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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2888 |
22nd February 2018 Hiking - Walking: Puerto de San Pedro del Pinatar to the Molino de l Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny periods Max Speed: Distance Covered: 6 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Monday 19th February – travel – sunny and warm :) Survived the night with no visits from the Local Police at the carpark on the long sand spit leading out to the Salines de la Rapita. Out at 7.30 to get some more sunrise pics many taken from the large raised viewing platform which offers stunning vista’s all around including many hundreds of feeding Dunlins on the Port dels Alfacs. After all our recent problems I have one more, sadly my Fuji X-S1 is playing up and is having trouble focusing especially at long focal lengths and I am sadly missing a lot of shots:( this camera has already been to Fuji repair department twice, perhaps if I message them and lay it on thick they will let me have a X-T1 at a good price? Considering the carpark was full of campervans when we arrived yesterday only two of us were brave enough to stay the night, us and the French Hippie wagon. Amazingly the sand road out to the salt workings was busy with workers and at least 10 huge 40-foot lorries going to load up and we were worried about getting stuck! There was some activity as well with four noisy divers preparing for a trip out into the bay and four birdwatchers with scopes looking for something out to sea. The bay was now like a mill pool and we took some pics before heading off the lovely Delta past many feeding Flamingo, Heron, Ibis, Egrets and other waders and stopped at the Lidl in Sant Carles de la Rapida were the troubles that seem to be following us reared their ugly heads again:( The shop went well and we ended up with two bags of goodies costing 30 Euros, so far so good. Then when Mag went to pay with our only remaining credit card the pin number was declined twice, we were in a bit of a panic now as Mag went back to the van to check the pin number and get our last cash while I stayed with the shopping. As far as we knew the number was correct but it was declined again so Mag paid with the last of our money. We were now really in trouble, miles from home with no card or money:( Mag phoned the bank and we spoke to James a very nice young man who said he had no sign of the card being used in Lidl and perhaps they had a problem in the shop and that we should try it somewhere else and if that did not work we would have to contact our travel insurance to help us out! We didn’t want to try another shop so went in search for a hole in the wall, Mag tried two numbers without success and was at this point shaking like a leaf, she tried for the third and last time, if that had failed the card would have been frozen and we would be in trouble! Luckily, she came away from the machine with 40 Euros so our adventures can continue, we are wondering what can go wrong next and think we shouldn’t be let out unaccompanied! We had to find a beach side carpark to calm down and change into summer things as it is so warm. We then took the N road towards Valencia which despite being very busy with lorries we made good progress, pretty too with orange trees and many fruit trees in full pink blossom and all with a mountain backdrop. We got in a bit of a muddle at Valencia which is enormous but found our way to the coast and then onto Parc Natural de l’Albufera a spot we stayed at last time. We made a small detour past the rice fields which were absolutely full of Herons, Glossy Ibis and Egrets plus, best of all, thousands of gulls following many tractors as the farmers prepared their fields for flooding and then planting, we even saw a couple of camels! Then it was across the road to a beachside carpark at Platja del Saler to park up for the night. After a relax we went for a quick walk along the dunes, nice beach shame about the aggressive argument going on between a man and a woman, the grotty view of Valencia port one way and high-rise apartments the other! Still we are nearing the nice bit again so hopefully with the sun out and nice places to visits we will have no more disasters! Tuesday 20th February – travel, relax and walk – sunny and warm :) Another good night at the quiet carpark for the Platja del Saler and shared it with two other campers but it was a huge place and they were miles away from us:) Nothing to do here so after breakfast we headed off to Calpe which took a couple of hours, the highlights being the large lake at L’Albufera with its fishing boats and birds, then the half a dozen hookers waiting for trade by the side of the road near Denia, what a sad way to make a living:( We ran parallel with the toll motorway which was very quiet as all the lorries were on the free road going through all the small towns, I think they will have to revise toll roads as they are pointless if all the heavy traffic doesn’t use them! We arrived in Calpe and it seemed busy but that is because there is roadworks with some roads closed which meant that the large carpark we stayed on last time was cut off. There are several campsites which were packed with white elephants and some sideroads near Lidl were packed too! As usual we didn’t fancy joining the masses so went to the free parking at the back of the marina past the big sign saying no campervans, tents or caravans, we don’t think we fit into any of those categories and parked at the end near a tiny beach we used before. We made a sandwich and actually spent the afternoon relaxing on the pebble beach with the massive Calpe Rock right behind us:) A diver with a spear gun went out and was in for hours and we were soon joined by two Herring Gulls who we shared our lunch with us and then sat with us:) We read and dozed and Mag phoned Mary in Felixstowe before deciding it was time for a wander. First, we walked out to the end of the short prom passing two climbers high above, must be mad! Then it was back to the port just as the fishing boats were returning with their very modest catch. Then down to the small-town beach leading to the prom which takes you to the end with all the high-rise including a couple under construction! Then it was back to the van to move a few hundred metres back up the road to the marina to see if we could get away with staying here the night? Cuppa and cake time, then out to take some sunset pics as the sky darkens and it looks like rain. Curry for tea and then I walk back into town to see if I could get some night pics but nothing special. Back at the van there is no sign of the local police so fingers crossed for a night by the marina! Wednesday 21st February – travel, little walk and relax – Mainly cloudy with wind increasing late afternoon :( Got away with parking in Calpe by the marina with the only disturbance being to port workers driving to work. Sadly, woke to a cloudy, cooler day with a few spots of rain. So, we decided against walking to the top of Calpe Rock and headed off after breakfast. As it was poor weather we were going to stop at Mc Donald’s for an hour of free wi-fi but it was closed so left. We gave Benidorm a miss too this year just didn’t hold any attraction on a dull day. Straight past the pretty Villaajoyosa where I windsurfed last time and only a quick drive through Alicante seafront, so that lot took 5 days last year and we did it in a day! Then we went somewhere new Santa Pola where the Coles did a Formula Windsurfing event last year. We spotted a Carrefour supermarket and stopped as it made a change to Lidl! At the checkout, with only 14 Euros of shopping, our one and only remaining credit card was declined twice again! This holiday is fast becoming a nightmare!! As we managed to take money out of an ATM with it we couldn’t understand it! So, Mag paid cash and then had to ring the helpline, another nice young man said that the on-line pin number (required in a shop) had somehow been deactivated but could still be used to get cash, we hate carrying cash in the van too! He suggested we find a Bank affiliated to Santander to try and reactivate the pin, easier said than done!!!! After riding around a maze of one-way streets we gave up and parked by the marina and walked to the town centre. We quickly found a branch of Santander which is a completely different company than in the UK and tried the reset the pin on the ATM outside. It would not give us this option so went inside to try another machine, yet another fail. We then spoke to the man behind the counter who tried and said you couldn’t reset the pin in Spain. So we withdrew a bigger amount of cash, bearing in mind you are charged interest the moment it leaves your account so are not very happy. We had a walk around the marina. The sun had come out so we headed off looking for an overnight stop. There are many salt lagoons just outside Santa Pola and some of the biggest piles of salt we have ever seen but nowhere to park. Then we came across the sign to Platja de la Marina, after passing through a large development of villas (no high-rise here) we came to the beach and have never seen so many ‘No Campervan’ signs :( It was a strange place with several rows of tatty terrace houses built right by the water’s edge. To the right there was a carpark with several campers so we turned left thinking like everywhere else they just ignored the signs as this is fairly remote! We found a nice spot by a small beach with a ruined tower and even a tall lifeguard post and parked up for a late lunch and to enjoy the sun which had made an appearance:) Mag rang the bank yet again and got a more helpful guy who said that we definitely couldn’t reset the pin for use in shops until we get back to the UK and that they would probably waive the interest on the cash withdrawals as a good will gesture. He has put a note on the file ready for us to sort out when we are home. What a pain this has been but at least we know where we are with it all now!! Then late afternoon a NE wind picked up really strong with the sea becoming rougher. Six SUP’s appeared and had trouble tying their big boards onto one van, then the fishermen who were sheltering behind a row of tumble down houses left so we moved along to get shelter from the wind. We had just settled when another English camper pulled up and the nice young man walked over and said that all the campers had been moved on by the police this morning! As we had already seen the Police car twice that afternoon we moved up into the villa complex and parked in the road along with several other vans! I have now arranged on Facebook and by phone to pick up a F2 Stoke 117 from Ken Barnett who said I could have the board when he read I had broken my board at La Franqui, what a top bloke as we only meet him while windsurfing in Poole Harbour:) Sadly it looks like the wind is disappearing but fingers crossed I will get at least one day on the Mar Menor???? Thursday 22nd February – Travel, relax and walk **** Puerto de San Pedro del Pinatar to the Molino de la Calcetera – sunny periods but cooler. 6 miles. After moving off the beach last night after being warned that the police were turning campers off we had a good night, Mag said we had a short spell of heavy rain but I didn’t hear it and then the builders turned up at about eight so we decided to move off somewhere nice for breakfast. It was then we realised that I had left our steps on the beach so returned there and luckily there was no one about so they were still there. It was such a nice morning, clear blue sky, calm sea as the wind had gone we decided to have breakfast here on the Platja de la Marina. We ate walking on the beach and then along the row of rundown houses built on the water’s edge. Sadly, the owners must have to remove tins and bottles every time they go to their beachside shack! still it made for some interesting pics:) It was then just a few miles down the coast to Torrevieja to pick up a F2 Stoke 117 from Ken Bartlett who we met at Hamsworthy and Portland. He wasn’t there but neighbour John let us in after we got a bit lost on the way! After having a nice chat with john who has lived here for 14 years we continued to one of my favourites, Lo Pagon on the huge Mar Menor where I sailed three times last year, doesn’t look like I am going to be that lucky again:( We drove straight to the road leading out to the Puerto de San Pedro del Pinatar spotting Avocets and the first van we saw was a bit of a jack the lad windsurfer we met last year! We were amazed to find we were the only vehicle in the nice beach side car park on the Playa de la Torra Derribada and got prime position in the corner as a few more vans started to come in, after the break-in we are happier to be in company. It was a lovely warm day now so Mag made a cuppa and took her book on the beach while I sorted out my windsurfing gear. I took the footstraps off the F2 Ride and then sadly (as this was my favourite board) jumped on it to snap it half to get in a bin easier. I then adjusted the footstraps on the new board, Ken must have small feet, and I managed to fit my booms and mast into the Ride board bag. With everything tied back on the roof I joined Mag to read on the beachd, then as it started to cloud over we had lunch and set off on a walk. We headed over towards the Port where we found a large bin for my board:( then continued past the closed Jaws windsurfing shop to Playa de la Salinas which is part of the Parque Regional Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro a beautiful spot where we did this walk last year, with the open sea with rolling surf one side and the huge Mer Menor the other including yet another large salt works. There are actually three named beaches here as Salinas leads to Playa la Baraca Quemada and finally as you near La Manga which is on a ten mile spit the other side separated by a shallow channel you come to the Playa de Punta de Algas. It is very quiet out here just the odd walker or cyclist and the beach has no shells but thousands of hairy balls which are made of natural fibre made round by the action of the ocean! On reaching the end you head towards the Mar Menor, sadly no Spoonbill this time and we make it to the Molino de la Calcetera an old windmill used to flood the salt lagoons. We sat here for a chocolate bar but the wind has picked up and it’s a bit on the chilly side so we head back and it’s a long way about three miles! You can continue past the mill into Lo Pagan but perhaps if the wind doesn’t play ball we can do that circular walk another day if we are feeling fit! We check out the windsurfing shop, still closed but it is full of shiny new things I can’t afford to return to the van knackered for a well-deserved cuppa and cake. I pretended to read my book but soon dozed off but woke to a nice sunset and Crested Larks feeding outside the van:) Photo Gallery Here |
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