Blogs from Alfaz del Pi, Valencian Community, Spain, Europe

Surprisingly peaceful night's sleep, even though it "felt" like a residential area. Tony's precaution of not drinking in the evening (just in case) proved unnecessary. Heading back to Jacqui and Mike's at Albir today, to retrieve the iPad and have one more evening with them. En route, near Benidorm,saw signs for "Carrefour - Finistrat," so decided to call there as they stock a particular cheap wine we've "adopted." Trouble was, after signs at several consecutive roundabouts, we reached one without a Carrefour sign! Not to worry, it DID have a sign for Finestrat. "No problem - obviously that's where we need to go!" Except that Finistrat turned out to be a village up a mountain - and there was no sign of ANY shop, let alone a Carrefour! We gave up, and let the Satnav guide ... read more

Originally planned to go to the English church in Albir today, but since the service starts at 09.40, it's a good 20 minute walk, and we had a late night, we decided last night we'd give it a miss. Sorry Lord, sure You understand! When we did eventually get going, we took a stroll down to the big market, where Tony got a watch and a pair of gloves, and Liz got a small bag to carry her phone in around the house. We'd booked a Sunday roast as a late lunch (15.00!), 8€ each including a glass of wine! Very enjoyable, but not much day left by he time we got back to base. However, Tony did manage to scrub some tree sap off the side of the van, picked up while leaving the pitch ... read more

Lovely meal at Café del Mar España - (Liz had tuna salad, Tony garlic mushrooms, both followed by delicious shoulder of lamb, cooked off the bone, with veg and sautée potatoes). Good night's sleep at Jacqui and Mike's, then a very light breakfast. Tony went to have a closer look at the van's water system, and found ... it's working! Answer to prayer from a couple of night's ago? One possibility is that the pipe out from the pump had got kinked, which could have made the pump blow its fuse; the continuing problem after fuse replacement might just have been an extreme version of the usual priming thing. Anyway, all running now, we'll just make sure we've always got a bottle of water with us for emergencies, just in case. Meanwhile, the girls had put ... read more

Slept in late today - woken by uncle Geoff (with tea!) at about 09.20! Went into Moraira with him and Doreen (all pictured having a coffee), then back to theirs to get organised for moving on. Pictures of his garden attached, it's pretty darn good for midwinter in Spain! Qúick supermarket stop, then on to Calpe - only to find all thr camperstops and campsites absolute'y full up! Can't imagine how they cope in summer, but apparently even the camperstops take advance bookings! As one Brit we met put it, "It's all about beating the Germans!" Although I can't imagine even them putting towels on parking spaces! We filled up with water at one of them though, as our anti-frost safety system had drained out tank while we were parked at Geoff's. So, onward along the ... read more

Today was probably our laziest day ever on holidays! We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then drove into Albir for coffee. The rest of the day was mainly spent relaxing by the pool.... read more