Hi everybody, sorry that I have not blogged for a while.
We decided that, because of the bad weather we would return to the UK. We hit snow about 20k south of Madrid, it was so bad that we could not get on a pitch at a site outside of Madrid on the night of the 11th. On Tuesday the 12th we headed out, it took us a while to clear the heavy traffic around the city, but the roads were clear. Then we hit a hill and, because of the snow, nearly did not get up it, just managed to retain traction. We arrived in Calais on the afternoon of the 13th, snow all the way. On our arrival at the site in Dover we had to be towed in by tractor.
A week later Keith recieved a phone call to say that one of his sisters had been admitted to hospital and was very ill. Drop everything and head for Dorset. We will say no more except, that we await developments.
Our life at the moment is in a state of flux and we are using the time to research possible destination and make some draft plans. The best bit is that we get to enjoy the company of our children and grand children.
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Talking to people who know the area, both locals and those who have been visiting on a regular basis for a number of years, it is obvious that numbers are down or non existent. One can only assume that the bad weather as kept them away. White storks, normally counted in hundreds down to double figures in some areas. Flamingos, no where to be seen.
Good news. We have seen large numbers of house martins and swallows, so, spring is on the way. Hope to see them in the UK.
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It,s Sunday 10th. Yesterday was nice and sunny if a little on the cold side in the wind, some good birding. No consulation for those of you suffering from snow and freezing conditions, however, the temperature here is 13 degrees below average. An indication that the extreme weather is Europe wide.
We have looked at the weather forecast for several areas and it is not good anywhere. We have decided there is no point in staying here, waiting in the hope that it may get better. With flooding, strong winds and damaged roads, even when it stops raining it will take time to improve. So, we have decided to go north, where, at least we should have access to television for news and entertainment until conditions improve and we will be in a position to explore our options further.
The next two days will see us covering lots of k,s.
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Talking to people all of Europe is suffering from extreme weather of one sort or another. Al Rocio is is a small town in the Andalucia region of Spain, on the edge of the Donana national park. South of the town is a lagoon, I was told today that it is one metre above its normal level. The town is built on sand with unsurfaced roads. The heavy and sustained rain on these sand roads has turned them into very potholed roads.
Andalucia is famous for it’s horses and El Rocio is greatly influenced by that, this is reflected in some of the shops which sale related goods. The style of buildings are traditional, in some cases ornate. Most have hitching rails in the front.
Weather, at the moment, is good. Keith managed to get in some birding. Took great delight in teaching a Spanish birder about local varients. Actually he was a nice guy and I enjoyed his company.
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Today, January the 5 th, we left Conil de la Frontera, with some difficulty. Whilst northern Europe as been suffering with ice and snow parts of Spain have been deluged with heavy rain and floods. Thunder storms and rain during the night. The site has terraced pitches of bare earth making them slippery when wet. Tried to drive off but, the wheels spun, two rugs, second gear and low rev’s got us off.
We are now at Al Rocio, south of Almonte, camping Al Aldea. First impression, probably one of the best campsites we have stayed on. More to follow.
P S anorak warning, bird watching coming up.
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The weather forecast for the day was good so we decided to go for it, a good decision. The drive took us about one and half hours thanks to the good Spanish roads. We started our visit with a cup of coffee al fresco in casemate square as the temperature rose to the mid twenties. A walk along Main street followed with its array of tax free shops trying to tempt us. After lunch we walked around some of the other areas soaking up some of the history. That was followed by a ride on the cable car to the top to see the apes and admire the views. Then, the highlight of the day, a visit to Morrisons supermarket. A drive to Europea point and we headed back feeling relaxed and happy.
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Friday 31st saw us move to the alantic coast south of Seville, happy new year. On route we observed some serious flooding, houses with water up to the top of the ground floor windows, they have had some very high rainfalls in the area. Our plan is to visit Gibraltar from here and then to move on.
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The sole reason for going to Granada was to visit Alhambra palace. It is a very popular tourist destination, as individuals you can only pre-book on the day. We were advised to arrive early. The gates open at 08 00, last admission 14-00, we arrived at 07 45 to find about 500 people in front of us, we got through the gate at 08 45. They allocate a time slot to visit the palace proper, every half hour, starting at 08-30. Ours was 11-00.
We recommend it, take your time, lots to see, the grounds, views and buildings. A big wow factor.
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Tuesday 29th we headed for Granada, a long hard slog. Isla Plana is about 50 metres above sea level, the road to Granada peaks at 1,750 metres. Lots of third gear, 30 mile an hour in the crawler lane. Downhill, forth or fifth with the engine braking our rapid decent. Fuel consumption was not good that day.
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Keith speaking. I tried to resist this but, in the end I could not. Although we are in Spain we closely followed the unfolding events in the south east caused by the bad weather and the ensuing travel chaos. When talking about the tunnel and euro star in particular my comment was, “send down a steam loco, that will sort it out”.
Low and behold the big green machine, Tornado did the business. Two untroubled round trips from London to the Kent coast. It even gave a lift home to some commuters who were stuck in London. I hope they dipped in to their pockets with a donation towards the outstanding £600,000 build cost of Tornado. It would have been nice if the media had given it more cover, forgot, they only do negative.
That weekend, up and down the country preserved railways ran as scheduled. You do not have to be interested in steam railways to appreciate the pictures, the scenery is magic. Go on youtube and have a look at the videos, in particular the North Yorks moor railway, note the little boy on the station and the big boys playing with their toys.
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