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Our Travels!
Chapter 3
July 2007 to January 2008
Into July at Union Lido campsite and we see all the pitches starting to
fill, all the different companies units are getting full, also all the
caravan and camping pitches, about 3,500 in total. So if there is an
average of 4 people per pitch, that’s, eeeermmm, oh yeh,
14,000 people, and each pitch brings at least one car, so we are living
in a medium sized town that ebbs and flows every week.
What chance do you think, of say, someone like me, meeting somebody
from my past, that is on holiday on the campsite and has rented a
mobile home about 50 yards from our reception.
Obviously a good chance, otherwise I would not say it.
Going to reception one afternoon, I thought I saw, coming towards me, a
familiar face, someone I knew in the army and also a mobile crane
driver after the army, both for the same company. I think, should I
call his name, no, it may just be someone that looks like him, so I let
it go.
But the more I thought about it, I was sure it was him. But I did not
see him again, and forgot about the incident. Then a week later, one
evening, I came across him again, so I said, hey, are you Dave Tidd,
and straight away, he said my name. That was it, back to the van for a
glass of wine or two with his wife Sue.
The last time I saw Dave was at a army reunion, 5 years ago, before
that, 10 years ago. Dave and Sue had another 10 days of holiday, so we
had a few meals together and a bit more wine.
Small, small world eh.
The next big thing we had to look forward to was the visit of my son Colin, with his wife Amy and son Alfie on the 14th August .
Before bumping into Dave, it had started to feel like a long season,
even though we were just only half way through the end seemed a long
way away.
It seemed liked ages to Colin arriving, but the work routine makes the
weeks go past really quick, and suddenly it was arrival day.
We had purchased a tent, big enough for the three of them and erected it next to the van.
It was great to see them, but it soon became obvious that Alfie did not
like the heat, plus he did not feel too well. But our next door
neighbours surprised us with the kind offer of a large 2 bedroom tent
with fridge, cooker and everything for camping. It had been used by
another company for their couriers, but they had gone home and the tent
was standing empty.
It made Alfies holiday a lot better, he had space to wander about when
he got up in the morning and it was a lot cooler inside than the one we
had got.
Colin and Amy had their hands full keeping Alfie occupied, he is too
young for the baby club and other activities on the site, but he loved
the swimming pools and the bouncy castle area. We still had our work to
do, but managed to get out of the site with them and visit Caorle.
Colin and I managed to play football twice and Amy out shone us all by
entering the 10 kilometre cross country race. She came first in the age
group and the second woman to finish, in a time of 47 minutes.
She won a gold medal, a huge cup and
a bunch of roses. Well done Amy.
The season soon began to draw to an end, the site going from full to
half full and then empty in just a couple of weeks. Shops, restaurants
and pools start to close, but even so our customers kept coming.
My sisters Mary and Janet with husbands Les and Ken came over for a
week in the last two weeks of the season courtesy of Happycamp.
The cocktail bar was still open so we all managed a visit there. We
also took the ferry to the lagoon islands of Murano and Burano which
are famous for their lace and glass.
We were still working, closing down and cleaning accommodation, plus
taking down the tents so sisters and hubbies did their thing, visiting
Venice and relaxing.
Finally the site closed on the 28th September.
All the streets and accommodation empty. To us Brits this seemed
odd, a beautiful campsite bathed in sunshine with a mile of golden
beach with warm (compared to the North Sea) sea to swim in, completely
deserted. The whole strip of the Cavallino strip closes down and goes
into hibernation, their money made for the season and they are happy,
not like in the UK where they try to get every penny out of you 24
hours a day 365 days a year.
We had to move into a mobile home for the last two weeks as the
toilet/shower blocks were now closed, so we packed the van and tried to
move it. Oh Oh, it would not start.
We had used it several times to go shopping to give the engine and
brakes a work out, but it would not start, the battery was good. So we
had to call Peugeot as it was under warranty. They immediately passed
us on to AA Europe, who also immediately organised someone to come out
to it. The immobiliser was broken, so a decision was made to transport
it away to the nearest dealer. It got taken away in the pouring rain on
the back of a truck.
It turned out that the part needed would take two weeks to be
delivered, and that we could still drive it, starting it with the
workshop code, a complicated starting system using flashing lights on
the dashboard and the accelerator, taking about a minute to complete.
We decided as we were ready for home to use the system instead of
staying in Italy for the part and drive it home, briefly stopping in
Lake Garda for a end of season meal, meeting other couples that we had
not seen since March.
We had to leave early the next morning, 4am, to avoid the traffic
around Milan, the A4 across northern Italy is one of the busiest roads
I have ever seen.
We were promised our contract for next year would be in the post.
We set off 4am on the Friday morning and used toll roads all the way to
just south of Reims in Northern France. Normally I would use A roads as
much as possible and stop overnight in the middle of France. Total cost
of tolls, €55 and we arrived at the small Champagne village of
Avize. Another beautiful village providing safe parking for
motorhomers. We arrived there at around 4.30pm, we had stopped three
times for meals and rest so the €55 on the tolls were worth it to
be able to travel so far in one day, and the roads had been clear all
the way, it is surprising how far you can travel when you can cruise at
65mph all day long.
Finally we arrived home in Fishlake at around 1am Sunday morning, the end of another adventure.
There is no time to stand still though, especially for me, the van has
to go to Peugeot straight away, a mobile crane test booked, I have to
keep it up to date just in case I have to return to normal work, and
because I am approaching 50 years old I have to have a medical for my
HGV licence. It does not sound much, but try organising these things.
Doctors’ appointments take two weeks, paper work another three,
then there are errors so stuff has to be done again. And they all cost
money, so reluctantly I call my old boss to see if there is any
chance of a bit of work, there is, so I have to fit that in as well.
The van gets repaired, so we can take it to Brownhills for them to do
some warranty work, I had problems contacting them from Italy, so we
were invited to see the MD of the Newark branch and accepted his
apologies, for the hassle we had, and while we are there we may as well
look for a new van.
We found one, a Burstner A647, we knew what we wanted, something
bigger, a garage at the back, big fridge/freezer, this Burstner had it
all plus a few extras, so that was it, we return home after shaking
hands on a deal.
A week later we pick it up and bring it home.
Colin and Amy are due to have another child in the New Year, so we
decide to start looking for campsite work in the UK for 2008, Italy was
great, but far away, we did miss the kids and grandkids, even though we
were in constant contact via email and phone.
We applied for a few and had interviews and finally were asked to start
at the Old Oaks campsite near Glastonbury, an adult only campsite. We
went for the interview and we were very, very impressed with the site,
absolutely beautiful, nestled in rolling green countryside with
stunning views and in immaculate condition.
By the 6th of December everything, apart from my driving licence back
from DVLA was in place for us to go to Portugal. Just a small birthday
to celebrate on the 11th then a tunnel crossing on the night of the
18th and we set off south again.
We received a phone call on the 13th December from Jim the owner of the
Old Oaks campsite, offering us employment for the 2008 season, and we
duly accepted.
So this next picture is taken on the 23rd December .
We are parked on Campissimo del Milfontes on the west coast of
Portugal, in the sunshine and relaxed knowing that everything we sais
we were going to do, has been done.
We met up with friends Keith and Jill, whom we met two
Christmas’s ago at Bonterra Park, and along with their daughter
and son-in-law we spent a very enjoyable Xmas week, having a Xmas
dinner in the sunshine. Do not mention though, that the white sauce for
the Xmas pud, was actually white sauce from a lasagne mix, I think
Jill’s eye sight was impaired by the time pudding came along.
For New Year we headed off to the south coast, Albufera, to see my
niece, Cheryl with hubby Mick and son Brendan, who had flown out for
the New Years Eve party on the beach, unfortunately the parking did not
feel safe enough for me to leave the van, so we had found a motorhome
parking area in the hills above the Algarve, and we decided to spend
our last day of 2007 in the hills with four other motorhomers.
What a delight this turned out to be.
Park Rural is 1 kilometre from 124 Portimao to Monchique road, near the
village of Caldos de Monchique, and is the brain child of Antonio, it
is €10pn with electric, water, hot showers, washing machines and
beautiful views with peace and quiet.
A wild boar was shot during the day of the 31st December and the legs
were cooked on a large BBQ by François, a Belgian motorhomer,
and then prepared by his wife, Marie Joseph.
Pic1, Antonio supervising chef François, pic2 Marie Joseph preparing and pic 3 the master chef François.
The meat was gorgeous, it was served up with salad and potatoes and
washed down with wine, beer, brandies, grappa, whiskies and even water
in some cases.
A good night was had by all, fourteen people who had not met each other
before, sat around a large table and mucked in for New Years Eve.
Portuguese hosts, Belgian chefs, Dutch and English guests, I did supply
the Xmas crackers, tree for the table and flashing lights for the BBQ
area.
We all stood and watched the fire works 20 kilometres away on the coast at Potimao at midnight.
What a finish to a very eventful year. Brilliant.
Happy 2008 to all, and we wish you all good health and happy travels.
Elaine & Mike
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