Advertisement
Published: January 15th 2017
Edit Blog Post
Calpe greeted us (as a town not a person) with a trip to get Claude's wing mirror repaired. The more alert of you will remember it was smashed going round Norway and we had been driving for several months with it being held together by duct tape and a much reduced visibility. This did not distract us from travelling thousands of kilometres as we knew we would save pennies by getting it fixed in Spain and that indeed was the case. A very friendly company - Euronautica - had ordered in the replacement mirror so we set out to find friends Alan and Annie. You have to remember dear readers, that we had never been to this town before so our knowledge of where we were was not exactly an exact science. You have to remember dear readers to never let Wendy the Navigator and Annie the "complete lack of directions" friend try to arrange where to meet up by telephone. " I can see Calpe rock " said Wendy in a very helpful manner . Sadly the rock can be seen from 40km away, so not very helpful. " We are beside a cafe " prompted Annie.Sadly there are many,
many, many, many cafes in the town. Your correspondent wept.
After many helpful conversations like this, it was decided that we would walk down a very steep hill, through the town, turn left, right, left again , past a cafe, look at the rock and then meet them on the sea front - sadly, the beach front is many kilometres long. After many hours (well 15 minutes) we were sat in a bar, looking at the sea, when I got a phone call saying the wing mirror had been replaced and I could go and collect Claude - I had only had a sip of beer and then had to retrace my steps by turning left, right , left, right again, past a cafe, look at the rock etc..... but Claude was almost free of duct tape and after a quick conversation a deal was made to repair the rear bumper with the use of fibreglass so Claude would look like an almost tip top condition motorhome.
The plan was to spend 3 weeks on the Calpecamping site (which was a mere 5 minutes walk to the town centre), then put Claude in storage for a week over
xmas while we moved in with Alan, Annie and Sam the springer spaniel in their apartment. The campsite was very accommodating and had big pitches. Sadly, we were pitched in a far away corner from the entrance. This does not sound an ordeal, but we always try to get Cusco out of the site before he decides to squat down and evacuate himself. This led to mad running around the site, calling him to run in the hope we would get out,but sadly when a dogs got to do what a dog has to do, then all you can do is smile at the Dutch couple just sitting down to their freshly cooked breakfast and being presented with Cusco's derriere doing what comes naturally. Oh well.
Calpe is a very pleasant town on the Mediterranean with many back streets and bars to be explored. Alan proved a great guide taking us around the town, unlike Annie who didn't quite have a grasp on local geography or where she was to be fair, but as you will find out, she was distracted with very important issues concerning our hound. A Christmas market was visited and Wendy and Annie were transfixed
and enchanted by the young children dancing to xmas songs while your correspondent and Alan and the spaniels found a stall serving some delicious mulled wine and imbibed merrily.
When it came to the Christmas week, Claude was put in storage and the three of us moved in to the apartment. I use the words " moved in " although " invaded" would probably be a more apt description. Wendy does not pack lightly. We arrived for five days with enough clothing and supplies to see us through the next ice age. The spaniels had a great time together. Cusco has always looked at Sam as a big brother and would trot beside him very proudly. From the Granada bar next door, to a great Italian restaurant with possibly better pizzas than in Italy, to a small cove where the dogs could swim, to great evenings and nights of wine and peruda, we can only say thank you for providing us with such a great time.
After collecting Claude from storage we headed south to Aguilas - our favourite place. We had booked in for 3 months at the campsite and were greeted by staff and other travellers
as though we had never left seven months ago. I won't say what we did or wanted to do, but Wendy got the phone call that we had been dreading for the last 23 months. Her consultant said it was time we had to return home for treatment. For 23 months this gorgeous and brave woman had directed Cusco and myself all over Europe and we were lucky just to get that time to see amazing places and to enjoy different cultures.
We are now back in Dorset and Wendy has to start chemotherapy soon. She will not let it slow her down. Already she is planning short trips around the Uk to tie in with her treatment .
I love her so much.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.293s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0615s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.2mb
Chris and Peter
non-member comment
Back home
Oh, so sorry to learn you are back home! Wish you all the best with the therapy! Keep blogging, trips in UK will be fun too! Last three years we toured England, Scotland and Wales in June and it was fab!!! All the best!