Adios Espana

Life here has continued in much the same vein, pottering, reading, sunbathing, eating lots of lovely food, drinking too much….. and all of a sudden it’s come to an end!

On Thursday we went to Cartagena, full report from Father:

First coffee (and beer for some) of the day

On Thursday last we all went on a day trip by coach to Cartagena, the Carthaginian/Roman/Arab/Spanish port in SE Spain steeped in history. Two thousand years old, the city is built on the side of a large, almost enclosed, bay, which forms a secure and safe anchorage. Because of the Spanish navy (called, surprise, surprise, "La Armada"!) and mining activities, it was one of the wealthiest cities in Spain. I won't go into the history (you can do that at many sites, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartagena,_Spain (but it fell into decay ) and became very tatty in the late 20th century. 

Yours truly on stage

You should see the state of the 'electrics' on some house walls! With liberal access to EEC money for tourism, the city is being transformed and returned to its former glory. Some parts of Carthaginian/Roman remains in the centre are actually being excavated even as I write. Well worth a visit. We've been going for 20 years so have seen the changes.

 

Sue, Elizabeth, Jackie and Richard at the Roman amphitheatre

We - Jackie, Brian, Elizabeth and I, together with Jane [E's sister], Michael [her husband] and Sue [a friend from Jane's Red Cross days who was staying] - left Altea at "the crack of sparrow f**t" for us retirees (08.30 to the rest of you), Cartagena at 10.45 , then coffee (natch!) and our culture bit, going round the old Roman theatre in the centre of town which has been cleared of the old 'slum' dwellings once on it, then up to a castle at the top of the hill for a view over the city. We spent a lot of time doing that - there is a great deal to absorb, not the least being the old photos showing what it was like back when history was bunk.

Panorama of the amphitheatre with the city beyond

After that, the 'drinkies' urge came upon us (quite out of the blue, of course!) so we found a bar with Guinness as well as normal beer 'n stuff. Then lunch. On their 'pre-retail therapy' trip, Elizabeth had spotted a sign offering a large seafood plate (squid, calamari, Boquerónes, small flounders, baby hake,) for €9 for two. Too good to be true? Not in the least! Excellent lunch (almost more that we could eat though Jackie is definitely her father's daughter in that respect!), including two bottles of wine, water, bread & ali'oli, for €8 per head. Pretty good for the centre of town, we thought.

Then a stroll to see more of the city (settle the digestion) and round to the harbour for more coffee and back to the bus and home. A little tired but definitely rabbits of positive euphoria!       

A statue of Christopher Columbus

Afternoon tea at the port

In fact, afternoon tea (beer and wine for some) for us all!

Panorama of Cartagena port with the amphitheatre just to the right of the modern theatre

R & E ready for our night out

Friday we had a great night out at Benidorm Palace, Spain’s equivalent to the Moulin Rouge. The show was spectacular, dancing girls and guys, magician, comedian, amazing balancing strong men, but sadly no pictures as we were not allowed. The four course meal and bottles of wine followed by dancing in the interval all made for a lovely evening, albeit a late one, out.

Pre Benidorm Palace drinks in the garden

Jackie abseiling down a two pitch route

So got up gently yesterday to go for a last climb, back to Toix where we repeated some climbs we’d done many years ago, before moving to the other side of the crag which was in the shade. Sadly as it was the first place to be bolted in the area the bolts are all a bit sorry for themselves, so having looked at two climbs and even got the trad gear out, having found a rusty broken bolt on the floor we decided discretion was the better part of valour and returned to lounge by the pool – well I have got a wedding to go to!

Great views from the crag, pity about the suspect bolts on the climbs!

A dodgy old bolt and the remains of a broken bolt!

Elizabeth has written a few words, as one of our most avid readers it only seemed fair she should contribute!: 

Brian (in Elizabeths old clothes) and Richard discuss tree cutting

Jackie and Brian are now at the end of their stay with us and we have all had a super time. We’ve not done the long walks or climbing but the time has just flown by.

Brian has been a great help in the kitchen, doing what he likes best – baking cakes! I have introduced him to “Miss Kenwood” and he is now hooked. Jackie is less than impressed – how are they going to fit a mixer in a campervan? We could have come to blows over each others methods but I just ‘stepped away’ from the kitchen, and the mess and the washing up, until all was back to normal! Jackie is very easy, if she wasn’t climbing or reading or trying to ingratiate herself with Pepa (our very scaredy cat) she was stretched out by the pool, tanning.

Brian up tree, directed by Richard

Brian has earned his keep, helping Richard topping trees under my beady eye, and it is much better. Dare I admit it, I came close to being silenced! He has also done the odd bit of painting for me so it should last until the next time! I’ll just have to keep more old clothes for him. Worrying how good he looked in my trousers and t-shirt!

Jackie sunbathing by the pool

We will be sad to see them go, we have enjoyed lovely evenings eating and drinking on the terrace – great fun! We have booked them in next year, trees to be done, cat to be sat, we might even go away! Have a great time away on your next travels and keep writing! 

The view from the terrace post tree chopping

And how it looked before. A lot of effort and scratches went into that (not to say anything of Elizabeths ruined old clothes!)

Spanish rock climbing and hospitality

A evening out in Calpe (fabulous seafood restaurant!)

Our ‘holiday’ continues. Tea brought to us in bed most mornings by Elizabeth, lazy breakfasts and then the difficult decisions of what to do today. Whatever it is we’re usually back by late afternoon for drinks and nibbles on the terrace, followed by E’s excellent cooking (roast pork, roast potatoes and three veg last night, followed by nispero crumble and custard) and plenty more wine until late into the evening.

Dean, Sarah and Jackie at the crag

We’ve been out for a couple of days rock climbing and had the added pleasure of meeting up with our old friend Dean Beard and his partner Sarah today.  We know Dean from years ago as a member of our Solihull Mountaineering Club, but he disappeared about 6 years ago to follow a new career as an outdoor expedition leader and now leads groups of people to climb such exotic peaks as Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua and Island Peak in remote and inhospitable parts of the world. Facebook is a wonderful thing and we happened to see a post he put on to say they were off to Alicante for some Spanish rock climbing for two weeks, so we replied to his message asking if they wanted to meet up and, today we did. 

The view at the crag. Benidorn middle distance, Mascarat gorge and the start of the Bernia Ridge on the right

Dean tackles the crux at the top

It was great to catch up, but there was so much talking to be done that rock climbing became a bit of an aside, but we still managed about half a dozen routes at a crag called Toix, which overlooks the sea by Mascarat gorge and out to Benidorm in the distance, so the company was good, as were the views and the climbing!

While Sarah belays

And Jackie consults the guide book to decide what climb she's doing next

Dean looks like 'Mr Cool' as he abseils down his climb

Dinner on Jane and Michaels terrace

As well as E’s cooking we’ve also had the added pleasure of invites for dinner to Jane (E’s sister) and Michael’s and to Dagmar and Michael’s house, who live across the road to R & E. It’s quite amazing how people live around here, Jane and Michael rent a quite exclusive apartment 5 minutes walk away for a very reasonable price (about the same price as we rent our smaller house for in Alvechurch). It has a huge terrace/balcony with fabulous views (similar to those at R & E’s house), a large lounge, three bedrooms and, to top it all, free use of a massive outdoor common area, beautifully landscaped with three swimming pools and views to die for. We have to say to ourselves, why live in England when you can have all this for the same price as a small house in England, with as much climbing and mountaineering as anyone could reasonably want and with sea and sand nearby?

Jackie, Elizabeth and Michael on their terrace/balcny

And look at the common outdoor area (this is only a small part of it)

Brian doing a bit of touch-up painting, inside and out

Wow, look at Jackie with make up on, ready for Sunday lunch

Dagmar and Michaels house, opposite R & E’s is modern, and similar in size to R &E’s with, funnily enough, almost identical views. Michael cooked a BBQ outside by the pool while we relaxed in easy chairs taking in the view, sipping wine and eating excellent nibbles and the whole thing going on from Sunday lunchtime until we went home at about 21:30 having talked almost non-stop. They are a great friendly couple and have travelled quite a bit, so we could discuss what we’ve done and get some tips for our future travelling from their experiences.

Michael and Dagmar at the BBQ

The view of the ridge from their terrace

LtoR: Richard, Dagmar, Jackie, Elizabeth and Michael

Teddy hasn't been neglected!

Our time here has been fabulous, but it’s going quickly, we leave for Bilbao on Monday next to catch the ferry back to the UK, but before then we have a coach trip out with R & E on Thursday and a night out at Benidorm Palace on Friday night for Jackie’s birthday, which apparently is on par with the Moulin Rouge in Paris, so we can’t wait for that. If time allows we may even meet up with Dean and Sarah for a bit more climbing. It’s all very exciting!