Week 7

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Geo: 42.0534, 3.19767

14/05/11 Hot and Sunny 25oC am Rain pm

Off to Girona after lunch to pick up Michelle from the airport, we'd decided to get a rack roasted chicken from stall in Torroella and have it cold with a salad for ease, the stall is very popular with the locals although somewhat expensive, aside from chicken he does lamb and rabbit all stuffed or infused with a mixture of herbs which really makes them special. When we arrived there were around 20 people all queuing for their order! I dropped Linda off and found a nearby car park to wait in. After a couple of minutes I noticed that everyone returning to the car park was carrying a bag from the stall, must be a gold mine I thought. Finally after 20 mins she appeared bag in hand, I don't think I'd ever waited that long in a queue for something so was glad Linda went and not me. She was telling me that people had orders for anywhere between €40-€65 no wonder it was taking so long to serve everyone.

Just as we neared Girona we noticed a single black cloud, not a good sign I thought we may have to get back in a hurry. By the time we'd picked up Michelle and were ready leave the airport the whole sky was threatening and ominous, suddenly remembering we'd left the awning open as it was blazing sunshine when we left, I put my foot down. After 15 mins the rain started, then the hail and within no time at all the road was awash; visibility was down to 30m and traffic was just stopping wherever they were, even if it was in the middle of the road! In no time at all there were rivers of mud, stones and rocks cascading across the roads making it difficult to see just where the road actually was. Michelle's run of bad luck is obviously continuing, welcome to Spain.

By the time we finally approached the site there were no signs that they had experienced the torrential onslaught we'd experienced and the rain had reduced to what you would call normal. As we turned into our avenue surprise surprise, the awning was all closed up and secure, we were really surprised, as I'd often taken washing, and loungers in and closed awnings if neighbours were out when it started raining but had rarely seen anyone else bother so hadn't expected anyone to take any action. A quick enquiry revealed it was our German friends who had been good enough to secure the awning so after a brief lull in the rain I popped over to thank them, whilst my German is nonexistent and their English was only slightly better our gratitude to them was understood and warmly received.

15/05/11 Hot and Sunny 22oC

After an awful night of gales and downpours I was chuffed to wake up to a bright and sunny start to the day, thank goodness for that as I was dreading the possibility that we might have bad weather for Michelle's stay, curiously enough the last time she stayed here with us it rained all week.

The day was spent wandering around the town and visiting a small designer exhibition by the port. Just after our return an English outfit turned into the adjacent avenue, as soon as they pulled in they stopped in the middle of the roadway and the first thing out was the compass to check the orientation for the satellite dish, here we go I thought, anyway after a lot of checking angles and position of the sun they decided to pitch directly in line with us, not a problem I thought.

Once the caravan legs were down out came the ubiquitous satellite disk a whopping 90mm model (the biggest I've seen so far was a massive 1m dish owned by guess who, yup you've got it an English man) and the next thing we heard yelled out was "DO YOU WANT A BREW" nah came the reply I need to set this up first. What do they do without TV I thought but then again thought better of it.

I must confess at this point yes I also have a dish it's a discreet portable roof mounted model, whilst it's not big enough to get me Corrie, Eastenders, or mainstream TV it does get BBC, CNN, SKY News which is all I'm really interested in whilst down here. I use a satellite finder and usually within 15 minutes it's all set up and ready to go with no swearing, losing my temper or smacking the dish with a pole (or any other nationality come to that)

Well the afternoon came and went and still he hadn't got a signal, the evening did the same with no progress. His wife had presumably set the inside of the caravan up ready but all he had done was fail to get the satellite tuned. And all through the afternoon came the now familiar mating call "DO YOU WANT A BREW" interspersed with the occasional “I FEEL LIKE A BREW” oh us English all he needed was a knotted handkerchief on his head, and long socks and sandals to complete the archetypal picture of the Englishman abroad.

By the time we'd finished dinner Michelle was exhausted so it was an early night for everyone, which wasn't a bad thing as none of us got a goodnights sleep last night because of the storms.

16/05/11 Hot and Sunny with a cool wind 20oC

Whilst on my morning ride along by the beach it was obvious it was going to be one of those days, whilst it was hot & sunny with a cool breeze inland, down here by the beach the sand was being whipped up and billowing across the shoreline making it impossible to see let alone sunbathe.

We've now named the English couple Fag ash Lil and Les the lazy. Fag ash Lil because she nearly always comes out of the caravan in the morning in her PJs with a fag drooping out of the corner of her mouth and a brew in her hand, what a lovely sight to greet one in the morning and Les the lazy because he does so little, to be fair he did manage to get the dish tuned by lunch time then it was time for a siesta.

We took Michelle to the market in Torroella stocked up at the supermarket and spent the rest of the day on site just lazing and reading, nothing too strenuous.

17/05/11

Today we're off to le Barcarés just over the French border to meet up with some great friends we met whilst caravanning some years ago, they go to the same site every year so when we're down this way we always take the opportunity to meet up; and Barcarés is not only equidistant for both of us it's also the place where we met on the same site, so it's special.

After our get together we went for a coffee and then wandered down to the beach where our friends presented a bottle of champagne complete with wine cooler no less, how chic drinking Champagne on the French Riviera at lunch time, life doesn't get much better, good friends, good weather, good surroundings, and not a care in the world.

After a relaxing afternoon spent catching up with events from the last couple of years we finally made our way to a restaurant for a meal before going our separate ways. For us it was to a local hotel for the night which we'd previously booked as we intended to do some shopping the following day before returning to our site.

18/05/11 Hot & Sunny 22 oC

Wednesday is local market day in Barcarés which we always enjoyed when we stayed there, so after a couple of hours at the market it was off to the Carrefore hypermarket for some of the things which are difficult to get in Spain like good cheese, and larger joints of meat which we can then freeze when we get back to the site. We then set off for the return journey calling in at le Perthus which is just on the French side of the border to shop for cheap drink, tobacco, and perfume; what a shock we got, the prices were the same as they were in Spain.

After ¾ hour we gave up and decided things might be better if we stopped off at la Junquera which is on the Spanish side of the border, so after having run the gauntlet of prostitutes we went searching for bargains, (drink & cigs nothing else!) no such luck, all the shops were charging the same prices, which were the same as available in most places in Spain. Traditionally la Perthus and la Junquera were autonomous areas where prices were significantly lower than in main country, whilst the prices were much lower than available in France they were exactly the same as available in most places in mainland Spain.

Up until now I've not mentioned the phenomenon which is the Spanish prostitutes, who can be found at most major road junctions with the Autopista as well as on regional roads. You're liable to encounter prostitutes usually operating in small groups at roundabouts or any junction entering or exiting a built up area where traffic is slowed to a crawl giving them time to ply their trade. However on some of the main roads you can find yourself being waved down by single women in various states of undress usually just before a lay-by (no pun intended) some even appear to have travelled there in ramshackle motorhomes, although they're obviously more up market.

You may remember my concerns regarding Mona & Lisa when I said I have a sneaky suspicions about them which proved to be unfounded (I think) well now you may understand my concerns at the time.

Whilst I pass no judgement on them whatsoever I must confess the risks these girls are taking by operating alone in the middle of nowhere with no backup plays on my mind.

When we arrived back on site we were surprised to see that Fag ash Lil and Lazy Les had erected an awning, wish I'd seen that go up!

19/05/11 Hot & Sunny 21oC

A leisurely day spent at rest (horizontally in the sun) with a BBQ in the evening.

Fag ash Lil has disappeared and hasn't been seen all day, and surprisingly enough in her absence Les has now progressed from tea to something stronger previously we'd never seen them drink anything but tea, but now it's beer with lunch and during the day, and wine with dinner.

20/05/11 Hot & Sunny 23oC

Linda and Michelle went to town in the morning to get tobacco and other essentials for Michelle to take home

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