All the days start to merge into one......
The next day the wind had picked up to 40+ knots. We were cautious about going out so watched the Best riders down for the launch of the 08 kites. A few of them were doing some good stuff, nice powered kite loops with the odd handle-pass thrown in. We sat it out again and then cycled into town to find some wifi. It was more than a bit of a struggle against the Llevante on the way in but had a nice jet effect on the way back.
The following day the Llevante had dropped off a bit, so after wandering up the dunes and watching a Peter Lynn rider getting dragged the length of the bay once their 8 metre venom bow-tied, we went to get our kit. The wind was ok and we both had a good session. After a break Steve persuaded me to go back out again even though the wind seemed to be dropping. I did say that if I ended up swimming back in I’d blame him entirely. After one tack the wind dropped to next to nothing and kites started falling out the sky all over the place. I almost made it back in kitelooping but unfortunately the way was blocked by the lines of other kites so I ended up swimming.
Next morning there was no wind again so we cycled into town to look at the shops and get more supplies. After lunch the wind picked up, still Llevante but not too bad. We both had a really good session and there were no walks back up wind.
Friday was windy early and we made our way down to the beach that was full of kites and had another good day on the water, starting rotations.
Saturday 13 October 2007: woke up to find the wind had really kicked in and shock!! there were some clouds in the sky. We went down to the beach and I had a go on the water but the wind was gusty and pretty horrible. We gave up before lunch as we were planning on heading into town to watch the England v France match. Sarah suggested we walk to town rather than getting a taxi. I had thought this might be an option but did not want to suggest it to Sarah as if it went wrong I would be in the doghouse.
After a shower and a quick sleep we set off for town at about 4:50pm. It should be about 4-5 miles as the crow flies down the beach. The wind had unfortunately picked up so that we were walking into about 30-40+mph of wind. Progress wasn’t slowed much but the pain of the sand whipping your legs was a bit excessive.
About 2 miles in we reached our first rocky obstacles. We climbed over them to find that the route might get difficult around a campsite so we decided to head for the road. The “path” to the road was overgrown with gorse and other nasty stuff that added a good few minutes and yelps to our journey. Once we were on the road progress was swift, we turned off onto Los Lances (northern end) to find that Tarifa town looked closer and manageable, so we set off on the last 3+ miles of beach.
Except for the odd random thorny leaf it was good going. We watched a couple of guys launching kites in the lagoon that forms from the Rio Jara, the ankle depth water looked inviting. We hadn’t considered the difficulties that the lagoon could represent to our journey. 2 hours into our “walk” we reached the point at which the lagoon met the sea. I made a futile stab at crossing but as Sarah mentioned there was a worryingly dark channel and I wasn’t dressed for a swim. Sarah entered the water but the combination of windswept lagoon water and swell meeting meant that Sarah’s glad rags were getting wet, therefore alternative routing was required. This presented a problem, we could see that dark channels were blocking our route in all forward directions. Our only option was to go back, I was not happy. We crossed the lagoon to the Rio Jara campsite, I knew from earlier forays that Rio Jara was 3km from the town, the point at which we gave up crossing the channel the beach was 1.5km from the town... disheartening.
We started walking down the edge of the road, at about 3 hours and 6 miles into our journey we reached the edge of Tarifa town. We made a dash for the Plus supermarket to buy mini cookies and a drink.. unfortunately every surfer bum in Tarifa also picked this time to go to Plus.. Half an hour later we were off down the road filling up with much needed sugar (I knew at this point it was another mile to the Tarifa medina walls). We reached the old town and at this point I enquired with Sarah as to the way to the “Irish” bar that had the rugby on.. “It’s down here, I think, it might have been Irish, or it might just have had a guiness sign”.. I controlled a silent rage as I lead Sarah round the old town following the route of an earlier cycle journey ignoring the pleas of “ I thought you would remember when I mentioned the bar”...
Luckily we found the bar, the match did indeed start at 2100 so we had an hour to kill. We found a bar with beer, cocktails and pizza. 2 beers a mojito and half a pizza later I was feeling much happier. We went to the “Irish” bar and watched the tense match. The French at the bar disappeared quickly after the match. We got talking to 2 Navy pilots about kiting and Gibralter and a few too many drinks later we decided to get a taxi. I knew where the taxi rank was so I steered Sarah straight to it. The journey was quicker than the walk and cost 11 euro... 11 euro at 2am!!! A 3.5 hr and 6+ mile walk when we could have got a taxi.. I was pissing myself all the way back to the van...
Sunday 14 October 2007 Day 38: Hungover did nothing of note.
Monday 15 October 2007 Day 39: Went down to the beach and I went out a couple of times. The wind was horribly gusty. Sarah tried but got lofted on the beach and decided to give it a miss. We went down again later at 6ish for a walk and the wind was perfect and the sun was out. Sarah couldn’t decide if she wanted to go out. We walked to the massive dune at the end of the beach and back, and then Sarah decided to go out. We got down to the beach and the wind had died, Sarah was kicking herself.
Tuesday 16th October 2007 Day 40: Went down to the beach early as wind was looking good. Got down there about 10:30 and didn’t leave until after five stopping only briefly for lunch (4pm!). Both knackered but pleased the wind had been ok. Changed sheets for first time since leaving Salisbury...they had been starting to stick to us. Had meal out in the evening, large amount of pork, fat and salt, think we may have seen a lunar eclipse on the way back as the moon was orangey / red. Had meat sweats all night.
Wednesday 17th October 2007 Day 41: Took it a bit easier today as both were aching from the day before and Ste had a bad ankle. Did our washing in the morning. Campsite cat seems to have adopted us, funny animal but deffo for sure has fleas. It seems to spend its days wandering aimlessly around, hiding in long grass, jumping in long grass and occasionally mounting trees. It also seems to have strange affection for our van tyres and has been spotted sharpening claws on them and also licking them. Wind seemed to die once we got down to the beach after lunch so sunbathed for a while. Luckily picked-up again and had a good late afternoon session. Had fun playing the sea battle travel game Amy had bought us in the evening, Sarah sunk all Ste’s ships...woohoo! definitely better than travel kerplunk.
Thursday 18th October 2007 Day 42: Cycled into town to look for footpads for my board, didn’t find any so went back to the campsite. We decided to head down to the beach for the afternoon and the wind kicked in nicely with few gusts for a change. It was a great session until Sarah lost her board. She had gone for a rotation, got more height than expected and come down backwards, the kite ditched and by the time it re-launched she had no idea where the board was. I went past and saw the board, deciding to pick it up on the next run, unfortunately when I got back I couldn’t see it anywhere. We waited on the beach but it didn’t wash in. We even walked the length of the beach at night but no luck, it’s probably on its way to the America.
Friday 19th October 2007 Day 43: Stormy rainy day. After walking the beach one more time we drove into town to look for new board for Sarah. 7 hours later she bought one from the first shop we had gone to before lunch.
Saturday 20th October 2007 Day 44: Weather started off stormy and Steve’s ankle was still hurting. After a couple of hours the clouds cleared but the wind was still really strong so we decided to have a day of rest reading and mincing in the sun. At tea-time we went for a short bike ride to the top of the dunes where you can see the length of the Las Dunas / Valdequeros beach it was a pretty awesome site with all the weekend kitesurfers and windsurfers out. We got a taxi into town later that night to watch England lose against South Africa.
Sunday 21st October 2007 Day 45: The wind was still strong but Steve decided to give it a go and got on well with the 11m depowered, Sarah got bored.
Monday 22nd October 2007 Day 46: Another sunny day...got up earlyish (8:30) and cycled to top of dunes. Waited for the Poniente to kick in. Wind picked up around lunchtime and we both headed out. Sarah tried out the 666 and decided it was as good if not better than the Underground, 123 definitely seems to be the best size. Both practiced toeside carves, rotations and grabs on the water.
Tuesday 23rd October 2007 Day 47: Another day of Poniente promised we got up slowly then went down the beach to wait for the wind, the day had been pretty cloudy and it felt a lot colder with the Westerly wind coming in off the Atlantic. Steve tried a couple of times to get going but it wasn’t really enough. We headed to Los Lances to see if it was any better down there and have a landboarding session if there wasn’t enough. Steve immediately regretted leaving his wetsuit back at the campsite as there quality wind and the water was packed with kites. I set-up the 13m venom and headed out in the waves. After a failed start, when I seemed to get in the way of all the good kiters, I made it past the shorebreak. The waves were good fun and I had a decent session messing around in them as Steve did some filming of the locals (including Gisela Pulido) practicing their handlepasses. Worried that Steve was getting bored and starting to get cold I headed back in for a landboarding session. The wind was spot on for the 13m on land and we both enjoyed trying out some new moves in our first land session since Leucate. Steve was landing 540 transitions to toe-side and I got my first 540 from toe-side. We also got some got ok filming although I think our camera work needs practice and we would benefit from a tripod. After the session we headed to the supermarket to pick up some beers and then got takeaway pizzas for the first time on the trip.
Wednesday 24th October 2007 Day 48: With another day of Poniente predicted we woke up aching from the session the day before but hungry for some more. Unfortunately heavy rain kicked in at about 11am. It rained most of the day.. We found internet..
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Granada & Alhambra
The no wind forecast for the following few days and general ming-pit of La Manga meant after a day we decided to bail and head for Tarifa via Granada. The campsite we were staying in was nice enough but the fact it had a pet washing parlour didn’t really fit in with the kitesurfing scene we were looking for. Setting out from La Manga down to Cartegena Ste was ecstatic to find not only a proper hypermarket but also a Decathalon to browse through. He’d been suffering from a lack of purchasing opportunity and once inside the shops was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff for sale. A month without constant internet browsing had definitely taken its toll and we escaped without acquiring anything else to clog up the van. There had only been the briefest of flirtations with the suggestion of buying a fishing rod or an aluminium picnic table and none of the stuff we “definitely needed” to optimise our van lifestyle was found.
Onwards through Cartegena there was some concern about whether the road we had chosen to take, against the advice of the sat nav, actually existed. On the map it had said it was due to be completed in early 2007 but there was no evidence from the signposting that it had actually opened. Luckily for us the Spaniards were just a bit behind on the signage and the road was indeed open, not only that but it was empty as well. If anyone ever buys a Ferrari then we would definitely recommend the AP7 down from Cartegena for a speed run, it even beats the M1 early on Christmas day, it was just a shame our top speed was 60mph.
The mountain scenery on the drive inland was spectacular and made a change from the coastal vistas we’d gotten used to. The last bit on the decent into Granada was particularly beautiful and we did wonder whether we should have spent some time checking out the national park. The drive round Granada itself didn’t really make the city appeal, we found ourselves in the first traffic jam for some weeks and started to wonder whether it had been a good idea to stop there. Despite being close to the city the campsite was really lovely. Nice pitches and a lovely old terrace with a pool and views of the mountain. We had a refreshing swim to cool down after the drive and then drank a fair bit of wine which had been on offer in the campsite supermarket before passing out.
The night before we had managed to arrange afternoon tickets to visit the Alhambra the following day. We got up slowly and caught the bus into town. The morning we spent wandering aimlessly round the town and despite not having a map we managed to see almost all the churches, mosques and the old Islamic quarter. Following a good Morrocan lunch we wandered up to the Alhambra where we spent a good 4 or 5 hours looking at all the old buildings and gardens. It is bloody impressive (SD: but dull, even my incessant photo taking didn’t annoy Sarah enough) and well worth a visit as is the city itself. Once it got dark we caught the bus back to the campsite for a wholesome meal of frankfurters.
The drive out of Granada on the Sunday morning was nice and easy and it wasn’t long before we hit the coast. The Costa del Sol was as disgusting as expected. The whole stretch west from Malaga is just a wreck of concrete and golf courses. Once clear of Algeciras it starts to open out, and by the time you get near Tarifa it is much greener. We drove through Tarifa but most of the town was closed as it was Sunday so we went to find a campsite and check out the beach. After looking at a couple we settled on one opposite Valdevaqueros. The wind was picking up so we went straight to the beach to see what the score was. Soon the place was rammed with kiters, pretty much the same as Wallop on the sea. The standard of kiting was really good and we both felt a bit daunted about heading out so we decided to sit it out and see if it was quieter on the Monday.
The next day saw quite a few people leaving the campsite and it was definitely quieter. There was no wind in the morning so we cycled into town to see what it was like and look at a couple of the campsites further in. The old town is really nice with numerous cafes and restaurants, the strip with all the kite shops on is a bit tacky but still alright and although there is some evidence of building there is some hope that the developers won’t ruin this bit of coast. Once we got back from lugging the shopping in we headed down to the beach to find the wind had picked-up to a decent amount. We got our kit and went out for our first session on Valdevaqueros. The wind was a bit gusty as it was coming from the east but good enough and we both had a good session. That night we tried to bike to a wifi lounge but after 10 minutes or so decided the road was too dangerous in the dark so went for a Mexican at the hotel down the road.
Onwards through Cartegena there was some concern about whether the road we had chosen to take, against the advice of the sat nav, actually existed. On the map it had said it was due to be completed in early 2007 but there was no evidence from the signposting that it had actually opened. Luckily for us the Spaniards were just a bit behind on the signage and the road was indeed open, not only that but it was empty as well. If anyone ever buys a Ferrari then we would definitely recommend the AP7 down from Cartegena for a speed run, it even beats the M1 early on Christmas day, it was just a shame our top speed was 60mph.
The mountain scenery on the drive inland was spectacular and made a change from the coastal vistas we’d gotten used to. The last bit on the decent into Granada was particularly beautiful and we did wonder whether we should have spent some time checking out the national park. The drive round Granada itself didn’t really make the city appeal, we found ourselves in the first traffic jam for some weeks and started to wonder whether it had been a good idea to stop there. Despite being close to the city the campsite was really lovely. Nice pitches and a lovely old terrace with a pool and views of the mountain. We had a refreshing swim to cool down after the drive and then drank a fair bit of wine which had been on offer in the campsite supermarket before passing out.
The night before we had managed to arrange afternoon tickets to visit the Alhambra the following day. We got up slowly and caught the bus into town. The morning we spent wandering aimlessly round the town and despite not having a map we managed to see almost all the churches, mosques and the old Islamic quarter. Following a good Morrocan lunch we wandered up to the Alhambra where we spent a good 4 or 5 hours looking at all the old buildings and gardens. It is bloody impressive (SD: but dull, even my incessant photo taking didn’t annoy Sarah enough) and well worth a visit as is the city itself. Once it got dark we caught the bus back to the campsite for a wholesome meal of frankfurters.
The drive out of Granada on the Sunday morning was nice and easy and it wasn’t long before we hit the coast. The Costa del Sol was as disgusting as expected. The whole stretch west from Malaga is just a wreck of concrete and golf courses. Once clear of Algeciras it starts to open out, and by the time you get near Tarifa it is much greener. We drove through Tarifa but most of the town was closed as it was Sunday so we went to find a campsite and check out the beach. After looking at a couple we settled on one opposite Valdevaqueros. The wind was picking up so we went straight to the beach to see what the score was. Soon the place was rammed with kiters, pretty much the same as Wallop on the sea. The standard of kiting was really good and we both felt a bit daunted about heading out so we decided to sit it out and see if it was quieter on the Monday.
The next day saw quite a few people leaving the campsite and it was definitely quieter. There was no wind in the morning so we cycled into town to see what it was like and look at a couple of the campsites further in. The old town is really nice with numerous cafes and restaurants, the strip with all the kite shops on is a bit tacky but still alright and although there is some evidence of building there is some hope that the developers won’t ruin this bit of coast. Once we got back from lugging the shopping in we headed down to the beach to find the wind had picked-up to a decent amount. We got our kit and went out for our first session on Valdevaqueros. The wind was a bit gusty as it was coming from the east but good enough and we both had a good session. That night we tried to bike to a wifi lounge but after 10 minutes or so decided the road was too dangerous in the dark so went for a Mexican at the hotel down the road.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
La Manga
We got back to the hotel at around 7.15am... we managed to get a few hours sleep before we had to check out. I woke sarah at about 11.15 because I was pretty hungry (we hadn’t eaten anything but a pretty horrible bocadillo at 3pm the previous day). I was not surprised to find that it took another 45mins to leave the room. Even though we had only been in it for around 11 hours Sare had managed to spread her stuff into every drawer, cupboard and surface and now had to re-pack. I was dressed and packed in about mins. The years of training for getting the train were dying hard.
We left the hotel and found a really nice little restaurant on the edge of a square to have some food. We ate and watched the world go by for an hour in the shade and then made a move for the ferry. Hopes of some new super ferry were dashed as the good old “Carmen del Mar” was in the dock. We boarded and went to sleep in the lounge. I woke up and decided to get some sun.. We went out on deck and it was very warm and nice. There did seem to be a lot of banging around and it turned out some guys were repairing the life boats. Thankfully not adding more duct tape to hold them together.
When we reached the camp site in Javea I tried and failed (again) to get wifi from the reception guy. I resolved that people just don’t want me to have internet. We sunned ourselves for a day and missed out on the lovely pool as it closed when we walked towards it for a swim.
The next day it was time to move. We had decided to make our way down to Santa Pola – south of Alicante. After a few interesting sat nav directions we made it onto the correct route. The trip down was uneventful and the scenery was not great. There doesn’t seem to be a square inch the Spanish aren’t building on. On arrival at Santa Pola we had wind but also “No kite surfing” signs, there seemed to be some kites further down the beach so we made our way down in the van trying to get some wifi. We found a hotspot, so an hour later when I emerged from the van the wind had died to below the required level. The area wasn’t that nice so we decided to head down to Mar Menor near Murcia.
Our first stop was Lo Pagan at the northern end of Mar Menor. The spot book had a photo of an unspoiled spit of sand with no buildings and campers parked down the road. We think the reality was very different. I say we think because I can’t quite believe it’s changed so much since the photo was taken. The whole area was built up and the entrance to the spit had bollards. Palm trees had also been placed all the way down a path on the spit making launching difficult. We moved on to La Manga.
The Spaniards had been busy, the skyline of La Manga is dominated by some surprisingly large buildings. The campsite we found was also huge, 1km from door to beach with masses of pitches and bungalows. I experienced some more camper envy here as there were some huge coach style motorhomes which even had supply tents. I decided we should cycle into the town to find a kite shop. This was around 6pm.. It turned out to be a bad idea, the address we had was old and there seemed to be nothing around. We went to the tourist info and it turned out to be 3km down the road. We decided to go to the supermarket and then head back. Sarah was becoming concerned about the busy roads and impending darkness, and therefore decided to cycle at less than 10mph... why go slower when you are worried about the dark? I don’t know.
The next morning there was a huge storm that lasted aound 4 hours. We were once again relieved to find that the van did not leak.
We left the hotel and found a really nice little restaurant on the edge of a square to have some food. We ate and watched the world go by for an hour in the shade and then made a move for the ferry. Hopes of some new super ferry were dashed as the good old “Carmen del Mar” was in the dock. We boarded and went to sleep in the lounge. I woke up and decided to get some sun.. We went out on deck and it was very warm and nice. There did seem to be a lot of banging around and it turned out some guys were repairing the life boats. Thankfully not adding more duct tape to hold them together.
When we reached the camp site in Javea I tried and failed (again) to get wifi from the reception guy. I resolved that people just don’t want me to have internet. We sunned ourselves for a day and missed out on the lovely pool as it closed when we walked towards it for a swim.
The next day it was time to move. We had decided to make our way down to Santa Pola – south of Alicante. After a few interesting sat nav directions we made it onto the correct route. The trip down was uneventful and the scenery was not great. There doesn’t seem to be a square inch the Spanish aren’t building on. On arrival at Santa Pola we had wind but also “No kite surfing” signs, there seemed to be some kites further down the beach so we made our way down in the van trying to get some wifi. We found a hotspot, so an hour later when I emerged from the van the wind had died to below the required level. The area wasn’t that nice so we decided to head down to Mar Menor near Murcia.
Our first stop was Lo Pagan at the northern end of Mar Menor. The spot book had a photo of an unspoiled spit of sand with no buildings and campers parked down the road. We think the reality was very different. I say we think because I can’t quite believe it’s changed so much since the photo was taken. The whole area was built up and the entrance to the spit had bollards. Palm trees had also been placed all the way down a path on the spit making launching difficult. We moved on to La Manga.
The Spaniards had been busy, the skyline of La Manga is dominated by some surprisingly large buildings. The campsite we found was also huge, 1km from door to beach with masses of pitches and bungalows. I experienced some more camper envy here as there were some huge coach style motorhomes which even had supply tents. I decided we should cycle into the town to find a kite shop. This was around 6pm.. It turned out to be a bad idea, the address we had was old and there seemed to be nothing around. We went to the tourist info and it turned out to be 3km down the road. We decided to go to the supermarket and then head back. Sarah was becoming concerned about the busy roads and impending darkness, and therefore decided to cycle at less than 10mph... why go slower when you are worried about the dark? I don’t know.
The next morning there was a huge storm that lasted aound 4 hours. We were once again relieved to find that the van did not leak.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
On to Ibiza
The following day we headed onto Javea where we were going to leave the van and kites and journey to Ibiza. We managed to sort out the details for the ferry on the way through Denia, and luckily got some internet so we could try and find a hotel. Saturday morning we got up early and got a taxi to the port. It turned out we could have spent at least another hour in bed as we were excessively early. The ferry itself looked a little on the rusty side but we thought they must have spent all the money on the interior on cafes and things o keep us entertained like there had been on the Brittany Ferries boat on the way to France. We soon learnt differently, the interior was actually a total skank pit with no restaurant, no shop or entertainment, it started to look like our decision not to bring anything to read may have a been a bad one. The 70s decor and general shabbiness of the interior didn’t add to the experience. We spent most of the journey asleep or sunbathing on the deck watching the approach to the island.
Once in the port we spotted one of the hotels we’d liked the look of on the internet, luckily they had one room left for the weekend. The room was really nice, recently re-decorated with nice bathroom, fridge, t.v. and a balcony overlooking one of the busiest streets in Ibiza town. We decided to find some food first and then go for a wander round the shops. We had a great 3 course meal with wine, a short siesta and then went shopping. We both managed to find some more clothes to buy and then went back to the hotel to get changed.
The balcony definitely came into its own once the bars opened up. It was brilliant for people watching, seeing the bar bints trying to entice people in for drinks and all the dodgy deals that were going on. After a few beers we went out to the bars and then onto El Divino. The night was ok but only cheesy Hed Kandi music and mostly Brits trying to pull. At about 4 we decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel to sleep.
The next day we woke-up a bit late, had some breakfast and got ready to go to Space. We got there at about midday and aside from a pass-out to get some lunch didn’t leave until 18 hours later. Quality night, good music.
Once in the port we spotted one of the hotels we’d liked the look of on the internet, luckily they had one room left for the weekend. The room was really nice, recently re-decorated with nice bathroom, fridge, t.v. and a balcony overlooking one of the busiest streets in Ibiza town. We decided to find some food first and then go for a wander round the shops. We had a great 3 course meal with wine, a short siesta and then went shopping. We both managed to find some more clothes to buy and then went back to the hotel to get changed.
The balcony definitely came into its own once the bars opened up. It was brilliant for people watching, seeing the bar bints trying to entice people in for drinks and all the dodgy deals that were going on. After a few beers we went out to the bars and then onto El Divino. The night was ok but only cheesy Hed Kandi music and mostly Brits trying to pull. At about 4 we decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel to sleep.
The next day we woke-up a bit late, had some breakfast and got ready to go to Space. We got there at about midday and aside from a pass-out to get some lunch didn’t leave until 18 hours later. Quality night, good music.
Minor incident in Valencia
That night we decided to stay out at Trabucador and wild camp with the other vans there. The Guardia Civil came out and had a look at who was there in the evening but didn’t seem fussed that there were people staying there and no-one was asked to move. We had a few beers as the sun went down and ste went out again for a quick evening session. As it got dark the wind really picked-up, the 40 knots that had been forecast for the daytime had definitely arrived. Our van was side on to the wind so as it increased it really started to rock. We sleep a little bit but the rocking was a bit off putting and in the early hours we moved our van to face the wind so we didn’t get knocked over if it went really crazy. Neither of us slept particularly well and early the next morning it was still hooning, the highest reading Ste got on the wind meter was 53mph! We hung around a bit to see if it dropped off through the morning and watched a crazy German head out on a 5 meter after a launch which saw him narrowly avoid the wooden pier. Even the local that turned-up seemed to think it was a bad idea so we thought it best to give-up and head off.
We drove on down to Oliva south of Valencia. The drive down was going nice and smoothly and we thought we may be able to get an evening session in, that was before a dopey Spanish bloke decided to pull slowly across from the opposite side of the road directly in front of our van going at 60mph. I had seen the guy move slowly to pull out then hesitate, and had thought he had seen a large white van heading along the road. Apparently not, he later said he was watching the restaurant he was pulling into and thinking of his lunch which was why he didn’t spot us. I slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid his car, skidded for about 10 metres to the side of the road and narrowly avoided slamming into the parked cars in front of the restaurant. As soon as we stopped, a bit shaken up and not happy that someone had managed to hit our van I jumped out and had a good shout at the driver asking him what the hell he was doing. He admitted it was his fault straight away and we took some time exchanging all our details, getting photos of the damage and details of witnesses in case we had any problems claiming later. The rest of the journey passed uneventfully and we arrived in Oliva and checked into the next campsite.
There was no wind that evening but the next day after lazing around on the beach and playing Frisbee it built up to something decent in the evening. Ste tried the 16 scorpion for the first time and we both worked on our wave technique, struggling a bit to stay upwind.
We drove on down to Oliva south of Valencia. The drive down was going nice and smoothly and we thought we may be able to get an evening session in, that was before a dopey Spanish bloke decided to pull slowly across from the opposite side of the road directly in front of our van going at 60mph. I had seen the guy move slowly to pull out then hesitate, and had thought he had seen a large white van heading along the road. Apparently not, he later said he was watching the restaurant he was pulling into and thinking of his lunch which was why he didn’t spot us. I slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid his car, skidded for about 10 metres to the side of the road and narrowly avoided slamming into the parked cars in front of the restaurant. As soon as we stopped, a bit shaken up and not happy that someone had managed to hit our van I jumped out and had a good shout at the driver asking him what the hell he was doing. He admitted it was his fault straight away and we took some time exchanging all our details, getting photos of the damage and details of witnesses in case we had any problems claiming later. The rest of the journey passed uneventfully and we arrived in Oliva and checked into the next campsite.
There was no wind that evening but the next day after lazing around on the beach and playing Frisbee it built up to something decent in the evening. Ste tried the 16 scorpion for the first time and we both worked on our wave technique, struggling a bit to stay upwind.
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