Where's Mike?

Section 26: Espana December 2006

Click here to see Section 25: Italy--Part due

Click here to see Section 13: Iberia 2006

Click here to see Section 11: Espana 2005

Thursday December 14th

Vilanova, Spain: Smooth seas for 90 percent of the crossing made for a comfortable trip...regardless of  Grimaldi's Eurostar Barcelona not being as grandiose as Grandi Navi Veloci's Excelsior...and even as the Iberian peninsula came into view, conditions only strengthened moderately. About five clicks out our pilot joined us and took us in for a smooth, mid afternoon, docking. I was lucky enough to be one of the first ones off and quickly headed out of town before rush hour.

Like last year, while trying to make my way through Barcelona, I was once again diverted inland and over col de la Creu d'Ordal instead of my desired route down the coast. Damn. Not a huge distance out of the way, but the traffic is a bear. As soon as possible I cut south to the coast where I wound up a a very pleasant marina and enjoyed an evening bimble.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls:

Food/Drink: 15e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 125667

Friday December 15th

les Palmeres, Spain: I woke to a dreary day at my marina...looks like it will be wet day so I got into drive mode, hopped on 340 south and hugged the coast for the whole day.

After about 400 clicks, I arrived in Valencia just before dark.

Although I skipped Valencia last year, several years ago Denton and I had a pretty good time in some little waterfront cafés and bars. Unfortunately, that whole area seemed to be torn down to make way for a more modern, and certainly less attractive, waterfront. It all has to do with the America's Cup preparation and, in fact, there are layers of dust and dirt on EVERYTHING around the harbor. Lots of heavy equipment, construction, destruction, fences, torn up roads, and, again, dust covering the trees, cars, buildings, and anything else that doesn't move everyday.

I drove to les Palmeres, a package tour town, from the looks of the hotels, a bit south of the city and found a nice place parking right on the waterfront boardwalk.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 56e for 61l at 125843/539km

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 53e

Supplies: 21e MoHo lights, KoraPop, etc.

Misc: 3.5 internet

Odometer: 126071

Saturday December 16th

Alicante, Spain: By noon I was another hundred clicks south and driving through Alicante. It had a nice looking waterfront, some nice parks, a sweet looking marina, some old castle on the hill, and just a good feeling about it, so I tried to stop for a while.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find parking to save my life, and, after an hour of looking, continued south until, when I was about five clicks out of town, said "screw it" and turned around.

The one (as far as I can see) parking lot (verses parking garage--which wont take something over 2 meters) in town is right on the water and this time as I drove by, I was lucky enough to see a car leaving. It took me about ten minutes to carefully parallel wiggle the MoHo between into a spot, and, by the time I left for an evening bimble, two other MoHos were packed in around me...literally bumper to bumper...so there was no way I was going anywhere until one of them left.

Suffice it to say, Alicante is a fun town. Not only was the circus in town (I blew 30 bucks on a couple of rides) but the wine bars and discos ROCK! I met up with a great group of Spanish women, out celebrating the divorce of one, and trailing a few guys of various backgrounds. When three of them broke off for a trip to some martini bar...I still had enough sense to remember that I liked martinis, so joined them. Jhime (sp?? Jimmy) was to join us after getting his bike, but wound up as a no-show...probably because he was too wasted to ride it...so I tried my best to do the wrong thing. Lots of hard partying till 07:30, and I can honestly say I am happy I turned around and came back to Alicante.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 147e

Supplies: 0

Misc: .5 net, 300e roller coaster ride, 20e taxi

Odometer: 126268

Sunday December 17th

Santa Pola, Spain: Ouch...I can honestly say I wish I never came back to Alicante.

Got a few hours of sleep after my dawn return and then decided, for some reason, to slink out of town. Only made about three kilometers before I saw a beach beckoning. A nap in the sun and a bit of reading was just what I needed for the afternoon, and then, the off-shore evening breeze brought a burning garbage freshness to the air. All five of the MoHos hit the road in various direction. I wound up on the beach in Santa Pola where there seems to be a ton of campers around.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 2.5 internet

Odometer: 126301

Monday December 18th

Santa Pola, Spain: MoHo friendly town and a great place to park on the coast next to the private marina. Bimbled about. Nice people.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 8e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 4.5 internet

Odometer: 126311

Tuesday December 19th

Santa Pola, Spain: Continued catching up on some "work" I needed to do. I heard back from the WA State Department of Licensing regarding my drivers license (expired back in February) extension request. I don't really want to check out the inside of a Moroccan prison, so am hoping to get it fixed before I jump a ferry. Unfortunately they will not accept a FAXed request form and the payment has to accompany the form. Mailed all that crap off to my brother so he can cut a check and forward it.

Also, the cold morning warmed up enough to smear a bit of KoraPop on my shower floor. That old repair job re-cracked back when the girls were here, but just found the sealant to redo it a couple days ago.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 1.5 internet, 1e postage

Odometer: 126311

Wednesday December 20th

Puerto de Mazarron, Spain: Having finished all the "work" I was able to do, I continued south, but a sore throat, the cold temps, an empty water tank, and a bunch of dirty clothes, dishes, and body parts, enticed me into a campground.

Camping Las Torres is Nice place! Clean, friendly, a GREAT shower, one free load of washing, and a bottle of wine as a welcome gift! Although it is not all that crowded, it is busy...with probably about 200 campers staying here. With prices as low as 9e/night for longer stays, I can see why.

Laundry, dishes, and another coat of KoraPop were on the docket for the day.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 57e for 63l at 126406/563km

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126433

Thursday December 21st

Puerto de Mazarron, Spain: Again, this is a very friendly place so I decided to stay another day and enjoy the company...in addition to the electric heater. A final coat of KoraPop is applied.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: --

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126433

Friday December 22nd

Aguilas, Spain: 332 had taken an inland route and finally hit the beach once again at Aguilas. Just beyond town, I saw a great little beach with a bunch of MoHos parked up. No camping signs all over the place, but everyone said it was no problem.

Met a few nice Brits and the inevitable odd ball racist who hates Germans with all his being, as well as Moroccans and the rest of the coloreds as well. I never had the time to quiz him on his tolerance for Jews, Asians...or Americans, for that matter.

He did relate an interesting tidbit a Spanish police officer allegedly told him...Supposedly, if you find a Moroccan breaking in, and happen to kill him, the police don't even want to know, "Just bury him in the mud flats and forget about it." is what Ray claims they told him.

Really cold tonight...needed the heater. Cant wait to get to the warmer climes of Morocco!

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 30e

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 56e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126495

Saturday December 23rd

Aguilas, Spain: The cold night warmed up when the heavy rain hit...leaving this whole area a muddy mess. I drove just a couple clicks over to a much nicer beach with a gravel parking and took a two hour hike up the ridge.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126497

Sunday December 24th

Aguilas, Spain: Another hike, some rock hopping around the point, and a nice visit with John and Martha from Wales.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126497

Monday December 25th

San Juan de los Terreros, Spain: Decided to move on a bit and wound up hitting huge beach with hundreds of people camping. Met up with a few I already knew and also some new faces. Failed to get any photos of the tractor some German guy drove all the way from Berlin as he trailed his caravan.

A mellow and relaxing Christmas.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126528

Tuesday December 26th

San Juan de los Terreros, Spain: Just out for a hike around town and ran into John and his wife who were having a beer. Of course I joined 'em, and soon after Ray and Mel showed up as well. I had met all of them a couple days earlier at the muddy beach and they are now here too.

Very funny Brits with their dry sense of humor and endless stories.

After closing down the only open bar, we topped it off with a night cap back in camp.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 10

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126528

Wednesday December 27th

Mojacar Playa, Spain: Some of these guys can stay for weeks, if not months, at the same beach. Not me. Sure, I could spend a lot more time if it was hot enough to swim, had a surf, had some mountains to climb or cliffs to fly, but that isn't the case here.

Drove on to Mojacar where I enjoyed my stay last year. A late night bimble and some vino were nice enough, but the place is fairly sedate in comparison my last time around.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 32e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 3e internet

Odometer: 126598

Thursday December 28th

Carboneras, Spain: Hit the net then hit the road. Nice beaches all the way, and it warmed up enough for a swim, albeit a quick one. As the sun went down, I headed a few clicks into Carboneras' beach in the center of town.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 0

Supplies: 0

Misc: 2e internet

Odometer: 126644

Friday December 29th

Roquetas de Mar, Spain: Topped water at the Marina and then moved on early.

I have had several very mellow days of not much happening other than reading and vegging so was really happy to see about 15 dolphins a couple hundred meters off shore. None of the photos are impressive enough to put up, but I watched them for about a half an hour as they played in this one little bay. Several other drivers pulled over to watch, and borrow my binoculars, as well. They were having SO much fun!

Shortly after seeing the dolphins, I was driving through Roquetas and saw someone flying in the distance. About 20 minutes later I had him located and learned it was just a powered PG. I was sort of hoping for a tow operation since I have not had any airtime since Italy. Gettin' air horny.

As luck would have it, there is a nice paved parking area right where the guy was flying out of, so pulled into a great spot next to the water.

A bunch of really nice people here. Germans, Brits, French, Dutch, and me. Jim felt the need to take me under his wing, so piled me into his car for a guided tour of town.

Although the camping area is nice, my expertly guided tour proved that this resort town would be a disappointment for New Years Eve. I have no problems being mellow on Christmas, but I had hoped to party on New Years...and have only two remaining days to figure out a lively place to ring it in.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 95e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126762

Saturday December 30th

Almunecar, Spain: I decided to take advantage of the nice boardwalk and walk to the other end of it. At an hour, and about four miles, it was still going strong, but I wasn't. I headed back feeling good about the exercise, but feeling a bit of angst about finding a fun place for New Years Eve.

Said goodbye to everyone, and Jim and I made plans to meet up in Torremolinos tonight or tomorrow. He has been here a month already!!! That would drive me nuts.

Anyway, I continued along the Costa del Sol with it's pretty beaches ruined by cheap hotel construction for the package tour industry and plastic covered green houses. The water is clear and blue, and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Range are nice, however.

Just outside of Almunecar, I saw a glider ridge soaring above town and had to pull into check it out. Kenan, a Turk living in Germany, gave me the scoop about when and where to meet in the morning.

I saw a bunch more pilots landing on the main beach, after a flight from the high mountains behind town, as well, and it got me even more psyched for some airtime.

Staying just a few hundred meters from the Tao Hotel (our meeting location) next to the water park.

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 29e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126899

Sunday December 31st

Almunecar, Spain: I was surprised to wake and see that another MoHo had pulled in overnight. I typically, quickly, wake up when someone is around, but I must have been beat. Warren and Joy are from the US but have not lived there in a dozen years, and, although they were fun to speak with, I had to run to make the ten am meeting time. We planned on seeing each other again tonight, but after I pulled out, I noticed a "Prohibido Acamarar En La Costa De Almunecar--Bajo Multa Y Desalojo Inmediato" sticker on my MoHo window. Guess I wont be staying here anytime soon...

There were lots of people at the Tao Hotel Cafe and meeting location. Again I met up with Kenan from last night, was introduced to Jeannine whom I took photos of in the red glider last night, saw Leoni who seems to be the local paragliding party planner and weather guru...in addition to being the operator of the FlyPark Parepente Club and hotel...a place many pilots stay, and met Hans and Nico whom I joined for breakfast.

It seems that the general plan of the area is for Leoni to show up at around 10:00 and post the weather (high pressure and light wind seem to be holding and we should get a bit of light SW today) while all the pilots wanting to fly eat breakfast and BS. By 10:30 or 11:00 people break into 2-3 groups and head off to the site they feel is going to be the best bang for the buck.

Nico and Hans invited me to tag along with them and we headed up to Itrabo, a 1700 foot site which works well in  S-SW conditions and has a beach landing right at either the Tao Hotel or The Beach Bar, a few hundred meters to the east. Of course it was OTB when we arrived, and still OTB four hours later!

So far only three people had launched for sled rides, but by 15:00 even I could tell it wasn't going to get any better. I set up for a light downwind launch, but luckily got half a cycle for the inflation. I was off and skirting the ridgeline to town. Incredibly smooth with only a few spots of 50fpm up and a few more of 600 down. 13 minutes later I landed at my Mo and packed up after what I considered a TERRIFIC flight! It has been a while since I have flown, and this mellow warm up was brilliant.

Soon, the sky was, well, not really "filled" with gliders, but periodically punctuated, as everyone else decided a sledder is better than driving down if things go from bad to worse.

Leoni was having a New Years Party for pilots at the FlyPark (25e for all you can eat and drink) so Nico and I decided we would give it a go. I was supposed to walk over, but got into some book and a bit after 21:00 Nico was knocking on the door and dragging me out. Although little food was left, I was happy to indulge in the wine and was soon as wasted as everyone else.

It seems the Spanish are little more mellow on New years than Americans...their big deal is to be flash in all new clothes (you can NOT dress well enough on New Years) and then eat 12 grapes (or smash them under your heal) at midnight for 12 months of good luck.

At some point a group of us all headed out for some dancing, and I do remember some gyrations to put Swazie to shame, in addition to a lot of staggering, toasting, and boasting. The fun was still happening as I wandered home late.

Very good times...I think?! :-)

Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0

Fuel: 0

Tolls: 0

Food/Drink: 120e

Supplies: 0

Misc: 0

Odometer: 126905

Click here to see Section 27: Iberia in Winter of 2007