Mad Dogs and Englishman

Go out in the midday sun, well that ditty certainly applied to us yesterday. 

We decided to go out for a short walk to stretch our legs, well we had been complaining of the lack of exercise so it seemed like a good idea. 

I had initially suggested a bike ride but Kay insisted on a walk into town, I don’t think she’s too confident of tackling the roads on her bike just yet. 

The nearest town of course is Guardamar that lies just across the Riu (river) Sergura. It doesn’t look that far away but the route you have to take to get there isn’t a straight forward route, you have to walk up one side of the river to a crossing which is the other side of the N-332 highway some miles inland.

Entrance to our Camp site Marjel

So off we went up the dirt track that runs alongside a fresh water irrigation channel which eventually flows down into the Segura River near to the sea.

After we crossed that we then strolled alongside the main river itself up towards the highway. The Segura's a sea water inlet that before its gone 4 miles inland dries to a barren river bed and upstream just the other side of the N-332 highway (where the highway crosses the river) is a newly laid concrete ford.

We had passed cultivated fields of citrus fruits and pomegranates, oranges and corn, how they get this stuff to grow in what appears to be barren dust is beyond belief. There were loads of wild birds including lots of huge Herons swooping down over the river which appears to be teaming with fish. We eventually arrived at the ford crossed the river and climbed the road from the river up towards the centre of the town which seems to sit on a small plateau just below an ancient castle. All the streets meander from the town centre down to the sea shore to a large modern promenade.

Festival Band

Iglesia Sant Jaume

We were fortunate that yesterday there was a local festival going on, the festival of virgen del Rosario (Lady of the Rosary). There were street bands and loads of cracker jacks going off with church bells ringing that culminated that night at ten o’clock in a large firework display that could be seen from our camp site.

Sea front Guardamar

Sand sculpture

We wandered down onto the sea front, where it was packed with tourists and sun worshippers but unfortunately also loads of Moroccan hawkers flogging sun glasses, purses and tea shirts. There were even a couple of people offering to give body massages on the sand…Yuk.

We stopped off at a sea front tavern for a light lunch of a Spanish omelette but what came to our table more resembled a 2” thick half wheel of cheese with the garlic mayonnaise (Alioli Sauce) and salad it was more than enough to fill us up for the walk back.

By now the sun was at its zenith and as we trudged down the dusty track with the midday heat beating down upon us, we were starting to flag. Typical English abroad (Mad dogs comes to mind again) we hadn’t purchased any water to keep with us, Kay didn’t have a hat and both of us had only put on light flip flop types of shoes. Luckily we had donned a covering of maximum factor suntan cream, to which the dust found was an excellent medium for sticking to.

By the time we returned to the RV we were both well and truly shattered, Kay collapsed on the bed and I feeling the need to cool down jumped into my swim wear and spent and enjoyable hour in the cool water of the out door pool.

That evening as Kay relaxed with her book I went to watch Nigel run his the poker school in the bar while supping a few cold beers.

Card games have never really interested me but I might join in a game of cribbage later on.

Today we drove down the coast to Torrevieja to a very large Carrefore store, to get Kay a new swim suit and some shorts & trainers. 

Driving isn’t as straight forward as it looks here, roads can run alongside each other joining and leaving at roundabouts, so you think you’ve carried on the main road only to find you’ve turned off and have to find your way back on at the next intersection, that’s if it goes that far.

Still we eventually made it after a few wrong turns. Sadly we only found Kay some trainers as all the summer wear had been removed, summer shorts and swimwear were not to be found anywhere as the Spanish are now dressing for their winter but for us it’s still summer.

Clothes are not cheap in Spain and meals are also quite expensive, you really have to shop around, a good British mail order setup with UK prices would go down a storm here.

Its Sunday tomorrow, so I think it’s going to be feet up time while relaxing and watching the Japanese Grand Prix.

More Anon