Janet and John go to Spain

[Siimplyloco]

Golden rain ___ Benidorm ______Cultural desert_______ you been to see Sticky Vicky then John whilst Janets been off. :scared: :scared:

I was referring to the sandy coloured precipitation! Oops......no way out of this one!

 

[dave and mary]

Wild camping in Almerimar is a joke, most of the vans that have taken over the 2 car parks have parked long ways on instead of end ways on so that only half the number of vans can park, a case of " I'm alright Jack, Fxck you ", and they have been here for months leaving chairs out while they visit the local Mercadona. The local Ayuntamienta are monitoring the situation and do not be surprised if next year the signs go up " No Overnighting ". The minority spoil it for the rest again.

You are so right on this, over the years it seems to have got worse, a lot of vans think they have a right to what they like there. They are monitoring M/H in general I think in Spain on several occasions we have seen the vans number plates being photographed, this could be to see where we all go, then they can build a camping site in the area put the no overnighting signs up, to try and make you go into the site and charge a small fortune. I certainly hope that this does not happen, they should be trying to get more like France and having more free Aires, if the vans stop going over it will make a big difference to the local economy.


:drive: :drive:

 

[Siimplyloco]

Operation Desert Storm cleanup

I don't know about you folks in the UK, but we all woke up today to a thick sandy soup covering all our vehicles and caravans. There are no standpipes on the site - unless you have a serviced pitch - and I've never seen so many Brits with buckets scurrying to and fro from the loos trying to clean it off before it set hard. This region desperately needs rain, but I reckon that all the rain that fell last night was consumed in the huge cleanup operation here! I hope it doesn't rain again tonight.....
Janet and John

 

[n brown]

no need to go to Morocco,it's come to you !

 

[Siimplyloco]

First Foray into Clubland

We are not Night Clubbers, but I met a guy who belongs to a Singles Club here - more about that later- who dragged us out this weekend. A great meal was had at the China Garden (€7.45 each including a bottle of wine) and on to the Rock 'n Roll House to see a really brilliant 50's show, including a great performance by an Elvis impersonator who, apparently, won a Elvis tribute contest in the USA in 2010. Drinks were slightly more expensive than we are used to (at least double) but a great time was had by all until 2.00 am. On the walk back to El Raco we popped into Levi's to catch the late comedian: a not too blue performance which everyone enjoyed. We rolled back into Hugo at 3.00 am, tired but happy. Invited out again last night but we needed time to recover as we are watching the Frankie Valli tribute show tomorrow at Camping Villamar (€12.50 including a three course meal!)

The Singles Club is quite interesting - if you are single that is - in that it mainly comprises retired people who enjoy each other's company - if you get what I mean! It doesn't pay to disappoint your evening guest as the word soon gets around.....enough said! Nice people though...

We had a look around Camping La Torreta yesterday. It is slightly closer to town but we were disappointed with the condition of the place when compared to El Raco. Facilities are somewhat dated, and the pitches are sited haphazardly to say the least. We will stay where we are for the rest of the month.

The scooter is proving invaluable. We bomb into town most mornings, find a parking place in a few seconds, and wander around trying to look German!
26C here today....
Janet and John

 

[shortcircuit]

Got to admit pitches are spacious on El Raco but I cannot comment on facilities. Had a neighbour for a few days who always used to stay on El Raco but because of dog nuisance, running free, poo would not go back. Hope the have got that in control and you will have first hand experience.

Sites are getting quiter as the Scandinavian's depart but weather has picked up again.

Soon be leaving for home so enjoy

 

[Siimplyloco]

The Cast of 'Benidorm' are real!

Sitting enjoying a drink in the Rock 'n Roll bar tonight and a small, bespectacled, rotund fellow came in. To my shame I recognised him as the actor in 'Benidorm' with the tall brassy wife with the large headlights! We resisted the temptation to ask for his autograph, and so did everyone else.....
John

 

[n brown]

of all the gin joints in all the world,he walks into yours !

 

[Siimplyloco]

of all the gin joints in all the world,he walks into yours !

Shades of Humpty Gokart!

 

[Siimplyloco]

Parental Responsibilities on Holiday

Not much to report as the weather hasn't been that good and we haven't been far. However, we went out late last night - relatively sober - and called in at the Levi Showboat Bar just down the road from Raco.

We noticed a British family seated in the centre of the room: grandparents, mother and father, and three children all under about ten. The local Drag Queen 'Stella Artois' was on stage, a rather hefty version of Danny La Rue. He was a bit blue but his(her) singing was OK. The star attraction, 'Levi G', came on after the dancing girls, and launched into her act. The family were still seated at around 11.30. About ten minutes into her crude and unfunny act, she noticed the children, and asked the audience if they wanted an adult act or a children's act. She got the expected answer from the assembled throng and continued, her language and 'jokes' becoming stronger by the minute. After ten minutes we'd had enough and left. The family were still seated, presumably enjoying themselves.....
I'm not a prude or a killjoy, but kids shouldn't, IMHO, be exposed to this sort of thing. Or perhaps this was just an accurate reflection of home?
John

 

[n brown]

my 16 yr old grandson has just been over,he's never lived here,grew up on the algarve. he was fascinated by the people he saw on a local boot sale-harsh faced women with fags hanging out their mouths swearing at their toddlers,idly threatening each other,but his favourite was 2 little lads,about 8-9 yrs old,sharing a fag while they discussed effing up this other lad,who was ,like,a total c*** !
there's some real charmers making their way up the scum ladder !

 

[Byronic]

Cheesus Mr Brown, you never get that sort of thing here in Essex. Bristol eh tut tut!!

 

[Obanboy666]

I'm not a prude or a killjoy, but kids shouldn't, IMHO, be exposed to this sort of thing. Or perhaps this was just an accurate reflection of home?
John

Its a sad reflection of a lot of our society in general.
Im quite shocked at times at the language i hear when out and about especially when there are young children present.

 

[Siimplyloco]

Its a sad reflection of a lot of our society in general.
Im quite shocked at times at the language i hear when out and about especially when there are young children present.

I can't abide swearing in public: me, an ex soldier! I've mentioned before that my father was born in a house of ill repute in Southampton, and didn't know about underpants until he met my mother, but he never, ever, swore in front of us: and neither did mum, the daughter of a cobbler. It was the last thing she would have thought of.....
John

 

[Siimplyloco]

On a lighter note, we went for a scooter ride to Altea today, and whizzed up to the church on the high hill through the various alleyways where we wouldn't have dared to take a car! We were accosted by a fellow Brit at the top who'd left his scooter at the bottom of the hill, unaware that it was possible to avoid a long walk! We are meeting later for a beer...

We met a nice French couple at the viewpoint and the guy offered to take our picture with my camera: didn't he do a good job? It'll go in our album!
Janet and John

 

[n brown]

nice shot mate ! i like it when someone thinks to offer like that,costs nowt but means a lot !

 

[Tezza33]

I can't abide swearing in public: me, an ex soldier! I've mentioned before that my father was born in a house of ill repute in Southampton, and didn't know about underpants until he met my mother, but he never, ever, swore in front of us: and neither did mum, the daughter of a cobbler. It was the last thing she would have thought of.....
John

My Father was a Yorkshire Miner, I was brought up in a pit village and four letter words were called 'pit language', my Dad never swore in front of us and I never swore in front of my Mum or him, I do not swear now in normal conversation because I don't see the need for it and if anybody swears in front of my Wife or Grand kids I tend to over react a little (depends on circumstances), I forget I am not the young man who had been training for years and had just got his black belt and I am now the 60yr old with his belt round his chest, I still scare people when I am angry because they think my heart will give up but at least I scare them View attachment 21443

 

[Siimplyloco]

As it's Good Friday we took a trip to the Benidorm Cross to watch the walkers sweating their way to the top. A fantastic view of the bay was had by all. I forgot the good camera! BTW we took the scooter....



We had the pleasure of the company of Allen and Eileen (Wint) on Thursday evening. We look forward to seeing them again at El Cisne on Sunday.

Went to Sinatra's bar in town the other night. As we went in we noticed a vertically challenged fellow at the bar, sitting on a mobility scooter. Bang on 9.00 pm he got off the scooter, limped to the stage, hung up his cane, put his artificial left arm in a comfortable position and proceeded to wow us all with one of he most powerful singing voices we've ever heard! The following act was good too: a tall, very thin black guy who sung blues. The Queen tribute after that was pants!
John

 

[wints]

We had the pleasure of the company of Allen and Eileen (Wint) on Thursday evening. We look forward to seeing them again at El Cisne on Sunday.

Mine hosts, Janet & John, were very welcoming.

Slightly confusing when John asked us round, 'come before dinner', so I said we'd be there about 11am ! Well, that's before dinner up north were I'm from ! Anyway, we had a pleasant few hours.
We'll be at Cisne on Sunday.

regards
Allen & Eileen

 

[John H]

The Vicarious Books' Guide to Spanish Aires qualifies as one of the thinnest books in the World!
John

But the UK equivalent would be less than one page long, so don't knock a country that is putting in more and more aires every year. They may not yet be as good at it as the French but at least they are making the effort.

And, since this thread started off in Almeria, I will recommend the following:

1. The port car park at Almeria. For 5 euros, motorhomes can stay the night. Toilets, water supply and waste disposal - and very convenient for the attractions of the town.

2. Cabo de Gata village car park - on the sea front and next to the police station for security!

3. The beach front at Fabriquillas - onward from Cabo village, past the Salinas.

Although there has been a clamp down on sea-front overnighting in many parts of Spain in recent years, to date these (and other local spots) are tolerated. As I said, the police are nearby and motorhomes at each of these places almost every night. The views are good too - as are the local tapas bars.