Following the Sun Diary - Wed 30 March

We spent two weeks at the Marjal campsite near the town of Guardamar del Segura. The weather wasn’t very good, nearly all of the first week it rained and when it cleared up and blue skies returned Moira wasn’t well. She had difficulty breathing and was doing a lot of coughing, she thought it was hay fever so was taking antihistamine pills, but it wasn’t getting any better.

Because of the rain and Moira’s health we didn’t leave the site much. I passed my time mainly at the gym. It was very well equipped, a cardiovascular section with bicycles, treadmills and rowing machines, a separate abdominal exercise section and a weights room. I did a lot of cycling, and running on the treadmill followed by an hour’s training with the weights each day. There was also a sauna of which I made use to warm up, as the weather was chilly outside. On the second week when the weather improved and the sun reappeared we went for a few short walks along the canal bank that ran all the way from the sea to the next town of Rojales about 10 km away. I also did a lot of running along the canal bank and have now run every day since we’ve been here, (that includes the treadmill at the gym).

One day I cycled into Torrevieja; this was, according to Moira, where we stayed a couple of years ago with Suzy for a holiday. When I got there I didn’t recognise it and later Moira informed me that we were based further south on the outskirts of the town. The main part of Torrevieja where I reached was very nice. I cycled along the front, passed the marina, to a busy pedestrian area and beach. It was busy and seemed like a very popular resort, maybe we should look at campsites here for a stay in the future.

The campsite is very popular with people with big vehicles like the American Winnebago, and converted buses. The stands are very big and there were hundreds of huge contraptions more like transportable houses than campervans. I don’t think they move around much but get here at the start of winter and that’s them until they return to the UK in spring. The trouble with the big stands and all the facilities is that the cost is high, about E27/night. Fortunately there is a cheaper section where we are with fewer extras, and it is only E15/night.

We went to a quiz night they held in the bar on Tuesdays. We did quite well, managing to answer most of the questions but not goo enough to win. There was a Country music weekend at the site the first Saturday and Sunday. It was taking place at the tennis courts and you could hear the beat blasting out all over the site. We

went to have a look before setting off for a walk. There weren’t many people there but the ones that were had themselves kitted out in cowboy boots and ten gallon hats doing line dancing. The music wasn’t bad and it was finishing each day, fortunately, at 5:30 so we didn’t get kept awake.



Ancient church on sea front Sitges

We left Marjal after an enjoyable two weeks and with the weather definitely improving began to head further north and towards France. We stopped off at Benicassim where we stayed on the way down though this time went to the other campsite, Azahar, that was at the end of the cycle path. We had more rain here but between showers I managed to get some good runs on the cycle track and along the coast. We made a move again after a couple of days and are now at another familiar place Sitges. We are at the same campsite, El Garrofer, and on more or less the same pitch as last time. We have decided to stay here a week then head for Toulouse to start my cycling of the Canal Midi.

Moira has begun to recover from her hay fever though she is still wheezing and coughing a bit. I had a few days when I also was suffering from a sore throat and missed a couple of runs. Now I am feeling much better and have rediscovered some of the delightful routes that I ran when we were here previously. At Marjal and Benicassim all we could get on TV from the satellite was the news channels and the BBC radio which was alright as we still had some programmes that we had recorded on our Freeview box to watch. Here at Sitges reception is good and we are able to watch again some of our favourite programmes live.    

Following the Sun Diary: Tues 8 March

We have moved on after five very enjoyable weeks at Cabo de Gata. The weather had been on the whole very good, we had warm days under cloudless cobalt blue skies, but over the last few days it has been like a return to winter. The wind has been cold and blowing strongly, this made it unpleasant walking in the hills and not at all conducive to cycling. When the weather was good we were out every other day for long walks taking a flask of coffee and sandwiches for our lunch. We had covered most of the regular routes listed in the leaflet from the tourist board and some of our own. When we arrived we had a couple of days of rain followed by nice warm conditions, this resulted in a profusion of beautiful blossoming wild spring flowers. As we walked through the countryside we were delighted with the yellow, blues and whites that carpeted the landscape, much like the daisies that attract so many people, in spring, to Namaqualand in South Africa.

Spring flowers of Cabo de Gata

One interesting walk we had was to the town of Los Albaricoques. This was the location for a lot of western movies; in particular the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns like ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ and ‘A Fist Full of Dollars’. When we get home we are going to get the DVD of these films to see if we recognise the scenery from them. Another fascinating area was around the town of Rodalquilar with the remains of the now defunct mining industry. Gold mining here goes back to Roman times and the many scars on the beautiful mountain landscape bare witness to this. We had a good day out at the salt pans near the Cabo de Gata point. This area was once famous for salt mining and the resulting salt pans are a favourite spot for birdlife. From a bird hide we saw large numbers of outstanding pink flamingos and  also spotted herons, coots and avocets, the later the bird with a long curved beak which it swishes around under the surface of the water searching for food in the sand and silt.

'Clint Eastwood' protecting Los Albaricoques

I have a few good cycled rides, having found myself some interesting circular routes. A couple of rides have had sections off road resulting in some frightening steep descents on rough rocky tracks from mountain passes. I generally take these down hills very easily with my hands on the brakes all the time; I’ve had enough bicycle accidents and broken bones over the years, so I don’t take any risks.

The area does seem to attract film makers, not only for westerns but adverts as well. One morning when leaving the campsite we had to make our way along the main road to pick up the path for our hill walk only to be stopped by the police who said that there would be a truck coming along shortly, very fast and dangerous. All the traffic was held up as well, as we waited to watch the proceedings. It turned out to be an advert for Mercedes trucks and this vehicle was racing along this stretch of road behind a pick-up truck with a camera on a long boom. We got started on our walk eventually but when we returned some seven hours later they were still there filming the same sequence with the truck, the technicians all look bored and fed up.

Pretty flamingo ao the saltpan

During our stay here I have had trouble with an ear infection. I was practically deaf in my left ear, hearing only continuous ringing and buzzing sounds. Moira tried warm olive oil to remove any wax which we thought at first was the problem but it didn’t help, I had to go to a doctor. We found one in San Jose a small town nearby but he wouldn’t treat me until I was properly registered and this involved filling in a form then travelling to another town, San Isidro de Nijar, 20 km away for authorisation. Once this was all done it was too late that day to go back to the doctor so I returned the next day. There was the usual long queue to wait for my turn but it all worked out satisfactorily. He quickly examined my ear and made out a prescription for drops which I then collected from the pharmacy. This was all done in Spanish and sign language, the form we took to the tourist information for the lady there to help me complete, she spoke English. All this was free of charge and the other good news is that the drops worked wonders; my hearing was soon back to normal again.

 The site is very good but we don’t have any activities like whist or quiz nights. They do have bingo on a Friday but they call out the numbers in Spanish. I don’t know the Spanish for ‘two fat ladies’ of ‘legs eleven’. On Thursday evenings at the restaurant they do a special three course meal for 6 Euro. The food is very good though the helpings are small; this suits us as we want to keep our weight under control. I’ve been going to the gym on site to keep fit but it isn’t very good, not a great selection of equipment or very well maintained. I am the only one who seems to use the facilities and its not very enjoyable working out by oneself.

Glorious bay at Cabo de Gata

We left on Monday and made our way north to the Costa Blanca to the town of Guardamar del Segura and a campsite called Marjal. A few months ago we had met some woman who told us about this site but it was very expensive, though when we got our new campsite book in January it was listed and we could get a pitch for 15 Euro with our ACSI card that comes with the book. This card allows us into many campsites throughout the continent at discount rates. Unfortunately when we got here the reduced rate didn’t get us all the facilities, like TV and Wi-Fi straight to your pitch. We have to go to a room near the restaurant for the internet and attempt to pick up the UK satellite on our dish. We played about with the dish but could only manage to pick up BBC News and the radio stations.

The site does have an excellent gym of which I am taking full advantage. This one is new with modern equipment, a heated indoor swimming pool and saunas. The gym is well attended as it is used by the local people as well as the residence of the campsite. I will be working out a lot if the bad weather continues, as is being forecast, so much for following the sun.

We will stay here for at least a week before moving further north. We want to get to France by about mid April when I will cycle the Canal Midi, and then we will hike the Robert Louis Stevenson walking route in central France.