Wednesday, February 28, 2007

LA LINEA

Wed 28th Feb.
A beautiful day with blue skies and hot sun as we set off to Tarifa, which
is just past Algeciras and Gibraltar.It is on the Atlantic coast and is one
of the ports for the boats to Africa.Just as we arrived we discovered that
the co-driver and navigator had not brought the passports! It was my fault
as the trip across was to be a surprise,so we turned around at set off for
La Linea de la Concepcion for lunch which is the town just before Gibraltar.
The traffic into Gibraltar was very busy as we went to the promenade on
the Mediterranean side of the rock. We had passed the restaurant before
but did not know that it was so good untill Joyce who lived in Gibraltar for a
while reccommend it. We arrived and got a window table,although it was
busy for the bank holiday. We had starters of Seafood soup and Scallops,
followed by Sea Bass and Lobster cooked outside on a wood embers
by the local fisherman! In between the courses they served a lemon house
sorbet ,we chose a local Vino Blanco and finished off with brandy and the
house Muscotel. The picture shows the "Restaurante La Marina "on the shore
and the Lobster and Sea Bass on the way to the BBQ !!

LA LINEA

ESTEPONA

Tues 27th Feb.
First thing in the morning we servised the Winnebago and caught up with
the jobs, then the hire car came in the afternoon so we shot off to the hyper-
market to stock up with goods as it is a bank holiday on Wednesday in the
region.

ESTEPONA

Mon 26th Feb
Another sunny day but not with good news,the scooter is off the road
for another week as it requires a new piston,ie piston-broke!! We
rang Colwyn Motor Cycles to make sure that it is under warranty
and the garage in Estepona has ordered it from Malaga Peaugot.
So we have a hire car coming on Tuesday and are making plans
for the week as the forcast is sunny.

Monday, February 26, 2007

ESTEPONA

Sun 25th Feb.
The forcast for the next five days was hot and sunny,so we set off to
catch the bus into Estepona and walked along to the port to the
Marina for a tapas lunch. As we passed the Bullring we saw that
there was a Grand Festival on later in the day,so we bought
tickets. The bullring was opened in 1972,its asymmetric design
makes this bullring the only one of its kind in the world! The festival
started as the sun set and the flood lights came on. We had front
row seats,five rows back and followed the spectacular with much
interest and joined in with the locals waving and shouting.After it
finished we went for a late supper at the Mare Nostun Chino
Restaurant in the marina and finished off the day with complimentary
liqueurs.No pictures to follow !! ( Of the bullfight )

Saturday, February 24, 2007

PUERTO BANUS

Sat 24th Feb.
Today we have no scooter as it is still in the garage and no mechanics
working over the weekend so we caught a bus into Puerto Banus and went
to look at El Corte Ingles haven't been in this store before so it was nice
browsing around, there is a wonderful food hall, well worth a visit but did'nt
dare venture into the fashion floor! we bought a few things and then went
for a spot of lunch, happened to find a nice Restaurant , mainly Italian but
they had Calves Liver and Mash on which is unusual here so we both had
it , it was a lovely change, then we walked down to the port to see how
the other half live, it is absolutetly amazing,spent the rest of the afternoon
down there walking around the harbour and sitting watching the world go by,
such a beautiful sunny day which reached 24 degrees this afternoon.
A few pictures below showing some of the wealth in the harbour!!!

PUERTO BANUS

PUERTO BANUS

PUERTO BANUS

MARBELLA

Fri 23rd Feb.
Friday turned out to be one " Helluva" day ! Joyce picked us
up in the morning and dropped us off after midnight !! We went
to Marbella and had a Bloody Mary in the Puente Banus Beach
Club,then Joyce showed us around Marbella old and new.Then
we dropped down to a beach front restaurant for a fish lunch
of Grilled and Fried Hake.with Brenda having a Frito Misto of
mixed fish ,all washed down with the local Vino Blanco. We then
shot thru to Estepona marina for coffee and brandy.By now the
weather had picked up so we went to look at a friend of Joyce's
villa above Puerto Banus and called into one of the oldest and
best Golf Clubs around the corner for a pre- eve drink. We then
went down to Marbella town centre and headed for the oldest
and best Tapas bar ,"La Venencia for Tapas and finished off on
the local chilled licqueur.We arrived back feeling no pain!!

ESTEPONA

Wed/Thurs 21st/22nd Feb.
As the scooter is out of action we used a taxi into Estepona for
Brenda's last dental appointment on a very hot sunny day.We
had a fish lunch just off the square,then walked back along the
front and caught the bus back to the site.On Thursday we had
a service day on the Winnebago and the scooter was picked
up and taken to the garage in Estepona.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

ESTEPONA

Mon/Tues 19th/20th Feb.
After pushing the scooter back over 2kms to the site the problem is
that we have to get it to the motor cycle shop in Estepona-Mano's
friend Juan is away at the moment so we will have to wait for him
and his van to return.We went to the Hyper-Market in a taxi and
stocked up .On Monday we received an e-mail from Joyce Davies,
an old friend from Liverpool who has a place in Mijas and is coming
out this week,we have kept ih touch and had lunch in Chester just
before we left so we are looking forward to seeing her.Tuesday was
a catch-up day as it was grey and wet all day.

MANILVA

Sun18th Feb.
The sun was out early and so were we,as we set off for the market in
Manilva.When we arrived -no market!,we don't know why-so we went
up the hill to the fruit and veg shop known as "Ronnie Barkers"-open
all hours!! We then called on Mano and Anna,Carlos and his wife Anna
arrived with Fabio to watch the Cup-Tie between Manchester City and
Preston-City won! as we ate a spanish lunch.We then set off on the
scooter back to the site ,only to brake down with the same problem
as a few weeks ago-we ended up pushing the scooter back to the
Winnebago !

Saturday, February 17, 2007

JEREZ.

Fri 16th Feb.
We got up early and hit the road for Jerez after moving the Winnebago,
off the site with inches to spare ,by 7.30am.The road to Jerez is spectacular
as it leaves Algeciras and climbs over the high mountains and drops down
to Jerez. Our pre-planning worked out well and we arrived at 11.00am and
had no problems connecting to the LPG pump with the right connections !
We then set off back to Estepona by the same way as we had come and
arrived back on the site by 2.00pm and inched our way back onto our spot
with centimetres to spare.Later in the afternoon after hooking up to the
services we went down to the marina for a breath of fresh air and a coffee
as the sun was out and we only needed t-shirts on the scooter.

ESTEPONA

Thurs 15th Feb.
As the weather was good we prepaired the Winnebago for our
trip to Jerez on Friday morning with no problems including
having some of the trees cut down from around us.We received
a phone call from a Repsol director in Madrid to confirm that we
are expected in the morning.! In the afternoon we went out for a
ride as the sun was out .

ESTEPONA

Wed 14th Feb.
We are now back in scooter mode as the hire car went back yesterday
so we shot out for some shopping in the morning.In the evening we had
booked at our favourite restaurant "Playa Bella " for valentines night as
they were serving the normal menu and not a special one. My valentine
(Brenda!) enjoyed herself as we had an excellent Rioja with John Dory
and Beef Stroganoff.finished off with shots of the house licqueur!!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

ESTEPONA

Tues 13th Feb.
In the morning we again tried to solve our problem about the LPG.
We contacted Repsol but were unable to arrange a delivery to the
site as it only licienced for the main tank,they also confirmed that
the depot in Malaga is closed! We then made contact with the head
office of Repsol and after some language problems we had confirmed
that the depot in Jerez will be able to help us-fingers crossed! So we
are planning to go to Jerez on Friday after the gardner has cut down
the tree branches from around us and we have unhooked the plumbing
and gas bottle and prepared the Winnebago for the road The plan is
to set off early and return in the afternoon after a 250 mls round trip!!
By lunch time the sun was out so we went out on the scooter ,it was
so hot that we only had our t-shirts on,we ended up in the marina for
tapas.

GIBRALTAR

Mon 12th Feb
This was our last day for the hire car this time so we set off for Gibraltar
and we picked Anna up from Manilva on the way.The weather was fine
so the girls hit the shops in Main Street - see the picture! I had arranged
to pick up some spare parts for my shaver which the shop had ordered
last week,then Anna showed us around the old town and we took pictures
of the square in front of the Governor's Mansion.We then had a nice lunch
at the Waterfront Restaurant on the marina on the right of the picture.The
traffic was very light for Gibraltar,with no queues except for a few minutes
as a private jet took off (the road crosses the main runway!)

GIBRALTAR

GIBRALTAR

GIBRALTAR

Sunday, February 11, 2007

JEREZ/CADIZ

Sun 11th Feb.
First thing in the morning we serviced the Winnebago then set off for Jerez to
check out the LPG depot and then see Jerez.The drive over is dual -carriage
way all the way over the mountains and down to Jerez.After some difficulty we
found the depot and checked the access OK! The depot is closed on Sunday
which we did know but we also by chance spotted the Repsol office in the town,
so we have all the details to chase tomorrow.We then had a sherry and lunch in
the square! around the corner from the Harveys Headquarters ! On checking
the maps the navigator decided that we could go to Cadiz so we shot off and
crossed the bridge to the centre of Cadiz and along the long main road down
to the port.This is the old part of Cadiz and in the port we saw some Atlantic
Cruise ships.Then we dropped down to the promenade on the Atlantic coast
and watched the surfers in the bay.We then found by chance the best tapas
bar and restaurant-Arte Serrano and had a coffee and brandy for the navigator!
The road out of Cadiz is across a causeway from the peninsular and the over
mountains past the largest wind farm(forest) in Europe ! The spectacular road
drops down past Tarifa to Algeciras with magnificent views across to the Straits
of Gibraltar.The pictures show the Bay of Cadiz,the Serrano Hams and the church
in Ronda-sorry no pictures of Jerez as the weather was overcast and damp!

JEREZ/CADIZ

JEREZ/CADIZ

RONDA

ESTEPONA

Sat 10th Feb.
Today we have spent on a problem we have with our LPG tank.We have hooked
up to a propane bottle via our adaptor but we are still using our precious gas and
not the propane? So we will have to find LPG sooner than we had planned-but as
we already know it is hard to find in Spain! We have a list of the Repsol sites in the
main cities but as soon as we checked on Malaga we found out that it has closed.
We are at the same time trying to arrange a delivery to us on the site as we found
out that they have their gas delivered here! We also went around the local marina'
s to see if they could help ,with no luck! We then went on to the internet and found
some details fron all sorts of sites about the problems in Spain The nearest to us
is in Jerez ( 110 miles away) so we are going to see it tomorrow to check it out.
If anybody out there can help-please contact us ASAP.

Friday, February 09, 2007

RONDA

Thurs/Fri/8th.9th/ Feb
On Thursday morning Brenda had a hair appoitment in Sabinillas,then
in the afternoon we went to Marbella on some business-what a surprise
it has changed! We were last in the Marbella area 20 yrs ago when we
acquired our time share-16kms down the coast.We carried on to have
a look at it as it was upgraded last year and we were surprised to see
that we have acquired a good spot,although we are selling it at the moment.
The day was horrible as it rained cats and dogs all day.
RONDA:
What a change- a brilliant sunny day so we changed plans and went to
Ronda.The drive up to Ronda is spectacular-the A 376 is one of the
top ten drives in Europe and climbs over the high serrania around
hundreds of bends! We arrived on a beautiful blue-sky sunny day.
We had parked in the centre so only had a short walk into the main
square.The bullring is the oldest in the world and is very interesting as
there is a museum around the outside.We then went to the famous
bridge over the 300ft gorge that was made infamous in Franco's time.
We had lunch at the restaurant over hanging the gorge called Don
Miguel, Brenda had a Brochette of Monk fish with King Prawns and
i had the Roasted whole Leg of Lamb! We then went across the bridge
to the oldest part of the town and lost our selfs in the narrow streets
and discovered the oldest hotel "Hotel San Gabriel " It is an ancient
Andalusian house located in the heart of the historic area and dates
back in the family from 1736! All the great bullfighters stayed here and
it was also famous as Orson Wells and Hemingway used it as a base.
It has the smallest cinema in Spain-5seats only with all the famous
stars that have used it have left their signed pictures.The old square
around corner has a beautiful church and the town hall.The bells of
the church were going mad as there was a funeral taking place.
The pictures below show Ronda on a beautiful day,the old bull !!
and Brenda !!! with her new haircut.

RONDA

RONDA

RONDA

RONDA

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

CASARES

Wed 7th Feb.
First thing in the morning we went into Estepona in the hire car
for Brenda's appointment at the dentists, as it is differcult to
park in Estepona i dropped down into one of the underground
car parks along and under the promanade,only to get lost and
stuck when we went to collect the car! The problem is that there
are two levels and no signs! As it was a very sunny day we set
off to Casares above Estepona up a spectacular winding road
to the village.We found the restaurant that we went to with Mano
Anna when were we last in Spain ,just by chance and had the menu
day- delia four courses for 9 euro ! We then went down the other
side of Casares past about 40 large modern large wind-turbines
to Manilva and called on Anna to catch up with the news and make
an appointment at the hairdressers for Thursday.The picture below
shows Casares.from one side only,watch out for more !!

CASARES

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

GIBRALTAR

Mon/Tues.5th/6th Feb.
On Monday we serviced the Winnebago and our selfs! The hire car arrived
on Tuesday morning so we shot off to Gibraltar as the weather was good,
on the way we dropped off some flowers and a card for Anna,Carlos wife as
it was her birthday on Sunday.We parked in the centre of Gibraltar in a multi-
storey car park and walked into Main Street on a hot sunny day. We then hit
the shops for very cheap perfumes,spirits,cigarettes and books! We also
tracked down some other shops for essential goods, which we ordered
and will collect next week.We then found our way down to the marina and
had a special lunch of Devilled Kidneys and a Club Sandwich in the
Waterfront Restaurant The picture below is self - explanatary !

GIBRALTAR

Monday, February 05, 2007

ESTEPONA

Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun.1st/2nd/3rd/4th.Feb.
Thursday was a shopping day as the forcast for the next few days
was rain.The forcast was right! It rained all day on Friday and also
during the night,on Saturday we had a severe storm with wind and
rain all day-it caused damage in the area and the main road was
closed for a few hours. Sunday was the exact opposite! The sun
was out and so where we !! The marina was very busy and we
had a Tapas lunch sat outside watching the world go by-We also
saw a friend from North Wales who has moved out here with her
husband,we had not seen her for about five years.We also have
arranged a hire car for the week so watch out for pictures from
our travels.