing Paul. :)

With only a week until we were due to leave I decided to go exploring and went for a danger walk with Zac (Paul & Janice's dog) We took a walk up the rambla and into the desert.  For some reason when I go for a walk alone I always choose to go the stupidest ways where no one knows I am going.


So once into the rambla I decided it would be a cracking (stupid) idea to walk up a massive hill and down the other side, the main reason being to find some goats to photograph and to find a skull.  I found some, but goats don't like dogs and they have a distinct advantage over me when it comes to a face off on a cliff.  Once I found out that they weren't going to stand down I eventually ran back up the hill and down again.  I decided 'Killed by a goat' wouldn't have looked very good on my headstone when buried.  I also didn't find a skull.



One of the main purpose's of the walk was to go and take some pictures of the 'arrival' who turned up one night during the week.  The Thialf arrived late one night and got the whole campsite talking.  You couldn't miss the thing.  It was mahoosive! This thing was the worlds largest Semi-submersible crane vessel and weighed 136,709 tons and had a combined maximum lifting capacity of 14,200 metric tons with its two cranes.  Everyone was saying it was there for different reasons. Some were saying it was fixing a pipe under the water between Almeria and Morocco, from what we could work out we reckon it is on its way to the crash site of the Costa Concordia in Italy where it is going to winch it out and repair the damage.  It left Rotterdam just before Christmas and arrived in Almeria on the 15th January.  Turns out we were wrong also as its now in Algecerias which is nowhere near Italy.  If you really feel the need to you can track it here. 

For the rest of the week 'Dolphin Watch' was out the window, a new craze was in town... 'Crane Watch'. A small tug was going to and from the ship, causing much excitement.  When another ship turned up and cranes started moving the cargo off it the excitement went through the roof!

It was at this point we decided we needed to leave.

The Kings procession!

Kim and Paddy had to reluctantly leave on the 3rd at 6 in the morning.  I haven't seen 6 in the morning since I left work so it was a bit of a shock to the system when we woke up to say goodbye.  Once they left mum and dad both slipped off back to bed whilst Vick and I for some reason stayed up.  We regretted this decision at about 9.  We were knackered for the rest of the day but struggled through without a siesta.  Mum and Dad on the other hand woke up 3 times that day.

If you're lucky enough or just observant you can pretty much guarantee to see some dolphins at La Garrofa.  It does help when you have a mum that is always on ''Dolphin Watch'' as she stares misty eyed out to sea and then flaps her hands shouting ''DOLPHINS.''  As much as we did take the piss out of her when you see them in the distance it does put a smile on your face.

In the UK we're usually getting ready to take down the Christmas decorations and carry on with normal boring life after New Year.  In Spain it carries on until the 5th for when the 3 Kings arrive and bring the presents to the children. 

There was a Kings procession going through Aguadulce and we were kindly invited to Michaels to watch from his balcony (I say balcony... this place is as big as a tennis court.)  Mum and Dad met Michael on a previous visit to La Garrofa and have been friends since.  When we arrived we were introduced to Lucia, Michael's cleaner/ friend, and her Daughter who's name I can't remember (Sorry).  We weren't really sure what to expect other than a few drinks and nibbles whilst the procession passed.  We were taken outside to the balcony and presented with a feast of traditional Colombian food.  In case you're wondering, Lucia is Colombian, not just a fan of Colombian food.  I'm not sure what it all was but it was delicious.  What can only be described as a  cauldron was filled with seafood and rice, a heap of what looked like bright yellow dumplings, but can now be described as potato heaven and when topped off with the homemade salsa they were amazing!

Once we had eaten, Michael revealed a 'treat' for us to all try.  His description was that it would have last been seen at our granny's house, to which Helen (another friend from La Garrofa) replied in her Geordie accent ''It's not me Granny is it?''  It was bright yellow in colour and looked quite stringy, and tasted like a big dry chip.  After a lot of unsuccessful guesses Michael confessed that we were eating a yucca plants stem which is a delicacy in Columbia.  As far as I'm concerned it can stay in Columbia.

At around 5 the Kings procession arrived!  Everyone ran to the balcony edge to watch the grand passing.  The road below was full of kids with empty bags waiting for them to be filled with sweets.  It was magical.  What actually happened is three guys dressed as kings passed by on three car towed trailers and threw sweets at kids.  That was it. 

If you read this Michael and Lucia thank you for the afternoon, we all enjoyed it and also enjoyed it the next day with the three bags of food we took home.  I need the recipe for potato heaven and the salsa but not the yucca, you enjoy that yourself.

Happy New Year!

The week leading up to New Year we did nothing.  Well that's a lie actually.  We did do some stuff, just not much.  We decided to visit the Castle (Alcazba) in Almeria with Kim and Paddy. Vick and I had been before but thought we'd go again, as it was a day out, and we do love a good castle.  Its definitely worth the visit if you're in the area and is free to EU citizens.

Kim and Paddy very kindly took us all out for a meal on the Friday night.  Due to being in Spain we decided to wait until as late as possible so there were actually other people in and not just us Brits.  We went for some real Spanish cuisine - an all you can eat Chinese at King Wok.
It was an odd experience.  I have been to plenty of Chinese buffets before but this one had the added bonus of people watching.  There was a mass party of what looked like Romanians (nothing like a good old bit of stereotyping) with music blazing out of there own Karaoke machine which was shit.  Everyone was keen on the  tepanyaki however they didn't seem to get the idea that you could just go back up... instead they would hand over 3 plates filled with a mountain of prawns and ask for them to be cooked.  One couple even told the chef off for not cooking them quick enough, and demamnded that he hand them over as they were.  They weren't very polite and I hope they got the shits. It was an amazing meal though, the choice of fresh fish and meat was unbelievable, along with a sushi bar, a pre-cooked selection and some puddings. You could even have squirty cream (which we all opted out of when we saw a young boy from the Romanian party squirt it directly into his mouth.)

New years eve soon came around and Paul and Janice arrived mid afternoon ready for the evenings jollies.  Magda cooked everyone an amazing meal again which lasted through till around 11.30. We had Iberian cold cuts, then prawns and mussels, then chicken, and then ice cream or fruit salad. A lot of food, but a lot of good food. This time we made our own mix tapes as the music can sometimes be a bit random,  however, I think I made it worse. 8 minutes of Insomnia by Faithless whilst eating a meal isn't the best. However, Janice's rendition of meatloaf's Like a bat out of hell was the best.  The video is ready to go on YouTube so be nice to me Janice (I expect pancakes on our arrival at Chatenet.)

In Spain it is a new years tradition that at 12 on every chime of the clock a grape must be eaten.  "That sounds easy!" you say? You are wrong.  The first rule of grape eating is - always de-pip the grapes.  Its not nice biting into a grape with seeds in, and it makes it very difficult and unpleasant to chew and swallow, and you've got no chance trying to de-pip it once its in your gob, and especially not before the next chime.  Vick kind of gave up as you can see and was left with about 4 at the end.  The second rule is DO NOT look at anyone else as you will get the giggles and end up either spraying someone with grape juice, or being sprayed yourself (or worse, choking on your grape) All in all a very unusual tradition and I'm not sure how it started, but a very funny one.

As the night progressed everyone got more and more drunk. Dad started the night in a kilt, and well, I'll let the photo explain the rest ...
The guy wearing Dads kilt is Florin, Magda's son, who was helping out. He was a bit reluctant to wear it at first, but once it was on I think he quite enjoyed it. 

The numbers in the bar started to dwindle so we headed off to the beach where there was a fire going. Dad was going to attend this, but in his own words he "had someone else's legs" so he went off to bed, as did most other people. Vick went to bed about 2 and left me with Beatle (pronounced Be-atter) and John (pronounced John). For those of you that know me will know that I am usually the one eager to get into bed with a cup of tea and get some beauty sleep. But no, not this night.  After a quick piss on the beach I eventually crawled into the tent at 4. 

It's Christmas!!!

The main purpose of having a mammoth journey from Croatia to Spain in 2 weeks was to arrive in Almeria on Christmas eve to surprise my mum.  After my sister told her this by accident the surprise wasn't so much of a surprise anymore.  In hindsight it was probably a good thing as I'm not sure how we would have kept it a secret for such a long time.

Since leaving Croatia we haven't really had a short days drive.  Every day has been a bit of a mission as there has always been a destination that we have had to get to.  With the final destination in sight we decided to carry on missioning it until we arrived in Almeria.  The next morning we left Barcelona and drove 6 hours south to Oliva, camped the night and then packed up and then drove another 5 hours to Almeria, which was quite pleasant in the Spanish sun.  Apart from another carburetor issue en route we made arrived safe and sound.  The long way round to get to Spain but we made it.  We had arrived a week earlier than planned but with the chance of sleeping in the camper van we couldn't refuse. For about a month now the roll mats have been leaking quite badly.  To be fair they have taken a beating having being used daily whilst on the road and we have had them for about 3 years.   With no bath to test for leaks we have waited until now to put them in the sea.  Its quite difficult to look for leaks whilst waves are crashing up against you.  We found the leaks and tried to fix them, but, we failed.  Two new Alpkit sleeping mats are on the to do list as we are going to be staying here for a while now and I can only sleep on the floor for so long.

After a week of sleeping in a bed in the camper van we were then kicked out and put back into the tent as it was change over day, Kim and Paddy arrived on Christmas eve.  We haven't seen them since the wedding back in August so we were a little bit excited, however being the older brother I obviously hid this and acted as though I didn't really care. 
On Christmas morning we all woke up at around 9 and gathered around to open our presents.  Always an exciting time for any household, even more exciting when you don't agree to buy presents for each other but there are presents awaiting... Kim and Paddy were thrilled with their free Grimaldi lines shampoo and shower gel and football that had washed up onto the beach.  It was then our turn to open presents from Kim and Paddy, they must have seen our wish list as tampons and a instant Bovril drink was just what we wanted. Mum and Dad received a free campsite keyring and a tin of mandarin oranges.  Exciting stuff!

For the rest of the morning we rang everyone back home wishing them a Merry Christmas and then at around 1 o clock we headed up to the bar for our lunch, no roast tatties, stuffing or sprouts though at this meal, just the worlds biggest turkey leg!  We didn't think we were going to need to eat for the rest of the day, however after a load of drinks we departed back down to the house and me and paddy went to collect two of the biggest and tastiest pizzas ever. They were so big they wouldn't fit in the front of the van unless they were lifted when driving, and to get them through the camper van door they had to be turned sideways! 

We haven't forgotten you

Sorry for the delay on posts currently.  The internet here in Almeria is a bit temperamental so we are having to pop to Mcdonalds to use their internet.

Have a photo to keep you going.  This is currently our view. x