Winter Camping Cap Blanch Altea- Am I in Switzerland?

OK so it was quite a wild day yesterday and through the night with gale force winds. We definitely made the right decision to stay another night. I actually quite like this campsite though we are the only Brits on here and its about 300 yards to the one loo block-so you have to plan if you think you may need the loo! Today its calm and lovely and sunny. Yesterday in the wind we decided to visit a goog camping shop at El Verger. We went along the N332 . I have nothing against motorhomes but I can see why the French call them 'moving road blocks!" No one in their right mind would have tried to move yesterday but two British motorhomes travelling in convoy did! They were travelling at 25 mph! Hellooo if you have to travel at that speed maybe just maybe its not safe to do so! The road is very bendy and quickly there was a queue of agitated drivers behind. Now I do appreciate that they may have had to get somewhere but even the bloody ferries are cancelled!  What is so very urgent that you have to risk your life and those of others?!
On the way back from the campshop we stumbled across an 'Iceland' we had a ready meal of roast beefvfor teaif Barratts or Wimpeys builders heard about their Yorkshire puddings they could use them instead of bricks! Actually with a nice bottle of red it all went down very well.
I have just been checking out the prices of this place...sorry its in french but no english was available

Can you spot the obvious? Its cheaper for a motorhome than a car and caravan?! Why? There is a huge Concorde on here and he is paying less than me in my little car and caravan! His rig is at least 120k! How the bloody hell is a caravan supposed to get here without a car?!  Errrr! I have only ever seen the two different rates in Switzerland butthere again lotsbof things are different in Switzerland! I will not be staying here again as I am making a point we should all be charged the same! After all, Im more enviromentally friendly..did I just say that?!
Anyhow its a lovely day and I had better drag his Lordship out of bed...moving..who knows where?! Have a good day folks!

Winter Camping at Marjal, err not Javea!

• Well some things are just not meant to be! We packed up from Marjal' to go on a 'little holiday'. I have been to Camping Javea a million times ( give or take one or two!). I have never booked and always managed to get on. The site is 'OK' but it has a lovely little bar and restaurant and a huge " Iceland' at the end of the street. Its only about an hour and twenty minutes away. I was looking forw are to seeing the sea but.....campsite full! Even the other terrible site in the area was full! What's going on?!

We phoned several campsites to get the same story. Eventually we found Cap Blanche at Altea who 'think we have two vacant pitches'. They would not save me a pitch so it was foot down until we got here. I have to say that the location of this place is superb

Directly outside the campsite is lovely promenade that has lots of bars and restaurants. As its Dave's birthday today I treated him to a meal in an Italian. It was superb. The bill came and it was 23 euros-that included a bottle of wine. I got 50 euros out but it was 23 euros for both of us! 

The campsite though is sadly lacking. The one toilet block is dated but clean. Its so far away that we paced it-its almost 300 paces-I hope we don't need to go in a hurry! I guess because we are 'overnight ERS we have been given one of the worst pitches ( next to a tower block of flats) but it was lovely waking up this morning to the sound of the sea.

W

I was really pleased when our French neighbours pulled on as we are the only foreigners here-every other unit is Dutch. I thought I was in Holland! 

As I type this some really strong winds have got up and the caravan is rocking for all the wrong reasons-will we move on today? Bad towing conditions....Who knows? The joy and the fun of touring...I love it!

Winter Camping at Marjal-Has this place gone to the dogs?!

Morning world. Another sunny day albeit we have some wind. Nothing to do with baked beans! It appears its not just me that worries about how this place is developing and where we want to be.  On Wednesday a lovely Dutch lady appraoched me and asked me to sign a petition about cars going too fast down the main road between C and A blocks. I have to agree that they do fly down here and sometimes even with caravans on the back! There are no children along here and the best that they could do is knock down an irresponsble dog owner- not the dog!
Well I havent been to happy hour for two weeks now and not many Brits are going. Its such a shame as it used to be such a lovely event and "get together". It really wasnt just for the free drink! What has happened is that too many people are going and you are very lucky ifyou even get a seat. Its been like that for sometime now as the bar and restaurant simply arent big  enough but for the past 2 or three weeks the music has ruined it totally. I am being very kind in calling it music and its a long time since I have been anywhere at least 20 years too early! The music is certain;ly not my taste but he ho its also the volume that its played at and you are now unable to have a conversation with anyone above it. I believe that its Dutch but we have Dutch Days reguarly -its oompah oompah and if you hear a tune that you vaguely recognise its played so slow that I lose the will to live! Maybe its my age? Im too young?!! Yes I like that! I decided that I would have my own happy hour in my caravan only to have it disturbed by my mother who is nearly 80 complaining about the "Unhappy Hour" and the music was too old! It certainly hadnt stopped her drinking though- maybe it was to drown the whole bars sorrows!
I saw yesterday that on Marjal Friends Facebook page someone having a rant over the state of the spa. I really cannot comment as I have not been fortunate enough to get in this year but it would appear that certain spa rules are not being adhered to and the staff are not enforcing showering etc... should the staff have to tell people to take showers? What kind of people are we camping with?! The mind boggles.
Rumours are rife about price hikes and where the camping club are going to be sited next year. If yesterday was a customer satisfaction survey- 3 people came to ask me of other good sites that I knew of as they are not coming back! That is worrying and some of the people have been Marjal customers for years. The trouble is that most of the other better sites will already be booked up for next winter, like Lo Monte that I visited the other day and Bella Vista. Interestingly they are both smaller sites and are full. People are prepared to pay a lot more if the services are there and the site is run correctly. The jury is still very much out with me. I do find myself asking though with the exception of New Years eve "what has the campsite provided for me except a pitch in return for my money?!" Itd all just food for thought and Im looking forward to my holiday to be able to compare to other campsites in the area. After saying all this am I packed up? Am I organised?!! Err no better at least start as we have tickets for Elvis tomorrow which I was looking forward to but if rumours are correct they have sold 170 tickets for a place that only comfortably seats 120!! I ve paid me momey so I guess I just take my chances! Fingers crossed and I hope the rumours are wrong!
Enjoy the sunshine folks!

Winter Camping at Marjal-a short drive down the coast and a beautiful campsite- but ouch pricey!

Yesterday we decided to go out for a drive down the Coast to Pilar de la Horadada which is just the other side of Playa Flamenco and Torrievieja. I fell in love with the coastline of Pilar Hoadada and its lovely little harbour. The only shame is that there is a lot of development going on and I fear it may spoil it but on the upside its probably a good sign for the Spanish economy as for too long there has been half completed buildings everywhere and areas like ghost towns.

I loved this courtyard or plaza and can imagine it on a hot sunny day when there are more people about. We then decided to visit a campsitethat opened within months of Marjal Costa Blanca-Camping Lo Monte. We visited it when it first opened and wow what a treat! We liked iot then but now it is fantastic. It is quite clearly well run and organised. Originally it was priced the same as here but now..well it can afford to as there was not a pitch spare and its almost fully booked for next year already. I can see why. The only problem is ,is that its very expensive and there are a lot of those huge Concordes there and Germans but they are probably one of the few nationalities that could afford to stay there. The large units like the Concordes are all sited around the perimiter of the site and placed together-phew what a great idea- everyone gets the sun. The inside had lots of nice pitches without fencing etc and lovely hedging marking out pitches. They had obvioulsy used conifer trees for quick growth and its worked very well as long as they remember to cut them soon! There are large grassed areas and in the distance the sea can be seen. It is within easy walking distance of the shops, the harbour pictured above and the little courtyard. I guess i would be a fair old walk but easy on a bicycle. The other lovely thing about it is that there is a small collection of restaurants that you could stagger back from! I did recogise one or two units on there from their registration numbers and they were previously regulars of Marjal Guardamar. I walked passed one of the indoor pools and there were only two people in it! It looked lovely. They had plenty of activities on site from line dancing to karaoke ,keep fit, aqua aerobics and various artistes appearing there. Hmmm definately a lovely site but I could not afford to stay long as in high season it goes up to 35 euros a night and they are apparantly getting it! They do not take ACSI and the average pitch is 18 euros a night! Eeeks! For long stays more than 90 days it is still 11 euros a day which I guess isnt too bad as you can at least get in and use all the facilities if you want to.

On the way back we stopped at Playa Flamenca and found an Italian restaurant. Wow! One of the best pizzas that I have ever had! I was really disappointed in Italy but they put the herbs etc and it was yummmm all for 7.50 euros! Its a bit nearer than Rome! If that place was in walking distance of the campsite the deal would have been clenched but its not!  So I am back here looking forward to my holiday next week! Holiday? Well moving the caravan about 80 miles up the coast for a week-change of scenery and all that.

The forecast today was for rain but I think it came in the middle of the night so heaven only knows what today will bring. All I know is that its time for me to get dressed and maybe do that swera word that begins with "I" as the crumpled clothes look doesnt look good any longer! Have a good day folks!

Winter Camping at Marjal-Mob does rule!

Morning folks. A lovely sunny day on the Campsite even though the forecast was not good- what do they know? They are nearly as good here as our Met Office back in the UK`! Mind you they have been getting it right in the UK I think even I could be a weather forecaster "Today iy will be cold with rain!" Helllooooo its an English winter thats why we are all here!" Dont get me going on the climate change thing , cutting down tress and  building more houses etc etc! Im not a rocket scientist but I think I could be listening to some of the so called experts! Common sense? Do they posess any?!
Well that was a rant to start off with and Im supposed to be positive as its a lovely day. Im line dancing at 11 and then an afternoon out as Im begining to go stir crazy. I cant wait for my little holiday next week. Yes I have had enough at the moment and have decided its time for a holiday..where am I going? All of 40 miles or so to Javea! Its so easy here to get into a rut. I have a touring caravan and what am I doing? Touring? No! Ive been stationary too long and some of the things going on around here are not making it nice anymore. Maybe I will come back with a fresh set of eyes and view this place differently but for the moment ....no! As I type this its not a fresh set of eyes that I need but ears! The problem is that where I am pitched I am surrounded by dogs but not only that everyone else who lives on the campsite with dogs has to walk past mine to get to the dog exercise area and as they do so it sets every bloody dog off! Its a shame because there are some really responsible dog owners on here but whatever you do in life there is always some that simply are inconsiderate and always go too far. Yesterday a couple who I only know by sight came by. They are not english, in fact I dont know what nationality they are but they had a dog with them that was well bahaved and they said that they read the blog but that they had finally had enough of dogs. Apparantly they had been in the restaurant and their meal was ruined by a dog yapping in the restaurant! Err just as I had said they were finally getting things right in there! lol
Now the mob rule thing. Theres a lovely couple who have been on the this site since just about it first opening. They are Belgian-is that how you spell it?! They are from Belguim-you know that small Country that makes chocalotes and beer! Well to cut a very long story short they have a pitch miles from anyone or so they thought as the wife a lovely lady has a medical condition. Anyhow they made a very reasonable polite request of their neighbour as their conduct was literally making his wife ill. The neighbour was from the Unfriendly Club. The Belguim lady was told to "F Off"  and then the unfriendly member went to strike her husband! Now that is really Friendly behaviour! What happened? Security was called and Im lead to believe that the campsite manager was informed......Result? The lovely Belguim couple have to leave! Well they havent but because of health conditions they have had to temporarily move right over to the other side of the campsite! I know its all about money but Marjal have a very tight line to walk between allowing the Unfriendly mob to take over and upset their regulars for a few months that they are here.
Yesterday saw me being very busy I had my car serviced in Elche. Even that at an authorised dealer is cheaper than in the UK but the one thing that is more expensive..or maybe Im out of touch is the cost of tyres. Yes I need some shortly and a alot of them are manufactured in Spain so why are they more expensive? If anyone has any contacts I would be interested to know. I cant complain though the mileage that I do. I have done 30, 000 miles on the same tyres- shame that they didnt come with a five year unlimited mileage too- theres just no pleasing some folks! Ahh yes I also taxed the car....oh no that could be another rant coming on....one hundred and seventy five pounds to drive my car on UK roads for two weeks max and I thought Switzerland was expensive! Lol
Heres a bit of useless-useful information for you. I could never understand why in particular the Belguim and the Dutch people all seem to prefer  vans over cars for pulling caravans and just thought it an odd preference but apparantly there is a reason...they take the other seats out and pay less road tax! There you see what a mindful or useless, useful information I am! It does seem to fly a bit in the face of this green thing but dont get me going on european legislation  and the bloody directives that come from that place!
Starting on weekend of 14 th Feb ----oooh how romantic and the weekend after there is caravan exhibition at the Ferial near Alicante airport for anyone interested. I have been before and it was mainly Spanish and French caravan manufacturers dispalaying their vans with Cruz caravans having an accessory stand. If its raining its worth a day out thats all I will say but you can get money off tickets at reception! Another little gem of useful- useless information!
Right its about time I got dressed and got on with the day. Line dancing here I come- steel toe caps at the ready! Enjoy the sunshine floks!

Wniter Camping at Marjal- The Lunatics are at it again!

This place never ceases to amaze me. I do sometimes woder howmuch thought was given to what would happen when this campsite opened ans its clients are certainly putting this place to the test and it doesnt apar to be coping very well.
The latest sign to be put up.....its not about dogs yapping or peeing or dogs going in the toilet blocks or anything that is upsetting a lot of  people but  water being taken from the toilet blocks! Oh yes thats a real priority! Right Marjal will state its because they have had complaints that the showers arent hot. I can get that. A lot of the water is generated by solar but why dont we do something radical....and open another toilet block?! I for one do not take water from the toilet blocks as its far too far so there can only be a few people. The other day they ran out of washing machines..helllooo dont washing machines use water?!
Certainly the toilet block nearest to me is "cBlock" whereby people from A block have to use it. Everyone on C Block which is probably the busiest and then people from F block now as well and when the unfriendly Club cant get a washing machine they use the same Block! Now you dont have to be a rocket scientist to work out thats an awful lot of people and an odd bucket of water here and there is hardly going to make a big difference . Why not open block F s toilets?! Im sure its not buckets of water as most people on my row wash up in their own caravans and dont even use the showers- I hasten to add I do use the one in my own caravan!
This is supposed to be an eco site. Well I have to heat my own water either by gas or electricity- theirs is mainly  solar....who is the most eco friendly? Those stealing a bucket of water!
All this said though as with everything in life you do get people who take advantage. I was sitting at my mates yesterday which is near the toilet block of the Unfriendly Club as she gets a great wi fi signal and in the space of less than five minutes I saw the same man fetch three troggs full of water! What was he doing having a bath in his caravan?! Creating a private swimming pool for themselves now? Oh no they dont need to- they already have one! I remember we used to have access to  one a long time ago!
I think the problem is that they simply cannot cope with the amount of people here and seem totally unprepared.Certain campers have taken over the campsite and its like we have been taken over by muppets! Mob rule or lunatics running the assuylum, Im not sure which!
Wi fi all sorted at my mums and here. I darent tell you what the problem was.......yes Marjal was having to upgrade the system the very day that I was trying to sort it out but there are simply too many people trying to use it plus she has loads of big RVs in front of her  blocking the bloody system all with boosters on! We need a booster for the booster! Apparantly that block is going to be used next year or rather next winter for what it was intended, static asnd long term residents-ahh haa I bet they get F block toilets open!
Oh yes children. I actually love children but some were apparantly riding their bikes IN the toilet blocks! Yes the disabled loo makes a great place to park your bike....no pun intended! ....got me wondering...do we need another sign?! Can you imagine it "Dont park your bike in here!" The world is full of them...have they all come camping or is it only me thats sane?!! lol Have a good day!

Winter Camping at Marjal...Good news!

OK so I spent all afternoon on Thursday trying to get my mum WiFi in her fifth wheel. She is in line of sight of the mast but it was struggling because of all the RVs in front of her. I have a booster,so I dismantled my system to try it over at hers. I got 100% signal strength! Whey hey! Result one would have thought but could I get it on the net? Oh no. 3 laptops later, 3 tablets altered I gave up to start again yesterday afternoon with a clear head as it could only be something simple. I went across yesterday afternoon and to my horror only had 7% strength! I hadn't touched anything! After about another two hours a neighbour walked in " Marjal have been working on the WiFi mast! ' Grrrrrrrr! So today is day three of trying to get my mum WiFi and changing all those settings again! Its a good job that I'm retired as how many hours have I wasted?! Marjal really haven't mastered the art of communication!
Talking of that Valentines Day is advertised 'My dad and me' but despite a friend asking a Spanish person what the hell it is-no one has any bloody idea! Maybe I could do a show at half the price " my mum and me!"
Now surprise surprise they really have something very right. Last night I ate in the restaurant.....no Rennie's needed! What a fantastic meal I had. Menu del DiA was amazing. The service was great too. My only criticism is that we went up at 7 o clock and the restaurant didn't open until 8! I know that's when the Spanish eat but hellloooo who are you catering for? There's hardly any Spanish on the bloody site! The shame of it was that there were only between 20_30 people in the restaurant and the site is so busy. I guess its hard when somewhere has a bad reputation to get customers back again but it really was good.
This weekend is Orhuiellas medieval market. If you haven't been before it is a definite must do. Its really like stepping back in time. The attention to detail-they even put straw down on the cobbled streets with flocks of geese and things running through and men on horseback. Some amazing food and great stalls. Night time is definitely the best time to visit to get the full atmosphere.
Well folks I'm off to start fixing blooming computers again...if I could garuntee the food would be as good as last night I might even be tempted back into the restaurant tonight!