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Our Travels! 

Chapter 1

 Part 1--Part 2--Part 3--Part 4--Part 5--Part 6--Part 7

Part 1 - To everyone that knows us, hello, to people visiting the website hello to you too.

We have left the UK as planned on my late sisters, Yvonnes 50th birthdate, 30th august. Our whole year has been planned around the 30th august. Yvonne wanted us to set off earlier in the year so she could visit us wherever we were, but she was not well enough and I could not leave the UK knowing her condition. To, Dennis, Cheryl, Kerry and MDL, Yvonne had many dreams, try and fulfill them for her, live your lives to the full.

It has also been a funny feeling leaving both the families, but we keep reminding ourselves that this is just a holiday and we are returning in the future.
Anyway, as some know the exhaust broke on the little car over the weekend before leaving, we tried to get a new one fitted on tuesday, 30th in Doncaster, but it arrived late, so we bought it and put it in the back of the car, to be fitted ASP. The tunnel crossing was as easy as before although the customs men had a good look at the exhaust on the back seat.

We landed in Calais at 10pm ish french time and parked in the Eurotunnel truck park along with a few other motorhomes and caravans. A little bit noisey at times with trucks moving but we felt safe with the othe vanners.

Part 2 - Hello to everyone, our travels are going well, i won't say "to plan", because there is no plan. Only to be in Bonterra Park, Benicassim for christmas, and as we type on the 8th of november we are only about 20 miles from the target.

We left the centre of France due to the weather and headed south on the 10th of September, stopping at Millau, which is now bypassed by the "bridge in the sky" over the huge valley. But we dropped down into the town and parked overnight, and climbed out the next morning and carried on south.

We eventually arrive in Provence a few days later and park alongside Lac de Verdon, a beautiful crystal clear, blue lake which is fed by rivers flowing through the Gorges of Verdon.

A circular tour of the gorges has to be done, it takes about 4 hours, nonstop, hairpin bends, rocky overhangs and sheer drops make it a very tiring drive, i'm glad we did it in the car.

Camping la Ferme, in France is basic camping, electric and toilet facilities are only provided usually, so they are quite cheap, we found one in the foothills of the Alps, it was surrounded by lavender fields, it was also just about empty, we had 3 days of peace and quiet with scenery to die for.

The posh bit next, St. Tropez. Us in St.Tropez, who would have thought.A motorhome parking area 9kms from S.T. in the town of Ramatouelle.The parking area is 100mtrs from the beach and is in two fields surrounded by bamboo.It costs 6euro90cents a night and only water and a cold shower are provided.By this time though we are meeting other motorhomers that we have met on the road, so we decide to stay as long as the weather remains good, and it is good, 70,75,80degrees and the sea is lovely and warm.Graham and Chris from Worcester pull in, we met them in Provence,and we decide to stay another few days and end up staying 12 nights, doing a trip to Monaco in the car during the stay.

Our need to try and find some campsite work for 2006 takes us back in land and on to the area around Carcassonne, a beautiful busy town that has on it's outskirts a medieval double walled town or "Cite". Inside the walls there is a fully living working tourist area, shops, restaurants, school and churches and lots of american tourists.
There are several motorhome aires in the region and we utilise them all, some supplying free electricity and water, some not, moving from town to town every couple of days, the days and weeks soon pass, they are only small towns and once you have walked around them a few times there is not a lot else to do.

The weather as always has a helping hand in our decision making, and on the 15th of october the big decision of the day was that we should start heading towards our crossing point into Spain for the sunshine.

After a few days around the Bergerac area around the Dordogne looking for potential work our next target is the religious city of Lourdes.

In our bible!! [the book of motorhome stops in France] there appears to be a motorhome parking area on the E.Leclerc supermarket on the main road into Lourdes. And it is right, we parked alongside other vans, French, German,Spanish at one corner of the carpark.

Lourdes is along our route to the Pyrennes and so makes a good stopover.

The city is the religious version of Blackpool, streets packed with tourist shops and hotels.But the tourist shops do not sell false breasts and sex toys. They sell religious dolls, paintings,candles, fans,books,infact everything and anything even empty plastic bottles of all shapes and sizes, which are for collecting your holy water from the Le Grotte.

Le Grotte is the focal point of the city and the place you end up just by following everyone else.It is a fantastic piece of architechture, with a 15foot high golden crown as it's centre piece and skirting around the outside at river level is a long pipe that has several taps which has free flowing "Holy water" for your brand new empty plastic bottle.

During the night the almighty himself sends more holy water from the sky and continues to do so the next morning sunday 23rd October, so we take it as a sign from above and head south through the Somport tunnel in the Pyrennes. The grey skies turn to blue on the other side, Hola Espania.

We overnight in Zaragoza and continue in a south east direction towards the coast. Other motorcaravanners had warned us that motorhome stops are few and far between in Spain, so when we see a motorhome aire signposted in the town of Morella the big daily decision is made, stop here.

[Sometimes the big daily decision may not be that big, i.e. should we get up, or,start a new book or whats for dinner, life is hard sometimes.]

Morella turned out to be excellent, it is built on a mountain, at the top is the ruined but being restored castle, and below it is a walled town with narrow streets with everything every other town has, it makes York look like Milton Keynes.The altar inside the church is all covered in gold and tourist coaches line up all around the carpark. Motorhomes could either park for free overnight in the carpark or stay 1km away in the motorhome aire. Our stay lasted 3 nights, english motorhomes turned up and we asked advice from more experienced travellers on where to stop.

Morella being situated in the mountains is beginning to feel the effects of winter, locals are wrapped up in coats and hats, so we up pegs and do the 45 minute down hill drive to the coast.

The change in air temperature once you hit sea level hits you like an electric blanket. Sunshining, blue sky, windows down, oranges on the trees, yes, this is one of the reasons for leaving England. It is now october 27th, time seems to be flying.
The beach resort of Peniscola, nick named " fizzy dick" for some reason or other, is our next base for the week. Parking Las Moreras is one street back from the beach, motorhomes only, none of those caravan things, 7euro50cents a night with electricity and 100mtrs from a gloriously clean sandy beach. A campsite up the road is 15euro a night, ok, you get a warm shower block, and flowing hotwater but, hey, we have got 5 star facilities in the van so Las Moreras will do just fine.

Information gathered from others, every motorhomer has a map, or, maps that are covered in highlighter pen marks, showing previous routes,stopping points, wild camping places, tiolets or water facilities, you only have to stand outside the van with your map and a little gathering will start comparing and swapping the motorhoming secrets.

So we learn that 20 miles further south is the town of Alcossebre and that there are 3 or 4 places along the beach that can be used to park overnight, and after a recce in the little car we find it to be true.On November the 3rd we make tracks for Alcossebre.Within 2 days we have met more english people than ever before. There is a large english element here, even, an english bar/restaurant that is selling, fish,chips and mushy peas.Of course we did.

On friday two things happen that will make us real full time motorhomers.

Thirty yards from where we are parked on one side is the sea on the other is a solar panel shop.Nearly every van has a solar panel, we should have had one fitted before we left the UK but they are very expensive in the UK, i know, just like everything else.Our batteries last about 5 days before we need to start the engine and recharge them, but with a panel of sufficient size we would not have to start up at all.

Energia Solar Sistemas, www.energiass.com is run by Scot Walker, no, not THE Scott Walker, Scot Walker from Nottingham who set up this business three years ago, the senorita in the office is Spanish, Danielle, she has a Nottingham accent and has never been there. After discussions we agree a deal and are having a panel fitted, a good £300 cheaper than in England.

And the second thing that makes us real full timers is that the police knocked on the door and asked us to move on in the morning, ah well.

But today we are back parked outside Scot's shop awaiting final fitting of the panel, it is the 9th of November, we have mild hangovers and i,m just going to talk to a Spanish senorita that finishes sentences with " mi duck".

Good health to everyone from Mike and Elaine.

Part 3 - Hi to everyone, With our newly fitted solar panel on top of the van we venture further south to have a sneak preview of our xmas campsite in Benicassim, Camping Bonterra Park.

But our solar panel has attracted rain clouds and we endure some of the heaviest rain we have seen for a long time and by the time we are parked up, we are both absolutely drenched. Just a one night stop at Bonterra Park to get ourselves familiarised and off we set again to the town of Javea.

There is a parking area in the town for motorhomes, one street back from the beach, we stop for 3 nights, meeting up with new found friends, Mel and Ray from Gilberdyke, which is about 20 miles from Elaine's mum's in Fishlake.

The sun does break through and we can detect electricty filling our batteries via the solar panel.

During this stop i purchased a couple of newspapers that are printed for the British population, the,Costa Brava News and the Costa Almeria News and notice it is free to advertise in the "situations wanted" column. And since we have grown to like all things "free" i sent off a advert for campsite work in 2006.

Further south we called in on Peter and Shirley in Benidorm, we had met them in Fanjeaux, near Carcassonne early in October, they had by now parked their van up for the winter and are living in a big touring caravan on a big campsite in Benidorm, so we had a nice lunch and chat before heading up to a village in the mountains called,Guadalest.

Guadalest has a tiny village and church hidden behind a piece of mountain,with the only entrance and exit through a tunnel cut in the rock.It is now November 14th and the daylight hours are getting very short,so by the time 5pm arrives in Guadalest it is pitch black.But we had a suprise,because the piece of mountain hiding the village is lit up by neon lights and we were able to explore inside on our own, yes it was a bit eerie and we felt like burglers but it was fantastic under a full moon and hearing bells chime in distant villages along the valleys.

Our next stop was a bit of luxury, Camping la Fortuna.Fortuna is halfway between Alicante and Murcia and it is renowned for the thermal waters that flow from the nearby mountains.

These waters are used by a couple of hotels and the campsite to fill the swimming pools with water at a temperature of 36 degrees.

The Motorcaravanners Club had a rally planned for November 26th, it is now November 15th so we decide to stay for 15 nights of luxury, we think we had earned it.So we sunbathed,lazed in the pool, walked and cycled a bit, but generally chilled out and awaited to see what a Spanish MCC rally was like.

Not much different to an English one really, except warmer, although at night for the bingo we had to squeeze into Jill and Edgars awning, it being the largest warm space available.

Usual things,quizes,games,singalongs and bingo all with the intention of forming new friendships.

Which it did for us,as we met Mike and Maureen Tapp of Albox in Spain and Bob and Val Johnson of Javea in Spain.

Mike and Maureen invited us to their villa, a bit further south in Albox, we wild camped in Mojacar and San Juan before joining Mike and Maureen, Mikes twin brother lives next door with wife Mags and we had 5 great days parked in their garden, enjoying good food and company and a wee bit of wine.

This really was as far south as i wanted to go,as by now it was the 9th of December and we had to be back up in Benicassim, a 6 hour drive, on the 22nd.Mags let me read our emails on her computer and low and behold we had a bit of news.
Someone had replied to my free advert in the Costa newspapers.

Were we interested in helping on a campsite near Malaga.!!!!!!!

I was unable to get back in touch with the sender of the email so we headed back to Mojacar to spend my birthday (Dec 11th, if you forgot ) on the beach. And on my birthday i said to Elaine that i would try phoning the man in Malaga once more, and he answered, finally. And after lengthy phone call we decide (our biggest decision probably since setting 

off ) to go down and meet him and see the work involved.

The campsite is not finished and will not be open until 2007, but Rob wants us to start work asap, cooking,cleaning and general work getting the site into some kind of organised state, he offers us a house, all food, electric and gas plus a small wage in return.Elaine likes it,so thats half the battle, so we stay for a week to see if Rob is genuine and to see if we get along, and he was and we did,so we shake hands on a deal for us to return in February and start our new lifestyle.

Now we head back north to what has been our target, the xmas rally in Benicassim.It's now December the 18th,so we stop at Albox to let the Tapps know how it's gone and also in Javea to meet up with Bob and Val again and arrive on schedual at Camping Bonterra Park to recieve all the mail from family and friends plus mail brought down for us by Phil and Carole from Askern, who kindly came over to Rita's and picked up the mail that had been gathering there.

I think the xmas rally, return home journey and big decision time story can be in part 4, part 3 has gone on too long.

By for now, Mike and Elaine.

Part 4 - Hola amigo's, well this really should start with, "Merry christmas". But time has whizzed past because we had to pack so much in, and it is now the 15th of February.Most of you know what we have had to do, so i will keep it short (ish).

The xmas rally at Bonterra Park in Benicassim was very enjoyable indeed. We had plenty to eat and drink, well it was xmas afterall. We also met more lovely people, some of whom have become friends. Brian and Ann, Mac and Brenda, Alan and Jean, Ben and Pauline, Kieth and Gill and as if by magic, Alan and Anne. Our meals throughout the rally were spent on the same table and these couples made it a real laugh with their chat, jokes, games, kindness and lack of memory, so we became the Althziemers Club.

The weather was better than England, but not as warm as we expected, a couple of days were warm, there was a chill in the air most days, but as i said, "better than England".We did all go to the beach on xmas day for a photograph, it looked warm !!.

On our journey back to the UK, we were joined by Ben and Pauline from Mansfield, they were on their first continental tour in their van and had not used the motorhome aires on the way down, so they tagged on behind and followed us to, Gruissan (1st overnight stop,southern France), Lake Aydat, Clermont Ferrand,which had 6 inches of snow on the ground and Ben had to tow our van out of the aire, (2nd overnight stop,central France) and Chamery, Reims, (3rd stop, northern France). The total cost for overnight stays for both couples, a staggering 6 euros, £4 !!!!!.

We split up at St. Omer, B & P going to the ferry and us to the tunnel.

Our first stop in the UK was in Hythe, Hampshire at Jim and Ness's where we received an email from a campsite in the New Forest offering work, very tempting.

On to Haverfordwest in West Wales to see our Colin and Amy and new grandson, Alfie Michael, who is absolutely gorgeous.

Then off to Yorkshire to see all the rest of our families.

We had mail waiting for us at Rita's ( Elaines mum ), two were for interviews with campsite companies in Europe. Then Rob telephoned from Malaga asking us to commit to a date for returning to Malaga as he wanted to go on holiday.

So Elaine and I sat down and tried to decide which direction we were going to take. Malaga was a guarenteed offer of work, the other three, we still had to go to interviews for. The sunshine of Malaga swung it. Polite phone calls were made to the others, declining the interviews, ( never burn bridges ) and we let Rob know that we would be back in Malaga for the 12th of February.

By now it was the 18th of January, so the van and car had to be serviced and MOT'd, not all the family and friends had been seen so we had to zoom around trying to get to see everyone and buy bits and bobs as we do not expect to be bringing the van back until xmas 2006.

On the 1st February our journey back started. France was freezing so we only did 2 stops before going into Spain, we called back into Benicassim, Javea to see Bob and Val and Albox to see the Tapps before arriving one day early at our new residence in southern Spain.

We are now settled in our little house on the hill, with birds singing, blossom on the trees, sunrises and sunsets and satellite tv. No telephone line yet, but we are now learning that everything is "manana" or "tomorrow" in the Spanish way of life. Nothing is so urgent here, that it can't be done manana.

I will go down to the internet cafe and send this "MANANA" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Part 5 - Hola familia y amigo's, well, we have been here in Estacion de Cartama for over 3 months now. Everything has turned out great, the house, job, weather and just our new lifestyle in general. We have settled in and enjoying everyday. It has been made more enjoyable by the visits of Rita, (Elaines mum) and Ken and Sue, our friends from Thorne.

And between them, they smuggled in Bachelors rice, brown sauce and a date and walnut cake. We had a very enjoyable time and although Rita preferred to sleep in the motorhome, rather than the house, everything went well.

We have started getting about a bit more and meeting people in the local area, by necessity sometimes, getting the car repaired for example. But because of our isolation we have not made any friends that are living in the local area. Some of our friends with motorhomes have been to see to see how we are getting on, Bob and Val Johnson, who live further north in the coastal town of Javea, popped in for a haircut on their way through to Portugal.

During the day, Elaine keeps her self occupied in and around the house, keeping the dust and insects out, preparing meals and cups of tea. Also making cross stitch master pieces for the home made cards.Oh yes, and sunbathing. But even if we are just pottering about, the time is flying past, 5pm seems to arrive very quick. It's the first of June today, we can hardly believe it. It is fast approaching the first of september, one year since we set off on our adventure.

We have learned so much about motorhoming and living on a small budget in a foreign country. We certainly have a better quality of life than the work, tax paying rut we were in.

I certainly miss the travelling around in the motorhome, meeting new people and seeing different places, but living in a little old Spanish casa on the side of a hill, with fantastic views, is something people pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to do, and we get paid to do it.

The new friends that we made during our travels have all kept in touch, Mike & Maureen, Dave & Mags, Chris & Graham, Martin & Dawn, Peter & Shirley, Pete & Sandie, Alan & Anne, Sue & Gerry, Brian & Wendy, plus others that we met at christmas, especially the Althziemers Club, Alan & Jean, Mac & Brenda, Brian & Anne and Ben & Pauline.

There are others too, thanks to everyone for making our new life enjoyable and funny.
Our next thing to look forward to, is, believe it or not, is a holiday, eh, even people on holiday, have to have a holiday. So we are going to Benidorm to meet daughters Karen and Michelle and the grand kids, Brendan and Jessica, at an all inclusive hotel, so Elaine will not have to cook and i can look at someone else's gardening handy work.

I will end by cheering all the people in the UK, it's the first of June here and it's p***ing down.

Part 6 -

Our Malaga experience came to an end due to lack of finances, on our employers behalf. So the day he told us he was skint, we looked at www.caravan-jobfinder.co.uk and saw a vacancy for assistant wardens on a campsite in Buxton, so a quick phone call and a promising chat to the owner saw us packing the van, loading the car and heading north.

No regrets about our time in Cartama, it was a very good experience.

We headed for the beach at Puntas de Calnegre near Mazarron, we needed somewhere a bit cooler as it was touching 50 degrees in Cartama, and with no pool it was time for a swim in the sea. Parking at Calnegre is beside the sea. After two days R+R, it's time to head north and visit Alcossebre, where we had the solar panel fitted last november. We called in at the solar shop and said hello to Danielle, and she informed us that they had fitted more vans with solar panels since our van was their first attempt, and the reponse to my letter to the MCC magazine had brought in quite a few enquiries.

But, our fridge/freezer decided to not get cold, even though it was telling us it was working OK. It was friday afternoon in Spain, so the chance of getting it even looked at, never mind fixed was a bit remote. France on a monday morning was our best bet, and after getting no response from the fridge service agents, we headed to a motorhome dealer just outside Narbonne, called, Terre d'Emeraude. We arrived at about 10.30am and explained in broken french our problem, and were guided to the side gate and within minutes our van was being repaired. It took about an hour to repair, and we were asked to wait until 2pm, so that they could check it really was working properly. It was excellent service which i do not think we would have got by calling in at a british motorhome dealer.

Onwards and northwards with wine and beer now chilling in the fridge, ( food as well ), a couple of overnight stops on motorhome aires in villages and small towns.Our next aim was to get to Brenda and Fredericks, near Limoges, they are " safe knights " in the motorcaravanners club ( www.motorcaravanners.org.uk ). Which means they are prepared to provide other members with a safe parking place on their property for one night, free. As usual our plans had to be changed, this time by some road signs. They announced that there was free motorhome parking on a farm, just off the road that we were travelling, the D704, about 30ks west of Brive-la-Gaillarde.We had to follow them, it's law, isn't it?. We came to Ferme La Jalovie, sited near the tiny village if Nailac and very close to the town of Hautefort which has a beautiful chateau that can be seen from miles around.

Ferme La Jalovie is a large 3 sided farm with a wide 100mtres long drive. As we approached we could see motorhomes parked at the side of the drive, we parked behind the last one, and walked into the courtyard, where there was another half dozen vans parked. The owner, Bernard, greeted us and guided us into a barn, where the other vanners were seated having a drink of wine, they were all french, Bernard gave us a glass of wine each and left us to it, to try a make conversation with a table full of french people.

It sounds a bit frightening, but it wasn't, they all greeted us with, "bonsoir" ( good afternoon/evenning ). Some could speak a little english and our bit of french soon had us making friends.

If you save this picture and enlarge it, you can see the chateau at Hautefort in the distance, just to the right of the farm house. We stayed for two nights, and it is free, electric hook ups for the ones in the courtyard, a hot shower, drinking water and a waste point. There is a small shop selling wine, pate and froi gras, which is produced on the farm, but there is no pressure to buy, the only obligation is to say, " bonjour and au revoir " and of course, " merci ".

Brenda and Frederick were due to receive our road tax through the post, courtesy of my brother Martyn, it should have arrived by the friday that we arrived at there house in the village of Pageas, about 30ks SW of Limoges. We were due to have an interview in Buxton on the following tuesday. The road tax had not arrived, so we settled down to a couple of bottles of wine and a meal across the road at B&F's local restaurant. Brenda and Frederick love having people stay overnight, they live in a peaceful sactuary, that has it's own large pond and woodland, and a huge workshop for Frederick, they made us extremely welcome. The road tax did not arrive in the post on saturday either, so Brenda kindly let us use the internet to book our tunnel crossing for sunday night, and we set off for Calais, she would post the tax to Rita's when it arrived, we got it eventually.

Joining the M20 off the tunnel after 7 months on the continent is a shock to the system, i can tell you. It is like whacky races, cars and lorries ( mainly Polish ???? had they rerouted the tunnel ??? ) were all over the place, i was doing 75/80 mph before i knew it, trying to keep up with everyone, and this was at 10pm on a sunday night. It calmed down after the Dartford crossing, but what must first time tourists think when they land in the UK.

Monday we land at Lime Tree Park campsite, Buxton and are greeted by Jane and Paul, the wardens. Oh yes, and Faye, their daughter. We got sited and Jane,Paul and Faye, came up to van in the evenning for, yes, a drink of wine. Three bottles later and and taste of "43" ( if you don't know what 43 is, then there is no hope for you ), it sounded as though we had the job, but this was not the interview, that was tomorrow with the owner, Andrew.

Andrew turned up at lunchtime to the van, came in, had a cuppa, gave us his version of the job description and asked us if we would take it on. Well after meeting Jane and Paul and seeing the loveley site, we had already decided to take the job if we were offered it, so we said yes. And we started the following tuesday. And here we are, Elaine peacefully snoring in the 2 bedroom static caravan provided, we have done our first weeks work as campsite assistant wardens, August bank holiday week as well, the term, "in at the deep end" comes to mind. But all went well, Elaine is in reception and little shop, and i get to drive around on a little tractor.

Jane, Paul and Faye.( www.limetreeparkbuxton.co.uk )

So, one year on, i would like to say a little wiser, but you would all probably disagree, our contract here is until the end of october, with the offer of a full season next year if we still all get on by october. But if we learned anything from our travels, it is that we do not know what is around the next corner.

So come on over to Buxton and help us get rid of some of this wine.
Happy travels to everyone and remember everyone in the althzeimers club the next meeting is..............................meeting!!! what meeting?????????????????

M&E.

Part 7 -

“Our travels, the final chapter.” Our travelling has stopped, the Kontiki has been stripped of it’s gadgets and taken back to Brownhills, and replaced by a bright a shiny new motorhome. A bit smaller, in size and engine, but still a fixed bed for falling in to.

 The job at Lime Tree park is going great, so much so that we have already signed a contract for the 2007 season. Elaine became a lady of leisure on the 31st October, but I remain employed as chief grass cutter and toilet cleaner, for the winter, (why do women make more mess in the toilets than men???) ( Oh yes they do ) . We did not intend to travel south again this year , Xmas with the families was on the agenda. Maybe at the end of 2007 we will venture south to Portugal and Spain to get a break from this high pressure job. Since starting here in Buxton we have had family and friends visiting on a regular basis, sisters, Janet and Mary, daughter Karen, Elaines mum, aunty and uncle, friends we met on our travels in Spain, Von and Charlie, Ben and Pauline, Keith and Gill, Alan and Ann and friends from the Yorkshire group of the Motorcaravanners club, David and Janet, and Terry and Linda.

People have asked if we have missed the travelling, our answer, is no, the kind of people that we were meeting are now coming to us as customers. It is just the sunshine that is missing. We could not have envisaged finding such a nice place to work so quick into our new lifestyle, as most of you know, we are too YOUNG to retire, so a wage was important, nay, necessary, but to find a way of earning that wage this way, is great. Although getting up to start work at 9am has been a bit of a struggle. If anyone had told me 2 years ago, that I would need an alarm clock to get me up for 9am, I would have laughed my head off. But it’s true. I do not think I could go back to mobile crane driving and be getting up at 2, 3, 4 o’clock in the morning, no way. But motorhoming has changed our life, we did consider not having one for 2007, but it’s in our blood now and we will use the new one on our days off, even though they are a Monday and Tuesday. My one wish would have been that my late sister Yvonne could have seen the whole journey, from start to finish, and even joined us at some point along the way. She would have been as happy as us with the outcome. If our adventure has made just one person, or couple think about changing their lifestyle, great, we will have achieved more than expected. If you have never abseiled, the hardest bit, is leaning back over the edge, but once over, it’s all down hill. Take the plunge, abseil over the cliff of life. (Plunge, probably wasn’t the right word to use, was it). Thank you to everyone for support and friendship.

 Update. I have been unable to contact Rob who normally updates www.ukmotorhomefinder.co.uk for 3 months. So Elaine’s brother has taken over the task. But that means it is now January 11th 2007, three months since I first started writing this. Jim and Denise Bowie, our friends in Southampton, decided to change their lifestyle after seeing that it could be done. The have bought the Alendale Hotel in Weymouth, www.thealendale.com we wish them luck in their new venture and hope you will keep them in mind when you are planning a weekend away, Denise cooks a mean breakfast and Jim will, I am sure, have a tasty whiskey ready for a night cap. Christmas was spent sneezing and coughing, and so confirmed to us that we will be heading south to Portugal to a campsite owned by David and Janet Turner, www.campingasseiceira.com our friends from the Yorkshire group of the Motorcaravanners club, www.motorcaravanners.eu .Thank you again to everyone for their support and friendship.

 Elaine and Mike.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3