NEW START : MARCH 2008

March 26th to April 8th

Left home Wednesday 26th March. Missed tunnel slot (i.e. the tunnel left without us) due to heavy traffic, but arrived at Chartres, as planned, some 400 miles.

Day 2, reached Pauillac, on the river Dordogne, where we stayed for three days. Saturday was glorious and we visited Rocamadour, one of the great medieval places of pilgrimage. All centres of pilgrimage had a holy relic, and the better the relic, the more pilgrims e.g. splinter of the true cross, miraculously preserved Saint etc. Rocamadour had a black wooden Madonna, fairly poor in the rankings I would have thought, and even that had disappeared to be replaced by a copy. But the town is spectacularly built into the cliff, as the photo shows.

Sunday 30th March arrived at campsite in Pyrenees, surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Slight downside was a Dutchman adjacent who spent ages setting up his mobile TV satellite dish with a high-pitched whistle direction finding device. He got his just deserts half an hour later when a storm blew up and bowled the sat dish down the campsite.

Tuesday, all fools day, arrived at our destination near Mazarron.

Odd, we said. Jane left a pair of shoes in the awning last night & there’s only one there this morning. As we were puzzling, a neighbouring camper asked if we’d heard the dog in the night. Dog? They don’t allow dogs on the site and even throw campers off for feeding the feral cats. Apparantly, this dog sneaks in from the village during the night and chews up any shoes it can find. Yes, Jane’s shoe was found nearby, duly chewed up.

Rest of the week taken up looking up old acquaintances, swimming and walking.

Sunday 13th May

We’ve been at the house in France since Friday. Weather appalling, and we just got soaked walking along an old railway line. Before that we went to an open day at the snail farm up the road, which was interesting. Thousands of snails for processing into gourmet chewy garlic pencil-rubbers!
We’ll be arriving back at Alconbury a week on Tuesday, and look forward to being in touch with everybody soon after.

Thur 3rd May

Tomorrow we are leaving for Vinaros, north of Valencia. We intend to stay there for a few days and then drive through France, arriving at the house there in about a week. We're still contactable by email in the meantime, but no attachments please.
In the last week we have seen wild mountain goats in the rambla, on the steep slopes high up, and a large bird of prey, possibly a golden eagle. The bee-eaters are now here in force and sit on the tree branches in the rambla in dozens looking like multi-coloured parrots.

Wed 25th April

This afternoon we visited the Guns of Cartagena. These are several batteries of large calibre guns that were installed for the protection of Cartagena harbour which is about 10 miles from there. The batteries are on a remote headland with beautiful views of the sea and hills (and the sea approaches to Cartagena harbour!).
The guns were supplied by Vickers UK and erected in 1926. They were operational until 1993 when the army just abandoned the installation, leaving the armaments and buildings intact. Anyone can wander around at will, even into the subterranean passages under the guns (torch necessary). The site is very extensive and would have accommodated hundreds of men. The guns themselves are most impressive, the largest pair being effectively battleship 20-inch guns, capable of throwing a one-ton shell over 20 miles.

Considering all the expense and difficulty of construction in that remote location, and the large cost of upkeep of the guns and garrison, they were only fired in anger once, in 1939 during the Spanish civil war, when a steamship was sunk.

Tuesday 17th April

Today we saw the first bee-eaters, returning from their winter migration. These are very colourful birds, blue, yellow & green, a little bigger than a thrush, which eat bees. I imagine the fellow who keeps half a dozen beehives just behind the site is not looking too happy!

Tuesday 9th April

Heavy rain AM, but warm sun this afternoon so we went swimming & played table tennis.
Yesterday afternoon we walked to an abandoned iron ore mine in the hills about 3 miles behind the campsite. The buildings were extensive and all with collapsed roofs. Some of the cableway pylons were still standing showing the route the ore took to the coast, presumably for shipping away for smelting. The spoil heaps were still there, as were the tunnels into the mine workings. We didn’t venture in: we’d forgotten the torches and canaries. However, most interesting.

Wed 4th April

Beautiful Morning and thunderstorms this afternoon! Yesterday we visited Espuna Natural Park, which is a mountain area about 25 miles from here. It was most picturesque, with mountains, dramatic cliffs and panoramic views. The narrow, winding road took us up to over 3,000 feet where the temperature was distinctly chilly. We stopped on the way down to walk and found clumps of wild asparagus! We picked a good-sized bunch and ate it in the evening.
It has a strong taste and is pleasant but not as delicious as the cultivated kind. Also we can vouch for the fact that it isn’t poisonous!