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I got a call late yesterday that the van was up and running. Yay!!!! So, this morning returned the rental car and they gave me a ride to the Mercedes mechanic shop. Returned to check out of the hotel, grabbed the dogs, threw all our stuff in the van (literally) and eventually set off for Girona. Had some difficulty finding the campsite (no signage!) but we are finally settled in. The air conditioner is running and everyone’s been fed.

I have to say that although the last almost 2 weeks have been very stressful, the van breaking down where it did gave me an opportunity to really see and experience a part of Spain I otherwise wouldn’t have. Silver lining, right?

Anyway, I’m glad to be moving again. The dogs not so much. I’ve been a little under the weather the last 2 days so I’m not sure how long we’ll be here before going on to France. I’ll keep you posted!

I feel like I should say something about rocks. I haven’t talked about rocks since Bolnuevo but there are some pretty nice ones here, too. I’m picking up one small rock from each place we stay at and marking the date and location on each. Weird, right?

A view from the trail up the mountain…

Anyway, the dogs and I are still here in La Selva and we’ve been taking trails up the mountain. The one we followed today wasn’t very steep as it wended it’s way up but the path itself is of course dirt with tree roots , etc. sticking up. On one side is a wall of stone and dirt and on the other the side drops right off. In places the path is maybe 2’ wide and in others it widens to as much as 5-6’. Polly seems determined to go right to the edge and pulls me with her. Now the drop off in some places is only about 10-12’ but in many areas it is 40+ feet. Today we were walking at tree top level and I really didn’t appreciate Polly’s eagerness to see what was on the edge! I must admit that the view of the valley is spectacular. I’m going to take some pictures tomorrow but I know they won’t be as good as the real thing.

one of the older places we pass by on our way up the trail. Still occupied!

I’m hoping to maybe hear something from the Mercedes mechanic either tomorrow or Tuesday. Then we can be on our way again. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞

I woke up on Friday morning to find four “bites” or something on my chest. They’re about the size of a 2 centavo coin, really, really red and raised and itchy as hell. I tried using cortisone on them but didn’t help at all so today I found an open clinic and saw a doctor. He asked if I had walking up the mountain after he looked at the lesions, then said it was a fungus of all things. Two prescriptions but the pharmacy is closed until tomorrow. My luck. 🤨

I found a laundromat today so that is out of the way and I’ll have clean clothes to go on with.

That’s it for now. I did post some pictures to my FaceBook page. More later…

I’ve been really low for awhile now and not writing anything. Just been trying to deal with the sh*t show my life has become. The van is still with the mechanic. I need a new alternator and belt and unfortunately given the age of the van, parts are almost impossible to get. I finally rented a car on Wednesday so that I wasn’t a prisoner in the hotel. Today I drove to the Mercedes shop and I’ve been told that the alternator has been ordered from Germany and will hopefully be here by Tuesday. I sure hope so since the hotel is costing me €100 a night! All my reservations at various campsites are thankfully on hold until we’re mobile again.

The staff at the hotel have been wonderful. This area (La Selva dell Camp which is outside Tarragona) is really beautiful. It’s a very small town with a church, a vet, a chemist and a Consum, all too far to walk to in this heat. Even though we’re actually in the mountains here it isn’t much cooler than the Mazarron area. Everything is quite old and well preserved with really old stone walls, well maintained old stone houses and some cobblestone walkways. If I worked in Tarragona I could very happily live here. I’m going to post some pictures to my FB page, although they don’t do the area justice. I can’t wait to try sketching and painting some of what I’ve seen.

I found this former house buried away up the mountain trail we’ve been walking. It’s quite magnificent.

Henry and Polly have adapted reasonably well but I know they’ll be as glad to leave as I will be.

At the moment there are over 50 refugees living here. Most are from Ukraine, but other countries as well. They keep to themselves unfortunately. I wish I spoke Ukrainian so I could talk to them. Many are families with young-ish children. I can’t imagine what it must be like for them

That’s it for me tonight. Maybe I’ll have better news soon!

I didn’t post anything yesterday because it was a perfectly horrible, awful day. The van broke down on the motorway just south of Tarragona at 2:00 pm. Roadside assistance couldn’t get an appropriate tow truck to me until 10:00 pm. Because it was Friday night the van was towed to a secure parking area and the dogs and I were taken to a hotel in La Selva del Camp, Tarragona. The only garage that would take the van to work on won’t open until Monday, so here we sit. There are no pharmacies, shops , restaurants or cafes within walking distance. The insurance company would only pay for a single room the size of a prison cell, so I’m paying out of pocket to upgrade to a double room. The kitchen here serves breakfast, lunch and dinner for a total of about €40 a day out of my pocket. I’m praying that the garage will be able to repair the van on Monday so that we can be on our way.

I don’t think I’ll have much to add before Monday. Anyway, no one wants to read a bunch of griping and complaining, so I’m done until next week. Ciao

This is our last day here in Bonterra. It’s quite a nice resort but the weather hasn’t been very cooperative. It’s been cloudy with some rain showers here and there. Humidity is awful and the flies are the worst I’ve ever seen. Apparently there’s live music every night at a pavilion right down the street from our pitch. It’s been going pretty loudly until at least midnight every night.

The customer service has been outstanding, the restroom and shower facilities are extremely clean and the food at the restaurant/cafe is amazing, if a bit pricey. They even have a shaded, completely equipped outdoor gym!

Tomorrow morning we head for Girona, then France. I’ve had to make changes to my itinerary to shorten the daily drive times, so having to eliminate a couple of places I was really looking forward to seeing. Hopefully, I’ll have time in the future to visit those sites