The weather improved ever so slightly in the morning and we took one of the Gibraltar “Rock Tours”. For £25 each we had a private minibus which visited the following sites:

• Pillars of Hercules
• St Michael’s caves
• The siege tunnels
• Monkeys

Here’s a selection of pictures from the tour.

In the afternoon we walked to the furthest point of the Rock, Europa Point where the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, also known as the King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Mosque or the Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is located.

Inclement weather meant we were soaked again and reliant on public transport to get us back to town.

Evening dinner, another recommendation from D and T was “La Bodeguiya”, a Tapas bar located close to the central square. It’s the kind of restaurant one would pass by were it not for some local knowledge. The food was simply excellent, but we weren’t quite sure why some of the best dishes appeared not to be on the menu! Thoroughly enjoyable evening, with perhaps a splash or two of excess wine – the only thing missing being the “classy” “flag” show from the Lord Nelson.

Overnight was calmer than of late but around 07:00 the heavens opened and the vicious winds returned. Things held pretty good with the awning but as a precaution we moved much of the awning contents into the van.

Then at lunch time we received the nod (well, Whatsapp actually) that our friends, D and T had battled through the Berkshire blizzards and arrived in time for their flight to Gibraltar. Despite the offer of a tent or bungalow at Roselada,  they chose to meet us in Gibraltar and avoid the Spanish experience completely.

We headed for the 2 hour drive with the wind and rain still pounding the car. We took the coastal route passing Tarifa where we had been assured there was a nice view point at the top of the cliffs.

This is what we saw.

Lunch and onward to Gib, arriving around 3pm. Weather hasn’t improved.

Quickly through Passport Control and on to the Callaghan hotel where we were a) Lucky to navigate the narrow streets and b) Even luckier to find a parking space.

On arrival, the receptionist had a good chuckle when I asked about the Heathrow flight. No way was it going to be able to land at Gib in these conditions. He was right. D and T are currently in a bus from Jerez. Oh the irony.

Meanwhile, we are sat in the Lord Nelson pub, awaiting their arrival and pondering why this is the outstanding location on Gibraltar. The Old Speckled Hen is nice though and this is the home to Gibraltar Rugby.

 

 

 

 

We were woken around 5:00am to the sound of driving rain bouncing off the caravan and the most incredible winds. The awning is struggling to survive the onslaught and the caravan is rocking. Thunder and lightning illuminates the nighttime sky and the roads through the campsite have turned into rivers.

The awning needs re-pegging and we need to double-up on the pegs. Except now we’ve run out of pegs! Chris arrived with an extra tie-down strap which is now lashed across the roof of the awning.

The French couple next door lost the battle to save their awning as the storm ripped it into pieces. Many people are taking down theirs for the medium term, as the 10 day forecast is not showing any respite.

A trip to Decathlon to buy some extra tent securing equipment was bizarrely followed by a BBQ as the rain subsided for a spell. It’s actually quite warm, but the regulars here are saying this is the most extreme weather here in a decade.

With nothing else to do, we headed up to the bar late afternoon to play cards and games with Chris, Ali, Mike and Linda. Seems I’m a bit of a whizz at Connect four and rather lucky at card games!

It’s Andalucia day today and everywhere is closed. Even the bike shop where Mike’s bike was due to be collected. Again!

Paul and Andrea arrived from Malaga just after lunch. The forecast storms and inclement weather have arrived and it’s been bucketing it down all day – looks like Emma is arriving. Very unpleasant day to travel and set up on camp.

Spent the early evening in the bar before dinner with Paul and Andrea.

It’s a trip to Gibraltar from the campsite today, not for us though because we will be spending this weekend on the Rock at a luxury hotel… Mike and Linda are booked on todays trip as Mike’s bike won’t be ready until Manana.

Spent much of the morning adding the electric bike kit to Moe’s Marlin bike. Then a trip to Leroy Merlin to buy a few additional bit’s and pieces to finish the job off.

This didn’t proceed quite as easily as my conversion. The electric brake “cut-offs” were replacement integrated levers but on Moe’s bike, the gear shift is integrated with the levers so we weren’t able to use them. Plan B was to canibalise the ones on my bike but it turns out that mine use a 3-pin plug to connect to the controller whereas Moe’s is a 2-pin Higo.

Here’s a link to the full conversion details:

https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?page_id=2420

 

Trip to the Supermarket in the morning but rain stopped play in the afternoon.

My first game of Petanque at Rosaleda was abandoned after half an hour due to heavy rain. Around 15 people turn up at 3pm most days for a couple of games.

Around 6pm, Moe’s ebike conversion kit arrived, DPD lagging DHL by a full two days.

I know what I’m going to be doing Tuesday…

Sunday lunch at El Pasaje with two couples from the campsite. We left the campsite around 12:30, arriving back at 6:00pm – a very typically Spanish relaxing afternoon.

The reason why there were six of us, is that Mike and Linda have yet to reach Gibraltar – the bike is still in pieces.

Another Spanish speciality – Manana…

Walked into town for some bits and pieces from the Ferreteria, which loosely translates to Ironmongers.

On the way in, we passed Mike on the return leg of his daily pilgrimage to the bike repair shop. He’s on his way back and still on foot. Despite being determined to just collect whatever was left of the bike, so they can head off to Gibraltar, it seems it’s now in even more pieces and the technician is nowhere to be found. Apparently he’s in Sevilla for the weekend.

On the way back from town, Moe spotted some Sketcher shoes.

Later in the day, she realised Alison had found the same shop an hour later and bought the same pair – although a different colour!

 

I needed some washers for my ebike conversion kit so accompanied Mike on his visit to the bicycle repair shop. His bike has been with them for 24 hours and whilst a prompt 24 hour and 20 Euro fix was promised, the bike is still in pieces. The wires into the motor were broken and now the whole back wheel is in bits. Still, all will be sorted by lunchtime.

Whilst the technician didn’t have any washers in the store, he said he get me some in town in about an hour. The price, 0.5 Euros for the 8 washers and as promised, they were there in an hour. I’m thinking that perhaps his time would have been better spent fixing Mike’s motor…

Friday afternoon, and a long afternoon electrifying my bike. I have to say, the results are impressive. The campsite here at Rosaleda is hilly and on the power level 1 (9 is the highest), cycling around is a breeze.

Here’s a link to the full article.

https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?page_id=2414

Thursday is walking group day. About a dozen of us headed for the bus station in Conil where we would board the bus to El Palamar. Another fine example of EU(?) funds being put to solid use in Spain – an impeccably clean bus station with maybe 6 or 8 bays. Even more remarkable because the bus timetables on view would have suggested a large parking space at the side of the road to be more than adequate.

With the fare of 1.16 Euro to El Palamar, it will take some time to recoup the infrastructure costs! One thing more to add – the buses around here are more akin to luxury coaches!

El Palamar is also know as the surfers beach. We grabbed a coffee and then walked along the coast back to Conil. Total distance, around 11 miles so not a bad day at the office.

 

I’ll leave the comments section open on this post in case anyone can explain the plaque below.

 

 

A quick beer at the beach shack and then back to the campsite where my Dillenger electric bike kit was awaiting collection. It left Blighty on Monday and arrived Thursday pm. Pretty impressive.